The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (Dec. 19, 2015)
- Dateline Irrawaddy: ‘The Major Problem with Burma Is That There Is No Rule of Law’
- In Shan State, Rebel Army Seeks Divine Intervention from Guardian Spirits
| The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (Dec. 19, 2015) Posted: 18 Dec 2015 08:05 PM PST  Yoma Strategic Holdings has announced a new joint venture with Mitsubishi Corporation to distribute the Japanese company's automobiles in Burma. (Photo: Mike Blake / Reuters) Survey Suggests Minimum Wage Still Inadequate for Burma's Garment Workers The results of a recent survey by UK-based charity Oxfam suggest that Burma's garment workers will still struggle to support themselves and their families, despite the country adopting its first minimum wage. A new minimum of 3,600 for a basic working day was introduced in September, applying to companies with 15 or more staff in all sectors of the economy. Factory owners have complained that the minimum will make the burgeoning local garment manufacturing industry uncompetitive compared to regional rivals. Oxfam on December 9 published an in-depth survey of garment workers conducted shortly before the introduction of the minimum wage. A total of 123 workers from 22 different factories inside Burma's industrial zones were interviewed by researchers for the survey, which was conducted in collaboration with local NGOs and trade unions. The survey found that many workers were concerned about safety in their workplaces, with more than one in three saying they had been injured in the course of their work. It also found widespread fears that factory buildings were not safe in the event of a fire. Respondents also alleged that supervisors used verbal abuse to encourage them to work faster, according to Oxfam. The study found that almost all workers do a significant amount of overtime, and on average earn a total of $98 per month. "Despite working six days a week and doing an average of 10.5 hours overtime each week, garment workers are not earning enough to adequately support themselves and their families," the report said. The new minimum wage works out to about $83 per month for someone doing basic eight-hour days. Oxfam said that its research showed that workers will still be forced to work many hours of overtime, since the minimum "will not be enough for workers to look after themselves and their families." The report called on local manufacturers and international brands sourcing from Burma to do more to improve conditions for workers, ensure factories give workers secure contracts, and make sure workers are paid a living wage. "Global brands and local employers in Myanmar must seize this moment of political and economic change—and place dignity and decency at the heart of work," Winnie Byanyima, executive director of Oxfam, said in an introduction to the report. Yoma Strategic Forms Joint Venture with Mitsubishi Yoma Strategic Holdings has announced a new joint venture with Mitsubishi Corporation to distribute the Japanese company's automobiles in Burma. The Singapore-listed arm of Burmese tycoon Serge Pun's Yoma Group announced the joint venture on Wednesday. In an announcement to the Singapore Exchange, CEO Melvyn Pun wrote that Yoma Strategic's subsidiary, Yoma Nominee Limited, would hold 50 percent of the shares in new company MM Cars Myanmar Limited, with Mitsubishi holding the other 50 percent. The new company was incorporated in Burma with paid-up share capital of $8 million. "The business of MMCM shall be distribution (wholesale), retail sales, after-sales services, maintenance services and importation of motor vehicles and spare parts manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors Corporation in Myanmar," the announcement said. "The joint venture with Mitsubishi Corporation formalizes our collaboration in developing the Mitsubishi Motor business in Myanmar over the past year," Melvyn Pun was quoted saying in a press release. Yoma has since May 2013 been operating two after-sales service centers in Rangoon, and a new showroom was officially opened this week, according to the announcement. "We are excited that our new showroom, alongside with our service centres, will deliver a higher standard of service to our customers," Melvyn Pun said. "Our Automotive segment is experiencing strong growth, and we are confident that the Mitsubishi Motors business will contribute meaningfully in the medium term." IFC Invests in Singapore-backed Microfinance Firm The World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC) has invested $1.2 million in a microfinance company operating in Burma that is backed by the Singapore government. The IFC announced its equity investment in Fullerton Finance (Myanmar) Company Limited earlier this month. According to its website, Fullerton is a joint venture between Fullerton Financial Holdings—a wholly owned subsidiary of the Singaporean government's Temasek Holdings—and Burmese conglomerate Capital Diamond Star Group. "Established in 2014, Fullerton Myanmar serves MSME [micro, small, and medium enterprises] customers through branches located in the 3 regions of Yangon, Ayerwaddy (sic) and Mandalay," an announcement on the IFC's website said. "The company runs a dual urban/rural microfinance program through an innovative use of technology in the field to improve productivity and turnaround time. It aims to grow its customer base 20-fold from 10,000 customers to 200,000 customers by 2021." Malaysia's OCK Group to Build More Than 900 Towers for Telenor Malaysia's OCK Group has confirmed that it will build 920 mobile phone towers for Telenor in Burma, investing some $75 million in the process. The group, with local partner King Royal Technologies, has been contracted to build the towers and lease them back to the Norwegian mobile phone operator, according to a company announcement. "OCK intends to build up to 3,000 telecom towers over five years. With the Telenor contract, OCK is positive in achieving its target," the company said. OCK signed an initial agreement with Telenor last month, and is one several companies providing towers to the company. Telenor says it will eventually lease about 9,000 towers across Burma to meet its contractual target of reaching 90 percent of the population. Fellow Malaysian group Axiata has also entered Burma's towers market through subsidiary Edotco, which recently bought a majority share in Myanmar Tower Company. The firm builds and leases towers to Telenor's only private rival, Qatar's Ooredoo. State Airline Signs Deal With Hong Kong Cargo Firm Myanmar National Airlines, which inaugurated a new flight between Rangoon and Hong Kong earlier this month, has appointed a local cargo firm as its ground handling agent. Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited announced that it had been hired by the Burmese state-run airline, which has begun to fly international routes again after a revamp. The airline is flying four times a week between Rangoon and Hong Kong, and has also begun flying between Rangoon and Singapore. "This new service is part of the exciting developments in Myanmar as a whole," Hactl Executive Director Vivien Lau was quoted as saying in the announcement. "It's a country with huge potential for international trade, and we are pleased and proud to play a part in the creation of its links with the world." The post The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (Dec. 19, 2015) appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Dateline Irrawaddy: ‘The Major Problem with Burma Is That There Is No Rule of Law’ Posted: 18 Dec 2015 07:56 PM PST  Robert San Aung and Zaw Thet Htwe join this week's edition of Dateline. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) Thalun Zaung Htet: Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy. This week we'll discuss if the new government led by the National League for Democracy (NLD) will be able to tackle Burma's executive, judicial and legislative challenges, as well as end armed conflicts with the country's ethnic groups. Lawyer U Robert San Aung and the Myanmar Journalist Union's U Zaw Thet Htwe are joining me for the discussion. I'm Thalun Zaung Htet, editor of The Irrawaddy's Burmese edition. As soon as the NLD secured a landslide victory in the November election, measures for transferring power were underway. President U Thein Sein has said he would transfer power, and current military chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing said he would cooperate. Former Snr-Gen Than Shwe has also said that it must be accepted that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will be the new leader of the country. So now it seems that this power transfer has been assured and that an NLD government will assume office in 2016. What will be the first challenges for the new government? What do you think, Ko Zaw Thet Htwe? Zaw Thet Htwe: I see constitutional reform as the first challenge for an NLD government. There are two provisions in the 2008 Constitution that people want to change most: Article 59(f), which bars Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from the presidency, Article 436 and the constitutional guarantee that reserves 25 percent of parliamentary seats for the military. These provisions are major hurdles to establishing a democratic country, and they will indeed be the steepest obstacles for an NLD government to surmount. Again, the peace process initiated by U Thein Sein president is not yet finished, and the NLD has to continue it. A second challenge will be if the NLD is able to convince those ethnic armed groups that haven't yet agreed to a nationwide ceasefire to come to an agreement to end fighting. And third, the structure of the government is, in the eyes of experts, unnecessarily large and ineffective. The NLD has pointed this out over the past four years as well. So the challenge will be to form a lean, efficient government, one that is thrifty with the budget and delivers necessary public service to the people. These will be the major challenges for an NLD government. TZH: Seeing as how there are thousands of cases of land grabs, to what extent do you think an NLD government will be able to enforce the rule of law? Robert San Aung: The NLD has already pointed out a few things to promote establishing the rule of law. For instance, the Peaceful Assembly and Procession Law of 2011, which violates human rights, should be amended. That law robs the citizens of rights enshrined in Article 354, as well as the rights described in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A law that does not meet human rights norms must be changed. The Peaceful Assembly and Procession Law is applied wrongfully. It is not enforced to prevent people from inciting and creating hatred, extremism and violence. Rather, the law is used against workers, farmers, students and citizens who honestly demand democracy and human rights. They are the ones who are often arrested, beaten by police and put behind bars under this law. So it should be annulled or targeted toward those who actually incite religious and racial violence. Moreover, existing farmland law does not protect the rights of farmers. It protects the interests of a handful of people who unlawfully grab farmers' land. This law should be amended, too. There's also the unlawful associations law and so on. Additionally, regarding the police's crackdown on student protestors, respective courts dismissed the charges [against the police], giving the excuse that they did not have the president's permission [to prosecute police]. The Human Rights Commission has submitted evidence to the contrary, but the courts did not take actions against the police, and they charged the detainees as they pleased. Such biased provisions need to be changed. TZH: Yes, those laws should be amended. But the question is if the NLD will be able to establish the rule of law. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has met U Than Shwe to talk about how the transfer of power will play out, and she seems to have made a lot of compromises for the military. We don't know if she has promised not to annul such laws as a part of these concessions, for example with U Than Shwe. Do you believe the NLD will fully be able to enforce the rule of law? RSA: Yes, I believe so, at least in part because there are many scholars in the NLD who know how Burma's judicial system works. It is the courts that enforce the rule of law in practice. We therefore need to improve the quality of the courts, as well as make sure the salaries of the judges are commensurate with commodity prices after controlling for inflation. If not, no matter what law is enacted, the truth [justice] will always be trumped by partiality in the courtroom. There are many scholars in the NLD who can handle this. I believe the judicial system will improve by some 75 percent during the NLD's five-year term. There will still be obstacles, of course. Those who have lost their grip on power will feel frustrated and may find a way to respond, for example by drumming up religious or racial tensions. But the people can prevent this sort of unscrupulous thing. TZH: Another challenge concerns administrative organization. Permanent secretaries, who wield the most responsibility for government ministries after relevant ministers and deputy ministers, were appointed by U Thein Sein's government, and most of them are military retirees or transferred from the military. How will this structure designed by the outgoing government mesh with the incoming NLD government and its attempts to implement policy? ZTH: There will be problems, I think. Over the past 25, 30 years, many military retirees have taken up various administrative positions. They have even taken up positions as the headmasters of basic education schools. They have also assumed administrative positions at hospitals and positions as chairmen of township election sub-commissions. Officers trained in the military have become the heads of departments in the government. Yet they all share a major weak point: They don't understand how to deliver public service. They tend to take a top-down approach. So how to remedy this will be the major challenge for the NLD. Moreover, the skill capacity of Burma's civil servants has declined a lot. They don't seem to be ready for the changes likely to be introduced by an NLD government. Only by changing their mindset and enhancing this capacity can people accept and be satisfied with the quality of public service. At present, people do not have trust in Burma's government agencies, including the police and hospitals. The Yangon General Hospital is undergoing reform now, a look at other hospital wards, such as those at North Okkalapa Hospital, reveals a problem of being overcrowded and inconvenient for patients. So in Yangon alone, one aspect is very good and one aspect is very bad. How will the NLD government carry out reforms to balance these? Again, there are division and state parliaments and governments and chief ministers in U Thein Sein's government. But because of strong centralization, they have no authority, none at all. They are just meant to keep an eye on or take care of the region they control. They are not allowed to undertake regional development as they might want to. How much will the NLD decentralize these structures? How much power will power devolve? How much will division and state governments be able to achieve within given their constraints? These will be the challenges. If don't address these problems, if we instead just build a castle in the air, people's support and trust in the government will decline over the time. TZH: There are also problems with land confiscation to complete projects, for example the China-backed Letpadaung project and various projects backed by Japan. How much do you think an NLD government will be able to resolve these land grab issues? RSA: These will be solved when the rule of law is established. The major problem with Burma is that there is no rule of law. If there is rule of law, land is taken with the consent of its owner and appropriate compensation is given in exchange. But this is not what is happening now. This problem will only be settled if the NLD can enforce the rule of law. Police and special police are also responsible for the rule of law. For instance, today, in a case I'm working on, a dealer bribed the anti-drug police with 200 million kyats and escaped, but the man whom I am representing and who has nothing to do with the case, got a prison sentence. Things such as free medical service and free travel need to be provided to the police so that they aren't tempted to take bribes. We also need to expand the police force, without recruiting unnecessarily. Don't use 100 policemen to arrest a politician, for instance. We need to nurture a police culture that protects the people. If not, the rule of law will remain nothing more than rhetoric, even after the new government's term expires. The new government needs to take concrete actions. TZH: Thank you for your contributions. The post Dateline Irrawaddy: 'The Major Problem with Burma Is That There Is No Rule of Law' appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| In Shan State, Rebel Army Seeks Divine Intervention from Guardian Spirits Posted: 18 Dec 2015 07:37 PM PST Click to view slideshow. KYETHI TOWNSHIP, Shan State — Hidden away in almost every village in Shan State is a shrine to a nat, the spirits commonly worshipped in remote areas of the country alongside Burma's dominant Theravada Buddhist tradition. In the villages Kyethi Township, most shrines can be found tucked away under the foliage of large banyan trees or behind rocky outcrops, in areas serene and otherwise unassuming. Each nat acts as a spirit guardian, protecting nearby residents in exchange for a symbolic offering. In the villages of Kyethi Township—many now hosting a fraction of their usual population after recent assaults and aerial bombardments—locals pray to the shrines for victory over the Burma Army. "By praying to them, they believe the nats can help them to solve their problems and deliver peace. This is our custom," said Sai Thiha Kyaw, who was recently re-elected as a Lower House lawmaker for the nearby township of Mongyai. The Irrawaddy visited Wan Hai village last month to report on renewed conflict between the military and the Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP), the political wing of the Shan State Army-North. The Burma Army attacked SSPP troops on Oct. 6, after the ethnic armed group refused to withdraw from its long-established port base at Tar San Pu village. In the intervening weeks, the government attacked SSPP positions around Mong Hsu and Kyethi townships, including the armed group's Wan Hai headquarters. After six weeks of skirmishes, we traveled to visit various SSPP encampments around Kyethi. Along the way we passed nat shrines where the Shan rebels had donated guns and artillery replicas carved from bamboo and wood, asking the spirits for protection during their time at the frontline. "Every solider goes to a nat shrine before they go to the front line," said Sai Mon, a sergeant in the SSA-N and our chaperone from Wan Hai. "We even came to pray at nat shrines when we bought new guns. We believe that they can give us victory when fighting our enemy." The soldiers of the SSA-N have also constructed rudimentary nat shrines within the confines of their forward bases, donating fruit and model guns. High ranking officers will typically stay near village shrines when on the move to pay their respects. In ordinary times, the people of rural Shan State will pray at the shrines to ask for health or prosperity. The Shan have an annual ceremony to pray to the nats on Oct. 10 where people donate food and fruit while drinking liquor—though the event does not approach the bacchanalian revelry of the Taungbyone nat festival in Mandalay. Sai Thiha Kyaw told The Irrawaddy that most villagers in Shan State worshipped nats alongside their observance of Buddhist ritual without seeing a contradiction between the two practices. "They pay respect to nats in order to have success for their businesses, and success for our Shan army—they pay respect in order to win the victory at the frontline and to protect them from harm," he said. The post In Shan State, Rebel Army Seeks Divine Intervention from Guardian Spirits appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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