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DAILY EDITION

ISSUE 50 | TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015

NEWS 2

Ceasefire agreement still

on track for signing
Ethnic armed groups appear close
to an agreement not to allow fallout
from fighting in the Kokang border
area to delay the signing of a
nationwide ceasefire accord.

NEWS 4

NLD and minorities want

new Myanmar flag
Opposition politicians and ethnic
groups say they would redesign the
national flag if in government after
the November elections.
BUSINESS 9

Gold and dollar

speculators warned
With commodities being monitored,
government officials say they will take
a stand against speculators hoarding
gold and dollars, which they say is
upsetting the market.
BUSINESS 10

PAGE

PHOTO: AFP

A Malaysian police officer carries bags containing human remains exhumed yesterday
from mass graves near the border with Thailand. Investigators believe Malaysias network
of trafficking camps is extensive, after an initial discovery of 139 graves and 28 abandoned
sites capable of holding hundreds of people smuggled from Rakhine State and Bangladesh.

Taking stock of the strong

spike in FDI
Approved foreign investment in April
is through the roof as a raft of oil and
gas projects are approved, with tourism
and manufacturing also set to benefit.

Nationalists plan Yangon protest

Police authorise a rally tomorrow organised by nationalist monks and activists in protest against foreign pressure on
Myanmar to allow back Rohingya migrants rescued at sea from human traffickers. NEWS 3

2 News

THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 26, 2015

NLD, 88
Generation
to reveal
plans for
election
MRATT KYAW THU
mrattkthu@gmail.com

The 11,111-viss bell rests on a truck in Mandalay on May 25 for transport to Shwe Taung Sar Pagoda in Dawei, Tanintharyi Region. Photo: Phyo Wai Kyaw

Giant bronze bell on its way to Dawei

PHYO WAI KYAW
pwkyaw@gmail.com
HLAING KYAW SOE
hlaingkyawsoe85@gmail.com
A MASTERWORK in bronze, the great
bell cast in Mandalay for the Shwe
Taung Sar Pagoda in Dawei, Tanintharyi Region, has begun its last journey.
The 18.14-tonne artefact weighing
an auspicious 11,111 viss (1 viss equals
1.6kg or 3.6 lbs) is being transported
overland from the foundry.
The bell, named Maha Vijaya Khayma Sitala Nibbuta Gawsa, is expected
to reach Dawei on May 30 and will

be installed the following day, said its

creator, U Aung Than Maw. The ceremony will mark the pagodas 250th
anniversary.
It is a replica of King Tharyarwadys Bell, which hangs at Shwedagon Pagodas Tuesday corner, said U
Aung Than Maw.
More than 300 volunteers and
artisans helped to cast the bell last
March, working through the middle of
the night in order to escape the heat,
which otherwise would have been intolerable. The work was carried out at
the Tampawaddy bronze works, located in a Mandalay district that is home

to many of the citys traditional craft

industries.
The conditions for the transportation to Dawei are good. Our people
will follow the bell to its destination. It
is accomplished, and I am satisfied, U
Aung Than Maw said yesterday.
The local volunteers who had
worked on the bell held a feast to see
it off, enjoying rice, curry and traditional Dawei snacks.
After the casting, the bell was left
to cool for several weeks in a shaded
pit to ensure a perfect shape. The
K300 million bell, paid for by private
donors, measures 5.2 metres (17 feet)

in height including its hook, 2.3m (7

feet 6 inches) wide at the rim, and 28
centimetres (11 inches) thick.
Two toe nayar (mythical winged
lion) images adorn the hook and two
lokanat (benevolent princes symbolising peace and prosperity) grace either
side of the bell.
U Aung Than Maw, who has been
producing bronze and copper objects
for 30 years, said it was the largest bell
he had cast, although he had helped
his teacher cast another 11,111-viss
specimen for a pagoda in Mumbai,
India.
Translation by Thiri Min Htun

Ceasefire agreement still on

track despite Kokang conflict
LUN MIN
MANG
lunmin.lm@gmail.com

ETHNIC armed groups appear to

have tacitly agreed not to allow the
fallout from heavy fighting in Kokang
in northern Shan State to delay the
signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire
Agreement, it has emerged.
Amid great fanfare, the final draft
of the NCA was signed on March 31
between the Nationwide Ceasefire
Coordination Team (NCCT), the
umbrella organisation representing
most ethnic armed groups, and the
governments Union Peace-making
Work Committee (UPWC). Final approval of the text, which was heralded as the possible end to decades of
internal strife, was to await a review
by the leaders of the various signatory armed groups.
NCCT members are meeting today and tomorrow to incorporate
changes made by the leaders. But
NCCT leader U Naing Han Thar said
yesterday that the changes would
not make a great difference to the
text.

We are going to present the draft

NCA more clearly so that the leaders
of the ethnic armed groups can truly
understand the contents, he said. I
think there will not be much difference between the two versions, with
only few additions.
The government has already signalled its willingness to sign the text
as is. The draft ceasefire agreement
does not include three groups actually fighting the government, namely
the Myanmar National Democratic
Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Taang
National Liberation Army (TNLA) and
the Arakan Army (AA). Those three
groups say they have not ruled out the
possibility of resigning from the NCCT
if they are not invited to sign the draft.
However, a threat that the whole
process could break down seems to
have receded. Only two weeks ago, U
Naing Han Thar said the agreement
would be void unless the three groups
were included.
We wont sign it without these
three groups. Thats why we urged the
government to discuss with them in order to participate in signing the NCA,
he told The Myanmar Times on May 13.
The stand-off threatened to dash the
ambitions of President U Thein Sein
to end more than six decades of civil
war and get the next stage of political

dialogue in place before parliamentary

elections in November.
Yesterday MNDAA spokesperson U
Tun Myat Lin took a softer line: We
dont want the signing of the NCA delayed on our account. We recognise the
leaders desire to include us in the signing, but we dont want it delayed.

We are going to
present the draft
NCA more clearly
so that leaders of
the ethnic armed
groups can truly
understand the
contents.
U Naing Han Thar
NCCT leader

The governments unwillingness

to include the MNDAA and its allies
reportedly stemmed from a fear that

they would introduce new points of

contention, thus delaying agreement
on the main text.
At a workshop for peace and national reconciliation organised by the
Restoration Council of Shan State
(RCSS) and the Karen National Union
(KNU) in Yangon earlier this month,
government ceasefire negotiator U
Aung Min said the government would
consider holding peace talks with the
three groups only after the other
NCCT members had signed the NCA.
He said that if the three groups
were included in the process, further
discussion would be required, delaying the signing.
An MNDAA spokesperson denied
this, insisting, Since the very start of
the peace talks, we have been in the
group. There will be no new issues.
The NCCT has scheduled a summit of the 16 ethnic armed groups in
the Karen National Union stronghold
of Law Khee Lar, Kayin State, from
June 2 to 5 to discuss the three allied
groups resignation threat.
Resigning from the NCCT would
make further progress difficult for
them, said U Naing Han Thar, adding, Our stance has not changed. We
want all the groups to sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement without
leaving anyone behind.

IMPRISONED together for fighting for democracy, the leaders of the 88 Generation Peace
and Open Society and the National League for Democracy
have announced that they will
hold a joint press conference on
May 30 to set out their approach
to the November elections.
The announcement follows a
series of meetings between NLD
leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
and 88 Generation leaders, who
as students taking part in the
1988 uprising against the military regime suffered long-term
imprisonment.
The press conference will
take place at NLD headquarters
in Yangon.
The occasion could be an opportunity to clear up some confusion caused by the registration
as a political party of an organisation calling itself 88 Generation Party.

Were expecting
complaints from
people who might
disagree with us.
U Soe Myint
88 Generation Party

Ko Pandeik Tun, speaking

on behalf of the former student
leader Ko Min Ko Naing of 88
Generation Peace and Open Society, said yesterday, Were not
going to establish a political
party. And we will express our
opinion of the use of the name
88 Generation Party at the press
conference.
U Soe Myint, chair of the 88
Generation Party, told The Myanmar Times yesterday, Critics
say our name and flag resemble
the other 88 Generation. Were
expecting complaints from people who might disagree with us.
At various times, the iconic
term 88 generation has been
used by other groups identifying themselves with the students
who took part in the uprising
that year. Of those, the most
prominent is the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society led
by Ko Ko Gyi, Ko Min Ko Naing
and their colleagues.
Questions have arisen as to
how the 88 Generation Peace and
Open Society intend to approach
the election, and what relationship they will have to the NLD.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi met
with 88 Generation leaders including Ko Ko Gyi, Min Ko Naing, Ko Pyone Cho and Ko Mya
Aye on March 14, officially for
the first time, though the student leaders have met with the
NLD Central Executive Committee several times to discuss the
political situation.
The two groups collaborated
closely in the effort to raise 5 million signatures on a petition calling for a change in the constitution that would allow Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi to become president.
The NLD has said it would
reserve any statement until the
press conference.

www.mmtimes.com

Myanmar
clarifies what
will happen
to 208 rescued
LAIGNEE BARRON
laignee@gmail.com
MORE than 2500 people are still estimated to be adrift on the Andaman Sea
trapped aboard abandoned smugglers
boats while Myanmar and Indonesia
are preparing to repatriate a combined
total of almost 1000 Bangladeshi migrants recovered from similar vessels.
The 200 Bangladeshis rescued by
the Myanmar Navy on May 21 were
yesterday transferred to Rakhine
States Taung Pyo Let Wa village adjacent to the border with Bangladesh so
they can soon be repatriated, according to the Ministry of Information.
Bangladeshi media reported however that the Border Guards of Bangladesh have delayed repatriation
efforts pending more detailed information to verify the identity of those
rescued. In a letter to Myanmar border police, Bangladesh said it would
bring back only real Bangladesh
nationals.
The Bangladeshi embassy in Yangon declined to comment on the Border Guards letter, but an official said
by email that a consular team from
[the] Bangladesh Consulate [in] Sittwe
is already on the ground to perform
due consular processes.
Out of the 200 rescued who are
believed to be Bangladeshis, 19 are
minors, the UN said yesterday.
On a May 23 visit to the school in
Alae Than Kyaw village temporarily
housing those rescued, the UN secretary generals special adviser on Myanmar, Vijay Nambiar, thanked the government for coordinating the search
and rescue operation and urged for
greater inclusion of the states Muslim
community.
More work needs to be done to
address the daily issues of discrimination, restricted freedom of movement,
and deprivation of fundamental rights
faced by the IDPs and other Muslim
populations, the UN said in a statement on Mr Nambiars visit.
The UN refugee agency did not
mention eight Bengalis the navy also
reportedly rescued from the hold of a
fishing trawler turned smuggling boat
on May 21.
However, U Zaw Htay, director of
the Presidents Office, said that investigators believe the Bengalis as
Myanmar calls the Rohingya are
from Kyaw Taw village in Maungtaw
township.
They are the victims of human
trafficking and will be provided humanitarian assistance according to
their needs, he said. After that, they
will be returned to their home if they
wish.
Muslim community leaders in Rakhine said that such assistance is very
atypical.
It is usually very easy for us to
leave the country, but very hard to
come back, said U Kyaw Hla, a businessman and former NGO worker in
Sittwe township.
In Indonesia, the UN Refugee Agency said about 1000 Rohingya had been
identified, along with 780 Bangladeshis
who will likely soon be repatriated.
Malaysia and Indonesia agreed on
May 20 to provide temporary shelter
to migrants and refugee seekers from
trafficking boats provided that the international community took steps to
repatriate or resettle them within a
year. While repatriation efforts are already under way, the asylum process
typically takes several years.
The UNHCR said it was trying to
clarify what exactly was meant by the
one-year deadline.
There are only 30 resettlement
countries around the world and with
the situations in Syria and Iraq right
now there is a huge, urgent need for resettlement right now, said Vivian Tan,
UNHCR spokesperson in Bangkok.

NEWS EDITOR: Thomas Kean | tdkean@gmail.com

News 3

Monks and nationalists plan

march against boat crisis
WA LONE
walone14@gmail.com
AUNG KYAW MIN
aungkyawmin.mcm@gmail.com
THE human tragedy unfolding over
Southeast Asias seas could soon lead
to serious political ramifications in
Myanmar as Buddhist nationalists
announced they will join monks and
religious groups in a demonstration
in Yangon tomorrow against foreign
pressure to aid and repatriate Muslim
Rohingya migrants.
U Wirathu, a leading voice among
monks fuelling anti-Muslim passions
across the country, expressed his support for the protest, saying the boat
crisis was the result of a time bomb of
an exploding Bangladeshi population
spreading to other countries.
Police Major Khin Maung Kyi of
Bahan township confirmed last night
that official permission had been given
for the march, which will begin in the
northern suburbs of Yangon and finish
with a rally in the Kyaikkasan sports

ground.
Ko Min Min, a nationalist religious
activist and leading organiser of the
protest, told The Myanmar Times he
asked police to allow up to 500 members of more than 20 groups to attend.
He also said the march will go ahead
even without a permit.
The groups involved include the
notoriously anti-Muslim 969 movement and the clerical Committee
for the Protection of Nationalist
and Religion, according to Ko Min
Min. Known by its acronym Ma Ba
Tha, the committee was the driving
force behind a population control
law signed by President U Thein Sein
last week which opponents fear will
be used to target ethnic minorities,
particularly the Rohingya.
A list of those expected to join the
rally includes lesser-known groups
bearing such names as Future Light
and Nationalist Blood.
Sayadaw Pamaukkha, a prominent
monk from Magway monastery and
a Ma Ba Tha activist, confirmed he

would take part and address the rally.

Whoever is able should organise,
because every citizen has the right to
protect our state, he said.
Nationalist monks demonstrated
their political clout last February by
holding protests in Yangon and other
cities against plans by U Thein Sein
to allow holders of temporary identification cards including many Rohingya to vote in a referendum and
possibly the general elections. The
protests forced the government to
reverse course and revoke all white
cards, disenfranchising hundreds of
thousands of potential voters.
Ko Min Min, who uses Facebook
for his anti-Muslim declarations,
said, I will never accept these boat
people in Myanmar. I will always
oppose this because they are from
Bangladesh.
A purpose of the demonstration,
he said, was to reject pressure on Myanmar from the United Nations and
foreign governments.
Our country is poor and the gov-

ernment cant take care of its own

Myanmar people, so how would it be
possible to accept the migrants in our
country, and those people are not from
our country, he said.
U Wirathu told The Myanmar
Times that he was teaching in his monastery in Mandalay and could not attend the Yangon demonstration.
He said the world failed to understand the causes behind the crisis of
the migrants at sea who try to cast
themselves as victims.
I wish to ask the international organisations why we should accept in
our house these murderous people. It
is dangerous that they can enter by deception as victims, he said, professing
his willingness to help real victims.
Reflecting the official government
stance that the ethnic label Rohingya
has no historical justification in Myanmar, U Wirathu did suggest it could
be possible to accept Bengalis from
Myanmar if they were genuine victims.
But we will not accept people from
other countries, he said.

Malaysia begins exhuming human remains

from massive network of trafficking camps
Grave sites, human-trafficking camps
139 grave sites and 28 camps found in Malaysia, police told
reporters Monday

BANGLADESH

MYANMAR
Rakhine State

Home to some 800,000

Rohingya Muslims

THAILAND
Police discovered a trafficking camp and mass graves in Malaysia. Photo: AFP

MALAYSIAN police said yesterday

they had found 139 grave sites and
28 abandoned detention camps used
by people-smugglers and capable of
housing hundreds, laying bare the
grim extent of the regions migrant
crisis.
Malaysian national police chief
Khalid Abu Bakar said it remained
unclear how many bodies were
buried in the inaccessible area of
mountainous jungle along the Thai
border.
But the findings appeared to indicate a system of camps and graves
larger than those discovered by Thai
police in early May, a finding which
ignited regional concern about
human smuggling and trafficking.
The Malaysian discovery follows
earlier denials by the government
long accused by rights groups of not
doing enough to stop the illicit trade
that such grisly sites existed in the
country.
[Authorities] found 139 suspected
graves. They are not sure how many
bodies are inside each grave, Mr
Khalid told reporters in the border
town of Wang Kelian.
Its a very sad scene ... to us even
one is serious and we have found 139,
Mr Khalid said.
The police chief also vowed to find
the culprits involved in the crime.
Bodies were being exhumed and
police have released no information
yet on causes of death.
Mr Khalid said the largest of the
28 camps could hold up to 300 people, another had a capacity of 100 and

the rest about 20 each.

By comparison, Thai police have
said they found a half-dozen jungle
camps and more than 30 bodies so far
on their side.
Thailand was previously a major
people-smuggling route to Malaysia,
which is the preferred destination
of migrants from Bangladesh and
from Myanmars oppressed Rohingya
minority.
But a Thai crackdown launched after graves were found there triggered
a regional crisis as nervous traffickers
abandoned overloaded vessels carrying the starving migrants.
Prime Minister Najib Razak said
yesterday he was deeply concerned
by the graves, vowing to find those
responsible. Earlier this month he
declared Malaysia had zero tolerance
for human trafficking.
But the graves will likely focus new
attention on Malaysias record in battling a bustling trade that activists
say is run by criminal syndicates with
the suspected involvement of corrupt
officials.
Either there has been a lack of enforcement by [Malaysian] authorities
or they had closed an eye and colluded with criminal syndicates to traffick
the migrants, Aegile Fernandez, of
Malaysian migrant-rights group Tenaganita, said of the discovery.
In todays modern slavery, traffickers cannot work alone.
Police chief Mr Khalid said Malaysia found the jungle sites after reacting to the Thai graves discovery.
But several Malaysian villagers

Some 3,000 migrant have

swum ashore or been rescued
in May

INDONESIA

MALAYSIA

500 km

Camps discovered early

May, along with dozens of
shallow graves

THAILAND

Wang
Kelian
Padang
Besar
Camps and
mass graves,
police revealed
Sunday

MALAYSIA
3 km

told AFP yesterday that bedraggled

Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants
had been a common sight in the
area weeks before the current crisis
erupted.
Some bore ugly scars or had bloodied feet, apparently from trekking

across the border, and would ask locals for food and water.
Since last month I have seen
many of these migrants coming in.
Every day there were around 12 to
15, sometimes even babies, said Lyza
Ibrahim, a local shopkeeper. AFP

4 News
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THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 26, 2015

Nullified 1990 election to be commemorated

LUN MIN MANG
lunmin.lm@gmail.com
SURVIVING members of the parliament that never convened the winners of the 1990 general election will
mark the 25th anniversary of the event
tomorrow at the Judson Centre on
Pyay Road in Yangon.
The ceremony will be led by U
Khun Tun Oo, the chair of the Shan
National League for Democracy
(SNLD), which won 23 seats in the
election. The seats were never filled.
Of the 485 MPs elected in 1990,
about 200 are still alive, and all have
been invited, said U David Hla Myint,
a member of the MPs group that arranged the event.
On May 27, 1990, the National
League for Democracy, led then as

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If the government
had transferred
power to the
winners, we would
have had at least
four elections since.
U Aye Thar Aung
Rakhine National Party

The poll was the first multiparty

election held since 1960. However, the
military regime, shocked at the enormity of its defeat, refused to recognise
the results and continued to rule, increasingly relying on force and repression, and deepening its isolation.
The military government did not
want to transfer power. Most of the
NLD MPs elected were arrested and
jailed, said U David Hla Myint.
U David Hla Myint, who in 1990
was elected MP for Ngapudaw, Ayeyarwady Region, said he hoped the
event would remind new generations
not to forget the past.
It was not known at the time of going to press whether Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi herself would be able to attend.
U Aye Thar Aung, a member of
the Rakhine National Party (RNP)

who was deputy secretary-general of

the Arakan League for Democracy in
1990, said the current political crises
had their origin in the militarys rejection of the 1990 election results.
If the government had transferred
power to the winners, we would have
had at least four elections since, and
our country could have gained much
more political knowledge and experience, he said.
The slowdown in the nationwide
ceasefire process, the ethnic peoples
unmet quest for equality and the oppositions demands for constitutional
amendments are the bad consequences of ignoring the 1990 election. The
NLD and its allies could have drawn
up a federal constitution that would
have guaranteed the rights of the
ethnic peoples.

NLD raises the possibility of

changing the national flag
Critics say the new flag introduced in 2010 by the previous military regime fails to inspire feelings of national pride

YE MON

DIGITAL/ONLINE
Online Editors Eli Meixler, Thet Hlaing
elimeixler@gmail.com, thet202@gmail.com
PHOTOGRAPHICS
Director Kaung Htet
Photographers
Aung Htay Hlaing, Thiri, Zarni Phyo

now by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, won

392 of the 492 seats in what was to be
a parliamentary constitutional committee to draft a new constitution.

yeemontun2013@gmail.com

A FUTURE government run by the

National League for Democracy could
move to scrap the countrys current
flag, the partys leader says.
Speaking in Putao, Kachin State,
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi admitted not
much caring for the yellow, green and
red banner with a central white star
that was introduced in 2010 by the
former military regime. The flags colours are meant to symbolise solidarity,
peace and tranquillity, plus courage
and decisiveness.
I dont like this flag. The flag
should belong to all Myanmar people.
The NLD will try to change it if we
have the chance, she said.
The opposition leader was in Putao
to address a rally, during which she
called for an urgent resumption of the
six-way talks on the amendment of the
2008 constitution.
U Ko Ko Gyi, the leader of 88 Generation Peace and Open Society, said
yesterday during a speech in Myitkyina, Kachin State, that the Union flag
should be one accepted by all the people, who would express their nationalism in saluting it. He was attending
a workshop titled From Cohesion to
Reconciliation.
The national flag should be accepted by all the people, or its just a piece
of cloth, he said, adding that the current flag did not inspire nationalism.
U Aye Tha Aung, a member of the
Central Executive Committee of the
Rakhine National Party, said ethnic
minorities did not favour the current flag. Ethnic minorities cannot
identify with it, he said, calling for a
change. I think most people would
like the old flag back.

Generation 88 leader Ko Ko Gyi speaks yesterday during a USAID-sponsored From Cohesion to Reconciliation workshop
in Myitkyina, Kachin State. Hanging above him are (left to right) the Shan State flag, the Myanmar national flag and the
Kachin national flag. Photo: Aung Myin Ye Zaw

The 1974 flag, retired in 2010, has a

red background with a dark blue canton at the top left corner. A pinion and
ears of paddy encircled with 14 white
stars of equal size was superimposed

on the dark blue canton.

The paddy represented the peasants, while the pinion stood for the
workers, and the 14 stars symbolised
the equal status and Union spirit of

the seven states and seven regions

that constitute the Union of Myanmar.
Red signified courage and decisiveness, white purity and virtue, and dark
blue stood for peace and integrity.

Want to lodge a complaint? It will cost you

MAUNG ZAW
mgzaw.mmtimes@gmail.com
TAX officials in Mandalay were this
week rubbing their hands in anticipation of a windfall as a result of a
new law. According to U Myint Kyu,
Mandalay Regions finance minister,
citizens complaints about government services will be considered
only if the complainer attaches the

correct tax stamp to the letter of

complaint.
We are doing this in compliance
with the amended Office Tax Act,
he told The Myanmar Times yesterday, adding that the attachment
of a tax stamp was much more
convenient.
Needless to say, the tax rates are
graded according to the level of the
complaint. While a moan about your

township authorities will cost you a

mere K50, complaining about your
district will set you back you K100.
And if you want to have a crack at
the regional government itself to
pour scorn, for instance, on the way
government clerks outsource their
tedious clerical work onto the citizens who are paying them to do it
it will cost you a whopping K200.
We can pay the taxes. Theyre

already taxing the food we eat. But

we want to know what they will
do with the money, said Pat Kone
Pyawbwe ward resident U Tin Oo.
Since May 1, some restaurants
have been charging a 5 percent consumer tax per K1000.
Youre welcome to complain
about that too. But youll have to
stump up for the stamp.
Translation by Emoon

News 5

www.mmtimes.com

Local tourism
companies
face online
competition
EI EI THU
91.eieithu@gmail.com

AMID the good news about the rapid

rise in tourism figures over the past
few years there hides a small dark
cloud. Tourists are increasingly getting their information and making
their bookings online, putting at risk
the large number of small- and medium-size local tour companies that
have sprung up to service the tourism
boom.
According to some estimates, the
internet market could account for 70
percent of the travel and tour market within a few years, pushing local
operators to the wall, says Daw Sabei
Aung, managing director of Nature
Dream Travels.
Online marketing has already
started to affect our tourism industry.
Local operators are losing opportunities, she told The Myanmar Times.
Were giving internet training to
our tour operators and hiring foreign
internet marketing experts. But that
wont help the industry countrywide.
We need government support to save
SME tour operators, she said.
The Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand have faced the same problem, but
each has found its own way of dealing
with it, she said.
In Thailand, some local tour companies disappeared. Thats why our
government should approach the online tourism market with care, Daw
Sabei Aung said, adding that the Thai
government had acted through the
Tourism Authority of Thailand to protect small operators.
In the Philippines, government policy requires hotels to compensate local
tour operators if they offer online tour
operators a lower rate, she said.
The Philippine government forced
hoteliers to favour local companies
over online agents, she said, while
Vietnam improved tourism services
across the board.
Daw Sabei Aung is afraid that
Myanmar banks and hotels are not
equipped to compete with foreignbased online competition. We are
watching to see how the government
will solve this problem as the online
market grows.
Government reforms since 2011
have opened up the country to tourism just as information has become
increasingly available on the internet.
The issuance of visas-on-arrival since
2014 sped up the trend. In addition
to the best-known tourist sites, travel
within Kayin and Kayah states, formerly off-limits to foreign tourists, is
also becoming more popular. These
developments have increased the
number of single travellers, known in
the trade as free independent travellers (FITs). According to tourism ministry, the number of FITs has rising
twice as fast as the number of package-tour customers since 2013.
U Thaw Tar Nyunt, director of Elegant Myanmar Tours, said, As tourism numbers continue to rise, foreign competition will become more
intense. He added that while foreign
companies once cooperated with Myanmar partners because of currency
exchange difficulties, they have now
started to act more independently in
order to maximise profits.

They are already familiar with the

online market, he said, urging local
companies to work more closely with
each other and with hoteliers so that
online operators could not take advantage of lower rates.
We should strongly promote our
resources to the rest of the world. It
will take some hard work, but the time
to start is now, he said.
Daw Hlaing Hlaing Win, group
general manager of Amazing Hotels
and Resorts, said, Online booking
rates have increased compared to previous years. Would-be tourists surfing
the web can easily find online hotel
guest reviews and book rooms for
themselves.
We still depend on group packages
because the numbers are still higher
than for online bookings. That will
change as the technology takes effect,
she said.
Online purchase of air tickets has
also increased by about 30 percent,
according to Myanmar Airways International. Tourists and business travellers make the most online bookings,
said MAIs assistant general manager
Daw Aye Mra Tha.
Foreigners can take advantage of
good internet connections to make the
cheapest bookings online, she said.
Online marketing will eventually benefit local people too, she added, saying
local tour companies should make use
of online marketing to promote their
products and keep up-to-date.

As tourism numbers
continue to rise,
foreign competition
will become more
intense.
U Thaw Tar Nyunt
Elegant Myanmar Tours

The chair of the Myanmar Marketing Committee, U Phyo Wai Yar Zar,
said tourists can make online bookings
for hotel rooms and air tickets more
cheaply than some companies.
Agents will have to work harder to
sell their services to the public, he said,
adding that the advantage of local tour
companies was their knowledge of the
country and their ability to adapt swiftly to changing customer trends.
We have good services. We
shouldnt be afraid of competition,
he said, urging local operators to copy
techniques from foreign competitors.
Business is like war in that respect.
Most Myanmar hotels use www.
agoda.com, www.hotels.com and www.
booking.com, which are available
worldwide in 40 different languages.
Agoda.com has already opened an
office in downtown Yangon, and Expedia.com is working with a small local
tour company to draw up contracts
with guesthouses, motels and hotels
around the county, said Daw Sabei
Aung. Until we can improve our services like Vietnam or get the government to favour local companies like the
Philippines, the government should offer tax incentives to hotels and airlines
to protect our industry, she said.
Online competition can be dangerous and its already begun. The
time to take precautions is now.

The recent opening of areas of the country formerly off-limits to foreigners has helped increase the number of free
independent travellers to Myanmar. Photo: Staff

6 News

THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 26, 2015

Between doormat and rubber stamp:

The hard life of a hluttaw member
HTOO
THANT
thanhtoo.npt@gmail.com

THE cheering crowds have dispersed

and the votes are counted. Youve won
the election. Whats your next stop?
Its Heartbreak Hotel, if the complaints of existing hluttaw members
are anything to go by. MPs in opposition, or who represent remote constituencies, may be big-shots at home
or not. But in Nay Pyi Taw, some say,
their status is somewhere between
doormat and rubber stamp, though
they also have a decorative function to
impress foreign donors.
It starts with living arrangements.
Members of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party can stay at
a guesthouse owned by the USDP. But
opposition MPs put up at the Sebin
guesthouse. House rule No 1: No political discussions allowed.
The guesthouse is owned by
the Nay Pyi Taw City Development
Committee, making it a governmentowned facility. That seemed to make
no difference until the end of last year,
about the time momentum started to
gather in favour of the six-party talks
on the constitution.
Pyithu Hluttaw representative U
Myint Oo, a National League for Democracy MP for Bago Regions Than-

atpin township, told The Myanmar

Times in a recent interview, Since
then, members of political parties are
not allowed to put up at the Sebin
guesthouse. Political discussions and
capacity-building training are also not
allowed there.
He said Nay Pyi Taw CDC circulated a notice declaring that political
party activities were unsuitable in a
state-owned building.
Other state-owned buildings in the
vicinity include the Amyotha Hluttaw
and Pyidaungsu Hluttaw.
Were politicians. Everything we
do is political, said a bemused U Myint Oo. Trying to prohibit MPs from
talking about politics in the nations
capital is improper, he said, accusing Nay Pyi Taw CDC of infringing on
MPs freedom.
There are other restrictions. Amyotha Hluttaw representative U Phone
Myint Aung, independent MP for Yangon Regions South Okkalapa township, said, The Sebin management
demands to see my household member list when my wife visits me. They
want me to prove shes really my wife.
And we have to receive guests at the
guesthouse administrators office so
they can keep an eye on us.
The Amyotha Hluttaw MP for
Thandaung township, Kayin State, U
Saw Taw Pale, said he found the Sebin
convenient, almost a second home.
Im used to being supervised by the
Nay Pyi Taw City Development Committee, he said.

The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw convenes in Nay Pyi Taw on September 18, 2014.
Photo: Aung Htay Hlaing

When the hluttaw resumed in

January, Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann
said he was sorry to hear of the MPs
complaints about their accommodation and wanted to do something
about it.
On April 8, he accepted for debate
an urgent proposal put forward by
Amyotha Hluttaw representative U
Man Aung Tin Myint for Kayins Kya-In

Seikkyi township for the construction

of dedicated housing for MPs. Members living there would be free of the
restrictions imposed by the Sebin, and
the rental income would eventually pay
for the construction cost.
However, Union Minister for
Finance U Win Shein and Union
Minister for National Planning and
Economic Development U Kan Zaw

objected. U Win Shein said the government bore no responsibility for the
accommodation of MPs, which was
a matter for their party. U Kan Zaw
said the proposal would have to be
first endorsed by a ministry, then approved by the Planning Commission
and Financial Commission before the
government could act.
But Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann
overrode the objections, saying the
hluttaw housing project had already
been approved for the 2013-2014 financial year, but was postponed on
cost grounds. He undertook to act on
the matter.
U Kan Zaw then said he would include the item in the supplementary
budget for 2015-2016, but the status
of this offer is unclear. U Win Oo, a
member of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw
Planning and Financial Development
Committee, said on May 15, The government hasnt made any response
yet, but Thura U Shwe Mann would
see that it was done during his tenure.
Independent MP U Phone Myint
Aung said the government seemed to
be maintaining the tradition of considering that members of parliament
were just for show.
As far as the international community is concerned, Myanmar has
a hluttaw, he said. That means we
must be a democratic country and
they can send us aid. But MPs are just
a rubber stamp.
Translation by Emoon, Thiri Min
Htun and Khant Linn Oo

News 7

www.mmtimes.com

Views

No firm ballast
for democracy
in Myanmar
KO KO THETT
newsroom@mmtimes.com
PASSENGERS on the Yangon-Mandalay express train are familiar with the
sight of human waste along the railway tracks in Yangons suburbs as well
as near the major stops all the way to
Mandalay.
The narrow-gauge tracks were laid
by the British in 1889 after the conquest of Mandalay; the human waste
has been added by the people trapped
in the 21st-century slums along the
railway.
This poverty is a testament to the
failure of democratic nation-building
that has its origins in the decolonisation of Burma in the 1950s.
Growing up in Myanmar in the
1980s, I often travelled by train with
my parents. Now when I return to the
country, I notice that little appears to
have changed as far as railway transport is concerned: I see the same old
tattered cars featuring ceiling fans and
windows that can be opened and shut
at will, the same old hard seats for
second-class passengers, the same old
wobbly ride, rocking you like a baby in
a madmans cradle.
Hawkers still rush up and down
the aisles selling steamed sweet corn,
boiled peanuts, betel quid, cigarettes,
cheroots or tea. The army men in their
shabby uniforms follow the colonialera tracks to their new posts. Some of
them, if theyre sent to the frontlines,
might never see home again.
The only difference these days is
that most passengers even some of
the army men flaunt their mobile
phones.
Recent changes in Myanmar have
been drastic and discernable, as commentators like Nicholas Farrelly and
the presidents advisors in Nay Pyi
Taw are fond of reminding us. But
what about the value changes caused
by the sudden invasion of the global
market into Myanmar life? The convergence of strategic and economic
interests between the global elite and
the Myanmar elite has turned the
country into a neo-liberal arcadia,

where people are increasingly under

the spell of false needs created by
market forces.
Even in the global market, Myanmar people are being short-changed.
What Myanmar as a country, or Myanmar as a people, are having to give
up is not proportionate to what they
are getting back. Like in Cambodia or
Ghana, the mobile phone penetration
in Myanmar may soon exceed 100
percent.
But has the quality of life in terms
of clearer air or cleaner drinking water improved for much of the population? In a recent media debate on
drinking water in Myanmar, most
participants extolled the virtues of purified bottled water. Yet none of them
mentioned the environmental cost of
bottled water or the fact that drinkable tap water should be provided by
the government, and not by privatising water delivery as it is reportedly
planned for Yangon.
Meanwhile, public education in
Myanmar is critically endangered.
This issue lies at the heart of the recent student protests for education
reform. Even in the quasi-socialist era,
parents could count on free education
for their childrens social mobility as
demonstrated by the inspiring story of
Myanmar blogger Navana. He writes
that during his days in Samatekhone
village near Myingyan, children like
himself who could not afford shoes or
rubber flip-flops could go to school in
wooden flip-flops. These days children

Should the
Myanmar people
thank the state
for disentangling
the mess that the
government caused
in the first place?

Myanmars rickety democracy train is wobbling toward an uncertain future. Photo: Kaung Htet

in his village cannot afford any footwear at all.

The school dropout rate is no less
alarming. Students who now study
at elite Myanmar institutions are the
lucky few whose parents have been
able to pay for their childrens education. An interesting question should
be, What kind of students from
what kind of social backgrounds get
to land coveted places at Myanmar
universities?
Public health is also in decline, or
is outsourced to the non-governmental non-profit sector. In a recent trip
to central Myanmar, I was faced with
a beggar boy who approached me
with the medical report of his father,
whom he claimed was at a nearby
hospital. He nearly dragged me to
the hospital to prove he wasnt lying.
This kind of begging is new in this
country. For the victims of land-grabs
or the victims of the tailing of the
jade mine deposits in Kachin State,

the changes in Myanmar are utterly

meaningless.
I am often asked what I think of the
upcoming Myanmar election. Just like
its poorly maintained railway tracks,
the Myanmar government has not
laid sufficient ballast for the democracy train to move along quickly and
smoothly. For the countrys impoverished millions, including the people
living in slums along the YangonMandalay railroad or the people staying in refugee camps, it doesnt matter
who is going to be the next president.
The poor, many of whom do not have
addresses or national identity cards,
will remain as disenfranchised as they
were during the elections in the 1950s.
Perhaps there is less fighting in
the country today. Yet one should
note the temporary ceasefire accord was achieved because there
had been wars to begin with. Should
the Myanmar people thank the state
for disentangling the mess that the

government caused in the first place?

In Myanmar, the grassroots are very,
very angry with the authorities.
Traditionally, the five foes for Myanmar are water (drought or floods),
fire, wind (cyclones), thieves or anyone
you dont like, and the government or
state. The five foes have perversely tormented Myanmar society for at least
as long as historical records have been
kept.
As long as the question of redistributive justice is not effectively and
seriously addressed and, given the
direction Myanmar is heading, it is
unlikely that its unequal wealth distribution will be corrected anytime soon
much of the Myanmar population
will continue to regard any powersthat-be or the state as one of their traditional enemies.
Ko Ko Thett is the author of The Burden
of Being Burmese (2015).

8 THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 26, 2015

Business
Myanmar considers
LNG to meet growing
energy demand
AUNG
SHIN
koshumgtha@gmail.com

ENERGY demand in Myanmar is

rising fast. The country is abundantly rich in natural energy resources, but the investment of
capital and technology will not be
able to unlock these resources in
time to fulfill the growing need for
power.
In the meantime, the Ministry
of Energy is considering its options for imported fuel to supply
the domestic market.
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is
one option, according to Daw Wah
Wah Thaung, an executive engineer at state owned Myanma Oil
and Gas Enterprise (MOGE).
LNG imports could provide
a possible short-term solution
to Myanmars energy shortage
problems.
The development of other nearterm solutions such as hydro and
coal fired power plants are limited
by the negative impact they could
have on communities, with gas
generation seen as causing less
damage then coal and take up a
smaller footprint than hydro. Renewable energy, in the form of solar and wind projects, is still in the
very early stages.

There are some

other discussions
with foreign
companies about
importing LNG,
but none of
them have been
confirmed so far.
U Yan Lin
Yangon Electricity Corporation

Companies from China, Korea,

Japan, Norway, Singapore and
Thailand have already proposed
investment into LNG development
projects in Myanmar, and feasibility studies have been completed, according to an official from MOGE.
China National Petroleum Corporation has proposed developing
a terminal in Kyaukphyu to receive
imported LNG and to transmit it
through the pipeline, said the official, who requested anonymity.
The Myanmar-China natural gas
pipeline, which begins at Kyaukphyu in Rakhine State, began full
operations in late 2013. It is designed to transmit 12 billion cubic
meters of natural gas per year from
the Shwe natural gas field, although
currently only around 400 million
cubic feet per day (MMCFD) is exported to China.
Beijing is holding discussions
with the Myanmar authorities on

using the pipelines full capacity,

which will help to reduce shipping
costs and enhance energy security,
according to the National Bureau
of Asian Research in Washington.
Myanmar may consider building a similar LNG facility at Kanbauk within seven years or potentially share the facility with CNPC
in Kyaukphyu. This would mean
that we have a greater gas supply
for domestic use, said Ken Tun,
Chief Executive Officer of Parami
Energy.
The sale point from the Zawtika offshore gas field to MOGE
is located at the Kanbauk area of
Tanintharyi Region in southern
Myanmar.
While Myanmar does not yet
use LNG, the Ministry of Electric
Power invited private companies
to import it, through a tender in
July 2013. Its intention was to procure more gas for developing new
gas-fired power plants.
Currently state-owned and privately run gas-fired plants are operating with limited natural gas, as
the Ministry of Energy is only able
to supply around a third of the 500
MMCFD of gas needed.
The Japan Research Institute,
together with the Japan Gasoline
Corporation and Sumitomo Mitsui
Banking Corporation, conducted a
feasibility study last year to develop a Floating Storage & Regasification Unit (FSRU) offshore, around
80 kilometers from Yangon.
The project, if it goes ahead,
will have a regasification capacity
of at least 360 MMCFD, and will
help to power the Thilawa Special Economic Zone. Thilawa will
become Myanmars first SEZ, and
is being built on the outskirts of
Yangon.
According to the study, the initial cost of developing a FSRU is at
least US$500 million, in addition
to $25 million a year in operating
costs.
There are some other discussions with foreign companies
about importing LNG, but none of
them have been confirmed so far,
said U Yan Lin, Chief Engineer of
Yangon Electricity Corporation.
Thailands state energy firm,
PTT Public Company Limited is
also planning to develop LNG
import terminals in Myanmar, according to reports in The Nation
newspaper last year.
PTT has reportedly completed a
feasibility study and is waiting for
final approval from the Myanmar
government to build an LNG terminal near Dawei.
Dawei is in southern Myanmar,
around 190km from the Thai border.
If Myanmar is able to secure
LNG imports, it could go a long
way to meeting the supply gap
over the next few years. The countrys four commercial gas fields are
in long-term export contracts.
The country will need a total capacity of 24,000 megawatts
of electricity by 2030 to provide
electricity nationwide, almost
five times the generation capacity
currently installed, while oil consumption will double to 42,000
barrels over the next decade, according to authorities.

Construction at HAGL Myanmar Centre

seen last month.
Photo: Aungmyin Yezaw

HAGL begins presales

of residential towers
MYAT
NYEIN AYE
myatnyeinaye11092@gmail.com

HAGL Myanmar has begun presales

for its 32-storey residential buildings,
as it nears finishing its first phase of
office space and a hotel.
The HAGL Myanmar Centre on
Kabar Aye Pagoda Road near Inya
Lake and the Sedona Hotel is owned
by Vietnams Hoang Anh Gia Lai. Earlier this year, the entire project was
valued at US$550 million through a
joint venture bid by Singapores Rowsley, though the deal eventually fell
through.
The three buildings to comprise
HAGL Myanmar Centres The Lake
Suites are to be about 32 storeys
tall with 666 individual units and 12
penthouses when building wraps up
in the first quarter of 2017, according
to information on lead agent Slade
Property Services website. The Lakes
Suites is part of the HAGL Myanmar

Centres second phase.

HAGL Myanmar managing director Cao Duy Thinh said the centre is
the first integrated mixed-use development to international standards in
Yangon.

STOREY

32

Size of the three The Lake Suites

buildings, which are to be completed
in 2017

The mission of The Lake Suites

is to put the luxury of everything under one roof and offer contemporary,
premium facilities that complement
every lifestyle, he said.
The units vary in size, with one
bedroom units a total of 68 square me-

tres, two bedroom units are 88 square

metres, and 3 bedroom units are 119
square metres. While company officials
did not reveal pricing to The Myanmar
Times, local media reports units are on
sale for K300 million (US$270,000) to
K600 million each. Ko Htun Htun, an
agent at Phoenix Real Estate, said the
price is in line for current trends in the
condominium market.
The Lake Suites is design to be
earthquake-resistant, following international safety standards, and is
slated to include central waste disposal, water filtration, 24-hour guards
and integrated security surveillance.
Amenities includes a swimming pool,
tennis court, club house, pool for children, playground and BBQ area, the
company said in a press release.
The building is one part of the large
HAGL Myanmar Centre. The centres
first phase is nearing completion, and
includes office space and eventually a
five-star Melia hotel. It will also eventually include a supermarket as well
as local and international restaurants.
Phase 2 of the projects includes
two more office towers and five residential blocks.

BUSINESS EDITOR: Jeremy Mullins | jeremymullins7@gmail.com

Investment approvals
spike in April with oil
and gas increase

Talks near conclusion

for TPP trade deal

BUSINESS 10

BUSINESS 11

Exchange Rates (May 25 close)

Currency
Euro
Malaysia Ringitt
Singapore Dollar
Thai Baht
US Dollar

Buying
K1178
K300
K802
K33
K1089

Selling
K1198
K310
K815
K35
K1091

MANDALAY

Jade market slumps

as buyers stay away
HLAING KYAW SOE
hlaingkyawsoe85@gmail.com
MORE than two years into the slump,
jade prices show no sign of recovery
at Mandalays Maha Aung Myay jade
market. Though some traders say they
have made small profits, many others
are holding back their stock to avoid
selling at a loss.
The two sales highlights of the year
the Chinese New Year and Thingyan have come and gone, unmarked
by any of the usual surges in buying.
Many Chinese traders who are a mainstay of the market have also come and
left, empty-handed.
A trader in polished gemstones, U
Myo Zaw, said that, in the rare event of
a sale, prices were down 25 percent or
more on previous years.
Jade traders cant get the prices they expected, even though the
Chinese buyers came this year. The
price is 25pc down. One of the reasons is that the Chinese market itself is dull, he said.
Some traders will trade their
stones for any price they can get.
Ko Win, who trades in sheet jade,
said even the years great festivals had

failed to shake the torpor. The jade

market has been slack for a long time.
Some traders managed a small profit
as the market was falling. The Chinese
are not paying the prices, he said.
In previous years, jade prices
would bounce back after Thingyan or
the Chinese New Year, but this losing
streak has lasted since the end of 2012,
said Ko Wai Phyo Thu, a jade trader in
the jewellery market.

Some traders will

trade their stones
for any price they
can get.
U Myo Zaw
Gemstone trader

The prices we are being offered

are too low. But thats the price we
have to sell at, if we sell at all, he said.
In the past, explanations for poor
market performance have included

Jade is sold at Maha Aung Myay jade market. Photo: Hlaing Kyaw Soe

a shortage of high-quality stone, a

crackdown on corruption in China and
fighting in the jade-producing areas of
Kachin State. Ko Soe Nyunt Aung, a
trader in unpolished jade, said that the
gems emporium to be hosted in Nay
Pyi Taw might be another reason.
He added that prices in Hpakant

township, Kachin State, were still

high. The low jade market in China
might be a reason. But traders are selling in Hpakant, which could explain
the dull market here. Jade prices in
Hpakant are high, if the quality is
good, he said.
Maha Aung Myay traders, who

can make do by selling the occasional

sheet or bracelet, accept this state of
affairs because they want to sell their
product, said trader Ko Sai. We cant
just wait for better prices. We sell at a
small profit because we have to make
a living, he said.
Translation by Thiri Min Htun

Dollar and gold speculators warned

AYE THIDAR
KYAW
ayethidarkyaw@gmail.com

SPECULATORS are hoarding dollars as the value rises, pushing market rates past the legal exchange rate
maintained by the Central Bank of
Myanmar, according to government
officials.
While the US dollar has appreciated against most international currencies this year, the local situation is
compounded by the small range of investment opportunities in Myanmar.
The property market was one of the
main domestic investment destinations over the past three years, but has
been slow since last year.
The property market is no longer
a playground for speculators, so it is
time for gold and dollars again, said
Ministry of Commerce adviser U
Maung Aung. Weve found some people are collecting dollars like an asset.
The ministry will take action
against people who are hoarding dollars for speculative motives, he added.
The Central Bank last week warned
local banks to ensure they follow the
official exchange rate. It is illegal to
trade the dollar and kyat outside a 0.8
percent band set daily by the Central
Bank, though this year the prevailing
market rates have consistently been
higher than the official rate. Yesterday, the Central Banks rate was 1082
kyats per dollar, though the market
rates were closer to K1120. Unwilling
to trade at the official rate, many exchanges have either continued offering the market rates or stopped selling
dollars.
Market rates have been above the

A prospective buyer checks out

gold bracelets in Yangon. Photo: AFP

official rate for most of 2015.

U Maung Aung said the Ministry of
Commerce, the Central Bank, and law
enforcement agencies from the Ministry of Home Affairs are watching for
price spikes in specific commodities,
intending to take action against those
who purchase large quantities with no
intention of using them productively.
However, U Maung Aung did not detail how this will work in practice.
Local gold prices have also creeped

upward. Internationally, spot gold

sold for $1205 a troy ounce yesterday,
and has held steady for most of May.
Locally, prices have slowly climbed
this month, trading yesterday at
K710,000 a tical (equal to 0.576 ounces
or 0.527 troy ounces), compared with
K660,000 a tical in late April.
Central Bank officials have said
they are responsible for the stability of
commodity prices.
We are watching and calculating

the market price to see if changes are

normal or not, he said.
Price growth particularly in gold
and dollars has been larger than international trends would suggest, though
authorities have not yet directly intervened to manipulate prices, the official said.
If the situation continues to excess, we have some plans to intervene
in the market, he said.
Many local markets are open to

manipulation. Some investors take a

position in a currency or commodity,
then spread rumours to their favour
before selling, he said.
Prices dont shake too much with
first time sales, but they will if large
positions are taken. Much of the money currently entering dollars and gold
may later flow to other areas like property, so we dont think current levels
are permanent. Though if not, we will
intervene, he said.

10 Business

THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 26, 2015

Approved investment
spikes in April with oil
and gas projects
KO KO
AUNG
pmkokoaung@gmail.com

APPROVED Foreign Direct Investment approvals jumped in April on

the back of significant declared investment in the oil and gas industry, according to statistics.
A total of US$2.2 billion worth of
declared investments were approved
in April, with more than $2 billion of
that from the oil and gas sector. The
government has targeted $6 billion
in FDI for the current fiscal year, after reaching $8 billion in 2014-15 and
about $4 billion for 2013-14.
This fiscal year, FDI will flow in,
more than last year, said Myanmar
Investment Commission secretary U
Aung Naing Oo. We can easily meet
the target.
The FDI figures represents investment that has been approved by the
Myanmar Investment Commission,
rather than actual investment, though
the April. Experts say the figures are
worth considering for long-term
trends, but tend to be lumpy and move
around quickly in the short term.
Approval data is what private companies say theyre going to do. What
they actually end up doing can be different than what say they will do, said
Peter Brimble, Myanmar principal
country specialist at the Asian Development Bank.

HTIN
LINN
AUNG
htynlynnaung@gmail.com

Still, Mr Brimble said approvals do

to an extent reflect investors interest,
and is an important gauge when considered over time.
The latest figures for April indicate
about $2 billion in oil and gas, with
the rest in hotels and tourism, manufacturing, and other sectors.
The oil and gas figures come as a
number of international energy firms
have recently received Myanmar Investment Commission approval to
move ahead with projects, as the winners of last years large offshore tender
have mostly finished signing Production Sharing Contracts in the first few
months of the calendar year.
Officials have been vocal toward

BILLION US$

2.2

Size of approved foreign investment in

April alone, more than one-third of the
years target of $6 billion

inviting foreign investment to enter,

for instance providing tax incentives
to companies registering under the
Foreign Investment Law.
U Aung Naing Oo said officials are
preparing for the effects of increased
foreign investment.
At the same time the investment is
coming in, we need to keep watch on
rules and regulations, he said.
Still, the sell is not always easy.
Foreign companies must contend with
shortages of skilled labour, poor transportation links and, for some, issues of
compliance.
FDI is flowing, but it is still difficult to compete with other countries,
said one businessman. For instance,
there is often not enough electricity to
compete with regional competitors.
Oil and gas has consistently been
attracting some of the largest investments. In the fiscal year ending March
31, oil and gas comprised $3.2 billion
of the $8.1 billion total, followed by
transportation and communications
at $1.7 billion and manufacturing at
$1.5 billion. Myanmar received $54.2
billion in foreign direct investment
from 895 permitted companies from
38 countries from 1988-2015.
China is the top investor in Myanmar, with 74 Chinese enterprises
having invested $14.8 billion during
the period. However, its figures have
recently decline.
The second-overall source of investment from 1988 to 2015 is Thailand, with $10.3 billion, and Singapore
with $10 billion. Additional reporting by Jeremy Mullins

JOHANNESBURG

Africas economies
to overcome ebola,
commodity price drop
AFRICAS overall economy should
advance in 2015, expanding by 4.5
percent, showing resilience despite weak commodity prices and
the devastating Ebola epidemic, an
annual report published Monday
said.
And future growth could be
spurred by the continents population doubling to 2 billion over the
next 35 years, repeating in Africa
the economic boom seen in Asias
biggest countries.
Africas gross domestic product
growth is expected to strengthen
to 4.5pc in 2015 and 5.0pc in 2016
after subdued expansion in 2013
[of 3.5pc] and 2014 [3.9pc], said
the report, co-authored by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the
African Development Bank and
the UN Development Programme
(UNDP).
The continent has so far been
relatively resilient to the sharp fall
in international commodity prices,
said the report, such as crude prices
which dropped more than 50pc between June and January.
And if the commodity prices remain low, the report warned that
the economies of resource-rich
countries, such as leading oil exporters Nigeria and Angola, may slow
down as their governments will inevitably have to trim spending.
The latest forecast is a downward revision from projections
made in 2014 which suggested
Africas economy was going to expand by 5.7pc this year.
At the same time, economists
noted that Africas increasing

population could boost growth in

much the same way that population booms fuelled development in
China and India.
This phenomenon may be
helpful as was the case with India and China because the demographic dividends usually help
growth, said OECD Development
Centre director Mario Pezzini.
But, if Africa fails to absorb the
enormous youth bulge in the labour market, then you may have
very strong tensions, he added.
An estimated 23 million youths
are expected to enter the African
labour market this year alone, according to the report.
Of those, four million will be
in North Africa, the region that
dragged down the continents
growth rates last year, as a result of
fall-out from the 2011 Arab Spring
popular uprisings.
That region grew by just 1.7pc
last year.
Southern Africa slowed to below 3.0pc in 2014 due to labour
unrest in South Africa, the continents most advanced economy
which grew by just 1.5pc.
In part the lower rates of
growth in Africa were related to
the social crises in South Africa
and we are expecting that [they]
are reducing now and as such
South Africa will have a rate of
growth thats better than in the
past, said Mr Pezzini.
Despite being ravaged by deadly Ebola virus, the West African region fared relatively well, posting
an average 6.0pc growth last year.
AFP

BANGKOK

Funds arent buying Thai juntas year of happiness

THAILANDS army chief pledged to
return happiness to the country after
seizing power a year ago. Foreign investors arent buying it.
Global money managers have sold
a net US$784 million of Thai equities
since Prayuth Chan-o-cha took over in
a May 22 coup, the only net outflows
from eight Asian stock markets tracked
by Bloomberg. While the benchmark
SET Index has risen 8.8 percent in the
period through May 21, Morgan Stanley
predicts gains wont last as the outlook
for the economy and corporate earnings worsens, while UBS Group has cut
its position in the nations stocks to underweight from neutral.
The government is struggling to
revive an economy that grew at its
slowest pace in three years in 2014 as
government spending on infrastructure and a rebound in tourism fail to
counter a slump in exports and domestic demand. Mr Prayuth grabbed power
after more than six months of street
protests against former prime minister
Yingluck Shinawatra.
The military government has provided some relief, but high-frequency
data suggest that the recovery remains
very weak at best, said Adrian Zuercher, the Hong Kong-based head of Asia
asset allocation at UBS. International
investors have started to withdraw
money and wait for more clarification
on the key issues, including fiscal policies and rising household debt, he said.
The gauge has advanced 1.9pc this
year through May 21, lagging behind
the 8.3pc gain by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. The Thai index
trades at 20.3 times reported earnings, approaching its highest level in
five years, while the MSCI gauge has a

Latex seeps from a tree as a rubber farmer taps it at his plantation in Songklha province, Thailand. Photo: Bloomberg

multiple of 14.8.
Thailand is the least-preferred equity market in Southeast Asia given
lofty valuations and ongoing political
uncertainty, Morgan Stanley wrote in a
report this week, predicting a possible
10pc decline in the MSCI Thailand Index in dollar terms. The baht is Asias
worst-performing major currency this
quarter with a 2.9pc drop versus the
dollar.

Mr Prayuth has said hell return the

country to democracy next year if there
is no dissent and a new constitution is
put in place.
Gross domestic product barely
grew last quarter from the previous
three months, and the statistics agency
lowered its forecasts for GDP expansion and exports even after the central
bank cut the interest rate for a second
straight meeting last month. Consumer

confidence fell in April to its lowest level in almost a year.

Overseas investors have pulled a
net $234 million from Thai stocks this
year, after net withdrawals of $1.09 billion in 2014 and $6.21 billion in 2013,
according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Foreign holdings of Thai equities
have dropped to 31pc of total market
value from 34pc at the end of 2014, Pakorn Peetathawatchai, the Thai stock

exchanges executive vice president,

said on May 14.
Foreign investors are probably
disappointed with the economic slowdown and the slow progress in implementing some policies, the bourses
president Kesara Manchusree said in
an interview in Bangkok on last week.
Investors will return when they see increased government spending on infrastructure revive growth, she said.
The prime minister said on May 21
he plans to increase spending on investment to one-fifth of total expenditure, a level last seen in the fiscal years
2002 through 2009.
The governments intention to
boost spending sounds impressive
but execution of budgeted investment
plan has historically been poor, BNP
Paribas SA economist Philip McNicholas wrote in a report this week. Long
implementation lags compound the injury to Thailands investment appeal by
simultaneously hampering economic
recovery and undermining investors
perception of policy credibility.
Profits of listed companies fell
11.3pc last year, the first decline since
the 2008 global financial crisis, the
stock exchange said on March 6. About
53pc of companies that reported earnings in the first quarter missed analysts estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
There is little hope for any big
stimulus measures from the Thai government, which has made it very clear
that its no fan of populist policies,
said Kasem Prunratanamala, head of
research at CIMB Securities (Thailand)
Co. Without state support, the outlook
for the economy and corporates will remain dim. Bloomberg

International Business 11

www.mmtimes.com
TOKYO

MANILA

Japan
trade falls
back to
deficit
JAPAN swung back to a trade deficit in
April after the first surplus in almost
three years in March, but the shortfall
shrank drastically year-on-year thanks
to stronger exports and lower energy
bills, official data showed yesterday.
The monthly deficit came in at 53.4
billion yen (US$440 million), about
one-15th of the 825.5 billion yen posted
a year earlier, finance ministry data
showed.
Exports rose 8.0 percent year-onyear chiefly on robust shipments of
cars, electronics components and machinery as the yen was 17pc cheaper
against the dollar than last year.
Imports dropped 4.2pc as the cost
of oil and gas fell.
By region, US-bound shipments
soared 21.4pc, far outpacing a 2.4pc increase in exports to China and a 0.8pc
rise in exports to the European Union.
Japans economy will be more
robust this year, led by domestic
consumption and external demand,
said Yoshitaka Suda, an economist at
Nomura Holdings.

BILLION YEN

53.4

Size of Japans trade deficit in April

much less than a year earlier, but still a
reversal of a surplus in March

We think that the US economy

will continue to recover moderately,
helping to boost Japans exports, he
told Bloomberg News.
The April data came after a stronger-than-expected economic growth report last week.
Data from the Cabinet Office
showed Japans economy grew a
faster-than-expected 0.6pc quarteron-quarter in the first three months
of 2015 as it crawls back from a brief
recession.
The Bank of Japan on May 22
held off launching more stimulus and
governor Haruhiko Koroda said the
worlds number-three economy was on
the upswing after taking a hit from a
sales tax hike in April last year.
Since taking office in late 2012, Japans prime minister has embarked on
a high-profile policy blitz including
big government spending and huge
central bank monetary easing in a
bid to end years of deflation and lacklustre growth.
The April deficit was much smaller
than market expectations for a deficit
of more than 300 billion yen although
it reversed Marchs 227.4 billion yen in
surplus, which was the first black-ink
since June 2012.
Capital Economics expects Japans
balance to remain in the red in the
near term.
If the exchange rate starts to
weaken again in the second half of the
year as we expect, crude oil imports
will become more expensive again,
soon, said Marcel Thieliant, Japan
economist at Capital Economics.
Overall, therefore, the trade balance will likely remain in the red in
coming months, he said in a note.
Economists at SMBC Nikko Securities said, The trade balance will be
likely to move around the break-even
point for a while due to stalling export growth, a pick-up in imports, and
an upturn in oil prices. AFP

End game for TPP trade talks

NEGOTIATIONS to form the TransPacific Partnership (TPP) free trade
zone are in the end game, US Trade
Representative Mike Froman said on
May 23.
Our negotiators are working
even as we speak, working through
issues. We hope to conclude it
soon. We are very much in the
end-game, he told reporters.
Asked about a timetable, Mr
Froman said, We agreed to conclude [the TPP talks] the moment
that we have an agreement on an
ambitious, comprehensive and
high-standard agreement.
The focus will now shift to the
US House of Representatives when
they come back from recess and
we look forward to working with
them to get it passed as soon as
possible, he said at a meeting of
trade ministers of the 21-member
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in the Philippine resort
island of Boracay.
He conceded that alleged currency manipulation by trade partners was one the divisive issues
expected to be discussed in the
House.
The United States was seeking
to address this issue through the
G7, the G20 and the International
Monetary Fund.

Demonstrators protest against legislation to give US President Barack Obama

fast-track authority to advance trade deals. Photo: AFP

The US Senate overcame bitter

divisions on May 22 to pass legislation that gives President Barack
Obama authority to swiftly forge
international trade pacts, speeding the completion of the TPP
which will cover the US and 11
other Asia-Pacific countries.
However the measure faces opposition in the House of Representatives from Mr Obamas own

Democratic party.
The TPP will include some
APEC economies like Japan, Canada, Australia and Mexico but exclude others like China.
Mr Froman said the TPP was
not contradictory to other efforts
to create a wider free-trade area in
the Asia-Pacific, which is APECs
stated goal.
We see TPP as one of the

building blocks along with several others that can contribute to

a free-trade area in the Asia-Pacific, Mr Froman said.
Some Chinese analysts and
state media have framed the TPP
as an attempt to check Beijings
growing economic clout, though
Washington has denied this claim.
APEC trade officials said on
May 24 that they were adopting
an agenda to ensure that small
and medium-sized businesses
benefit from the integration of
their economies.
We recognise that micro, small
and medium enterprises are an
important force in economic activity, growth, job creation, community resilience and innovation,
said Philippine Trade Secretary
Gregory Domingo at the close of
the two-day meeting.
Mr Domingo, who chaired the
meeting, said the grouping would
ensure that global markets would
become more accessible to small
businesses.
This would be done through
streamlining business regulations,
cutting trade barriers and red tape,
and helping these enterprises get
more involved in e-commerce to
ease transactions.
AFP

12 THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 26, 2015

13

World

WORLD EDITOR: Fiona MacGregor

Australia to bring
home Vietnam war
dead

Catholic Church in
Ireland rocked by
gay marriage vote

WORLD 14

WORLD 14

WASHINGTON

JERUSALEM

UK prepares to launch EU-split bill

THE British governments new legislative program, including a referendum bill on leaving the EU, will
be announced by Queen Elizabeth II
tomorrow as parliament gets down to
business after the Conservatives election win.
The mood of Westminsters grandest day is expected to be positive as the
queen comes to parliament in full ceremonial regalia and Prime Minister
David Camerons party basks in this
months surprise outright win over Labour, who are now hunting for a new
leader.
But the to-do list for his centreright government also includes controversial issues such as powers for
Scotland and plans to scrap European
human rights laws, which could signal
trouble ahead as he bids to pass laws
with a slim majority.
Mr Cameron, whose policies critics
say often favour the wealthy, said this
was a one nation government whose
first Queens Speech would help Britons in every city, every community
and every home.
The bill paving the way for a referendum on whether Britain should
remain a member of the European
Union, due to be held by the end of
2017, will be published the day after
the speech.
Mr Cameron has signalled a referendum could be held as soon as 2016,
and is embarking on a whistlestop
tour of European capitals this week
for talks on the reforms he is seeking
on issues like immigration before the
vote.
Most European Union citizens who
are resident in Britain will not be able
to vote in a referendum on its membership of the bloc, the government
said yesterday.
In a statement, Mr Camerons office said that the referendum would
be based on the general election franchise, meaning that citizens of most
EU countries who are resident in Britain would not be able to vote.
As is normal in British general

elections, British people aged over 18

and United Kingdom residents who
are from Ireland or the Commonwealth the 53-member organisation
mostly made up of countries formerly
part of the British Empire will be
able to vote.
This includes residents from the
EU nations Malta and Cyprus.
This is a big decision for our country, one that is about the future of the
United Kingdom, a source in Mr Camerons office said.
Thats why we think its important
that it is British, Irish and Commonwealth citizens that are the ones who
get to decide.

This is a big
decision for our
country, one that
is about the future
of the United
Kingdom.
Government official

Commonwealth citizens in Gibraltar and British nationals who have

lived abroad for fewer than 15 years
would also be able to vote.
Mr Cameron has vowed to secure
reforms on issues like immigration,
welfare eligibility and power to refuse further integration, before asking
the electorate whether or not Britain
should remain a member possibly as
soon as 2016.
The Conservative leader has
pushed ahead quickly to hold a referendum after winning a second term in
office this month.
The Queens Speech will also feature new legislation handing new
powers to Scotland after it voted
against independence in a referendum

last year.
Nicola Sturgeons pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP),
which became the third-largest group
in the Commons following the election, wants the government to go
further.
The SNP, which increased its number of MPs ninefold at the election,
says Scotland should get more powers
over taxation to bring it in line with
regions like Quebec in Canada.
Mr Camerons government could
also face a rebellion from both opposition parties and within its own ranks
over its plans to scrap European human rights laws.
This weeks Sunday Telegraph
quoted an unnamed member of the
government as saying he could resign over the issue, and former justice
minister Damian Green warning withdrawal would damage our countrys
reputation.
In the Queens Speech, the 89-yearold monarch sits in the House of Lords
with a crown on her head to give an
address written for her by what she
calls my government outlining the
laws it plans to pass.
Before she starts speaking, Black
Rod, a parliamentary official, walks
from the House of Lords to the House
of Commons to summon MPs to hear
her address.
The doors of the Commons are
slammed in his face, symbolising its
independence from the monarchy in a
tradition dating back to the 17th century. MPs then follow Black Rod back
to the Lords and the speech begins.
Afterward, parliament debates its
contents for five or six days before voting on it.
This is effectively a confidence vote
in the government -- one it should win
given that the Conservatives have a
Commons majority, albeit a small one.
The partys majority is effectively
around 15 seats, but the precise size
has yet to be defined pending the
election of deputy speakers, who do
not vote. AFP

SYDNEY

Australia agrees not to deport

autistic Filipino child after protests
AN autistic Filipino boy whose fight
against deportation from Australia
prompted tens of thousands to petition the government on his behalf
will be allowed to stay, Immigration
Minister Peter Dutton said yesterday.
Tyrone Sevilla arrived in Australia as a two-year-old with his mother
Maria Sevilla, a nurse.
But after eight years in the country, the pair were denied continuing visas due to the probable cost of
providing for Tyrones care, with Ms
Sevilla saying they had been labelled
a burden to taxpayers.
Mr Dutton said he had overturned the decision.
I looked at the case and I have
determined we will provide these
people with a permanent arrangement and permanent outcome in
Australia and I think thats good for
them, he said.
Im very pleased we can provide
the assistance to a young boy who is
in need of medical and educational
support and as a generous country
thats what we do.

The case made headlines after

one of Tyrones young friends raised
a question about the case on a live
national television program.
If he can get along with us and
we can get along with him, why does
he have to leave? the child, who
went to after school care with Tyrone, asked.
More than 120,000 people subsequently signed a petition addressed
to Mr Dutton to keep Tyrone and
his mother, a registered nurse at

If he can get along

with us and we can
get along with him,
why does he have to
leave?
Young friend of Tyrone Sevilla

Townsville Hospital, in Australia.

The Queensland Nurses Union,
which helped campaign on their
behalf, said the pair were yet to be
officially notified of the decision but
were thrilled with the news.
A formal and final sign-off from
Mr Duttons office in coming weeks
will bring to an end many months of
uncertainty and stress, union secretary Beth Mohle said.
We all appreciate the ministers
compassion on this issue and look
forward to celebrating the final approval of Maria and Tyrones permanent visas.
Australia takes a hard line against
asylum-seekers arriving by boat, refusing them resettlement in the country
even if found to be refugees and sending them instead to Pacific states.
Australia generally requires applicants seeking a visa to meet
certain health criteria designed to
protect the communitys standard
of public health and safety, health
expenditure, and access to services.
AFP

Israel jails former PM

IN PICTURES

Photo: AFP

A Nepalese woman with

her face painted with the
national flag stands for two
minutes of silence around
the collapsed Dharahara
Tower in Kathmandu on
May 25 as the country
marked one month since a
deadly earthquake struck
the country. The April 25
disaster was followed by
another massive quake
on May 12, which sent
shockwaves through the
Himalayan nation. The twin
tremors killed over 8600
people and left thousands
desperate for food, shelter
and clean water.

BAGHDAD

Iraqi forces lack the will to challenge IS

THE US has accused Iraqi forces
of lacking the will to fight the Islamic State group, which scored a
resounding victory a week ago with
the capture of Ramadi.
The jihadists had appeared
on the back foot in Iraq in recent
months but twin offensives on
Ramadi and on the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra have swung the
momentum.
On May 24, a monitoring group
reported at least 217 people were
executed in and around Palmyra in
the last nine days.
The loss of Ramadi, capital of
Iraqs largest province of Anbar,
raised questions over the strategy

adopted not only by Baghdad but

also by Washington to tackle IS.
Pentagon chief Ashton Carter
told CNN that Baghdads worst military defeat in almost a year could
have been avoided.
What apparently happened
was the Iraqi forces showed no will
to fight. They were not outnumbered, and they vastly outnumbered the opposing force, and they
failed to fight and withdrew from
the site, he said on May 24.
That says to me, and I think to
most of us, that we have an issue
with the will of the Iraqis to fight
ISIL and defend themselves, he
said, using an alternative name for

Iraqi army tanks get into position on the outskirts of Baiji refinery north of
Tikrit, on May 24. Photo: AFP

the group.
The US-led coalition air war that
began two months after IS seized
swathes of Iraq in June 2014 has led
to more than 3000 strikes.
Air strikes are effective but neither they, or really anything we do,
can substitute for the Iraqi forces
will to fight, Mr Carter said.
In a fierce rebuttal, Iraqs Prime
Minister Haider al-Abadi told the
BBC Mr Carter was fed with the
wrong information and that Ramadi would be recaptured within
days.
Several units of Iraqi security
forces, including elite troops, defied their chain of command and
retreated from Ramadi when IS
advanced.
The Anbar police chief has already been replaced and Mr Abadi
has promised an investigation.
Analysts usually argue that while
air strikes cannot ensure territory
will be regained, they have at least
prevented IS from spreading even
further to key cities such as Baghdad or the Kurdish capital Arbil.
The coalition said it conducted
another 17 strikes over a 24-hour
period straddling May 23 and 24,
including seven in Anbar.
The fall of Ramadi, which lies
about 100 kilometres (60 miles)
west of Baghdad, was reminiscent
of Mosul a year ago, when jihadists
took Iraqs second city almost without a fight.
Its capture together with the IS
takeover of Palmyra in eastern Syria
has consolidated the jihadists grip

on the heart of their self-proclaimed

caliphate.
IS jihadists in different parts of
Syrias Homs province have executed 67 civilians and 150 members of
regime forces since May 16, according to the Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights.
Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said whole families
had been executed, including children with their parents, after Syrian
state media said IS had carried out
a massacre in Palmyra, slaughtering some 400 civilians.
On May 24, IS forces crossed
from Syria with two suicide car
bombs to attack the Iraqi side of the
southern border crossing.
Iraqi border guards promptly
retreated to a nearby crossing
with Jordan, arguing they had
repeatedly called for reinforcements, in vain.
We were ready to withdraw. We
had decided that we would stay if
any reinforcements reached us and
that we would withdraw at the first
attack we are exposed to if we received no reinforcements, said one
of them, Marwan al-Hadithi.
After security forces retreated
from Ramadi, Mr Abadi called in
the Hashed al-Shaabi, an umbrella
for Iran-backed Shiite militia and
volunteers which he and Washington had wanted to keep out of the
Sunni province of Anbar.
Several politicians within his
own camp have accused Mr Abadi
of causing Ramadis fall by failing to
send the paramilitary force earlier.

On May 23, Iraqi forces retook

Husaybah, a rural town in the Euphrates Valley 7km east of Ramadi.
A fully-fledged counterattack to
retake the provincial capital did not
appear to be under way however.
Swift action was seen as essential to prevent IS from laying booby
traps across Ramadi, which would
make any advance in the city more
risky and complicated.
Iraqi forces were also battling IS
on other fronts, including at the Baiji oil refinery, about 200 km north
of Baghdad.
Officials in Haditha, the last
major Anbar city in government
control, said IS executed 16 traders bringing back food goods from
Baiji.
Their bodies were found on the
road side by residents. A Haditha
tribal leader said a paper was found
on one of them in which IS claimed
the executions were to avenge the
men they lost in recent fighting
near Haditha.
In Diyala province, which
the government claimed to have
cleared of IS fighters in January,
eight bombs went off almost simultaneously early on May 24, security
sources said.
Intelligence had been received of
a possible wave of bomb attacks and
only 14 people were wounded in the
blasts in the towns of Baquba and
Baladruz, a senior official said.
A top official said he feared more
attacks and said Baquba was sealed
off as a precaution.
AFP

A JERUSALEM court sentenced former prime minister Ehud Olmert to

eight months in prison on yesterday,
after convicting him of corruption in a
March retrial, Israeli media reported.
Lawyers for Mr Olmert, who served
as premier from 2006 to 2009, immediately announced they would appeal.
The 69-year-old already faces a sixyear prison sentence handed down in
a separate bribery case which is currently the subject of an appeal to the
supreme court.
Mr Olmert has always insisted on
his innocence, describing the allegations against him as a brutal, ruthless
witch-hunt.
It has been a humiliating fall from
grace for the debonair man who took
over as prime minister after his mentor and predecessor Ariel Sharon
lapsed into a coma from which he
never recovered.
Mr Olmert had initially been acquitted of fraud and corruption in
the case, escaping in 2012 with a
US$19,000 fine and a suspended jail
sentence for breach of trust.
But new evidence came to light
during his trial in the other corruption
case, and prosecutors again pressed
the charges.
In return for a reduction in sentence, his former secretary and confidante Shula Zaken brought to the
court secret recordings of conversations she had with Mr Olmert.
Mr Olmert is heard talking about
the tens of thousands of dollars that
he received from businessman Morris Talansky while trade and industry
minister in the early 2000s.
The six-year prison sentence handed down against Mr Olmert in May

last year was the first ever against a

former Israeli premier for corruption.
After a two-year trial, he was convicted of taking bribes to the tune of
560,000 shekels (US$140,000 at current values) while mayor of Jerusalem
between 1993 and 2003 from the developers of the citys massive Holyland
residential complex.
The towering construction project,
which dominates the citys skyline, is
seen as a major blot on the landscape
and widely reviled as a symbol of highlevel corruption.
Mr Olmert resigned as premier
in September 2008 after police recommended that he be indicted for
graft, but he remained in office until
March 2009, when the current prime
minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was
sworn in. AFP

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud

Olmert looks on during his trial on
May 25 at Jerusalems District Court.
Photo: AFP

HYDERABAD

Heatwave claims over

500 lives in India
MORE than 500 people have died in
two Indian states from a days-long
heatwave that has seen temperatures nudging 50 degrees Celsius (122
degrees Fahrenheit), officials said
yesterday.
Officials warned the toll was almost certain to rise, with figures still
being collected in some parts of the
hard-hit Telangana state in the south
of the country, and with no end in
sight to the searing conditions.
Large parts of India, including national capital New Delhi, have endured
days of sweltering heat, prompting
fears of power cuts. But the highest
temperatures have been recorded in
Telangana and neighbouring Andhra
Pradesh state.
Andhra Pradesh authorities are
urging labourers and others not to
work long hours in the heat of the day
after 246 people died from the high
temperatures there in the past week.
The majority of the victims are
people who have been exposed to
the sun directly, usually aged 50 and
above and from the working classes,
P Tulsi Rani, special commissioner of
Andhra Pradeshs disaster management department, said.
Mr Rani said although the deaths
started occurring on May 18, the number of cases snowballed toward the
end of the week after days of scorching heat.
We are asking them to take precautions like using an umbrella, using

a cap, taking a huge quantity of liquids

like water and buttermilk, and wearing cotton clothing, he said.
Another 188 people have died in
Telangana, mostly since the middle
of last week, although numbers were
still being confirmed and were highly
likely to rise, D Vani, an official with
the states disaster management department, said.
Hundreds of people, mostly from
poorer sections of society, die at the
height of summer every year across
the country, while tens of thousands
suffer power cuts from an overburdened electricity grid.
The kind of heatwave we are seeing now is slightly higher than normal. The temperatures here have almost touched 48-49 degrees Celsius,
said BR Meena, principal secretary of
revenue for Telangana.
Several deaths have also been reported in the northwestern desert
state of Rajasthan in recent days including a woman who collapsed and
died on the roadside in Bundi city, the
Press Trust of India said.
In the eastern city of Kolkata, taxi
unions have urged drivers to stay off
the roads between 11am and 4pm because of the heat. Indias weather bureau warned that heatwave to severe
heatwave conditions would prevail
in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in
coming days as well as in the northern
states and New Delhi.
AFP

14 World

THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 26, 2015

DUBLIN

Gay marriage vote rocks Irish RC Church

THE once-dominant Catholic Church
in Ireland was trying to come to
terms on May 24 with an overwhelming vote in favour of gay marriage,
saying it needed a new language to
connect to people.
As jubilant Yes supporters
nursed their hangovers after partying
late into the night following the May
23 referendum result, the faithful attended mass to hear their priests reflect on the new social landscape in
Ireland.
The Church has to find a new
language which will be understood
and heard by people, Archbishop of
Dublin Diarmuid Martin, a senior
Irish cleric, told reporters after mass
at the citys St Marys Pro-Cathedral
on May 24.
We have to see how is it that the
Churchs teaching on marriage and
family is not being received even
within its own flock.
He added, Theres a growing gap
between Irish young people and the
Church and theres a growing gap
between the culture of Ireland thats
developing and the Church.
The majority of Irish people still
identify themselves as Catholic but
the Churchs influence has waned in
recent years amid growing secularisation and after a wave of clerical child
sex-abuse scandals.
During the campaign, bishops
spoke against changing the law, while
older and rural voters were thought
to have accounted for much of the
No vote.
Final results showed 62 percent
in favour and 38pc against introducing gay marriage in a country
where homosexuals faced criminal
charges until 1993.
As May 25 newspapers marked the
result with colourful pictures of partying Yes supporters, they noted the
heavy blow to Church authority.

We have to see
how is it that the
Churchs teaching
on marriage is not
being received even
within its own flock.
Diarmuid Martin
Archbishop of Dublin

Niall OConnor wrote in the Sunday Independent, The once unshakeable influence of the Catholic
Church over Middle Ireland has been
confronted.
Ireland will become the 19th country in the world to legalise same-sex
marriages once the necessary legislation is approved as expected. The first
weddings could happen within six
months.
Tony Flannery, co-founder of the
Association of Catholic Priests, was
stripped of his ministry in 2012 due to
his outspoken liberal views on contraception and the ordination of female
priests.
The Redemptorist priest, who
voted Yes, said the Church needed to
rethink how it approaches Irelands
youth if it is to reverse its waning position in society.
The last thing the Irish bishops
should be doing is further alienating the young generation who the
Church, to a fair degree, has lost already, he said.
All of Irelands 43 constituencies
except one voted in favour of the
measure and the 60-percent turnout
was far higher than in previous referendums, as thousands of expatriates
returned to cast their ballots.
It was the first time ever that gay
marriage had been approved by popular vote.
The gay marriage landslide has led
some politicians to seek a further referendum on the Irish constitutions
eighth amendment, which bans pregnancy termination.
Abortion is illegal in Ireland except where the mothers life is in
danger.
Deputy Prime Minister Joan Burton told public broadcaster RTE that,
in the junior coalition partys 2016
general election manifesto, We will
be seeking, on behalf of women, to
repeal the eighth amendment.
The Labour leader said Ireland
was now a rainbow nation, and that
means a nation of inclusion and diversity.
The referendum asked voters
whether or not they approved the following statement: Marriage may be
contracted in accordance with law by
two persons without distinction as to
their sex.
Congratulations poured in to Ireland from around the world, including from British Prime Minister David Cameron and US Vice President
Joe Biden.
In Australia, Prime Minister Tony

A supporter holds a sign reading Thank You - Youre All Invited to the Wedding as he celebrates outside Dublin Castle
following the result of the same-sex marriage referendum in Dublin on May 23. Photo: AFP

Abbott said May 24 his country would

not follow Irelands lead and hold a
referendum on gay marriage, adding
that any decisions would be made by
parliament.
Gay marriage was explicitly outlawed in Australia under a 2004 revision of the national Marriage Act.
In Germany, Jens Spahn, a member of the executive committee of
Chancellor Angela Merkels Christian
Democrats, appeared open to change.
One should think, what the
Catholic Irish can do, we can too,
he was quoted by Welt Online as saying, adding, The population is often
more ahead in these matters than we
think.
Some citizens voiced mixed feelings as they went about their business in Dublin on May 25.
Im saddened, because I dont
think it was a good idea. I think there
are much more important things to
be looked after in this country, said
one woman, Bernadette.
Another, Caroline, said, While Im
happy with the result, I dont think
we should be voting necessarily on
something which should be a human
right anyway. AFP

BEIJING

Ireland votes to legalise gay marriage

Same-sex marriage in Europe

Iceland

Marriage and
adoption legal*
Civil union
Civil union
not recognised

Finland
(enters into force
in 2017)
Sweden
Norway

Estonia

Denmark
Neth.
Belgium

UK

Germany
Switzerland
Czech Rep.
Austria
Hungary

Ireland*
Lux.

Slovenia
Croatia

France
Portugal*
Spain

Malta
*Ireland and Portugal ban adoption for gay couples

SYDNEY

Controversial policy sees China Australia to bring home

crack down on 181 terror gangs Vietnam war dead
A NEW Strike hard campaign against
what China calls terrorism in the
largely Muslim region of Xinjiang and
beyond has seen 181 gangs busted, authorities said yesterday, a year after the
controversial measures were launched.
Rights groups have labelled the
crackdown discriminatory, raising further concerns after Beijing announced
in January the measures would be extended until at least the end of 2015.
Authorities launched the campaign
after 39 people were killed last May
in a bloody market attack which was
blamed on separatists in Urumqi, the
capital of the vast, north-western region of Xinjiang.
Scores of people have been sentenced to death as part of the drive,
while hundreds have been jailed or detained on terror-related offences.
As of April 30 this year, 181 violent
terror gangs have been destroyed,

with 96.2 percent being thwarted at

the planning phase, the Xinjiang
governments Tianshan web portal
reported, adding that 112 suspects
surrendered to the police.
Clashes between authorities and
alleged Islamist separatists, as well as
attacks killing civilians, have spread
in recent years, both in Xinjiang,
which is home to just over 10 million
of the mainly Muslim Uighur minority, and outside it.
More than 200 people died last year
in violence either in or traced back to
Xinjiang, according to media reports.
Among the most shocking incidents was a deadly rampage by knifewielding assailants at a train station
at Kunming in Chinas southwest,
when 31 people were killed and four
attackers died.
Three men convicted on terror
charges were executed this March for

their part in the attack.

Authorities have also targeted religious practices, such as the wearing
of veils, which activists say has created an atmosphere of repression and
led to violence.
China defends its policies, arguing
that it has boosted economic development in the area and that it upholds
minority and religious rights in a
country with 56 recognised ethnic
groups.
But Dilxat Raxit, spokesperson
for the Munich-based World Uyghur
Congress, said, So-called equal laws
deprive Uighurs of freedom of expression and rights.
The law upholds Beijings political interests rather than judicial justice, and it is possible for any person
at any time ... to lose their freedom for
being resentful of Chinas policies, he
said in an emailed statement. AFP

SOLDIERS from Australia killed in the

Vietnam War and buried in Malaysia
and Singapore will be brought home
with full military honours if their
families agree, Prime Minister Tony
Abbott said yesterday.
Twenty-four soldiers who died in
the conflict lie in Malaysias Terendak
Cemetery, which sits inside a large, operational military base, and one other
in Kranji War Cemetery in Singapore.
We can never restore those who
have died in the service of our country
but we can and we should offer solace
and support to the families left behind, Mr Abbott told parliament.
Australian soldiers killed in World
Wars I and II and the Korean War
were buried near to where they fell
but around the time of the Vietnam
engagement this policy changed and
bodies were brought home.
Almost 60,000 Australian military
personnel fought alongside the United

States in Vietnam, with 521 ultimately

losing their lives. Of these, all but the
25 in Malaysia and Singapore were
brought home.
We dont want soldiers killed in
the same war treated differently, Mr
Abbott said, adding that the government was offering to repatriate the
remains of all the Australians interred
at Terendak and Kranji.
The decision to take up this offer
of repatriation rests, as it should, with
the soldiers widows, children or immediate family, he said.
They can start to bring their loved
ones home or they may choose to let
them rest where they lie. Either way,
their decision will be respected.
Australia became one of the first
Western countries to establish diplomatic ties with Hanoi in 1973, and has
become a substantial aid donor and
business partner of the Communist
nation. AFP

World 15

www.mmtimes.com
OPINION

What lies ahead for ASEANs wildlife?

Jose B Collazo and
Curtis s Chin
THIS February, Myanmars Forestry
Department announced that it had
captured a rare white elephant roaming wild in the jungles of the nations
Ayeyarwady Region. It joined eight
others already held in captivity in Nay
Pyi Taw and Yangon. But, dont feel
completely sorry for these majestic
animals protected at least from animal traffickers eager to feed Chinas
demand for ivory and other wildlife
products.
White elephants, which are albinos
and actually may appear pinkish
in colour, are seen as harbingers of
power and prosperity in Myanmar,
and are typically pampered with
personal baths, hand-scrubs, and fed
sugar cane and grass to their hearts
content.
Unfortunately, much of Southeast
Asias wildlife will never have it as
good, and the increasing number
of visitors and developers drawn to
Myanmar should take note.
From appearances on dinner plates
of businessmen seeking to impress
clients with exotic fare, to forced
performances at dubious wildlife
parks before ever-growing numbers of
tourists, Southeast Asias indigenous
animals are increasingly under threat.
The Rainforest Action Network, a
California-based environmental organisation, says the rapid loss of Indonesias biologically rich and diverse
rainforests is driving numerous species to the very edge of survival.
In Vietnam, the pangolin a scaly
anteater-like mammal often described
as Asias most trafficked animal is
being hunted down for food there as
well as for illegal export to China.
And in Thailand earlier this year,
the government seized six protected
Asian black bears from a well-known
Buddhist temple in Kanchanaburi
nicknamed Tiger Temple for more
than 145 tigers also housed there. The
Thai Department of National Park,
Wildlife and Plant Conservation has
since controversially ruled the temples monks and staff can continue

to keep the tigers but not profit off of

them.
According to the Bangkok Post,
complaints had been made that the
temple was linked to wildlife trafficking and possible maltreatment of
animals.
Yet, it is the iconic Southeast Asian
elephant that is being killed for its
ivory and body parts. The destruction
and fragmentation of the animals natural habitat and disruption of migratory routes by logging and plantations
have led to deadly encounters and the
killing of elephants.
As the 10 nations that comprise
the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations rush to build more road infrastructure to connect the region
and speed economic growth, Asian
elephants are too often collateral
damage.
At one time, the Asian elephant
could be found in large numbers as
far west as the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers, in the Indian subcontinent,
throughout Southeast Asia, and into
China. At the beginning of the 20th
century, hundreds of thousands of
wild elephants may have lived in Asia.
Today, the International Union
for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
the worlds oldest and largest global
environmental organisation, with
more than 1200 government and NGO
members classifies the Asian elephant as endangered, with no more
than 50,000 living in isolated populations across the region. The World
Wildlife Fund estimates that the number is much lower with no more than
25,000 living in the wild.
The overall population decline of
the Asian elephant is most evident in
Southeast Asia. The IUCN estimates
the wild elephant population size in
Myanmar is 4000 to 5000; in Cambodia between 250 to 600; Indonesia
2400 to 3400; Laos 500 to 1,000; Malaysia 2000 to 3100; Thailand 2500 to
3200; and Vietnam 70 to 150.
In Thailand, there are by some estimates nearly three times as many elephants in domesticity as in the wild.
This is a sad state of affairs for an
animal that has historically held a

BeiJinG

Manila

revered position throughout the ASEAN region. Laos was once referred to
as the land of a million elephants.
And during the late 1800s, a white
elephant featured prominently on
Thailands national flag. The elephant
has worked the agricultural fields,
fought alongside warrior kings and
help give rise to Southeast Asias great
civilisations.
So, is there hope for Asias, including Myanmars remaining elephants
in the wild? How to ensure the elephant does not go the way of the now
extinct Bali tiger?
First, field research is necessary to
better determine how many elephants
live in the wild and their living habits.
Present population figures, according
to the ICUN, are at best guesstimates
of the true number of wild elephants.
Accurate data will yield dividends regarding how to best design programs
to protect Southeast Asias remaining
elephants.
Second, ASEAN governments need
stronger legislation and enforcement
against poaching and the illegal ivory
trade. Here, China must also step up
given the outsized role of the Chinese
consumer in the demand for elephant
and other wildlife products.
Recently, Singapore authorities
seized the biggest illegal shipment of
ivory and other exotic animal parts
in more than a decade some US$6
million worth of tusks, rhino horns
and other animal parts hidden among
bags of tea leaves and en route to Vietnam and likely onward to China. A
few weeks earlier more than 700 ivory
tusks from African elephants were
seized at Bangkoks port, en route initially to Laos. Education will also be
key in reducing demand.
At one point, Japan was a major
consumer of ivory products.
At the moment, lax enforcement
of existing laws, particularly in the
Golden Triangle area encompassing
Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, has
made this region a hub for the sale of
ivory and elephant body parts. This
needs to stop.
Third, as Southeast Asias long
tradition of domesticated elephants

Prison tour No end to S China Sea flights

a warning
CHINESE officials have been sent on
prison tours visiting inmates including
former colleagues as a warning against
corruption, state-run media said yesterday, provoking mockery online.
More than 70 officials and their
spouses in central Chinas Hubei province spent a day in prison this month
as an educational warning, the
government-published China Daily
reported.
The trip provided them with a
chance to meet 15 former government
staff currently serving custodial sentences at the institution, it added.
Chinas ruling Communist party
has vowed to crack down on endemic
corruption, with several former senior
figures placed under investigation in
recent years. But there have not been
systemic reforms.
The newspaper cited the Central
Commission for Discipline Inspection,
the Communist partys top anti-graft
body, as saying such prison visits have
been organised nationwide.
The tours encouraged cadres to
be aware of wrongdoings involving
corruption, the CCDI was quoted as
saying.
Some Chinese internet users reacted to the prison visit with derision, some calling for the trips to be
extended. AFP

PHILIPPINE military and commercial

aircraft will keep flying over disputed
areas in the South China Sea despite
Chinese warnings over the airspace,
President Benigno Aquino said yesterday.
We will still fly the routes that we
fly based on the international law from
the various conventions we entered
into, Mr Aquino told reporters when
asked whether the Philippines accepted Chinas position.
The Chinese military last week ordered a US Navy P-8 Poseidon surveillance plane away from airspace above
the disputed Spratly islands in the
South China Sea.
The Chinese foreign ministry later
insisted it had sovereign rights to those
waters, maritime features and the airspace above.
China claims nearly all of the South
China Sea, even waters approaching
the coasts of the Philippines and other
Asian neighbours.
In recent years it has caused alarm
with increasingly aggressive actions to
assert its claims.
It is undertaking giant land reclamation works in the Spratlys, located
between the Vietnam and the Philippines, to turn reefs into islands that
can host airstrips and other military
facilities.
The Spratlys, about 1000 kilometres
(620 miles) from the nearest major Chi-

nese landmass, are one of the biggest

and most strategically important archipelagos in the sea.
Mr Aquino said the Philippines
would not give up its territory to China, even as he acknowledged major
differences in the capabilities of their
militaries.
We will still exercise our rights over
our exclusive economic zone, he said.
Bottom line is, it has to be clear. We
will defend our rights to the best of our
abilities.
Mr Aquino said the Philippines was
also working closely on the issue with
the United States, his nations longtime
ally and mutual defence treaty partner,
but declined to elaborate.
Even in basketball, you dont reveal
all your moves to the other coach, he
said.
Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and
Taiwan also have competing claims to
parts of the South China Sea.
All claimants but Brunei have military facilities on Spratly islands that
they control.
Philippine Air Force spokespersonColonel Enrico Canaya said its planes
flew over the sea, including the route
taken by the US Navy plane.
He declined to give more details.
The Philippine civil aviation authority said local carriers also flew over
parts of the sea that were considered
international air lanes. AFP

A mahout leads a mother and baby elephant to swim at The Elephant

Conservation Centre, Sayabour Province, Laos, on Novermber 22 2014.
Photo: Fiona MacGregor

fades, the capture of juvenile

elephants for tourism purposes must
be halted.
According to the American
Museum of Natural History, elephants
performing for tourists may have
been violently separated from their
families at a very young age. In turn,
the life they might well go on to live
shackled, isolated and caged is no
way to treat a domesticated animal,
much less a wild one. Ringling Bros
and Barnum & Bailey Circus, a major
US entertainment institution, has
come to the same conclusion and
recently announced that by 2018 it
will no longer feature elephants in its
shows. Hopefully, a similar movement
will take hold in ASEAN.
Finally, we need to acknowledge
that what elephants truly need is
space to survive. This means creating elephant sanctuaries, such as the
Elephant Valley Project, a Cambodian
ecotourism projected funded in part
by the United States Agency for Inter

Development. Buffer zones also need

to be established around economic
hubs to decrease human-elephant
conflict.
None of this is easy particularly
as nations in the region struggle to
develop their economies to improve
their citizens standard of living.
But, whether tigers or elephants,
Asia and Southeast Asia in particular
would be a poorer place without them.
That is a lesson that must be taken to
heart as Myanmar continues to rush
to develop. The nations indigenous
wildlife is an asset not a barrier to
growth.
Jose B Collazo is a Southeast Asia
analyst and an associate at advisory
firm RiverPeak Group. Curtis S Chin, a
former U.S. ambassador to the Asian
Development Bank, is managing director
of RiverPeak Group. Follow them
on Twitter at @JoseBCollazo and @
CurtisSChin

TRADEMARK CAUTION
Schering-Plough Ltd., a company incorporated and existing
under the laws of Switzerland, and having its registered office at
Weystrasse 20, CH-6000, Lucerne 6, Switzerland, hereby declares
that the Company is the owner and sole proprietor of the following
Trademarks:

NOXAFIL
Reg. No. IV/3301/2000 (18 July 2000)
The above trademark is used in respect of An antifungal
preparation in Class 5.

DIPROSALIC
Reg. No. IV/8634/2008 (11 December 2008)
The above trademark is used in respect of Pharmaceutical
preparations in Class 5.
Any fraudulent imitation or unauthorized use of the above marks or
other infringements whatsoever will be dealt with according to law.
Daw Thit Thit Kyaw, (H.G.P.)
For Schering-Plough Ltd.,
c/o BM Myanmar Legal Services Limited (Baker & McKenzie)
# 1206, 12th Floor, Sakura Tower,
339 Bogyoke Aung San Road,
Kyauktada Township, Yangon,
The Republic of the Union of Myanmar.
Dated: 26 May 2015

Cannes
winner

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i
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n

THE MYANMAR TIMES May 26, 2015

DEPUTy PUlsE EDiTor: ToM BarToN tom.a.barton@gmail.com

puts refugee issue

up on the screen
Marc Burleigh

French director Jacques Audiard (centre) poses on stage with Sri Lankan actress
Kalieaswari Srinivasan (left) and Sri Lankan actor Jesuthasan Antonythasan after he
was awarded the Palme dOr for his film Dheepan. Photos: AFP/Anne-Christine Poujoulat

French director Jacques Audiard (centre) poses on stage with feature film jury
members, best actor laureate Vincent Lindon (second-right) and French director
Agnes Varda (third-left) during the closing ceremony of the 68th Cannes Film Festival
in Cannes.

he debate around the world about what

to do with growing waves of desperate
migrants will be spurred by a Cannes Film
Festival triumph for a movie that looks at
the plight of a refugee hero.
Dheepan, a French movie about a Sri Lankan former
soldiers struggles in a Paris ghetto in the grip of narcogangs, didnt set out to tackle that wider thorny issue.
But the fact that the films win comes as
refugee boats set off across Asian waters and the
Mediterranean the same sea lapping at glittering
Cannes and its super-yachts inevitably means it will
figure in that context.
Its important to reflect on the situation, the
movies director, Jacques Audiard, admitted to
reporters insistently raising the question.
But he stressed, I started writing the screenplay
four or five years ago and the situation wasnt as
critical as it is now.
Nevertheless, if it helps the situation, then so much
the better.
The movie wont begin its release in cinemas for
another three months. Its Cannes win will no doubt take
it to countries that might otherwise have not seen it.
Some of those countries are ones grappling with the
problem of immigrants.
Europe is experiencing a huge surge, particularly
from Syrians fleeing the vicious four-year-old war in
their country. States bordering Syria Turkey, Jordan,
Lebanon are already saturated with refugees.
Thousands of Bangladeshis and ethnic Rohingya
leaving Myanmar are also posing a challenge for Asian
nations, especially after a Thai crackdown early this
month on human trafficking threw the illicit trade into
chaos.
Dheepan keeps its action centred on its central
character, a former Tamil Tiger fighter who escaped the
mayhem of his war-ravaged homeland and teamed up
with two strangers, a woman and a girl, to pretend to
be a family to win refugee status in France.
The actor, Anthonythasan Jesuthasan, brought

authenticity to the role, having actually been a teen

fighter for the Tamil Tigers who escaped to Thailand,
made his way to France in 1993 and eventually got
political asylum.
The character, he said, is 50 percent himself.
Presumably the part of the movie where he uses his
battle skills to explosively confront the Paris drug
gangs is the other, fictional half.
Some of the other awards handed out at Cannes by
a jury headed by the Coen brothers and including Jake
Gyllenhaal nodded to different perplexing real-world
issues.
A Hungarian movie taking viewers inside
Auschwitz, Son of Saul, picked up the runner-up Grand
Prize for its powerful look at the Holocaust.
And the best actor trophy went to Vincent Lindon,
the star of another French movie, The Measure of
a Man, which presents a jobless man struggling to
maintain his dignity.
Joel Coen, sitting next to his brother Ethan in a
post-awards press conference, said of the jury duty,
Any experience as intense as this changes your life and
your perspective.
Gyllenhaal explained the appeal Dheepan held for
him.
We watch three strangers, forced to travel to a
foreign land, essentially learn to love each other, which
is something Ive never really seen done in the way it is
in that film, he said.
The third-placed movie was The Lobster, a Greekdirected dark comedy set in southern Ireland and
starring Colin Farrell that imagined a society in which
single people must find a mate or be transformed into
animals.
The best actress award was something of an upset,
confounding critics who had thought Australian star
Cate Blanchett was untouchable for her turn in an
American period lesbian drama, Carol.
Instead, Blanchetts co-star Rooney Mara, and an
actress in a French relationship drama called Mon Roi,
Emmanuelle Bercot, ended up sharing the trophy. AFP

Feature film jury members (from left) French actress Sophie Marceau, Canadian director Xavier Dolan, Malian singersongwriter Rokia Traore, US actor Jake Gyllenhaal, British actress Sienna Miller, Spanish actress Rossy de Palma
and Mexican director Guillermo del Toro attend the closing ceremony of the 68th Cannes Film Festival.

the pulse 17

www.mmtimes.com
STELLENBOSCH

Gnarled gnomes
of wine world win top
award for South Africa

NARLEd and gnomish,

the vines that produced
the best white in one
of the worlds top wine
competitions crouch low
and untrellised amid more traditional
vineyards in South Africas scenic
Cape winelands.
The Chenin Blanc made from
these 40-year-old bush vines beat
global competition across the full
range of white wines to take the top
spot in this years Concours Mondial
de Bruxelles, which tested a total of
8000 wines.
Winemaker Reginald (RJ) Botha
says the Kleine Zalze estate outside

Stellenbosch set out to build a wine

that tasted of elegance.
Given that more than 320 experts
from some 50 countries chose the
2013 Kleine Zalze Family Reserve
as best white at the 22nd edition of
the Concours Mondiale in Italy this
month, they must have succeeded.
But elegance is not a word that
springs to mind when looking at
the denuded bush vines amid the
autumnal beauty of the surrounding
landscape.
Unlike trellised vines, they are
three-dimensional, with at least five
arms rather than two, and stand
about knee-high.

Bush vines are less productive

than trellised vines because they
provide a greater canopy of leaf
coverage to the fruit, and are also
labour-intensive as they cannot be
harvested by machine.
But their advocates say the lower
yield and greater effort is worth
it because the berries have much
thicker skins and therefore produce
more concentrated flavours.
The winning Family Reserve
comes from three different sites. Thats
three different soils, says Botha.
All the vines are more than 40
years old and are all bush vines. And
theyre unirrigated.

Bush, or unsupported, Chenin Blanc vines grow on a farm managed by the Kleine Zalze estate in Stellenbosch, about 50
kilometres from Cape Town.

Kleine Zalzes 2013 Family Reserve Chenin Blanc was recently awarded the
revered overall Best White Wine of the show at the annual Concours Mondial de
Bruxelles awards. Photos: AFP/Rodger Bosch

We get smaller berries,

thicker skins so there is lot
more concentration of flavours in
your grapes and a lot of different
microclimates in one vine.
On a trellised vine all the grapes
are in one segment so have almost the
same microclimate, whereas in a bush
vine, especially these old ones, one
bunch is open, one is closed, one is a
little bit closer to the soil.
Theres so many different
microclimates in each little vine it
just brings out the complexity. There
are more different flavour profiles
in one vine, and that makes for
wonderful wine.
The winemakers tasting notes
describe concentrated aromas of
lime, winter melon and apple fruit
on the nose with layers of citrus and
herbs on the palate and a creamy
mouth feel and an elegant, long,
fresh, earthy finish.
Bush vines make up less than 10
percent of South African vineyards,
and many farmers are pulling them
out because of the lower yields and
higher labour costs, Botha says.
The Chenin bush vines produce
between 3 and 5 tonnes a hectare,
compared to more than 10 tonnes
from trellised vine.
The vines may be old but Kleine
Zalze, which has produced grapes

since 1695 and is now owned by

Kobus and Mariette Basson, has a
state-of-the-art cellar.
We let the wine do the talking,
Botha says, as he describes the
minimal interference in the process
from vine to bottle.
Kleine Zalze wines retail in South
Africa for between 40 rand (US$3.37)
and 250 rand ($20.92) a bottle.
The 2013 Family Reserve Chenin
Blanc was on sale for just 148 rand
($12.47) when it was crowned as the
best white in the world.
South African wine exports
have boomed since the lifting of
international boycotts at the end of
the racist apartheid system 21 years
ago, and some hope that Chenin
Blanc will raise the countrys profile
the way that Sauvignon Blanc did for
New Zealand.
Total exports grew from 99.9
million litres in 1996 to an all-time
high of 417 million litres in 2012, with
Britain the most important market,
followed by Germany and Sweden,
according to the producers group
Wines of South Africa (WOSA).
The latest available figures, from
2011, rank South Africa as the eighthlargest wine producer in the world
behind Chile in seventh place and
ahead of Germany in ninth WOSA
says. AFP

YANGON

Phone fright: Myanmar director weaves

new technology into upcoming thriller
NANdAr AuNG
nandaraung.mcm@gmail.com
CALL it the iMovie. Horror stylist Nyo
Min Lwin who recently made waves
when he promised to make this his Year
of Fear, shooting nothing but thrillers
and horror films found a novel way of
putting the frighteners on his actors.
Eschewing traditional cameras
and equipment, he decided to shoot
the whole thing on an iPhone.
The Loom, which goes into
production next month, has been
shot entirely with an iPhone 6 and
6+, and an iPhone 5 and 5+ for the
sound recording. Nyo Min Lwin also
used an iPad Air and a MacBook Pro
for editing and an iPad Air to provide
the background music. He used an
iPhone 6+ for colour corrections
and brought the movie up to the 4K
resolution standard (4096 x 2160) to
show it in local cinemas.
Nyo Min Lwin says he was
inspired by 1.24.14, the 90-second
video clip shot with an iPhone.

The clip was produced and tested

by Oscar winner Ridley Scott, which
made me want to try the technique
myself, said the 35-year-old director,
who has 15 years experience in
the trade. This is how something
that starts out as a minor thing can
become a major thing. I believe 100
percent in the iPhone enough to
shoot a two-hour move with it.
While tight-lipped about the plot
of his new release, Nyo Min Lwin said
The Loom tells the tale of a secret
revolutionary in the cotton trade. The
film will be distributed by Lucky Boss
production.
Alongside the cameraman,
Myanmar Academy Award-winner U
Tint San, and crew members Lin Thu,
Win Myint Oo, Thar Htike, Htet Wai
Yan Naing and Okkar, Nyo Min Lwin
directed while playing one of the
leading roles, together with actresses
Myat Noe Oo, Suu Khat Min, Eaint
Kyar Phyu and supporting actors.
They found it an unnerving
experience, he says.

I thought our actors felt uneasy

in front of the phone instead of the
usual camera, he said. It was as if
performing before a phone seems to
undermine confidence. But theyre
professional actors, and I explained
what I was doing before each shot.
Initially doubtful, the cast was
eventually won over, he said, adding,
Our lovely actors finally managed to
lose their phone-fright.
He felt pretty confident himself,
happy to be working with i-devices.
When I started directing, we shot
with VHS tape. It takes time to get
used to the latest techniques. But this
one was literally in my pocket.
Nyo Min Lwin started acting
in 1998, but then took a directing
course under Academy winner Mg
Myo Min (Yin Twin Phit) in 2000
before settling into the directors
chair himself. He has now auteured
more than 100 movies, including the
drama Selfie. He already has plans for
another i-movie, Traffic, about a gay
man who is stuck in gridlock.

A still from Nyo Min Lwins upcoming feature The Loom. Photos: Supplied

18 the pulse

THE MYANMAR TIMES May 26, 2015

BERLIN

65-year-old mother of 13 has quadruplets

Annegret Raunigk (first row, second left), mother of 13 and grandmother of seven, gave birth to quadruplets on May 19.
Photo: AFP/DPA/Joerg Carstensen/Germany Out

65-YEAR-OLD German
woman, who already has
13 children, has given
birth to quadruplets after
undergoing an artificial
insemination procedure in Ukraine,
RTL television reported early on May
23.
Annegret Raunigk had three boys,
named Dries, Bence and Fjonn, and one
girl, Neeta, who were born premature
at 26 weeks in a Berlin hospital but
have good chances of surviving,
according to RTL.
However, the babies, in comparison
with a normal birth in the 40th week,
are not completely developed, so
eventual complications cant be ruled
out, said the report.
Their mother lives in Berlin and is
an English and Russian teacher who is
close to retirement. In addition to her
children, she is grandmother to seven.
RTL said the new arrivals make
her the worlds oldest mother of
quadruplets.
She became pregnant after
undergoing several artificial
insemination procedures in Ukraine,
said RTL.
The channel has negotiated
exclusive rights to the story and has
followed the build-up to the births,
although it says no filming was done
in the hospital where the babies were
born.
Raunigk made headlines in April
when the German press first reported
that her latest artificial insemination
attempt had resulted in a quadruple
pregnancy.
At the time, she said she decided to
try to have another child because her
youngest daughter, who is nine, wanted
a little brother or sister, according to
RTL.

The Bild am Sonntag tabloid quoted

Raunigk, whose oldest daughter is 44,
recalling that it was a shock when the
doctors first broke the news to her that
she was expecting quadruplets.
After the doctor discovered there
were four, I had to give it some thought
to begin with.
But she did not consider reducing
the number of embryos and said she
had no reservations about the challenge
facing her.
Im not actually afraid. I simply
assume Ill remain healthy and fit. In
matters of organisation I have enough
experience, thats not new for me, she
was quoted as saying in Bild.
Asked about moral doubts, RTL
quoted her as asking, How does one
have to be at 65? One must apparently
always fit some cliches which I find
rather tiring.
I think one must decide that for
oneself.
Raunigk made headlines 10 years
ago too, when she gave birth to her 13th
child, Lelia, at the age of 55.
That pregnancy was also the subject
of an exclusive coverage deal with RTL,
and Bild.
At first, I only wanted one child,
the tabloid quoted her as saying at the
time. Not all were planned. But then
things happen. Im not a planner but
rather spontaneous. And children keep
me young.
During an interview in April,
Raunigk dismissed critics who said she
was acting irresponsibly because she
would be more than 70 years old when
the quadruplets entered school.
You can never know what will
happen. Things can also happen to
you when youre 20, she said, adding
that its up to each individual to decide
when they become a parent. AFP

TOKYO
Got an event?
List it in Whats On!
whatsonmt@gmail.com

TODAY
MUSIC

Live music by The Experience Band.

Thiripyitsaya Sky Bistro, 20th floor, Sakura
Tower, 339 Bogyoke Aung San Road,
Kyauktada 7-10pm

COMEDY

Stand up Yangon. Myanmars only

international comedy club, featuring Canadas
Pat Burtscher and Garret Jamieson, and
Yangons William Childress. K5000 entry. 50th
Street Bar, 50th Street 8-10 pm

YOGA

Yoga Class. Stretch your limbs in the

outdoor covered studio on the lake,
with a beautiful view gentle breezes.
One-and-a-half hours for K7000.
LOpera Italian Restaurant, 62D U Htun
Nyein Street, Mayangone 4:45pm

TOMORROW
DANCE

Fun dance cardio. Fun dance cardio

for adults, K6000 per session. Grace

Studio, Pearl Condo Building A,

Room F-38, Kabar Aye Pagoda Road
8-9pm

LITERATURE

Link the Wor(l)ds: Literature,

translation and publishing
workshop. Inviting writers and
translators for an intensive
programme of hands-on translation
practice alongside wide-ranging
discussions about writing,
publishing and editing. Taw Win
Garden Hotel, 45 Pyay Road, Dagon
10:30-5pm (continues until May 31).

A single pair of Yubari melons are sold for 1.5 million yen (US$12,400).
Photo: AFP/Jiji Press Japan Out

No melon-choly for Japanese bidder

A SINGLE pair of premium melons
fetched an eye-watering 1.5 million
yen (US$12,400) at an auction in
Japan on March 22.
The winning bid was placed
by a local fruit wholesaler for the
first Yubari melons to go under the
hammer this year at the Sapporo
Central Wholesale Market in northern
Hokkaido, officials said.
The figure enough to buy a
brand-new car in Japan is some
way short of the record for the luxury
fruit, which fetched 2.5 million yen
($20,551) last year.
High prices are the norm for the
opening auction of the season and

reflect buyers desire for prestige.

Yubari melons are considered a status
symbol in Japan like a fine wine
with many being bought as a gift for
friends and colleagues.
The best-quality Yubari melons are
perfect spheres with a smooth, evenly
patterned rind. A T-shaped stalk is
left on the fruit, which is usually sold
in an ornate box.
While the prices they fetch at
auction are very high, melons are not
the only expensive fruit in Japan.
A single apple from a supermarket
can cost more than $3 and a
presentation pack of 20 cherries
might sell for over $100. AFP

IN PICTUREs
Photo: AFP/Leon Neal
A customer has a piece of
art tattooed onto her thigh
at the Great British Tattoo
Show in Alexandra Palace,
north London.
Taking place on May 23-24,
the event sees designers,
artists and musicians come
together in a celebration of
tattoo culture.

20 the pulse

THE MYANMAR TIMES May 26, 2015

DOMESTIC FLIGHT SCHEDULES

Yangon to MandalaY

MandalaY to Yangon

Yangon to HeHo

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Y5 775

Daily

6:00

7:10

Y5 233

Daily

7:50

9:00

W9 515

6:00

7:25

W9 201

Daily

8:40

10:35

YH 917

Daily

6:10

8:30

YJ 761

8:40

10:35

YJ 891

7:00

8:25

7Y 132

2,4,6,7

8:50

10:45

7Y 131

2,4,6,7

6:30

8:35

K7 223

1,3,5

8:55

11:00

K7 222

1,3,5

6:30

8:40

YH 918

Daily

9:15

10:25

6T 805

2,4,6

6:30

7:40

6T 806

2,4,6

10:30

11:40

YJ 201

1,2,4

7:00

8:55

YJ 202

11:30

12:55

YJ 201

7:00

8:25

YJ 202

1,2,4

12:00

13:25

W9 201

Daily

7:00

8:25

YJ 761

1,2,4

13:10

17:00

W9201

7:00

8:25

YJ 212

15:00

16:55

8M 6603

9:00

10:10

YJ 212

15:00

16:25

YJ 601

11:00

12:25

YJ 602

15:40

17:35

YJ 761

1,2,4

11:00

12:55

7Y 242

1,3,5

16:40

18:45

Flight
YH 917
YJ 891
7Y 131
K7 222
7Y 131
YJ 891
Y5 649
YJ 751
YJ 761
YJ 233
K7 224
7Y 241
W9 129

Days
Daily
3
2,4,6,7
1,3,5
Daily
5
Daily
3,5,7
1,2,4
6
2,4,6,7
1,3,5
1,3,6

Dep
6:10
6:20
6:30
6:30
7:15
7:00
10:30
11:00
11:00
11:00
14:30
14:30
15:30

HeHo to Yangon
Arr
9:15
10:35
9:20
9:30
10:05
9:10
12:45
12:10
12:10
12:10
15:45
15:40
16:40

Flight
YJ 891
YH 918
W9 201
7Y 132
K7 223
YJ 762
7Y 242
K7 225
YJ 602
W9 129

YJ 211

5,7

11:00

12:25

YJ 234

16:50

18:15

YH 729

2,4,6

11:00

14:00

K7 225

2,4,6,7

16:50

19:00

Y5 325

1,5

Dep
9:25
9:15
9:25
9:35
9:45
15:50
15:55
16:00
16:25
16:55

Arr
10:35
10:25
10:35
10:45
11:00
17:00
18:45
19:00
17:35
19:10

MYeik to Yangon

Days

Dep

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

6:45

8:15

6T 706

1,3,5

8:25

9:35

YH 737

3,5

11:00

13:10

YH 728

17:00

18:25

K7 319

1,3,5,7

7:00

9:05

Y5 326

1,5

8:35

10:05

11:30

13:40

W9 152/W97152

17:05

18:30

YH 737

11:30

13:40

Y5 776

Daily

17:10

18:20

6T 705

1,3,5

7:00

8:10

7Y 532

2,4,6

15:35

17:40

7Y 531

2,4,6

11:15

13:20

K7 320

1,3,5,7

11:30

13:35

Y5 325

15:30

17:00

Y5 326

17:15

18:45

SO 201

Daily

8:20

10:40

SO 202

Daily

13:20

15:40

W9 251

2,5

11:30

12:55

W9 211

17:10

19:15

13:00

16:45

YH 738

3,5

17:10

18:35

7Y 241

1,3,5

14:30

16:25

8M 6604

17:20

18:30

K7 224

2,4,6,7

14:30

16:35

8M 903

1,2,4,5,7

17:20

18:30

Y5 234

Daily

15:20

16:30

YH 738

17:40

19:05

W9 211

15:30

16:55

YH 730

2,4,6

17:45

19:10

W9 252

2,5

18:15

19:40

Yangon to sittwe

sittwe to Yangon

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

K7 422

2,4,6

8:00

9:55

K7 423

2,4,6

10:10

11:30

Yangon to naY pYi taw

naY pYi taw to Yangon

7Y 413

1,3,5,7

10:30

12:20

7Y 414

1,3,5,7

12:35

13:55

W9 309

1,3,6

11:30

12:55

W9 309

1,3,6

13:10

14:55

Flight
YJ 201
YJ 201
ND 910
ND 105
ND 107
ND 109
ND 9109
ND 111
SO 102

Flight
SO 101
YJ 201
ND 9102
ND 104
ND 106
YJ 202
ND 108
YJ 212
ND 110
ND 9110

6T 611

Daily

11:45

12:55

6T 612

Daily

13:15

14:20

Arr

Flight

Days

Days
1,2
4
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5
6
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5
7
Daily

Dep
7:00
7:00
7:15
10:45
11:25
14:55
17:00
18:25
18:00

Arr
7:55
10:20
8:15
11:40
12:20
15:40
18:00
19:20
19:00

Yangon to nYaung u
Flight
YH 917
YJ 891
K7 222
7Y 131
K7 224
7Y 241
W9 129
W9 211
W9 129

Days
Daily
3
1,3,5
2,4,6,7
2,4,6,7
1,3,5
1,3,6
4
1

Dep
6:10
6:20
6:30
6:30
14:30
14:30
15:30
15:30
15:30

Days
2,4,6
1,3.5
3
1,2,4
6
2,5

Dep
6:30
7:00
7:00
7:00
11:00
11:30

Dep
7:00
8:10
8:35
9:20
10:00
10:35
13:30
16:00
17:00
18:20

Arr
8:00
13:25
9:35
10:15
10:55
13:25
14:25
16:55
17:55
19:20

Arr
7:45
7:40
7:50
7:50
17:25
17:10
17:35
17:40
17:35

Arr
8:55
9:40
9:50
10:20
15:10
14:25

Flight
YH 918
YJ 891
7Y 132
K7 223
K7 225
W9 129
7Y 242

Days
Daily
3
2,4,6,7
1,3,5
2,4,6,7
1,3,6
1,3,5

Dep
7:45
7:55
8:05
8:05
17:40
17:50
17:25

Arr
10:25
10:35
10:45
11:00
19:00
19:10
18:45

MYitkYina to Yangon
Flight
6T 806
YJ 202
YJ 202
YH 827
YJ 234
W9 252

Days
2,4,6
3
1,2,4
1,3,5
6
2,5

Dep
9:10
10:05
10:35
11:30
15:25
16:45

Yangon to tHandwe
Dep

tHandwe to Yangon

Flight

Days

K7 422

2,4,6

8:00

8:55

K7 422

2,4,6

9:10

11:30

7Y 413

1,3,5

10:30

11:20

7Y 413

1,3,5

11:35

13:55

W9 309

1,3,6

11:30

13:50

7Y 413

12:05

14:20

7Y 413

11:00

11:50

W9 309

1,3,6

14:05

14:55

Y5 421

1,3,4,6

15:45

16:40

Y5 422

1,3,4,6

16:55

17:50

Yangon to dawei

nYaung u to Yangon

Yangon to MYitkYina
Flight
6T 805
YH 826
YJ 201
YJ 201
YJ 233
W9 251

Days
Daily
1,2
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5
6
4
1,2,3,4,5
5
7
1,2,3,4,5

Arr
11:40
12:55
13:25
13:55
18:15
19:40

Air Bagan (W9)

Tel: 513322, 513422, 504888. Fax: 515102

Air KBZ (K7)

Tel: 372977~80, 533030~39 (airport), 373766
(hotline). Fax: 372983

Asian Wings (YJ)

Tel: 515261~264, 512140, 512473, 512640
Fax: 532333, 516654

Tel: 09400446999, 09400447999

Fax: 8604051

YH 727

YJ 151/W9 7151

Domestic Airlines

Golden Myanmar Airlines (Y5)

Yangon to MYeik
Flight

Days
3,5
Daily
Daily
2,4,6,7
1,3,5
1,2,4
1,3,5
2,4,6,7
6
1,3,6

Dep

Arr

Mann Yadanarpon Airlines (7Y)

Tel: 656969
Fax: 656998, 651020

Yangon Airways (YH)

Tel: 383100, 383107, 700264
Fax: 652 533

FMI Air Charter

Tel: 240363, 240373, 09421146545

APEX Airlines (SO)

Tel:95(1) 533300 ~ 311
Fax : 95 (1) 533312

Air Mandalay (6T)

Tel: (+95-1) 501520, 525488,
Fax: (+95-1) 532275

Airline Codes
SO = APEX Airlines
7Y = Mann Yadanarpon Airlines
K7 = Air KBZ
W9 = Air Bagan
Y5 = Golden Myanmar Airlines

dawei to Yangon

YH = Yangon Airways

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

K7 319

1,3,5,7

7:00

8:10

YH 634

2,4,6

12:15

13:25

YJ = Asian Wings

YH 633

2,4,6

7:00

8:25

K7 320

1,3,5,7

12:25

13:35

6T = AirMandalay

SO 201

Daily

8:20

9:40

6T 708

3,5,7

14:15

15:15

6T 707

3,5,7

10:30

11:30

SO 202

Daily

14:20

15:40

FMI = FMI Air Charter

7Y 531

2,4,6

11:15

12:20

7Y 532

2,4,6

16:35

17:40

Flight

Yangon to lasHio

lasHio to Yangon

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Dep

Arr

YH 729

2,4,6

11:00

13:00

YJ 752

3,5,7

16:10

17:55

YJ 751

3,5,7

11:00

13:15

YH 730

2,4,6

16:45

19:10

Yangon to putao

Days

putao to Yangon

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

YH 826

1,3,5

7:00

10:35

YH 634

10:35

13:55

YH 633

7:00

10:35

YH 827

1,3,5

10:35

13:55

W9 251

2,5

11:30

15:25

W9 252

2,5

15:45

19:40

Subject to change
without notice
Day
1 = Monday
2 = Tuesday
3 = Wednesday
4 = Thursday
5 = Friday
6 = Saturday
7 = Sunday

the pulse 21

www.mmtimes.com

InternAtIonAl FlIGHt SCHeDUleS

Flights

YANGON TO BANGKOK
Days

Dep

Arr

PG 706
Daily
6:15
8M 335
Daily
7:40
TG 304
Daily
9:50
PG 702
Daily
10:30
TG 302
Daily
15:00
PG 708
Daily
15:15
8M 331
Daily
16:30
PG 704
Daily
18:20
Y5 237
Daily
19:00
TG 306
Daily
19:45
YANGON TO DON MUEANG

8:30
9:25
11:45
12:25
16:55
17:10
18:15
20:15
20:50
21:40

DD 4231
Daily
8:00
FD 252
Daily
8:30
FD 254
Daily
17:30
DD 4239
Daily
21:00
YANGON TO SINGAPORE

9:50
10:15
19:05
22:45

8M 231
Daily
8:25
Y5 2233
Daily
9:45
TR 2823
Daily
9:45
SQ 997
Daily
10:35
3K 582
Daily
11:15
MI 533
2,4,6
13:45
MI 519
Daily
17:30
3K 584
2,3,5
19:15
YANGON TO KUALA LUMPUR

12:50
14:15
14:25
15:10
15:45
20:50
22:05
23:45

8M 501
AK 505
MH 741
8M 9506
8M 9508
MH 743
AK 503

11:50
12:50
16:30
16:30
20:05
20:05
23:45

Flights

Days

Flights

Days

Flights

Days

1,2,3,5,6
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily

Dep

Arr

Dep

Arr

Dep

Arr

7:50
8:30
12:15
12:15
15:45
15:45
19:30

YANGON TO BEIJING

Flights

Days

Dep

Days

Dep

Arr

Flights

BANGKOK TO YANGON
Days

Dep

Arr

TG 303
Daily
7:55
PG 701
Daily
8:50
Y5 238
Daily
21:30
8M 336
Daily
10:40
TG 301
Daily
13:05
PG 707
Daily
13:40
PG 703
Daily
16:45
TG 305
Daily
17:50
8M 332
Daily
19:15
PG 705
Daily
20:15
DON MUEANG TO YANGON

8:50
9:40
22:20
11:25
14:00
14:30
17:35
18:45
20:00
21:30

DD 4230
Daily
6:20
FD 251
Daily
7:15
FD 253
Daily
16:20
DD 4238
Daily
19:30
SINGAPORE TO YANGON

7:05
8:00
17:00
20:15

TR 2822
Daily
7:20
Y5 2234
Daily
7:20
SQ 998
Daily
7:55
3K 581
Daily
8:55
MI 533
2,4,6
11:35
8M 232
Daily
13:50
MI 518
Daily
15:15
3K 583
2,3,5
17:05
KUALA LUMPUR TO YANGON

8:45
8:50
9:20
10:25
15:00
15:15
16:40
18:35

AK 504
8M 9505
MH 740
8M 502
8M 9507
MH 742
AK 502
AI 227

8:00
11:15
11:15
13:50
14:50
14:50
19:00
13:20

Flights

Days

Flights

Days

Flights

Flights

Days

Dep

Arr

Dep

Arr

Dep

Arr

Daily
6:55
Daily
10:05
Daily
10:05
1,2,3,5,6
12:50
Daily
13:40
Daily
13:40
Daily
17:50
1
10:35
BEIJING TO YANGON
Days

Dep

Days

Dep

Arr

CA 906
3,5,7
23:50 05:50+1
YANGON TO GUANGZHOU

CA 905
3,5,7
19:30
GUANGZHOU TO YANGON

22:50

8M 711
CZ 3056
CZ 3056

CZ 3055
CZ 3055
8M 712

3,6
8:40
1,5
14:40
2,4,7
14:15
TAIPEI TO YANGON

10:25
16:30
15:50

1,2,3,5,6
7:00
KUNMING TO YANGON

9:55

Flights

Flights

CI 7916
Flights

Arr

2,4,7
8:40
3,6
11:25
1,5
17:30
YANGON TO TAIPEI

13:15
16:15
22:15

1,2,3,5,6
10:50
YANGON TO KUNMING

16:15

Days

CA 416
MU 2012
MU 2032
Flights

Days

Dep

Arr

Dep

Arr

Daily
12:15
3
12:40
1,2,4,5,6,7 15:20
YANGON TO HANOI

15:55
18:45
18:40

Days

Dep

Arr

Days

Dep

Arr

Days

Dep

Flights

Flights

CI 7915
Flights

Days

MU 2011
CA 415
MU 2031
Flights

Days

Arr

Dep

Arr

Dep

Arr

3
8:25
Daily
10:45
1,2,4,5,6,7 13:55
HANOI TO YANGON

11:50
11:15
14:30

Days

Dep

Arr

Days

Dep

Arr

Days

Dep

International Airlines
All Nippon Airways (NH)
Tel: 255412, 413

Air Asia (FD)

Tel: 09254049991~3

Air Bagan Ltd.(W9)

Tel: 513322, 513422, 504888. Fax: 515102

Air China (CA)

Tel: 666112, 655882

Air India

Tel: 253597~98, 254758, 253601. Fax 248175

Bangkok Airways (PG)

Tel: 255122, 255265. Fax: 255119

Biman Bangladesh Airlines (BG)

Tel: 371867~68. Fax: 371869

Condor (DE)

Tel: 370836~39 (ext: 303)

Dragonair (KA)

Tel: 255323 (ext: 107), 09-401539206

Golden Myanmar Airlines (Y5)

Tel: 09400446999, 09400447999
Fax: 8604051

Malaysia Airlines (MH)

Tel: 387648, 241007 (ext: 120, 121, 122)

Fax: 241124

Myanmar Airways International (8M)

Tel: 255260. Fax: 255305

Nok Airline (DD)

Tel: 255050, 255021. Fax: 255051

Qatar Airways (QR)

Tel: 379845, 379843, 379831. Fax: 379730

VN 956
1,3,5,6,7
19:10
21:30
YANGON TO HO CHI MINH CITY

VN 957
1,3,5,6,7
16:50
18:10
HO CHI MINH CITY TO YANGON

Singapore Airlines (SQ) / Silk Air (MI)

VN 942

Flights

Flights

AI 701
QR 919
Flights

Flights

2,4,7
14:25
YANGON TO DOHA

17:15

VN 943

1,5
14:05
1,4,6
8:00
YANGON TO SEOUL

Arr

19:50
11:10

Flights

Days

Dep

Arr

AI 401
QR 918
Flights

2,4,7
11:50
DOHA TO YANGON

13:25

Thai Airways (TG)

1,5
7:00
3,5,7
20:40
SEOUL TO YANGON

Arr

13:20
06:25+1

Tiger Airline (TR)

Days

Dep

0Z 770
4,7
0:35
9:10
KE 472
Daily
23:30 07:50+1
YANGON TO HONG KONG

KE 471
Daily
18:45
0Z 769
3,6
19:50
HONG KONG TO YANGON

KA 251
KA 251

5:55
5:45

KA 252
KA 250

Arr

Flights

Flights

Days

5
1,2,3,4,6,7

Arr

YANGON TO TOKYO

Flights

Days

NH 814

Daily

Dep

21:45

Days

BG 061
BG 061

1,6
4

NH 813

Arr

Flights

Dep

15:35
13:45

YANGON TO INCHEON
Days

Dep

17:00
15:10
Arr

KE 472
Daily
23:30 07:50+1
8M 7702
Daily
23:30 07:50+1
8M 7502
4,7
00:35
09:10
W9 607
4,7
14:20
16:10
PG 724
1,3,5,6
13:10
15:05
YANGON TO CHIANG MAI
Flights

Days

Y5 251
7Y 305

2,4,6
1,5
Days

8M 601
AI 236

Days

AI 236
AI 701

2
1,5

Dep

13:10
14:05

YANGON TO KOLKATA
Days

AI 228
Flights

Dep

3,5,6
7:00
2
13:10
YANGON TO DELHI

Flights

Flights

Dep

6:15
11:00

YANGON TO GAYA

Flights

1,5

Dep

14:05

YANGON TO MUMBAI

AI 773

Days

1,5

Dep

14:05

MANDALAY TO BANGKOK

Flights

PG 710

Days

Daily

Dep

14:05

MANDALAY TO SINGAPORE

Flights

MI 533
Y5 2233

Days

2,6
1,2,4,5,6

Dep

15:55
7:50

MANDALAY TO DON MUEANG

Flights

FD 245

Days

Daily

Dep

12:45

MANDALAY TO KUNMING

Flights

MU 2030

Days

Daily

Dep

13:50

NAY PYI TAW TO BANGKOK

Flights

PG 722
PG 722
PG 722

Days

3
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5

Dep

20:15
19:30
20:15

Flights

06:50+1

YANGON TO DHAKA

Flights

Flights

Dep

1:30
1:10

Arr

Flights

Arr

Flights

8:20
15:05

AI 235
8M 602

Arr

Flights

Flights

AI 227

Arr

Flights

22:35

AI 675

Arr

Flights

Arr

23:15
22:30
23:15

Days

1,6
4

Dep

12:30
10:40

INCHEON TO YANGON
Days

Days

2,4,6
1,5

Dep

Dep

9:25
13:45

GAYA TO YANGON
Days

Dep

2
9:20
3,5,6
9:20
DELHI TO YANGON
Days

2
1,5

Dep

9:20
7:00

KOLKATA TO YANGON
Days

1,5

Dep

10:35

MUMBAI TO YANGON

Flights

Flights

Arr

11:00

Days

1,5

Dep

6:10

Days

Daily

Dep

12:00

SINGAPORE TO MANDALAY

Arr

16:40

Dep

DHAKA TO YANGON

PG 709
Y5 2234
MI 533

Arr

Daily

Days

Daily
2,6

Dep

7:20
11:35

DON MUEANG TO MANDALAY

FD 244

Days

Daily

Dep

10:50

KUNMING TO MANDALAY

Flights

MU 2029

Days

Daily

Dep

13:00

BANGKOK TO NAY PYI TAW

Flights

PG 721
PG 721
PG 721

Days

1,2,3,4,5
3
1,2,3,4,5

Dep

17:00
18:25
17:45

Arr

00:30+1
23:30

BANGKOK TO MANDALAY

20:50
14:15
15:00

Days

AI 235
AI 401

15:05

16:30

Dep

22:50
21:45

TOKYO TO YANGON

Flights

Y5 252
7Y 306

Arr

4
1,2,3,5,6,7

Arr

22:25
23:25

KE 471
Daily
18:45
8M 7701
Daily
18:45
8M 7501
3,6
19:50
W9 608
4,7
17:20
PG 723
1,3,5,6
11:05
CHIANG MAI TO YANGON

8:05
12:50

16:30
19:50

Days

BG 060
BG 060

Tel: 255287~9. Fax: 255290

Arr

15:40

Tel: 255491~6. Fax: 255223

Tel: 371383, 370836~39 (ext: 303)

Vietnam Airlines (VN)

Tel: 255066, 255088, 255068. Fax: 255086

Airline Codes
3K = Jet Star
8M = Myanmar Airways International
AK = Air Asia

Arr

14:55
13:05
Arr

22:25
22:25
23:25
18:10
12:00
Arr

10:15
14:35
Arr

12:0
12:30

BG = Biman Bangladesh Airlines

CA = Air China
CI = China Airlines
CZ = China Southern
DD = Nok Airline
FD = Air Asia
KA = Dragonair
KE = Korea Airlines
MH = Malaysia Airlines
MI = Silk Air

Arr

12:20
13:20
Arr

13:20

MU = China Eastern Airlines

NH = All Nippon Airways
PG = Bangkok Airways
QR = Qatar Airways

Arr

13:20
Arr

13:20
Arr

16:30
15:00
Arr

12:15
Arr

12:50
Arr

19:00
19:35
19:45

SQ = Singapore Airways
TG = Thai Airways
TR = Tiger Airline
VN = Vietnam Airline
AI = Air India
Y5 = Golden Myanmar Airlines

Subject to change
without notice
Day
1 = Monday
2 = Tuesday
3 = Wednesday

4
5
6
7

=
=
=
=

Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

22 Sport

THE MYANMAR TIMES May 26, 2015

SAilinG

French
flying
boat seeks
Pacific
record
S
kimming across the surface of the vast Pacific,
Alain Thebault scans the
horizon with his blue Breton eyes. He is feeling good.
A record is there to be broken.
its like a magic carpet, Thebault said aboard the cutting-edge
Hydroptere sailboat, which he hopes
to pilot halfway across the Pacific
from Los Angeles to Honolulu in record time.

Off the California coast under azure blue skies, Thebault accelerated
the hydrofoil supercraft to 30 knots as
the 18-metre (60-foot) boat stands on
three foils that claw the waves, lifting
the hull fully out of the water.
The few passengers cling to the
side as they experience the sensation
of flying for a few moments.
Welcome, its back to work, Thebault said, smiling as he helmed the
vast craft through the shallow waves

The cutting-edge catamaran slices through the ocean on a test run ahead of the record-breaking effort. Photo: AFP

off the coast of San Pedro, just south

of Los Angeles.
This is Thebaults first journey in
three months on the ship that set a
speed sailing record of over 50 knots
in 2009, and now he is ready to attempt to best a crossing mark: reaching Hawaii from the City of Angels in
under 4.19 days.
We want that record, the fiery
and passionate Frenchman said.
A key to that goal is to keep the

AmericAn FootbAll

Steelers boss sees Germany,

Mexico games by 2020
THE national Football League will
play regular-season games in germany and mexico within five years
if Pittsburgh Steelers president Art
Rooney ii has his way.
Rooney, among the owners on the
nFLs international Committee, said
in a posting on the teams website that
he thinks the expansion of the leagues
global exposure will come by 2020.
if i had to put a timetable on it, i
would be disappointed if we dont have
games in those two countries within
the next five years, Rooney said.
The nFL already plays multiple
games each season in London, where
there is talk of a possible franchise.
London will host three games this
year, giving the city 14 since 2007.
But Rooney dimmed the hopes that
England might see its own nFL team
any time soon.
i dont envision a lot of movement
of franchises to other countries, thats
for sure, Rooney said. Theres a possibility of a franchise in London at
some point, and while theres certainly
a developing interest there, that still
has a ways to go to become a reality.
The nFLs Buffalo Bills have also
played regular-season games in Canada. But mexico and germany has
shown enough support for the nFL to
put them on the list.
The audience in those two countries, there are enough nFL fans in
both to support a game, Rooney said.
So its really a matter of being able to
put together a stadium situation that
would work well for us, as well as a
broadcasting and digital media-style
programming so the games can be
broadcast in those countries as well as
being played there.
nFL commissioner Roger goodell
said last week that germany, mexico
and Brazil were under consideration
as game sites.

Hydroptere intact. its broken down

four times.
The first challenge is to keep the
structure, said the sailor.
it will work well in flight stability between 20 and 29 knots with 3m
swells, Thebault said.
And dont hit floating objects.
in June, stars should be aligned for
the Hydropteres journey. The moon
will be full to offer some visibility at
night.
more importantly, financial and
legal obstacles have been temporarily
overcome.
it took three years of efforts and
false starts to get to this point.
To finance the venture, the 52-yearold had to sell his house with the
blessing of his three daughters.
Since then, he also found the remaining cash from the Prince Albert
ii of monaco Foundation and the
Paul Ricard Oceanographic institute,
among other sponsors.
Prince Albert is also sponsoring
the Solar impulse 2, the solar-powered
superglider being flown around the
world by Swiss aviator Bertrand Piccard.
We are very good friends. He is
currently in China, and weve agreed
to meet in Hawaii, one powered by

wind, the other by the sun, he said.

The Hydroptere is also planning to
film the great garbage patch, a vast
stretch of ocean the size of the US
state of Texas awash with plastic and
other trash.
Six people will be on board for the
crossing. Thebault will be accompanied by best friend Jacques Vincent
as well as James Spithill, who won the
last Americas Cup on another flying
catamaran, the AC72.
Thebaults mentor Eric Tabarly
came up with an experimental foilcruising catamaran in 1979, and Thebault flew the Hydroptere for the
first time in 1994.
in the meantime flying multi-hull
boats have multiplied, including the
Flying Phantom, the GC32, the SL33 et
the AC45, as well as the AC72.
The Frenchman is already working
on another prototype expected to race
at four times windspeed.
We should be able to go at 80 or
even 100 knots, he said.
This self-taught adventurer rapidly
persuaded experts to follow him, and
he is currently working with four retirees from Dassault and Airbus.
How much did the Hydroptere
cost? Twenty years of passion, Thebault deadpanned. AFP

FootbAll

Maradona rounds on FIFA

dictator Sepp Blatter

The NFL has staged 11 regular season game in London. Photo: Facebook/NFL

Theres a growing passion for our

game on a global basis and we want to
respond to that in the right way, in the
right markets, goodell said. We are
excited about where we are.
But the host nation for last years
FiFA World Cup and next years Olympics is not atop the nFL list.
Brazil is the one i would say is the
newest discussion, and my guess is
there will have to be a little longer lead
time in developing that, Rooney said.
The Steelers played indianapolis at
mexico City in a pre-season game in
2000.
We would love to play another
game in mexico at some point, Rooney said.

One day, that might also include

Asia, Rooney hinted, citing Seoulborn former Steelers star Hines Ward,
whose mother is South korean.
When Hines Ward was on our
team, we obviously had a bit of a growing following in South korea, Rooney
said.
We did have some conversations
about trying to play a game over there
at one point, which would have been
fun. now that Hines has retired, im
not sure thats still on the drawing
board, but it just shows you there are
opportunities that can develop and
its fun to look at them and consider
them and try to develop some interest. AFP

ARgEnTinA legend Diego maradona

has attacked world football chief Sepp
Blatter, calling the 79-year-old Swiss
a dictator and claiming his bid for
a fifth term as FiFA president is an
absurdity.
maradonas scathing personal attack in The Daily Telegraph comes
days before Blatter seeks an unprecedented fifth term at the helm of footballs governing body.
Blatter is in a two-horse race to
continue in the post he assumed in
1998 the only other candidate being
Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan after Luis Figo and michael van Praag
pulled out last week.
Blatter has been widely criticised
during his reign and maradona is
aghast that he is the overwhelming favourite to retain his position.
The 1986 World Cup winner told
The Telegraph: Under Sepp Blatter,
Fifa has become a disgrace and a painful embarrassment to those of us who
care about football deeply.
While i find almost no one openly
supporting Blatter, many think he
will win a fifth term. Why? The whole

notion of a fifth term is an absurdity

in 2015.
no one has argued that he is the
best man for the job and deserves to
win.
Recently he pledged to follow
through in addressing racism in football and promoting women in the
sport. That made me laugh. my question is: Sepp, what were you doing in
your last four terms?
We have a dictator for life. i call
Blatter the man of ice because he
lacks the inspiration and passion that
are at the very heart of football. if this
is the face of international football, we
are in a very bad place.
The election takes place at the FiFA
Congress in Zurich on may 29, with
the winner needing a majority from
FiFAs 209 member federations.
Blatter has received strong public
backing from nearly every regional
confederation except Europes UEFA.
But the football strongmans
fourth term has been overshadowed
by controversy, not least over the
awarding of the 2022 World Cup to
Qatar. AFP

Sport 23

www.mmtimes.com
Golf

An first Asian winner at European PGA

OUTH Koreas Byeong-hun an

said his life will never be the
same again after he turned the
European pGa Championship
into a procession winning the
prestigious event by six shots at Wentworth
on May 24.
Twenty-three-year-old an carded a final
round 65 to finish on a tournament record
mark of 267, 21-under par, beating the 19-under winning scores recorded by Scott Drummond in 2004 and anders Hansen in 2002.
an pocketed a winning prize of 833,333
euros (US$913,708) for the best performance
of his career in his 31st event on the European Tour.
an gets a three-year exemption on the
European Tour as well as the massive prize
money pot and will shoot up the world rankings from 132nd place.
I never thought I would win this event,
an told reporters.
Its going to be life-changing. Its the biggest event on the European Tour and you get
a lot of benefits.
This has got me into a lot of events. Im
just over the moon right now.
It was great to go into the last hole with
a six-shot lead and especially walking off the
green knowing that Ive done it.
On a memorable day for asian golf Thailands Thongchai Jaidee finished in a tie for
second on 273 alongside Spains Miguel angel Jimenez and two shots clear of Englands
Chris Wood who had a hole-in-one on his
way to a 66.
Italys Francesco Molinari, who was tied
for the lead with an overnight, faded to a
closing 74 and fifth after leading for the first
three days.
Joint runner-up Jaidee tipped an to
be major player in the coming years after
becoming the first asian winner of the
tournament.
He said, It is nice to see an asian boy
win the tournament. This is a big tournament in Europe and he played really solid
today.

Go try Europe, says An

Breong-hun An plays out of a bunker on his way to victory at Wentworth. Photo: AFP

Hes very young and he has more confidence now. He can be the star player of the
future.
an was the youngest winner of the US amateur when he claimed the crown aged 17 in
2009 at Southern Hills but had won just once
as a professional before this win and this was
his first appearance in Europes biggest event
outside the Open Championship.
But he had shown form this season with a
share of fifth place at the Qatar Masters being
the first of three top-10 finishes.
an was tied with Molinari at 14-under par
at the start of the final day, the first time he
had led a European Tour event, but Molinari
fell away after bogeying the first whilst an had
a bogey-free front nine of 33, two-under par.
He pressed the accelerator after the turn to
put daylight between himself and the rest of
the field holing a birdie at the par-4 11th and
making an eagle three at the 12th.
By the time he rolled in a birdie putt on the

15th, an was five clear and the rest of the field

were playing for place money.
a birdie on the par-5 17th got an to 21-under
the card and a solid par-5 at the last brought
the curtain down on his record-breaking win
and a breakthrough victory for the Seoul-born
player.
an became the first European Tour
rookie to win the flagship event since Scott
Drummond did the trick in 2004 and only the
third in the history of the tournament, after
Drummond and Bernard Gallacher in 1969.
Wood had a hole-in-one at the 164-metre
par-3 14th, using a seven-iron, and won himself
a BMW i8 car on his way to fourth place.
Irelands Shane Lowry and Tommy
Fleetwood of England shared sixth place
with Lowry shooting a last-round 69, but
Fleetwood who was two-under after four holes
and the closest challenger to an early in the
round, finished with a level 72 as his challenge
petered out. AFP

SOUTH Koreas Byeong-hun an has urged asian players to

try their luck on the European Tour after his breakthrough
win at Wentworth.
The 23-year-old, who won the US amateur aged 17 in
2009, is in his first year on the full circuit after spending
three seasons on the second-tier Challenge Tour.
He will now be playing at the US Open at Chambers Bay
next month and at the Open Championship at St andrews
in July. But he admitted he tried to put thoughts of those
invitations to the back of his mind this weekend.
and an is trying to persuade more golfers from asia to
follow his lead and try and make the breakthrough in Europe.
My friends, who live in asia or play the asian Tour, Im
always telling them the European Tour is great, an told
reporters.
There are a lot of good players and a lot of good events
and great courses and some of the places we go, its great.
I keep telling them its a great tour and I think they should
come over.
I tried to not look at those things, what benefits Ill get.
Try to play the golf I did today, that was my goal. The win
was good, definitely, and US Open and The Open is even
better, but I never thought about those. But its great to play
those events.
an cut his teeth on the Challenge Tour winning one
event in 2014 in Switzerland and becoming the first Korean to taste victory at that level.
after his US amateur win observers had predicted a meteoric rise for the youngster but he insists his time playing
the shadow events stood him in good stead when he was in
position to win the biggest trophy of his career.
It evidently did help. I think I could not have done it
without playing the Challenge Tour for the last three years
it definitely got me prepared. I played great this year and
it got me ready for this big main Tour event and that is
definitely part of this win.
I was playing well, but never thought it was coming.
I was dreaming about it, but not in this event, definitely,
because there are a lot of good players and my goal is to
try to make the cut this week because its such a big event
and a lot of good players. My goal was definitely to try to
win a tour event. But I didnt know it was going to be this
quickly. AFP

ASIAN GAMeS

Sri Lanka ditched as Asian Youth Games host

SrI Lanka has lost the right to host
the 2017 asian Youth Games because
of political interference from the government, the Olympic Council of asia
(OCa) said.
The multi-sport event set to be held
in the southern town of Hambantota
was withdrawn due to problems with
the autonomy of the national Olympic
Committee from the government, an
OCa statement said.
The statement gave no further

details about what the government interference might have involved.

The tournament will instead be offered to Jakarta as a test event for the
2018 asian Games, with a final decision on the new location due at the
OCa general assembly in September.
Hambantotas hosting was earlier
in doubt after media reports last year
suggested the OCa, run by Kuwaiti
powerbroker Sheikh ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah, was unhappy with the

progress being made.

In the same statement, the sheikh,
who holds wide influence in world football as well as the Olympic movement,
thanked Sapporo for stepping in to
hold the 2017 asian Winter Games.
Sheikh ahmad added that it was not
easy to find hosts for the continents
Winter Games and he urged either Beijing or almaty, who are bidding for the
2022 Winter Olympics, to hold asias
2021 edition as a test event. AFP

TeNNIS

French Open Japanese record smashed

IN PICTUReS

Photo: AFP

The initial group stages for the FIFA

2018 World Cup and the AFC 2019 Asian
Cup began on May 24 when Thailand
beat Vietnam 1-0 in an all-ASEAN affair
in Bangkok. Substitute Pokklaw A-nan
scored the only goal in the 80th minute at
Rajamangala National Stadium.

Japan smashed a record which had

stood for almost half a century at the
French Open on May 24 by seeing five
men make the first round draw.
not since 1967 has Japan enjoyed
such relative riches in paris, with
world number five Kei nishikori leading the way.
However, the stardust of nishikori
wasnt immediately rubbing off on
his compatriots, as the five quickly
became four when veteran Go Soeda
was defeated 6-1, 6-0, 6-2 by German
22nd seed philipp Kohlschreiber in
the opening round.
I think its great for asia, not only
Japan, said 30-year-old Soeda of Japans achievement.
Five players in the main draw so
I think we can be confident. But we
have to win the first match or second
match.
If I play main draw, I have to win
main draw. nishikori can win this
tournament. But other players, we

Go Soeda attempts a return in the first round of the French Open. Photo: AFP

should win the first round, added

Soeda who has never won a main draw
match in paris.
nishikori, the US Open runner-up
last year, won his first tie of the 2015
tournament later May 24 against
Frances paul-Henri Mathieu.

Japans other players in the first

round are qualifiers Taro Daniel and
who playS Spains Fernando Verdasco and Yoshito nishioka who lost to
Czech fourth seed Tomas Berdych.
Tatsuma Ito failed to progress
against Italys Fabio Fognini. AFP

Sport
24 THE MYANMAR TIMES May 26, 2015

SPORT EDITOR: Matt Roebuck | matt.d.roebuck@gmail.com

First Asian winner of the

Euro PGA Championship
SPORT 23

Myanmar arrive in NZ

MaTT ROebuck
kyaw Zin Hlaing

YanMaRS representatives to the FIFa U20

World Cup took to the
training ground yesterday,
playing in Whangareis
William Fraser Memorial Park.
new Zealands northernmost city
will play host to the Young White angels for their opening two games of the
tournament: the United States on May
30 and Ukraine on June 2.
the US side is stronger than us but
I am not afraid of this challenge, said
Myanmars German coach Gerd Zeise in
comments released to the press.
I have studied video of their past
matches. they are taller and stronger
and possess greater individual skill than

our players, but I have also identified

their weaknesses which we will look to
exploit, he added.
the Ukranian side consist of players from teams that compete with the
best in Europe. and new Zealand are
the home side,. Every match will be a
tough one.
Myanmar arrived in new Zealand
on May 24 after a pre-tournament
tour of australia where they beat the
Melbourne City youth side 7-1 and succumbed to asian U19 Champions Qatar
4-1.
Qatar won their title last October,
beating then hosts Myanmar 3-2 in
extra-time of the tournaments semifinal. Qatars preparation for these
games also saw them take on Myanmars May 30 opponents when they
drew 2-2 with the United States on

april 21 in austria.
In recent matchups Myanmar, a
team that struggles in depth, have been
without first-string players nyein Chan
aung and than Paing after they suffered injuries in the teams april tour of
Europe.
they have been buoyed by the return
to full training of the latter but whether
nyein Chan aung will lace up his boots
for this weekends match remains in the
balance.
Im back from my injury but Im yet
to reach 100 percent. But I hope to be
available for the opening game, said the
younger footballer.
Hes hopeful that he will make the
first game and I hope that he can, but
he still needs to work more with our fitness coach before that will be possible,
said Zeise.

Myanmar U20 side take instruction from coach Gerd Zeise and then relax after
their first training session in New Zealand. Photos: Facebook/MFF

SPORT DiPlOMacy

Armenia presence at Games win-win for sport, says Hickey

Pat Hickey, the president of the European Olympic Committees, told aFP
that the presence of azerbaijans bitter enemies armenia at the inaugural
European Games in Baku next month
demonstrates how sport can give a
lead to politicians.
However, the Irishman said there
are also limits and while he has raised
the thorny issue of azerbaijans poor
human rights record with the government he added the EOC had no
right to interfere in a sovereign states
affairs.
Hickey, who was the driving force
behind the European Games and will
see his brainchild become reality at
the June 12 opening ceremony, says
the fact he managed, aided by International Olympic Committee (IOC) president thomas Bach, to persuade the
armenians to compete in Baku was a
considerable diplomatic feat.

the two Caucasus countries have

been locked in conflict since a bloody
war in the early 1990s following the
breakup of the Soviet Union.
Yerevan-backed ethnic armenian
separatists seized control of Karabakh during the conflict that left some
30,000 dead.
Despite years of negotiations, the
two countries have not signed a final
peace deal following a shaky 1994
truce, and clashes have intensified
over the past year along the Karabakh
frontline.
the predominantly armenian-populated region is internationally recognised as part of azerbaijan.
Lots of people like to focus on the
negatives, but for me there is a huge
positive, Hickey told aFP by phone
from Dublin.
We have done a remarkable
thing in getting armenia to agree to

compete and azerbaijan to welcoming

them to the Games.
I flew to Yerevan last year and was
very ably assisted by thomas Bach in
persuading them to come.
It is living proof that sport is
ahead of the politicians in areas such
as that.
I was paid a huge compliment for
achieving this the other day by a female MEP [Member of the European
Parliament] who said she had tried
over the past two years to get representatives from both countries to meet
together in her office and they wont
even do that.
For armenia to be at the Games is
a great win-win for sport.
Hickey, a member of the elite Executive Board of the IOC for the past
three years, has been criticised he
was the unlikely target of a recent
New York Times editiorial for having

allowed the Games be hosted by azerbaijan.

We do what we can behind the
scenes, said the Irishman.
But at the end of the day we are a
sporting body and we havent the right
to interfere with a sovereign states
affairs.
We have met with a Human
Rights Watch delegation that visited
us in Dublin and we went in front of
the European Parliament in Brussels
last week.
We listen very carefully.
Hickey is confident that unlike in
azerbaijan the continents top class
swimmers and track and field athletes
will compete in the 2019 edition of the
European Games.
However, he is delighted with the
competition that lies ahead which
incorporates the European Judo
Championships where French leg-

end teddy Riner will be the headline

attraction and the boxing where
Irish Olympic star Katie taylor is
competing.
Originally it was meant to be
an experimental Games with just
10 sports, but it has ballooned into
20 and 12 of them are qualifiers in
one way or another for the 2016
Olympics.
thus we have gone from an experimental Games to a fully fledged one.
Hickey, a former Irish international judoka, turns 70 during the
Games, which he says is purely
coincidental.
the European Games is considered as my baby and it makes me
rightly proud that they are becoming
reality. Due to no express planning my
70th birthday comes during them.
So it will be a double cause for
celebration. AFP