Chaotic
charm of Khao San Road destroyed
Rendered as exciting as 21st century shopping
mall
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 18 January 2021
First published in the Bangkok Post, Saturday 16 January 2021
|
Re: "Tourist hub to get facelift",
in Bangkok Post, Tuesday January 12.
It seems that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is never
content to leave well-enough alone.
After largely destroying the character and chaotic charm of Khao
San Road, the Mahakan fort community and other areas of attraction
to foreigner visitors and Thais alike, they now have their eyes
set on "developing" the last remnants of authentic
shops, vendors and homes in the Bang Lamphu area.
With military precision surely no accident, BMA has brought "order"
to street vendors, ensured all shopkeepers strictly adhere to uniform
stalls, painted row houses in flawlessly coordinated colours, and
installed a perfectly laid pavement up and down Khao San Road -
in other words, rendered the area about as exciting as a 21st century
shopping mall.
In the process, of course, they have killed the golden goose that
was the allure of the area to tourists.
Sad to anticipate that Rambutri and Tanao Roads will soon become
as sterile and unappealing as the "new" Khao San
Road.
Sad also that BMA is about to wipe out what had been a great source
of jobs and income for locals by ridding the area of its tourist
appeal.
Samanea Saman,
Bangkok,
Thailand
China's SinoVac Biotec
vaccine
Cheapest vaccine in the world
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 17 January 2021
First published Bangkok Post, Saturday 16 Januray 2021
|
Re: "Questions over Chinese vaccine",
in Bangkok Post, 14 January.
I've maintained for a long time that the reason the Thai government
preferred the SinoVac Biotec Chinese vaccine was that it came cheaper
than the Western vaccines.
Malaysia is now also questioning the effectiveness.
This government under Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha's has
its nose so deeply imbedded in the Chinese government's backside
that it is difficult to be practical and go for what's best for
the population.
A Western vaccine costs a bit more but is also more effective.
Penny wise, pound foolish as we are taught, or should be taught
as children.
Charcoal
Ridgeback,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Will
China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd give refund
Should Philippines authorities not approve
the vaccine?
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 16 January 2021
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Thursday 14 January
2021
|
According to reports, the first batch of COVID-19
vaccines to be administered to Filipinos will arrive in February,
as part of a contract for 25 million doses to be delivered over
the year.
The government said the vaccine will only be used once it obtains
an emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Philippines
Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Given the managerial constraints, including the low prestige and
power of the Department of Health (DOH), the government is doing
well getting the much-needed vaccine into the country as early as
next month.
The stipulation that the vaccine will be put into large-scale use
only if the FDA issues an EUA is correct, and should protect the
population against undue risk of side effects.
But what happens if the FDA does not grant the EUA? Hopefully, the
procurement contract is conditional, meaning that Sinovac takes
back its vaccine if it is not approved, and returns payments made.
If the contract is not conditional, Filipino taxpayer money will
be lost.
Based on cost estimates, 25 million doses would be more than P40
billion.
With such amounts at stake, there may be pressure on the FDA.
Therefore, it is essential that other branches of government protect
the integrity of the FDA, whatever the potential losses. As for
the FDA, it should be transparent about its decision-making, preferably
making the main criteria public.
Good communication about the regulatory process ensures trust among
the population.
The communication drive should be led by the FDA and the DOH.
There is no such thing as an absolutely 100-percent safe vaccine
(or drug or medical procedure).
As different new vaccines are rolled out, the DOH should set up
a system for monitoring side effects (phase 4 studies). If that
had been done for Dengvaxia, the sad debacle around the dengue vaccine
would have been avoided.
Allan Schapira, MD.,
Legazpi City,
Philippines
No
to proposed amendments to Constitution
No
to Cha-cha
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 15 January 2021
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Wednesday 13 January
2021
|
Whatever justifications or diversionary antics the
present Congress may dish out to revive attempts to amend the 1987
Constitution, these will not be acceptable to our people still reeling
from the menace that is COVID-19 and its dreaded variant, and the
evil of official corruption and ineptitude.
Considering the credibility baggage that our so-called lawmakers
have been carrying so far, entrusting the critical task of amending
the Constitution to them or their constituent assembly may be likened
to throwing the already emaciated body of Juan dela Cruz into a
river teeming with rapacious crocodiles.
No to Cha-cha!
Manuel A. Collao,
Manila,
Philippines
Call
for Papua New Guinea government report on progress
Of Wafi-Golpu mining project in Morobe
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 14 January 2021
First published in the National, Monday 11 January 2021
|
The people of Morobe and the country need clarification
from the Government and stakeholders on the progress of the multi-million
kina Wafi-Golpu mining project in Morobe.
Late last year, the Government, landowners and stakeholders in Morobe
held a three-day forum which they discussed the waste management
system and other issues related to the project.
The Government clarified that mining waste would be a major issue.
The Government resolved through the National Executive Council that
they preferred the deep-sea mine tailings placement (DSTP) method;
even though the majority of landowners and neighbouring local level
governments and coastal villages opposed it.
Other clarifications that need to be made known by the Government
are:
Mining township location;
Access road to mine;
Waste pipeline route; and,
Legitimate landowners between three villages Hengabu, Yanta
and Babuaf a court case is still pending to identify the
legitimate landowners of the mining site.
Is the project meant to serve the peoples interest or is it
for political interests to gain support for the 2022 general elections?
Enough of the political games and give your people what they deserve.
Buang Nalu,
Dombkak,
Ruk Mala
Call for new law in Papua
New Guinea
To keep Member's of parliament at home
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 13 January 2021
First published in the National Monday 11 January 2021
|
A new law should be enacted for all Member's of Parliament
to be based in their respective electorates or provinces.
They should only fly into Port Moresby for parliament sessions.
Other than that, they should be in their respective electorates
and provinces.
The Member's of Parliament should be near their constituents to
identify their needs and address issues of their people.
Leaders are as shepherds; they should be close to the flock to feed,
protect and look into other needs of the farm.
While operating from Port Moresby, almost all Member's Parliament
are distracted from executing their primary responsibilities.
Member's of Parliament have more freedom in using public funds at
will and at any time but if they operate from their constituencies,
they wont misuse peoples money because they will fear
for their lives.
This would be a solution to end mismanagement of public funds by
MPs and governors.
Paul Minga
Ambang Village
Jiwaka
Wealthy
populations to be vaccinated
Before low-income countries
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 12 January 2021
First published in the Star, Monday 11 January 2021
|
The recent approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna
vaccines by the US Food and Drug Admin-istration and the Oxford-Astra
Zaneca vaccine by Britains Medi-cines and Healthcare products
Regulatory Agency are a great milestone in the fight against Covid-19.
Large numbers of doses of these vaccines were bought by Western
countries before they were even approved.
It is estimated that 3.73 billion doses of these vaccines were bought
through advance purchasing agreements.
And an estimated five billion doses are still being negotiated.
This means that many wealthy populations will be vaccinated before
most people in low-income countries are vaccinated.
Fortunately, Malaysia to date has secured a supply of vaccines for
40 percent of its population.
But this is still much less than the 80 percent that must be vaccinated
to achieve herd immunity.
The United States aimed to vaccinate 20 million of its population
by the end of 2020. However, only five million Americans have been
vaccinated. This alarming trend of not meeting targets has also
been seen in Britain and Europe.
Why did this happen?
There are various reasons but the general agreement is that the
planning for the rollout of these vaccines in the United States
was poor.
Initial vaccine doses went mostly to frontline healthcare workers,
meaning that administration of the vaccine shots were largely the
responsibility of the same hospitals that were also overwhelmed
by a flood of Covid-19 patients. Furthermore, the vaccine rollout
coincided with Christmas and New Year holidays. There was also an
additional administrative burden caused by the requirement for people
to register before being vaccinated.
The Western countries also have many people who are sceptical about
vaccines in general.
There was and is a lot of misinformation, especially on social media,
regarding the vaccines.
We can learn from these experiences and prepare better for the rollout
of vaccines in Malaysia.
The government recently outlined the National Vaccination Plan which
will start in February 2021.
It is a comprehensive plan that covers the process for vaccination
and involves a private and public partnership.
Hopefully, this plan will roll out without major hindrances.
At the same time, the government must continue to explain the vaccination
programme in an effective and transparent manner to calm any fears
among the people.
Dr Azuzay
Zamani,
Ampang,
Selangor
Malaysia
Philippines
call on Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
To rely on opinion of peers in First World
countries
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 11 January 2021
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Friday 8 January
2021
|
Every country is looking to provide itself with enough
vaccines, shore up extra doses for eventualities, and be ahead of
others.
This is selfish, perhaps, but the reality is that it looks like
its becoming to each his own.
It is better for a country to be assured of not running out of vaccines
until the 85-percent herd immunity is achieved, than be nitpicking
and speculating on the vaccines efficacy.
It would be naive to think political alliances are not going to
be set aside for ones own domestic priorities.
The hesitation by our own leadership in getting vaccines soonest
will be very costly to the nation in terms of lives lost and damage
to the economy.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Health
cannot wait for the vaccine suppliers to come to our doorstep to
submit the documents we require, especially with major countries
like the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and China already
vaccinating their people en masse.
If there are doubts about a vaccines applicability to the
Philippine environment, that should be resolved by our epidemiologists
and scientists in the soonest possible time, by consulting with
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of these countries and with
guidance from the World Health Organization.
Time is not on our side.
The suppliers have enough problems meeting the huge demand for their
products to worry about our documentation requirements.
This is not an encouragement for haphazard shortcuts on the vaccine,
but to point out that there could be room for initiative with practical,
reasonable scientific reliance by our Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) on the opinions of their peers in First World countries, because
of the emergency we all are facing.
Marvel K. Tan,
Quezon City,
Philippines
Registration of illegal
migrant workers
In
Thailand could act like a magnet
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 10 January 2021
First published in the Bangkok Post, Friday 8 January 2021
|
Re: "Interior Ministry seeks cabinet nod
for registration of illegal migrant workers", in Bangkok
Post, December 29.
By an amazing transformation, the government is about to become
an employment agency!
That's surely what they are proposing under their registration scheme.
Not only will they allow registration of illegal migrants from Cambodia,
Laos and Myanmar and other countries to stay in Thailand.
They will even help those without work to get a job.
And who will they be recruiting for?
The truth is they'll be serving the interests of greedy bosses,
many of whom have for years flouted minimum wage, insurance and
safety regulations, as well as migration laws.
The chief offender is the construction industry.
Throughout the past 11 months, their employees have been a familiar
sight. Seemingly unaffected by lockdown, thousands of them have
been moved to and from building sites around Bangkok, squeezed like
sardines into the backs of small vehicles where social distancing
is impossible.
True, they have sometimes worn face masks.
But that prompts me to wish the government had been as successful
in ensuring the use of safety helmets as they have with face masks.
Too many die from work-related injuries in Thailand every year.
The powers-that-be describe their new scheme as an anti-Covid measure.
It will, they suggest, help them monitor the health status and whereabouts
of illegal migrants. But their scheme could act like a magnet.
Are they ready for the surge in illegal migration that will follow?
Besides, is it ever justified for a government to sanction breaking
the law?
It's bad enough when a country's rulers turn a blind eye.
In my view, the government will be sinking to a new low by positively
aiding and abetting illegality.
And it's yet another sticking-plaster solution where an attack on
root causes is required.
Meanwhile, a legion of businesses that follow the law scrupulously
have gone unaided during an immensely challenging year.
Linus AE Knobel,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Call for Senate inquiry
into illegal vaccinations
Not to be intimidated by Presidents Duterte's
threats
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 9 January 2021
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Friday 8 January
2021
|
I hope the senators would not be intimidated by President
Dutertes public threats and push through with their investigation
of the illegal vaccination of the Presidential Security Group (PSG)
personnel.
This is not a question of whether they sacrificed their lives for
the sake of the President, but the need to uphold the rule of law.
The Presidential Security Group (PSG) is not above the law.
They are duty-bound to uphold the Constitution and the laws.
They are not the personal security of Mr. Duterte, but of all presidents
who will succeed him.
Unfortunately, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, instead of upholding
the law, is being lame.
Kahit pabalatkayo, hindi man lang nanindigan.
Have the courage to stand up to the rude and bullying occupant of
Malacanang, Mr. Senate President.
Raffy Rey Hipolito,
Manila,
Philippines
Misinformation about Covid-19
Can be as dangerous as the virus itself
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 8 January 2021
First published in the Bangkok Post, Thursday 7 January 2021
|
George N in his January 4 letter claims that the results
of a published study of mass screening in Wuhan "undermines
the need for lockdowns".
His claim is not supported by the authors of the study.
The study found 300 asymptomatic cases of Covid-19 in a screening
of around 10 million residents of Wuhan in late May, after the January-April
lockdown, which was far more restrictive than most countries could
contemplate.
Tracing of those in close contact with these 300 cases found no
infections.
George N and others have concluded that no asymptomatic case can
be a source of infection and that therefore lockdowns are unnecessary.
This conclusion is rejected by, among others, Prof Fujian Song,
of the Norwich Medical School of the University of East Anglia,
who conducted the study in collaboration with the Huazhong University
of Science and Technology in Wuhan. The report notes that "no
viable virus was found in the identified asymptomatic cases.
This means that these people were not likely to infect anyone else".
This is attributed to control measures, including lockdown.
But Dr Song warns that the results must not be interpreted thus.
The cases in Wuhan were "truly asymptomatic", showing
no signs of infection before or during the study.
"But there is plenty of evidence elsewhere showing that
people infected with Covid-19 may be temporarily asymptomatic and
infectious before going on to develop symptoms."
The results of a meta-analysis by statisticians from University
of Florida, Gainesville, University of Washington, Seattle, and
the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle have been subject
to a similar misinterpretation by opponents of lockdowns.
It should be warned that the spread of misinformation about Covid-19
can be as dangerous as the virus itself when it misleads the public
into potentially dangerous activities, such as ignoring lockdown
restrictions.
Alec Bamford,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Malaysia's Inspector-General
of Police says
Dirty cops are collaborating with criminals
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 7 January 2020
First published in the Star, Tuesday 5 Jan 2021
|
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Badors
statement about the existence of dirty cops who are collaborating
with criminals is a serious allegation, more so when it comes from
the highest office in the police force.
Going by his constant and consistent emphasis on the gravity of
the situation, I am of the opinion that the matter at hand is more
worrying than at anytime in the past. Many of his predecessors have
acknowledged the same problems and made similar statements on the
need to weed out these black sheep within the ranks.
As the alleged deviant officers are able to make use of their police
powers for illegal intent, they are more potent than the common
criminal.
But I believe there are only a few of such officers and that the
majority are performing their duties with integrity.
I trust the Inspector-General of Police would have the evidence
to back up his statement.
Who are these wolves in sheeps clothing and how are they working
with criminals?
These are basic questions that need to be asked.
An even more crucial question is whether the Inspector-General of
Police needs help in facing off these traitors.
Only meticulous investigations can identify them and subsequently
open more doors in the effort to rid the police force of its black
sheep.
It is surprising that politicians on both sides of the aisle have
not sought further clarity on the matter so far.
We need answers and we need them fast as the integrity, pride and
honour of the police force is at stake.
An independent inquiry should be set up as soon as possible to get
to the root of the matter.
We owe an explanation to not only the personnel who are currently
serving dutifully and honestly but also to all those who have served
in the past with total dedication.
G. Selva,
Ipoh,
Malaysia
Why can't the Phillipines
be like Japan
With Japan's faithful adherence to Confucianism
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 6 January 2021
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Tuesday 5 January
2021
|
Each time I travel to Japan and see its beautiful
cities and high-rise buildings, I cant help but ask: What
makes this country strong?
I must admit this question takes away the delight of each trip,
because it makes me reflect on why our country cannot seem to move
up as a nation.
Nevertheless, I believe that Japans strength lies in the Japanese
peoples faithful adherence to moral (social) values.
Confucianism, the religion that shaped the Japanese culture, emphasizes
the importance of correct behavior and the cultivation of virtue
in a morally organized world.
Moral values are at the crux of the Japanese character, in effect
allowing Japan to face its challenges and rise as a nation.
Vaclav Havel, former Czech leader, said: Without commonly
shared and widely entrenched moral values and obligations, neither
the law nor democratic government nor even the market economy will
function properly.
Our country is inundated with corruption, poverty, and strife; let
us do our part and make our country strong - let us make moral values
the guiding force of our lives and use them to conquer our adversities.
But what are moral values?
Moral values are the standards of what is right and wrong.
They direct us how to behave toward each other, as well as how to
understand and meet our obligations to society.
Some examples of moral values are honesty, trustworthiness, being
respectful of others, loyalty, and integrity.
Meanwhile, an immoral person is one who does wrong despite knowing
the distinction between good from evil.
And an amoral being is illustrated by an animal who is completely
ignorant of what is right and wrong.
Our countrys problems exist not because of bad luck or a faulty
alignment of the stars, so to speak.
Our problems lie in ourselves, the people of this country.
For a predominantly Christian nation, where virtue or morality is
emphasized, it does not make sense that many people steal, disrespect
their neighbors, lie to and deceive each other in record numbers.
Unless we take on moral values diligently, we may never attain the
best that we deserve as a people, much less become a strong nation.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said that it is the people of a nation and not
jewelry, gold, wealth, and resources that make a nation strong and
rich, for in all their actions they do not do anything that dampen
the image of their nation.
The task for us is to teach and instill among ourselves the importance
of moral values.
We need our institutions - the government, church, schools, and
media - to be involved in a concerted effort to curtail bad behavior
in our country.
One way to achieve this is for the government to create programs
and enact more laws that discourage erring/immoral behavior, and
reward good conduct.
Another is to add more courses in schools to inculcate courtesy,
integrity, and honesty in students.
Large amounts of public money are squandered in our country by individuals;
I am sure we can find ways to put such money to good use to fund
programs to instill correct conduct in our people.
This will bear a lasting and rewarding effect - making our nation
strong, and elevating us to greater heights as a people, becoming
relevant citizens of the modern world.
Julius D. Turgano,
Manila,
Philippines
Philippines threaten to
end US Visiting Forces Agreement
Over delivery of vaccines
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 5 January 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Sunday 31 December
2020
|
The Duterte administrations handling of the
COVID-19 vaccine is not just an issue of incompetence, but also
of selfishness.
Imagine, it took 43 days for the Department of Health to approve
the shipment of vaccines from the United States.
Pfizer got tired of waiting and sent its vaccines somewhere else.
The President blamed the US and threatened to end the Visiting Forces
Agreement.
How stupid!
Then, our President admitted that most of the soldiers and officials
around him have already gotten their vaccine shots.
As President, he must provide leadership.
The responsibility rests at the door of Malacañang. He has
betrayed our trust in him by not buying vaccines promptly like our
neighboring countries have done.
It is selfish for politicians to get inoculated ahead, and let the
public be damned: Ive got mine, so screw you!
Jonathan C. Foe,
Manila,
Philippines
Call
for Thai immigration and other services
To
be outsourced to the private sector
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 4 January 2021
First published in the Bangkok Post, Sunday 3 January 2021
|
Re: "Impossible dream", in
Bangkok Post PostBag, January 2, 2021
Needless to say, all state-run institutions in Thailand are infested
with red tape and rampant corruption.
The lopsided rules and regulations created by inept bureaucrats
continue to harm the economy.
It is no surprise that the travel sector will not come back to the
pre-Covid era for the reasons covered by Mr Stephan in his letter.
His letter captures the mindset of the workforce employed in the
government sector.
Sadly, this workforce is also a product of an educational system
that thrives on fuzzy logic.
Hence in most agencies, the left hand does not know what the right
hand is doing? As a consequence, the people working in these agencies
make up their own rules and laws.
In a nutshell, in spite of all its natural beauty and abundant resources,
an army of gatekeepers keeps the country in shackles of mediocrity
and misery.
Thailand's private sector is one of the best in the region and should
be utilised to enhance the quality of services in the government
agency.
I am not sure why immigration and other services are not outsourced
to the private sector.
It seems the government has not learnt any lessons from the Thai
Airways fiasco.
Kuldeep Nagi,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Philippines congress and
courts complicit
In Duterte administration underming civil
liberties
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 3 January 2020
First published in the Philippines, Thuesday 31 December 2020
|
This has been a terrible year because of the pandemic,
but there are people who made the lives of Filipinos more miserable.
The naughtiest is President Duterte, whose incoherent
late-night speeches did nothing to ease our worries.
His militarist mindset proved ineffective and counter-productive
in dealing with the health crisis, aside from enabling anti-communist
generals, red-taggers, and Cabinet secretaries who gifted us with
motorcycle barrier and dolomite
solutions.
The police were the notorious pasaway, led by
a mañanita general, while many continued
to be accused of killing nanlaban drug suspects.
The police must explain the surge in extrajudicial killings despite
the imposition of strict lockdown measures in most barangays.
It is infuriating that supposedly independent institutions like
Congress and the courts were complicit in allowing the Duterte administration
to undermine our civil liberties. We remember how Congress voted
to reject ABS-CBNs franchise, the slow action and tone-deaf
response of the Supreme Court regarding the petition for the release
of elderly and pregnant political prisoners, and the controversial
issuance of search warrants by a Quezon City judge which the police
used to arbitrarily conduct raids and detain activists.
Thieves grabbed headlines throughout the year, from the pastillas
scam to the systemic corruption in PhilHealth.
But we survived the disastrous year of 2020, thanks to the heroism
of our health workers, relief volunteers, and government personnel
serving on the front lines.
We salute all those who continue to provide for our basic needs,
which also kept the economy afloat.
We thank the media for standing their ground amid the nonstop assault
on press freedom.
We recognize the role of human rights defenders in challenging impunity.
Our biggest tragedy of the year was the death of Baby River Nasino.
We continue to cry for justice, and we will greet the new year with
a resolve to fight harder for her and other innocent victims of
state violence.
Mong Palatina,
Manila,
Philippines
Thai
private hospitals charge patients
Booking
fee for purchase of vaccine
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 2 January 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Monday 28 December 2020
|
Let's hope that the latest news that a private hospital's
attempt to attract bookings for the purchase of the Moderna vaccine
in Bangkok Post, December 28 is not a taste of things to come.
The bookings cost 4,000 baht with a price of 6,000-10,000 baht for
the vaccine, well beyond the means of ordinary Thais.
The Ministry of Health ordered it to take the ad down.
According to UK's Financial Times newspaper, Thailand has signed
a deal to produce the AstraZeneca vaccine in Thailand and it is
already in production by Siam Bioscience, a company owned by the
Crown Property Bureau.
To date there is no news of any country, already administering the
vaccine, charging patients.
We can but hope in the interest all Thais that the government will
follow this example and give the vaccine for free.
Brian Corrigan,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Papua
New Guinea women in uproar
Over
government management of business ventures
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 1 January 2021
First published in the National, Tuesday 29 December 2020
|
In the past months, Morobe has witnessed an uproar
between its women leaders and the management of Morobe Resources
Holdings Ltd, the current business arm of the Morobe government.
That has brought to light the new business name and its current
management something many people of Morobe do not know about.
Many are only aware of such ventures under names Kumgie Holdings
and Morobe Sustainable and many are now curious to know what
happened to these ventures.
Is the provincial government operating all three businesses?
Can the Morobe administrator or the governor explain to the people
of Morobe how their money has been used to create such ventures
and the state of affairs of these corporate entities or which one
is currently operational?
After all, it is the money allocated towards the development agenda
of Morobe that has been diverted towards future revenue generation
through creating these ventures.
There should be transparency and accountability on the use of these
monies.
There should be annual reports each year so that the Morobe people
through Tutumang are kept informed of the financial affairs of these
business ventures.
Since the registration of the business arm from Kumgie to the current
Morobe Resources Holdings a few years back, there has never been
reports on its management and financial affairs.
The people of Morobe have been blindly taken for a ride for far
too long.
I kindly ask the governor to do the right thing by bringing to light
the current situation of the business arm.
As the deputy Pangu leader and the governor of Morobe, you will
only be practising what the party preaches by taking back what is
rightfully Morobes so I appeal to you to fix the affairs
of the business arm of Morobe by bringing transparency and accountability.
Please ensure that the process of selecting management and board
members for these business ventures are transparent so that qualified
people are appointed on merit.
Doing these will bring justice to the people of Morobe and
only then would the province have sustainable business ventures
where the people can be proud to associate themselves with and call
their own.
So governor, lets start 2021 by taking back Morobe.
Good Governance Advocate,
Morobe,
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea Eastern
Highlanders
Wait for payment for projects in Port Moresby
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 31 December 2020
First published in The National, Tuesday 29 December 2020
|
The people of Eastern Highlands are awaiting explanation
of the non-payment of projects and SME scheme, which were supposed
to be settled by Governor Peter Numu before the end of this financial
year.
They have been flooding the provincial headquarters for almost a
fortnight but nothing has happened.
As a result, they stoned the security personnel at the entrance
and stopped vehicles from entering the headquarters.
They have been sitting outside the office from 8am till 5pm.
It is sad to see them camping and waiting for what they were promised.
They left their families behind just to wait for their payments.
Its a costly exercise for us to travel long distances just
to and hang around in town.
The governor isnt listening to them.
Can he address their concerns directly instead of using his officers
to speak on his behalf?
How can we be at peace if he continues to play his hide and seek
game with us?
He needs to come out and feel the atmosphere from outside.
John Sine,
Goroka,
Urban resident,
Papua New Guineas
Malaysian
Bar calls for Malaysian government
To abolish Security Offences Special Measures
Act 2012
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 30 December 2020
First published in the Star, Tursday 24 December 2020
|
The Malaysian Bar welcomes the courageous decision
of the Federal Court to release on bail a person charged with a
security offence under the Security Offences (Special Measures)
Act 2012 (Sosma).
We deem that this landmark ruling by the highest court of the land
brings to a definitive end the question of the constitutionality
of Section 13 of Sosma in relation to the rights of an accused person
to be granted bail.
The three-person Federal Court bench had decided to instead utilise
section 388 of the Criminal Procedure Code to permit bail.
The judgment clarifies the inherent judicial power of the courts
and restores the independence of the judiciary that acts as a gatekeeper
against any encroachment on human rights and the rule of law.
This decision carries the same impact as that of the 2017 Semenyih
Jaya case which effectively restored judicial power in land acquisition
cases.
The case had revisited Article 121(1) of the Federal Constitution
and declared that Article 121 empowers the High Court with judicial
power when it comes to the determination of compensation in land
acquisition matters.
Similarly, in the current case of the person charged under Sosma,
the Federal Court has reaffirmed the doctrine of judicial independence
and the separation of powers in Malaysia all the hallmarks
that are necessary in a democratic system of governance.
We are of the view that Section 13 of Sosma (which provides that
bail shall not be granted to a person who has been charged with
a security offence, from the time of arrest until trial) is repugnant
to the rule of law and natural justice, and believe that no one
should be incarcerated until his/her guilt is proven in a court
of law. It is also incompatible with Article 121 of the Federal
Constitution.
The Malaysian Bar renews its call to the government to abolish Sosma
as well as other outdated and draconian laws so that we can safeguard
the welfare of the rakyat.
Salim Bashir,
President,
Malaysian Bar,
Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Malaysian Bar calls for
independent investigation
Into
deaths in police custody
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 29 December 2020
First published in the Star, Monday 28 December 2020
|
On December 21, the Shah Alam Coroners Court
ruled that police were responsible for the death of 38-year-old
Thanabalan Subramaniam, who died in police custody in 2018.
In the wake of this finding, the Malaysian Bar calls for the setting
up of an independent external organisation to investigate all deaths
in custody.
It is our view that an external civilian oversight system will complement
and enhance existing mechanisms and create accountability for detention
authorities.
The Malaysian Bar applauds the coroners decision but also
calls on the government to consider establishing custodial medical
units at detention centres throughout the country.
When a person is taken into legally sanctioned custody, the law
imposes a duty on the custodial officer to ensure the health and
safety of the person in custody.
Detention authorities must ensure that medical treatment is available
for all suspects, especially those with health risks and pre-existing
conditions.
The Malaysian Bar also calls on detention authorities to ensure
the proper sanitation of lockups, and that basic amenities are made
accessible in all places of detention.
The Malaysian Bar hopes that, based on the decision of the Shah
Alam Coroners Court on Thanabalans unfortunate and preventable
death, a thorough and extensive investigation will be conducted
to bring those responsible for his death to justice.
Salim Bashir,
President,
Malaysian Bar,
Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Call for corn waste in
Thailand
To
be converted to biofuels
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 28 December 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Saturday 26 December
2020
|
The haze is already upon us, but where does it come
from?
In Chiang Mai, most point to forest fires, but as the valleys fill
with haze with not a forest fire in sight, there must be another
source.
What is that?
Small farmers burning their corn field waste before the burning
ban arrives.
What to do?
The obvious thing to do is to use the millions - yes - millions
- of tonnes of corn waste for something useful like biofuel.
Treating corn stalks, cobs and husk not as waste but biofuel would
serve national interests: reduce dependence on foreign sources of
fossil fuels and electricity, help Thailand meet its international
commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 25 percent by
2050, and lower healthcare costs and economic losses from morbidity
and mortality, imposed by PM2.5 emissions from burning.
With government funding, top university and think tank engineers
are researching crop waste for biofuel energy solutions.
They have successfully designed high capacity, high efficiency,
high-technology furnaces, boilers and incinerators that operate
without releasing GHGs or PM2.5.
Unfortunately, these solutions are worthless today because they
float above grassroots realities. As always, the devil is in the
detail.
In this case, the devil is in the distribution of the corn waste.
In North Thailand where half of Thailand's 5.5 million tonnes of
corn is grown, most fields are inaccessible because they are located
on steep, rocky mountain slopes.
Nationally, it is estimated that 52 percent of corn is grown on
state "protected" forest mountain) land.
There are no roads and no way to collect the waste efficiently or
economically. Many focus on cob alone, because it is available in
relatively centralised, accessible locations. Cob, however, is just
11 percent of corn biomass.
Any such scheme leaves stalk, 63 percent of corn crop waste, to
burn, hardly a satisfactory ending.
The problem does not stop with the simple impracticality of collecting
corn waste. Missing from the above are the costs of (1) labour to
cut and collect corn stalk, (2) building access roads, (3) trucks,
drivers, loaders and diesel fuel to haul waste to the plants, and
(4) CO2 emitted by construction and trucking. These devilish costs
are immense and hide in the weeds between the excellent, emission-less
designs of biofuel burning furnaces and actual country corn fields.
It is not surprising that although there is a flurry of academic
and think tank laboratory design work around furnaces that emit
neither GHGs nor PM2.5, there is no evidence of lab or field work
focused on collecting corn field waste efficiently and cost-effectively.
Until these problems are solved, however - until the devil is rooted
from the details - corn crop waste burning will continue to generate
GHGs charged to Thailand's CO2 emissions allotment and PM2.5 that
sickens or kills thousands of Thais annually.
Michael Shafer,
Director,
Warm Heart Foundation,
Chiang Mai,
Thailand
Covid-19 Network Investigations
Alliance
Could work for Thailand
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 27 December 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Friday 25 December 2020
|
I and my colleagues at Mahidol University find the
advice from Doctors Aldis and Coker in their December 24 letter
on the nature of Covid-19 in Samut Sakhon useful and timely.
The implementation of genomic and evolutionary data will be instrumental
in curbing the new outbreak.
Covid-19 Network Investigations Alliance or CONI is a multi-institutional
cooperation launched to implement genomic surveillance in the fight
against Covid-19 in Thailand.
We can answer some questions raised in the letter from Aldis and
Coker regarding the Samut Sakhon virus population.
Based on the data from 40 cases collected in Samut Sakhon and 4
cases from Tachileik workers provided by the Institute of Urban
Disease Control and Prevention, these virus populations are related,
but they are not genetically close enough to be direct chains of
transmission.
The grave concern is that genetic variations found in the Samut
Sakhon samples suggest multiple generations of transmission.
There are two possibilities that could explain this phenomenon.
These virus populations could propagate in another country, likely
to be Myanmar based on their association with migrant workers, before
entering Thailand in multiple events.
Another alternative explanation is that their ancestor has been
spreading in Thailand, starting probably at the end of October to
early November of this year. The genomic data from CONI is now openly
accessible at GISAID.
By analysing more cases from different provinces, Thailand can gain
insights into this new outbreak.
The coordinated effort to analyse virus genomic data in real-time
has been proven successful in several countries. It could work for
Thailand as well.
Thanat Chookajorn,
PhD, Genomics and Evolutionary Medicine Unit,
Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Majority
prefer James Marape
As
Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 26 December
First published in the National. Wednesday 23 December 2020
|
The United Labour Party president John Paska revealed
their reason to move with their leader to the Opposition about four
weeks ago.
Paska complained that they were promised the prime ministers
post by the Opposition so they moved, but when it was given to Aitape-Lumi
MP Patrick Pruaitch, they decided to move back to rejoin the Government
under Prime Minister James Marape.
Paska with his parliamentary leader and Bulolo Member of Parliament
Sam Basil should apologise to other Members of Parliament, the people
of Tari-Pori and the nation for lying that Marape was not running
the country well so you left him.
Some of you were even prepared to forego your ministries to ensure
Marape remained as prime minister.
I thank the media organisations and their journalists for publishing
news updates on the political issues and for the survey reports
which showed majority of the people still preferred Marape as prime
minister.
Charles Jasari,
Popondetta,
Port Moresby,
Papua New Guinea
Call
for Philippine Media to report on imprisonment
Of Sen. Leila de Lima without trial
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 25 December 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Wednesday 23 December
2020
|
As we head toward the end of the year, I wonder how
much longer Sen. Leila de Lima will be illegally jailed, with no
trial.
Will she have to wait until the present regime changes in two years
time?
That is, if we get a new president with principles who will not
be as vindictive as the present one.
Or will she continue to be deprived of her freedom if the new president
decides to carry on with Mr. Dutertes policies?
The media channel Al-Jazeera has, for the past year, been running
a streaming commentary, under its daily news reports, noting that
their journalist Mahmoud Hussein has been unjustly imprisoned by
the Egyptian regime for three years now.
Why cant Philippine media carry a similar daily streaming
report about how long Senator De Lima has been detained?
Isabel Escoda,
Manila,
Philippines
Zero
covid-19 testing
Results
in no infections found
The
Southeast Asian Times. Thursday 24 December 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Monday 21 December 2020
|
Re: "Outbreak highlights our complacency",
in Bangkok Post Commentary, December 21
The virus has been lurking undetected since it arrived here at the
start of the year. Thailand has done virtually zero testing of the
population and as a result no cases of infection were ever found.
But look at what happens when you actually do testing.
Look at the numbers of infected arrivals via air travel. I have
never seen how the reported cases compare to the total number of
arrivals per day. And what is the status of vaccines? When will
Thailand start mass vaccinations and whose vaccine?
WhizBang.
Bangkok,
Thailand
Dr. Mary Rose Genisan
Sancelan
On anti-communist hit list in Negros Oriental
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 23 December 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Monday 21 December
2020
|
We, the Council for Health and Development, a national
organization of community-based health programs in the Philippines,
condemn in the strongest possible terms the cold-blooded murder
of Dr. Mary Rose Genisan Sancelan and her husband Edwin Sancelan
last December 15 in Negros Oriental.
We are enraged that such act of impunity knows no bounds even at
a time when the whole nation is gripped by the pandemic.
Her killers deprived the people of Guihulngan much-needed health
services especially at this most difficult time.
Doctor Sancelan in her youth dreamt of becoming a doctor to serve
her people in Guihulngan.
That dream was made possible through the help of the Franciscan
friars who supported her as a scholar until she finished medicine.
Instead of using her license to heal to pursue a more lucrative
practice in the cities, Doctor Sancelan went back to Guihulngan
and served as its only public health physician until she became
city health officer a few years ago.
She was a quiet, soft-spoken, and dedicated doctor whose gargantuan
tasks as the city health officer involved not just medical consultation
but administrative work as well.
But instead of getting recognition for her selfless service as Guihulngans
only public doctor servicing 33 barangays, she found her name in
a hit list of Kawsa Guihulnganon Batok Komunista,
an alleged anticommunist group in Negros Oriental, in 2019.
She was tagged as JB Regalado, the spokesperson
of the Leonardo Panaligan Command of NPA-Central Negros.
Also in the list were lawyer Anthony Trinidad and teacher Heidi
Malalay Flores who were killed in 2019 and 2018, respectively.
Although she feared for her life, Dr. Sancelan chose to stay in
her beloved hometown and continued to be involved in public service
even after her work in the city health office.
She served as the city nutrition action officer of Guihulngan and
was the incident commander of Guihulngans Inter-Agency Task
Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases before
her death.
Our hearts go out to the Sancelan family as well as her friends
and colleagues.
We remember Zara Alvarez, a beloved health and human rights worker
of the Negros Island Health Integrated Program, who was also brazenly
killed in August this year.
Despite threats to their lives, both Alvarez and Dr. Sancelan never
cowered and chose to continue serving the people of Negros.
Even as we mourn their deaths, our rage impels us to condemn the
impunity reigning in our land. Red-tagging kills. Stop the attacks.
End impunity.
Magdalena Barcelon, MD,
Eleanor Jara, MD, Sr.
Edita Eslopor, OSB, Board of Trustees,
Council for Health and Development,
Manila.
Philippines
The Thai Constitution
defines Thailand as having
A government with the King as Head of State
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 22 December 200
First published in the Bangkok Post, Friday 11 December 2020
|
As Constitution Day again rolls around, what do Thailand's
constitutions tell us about the kingdom?
The current and previous permanent constitutions of the Thai nation
explicitly define Thailand as having "a democratic regime
of government with the King as Head of State" Section 2
of the 2017 constitution.
This fact tells us that those who make up these constitutions, or
at whose behest they are made up, feel the need to at least pay
lip service to the democratic aspirations of the Thai nation, which
is the Thai people, to whom, so it is written, "sovereign
power belongs" (Section 3 of the 2017 constitution).
Since it is acknowledged in its supreme rule of law that the Kingdom
of Thailand is and desires to be a democracy, "one and indivisible"
(Section 1 of the current constitution), those who would claim
the mantle of patriot must, at a very minimum, respect these primary
principles explicitly set out at the head of each Thai constitution.
The protesters bravely taking a stand on the streets qualify as
Thai patriots: there is no doubt that they share the Thai nation's
aspirations for the justice that comes only from democracy.
Conversely, could anyone who sees democracy as inimical to their
own selfish interests, even to thwarting or colluding to thwart
the Thai nation's just aspirations for democracy, qualify as a Thai
patriot?
You cannot overthrow the defining rule of law of a nation and pretend
to respect its highest ideals as written in that constitution.
Well, perhaps you can so violate the nation's deepest wishes whilst
loudly protesting loyal friendship, but can such a claim be credited
where honest reason is permitted?
Only in the land of 2+2=5 could such a deceit thrive.
You might as rationally hold that suppressing free speech is a cure
for corruption.
Felix Qui,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Call for Thai Immigration
Bureau to be removed
From Royal Thai Police jurisdiction
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 21 December 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Saturday 19 December
2020
|
Re: "Immigration games",
Bangkok Post
PostBag, December 19, 2020.
While this contains some interesting comments,
one must realise what the writer does not understand.
Regardless of the Immigration Bureau's laws, rules, regulations,
whatever else anyone wishes to call it, this bureau is a state within
a state, with total disregard for uniformity, politeness or anything
else.
These people are powerful, with absolutely no controls or anyone
to control them. When they say they can kick ass, they mean it,
and do it.
Rules and regulations are interpreted differently within different
offices throughout the country.
The Immigration Bureau should have long ago been removed from the
jurisdiction of the Royal Thai Police and placed in civilian hands,
made up of lawyers and others associated with the legal profession.
It will not happen, so do not expect miracles.
Simply try to abide by the changes in rules, regulations, and do
not work yourself into a stressful heart attack mode.
Just do what an American cartoon used to say, "Grin and
bear it".
Even the mighty PM seems to sidestep them and their issues and our
problems.
Russian Shmehkalkeh,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Membership of Communist
Party of the Philippines
Is not per se illegal
The
Southeast Asian Times. Sunday 20 December 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Monday 14 December
2020
|
Our Constitution guarantees freedom of political beliefs,
that no man shall be detained, more so murdered solely by reason
of his political beliefs and aspirations. Thus, a person being a
communist or an organization being a communist front is not per
se illegal, as long as the person or the organization so identified
espouses their political beliefs through peaceful and lawful means.
Even under the repealed anti-subversion law, mere membership in
the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) is not punishable.
There must be a specific intent to further the unlawful goals of
the organization (i.e., to overthrow the government through violent
means), which must be shown by overt acts and therefore proof of
direct participation in the organizations unlawful activities
and not just mere adherence to the organizations illegal objectives.
If there is evidence then that persons or organizations President
Duterte has identified as communists are involved in illegal activities,
then by all means, file cases against them in court.
What is definitely wrong with red-tagging is prejudging or assuming
without proof that persons or organizations so identified are ipso
facto already involved in illegal activities.
Despite his denials, Mr. Duterte has precisely red-tagged those
persons and organizations he has identified as communists, as he
has accused them to be in conspiracy with the Communist Party of
the Philippines (CPP) or the New Peoples Army in the latters
illegal activities.
Severo Brillantes,
Manila,
Philippines
Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej
the Great
Was critic of the Lese Majeste law
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 19 December 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Thursday 17 December
2020
|
Re: "Not beyond criticism",
in Bangkok Post PostBag, December 16.
Khun David Brown is right when he says that "King Bhumibol
Adulyadej the Great said that the lese majeste law only diminished
the dignity of the king, or words to that effect." PM Prayut's
seeking to protect himself not the monarchy by wielding S112.
Let's listen to HM Rama IX in his own words from a Palace-approved
book: "Thailand's law of lese-majeste has one very prominent
critic: King Bhumibol. ..In 2005, after an increase in politically
inspired lese-majeste complaints, King Bhumibol used his annual
televised birthday address to convey that: 'Charges against those
accused of lese majeste should be dropped, and those held in jail
for lese majeste should be released. The use of the lese-majeste
law ultimately damages the monarchy... When criticism is prohibited
and people are jailed for lese-majeste, damage is done to the king'
" (Grossman and Faulder, King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A Life's
Work).
HM Rama X agrees with his royal father, for he's asked PM Prayut
to go lightly in using S112. We who love our monarchy should heed
our kings not PM Prayut on S112.
Burin Kantabutra,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Give
PM James Marape a chance to make PNG
The
wealthiest black Christian nation
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 18 December 2020
First published in the National Wednesday 16 December 2020
|
When Prime Minister James Marape took office, he had
a clear vision to make Papua New Guinea the wealthiest black Christian
nation in the world.
His message raised the hopes of many Papua New Guineans.
This is the sort of dream that we have been waiting to hear for
a very long time from our leaders, especially the politicians who
are managing our country and resources.
We want leaders who have qualities; they should be role models,
set the best standards, have an honest Christian background and
are family-oriented.
Marape has those qualities.
He is paving the way to a bright and prosperous future for this
nation.
We were surprised to hear that several senior MPs have crossed the
floor of parliament to join the Opposition.
As an observer, it seems that there is a breakdown of communication
internally with MPs resorting to childish behaviour by publicly
slandering each other.
To the MPs that have forsaken Marape, are you telling the nation
that you do not share the same vision to become the wealthiest black
Christian nation in the world?
Please give our prime minister enough time to fulfill some of his
promises.
Marapes dream is ambitious but with small steps, our future
generations will benefit from the decisions he is making now.
Change doesnt happen overnight.
Papua New Guineans are just starting to enjoy the consideration
and funding of the small and medium enterprises.
This SME initiative will encourage youths, many who loiter the streets,
to join this initiative to build something for themselves.
We have to appreciate that initiative.
I urge all those MPs who have moved to the Opposition to return.
Give Marape a chance and let the people decide in 2022.
This is our wish, the peoples wish.
Miriam Layton,
OL,
Goroka,
Papua New Guinea
Philippine
Constitution guarantees
Freedom of political beliefs
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 17 December 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Monday 14 December
2020
|
Our Constitution guarantees freedom of political beliefs,
that no man shall be detained, more so murdered solely by reason
of his political beliefs and aspirations. Thus, a person being a
communist or an organization being a communist front is not per
se illegal, as long as the person or the organization so identified
espouses their political beliefs through peaceful and lawful means.
Even under the repealed anti-subversion law, mere membership in
the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) is not punishable.
There must be a specific intent to further the unlawful goals of
the organization (i.e., to overthrow the government through violent
means), which must be shown by overt acts and therefore proof of
direct participation in the organizations unlawful activities
and not just mere adherence to the organizations illegal objectives.
If there is evidence then that persons or organizations President
Duterte has identified as communists are involved in illegal activities,
then by all means, file cases against them in court.
What is definitely wrong with red-tagging is prejudging or assuming
without proof that persons or organizations so identified are ipso
facto already involved in illegal activities.
Despite his denials, Mr. Duterte has precisely red-tagged those
persons and organizations he has identified as communists, as he
has accused them to be in conspiracy with the CPP or the New Peoples
Army in the latters illegal activities.
Severo Brillantes,
Manila,
Philippines
Philippines
The
sick man of Asia
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 16 December 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Monday 14 December
2020
|
We are the sick man of Asia again with the slowest
economic recovery after COVID-19 -11.5-percent growth in the third
quarter.
Businesses have yet to rebound as they await stimulus, and we cannot
expect them to recover on their own without governments aggressive
assistance.
Apparently, the voices of the social development scientists in government
have not been listened to by the politicians who frame the agenda
that will address an economy in disrepair.
Our latest per capita income is one of the lowest among the East
Asian and Pacific nations.
Vietnam, which used to be the 12th in a cluster of East Asian and
Pacific nations, has already sped past us in per capita GDP.
The two most significant indicators of per capita GDP are the numerator,
which is a countrys total GDP, and the denominator, its population.
The business performance in the country is dismal, with 90 percent
of business being domestic firms catering to domestic consumption,
which relies heavily on government spending.
We have been for decades at the lower half in total GDP among 12
East Asian Pacific nations.
But our population has increased unabated at an annual average rate
of 2 percent. The population now stands at 110 million, compared
to many First-World economies with much smaller populations like
South Korea, 52 million, Canada, 38 million, Australia, 25 million,
and Singapore 6 million.
Like a candle, we seem to be burning on both ends: While the population
increases by 2 percent, our GDP growth falters.
Population control needs to be legislated and business stimulus
should be an urgent and priority agenda.
When do we start being sensible as a nation?
Marvel K. Tan,
Quezon City,
Philippines
Royal finances tackled
On Thai TV
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 15 December 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Saturday 5 December 2020
|
Re: "Well done, Rung",
Bangkok Post PostBag, December 1.
One is indebted to Janice Wongsurawat for drawing attention to the
contribution of Panusaya "Rung" for having the
courage to discuss royal finances in a TV debate.
In a country where there is never a shortage of snake oil merchants
ready to defend the indefensible, the fact these matters have finally
become a topic for open discussion is surely something all serious
journalists should celebrate.
Yanawa David,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Call for China to clean
up
Their
human rights regime
The
Southeast Asian Times. Monday 14 December 2020
|
The strident criticism The Global Times, renowned
mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, makes on Australia's
human rights regime/record ( Yahoo!News 8/12 ), is something Australian
citizens and the Australian media themselves do regularly to remind
the Australian State that it is straying from the norms of democratic
good governance.
Can Chinese citizens and the Chinese media do that in China?
Even the people in Hong Kong and their media was hounded by the
Chinese State whenever anyone had the audacity to criticise the
Chinese State.
The Chinese State and its media mouthpiece should not point accusing
fingers at any countries human rights regime.
They should clean their own diabolic human rights regime first.
Rajend Naidu,
Sydney,
Australia
Malysians dealing in cryptocurrency
Do
so at their own risk
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 13 December 2020
First published in the Star, Tuesday 8 December 2020
|
Can the government clarify what is its position on
cryptocurrencies?
Bank Negara has clearly stated that digital currencies are not legal
tender in Malaysia.
Further, according to the Central Bank, digital currencies are not
covered by prudential and market conduct standards that are applicable
to financial regulations regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia.
The Securities Commission Guidelines on Digital Assets clearly states
that digital currencies and digital tokens are not recognised
as legal tender nor as a form of payment instrument that is regulated
by Bank Negara Malaysia.
Yet, the Securities Commission is registering companies involved
in cryptocurrencies.
Is the Securities Commission promoting the sale of illegal tender?
What is the message that the government is informing the Malaysian
consumers? What one regulator clearly states as illegal, another
regulator registers agencies promoting illegal currency?
The government policy is thus very confusing for consumers.
Admittedly, the nature of this kind of currencies means that the
sellers can, through the Internet, reach a wide audience bypassing
regulators.
That is no excuse for the government to not make a clear and consistent
stand on what is its position on the legality of this kind of currency.
Consumers who deal in cryptocurrency, do so at their own risk.
They are well aware that it is not regulated by the Malaysian regulators.
That much is clear.
Thus for a regulator to register a company promoting cryptocurrency
may give the impression that the regulator is managing the risks
and that consumers will be protected.
This may create a false sense of security.
This may promote dangerous risk-taking by consumers.
Will the government make a clear and consistent stand?
Can the regulators get their act together?
Dr Paul Selva Raj,
Ceo, Fomca.
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Call for Indonesia to
hold referendum
To resolve West Papua conflict
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 12 December 2020
|
We read in the Southeast Asian Times article' Indonesia
lodges formal protest with UK ambassador over Benny Wenda declaration
of West Papua independence'
(7 Dec ) that according to Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for
Political, Legal,and Security Affairs, Mahfud Md, " the
declaration of an interim government in-exile by Benny Wenda for
West Papua has no foundation under international law" and that
" Papua was made a legal part of the Unitary State of the Republic
of Indonesia (NKRI) in a Referundum in 1969".
But isn't that Referundum in dispute and under challenge by the
people of West Papua?
By contrast the people in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia
have rejected independence from France in a Referundum for the second
time - once in 2018 and again in 2020.
There is no dispute there about the authenticity of the Referundum
and the expressed wishes of the people of New Caledonia.
New Caledonia has been a French territory for nearly 170 years.
Why can't Indonesia which made Papua a part of Indonesia only 51
years ago hold a proper rererundum to resolve the West Papua conflict
in a dignified manner under international law?
Rajend Naidu.
Sydney,
Australia
Philippines House of Representative
members
Charged with
being members of the Communist Party of the Philippines
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 11 December 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Monday 7 December
2020
|
In the 1946 elections for the House of Representatives,
the Democratic Alliance participated and won six seats fair and
square.
But they were not allowed to take their seats and were falsely accused
of committing fraud during the elections.
Five of them were later on allowed to take their seats after the
the parity rights amendment was approved which gave Americans equal
rights to invest in the country.
Today, there is a concerted effort to harass and oust the members
of Bayan Muna, Gabriela, ACT and Kabataan party list organizations
from the House, just like in 1946, by charging them as members of
the Communist Party of the Philippines.
The Duterte administration, the Armed Forces of the Philippines,
and the Philippine National Police must be reminded that the Makabayan
bloc representatives are duly-elected by the people.
The four party list organizations garnered more than 2 million votes.
This should be respected by the Duterte administration.
The more than 2 million people who chose them should not be deprived
of their voice in the House of Representatives.
Raffy Rey Hipoloto,
Manila,
Philippines
RM62
billion in rare earth minerals
Buried
in Malaysia's Bukit Enggang Forest Reserve
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 9 December 2020
First published in the Malaysiakini, Friday 4 December 2020
|
A member of Parliament has warned the Kedah government
about its determined plan to mine for rare earth elements in the
state.
According to news reports, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) party secretary-general
Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi
Md Nor he will be watching closely the progress of the hunt for
rare earths in the state.
It seems that some RM62 billion will be the treasure trove from
untapped minerals lying buried in the virgin forests of Bukit Enggang
Forest Reserve covering 20,230 hectares.
The agreement that has already been inked by the state government
will in all likelihood go beyond mere soil sampling.
Raping the forest for logs in the process is anyone's guess too.
It certainly will be if it is confirmed that there are precious
minerals to be profited from.
You cannot dig out the rare earth metals without uprooting flora
and dislodging fauna, can you?
We have to ask ourselves some hard, painful and honest to God questions.
For decades we had oil. Today in the face of a coronavirus pandemic,
where has all that wealth gone?
We plundered countless trees in many of our forests (east and west
of the nation) for decades. What is left? Has it made our GDP resilient
or eradicated the B40 segment?
And now we are chasing after rare earth metals in Kedah. Where will
it lead us to?
Will the ravaging and impoverishing coal and diamond mining in Africa
teach us any lessons of foresight?
It appears that we are either greedy, desperate or out to seek economic
salvation for Malaysia.
What then is this RM62 billion treasure hunt all about?
JD Lovrenciear,
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Australian Aborigines
under British colonial rule
Protest Nazi persecution of Jews
The Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 9 December 2020
|
It's truly remarkable that at a time that they were
themselves suffering immense persecution and oppression at the hands
of white Australian colonialists,
the Australian Aborigines' League submitted a letter of protest
about Nazi persecution of the Jews to the German consult in Melbourne
82 years ago ('Germany sorry for snubbing Aboriginal protest
at persecution of Jews' by Jewel Topfield, The Age
6 Dec,2020).
This expression of solidarity with the Jewish people showed the
humanity of the Aboriginal .
Rajend Naidu,
Sydney,
Australia
Call for Malaysia to look
into
Dependence
on foreign workers
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 8 December 2020
First published in the Star, Saturday 5 December 2020
|
Malaysia's dependence on cheap labour provided by
foreign workers is again under close scrutiny.
Some are describing it as an unsustainable addiction and asking
whether it is time to stop the practice and just employ locals.
This would at least ease the unemployment situation in the country.
But those involved in certain industries are arguing that they cannot
do without foreign workers.
They are mainly from the plantation, construction and manufacturing
sectors.
The Covid-19 pandemic may finally be the game changer as it has
exposed some worrying health consequences of our dependence on foreign
workers.
It has become clear in recent weeks that the spike in Covid-19 cases,
especially in states like Selangor, can be attributed to foreign
workers.
It is not the fault of the workers themselves but the condition
of the living quarters provided by their employers.
These are said to be mostly overcrowded, creating fertile grounds
for the spread of infectious diseases including Covid-19.
In fact, if we look at the clusters that have cropped up recently,
most are in overcrowded dwellings such as prisons, detention centres
for illegal immigrants and workers quarters.
Singapore also had to deal with similar challenges recently, but
the authorities there have managed to contain the spread of Covid-19
with their programmes for targeted testing and isolating.
It is good to hear that our government is also taking the appropriate
regulatory steps to address this issue.
Economists have warned for years that using cheap foreign labour
is one of the factors that has prevented Malaysia from escaping
the middle income trap.
It is also preventing us from embracing the use of technology to
reduce reliance on manual labour.
Take the construction sector as an example.
The government has for years been promoting the use of IBS (industrialised
building system) in construction, but the take-up is very disappointing
and many still prefer to hire foreign workers.
The negative aspects of that choice are playing out now as Covid-19
continues to ravage our public health system.
The oil palm sector is also heavily dependent on foreign labour,
particularly during the harvesting period.
With the current restrictions on the movement of labour, especially
foreign labour, the industry is losing millions of ringgit in unharvested
fruits.
The loss is even higher now as the price of palm oil, at more than
RM3,000 per tonne, is in an unusually bullish state.
To be fair to the industry, attempts have been made to mechanise
the harvesting of the fruits, but it has not been easy to come up
with something that can adequately match manual labour.
Hiring locals is also not easy despite the fact that most oil palm
plantations have comfortable living quarters and other amenities
for workers.
Apart from the public health issue, employment of foreign workers
is also not good for the economy.
Repatriation of their wages, which has run into billions of ringgit,
deprives our economy of consumption spending.
On paper, it would appear that the cost of using foreign workers
is low, but looking at the big picture, it may not be.
The Human Resources Ministry will have to think of more creative
ways to reduce the countrys dependence on foreign workers.
Professor Datuk Dr Ahmad Ibrahim,
Fellow,
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Philippines Department
of National Defense (DND)
Procurement outsourcing not new
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 7 December 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Thursday 3 December
2020
|
We would like to share with your publication and its
readers the defense departments position on the recent news
articles regarding the transfer of funds to the Philippine International
Trading Corp. (PITC) for procurement.
We confirm the earlier reports that the Department of National Defense
(DND) and its bureaus, particularly the Armed Forces of the Philippines
(AFP), engaged the services of the Philippine International Trading
Corp. (PITC) to conduct activities relating to the procurement process,
including market research, bidding, and contract implementation,
for several projects in its behalf.
The practice is not something new, as the Philippine International
Trading Corp. (PITC) has been the Department of National Defense
(DND) procurement outsourcing agency since 2003.
This is provided for by law, particularly, Section 6 (a) of Presidential
Decree No. 1071 (PITC Charter), Sections 7.3.3 and 53.5 of the revised
IRR of Republic Act No. 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform
Act, and covered by several memoranda of agreement between the PITC
and DND/AFP, which were crafted over the years.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has continuously tapped
the services of Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) because
the latter has proven that it can deliver what is required of them,
even generating savings for the Philippine government from some
of the acquisition transactions.
Most of the procurement projects transferred to the Philippine International
Trading Corp. (PITC) are for items classified as capital outlay,
which are more complex than those under maintenance and other operating
expenses.
In the procurement of goods and services, including infrastructure
projects, the Department of National Defense (DND)/Armed Forces
of the Philippines (AFP) pays the corresponding service fees to
the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) which are deducted
from the funds that are transferred.
These are paid in two tranches, with the first half paid upon the
issuance of Notices of Award, while the remaining half is paid upon
the completion of deliveries.
We must emphasize that while the procurement of defense equipment
entails time for completion and delivery before payment if effected,
the funds transferred to Philippine International Trading Corp.
(PITC) are not idle.
In fact, our data show that the money is being utilized as intended.
Since 2018, P10.17 billion have been transferred to Philippine International
Trading Corp. (PITC).
Of these, P803.82 million worth of projects have been completed
and delivered. From the remaining P9.36 billion, projects amounting
to P1.89 billion are now in the process of contract implementation
and delivery.
These include the repair of ships, delivery of medical supplies
and munitions, as well as communications requirements of Pagasa
island.
The rest of the projects, amounting to P7.47 billion, are now in
various stages of procurement.
We hope that we have adequately provided information on this matter
and clarified certain points that may have caused any misperception
among our public.
Jesus Rey R. Avilla,
Assistant Secretary for Logistics, Acquisitions and Self-reliant
Defense Posture
Department of National Defense,
Manila,
Philippines
Call for Papua New Guinea
government
To nationalise all mineral, oil and gas
companies
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 6 Dec 2020
First published in the National, Tuesday 1 December 2020
|
The role of the multinational companies operating
in Papua New Guinea and the Organic Law on Local Level and Provincial
Governments 1998 (OLLLPG) is a significant factor in the current
political turmoil.
The multinational companies are major players in the current political
crisis.
Barrick (Niugini) Ltd deliberately took the Government to court
in its bid to delay the recommencement of the Porgera Mine.
Oil Search Ltd, ExxonMobil, Total and others have deliberately delayed
the development of the Papua LNG project and Pnyang LNG project.
The delay tactics to secure much better project terms for their
shareholders abroad is ruining our economy from loss of potential
employment, economic activity and tax revenues.
These companies have engaged a number of former politicians to lobby
for their interest, who are in the opposition camp.
The autonomy of provincial, district and local level governments
from the national government ensured effective delivery of development
and services after independence.
Approval by Parliament and implementation of the OLLLG in 1998 re-centralised
political control and administrative power in Waigani, and abolished
the provincial assemblies.
The implementation of the OLLLPG has enabled the elected MPs to
dominate and control both the national, provincial, and local level
governments since 1998 to the detriment of Papua New Guinea.
It resulted in the loss of effective management, governance and
accountability, and separation of powers at all levels of Government
in the management of our country.
The current political turmoil is a clear manifestation of these
problems which resulted from the OLLLPG.
That is destroying our economy and the future.
The Government should introduce a new organic law on production
sharing arrangement and nationalise all the mineral, oil, and gas
companies in PNG to stop multinational corporations from interfering
in the domestic politics.
The Government should abolish the OLLLPG and re-introduce the independent
provincial assemblies, and divest power and control back to the
provincial, district and local level governments.
It will give them autonomy and accountability to address the development
needs in the provinces.
Concern citizen,
Port Moresby,
Papua New Guinea
Former Prime Minister
Peter O'Neil
Not above the law in Papua New Guinea
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 5 December 2020
|
So like Vanuatu where a former PM is on trial for
corruption ( see letter in Southeast Asian Times 27 Nov ) Papua
New Guinea too has its former PM standing trial for corruption (
see Southeast Asian Times article ' Former Papua New Guinea PM Peter
O'Neil to stand trial for corruption ' 3 Dec for particulars of
the case ).
It shows democratic maturity in these island nations.
It takes transgressions against the norms of good governance seriously.
No one, and that includes the Prime Minister, is above the law.
That is as should be in a democracy.
These cases should send out a solid message to other bent state
officials that the long arm of the law will eventually catch up
with your crooked dealings.
Rajend Naidu
Sydney
Australia
Call
for border surveillance
Thai-Myanmar
border
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 4 December 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Monday 30 November 2020
|
Re: "Virus girl's truck driver helper 'has
been found'", in Bangkok Post, November 25
The fact that a young Covid-positive Myanmar woman could illegally
cross the Thai-Myanmar border three times without being intercepted
and properly processed should raise major alarm bells.
If one person is able to cross the border three times within a week
without detection, we can only assume there are hundreds, if not
thousands, of illegal entries going unnoticed.
With Covid-19 cases raging in Myanmar, Thailand is highly vulnerable
to rapid spread of the virus unless everyone entering the country
is properly screened.
Everyone knows that migrant labourers from neighbouring countries
fan out across the kingdom to work in construction, factories, agriculture
and food processing. If Thailand does not step up border surveillance
dramatically, we will soon be following the US and Europe with out-of-control
Covid cases.
Samanea Saman,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Marape led Papua New Guinea
Government
All talk and no action
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 3 December 2020
First published in the National, Tuesday 1 December 2020
|
The Marape-led Government has lost its integrity and
has lost track with the people.
Its a talking government with no action.
Important services across the country are struggling to survive,
workers confidence have diminished and criminal activities are increasing.
Business houses are crying foul of their losses.
The mishandling of the Covid-19 funds.
Among these, the matter of three per cent increase for public servants
did not capture any attention this year.
The time for change through the motion of no confidence is here.
So for the betterment of Papua New Guinea, this Government led by
Marape should be put aside.
Excuses and reasons wont change the system.
The ideology of creating the richest black nation and taking back
Papua Neww Guinea will adamantly go down history lane as a failed
slogan created to rally unsuspecting citizens of Papua New Guinea.
But in reality, this is only a dream.
The country needs a stable government headed by a strong-headed
prime minister who can make things happen.
And not just another rhetorical MP who knows how to talk.
Observer,
Port Moresby,
Papua New Guinea
Call
for monuments to Bonifacio
In the Philippines and the globe
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 2 December 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Monday 30 November
2020
|
It has always been a point of argument among Filipinos
as to who should be our national hero: Jose Rizal or Andres Bonifacio?
This has stirred a virtual schism, in which we have to identify
ourselves either as a reformist or a revolutionary and choose between
an intellectual and a rebel, the elite versus the masses.
This Filipino split personality has caused a huge identity crisis
in us.
But this should not be the case.
In fact, it is unfair that as we celebrate Bonifacio Day every November
30, we continue to subconsciously think about Rizal in the background
- as if Bonifacio does not have an equal claim and place in our
history.
Bonifacios legacy should stand on its own.
It is my dream that one day we will also have monuments of Bonifacio
around the country and the globe, like Rizal.
There should be no competition as to who is better or greater between
the two heroes.
They chose different paths, but both genuinely dedicated their lives
to our country. The Philippines would not be the same without these
two great men.
Rizals weapon was the pen, Bonifacios the bolo.
Whether the pen is indeed mightier than the sword, what is essential
is that both men fought for the country with all their capabilities
and skills.
Bonifacio was born on November 30, 1863, in Tondo, Manila.
Unlike Rizal, Bonifacio did not finish his education.
However, despite this limitation and condition, he exhibited a natural
intelligence and sense of leadership.
He sought to improve himself by reading books, among them Rizals
two novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.
The lack of adequate education did not hinder him from becoming
the Father of the Philippine Revolution.
Bonifacios life proves that patriotism requires two essential
ingredients: true love of country, and bravery.
Alas, he was murdered by fellow Filipinos under the order of Emilio
Aguinaldo, the first president of the Republic of the Philippines.
In fact, both Bonifacio and Aguinaldo were Masons, but this did
not prevent the latter from ordering the death of the Katipunans
founder.
My hope for all the new generations to come is to never forget how
Bonifacio was killed by fellow Filipinos.
This is a reminder that our own countrymen can be our worst enemies
and that we always need to be prepared and cautious.
As we celebrate Bonifacio Day, may it become our mission to educate
the youth about this sad part of our history and to learn from it.
Rado Gatchalian,
Sydney
Australia
Call
for Thai military think tank to form
Nato-like mutual aid force for ASEAN
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 2 December 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Sunday 29 November 2020
|
Re: "Think tank to help reform conscription",
in Bangkok Post, November 27.
Our army's new think tank is most welcome to help set objectives
and strategy in national security, starting with questioning the
most basic of assumptions.
For example:
(a) If the military, and especially the army, is the nation's fence
to fight foreign foes, then keeping domestic peace should be the
role of the police and the military should keep out.
The army's main manpower should be along our borders, not Bangkok.
We should identify possible enemy countries and arm ourselves accordingly.
If we cannot imagine fighting any Asean nation, we'd need a strong
army only as a part of a Nato-like mutual aid force;
(b) In conscription, why not go the voluntary route?
(c) How about requiring national service, perhaps by serving in
the military, or other options, such as teaching in hardship areas?
(d) Why not make our military, especially the army, gender-blind?
We should ask US senator and war heroine Ladda Tammy Duckworth for
her views on this matter.
(e) How to make military purchasing more effective, efficient and
corruption-free?
This think tank can take us into the 21st century ... if we let
it.
Burin Kantabutra,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Call for climate state
of emergency
In
the Philippines
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 30 November 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Thursday 26 November
2020
|
We express our solidarity with the urgent plea made
by climate-action and climate-justice advocates urging the government
to declare, amid a raging health pandemic, a climate emergency in
response to the massive destruction in the Philippines brought about
by the climate crisis.
It can neither be denied nor ignored that we are in a climate crisis.
Now more than ever, our vulnerable people - who bear the brunt of
a warming planet - are experiencing first-hand the cruel consequences
of climate change as manifested in our series of battles against
more frequent and more destructive weather disturbances, which are
claiming lives and causing massive damages to homes and communities,
the food, agriculture, and fisheries sectors, and the ecosystems
that provide vital goods and services for sustaining the peoples
well-being.
To put climate action and justice at the heart of the governments
policy and program, we urge President Duterte to declare a state
of climate emergency now. Such a declaration will compel the government
and society to acknowledge that we live in, and are seriously threatened
by, a climate crisis.
We strongly believe that the declaration of a state of climate emergency
will pave the way for the urgent implementation of climate action
strategies and plans to address the vulnerabilities of the most
impacted sectors and communities, including the suspension of environmentally
destructive and climate change-driving activities, and the allocation
of funds for climate mitigation and adaptation to protect, repair,
and rehabilitate destroyed ecosystems, to increase societys
adaptive capacity and resilience, and to reduce the crisis
economic, environmental, health, and social costs.
Our government must also use and prioritize in our COVID-19 recovery
efforts policies and programs to address the longer-term climate
emergency, and not simply put in place stopgap and short-term measures.
This declaration will also drive the country toward more ambitious
mitigation measures that faithfully adhere to our Nationally Determined
Contributions to the Paris Agreement.
Furthermore, it will speed up our efforts to transition toward healthy,
sustainable energy and away from fossil fuels, including false solutions
such as waste-to-energy incineration that are designed to perpetuate
the extraction from, exploitation, and destruction of our environment
and natural resources.
To this end, we further urge the government to embrace zero waste
and clean production as key strategies for protecting the climate
and our people and for achieving the UN Sustainable Development
Goals.
These strategies are proven to conserve energy and raw materials,
stimulate product design for environmental sustainability and local
economic development, promote substitution for hazardous chemicals,
reduce waste and pollution from extraction, manufacturing, transportation,
and disposal activities, create jobs and livelihoods, and support
local self-reliance and a local circular economy.
Finally, we urge the government to ban single-use plastic, reduce
plastic production, issue a list of nonenvironmentally acceptable
products and packaging, stop waste importation, and halt deceptive
schemes undermining zero waste, including the coprocessing of waste
in cement kilns and waste-to-energy incineration.
Declare a climate emergency now, and pursue the path toward a zero
waste and toxics- and fossil fuel-free society.
Eileen B Sison,
President,
EcoWaste Coalition,
Manila,
Philippines
Call
for Papua New Guinea government
To address bogus land claims
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 29 November 2020
First published in the National Friday 20 November 2020
|
The Department of Lands and Physical Planning and
the Department of Works are not working to the expectations of customary
landowners who raised and lodged claims for compensation of their
customary lands.
Many such matters are still sitting on tables collecting thick layers
of dust while insignificant bogus claims continue to attract much
attention from these places.
Traditional customary landowners with genuine claims keep hitting
brick walls and are going through all kinds of complicated channels
without positive feedback.
These landowners are exhausting thousands of kina to do follow ups
when travelling from their respective provinces to Port Moresby.
It is a costly expense.
Now, wholl be responsible to reimburse their money due to
the inconsistency of the departments concerned?
Will the Government take this responsibility?
The Government has to take a drastic step forward to address this
issue in conjunction with the ideology of taking back Papua New
Guinea.
This will greatly relieve the over-burdened customary landowners
with genuine compensation claims.
Even the officers responsible to sort claims employ delay tactics
expecting kickbacks for working on claims.
The Government should kick butts and have genuine claims rolled
out now.
Over to the Works Department and Lands and Physical Planning Department
to deliberate more on this.
Claimant,
Port Moresby,
Papua New Guinea
Call
for quarantine at home
Rather than in hotels
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 28 November 2020
First published in the Star, Wednesday 25 November 2020
|
As a retired medical doctor, I would like to congratulate
the government and Health Ministry for their tireless efforts in
curbing the spread of Covid-19.
Herewith, I would like to put forth some views on behalf of a group
of retired medical doctors.
Although the pandemic is a universal issue, Malaysia is tackling
it pretty well.
The basic principle behind preventing the spread of disease is health
education. Keep reinforcing this preventive aspect and we should
be able to flatten the infection curve.
We suggest that Malaysians free of Covid-19, who work outside the
country and wish to return to Malaysia for the festive season, be
allowed to be quarantined at home rather than in hotels.
To ensure compliance, those found breaking their home quarantine
should be slapped with a heavy fine.
We also suggest reducing the quarantine period down to five or seven
days for those who have tested negative for Covid-19.
Yesterday, the foreign press reported that England will introduce
a new system from mid-December allowing travellers into that country
to take a Covid-19 test after five days of quarantine and be released
from any further self-isolation if they test negative.
This is something Malaysia could look into as well. It would allow
Malaysians returning home from abroad (who are Covid-19 free) to
spend time with their loved ones.
In the meantime, the growing list of vaccine candidates announced
in recent weeks is bringing hope to Malaysia and the entire world.
Retired Medical Director,
Petaling Jaya,
Malaysia
On one is above the law
In Vanuatu
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 27 Novemebr 2020
|
We learn from the RNZ Radio New Zealand report '
Govt ministers to take stand in trial of former Vanuatu PM '
(25 November,2020 ) that six government ministers, including the
PM Bob Loughman, are due to appear as witnesses at the trial of
former prime minister Charlot Salwai today.
The Speaker of Parliament, Gracia Shadrak, is also due to take the
stand in Salwai's trial for bribery, corruption and perjury. Two
other former ministers are also standing trial.
Regardless of the outcome of the trial - whether there is a successful
prosecution or not - one thing is abundantly clear : Vanuatu takes
seriously the legal precept that no one, regardless of status, is
above the law. In some countries often lip service is paid to that
foundational principle of the application of the law when it comes
to applying it to political heavyweights.
The people of Vanuatu can hold their heads high and be proud of
their adherence to the rule of law as it is meant to function in
a democracy.
Rajend Naidu,
Sydney,
Australia
Philippines flood control
projects
Should
not be left to engineers and politicians
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 26 November 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Wednesday 25 November
2020
|
The editorial Reforestation is key
November 20,2020 observed how even if the amount of rainfall brought
by Typhoon Ulysses was only a third of Typhoon
Ondoys in 2009, the water level in Marikina
River still breached the 21.5-meter depth during Ondoy.
The apparent narrowing of the Marikina River stretching between
the outlying barangays of Banaba and Ampid, San Mateo, Rizal, or
thereabouts, could partly be the culprit.
The newly built concrete dikes on the opposite banks along the said
stretch perched with concrete biking and jogging lanes
construction of the lanes is still ongoing on the upstream side
resulted in the narrowing of the river and the consequent decrease
in its carrying capacity.
The elevated dikes or retaining walls were rendered less or ineffective
to contain the rising water from spilling over to the outlying areas
and subdivisions at the height of Ulysses because of the rivers
resultant contraction.
The project could have even contributed to the rivers precipitate
swelling.
Because of their impact to lives and properties, not to mention
their huge financial costs, flood control projects should not be
left to engineers and, more so, to politicians alone, but planned
and designed in consultation with hydrologists, geologists, environmentalists,
and other experts in the geosciences.
They should be undertaken beyond what columnist Richard Heydarian
termed as performative populism.
Diosdado V. Calonge,
Manila,
Philippines
Winning hearts and minds
New strategy to win insurgency war in Philippines
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 25 November 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Friday 20 November
2020
|
I came across National Security Adviser Hermogenes
Esperon defending the P16 billion budget intended to solve the insurgency
problem once and for all.
Ive heard this kind of statement many times before, but we
all know that the insurgency problem remains healthy after 75 years
of fighting and killing.
It appears that our security people are now weary in solving the
security problem. Accordingly, Esperon came up with a new strategy.
His new strategy, Winning hearts and minds, is
not really something new.
The fact is that it has been there since the time of Magsaysay and
Crisol at the defense department.
Truly, it must be the core strategy to win the insurgency war.
And so I looked at the curriculum of the Philippine Military Academy,
which trains officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines who
are in command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and
who will implement this strategy.
This is what I found: The core of the Philippine Military Academy
(PMA) curriculum is founded on the study of land warfare, naval
warfare, and air warfare.
None was said about insurgency warfare, yet this is the kind of
war the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has been fighting
on a daily basis for the past 75 years.
Our war is an insurgency war, an asymmetric war or more commonly
called a guerrilla war.
It is the kind of war that has existed for ages, buried among the
poverty of the people, to erupt at the proper opportunity.
I agree with Esperons strategy to win this war.
That is why I was interested to see the depth and direction of the
training of our officers who will implement this strategy.
It is woefully inadequate to fight an asymmetric war, but I am not
an educator to even make a suggestion on how the curriculum must
be written.
Since the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is led by Philippine
Military Academy (PMA) graduates, perhaps it is time to modify their
curriculum to teach their cadets, who will one day lead the Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP), on the rudiments of winning hearts
and minds.
The Philippine Military Academy (PMA) was the brainchild of the
US Military Academy.
In all aspects it is an excellent school, but unlike USMA graduates,
its graduates will not lead land armies to fight tank battles, or
lead air forces to fight air battles, or lead warships to fight
naval battles.
We do not have the technological know-how or the funds to produce
such war machines.
True, we have a few of the inferior types, but they are employed
to fight the insurgency war.
After all, the enemy has no warplanes or battleships or air fleets.
They are the New Peoples Army, Abu Sayyaf, Moro National Liberation
Front, pirates, kidnappers, smugglers, drug lords, and criminals
of all kinds.
But the insurgency war will remain until we can win the hearts and
minds of our people. One Philippine Military Academy (PMA) graduate
said that we need a profound social change to win the insurgency
war.
And that profound social change could start and must start with
the people who will fight this war.
They will need the support of all government instrumentalities for
this purpose. Indeed, it is a big challenge, but it must be the
war we have to win.
Lt. Gen. Antonio E. Sotelo, AFP (Ret),
Alabang Hills,
Muntinlupa City,
Philippines
Regional
Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
Increases demand for retail space in Malaysia
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 24 November 2020
First published in the Star, Saturday 21 November 2020
|
The signing of the Regional Com-prehensive Economic
Partnership (RCEP) on November 15 signifies the worlds largest
trade agreement.
RCEP will contribute towards sustaining Malaysia as a preferred
trading hub and investment destination.
It will promote international trade among the 15 participating countries
in the Asia-Pacific region.
The expected increase in free trade among the participating countries
will have a significant impact on the Malaysian property market.
Higher trade and economic activities will affect the occupation,
investment and development sectors of the property market.
Real estate space is a local input in the production and supply
of goods and services.
Increased exports lead to the expansion of domestic production.
Increased domestic production increases the demand for industrial
space.
Imports also have an impact on demand for real estate space as goods
imported need to be stored and distributed through warehouses and
logistic properties. These goods are then displayed and marketed
at various outlet points, thereby also increasing the demand for
retail space.
Regional trading blocs and trade liberalisation will encourage foreign
direct investment.
This in turn will create demand for industrial land and buildings.
And new capital investments will spur demand for more financing
activities from the banks.
Once plants and machines are operating, they will create employment
and demand for other factors of production.
Higher economic growth will then drive the capital market, which
will attract more foreign investment fund flows investing in local
equities.
With increased economic activities, occupation demand for real estate
space will cause rental increase.
With an inelastic new supply, potential future rental growth and
prospective capital appreciation, people will begin to invest more
in real estate, leading to an active investment market with more
participation from institutional investors.
Developers will react to prevailing rents and capital values when
they appear to signal a profitable opportunity.
If prices rise, more developers will respond to these signals, and
the aggregate flow of supply into the market increases.
Real estate service providers such as property consultants can play
an important role in the whole process by aligning their service
standards with the requirements of regional and global clients.
We envision that RCEP will open up markets and help the post-Covid-19
economic recovery.
Increased economic activities will trigger more demand for various
real estate spaces, thereby leading to an improved property market
performance in the future.
Prof Dr Ting Kien Hwa,
Professor, Centre of Real Estate Studies,
Faculty of Architecture, |
Planning & Surveying,
Universiti Teknologi Mara
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
50
year jail sentence for bribery
No small sentence
The
Southeast Asian Times Monday 23 November 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Saturday 21 November
2020
|
Re: "Pair lose bribery appeal",
in Bangkok Post, November 17
While I'm all for serious prosecution of corruption and malfeasance,
it is only fitting that sentences be commensurate with crimes.
The acceptance of bribes totalling some 60 million baht by former
Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Juthamas Siriwan is no small
offence.
But I'm thinking the 50-year sentence imposed on the former tourism
official perhaps has more to do with who her boss was at the time
than the severity of the crime.
Samanea Saman,
Bangkok,
Thailand
ASEAN has capacity
To drive multilateralism
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 22 November 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Saturday 21 November
2020
|
Re: "Asean is still alive and kicking (softly)",
in Bangkok Post Opinion, November 17
The fruitful outcome of the 37th Asean Summit under the chairmanship
of Vietnam is persuasive proof of the capacity of this regional
organisation to be a genuine driving force in the complex process
of promoting multilateralism.
The final comprehensive document of the Summit (28 pages, 88 paragraphs)
deserves to be mandatory reading for diplomats and students of international
relations worldwide.
According to this instructive programmatic document, regionalism
and multilateralism are important principles and frameworks of cooperation,
and their strength and value lie in their inclusive, rules-based
nature and emphasis on mutual benefit and respect.
Guided by this belief, the 10 Asean members are expected to bring
a valuable contribution to the success of deliberations of the special
session of the United Nations General Assembly in response to the
coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, a significant event of
multilateral diplomacy scheduled to take place in New York, at the
headquarters of the world organisation, on December 3 and 4, 2020.
Ioan Voicu,
Bangkok,
Thailand
The wrongs the Marcoses
did
Are historical facts
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 21 November 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Thursday 19 November
2020
|
Further then to Pit M. Maliksis edifying letter
last November 13 containing a list of Marcos untruths, there are
many other facts, illustrative, not exhaustive, like unforgettable
accounts of:
The February 7-8, 1974
Jolo-Caust, where our military razed Jolo to
the ground and killed 20,000, mostly noncombatant civilians, after
intense continuous bombardment.
The 1977 disappearance/salvaging of student Archimedes Trajano,
whose heirs won against Imee in Hawaii but the judgment remains
unsatisfactory.
The November 17, 1981 Manila Film Center tragedy, when a high-floor
scaffolding collapsed and killed numerous workers toiling round
the clock due to the caprice of Imelda who didnt want a postponement
of the film festival scheduled for early 1982. Imagine being serenaded
by kith and kin while awaiting death, being encased and trapped
in quick-drying cement? Those quickly enveloped in cement were luckier.
To stress the unnecessary, we merely illustrate, not exhaust, the
wrong the Marcoses did, as historical facts. They should look at
what Germany has done, taking responsibility and doing the right
thing.
Rene A.V. Saguisag,
Manila,
Philippines
Call for Thai politicians
To do their
job
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 20 November 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Wednesday 18 Novemeber
2020
|
Re: "Chuan Leekpai wants everyone to let
parliament do its job", in Bangkok Post November
17.
The politicians cannot, or will not, do their jobs.
There is too much infighting, too much party interference, and way
too much open corruption with a "so what" attitude.
How long, for example, does it take to find the Red Bull brat?
How can an Member of Parliament who was jailed in Australia for
his role in drug smuggling continue to be a government Member of
Parliament?
How many politicians have members of their families in appointed
jobs to increase income?
How many politicians are enjoying heavy and extensive government
perks?
This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Khun Chuan, if one was to leave things to the politicians, Thailand
would be in a worse shambles than it is now.
It is only the student protests that are keeping the parliamentarians
alert and semi-conscious, because they do not know when or where
the wrecking ball will hit next. Change is coming.
It is not a question of "if", but "when".
And the longer the parliamentarians delay, the longer they will
hang on to their worthless positions and continue to collect salaries
for sleeping in the House, not attending meetings, etc.
The axe will fall one day.
The students will be the executioners, the politicians the victims,
due to their own stupidity and myopia.
Jack Gilead,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Animals
in zoos are in lockdown
For
life
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 19 Novemebr 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Monday 16 November
2020
|
As the Philippines begin to open again and we look
forward to a new year, now is the time to remind everyone that having
fun should never include harming or exploiting animals.
Theres growing recognition that keeping animals confined to
cramped cages for the publics amusement is ethically indefensible.
At zoos, animals are in lockdown for life and have no choice concerning
their food, their mates, or who they live with.
If you think quarantine has been hard on humans, imagine how animals
like Trixie, a lonely orangutan suffering at the Avilon Zoo, must
feel.
Shes isolated there in a concrete cell.
Animals in captivity lack opportunities for mental stimulation and
sufficient room to exercise, often becoming despondent and developing
abnormal and self-destructive behavior patterns, including pacing,
rocking, swaying, and self-mutilation.
And no one should underestimate the significant health risks to
animals associated with petting them at zoos and other interactive
displays.
Primates like Trixie could contract COVID-19 from visitors, and
increased contact with handlers also increases their risk of contracting
the virus.
Animals with underdeveloped immune systems may be less able to fight
it.
When humans use animals for entertainment, theyre denying
them the opportunity to enjoy everything thats natural and
important to them.
We must be vigilant in choosing our activities and help animals
in captivity by never visiting any place that uses them for human
entertainment, in the Philippines or abroad.
Visits to zoos, aquariums, animal circuses, attractions offering
elephant rides or tiger-petting, and swim-with-dolphins excursions
must be left off travel itineraries.
Among all the lessons that we learn from the COVID-19 pandemic,
we hope theres one of compassion. By speaking out against
injustice - simply by never buying a ticket to places that exploit
animals - we can acknowledge that all sentient beings deserve to
live free from domination and abuse.
Jason Baker,
Senior Vice President
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Asia,
Manila,
Philippines
Papua New Guinea National
Executive Council
Awards contract to work on coronaviris cure
to chemist
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 18 November 2020
First published in the National, Friday 13 November 2020
|
It is shocking to read in the news about Prime Minister
James Marape, and the National Executive Councils decision
to approve a K10.2 million contract to a Papua New Guinea firm to
work on the cure of the coronavirus.
It is something that is unprecedented, a government regime signing
a multimillion-kina deal with a team of scientists led by a Papua
New Guinea chemist, for a task that even the best brains in the
world are working on.
There is no doubt that Papau New Guinea chemists will one day come
up with the wonder drug that may be used as a remedy against a virus.
Papua New Guinea chemists such as Dr Topul Rali, Dr Clement Waine
and Dr Stewart Wossa are among scientists who have worked on related
research topics which considered the use of substances in Papua
New Guineas backyard in treating diseases in plants and human
beings.
However, Marapes decision to fund this new firm is not good
and raises a lot of questions especially when K10.2 million was
given to a firm that is just over a month old.
K10.2 million is a lot of money.
Not even an existing Small Medium Enterprises (SME) in Papua New
Guinea gets that kind of money from the National Development Bank
or the Government easily.
The last time a government department gave that kind of money to
a firm was deemed a scandal that landed a minister in prison and
the firm owner fighting a long battle in the courts.
It would have seemed more sensible if K1.2 million kina or less
was given to the new firm and upon its report about the progress
of work, then another K100,000 or so can be given periodically.
That would have been the better strategy for Marape and the National
Executive Council (NEC) to take.
Even postgraduate students in Papua New Guinea who are doing a lot
of research on different themes are looking for funding and possibly
some of that K10.2 million can go into financing their research.
I am aware of the fact that Googles first financier gave them
much less, about US$30,000 (K105,000) to kick start their work.
Marape and the National Executive Council (NEC) should draw up a
process where such money is contracted to local firms who have good
proposals.
We hope what they have done does not set a precedence for any local
firm that promises a cure for a disease to easily gain that much
money upon pitching the concept to a prime minister and the National
Executive Council (NEC).
Again, K10.2 million is a lot of money to give to a local firm that
has no track record.
PNG Man,
Port Moresby,
Papua New Guinea
Australia's
Special Air Service Regiment faces investigation
For
war crimes in Afghanisatan
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 17 November 2020
|
A day after Remembrance Day we get the news that Australian
SAS soldiers face fresh war crimes investigations regarding their
conduct in Afghanistan ( The Canberra Times 13 November ).
It is clearly not a good way to remember what soldiering in general
and in foreign lands in particular is meant to be about?
It is despairing to hear soldiers of an advanced First World democracy
facing investigation for committing war crimes atrocities.
The good thing though is that those responsible are being held to
account and the matter not swept under the carpet.
That is as should be to maintain the credibility and integrity of
our democratic system of governance.
Rajend Naidu,
Sydney,
Australia
Call for Thailand
To
decriminalise defamation
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 16 November 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Sunday 15 November 2020
|
While Thailand is seen as one of the world's most
tourist-friendly places its laws against criminal defamation, improper
online content, sedition, and contempt of court, which led to the
imprisonment of an American tourist who made a critical review of
a Thai resort in Koh Chang, have backfired on the resort in question.
Trip Advisor has had the last word by posting a notice warning travellers
that the hotel was behind the jailing of the guest for his harsh
reviews.
The warning comes with a penalty: a substantial drop in the hotel's
ranking on the website.
Is it time for Thailand to decriminalise defamation, making it a
purely civil law matter?
Brian Corrigan,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Call for Papua New Guinea
to stay neutral
In Bougainville sovereignity decision
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 15 November 2020
First published in the National, Friday 13 November 2020
|
It is pleasing to hear that someone who ran a successful
Bougainville referendum has again raised his hands to be a moderator
of the consultation between Bougainville and Papua New Guinea delegations.
However, one thing we all need to understand is that Bertie Ahern
cannot dictate or influence decisions from either the National Government
or the Autonomous Bougainville Government team.
Ahern was the former chairman of Bougainville Referendum Commission
and was appointed this week as the moderator on post-referendum
consultations.
We all note that after the referendum results were announced, Bertie
Ahern said Bougainville was not ready to assume full sovereignty
from Papua New Guinea.
We just hope that he will stay neutral throughout the talks and
that the question of whether Bougainville is ready or not is something
that is up to the Bougainville people to decide and not something
a foreigner or Papua New Guinean to decide on.
Weko Tantanu,
Buka,
Papua New Guinea
On the 48th commemoration
of martial law
In
the Philippines
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 14 November 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Friday 13 November
2020
|
Once again its important to remind Filipinos
not to forget the truth.
As Vice President Leni Robredo said on the 48th commemoration of
martial law, Our national aspirations can only be as strong
as our national memory.
Theres the revision of history as supervised by Imee and Bongbong
Marcos, who insist their family has done no wrong - which their
loyalists and protectors swallow hook, line, and sinker.
The two aid trolls and hackers who have argued implausibly that
dictator-plunderer Ferdinand Marcos was a progressivist, the best
president ever, and that the martial law years were golden.
That all of them profess to know nothing about any of the crimes
of Marcos is absolutely untenable.
As they try to appeal to Filipinos who easily forgive and forget,
here are a few hard facts:
July 15, 2003/April 25, 2012 - Supreme Court decisions GR Nos. 152154
and 189434 affirmed the $658 million and $30 million Marcos ill-gotten
wealth in separate Swiss bank deposits and forfeited the same in
our countrys favor.
May 1, 1991 - A Hawaii court found Imee Marcos responsible and ordered
to pay an indemnity of $4.16 million for the murder of student-leader
Archimedes Trajano.
Also, Marcos heirs were barred from entering the US for refusing
to pay the $2-billion judgment against them won by 75,730 human-rights
victims on December 4, 1984.
Sept. 24, 2018 - Harry Roque spoke on behalf of President Duterte:
But as far as the Palace is concerned, there are decisions
affirming that there were grave human rights violations committed
during the Marcos regime. Theres even a law in Congress which
provides for compensation for victims of martial law.
Nov. 9, 2018 - Imelda was found guilty of seven counts of graft.
April 10, 2019 - A US court directed the distribution of $13.75
million to martial law victims who had won a class suit against
the Marcos estate.
And Marcos loyalists - youd better get Imelda to hold an umbrella
over you while you skim through these facts you can never revise:
Whos Who in the Twentieth Century, c1999: The
Philippines paid a heavy price for the twenty-year rule of Marcos,
with his extravagant wife Imelda
it also led to him raiding
the national finances to maintain his opulent lifestyle, and to
declaring martial law in 1972. Marcos made the mistake of using
fraud to win the 1986 election over Cory Aquino, as a result of
which, he was deposed and exiled.John Crossland,
p.133
Encyclopedia Americana, c1993: In 1972, Marcos suspended
habeas corpus, interned thousands of dissidents.
muzzled the
press, nationalized major industries, and seized properties of his
opponents
International groups protested Marcos violations
of human rights, charging his government with torture and murder
Sen. Aquinos assassination on Aug. 21, 1983 shattered diplomatic
and financial confidence in Marcos
When Marcos was flown out
of the Philippines, his luggage included over $1 million, crates
of jewelry, and documents indicating the possession of bank accounts
and properties worldwide worth billions more.Leonard
Casper, pp.305-306
The 21st Century Webster-International Encyclopedia, 2003-edition:
After continued popular demonstrations against the government,
Marcos and his wife, Imelda, left the country on Feb. 25, 1986 to
settle in Hawaii. Both Marcos and his wife were indicted by the
US government on charges that they embezzled from the Phil. Treasury
to purchase assets for themselves in the US. p.708.
2004 Transparency International Global Corruption Report: Marcos
was listed second to Suharto as the most corrupt leader. And in
1986, the Guinness Book of World Records credited him for the worlds
greatest government robbery.
Pit M. Maliksi,
Manila,
Philippines
Call for Consumer Credit
Act in Malaysia
For hire purchase, money lending and pawn
shops
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 13 November 2020
First published in the Star, Wednesday 11 November 2020
|
One of the most important announcements from Budget
2021 is the formulation of a Consumer Credit Act aimed at providing
a regulatory framework for the issuance of consumer credit and strengthening
the supervision of non-bank credit providers.
Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) has long
advocated for this Act to enhance consumer protection in the financial
sector.
After the Act is formulated, it is hoped that it would be enforced
by Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission.
Three credit forms that are of great concern to Fomca are hire purchase,
money lending and pawn shops.
The Hire Purchase Act is under the jurisdiction of the Domestic
Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry while the Moneylenders Act and
Pawnbrokers Act are both under the Housing and Local Government
Ministry.
There is an urgent need to effectively regulate the interest rates
and trade terms of non-bank institutions that provide credit to
consumers.
Very often, the interest rates are exorbitant while the contractual
terms are severely unfair to consumers.
Through the Consumer Credit Act, Malaysians could be informed of
the true annual percentage rates (APR) or effective interest rates
of their financing or purchases.
The regulations on consumer credit should also be realigned to ensure
that interest rates are fair and reasonable and consumers are aware
of the rate they are paying to their creditors.
Credit sale is another form of unregulated consumer credit that
is of great concern. This facility is offered by some large retail
outlets of consumer durable goods such as furniture and household
electrical and electronic products.
Consumers are required to pay in weekly or monthly instalments for
a long period of time.
The weekly or monthly sum may look small but if the instalments
are added up, the amount being paid is extremely exorbitant.
What is particularly unfortunate is that many consumers are from
the low-income category who are attracted by the low payment rates.
Without a comprehensive Consumer Credit law, where interest rates
are not only regulated but also enforced, these consumers will continue
to hold the short end of the stick. Most importantly, the Act should
state the limit on calculation of interest rates, including late
payment interest rates and any other payments.
The Act should also provide strict guidelines on debt collection
and repossession, and advertising and marketing practices must be
transparent.
Finally, the Act should accord law enforcement agencies more power
to deal with credit providers.
In these challenging economic times when consumers are faced with
severe pressure due to job loss, reduction in income and increase
in cost of living, which often force them to borrow to make ends
meet, the Consumer Credit Act would provide some protection against
unscrupulous lenders.
Datuk Dr Paul Selva Raj,
Chief executive officer Fomca,
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
US government does not
exists
To carry out impulses of the majority
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday12 November 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Wednesday 11 November
2020
|
I have not checked Siraphop C's maths in his November
7 letter "Trump could lose, yet win" but what he
considers an obvious flaw in the Electoral College is actually a
feature.
He misunderstands the purpose for the creation of the US government.
It does not exist to carry out the impulses of the majority, it
exists to "secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves
and our posterity".
As such, the US Constitution contains many explicitly non-majoritarian
provisions, including the Electoral College.
In fact, the Constitution does not even require any popular election
at all for the chief executive.
The power to choose electors of the president is given to states,
and states can choose any method they wish to select those electors.
Only since 1880 has each state chosen their electors by popular
vote.
Before that, many state legislatures chose to directly appoint their
electors.
This tension between majority rule and individual liberty was at
the heart of the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858.
Stephen Douglas argued that the issue of slavery in new states should
be decided by popular vote in those territories, hence his approval
of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854.
Abraham Lincoln argued that the purpose of government was to protect
rights, not to have the will of the majority threaten the rights
of political minorities.
There is very good reason to be sceptical of majority rule and the
Electoral College is just one of many features in the US Constitution
designed to protect the principle of federalism and the rights of
individuals from an overzealous majority.
Jeff Gepner,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Call for accountability
in Philippines
For
overkill lockdown restrictions
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 11 November 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Tuesday 10 November
2020
|
National Capital Region Police Office chief Debold
Sinas is a pasaway general who has yet to face accountability for
his crimes against the people.
At the very least, he should be penalized for clear violation of
ECQ rules when he allowed a spontaneous mañanita
to celebrate his 55th birthday.
Under Sinas watch, Metro Manila became a hotspot for human
rights abuses. Lockdown restrictions led to draconian control of
the population, the overkill deployment of troops in communities,
and the imposition of harsh penalties on so-called pasaway or quarantine
violators.
Tens of thousands of desperate individuals seeking food, aid, and
jobs were slapped with fines and even spurious charges for alleged
ECQ violations. Sinas approach not only failed to flatten
the COVID-19 curve, but also exacerbated the living conditions of
Metro Manila residents.
Sinas is President Dutertes brutal enforcer who is remorseless
in undermining civil liberties and subverting due process.
He is accused of masterminding the relentless attacks on peasant
communities in Negros.
When he was deployed in Metro Manila, he quickly gained notoriety
for the raids he conducted targeting leaders and community organizers
of Bayan Metro Manila. Trumped-up charges based on fabricated evidence
were used to detain five of our comrades from Gabriela, Kilusang
Mayo Uno, and Kadamay. One of those arrested in the crackdown was
Reina Mae Nasino.
He continued to use terror tactics in demonizing peoples organizations
that are campaigning against the Manila Bay reclamation.
Sinas must answer for the ECQ violation, but we must also not forget
his key role in militarizing the governments COVID-19 response,
and the human rights abuses conducted by troops under his command.
His promotion as PNP chief is an insult to the thousands who were
victimized by police aggression and state terror during the pandemic.
It is another proof that the peoples clamor for justice and
accountability cannot be realized under the Duterte administration.
Mong Palatino,
Chair
Bayan Metro Manila
Manila
Chinese
poke fun
At democracy
The
Southeast Asia Times, Tuesday 10 November 2020
|
Trump's election antics undermining the integrity
his country's election system has become a source of entertainment
for the Chinese people who poke fun at America's democracy ( DW
News 7 November ).
Tells you just how great Trump has made America in his 4 years as
President.
No wonder the majority of the American people decided to vote him
out before he did any more harm to the country's standing at home
and in the international community.
Hope the country recovers from the big damage Trump inflicted on
its social fabric during his short stay in the White House.
Rajend
Naidu,
Sydney,
Australia
How will the American
experiment
In
representative democracy end
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 10 November 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Friday 6 November 2020
|
Like a star that has reached the end of its lifecycle,
America seems to have burned through its fuel and to have begun
a long and inexorable phase of collapse.
The political system crafted by the nation's Founding Fathers is
failing to deliver governance that is stable, competent, and recognised
by the majority of its citizens as legitimate.
Almost half the electorate observed a transparently fraudulent snake
oil salesman lay waste to political norms, lie endlessly and blatantly
use the office of the presidency to enrich himself, only to conclude
that this was what they really wanted in a leader.
Even if Joe Biden scrapes together a wafer-thin victory, it will
likely prove to be a pyrrhic one.
The only question now seems to be how the American experiment in
representative democracy will end; whether America will explode
violently into competing shards of gun-toting, unhinged extremism,
or simply fizzle out into a third world backwater governed by increasingly
authoritarian kleptocrats worshipped by their adoring, "low-information"
minions.
Nigel Woodward,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Buddhism in Thailand
Turned into ceremonial pomp
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 9 November 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Friday 6 October 2020
|
Re: "Putting virtues first",
in Bangkok Post Opinion, November 6.
Yes, indeed. Mr Stephen Young puts a very idealistic road map for
creating a governance model based on virtues.
Sadly, there is a complete disconnect between the "Principles
of Righteousness' based on the teachings of Lord Buddha and
the actual practices in and out of Buddhist temples and all over
in Thai society.
The principles of sila, ajjava, avihimsa, and khandi are missing
from the lives of Thai people and those leading key institutions.
A country where any creatures that walk, flies or swim is a part
of the daily menu is far removed from the virtue of sila and avihimsa.
Those in power have turned Buddhism into ceremonial pomp and show
filled with empty rituals that have nothing to do with the real
teaching of Buddha.
In this modern era, it is the people who should decide who will
lead the society in a righteous way, not one or the other institution.
Kuldeep Nagi,
Bangkok,
Thailand
PNG government funding
of a private company
Appears to be misappropriation of public
funds
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 8 November 2020
First published in the National, Friday 6 November 2020
|
How can Prime Minister James Marape inject K10.2 million
into private company Niguini Biomed Ltd when we already have institutions
such as the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research?
Is this part of Marapes famous slogan to make Papaua
New Guinea the richest black Christian nation?
The K10.2 million should have been given to Papua New Guinea Institute
of Medical Research to boost scientific research.
It should have been used to encourage medical professionals at the
University of Papua New Guinea to lead medical students in research
and not undermine the capabilities of established institutions such
as the PNGIMR.
In developed countries during the upsurge in the pandemic, they
were channelling millions of dollars to established universities
for research but our prime minister has not done that.
Public funds should be dispersed in areas that will benefit the
majority.
This country is receiving medical kits for Covid-19 from other countries.
How will K10.2 million curtail the contagious virus and others in
the future?
The Niugini Biomed Ltd team have since said they formed and registered
the company to protect their intellectual property right as they
pursue their research into Covid-19.
They said there is nothing secret about their work as they have
followed all the processes.
No one is questioning the processes and rights of the company.
All we are saying is that the deal is fishy and appears to be a
misappropriation of public funds.
Jeffsatu,
Lypin Lokait,
Port Moresby,
Papua New Guinea
President
Duterte order for investigation into corruption
Should begin in congress
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 7 November 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer Friday 6 November
2020
|
The public outcry against massive corruption has recently
been dramatized by President Dutertes order to investigate
thievery in all branches of government.
Even the newly installed Speaker seconded such call, knowing that
almost all members of the House of Representatives he leads are
contractors either by themselves, or by their relatives, cronies,
and or their dummies who corner infrastructure projects and pocket
billions of pesos of taxpayer money.
Needless to say, the investigation on corrupt practices should begin
in Congress, as corruption and abuse of power emanate from it.
The mega task force created at the Department of Justice to investigate
corruption will go nowhere as it will not be able to imprison a
single plunderer.
Not under the Duterte administration, not under the present Congress,
not under the present Constitution.
At the end of the period, I could see Mr. Duterte once again grinding
his teeth as he speaks with frustration not only because no one
was dismissed from public service, not one arrested and sent to
jail, but also because many of those he brought in and appointed
would turn out to be corrupt, or be corrupted by the powers in imperial
Manila.
That is why we in the Peoples National Coalition for a Revolutionary
Government and Charter Change propose a revolutionary government
that would highly prioritize the fight against corruption, by conducting
the speedy resolution of all pending cases in the Office of the
Ombudsman within a 90-day period from the date of an executive order
issued for this purpose.
Expand the Office of the Ombudsman into every province.
Each provincial office of the ombudsman shall hence be given a 90-day
period to resolve cases of graft and corruption from the date of
filing, dismiss those without merit, and file criminal and civil
cases against government officials and employees with strong evidence
before an expanded Sandiganbayan.
Enlarge the Sandiganbayan into all regions and allow each regional
Sandiganbayan only six months or 180 calendar days to resolve corruption
cases, to acquit those falsely accused or without merit, and convict
those accused government officials when evidence so warrants and
send them to jail.
No more Justice delayed, justice denied.
Institute the Nakaw na Yaman Recovery Program.
All elected and appointed government officials, including their
private accomplices, who have accumulated ill-gotten wealth through
fraudulent practices in violation of all pertinent corruption laws,
and/or those whose wealth have become disproportionate to their
salaries and legitimate income, shall be subjected to confiscation
policies in favor of the government.
Confiscated wealth and/or properties shall be returned only upon
submission of proof that they have been legally and/or legitimately
earned.
This is the way to stop corruption within the bounds of law, and
this can only be possible under a revolutionary government.
Bobby Brillante,
secretary-general,
Peoples National Coalition for a Revolutionary Government
and Charter Change
Manila,
Philippines
Philippines
officials who disallow display of anti red slogans
Are deemed to be welcoming communist rebels
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 6 November 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Thursday 5 November
2020
|
Shameless was the first word that came to mind when
I read the response of Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., chief of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines Southern Luzon Command, to
Cavite Gov. Jonvic Remulla, who said the former should
be ashamed of himself for warning female celebrities Liza
Soberano and Catriona Gray against engaging with Gabriela Youth,
and for supposedly accusing Manila Mayor Isko Moreno of sympathizing
with terrorists when he ordered the removal of
tarpaulins declaring the Communist Party of the Philippines,(CPP)
New Peoples Army, (NPA) and the National Democratic Front
(CPP-NPA-NDF) persona non grata or unwelcome
persons in the city.
Ironically, Parlade, who also serves as spokesperson of the National
Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac), said
it was not right to accuse him - especially in social media - of
putting propaganda tarpaulins (although he fully supports it) in
Manila and Cavite, but he does not see anything wrong with labeling
legal mass organizations as communist fronts.
Following the red-tagging generals logic, any local official
who does not allow the display of anti-red slogans in his locality
is actually welcoming communist rebels.
As rabid anti-communists, Parlade and his cohorts couldnt
care less if they endanger the lives of unarmed activists and critics
of the government whom they link to the underground movement.
Their intention is to discredit the essential role of activism and
criticism in our society by spreading communist fear.
They want to keep the Filipino people subservient, even as the Duterte
administration has failed miserably to improve the lives of the
masses with its neoliberal policies, which feed corruption and undermine
the governments response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NTF-Elcac, which was created by President Duterte and has a
P19-billion budget allocation for 2021, is trying very hard to portray
the communists as the Big Bad Wolf that everyone should fear, yet
reality shows otherwise.
Last time I checked, it was not the Communist Party of the Philippines
(CPP) that waged the bloody drug war that killed thousands of poor
Filipinos; it was not the New peoples Army (NPA) that massacred
farmers and indigenous people; it was not the National Democratic
Front (NDF) that allowed a heros burial for the late dictator
Ferdinand Marcos, whose regime was responsible for countless human
rights violations. So, really, who is the terrorist?
Daniel Aloc,
Bacoor,
Cavite
Call for the Philippines
To make cockfighting history
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 5 November 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Tuesday 3 Nov
2020
|
The death of a Filipino police officer who was slashed
by a fighting cocks spur while trying to break up a cockfight
is a wake-up call.
We were very sorry to learn of the officers death, but we
would like to point out that for the birds, this pastime is almost
always deadly.
The blade that cut the officer is standard in this bloodsport.
Strapped to the birds feet, razor-sharp gaffs tear through
flesh and bone, inflicting agonizing and sometimes fatal injuries.
Roosters sustain broken wings and legs, punctured lungs, severed
spinal cords, and gouged-out eyes.
Before a fight, the feathers of many birds are plucked, and their
combs and or wattles the flesh at the top of the head and under
the beak, respectively are painfully cut off, usually with scissors
- all so that their opponent cant tear
themoff in the ring.
When not fighting for their lives, most of these birds spend their
lives tethered by one leg to overturned wooden baskets or confined
to small wire cages.
In their natural habitat, birds may fight over mates or to establish
their position in a flocks pecking order, but they rarely
fight to the death, because the weaker one generally flees. In cockfights,
there is no escape.
The world has evolved, and times are changing rapidly.
Its time for the Philippines to relegate cruel cockfighting
to the history books.
Ashley Fruno,
Director of Animal Assistance Campaigns,
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Asia,
Manila,
Philippines
Protests in Thailand continue
Despite arrest of protest leaders
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 4 November 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Monday 2 November 2020
|
Charging Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and Piyabutr
Saengkanokkul with sedition will do nothing to quell the unrest;
it will only make the students more determined.
The government doesn't seem to understand that the student demonstrators
are not blind followers, but young people with their own ideas and
aspirations.
The protests have carried on despite the arrest of leaders such
as Parit Chiwarak and Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul.
The government can continue arresting those they feel are leading
the demonstrators, for understanding what is going on is beyond
simply beyond their capabilities.
The generals live in a world of cronyism and patronage, so they
can't understand the students who wish for so much more.
It's ironic that this government, which is led by generals who seized
power from a democratically-elected government in 2014, should be
accusing others of sedition. That they don't see the hypocrisy in
this proves how outmoded their thinking is.
Howard Star,
Bangkok,
Thailand
ASEAN makes its decisions
by consultations and full consensus
Without leaving any Member State out
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 3 Novemeber 2020
First published in the Khmer Times, 31 October 2020
|
This is my personal view in response to a view expressed
by a former diplomat of one of the ASEAN Member States, which has
called for the expulsion of Cambodia and Laos from the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations.
In addition to this call, this person also attempted to mislead
the public by making accusations against Cambodia.
I could not stand by silently when someone has engaged in the acts
of manipulation of Cambodia.
Through this response, I wanted the public to know the real facts
so that they can better understand the whole issue at hand.
First, according to the ASEAN Charter, no Member States of ASEAN
could either be expelled or withdrawn from the Association, an inter-government
regional organisation.
By calling for the expulsion of Cambodia and Laos from ASEAN, one
has engaged in an act of manipulation of the public opinions by
pretending not to know or understand the ASEAN Charter as well as
by attempting to divide ASEAN. According to the procedure, the ASEAN
Charter could only go into effect when all ten Member States of
ASEAN had ratified the chartered and no ASEAN Member States could
be expelled from this regional association.
Please go back and read the ASEAN Charter and the reports of the
ASEAN meetings, including the ASEAN Summits, on issue related to
membership expulsion.
Second, one should not call any country to be a proxy to any power,
superpower or superpowers.
No country in this world, including ASEAN countries, wanted to be
a proxy to any superpower.
Every country on this planet cares about, protects and defends its
own independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Certainly, for Cambodia, the issues of sovereignty, independence
and territorial integrity are absolutely important. In addition,
Cambodia has adopted a policy of engaging with all friendly countries.
Third, as we all know, ASEAN makes its decisions by consultations
and full consensus, without leaving any Member State out.
This is one of the core and fundamental principles of ASEAN: all
decisions are made by consensus.
Fourth, on the matter of the non-issuance of the ASEAN Joint Communique
(JC) when Cambodia was the Chair of ASEAN, Cambodia had served both
ASEAN and the Member States of ASEAN to its very best, with the
ASEAN principles of consensus, inclusion, pragmatism and core interests.
To be fair and just to Cambodia, one could not accuse Cambodia of
being rigid and inflexible, when Cambodia had done its best to be
flexible and pragmatic.
If all ASEAN Member States were flexible and pragmatic at the time,
as well as respected the established practices, ASEAN could have
issued the JC in 2012 easily.
By being so inflexible and unwilling to compromise by some Member
States because they were calling for the inclusion of the drafted
texts which not all the Member States could agree on, ASEAN could
not reach a full consensus.
At the same time, if Member States were to follow the established
practices by not going back on the agreed-upon and the already-approved
texts of the ASEAN Joint Communique (JC), ASEAN could have issued
the ASEAN Joint Communique (JC) in 2012. Based on the established
practices, the disagreed texts, and in the case of the 2012 ASEAN
Joint Communique (JC), there was only one paragraph which ASEAN
could have taken it out from ASEAN Joint Communique (JC) and put
in the record or report of the meeting. Then it could have resolved
the issue easily.
However, due to the rigid and inflexible positions as well as the
non-observance of the established practices by some Member States,
ASEAN could reach a decisive consensus on the ASEAN Joint Communique
(JC).
Therefore, in the ASEAN spirit of unity, solidarity, community and
collective interests, we should not undertake any activities that
could mislead the public opinions, undermine the spirit of ASEAN
integration and community building, and divide and fragment ASEAN.
As a full member of ASEAN since 1999, Cambodia, especially Prime
Minister Hun Sen, has done its best to serve, protect and advance
ASEAN interests, particularly in regional peace, stability, security,
development and integration.
Dr. Kao Kim Hourn,
Minister Attached to the Prime Minister,
Phnom Penh,
Cambodia
Thai kids protesting with
global slogans
Is
a sign of Thailands prosperity
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 2 November 2020
Firts published in the Bangkok Post, Saturday 31 October 2020
|
Wasant Techawongtham is apparently not aware that
Thailand is now an upper-middle income country that has almost eradicated
extreme poverty.
Maybe when he was news editor, the poverty rate was 65 percent .
It is now 10 percent.
I'm not sure of which echo chamber he has picked up his conspiracy.
The fact that Thai kids now protest with the same slogans as their
peers in developed countries is a sign of the country's prosperity.
So, yes, a little thank you to and respect for grandpa and grandma,
and mum and dad, seem to be well-deserved
And, yes, perhaps, old people understand what it takes to achieve
prosperity because they have provided for the comforts kids now
take for granted.
I'd think that they are a better source of wisdom than social influencers
on Snapchat or Tik-Tok who try to sell them stuff that they now
can buy with their parents' money. What is really shameful is to
suggest that they should hang their head in shame.
Attentive
Reader,
Bangkok,
Thailand
King
Sultan Abdullah overrules PM's call
To
declare state of emergency in Malaysia
The
Southeast Asian Times Sunday 1 November 2020
First published in the Star, Wednesday 28 October 2020
|
The news titled "No Emergency, says King"
in the Star, October 25 brought to mind an important discussion
I had with my Form 4 students early this year.
Chapter One of the new syllabus for Form 4 History (KSSM) discusses
the role of the king.
Among other things, the discussion we had in class was about the
role of DYMM Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
There were questions in the textbook, and one of the answers regarding
the role of the King was: keeping the country in a stable environment.
The students were wondering in what way the King could play this
role since its more of the Parliament's role in terms of the
government of the day versus the opposition.
We discussed many scenarios then.
Today, in our History lesson, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah
Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah's decision in recent days about
the Emergency was a real-scenario lesson for the students.
We shared how His Highness used his wisdom to not announce an Emergency.
The calling of a conference of the Malay Rulers by the King to discuss
this important proposal presented by the government of the day,
shows the King's wisdom in getting the opinion from the other state
rulers as well.
The students told me that they now understand the role of the King,
and are grateful that Malaysia has through the years steadfastly
upheld the constitutional monarchy.
At Your Service, Your Highness
Daulat
Tuanku.
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Why
red-tag communists or terrorists or just about everyone
Who
stands for what is right and just
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 31 October 2020
First published in the PhilStar 29 October 2020
|
There are three kinds of insurgency or insurgents
in the world: the ideologue, the brainwashed and the mere oppressed.
Communism is not an ideology and movement as it used to be, three
or four or five decades ago.
Governments and millions of people around the globe have awakened
to become aware not only of communisms failure to effect good
and meaningful changes in society, but of the vile and destructive
doctrine it espouses to achieve its goals.
In the case of the Philippines, the communist insurgency that the
current administration is fighting at this juncture, as the military
touts and I believe, is but a dwindled, small, weakened/powerless
expedition of rebellious dissidents.
What the military, perhaps, doesnt realize is that this insurgency
is likely and largely composed of members who are mere oppressed
and those that have the idealism to fight for their cause.
Therefore:
Why fight communist insurgency as though the
country is still in the era of the 70s, 80s or 90s?
New Peoples Army's (NPA) are still New Peoples Army's (NPA), but
they are no longer as they were during the time of Marcos or Cory.
The same is true with Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) or Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) or the Moro secessionist groups.
Times and situations have changed.
Thousands upon thousands of rebel returnees have surrendered and
joined the government.
Why exaggerate the problem and do rabidly in manner and mentality
to solve the malaise?
I just cant figure out the tune being played, unless they
have something up their sleeves, motivation or incentives
that probably only a few of them know.
Why employ scare tactic when it is no democratic, acceptable and
effective way to persuade people and manage government, and create
or alter history?
Why red-tag as communists or terrorists just about everyone who
stands for what is right and just?
For what sane purpose do we have the recently passed Anti-terror
Law?
Is it not another obvious, ignominious act by the Senate and Congress
that is beyond comprehension except, of course, there is something
more and clandestine behind it?
Dont we instead need to have an anti-madness
law to curb folly and farce among our political leaders?
Why threaten the sweet and pretty Catriona Gray and Liza Soberano
simply because they voiced out their sentiments on certain issues
and or are supportive of the cause of the marginalized sector where
they belong?
Isnt the braveness and fortitude of these two truly beautiful
souls worth emulating by their fellow celebrities?
And why ask the Commission on Human Rights to condemn the already
condemned by the people?
The commission exists as a watchdog to stop and prevent abuses to
humans by humans who are in positions of power.
To solve the problem of insurgency, the president needs just a listening
ear away from whispers, in a dialogue with different
insurgent groups to come up with a real and lasting panacea.
Nevermind Nur Misuari and Jose Maria Sison who have long been away
and detached from their compatriots to be considered
material in addressing the problem.
Oh, I wish to see proof in my own country that would belie what
American professor and writer Isaac Asimov said, Violence
is the last refuge of the incompetent.
The Duterte administration still has time to prove its mettle,
and the chance for the Chief Executive to redeem himself from grave
mistakes.
Reni Valenzuela,
Manila,
Philippines
Lt.
Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. called out
For red-tagging civilians without evidence
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 30 October 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Wednesday 28 Oct
2020
|
In the on-going debate among Philippine Military Academy
graduates in our Viber forum PMARAI about the public response to
the red-tagging by Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. of celebrities Liza
Soberano, Catriona Gray, and Angel Locsin, a fellow alumnus, who
is one of the many who support General Parlades continuing
rant against leftists, I supported Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana
for calling out Parlade for making accusations without evidence,
asked rhetorically why the AFP approach in the last 50 years has
not eliminated the long-running insurgency.
May I share with you, and the public, my post in response to that
PMAers question:
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind."
Military solution, alone, will not defeat the insurgency.
For as long as there is hunger in the countryside and in the slums
in urban areas. For as long as social inequalities exist and make
people feel oppressed.
For as long as the government protects the corrupt against us instead
of protecting us from the corrupt.
The answer, my friend, is eradication of poverty, the attainment
of social justice for all, and making the military bear hard on
those who continue to engage in violence in the pursuit of their
godless communist ideology - even as the government does its best
to give us all a better life.
The answer, my friend, is a profound social change - the drastic
reform of our oppressive social, economic, and political order that
consigns most of us Filipinos, the rich and powerful excluded, to
a life of misery.
The answer is not in red-tagging civilians without evidence.
Col. Leonaro O. Odoño, (Ret.)
PMA64,
Manila
Philippines
Thai
protesters want to be proud
Of King and country
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 29 October 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Monday 26 October 2020
|
As an Australian who admires the Thai nation and the
institution of the Thai monarchy, it troubles me to see how Thai
leaders are handling the conflict.
I was in Bangkok for the events of October 2017.
It was moving to see Thais united as one family, mourning the death
of their beloved Father, King Rama IX. The spirit of unity, generosity
and devotion filled the air.
The late king brought out the best in Thais and at no time more
so than in his death.
Yet families have their problems.
I understand the young protesters, some of whom are my best friends.
And I understand those who are angry with the young protesters,
some of whom are also my best friends.
Loyalty to parents is a sacred duty.
However, I do not see the young protesters as disloyal when they
want their monarchy to be a shining example to the world.
They want to be proud of their King and country.
To see them as disrespectful rebels is to miss whole the point.
On ascending the throne, the late King Bhumibol declared: "My
duty is to be with my people."
He went back to Thailand to spend the rest of his life doing good
for his people.
It is a great pity that many of those in power in Thailand (not
everyone in power, of course) seem unwilling to follow the example
of the late King.
Their reaction to the youth in the streets is incomprehension, anger,
self-justification.
They put their heads in the sand, like the proverbial ostrich.
History teaches that such blindness leads to disaster.
Please, please, do not let this happen to Thailand.
Paul Folley,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Call for ban on nuclear
weapons
To
be included in Catholic religious instruction
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 28 October 2020
First published in the Star, Monday 26 October 2020
|
October 25,2020, is truly a historic day for humanity.
On this day, Honduras became the 50th country to ratify the Treaty
on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), thus achieving the
threshold for it to enter into force globally in 90 days.
Thus, the treaty will enter into force in late January next year.
Malaysia itself had just ratified the treaty on September 30.
Up until now, nuclear weapons were the only weapons of mass destruction
that had not been made illegal under international law.
It now joins the ranks of chemical weapons, biological weapons,
land mines, cluster munitions and the like to become weapons outlawed
by humanity.
Humankind as a whole has entered a new age of peace, security and
happiness in spite of the challenges posed by the ongoing Covid-19
pandemic.
We have also fulfilled the wishes of the hibakusha, the victims
of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan during
WWII, that these demonic and destructive weapons are never again
used on anyone.
Never again will anyone have to undergo the suffering they have
endured for 75 years.
Many leaders in various spheres have called for the outlawing of
the most destructive weapons of all that have caused untold suffering
not only to those in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 but also the
victims of nuclear weapons testing, such as the people of the Marshall
Islands.
The development of nuclear weapons has also resulted in international
tensions and caused billions of dollars to be spent in developing
and maintaining them money that can be put to better use,
such as alleviating the effects of this pandemic.
It is not just political leaders but religious leaders of all faiths
who have called for a ban on nuclear weapons.
Pope Francis has called the use and possession of nuclear weapons
immoral and called for the Catholic Churchs
opposition to nuclear weapons to be included into its catechism
religious instruction.
Japanese Buddhist leader Daisaku Ikeda said: I would like
to strongly stress the importance of ensuring that it (the TPNW)
enters into force within this year, which marks the 75th anniversary
of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This would make
2020 the year that humankind finally begins to leave the nuclear
age behind us.
This is but a beginning, the start of a hope-filled tomorrow.
It has been reported that the current US administration has written
to nations that have ratified or are intending to ratify the TPNW
to retract their support for this historic treaty.
Thankfully, the worlds nations are standing firm against this
form of persuasion.
To the leaders of states that have nuclear weapons: You must realise
that you are now in possession of illegal weapons.
Though you have chosen not to support this treaty, you cannot possibly
ignore the voices of the rest of the world who have proclaimed a
resounding NO! to nuclear weapons.
We call upon the leaders of these nations to enter into negotiations
in good faith to disarm their nuclear arsenals at the earliest possible
opportunity.
We realise that many citizens in states with nuclear weapons also
oppose the weapons and cherish the dream of a world free from them.
Let us extend the hand of friendship and camaraderie to such people
in these states. Let us warmly encourage them.
Let us use the power of dialogue to convince everyone that nuclear
weapons and humanity cannot coexist.
I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to all humanity,
in particular to my compatriots here in Malaysia, who have worked
tirelessly for the sake of peace and a world free from nuclear weapons.
Though we are in a particularly trying period in the history of
the world and our country, as long as we cherish the desire for
peace and are solidly united, we can transform this great calamity
into great happiness, just as we have done with nuclear weapons.
Dinesh Chandren,
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Call for ban on nuclear weapons
To be included in Catholic religious instruction
The Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 28 October 2020
First published in the Star, Monday 26 October 2020
October 25,2020, is truly a historic day for humanity.
On this day, Honduras became the 50th country to ratify the Treaty
on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), thus achieving the
threshold for it to enter into force globally in 90 days. Thus,
the treaty will enter into force in late January next year. Malaysia
itself had just ratified the treaty on Sept 30.
Up until now, nuclear weapons were the only weapons of mass destruction
that had not been made illegal under international law. It now joins
the ranks of chemical weapons, biological weapons, land mines, cluster
munitions and the like to become weapons outlawed by humanity.
Humankind as a whole has entered a new age of peace, security and
happiness in spite of the challenges posed by the ongoing Covid-19
pandemic. We have also fulfilled the wishes of the hibakusha, the
victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan
during WWII, that these demonic and destructive weapons are never
again used on anyone. Never again will anyone have to undergo the
suffering they have endured for 75 years.
Many leaders in various spheres have called for the outlawing of
the most destructive weapons of all that have caused untold suffering
not only to those in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 but also the
victims of nuclear weapons testing, such as the people of the Marshall
Islands. The development of nuclear weapons has also resulted in
international tensions and caused billions of dollars to be spent
in developing and maintaining them money that can be put
to better use, such as alleviating the effects of this pandemic.
It is not just political leaders but religious leaders of all faiths
who have called for a ban on nuclear weapons. Pope Francis has called
the use and possession of nuclear weapons immoral and
called for the Catholic Churchs opposition to nuclear weapons
to be included into its catechism (religious instruction). Japanese
Buddhist leader Daisaku Ikeda said: I would like to strongly
stress the importance of ensuring that it (the TPNW) enters into
force within this year, which marks the 75th anniversary of the
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This would make 2020
the year that humankind finally begins to leave the nuclear age
behind us.
This is but a beginning, the start of a hope-filled tomorrow.
It has been reported that the current US administration has written
to nations that have ratified or are intending to ratify the TPNW
to retract their support for this historic treaty. Thankfully, the
worlds nations are standing firm against this form of persuasion.
To the leaders of states that have nuclear weapons: You must realise
that you are now in possession of illegal weapons.
Though you have chosen not to support this treaty, you cannot possibly
ignore the voices of the rest of the world who have proclaimed a
resounding NO! to nuclear weapons.
We call upon the leaders of these nations to enter into negotiations
in good faith to disarm their nuclear arsenals at the earliest possible
opportunity.
We realise that many citizens in states with nuclear weapons also
oppose the weapons and cherish the dream of a world free from them.
Let us extend the hand of friendship and camaraderie to such people
in these states.
Let us warmly encourage them.
Let us use the power of dialogue to convince everyone that nuclear
weapons and humanity cannot coexist.
I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to all humanity,
in particular to my compatriots here in Malaysia, who have worked
tirelessly for the sake of peace and a world free from nuclear weapons.
Though we are in a particularly trying period in the history of
the world and our country, as long as we cherish the desire for
peace and are solidly united, we can transform this great calamity
into great happiness, just as we have done with nuclear weapons.
Dinesh Chandren,
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Philippine President Duterte
has mastered
Practice of packing supreme court with "friendlies"
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 27 October 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Friday 23 October
2020
|
The editorial Mockery upon mockery,
in Philippine Inquirer October 20, 2020 illustrated
unmistakably how political appointees behave when push comes to
shove.
They defy all principles of law and common sense just to please
the one who put them in such positions of power.
It has always been an utang na loob thing, more
egregiously in the current regime.
What has just happened in the Commission on Elections, dominated
by Duterte appointees, who rammed down everyones throat Ducielle
Cardemas proclamation as representative of the party list
group Duterte Youth marginalized sector, seriously?
despite all legal impediments, can very well be deemed a given in
the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), which is about to resolve
losing vice presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos protest
against sitting Vice President Leni Robredo, who now must do a lot
of Hail Marys.
In his column Accommodating Bongbong Marcos,
October 20, 2020, John Nery explained succinctly why, under its
own rules, the PET should have long dismissed that pesky protest
and upheld Robredos election. Alas, dominated also by appointees
of President Duterte, the PET aka the Supreme Court en banc has
kept that protest alive - obviously, in deference to the Presidents
preference.
Two political influencers are now in positions of great power, and
perceived as totally beholden to Mr. Duterte and best typifying
that utmost loyalty:
Socorro Inting in the Comelec and Henri Jean Paul Inting - her brother
in the Supreme Court (PET) - both from Davao City.
The Americans cringe at the mere thought of packing
the Supreme Court with friendlies.
Mr. Duterte has mastered that practice to perfection.
Arnulfo M. Edralin,
Manila,
Philippines
Call
for dissolution of Thai parliament
Hold new elections open to all
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 26 October 2020
First published in Bangkok Post, Friday 23 October 2020
|
I believe dissolving parliament with all positions
declared vacant would achieve greater representation for the people.
It also would help to get rid of elected members who were given
their status because of their friendship with the current leaders.
An election open to all would demonstrate a fair and democratic
approach. Whatever the result there is going to be some dissent
but this happens in elections all over the world.
A period of time when the new elections are to be held should be
clearly defined and a law passed to that effect.
It would take time for the elected representatives to establish
policies and these should be declared prior to the election to give
the people some understanding of the direction the new government
hopes to achieve.
These are my personal thoughts and I have not been influenced by
others.
I am an ex-vet and ex-policeman, who performed these duties in Australia.
Raymond Clauscen,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Call for Sarawak Tourism,
Arts and Culture Minister
To
cancel Sarawak Youth Day in November
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 25 October 2020
First published in the Star, Saturday 17 October 2020
|
As at October 14, Sarawak had recorded 52 Covid-19
cases since September 26.
According to State Disaster Management Committee chairman Datuk
Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, almost half of the cases originated in
Sabah
46.15 percent cases involved people who had returned from Sabah.
So although the situation is more or less contained, Sarawak is
not completely out of the woods.
Then, on October 15, the Sarawak Youth Day event, to be held on
November 7, was announced.
Imagine my horror when state Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister
Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah announced that the ministry aims
to get a crowd of 1,000 participants 1,000 expected at
Sarawak Youth Day according to theborneopost.com!
There will be a motivational talk held before the event, for which
the organisers are hoping to get 250 participants.
Sarawakians, like all Malaysians, are still dealing with the repercussions
and the ripple effects of the pandemic.
As much as our leaders wish to assure us that event participants
will adhere to the SOP strictly, that reassurance rings hollow when
we observe the consequences of the recent state election in Sabah.
Cases in three-digit numbers and new deaths are being reported every
day now. Have we learnt nothing from that?
Have we not taxed our medical frontliners enough?
Has the rakyat not suffered enough?
Can we, for once, prioritise responsibility and sensibility before
publicity and popularity?
The minister may have noble intentions to motivate the states
youth but how motivating will it be when their health is compromised,
Covid-19 clusters appear, schools have to shut down, their parents
livelihoods are affected - need I say more?
On behalf of Sarawakians, we appreciate the Sarawak Disaster Management
Committees valiant efforts to enforce restrictions to curb
the recent spread. However, let us not allow complacency to creep
in and undo all the good that has been done.
Let us not allow history to repeat itself.
I humbly appeal to the authorities to exercise wisdom and sound
judgment.
Please, please do not proceed with that public event in November.
Rebecca Chieng,
Kuching,
Malaysia
Thai
model of governance
Rooted in ancient class system
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 24 October 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Friday 23 October 2020
|
Re: "A closer look at Thailand's model
of Baramee", in Bangkok Post Opinion, October
21.
Since the word Baramee has its roots in Buddhism, it has a very
specific meaning - "reaching the other shore".
It's usually rendered in English as "perfection".
In the Mahayana practices, it means obtaining enlightenment; giving,
ethics, patience, effort, concentration, and wisdom.
The traditional Thai governance model is no different than the ancient
Mughal model of "Durbars".
In the olden golden times, the feudal lords and kings who ruled
Southeast Asia were always surrounded by a group of sincere advisers
and loyalists but also with a score of sycophants and cronies.
A close-knit organisation of sycophants will do anything to please
their masters which led to the rise of corruption, cronyism, and
nepotism.
We see such traditions still alive in the Middle East and here in
Thailand.
In the old British and Mughal Empires, the lords and the kings will
shower these sycophants with pieces of land, gold ornaments, coins
and nuggets, gems, and jewels.
Thailand's system of governance has evolved around this ancient
model.
In other words, the Thai model of "Baramee" is
nothing more than a well-organised hierarchical power play rooted
in its ancient class system.
Sadly, Thai Buddhism has also become a victim of patronage.
We still see such a model in many primitive societies.
In a nutshell, Baramee has no place in the 21st century where there
are no illiterate masses or "subjects"; people
are now free, educated, and self-reliant.
Any system or model-based patronage, cronyism, and nepotism can't
last forever.
Kuldeep
Nagi,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Always maintain a glass
half-full outlook
Rather than glass half-empty outlook
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 23 october 2020
First published in the Star, Wednesday 21 October 2020
|
In the midst of our third pandemic wave, it is not
surprising that many Malaysians from all walks of life are struggling
with their mental health.
However, not everyone is fortunate enough to have the financial
means to access professional mental health support.
So perhaps some self-help is in order.
At the individual level, we can strive to practise the three Cs:
Calm yet cautious attitude: Be mindful not to contribute to panic
that can hinder efforts to positively manage our fears.
Maintaining a calm outlook helps to deal with isolation or quarantine
rules that may feel daunting or overwhelming.
Connect with family and friends: Even doing so online can improve
ones sense of wellbeing.
Form support groups so everyone can encourage each other to stay
physically active, have a balanced diet and, if things get too hard,
to seek professional mental health support.
Compassion and kindness: Showing compassion and kindness helps to
connect with others, which in turn strengthens our key sense of
community and solidarity.
The worst of this pandemic will pass, especially given the concerted
global efforts to find an effective vaccine.
As always, strive to maintain a balanced, glass half-full rather
than glass half-empty outlook.
Sze Loong Steve Ngeow,
Kajang,
Selangor,
Malaysia
Call
for Thailand to heed the sage advice
Of the late King of Thailand HM Rama
IX
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 22 October 2020
First published in Bangkok Post Wednesday 21 October 2020
|
In these dire times, let us again turn to our beloved
national father, HM the late King Rama IX, for advice on how to
respond to criticisms.
In his 2005 birthday speech, broadcast nationwide, he said:
"No one would dare to send those who insult the King to jail
because the King will be troubled, since people will claim that
the King is not a good person, or at least is over-sensitive - sending
them to jail for minor insults.
Actually, the King has never told anyone to send them to jail.
Under previous kings, even rebels were not sent to jail or punished.
King Rama VI did not punish rebels.
During the time of King Rama IX, who were the rebels?
There have never been any genuine rebels.
I also followed the same approach: do not send them to jail, but
let them go.
If they are already in jail, release them.
If they are not in custody, I will not press charges as the offended
party.
The person who is insulted is the one in trouble.
People who insult the King and are punished are not in trouble,
rather the King himself is in trouble.
This is a strange business."
The late king's views in 2005 were consistent with his 2003 birthday
speech, also broadcast nationwide:
"If they criticise correctly then thank them, if they criticise
wrongly tell them, very discreetly, but the person who is greatly
troubled by this, is the king, he is troubled because no one can
reproach him.
We did not tell those who wrote the constitution
that no one can criticise or contradict the king.
Why this was written, I do not know.
If I cannot be contradicted, how can I know if I am right or wrong?"
We should ponder the late king's advice, for surely he was the expert
on the monarchy - and, to me, HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn's audience
with
ex-Communist Party of Thailand members a few days ago signals that
he is following in his royal father's footsteps of forgiving those
who disagree.
Our universities should lead debates on what HM Rama IX's speeches
mean today.
Does criticism mean that one is not loyal?
What does our lese majeste law allow?
Heed HM's sage advice.
Burin Kantabutra,
Bangkok,
Thursday
Doctor reputes report
that death of Philippines school children
Linked to mass innoculation of Dengvaxia
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 21 October 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Monday 19 October
2020
|
Re: Inquirer.net article, SC orders trials
of all Dengvaxia cases transferred to a single court
by Darryl John Esguerra.
We call your attention to the inaccurate and misleading statements
contained therein:
Sanofi Pasteur Inc. did not recall Dengvaxia in 2017 nor at any
other time.
The vaccine is currently used globally and was in fact made an essential
medicine by the World Health Organization in 2019.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Philippines revoked the product
certification due to alleged lack of documentation which Sanofi
Pasteur denies.
The reported cases of death among children who received
Dengvaxia shots due to severe dengue and claims
of families of victims are not factual. There are no confirmed
cases of deaths due to Dengvaxia vaccination as of now worldwide.
Your reporter is citing a source (Erfe) who is not a pathologist
and who conducted fake autopsies that are the basis for the charges.
As of today, 8 of these cases filed in various Municipal Trial Courts
have been dismissed.
As such, these misleading statements and omissions tend to cast
aspersions on the persons being charged with nonexistent crimes.
This is contrary to your professed philosophy of Balanced
News Fearless Views.
Further, the article fans the flames of anti-vaccine sentiments
at a time of the pandemic when COVID-19 vaccines are being developed
which will be impacted by such misleading statements.
We need to have fair and open minds regarding vaccine acceptance
and your story slant certainly does not help in this regard.
Dr. Kenneth Hartigan-Go,
Manila,
Philippines
Divine
justice for assassin
Of Indonesian civil rights lawyer
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 20 Oct 2020
|
Assassin of Indonesian civil rights lawyer dies of
Covid-19 in the Southeast Asian Times 19 October.
One could read that as divine justice.
Rajend Naidu
Sydney,
Australia
Call
to follow in HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn footsteps
King meets ex-communists
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 20 October 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Saturday 17 October 2020
|
Re: "Water cannon blast rally",
in Bangkok Post October 17, 2020
Friday night's highly visible crackdown set our economic recovery
back significantly.
What tourist would want to encounter such an unpredictably dangerous
situation?
I'm reminded of JFK, who said, "Those who make peaceful
revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
We should follow in the footsteps of HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn:
"King meets ex-communists", in Bangkok Post October
17 2020, our beloved national father HM the late King Bhumibol,
and then-PM Prem Tinsulanonda when they reached out to Communist
Party of Thailand members to bring them back into society - and
used their inputs for the common good.
We must rapidly open up avenues for safe discussion of how to quickly
and peacefully bring about the deep changes we know we need - maybe
have universities or committees like Khun Vicha Mahakun's or Khun
Anand Panyarachun's the latter on revising the constitution recommend
changes in the areas pointed out by our youth.
Visibly show society and our youth that we recognise the need for
change, appreciate their thoughtful input, and rapidly act on it.
Show that we, working together, will make peaceful revolution possible.
Burin Kantabutra,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Court
denies appeal from imprisoned activist mother
To visit her dying baby
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 19 October 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Friday 16 October
2020
|
In November 2019, Reina Mae Nasino, 23, a Kadamay
community organizer, was among 62 activists arrested in Metro Manila
and Bacolod.
She was pregnant.
On July 1, she gave birth to River but was separated from her baby
on August 13. On Rivers third month, she got sick and was
brought to the intensive care unit.
Reina Mae Nasino, through her lawyers, appealed to the court for
furlough but was denied.
River passed on without her mother by her side.
We dont need more villains.
The court couldve been kind, but it chose to be cruel.
It couldve been nurturing, but it chose negligence.
Why punish the child for being born to an activist mother?
Refusing her the sustenance of milk from her mamas breast,
the court betrayed her future.
It stole a childs life even before she had the chance to do
more than begin to live.
Why file charges and detain a community organizer?
Is it because Reina Mae Nasino is poor, or is it because she works
for social change and the court is under the sway of bigoted, militarist
ideologues that think activists deserve to rot in jail?
Even in Rivers final moments of life, the court denied her
the embrace of her mother.
Instead of compassio - even for a little time - this countrys
legal system chose depravity.
Every one of you is complicit in this tragedy.
Norma P. Dollaga,
Kapatirang Simbahan Para sa Bayan,
Manila,
Philippines
Rigorous testing for airline
passengers to Thailand
But not for truck drivers from Myanmar
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 18 October 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Wednesday 14 October
2020
|
Re: "Urgent testing out after scare",
in Bangkok Post, Sunday 11 October 2020
Authorities have incessantly insisted on tedious and rigorous Covid-19
safeguards for foreigners who might fly into Thailand to conduct
business, restart international tourism or simply reunite with their
Thailand-based families.
I was therefore shocked to read that truck drivers hauling goods
from Myanmar to the market in Mae Sot are only "randomly
tested" for the Covid-19 virus.
This is especially perplexing given the current known explosion
of Covid-19 cases in Myanmar.
Such a cavalier approach by border authorities seriously risks inflicting
another serious wave of coronavirus infections on the Thai population.
Samanea Saman,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Debate on Thai monarchy
reform
Moved from parliament to the streets
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday17 October 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Wednesday 14 October
2020
|
The destruction of the political party that young
people voted for has caused the removal of debate from parliament
to the street.
This is the "order" that Prime Minister Gen Prayut
Chan-o-cha created and there was plenty of it.
All relevant institutions packed with his friends and cohorts committed
to the orders he gave them.
But peace is not created by arrest, bans, detentions and prison
sentences. Discussions are needed but the traditional establishment
figures are determined never to talk about certain issues.
Lungstib,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Justice
delayed is justice denied
In
Philippines Supreme Court
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 16 October 2020
First published in the Philippines Inquirer, Thursday 15 October
2020
|
Allow me to react to the column of retired chief justice
Artemio Panganiban Solving the SCs heavy caseload,
August 23, 2020 that informed the nation that as of December 2016,
the backlog of unresolved cases in the Supreme Court numbered close
to 14,500 per Gio-Samar v. DOTC, 2019, with each justice assigned
to take care of almost 1,000 cases.
One of them is our familys case, which is now in its 11th
year there without any resolution in sight.
Our father had already passed away due to old age.
Anyway, given the herculean task involvedsaid to be mission
almost impossibleone cannot help but wonder why that job
is still to die for.
In our own pedestrian view, it is simply because, for most lawyers
and lower court judges/justices, it is the best place to spend their
last years before retirement at age 70.
The pay is tremendous in millions of pesos per annum and the retirement
benefits even better amounting to tens of millions regardless of
the amount of work they have done or left undone.
Quite a number of them retire after having put in only minimal work
in that court, leaving tons of unfinished business to their successors
without being subject to sanctions of any kind whatsoever.
What other explanation could there be why so many cases more than
10 years old in that court like ours just get routinely passed on
to and inherited by newly appointed justices who must start from
square one to study those cases all over again?
Then they themselves retire soon thereafter without having done
much about those cases, leaving them to get passed on again to the
justices who come in next through the high courts revolving
door, and so on and so forth.
The Supreme Court keeps amending the rules supposedly to expedite
the disposition of cases; but no matter how fast the cases below
may move, the mantra justice delayed, justice denied
will keep resonating in the peoples minds if the highest court
of the land itself remains as excruciatingly sluggish as it has
always been.
To reverse the public perception of it being so indifferent to the
miseries of people with cases there hibernating for what seems like
an eternity, something has got to give.
President Duterte, in the exercise of his extraordinary power and
influence as chief executive and overlord of the entire government
now obviously with a tremendous hold on the Supreme Courtshould
put an end to this travesty.
For starters, he can have retiring justices audited and, if found
grossly delinquent in the performance of their duties, meted out
some penalty in the form of substantial reductions from, or perhaps
forfeiture of, their retirement benefits.
The Supreme Court itself has been doing that to retiring lower court
magistrates. But being supreme, no such sanctions
are ever applied to anyone of their own. It is time to really hit
them where it hurts the most and only Mr. Duterte can make that
happen, if only he would start acting like the statesman he often
said he never signed up or ran for.
Scarlet S. Sytangco,
Manila,
Philippines
Future saints in Philippines
Catholic Church
Play video games
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 15 October 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Wednesday 14 October
2020
|
Filipinos often shrug off, and sometimes even ridicule,
the idea of an average person born in recent times being recognized
as holy in the eyes of the Church. They will say it is a foolish
idea, a brazen effort to place religion back to relevance, but will
somehow ironically also venerate the saints of old in a cruel twist
of hypocrisy.
My quarantined self has just watched the live stream of the beatification
of Carlo Acutis, the late millennial who is credited with a miraculous
intercession in the case of a sick boy in Brazil.
I was jubilant because this was a future saint who played actual
video games, and someone I can totally relate to, even more perhaps
than other saints of the Roman Catholic Church.
The thought, however, pointed to a more somber realization: My generation,
including all young people today, want some purpose in life.
This is perhaps why there is a rise in student activism, a wave
of advocacies led by young people, and the general pushback of the
youth against the existing order.
In a way, Blessed Carlo Acutis serves as the literal symbol for
what young people such as myself dream to aspire, even if it isnt
something that necessarily points to holiness: having a purpose
in life.
Perhaps it may be as subtle as talking somebody out of suicide,
or as ambitious as having your work published in the Inquirer.
In any case, our prodigy generation needs a dose of divine intercession.
Arnel Christopher Calatrava
Bacolod City,
Philippines
Malaysia calls for abolishment
of death penalty
In
line with international human rights
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 14 October 2020
First published in the Star, Monday 12 October 2020
|
The Malaysian Bar Council renews its call to abolish
the death penalty in conjunction with the 18th World Day Against
the Death Penalty, which falls on October 10 each year.
The Malaysian Bar has persistently, during its annual or extraordinary
general meetings in the past 30 years, passed resolutions advocating
the abolition of the death penalty.
We have always been, and remain, a vocal opponent of the mandatory
death penalty, and have repeatedly called upon the government to
abolish it.
There is no empirical evidence to confirm that the death penalty
deters crimes. Despite the existence of capital punishment in Malaysia,
there is nothing substantive to support that this form of punishment
has resulted in a reduction in crimes, especially for drug-related
offences.
In December 2018, Malaysia cast its first vote and joined a record
number of United Nations member states in favour of the United Nations
General Assembly resolution calling for a moratorium on executions,
with the view to abolish the death penalty.
In conjunction with the World Day Against the Death Penalty, the
Malaysian Bar once again calls upon the government to continue to
support the resolution to abolish the death penalty when the time
comes for a vote again at a later date.
It is of utmost importance that Malaysia maintains its global reputation
and credibility by reaffirming and fulfilling its international
commitments and pledges.
The Malaysian Bar urges the government to make public the recommendations
of the Special Committee to Review Alternative Sentences to the
Mandatory Death Penalty, which was established in September 2019
to study the abolition of capital punishment and to consider meting
out alternative sentences.
We renew our recommendation for the establishment of a Law Reform
Commission to review outdated laws and sentencing procedures to
bring our country in line with international human rights standards.
Salim Bashir,
President,
Malaysian Bar
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Proposed
tax break
Will
not jump start Thai economy
The
Southeast Asuian Times, Tuesday 13 October 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Sunday 11 October 2020
|
What kind of elitist joke is the proposed scheme of
a 30,000-baht tax break for only 6 percent of the population?
The beneficiaries of the 7 percent VAT tax write-off are the people
that socio-economically are not really hurting.
They are not the ones that have lost their jobs and incomes, if
they are still paying income tax!
This will not "jump start" the economy because
this break applies to mostly standard consumerism that the elite
already engage in.
It will not apply to the street vendor, taxi driver, or family stores.
Any meaningful solution has to a bottom-up approach.
That is where the economic ruination is being felt the most!
For there to be a true economic stimulation, money should be given
freely to the lower 90 percent to spend as they wish.
This is how developed countries and democracies are handling the
economic devastation from Covid.
There is plenty of money in the government coffers for this if useless
major military expenditures and questionable projects are tabled
for a few years to get through these trying times.
Darius Hober,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Thai
hierarchy wants cheap labour
Not critical thinkers
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 12 October 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Sunday 11 October 2020
|
I was an educator in the best secondary schools of
America, Thailand and Korea for 25 years.
Thai students do not inherently pursue learning, because "Thainess"
has not instilled intellectual motivation in them.
Those at the top of the Thai hierarchy want cheap labour, not critical
thinkers.
The academic is right, "rote learning in primary and secondary
schools has been designed to prop up a socio-political hierarchy
of power and authority".
And, extinguish curiosity in Thai people.
Those in power are too ignorant and greedy to implement what the
world knows - a high tide lifts all boats.
Jacobusse,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Friends of the Earth organisation
in Malaysia
Call
for end to fossil fuel financing
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 11 October 2020
First published in the Star, Fruday 2 October 2020
|
Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM), Friends of the Earth
organisation in Malaysia, welcomes the efforts of Bank Negara Malaysia
and the Securities Commission to accelerate climate action in the
financial sector via the Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3).
We laud efforts to ensure financial institutions are adequately
measuring, mitigating and building buffers against climate risks.
A recent JC3 statement affirmed the importance of managing climate
change given the significant risks and systemic impact
that climate events can inflict on our lives and livelihoods.
It is vital to push the financial sector towards scaling up environmental
and low-carbon financing, and giving equal attention to investments
in climate adaptation.
Adaptation deals with implementing measures to increase the nations
resilience to climate impacts, such as implementing early warning
systems for floods or other economic activities involving adaptations
to climate change.
What is most startling from recent studies is the apparent lack
of sufficient preparedness in many cities around the world, including
our own, in addressing the possible climate impacts of climate change
More than two in three cities globally are already noticing the
effects of climate change, from more heatwaves to worsening flooding,
but few have effective plans to deal with the threats.
Apparently, budget restrictions are a key reason.
Hence, investing in adaptation now is most vital. It is well known
that financing for mitigation (i.e. reducing emissions) is usually
prioritised over adaptation, as the former can be revenue-generating
while the latter is not.
But to ignore adaptation actions will lead to severe economic losses,
as exemplified by forest fires and flooding.
In the case of investments in mitigation-related efforts, we stress
the need to put an end to fossil fuel financing.
It is troubling to know that Malaysian banks are at risk of having
to prop up a dying industry, given huge investments in coal power,
while the global landscape of renewable energy continues to expand
rapidly.
While some Malaysian banks have stated they are taking a phased
approach to easing up on coal financing, more urgency is needed
in ending this altogether.
Our financing choices will determine whether we are on the path
to a low-carbon and safe future that is also resilient to climate
impacts or whether we are exposed to a whole load of risks similar
to the Covid-19 pandemic that will have far-reaching consequences
across all economic sectors as well as our lives.
Hence, we reiterate the urgency for the financial sector and banks
to ensure climate-friendly investments.
Meenakshi Raman,
President, Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM),
Friends of the Earth organisation in Malaysia,
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Philippines hope that
the Christmas season
Will boost spending to fuel depressed economy
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 10 October 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Tuesday 6 October
2020
|
Just recently, Social Weather Stations released a
survey showing that an alarming 30.7 percent of the population experienced
involuntary hunger for the period September 17-20.
Thats around 30 million Filipinos, or 7.6 million families!
This brings to mind those jeepney drivers begging on the streets
holding signs that said: Di bale mamatay sa COVID, huwag
lang sa gutom.
It did not seem so serious a message then.
But now we are seeing the full scope of hunger that will surely
affect more people in the days ahead.
This problem only means that our policymakers should consider more
sensible solutions and clear-cut policies.
For one, the distinction between Modified General Community Quarantine
(MGCQ) and General Community Quarantine (GCQ) has lost relevance,
as seen in people jostling at transportation terminals to get a
ride, paying no mind to safety protocols.
In addition, there is confusion as to the number of people who are
allowed to gather.
The rules on wearing face masks and face shields and observing physical
distancing in public transportation also need to be strictly enforced.
If these simple solutions cannot even be implemented properly, how
can we expect to bring down the number of COVID-19 cases in the
country and allow the economy to resume fully?
The government has proposed a P4-trillion budget for next year,
but with the economy down, where will it source tax revenues to
fund this?
The country cannot live on borrowing for long.
There are hopes that the Christmas season will be able to boost
spending to fuel a depressed economy.
But it remains to be seen, especially when there is no guarantee
that the lockdown on National Capital Region (NCR) can be eased
and the metro can be placed under Modified General Community Quarantine
(MGCQ) by Oct. 15.
Its a chain reaction: As long as there are new COVID-19 cases
being reported, lockdowns have to continue, and this means a lackluster
economy as businesses will remain closed or will operate minimally.
If nothing is done, more people will go hungry!
Marvel K. Tan
Manila,
Phioippines
Nepotism
in Papua New Guinea
Leaves students
from struggling families unemployed
The
Southeast Asian Times Friday 9 October 2020
First published in the National saturday 26 September 2020
|
It is scary that about 70 per cent of our graduates
are still looking for jobs.
I think it is fair to say that the number of unemployed people have
exceeded the total number of the students in school.
How can we address this?
I see that many people are employed through nepotism while students
who have graduated with flying colours are without jobs.
Most of our graduates come from struggling families.
It is an issue that needs urgent solutions.
Eager eye,
Concerned Citizen,
Port Moresby
Papua New Guinea
Tourists
on a 30 day visa
Don't want 14 days quarantine
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 8 October 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Tuesday 6 October 2020
|
What tourist is going to want to travel thousands
of miles to spend 14 days or even 10 days in quarantine - on a 30-day
tourist visa?
Americans and Europeans spend lots when they visit Thailand, but
they come for its beaches, mountains, architecture and culture,
not to be confined to a hotel room.
Meanwhile, retirees like myself, who spend months and years at a
time in the kingdom, are not allowed to return.
It is especially insulting to US and Australian military veterans
like myself, who served in Thailand during the Vietnam War, helping
Thailand to preserve its culture and constitutional monarchy.
Terence A Harkin,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Vaccine
nationalism
Guarantees
access to vaccine
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 7 October 2020
First published in the Star, Fruday 2 October 2020
|
There is a clear and present threat that an additional
0.4 percent to 2 percent of the worlds population will die
by the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As the crisis shows no signs of abating, there is an international
scramble for vaccines that has been complicated by nationalism and
geopolitical tensions.
Two crucial issues with vaccines are effectiveness and safety.
The SARCov2 virus belongs to a family of viruses that commonly mutates,
thus making an effective vaccine for Covid-19 is difficult.
Vaccines created based on past strains may be less protective when
used against future mutated strains.
The second issue is the vaccines safety.
Vaccine trials are powered to detect common side effects.
As we plan to vaccinate whole populations, infrequent side effects
may become frequent.
Vaccine nationalism (when governments sign agreements
with manufacturers to supply their own populations) has resulted
in some countries enacting policies to develop and procure sufficient
vaccines for their population before engaging with other multinational
agencies.
The advantage of this strategy is guaranteed access to the vaccine
under development.
Another strategy is developing bilateral vaccine trade deals with
favoured partners. The benefits of this policy are guaranteed access
to a vaccine in development, direct cost negotiations and better
diplomatic relations.
An important risk to both these strategies is that all resources
are put into a smaller basket of possible vaccine targets.
An alternative strategy is the establishment of broad coalitions
or consortiums comprising multiple international agencies that countries
can join.
With a larger basket of vaccine targets, and due to the inclusive
nature of collaboration, this strategy is likelier to produce a
vaccine that is more accessible and equitable.
However, the price-setting formulations, along with guaranteed commitments
to purchase, may differ.
A significant cost determinant is the stage of development.
However, price negotiations must be valuebased, incorporating measures
of effectiveness and safety.
The first generation of approved vaccines may not be cost-effective
as a public health intervention for the whole population as subsequent
generations are likelier to incorporate newer knowledge of the virus
that will make for better vaccines.
Governments are in a challenging position now.
Delaying a national vaccination campaign of first-generation vaccines
may result in more people getting Covid-19; however, utilising first-generation
vaccines may lead to muted benefits and lowered cost-effectiveness.
Dr Sanjay Rampal,
Universiti Malaya (UM)
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Call
for strengthening of laws
For the sale of animals in pet shops
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 6 October 2020
|
Do you know that the state of Queensland in Australia
has some of the worst 'Puppy Farm' laws in the country because:
Puppy factories and the sale of animals in pet shops remains legal.
There is no cap on dog numbers or litter limits.
Dogs can be made to breed until no longer physically able, and back-to-back.
Dogs can be killed without a vet.
There are no time requirements for exercise, socialisation or enrichment
as long as it's 'once a day'.
Soft bedding is not a requirement.
Up to 600 dogs can be kept in disgusting, squalid conditions in
cages and sheds and forced to breed all their lives until they are
no longer useful.
They are then abandoned or killed.
Nothing can be done to help these poor dogs who never experience
love or sun or grass. They live in misery and loneliness because
of Queensland's weak legislation which makes no effort to help them.
If you care about this terrible situation, ask each of your local
candidates if they will introduce and push legislation to strengthen
these laws.
Jennifer Horsburgh,
Queensland,
Australia
Call for five more years
for Bougainville
As province of Papua New Guinea
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 6 October 2020
First published in the National, Friday 25 September 2020
|
Congratulations Ishmael Toroama, the new President-elect
of Bougainville.
A big thanks to the other presidential candidates and those who
contested for the Autonomous Bougainville Government seats.
The supporters and voters should be acknowledged for allowing the
polling processes to be conducted fairly and freely without fear
or conflicts.
A new day is dawning for Bougainville.
I am concerned that over the years, Members of Parliament representing
Bougainville have turned a blind eye on the development of tertiary
education in the province.
There are no state-run teachers college, nursing college and business
college in Bougainville.
Does that mean the young Bougainvilleans who are in secondary school
now will have to travel abroad to further their education?
I think Bougainville should take five more years to operate as a
province of Papua New Guinea before being independent.
Enough time should be given for Bougainville to set up tertiary
institutions with the help of the National Government.
I wish the people of Bougainville all the best.
PNG Man,
Port Moresby,
Papua New Guinea
Call for Singapore to
stop persecution of lawyer
Defending Malaysian on death row
The
Southeast Asian Times Monday 5 October
First published in Malaysiakini, Wednesday 23 September 2020
|
We refer to the persecution of prominent Singapore
human rights lawyer M Ravi by the Singapore authorities over his
advocacy and defence of Malaysian death row prisoners in the notorious
Changi prison.
On September 19, the Disciplinary Tribunal of Singapores Law
Society inflicted a fine of S$10,000, as well as S$3,000 in costs,
upon Ravi as a result of a complaint initiated by the Singapore
Attorney-General.
This action by the Singapore authorities on Ravi, arose from a press
conference held in Kuala Lumpur by Ravi together with Lawyers for
Liberty (LFL) on July 23, 2019.
In the press conference, Ravi strongly criticised Singapores
plans to execute Malaysian death row prisoner Nagaenthran Dharmalingam,
who is mentally ill. Nagaenthran has an IQ of only 69 and has very
little understanding of the situation he is in.
Nagaenthran was convicted and sentenced to death on November 22,
2010 for allegedly smuggling 42.72g of diamorphine into Singapore.
Despite evidence from an independent psychiatrist that Nagaenthran
suffers from mental illness, the Singapore judicial system has sent
him to death row.
At present, Nagaenthran remains on death row and could be executed
at any time.
It is shocking and unacceptable that Singapore is now targeting
Ravi for speaking out and calling for justice for this Malaysian
citizen.
Ravi is the lawyer for Nagaenthrans family.
Hence, this is a serious interference by the Singapore authorities
with Nagaenthran and his familys right to legal advice and
assistance.
The action against Ravi for taking up the cause of this mentally
impaired Malaysian citizen who is facing death by hanging is clearly
intended to undermine or sabotage the legal efforts to save Nagaenthran.
The baseless punishment meted out to Ravi by the Singapore authorities
is in breach of international legal norms as well as Singapores
own Constitution. Article 9 of the Singapore Constitution enshrines
the right to a fair trial. Punishing Nagaenthrans family lawyer
for carrying out his duties jeopardises this right.
We urge the Singapore government:
to retract the hefty fine levied on Ravi, and nullify the finding
of guilt recorded against him;
to cease all current and future attempts to interfere with, intimidate
or silence Ravi;
to respect the right of Malaysian death row prisoners to legal advice
and advocacy.
We further urge the Malaysian government to make the necessary objections
or representations to the Singapore government over the ongoing
intimidation of the Nagaenthran familys legal counsel.
N Surendran,
Advisor for Lawyers for Liberty (LFL)
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Philippines
Holy Angel University refutes claim that university
Is
requitment ground for Communist Party of Philippines
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 4 October 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Friday 30 September
2020
|
The Holy Angel University (HAU), as a Catholic institution
of higher learning, places itself at the service of Truth, truth
not merely as a concept but as a person in our Lord Jesus Christ
(John 14:6).
Truth is the teaching of our Lord; any deviation therefrom is a
disservice to Him. The Holy Angel University (HAU), at the service
of this truth, continues to holistically develop students to become
more conscientious, competent, and compassionate.
Forefront to this is the preaching and living of the Truth, a relevant
aspect to the development of the moral fiber of society.
Recently, Facebook took down 155 accounts, 11 pages, nine groups,
and six Instagram accounts for violating its policy against foreign
or government interference, which involve trolls and fake accounts,
including posts about the red-tagging of schools, the Holy Angel
University (HAU) included.
It is in this sense that the Holy Angel University (HAU) strongly
decries the use of the universitys brand and image in the
red-tagging that surfaced on social media recently.
These posts cite Holy Angel Academy Pampanga,
along with two other higher education institutions, as alleged recruitment
basins of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New Peoples
Army (CPP-NPA) in Central Luzon.
The red-tagging of the Holy Angel University (HAU), with a reference
to Holy Angel Academy Pampanga, appears to be
based on an article in the Manila Times dated Oct. 8, 2018, that
was written by Rigoberto Tiglao.
He wrote that The claim by an Army general that the (CPP)
has been recruiting students in the countrys universities
to join it and its (NPA) is nothing new, and cited Bernabe
Buscayno, the first commander of the (NPA), and his associates Nilo
Tayag and Rodolfo Salas as HAU alumni. While the University recognizes
them as part of its roster of alumni, recruitment, or any other
communist-related activities, is not happening on our watch. Rather,
Holy Angel Academy HAU continually educates and forms its students
to practice vigilance and prudence in joining organizations. As
a recommended Catholic college of the Cardinal Newman Society for
faithful Catholic education, our Code of Conduct prohibits membership
in any organization which is anti-Catholic, or whose philosophy
is in any way contrary to the ethical or moral teachings of the
Catholic Church.
The world today faces the father of lies - Satan - who, since there
is no truth in him (John 8:44), sows disinformation and discord.
As seekers, we need to sow and speak the truth, an act of charity
for one another. Pope Francis himself said that sowing fake news
is a grave sin against charity Pope Francis, Speech to the Catholic
Media, 2017.
The Holy Angel University (HAU), being a partner for the propagation
of truth, likewise urges the government to shed light on the fake
accounts purportedly connected to the Philippine military and the
police.
While we believe that as a Catholic institution it is our duty to
obey and respect authorities (1 Timothy 2:1-3), we expect no less
commitment from our government, that it may continue its moral ascendancy
to govern (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1900-1903).
The University continually dedicates itself to being an agent of
truth, because, like our bishops, it believes that a just society
depends on truth (CBCP, Consecrate them in the Truth, 2017).
Finally, Holy Angel University (HAU) echoes the exhortation of the
CBCP:
To refrain from patronizing, popularizing, and supporting identified
sources of alternative facts or fake
news.
To rebut and refute falsehoods whenever people are in possession
of facts and of data.
To refuse to be purveyors of fake news, and to desist from disseminating
this whether on social media, by word of mouth, or through any other
form of public expression.
To identify the sources of fake news so that our brothers and sisters
may be duly alerted and may know which media and which sites to
shun.
Let us pray that we may all be consecrated in the Truth (John 17:17).
For the greater glory of God! Laus Deo semper!
Dr. Luis María R. Calingo
University President
Holy Angel University
Call for Thai protesters
to widen agenda
To include reduction of carbon emissions
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 3 October 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Saturday 25 September
2020
|
Re:
"Reforms need broadening of the agenda", Bangkok
Post,
September 25.
Recommending that protesters widen their agenda and allow
for new circumstances to seep into the hitherto blinkered collective
public consciousness are useful notions.
However, if backward-looking institutions show reluctance to adapt
and continue to protect privilege and profits through authoritarian
means, the very order they wish to preserve will not endure.
That Siam escaped colonialism and Thailand escaped communism was
not just due to favourable circumstances.
In both cases, some astute policy befitting the moment helped circumstances
flow fortuitously.
Do Thailand's people uniformly believe Thailand's institutions are
making wise moves to protect their future?
The military government talks of armoured cars and submarines but
how much action, let alone forward-looking discussion, has there
been to reduce carbon emissions by creating a distributed and sustainable
power supply using abundant solar resources, for example?
The young know it is well past time to widen the agenda but can
the institutions listen and act wisely?
May the nation's young succeed in overcoming all obstacles, for
it is not just the future of the nation's institutions that is at
stake.
Kuntree Bumkhin,
Bangkok,
Thailand
A
museum to honour victims of Martial Law under Marcos
Or a social amelioration program
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 2 October 2020
|
Which one to prioritize, the Social Amelioration Program
for the low-income families or the University of the Philippines
Martial law museum that cost almost ?500 million?
The said museum will be committed to honoring the victims of state
violence and persecution during the Martial law under the late dictator
President Ferdinand Marcos.
It was considered as the most important project of the Human Rights
Violations Victims Memorial Commission (HRVVMC).
Also, there is a planned Hall of Agony that will depict the various
methods of torture employed by the perpetrators of human rights
abuses during martial law.
They say that it will be the first museum that officially recognizes
the atrocities committed during the period of martial law.
Amid the pandemic, I'm just wondering why the government will push
this project. It looks unnecessary knowing we are having a hard
time recovering our economy. It is not just an ordinary issue for
some of us.
Is it worth building a museum amid the struggle that many Filipino
families are facing at his time?
Kareen Asistio,
Manila,
Philippines
Rio Tinto has long history
Of corporate bad behaviour
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 1 October 2020
|
It came as no surprise to learn that Rio Tinto has
been accused of environment destruction and human rights abuse in
Papua New Guinea.
It has a long history of corporate bad behaviour.
Recently it was condemned for its callous destruction of a 40,000
year old Aboriginal cultural heritage site.
Rio Tinto is all about the pursuit of profit through its mega mining.
It mostly pays only lip service to concerns about the affected people
and the environment.
And, the money it forks out in fines and compensation is small change
compared to the profits it makes.
Rio Tinto represents the downside of unfettered capitalism with
State complicity.
Rajend Naidu,
Sydney,
Australia
Tuberculosis in Philippines
Highest in ASEAN
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 30 September 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Tuesday 29 September
2020
|
As we watch how the COVID-19 pandemic has reached
every corner of the Philippines, there is another pandemic that
has been with us for the longest time. Tuberculosis has put the
Philippines on top in the whole of Asia, with the highest incidence
rate of 554 cases per 100,000 people.
TB is curable.
Yet four of five Filipinos who experience signs and symptoms of
TB do not immediately go for proper check-up.
They either self-medicate or simply do nothing.
When asked why, they would talk about how trivial the symptoms were,
or how costly it was to seek care and get treatment.
TB treatment is free in public hospitals, clinics, and health centers.
Yet, about 60 percent of Filipinos with TB go to private doctors
for comfort and anonymity.
They spend for consultation, diagnostic tests, and medicines. Experts
have reported that 35 percent of Filipinos with TB experience catastrophic
costs or out-of-pocket expenses beyond their
means.
How much does it cost for the Philippine government to find and
treat one person with TB?
Excluding expenses for transportation, an initial TB screening at
a government health facility will cost P300 for a chest X-ray and
P7,000 for a rapid confirmatory diagnostic test.
For drug-susceptible TB (DSTB), or the type of TB that can be treated
by first line drugs, treatment for an adult may cost P2,300 for
six months.
For the more potent type called drug-resistant TB (DRTB), the treatment
cost ranges from P35,000 to P600,000, depending on the treatment
regimen.
The estimated costs are significantly higher if a person with TB
chooses to pay for the treatment regimen from his or her own pocket.
Our goals are to reduce the TB incidence rate from 554 to 448 cases
per 100,000 people in 2023, and to eliminate out-of-pocket expenses
for TB care.
To reach these, we have to find and treat as many TB cases as possible
to prevent the further spread of the infection.
Our plan has been to find and treat 2.5 million Filipinos with TB
from 2017 to 2022.
As of June 2020, we have diagnosed and started on treatment for
1.2 million persons with TB.
This means we still need to find and treat 1.3 million more, including
43,000 people with DRTB.
This requires us to allot at least P6 billion in the next three
years for anti-TB drugs alone.
Add to this the cost of human resources and other diagnostic commodities
and logistical items to make sure that the drugs reach every hospital,
clinic, or health center.
Based on our analysis, we require about P50 billion to meet our
goal by the end of 2023.
In 2021, we need about P15 billion to implement the National TB
Program.
We estimate that we could raise P4.4 billion from national and local
government budgets and other donor funding sources.
This leaves us with a huge funding gap of about P10.6 billion.
Although we allocated an estimated P500 million for the national
TB program for 2021, extensive efforts on the political and programmatic
levels should be done, so the government can increase the National
TB Programs budget allocation to at least P2 billion every
year to contribute significantly to ending TB in the country.
At the local levels, we ask mayors and governors to review and increase
their local allocations for TB services.
We enjoin the private sector and civil society groups to support
the government in finding and treating more Filipinos with TB.
We have all the means and the will to end the burden of TB in the
Philippines.
But we need to fill in the funding gap to make this happen.
Our failure to address this gap will prove to be very costly to
the health of all Filipinos.
Rep. Angelina Tan,
chair, committee on health,
House of Representatives,
Manila
Philippines
Call for education for
Thailand
Not re-education
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 29 September 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Friday 25 September 2020
|
Re: "Reforms need broadening of the agenda",
in Bangkok Post Opinion, September 25.
It is quite striking that Prof Thitinan Pongsudhirak feels the need
to remind us that communism is a bad idea.
It has been in this region, and everywhere else.
This does not seem to be taught at Thammasat University, apparently.
However, I think he is mistaken when he asserts that the Thai population
has been successfully brainwashed by state propaganda.
Thai mediologists have shown that there is a strong element of class
contempt in this opinion: Thais, in general, as in other countries
with state propaganda, are aware of this propaganda and are skilled
at trying to interpret or discard its messages.
Where Prof Thitinan seems to veer completely off course is when
he states:
"Re-education about what constitutes Thainess and a rethink
about the force-fed symbols of Thai identity are taking place but
it will take more time than the young protest leaders seem willing
to give."
In short, he is a Gramscian.
A democrat would not talk about "re-education" (propaganda
under another name; Mao's China springs to mind), but of "education",
so that citizens have the capacity to discern and opt among different
versions of Thainess (including Thitinan's) competing in an open
political arena.
Education, yes! Re-education, no!
Attentive Reader
Bangkok,
Thailand
Call for local companies
to have fair share
Of renewable energy development in Mynamar
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 28 September 2020
First published in the Myanmar Times, Wednsday 16 September
2020
|
Madam - I follow The Myanmar Times excellent and extensive
coverage of the solar tender with enormous interest.
Reporting by John Liu - via his latest scoop on the tender results
- and other journalists at your paper captures the controversy surrounding
what could have been the defining solar power initiative in Myanmar.
Alas, the bidding conditions - including the barriers facing local
firms and most foreign companies - leave a lot to be desired.
Myanmar renewable energy transition ought to allow local companies
to have a fair share of the opportunities.
Domestic firms, especially the small and medium-sized enterprises,
are not given the chance to take part in this solar tender.
Furthermore, the government should roll out policies that encourage
local developers to be sub-contractors in energy projects.
They should also standardise renewable energy products in the country
before approving any major project proposals.
John September 9 story reported that the average winning price to
be US$0.0422 per unit, considerably below industry expectations.
A reader responded and said this represents a great deal for Myanmar
consumers.
Competitive pricing is surely welcome, for now.
But is it wise for Myanmar to rely on companies from one particular
country all the time?
Beyond pricing, the authorities should recognise the importance
of developing the capacity of local industry players and the growth
of small businesses.
Myanmar can do better than this.
We need a comprehensive industry strategy that is clearly and transparently
communicated and consulted with the private sector and other stakeholders.
U Pyi Wa Tun
Yangon,
Myanmar
First celebration of Independent
India
Was held in Malaysia
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 27 September 2020
First published in the Star, Thursday 24 September 2020
|
Many Malaysians do not know that the first celebration
of Independent India was held in Taiping, Perak.
The occasion was held on the day Chandra Bose came to Taiping during
the Japanese Occupation.
Chandra Bose was the forerunner of Mahatma Gandhi, who fought the
British in Independent India.
He came to Taiping to revive the spirit of several thousand Indians
soldiers who were stationed in the Military Garrison.
Taiping was a Military Garrison before the Second World War. Hence,
the Indian soldiers were stationed there.
They were brought by the British from India to fight the Japanese
in Malaya, a place known in those days.
They fought the Japanese in Ipoh, Kampar and lastly in Singapore.
Later when the Japanese army occupied Malaya, they brought in another
group of Indian soldiers known as the 14th Indian Regiment.
They were also the British Army who surrendered in Burma.
Hence, the Indian soldiers who had surrendered in Singapore and
Burma were transformed into the Indian National Army, of which Chandra
Bose was their Supreme Commander.
They would fight alongside the Japanese army, which the populace
of India would view the invasion as a liberation force to overthrow
the British.
I remember the day when Chandra Bose came to Taiping.
Almost every Indian came out to greet him.
I too followed the crowd shouting, 'Jai-Hind, Jai-Hind' (Victory
to India).
We assembled at the circus Padang where the Indian Army paraded
while waiting for Chandra Bose.
I saw Chandra Bose was waving to the crowd while travelling in a
car.
The car stopped before the entrance, and Chandra Boss dismounted.
People continued shouting 'Jai-hind.'
Chandra Bose then went up the stage and took a salute from the Indian
Army. Then he gave a speech, and after that everybody dispersed
but continuing on shouting 'Jai-Hind' several times.
The crowd then made their way to the toddy shop where all eating
and drinking were served free of charge.
As for me, I took murukku, masalode and sherbet for a drink.
Water sports were held at the lake garden on that day.
Abdullah Sani Ismail,
Tanah Merah,
Kelantan,
Malaysia
Never
forget, never again
Marcos and martial law in the Philippines
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 26 September 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Friday 25 September
2020
|
Never forget, never again perhaps
the most iconic words in the discourse surrounding the legacy of
Marcos and martial law.
In every mobilization, every statement, every shirt, and every banner,
those words have echoed throughout the many years of the struggle.
And, indeed, it is an ongoing one.
The past few years have made us all witnesses to the capriciousness
of human memory, a rejection of orthodoxy, and an all too willing
acceptance of lies, fabrications, and half-truths as absolutes.
Dare I say, we have forgotten, and as a consequence, find the injustice
of that time once again rearing its ugly head, breathing down the
necks of the basic principles that govern the free and democratic
society we hold on to, and aspire to be.
I have thought endlessly of this question: Why?
The answer, I think, lies in how this legacy is told.
And by that I do not mean either a lack of information, poor storytelling,
or even historical distortion, but an irreconcilable divide between
past and present exacerbated by the sheer magnitude of the events
and the characters of the individuals that comprised it.
It is, at times, presented in a manner so wholly detached; retained
within the past as a lesson, rather than manifesting through the
present and future condition of Philippine society.
Our experience now is not an imitation but a continuation.
This last fact is undeniable, for the abuses of martial law had
set forth the precedent for the abuses of our own time; from emboldening
state apparatus, to theft and plunder, to outright violence and
murder - all of them political maladies which had outlived even
Marcos himself.
The combination of these, I believe, evokes an almost mythical recollection
of what is otherwise a very dark and real period in our nations
history.
Pertaining to Marcos himself, and perhaps to the idea of tyrants
and dictators in general, it is easy to reduce them to malevolent
forces of nature or personifications of pure evil either because
of their own character or the nature of their atrocities to hammer
harder the moral wrongness and depravity of their existence.
We would be justified in doing so.
At times, it is even unavoidable.
But this, I believe, has cultivated the breeding ground for the
natural skepticism which Filipinos have acquired, moving such skepticism
from the vein of mere inquiry to outright delusion. The larger-than-life
character of Apo Lakay both the brilliance of his mind and the violence
which he had put it to use has turned him into a folk hero around
which the skeptical, the delusional, and the disillusioned rally,
willing to justify that legacy.
The brutality of the Marcos regimes atrocities is inconceivable
in their minds.
Their experiences do not mirror that reality, for the only logical
truths for them are ones of attestation.
Fr. Ranhilio Aquino is but the most recent example of this phenomenon,
stirring quite a controversy on social media.
As a youth myself, I believe Father Rannie embodies precisely the
kind of willing dismissal and unhealthy skepticism that has led
me to write this in the first place.
A condemnation of the present generation, as
John Nery puts it, describes the nature of Father Rannies
tirades against detractors who he claims know only of a Marcosian
construct, having been born well past the martial
law years.
To this I say, that unless he had personally witnessed the entirety
of Marcos activities during the tragic years of 1965-1986,
then he himself knows, to some degree, only a construct
of the man.
Much worse, he is rationalizing the bloody legacy of conflict, persecution,
and violence of one whose existence had been so blatantly beneficial
to him and his family, all to justify the ironic subjectivity of
the peace and order to which he claims to have been witness to.
Vincent Kyle Parada,
Manila,
Philippines
Selection or interpretation
of data on Martial Law
In
Philippines under Marcos cannot be arbitrary
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 25 September 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Thursday 24 September
2020
|
Fr. Ranhilio Aquino originally tweeted that the present
generation is loud in its condemnation of Marcos.
Having not experienced Marcos, he adds that its rant against him
is but directed at its construct of Marcos.
As to what he means by construct, he explains that construct
is not fiction.
It is not false. It is the way we arrange and select and interpret
data, pointing out that there are rival constructs,
rival interpretations, rival selections of data considered significant,
with some constructs prevailing and are favored.
He ends up saying that all human knowledge is interpretation.
So what does that make then of Marcos?
Is he really a dictator, plunderer, and human rights violator as
the present generation condemns him to be?
Father Rannie said they never experienced Marcos and thus a different
selection and interpretation of data could possibly lead to a different
and even contradictory construct of who Marcos really is, i.e. that
his being a dictator, plunderer, or human rights violator is but
a figment of wild imagination.
What is the truth then insofar as Marcos is concerned?
Is he in fact a dictator, plunderer, or human rights violator?
As a student of law which all of us are, Father Rannie must grant
that the selection or interpretation of data cannot be arbitrary.
There are rules for ascertaining the truth respecting matters of
fact and that to lawyers goes by the name of evidence.
As a student of philosophy, he must certainly be aware of the principle
of non-contradiction, that if one construct sees Marcos as a dictator,
plunderer and human rights violator and a rival contradictory construct
sees him otherwise, both constructs cannot be true at the same time.
The present generation may not have experienced Marcos.
But can they ignore the body of testimonial evidence of those who
suffered during the Marcos dictatorship who to this very day still
bear the scars of torture they were subjected to?
Can they ignore the body of documentary evidence indisputably proving
the thievery of the Marcoses which served as basis for a number
of Supreme Court decisions rendered against them?
As a student of the law, Father Rannie must surely be aware of the
body of laws of the martial law period which prove without shadow
of doubt that Marcos arrogated unto himself all governmental powers
establishing one-man rule in this country.
Sadly, whatever rival constructs, rival interpretations, and rival
selections of data which Father Rannie may have in mind cannot possibly
be given any credence at all in the light of these insurmountable
evidence that Marcos indeed is a dictator, plunderer, and human
rights violator.
Regarding Marcos, one construct of someone who listed the many edifices
he built concluded that he is a nation builder.
Sadly, said construct ignores relevant evidence.
My response: the edifices that you credit Marcos for were built
out of a people he has oppressed, whose freedoms he has robbed,
out of the blood whose lives he has imprisoned, tortured, and killed.
Those edifices were built out of loaned money, which he himself
has robbed, for which he has earned worldwide the notoriety as one
of the most corrupt leaders of the world, which until now we and
generations to come will pay for.
It is utter violence to the truth and complete disrespect of facts
to imply that one construct is just as good as another.
Severo,
Manila,
Philippines
Call
for rule of law for those who stole original 1932 plaque
Commemorating transition from absolute monarchy
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 24 September 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Wednesday 23 September
2020
|
Re: "City plaque prank draws activist vow",
in Bangkok Post, September 21.
I have no problem with political activist Srisuwan Janya petitioning
the Fine Arts Department and chief of Phra Nakhon district to take
legal action against pro-democracy protesters who put a copy of
the Khana Ratsadon plaque into the concrete surface at Sanam Luang,
a registered historical site.
Lawbreakers must accept the consequences.
But, as Secretary-General of the Association for the Protection
of the Thai Constitution, Khun Srisuwan knows better than most that
the rule of law must apply equally to all, including those who stole
the original Khana Ratsadon plaque in April 2017.
The original plaque has significant historical value but there's
been no progress in identifying the culprits.
Khun Srisuwan should constantly pressure the police to capture the
thieves.
Also, if the stolen plaque cannot be found, it should be replaced
with as close to the original as possible, not have its original
historical purpose distorted.
Burin Kantabutra,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Nothing
remotely communist or fascist
In
Thai students petition for monarchy reform
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 23 September 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Wednesday 22 September
2020
|
Re: "Point taken, but no",
in Bangkok Post PostBag, September 21.
Attentive Reader is to be thanked for acknowledging that a considered
response was needed to the noted errors of reasoning and the mistaken
claims in his previous letter.
Nonetheless, the new set of specious suggestions of communist tendencies
based on false historical parallels shows a questionable intent.
There has been nothing remotely communist, certainly not fascist,
in the students' considered petitions.
The idea Attentive Reader raises of an ideologically driven Ministry
of Truth applies more obviously to the defects in supposedly traditional
Thai myth that the students oppose.
It was no accident that one of Prayut Chan-o-cha's first acts after
unilaterally making himself prime minister in 2014 was to ban the
public reading of Orwell's famously Orwellian novel 1984 in public,
especially when done in the presence of sandwiches being eaten with
political intent.
It is precisely such dishonesty protected by morally questionable
law that the students correctly identify as a serious failure of
many decades, one in urgent need of reform if the Thai nation is
to progress intellectually, socially, morally and economically as
all Thai people deserve.
Attentive Reader makes a more explicitly false claim: it is not
foist on them by oppressive others; rather, it is the Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, and Transgender
(LGBT) students who proudly take that label for themselves.
This error is then compounded.
However serious a problem it might be in the US and elsewhere, the
claim about cancel culture is fake for the students petitioning
for a better Thailand for all Thais. Attentive Reader gave not a
single instance of toxic cancel culture for the very simple reason
there has been no cancel culture engaged in by the student protesters.
Felix Qui,
Bangkok,
Thailand
The Malaysian Bar calls
on government
For legislation on workplace safety
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 22 September 2020
First published in the Star, Saturday 19 September 2020
|
Employers and employees are reminded that workers
are entitled to employment rights such as a minimum wage, annual
leave, termination or lay-off benefits payment and, most importantly,
the right to a safe workplace as provided under the Occupational
Safety and Health Act (OSHA) 1994.
In this regard, the Malaysian Bar welcomes the Selangor governments
decision to give one final chance to unlicensed factories and landowners
to legalise their operations and land ownership by the end of this
year.
Legalisation would ensure that the workers receive their entitlement
as employees, as the factories would need to adhere to the relevant
laws and regulations, including the Occupational Safety and Health
Act (OSHA) 1994.
Much more can be done to better safeguard workers right to
a safe workplace.
The Malaysian Bar proposes increasing the capacity of the Department
of Occupational Safety and Health to handle the responsibility of
administration and enforcement of legislation related to occupational
safety and health.
This would ensure that the employers who have flouted the Occupational
Safety and Health Act (OSHA) 1994O and its regulations are prosecuted
expediently and punished for causing unnecessary injury or casualty
to workers.
In line with the International Labour Organisations Promotional
Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006, as
ratified by Malaysia in 2012, the Malaysian Bar also calls upon
the federal government to introduce stricter legislation on workplace
safety to provide a more conducive working environment for workers
in our country.
Salim Bashir,
President,
Malaysian Bar
Will Japan pick up
Where US left off
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 21 September 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Wednesday 16 September
2020
|
Re: "Suga timed his entrance perfectly",
in Bangkok Post, Commentary, September 16.
At the time of writing, Yoshihide Suga is poised to become the next
prime minister of Japan.
In the heyday of American affluence, Uncle Sam, the mythical embodiment
of the United States, was sometimes called Uncle Sugar because of
his generosity in dispensing financial aid to developing nations.
Those days seem to be over.
My question: Will Japan now pick up the baton that the US has dropped
and henceforth be called Uncle Suga?
Just Wondering,
Bangkok
Thailand
China
can hit Philippines with nuclear warheads
And missile arsenal
from mainland
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 20 September 2020
|
We cannot blame the United States for tagging China
as the worst country when it comes to being the most violator of
the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. US Secretary
Michael Pompeo stated that The United States ratified sanctions
and visa limitations on both Chinese individuals and entities accountable
for the Chinese Communist Partys imperialism.
This is also because China keeps on occupying more territories that
it claims as its own despite the protestations of other claimant-countries.
It continues building manmade islands and turns them into missile
bases, even as it causes massive destruction of the environment.
There are also traced jamming devices in Fiery Cross Reefs on the
Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea.
Also, there were military planes spotted on Mischief Reef.
This is part of its strategy to project supremacy and advance its
economic agenda and military designs.
China wants to take control of the Spratly Islands, and obviously
is interested in Philippine water territories, because of its vast
economic resources and strategic location.
It desires to secure all methane hydrate for its own and make the
West Philippine Sea as an asylum for its nuclear-armed submarine.
Chinas government has already declared that the military installations
it has built on the islands will be limited to required resistance
necessities
The Kagitingan Reef now occupied by China is also claimed by the
Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
Chinas display of power signals its aggressive designs which
the international community has condemned from the day the sea disputed
erupted.
Nevertheless, such aggression does not diminish our sovereign rights
which the Permanent Court of Arbitration of categorically acknowledges
on July 12, 2016.
The question is, are we allowing China to exploit our natural resources?
Are we permitting them to militarize our territories?
Our country should be extra concerned with this because such activity
poses a serious threat to our country as well as to other claimant-nations.
This particular issue should awaken the spirit of patriotism in
every Filipino and unite the nation in asserting our sovereign right
to our exclusive economic zone or EEZ.
The hard part is that we cannot call for war or for a more hardline
reaction.
China is a global superpower with nuclear warheads and a missile
arsenal that could hit the Philippines from the mainland.
But if China wants to respect as a global power, it should abide
by the UN-backed arbitral court ruling that invalidated its expansive
maritime claims.
We hope China would not threaten peace and stability in the West
Philippine Sea nor disrupt other countries in the exercise of their
sovereign rights.
Ann R. Aquino,
Cavite,
Philippines
Call
for Philippines Catholic Church to speak less
About Philhealth corruption and more about
terrorism
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 19 September 2020
|
With reference to Members of Gomburza, led by Sister
Teresita Alo article, Covid-19 pandemic has opened more
opportunities for corruption in the Philippines September
1, 2020, I was so disappointed that the Catholic Church speaks too
much to the controversial Philhealth corruption issue when they
do not have the courage to stand when it comes to terrorism and
killings of innocent civilians.
The Catholic Church shows its political view involvement that should
not be.
The members of Gomburza state about commitment to human dignity
and good governance but quiet and speechless when it comes to terrorism.
Now it seems that the Catholic Church is politically motivated instead
of being spiritual and Human Rights concerned.
Lea Denrial,
Mulanay,
Quezon Province
Catholic Church allowed
10 percent seating capacity
Casinos allowed 30 percent seating capacity
The
Southeast Asian Times Friday 18 September 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Thursday 17 September
20202
|
While the Philippines Catholic Church appreciates
the decision to allow 10-percent seating capacity to attend religious
activities while we are under Covid-19 General community quarantine
(GCQ), I am saddened that casinos will reopen with a 30-percent
seating capacity.
At an average 2,000 slot machines and gaming tables in a casino,
30 percent would mean some 600 people with prolonged contact with
each other in an enclosed space where there is said to be a higher
risk of getting the coronavirus; while a church with an average
of 300 seats, if given 10-percent seating capacity, will mean 30
churchgoers only in an open-space building where social distancing
and health protocols could be properly maintained.
On the other hand, even at a 10-percent seating limit, a casino
would still have some 200 patrons given the said average of 2,000
machines and gaming tables.
Thus, I join Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines
acting president and Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David in his
lamentation that your decision will lead to a wider road
to perdition as you gave more importance to the operation of casinos
than religious devotions.
I hope that not only the casino owners claim that they were
hit hard by this pandemic was considered in the
decision.
Even the church is in the same predicament.
They are similarly situated.
The only difference is that casino owners took the risk of investing
a huge sum of money, so they lose more with the advent of an unexpected
crisis.
Hence, it is only but fair that if casinos are allowed 30-percent
seating capacity, the same privilege should be extended to religious
activities.
You should consider the fact that once a parishioner takes his seat
inside the church, he does not move around as he stays in his pew
till the Mass is over.
But a casino player will never be comfortable in one seat alone
as he will keep on transferring from one slot machine or one table
to another until he finds his lucky machine or table.
A Mass lasts for an average of 40 minutes only - the longest time
a parishioner would stay inside the church.
But a casino player has no time limit as to the number of hours
hed stay in the casino, which makes him more vulnerable to
coronavirus infection.
Your guideline should also make clear if senior citizens are allowed
to play or enter the casinos because, under your rules, senior citizens
are not allowed to leave their residence even for religious activities.
But if senior citizens are allowed to enter the casinos, there is
no rhyme or reason why they cannot be allowed to leave their houses
to attend religious activities.
Finally, I maintain that it is better to have more people praying
inside the House of the Lord, than more people playing inside the
House of the Gambling Lords, especially in this pandemic period.
Romulo B. Macalintal,
Parishioner and Church Server
Last Supper of our Lord Parish
Las Piñas City
Call for public servants
To do true public service
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 17 September 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Monday 14 September
2020
|
The Duterte administration is perceived to have been
consistently pursuing state policies and actions that are mostly
controversial, such as the following:
The bloody drug war that has resulted in the
neutralization of thousands of drug users and
pushers, mostly poor - innocent or otherwise - while big-time illegal
drug dealers or drug lords have eluded prosecution or gone scot-free.
Allowing the burial of a former dictators remains in the Libingan
ng mga Bayani amid public outcry.
The release from detention or hospital arrest of some convicted
plunderers.
Adopting an independent foreign policy by pivoting
to China, splurging on foreign loans, allowing the unrestricted
entry of Chinese nationals as workers in Pogos even during the onset
of the made in China pandemic; disregarding the
international tribunals arbitral ruling against Chinas
nine-dash line won by the previous administration;
practically allowing Chinas incursions into the West Philippine
Sea, and being reluctant to seek redress or protect local fishermen
from harassment or bullying by Chinese militias; also, the unilateral
abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement and distancing from
the US and Western Allies, all despite official surveys showing
more public trust in the United States than in China.
The signing of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.
Before the present leaderships term supposedly ends in 2022,
more controversial issues may be forthcoming.
Take the recent PhilHealth multibillion-peso corruption mess, which
prompted congressional inquiries and uncovered the shenanigans of
the mafia that allegedly ravaged the state insurer
of the funds collected from the hard-earned contributions of members,
both here and abroad.
But, having heard again the usual I still have full trust
in beleaguered allies remarks from no less than the Chief Executive,
and his previous handling of corruption cases involving his appointed
public officials at the Bureau of Customs and the Bureau of Corrections
where they ended up merely recycled to other
offices, one could not help being skeptical at the possibility of
bringing to justice the scoundrels at PhilHealth.
Now, here comes this revolutionary government (RevGov) initiative
from the Duterte camp, the congressional attempt to rename the Ninoy
Aquino International Airport, the enactment of a law declaring the
former dictators birthday as a holiday in Ilocos, the white-sanding
of Manila Bay despite the still raging pandemic and the governments
depleted funds, and, most recently, the grant of
presidential pardon to an American soldier convicted of homicide
for killing a Filipino transgender.
These controversies could divert public consciousness away from
the most pressing real issues like the COVID-19 mishandling and
the PhilHealth scandal.
It is high time our so-called public servants did true public service
by pursuing programs and projects that directly benefit our people,
particularly the poor and the vulnerable.
Our lawmakers should enact pro-poor laws on transparency, health,
education, anti-poverty, anti-political dynasty, and anti-turncoatism,
or work for drastic reforms in our flawed political and justice
systems.
The governments priorities should not be on anything that
clamps down on legitimate dissent or further perpetuates the culture
of corruption, injustice, and impunity. Instead, there should be
more about putting terror in the hearts of government
crooks, if only to deter them from depriving our people of their
right to live in peace and in progress.
Its about time our so-called leaders heeded public opinion,
adverse or not, and listened to their own conscience, or whatever
remains of it.
Manuel A. Collao,
Manila,
Philippines
Failed
casino development
Eyesore in middle of Port Moresby
The
Southeast Asian Times Wednesday 16 September 2020
First published in the National Monday 14 September 2020
|
The recent parliamentary discussions regarding the probe into the
failed casino development at 4-Mile are misguided and would result
in loss of money.
The project has always been questionable and the people of Papua
New Guinea and the National Capital District should have been screaming
for answers for years.
How does a questionable project get approval in the first place?
It was all dodgy and has been now left to rot as a monument because
of the greed of our leaders back then.
Its hard to believe that we want to create Amazing
Port Moresby and make developers jump through crazy hoops
to build quality projects yet we let this eyesore sit in the middle
of the city.
Tear it down!
Whats even worse is that we have a ridiculous claim by the
Hela Governor Philip Undialu that the landowners from his province
that invested in this circus should somehow be entitled to possible
reimbursements.
There should be no money paid by the Government to these landowners.
City Voice,
Port Moresby,
Papua New Guinea
Prosecutor
who dropped Red Bull heir charges
Appointed
senior prosecutor
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday15 September 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Monday 14 September 2020
|
It appears Nate Naksuk, the prosecutor who let the
Red Bull scion off the hook, has not only been exonerated, but also
has been appointed as a senior prosecutor to central Bangkok district.
I have always supported Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, but now
I think the PM is playing with a card missing from his deck.
Mr Nate is too controversial to still be on the scene.
The PM should have made a decision long ago to get rid of this guy.
The student protesters have been given more fuel for their fires
of protest, and frankly, more and more people are agreeing with
them.
The cronyism, nepotism, corruption and the flaunting of Mr Nate
appears to be too much for anyone's craw these days.
Either Gen Prayut does not see the writing on the wall or refuses
to understand how his house of cards can crumble.
The man has become oblivious to the real world around him, thinking
himself so indispensable as to be untouchable.
Rather than be an instrument to help bring about positive change,
he has entrenched himself in his old buddy network of protecting
those who would dump him and switch sides at the first opportunity
if it benefits themselves.
Tsimmes,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Covid-19
danger for Thailand
Myanmar
and Malaysia clandestine border crossings
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 9 September 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Tuesday 8 September 2020
|
Although there are aspects of Phil Fox's letter with
which I agree 'Masking Reality', PostBag, September 4, there
are others which I think are wrong, and potentially fatally wrong.
New Zealand went over 100 days with no known new cases of the virus,
only to have an apparently untraceable new outbreak, with which
they are dealing with another lockdown.
And a recurrence in New Zealand is easier to cope with since they
have far more medical and other resources in relation to population
size.
In addition, unlike Thailand, it is an island nation, which makes
border control comparatively easy.
In a country of almost 70 million with limited testing facilities,
a fresh outbreak can get out of control before the authorities can
effectively deal with it.
That is partly because of the phenomenon of asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic
carriers, who are typically highly infectious in the first three
to five days.
Additional to that is the latest science highlighting aerosolisation
of virus particles and their capability of remaining suspended in
the air for a lengthy period in confined or unventilated spaces.
No doubt compliance fatigue with regard to physical distancing -
and masks to a lesser extent - has already set in to some degree.
However, much in its favour is the easy cultural acceptance of mask
wearing in Thailand, plus the general cooperative attitude.
Against that must be placed the reality of long and porous borders,
with particular reference to the border with Myanmar.
After quite a long period of apparently minimal infections, Myanmar
has now detected sizeable and growing outbreaks in several areas
of the country.
The very limited medical resources they have, especially outside
the major cities, means they will very likely be unable to cope.
Aung San Suu Kyi has already said "this is a disaster for
the country".
The obvious danger for Thailand is the possibility of clandestine
border crossers seeking employment or just to escape the situation,
and bringing in the virus.
Given their illegal status and poverty, they are unlikely to apply
for testing unless experiencing major symptoms.
That is only one of the potential dangers for Thailand. Another
is the Malaysian border, which is difficult to seal off entirely.
As Mr Cox himself has written "undoubtedly the virus will
rebound here ..." Therefore now is definitely not the time
to relax the protocols that are in place, even if some people have
started to ignore them.
Until a vaccine is widely available this continues to be a time
for maximum vigilance and self-discipline.
In addition, out of compassion and in its own interest, Thailand
should offer what medical assistance it can spare to Myanmar.
Leo Bourne,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Covid-19 widespread
In
Thai border area hospitals
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 13 September 2020
First Published in the Bangkok Post, Monday 7 September 2020
|
Re: "Border hospitals stretched", in
Bangkok Post, September 7, 2020.
The situation at the borders underscores what is surely the greatest
risk of a new wave of Covid-19 cases in Thailand.
The kingdom enthusiastically projects the idea that it has only
a tiny number of locally transmitted cases.
However, if recent reports from border-area hospitals are reliable
it appears the virus is widespread there, with many Thai medical
staff and other local residents likely exposed to infected individuals.
Stopping it spreading to other parts of the country will be a major
challenge.
Scores of individuals have been caught trying to illegally cross
the country's borders with Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos in recent
weeks.
Undoubtedly, those who have been intercepted represent only the
tip of the migrant iceberg.
Given the porous nature of the country's borders, it is conceivable
that the number of unchecked migrants numbers in the hundreds, if
not thousands.
Authorities would be well-advised to step up monitoring of the migrant
worker population, both at the borders and at work sites.
Samanea Saman,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Call
to declare September 11
President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos Day
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 12 September 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer Thursday 10 September
2020
|
One of the greatest delusions in the world
is the hope that the evils in this world are to be cured by legislation
Thomas B. Reed, speech, 1886.
To declare Sept. 11 as President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos
Day in Ilocos Norte to commemorate the birth of the late dictator
Ferdinand Marcos is to desecrate history by legislation. Its
a shameful attempt at historical revisionism.
We have not learned from the lessons of Marcos martial rule
sufficiently, which the Inquirer rightly described as an
exemplar of the culture of plunder, repression, impunity, and state
violence that was the hallmark of the Marcos conjugal dictatorship
Editorial, Desecrating history, September 9, 2020.
Its like rubbing salt into the wounds of the survivors of
martial law and their succeeding generation.
While it has been conveniently rationalized by its proponents and
no less than Senate President Tito Sotto as one of local application,
the impending law the bill breezed through the House of Representatives
on third reading has national as well as international ramifications.
Notably, Marcos was a national, not merely a local, persona; and
therefore his shadow is cast not only over Ilocos Norte but across
the nation and the international sphere.
As Solita Collas-Monsod, an Ilocano herself, effectively and tersely
put it in her column An insult to Ilocanos, September
5, 2020, let us think and act as Filipinos first before being Ilocanos.
Its another big joke that the monolithic house of Congress
has visited upon the Filipino people.
Its a joke thats not even funny to the Ilocanos in general,
and makes the Filipinos a laughingstock in the world which held
them in high regard when they overthrew the dictatorship in an unprecedented
peaceful people power revolt in 1986.
The recently passed House bill is also a portrayal of our misfortune
- that of having a bunch of robotic and dumb legislators.
To paraphrase Georges Braques Pensées sur
lart, truth exists even if falsehood has to be invented.
Diosdado V. Calonge,
Manila,
Philippines
Call for China to abide
by Permanent Court of Arbitration
Ruling over West Philippine Sea
The
Southeast Asian Times, 11 September 2020
|
We cannot blame the United States for tagging China
as the worst country when it comes to being the most violator of
the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. US Secretary
Michael Pompeo stated that The United States ratified sanctions
and visa limitations on both Chinese individuals and entities accountable
for the Chinese Communist Partys imperialism.
This is also because China keeps on occupying more territories that
it claims as its own despite the protestations of other claimant-countries.
It continues building manmade islands and turns them into missile
bases, even as it causes massive destruction of the environment.
There are also traced jamming devices in Fiery Cross Reefs on the
Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea.
Also, there were military planes spotted on Mischief Reef.
This is part of its strategy to project supremacy and advance its
economic agenda and military designs.
China wants to take control of the Spratly Islands, and obviously
is interested in Philippine water territories, because of its vast
economic resources and strategic location.
It desires to secure all methane hydrate for its own and make the
West Philippine Sea as an asylum for its nuclear-armed submarine.
Chinas government has already declared that the military installations
it has built on the islands will be limited to required resistance
necessities
The Kagitingan Reef now occupied by China is also claimed by the
Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
Chinas display of power signals its aggressive designs which
the international community has condemned from the day the sea disputed
erupted.
Nevertheless, such aggression does not diminish our sovereign rights
which the Permanent Court of Arbitration of categorically acknowledges
on July 12, 2016.
The question is, are we allowing China to exploit our natural resources?
Are we permitting them to militarize our territories?
Our country should be extra concerned with this because such activity
poses a serious threat to our country as well as to other claimant-nations.
This particular issue should awaken the spirit of patriotism in
every Filipino and unite the nation in asserting our sovereign right
to our exclusive economic zone
or EEZ.
The hard part is that we cannot call for war or for a more hardline
reaction.
China is a global superpower with nuclear warheads and a missile
arsenal that could hit the Philippines from the mainland.
But if China wants to be respected as a global power, it should
abide by the UN-backed arbitral court ruling that invalidated its
expansive maritime claims.
We hope China would not threaten peace and stability in the West
Philippine Sea nor disrupt other countries in the exercise of their
sovereign rights.
Ann R. Aquino
Cavite,
Philippines
Philippine President Duterte
Accused of weaponizing the bureacracy
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 10 September 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Tuesday 8 September
2020
|
The specter of unabated killings is the brutal legacy
of the Duterte administration.
President Duterte waged a bloody war on drugs that led to thousands
of killings. Most of the victims are suspected petty drug users,
peddlers, and barangay bystanders.
The police went on a deadly tokhang rampage but
failed to end the drug menace.
Mr. Duterte relentlessly attacked activists, leftists, opposition
leaders, and critics. Many of them became victims of extrajudicial
killings.
These include lawyers, environmentalists, indigenous peoples, farmers,
reporters, local officials, peace consultants, and human rights
defenders.
We believe these are state-sponsored killings that Mr. Duterte enabled
through official and unofficial policies and declarations.
From tokhang directives to martial law in Mindanao
and the imposition of a state of lawlessness in Negros and Samar
islands, the Duterte administration weaponized the bureaucracy,
which led to fatal consequences.
It has to be made accountable for legitimizing the attacks against
urban poor residents, activists, and rural communities.
Mr. Dutertes anticommunist rhetoric demonized the work of
activists.
He criminalized activism by linking the advocacies of peoples
organizations with armed struggle.
Suspected communist sympathizers are harassed, red-tagged, charged
with trumped-up cases, and targeted by death squads.
In 2020, Mr. Dutertes bungled COVID-19 response led to several
unnecessary deaths.
His criminal neglect has worsened the suffering of the people.
His militarist and harsh lockdown restrictions have curtailed the
rights of workers. Official COVID-19 monitoring does not count the
number of people who died because of lockdown impositions, the overkill
deployment of troops in communities, and those who were deprived
of hospital health care.
We remember the victims of tokhang.
We honor the lives of activists who were killed for bringing light
to this world.
We mourn those who died this year because of government incompetence
and repression.
The struggle continues until we achieve justice.
Mong Palatino,
Chair,
Bayan Metro Manila.
Manila,
Philippines
Adopting
extreme measures to combat Covid-19 in
Thailand
A thousand times worse than the virus itself
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 9 September 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Tuesday 8 September 2020
|
Re: "New virus find a wake-up call",
in Bangkok Post Editorial, September 6
Why do the media and the medical establishment behave like hysterical
sissies because one person might have been infected locally by the
Covid-19 virus?
Maybe one hundred or even a thousand people in Thailand were just
infected and don't even know it.
Should we shut down the entire tourist industry and economy and
drive millions of people into extreme poverty and starvation out
of insane fear?
Isn't it possible to have a sane, mature policy in dealing with
Covid, as opposed to adopting extreme measures that are a thousand
times worse than the virus itself?
Eric Bahrt,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Philippines legislation
to extend line of succession
beyond
Vice President, Senate President and House
Speaker
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 8 September 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Monday 7 September
2020
|
Please allow us to set the record straight regarding
the column of Prof. Edilberto de Jesus Dangerous distractions,
Business Matters, September 5, 2020, where he touched on
a proposed piece of legislation that aims to avert a potential constitutional
crisis and leadership vacuum by extending the constitutional line
of succession.
It is unfortunate that De Jesus implied that the intent of Sen.
Panfilo M. Lacsons Senate Bill No. 982, informally dubbed
the Designated Survivor bill, was to eliminate
those in the constitutional line of succession in favor of the presidents
choice; and that discussing such proposed legislation
is a waste of time and energy.
Had De Jesus read the contents of the bill in the first place, he
would have figured out that Lacsons bill is not like what
he described in his column.
Instead of subverting our 1987 Constitution as implied in his column,
SB 982 seeks to enhance the Charter by extending the line of succession
beyond the Vice President, Senate President, and House Speaker.
Not only that the bill seeks to fulfill two provisions of our Constitution.
Under Art. VII, Sec. 7 of the 1987 Constitution, The Congress
shall, by law, provide for the manner in which one who is to act
as President shall be selected until a President or a Vice-President
shall have qualified, in case of death, permanent disability, or
inability of the officials mentioned in the next preceding paragraph.
Art. VII, Sec. 8 of the Constitution provides that The
Congress shall, by law, provide who shall serve as President in
case of death, permanent disability, or resignation of the Acting
President. He shall serve until the President or the Vice-President
shall have been elected and qualified, and be subject to the same
restrictions of powers and disqualifications as the Acting President.
As Lacson pointed out: Needless to say, passing such legislation
is not only constitutional. It is in fact, required under the 1987
Constitution.
Under the bill, in case of death or permanent disability of those
specified in the Constitution, the following elected and appointed
officers who are not under any disability to discharge the powers
and duties of the Office of the President shall act as President
in the following order:
the most senior senator, based on the length of service in the Senate;
the most senior representative based on the length of service in
the House of Representatives;
the member of the Cabinet designated by the President.
And contrary to De Jesus claim that it would be a waste of
time and energy to discuss the bill, there is no more urgent time
to do so than now, with recent events involving exceptional
circumstances such as terrorism - which knows no time
or border.
God forbid a situation where those in the current constitutional
line of succession are rendered unable to function, and we are faced
with scenarios such as a junta because of the resulting leadership
vacuum.
Joel Locsin,
Media Relations Officer,
Office of Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson,
Manila,
Philippines
Call for Thai's to support
Land
rights for Keren
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 7 September 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Monday 31 August 2020
|
Re: "Karen seek rights over land usage",
in Bangkok Post August 28.
All justice-seeking Thais should join in support of the Karen people's
rights to continue living on their ancestral lands.
The Karen were living in the area now called "Kaeng Krachan
National Park" long before the area was designated a park.
Their centuries-old stewardship of the area's natural resources
is, in fact, one of the main reasons the forest remains largely
intact in western Thailand.
It is a matter of fairness and justice that their rights to remain
living in the forest be recognised.
Samanea Saman,
Bangkok,
Thailand
The Catholic church
Is the conscience of the state
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 6 September 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Friday 4 September
2020
|
With all the social ills besetting our country, the
Catholic Church must speak out. Those who think the Church should
not get involved against these social evils miss the Churchs
teaching on prophetic criticism.
The Church is the conscience of the State.
When the State leads a wicked social life, the Church, its conscience,
cannot afford to become scared and silent.
The Church is the States best critic.
The Church is called not only to speak out against the ills of society,
but also to instruct the faithful on what to do when confronted
with such, in the light of the Gospel values and teachings of the
Church.
The Church is called to share the Gospel values to all and to shape
society when it is not following the path consistent with these
values.
Finally, when the Church speaks out, it may choose not to side with
the prevailing winds of popular opinion, since the Church is never
called to popularity but to faithfulness.
The Church can never be silent about these social evils.
When it becomes silent, it ceases to be the real Church.
The Church remains to be the voice of God, and this is the true
essence of the Church that Jesus founded.
Reginald B Tamayo,
Marikina City.
Philippines
Teak
trees logged
Ahead of dam construction
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 5 September 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post Wednesday 3 September
2020
|
Re: "Phrae villagers protest against 'unnecessary'
dam", in Bangkok Post, August 31.
It is dismaying that politicians continue to resurrect costly, unpopular
and unwanted dam projects - defying the deep-rooted opposition of
environmentalists and local residents.
Of course, one needs only look to the huge contracts that are issued
for dam construction to explain the motivation of authorities eager
to build ever more unnecessary engineering structures.
In the case of Kang Sua Ten dam, the planned inundation of tens
of thousands of rai of rich teak forest provide added inspiration.
Naturally, it will be argued, the teak trees should not be wasted.
Thus, they would be logged before the reservoir area is flooded
- providing yet more opportunities for malfeasance.
Samanea Saman,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Change is coming
Too fast for Thai generals
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 4 September 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Monday 31 August 2020
|
Re: "Govt must act to shield protesters",
in Editorial Bangkok Post,
August 30.
If the Thai military wants to lose the next election it should carry
on without reforming the police, the Office of the Attorney-General,
and the rest of the justice system.
The world is changing; perhaps too fast for the generals.
In China, even the population now demonstrates regularly against
the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which previously they wouldn't
dare to do, because they have had enough of the oppression and corruption.
Change is coming and it can't be stopped.
Renaissance,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Each tourist generates
income and employment
For dozens of Thais
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 3 September 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Wednesday 30 August 2020
|
Re: "Little backing for govt's plan to
reopen", in Bangkok Post, August 30.
While I can understand and appreciate the need for caution in reopening
the country to large numbers of foreign tourists, it seems that
many Thais have a serious disconnect when it comes to understanding
how the economy works.
Local residents stating that cautious reopening to foreign tourists
would "only benefit hotels and tourists" reflects
an astonishing failure to recognise actual linkages in the economy.
Even cautious so-called "villa quarantine" would
deliver substantial widespread benefits to the nation.
Each individual foreign tourist or family generates income and employment
for dozens of Thais, including airline staff, drivers, van owners,
hotel maids, laundry services, farmers, truckers, butchers, food
processors, cooks, food-delivery services, massage therapists, waiters,
pool maintenance workers, alcohol distributers, and immigration
officials.
The list goes on and on.
To claim that foreign tourists benefit only hotels reveals a poor
understanding of how jobs are created and sustained.
Samanea Saman,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Covid-19 pandemic has
opened more opportunities
For corruption in the Philippines
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 2 September 2020
First published in Philippine Inquirer, Tuesday 1 September
2020
|
Corruption in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.
(PhilHealth) is not only colossal thievery, robbing Filipino workers
and taxpayers of their contributions to the fund.
It also violates the right of Filipinos to universal health care,
bleeding billions of pesos away from state resources intended for
this purpose.
In a pandemic that has caused thousands of deaths in our country,
it violates the right to life.
PhilHealth corruption has taken many forms: diverted premium payments
of up to P114 million in 2012, unnecessary or sham cataract removals
worth P2 billion in 2014, fraudulent dialysis claims, the upcasing
of mild respiratory infections to pneumonia, membership rosters
with 500,000 people aged 100 to 121, and recently, a bid to procure
overpriced and obsolete information technology equipment.
Sadly, the pandemic that is devastating our people and our economy
has opened more opportunities for corruption: inordinately expensive
COVID-19 test kits; an interim reimbursement mechanism that expedites
COVID-19-related advances to hospitals in regions with low infection
rates, while hospitals in high infection areas, including government
facilities, still await reimbursement.
Yet even as the Duterte administration has coddled its appointee,
PhilHealth president and CEO Ricardo Morales - requesting him to
resign for the sake of his health - its supporters have viciously
used the issue of corruption in PhilHealth against those it perceives
as its enemies.
Its troll army has launched a campaign smearing former PhilHealth
board member Sen. Risa Hontiveros, while its legislative lackeys
threaten to file cases against officials of the previous administration,
even though none of these have been named by whistle-blowers as
parties to the corruption.
The Catholic Church, which has repeatedly admonished the administration
against its excesses, has not been spared the mud of obfuscation,
notably smeared by a congressman who represents not only the administrations
interests but also the interests of the anti-Catholic Iglesia ni
Cristo.
We, the members of Gomburza, motivated by the Christian commitment
to human dignity and good governance, support the PhilHealth employees
who have demanded the investigation and prosecution of corruption,
and thank them for their integrity.
While we are encouraged by the suspension of the PhilHealth officials
named as complicit, we call for (1) a nonpartisan investigation
of the allegations against those implicated in the Senate hearings;
(2) commensurate punishment for those found guilty; (3) replacement
of the guilty by appointees of proven competence and integrity in
the field of health insurance; (4) periodic reviews of PhilHealths
operations by independent agencies seasoned in insurance fraud detection;
(5) timely reimbursement of claims by hospitals in high infection
areas; and (6) an end to the deceptive manipulation of the PhilHealth
scandal to discredit the administrations critics.
We call upon our citizens to distinguish politically motivated from
evidence-backed allegations, and to demand that their legislative
representatives and relevant officials defend their right to universal
health care by taking swift and appropriate action.
Finally, we call on those involved in this corruption: Do
not depend on dishonest wealth, for it will not benefit you in the
day of calamity (Sirach 5:8). Repent and make reparation,
restoring to Filipinos their right to universal health care, and
to life.
Members of Gomburza:
Sister Teresita Alo, Sfic,
Fr Roberto Reyes,
Fr Joselito Sarabia, CM,
Fr Flavie L. Villanueva, SVD,
Lot Lumawig Allanigue,
Teresits S. Castiullo,
Lucia Lucas Chavez,
Percival Chavez,
Eeanor R. Dionisio,
Veronica Ester Mendoza,
Angelo Silva
Russia offers Covid-19
cooperation with Philippines
Philippines
priority partner with Russia in Asia Pacific
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 1 September 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Monday 31 August
2020
|
With reference to Michael L. Tans article, Vaccines
and social solidarity Pinoy Kasi, August 26, 2020, I would
like to share with you some links to the interviews of Mr. Alexander
Gintsburg, director of the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology
and Microbiology, which developed the first COVID-19 vaccine SPUTNIK
V, and Mr. Kirill Dmitriev, director general of the Russian Direct
Investment Fund (RDIF).
According to well-known scientist Mr. Gintsburg, the Russian vaccine
is based on a well-researched scientific platform called adenovirus
human vector.
The same platform was used to develop vaccines against Ebola and
MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome).
It allowed Russia to create the Ebola vaccine within a short period
of time, which later was highly assessed by the World Health Organization.
The technologies similar to the one used to create SPUTNIK V have
been employed by the US Army for producing various vaccines for
soldiers since the 1970s.
Since Aug. 21, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the
Philippine Department of Science and Technology (DOST), responsible
for clinical trial, have started exchanging technical information
on SPUTNIK V that was confirmed by Dr. Jaime Montoya, executive
director, the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development,
DOST August 25, 2020, The Manila Standard, PH mulls Sputnik
vaccine trial.
I think you may ask the DOST to provide some information on the
Russian vaccine.
For better understanding and to learn more about the technical details
of SPUTNIK, you may also visit the website sputnikvaccine.com.
It is my professional and moral duty to clarify that Russia offered
establishing COVID-19 cooperation with the Philippines not because
it is a poorer country as mentioned in Mr. Tans
article, but because the Philippines is our priority partner in
the Asia Pacific Region.
Just for your reference, as of now more than 20 countries have officially
declared their willingness to closely cooperate with Russia in terms
of clinical trials, purchase, and setting up production of SPUTNIK
V.
Vladislav Mongush,
First Secretary,
The Embassy of the Russian Federation to the Philippines
Manila,
Philippines
Call
for return of Papua New Guinea forefathers
Who upheld principle of equality and participation
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 31 August 2020
First published in the National, Tuesday 25 August 2020
|
The important foundations our constitution was founded
upon are equality and participation.
The constitutions preamble goal two outlines that all citizens
have an equal opportunity to participate in, and benefit from the
development of this country.
The design of our constitution was based upon declarations and goal
two is one of them.
Prior to engraving those laws, our forefathers called for an equal
opportunity for every citizen to take part in the political, economic,
social, religious and cultural life of this country.
The creation of political structures should be effective and must
enable people to meaningfully participate in all aspect of development.
The current move by the Government to decentralise important decision
making powers and service delivery structures to provincial level
is commendable.
Our forefathers upheld that principle - preamble goal 2 - of equality
and participation.
It was truly implemented and I must use my home province, East Sepik,
as an example.
East Sepik did not and never experienced any major development under
the reign of Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare.
Sir Michael Somare never gave first preference to his home province
in terms of development from the time he became the first prime
minister of Papua New Guinea until his retirement in politics.
East Sepik remains the same.
Even his own village that he grew up in, there is no development.
I have been to Sir Michael Somare's village.
Because of equality and participation, he never put his own interest
first.
That mentality that our forefathers such as Sir Michael Somare had
should not change.
Hanam Bill Sandu,
Lae,
Papua New Guinea
Shops
and restuarants boarded up
In
Phuket
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 30 August 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Wednesday 26 August 2020
|
We are just back from last week's trip to Phuket and
I could not have imagined the destruction going on.
Boarded-up shops and restaurants, interiors torn out, even hard
to find a place to have a dinner.
Eerie streets that you felt uncomfortable walking at night-time
and I am not talking about small sois but main beach streets.
The contrast is striking with Hua Hin, where you have weekenders
from Bangkok and a large retired expat community to support the
economy.
Attracting long-staying retirees should obviously be part of the
solution but the focus seems to be on elite cards and high-spending
short-term tourists that will disappear once the next catastrophe
arrives.
Alongside Thailand's excellent hospitals and with the right policies
it should not be too hard to promote Thailand as a retirement destination.
Dr Hansson,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Call for PNG government
to consult people
Before abolishing provincial and local government
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 29 August 2020
First published in the National, Tuesday 25 August 2020
|
I am calling on Prime Minister James Marape and Pangu
Pati led government to consult the people of Papua New Guinea about
the proposed law to abolish the provincial and local level governments
before passing it.
Papua New Guineans should be allowed to publicly debate the proposed
law and if possible, vote on it, before it is tabled in parliament.
We should not allow a few politicians and educated elites to dictate
and push government hidden agendas forward without any meaningful
consultations.
Our constitution supports a three-tier government system
national, provincial and district or local level government
which binds us together as a united country.
Any new law that defies the constitution must be screened properly.
The political indications of the proposed law to abolish the provincial
and local level government will mean Papus New Guinea PNG is heading
towards a republic system and introductions of the upper and lower
house of representatives whereby only the governors will represent
the provinces in the Upper House (parliament) and the Open Electorate
MPs to serve on a state government at the provincial governments
and getting rid of the LLG presidents, councilors and ward development
committees.
This country has over 800 languages, 23 provinces and 89 districts
which politically and administratively remains a problem to our
government and we should not rush into any new concepts and models
of government.
Our people need to be educated on government systems and decide
on what is in their best interest.
I appeal to Marape to please listen to the people first instead
of only few elite advisers.
Samson C Napo,
Buang LLG Bulolo,
Port Moresby,
Papua New Guinea
"Woe unto them whose
conscience
With injustice is corrupted"
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 28 August 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Monday 24 August
2020
|
The Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM)
is an emergency program of PhilHealth that releases cash advances
to hospitals and medical facilities during natural disasters and
other unexpected events including COVID-19
This
statement was lifted from the news item, PhilHealth funds
used like a bank check - Quimbo in Philippine
Inquirer August, 18, 2020
If the allegations are true, the plunder of PhilHealth funds by
the very persons tasked to manage the resources of the national
health insurer is a most heinous crime being committed against millions
of our fellow Filipinos who pay premiums for their and their dependents
health, and of the mostly poor citizens of this country who cannot
afford expensive medication and hospitalization.
The health crisis and other unexpected events this PhilHealth program
is mandated to alleviate are being used by crocodiles as opportunities
to pad their pockets and fill their bank accounts at the expense
of the ailing populace.
They have caused more serious suffering in these days of the COVID-19
pandemic.
Woe unto them whose conscience with injustice is corrupted,
to borrow a line from Shakespeare.
Ramon Mayuga,
Manila,
Philippines
US Embassy in the Phillipines
Swamped with Filipino's wanting to migrate
to US
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 27 August 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Monday 24 August
2020
|
In conjunction with the letter Read the room:
Filipinos do not trust China, August 17, 2020, allow us
to also point out the undeniable fact that compared to the Chinese
Embassy in this country, the United States Embassy is always swamped
with Filipino applicants desiring to migrate to that country.
If Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana thinks theres any competition
between the two in terms of Filipinos preference, he must
be just as blind or delusional as his boss.
This made-in-China COVID-19 has in fact intensified
our peoples distrust of China into unspeakable disgust.
To us ordinary citizens, this scenario only means that our peoples
preference obviously stands at 99 percent for America, while only
1 percent for China - only President Duterte, who seems to love
China more than the Philippines, whose territories China has been
relentlessly grabbing without even a whiff of protest
from him.
Indeed, if he genuinely cares and speaks for the Filipino people,
why is he ignoring the publics preference?
Why is he always cursing and cussing at America?
Because long ago he was denied a US visa to visit his inamorata?
Susmaryosep!
Janno M. Montecristo,
Manila,
Philippines
Military might plays dominant
role
In
third world politics
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 26 August 2020
|
The military is indeed "the strongest organisation
in a third world country" as your correspondent Lt. Gen.
Antonio E Sotelo ( Armed Forces of the Phillipines, Retired ) points
out in his letter to the Southeast Asian Times of 22 August.
That is because, as Mao Zedong articulated and demonstrated, "
political power grows out of the barrel of a gun ".
The military determines who stays in power and who doesn't.
In the case of Fiji on two separate occasions the commander of the
military decided to remove the democratically elected government
and install himself in political power.
What's more after a brief show of indignation over the departure
from constitutional democratic governance the international community
conveniently accepted the military regime as legitimate so that
they could go back to business as usual!
The military does indeed play a dominate role in third world politics.
That's a reality that can't be denied .
There are many other examples to prove that.
Rajend Naidu,
Sydney,
Australia
Purchase
of submarines from China
Lock Thai military into deeper hole of dependability
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 25 August 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Saturday 22 August 2020
|
Re: "B22.5bn sub buy gets nod",
in Bangkok Post August 22, would the Royal Thai Navy kindly
tell the citizens of Thailand how and where it intends to deploy
two submarines?
I have a feeling these submarines, to be purchased from China, will
lock the military into a deeper hole of dependability on Chinese
technicians, trainers and maintenance.
I hope the student protesters take this unnecessary waste of money
that could be used for the benefit of the country into consideration.
Those who must constantly procure toys to satisfy the needs of grown
up boys need to be put in their place.
General Ya'akov Golani,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Call
for Buddhist liberalism as role model
Over French and US liberalism in Asean
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 24 August 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Thursday 20 August 2020
|
Stephen B Young in his August 19 article "John
Locke and Thailand's future", conveniently clothes the
Buddha in the robe of the father of liberalism.
"English and American precedents would serve the Thai people
much better today than the divisive and failed experiments of the
French Revolution," he concludes.
Young hardly mentions the destructive outgrowth of liberalism to
extremist neoliberalism, which now rules our world.
No wonder it turned ugly, as the liberal emphasis on the protection
of private property of John Locke later extended to corporate property
is in USA historically founded in the massive expropriation of indigenous
land, genocide of Native Americans and centuries of commercial property
over slaves.
Noble, classic liberals like Stephen Young cherish pure values which
are detached from their extreme manifestations; but so do genuine
progressives embracing the three values of the French Revolution:
freedom, equality and community spirit.
This pure triad of values not necessarily questioning egalitarian
monarchy can be also clearly recognised in the 1947 Constitution
of Independent India.
However, when asked, Dr Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian constitution,
explained that he derived these values not from the French Revolution,
but from Buddhism as he understood it, namely as an emancipatory
force.
His fierce loyalty to his Asian roots, even though he had studied
in France like Pridi Banomyong, stood tall.
The Thai people, rather than being made to choose between the Anglo
Saxon or the French model, would better dig deep into their own
Asian cultural capital, rather than being lured into the adoption
of American liberalism.
Anyhow, Dr Ambedkar also studied in USA, far appreciated John Dewey
over John Locke.
Consequently, the way public trusteeship a very useful notion! is
understood and promoted could be better guided by "Earth Trusteeship"
as a modern interpretation of Sri Lankan Judge Weeramantry's legal
vision, rather than by the "ethical" elite interpretation
of Stephen B Young.
Earth Trusteeship can be formulated as "all global citizens
are equal trustees of the Earth" - for the benefit of the
"community of life" and future generations. This
resonates well with the advice of Prof Thitinan Pongsudhirak, who
wrote in the Bangkok Post on Dec 20, 2019: "For democracy
to take root in the long term, Thai people should feel and act like
they own the country in equal share, no one more than others. Previous
constitutions, after all, stipulated that "sovereignty belongs
to the people", implying that each and every Thai person owns
Thai sovereignty, covering everything from territory and resources
to the government".
Hans van Willenswaard,
Bangkok,
Thailand
In
the novel The Plague Albert Camus argues
That viruses will always be a part of our
lives
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 23 August 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Friday 21 August
2020
|
Nothing to fear but fear itself,
said Franklin D. Roosevelt in his 1933 inaugural address, and he
was right.
Yet today the world has never been so scared of a virus they know
so little of.
It has been over 150 days since the government-mandated lockdowns
began, and we are prisoners of fear.
All this time, I thought that the COVID-19 lockdown would be good
for the planet.
No pollution, no traffic, and a complete halt in production and
movement.
Finally, the Earth was happy.
She could breathe again.
Her lungs had been suffocated by toxic pollution.
Aviation and transport pollution, coupled with oil and coal plants,
spewed harmful toxins into the atmosphere until climate change began
engulfing the planet.
For now, the Earth could take a breather and the animals were free
to emerge from their forests and jungles into the emptiness of the
worlds largest cities, left quiet and ghostly by the pandemic.
I was happy for Mother Earth. For a while, she could breathe as
we reduced the carbon dioxide emissions that polluted our air and
warmed our atmosphere.
As the people of the worlds cities and towns retreated to
the safety of their homes, the planet could rest.
For a moment, the Earth slept in silence.
Months later, however, the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic
hit.
Global economies have collapsed, and unemployment, poverty, hunger,
and civil unrest are overwhelming us.
We are dying and suffering.
The search for a vaccine is slow as geopolitics plays an invisible
hand.
Yet more die from other causes daily.
The world has never watched this episode and experienced such unprecedented
times.
Sure, we had the Spanish flu that killed 50 million or more, and
also the Black Death, H5N1, SARS, MERS, Ebola, and more.
We have yet to discover a cure for cancer, or even the common flu.
In the novel The Plague, Albert Camus argues
that viruses will always be a part of our lives.
In Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies,
Jared Diamond asserts that man is the sole perpetrator in the destruction
of civilization and the environment.
Many will fail and more will die, but governments will fall and
change.
The right, the left, and the rise of the Green Party will unfold.
Survival is key today.
Now our forests are being felled at exponential rates, our biodiversity
ravaged, our oceans and marine resources destroyed and dissipated,
our coral colonies bleaching as the planet continues to warm.
As dire as the current coronavirus crisis appears, even deadlier
climate calamities will surely come and wreak havoc on our world,
just as Supertyphoon Yolanda devastated Tacloban
and wiped thousands of lives in a single day.
This pandemic, like many others, will pass, but the climate catastrophes
are finally here, and they pose a more severe threat.
Fear hyped by social media and inaccurate news is embedded in our
brains. People are scared.
People will die as the flowers wither.
They are desperate, and I do not blame them.
We will go hungry and delirious.
The destitute will revolt. People are terrified of an infection
they know little of.
But if you really think about it, we are the virus.
It is we who kill senselessly, who wage wars, and who destroy our
Mother Earth.
Let us learn from the simple lessons the lockdown taught us.
Let us not waste food and water, let us plant trees, and let us
conserve our dying planet.
Manage the fear and anxiety so that we can fight to conserve our
only home. Sustainability is the key to our future.
Antonio M. Claparols,
president, Ecological Society of the Philippines,
Manila,
Philippines
The
military is the strongest organisation
In a third world country
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 22 August 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Tursday 20 August
2020
|
The strongest organization in any Third World country
is its military organization.
It is from this organization where the head of state, elected or
otherwise, obtains his capacity to protect his office, as his office
is always subjected to challenges.
In the Philippines, past or present, we are all aware of this truism.
It is therefore the policy of the head of state to appoint a completely
trusted and loyal officer of his military in the person of the chief
of staff (CoS) to command the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP),
and through him, he has control of the entire military.
In our structure, the chief of staff (CoS) is a very powerful man,
and checks and balances hardly exist.
He commands the entire Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) with
loyal subordinates, from top to bottom, who are also graduates of
the same school where he came from.
Coming from the same school provides the culture that makes his
subordinates loyal to him (right or wrong) in spite of the military
structure and laws against it.
It is no wonder then that the head of state would rather have a
chief of staff (CoS) who gets rotated frequently, to get the loyalty
of the man who wields such vast power on the entire the Armed Forces
of the Philippines (AFP).
But if the chief of staff (CoS) performs only his functions as described
by his title, his power of command is taken away.
It reverts to the commander in chief (CinC) who can delegate such
functions of command to the major service commands, separate or
area commands like Cemcom, Nolcom, etc.
With that kind of structure, the chief of staff (CoS) position will
become less significant, other than providing advice to the commander
in chief (CinC) and more rigorous planning for the Armed Forces
of the Philippines (AFP).
At this point, the head of state will feel at ease with the safety
and security of his office.
That would be reason enough for the CoS to have a term of office.
I will not suggest that the position of chief of staff (CoS) be
abolished or the appointee be replaced by the secretary of national
defense (SND) in an acting capacity.
The chief of staff (CoS) is a soldier position, but the secretary
of national defense (SND) may be a civilian as it should be.
It is suggested, though, that professionalism in the officer corps
of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) should be raised.
Today, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is a military dynasty
controlled by Philippine Military Academy (PMA) graduates.
If one checks the roster of the major positions in the Armed Forces
of the Philippines (AFP), he will find that what I said is true.
Years back, there was a bill filed by several senators to create
academies for the Air Force and the Navy, but that bill never came
to pass.
The main points of that bill were twofold: to provide checks and
balances in the the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and to
provide training to sons and daughters of poor families.
Had these schools been created, I am sure we could have produced
well-schooled officers for the two technical services of the the
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and, further, contributed
highly trained personnel for the management of the aviation and
maritime industries.
It is never too late to create these schools now, as a law has been
enacted for the government to provide free college education while
there is also a need for highly educated officers to man the very
expensive naval ships and fighter jets.
Lt. Gen. Antonio E Sotelo,
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) retired,
Muntinlupa City,
Philippines
Glorified
public servants rake it in
While Filipinos starve
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 21 August 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Wednesday 19 August
2020
|
President Duterte said he was caught between the devil
and the deep blue sea in rejecting the appeal of medical frontliners
to extend stricter COVID-19 lockdowns No more funds; let
Filipinos return to work - Duterte to doctors seeking longer lockdown,
Auguat 11, 2020.
It was a distressing report to read, especially when Mr. Duterte
has continued to allow his favorite appointees to receive tens of
millions in monthly compensation.
Why should it be only the workers in the private sector that
must make the sacrifice of receiving paltry paychecks, amid the
current pandemic that has pummeled the nations economy flat
on its back?
Glorified public servants continue to rake it
in while the people their real bosses starve.
George del Mar,
Manila,
Philippines
Surveys show that Filipinos
Do not trust China
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 20 August 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Monday 17 August
2020
|
Allow us to react to the report PH needs
to balance ties with China, US - Lorenzana, August 11,
2020 where Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana expressed the need
to balance the countrys President Dutertes friendship
with communist China and hostility toward the United States.
With due respect, is that even an option as far as the Filipino
people are concerned?
Doesnt Lorenzana ever read public opinion?
Surveys invariably show that a great majority of Filipinos do not
trust China and prefer to keep close ties with the United States.
So, what balancing is he talking about?
Its a no-brainer.
But perhaps, Lorenzana was making that comment only for President
Dutertes ears, in the hope that the latter might still snap
out of it and moderate his excessive admiration for China, whose
word is as trustworthy as his own spokesperson Harry Roques
11 out of 10, all malarkey!
Melissa Sy-Quiatan,
Manila,
Philippines
A war with China cannot
end well
For a third world country like the Philippines
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 19 August 2020
First published in te Philippine Inquirer, Tgursday 13 August
2020
|
Inutil was how President Duterte
described himself during his State of the Nation Address regarding
the countrys issues with Chinas aggression in the West
Philippine Sea.
How pathetic is that for a leader touted by his
sycophants as just the strongman this country
needed to get things done?
He feels inutil because a lopsided war with a
superpower like China can never end well for a Third World country
like the Philippines.
That is so true.
But war with China would have been too farfetched to imagine if
the biggest superpower like the United States has the other countrys
back.
China, the nastiest bully in Asia, could have taken tiny Taiwan
anytime, but it fears the United States mightier power, which
has the latters back.
Before Mr. Duterte, America had the Philippines back, too.
So how did all this come to pass that we are now announcing to the
whole world how weak and inutil we are?
Ever since the United States denied Mr. Duterte a visa to visit
his girlfriend there when he was in college Duterte
assails US for strict visa policy, October 21, 2016, he obviously
has not forgotten that rebuff or forgiven America for breaking his
fragile heart.
That deep-seated hatred has been simmering to a boil. And now that
he is President, its payback time.
His pivot to China, which considers America its mortal
enemy, is seen more as showing his spite for America than
anything else.
Thats how petty it all really was.
See how Mr. Duterte instinctively reacted when Sen. Bato
dela Rosas US visa was canceled?
That was all Mr. Duterte needed for a tit for tat.
With just a flick of his fingers, he unilaterally canceled the US
Visiting Forces Agreement that made the only presence of Americas
power in this country felt around Asia.
It has all been just tantrums.
With a fickle, feckless, unreliable partner like that, who can blame
America for not taking the Philippines security issues seriously,
as it does Taiwans?
US President Donald Trumps words were ominous when asked about
Mr. Dutertes petulance: I dont really mind
if they would like to do that, it will save a lot of money.
So, will America come to the defense of the Philippines in the
face of Chinas creeping invasion?
Heaven help us!
Jeremias H. Tobias,
Manila,
Philippines
Call
for Thai universities
To
follow Singapore model
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 18 August 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Friday 14 August 2020
|
Re: "Promotions pose test for Thai lecturers",
Bangkok Post Opinion,
August 14.
Although it is supposed to be a bastion of integrity and intellect,
research and knowledge, Thai academia suffers from the same top-down
hierarchy, red tape, cronyism, nepotism and corruption.
Every Thai institution is rampant with umbrella holders who shield
the powerful from ultraviolet radiation, even when the sun has set.
During a conference, I saw a senior Thai professor being shielded
by half a dozen umbrella holders.
Such people are in charge of running Ohec and other Thai agencies.
In any country, the desirable role of regulatory agencies is to
enhance quality but it is unclear how poorly formulated policies
by these agencies will be effective in this regard.
It is very true that Ohec and its allied agencies ONESQA, TCI and
other rule-setters are the main culprits where people making decisions
can hardly pass their own rules.
These agencies have contributed to a compliance-oriented culture.
One potential approach would be to bring about changes in organisational
culture by following the successful models and practices that are
being used by universities the world over, especially in neighbouring
countries like Singapore.
Excellence through research and innovation is a capability that
cannot be acquired by the poor quality of PhD programmes and advisory
skills of the faculty.
Attitude for delivering the highest quality of research output or
innovations can only come from the quality of people.
Four potential approaches for enhancing quality in research output
are closely linked to university autonomy, English-language proficiency,
the quality of the Thai faculty and its advising skills, and hiring
foreign talent.
Kuldeep Nagi,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Call for compensation
for Filipino's
For loss of West Philippine Sea
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 17 August 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Friday 14 August
2020
|
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague has
ruled China was never in possession of the South
China Sea, of which the West Philippine Sea is a part. But China
still insists its historic rights and possession over the South
China Sea and the West Philippine Sea are based on its own ancient
documentary evidence. It is a totally bogus claim
which China knew has no leg to stand on, which is why it never participated
in the The Permanent Court of Arbitration proceedings. It opted
to bribe the complainant, i.e., the Philippine
government now headed by President Duterte.
On several occasions, including this years State of the Nation
Address, Mr. Duterte kept saying China is in possession
of the West Philippine Sea , which raised eyebrows every time
for being apparently contrary to the Permanent Court of Arbitration
judgment.
Yet, it is absolutely true!
Indeed, while China might not have been in possession during the
ancient times it was harping back on, it is now in actual occupation
and possession of the disputed territories.
It has already developed military fortresses on them, standing ready
and able to repel intruders with armed forces
- all thanks to Mr. Duterte who just looked the other way as the
rape was going on. Any attempt on the part of
the Philippines to complain about Chinas rape
of the West Philippine Sea in the future would now ring hollow as
a broken bell.
Who would ever believe the Philippines was aggrieved after the Duterte
regime had welcomed the invader with open arms?
His slavish attitude toward China has rendered irrelevant the most
solid arguments former Supreme Court senior associate justice Antonio
Carpio could ever make China is not in possession of West
Philippine Sea, August 6, 2020.
Lets face it: We have already lost everything in the West
Philippine Sea! Is there ever a way the Filipino people can be compensated
later for just part of such irreparable loss from Mr. Duterte, along
with all his co-conspirators in government who shamelessly aided
and abetted him in betraying the public trust?
Danica Monica Rigor,
Manila,
Philippines
Philippine taxes used
for self service
Not public service
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 16 August 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer Friday 14 August
2020
|
The report of the Commission on Audit regarding the
multimillions in emoluments received by high government officials
for their public service in 2019 alone is shocking
- Calida is 2nd highest-paid government official,
July 30, 2020.
Most likely, it was not only for that year but for countless years
before, and continuing to this very day notwithstanding the economic
devastation brought about by COVID-19.
How in the world are people in public service able
to get away with their looting of the national treasury of a Third
World country that is constantly coping, and barely, with the problem
of making both ends meet?
Granting it is all legal, is it moral?
Even an idiot knows how immoral it is.
Kaya hindi umaasenso ang bayan.
Those entrusted with the public trust are not using taxpayer money
for public service, but for self-service.
Nimfa Rina Ricafort,
Manila,
Philippines
Hong Kong rounds up newpaper
executives
Under
new national security laws
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 16 August 2020
|
The arbitrary arrest of high profile Hong Kong newspaper
executives by Beijing
( see details in The Southeast Asian Times 14 August ) has all the
hallmarks of the modus operandi of the Police/Totalitarian State
where no dissent is tolerated.
Free speech is an anathema to such a State.
Hence the rounding up of the newspaper executives comes as no surprise
so soon after the imposition of new draconian national security
laws in Hong Kong.
Rajend Naidu,
Sydney
Australia
Ghost beneficiaries of
PhilHealth
Have
long been in their graves
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 15 August 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Wednesday 12 August
2020
|
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Thats all anyone with some brain in his head can say.
The news, Are they dead or alive? 5K members aged 130 are
in PhilHealth database August 4, 2020 and that nobody
knows if they are dead or still alive because there is
nothing in PhilHealths database to show if they died already
and so they continue to enjoy the benefits - got us falling off
the edge of our seat so early in the morning.
Counting out biblical figures who lived hundreds of years Methuselah,
969 years; Jared, 962; Noah, 950; Adam, 930; et al., who lives that
long 130 years nowadays?
Ghost beneficiaries, anyone?
No wonder billions of pesos are lost, or worse, end up in the pockets
of scalawags!
There were 5,000 red flags fluttering like crazy and no one in PhilHealth
wondered about them?
PhilHealth has branches all over the archipelago.
Has it ever occurred to PhilHealth president Ricardo Morales to
get his people off their butts and do some legwork - assuming PhilHealth
has their addresses?
to check if those undead members are really still
alive and kicking?
They would most certainly have found, to their disbelief,
that all of them had long been in graves within their own barangay,
city, or province.
That would have been a lot less expensive, as those trips are just
part of their days work. Instead, Morales is asking Congress
to shell out more billions in cash infusion so he can have PhilHealths
database show more intelligence apparently because
he and his people no longer have any.
Stephen L. Monsanto,
Manila,
Philippines
P154
billion missing from PhilHealth
Inside job
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday14 August 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Thursday 13 August
2020
|
In the report, Palace: Govt wont
allow PhilHealth to go bankrupt in Philippine Inquirer,
August 7, 2020, presidential spinmeister Harry Roque tried to make
the nation believe that as the principal author of the
Universal Healthcare in the Lower House, that will not happen
PhilHealth is guaranteed by the governmentas if
bragging about his big role in crafting that law gave his statement
any credence worth taking to the bank.
Roque is practically saying, No worries, we got this!
The guy never ceases to talk tongue-in-cheek or just downright tommyrot.
Mr. Dutertes point man in PhilHealth, retired Brig. Gen. Ricardo
Morales, admitted he could not find where the P154 billion had gone
PhilHealths P154 billion loss still not found, remains
unsubstantiatedMorales, June 19, 2020.
The perfect crime seems to be nothing else but
an inside job, with many in PhilHealth being
in on the scam and its cover-up.
Those billions are now irretrievably gone for all intents and purposes.
Despite being also inutil at his job, Morales
continues to enjoy Mr. Dutertes trust and confidence in his
competence.
Tens of thousands have already been infected with COVID-19 in this
country and desperately needing medical attention and care.
So, how is the Duterte administration to make good on that PhilHealth
guarantee?
With all the expenses to deal with the China-spawned pandemic almost
bankrupting it already, where is the government going to get the
funds to tide PhilHealth over?
More loans in the tens of billions on top of the trillions it already
owes China?
What more collateral can Mr. Duterte offer China?
Another quitclaim over the rest of the territories within the so-called
nine-dash line in the West Philippine Sea which
the Permanent Court of Arbitration has rejected as nothing but a
Chinese fantasy?
Arnulfo M. Edralin,
Manila,
Philippines
Call for Nobel Prize
For
Joshua Wong in Hong Kong
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 13 August 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Sunday 9 August 2020
|
Re: Yingwai Suchaovanich's August 8 letter, "Wong
is no hero", advocating that Hong Kong's Joshua Wong should
be locked up for causing chaos toward China, I'd like to remind
Yingwai that Joshua Wong is doing exactly the same thing that students
and young people in Thailand are trying to achieve. Freedom of speech,
freedom of movement, no fear of political dissention, and a rewrite
of the constitution.
China broke its 50-year agreement with Hong Kong and the rest of
the world, demonstrating that the Chinese are still barbaric communists
without a regard to their promises or their word.
Joshua Wong and his fellow protesters should be applauded and given
the Nobel Prize for fighting for democracy in Hong Kong, as China
is like the black plague, spreading plague subtly over the entire
world.
Jack Gilead,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Inexperienced
investors in the stock market
Swim
with sharks
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 12 August 2020
First published in the Star, Friday 7 August 2020
|
Why is the stock market behaving like a casino?
I suppose the better question would be why are the regulators allowing
the market to be like a casino?
Are they salivating at the prospect of super revenue and profit
from the huge daily volume or are they just at a loss for what to
do?
What about investor protection, market governance, blatant manipulation,
frivolous announcement just to move share price, etc?
Arent regulators supposed to focus on these important areas?
Being an ex-regulator with more than 20 years in the field, I have
dealt with all sorts of market scenarios.
Looking at the current one, I feel it will likely end in tears for
most of the inexperienced investors.
Regulators must act fast and decisively to nip these unhealthy activities
in the bud by using stronger market management tools before more
innocent investors get drawn into the frenzy.
Otherwise, they will be blamed again for not doing anything.
Anyone looking at the volume traded these days will know it is mainly
due to two reasons excessive gambling speculation and or
manipulation.
And this is not a good reflection.
It reminds me of the property buying frenzy a few years ago when
buyers were snapping up units by the floor or block, thinking that
the good times would last forever.
Most are now stuck with empty and negative equity units.
The same scenario is now happening in the stock market.
Admittedly, there are companies that will benefit massively from
the current pandemic, and their share prices have gone up accordingly.
Theres no need to issue the unusual market action query for
them.
However, for the majority of the counters, there is no reason for
their share price to rise, let alone have hundreds of millions of
shares traded every day.
Investors need to be very aware that most of the volumes traded
are not due to genuine investing but are in fact fake volumes churned
up by certain parties hoping to make a quick buck.
These parties are known by various names such as proprietary traders,
day traders, programme traders, high frequency traders, syndicates,
punters, etc.
Their main job every day is to create volume in the market, hoping
to lure unsuspecting investors and profit from them.
With the real economy in bad shape, many new and inexperienced investors
are attracted to the stock market rage, hoping to make some money.
Little do they realise that they are swimming among sharks
and they are counting on the regulators to watch their back.
Regulators, please do something, say something, before it all collapses
like a house of cards in this case, scrips.
Strictly Fair and Orderly,
Kajang,
Malaysia
Covid-19 pandemic has
fueled
Counterfeit medicines in the Philippines
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 11 August 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Saturday 8 July
2020
|
The Covid-19 crisis has fueled the surge of not only
fake face masks and other medical products related to the pandemic,
but also counterfeit medicines, especially those over-the-counter
(OTC) or sold without prescription.
As Covid-19 cases continue to increase globally, so are the counterfeiters
who are exploiting the growing gaps in the market.
Recently, the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released
an advisory against the purchase and use of counterfeit drugs.
A counterfeit drug is a fake drug.
Counterfeit drugs are those with the wrong or contaminated ingredients,
with the correct ingredients but wrong amounts, or without the active
ingredients.
They can also be mislabeled and can apply to both generic and branded
products. In addition, they are not registered with the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) and did not go through validation and
standard tests to confirm their quality, safety, and efficacy.
Selling or offering for sale of such is a violation of Republic
Act No. 8203 and the FDA Act of 2009. It is also against intellectual
property.
Among the recently reported counterfeit drugs is paracetamol.
In the country, it is famously seen in huge advertisements and is
commonly used for pain or fever.
Although some health authorities argue on the use of paracetamol
in this pandemic, many experts around the world recommend the use
of fever-lowering over-the-counter medicines to cope with Covid-19
symptoms.
There are many ways to identify an authentic drug from fake.
The physical signs serve as the quickest markers.
These include the color, size, weight, and design of both the drug
and its packaging. It is also essential to examine the appearance
of the foil and other parts of the packaging such as logo, lot/batch
number, expiration date, and security features such as a hologram.
It is preferable that the product in question be compared side by
side with the authentic medicine rather than relying on memory.
Also, check for any misspelling or questionable directions, especially
in the leaflet, and if the manufacturers address is traceable.
Additionally, counterfeit drugs have a strange smell or taste, and
they crack easily. When the counterfeit drug is already taken, a
feeling that something is wrong may occur, such as an unexpected
reaction.
It is advisable to buy medications from establishments with a license
to operate from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Think twice if the price is lower than usual, especially those found
online or in the black market.
Being able to identify authentic drugs from fake ones is the first
step in the war against fake drugs, and to avoid a parallel pandemic
of counterfeit drugs.
Teresa May Bandiola,
Manila,
Philippines
Call
for Doctors with minimum qualifications
To
sit for qualifying test
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 10 August 2020
First published in the Star, Wednesday 5 August 2020
|
As a senior educator, I would like to raise my concerns
about the quality of some young doctors in Malaysia.
Every year, I have to certify the documents of young doctors who
are applying for housemanship in local hospitals.
I am shocked to see their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) or Malaysian
Certificate of Education examination results.
Many obtained just C and D for their Science subjects, namely Biology,
Chemistry and Physics, and B for subjects like English and Mathematics.
These doctors are graduates from a local private medical college.
There were two who were already 29 years old and were just applying
for housemanship.
Further questioning revealed that they had practically failed every
semester and had to repeat, and only graduated because their university
had the policy of showing 90 percent passes.
One obtained C for Chemistry and D for Biology and the other had
C for Biology and Physics.
However, they managed to obtain the No Objection Certificate
(NOC) to study medicine as their university had a twinning
programme in a foreign country. No Objection Certificate NOC was
part of the control mechanisms on the quality of Malaysian students
who aspired to further their studies at the degree level abroad.
It was abolished in July 2020.
I remember reading the statement by the president of the Malaysian
Medical Association (MMA) that doctors who failed to obtain the
minimum O-Level requirements to enrol into medical school have slipped
into the Malaysian healthcare system.
This is so true and very alarming indeed. How did this happen?
Why did private universities admit students who did not qualify?
Why did the government issue the NOC to them?
Why didnt the Health Ministry look at the Sijil Pelajaran
Malaysia (SPM) or Malaysian Certificate of Education qualification
before recommending these doctors for housemanship?
There have been mistakes at all levels.
Imagine the number of lives lost because of these incompetent doctors.
Who is going to take responsibility for this?
I have read letters in the newspaper from young doctors lamenting
their long wait for housemanship.
It is unfair for the good ones, especially the Jabatan Perkhidmatan
Awam (JPA) or Public Service Department scholars and students from
public universities, who have to wait for their posting along with
these unqualified doctors.
I think it is about time the Health Ministry does something about
this problem. Doctors who do not have the minimum qualification
from their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) or Malaysian Certificate
of Education examination must sit for a qualifying test before being
considered for housemanship.
It looks like teaching is considered the top profession now, as
only students with 7As would be accepted for training.
I must applaud the Education Ministry for taking proactive measures
to upgrade the quality of new teachers.
However, I must say that the not-so-clever students will enrol in
private medical colleges and become doctors as long as they have
the money to pay for their studies.
I do hope the Health Ministry will look into this issue seriously.
I believe a few foreign universities, which had twinning programmes
with our local private medical collages, had to cancel their programmes
due to the substandard quality of students from Malaysia.
This is indeed a shame for our country and the medical profession.
Teacher,
Klang,
Malaysia
Challenges
against Philippine Anti-Terrorism Act
Filed in Supreme Court
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 9 August 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Friday 7 August
2020
|
President Duterte wanted a law that would strike fear
among those who say bad things about his misrule.
An obsequious Congress obliged and hastily passed the Anti-Terrorism
Act (ATA) that allows his minions to keep anyone in detention for
weeks on real or imagined charges of committing acts of terror supposedly
meant to destabilize his administration.
Challenges against the constitutionality of that much-maligned law
have been filed in the Supreme Court, which Duterte-handpicked justices
now lord over.
Pundits think those petitions have a snowballs chance in hell
of seeing the light of day.
Would another petition filed by retired Supreme Court justices themselves
- Antonio Carpio and Conchita Carpio Morales, both also known to
be in the crosshairs of the current regime fare any better?
Both Carpio and Morales are no intellectual lightweights.
The big difference their petition can probably make is to jolt the
incumbent Supreme Court justices into sitting up and doing their
darndest to find the best and most plausible arguments to destroy
that challenge.
No matter how palpably biased they may be, those sitting justices
cannot afford to resort to meandering perorations as they often
would with respect to pesky petitions filed by ordinary mortals
who just suffer the insult in silence.
Their own intellectual credibility and right to be in the highest
court of the land are being challenged, too.
As we keep our fingers crossed, we hope there would be no more of
the balderdash about humanitarian reasons as
in the Enrile case, or the fabricated necessity of pinpointing the
principal plunderer as in the Arroyo case, or
the nauseating gobbledygook about a heros burial
for the most villainous president this country has ever had
the greatest misfortune of enduring for decades.
Rey
Chavez Escobar,
Manila,
Philippines
Call for increased government
support
For Thai's who have lost their jobs
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 8 August 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Monday 3 August 2020
|
Recent polls have found the approval ratings for the
Prayut Chan-o-cha government are disappointingly low.
What's more, there have been a string of protests, especially by
students, against the regime.
Considering how well the country has fared against the Covid 19
pandemic, and that WHO has chosen the kingdom as a model in its
documentary about how to deal with the spread of the coronavirus,
it is surprising why so many are against the government?
What it all boils down to, I think, is how important it is for a
country to have a healthy economy with many people working.
And it is clear to all that Thailand does not have a healthy economy,
nor are there enough people employed.
The situation is only going to get worse, as it is predicted the
unemployment rate will jump to over 20 percent for the rest of the
year, the worst in all of Asia, according to the pundits.
Yet the government has not provided enough support to those who
have lost their jobs due to the strict lockdown measures imposed
by the regime.
It is all well and good to pound one's chest and show off about
how well Thailand has dealt with the pandemic; but it is quite another
when one has to subsidise the people who have had to suffer because
of the government's lockdown measures.
Providing 5,000 baht to a sprinkling of workers has proven to be
insufficient.
Something more needs to be done, it is clear.
Paul,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Malaysia and Singapore
ensure Malaccca Straits
Secure for shipping
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 7 August 2020
First published in the Star, Tuesday 4 August 2020
|
August 9 would mark 55 years since Singapore separated
from Malaysia.
Since then, ties between both countries have remained cordial, as
they depend on each other for people, goods and services and capital.
Singapore and Malaysia enjoyed close ties during the premierships
of Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Goh Chok Tong as well as under
the leadership of Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Lee Hsien Loong.
Abdullah and Najib both adopted a moderate and pragmatic foreign
policy stance towards Singapore, which significantly improved bilateral
ties.
As things stand, Malaysia and Singapore would enjoy warm ties under
the leadership of Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and his
Singaporean counterpart, Lee.
It would be important for the current and future leaders of both
nations to continually engage in constructive and peaceful dialogues.
Collaboration between Malaysia and Singapore in economic, social
and security areas would benefit both countries.
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, 450,000 people crossed the Malaysia-Singapore
border daily, making it one of the worlds busiest land borders.
About 40,000 Malaysian workers also travelled to Singapore every
day.
Historically, there have always been large people-to-people connections
and business linkages between the two nations.
On the economic front, Malaysia and Singapore are each others
second biggest trading partner.
Both nations import and export a large number of goods and services
from one another, which helps to support business operations and
improve living standards.
Singapore also invested and collaborated on Malaysias $105bil
Iskandar Development Region project.
On the security front, the military of both nations often interact
and collaborate via visits, exchanges and exercises.
Both countries work together to face security concerns in maritime
South-East Asia. Both are part of the Five Power Defence Arrangement,
which also consists of New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Australia.
Malaysia and Singapore both conduct frequent and robust patrols,
ensuring that the Straits of Malacca is secure enough for ships
to pass through without facing piracy concerns.
This helps to preserve the Straits of Malaccas status as the
most important and strategic trading hub in the world.
Finally, it is heart-warming to note that both countries have resumed
discussions on the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System and
Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail projects.
By building infrastructure to facilitate the movement of people,
both countries can better communicate and cooperate with one another,
and benefit each other culturally and economically.
Bo Yang,
Singapore
Call
for corruption distancing
To effectively prevent corruption
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 6 August 2020
First published in the Star, Tuesday 4 August 2020
|
As the world waits in hope for a vaccine for Covid-19,
a vaccine for a scourge that is equally harmful to society, corruption,
already exists.
That vaccine is prevention.
Borrowing a phrase common in Covid-19 parlance, i.e. social distancing,
we should introduce corruption distancing to
effectively prevent corruption.
Today, corruption involves both the public and private sectors,
making it a highly complex problem.
It is likened to a contagious disease that will eventually wreak
havoc on our economy and institutions.
For every crooked politician or bureaucrat, there would be a businessman
willing to grease their palm.
Such activities would erode integrity, reduce citizens trust
in the powers that be, corrode the rule of law and eventually undermine
democracy.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has consistently
warned that the level of corruption in Malaysias commercial
and business sector is alarming.
Data between 2019 and June 2020 show that 390 individuals were arrested,
which represented 26.1 percent of the total arrests on record.
In the last five years, MACC has arrested more than 800 individuals
in cases involving commercial organisations.
The illicit assets seized were worth billions of ringgit.
MACC has urged the private sector not to offer bribes and to take
a more proactive role to combat corruption.
But the truth of the matter is, if there are no givers, there will
be no takers.
The real culprits are the givers who bribe and offer attractive
rewards to corrupt public officials to win contracts or gain an
unfair advantage over their competitors.
A key legislative change in the fight against corruption in the
private sector is the enforcement of Section 17A of the MACC Act
2009, which imposes criminal liability on commercial organisations
for failure to prevent corruption.
Section 17A (1) states that a commercial organisation commits an
offence if
a person associated with the commercial organisation corruptly
gives, agrees to give, promises or offers to any person any gratification
whether for the benefit of that person or another person with intent
to a) obtain or retain business for the commercial organisation;
or b) to obtain or retain an advantage in the conduct of business
for the commercial organisation.
The onus has shifted to the directors, partners and management of
the organisations or companies, who have to prove in their defence
that they had put in place adequate procedures to prevent their
associates from committing corrupt practices.
The MACC foresees more reports on corruption in commercial organisations
falling under this section.
Local and foreign industries and trade organisations/associations
in Malaysia must collectively support MACCs efforts to curb
corruption by practising good governance.
The Association of Certified Fraud Examiner (ACFE), in its Report
to Nations 2020, stated that any corporates that did not practise
a culture of anti-corruption and integrity could suffer losses of
up to 5 percent of their profits.
It is therefore advisable for companies to hold talks on how to
prevent bribery and corruption.
By doing so, they may be able to save between 2 percent and 3 percent
of their profits.
Datuk Seri Akhbar Satar,
President,
Malaysia Association of Certified Fraud Examiners,
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Masses of Filipinos live
in poverty
And
human misery
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 6 August 2020
|
From Dino M. Capistrano's letter in The Southeast
Asian Times 4 August you get a pretty good sense that is no
shortage of state officials in the Philippines who fill their pockets
whilst the masses of Filipinos live in poverty and human misery.
It seems the Marcos legacy of plunder lives on with other state
actors " ripping this country off " as Capistrano
claims.
Will things ever change in the Philippines?
The people of the Philippines deserve a better Philippines given
their historical struggle for it.
Rajend Naidu,
Sydney,
Australia
Severe breach of Covid-19
social distancing protocol
At Kuala Lumpur Courts
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 5 August 2020
First published in the Star, Sunday 30 July 2020
|
After the gathering outside the Kuala Lumpur Courts
Complex on Tuesday by supporters of former prime minister Datuk
Seri Najib Razak, which many top healthcare officials agree was
a severe breach of the movement control order (MCO) standard operating
procedures (SOP), there is a chance that another spike of Covid-19
infections has been triggered.
Many of those present, including notable figures, were not wearing
masks or social distancing.
This was the perfect recipe for a spread similar to the Sri Petaling
Cluster in February and March.
At this point, we are now looking at damage control, and it is best
that everyone at the gathering takes these three steps:
Stay indoors and work from home as much as possible;
Follow all the preventive measures strictly, like putting a mask
on the moment you step out of your house (even if it is to throw
your garbage out) and washing hands regularly; and
Forget about travelling interstate over the next few days.
Simply put, be a team player for Malaysia and stay indoors.
With many companies now racing against the clock to find a vaccine
that will get us out of this dire situation, a special task force
must be set up as soon as possible to start educating the public
in all the languages spoken in this country on the importance of
vaccination.
This will save time when the vaccine is ready to be administered
to the people. There is no point in the government getting the vaccine
if people refuse to take it.
From my personal calculations, we will need about 94 percent of
the public, including foreigners, to be vaccinated so that the other
6 percent who cannot be vaccinated due to health reasons can benefit
from herd immunity.
We must also target anti-vaxxers those who are against vaccinations
in the fight against Covid-19 from now on.
We must convince them that eradicating Covid-19 is highly dependent
on them accepting the vaccine when it becomes available.
I also hope vaccination will be given to everyone in the country,
including foreigners as they are part of our society.
We need a holistic approach to overcome Covid-19.
Dr Arvinder-Singh HS,
Sungai Buloh,
Selangor,
Malaysia
8,400 Filipinos stranded
at Rizal Memorial Sports Complex
Reflects
the real state of the nation
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 4 August 2020
First published in the Philippines Inquirer, Monday 3 August
2020
|
The July 30 editorial Appalling neglect
said it all: Harrowing images of thousands of stranded
Filipinos in appalling conditions at the Rizal Memorial Center
The chaotic scene involving about 8,400 locally stranded individuals
was the harsh reflection of the real state of the nation.
Practically ignoring them to rot in the miasma of filth and
squalor, the government seemed too helpless to do anything about
their condition.
Public funds have been severely depleted due to the current pandemic.
Yet, we are reading about public servants sucking up and pocketing
tens of millions in salaries, allowances, bonuses, etc., "Calida
is 2nd highest paid government official, July 30, 2020.
By any equitable standard, this is tantamount to plunder in plain
sight!
Mentioned in that report was the 2019 bonanza these public servants
received: United Coconut Planters Bank officers Higinio Macadaeg
Jr. P20.47 million, Eulogio Catabran III P15.09 million, and Edmond
Bernardo P11.58 million.
Not to be outdone were Solicitor General Jose Calida P16.95 million;
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas officials Benjamin Diokno P15.45 million,
Maria Almasara Tuaño-Amador P14.60 million, Chuchi Fonacier
P14.59 million, Dahlia Luna P12.24 million, Ma. Ramona Santiago
P12.17 million, and Elmore Capule P11.42 million.
Also specially mentioned among the multimillionaires and top earners
in public service were Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta and Associate
Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe of the Supreme Court the highest court
of justice which has remained callous and impervious to the woes
and miseries of Filipinos whose cases there have only been gathering
dust and cobwebs through decades of indifference, delay, and neglect.
How much more of the peoples money do they want to grab?
Filipinos at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum were suffering from the
dismal lack of financial support or any form of material assistance
from the government.
The pandemic has bankrupted the government, which is now scraping
the bottom of the barrel and relying on loans amounting to trillions
of pesos and charities to help tide it over this horrible crisis.
President Dutertes lawful salary is said to be less than P5
million a year, as the most exalted head of government.
Apparently bereft of any sense of shame or delicadeza, those humbler
public servants need to be told by him, if he really cares for the
less fortunate, to moderate their greed and to cease and desist
from ripping this country off.
Dino M. Capistrano,
Manila,
Philippines
Crucial for banks to provide
buffer
In recovery from Covid-19 crises in Malaysia
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 3 August 2020
First published in the Star, Saturday 1 August 2020
|
The anxiety among the rakyat over whether banks would
extend the six-month moratorium on loan repayments after September
was answered by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in his announcement
on Wednesday of targeted moratorium extensions Targeted
moratorium extension for another three months, in The
Star, July 29.
The loan repayment moratorium has provided huge relief for many
individuals and businesses: as at July 20, over 7.7 million individual
borrowers or 93 percent of the total have benefited from the measure
worth RM38.3bil.
And 243,000 small and medium enterprises SMEs or 95 percent of the
total, have also utilised the measure for a total of RM20.7bil.
In total, the value of the moratorium is RM59bil.
Despite the short-term opportunity given by the banks for borrowers
to save by participating in the moratorium, not everyone decided
to opt in.
The number of individual borrowers opting out rose from 331,000
in April to 601,000 in July.
For SMEs, the number of non-participants jumped from 5,000 to 13,000
in the same period.
The increase was in tandem with the governments decision to
reopen most economic sectors beginning early May, which helped to
re-start businesses that had been disrupted during the earlier phases
of the movement control order (MCO).
This was then followed by supportive measures in the short-term
economic recovery plan announced on June 5, such as the extension
of the wage subsidy programme and hiring incentives.
These moves helped several parts of the economy to recover, which
explains those opting out from the moratorium.
Nonetheless, many businesses and individuals are still struggling,
as the following figures denote: in May, the overall unemployment
rate escalated slightly to 5.3 percent compared with 5 percent in
April as the number of unemployed went up by 47,300 to 826,100.
If you look at the more updated figures, based on the Employment
Insurance System unemployment benefit claims, there was a total
of 62,247 employment losses as at the third week of July.
There were also reports that 4,542 applications to cease business
operations were processed by the Companies Commission of Malaysia
during the movement control order (MCO) period between April 1 and
July 19.
As we are still trying to recover from this unprecedented crisis,
there is a crucial need for banks to provide a buffer should more
assistance be required in the future.
Prior to this latest announcement, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk
Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz stated that banks faced losses worth RM1.06bil
a month during the loan moratorium period, which will bring about
a total loss of RM6.4bil by the end of the measure.
These losses by the banks explain the more targeted measures post-September
in comparison with the blanket loan moratorium from April to September.
The efforts of the government to address the loan moratorium appear
positive, as it was one of the emerging issues and suggestions raised
by participants in a recent focus group discussion.
Sofea Azahar,
Research Analyst,
Emir Research,
Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Call for Malaysia to repeal
The Sedition Act 1948
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 2 August 2020
First published in the Star, Thursday 30 July 2020
|
Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) is perturbed that the
government still sees the Sedition Act 1948 as relevant and has
announced that it will be retained.
The Sedition Act is an archaic law introduced by the British colonial
government in 1948 and was intended to suppress the voices of Malaysians
calling for independence.
Activists and political leaders who fought for our independence
were detained under this draconian legislation, hence its continued
existence is an affront to their struggles.
Pakatan Harapan failed Malaysians when it didnt deliver its
promise to repeal the Act. In 2013, Barisan Nasional under Datuk
Seri Najib Razaks administration had made the same vow to
Malaysians and the international community during our countrys
second Universal Periodic Review process to review the human rights
record of all United Nations Member States but failed to fulfil
it.
The Perikatan Nasional government is now refusing to repeal the
Sedition Act. Claims that the Act is still relevant are absurd as
the Penal Code provides for all the offences described by the government.
Anyway, national harmony cannot be achieved through the force of
law.
If Perikatan is genuine about wanting to improve national harmony,
it should revisit recommendations made by civil society, Suhakam
Human Rights Commission of Malaysia and subject matter experts to
address concerns about national harmony, hate speech and discrimination.
Sevan Doraisamy,
Executive director Suara Rakyat Malaysia,
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Call for President Duterte
to defer
Opening of schools in Philippines
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 1 August 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Friday 31 July
2020
|
Dear President
Duterte,
We, the Parents Teachers Alliance, a nationwide organization,
welcome and support the recent enactment into law of Republic Act
No. 11480, amending Section 3 of RA 7797, otherwise known as An
Act to Lengthen the School Calendar from 200 Days to not more than
220 Class Days.
We fervently appeal to Your Excellency to use the power and authority
granted by RA 11480 to defer the scheduled opening of classes in
August to a much later date to provide the Department of Education
ample time to prepare and address the following concerns:
Uniform teaching modules are yet to be finalized, as the teachers
tasked to prepare them were not professionally trained to do so,
the same being the function of the DepEd Curriculum Bureau, aside
from the fact that printing cost will be shouldered by classroom
teachers.
Only a minuscule percentage of our 800,000 teachers have ready and
actual access to internet facilities, which, on the average, would
cost P1,000 per month for every teacher.
Almost all 47,000 public schools in the country have zero internet
connectivity, while a great majority of our 27 million K-to-12 students
do not enjoy such facility, let alone have access to tablets, laptops,
and personal computers.
The government television stations frequency effectiveness
is very limited. Most, if not all, radio stations all over the country,
on the other hand, cannot possibly accommodate the requisite airing
time for the 13 grade levels with at least six subjects per grade
or 78 class hours for a radio station that ordinarily airs 18 hours
daily.
What block-time, then, if we may ask, is the DepEd alluding to?
The 4Ps Program was conceived to prompt parents to send their children
to school instead of helping them out with work.
Blended learning, premised on parents willingness and competence
to teach their children schoolwork, will negate this objective,
not to mention its prohibitive cost which could easily be beyond
the financial capacity of most local government units.
We most respectfully submit, Mr. President, that these are but some
of the most pressing, critical, and fundamental issues that must
first be addressed with haste and certainty before the opening of
classes.
As such, we earnestly appeal to Your Excellencys wisdom that
the opening of classes in August be deferred to a later date if
only to accord the DepEd such time to adequately, seriously, and
honestly prepare for the same.
For our childrens sake.
Emilio B. Abelita,
Manila,
Philippines
Call for Philippines to
commence legal proceedings
Against China for spread of Covid-19
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 31 July 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Thursday 30 July
2020
|
In Make China accountable for COVID-19
in Philippine Inquirer, Letters July 8,
2020, Stephen Monsanto urged the Integrated Bar of the Philippines
(IBP) to file class suits against China for the unabated spread
of COVID-19, which has brought the whole world to its knees, including
the Philippines.
That is something long overdue.
The Filipino people cannot continue to just suffer what is happening
to this country in silence.
The Philippines stands indebted to China in the sum of $167 billion
to finance President Dutertes ambitious Build, build,
build program.
Under very onerous terms, that debt alone could easily balloon to
over $300 billion, including interests, charges, penalties, or what-have-you.
In pesos, that would amount to about P15 trillion, which surely
the Philippines can never afford to repay.
Chinas obvious intent is not to be paid, but to take over
this country in payment of that debt - all courtesy of Mr. Dutertes
friendship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In self-defense, the Filipino people can do a preemptive strike
by demanding any outstanding part of that Chinese loan as compensation
for the terrible things Chinas COVID-19 has done to our country.
If other countries have already commenced legal proceedings for
compensation against China in their own jurisdictions, what is the
Philippines waiting for?
Never mind the Office of the Solicitor General, which has proven
itself to be of service only to Mr. Duterte.
What about the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) and other
law associations run by brilliant lawyers in
our midst?
Havent they found the balls yet to do something about this
clear injustice?
And even if one may think of it as nothing but suntok sa
buwan because China would only be laughing at us - as
it did when the Philippines sued and even won the arbitration case
against it in The Hague - it does matter that we are seen as standing
in solidarity with the world in condemning China for its blunders
and cover-ups relating to this pandemic.
Carmela N. Noblejas,
Manila,
Philippines
Call for President Duterte
to prove
He cannot stand a whiff of corruption
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 30 July 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Friday 24 July
2020
|
With regard to the editorial, Year
of Filipino Health Workers July 21, 2020 where nurses
in public hospitals and health institutions were said to be finally
receiving P34,801 per month after nearly two decades
of begging for it, allow me to give my two cents worth.
That kind of pay is hardly enough considering the great hazards
they have to face amid this current pandemic which could last for
years!
Comparing that to the shamelessness with which high government officials
are robbing the people blind, collecting more than P1 million per
month in salaries, perks, allowances, bonuses, incentives, etc.,
even in these times when the countrys economy is teetering
on the brink of collapse (e.g., Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas officials),
one cannot help but curse at the government that allows this kind
of stupidity and blatant iniquity.
And think about this biggest joke of all: What is Mocha Uson doing
for this country to deserve being paid P155,000 plus per month -
more than four times the paltry sums being paid to those nurses
at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19, and who run the
risk of getting infected (and God forbid, dying) every day?
Thousands of other good-for-nothing bureaucrats have been taking
advantage of similar or bigger entitlements.
If an honest-to-goodness restructuring of the entire bureaucracy
were to be done, there is no doubt half of those scalawags would
be jobless.
Good riddance.
Will President Duterte please show the same political will to prove
he cannot stand even just a whiff of corruption as
he did in dismantling the oligarchy?
Marites
dela Merced,
Manila,
Philippines
Red Bull heir
Walks
free
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 29 July 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Sunday 26 July 2020
|
Re: "Public fury as 'Boss' allowed to walk
free", in Bangkok Post, July 25
Regardless of whether it's Thaksin, Yingluck or Gen Prayut in power:
Our jails are to incarcerate the poor.
Look at Orachorn "Praewa" Devahastin's highway
massacre, Vorayuth Yoovidhya's fatal hit-and-run, or a construction
tycoon's possession of a dead pheasant: guilty, but no jail.
But, for the destitute husband and wife caught digging for mushrooms
for their own consumption in a protected forest -12 years!
Democracy offers a non-violent, sustainable way to correct such
injustices.
But voters must analyse and question - which is why the powers that
be, Gen Prayut included, emphasise rote memorisation in school and
unquestioning obedience in Thai society.
How long will the poor, who are the vast majority of Thais, put
up with such abuse?
They aren't stupid.
Gens Prayut and Prawit - and you and I - are doing Thailand no favours
by perpetuating the status quo, for the tipping point may not be
far off.
I fear violence.
Burin Kantabutra,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Thai state funded universities
Turned
into teaching factories
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 28 July 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Tuesday 21 July 2020
|
Re: "Covid-19 hastens university revolution",
in Bangkok Post, July 19..
We should keep in mind that every problem in higher education is
also caused by the Education Ministry and its allied entities, such
as Search Results Web results Office of Higher Education Commission
(OHEC), now called the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research
and Innovations, Office for National Education Standards and Quality
(ONESCQA), Thai-Journal Citation Index (TCI) and many others.
As a result, most state-funded universities have turned into teaching
factories, not by accident, but by doing what is dictated by these
entities.
In every world ranking, private universities dominate because of
their autonomy, innovative teaching and learning practices, and
cutting edge research.
It is very sad to see that private universities in Thailand have
been choked by the red tape tied around their necks.
It is high time that they are allowed to be fully autonomous and
lead the change in higher education.
Everything former higher education minister Suvit Maesincee mentions
is key to the future of Thai higher education. Adoption of blended
learning, outcome-based teaching, upskilling, collaboration with
industry, and forging alliances with foreign universities is important.
But he ignores the fact that for Thai universities to find their
place in regional or global competitive space, the country must
drastically change its immigration policies.
To attract foreign faculty and bring students to conduct research
will require proficiency in English, advance technical and communication
skills and dynamic curricula.
In addition, scholarships, student visas, work permits, and employment-related
issues must be addressed. A pool of highly educated and talented
expatriates living inside Thailand can't contribute to this effort
because of the arcane immigration and work-related policies.
In a nutshell, a revolution in Thai higher education will require
more than a lockdown to deal with the Covid-19 crisis.
Kuldeep Nagi,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Fewer than 200 Malaysian
tigers
Left in the wild
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 27 July 2020
First published in the Star, Thursday 24 July 2020
|
WWF-Malaysia commends the Malaysian governments
anti-poaching and anti-wildlife trafficking efforts, following the
statement of Energy and Natural Resources Minister Datuk Dr Shamsul
Anuar Nasarah that a total of 64 poachers have been caught since
early this year in the The Star, July 22, 2020.
With fewer than 200 Malayan tigers left in the wild, protection
of this species must be prioritised.
We need key actions to address the main threats.
Increased patrolling efforts to deter wildlife crime that decimates
tigers and their prey is a critical step.
In view of this, WWF-Malaysia impresses the urgent need for the
establishment of a wildlife crime unit within the Royal Malaysia
Police (PDRM) force, in order to effectively combat poaching and
wildlife trafficking.
This unit could gather intelligence on poaching syndicates that
are part of larger illegal wildlife trade networks.
This would ensure that legal action is followed through right from
evidence collection to the prosecution process.
In most reported cases, those prosecuted for poaching could have
been working for foreign syndicates.
Putting a stop to these syndicates should be made a priority, apart
from penalising those who are guilty of committing wildlife crimes.
WWF-Malaysia,
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Call for governments to
protest
Against
cruel treatment of wildlife
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 26 July 2020
|
Britain has ordered thousands more monkeys for covid
vaccine testing in laboratories.
And, of course, this is happening everywhere in the race to be first.
Please spare a thought for the hundreds of thousands of animals
that suffer and die in agony for us.
Shame on all governments around the world, including ours, for not
making any effort to protest against the cruel treatment of wildlife
which probably sparked this pandemic.
How selfish we are!
Jennifer Horsburgh.
Queensland,
Australia
China
claims over South China Sea
Predicted to galvanize ASEAN
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 25 July 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Wednesday 22 July
2020
|
In China: A rogue state? Opinion
in Philippine Inquirer, December 6, 2012, then University of the
Philippines law professor Harry Roque, an expert in international
law, wrote about the unwarranted claims of China over
territories in the West Philippine Sea.
Its unlawful aggression, he opined, may finally galvanize
not only Asean
but also the rest of the world into branding
China as the ultimate rogue state.
Then when President Duterte, who is best friends with Chinese President
Xi Jinping, appointed him presidential spokesperson for the first
time in 2017, and again this year, Roque turned rogue himself and
has since been all praises for China.
This guy is as malleable as play dough!
It would really take some gall for him to be able to face his law
students again at that premiere university - assuming that the latter
would be crazy enough to hire him again, despite his utter lack
of integrity and credibility.
But the most frightening thing is, Mr. Dutere just might appoint
him to the Supreme Court for fun and allow him, being only in his
50s, to inflict himself on the Filipino people for more than a decade.
OMG!
Annalee Lauder,
Manila,
Philippines
Covid-19 pandemic has
exposed
Tolerance for corruption in Philippines
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 24 July 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Thursday 16 July
2020
|
This pandemic has taught us many things.
It has exposed the vulnerability of the ordinary working Filipino
in terms of health care, job security, and food security.
It has also exposed our tolerance for corruption.
Instead of learning from our shortcomings, many in our community
still have the temerity to hide from the law under their padrino
blanket.
For years, we admired people who are malakas
- those who got away with violations, those who could cut through
lines, those who had magic calling cards to show
to law enforcers, and sometimes, those who just happened to have
a silver insignia on their shoulder boards, or an honorable
to their names.
We used fixers to make life more comfortable for us.
We resorted to pampadulas to get things done.
We tolerated the wrongdoings of people simply because they were
our ka-brod, kaklase, kabaro.
Today, even after all our sufferings, we place fake logos on our
windshields just to get through checkpoints, cut through fast lanes
dedicated to essential transport, skip quarantine just because facilities
are not comfortable enough for us, and we call
on our padrinos, ka-brods, kaklase, kabaro to help us get away with
it.
The consequences are now higher, and lives are at stake.
This virus moves faster than a graft investigation.
So, stop putting fake passes on your windshield, stop skipping quarantine
procedures, and stop using your padrinos.
If we can get rid of these getaway cards completely,
maybe well recover faster from this pandemic.
Maybe the new normal will be a better
normal, maybe our government will become more competent.
Because one thing is certain, your padrinos wont make you
immune to the virus.
Tristan Velarde,
Naga City,
Philippines
Illegal dumping of toxic
waste in Malaysia
Immediate
and long-term effect on health
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 23 July 2020
First Published in the Star, Friday 17 July 2020
|
The discovery of another illegal dumping site of scheduled
wastes in Selangor, as reported in No leniency for illicit
dumping in The Star, July 16, is yet another stark
reminder to the public to be ever vigilant of such activity in areas
close to their residential premises.
If they come upon such sites, they should immediately alert the
authorities concerned so that prompt action can be taken against
the culprits, who could be construction and landscaping contractors,
factory owners, waste removers, scrapyard operators or anybody looking
for a quick, easy and cheap way to get rid of their waste.
In this most recent case, the authorities had been monitoring a
site in Johan Setia, Klang for a whole month using, among others,
drones and found 1,000 drums and large bags of suspected oil sludge,
rubber sludge waste, dangerous pigments and other toxic waste there.
These wastes will have immediate and long-term effects on health
as toxins and hazardous materials will penetrate the soil and contaminate
drinking water.
The wastes also damage the environment and cause adverse economic
consequences.
If the dump sites catch fire, the surrounding air will be polluted
with toxic particles. It is not uncommon for children to be exposed
to these dangerous elements as some of these dump sites are close
to schools or residential areas.
The scourge of illegal dumping is fast becoming a perennial problem.
For this reason, the public must play their part to assist the authorities
by reporting any suspicious activities to the Environment Department.
As our nations resources are being stretched, especially with
having to deal with the Covid-19 outbreak, we do not need any additional
burden posed by such noxious activity.
Safeguarding the environments safety and health is everyones
responsibility.
We may also need to examine the existing laws pertaining to illegal
dumping of wastes to see if the penalties provided therein are sufficient
to deter such serious illegal activities.
The Environment Quality (Scheduled Wastes) Regulations 2005 provides
for a mandatory jail term and a fine of up to RM500,000 for convicted
offenders.
Perhaps additional penalties could be legislated, like withdrawal
of their operating licences and seizure of their assets to drive
home the message that there will be no compromises when it comes
to the safety, health and well-being of the people.
Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye,
Chairman,
Alliance For A Safe Community,
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Former Papua New Guinea
PM Peter O'Neil
Only interested in up-down policy and not
bottom-up policy
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 22 July 2020
First published in the National, Friday 17 July 2020
|
Peter ONeill should know very well that whatever
criticisms he makes to this Government during these trying time
will reflect back to him when he was holding the seat of the prime
minister.
ONeill - you did nothing good for our rural population.
Now you are eating your own words by criticising the Government
led by James Marape on issues of church-run health services.
What have you done during your tenure?
You did nothing for the church-run health services.
During your time, you were only interested in up-down policy and
not bottom-up policy.
That is why most of the countrys money was used in places
such as Port Moresby, Lae and Mt Hagen.
Only in urban centres.
Most of our church-run health services are in rural areas.
During your stint as the prime minister, you dictated every policies,
and did everything for your own interests causing the downturn of
our countrys economy.
So please, you do not have to go on the print media and tarnish
the good work of this current Government.
They are trying their best to sort out most or I could say all of
those mess created by you.
When you comment or criticise on matters pertaining to Covid-19,
handled by this Government, you must understand that the coronavirus
is an imported disease where we do not have much knowledge about,
however quick response and precautionary measures were put in place
by this Government.
You must also understand that, due to the frequency of this deadly
virus that has caused lives in millions, as per the World Health
Organisation (WHO report), PNG is no exception.
Therefore our good Prime Minister James Marape has taken the right
direction and has been very careful in handling the situation, as
it is sensitive and fragile.
I commend our prime minister and all the hard working committees
of the Covid-19 headed by the Controller David Manning, Commissioner
of Police.
Tom Khangai,
Madang,
Papua New Guinea
Call
for Malaysian MP to be penalised
For discrimination based on colour of skin
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 21 July 2020
First published in the Star, Saturday 18 July 2020
|
Colourism is defined as prejudice or discrimination
against individuals with a dark skin tone, and it is a component
of racism.
There is no place for colourism or treating people differently based
on their skin colour in a multiracial nation like Malaysia.
Soroptimist International Region of Malaysia (Sirom) is appalled
by the remarks made by Baling MP Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim
at Batu Kawan MP Kasthuriraani Patto about the colour of her skin
in Parliament on July 13.
Being discriminated based on the colour of ones skin is extremely
damaging to ones self-worth.
It has serious mental and emotional effects that can last for generations.
Recent world events have shown how racism can turn destructive very
quickly. This is especially relevant today when the Black
Lives Matter campaign has gained momentum and forced many
countries to re-evaluate their policies and laws.
Regrettably, such sexist and divisive comments are not alien in
our Parliamentary proceedings.
The behaviour of the MPs uttering these comments must not be tolerated
nor dismissed as harmless.
Women MPs must be empowered to champion their cause and uphold their
communitys values without fear of being belittled by caustic
personal or sexist attacks.
As leaders of their constituents, all MPs should be subject to a
higher standard of decorum and propriety, and the Baling MP ought
to be penalised. A retraction and apology are simply not enough.
To move Malaysia forward, we urge all MPs to practise mutual respect
and tolerance in our multiracial nation.
Agnes Tan,
President 2019-2021 Soroptimist International Region of Malaysia,
(Sirom)
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Call for Chinese Embassy
in Bangkok to read
Ancient Chinese philosopher Mencius (Mengzi)
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 20 July 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post Saturday 18 July 2020
|
Re: "Clearing the waters", in
Bangkok Post, PostBag, July 16.
I'm a long-time American expat living in Thailand.
I have no official status.
The views expressed below are my own.
Chinese Embassy in Bangkok spokesperson Yang Yang tries to tell
us why non-regional countries (like the US) should not interfere
in China's activities in the South China Sea.
"Mind your own business!" is a common cry from
governments engaged in unsavoury activities.
Such governments always invoke the principle of national sovereignty.
But that principle, left unfettered, would allow governments to
imprison, brutalise, and even massacre segments of its own population
with impunity.
We saw it illustrated in the Holocaust, in which the Nazis massacred
millions of Jews.
We see it in the more recent Chinese oppression of the Tibetans
and the imprisonment of the Uighurs.
Such atrocities are unacceptable by civilised people.
When they occur, the rest of the world should have the right to
intervene.
We are all humans.
Our common humanity should override narrower considerations of race,
ethnicity, or ideology.
The principle of ren, benevolence or humaneness, championed by the
ancient Chinese philosopher Mencius (Mengzi), ought to be paramount
here.
The worthy officials of the Chinese Embassy could profit from a
perusal of the book that bears his name.
As I understand it, the objection to Chinese expansionism in the
South China Sea is that its ultimate aim is to turn that sea into
a Chinese lake.
There, other countries will have no rights save those graciously
granted by China. The artificial islands that China has been constructing
constitute the chief evidence for this perception.
If China wants to convince the world that it has no imperialistic
ambitions in the South China Sea, it can easily do so by dismantling
and abandoning those artificial islands. Somehow I have a feeling
that this won't happen.
S Tsow,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Australian
media failed to report
Black deaths in police custody
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 19 July 2020
|
It is good to see The Age letters column of
18 July captioned 'Do not treat this as just another death in
custody ' and the accompanying letters.
Some years ago I heard in the news that a young black man ( 21 or
23 years old ) was taken into what the police called " protective
custody ".
I wonder whether the family of that man is also among those seeking
answer in light of the current Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.
A couple of days later he was dead in " protective custody
".
I wrote a letter to the editor questioning what kind of " protective
custody " was that?
That letter was not published.
It left me bewildered.
I thought it was a legitimate question to raise.
I was left feeling then that the media wanted to put a lid on the
case in the same way that the police did.
That the media had failed to uphold its public watchdog role.
That was not a good feeling.
I thought Australia was a democracy that took transparency, accountability
and public scrutiny seriously.
I felt let down.
Rajend Naidu,
Sydney,
Australia
China calls on US not
to take sides
In claims of sovereignty in South China
Sea
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 18 July 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Thursday 16 July 2020
|
The South China Sea issue should not be a tool for
implementing the strategy of containing China by non-regional countries.
In his July 14 interview piece, "US turns focus to South
China Sea", US Ambassador Michael George DeSombre ignored
the historical background and facts of the South China Sea issue.
His statement deliberately distorted international laws including
the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), abandoning
its commitment of not taking sides on the issue of territorial sovereignty
of the South China Sea, ignoring the joint endeavours of China and
Asean countries to safeguard peace and stability in the South China
Sea, exaggerating the tense situation in the region, attempting
to sow discord between China and other littoral countries and defaming
China with untrue words so as to mislead the public.
The Chinese side is firmly opposed to it.
China's position on the South China Sea issue has been consistent,
clear-cut and firm.
China has been committed to resolving disputes through negotiation
and consultation with countries directly involved, and maintaining
peace and stability in the South China Sea by joint endeavours of
China and Asean states.
At present, with the joint efforts of China and Asean countries,the
situation of the South China Sea has remained peaceful and stable
and is still improving.
China and Asean states are not only fully and effectively implementing
the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea
(DOC), but also accelerating the consultation on a Code of Conduct
in the South China Sea (COC), which is an upgrade of the DOC.
It will be more suited to our region's needs and more effective
in regulating the conduct of the parties.
It will provide stronger safeguards for safety and freedom of navigation
in the South China Sea and enable China and Asean to build trust,
manage disagreements, strengthen cooperation and maintain stability.
Since the outbreak of Covid-19, China and Asean countries have assisted
and supported each other to beat the virus.
Ships and planes carrying critical supplies are sailing in and flying
over the South China Sea, a body of water that's witnessing mutual
assistance and cooperation between China and Asean.
Moreover, a lot of progress has been made in our cooperation on
maritime search and rescue as well as marine conservation and research,
which are tangible and pragmatic fruits of peaceful cooperation.
I would like to stress again that the freedom of navigation and
overflight enjoyed by all states under international law in the
South China Sea has never been affected by the relevant disputes
in the South China Sea.
As a country outside the region, the US is not directly involved
in the disputes, refusing to ratify the UNCLOS itself, and has kept
interfering in the issue and disturbing the tranquility of the South
China Sea by making a show of force arbitrarily. What is the real
intention?
From the statement of the US Department of State on the South China
Sea and the US ambassador's interview, it doesn't take much imagination
to understand that the US side is reluctant to see the hard-won
stability in the South China Sea, to see China and other littoral
countries are capable of resolving the South China Sea disputes
through peaceful consultation on our own efforts.
China believes the South China Sea issue should not be a tool for
implementing the strategy of containing China by non-regional countries
and no external interference should become the source of distracting
or sabotaging the peace and stability in the South China Sea.
We advise the US side to earnestly honour its commitment of not
taking sides on the issue of territorial sovereignty, and play a
constructive role in the peace and stability of this region as a
non-regional country.
China will as always stick to resolve disputes through negotiation
and consultation, realise the benign interaction through rules and
mechanisms, achieve common development through mutually beneficial
cooperation and work with regional countries to transform the South
China Sea into a sea of peace, stability and prosperity.
Yang Yang,
Spokeswoman,
Embassy of The People's Republic of China,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Give
the Philippines Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020
A chance
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 17 July 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Monday 13 July
2020
|
Now that the President has signed into law the Anti-Terrorism
Act of 2020 (ATA), I believe it is high time each one of us gave
this law a chance.
I understand the predicament of the people against this law, but
then again, with all the safeguards the law provided, I think we
must at least give it a chance.
If indeed there are unconstitutional provisions stipulated in the
Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 (ATA), then by all means the Supreme
Court can take the final action. And if the Supreme Court finds
it constitutional, then we must respect and obey the law.
I am certain amendments are always available if there are things
that need to be polished in the law.
But for now, lets remain positive that this law can help the
Philippines prevent and check terrorism.
Ezekiel Manaois,
Manila,
Philippines
Refugees arriving in Malaysia
by boat
Will not be pushed out to sea, says PM
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 16 July 2020
First published in the New Straits Times, Tuesday 14 July
2020
|
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's statement
that Malaysia will not send refugees who come by boats back to the
sea is most welcome.
Applying a humanitarian approach is appropriate while seeking for
a better solution depending on the situation.
Malaysia needs to act with caution so as not to be seen as violating
international law, what more as an Islamic country that should act
in accordance with Islamic principles.
The PM's reply in the Dewan Rakyat confirmed that the action of
sending them back to the sea will not be done.
This should be emphasised as a policy so that enforcement agencies
will not be in a dilemma when accepting refugees.
Refugees who have no choice when they are under oppression and trapped
in conflict are now seeking protection around the world.
While conflict and oppression must be stopped, victims seeking refuge
need to be managed by world bodies and countries that become transit
for refugees.
Rohingya refugees do need international protection based on the
principle of
"non-refoulment" which is not to surrender oppressed
groups to countries where they are persecuted and exemptions are
given to immigrants who need United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees is a United Nations agency (UNHCR) protection based on
humanitarian principles.
They should not be evicted and the government should allow them
to stay temporarily until a solution is found.
Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid,
President,
Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organisations (Mapim)
Using same pen to register
for Track and Trace Covid-19
Same
as using same serving spoon on cruise ship buffet
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednsday 14 July 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Tuesday 13 July 2020
|
As an epidemiologist, I support the government's efforts
to combat the Covid-19 virus in the country. The Track & Trace
mobile app is an excellent tool and easy to use.
However, the written registration method used for people not wanting
or able to use the mobile app is almost useless and could potentially
do harm.
Hundreds of people per day are using the same pen to register at
shopping mall entrances.
This pen can easily spread the virus from an infected person to
anyone else.
You could compare it to hundreds of people using the same serving
spoon in a cruise ship buffet line.
Most of the printed entries are not legible or accurate, with many
clearly false names being used.
If the government really wants to protect the population from the
spread of the virus once international tourism is opened up again,
registration in writing should be scrapped and a more secure method
such as scanning or copying IDs or passports used.
Kim Johansen,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Frantic
effort by Thai international universities
To tap into the Chinese higher education
market
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 14 July 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Sunday 12 July 2020
|
Re: "Can Thai unis attract foreign pupils?",
in Opinion, Bangkok Post July 9
The answer to Mr Singh's question is simply "No".
With the exception of half a dozen international universities in
Thailand, there is no ecosystem to attract foreign students.
Although there is a frantic effort to tap the Chinese higher education
market, there is little chance of bringing students from the Middle
East and Western countries.
The lack of scholarships, stringent work permit rules, stale curriculum,
lack of proficiency in English, and poor communication skills of
the faculty are major impediments to attracting foreign students.
Although a few Thai universities, such as Chulalongkorn, Mahidol,
AIT, and NIDA may have good infrastructure and facilities and found
their place in the world rankings, their academic standards are
no way comparable to universities located in Australia, Europe,
and the USA.
These countries not only provide a higher education but also provide
opportunities for a career, better quality of life, and chances
to settle down and eventually become a citizen of the country.
Thailand lacks all such incentives; hence, attracting foreign students
to Thailand will remain a pipe dream.
Kuldeep Nagi,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Days of mass tourism are
over
Charter flights way to go
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 13 July 2020
First published in the Star, Friday 10 July 2020
|
Ever since the Movement Control Order (MCO) was implemented
on March 18, tourism industry players and associations have been
making repeated calls on federal and state governments for emergency
aid and temporary relief during this period with little to no income.
There have also been announcements about putting hygiene, safety
and security protocols in place and calls to publicise Malaysia
as a safe destination.
But many countries are doing the same and at this time, tourists
would choose destinations that offer more meaningful experiences.
It would be a waste of time and money to repackage old wine in a
new bottle, ie promote the same old products.
Clearly, the days of mass tourism are over, and likewise mass advertising.
It is now crucial to target and create niche markets and for industry
players to consolidate.
Malaysian outbound and inbound tour operators must work together
with their overseas counterparts to generate a constant flow of
passengers for air charters, starting with only one weekly flight,
then progressing daily and ending with many flights a day.
Unlike scheduled flights that passengers can travel on at short
notice, those booked for charter flights could be screened in advance
and their health condition and movements constantly and closely
monitored to ensure they will be free of Covid-19 when travelling
overseas.
Before departure, these passengers may have to be quarantined at
a selected hotel and then transferred to the aircraft in chartered
buses with minimum contact with other people.
The hotel, bus and aircraft would have be thoroughly disinfected,
of course.
Such a controlled group would be welcomed by many governments around
the world as economies everywhere are at an all-time low and need
tourist dollars more than ever even while countries remain fearful
of opening borders and risking a second wave of Covid-19 infections.
It would be most viable to start with charter flights to and from
Indonesia and China, as people from these two countries are the
second and third largest number of foreign visitors to Malaysia
after Singaporeans.
The countries are also highly popular with Malaysian tourists travelling
overseas.
As almost every industry and citizen are affected by this pandemic
and funding is limited and never enough for everyone, the only long-term
solution is to generate revenue, particularly foreign exchange.
So instead of merely offering promotions and waiting for foreigners
to come to us when borders are open, tourist arrivals can be speeded
up by trying these air charters.
And it is time for leading industry players and leaders to rise
to the challenge by several notches by consolidating and gearing
the industry to operate charter flights in a big way.
It can be made popular with initial promotional offers which would
fill up the aircraft.
This is crucial for inbound tour operators as almost every passenger
would be using their service, unlike the millions of foreigners
that used to visit Malaysia monthly prior to the Covid-19 outbreak
that were independent travellers.
YS Chan,
Petaling Jaya,
Malaysia
Malaysia fails to meet
minimum standards
For
elimination of human trafficking
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 12 July 2020
First published in the Star, Wednesday 8 July 2020
|
Its a growing concern that Malaysia is on Tier
2 watchlist of the Trafficking in Persons Report for the third consecutive
year for its failure to meet the minimum standards for the elimination
of human trafficking of foreign workers.
Anti-racism protests, which started in the United States with the
police killing of George Floyd, have spread to Europe and other
parts of the world, and monuments linked to colonialism and slavery
are being toppled or defaced in the name of racial justice.
Will the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests arouse significant changes
in the mindsets of people like the historic Martin Luther Kings
I Have a Dream speech in 1963 or the Berlin Wall
protests in 1989 did?
It is still too early to say.
M. Veera Pandiyan,
Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Call for investigation
of rampant open burning
In Taman Tambun, Ipoh, Malaysia
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 11 July 2020
First published in the New Straits Times, Friday 10 July 2020
|
Over the first weekend of July, I took the opportunity
for a short holiday since the uplifting of travel restrictions by
visiting my grandparents back in Taman Tambun, Ipoh.
Hoping that this trip would be rejuvenating, I was horrified by
the amount of open burning that took place during the few days of
my stay there.
Several residents in the area and in the surrounding neighbourhood
were burning what I assumed was garden waste as the weather has
been hot and dry.
This happened several times throughout the day.
Every now and then you see plumes of smoke rising, made worse by
wind that blows it into houses and choking its residents.
If that is not bad enough, the burning sometimes continues at night.
During the night, smoke is acrid and smells of burning plastic waste.
Imagine the long-term health effects of these pollutants on the
residents here, a significant number of them happen to be the elderly
and children.
I urge the relevant authority to investigate this matter of rampant
open burning taking place in Taman Tambun and its surrounding areas.
We live in a time where rubbish of various materials can be dealt
with in a more environmentally friendly manner, not by burning which
not only pollutes the environment but endanger the health of others.
ACMK,
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Chinese usually fatten
up a duck
Before killing and eating it
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 10 July 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Wednesday 8 July 2020
|
Re: "Kind words are not enough",
Bangkok Post, Editorial, July 7.
It's interesting that your editorial suggesting that China should
deepen its current relationship with Thailand by easing up on building
dams on the Mekong is juxtaposed with Kavi Chongkittavorn's perceptive
analysis of the choices facing Thailand at a time of Chinese resurgence
and US decline.
The current Zhong-Tai yi jia (Chinese-Thais) one family romance
reminds me of the Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai (Indian-Chinese) brotherhood
fantasy of a bygone era. Readers know how that ended, with China
now occupying Indian border areas, recent clashes on the frontier,
and mutual animosity on both sides.
Nobody can reasonably expect any country to do anything contrary
to its own interests.
Clearly, maintaining and increasing the number of dams on the Mekong
is in China's interests.
So Thailand would be wise to give up the pipe dream of getting China
to desist.
Of course, there will be soothing and honeyed words oozing from
the Chinese side.
Readers should also note that the Chinese usually fatten up a duck
before killing and eating it.
Of course, nothing like that would ever happen in the blissful Chinese-Thai
family.
S Tsow,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Call for compensation
for Filipino people
From
China for damage and misery caused by Covid-19
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 9 July 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Wednesday 8 July
2020
|
As the courts reopen for redress of grievances, the
Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) should start mulling ways
to seek recompense for the Filipino people from the Chinese Communist
Party (CCP) which, either by deliberate intent or culpable negligence,
caused the spread of COVID-19 around the world.
This deadly disease from Wuhan, China, has brought untold miseries
upon this poor country that are by now immeasurable and irreparable.
There is preponderant evidence available worldwide that the Chinese
Communist Party (CCP) had covered up the outbreak within China in
the months of December 2019 and January 2020, in blatant disregard
of the World Health Organizations (WHO) written protocols
on health hazards and diseases that could raise concerns of pandemic
proportions.
Thousands of lives might have been spared had that virus been properly
contained from the get-go in accordance with the rules of the WHO.
Independent scientists from around the world were snookered by the
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda that everything was copacetic
and outside interference uncalled for.
Our Rules of Court allow suits against foreign individuals, companies,
firms, or entities doing business in this country (Rule 14, Sections
12 and 15).
The Securities and Exchange Commission can confirm what and where
these Chinese companies are.
Their assets here could amount to trillions of pesos.
It is public knowledge that Chinese companies doing business anywhere
in the world are controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The time for just rolling over as this plague from China continues
to hit this country hard is up.
Class suits for equitable compensation should now commence.
Chinas immunity from suit as a sovereign state does not extend
to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the political party running
the affairs of that country. Writs of attachment/garnishment could
freeze the bank accounts and assets of the Chinese Communist Party
(CCP), conduits in this country indefinitely and render them available
to pay the amount of damages the courts may find the Chinese Communist
Party (CCP), lliable for. For one, there is the Bank of China, whose
umbilical links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are beyond
cavil, with branches around the globe, including the Philippines.
As a matter of fact, civil forfeiture cases against the known purveyor
of COVID-19 have already been filed in Australia, Europe (United
Kingdom, Germany), and the United States (Florida, Texas, Missouri),
for loss of lives in the hundreds of thousands and their near-total
economic devastation. Many others are contemplating following suit.
The IBP is the Filipino peoples only hope to file claims for
damages (pro bono) in the hundreds of billions of pesos - if only
it were not hobbled by the astronomical amount of judicial filing
and docket fees required to be paid (currently about P25,000 for
every P1 million in claims) under Rule 141, as amended. So, outside
of the pauper-litigant statute, will the Supreme
Court make an exception to that rule just this once?
It would be free of charge if the Office of the Solicitor General
took up the cudgels for the Filipino people and did the filing itself
on their behalf. But, alas, thats another story.
Stephen L. Monsanto,
Manila,
Philippines
Fool
me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me
Should
we be ashamed?
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 8 July 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Monday 6 July 2020
|
Re: "Debate heats up over fire helicopters",
in Bangkok Post July 4, 2020
Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda wants 1.8 billion baht to buy
six wildfire-fighting helicopters, saying his Department of Disaster
Prevention and Mitigation picked the helicopter supplier via a transparent
and accountable bidding process, and "as long as the company
that won the bid had strictly followed the law, there was no problem".
In 2010, the Royal Thai Army bought GT200 bomb detectors at a cost
of more than 1 million baht each.
Our National Science and Technology Development Agency tested them
and found them to be less effective than flipping a coin - yet no
army officer has been charged or held accountable for the fiasco.
Gen Anupong obviously knew something was wrong: so, why haven't
the army officers who perpetrated this fraud on us been held accountable?
How do we know that the government will deliver this time?
A wise man said, "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice,
shame on me." Should we be ashamed?
Burin Kantabutra,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Call for PNG government
to address poverty
And
corruption in People's National Congress
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 7 July 2020
First published in the National, Friday 3 July 2020
|
There is not much time left for the Government to
make its dent in the socio-economic landscape of Papua New Guinea
PNG if it tries to bog itself with social media warriors and Peoples
National Congress (PNC) heavies on governance matters.
The Government should take bold and hard decisions on what needs
to be taken for the best interest of the country and ensure it is
implemented without reasonable delays.
Bulk of the population are in poverty and that should be an area
where the Government should address within the next 10 years of
policy intervention to sustain the aggregate demand within the full
dimensions of the domestic economic space.
There are remnants of corrupt in People's National Congress (PNC)
appointees who are still in key state organisations which needs
to be weeded out for wasting development opportunities for the country.
The Prime Minister has already declared curses on those who fail
this country in their areas of responsibilities and the cries of
the silent majority will continue to haunt them to their graves
they dont repent and repay what they owe to the country.
LG,
Observer,
Port Moresby
National Capital District (NCD),
Papua New Guinea
Trans-Pacific
Partnership trade agreement
Is sell-off of the nation's sovereignty
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 6 July 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Saturday 4 July 2020
|
Re: "CPTPP delay the right call",
Bangkok Post Editorial, July 3.
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership
(CPTPP) is a sell-off of the nation's sovereignty.
There is a reason everyone isn't jumping on board.
Can you imagine your country being sued because you aren't allowing
yourselves to be exploited to your full potential and that court
is run by the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific
Partnership (CPTPP) with their judges and lawyers?
Konajake,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Turn Covid-19 crisis into
opportunity
To prune all state owned enterprises
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 5 July 2020
First pulished in the Bangkok Post Friday 3 July 2020
|
Re: "Debt-ridden group lays off 961 staff",
Bangkok Post, July 1.
The Business Organisation of the Office of the Welfare Promotion
Commission for Teachers and Educational Personnel has laid off 93
percent of its 1,035 staff due to staggering debts and a lack of
liquidity - the exact same causes that forced THAI into bankruptcy.
I laud Education Minister Nataphol Teepsuwan for, as he said, basing
his decision on data, not emotions.
Minister Nataphol says that the survivors will be sufficient to
carry out the organisation's mission - which either means that 93
percent of the organisation's staff have been basically spinning
wheels, or the organisation's raison d'etre has been streamlined.
As with the private sector worldwide, the wave of closings and drastic
cost cuts in state enterprises is just beginning.
The government should follow the saying, "When life serves
you lemons, make lemonade": turn crisis into opportunity
to prune all state enterprises so that the survivors meet the same
standards as their private sector counterparts - or become history.
Start from the basics: Can a private enterprise be more effective/efficient
at achieving a given state enterprise's reason for being?
For example, instead of having the Government Savings and Housing
Bank, why not give tax breaks for savings investment mortgage programmes
run by commercial banks?
Instead of having THAI on stand-by 24/7 to evacuate Thais from harm's
way, why not charter private carriers on an as-needed basis - as
we and many other countries did at Wuhan?
Where we absolutely must have a state enterprise to perform a given
function, require that it sustain the same level of achievement
as their private sector competitors on each key performance indicator.
Use this opportunity to make our entire state enterprise sector
a lot smaller, slimmer, and cost-effective.
Then, use the savings to help the tens of millions of low-income
Thais laid low by Covid-19.
Burin Kantabutra.
Bangkok,
Thailand
Philippines
Makati Medical Center denies
Backlog
of 8,000 Covid-19 tests
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 4 July 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer Friday 3 July 2020
|
We categorically deny that Makati Medical Center (MMC)
has a backlog of close to 8,000 COVID-19 tests as stated by Manuel
L. Quezon III in his column Shotgun approach puts everyone
at risk Philippine Inquirer July 1, 2020.
The information cited by Mr. Quezon from a certain Andrei Diamante
based in Australia is erroneous and ludicrous.
We deplore that during these unprecedented and challenging times,
a medical institution and its frontliners would be put in a bad
light by such misinformation.
As of June 14, Makati Medical Center (MMC) was one of the top 10
licensed centers doing RT-PCR tests for COVID-19.
The Makati Medical Center (MMC) molecular laboratory has undertaken
14,558 PCR tests since it was accredited in April 2020 averaging
250 tests per day.
The probable underlying reason is a reporting or encoding error
on a daily report obtained by the Department of Health (DOH).
This has previously been clarified and addressed by both Makati
Medical Center (MMC) and the Department of Health (DOH).
The source, Mr. Diamante, must have obtained the erroneous report,
not the corrected version.
I have always held Mr. Quezon in high regard because of his insightful
columns.
In this instance, however, he failed to undertake a very important
task incumbent on any responsible journalist - which is a simple
source verification.
A basic communication with Makati Medical Center (MMC) to clarify
this matter could have averted the publication of misleading information
that puts a hospitals credibility and reputation on the line.
Saturnino
P. Javier,
MD, medical director,
Makati Medical Center,
Manila,
Philippines
The
renaming of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA)
Is a national disgrace
The
Southeast Asian Tmes, Friday 3 June 2020
|
Lupita Aquino-Kashiwahara is absolutely right in saying
" The Manila International Airport ( MIA ) was renamed in
recognition of the historical impact that Ninoy Aquino's assassination
had not only on our country the Philippines, but around the world
" ( The Southeast Asian Times 30 June ).
We received the news of the brutal assassination with profound shock
and sorrow in remote Fiji .
It brought home to us just how ruthless the Marcos dictatorship
really was.
Kashiwahara is again right : " The blood he shed on the
airport's tarmac ( he was shot in the back of his head ) symbolises
the ultimate sacrifice he made ( as he fought ) for the return to
democracy in the Philippines ".
Ninoy Aquino's death at the hands of the military henchmen of the
Marcos dictatorship was not in vain.
It galvanised the people power movement for the eventual overthrow
of the dictatorship and a return to democracy.
The proposed rename change is a debasement of that historical heritage
of the Philippines and illustrates just how much the current State
in the Philippines has strayed from upholding the ideals of democracy
that the national hero Ninoy Aquino stood for.
The name change is a national disgrace.
Rajend Naidu,
Sydney,
Australia
Malaysia
continues to be the hub
For human trafficking
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 2 July 2020
First published in the Star, Wednesday 29 June 2020
|
For the third consecutive year, Malaysia remains on
the Tier 2 Watchlist of the Trafficking In Persons
Report.
The report was released by the US State Department on June 25, 2020.
The tier rankings are based on an assessment of a countrys
efforts to prevent trafficking in persons, to prosecute traffickers
and to protect survivors of trafficking through a combination of
legislative acts, collaboration with civil society, funding, and
other proactive measures to identify and protect victims of trafficking.
Malaysias position on Tier 2 reflects a lack of political
will on the part of the Malaysian government to collectively, systematically
and holistically combat modern day slavery and human trafficking.
There appears to be confusion about what exactly human trafficking
is.
Each enforcement unit, the ministries, the National Council on Anti-Trafficking
in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Mapo) as well as civil
societies and non-governmental organisations have different ideas
about and interpretations of human trafficking.
We are still grappling to understand what constitutes human trafficking
without basing these efforts on the protection of the victim/survivor.
We are constantly giving excuses and justifications for our failure
to identify victims based on the misconception that migrants and
trafficked victims are bad people and therefore
deported without delay.
What is even worse is that many victims/survivors of human trafficking
are charged with offences under the Immigration Act and penalised
instead of being protected. As long as the authorities and the Attorney
Generals Chambers continue to labour under these misconceptions,
stopping human trafficking will not be a priority in Malaysia.
And it does not help when other countries in the region move up
to tier two and one.
The most immediate step is for Malaysia to have the fortitude to
buck up to fight corruption if we fail at this, we will be
in the same position or pushed down to Tier 3 next year.
Many efforts and initiatives in the past to combat human trafficking
have failed simply because of the corruption embedded in all our
systems.
Malaysia continues to be a hub for human trafficking for that very
reason, so there is a burning need for all to come together to fight
corruption without fear or favour.
We must put corrupt people behind bars, not just fine them, seize
all their assets and their bank accounts, and take all the actions
provided for in the Anti-Trafficking Act to cripple their operations.
Furthermore, it is of utmost importance that the government invests
in strengthening the competencies of prosecutors and enforcement
officers, and demonstrates increased transparency in case management
and prosecutions of human trafficking cases.
This can be carried out with the establishment of a review committee
Mapo to review all human trafficking cases handled by the authorities.
This is crucial in moving forward in the right direction because
transparency is critical especially where corrupt officials
may work hand-in-glove with human traffickers.
Tenaganita is aware that Mapo is trying very hard to bring about
changes by putting together the National Action Plan on Anti-Trafficking
of Persons, and we appreciate the collaboration but it is also high
time that different ministries and authorities start listening to
survivors/victims, civil society and non-government organisatons.
We cannot just talk about victim-centred approaches without placing
the victim/survivors needs at the centre of the discussions,
debates and actions.
Until and unless the key players in the different government agencies
and departments are prepared to listen, to sit together, to debate
and change the style of working, we will continue to languish on
Tier 2 and maybe even slip down to Tier 3.
There is no other way, we cannot hoodwink ourselves and the global
community with national action plans.
Let us have the courage to take a stand against the perpetrators
of human trafficking rather than choosing to prosecute and punish
innocent victims.
So lets stop simply having diplomatic handshakes and sit together
seriously with other stakeholders to discuss critical issues that
concerns the heinous crime against humanity, human trafficking,
once and for all.
Glorene A Das,
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Wanted:
Red Bull Boss
For hit and run killing of police
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 1 July 2020
First published in Bangkok Post, Tuesday 30 June 2020
|
Re: "Prosecutors tell cops to hurry up and
find "Boss", in Bangkok Post,
June 28.
I fully agree with Office of the Attorney-General Deputy Spokesman
Prayut Phetkun that the cops should urgently pursue Red Bull scion
Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya, wanted in the high-profile
2012 hit-and-run killing of a motorcycle cop. Years ago, the Associated
Press tracked the fugitive down without trouble to his London apartment
- yet our highly skilled police, who know exactly where every critic
of the regime or royalty is, cannot find this alleged cop-killer?
Try Chelsea or a Red Bull-sponsored car racing event.
You have just seven years before the statute of limitations runs
out.
But the prosecutors are also accountable for the slow-as-molasses
pace of this case - for they took five years to charge him with
reckless driving causing death and failing to help a crash victim.
They knew the court dates, approved hearing postponements seven
times, and took no action to have his passport seized.
The Office of the Attorney General should keep the case before the
media - and clean up its house to be ready in case PM Prayut Chan-o-cha
finally extends rule of law to cover the mega-rich "Boss".
Burin Kantabutra,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Ninoy
Aquino International Airport
Symbol
of return of democracy to Philippines
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 30 June 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Monday 29 June
2020
|
The Manila International Airport (MIA) was renamed
in recognition of the historical impact that Ninoy Aquinos
assassination had not only on our country the Philippines, but around
the world.
The blood he shed on the airports tarmac (he was shot in the
head), symbolized the ultimate sacrifice he made (as he fought)
for a return to democracy in the Philippines.
I wonder whether those proposing to change the airports name
would even be in office today had it not been for Ninoy.
Many countries have used airports to honor their own historical
figures, including Indonesia, India, Thailand, and the United States.
In doing so, they have not lost their national identities.
If the congressmen proposing change intend to rebrand the Philippines
as a tourist destination, the question is, for whom?
Most foreign tourists will have no idea what the Tagalog name means,
and Filipinos already know the airport is in the Philippines.
The revisionist congressmen are playing politics while attempting
to deny their countrys history.
Lupita Aquino-Kashiwahara,
Manila,
Philippines
Call for Thai government
to give
Covid-19 stranded international students
a visa
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 29 June 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post Sunday 28 June 2020
|
There are at least 200 international schools and a
dozen universities that offer courses in English in Thailand.
Most of them are hit by the financial crisis induced by the coronavirus
and are desperately seeking students whose visas are most likely
to end soon.
Many of them came on campus visits in March on tourist visas, and
are now held up in the country due to lack of international flights.
There is an international school on Bangna-Trat Road that started
with plenty of fanfare after spending 3 billion baht in infrastructure.
Today they want students to join without paying tuition fees.
That is how distressed the educational institutions are.
The government must facilitate educational visas to all students
by relaxing the visa norms.
That way it will help prevent educational institutions, who haven't
paid their teachers for at least a couple of months, from collapsing.
Kaito Yamamoto,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Risk that Singapore election
is reduced to a referendum
On the Government's managment of pandemic
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 28 June 2020
First published in the Straits Times, Wednesday 24 June 2020
|
News of the upcoming general election has been welcomed.
The pandemic has created urgency for us to re-examine many of the
fundamental socio-economic issues that should be decided through
the political election process.
This will, however, be an election vastly different from the ones
we have experienced before.
Gone will be the familiar rallies, when the entire country takes
on a festive atmosphere and many are focused on the political contests.
This time, it will be a very sedate affair.
But it should not be any less significant, because what is at stake
is our future, which is now dependent on how we successfully complete
a political transformation.
Those elected will have to craft a new economic and social narrative
to make Singapore as exceptional as before despite the challenging
conditions ahead.
In the midst of a pandemic, there is also the risk that the election
is reduced to a referendum on the Government's performance in managing
the crisis.
This is certainly an important issue, but not the only one.
But discussions on a whole range of critical issues that affect
our lives need a social context and atmosphere that may be missing
- the hustings and rallies, as well as arguments in coffee shops
and our neighbourhoods.
Even with the limitations, we can still be passionately engaged.
New election rules must not dampen the spirit and avenues for robust
discussions on our collective interests.
In recent months, many people have gone through an experience that
has affected and shaped their lives and choices, perhaps forever.
We must hear their stories, because those elected carry a responsibility
to represent their constituents in the highest office.
This is also about our own political education.
We must respect anyone who wishes to take up the noble cause to
represent and serve the people, regardless of his background and
political persuasion.
We should not dismiss those who are brave enough to mount an attempt
to defeat the familiar incumbents who have been consistently elected
in the past.
Instead, we should collectively ensure that despite the restrictions
imposed for necessary safe distancing, there is a good, clean, transparent
and honest fight.
Zulkifli Baharudin,
Singapore
Philippines
call for new strategic plan
To halt the spread of Covid-19
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 27 June 2020
Firts published in the Philippine Inquirer, Thursday 25 June
2020
The Philippines, as of June 21, has one of the worlds
longest lockdowns, at 98 days, counting from March 15.
It is time we raise two consequential questions:
With 98 days of lockdown, are we winning the fight against
the COVID-19 threat?
Are our sacrifices from the draconian lockdown measures enforced
by the government for 98 days worth it?
To both questions, my answer is no!
From April 1 to 30, the positive cases reported by the Department
of Health averaged 243.5 per day.
From May 1 to 31, the average was 309.6; and in the first
21 days of June, it was 561.8!
In terms of cumulative cases, it was 2,311 as of April 1,
and 30,052 as of June 21 - an unimaginable increase of 1,200.3
percent over that 82-day period.
These numbers say we are nowhere near flattening
the curve.
We need a new strategic response plan that gives priority
to isolating and blocking the sources of community transmission,
cutting the chain of infections at the roots, and halting
the spread of the virus.
And we need a plan that will enable the full reopening of
our economy soonest - before businesses are bankrupted beyond
help, and before hunger and diseases hit the jobless, the
poor, and the most vulnerable among us.
As part of consolidation of forces, using
military terminology, on where they are most needed, let us,
for one, put the plan for mass testing in the back burner
for now.
Testing - rapid or clinical l - does not cure the sick.
It should not be a priority item in the response plan except
for use in quarantined barangays and in testing and critical
care facilities.
Besides, we do not have enough resources for mass testing.
It should be targeted testing.
Let us stop the checkpoints as they do not contribute at all
to preventing the spread of the virus - even if we spend considerable
man-hours and energy keeping policemen and soldiers there.
In all probability, individuals being accosted in the streets
are some of the 99.985 percent of the National Capital Region
(NCR) population who are healthy.
They have no virus to spread around.
Why plan on arresting and detaining them, even for minor lockdown
violations?
Let us mobilize those soldiers and policemen instead to do
contact tracing work.
As part of the consolidation of forces, the new strategic
response plan should provide for selective quarantine and
enforce hard lockdowns on those with reported cases until
declared virus-free; simultaneously do 100-percent testing
of residents and contact tracing covering those identified
as having come in contact with positive cases.
Organize and mobilize health workers for deployment in those
barangays, recruit armies of contact tracers to do a quick
job of finding those who are possibly infected, and undertake
response operations simultaneously in all barangays with reported
cases.
We then plan to free residents of virus-free barangays from
quarantine restrictions so they can go back to the workplace,
and so we can reopen businesses.
The International Automotive Task Force (IATF) can make use
of experts in epidemiology and in crisis management.
I also propose that the poor and the vulnerable be represented
in the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) so that,
if necessary, the representative can push back on measures
that make ordinary workers jobless, and keep the poor from
moving out of their homes to find work and food for the table,
before adequate mitigation measures are put in place.
Col. Leonardo O. Odono (Ret.),
Manila,
Philippines
|
Philippines experiencing
second wave Covid-19
"God save our country"
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 26 June 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Saturday 20 June
2020
|
Malacañang debunked the claim of Health Secretary
Francisco Duque III that we are already experiencing a second wave
of COVID-19 infections.
National Capital Region Police Office chief Debold Sinas did not
only keep his badge, President Duterte even reaffirmed his trust,
confidence, and support for him despite the generals violation
of COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
When will our leaders pull themselves together?
How much longer do we have to suffer from a government that knows
not what to do about anything except through guesswork, and pushes
down our throats government people who are untouchable and above
the law?
Incoherence and inconsistency of policies, and speaking without
thinking, have always been the hallmark and downfall of our government.
God save our country!
Reginald B. Tamayo,
Marikina City
Philippines
Thailand wants policies
that will not not intensify
The extreme disparity in wealth distribution
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 25 June 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Sunday 21 June 2020
|
The minister of tourism has said he wants to use the
coronavirus hiatus to reset tourism to attract only big spenders.
Big spenders are always desirable, but over the past 50 years Thailand,
encouraged by its governments, has courted and catered for mostly
mass tourism.
This means that up to 5 million people are dependent on the industry,
which some estimates say contributes up to 20 percent of GDP.
Airlines, taxis, hotels, guest houses, small restaurants, car hire,
retailers of clothing and souvenirs; the list is endless.
If you filled every five star hotel I doubt 95 percent of these
people would get a single baht of income.
The money would go to the already rich and international hotel chains.
Europeans and Americans already have a multitude of luxury holiday
locations like Majorca, Sardinia, the south of France, Italian Riviera,
the Caribbean.
How successful are we going to be getting them to take a 12-hour
flight post coronavirus?
Or are we to rely on the rich Chinese?
We put our eggs in that basket before and it did not end well.
The most important focus for the government is to improve the lot
of the mass population.
Not develop policies that will intensify the extreme disparity in
wealth distribution.
Phil Cox,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Huge influx of stimulus
money in Thailand
To
build roads and bridges to nowhere
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 24 June 2020
First Published in the Bangkok Post, Monday 22 June 2020
|
Re: "MPs plot while the people struggle",
in Bangkok Post, June 15.
It comes as no surprise that more than 10,000 projects proposed
for funding under the government's social and economic rehabilitation
programme relate to road construction and maintenance or digging
artesian wells.
Road construction projects are among the most abused and corruption-riddled
around the world.
As Covid-19 restrictions have eased slightly, I've recently made
several short forays outside Bangkok.
Everywhere I go, I see new roads and bridges under construction,
many of which seem unnecessary or illogically located.
With the huge influx of stimulus money, it's likely we will see
even more of these "roads and bridges to nowhere"
and many cases of disappearing taxpayer money and shoddy road construction.
Samanea Saman,
Bankok,
Thailand
A law that results in
inequality and injustice
Is not a good law
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 23 June 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Thursday 18 June
2020
|
The editorial Harsh only on the powerless
in the Philippine Inquirer June 11, 2020 vividly illustrates
how laws were construed in favor of the powerful.
The administration apologists and minions love to argue: Dura
lex sed lex, the law is harsh but it is the law.
But a law that results in inequity and injustice is not a good law.
A law that is not applied equally is mirrored like a spider web.
Diogenes Laertius, quoting Solon in Lives of the Eminent
Philosophers, said: Laws are like spiders
webs: if some light or powerless thing falls into them, it is caught,
but a bigger one can break through and get away.
Former Manila mayor Alfredo Lim had this slogan: The law
is applied to all, otherwise none at all.
Diosdado V. Calonge,
Manila,
Philippines
Struggle
for basic rights in the Philippines
A marathon run in the mud
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 22 June 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Thursday 18 June
2020
|
The struggle for basic rights in our country can be
compared to a marathon run in the mud.
From the period of martial law imposed in the 70s until today,
which has been characterized by killings in our inner cities with
impunity, we have stood together against the repressive reality
and rhetoric in our midst.
In the face of the anti-terrorism bill, it is important to realize
that once again the basic rights of our people to express ourselves,
to dissent, and to associate freely - all enshrined in the Bill
of Rights of the 1987 Constitution - are under threat.
Moreover, this legislative overreach reinforces the long-standing
politics that exclude the more vulnerable in society.
It is the disadvantaged and those who stand with them who will be
the most probable victims of this policy that is open to abuse and
the arbitrary application of ambiguous provisions.
It is apparent that under the present dispensation, not only manifested
in the anti-terrorism bill but also in House Bill No. 78 that undermines
Filipino ownership of vital public utilities such as telecommunications
companies, the mindset and the actions of this government tend to
violate the letter and the spirit of the 1987 Constitution, which
was forged in the aftermath of the peoples overthrow of dictatorship
and later reaffirmed in the ousting of foreign military bases in
our national territory.
True to the reckless remarks of the President who has at least once
derided our Charter, we stand foursquare against this alarming attitude
and cavalier posture of our so-called leaders in setting aside provisions
of the fundamental law of the land, undermining the respect for
the rule of law.
We take this stand precisely in the midst of this para-pandemic
period where we face the combined and intertwined health, economic,
and climate crises that will be with us for some time to come.
There is, moreover, a moral meltdown in our politics here at home
that mirrors the social unrest spreading across the United State
due to the racist virus that has been endemic in American society
since its founding.
We need to convert this breakdown into a breakthrough in our societies.
Fellow citizens, our imperative is to reinvent resistance!
In big and small ways, directly and indirectly, as well as virtually,
young and old alike, we need to rise up and not be afraid.
We need to be brave and breathe freely together.
This a turning point, and there can be no turning back.
Former senator Bobby Tañada and Prof. Ed
Garcia.
Manila,
Philippines
Call for compensation
for victims
Of nuclear weapons testing in South Pacific
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 21 June 2020
|
It is good news to hear the court in French Polynesia
has ordered the French State to pay compensation to a cancer victim
of its nuclear weapons testing in the South Pacific ( 'Compensation
for nuclear victim' The Fiji Times 19/6p.25 ).
France carried out 193 nuclear weapons test between 1966 and 1996
.
Until a decade ago France strenuously claimed its test "were
clean and caused no harm to humans".
There is solid empirical evidence to show the tests were far from
clean.
They were environmentally destructive and they damaged the lives
of thousands of people living in the area.
The American State did the same with its nuclear testing in Bikini
and Rongelap in the Marshall Islands.
The same is true for "the British government exploding twelve
atomic bombs on Australian soil" ( see acclaimed journalist
and best selling author Frank Walker's book Maralinga (2014).
Many lives have been destroyed by these weapons tests.
It is high time the Government's responsible were held accountable
and made to do the right thing by the victims.
Rajend Naidu
Sydney,
Australia
Covid-19 pandemic has
produced
Long term damage to earning prospects
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 20 June 2020
First published in the Star, Wednesday 17 June 2020
|
In the past three months, we have all been adjusting
to the realities of partial lockdown brought about by the Covid-19
pandemic, which has produced a labour-market scarring
or long-term damage to our earning prospects.
Malaysias labour market felt the brunt of the Movement Control
Order (MCO) implementation, with unemployment in April spiking to
5 percent, the highest since 1990.
Economists say it is likely to go higher in the coming months.
The government, particularly the Health Ministry led by Datuk Seri
Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, has been recognised as one of the best
institutions in curbing the spread of the pandemic.
The government, with strict implementation of the Movement Control
Order (MCO) assisted by various parties including the armed forces,
has provided some flexibility for essential services to continue
operating.
This is to ensure that the economy still ran despite the Movement
Control Order (MCO).
So far, there are no cases or new clusters from these essential
services.
This deserves our praise.
The same measures should also be imposed on other services in stages
to ensure the survival of the nations economy without compromising
precautionary
measures social distancing, no direct contact between individuals
and the compulsory use of face masks for business owners who wish
to resume operations.
These measures would help reduce the burden shouldered by employers
earning zero income to provide an opportunity for them to retain
their employees as well as to indirectly reduce the unemployment
rate.
An economic recovery plan, which includes short-term, medium-term
and long-term measures, needs to be created on an urgent basis in
order to diversify the economy and create new employment opportunities.
Lack of experience, low English proficiency and monetary issues
are the usual reasons, but looking at different perspectives, difficult
circumstances are also contributing to unemployment.
Now, people either work in low-paying, dirty
jobs or remain unemployed.
Recently, a fitness trainers determination and willingness
to work at a wet market that had been allowed to reopen has earned
wide-ranging praise.
This would be able to wake up people who were
emotional and having a hard time. Some youths are even starting
to consider working as labourers in plantations and farms.
Tough times are not exactly about choice but survival.
To find a job in a flaky market, we must be prepared to step out
of our comfort zone.
When the employment market is down, demand for jobs will exceed
supply.
As a result, salaries will also be lower, which is intuitive.
To adapt to this environment, we need to be flexible and realistic
in our expectations.
Jack Wong Kin Tung,
Ipoh.
Malaysia
Xenophobia
and racism
Hidden behind the Thai smile
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 19 June 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post Wednesday 17 June 2020
|
Re: "'Thais-only'
policy is racism, pure and simple", Commentary
Bangkok Post June 13.
Most Thais will deny till the end of their breath that they are
racist, yet the facts speak differently.
It is not only in this time of Covid-19 that Thais demonstrate shocking
prejudice toward foreigners.
It's a rare Thai who doesn't look down upon migrant workers from
neighbouring countries, black Africans, kee nok backpackers, loud
Americans, overweight Europeans and poorly behaving Chinese, among
others.
Aside from the notorious formalised two-tier pricing schemes at
national parks and temples, Thais at every level - from the neighbourhood
fruit vendor, to the hotel marketing representative, to the mechanic
at the local garage - blatantly charge foreigners more than the
"going rate" for goods and services based solely
on the fact that the buyer is not Thai.
Rather than striving to change such practices, even those Thais
who don't approve will usually just shrug and admit, "that's
the way it is".
Thailand is a lovely country in many ways and Thais are generally
warm and friendly at the core.
But most Thais are xenophobic and too many are also racist.
Xenophobia and racism hidden behind a smile are still xenophobia
and racism.
Samanea Saman,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Pattaya economy
Based
on the sex industry
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 18 June 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post. Wednesday 17 June 2020
|
The scheme to gentrify Pattaya's world-famous "walking
street" is flawed on so many levels.
Since the 1960s when Americans landed for R&R during the Vietnam
War, the economy of Pattaya has been based around the sex industry.
Tourists have flocked there to partake, gawk, or be shocked ever
since.
Many expats have retired there enjoying cheaper living and an easy-going
environment. Is it pretty?
No.
Does the military government hate it?
Yes.
Should the eyesore be removed?
Absolutely not.
It may be inconvenient but Pattaya is a major source of revenue
for the country and billions are being spent on improved road, rail
and air communications.
The desire to replace existing tourists with more affluent or family
orientated visitors is laudable but unlikely to succeed.
Pattaya simply cannot compete with the scenic beauty of Samui, Phuket,
or Krabi. Removing the sex industry would be "throwing out
the baby with the bathwater".
The policy is also flawed because it will remove needed controls.
Prostitution cannot be removed by any government.
At present, the police can easily check the age of bar workers,
many bars insist on regular health checks for STDs and prostitution
is concentrated in certain areas, with less activity in residential
areas.
By all means, clean up the streets but leave Walking Street alone.
The country is going to need every tourist dollar soon.
Phil Cox,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Chinese President Xi Jinping
is now
Philippine President Duterte's best friend
forever
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 17 June 2020
First published in the Philippine Inqirer, Tuesday 16 June
2020
|
Whenever he is asked why he has not lifted a finger
to oppose Chinas blatant aggression, invasion, and occupation
of Philippine territories in the West Philippine Sea, President
Duterte would get irritated and snap back along the lines of: Kaya
ba nating kalabanin ang Tsina?
A war with China would annihilate all of us in the blink of an eye!
The saying, keep your friends close, and your enemies closer,
has been applied by Mr. Duterte to the perverse extent of repeatedly
bloviating about his love for Chinese President
Xi Jinping, now his BFF.
He even bragged that Xi would readily protect him against any coup
to oust him. The Chinese people must have been laughing hysterically
behind his back - and at the Filipino people - for being so gullible
and stupid.
Taiwan is the biggest argument against Mr. Dutertes foolish
fear of China going to war if he went against its hegemonic intentions.
Despite Taiwans continuing defiance of its threats since the
1950s, China has never given up on its efforts to bring back that
recalcitrant province under its control and jurisdiction.
Geographically, Taiwan is just in mainland Chinas backyard,
180 kilometers from its southeastern coast.
The shoals in the West Philippine Sea that China has gobbled up
are more than a thousand kilometers away. Being a military and economic
superpower, China could easily smother and swamp Taiwan and bring
it to its knees in no time at all.
But has China ever gone to war against Taiwan, as Mr. Duterte constantly
fears it might do against the Philippines if he stood up to its
bullying? Did China go to war with Vietnam or Indonesia after they
called Beijings bluff recently?
We have lost so much of our territories and natural resources in
the West Philippine Sea, now forever deemed no longer ours, mainly
because of a bogey that Mr. Duterte has been foisting on the Filipino
people.
And we thought all along that he was street-smart, as a former kingpin
feared by all hoodlums in Davao City!
Janno M. Montecristo,
Manila,
Philippines
Corporations can sue governments
but not the reverse
In the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 16 June 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Monday 15 June 2020
|
Re: "Special panel to study worth of CPTPP
deal", in Bangkok Post
June, 12.
After the parliament deliberation ended, a governmental committee
of 49 members has been set up to study the Comprehensive and Progressive
Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) for 30 days.
In addition to concerns about patented-drugs and genetically-modified
organisms (GMOs) which farmers will inevitably be forced to buy,
and which will affect consumers' welfare, I am very disturbed by
the "Investor-State Dispute Settlement" (ISDS)
clause hidden in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for
Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
ISDS stands for "Investor-State Dispute Settlement".
In plain English: Multinational corporations can sue the government
for financial losses or "unrealised expected profit"
arising from their investment in the country.
As a case in point, in 2012, the largest tobacco company Philip
Morris sued the Australian government for legislating the world's
first plain packaging for cigarettes to reduce the number of young
smokers.
The government had an interest in protecting its citizens' health
and welfare.
What they got was seven years of legal battles via an "international
arbitration tribunal court".
While the Australian government did eventually win, through legal
manoeuvres Phillip Morris ended up paying only half the cost of
the Australia's government legal expenses, and zero compensation.
Another case was the Ecuadorian government paying more than US$1
billion (31 billion baht) to US oil company Occidental Petroleum
for cancelling a contract in 2006.
At this writing, there are 1,023 ISDS cases involving health, environment,
land rights and labour laws disputes which you can find on the United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development website (unctad.org).
In theory Investor-State Dispute Settlement ISDS protects corporations'
rights from unfair behaviour by the state.
In practice, however, it is a powerful corporate weapon to delay,
weaken and kill regulations protecting consumers, environment and
democracy, intimidating sovereign governments into submission.
All in the name of profit.
Moreover, Investor-State Dispute Settlement ISDS isn't a two-way
street. Corporations can sue governments, but not the reverse.
Like other developing countries, Thailand has relatively weak rules
of law on taxation, environment and consumer protection rights,
with a large market size attractive to investors.
Letting Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific
Partnership (CPTPP) and Investor-State Dispute Settlement ISDS in
would be tantamount to letting corporate predators in to take advantage
of our resources.
And those very resources belong to taxpayers.
Edward Kitlertsirivatana,
Bangkok,
Thailand
ASEAN
is not a political union
Like the Europeam Union
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 15 June 2020
First published in the Star, Tuesday 9 June 2020
|
There is a need for regional integration to accelerate
and deepen post-Covid-19, as embodied in the Asean Economic Community
(AEC).
The pandemics highly disruptive effect on global and regional
economies has highlighted the case for a more integrated and cohesive
Asean through AEC as the primary vehicle.
Asean is not a political let alone economic union like the European
Union (EU). There is no need to aim that high, but aim we must towards
fulfilling the vision of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) premised
upon the free flow of goods and services, investment, capital, and
skilled labour, revolving around one production base.
The push for accelerating regional integration now couldnt
be stronger, with the goal of an economically inter-linked, multilaterally-dependent,
highly converged Asean within the framework of the Asean Economic
Community (AEC) by 2025, which is only five years away, as outlined
in its blueprint.
Even if for arguments sake externalities such as supply chain
reconfiguration, reshoring, a shifting balance of economic power,
evolving trends in consumer spending habits through digitalisation
are not unprecedented, it is undeniable that Covid-19 is.
It is a catalyst and impetus for economic transformation.
And regional integration is one of the definitive routes by which
Malaysia can transform and uplift its economy.
In driving regional integration, we can enhance and boost the pooling
of resources and tap into respective advantages and work to move
forward together as one bloc.
In other words, instead of acting singularly as separate countries,
its better to move forward and outward as a bloc of countries
offering the rest of the world access to what is a single
market comprising a population of some 600-plus million
and growing.
At the same time, each country would naturally, strategically and
seamlessly serve as a gateway into the rest of the bloc - providing
exporters and investors ease of access to a huge and growing market
that is part of the wider Asia-Pacific geoeconomic centre towards
which the shifting power balance is heading.
Put simply, what this means is that the unprecedented nature of
Covid-19 should compel us to take a look closer to home where we
might have taken things for granted and benignly neglected our neighbourhood,
so to speak, in favour of the horizons beyond with the allurements
of rich markets with strong purchasing power, backed by powerful
currencies.
But as it is, with a growing middle-class population and increasing
purchasing power, other Asean member-countries such as Indonesia,
Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam are playing catch up.
The growing markets within our own neighbourhood are, of course,
a result of the growing economies in the region driven by foreign
direct investment (FDI), industrialisation and moving up the value
chain.
In adapting to the rapidly evolving dynamics of globalisation precipitated
by
Covid-19, regional integration is not meant to promote isolationism
and protectionism.
It is not intended to forge and foster a political union a la European
Union EU but is more akin to the European Economic Community as
embodied by the single or common market founded upon the four fundamental
freedoms, of movement, of people, of capital, and of labour and
services, but without a separate high authority
or (centralised) government as the EU has.
The idea of a common currency is not feasible for Asean.
The European Union's EUs experience shows that for a single
currency to work, there must be more than just monetary union -
there must also be a fiscal and banking union.
The purpose of the Asean Economic Community (AEC), however, is more
modest though no less important: to advance the common interests
of the region that will, at the same time, promote regional stability
and peace and prosperity.
A more integrated Asean will be a stronger, long-term partner of
other regional groupings such as the emerging Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership, East Asian Community, and not least the Asia-Pacific
Economic Community, to which Malaysia plays host this time around.
In addition, the specific advantages of enhanced and deeper regional
integration in the form of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) are
as follows:
More than 99 percent of the products in the Common Effective Preferential
Tariff inclusion list of Asean-6 - Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia,
the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand have been brought
down to the 0 percent - 5 percent tariff range. The Asean Economic
Community (AEC) would further allow member countries to take advantage
of the lower costs by collaborating on joint production efforts
to manufacture exports.
Our common regional production base would also be complemented and
supplemented by the advantages and benefits of further regional
integration through increased capital and investment flows alongside
the transfer and sharing of skills and expertise through the movement
of labour.
By extension, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) should also empower
and spur member-countries to consolidate their economic interests
into a stronger bargaining and negotiating power at the international
table and fora such as the World Trade Organisation.
In view of the supply chain reconfiguration and shifting trends
in globalisation such as digitalisation, the Asean Economic Community
AEC would allow Malaysia to diversify and intensify its regional
base so we will not be overly reliant on our traditional export
markets and production networks.
Regional integration in the form of the Asean Economic Community
(AEC) presents a golden opportunity for us to come out of Covid-19
in a much more dynamic and resilient state, ready to embrace a brave
new world. Post Covid-19 regional integration is the way to go
for it is only by first turning inwards to rediscover our inner
strength and core that we can turn outwards again with renewed spirit,
hope and optimism.
Jason Loh,
Head of Social,
Law and Human Rights,
Emir Research
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Alot
of Malaysian citizen's money
Used
to build palatial government buildings
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 14 June 2020
First published in the Star, Friday 12 June 2012
|
A tale of architecture and democracy
in Over the Top, The Star, June 9 by Prof Dr Mohd Tajuddin
Mohd Rasdi is enlightening and insightful.
It is sad but true that many of us do not have a deep understanding
of democracy and what it should mean in Malaysia.
Our education system does not provide sufficient information on
this.
It is really interesting how the columnist highlights the lack of
three important characteristics of a democratic system ie
representation, accessibility and accountability - by analysing
the architecture of some important buildings in our country.
A lot of the rakyats or Malaysan citizen's money is used to
build palatial government buildings.
Yet how many of us actually feel that our politicians or civil servants
are there to serve us and not to make us feel that they are doing
us a favour when attending to us?
Incidentally, now that Prof Tajuddin has pointed out that the architecture
of Johor Barus Dewan Jubli Intan has elements of Malay, Chinese
and Indian heritage, I will be viewing the building with fresh eyes
the next time I see it.
Of Siew,
Johor Baru,
Malaysia
Alcohol
control laws in Thailand
Are rife with double standards
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 13 June 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Thursday 11 June 2020
|
So, no wine to be served in restaurants after such
a long shutdown?
Now Thais may incur hefty fines for posting images of their favourite
tipple on Facebook!
No wonder the news has caused outrage.
For years, the powers that be have seemed wholly incapable of getting
drunks off the streets of our city.
It's not as if drunks are hard to find in Bangkok.
But even aided by curfews and the recent lockdown, this apparently
simple task has proved beyond the authorities.
Miraculously, though, the authorities are ingenious enough to hunt
down netizens who post a flute of champagne or a can of lager among
snaps of cute pets and funny road signs.
The kingdom's so-called alcohol control laws are rife with double
standards, and all too easily exploited by less than scrupulous
officials.
Similarly twisted logic surrounds the measures against Covid-19.
I can buy multipacks of alcohol at convenience stores and supermarkets
with no questions asked.
But woe betide the restaurateur who offers me a glass of merlot
with my filet mignon!
After many weeks bereft of conviviality, a country once fabled for
its hospitality now seems intent on discouraging visitors in perpetuity.
We're asked to believe that the civilised custom of wine with a
meal - more a matter of culture than binge drinking - threatens
good order and the health of the nation.
But apparently there's no such danger from drinks bought at the
local 7-Eleven or the nearest branch of Tops.
I'm told some eateries are serving alcoholic drinks, often disguised
improbably in tea or coffee cups.
No doubt there's an unscrupulous official somewhere, smiling broadly.
Meanwhile, the instantly recognisable logos of Thailand's two most
famous breweries are displayed all over the place.
They carry an unmistakable message, and it has nothing to do with
abstinence.
But I doubt if 50,000 baht fines are threatened in these cases.
Does this bizarre mess originate from hypocrisy?
Or incompetence?
A mix of the two, of course - and it's not a cocktail I'd ever want
to post on my Facebook page.
Linus,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Call for relaxation of
State of Emergency
In Papua New Guinea
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 12 June 2020
First published in the Papua New Guinea, Thursday 11 June
2020
|
Any extension after the two months State of Emergency
(SOE) by the government will have a significant impact on the lives
of every Papua New Guinean.
People living in the cities are the ones who are badly affected.
We have seen an increase in unemployment, Small to Medium-Sized
Enterprise (SME)s shutting down, petty crimes increasing and the
increase in police brutality during the SOE period.
The State of Emergency SOE came about due to the Covid-19 but the
virus itself did not spread rapidly in Papua New Guinea PNG as compared
to other countries.
We can only thank God for this as we all know that Papua New Guinea
PNG does not have the capacity and capability to fight the Covid-19.
The eight cases is the lowest and all have recovered.
We have recorded no deaths.
Thus, do we still need to have the State of Emergency (SOE) in place?
Leaders, please consider all aspects when making decisions as a
lot of Papua New Guineans are in the informal sector and live by
the daily takings they make.
If you make it hard for them to make ends meet, they turn to illegal
activities.
Small to Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME)s are shutting down and the
badly needed funding that was promised by the Government have not
been made available not sure how long this will take.
By the time it is available, how many Small to Medium-Sized Enterprise
(SME)s will benefit from that funding?
One can argue that a lot of people have died from the Covid-19 but
thats in other countries.
As pointed out by East Sepik Governor Allan Bird, we cannot compare
ourselves to others countries.
We need to do our own research to come up with better decision making.
Relevant authorities that advised the Government for an extension
should support their decision with actual facts and figures.
I personal think that we need to relax the State of Emergency (SOE)
in-country but focus more on our international borders.
That way we boost our local economy which supports the informal
sector while maintaining vigilance on any imported the Covid-19
cases.
The impact of the two months State of Emergency (SOE) has made life
hard for most ordinary Papuan New Guineans. Extending it will only
worsen the situation.
Lets learn to live with the Covid-19 as part of the new normal.
Zuguru,
Bena Bridge,
Papua New Guinea
Call for visits by health
inspecters
To restuarants in the Philippines
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 11 June 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Monday 1 June
2020
|
I would like to bring to the attention of Metro Manila
mayors the observations I have encountered during my several visits
to the Philippines, with the fight against the spread of COVID-19
in mind.
These observations, if implemented and enforced through ordinances,
will prevent food-borne microbial illnesses.
Most restaurants in the Philippines, especially mom-and-pop operations,
do not have a supply of toilet paper in their restroom, or running
water and soap for customers to wash their hands.
Additionally, restrooms must have a conducive environment, without
unpleasant odor.
Street food vendors must also be regulated and educated about good
hygiene.
Public market wet areas need to be reinspected to ensure that they
follow cleanliness standards.
This practice must be adhered to before opening and closing individual
stalls. Peculiar smells must be eliminated to ensure shopper satisfaction.
There should be no wet surfaces to prevent slippage and accidents.
Visits by health inspectors must be conducted regularly to prevent
bad products, especially meat and poultry, from being sold.
Slaughterhouses must be kept clean all the time to prevent transmission
of diseases. Periodic inspection must be done to ensure that they
comply with health and environmental regulations.
Personnel in these areas must be properly trained to perform sanitary
practices and prevent sick animals from being sold to the public.
Observing good hygiene prevents diseases and transmission.
If constituents are healthy, the public health system will not be
overburdened.
This will ultimately save the government precious funds.
Zos Eusebio,
Manila,
Philippines
There
are times
When a person just has to sppeak up
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 10 June 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Saturday 6 June 2020
|
Re: "Exiled Thai activist 'abducted in
Cambodia'", in Bangkok Post,
June 6.
Sometimes it's difficult to consider yourself a guest when you were
working here when six locomotives plowed into Hua Lamphong station
in 1986, when your host government has undergone three violent military
coups and you have witnessed 20 prime ministers in in-action and
when you have a 29-year-old Thai national as a child.
In almost any other country of the world that guest tag would not
exist - but then, not many countries try so hard to ensure foreigners
never become immigrants.
But even if I felt like a guest, would it be incumbent on me to
overlook the torture, the forced disappearances, the extrajudicial
killings and the political trickery to produce a constitution and
election result which defy normal standards and produce governments
which refuse their citizens the most basic of human rights?
Is it right to say "It's not my problem" and ignore
the moral imperative of speaking out when we see wrong?
I come from a country and an era when the convenient disappearances
of Somchai, Billy, Kotee, Siam and Wanchalearm are things that can't
be simply shrugged off or forgotten without proper investigation
and explanation.
There are times when a person just has to speak up.
Fly-on-the-wall,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Australians call for change
to system
In which indigenous deaths are a societal
norm
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 9 June 2020
|
The thousands of people who joined the Black Lives
Matter protests in Sydney and across Australia are progressive people
fighting to change the existing system in which racism, discrimination,
police brutality and black deaths in custody have become a shameful
societal norm.
That is unacceptable.
They want racial justice for all Australians .
The protesters are people with conscience committed to creating
a society where everyone is treated with respect and human dignity
regardless of race.
('Australian protest racial discrimination in Australia in Sydney'
( Southeast Asian Times 8 June ).
By contrast with his condemnation of the protesters as "
incredibly selfish " government Minister Mathias Corman
and other ministers show just what a reactionary mob they are.
The change for a better world, a fair and just world that the Black
Lives Matter movement is seeking is not likely to be facilitated
by these reactionary political leaders in Australia just as it is
not likely in America under Trump.
It's all the more reason why the protest is so relevant and why
it must persist until the destiny of a better world order is reached.
I am immensely proud of the courage of conviction, the commitment
to higher order values and altruism displayed by the protesters.
Rajend Naidu,
Sydney,
Australia
Call for UNHCR to conduct
health checks
On migrant schools in Malaysia
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 8 June 2020
First published in the Star Friday 5 June 2020
|
I wait for the director-general of Health's announcement
on the Covid-19 statistics every day and sigh with relief when I
hear that the number of new infected cases is low.
Our government did a very good job in implementing the Movement
Control Order (MCO) to curtail the spread of Covid-19.
Most businesses are now open but they must follow Standard Operating
Procedures (SOP) otherwise they will be slapped with fines or forced
to close. This shows that our government wants businesses to get
back on their feet but they must do so by strictly following the
Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) in place to prevent new Covid-19
infections.
With the reopening of childcare centres (tadika/tabika), mothers
can also go back to work.
I am glad to know that reopening of schools will be done in stages,
with the Education Ministry allowing Forms 5 and 6 to start first.
I am sure the Education Ministry will allow primary schools to reopen
after studying how the secondary schools are faring.
Recent statistics show that refugees and migrants were the biggest
contributor to the number of new Covid-19 cases.
As such, it would be a matter of concern when refugee and migrant
schools under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) reopen.
Most of the refugee and migrant children attend schools set up by
Non Government Organisations (NGO) in shop lots.
As all refugee and migrant schools come under the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), I think it is this agency's
responsibility to screen all children as well as their families
before they are allowed to return to school.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) should
also conduct health checks on the school premises.
The government should oversee the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) in doing these tasks.
Just like businesses, if non government organisations NGOs flout
the law and reopen refugee schools without approval from the government,
they should be fined and the school should be closed.
It is the duty of our government to safeguard its citizens at all
costs.
Deeply concerned,
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Thai government in 2020
Making same mistakes as in 1929
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 7 June 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Friday 5 June 2020
|
It has often been said that those who do not study
history are doomed to repeat mistakes of the past.
Well, it seems that Samanea Saman's June 4 letter "Free
the market", goes to prove that point.
The writer pointed out that whilst the Thai government did have
good intentions in installing a protectionist egg export policy,
the actual results two months later are a depressed market, supply
chain problems and even more cries for government intervention -
ie more debt.
I would like to add that the Thai government in 2020 is making most
of the same mistakes which our forefathers did in 1929.
Back in 1929 and the 30s, countries around the world installed a
raft of knee-jerk, protectionist policies for all the same reasons
that Thailand restricted egg exports and the results are exactly
the same: Markets collapsed, the economic crisis deepened and governments
were called upon for more bailout and more social welfare programmes.
This is what I call "the FDR trap". Rather than
cutting taxes and allowing the market to correct itself, President
Franklin Roosevelt FDR responded to crises like this by unleashing
large government intervention.
However, every time Franklin Delano Roosevelt FDR did that, the
markets significantly declined and/or slowed; culminating with Franklin
Delano Roosevelt FDR pushing America into an avoidable second recession
in 1937. It seems to me that history is once again repeating itself.
Jason A Jellison,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Failed state applies to
US
More than Thailand
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 6 June 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Monday 1 June 2020
|
Re: "Are we a failed state?",
in Philippine Inquirer PostBag, June 1.
In reading Khun Lungstib's description of a "failed state,"
I can't help but think that it applies far more accurately to the
current state of affairs in the US than it does to Thailand.
The US is sadly now a state seemingly incapable of enforcing its
laws uniformly and justly, a place where police intimidate minorities
and carry out extra-judicial killings with impunity, a country with
out-of-control urban violence, high drug addiction rates, near-record
unemployment, government institutions undermined and misused for
personal and political advantage, and a judicial system hijacked
to serve political agendas.
It's a nation with among the highest health-care costs in the world
yet unable to effectively stem the Covid-19 pandemic, a failing
education system, inept and untruthful political leadership, and
a population prone to propaganda and wild conspiracy theories advanced
to divide the people.
Ronald Reagan once spoke of America as "the shining city
upon a hill".
Martin Luther King had a "dream" of little black
boys and black girls able to join hands with little white boys and
white girls as sisters and brothers.
For the time being at least, it appears the dream has been extinguished
and the city no longer shines.
The encouraging thing about America, however, is that it has proven
time and time again over the course of its history that it can overcome
incredible adversity.
With a change of leadership and a renewed sense of purpose, there
is reason to believe the country can again shine as a beacon for
others.
Samanea Saman,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Call for Malaysia to uphold
Malaysia's non-interference policy
On Hong Kong National Security Law
First
published in the New Straits Times, Wednesday 3 June 2020
The Southeast Asian Times, Friday 5 June 2020
|
The Perikatan Nasional administration, led by Prime
Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, is concentrating its efforts
in dealing with the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic by
focusing on economic improvement while addressing social and health
issues.
With the impact of Covid-19 expected to disrupt the societal climate,
causing a surge in unemployment and reducing revenue for this year
and the next, the federal government also manages foreign policy
as well as it can especially in relation to recent developments
along our border or territorial waters.
Over the years, Malaysia has solidified its mark as a tolerant and
open nation, safeguarding its national borders with care, despite
the risk of encroachment by outside parties, as well as threats,
like pirates.
It is only logical and right that the country be more vocal and
demanding in exercising its rights as a sovereign nation.
The presence of Chinese and American warships in the South China
Sea, for instance, presents a real threat to regional peace and
security, which directly affects us.
Judging by Parliamentary responses given by the foreign minister
from 2018 to last year under the previous administration, the federal
government, including the current administration, wants to avoid
conflict with global superpowers and so will keep emphasising diplomacy,
restraint and moderation as the way to go.
With developments still centred on US-China ties along the lines
of trade policies, health-driven action plans due to Covid-19 and
security co-operation, Malaysia, along with other Asean members,
will probably continue to adopt a collective stance founded on the
principles of global peace and harmony.
In addition, Malaysia's worrying economic prospects require policy
flexibility, including in managing foreign affairs.
As Sino-Malaysian trade relations strengthened on the back of large
Chinese investments in key industries such as manufacturing, information
technology, agriculture and construction, the government should
seek to maintain positive ties.
Within this context, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein
should be measured in addressing related concerns, which includes
Malaysia's position in the Hong Kong-China dispute over the proposed
and recently passed National Security Law by respecting established
norm.
Along this line, the most effective move could be to uphold Malaysia's
non-interference policy, while championing democracy and the right
to speak through alternative mechanisms.
To withstand the fragility of present economic terrain, coordinated
internal policy execution and the preservation of external relations
must go hand in hand - avoiding confrontation and focusing on continuous
growth projection through close cooperation with indispensable partners
instead.
Fadhil Rahman,
Shah Alam,
Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia
People
power movement in Southeast Asia
Overthrew former Philippines President,
Ferdinand Marcos
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 4 June 2020
First published in the Star, Tuesday 2 June 2020
|
China is allowing the people of Hong Kong to exercise
democracy.
If they have democracy then they have the right to protest.
In a democracy, it is your right to support whom you want to support.
We too live in a democracy and, hopefully, we should support people
who also want democracy.
Yes, business and security will be affected.
But just to remind everyone, do you think the French and Russian
Revolutions could have happened if people kept quiet and worried
only about business and security?
What about the American Civil War and the civil rights protests
of African-Americans led by Martin Luther King Jr?
What about the Iran Revolution and the Arab Spring?
And lets not forget the people power movements in this part
of the world that overthrew Marcos, Soekarno, Suharto - all this
happened and changed lives for the better because people protested.
There was also the Red and Yellow protests in Thailand.
And we had our own protests in 1968 and 2008 and the protests by
Bersih. Nothing will be changed by sitting at home.
It is not that people like to protest.
What do you get for protesting except tear-gassed, sprayed by water
cannon, arrested and even jailed.
But saying people cannot protest insults people like King Jr and
Nelson Mandela, and puts you on the side of dictators.
Yes, there will be peace and security but also hardship and suffering.
Let me make my point very clearly: I am not supporting any country.
I am just saying that things can only get better if there is protest.
There are protests almost daily in India because they believe strongly
in democracy.
Today there are huge protests in the United States over the killing
of an African-American by a white policeman.
We have to protest for change, we cant just sit at home and
write about it.
Ambiagapathi Samarasan,
George Town,
Malaysia
Papua New Guinea Covid-19
food donation
Not working
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 2 June 2020
First published in the National, Monday 1 June 2020
|
This is a plea to the state of emergency (SOE) controller
not to extend the national emergency after June 2.
There have not been any new cases of Covid-19 reported so far.
People will die from hunger instead of dying from the Covid-19.
The Prime Minister James Marapes idea of donating food is
not working.
The programme did not accommodate for the many struggling families
in the city.
People who were affected in the private sector were never compensated
well.
If the state of emergency (SOE) is to be extended, those who were
already affected will be in double trouble, causing a lot of stress
and inconveniences.
Some banks are not following the governments directive to
relax loan repayments.
The state of emergency (SOE) should not be extended.
Allow some control measures and do not make the situation harder
for the ordinary citizens.
Covid-19 Victim,
Port Moresby,
Papua New Guinea
Malaysia
calls for national Fourth Industrial Revolution policy
To
serve as spingboard into ASEAN
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 2 June 2020
First published in the Star, Saturday 30 May 2020
|
Between 400 million and 800 million individuals could
be displaced by automation and need to find new jobs by 2030 around
the world - McKinsey Global Institute
Malaysia 5.0 outlines a problem-solving approach to society's challenges
and problems through the deployment and implementation of Fourth
Industrial Revolution (IR4.0) technologies, which integrates both
physical and digital environments.
The term "Society 5.0" describes the next stage
of the evolution of societal communities, following the hunting
society (Society 1.0), agricultural society (Society 2.0), industrial
society (Society 3.0), and information society (Society 4.0).
The key differentiation of Society 5.0 (the digital age) from Society
4.0 (the information age) is the convergence of the virtual world
with the physical world.
Covid-19 has accelerated the migration of society from physical
infrastructures onto digital infrastructures, but Society 5.0 holds
the promise to bring these back together through the use of IR4.0
technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things
(IoT), blockchain and digital assets (FinTech).
A national IR4.0 policy is needed to create a new narrative for
Malaysia as an innovation economy that can compete in a disruptive
technology world, serve as a springboard into Asean, bridge Asia,
the Middle East and Africa, as well as connect with the 1.8 billion
Muslims worldwide.
Such a policy will support emerging technologies such as Blockchain,
AI, IoT and Robotics, which are all essential tools in the new Malaysia
5.0 digital economy.
If such a policy is missing from our national strategy, Malaysia
will be left behind and excluded from digital ecosystems and workforces.
Because of its ubiquitous reach, IR4.0 technologies raise all kinds
of concerns. With proper guidance, these can be used to create a
better life for all including new and more meaningful jobs,
reskilling of the workforce, better health and education, as well
as smarter and greener cities.
Malaysia 5.0 can contribute to a more sustainable and circular economy,
where greater well-being is possible for all citizens regardless
of age, ethnicity, and class. In the face of such major changes,
countries have an urgent need to develop a comprehensive policy
that enables them to create a more inclusive and caring society
for all.
A starting point for a national IR4.0 policy is a designated hub
that connects IR4.0 companies in Malaysia to the rest of the world,
with strong regulatory and strategic oversight, as well as direction.
The policy framework must be aligned with ongoing programs at Finance
Ministry, Communication and Multimedia Ministry, Malaysia Digital
Economy Corporation, Malaysian Investment Development Agency, Bank
Negara Malaysia, Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), as well as
other government and statutory bodies.
Whilst there is a lot of personal and economic pain being caused
by the current pandemic and months of quarantine to both companies
and households, there will ultimately be an end to the crisis.
The ensuing recovery relies largely upon a properly managed acceleration
of IR4.0 technologies.
Malaysia 5.0 is an opportunity to pro-actively design the blueprint
for converging the digital and physical worlds to overcome social
challenges, improve productivity and create new markets.
As the dust settles, a new way of doing things will emerge and we
will not only become more resilient as a society, but also more
robust as a global world economy.
Dr Rais Hussin,
Petaling Jaya,
Malaysia
Eating with your hands
Goes
back to the Karma Sutra
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 1 June 2020
|
When he says " Eating with your hands spread
diseases; it's something that should never be done, Covid-19 or
not " ( Southeast Asian Times 30 May ),
Ian Cruickshank forgets that people who eat with their hands also
wrote Karma Sutra, the book of sexual wisdom, over 2000 years ago
and also built the hundreds of awe-inspiring architectural sites
around the ancient world that are in the World Heritage list and
countless other works of art and culture and literature that remain
a part of human heritage.
Just something for him and like minded others to reflect upon.
Rajend Naidu,
Sydney,
Australia
Thai
officials have budget approved
And their cuts organised in road works
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 1 June 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Saturday 30 May 2020
|
Re: "Seawall plan needs review",
Editorial, Bangkok Post, May 29
At a time when a storm of protest is being raised about an unwanted
seawall that some authority seems determined to construct, I have
a story in a similar vein.
In my small village we still have several dirt lanes and recently
the local authority promised the one leading to my wife's mango
orchard and a local nursery school would get repaved in concrete.
It's wanted, a good idea, but what's also needed is good thought
and planning.
Instead of that, a tractor and driver turns up one day and scrapes
the surface approximately flat.
Then a work team arrives and lays some shuttering and, almost instantly,
big concrete mixer trucks arrive and pour their loads.
The job is half done and already it's obvious the new road will
be 20 centimetres above the old one and will sit on sand.
Everyone with a lane turn-off will have to do their own work to
get trucks in and out of their plots.
Plus there has been no thought about where the water run-off from
this sloping road will go.
It seems officials have had the budget approved and organised their
cut without a thought to the actual implementation of the project.
There is no engineer on site and the workers just do what they think
will fit in the time they have been given.
We will probably get a road that acts as a dam, or a situation where
floodwater washes out someone's orchard.
No one is concerned once the budget has been dispersed among the
suits; the road is not the object of their energies.
Lungstib,
Bangkok,
Thailand
BRP
Jose Rizal to enforce
Philippine
maritime claims in West Philippine Sea
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 31 May 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Thursday 28 May
2020
|
Last Saturday marked the arrival of the Philippine
Navys first-ever brand-new frigate.
Appropriately named after the countrys national hero, Ship
of the Republic of the Philippines, Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas,
BRP Jose Rizal, departed the Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard last
Monday, May 19, and arrived in Subic, Zambales, on May 23 Watch:
PH Navys 1st brand new frigate on its way home from Korea,
in Philippine Inquirer May 19, 2020.
Ship of the Republic of the Philippines, Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas,
BRP Jose Rizal, will be vital in protecting Philippine sovereignty
and conducting future navy patrols around the whole West Philippine
Sea including Scarborough Shoal, located within the Philippines
200-nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
At the moment, Chinese vessels largely dominate the region and unlawfully
intimidate, harass, and bully Filipino fishermen from exercising
historic fishing rights in the shoal.
Subic Bay is approximately 120 nautical miles from Scarborough Shoal.
With a declared average speed of 25 nautical miles, Ship of the
Republic of the Philippines, Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas, BRP
Jose Rizal, can easily reach Scarborough Shoal in less than five
hours.
As can be gleaned from reading former Supreme Court senior associate
justice Antonio T. Carpios ebook titled The South
China Sea Dispute: Philippine Sovereign Rights and Jurisdiction
in the West Philippine Seaany armed attack on a Philippine
public vessel as part of either the Philippine Navy or Coast Guard
in the Pacific area, which includes the South China Sea, is a ground
to invoke the 1952 Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States.
According to Justice Carpio, the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) covers
Philippine Navy ships and Coast Guard vessels patrolling the Philippine
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the West Philippine Sea.
The United States has unequivocally declared that China must comply
with international law and the Permanent Court of Arbitrations
Award dated July 12, 2016, in favor of the Philippines.
Accordingly, moving forward, the arrival of Ship of the Republic
of the Philippines Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas, BRP Jose Rizal,
in the Philippines is certainly a desirable development and a notable
victory in the enforcement of Philippine maritime claims in the
West Philippine Sea.
Marlon Inigo T. Tronqued,
Court Attorney,
Supreme Court,
Manila,
Philippines
Hygiene in Thai restuarants
Seems a fine way to spread Covid-19
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 30 May 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Wednesday 27 May 2020
|
Sirinya Wattanasukchai in her May 27 commentary in
Bangkok Post thinks restaurant staff should somehow know a group
are from the same household.
How?
More concerning is her primitive view of hygiene.
Eating with your hands spreads diseases; it's something that should
never be done, Covid-19 or not.
I see restaurant staff blowing their nose into their shirt, picking
their nose and not washing their hands.
That seems a fine way to spread a virus.
If that's okay for Sirinya then I hope she keeps her infections
to herself.
Ian Cruickshank,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Philippines
chief enforcer of Covid-19 lockdown
Violates lockdown rule on social gatherings
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 29 May 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Tuesday 26 May
2020
|
I write regarding the mananita gathering in celebration
of the birthday of Maj. Gen. Debold Sinas last May 8.
As a Philippine Military Academy graduate Class of 1964, I am embarrassed
that one of our own in the Philippine Military Academy community,
no less than the chief enforcer of the lockdown regime in the National
Capital Region, himself violated the lockdown rule on social gatherings,
a violation that struck hard at the heart of the law enacted to
beat the COVID-19 threat in our country.
I understand that President Duterte has opted to keep General Sinas
at his post as National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) head,
pending further instructions, a decision which
I thought could induce discordant voices among us at this perilous
time when we should all be united in support of our government in
its difficult task of driving the virus away.
With due respect to our Commander in Chief, I must say that General
Sinas is not above the law - no one is.
That said, the general should be held accountable for his misdeed.
Not taking action against him will have serious implications and
consequences.
It will irreparably undermine the sincerity and seriousness and
sense of purpose of our government in pursuing draconian lockdown
measures.
What if ordinary, less privileged, citizens caught violating some
lockdown rule resist arrest and invoke the principle of equal protection
of the law - saying that a general who violated the rule against
social gathering has not been subjected to arrest?
General Sinas, please, as an elder Philippine Military Academy graduate,
let me say to you:
The honorable thing to do is to offer to resign your position as
National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) head, go on terminal
leave, and save the President from agonizing over what to do with
you.
Col. Leonardo O. Odono (Ret.)
Philippine Military Academy Class of 1964,
Manila,
Philippines
Call to reduce pay for
Philiipine government 'boondogglers'
To avert mass riots and starvation
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 28 May 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Tuesday 26 May
2020
|
President Duterte has warned that we cannot afford
a second wave of
COVID-19 infections.
Given the miserable state of our national resources, millions of
Filipinos will probably die if that happens.
The cost of treatment for those caught in that wave is just too
prohibitive.
Going slow on the lifting of the community quarantine all over the
country is the only way to go.
Its the only thing a Third World country like ours can afford
to do - minimize the spread of the highly contagious disease by
voluntary or forced isolation.
With millions still out of work and with no other means of livelihood,
the government simply cannot feed them for a prolonged period of
time.
As the whole world still struggles to find a vaccine, Mr. Duterte
is at his wits end and needs all the financial help he can
get from anyone, from anywhere.
So why, with the almost absolute power he now wields, hasnt
he ordered the suspension of all forms of compensation to public
officials, say, with pay grades above P50,000 per month until the
crisis is over?
Does it not look so scandalously wasteful already?
The sums of money saved thereby could easily amount to billions
which the government could use to avert mass riots and starvation.
For example, Mocha Uson and many other boondogglers in government
who get paid from an obscene P150,000 to P200,00 per month for doing
nonessential chores or errands should be furloughed
and frozen for the time being.
The nationwide lockdown has rendered their services
largely irrelevant, if not totally useless, anyway.
Desperate times necessitate desperate measures. Its time for
highly paid government officials to prove the stuff they are made
of - that they are really in it for public service
and love of country, not for plunder or personal
aggrandizement.
And should they choose to resign from what they might then consider
thankless jobs, well, good riddance!
Truth be told, there will always be others among more than 100 million
Filipinos willing to make the sacrifice.
This country has never run out of heroes, especially in times of
calamity.
Stephen L. Monsanto
Manila,
Philippines
Arrest of former Papua
New Guinea PM
Warning for politicians in Pacific
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 27 May 2020
|
We learn from the illuminating reporting in the May
25 Southeast Asian Times article ' Former Papua New Guinea PM
Peter O'Neil arrested for corruption ' that the former PM was
arrested on arrival from Brisbane at the Port Jackson International
Airport in Port Moresby on Saturday.
The Police Assistant Commissioner Crime said " there is
reasonable evidence of misappropriation, abuse of office and official
corruption".
The arrest of the former Papua New Guinea Prime Minister contains
a cautionary tale for political leaders in other Pacific island
countries.
It provides a valuable reminder that if you do the crime whilst
in office there is the very real likelihood that you will end up
doing the time when you are out of office. This is the situation
of the former Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neil. A situation
not dissimilar to that of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib
Razak, although his was on a whole lot grander scale.
Peter O'Neil is " charged with directing payments of $14.2
million for the purchase of two generators from Israel without due
consideration for procurement processes as required under the Public
Finance Management Act".
The purchase moreover " was not approved by the National
Parliament".
This clearly is not the way good governance is meant to work in
a parliamentary democracy.
That explains why the former Finance Minister and now the current
PM James Marape had resigned.
He cited " lack of trust " in Prime Minister Peter
O'Neil. And, the former Attorney General and Justice Minister Davis
Steven who had also resigned said his resignation had nothing to
do with " personal differences " but rather because
" Papua New Guinea's political leadership is weakening state
institutions".
It is not uncommon for political leaders in Pacific island countries
to think that they can arbitrarily make decisions on the use of
public funds when they are in power without reference to established
procedures and state institutions.
This case is a stark reminder that these state institutions exist
for a purpose.
It's precisely to check against the abuse of office the former Papua
New Guinea Prime Minister is accused of.
Rajend Naidu
Sydney,
Australia
Covid-19 has helped Papua
New Guinea realise
That there is more to devellopment than
high rise buildings
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 25 May 2020
First Published in the National, Friday 22 May 2020
|
Papua New Guinea is one of the struggling developing
countries in the world who is trying to cope with the tide of the
developed countries.
Papua New Guinea has been struggling with development issues for
a very long time and has not in one bit overcome this problem.
The country went into lockdown in March due to the Covid-19 threat
which lasted for two weeks and has triggered a dawn of a new health
era for Papua New Guinea.
The public went silent, streets empty and the towns and cities became
ghost towns fear swept across the country.
Betel nut, gaming activities and alcohol sale in cities and towns
and agents of crime were roped by the neck and hanged.
Mamas and papas at betel nut sale hotspots and markets were dispersed.
Crowded and unnecessary gatherings were reduced.
People have seen something new and good in a very long time.
After the lockdown, mass awareness on hygiene protocols by the government
through various mediums led the people to practise health measures
which was now called the new normal.
These health measures are everyday activities that should have already
been a daily routine for individuals.
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought this country up to a new stage
in a very short period of time.
People are now cautious and vigilant when moving around.
Places that were once filthy and scrupulous are now clean.
Institutions have shifted and approached a more advanced operating
system.
This Covid-19 threat has completely changed the phase and face of
this country.
It will be worthy if the government continues to implement some
of the state of emergency sanctions after the national emergency.
The pandemic is helping us realise that we will not develop only
by building high rise buildings and underground tunnels but by appreciating
the importance of trivial matters we tend to ignore in life.
E. Ulach,
The University Of Papua New Guinea (UPNG)
Port Moresby,
Papua New Guinea
Makes no sence for Thailand
To outsource craft beer brewing
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 25 May 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Thursday 21 May 2020
|
Re: "Small brewers pour into Vietnam",
in Bangkok Post, May 18.
The continued restrictions on craft beer brewing in Thailand are
pure folly.
It makes no sense for Thailand to export jobs and income generation
by outsourcing craft beer brewing to Vietnam, Cambodia, Australia,
Malaysia and elsewhere when the beer could be brewed here in the
country.
The huge costs and environmental footprint required for shipping
Thai craft beers from overseas breweries back to Thailand make these
restrictive regulations additionally dubious.
It is nonsensical for Thailand to miss out on the burgeoning craft
beer sector sweeping the globe when the country urgently needs more
local investment and quality employment.
The current restrictions on craft beer brewing in Thailand benefit
only overseas economies and the two major Thai brewers that are
consequently shielded from even modest competition.
It is long past time to eliminate these irrational policies and
open up the Thai craft beer sector.
Samanea Saman,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Call
for legislation as last resort
For safe disposal of Covid-19 face masks
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 24 May 2020
First published in the Star, Saturday 23 May 2020
|
As face masks are now an essential part of our personal
protective equipment (PPE), it is important to pay serious attention
to their disposal after use.
If used masks are not disposed of in the proper manner and place,
they could cause the return of the very virus they were meant to
prevent, SARS-CoV-2.
This matter is now urgent, given that more and more people are using
face masks in public places, as advised by the Health Ministry.
The used masks are likely to be thrown in public rubbish bins or,
worse, indiscriminately in back lanes and drains.
Used masks, especially those that are soiled or have respiratory
secretions on them, could be potential health hazards should others
come into contact with them.
The most vulnerable group will be garbage collectors who could then
be a source of infection for whoever they come into contact with.
Indiscriminate disposal of masks will also have negative effects
on the environment, especially on marine life if the masks are washed
into rivers and the sea.
The relevant authorities and non-government organisations must do
more educational campaigns to educate the public on the proper way
to dispose of the masks not only in public places but also in their
homes.
General advice from experts for people at home is to secure the
masks in a plastic bag prior to their disposal as general waste.
If education and awareness campaigns do not work, the authorities
should then consider legislation to discourage irresponsible behaviour
or punish recalcitrant offenders in the interest of public health.
Legislation must only be the last resort if advice, persuasion and
admonition fail.
Manufacturers of face masks could also print and distribute with
the masks a set of instructions on how to use and dispose of them,
as is done by manufacturers of other goods that require proper handling
and care.
Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye,
Chairman,
Alliance For Safe Community
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Call
for Thai institutions to respect
Fundamental principles of Buddhist teaching
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 23 May 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Friday 15 May 2020
|
It is hard to see how any Thai institution that respects
the wise teachings of the Buddha could oppose a call to "search
for the truth", Bangkok Post Editorial,
May 14.
The life of the Buddha as he went from prince, to ascetic to enlightenment
exemplifies the need to continually seek out the truth, even when
it might be uncomfortable or contradict traditional prejudices.
The Buddha's teachings explicitly stress the importance of right
understanding in all things, with none so unspeakable that the truth
should be rejected in favour of ignorance.
And as the Buddha's Kalama Sutta tells us, neither tradition nor
authority, not even of monks, certainly not state officials, is
any guarantee of truth, but that we must earnestly seek informed
understanding by critically assessing, and reassessing in the light
of new information, the sources available to us.
The efforts of the Progressive Movement would seem to align well
with the precepts of Buddhism. Surely Thai institutions can comport
themselves to similarly respect fundamental principles of Buddhist
teaching?
Felix Qui,
Bangkok,
Thailand
It
makes sence to employ skilled expats
In
a socio-economic devoloping country
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 22 May 2020
First published in the Star, Monday 18 May 2020
|
It was welcome news when the government finally decided
to let expatriates with Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) visas back
into the country in the The Star, May 17.
They are certainly grateful for the Tourism Ministrys support
in making this happen.
What is surprising is that expats with employment passes are still
being refused entry.
The government has opened up most businesses and these expats usually
occupy management positions in some of them or have valued technical
skills, so we cannot understand the logic of continuing to keep
them out of Malaysia.
If the aim is to get the economy moving, doesnt it make sense
to let them back in to contribute to the countrys economic
growth?
I am also receiving emails from distressed dependents of working
expats; these are students studying overseas whose schools have
closed but they cannot return to their parents in Malaysia.
There are very few of them probably under 50 and it would be so
easy to let them in along with the over 30,000 Malaysians who have
been allowed to return.
Is this a signal that the expat workforce is no longer valued?
It is quite a change of direction from past years when selected
expats were given resident passes with 10-year visas because the
country wanted to retain their skills. Now these same people who
thought Malaysia really valued them, and made this country their
home, are being banned from entering.
Andy Davison,
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Thai
education system keeps
Thai's subservient to sacred
institutions
The
Southeast Asian Times Thursday, 21 May 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Sunday 17 May 2020
|
Re: "Mis-education of Hong Kong", Editorial,
May 17.
Education is a two-edged sword.
It can be used to turn a nation into a herd of sheep or it can cultivate
a society that thrives on the power of free will and rule of law.
The Chinese formula of education for public officials and teenagers
is not something new.
Communist and authoritarian regimes all over the world have used
their brand of education to brainwash people by injecting dubious
cultural values, patriotism, and false pride.
The history of old Germany, the Soviet Union, Egypt, and more recently,
North Korea and a host of dictatorships in the Middle East, Africa,
and South America has taught us one thing - indoctrination has lethal
consequences.
It limits the potential of human beings and cripples societies.
Sadly, the Thai educational system is also cultivated to keep its
people subservient to the sacred institutions.
Aldous Huxley, the English writer and philosopher put it well: "One
of the great attractions of patriotism - it fulfils our worst wishes.
In the person of our nation, we are able, vicariously, to bully
and cheat. Bully and cheat, what's more, with a feeling that we
are profoundly virtuous."
Kuldeep Nagi,
Bangkok,
Thailand
A table for four in Pattaya
Not at MK
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 20 May 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post Monday 18 May 2020
|
My family of four went to MK restaurant in a shopping
mall in Pattaya for lunch. As we entered the restaurant, we scanned
our QR code, had our temperatures checked, sanitised our hands and
were then directed to four separate tables.
"Sorry only one guest per table."
"OK, goodbye".
I fully understand and support the need for physical distancing
in these times, but where is the logic that a family of four that
lives together, arrives in the same car together and walks around
together, cannot eat together?
There has to be some common sense when applying these policies.
Otherwise, businesses such as MK will suffer, people will lose their
jobs and the economy will not recover.
Buathong Klomthaisong
Bangkok,
Thailand
That
Christians are protected from Covid-19 by Jesus
Ignores the science and expert medical view
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 19 May 2020
|
The Myanmar State authorities have done the right
thing by charging a Baptist pastor and a preacher for holding sermons
in banned townships to curb the spread of COVID-19 with these religious
nuts "telling worshippers that those who are deeply devoted
to Christianity would be protected from COVID-19 by Jesus"
(' Worshippers protected from COVID-19 by Jesus : Myanmar pastor
says ' Southeast Asian Times 18 May ).
Acting the ostrich and ignoring the science and expert medical view
of the pandemic these religious nuts put the lives of people in
grave danger .
And, they religious idiots come from all religious faiths.
I am not one for rounding up and locking up people who hold radically
different views but these religious nuts deserve to be locked up
because they are a very real threat to the community.
They have no idea what it means to do the right thing in the fight
against this global virus pandemic.
Rajend Naidu,
Sydney,
Australia
Call for Papua New Guinea
government
To provide clean water for dringking and
washing hands
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 18 May 2020
First published in the National, Friday 15 May 2020
|
Denying the people for basic needs such as water will
cause an uprising against the state.
People in Vabukori, Taikone, Kila Barracks, Sevese Morea School
and Morata have been denied access to clean running water for drinking
and washing for weeks.
Other suburbs in the city may be facing water crisis too.
Water is an essential need and every citizen in a city such as Port
Moresby deserves that service from the government.
In a critical time such as this when the country is facing a pandemic,
the government is doing everything possible to prevent the spread
of the deadly coronavirus.
While the government is emphasising the importance of regular hand
washing daily, Eda Ranu is doing the opposite thus contradicting
governments lawful instructions in providing service to the
people.
Where was Eda Ranu when Prime Minister James Marape and his delegation
were talking on behalf of the working population with financial
institutions and super funds to ease some of their policies on loan
repayments with the banks or advance borrowing from the members
retirement fund?
During the crisis period Eda Ranu, a state owned entity should read
and understand the actions of the Prime Minister and conform to
the standards set by him.
While all state owned enterprises and government departments adhered
to instructions issued by the state of emergency (SOE) controller
and the PM to save lives, Eda Ranu felt money was more important
than life.
The Prime Minister and State of Emergency (SOE) controller should
reprimand the executive management of Eda Ranu for doing what the
Prime Minister cannot do denying ordinary people the right
to access clean drinking water.
What happened in Tripoli a few weeks ago?
An uprising against the government for denying the people the right
to essential services.
Over to you Prime Minister.
Ranu Lasi,
Port Moresby.
Papua New Guinea
Malaysia
calls for shift from capitalist economy
To economy that
Incorporates Islamic principles
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 17 May 2020
First published in the Star, Tuesday 12 May 2020
|
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought to the fore several
pertinent issues about governance and the economy of our country.
First and foremost is the question of government resilience in addressing
unprecedented challenges.
Previously, the government has handled small-scale disasters such
as floods and localised epidemics such as SARS (severe acute respiratory
syndrome) and dengue.
Although the experience gained from these episodes are invaluable,
they are insufficient to handle large-scale national or global disasters
such as the Covid-19 pandemic or wars.
Disasters of such scale require the mobilisation of all available
assets, especially money.
We may be providing huge economic stimulus packages, which we can
ill afford as they strain the country's resources and would lead
to future financial incapacitation.
We do not know when disasters will strike.
Thus, there is a need to plan for the logistics and algorithm to
be put in place.
To do this, there has to be a shift from investing just for corporate
and political profits to people's welfare.
This requires the government to undertake a paradigm shift from
a merely capitalist economy emphasising profit maximization favouring
those with capital and assets to one that is more welfare-oriented
and incorporating the Islamic principles of wealth creation and
distribution.
The new economic model should continue to reward entrepreneurial
efforts towards wealth creation but without the capitalist wealth
accumulation that perpetuates inequality between the general populace
and the political corporate elites.
This model should not only ensure the sustainability of the economy
but must also be able to address the needs of the B40 group and
the abject poor in both good and bad times.
The current pandemic has revealed the vulnerability of the average
wage earner and poor self-employed traders.
No amount of ad hoc stimulus package can alleviate their plight.
The authorities need to have strategic planning based on economic
principles that reflect prudent and imaginative fiscal planning
and zero tolerance for corrupt practices that lead to hemorrhaging
of public funds.
There is a need to strategize fiscal practice to include a special
safety net in times of local or global disasters.
This safety net should not just be in the form of direct financial
aid but also injection of capital to sustain the infrastructure
of small and medium
enterprises.
By doing so, the government directly provides purchasing power that
would create demand for goods, which in turn would generate economic
turnover. This must be an ongoing strategy.
As such, there must be a unit to monitor the pulse of these economic
activities that would ensure sustainability of employment and also
look into having additional saving schemes beyond the standard ones
to tide over the difficult times.
This can be achieved if we manage our abundant resources with integrity
and accountability and remove the elements that precipitate the
hemorrhaging of public funds.
Mohamed Ghouse Nasuruddin,
Centre for Policy Research and International Studies,
Universiti Sains Malaysia,
Penang,
Malaysia
Death
of capitalism and birth of something new
Post Covid-19 pandemic
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 16 May 2020
First published in the National, Wednesday 13 May 2020
|
While the global community is grappling hard on how
to fight the Covid-9, a new era of world transformation is dawning
right before our eyes behind the corridors of world financial institutions.
This pandemic is a mere illusion of what is hidden and tucked away
from the public eye and scrutiny.
It is only a fraction of what is really taking place at the global
scale.
As the world is faced with this tragedy, another war is taking place
that will shape the world financial system pushing governments,
businesses and the world populace into a new era of economic reform
and financial shift to dimensions never before seen.
As the pandemic hits world financial institutions, governments and
businesses, the global community will adjust to a more rigorous
borrowing exercise to combat the pandemic and provide stimulus for
economic recovery.
Founder of analysis and advisory firm Quantum Economics Mati Greenspan
said the world was witnessing the death of capitalism and the birth
of something new.
Closing the gap and limiting space for capitalist models, a shift
that will force investors and traders desperately searching for
markets that are free of interference.
This is just the tip of the iceberg; the world is yet to shift into
a new era of transformation.
The pandemic is a systematic diversion of true events taking place
by way of financial and economic reformations.
And perhaps a well-orchestrated game for global dominance and world
transformation.
G. Antal Kesa King,
Port Moresby,
Papua New Guinea
Call for Phillipines to
continue protest against China
For
violation of international law in West Philippines Sea
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 15 May 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Thursday 14 May
2010
|
China is obviously fulfilling its goals according
to plan and making diversionary tactics to make its competitors
and rival countries shift their attention to something else.
While the world is busy fighting against an unseen enemy - this
deadly coronavirus that originated from Wuhan - China is now trying
to position itself to become the most powerful country in the world.
Is this Chinas plan all along?
Is this what Beijing has been trying to set up for a long time,
to increase its capabilities especially in the West Philippine Sea
through its reclamation activities there?
Its a good thing the Philippines still managed to file two
diplomatic protests against China for violating international law
and Philippine sovereignty in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While it is true that we are facing a health crisis, we should not
forget other national issues, especially those that pertain to our
security.
May our leaders continue to assert our sovereignty, as well as protect
and defend our national territory.
Marion O. Santos,
Casiguran,
Aurora,
Philippines
Call for Philippine government
officials to donate
Part
of their salaries for Covid-19 fight
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 14 May 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Wednesday 13 May
2020
|
The article Entire PH military donating parts
of salaries for COVID-19 fight in Philippine Inquirer
April 7, 2020 was welcome news amid the COVID-19 pandemic and dwindling
government resources now spread ever so thinly across the archipelago.
Pray tell, why havent we heard from the other government officials
receiving monthly salaries, allowances, bonuses, incentives, etc.,
in astronomical amounts? Take, for instance, the Bangko Sentral
ng Pilipinas (BSP) officials who continue aggrandizing themselves
with close to or over P1 million per month in salaries, etc. 4
top BSP execs highest paid in govt, in Philippine
Inquirer October 6, 2017.
And there are countless numbers of rent-seeking charlatans up there
in all three branches of the government who continue to receive
such obscene paychecks every month.
The amount to be realized from their own donations
could be a hundred times more than what the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) had generously offered.
Surely, President Duterte has the cachet to influence all of them
to refrain from amassing more wealth and to donate the same to all
efforts to deal with the untold miseries that COVID-19 has brought
upon this country.
Ridiculously super-rich as they are already, they will undoubtedly
survive a couple of months without being paid a single centavo for
their public service, which is virtually nonexistent
anyway.
Under the current lockdown, at least the taxpayers will be getting
what they are paying for: Nothing for nothing!
Public Servant Number One, whose official monthly compensation amounts
to a paltry one-fourth of what those Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
(BSP) satraps and their ilk are helping themselves to, can start
passing the hat around with his own paycheck in it.
While its good to hear that most of his
Cabinet officials have pledged 75 percent of their pay to the fight
against the pandemic, thats really just a drop in the bucket.
It bears stressing that this disease will most likely continue to
bedevil this country through the rest of the year, as even the most
advanced countries in the world are still groping in the dark in
search of an antidote.
So, Mr. President, please do what you do best: Shame the shameless!
Stephen L. Monsanto,
Manila,
Philippines
Malaysia's
Movement Control Order (MCO)
Soft
landing approach towards normalcy
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 13 May 2020
First Published in the Star, Saturday 9 May 2020
|
For us in the academic fraternity, life under the
Movement Control Order (MCO) has not been too bad as we have managed
to harness Internet connectivity to keep up with our work and daily
activities.
Thanks to the Internet and, of course, our various institutions
for conducting how-to workshops online, we have been able to take
off smoothly in our new journey to deliver our lectures via the
Internet.
In fact, I can safely say that in these past few weeks, lecturers
have accustomed themselves to using online applications, and most
have mastered one or two of these to use for meetings and lectures.
I am using WhatsApp Web to conduct my lectures since some of my
students have limited access to the Internet. It works like magic
and my students are happy so far.
With the conditional easing of the Movement Control Order (MCO),
should we abandon all the practices and skills
we have adopted or learnt?
To me, the conditional Movement Control Order (MCO), is a measure
to avoid heavy economic losses.
Some businesses need to reopen to avoid incurring heavy losses,
and employees in the manufacturing and services sectors need to
get back to work to make ends meet.
Take the analogy of an airplane.
In order to land safely, it has to gradually descend in a calculated
manner.
It doesnt just hit the ground, right?
Similarly, the conditional Movement Control Order (MCO) is to allow
us to slowly come back to normalcy.
Its a soft landing approach taken by the government with input
from various stakeholders.
The fight against Covid-19 is not over yet. Let us all be patient
and cooperate with the authorities.
On the health front, continue to maintain good hygiene, social distancing
and wearing masks, among others.
It will be sad to lose all the gains we have made over the past
weeks.
Associate Prof Dr Ali Salman,
Centre for Language Studies and Generic Development,
Universiti Malaysia Kelantan,
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Duterte government accused
of weaponizing the law
Against independent Philippines media outlets
The
Southeast Asian Times Tuesday 12 May 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Monday 11 May
2020
|
The debacle over the renewal of the ABS-CBN media
franchise is not about the networks sins of commission and
omission.
It is about the pleasure of one man.
The President has made no secret of his ire against ABS-CBN because
of its failure to air his political advertisements in the 2016 campaign.
He has made no secret of his view that ABS-CBN is an instrument
of the opposition, notwithstanding that many of its television and
radio personalities support him and have expressed this support
over the networks airwaves.
The order of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) for
the network to go off the air is trumpeted as a triumph of the rule
of law.
That rule of law is a travesty, an example of how the administration
has manipulated the law to strengthen the executives arbitrary
power.
The only reason ABS-CBN has no franchise now is that the President
repeatedly declared he would not allow its renewal, while coyly
saying the decision was up to Congress. The sycophants pretending
to be legislators in Congress understood the veiled message.
They also understood there was no justifiable reason to deny the
franchises renewal, and that if they denied it, there would
be opposition from ABS-CBN fans (forget civil rights activists)
whose vote they feared to lose. So they stonewalled, until the franchise
expired.
This gave the administration the legal argument to order ABS-CBN
off the airways, though that argument is under contestation - even
by those sycophantic legislators who delivered ABS-CBN to the untender
mercies of the executive, and who now perceive the NTCs action
as an encroachment on the legislatures power to decide on
media franchises.
Moreover, Congress failure to renew ABS-CBNs franchise
is part of an entire constellation of occasions in which the government
has weaponized the law against independent media outlets.
That constellation harms not just the elite families or the young
upstarts who own these media outlets, but the citizenry, because
it deprives them of independent sources of information about how
the government performs, or does not. That constellation disempowers
the people.
In 1992, the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines, the assembly
that forged the current directions for the Roman Catholic Church
in the Philippines, articulated eight Catholic principles that the
Church committed herself to promote in Philippine society.
The eighth principle was people empowerment.
The Councils participants still remember a time of national
disempowerment six years before, when rule of law, freedom of the
press, and other civil and political rights were subordinated to
the will of one man.
They saw it as a Christian duty to work so that this should never
happen again.
Some church leaders realize that it is happening again.
Among them, Bishop Broderick S. Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator
of Manila, has forcefully weighed in on the NTC order.
He has declared it not just a disservice to the nation in the midst
of a pandemic crisis when the Filipino people need all the information
they can get, but also the harbinger of a return to authoritarianism.
We in Gomburza, a community of faith, support this broader perspective
on the ABS-CBN controversy.
We urge all Filipinos to reflect on this issue, and, if they object,
vociferously to make known their objections.
Consider what we will be losing as independent media outlets are
suppressed: not just Ang Probinsyano, but the
right to information that empowers us to build a society of justice
and human dignity.
Members of Gomburza:
Sister Teresita Alo, SFIC,
Fr. Roberto Reyes,
Fr Flavie L. Villanueza, SVD
Ruby G. Alcantara,
Lot Lumawig Allanigue,
Teresita S. Castillo,
Lucia Lucas Chavez
Percival Chavez,
Eleanor R. Dionisio,
Veronica Ester Mendoza,
Angelo Silva
Call
for urgent end to war between
Philippine
government and Communist Party of the Philippines
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 11 May 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Monday 4 May 2020
|
Never before in the history of our countrys
armed conflict between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines
and the Communist Party of the Philippines and its New Peoples
Army has the imperative of ending this interminable war been more
urgent - particularly at this time, both unprecedented and opportune.
It has now lasted for over half a century certainly now the longest-running
internal armed conflict in the world, and we cannot and must not
leave such a legacy to our youth.
The momentary ceasefires separately declared by both sides have
now lapsed, and we seem to be back on track for the resumption of
armed hostilities that simply have lost meaning while our people
are besieged by a virus that is both invisible and deadly, our livelihoods
uncertain while a great number of our homes in different cities
and towns are shuttered in lockdown.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres himself in a message
rare for its compelling character put it bluntly: It is
time to put armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the
true fight of our lives.
He urged that all combatants silence their guns and added, There
should be only one fight in our world today, our shared battle against
COVID-19.
Pope Francis in his traditional Easter Message to the City and the
World Urbi et Orbi, envisioning a world after
the pandemic, made a stirring appeal for global solidarity aimed
at combating the contagion as well as enacting an immediate ceasefire
on all conflict fronts - particularly at this time when all our
efforts must be focused on ending the scourge that has ravaged the
lives of people in nearly all the continents.
We are veteran peace advocates, each one of whom has spent nearly
four decades of our lives accompanying the peace processes in our
country.
Although a peace agreement has been forged in the southern part
of our country that is now called Bangsamoro, nevertheless a cessation
of all armed hostilities throughout our land is imperative if we
are to heal as one and begin to rebuild our country
anew after this viral nightmare.
The humanitarian pause is but one step, but a
necessary one at this time.
It is our hope that it will provide space for both sides of the
conflict to rethink and explore ways to move the interminable peace
process forward.
We call on our fellow citizens to demand from both sides to step
back from the brink and end this spiral of insanity.
How can we in conscience resume armed hostilities at this time?
We daresay: If you claim to fight in the name of the people,
then we ask of you to stop the shooting on our behalf so that we
can rebuild our lives that have been severely disrupted by this
pandemic.
Bobby Tañada, former senator,
Ed Garcia, one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution,
Sol Santos, judge, Regional Trial Court in Naga City,
Philippines
Mass Covid-19 testing
not solution to safe workplace
Attention to personal and environmental
hygiene
The
Southeast Asian Times, Sunday 10 May 2020
First published in the Star, Friday 8 May 2020
|
On Labour Day, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin
announced that the vast majority of businesses throughout Malaysia
could reopenfrom May 4.
Many organisations and business owners have since welcomed the announcement
with mixed feelings.
On one hand, the news brought sighs of relief and new hope that
all the losses incurred during the long movement control order (MCO)
period may slowly and painfully be recovered.
On the other hand, there was fear and uncertainty over, among others,
the steps to prepare for reopening the physical workplaces.
Large organisations, particularly multinational companies, should
be well prepared for safe return to work with
their own standard operating procedures (SOP) developed weeks in
advance.
They may even have different versions of SOP for different pandemic
scenarios.
But this may not be the case with most business owners.
They may be struggling to strike a balance between reopening their
businesses and ensuring a safe workplace for their employees and
prospective customers.
In the current climate where there is special
focus on migrant workers, employers with foreign workers face even
more pressure.
The International Trade and Industry Ministry has produced guidelines
for reopening the economy.
Business owners have been asked to adopt these guidelines and warned
that the minimum standards must be adhered to.
It has also been mandated that all foreign workers must undergo
a Covid-19 test with their employers bearing the cost.
In response, the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) cautioned that
testing the foreign workers en masse is not a pragmatic approach,
as this exercise may quickly turn into a logistical nightmare.
Instead, MMA advised that efforts be focused on educating the foreign
workers and improving their working and living conditions that predispose
them to higher risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2.
We agree and liken the act of mass testing of foreign workers to
mopping the floor while the tap is still running.
Apart from being a logistical nightmare and an extremely expensive
affair, testing foreign workers en masse will not lead to the establishment
of safe workplaces, contrary to popular belief.
Many may then wonder what steps are needed to establish safe workplaces.
To address this, Occupational Health and Safety, Public Health,
and Infectious Diseases specialists from the Faculty of Medicine,
Universiti Malaya have produced a comprehensive set of questions
and answers for all Malaysian employers and interested parties.
Please refer to Return to Work after the Movement Control
Order (MCO) for COVID-19 infection A Guide for Workplace.
This set of Q&A, among others, emphasises that a single point
mass testing for Covid-19 may give a false sense of security to
employers and employees alike.
We have also put forth a set of comprehensive guidelines for safe
return to work and infection control at the workplace.
Finally, we would like to stress that mass testing is not the solution
towards the establishment of a safe workplace.
Employers need to adopt a comprehensive approach that involves risk
assessment and surveillance, attention to personal as well as environmental
hygiene and infection control, education and training and, most
importantly, building solidarity with their employees towards a
safer work place.
Prof Datuk Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman,
Chair,
University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) Covid-19 Task Force
Dean, Faculty of Medicine
Universiti Malaya
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Call for Thai government
to take sugar cane burning
As
seriously as Covid-19
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 9 May 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Friday 8 May 2020
|
Re: "Sugarcane farming leaves a bitter aftertaste",
in Bangkok Post Opinion,
6 May..
As someone in Bangkok who has felt the unhealthy effects of atmospheric
Particulate Matter PM2.5 for several years now, I find it very discouraging
to discover that the government is subsidising the sugarcane farmers
whose field burning is apparently responsible for much of the ultrafine
dust that I have been breathing.
I would like to see the government take the atmospheric Particulate
Matter PM2.5 problem as seriously as they have Covid-19.
Given that growing sugarcane is so unprofitable that the government
has to subsidise these farmers, I would think the agricultural ministry
would be working hard to find alternative crops for these farmers,
so that they can make a living without costing the taxpayers a bundle,
and also stop poisoning our air.
I hope to read about how they are progressing in finding such crops
soon.
A Reader,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Malaysia's
readiness to lift Movement Control Order
Is
wishful thinking
First
published in the Star, Friday 1 May 2020
The Southeast Asian Tmes Friday, 8 May 2020
|
Lifting the Movement Control Order (MCO) on May 12,
in my humble opinion, would be premature.
Currently, our rate for testing is less than 0.5 percent of the
population.
Despite this, about 3.8 percent of tests turn out to be positive.
Singapore has tested about 1.74 percent of its population, recording
an infection rate of 15.6 percent.
The majority of infections in Singapore has been among foreign workers
who live in dense dormitory conditions.
I do not believe our Health Ministry has screened foreign workers
extensively. They will become the new clusters, as they live in
crowded conditions like their counterparts in Singapore.
Our readiness to lift the MCO is wishful thinking when government
agencies such as the Housing and Local Government Ministry cannot
enforce daily sanitising of markets.
As an example, the Petaling Jaya Old Town market off Jalan Othman
was only sanitised after a stall holder was found to be infected.
To make matters worse, not all stall holders were tested for infection.
The National Security Council has to have more spine.
For one, its website should provide up-to-date information without
errors.
On April 29, the website showed the Covid-19 latest situation:
Breakdown by country, April 24,2020.
By the way, it should be state, not country.
There must be stringent cleaning procedures for workplaces.
Door handles and elevator buttons, for example, are prime contact
places for spreading infections.
We can adopt the cleaning methods used in Hong Kong and Wuhan to
keep workplaces safe.
My firm wishes to return to working full time, as do all other SMEs.
We have had no revenue since March 18, all the while paying for
staff salaries, utilities and other expenses.
So get it right the first time.
IR. Patrick C. Augustin,
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Nurse in Philippines
Shunned
by community
The
Southeast Asian Times, Thursday 7 May 2020
First published in the Philippine Inquirer, Tuesday 5 May
2020
|
While nurses fighting the coronavirus around the world
have been cheered in public, last months incident in Cebu,
where a nurse was refused access to public transport, and even evicted
from their rented homes.
Around the world, our nurses are demonstrating their compassion
and courage as they respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and never
before has their value been more clearly shown.
Nevertheless, in many studies, health care workers have been cited
as experiencing a high risk of violence.
Many health workers suffer physical abuse at some point in their
careers, and a lot more are threatened or exposed to verbal aggression.
Violence against health workers is unacceptable.
Violence against nurses does not only have a negative impact on
their psychological and physical well-being, it also affects their
job motivation.
As a long-term consequence, this kind of violence compromises the
quality of care nurses can offer, and puts the health care system
at risk.
What happened in Cebu or elsewhere in the country does not reflect
the best of us Filipinos.
Not many people know that nurses who care for COVID-19 patients
are feeling extreme physical fatigue and discomfort caused by the
outbreak, due to the intense work, large number of patients, and
lack of personal protective materials. Indeed, the physical exhaustion,
psychological helplessness, and the health threat itself frequently
lead to a large number of negative emotions such as anxiety, fear,
and powerlessness.
Our nurses have the right to live in an environment free of discrimination.
They deserve our support and encouragement, and should be accorded
respect.
Jerome Babate,
president,
Beta Nu Delta Nursing Society,
Manila,
Philippines
The pandemic show of human
solidarity
Should be extended to the suffering Rohingya
The
Southeast Asian Times, Wednesday 6 May 2020
|
The coronavirus pandemic has brought many people in
many parts of the world face to face with a life and death situation.
And it's terrifying and terrible.
The Rohingya have been faced with that dire situation well before
the pandemic. Their plight is on account of state persecution which
have rendered them a stateless people.
That is well documented by the United Nations Human Rights body
which even went so far as to say the persecution of the Rohingya
and the atrocities committed against them was " textbook
ethnic cleansing ".
The pandemic has brought about an unprecedented spontaneous show
of human solidarity with all sections of society giving a helping
hand to people in distress and in dire need of food provisions.
This same sense of human solidarity - of our common humanity - should
be extended to the suffering Rohingya.
It is therefore very uplifting to read in the Southeast Asian Times
5 May article ' Rohingya starving at sea: ASEAN Human Rights
Calls for Compassion ' that the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission
on Human Rights ( AICHR ) in Indonesia, Yuyun Wahyuningrum, called
on a humane response from the ASEAN member states to the Rohingya.
The international community's response to the Rohingya is a true
test of our humanity.
Let us heed that call for compassion.
It's the right thing to do.
Rajend Naidu,
Sydney,
Australia
Call
for protection of Selangor River
Against
pollution post Covid-19
The
Southeast Asian Times, Tuesday 5 May 2020
First published in the Star, Monday 4 May 2020
|
Many rivers in Malaysia have become cleaner due to
the Covid-19 lockdown. However, Selangor River continues to be polluted,
as can be seen in the water supply disruptions in many areas since
the beginning of the year.
Pollution is expected to worsen with the lifting of the lockdown
as factories, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and commercial
enterprises clean up their premises after more than a month of inactivity.
Various types of chemicals, oils, powders, paints, food products
and other materials that have turned bad or gone to waste could
be dumped in the drains or rivers leading to water catchment areas
if the authorities are not vigilant.
The Selangor state government needs to put more emphasis and importance
on protecting Selangor River, Langat River and smaller rivers which
supply potable water to the surrounding urban and rural areas.
The river reserves must be cleared of any obstructions to enable
closer and effective monitoring.
Currently, major parts of river reserves are blocked, fenced up
or even built upon, thus preventing effective checking and monitoring
of activities or usage of the land.
The state government needs to establish a river patrol unit, using
staff from the district and municipal authorities, in all the districts.
The river patrol unit must be endowed with sufficient enforcement
powers to act against polluters.
Areas with factories, refineries, recycling yards and small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) processing chemicals, oil and other
products should be closely monitored.
It is already a common practice for some to dump their waste into
rivers during heavy storms, expecting the swift flow of water to
disperse the pollutants.
It is truly amoral of these business operators to dump waste into
rivers.
Dont they realise that they will be using the very water they
are polluting when it is piped to their homes, shops and factories
after undergoing a costly cleaning and filtering process?
V. Thomas,
Sungai Buloh,
Selangor,
Malaysia
Call for US not to even
think
About punishing China for Covid-19
The
Southeast Asian Times, Monday 4 May 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Friday 1 May 2020
|
Re: "Trump says China wants him to lose re-election
bid", in Bangkok Post Friday 1 May 2020.
I have grave misgivings about US President Donald Trump's idea of
"punishing" China for the coronavirus.
I notice nobody has ever punished the US for inventing and deploying
the atomic bomb.
It is easily documented that the US government intentionally caused
those events. No such evidence is available in the case of the coronavirus.
Current thinking admits the virus may have originated in a wet market
in Wuhan, so may not have been a product of human intent at all.
China is a large and powerful country of over one billion people.
History shows that people can become extremely stroppy when their
patriotic instincts are offended.
Common sense suggests it is unwise to arouse those instincts without
solid proof.
The US president is appallingly ignorant about many things.
His recent off-the-cuff suggestion that people might ward off the
coronavirus by inoculating themselves with disinfectant is ample
evidence.
His ignorance is a danger both to the US and to the world at large
because there is always the possibility he may act on it.
No country ought to base its actions on proactive ignorance.
So I caution the US not even to think about "punishing"
China for the coronavirus, especially since it has never punished
China for other, more demonstrable outrages, such as the Tiananmen
massacre, the persecution of the Uighurs, and the enslavement of
Tibet.
Even the announcement of such an attempt might provoke another bloviating
letter to this newspaper from the Chinese embassy, and that would
be hard for some readers to stomach.
S. Tsow,
Bangkok,
Thailand
State
violence in Papua New Guinea
Is unconstitutional
The
Southeast Asian Times. Sunday 3 April 2020
First published in the National, Wednesday 29 April 2020
|
It is terrifying to see, hear and read daily about
the increase in police brutality and abuse of constitutional duty,
resulting in the state losing billions of kina and hundreds of lives.
It is not right for the police or any disciplinary officer to use
violence against any civilian - whether its your family member
of any other citizen for that matter.
Using violence to do States duty is unconstitutional.
There are many evidences of this happening in our country daily.
Police have a statutory duty to protect the rights of the State
through maintaining law and order.
Police and other disciplinary forces should not see themselves as
having the right to apply violence to anyone anytime.
The legitimate duty of the police is to protect the interest and
rights of the people.
The powers of the police are primarily to maintain law and order
through:
Arrest and charge lawbreakers so they can face the law through the
courts;
Ensure peace and good order in the community;
Provide security to all citizens so that our rights to freedom and
our properties are protected;
Investigate criminal activities;
Escort very important person when the need arises; and,
Enforce an order of the courts.
These are the main duties of Police.
Any activities done contrary and apart from these are deemed as
criminal acts.
It doesnt matter what social status or position or objective
the officer has - their duty is to ensure that the law achieves
its purpose.
Everyone should allow the law to operate as it is intended and this
requires a collective effort.
If the law provides certain processes and procedures that requires
them to follow in their line of duty, they have to follow these
procedures.
They should also respect the rights of every individual.
Police have the constitutional duty to execute orders and have no
legitimate right to apply extreme violence.
Eric Mumson Piuk,
Gerehu 24 Market,
National Capital District,
Papua New Guinea
Land
of Smiles has become
The
Land of Grimaces
The
Southeast Asian Times, Saturday 2 May 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Friday 1 May 2020
|
The Tourism and Sport Ministry push to shift the focus
of Thai tourism to attract "quality" wealthy visitors
and focus on quality over quantity is doomed to failure. This type
of misguided thinking is rampant in a government of comprised of
a military mindset.
Anyone with business acumen knows that your service and product
must meet the needs of the consumer, not the other way around.
For the ministry to make such a pronouncement, where is the research
to support such a transition?
Sure, wealthy elites have more money to spend then us peasantry,
but there are not enough of them to sustain the tourist industry.
They are only "1percent" of the population and
there are plenty of luxury vacation spots in the world.
Thailand's success at tourism was based on affordability and being
seen as exotic by travellers with a friendly culture.
In my lifetime, it seems the "Land of Smiles" has
become the "Land of Grimaces".
Who would want to come to a place rife with pollution, graft and
tourist scams for a vacation?
There is no way to ensure "disease-free" tourism
in a country where there is no competent universal healthcare.
Whoever came up with this scheme does not understand science or
business.
The first time someone gets "sick", the entire
project is destroyed through negative public relations and false
advertising.
Darius Hober,
Bangkok,
Thailand
Call for Thailand
To
lift ban on alcohol sales
The
Southeast Asian Times, Friday 1 May 2020
First published in the Bangkok Post, Wednesday 29 April 2020
|
The continuing ban on alcohol sales makes no sense.
I support measures to combat the coronavirus, but the ban on alcohol
sales simply doesn't help.
It is killing businesses and creating poverty among laid-off workers.
It is at the sharp end that this ban is most damaging.
In the hospitality industry, there is real pain being felt by laid-off
workers and business owners alike.
Laid-off workers have no money in their pockets and businesses already
struggling before the crisis are now staring into the abyss of bankruptcy.
To business owners in this situation, the alcohol ban feels like
a kick in the teeth.
It isn't enough to allow restaurants to open selling only food.
Years of the overly strong baht and increasing costs mean that most
proper restaurants are only viable if they can also sell alcohol.
The hospitality industry is the central pillar of tourism in Thailand,
as well as serving a vital social role, in that it provides employment
for many hundreds of thousands of less well-educated Thais.
Quite apart from anything else, the ban is universally unpopular
and undermines the goodwill the authorities need to make the anti-Covid-19
measures effective.
No other country has instigated an alcohol ban, for good reason.
Of course insist on proper precautions to keep Covid-19 under control,
but with new infection rates now firmly in single figures, I urge
the government to act fast to lift the ban on alcohol sales.
AM,
Bangkok,
Thailand