The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Thai Company Asks Burma’s President to Support Power Plant
• For Burma’s Rohingya, a Permanent Segregation?
• Postponed Planting for Delta Rice Farmers
• Speculators Snapped Up Land Before Rangoon ‘New City’ Announcement
• Shan, Wa and Mongla Leaders Meet Burmese President and Army Chief
• Rangoon MPs to Discuss Controls on Rising Rents
• Japan Provides Aid to Improve Safety, Security at Burma’s Airports
• Sprouting Crunchy Goodness
• US Alarmed as Vietnam Jails Dissidents for Blocking Traffic
• After Disasters, Stricken Malaysia Airlines Staff Brace for Job Cuts
• Cambodia Opposition Gets More Sway in New-Look Parliament

Thai Company Asks Burma’s President to Support Power Plant Posted: 27 Aug 2014 04:46 AM PDT Toyo-Thai Group plans to build a coal-fired power plant near this beach in Inn Din village, Ye Township. (Photo by Mon Kyae) RANGOON— A Thai-based corporation is asking Burma's president for support after facing public opposition to its plans to build a coal-fired power plant in Mon State. Toyo-Thai Corporation Public Company Limited (TTCL) contacted the Ministry of Electric Power earlier this month to request permission from the President's Office to build a 1,280 megawatt power plant in Inn Din village, Ye Township, at a cost of US$2.7 billion. "We have to submit requests of any companies that come to us," said Aye San, the deputy director general of the ministry's department of hydropower planning. There are two coal-fired power plants in Burma currently, in southern Shan State and Tenasserim Division. The President's Office is considering 20 plans to build more, Aye San said, adding that approved requests would also require permission from state and divisional governments. Ye Social Service, a community-based organization in Ye Township, has launched a signature campaign to object to Toyo-Thai's plans in Mon State. "We don't want coal-fired plants to be built, not only in Inn Din village but anywhere in the country," said Ni Thway, a communication officer at Ye Social Service. "Coal produces a lot of negative side effects. We can accept a plant that uses natural gas, but coal power plants are twice as harmful to the environment." Aung Naing Oo, a lawmaker from Chaung Sone Township, Mon State, said he submitted an objection report on the project to the Mon State government in July after meeting with local residents. "The [state] government has not replied with its opinion of the project to the [state] parliament yet," he told The Irrawaddy. "We explained that the public does not accept the project. It will have a negative impact on the people, and the government should not accept it." He added that he would submit his objection report to the President's Office and the Union Parliament if the state government did not respond. "The [state] government's opinion on the project is important for the Union government to make a decision," he said. Toyo-Thai previously attempted to build the coal-fired power plant in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone near Rangoon, according to the Ministry of Electric Power, but was not able to acquire land for the project from the Rangoon divisional government. The Thai-based corporation is a joint venture of Italian-Thai Development, one of the biggest contractors in Thailand, and Toyo Engineering Corporation, an international engineering company in Japan. It signed a memorandum of understanding with Burma's Ministry of Electric Power in 2012 and opened a joint-venture gas-fired power plant in Rangoon the following year. The $170 million gas-fired power plant became partly operational in April 2013, producing 80 megawatts of its expected full capacity, 120 megawatts. The Export-Import Bank of Thailand has provided a $100 million loan to Toyo-Thai for remaining construction costs and running expenses, with full operational capacity expected later this year. The post Thai Company Asks Burma's President to Support Power Plant appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

For Burma’s Rohingya, a Permanent Segregation? Posted: 27 Aug 2014 04:41 AM PDT A 25-year-old Rohingya Muslim sits in front of her hut at a camp outside Sittwe. (Photo: Reuters) There was a time when ethnic Arakanese Buddhists and stateless Rohingya Muslims in western Burma lived and worked together. They were once neighbors, albeit uneasy ones, sharing a tense but relatively stable existence. Then in June 2012, religious clashes between the two groups drove them apart and forced 140,000 people—mostly Rohingya—from their homes. When I first met the displaced Rohingya in May 2013 in makeshift camps outside the Arakan State capital Sittwe, I thought their displacement would be temporary, the conflict somehow eventually resolved. But when I went again two months ago, I was struck by how these camps—home to two-thirds of those displaced by the violence—had started to look like permanent segregated ghettos. Houses, clinics and schools were larger, sturdier. There were newly opened shops and pharmacies, where the displaced—whose movements are tightly restricted and who have lost all property and any means for making a living—sold their aid rations to buy medicines and other goods. There is little sign of reconciliation or effort to bring the two communities together again: More than two years after they were driven out, Muslims who used to live and work in Sittwe are still barred from entering the city, and thousands of Rohingya may spend the rest of their lives in prison-like displacement camps, with no hope of going home and a perilous voyage by sea as the only way out. "We're concerned that segregation is becoming permanent and not enough is being done to change it, let alone protect the fundamental rights of the displaced," said Matthew Smith, executive director of Fortify Rights, a group that monitors Rohingya issues. "Members of government at all levels still feel as though the Rohingya don't belong in the country, and that's part of the reason why the Rohingya remain segregated in ghettos." Further deteriorating the situation, Arakanese leaders have proposed a plan that would make the segregation permanent—on paper—and force all undocumented Rohingya to live in detention camps. Local leaders are organizing a public meeting this week to drum up support for the plan, which would apply to Rohingya who were driven from Sittwe into displacement camps, as well as those who were not forced from their homes and still live in nearby villages, according to Than Tun, a Sittwe resident and member of the government's Emergency Coordination Committee set up to scrutinize humanitarian aid workers. This would basically mean detention for all Rohingya—a minority group of around 1.3 million who are stateless despite living in Burma for generations. Critics say Burma's 1982 Citizenship Law makes it almost impossible for them to become citizens. As Arakanese leaders push the segregation plan, the government is conducting a "verification process" to determine the citizenship status of Rohingya, but this is more or less a pointless exercise that forces Rohingya to identify themselves as Bengalis—a label that many Rohingya reject because it amounts to an admission that they are illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh. In another sign I spotted of the Rohingya settling in for the long haul at the displacement camps, there were small, dusty shops selling snacks and plastic bags of milk powder, pharmacies with shelves full of medicines with faded labels, mobile phone charging stations and people selling fresh fruit, vegetables and fish. Some analysts see optimism in such commerce because it points to the resumption of small-scale trade between the Rohingya and the Arakanese, who are the main source of goods from the outside world. Others say it underscores the irreconcilable differences that may separate them forever. "As long as Rakhine [Arakanese] extremists continue to monitor and target anyone in their community who reaches out to the Rohingya, it's going to be hard to see how reconciliation can get started," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch. In the meantime, their lives are precarious. While at The Chaung camp outside Sittwe in June, I met Sayed Hussain, who used to work as manual laborer in Sittwe market and now lives with his wife and four children in a displacement camp outside town. Their mud-floored hut was a patchwork of walls made of sodden cardboard and old rice sacks, and a roof of ragged plastic and thatch. "My wife has kidney problems and my children have coughs and diarrhea, but we have no money to go to the hospital," 60-year-old Hussain told me. As the early monsoon drizzle turned into a downpour, I wondered if his ramshackle shelter—and for that matter, his family—would survive the most ferocious rains of the monsoon season. Additional reporting by Min Zayar Oo and Paul Mooney. The post For Burma's Rohingya, a Permanent Segregation? appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Postponed Planting for Delta Rice Farmers Posted: 27 Aug 2014 04:28 AM PDT A farmer wearing thanaka on her face holds a bundle of rice shoots. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) IRRAWADDY DELTA — With its vast tracts of paddy fields, the Irrawaddy Delta is aptly nicknamed "the rice bowl of Burma." Farmers—mostly women—planting sprouts in roadside paddy plots are a common sight in the delta, where the annual rice growing season generally begins in late May. But unusually heavy rains and flooding this year prevented some farm workers in the delta from planting three months ago, forcing them to wait for floodwaters to subside. When they finally did, only recently, the farmers found themselves planting at a time generally marked as the end of the rice growing season. "All I could do was sit and wait for the waters to subside last month," said one of the women, who I met at a paddy field beside the Rangoon-Pathein highway. She was one of nearly 10 farmers, wearing longyis hiked up to avoid getting them wet in the calf-deep water, who were planting rice shoots last week. With the monsoon season not over yet, the women would don plastic sheets approximating ponchos and carry on with their planting as rains intermittently swept across the delta. In defense against the equally intermittent sunshine, the women's faces were thickly smeared with thanaka, a popular traditional cosmetic in Burma. In a typical year, the farmers will work only in the morning, but the late plant this season has forced them to toil in the fields all day, from 6 o'clock in the morning to 6 o'clock at night, stopping only for lunch. And, they say, their misfortune will not end with the completion of planting. "Because we started late, the rice yields for this year will surely be late," another farm worker explained. "As a result, the rice will arrive to market late and farmers will get a lower price." The post Postponed Planting for Delta Rice Farmers appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Speculators Snapped Up Land Before Rangoon ‘New City’ Announcement Posted: 27 Aug 2014 03:19 AM PDT Prospective land buyers visit Lay Ein Village in Twante Township on Aug. 25. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Although a plan to build a massive extension to Burma's biggest city was kept under wraps until last week, locals and land brokers told The Irrawaddy that apparently speculative land buying has been going on in the project area for months. The plan to expand the city by 30,000 acres, taking in farmland to the west of the city in Kyee Myin Daing, Seik Gyi Kha Naung To and Twante townships, was kept secret from the public until an announcement in the Rangoon Divisional Parliament on Friday. The ambitious development is expected to involve the building of five bridges, although little is known about the Myanma Setana Myothit Public Company, the firm behind the project that is said to be investing more than US$8 billion. But recent activity in the area in question suggests that some people were privy to the news before last week. "The [land] purchasing has been quicker in the last two months. People came to buy [land] every day. This has been going on for months," said Maung Kyi, a resident of Chaung Wa Village who is working as a broker for land on the site of the proposed "New City." Locals say land abutting the Twante highway, which runs through the project area, has been in especially high demand recently. Land on the side of the road is now worth an average of 12 million kyat—more than $12,000—per acre, while plots of land 1 mile from the road fetch 5 million kyat per acre. "The price is going up by 1-1.5 million kyat each day. Someone might ask for 20 million kyat today, then, the next day, he asks for 22 million or 21 million kyat," said Maung Kyi. According to the dealers, about 20,000 acres of the 30,000-acre project area is now in the hands of recent buyers, while long-term residents own the rest. Rangoon Mayor Hla Myint has said that the company will be responsible for compensating the owners of any land to be used for the project. And some villagers are holding out in hope of an even higher offer. "The village land is almost all sold out. I bought [my land] for 600,000 kyat two years ago. But I don't want to sell even when some offers me 15 million kyat now," said a villager from Tamar Tagaw village. Although the public company behind the development is ostensibly Burmese owned, rumors—fueled by the lack of transparency—are rife that Chinese investors are behind the project. Since the "new city" project was announced, yet more land dealers and buyers have descended upon the area. "There are many people who came by to look for land. Some actually bought some, but some just came by to check," said a dealer from Tamangyi village, adding that "most of them look Chinese." The post Speculators Snapped Up Land Before Rangoon 'New City' Announcement appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Shan, Wa and Mongla Leaders Meet Burmese President and Army Chief Posted: 27 Aug 2014 03:12 AM PDT President Thein Sein meets with Shan, Wa and Mongla leaders in Naypyidaw on Monday. (Photo: President's Office) The nationwide ceasefire accord, development projects and drug eradication were among the top issues discussed when Shan, Wa and Mongla army leaders met with Burma's president and military chief earlier this week. In two separate meetings, leaders from the three allied ethnic groups met in Naypyidaw on Monday with President Thein Sein and Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing. They reportedly acknowledged progress in the three-year peace process, which they said was a relatively short time to solve six decades of civil war. Sao Khun Sai, secretary of the Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP)—the political wing of the Shan State Army North (SSA-N)—said his organization supported the views of Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT), an alliance of 16 ethnic armed groups including the SSA-N. An NCCT leader recently said he believed a nationwide ceasefire accord would be signed with the government this year. The United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the Mongla army are not represented on the NCCT, but their leaders on Monday reaffirmed their commitment to sign the accord Min Aung Hlaing highlighted his support for the military's six-point principles, which the NCCT still opposes. The points call on ethnic groups to have a "genuine wish" for peace, to keep promises they make in the peace process, to refrain from exploiting peace agreements, to avoid burdening the people, to follow the rule of law, and to respect the 2008 Constitution. The six-point principles will not be incorporated into the nationwide ceasefire accord, according to agreements between ethnic leaders and government officials at recent negotiations. But the peace process did not dominate the talks on Monday. "We focused on development projects and the drug problem," said Sao Khun Sai of the SSPP, which has faced criticism for pushing forward development projects before the nationwide ceasefire is signed, as some roads and bridges have been destroyed in ongoing clashes in northern Shan State. "We have [spent] 1 billon kyats [US$1 million] for the developments of bridges and roads since the beginning of 2013," he added. One-quarter of that funding came from the government. To combat the drug problem in Shan State, where the world's second-biggest supply of opium is produced, he said it was important to support substitution crops and rehab clinics for addicts. Wa leaders, meanwhile, have claimed that opium is no longer produced in their territories, though fighting continues over the opium trade. The post Shan, Wa and Mongla Leaders Meet Burmese President and Army Chief appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Rangoon MPs to Discuss Controls on Rising Rents Posted: 27 Aug 2014 01:11 AM PDT Apartments are seen in a residential neighborhood of Rangoon. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Rangoon Division parliamentarians plan to discuss how to curb skyrocketing rent rates in the commercial capital on Wednesday, a regional MP told The Irrawaddy. During a session of the divisional parliament earlier this week, Thaung Kyaw from a Yankin Township constituency put forward the issue, urging the government to find a solution to rental prices that have soared in recent years. The lawmaker on Monday said many Rangoon residents were facing housing difficulties due to the booming real estate market, including a trend toward increasing numbers of poor residents being forced to illegally squat in some places. Lawmakers have agreed to discuss the issue on Wednesday, according to Nyo Nyo Thin, a lawmaker from Bahan Township. "Property rental prices in Rangoon are quite high. I will propose to form a committee to control such skyrocketing rents. I believe it will work," Nyo Nyo Thin said. She said she would propose that the committee, formed of regional MPs from each of Rangoon's 33 townships, be tasked with capping rent rates on a township by township basis. "MPs can supervise the price control committee. At the least, owners wouldn't be allowed to hike rent rates within a six-month period for renters," she said. In Rangoon, the most common arrangement is for the landlord and tenant to enter into a lease agreement of six to 12 months, with the tenant required to fork over a half or sometimes full year of rent before being given the keys. Since economic and political reforms enacted by President Thein Sein, rent hikes on a six-month or annual basis have been common—and sometimes steep. While increases of anywhere from 10 to 50 percent are typical, rent rises of up to 100 percent are not unheard of. Finding housing for anything less than 100,000 kyats (US$102), however, is essentially unheard of. Realtors chalk the rising rental rates up to a supply shortage as foreign investors, NGOs and Burmese transplants from outside Rangoon have moved to the commercial capital to take advantage of the opportunities that reforms have brought. Speculative land owners have also been accused of unfairly hiking rates to take advantage of the situation. Earlier this year, realtors told The Irrawaddy that in prime commercial areas, rental fees at the start of 2014 were at their highest ever, having more than doubled since 2012. The boom includes both commercial and residential rates, the latter seeing an especially sharp rise in high-end apartments and homes in townships downtown, as well as neighborhoods north of the city's core. Khine Maung Yee, a Union Parliament Lower House lawmaker, said the issue was not confined to Rangoon, and was also a concern in Mandalay. "It should be a national issue, because many businessmen are investing in a lot of estate projects. If we want to ease property prices, we will have to make all-inclusive workshops here," he said. "We will have to discuss with experts, businessmen and all related sectors to find out how to control the rising prices, but we will have to set a target time for implementation," Khine Maung Yee added. "If we are going to control the prices, we will have to see who will be impacted. That's why we need to have a workshop first." However, Moe Moe Aung, secretary of the Myanmar Real Estate Association, said several factors would conspire against the government's ability to control rent rates in Rangoon. "The major factor is, prices are on the lips of owners. If the government fixes the prices, they won't rent their properties, so how can government control that?" she said. "It's not possible to cut the rental fees here—local and foreign renters will continue to face a lot of difficulties." The post Rangoon MPs to Discuss Controls on Rising Rents appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Japan Provides Aid to Improve Safety, Security at Burma’s Airports Posted: 26 Aug 2014 11:37 PM PDT Win Swe Tun (left), director general of Burma's Department of Civil Aviation, inspects a new explosive trace detection system at Rangoon's airport. (Photo: JICA) RANGOON — The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is providing almost US$12 million to improve safety and security at Burma's airports, according to a statement Wednesday. Burma has a poor aviation safety record, and most of the 69 airports in the country are lacking in modern technology and safety equipment. The Japanese aid will go toward improving safety and security and modernizing air navigation at six airports in Burma—Rangoon, Mandalay, Nyaung U, Heho, Thandwe and Dawei—the statement from JICA said. A ceremony was held Tuesday at Rangoon International Airport to mark the installation of an explosive trace detection system, which can identify passengers who may pose a terror threat. A grant agreement was signed by JICA and the Department of Civil Aviation in March and includes the provision of equipment like X-ray machines, approach lighting systems, automated weather observing systems, fire fighting vehicles, and rapid intervention vehicles. The post Japan Provides Aid to Improve Safety, Security at Burma's Airports appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Sprouting Crunchy Goodness Posted: 26 Aug 2014 05:30 PM PDT Sprouts, on Yangon's Ya Min Gyi Street, offers a selection of salads and soups. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) YANGON — An exciting new offering for health-conscious diners seeking whole rather than fast food has emerged downtown. Tucked down a lane opposite Gallery 65 on Yaw Min Gyi Street in Dagon Township, Sprouts is a hidden haven. But the secret is out, and the bicycles are parked outside. With just six tables and friendly counter service, Sprouts keeps things simple. Made fresh each day, the soups, salads and breads scream ruddy goodness. Open 8 am to 8 pm daily, you can pop in for a breakfast of granola, fruit and yoghurt (3,500 kyat) or fruit only (2,000 kyat). It's a natural, power-packed start to the day that you can enjoy with a fruit smoothie (2,500 kyat), delicious lime and mint cooler (2,000 kyat) or drip coffee (1,000 kyat). For lunch, dinner or anytime in between, Sprouts' versions of all-time classic salads like Greek or Niçoise (5,000 kyat) are offered alongside original creations inspired by a musical bent, such as the Rocket Man, Jitterbug and Pomelo Yellow for 4,500 kyat, or the Salad of a Thin Man for 3,500 kyat. Or you can also do the Build a Salad (3,500 kyat) with a selection of crisp lettuce leaves, including red oak, romaine and rocket, served together with your choice of carrot, cucumber, tomatoes, pomelo, peppers, onion, chickpeas, corn, broccoli, roast vegetables, boiled egg, green beans, mango or seeds. Cheeses are 1,000 kyat extra, but you can get olives, bread or beetroot for just 500 kyat more. The idea of feta and pumpkin seeds in the mix makes this salad hunter salivate. Tossed with tasty tart dressings, such a small feast becomes a life-enhancing experience. For a bit more oomph to carry you through the day, you must order Sprouts' now-legendary carrot and ginger soup (which is strongly challenged by their hearty tomato), available by the cup (2,000 kyat) or bowl (3,000 kyat) and served with bread. Some sweet desserts (a berry crumble or some honey oatmeal slice would do nicely here) might be welcome additions to the menu, but the Sprouts team seems focused on healthy, low-sugar diets. And thanks for that. Reminiscent of the container cafés that sprang up in post-earthquake Christchurch in New Zealand, Sprouts is chilled out, informal, stylish, and clean with a personal touch. Some may find the setup a bit bare and the square wooden stools just a tad uncomfortable, but that's just a question of taste. And for cellular excitement, Sprouts raw food is probably the best in town. Find it or phone in an order and the Sprouts team will deliver to your door in the Yaw Min Gyi Street and Bogyoke Market area for an extra 1,000 kyat, or for the round taxi fare to other areas. This article first appeared in the August 2014 print edition of The Irrawaddy magazine. The post Sprouting Crunchy Goodness appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

US Alarmed as Vietnam Jails Dissidents for Blocking Traffic Posted: 26 Aug 2014 09:59 PM PDT Activist Bui Thi Minh Hang, second right, joins an anti-China protest in Hanoi on June 2, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) HANOI — The United States expressed alarm over Vietnam's jailing of three activists on Tuesday for obstructing traffic, charges described by rights groups as trumped-up and aimed at crushing freedom of expression. A court in southern Dong Thap province found them guilty of "causing public disorder" and handed out sentences of between two and three years, the latest sign of Vietnam's zero-tolerance approach to dissent at a time when its communist rulers are seeking closer engagement with Western powers. Rights groups monitoring the one-day trial said the defendants, Bui Thi Minh Hang, Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh and Nguyen Van Minh, had been arrested in February while riding in a convoy of motorcycles to visit a former political prisoner interrogated by police a day earlier. "The use of public disorder laws by Vietnamese authorities to imprison government critics for peacefully expressing their political views is alarming," the US embassy in Hanoi said in a statement late on Tuesday, urging the unconditional release of all political prisoners. Free speech is enshrined in Vietnam's constitution but critics have been jailed for spreading "anti-state propaganda." Four dissidents were released between April and June this year but Amnesty International says scores of others remain in detention for expressing their opinions in a country that was granted a seat last year on the UN Human Rights Council. Amnesty also expressed concern over Tuesday's verdict and urged the government to "rein in its police and stop attacks on peaceful activists." The jail terms are a setback for US efforts to build stronger trade and military ties with Vietnam to offset the influence of its giant Communist neighbor China. Washington has offered broad incentives if Vietnam can show progress on human rights, including freedom of speech, assembly and worship. 'Outrageous' Charges Some US Senators, including former presidential candidate John McCain, have said Vietnam has made sufficient improvements to secure bipartisan support in Washington to start lifting a 30-year-old arms embargo as early as next month, something Hanoi has long called for. Hang, 50, the most prominent of the three dissidents, spent five months at a re-education facility in 2012 for her silent protests over the arrest of fellow activists, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) says. Minh is a religious freedom campaigner and member of the Hoa Hao Buddhist sect, which is not authorized by the state. HRW deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said the charges against the three were "bogus" and "outrageous." "Bui Thi Minh Hang and her colleagues have been railroaded into prison for simply exercising their right to associate and assemble … and for daring to use their voices to show solidarity with others facing persecution," Robertson said. The post US Alarmed as Vietnam Jails Dissidents for Blocking Traffic appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

After Disasters, Stricken Malaysia Airlines Staff Brace for Job Cuts Posted: 26 Aug 2014 09:55 PM PDT A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737-800 aircraft parks on tarmac of Kuala Lumpur International Airport outside Kuala Lumpur on June 14, 2014. (Photo: Reuters / Samsul Said) KUALA LUMPUR — As bodies from downed Flight MH17 were brought home last week, a group of Malaysia Airlines flight attendants, in black mourning headscarves contrasting with their pink and turquoise uniforms, sobbed and clung to each other in grief. The 19,500 staff of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) now face a new ordeal—a quarter of them may lose their jobs at the unprofitable airline, hit by two jet disasters this year. Flight MH370 remains untraced since its disappearance en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March. Deep job losses, route cuts and a change of leadership are expected to feature in a restructuring plan being prepared by Malaysia's government for announcement as early as Thursday, when MAS also reports second-quarter results. Likely the last before being de-listed, the numbers are expected to show plunging ticket sales and heavy losses even before July's shooting down of MH17 over Ukraine. As state fund Khazanah Nasional, the majority owner, prepares to take the company private and inject efficiency into the airline, it must tackle crumbling staff morale and win over the powerful main labor union if turnaround efforts are to succeed. "MAS is suffering from an image problem and a problem with the staff," said Nik Huslan, former chief pilot at MAS. "They have to find someone the staff can respect and rally behind." Even before the lost aircraft tragedies, airline insiders said staff discontent had been growing for years due to strategy U-turns, leadership changes and poor career prospects. One of the region's most prestigious and fastest-growing airlines in the 1990s, MAS has steadily fallen behind high-end rivals such as Singapore Airlines and been battered by the rise of Asia's budget carriers like AirAsia. The company hasn't made an annual profit since 2010. This year's twin disasters have caused new stresses. A total of 186 MAS flight crew quit between January and July, many of them due to family pressure not to fly after the crashes, MAS says. Over 5,000 MAS staff work as cabin crew or pilots and the airline says the resignation rate has now returned to normal. About a quarter of MAS staff are likely to lose their jobs under Khazanah's plan, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The pill is likely to be sweetened with costly redundancy packages and offers of jobs at other state enterprises. Union Muscle Malaysia Airlines executives told Reuters that the tragedies had served as a wake-up call to staff, and even to recalcitrant union bosses, that drastic change could no longer be avoided if the 42-year-old company is to survive. "There needs to be a change in the mindset, and people are coming around to that," said one senior executive. "People must realize that they may need to work differently—the crew may have to work longer shifts or they may have shorter layovers. The engineers may have to work a bit longer or clear aircraft faster." But such demands would also have to be leavened with incentives to encourage staff, or at least a convincing message that they will eventually see benefits, the main union has warned. "We want to see things in total, and what the long-term plan is," said Mohd Jabarullah Abdul Kadir, executive secretary of the Malaysia Airlines Employees Union (MASEU), which represents 13,000 of the carrier's staff. "If there are retrenchments, they cannot cut staff numbers without basis." For Prime Minister Najib Razak, who chairs Khazanah, the plan will be seen as the latest gauge of his credentials as a reformer in Southeast Asia's third-largest economy. State firms are used as one tool to reinforce affirmative action policies favoring majority ethnic Malays over other races and are heavily intertwined with Najib's long-ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). The main union at MAS has close ties to UMNO—and has successfully resisted previous restructuring attempts. 'Same Circus, Different Clowns' Crew who have worked at the airline recently complained about a lack of opportunities to progress in their careers. Cabin crew are typically offered five-year contracts, they said, after which they start from scratch with a new five-year deal. "There's always uncertainty for your career because of this arrangement," said one former crew member, who was with the airline for nearly three decades from the mid-1980s and recalls the "exciting" early days of the airline's rapid expansion. Huslan, the former chief pilot, blamed "poor talent management" for high attrition rates among pilots and engineers. "They leave for better prospects because they don't see it in MAS. This has been on the rise," he said. To reverse that, the most vital ingredient of the turnaround plan may be a new chief executive who can effectively communicate the new strategy, execute the plan, and win over doubters. The sober demeanor of current chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, who relaxes by competing in triathlons, is a stark contrast to the brash showmanship of Malaysia's most famous airline boss, Tony Fernandes of budget carrier AirAsia. "Airlines are about image," said Huslan. "If you cannot carry an image, well that's the end of the story for you. You cannot have a humble and shy CEO." Others say previous changes in the carrier's management have failed to wipe out inefficiencies, while breeding skepticism among staff that new leadership can bring lasting improvements. "Every time somebody new steps in there's a pretence of change," said the former MAS cabin crew member. "We have a famous saying among the staff: 'It's the same circus, with different clowns'." The post After Disasters, Stricken Malaysia Airlines Staff Brace for Job Cuts appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Cambodia Opposition Gets More Sway in New-Look Parliament Posted: 26 Aug 2014 09:49 PM PDT A man rides a motorcycle past the National Assembly in Phnom Penh August 26, 2014. Cambodia's opposition on Tuesday boosted its influence in a parliament long controlled by the ruling party, winning a deputy chairman post and assurances of greater legislative sway under a deal to end a year-long political impasse. (Photo: Reuters) PHNOM PENH — Cambodia's opposition on Tuesday boosted its influence in a parliament long controlled by the ruling party, winning a deputy chairman post and assurances of greater legislative sway under a deal to end a year-long political impasse. The election of Kem Sokha as deputy house speaker is one of a slew of concessions by Prime Minister Hun Sen seldom seen during his three-decade grip on politics, reflecting the opposition's newfound power and growing public discontent with an authoritarian premier. The National Assembly has long been seen as a rubber stamp for Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP), but it is now the most balanced it has ever been after the opposition reinvented itself and won 55 seats to the CPP's 68 in a disputed 2013 poll, running on promises to halt land grabs and raise factory wages. The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) controls 44 percent of the house, which it boycotted for a year over a poll it said was rife with fraud. "Even though a CPP member is president, they can't ignore the huge voice of the opposition party. It's hard for them to do that, because we are a lot of people," Kem Sokha told reporters. "But we can see that this is a good start." Rare Deal Hun Sen refused to allow a re-run of the election, but with only his party in parliament and faced with months of sometimes violent protests, he struck a deal in July with CNRP leader Sam Rainsy to put aside their differences. Sam Rainsy led some of the biggest street rallies ever seen in Cambodia and won the support of unions capable of holding hostage its vital US$5 billion textiles sector, alarming global brands such as Nike, Gap and Adidas. The July deal includes CNRP control of five house panels, broad electoral reforms, four of nine seats on the National Election Committee and a television channel license for CNRP. Top CNRP lawmaker Mu Sochua told Reuters the party would be awarded on Wednesday the chairmanship of panels on farming, education, healthcare and human rights—key areas of public dissatisfaction with the CPP. But rivalry between the two parties runs deep and the stakes are high given the scale of the challenge now facing Hun Sen, the self-styled "strongman" who is accused of crushing rivals and using patronage politics to prolong his rule. Kem Sokha said he would propose that Sam Rainsy and Hun Sen meet regularly to iron out differences. Rainsy recently spoke of a need to "eliminate the culture of violence and revenge." Political analyst Ou Virak said he was skeptical the two sides could cooperate and ensure the truce held. He anticipated the CPP would ensure it still got its way in parliament. "It's more symbolic, it's more ceremonial than the real power," he said of the concessions. The post Cambodia Opposition Gets More Sway in New-Look Parliament appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

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