The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- This Week in Parliament
- Myanmar’s Print Media Struggles to Survive
- Do Modern Food Trends Pose Risks to our Health?
| Posted: 25 Aug 2018 03:03 AM PDT Monday (Aug. 20) In the Union Parliament, Deputy Construction Minister U Kyaw Lin said his ministry would take action against private companies that fail to meet government standards when building schools. Nearly 40 lawmakers joined the second week of debate on the Joint Public Accounts Committee's report on construction works for the Basic Education Department in the 2017-18 fiscal year. Many accused the Construction Ministry of poor oversight of private construction companies. Tuesday (Aug. 21) A bill to replace the 1986 Gambling Law was introduced in the Lower House by the Public Affairs Committee. The bill would make casinos legal but place them off-limits to Myanmar citizens. Wednesday (Aug. 22) There was no parliamentary session. Thursday (Aug. 23) In the Upper House, military representative Lieutenant Colonel Aung Tun Lin objected to the use of the word "dictatorship" by lawmaker U Khin Maung Latt to describe the past military government while discussing the use of farmland. Friday (Aug. 24) The Myanmar Investment Commission submitted its report on Myanmar's investment flows in the 2017-18 fiscal year. The post This Week in Parliament appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Myanmar’s Print Media Struggles to Survive Posted: 24 Aug 2018 11:21 PM PDT Ko Ye Ni: Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy. We are going to talk about the dwindling numbers of newspapers and journals at newsstands during the National League for Democracy-led government term. I have invited U Ko Ko (RIT) of Democracy Today and the Yangon Times, and Ko Zaw Thet Htwe of Tomorrow and the Healthcare Journals. I am Ye Ni, the editor of the Irrawaddy Burmese edition. Ko Ye Ni: When we look at the current situation, the People’s Cause Journal formerly published by Union Minister U Pe Myint stopped printing recently. And the latest newspaper that disappeared from newsstands was Thandawsint. I would like to ask why are these newspapers vanishing one by one? I'll ask Saya U Ko Ko first. Is this because of social media or is it market competition or something else? U Ko Ko: Is it because of the popularity of social media like Facebook? I would have to say both yes and no. Yes because online media does play a part in the decline of print media but it cannot be blamed entirely on that. There are many reasons that print media suffers. As you just said, it faces fierce competition from other media. It also has to do with Myanmar's current economic situation. The survival of print media depends largely on advertising. When the economy is good, businessmen can spend more on ads. The number of advertisements has fallen sharply. The number of ads in print media has fallen about 15 percent this year, according to advertising agencies. Although that goes for the entire industry, it is estimated that the print media private sector lost 50 to 60 percent of its advertisements this year. The private sector cannot compete with state-run media in terms of price and market. We also cannot blame businessmen who advertise in state media because they have to take circulation and distribution into consideration. So, both social media and the economy are contributing to the gradual decline of private newspapers. Ko Ye Ni: As U Ko Ko just said, print media has to compete with state media for market share. As they complete in terms of advertising, prices and logistics, they are not on a level playing field. Has this been discussed with the minister of information? As far as we know, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi plans to discuss the economic situation with businesspeople. But it is unclear if anyone from the media industry will participate. How should the government help the print media industry? Zaw Thet Htwe: We have learned that the state counselor will meet with businesspeople on Aug. 26 and 27, but we don't know if anyone from the media will be there. In my opinion, they should be. We need to ask what the government's attitude toward private media in the democratic transition We have three questions. Will the government allow print media to survive or will it kill it? Will it leave it in place as is to save face with the international community? And what path should we take? We are in a crisis because the US dollar has appreciated and the price of paper is rising. Printing costs have gone up and businesses can no longer afford to advertise. Our advertising income has fallen. We have had to reduce our workforce, lower our paper grade and reduce the number of pages. If the government continues to neglect the problem, they are in essence killing private media. If they desire to help us survive, we could discuss methods at the upcoming meeting. Ko Ye Ni: Saya U Ko Ko, as you just said, when a country's economy declines, as does advertising revenue. However, The Irrawaddy, despite being online media, also relies on advertisements, which we have gotten less of than expected. Income from advertising is falling. The problem is not just limited to print media. Is television suffering the same fate or are they profitable at this time? U Ko Ko: Every sector of the media industry is doing poorly, but to a different extent. Print media was in the intensive care unit and it was an emergency. It has been given oxygen, but its charts rise and fall unpredictably. Everyone worries that it will stop breathing. Broadcast media is being treated at an outpatient center. Doctors are examining it but we aren't yet sure if a remedy will be prescribed or if it will also be sent to the hospital. This is an allegory but broadcast media does have to go to the doctor, because it also relies on advertising revenue. Broadcast media has to spend more money than both print and online media. The problem facing this industry is that advertisers tend to choose which channels to use based on content but not by brand. If a program has a large audience, advertisers put all of their money there. When that program ends, the money follows the audience. The difference is that advertisers choose broadcast media based and content but print and online media based on brand. The problem is, which comes first, the chicken or the egg? Without money, we resort to producing low-cost programs. It is unlikely that people will be interested in these programs, making it unlikely that we will have a large audience or receive advertisements. As a result, we don't have the money to produce quality programs. Ko Ye Ni: Do businesses solely advertise in entertainment, as opposed to education or news programs? U Ko Ko: No. But this is the case in programs that discuss politics because people are afraid to advertise during these programs and worry that they could become scapegoats. They shun these programs that they see as critical or attacking and they invest in entertainment in all of the media sectors. The problem is that content covered by the Fourth Estate does not receive funding. This funding is in crisis. Ko Ye Ni: What would be the worst-case scenario if independent private media withered away? Zaw Thet Htwe: It is the government that won the hearts and minds of the people. We thought that we would be able to enjoy more independence, freedom, transparency and prosperity. With a better economy, we would be better informed regarding international media also. We expected so much and we have been wrong so far. Part of this has to do with the government's attitude toward private media. At times, it has made them tense and they have even taken legal action and detained journalists. We understand that we cannot criticize the Tatmadaw because it is dangerous but we are concerned that we are unable to criticize the civilian government as well. With the economy declining and the US dollar appreciating, our chance of survival decreases even more – with Rays of Light and Thandatsint being just some of the victims. U Ko Ko: I also had to shut down Flower News. Zaw Thet Htwe: So, journals that had been in existence for about two decades have. Doors to freedom of expression have been closed one after another. Even as we discuss this, more will close. Will this continue? Are we not raising such issues because we are losing interest? No. In a democratic transition, it is necessary that freedom of experience be allowed, with the government and Parliament promoting this expression. If they respond by reverting to survival of the fittest, the transition will backslide and we will remain in conflict as usual. Ko Ye Ni: Can we find a solution to the problem? U Ko Ko: We are looking for ways and means to overcome this. When we hold meetings, some people think we are launching attacks on state-run media or the Ministry of Information. But we are not asking them to shut down state-run media; we want to survive together. We are seeking a win-win situation and we want to work on ways to cooperate in order to resuscitate print media. Ko Ye Ni: What do you think? ZTH: As Saya Ko Ko said, we will not cling to print media. We will move to digital media as soon as possible like the international community and neighboring countries. But we had to have independent media as soon as the transition began. At that time, we weren't prepared to go digital. Human and financial resources were not strong enough. We needed a transition period and we were simply trying to survive. But how can we survive? We discussed this at one time with the former information minister. He stated that all state media would be public service media and would not go commercial in the future. Public service media is nonprofit. This would help strengthen private media that does rely on profits. However, the current government has not adopted this position. At that time, we did not approve the idea of public service media because there was still a lot that needed to be discussed. So, we continue on in the ways of the past. As a result, newspapers that are being published with public funds at a loss have big circulations, wide distribution and trust. We are struggling and publishing in a limited area. Our logistics are weak. We do not have the ability to compete. How can we solve the problem? Should we meet with the government? They will say they cannot provide funds for us, as they are the government. We are not asking them for money. There are many ways they could do us a favor. They could lower the taxes on paper that we import for the public. In addition, private businesses can advertise anywhere – Myanmar Times, Democracy Today. This is their choice and we do not blame them. But more than 30 government ministries issue public notifications such as announcements of gem emporiums, trade fairs and tender invitations. They could place these in both state media and private media that meets their criteria. Then we could survive. This would be one solution. Ko Ye Ni: Thank you for your contributions. The post Myanmar's Print Media Struggles to Survive appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Do Modern Food Trends Pose Risks to our Health? Posted: 24 Aug 2018 06:54 PM PDT YANGON—When American fast food giant KFC arrived in Myanmar in 2015 there was a storm of excitement. Falling in the same year as Myanmar's first free and fair election in decades, which saw Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD come to power, the opening day had people queuing down the street and around the corner to get their piece of fried chicken. This was confirmation that Myanmar was opening up; food trends from the modern world had arrive on the doorstep. Today there are 23 KFC outlets in the country. Several more international chains of fast food have set up in Myanmar since then including Pizza Hut and Burger King. But what effects does the modern fast food trend have on our health? Will the swap of htamin phyu for French fries mean the expansion of our waistlines and longer queues at the doctor? Should we strictly stick to traditional food for the sake of our health? The good news is that it is as easy as ever to eat a healthy, balanced diet—and that doesn't mean a total boycott of popular food trends. Back to basics  Breanna Baildon is a nutrition counselor with a degree in nutrition dietetics and a certificate in diabetes education and has been practicing in Yangon since 2017. She says that at its core, Myanmar food is very healthy because it usually follows recipes which use fresh, local produce and a range of herbs and spices that are endlessly good for our health. She says it is easy to avoid unhealthy elements of food and still enjoy the eclectic and tantalizing Burmese cuisine. "At its core, when you break down [Myanmar] food to how it's traditionally prepared, it is very healthy. But you have to notice when it crosses the line between healthy and unhealthy," said Baildon. Taking the breakfast favourite mohinga for example: the fish soup is made from a broth which contains plenty of vitamins and minerals derived from the fish bones. Baildon says the trick to keeping it healthy is to reduce the amount of noodles added and to choose the boiled egg option over the fried toppings like bean fritter or battered gourd.  Meanwhile the typical lunch of rice and curry can be very good for your health too. Curries that don't have much oil are full of nutrients and beneficial to health. Baildon says that as they are made of fairly simple mixes of meat, herbs, onions, garlic, water and a little oil, they can be a very good option for lunch. Myanmar's traditional salads containing vegetables are loaded with fiber and antioxidants. Disease-fighting compounds exist in the herbs and spices of a salad and sesame seeds and peanuts have healthy fats and fiber. But that doesn't mean farewell to fried chicken: Baildon says that rather than totally cutting out a certain dish or type of food, making a habit of eating the good things more often and reducing how often you eat the unhealthy is better. Eating at the likes of KFC and Pizza Hut is not bad for your health as long as you don't make it a regular habit. "Fast foods have empty calories, meaning they give us some energy, but none of the vitamins, minerals, or fiber that our bodies need to survive. They also tend to be high in processed carbohydrates and to have the unhealthy fats, which are components of food that have been associated with an increased risk of weight gain and chronic diseases," said Baildon.  However, as young food photographer Ko Aung Myin Thu says, fast food fits in with an increasingly fast pace of life many people are now living: "If I'm on my way home from a tiring day I would stop by a fast food outlet because they are located everywhere which saves my time and energy." But like many young people, he is also aware of the health risks presented by this wave of unhealthy fried menus. "I only eat at fast food outlets one to three times per month. Fast food is typically high in saturated and trans fat which increases the chances of heart diseases and stroke. These effects are why I would often choose a healthier option," he said. BBQ is OK  The good news is that the barbecue culture here can be healthy too. At barbecue restaurants, choosing from the wide range of fresh vegetables to be grilled is perfect for getting the vitamins you need, and if you order grilled or steamed fish to go with that, it's a healthy, balanced meal. Of course, the meat and vegetables are seasoned, dipped in sauce and probably include MSG, but as Baildon says, MSG has not been proven to be unhealthy if used in moderate amounts. "MSG has not been proven to be bad. There's nothing bad about it except that some people don't tolerate it very well. It's actually a compound that's naturally found in all protein foods. When it's been isolated and added in extreme amounts, some people don't tolerate it well and it might cause the migraines or swellings."  Choosing meat skewers from the display however, does present higher chances of catching food-borne illnesses. Processed meat a dangerous trend One growing food trend here is putting people—especially children—at higher risk of heart disease other health issues in the future. Processed meats, which are often skewered and deep fried, are sold at a rising number of mobile food stalls in urban areas and near schools. What seems like simply a cheap and tasty fried snack probably has long list of unknown additives and preservatives, high salt content and a low quality of the meat which could be detrimental to health if eaten in large quantities, especially during childhood. As Myanmar is still catching up with other countries in terms of food regulations and labelling, we often have no idea about the amount or quality of the additives, flavorings and preservatives included in these. Positive food trends There are positive food trends too: many supermarkets here now have a section for organic produce and recently a small number of chicken farms like Shwe Taung Nyo Gyi have begun supplying the market with organic eggs and chicken. Moreover, the regular popup 'Yangon Farmers' Market' has sparked the growth of a community of sellers and buyers who focus especially on locally produced healthy, natural foods. "I think it's a good sign because people are questioning more the sources of their food," said Baildon. The local love of hotpot meals is another positive trend: dropping fresh vegetables and lean meats in your pot and drinking the soup keeps nutrients and vitamins within your dish. To keep it healthy, avoid ingredients like fish balls which have little nutritional value, fatty meats like pork neck and go easy on the seasoning. It can be perfectly healthy to seize the modern food trend of the day. With a little more thought to our meal choices and by limiting how often we treat ourselves to our favourite fast foods, we can have a perfectly healthy diet that increases our chances of a long and wholesome life. The post Do Modern Food Trends Pose Risks to our Health? appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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