HEARTBEAT OF THE NATION

500
Ks.

WWW.MMTIMES.COM

DAILY EDITION

ISSUE 51 | WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

NEWS 2

Student trial goes on as

education talks resume
Students and activists appeared in
court again yesterday while union
group representatives agreed to
rejoin parliamentary sparring over
the contested education law.

NEWS 3

Should aid be tied to the

Rohingya issue?
Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Tutu
suggests the international community
should link donations to Myanmar to
the plight of Rakhine States Muslims.
BUSINESS 8

Authorities struggle with

tax-dodging restaurants
Officials begin levying their first fines
on restaurants for not following the
rule on tax labels after a grace period
ends, but the move may not be enough
to stamp out tax evasion.
BUSINESS 9

IN PICTURES
PHOTO: AUNG MYIN YE ZAW

A mobile food vendor sets out in search of dry land at the onset of the monsoon season
in Yangon. Keep those umbrellas handy: Heavy rains and temperatures in the low to
mid-30s are forecast in the city over the next week.

Condo developers
branching out of Yangon
A cooling Yangon property market has
driven developers to smaller cities in
the regions and states, with planned
high-rises being the first of their kind in
places like Monywa and Pathein.

Ex-generals get ready to run

Senior military officers are preparing to swap their uniforms for civilian attire and join the ruling USDP with an eye
to contesting parliamentary elections in November, a party official says. NEWS 3

2 News

THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 27, 2015

Students face trial as others

join education talks in NPT
YOLA VERBRUGGEN
MRATT KYAW THU
EI EI TOE LWIN
newsroom@mmtimes.com
THE trial of 70 students and activists arrested in the mass crackdown
in Letpadan continued yesterday
even as their representatives from
two unions rejoined talks in parliament over the controversial National Education Law that triggered the
protests.
Although the authorities call it
an open trial, in reality only a few
people managed to squeeze into the
small courtroom in Tharyarwady
township. According to U Thein
Than Oo, a defence lawyer, relatives
were allowed into the courtroom in
the morning but disturbed the meeting by talking to the accused. The
judge then decided not to allow them
in anymore.
The trial is not open. Only
some people are allowed inside,
said student Ko Thiha Win Tin, a
distance student of law and a central committee member of the All
Burma Federation of Students Union (ABFSU).
It was the turn of the defence
yesterday to question the prosecutor, Letpadan township Police Major Maung Phone Myint. He said 117
people were arrested in Letpadan on
March 10 and 84 had been charged,
including three students who are still
on the run.

Photo: Aung Myin Ye Zaw

Students protest outside Tharyarwady Township Court on May 12.

The police major said he did not

know if anyone was injured in the
crackdown, which was widely condemned and documented for its brutality. When asked if he had not seen
the pictures of the crackdown, he answered, They dont show they were
hit, only that they were aimed at.
He insisted the protest was dispersed in accordance with the law
and that the students were the first
attackers.
As the trial made its slow progress with students voicing complaints over their ill health and mis-

treatment in prison some of their

representatives from the ABFSU
and the University Students Union resumed their participation as
observers in education talks in parliament in Nay Pyi Taw at the invitation of the government.
The meeting was hosted by the
Higher Education Draft Committee.
Opposition leader Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi was quoted as saying after
the talks that the amended National
Education Law would be approved
by a joint session of the two houses
of parliament within two weeks.

Until the Letpadan crackdown,

students had waged months of campaigns to change the law first passed
by parliament last September. Students say that under the law the education system remains centralised,
underfunded and not compatible
with the language needs of ethnic
minorities, while also not recognising the rights of students and teachers to form free unions.
We were invited by the government, Ko Chit Win Maung of ABFSU
said in Nay Pyi Taw. It was a rush
to attend the meeting as we just arrived from England, so we couldnt
call students not from the unions.
But well invite other students to the
next meetings, he told The Myanmar Times.
In the stifling heat of the Tharyarwady trial, defence lawyers asked the
police major how he did not know
that two of those arrested were minors and should be sent to a juvenile
court. He claimed that they had given their ages as 17 under interrogation. One was 14 at the time of his
arrest and the other 15.
Another 16 defendants applied for
bail yesterday, including a mother of
two children. The next hearing is set
for June 2.
If the government is smart they
will let them go before the elections.
But I dont think they will because
they have always been stupid in the
past, said U Kyee Myint, one of 20
lawyers working on the case.

Senior general seeks truth about Kachin murders

YE MON
yeemontun2013@gmail.com
A DECLARATION from Tatmadaw
Commander-in-Chief Senior General
Min Aung Hlaing that he wants to
get at the truth of the rape and murder last January of two young Kachin
women has prompted both scepticism and hope.
The senior general reportedly
also stated that he did not believe
Tatmadaw soldiers were involved in
the crimes, which occurred in Kaung
Khar in northern Shan State.
His remarks were apparently
made to Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) officials when they
met in Nay Pyi Taw in March and

were conveyed by KIO leader General Gun Maw when he spoke to the
Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) last
week.
The Rev Samson Hkalam, the general secretary of the KBC, told The
Myanmar Times yesterday that the
remarks attributed to the senior general had made him more suspicious of
Tatmadaw involvement than ever.
We welcome the promise of the
senior general, but we dont accept his
statement that Tatmadaw soldiers did
not commit the rapes and murders of
the two Kachin teachers. He has no
evidence to say so, he said.
Two days before the crimes, about
40 soldiers of the 503rd Light Infantry
Regiment under Tatmadaw Northeast

Region Command had established a

temporary base in Kaung Khar, about
100 metres (330 feet) from where the
two young womens naked bodies
were later found. Local people have
accused the Tatmadaw, and said they
had found an army-issue belt and
boot-prints at the scene of the crime.
The government formed an investigation committee with the police
and one member of the KBC, but the
senior official of the committee said
yesterday they were still investigating
and had no suspects.
The KBC said it believed no villagers were involved in the incident,
and rejected preliminary DNA findings that the government said did not
match any member of the army unit

deployed to the village, or any local

residents.
The KBC has formed its own investigation team, which has urged the
government to question two military
drivers.
The two victims, Maran Lu Ra, 20,
and Tangbau Hkwan Nan Tsin, 21,
were working as volunteers for the
KBC teaching children whose education had been disrupted by persistent
fighting.
Daw Lu Bu, the mother of Tangbau Hkwan Nan Tsin, said yesterday
she hoped the truth would come out
soon and she believed the government could investigate this case.
I pray every day for the success of
the investigation team, she said.

Ethnic party
opens new
constitution
amendment
campaign
LUN MIN MANG
lunmin.lm@gmail.com
ETHNIC political parties have opened
up a new front in the campaign to
amend the 2008 constitution. While
others have taken aim at the clauses
that govern eligibility for the presidency and entrench the role of the
military in governance, the Nationalities Brotherhood Federation (NBF)
called on May 25 for the amendment
of section 261, which concerns the appointment of the chief ministers of the
states and regions.
The constitution decrees that the
chief minister of a state or region shall
be selected by the president. The NBF,
an alliance of more than 20 political
parties, wants to win a majority of
seats in every state and region where
its member organisations are competing. It has set its sights on winning
at least 161 townships, as well as the
posts of ethnic affairs ministers.
U Saw Than Myint, vice chair of the
Federal Union Party, which is affiliated
with the NBF, said the alliances call
for the amendment of the constitution
would probably be considered.
This is a question of the rights of
ethnic peoples, under a law the president has just signed, he said. We
dont want the chief minister to be selected by the president. The state and
regional parliaments should select
their own chief ministers.
U Saw Than Myint predicted clashes in the next parliament between majority Bamar and minority MPs unless
the amendment was approved.
The NBF statement also takes issue
with claims by ethnic-majority parties
apparently a reference to the ruling
Union Solidarity and Development
Party and the opposition National
League for Democracy that they can
represent ethnic minorities.
We reject the idea that some
non-ethnic parties are saying they
represent ethnic peoples. Only ethnic
political parties can represent ethnic
peoples, said U Saw Than Myint.
The statement also called for the
signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire
Agreement to allow political dialogue
to begin. The NBF and its partners have
already drawn up a framework for the
dialogue, which they presented to the
leaders of Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team in March.

www.mmtimes.com

NEWS EDITOR: Thomas Kean | tdkean@gmail.com

News 3

Ex-generals
expected to
join USDP
for elections
EI EI TOE
LWIN
eieitoelwin@gmail.com

MORE retired generals are likely

to take up top posts in the ruling
Union Solidarity and Development Party and run as candidates
in the November parliamentary
elections, according to USDP central committee member U Aung
Thein Linn.
The remarks by the former
brigadier-general to The Myanmar
Times in parliament yesterday
follow intense speculation over
the future of current generals and
other senior officers nearing retirement age in the wake of comments by Defence Minister Lieutenant-General Wai Lwin to the
hluttaw this month that he would
be ready to stand for election if
selected.
I myself am from the Tatmadaw, so it is possible that retired
generals will be in the top leadership posts of the USDP. They
are particularly thinking about
becoming candidates in the election as party representatives. So,
retired generals might compete in
the election, U Aung Thein Linn
said.
I myself was a general. I have
joined politics. It is a way of protecting the country and people.
It is faithful to the nation, isnt
it? Do we have the right to be
involved in political affairs? We
have that right, he said.
A fresh influx of ex-generals
into the ranks of the USDP is
likely to fuel the debate over the
militarys attempt to preserve its
influence after the elections. The
2008 constitution already guarantees that the Tatmadaw will hold
25 percent of seats in both houses
of parliament, enough to veto attempts to amend the constitution.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the military commander-inchief, is also the subject of much
speculation following reports that
he would retire within the next

two months and enter the political fray.

Sen Gen Min Aung Hlaing earlier told the media that he did not
know whether he would contest
the presidency, saying his decision
depended on the countrys needs.
The USDPs fourth central
committee meeting, to be held on
May 29 and 30, is expected to discuss the selection of its candidate
for president who will be elected
by the next parliament and the
selection of party candidates to
run in all constituencies across
the country.
A preliminary meeting will be
held on May 28. The next two days
are more important, said Amyotha Hluttaw representative U Hla
Swe, a USDP member. We will
have to earmark the candidates
for constituencies and position of
president, I think. It is the right
time to select them.
Attention is also focusing on
who will be the next chair of the
party as the election approaches.
President U Thein Sein, a former military commander, was
party leader in the 2010 elections.
After his election by parliament as president in 2011 he relinquished the position and was succeeded by Thura U Shwe Mann.
However, it has been reported
that Thura U Shwe Mann, the
Speaker of parliament who recently indicated his readiness to
run for president, is a temporary
chair of the party and U Thein Sein
might retake the position.
U Aung Thein Linn said the
agenda of the USDP meeting has
not been released in detail.
I think the meeting will
select hluttaw candidates. For party
leader, it doesnt need to take much
time. People speculate about it in
various ways. It is the speculation
of each individual, he said.
The military-backed USDP ran
in 1112 out of 1158 constituencies
across Myanmar in the 2010 elections, which it swept by a landslide.
The opposition National League
for Democracy boycotted the polls,
which were marred by allegations
of extensive vote-rigging.
Translation by Thiri Min Htun

Clashes continue
between govt, KIA
LUN MIN MANG
lunmin.lm@gmail.com
CLASHES between government
forces and the Kachin Independence Army in Mansi township have
continued despite talks held on May
21 in an attempt to end the fighting,
peace monitors said yesterday.
The government accuses the KIA
of protecting illegal loggers transporting teak from Myanmar across
the China border through Mansi. U
La Mai Gun Ja, a member of Peace
Creation Group, a third-party monitor, said his team had proposed at
the talks that government forces
should first notify the KIA before
taking action. Such a procedure had
helped reduce clashes in 2011 and

2012 after a long-standing ceasefire

broke down in 2011.
Despite the efforts, fighting continued from May 23 to 25. The KIA
says the government is using the illegal logging issue as a pretext to attack them and set up their own business or construction routes.
KIA spokesperson U La Nang
said the government should inform
an intermediary group if they plan
troop movements in KIA areas.
Neither side has released details of
casualties from the recent fighting.
U La Mai Gun Ja expressed concern that the fighting will continue
even if the government and leaders
of ethnic armed factions manage to
conclude a nationwide ceasefire accord in the coming weeks.

An Indonesian protester takes part in a rally with dozens of Muslim and labour groups in front of Myanmars embassy in
Jakarta yesterday. Indonesia says it has begun search and rescue operations for stranded migrant boats carrying ethnic
Rohingya from Myanmar and Bangladeshis. Photo: AFP

Tutu and Soros speak on Rohingya

SOUTH Africas archbishop and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond
Tutu called yesterday for international aid to Myanmar to be linked
to the plight of the countrys persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority.
2015 is a big year for Myanmar
with both a referendum on its constitution and a general election,
he told an Oslo conference on the
Rohingya. We have a responsibility to ensure that the plight of the
Rohingya is not lost, he said in
a pre-recorded message aired to
participants.
We have a responsibility to per-

suade our international and regional

aid and grant-making institutions, including the European Union, to adopt
a common position making funding
the development of Myanmar conditional on the restoration of citizenship, nationality and basic human
rights to the Rohingya, he said.
George Soros, a billionaire fund
manager who has supported Myanmars democracy movement for
more than two decades, said in a
message to the conference. The
most immediate threat to Burmas
transition is the rising anti-Muslim
sentiment and officially condoned

abuse of the Rohingya people.

From private conversations with
progressive Burmese officials, I know
that some in power genuinely want
to see a Burma where all are treated
equally, but these officials also fear
the potential of extremist violence
from the small but powerful group
of religious radicals, the 84-year-old
philanthropist said. These extremists have created a tinder box that
could blow up the entire reform process. The government must confront
these extremists and their financial
supporters.
AFP and The Myanmar Times

4 News

THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 27, 2015

Opium poppies are grown as a cash crop

in Shan State. The governments latest plan
to drive farmers away from cultivating the
poppies is to supply a South American
bean that can be refined into cooking oil.
Myanmar remains Southeast Asias top
opium producer. Photo: EPA

Chief Executive Officer

Tony Child
tonychild.mcm@gmail.com
Editorial Director U Thiha Saw
editorial.director.mcm@gmail.com
Deputy Chief Operating Officer Tin Moe Aung
tinmoeaung.mcm@gmail.com
EDITORIAL
Editor MTE Thomas Kean
tdkean@gmail.com
Editor MTM Sann Oo
sannoo@gmail.com
Chief of Staff Zaw Win Than
zawwinthan@gmail.com
Editor Special Publications Myo Lwin
myolwin286@gmail.com
Editor-at-Large Douglas Long
dlong125@gmail.com
News Editor MTE Guy Dinmore
guydinmore@gmail.com
Business Editor MTE Jeremy Mullins
jeremymullins7@gmail.com
World Editor MTE Fiona MacGregor,
Kayleigh Long
The Pulse Editor MTE Charlotte Rose
charlottelola.rose@gmail.com
Sport Editor MTE Matt Roebuck
matt.d.roebuck@googlemail.com
Special Publications Editor MTE Wade Guyitt
wadeguyitt@gmail.com
Regional Affairs Correspondent Roger Mitton
rogermitton@gmail.com
Sub-Editors Peter Swarbrick, Laignee Barron
Chief Sub Editor MTM Aye Sapay Phyu
Business & Property Editor MTM
Tin Moe Aung
tinmoeaung.mcm@gmail.com
Timeout Editor MTM Moh Moh Thaw
mohthaw@gmail.com
MCM BUREAUS
News Editors (Mandalay)
Khin Su Wai, Phyo Wai Kyaw
Nay Pyi Taw Bureau Chief Hsu Hlaing Htun
hsuhlainghtun.mcm@gmail.com

Govt tries S American bean in

latest ploy to kick opium habit

DIGITAL/ONLINE
Online Editors Eli Meixler, Thet Hlaing
elimeixler@gmail.com, thet202@gmail.com

PYAE THET
PHYO

PHOTOGRAPHICS
Director Kaung Htet
Photographers
Aung Htay Hlaing, Thiri, Zarni Phyo
PRODUCTION
zarnicj@gmail.com
Art Director Tin Zaw Htway
Production Manager Zarni
MCM PRINTING
Printing Director Han Tun
Factory Administrator Aung Kyaw Oo (3)
Factory Foreman Tin Win
SALES & MARKETING
ads.myanmartimes@gmail.com
Deputy National Sales Directors
Chan Tha Oo, Nay Myo Oo,
Nandar Khine, Nyi Nyi Tun
Classifieds Manager Khin Mon Mon Yi
classified.mcm@gmail.com
ADMIN, FINANCE & SYSTEMS
Chief Financial Officer Mon Mon Tha Saing
monmonthasaing@gmail.com
Deputy HR Director Khine Su Yin
khinesu1988@gmail.com
Director of IT/Systems Kyaw Zay Yar Lin
kyawzayarlin@gmail.com
Publisher U Thiha (Thiha Saw), 01021
Myanmar Consolidated Media Ltd.
CIRCULATION & DISTRIBUTION
Yangon - subscribe.mt@gmail.com
Mandalay - mdydistribution.mcm@gmail.com
Nay Pyi Taw - nptdistribution.mcm@gmail.com
ADVERTISING & SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES
Telephone: (01) 253 642, 392 928
Facsimile: (01) 254 158
The Myanmar Times is owned by Myanmar
Consolidated Media Ltd and printed by
Myanmar Times Press (00876) with approval from MCM Ltd and by Shwe Myanmar
(P/00302) with approval from MCM Ltd. The
title The Myanmar Times, in either English or
Myanmar languages, its associated logos or
devices and the contents of this publication
may not be reproduced in whole or in part
without the written consent of the Managing
Director of Myanmar Consolidated Media Ltd.

Myanmar Consolidated Media Ltd.

www.mmtimes.com
Head Office: 379/383 Bo Aung Kyaw Street,
Kyauktada Township, Yangon, Myanmar.
Telephone: (01) 253 642, 253 651, 392808
Facsimile: (01) 254 158, 392 928
Mandalay Bureau: No. 20, 71st Street,
Between 28th street and 29th Street,
Chan Aye Thar San Township.
Tel: (02) 24450, 24460, 65391. Fax: (02) 74585.
Email: mdybranch@myanmartimes.com.mm
Nay Pyi Taw Bureau: No (15/496) Yaza Htarni
Road, Paung Laung (2)Q, Pyinmana.
Tel: (067) 25982, 25983, 25309, 21426
Email: capitalbureau@myanmartimes.com.mm

pyaethetphyo87@gmail.com

MYANMARS parliament is anteing

up yet another substitution crop plan
in its desperate attempt to combat a
massive resurgence in the cultivation
of opium poppies.
The shwe sin kye (pure gold star)
bean, also known as the Inca peanut, is being imported from Peru by
a private company for test batches in
Kachin and Shan states, according to
U Ohn Than, deputy minister for the
Agriculture and Irrigation Ministry.
The South American plant, which can
be used to produce a nutty cooking oil
and medicinal leaves, will initially be
cultivated on 1500 acres in Lashio and
Muse in Shan State, as well in Myitkyina in Kachin State.
If the test cultivation is successful,
the ministry will provide technical aid
to farmers to cultivate it as alternative
crop for opium poppies, said U Ohn
Than.
The crop substitution program is
the latest among scores of failed attempts to wean Myanmar farmers off

poppy fields, the illegal cash-cow taking up swathes of the remote, northern hills. In 1999, the government announced a 15-year strategy to rid the
country of its opium-producing fields
by 2014.
Despite the attempts, Myanmar,
once the global leader in the production of opium poppies and sale of its
refined form heroin, has held fast to
a second-tier spot behind Afghanistan
since the 1990s.
After a couple dips in production
in the early 2000s, a recent resurgence in the Golden Triangle and
especially in areas controlled by
ethnic insurgent groups has seen
the nations poppy cultivation triple
between 2006 and 2014, with poor
farmers dedicating over 150,000 acres
to the opium trade, according to
United Nations estimates.
Efforts to counteract the highly
profitable trade have included subsidising alternative crops that tend not
to provide much of a viable solution,
such as expensive coffee beans that do
not produce for years, not-very-profitable wheat and disease-prone rubber
trees that take seven years and a sizeable piece of land to grow.
72 percent of poppy-growing villages in Myanmar reported that they
cultivated opium in order to make

Inca peanuts are meant to replace

poppy farming. Photo: Wikicommons

more (or easy) money, or to cover basic

living expenses such as food, education and housing, said a UN Office of
Drugs and Crime report from last year.
The string of substitutions have also
failed to address the heavy corruption
and official connivance issues contributing to the growth of the illicit crop
while lining the pockets of authorities
tasked with uprooting the industry.
The US State Department has accused the Shan State Army-South of

being a key player in opium cultivation

and trafficking, while a former UN official told the New York Times that military officers are often paid to look the
other way.
The current plan to switch poppy
farmers to Inca peanuts will rely on
fast turn-arounds from seeding to harvests, as well as limited start-up costs,
according to deputy minister U Ohn
Than, who sought parliamentary support for the project on May 25.
A private company will sell the seeds
at K22000 for a kilogram, and buy the
generated beans for K1100 per a kilogram, U Ohn Than said.
By comparison, each kilogram of
opium has potential to be sold for $300
to $500.
Still, farmers many of whom have
explained in surveys that they would
like to be provided a way out of an illegal trade that includes armed traffickers and large bribes have expressed
willingness to try out the new crop.
I am interested in the bean,
said U Saw Tun Mya Aung, a farmer
who addressed the Amyotha Hluttaw. I heard about them being
grown in China, and then they have
been grown in Thailand and Cambodia when it is proved successful
in China. - Additional reporting by
Laignee Barron

Asia Pacific continues to be a meth hotspot

as seizures quadruple over five years
LAIGNEE BARRON
laignee@gmail.com
METHAMPHETAMINE use and production continues an upwards surge in
the Asia Pacific region where seizures
nearly quadrupled over five years, according to the United Nations.
Between 2008 and 2013, the last recorded year, seizures of methamphetamines in the region increased from
11 to 42 metric tonnes, according to a
report launched by the UN Office of
Drugs and Crime yesterday.
Myanmar has among the regions
cheapest access to methamphetamines
at US $2 per tablet, partially contributing to a huge growth in domestic consumption of the affordable high.
In some narcotic-producing regions

in Myanmar, which is known more for

its massive opium and heroin trade
(see related story above), domestic
consumption of methamphetamine
tablets has tripled between 2012 and
2014.

$2

Cost of a meth tablet in Myanmar where

consumption of the drug rose three-fold
from 2012 to 2014

The country is also growing a hotspot for exported synthetic drugs, including methamphetamines, known
colloquially as meth, as well as yaba
and ice.
A large portion of the methamphetamines seized in Thailand and China
are thought to have originated in Myanmar, the UNODC said.
The drug, a stimulant, comes in the
form of not-so-pure tablets, and a more
purified crystalline form.
Myanmar is perceived to be the
main source for methamphetamine
tablets found throughout the Mekong
sub-region, and to a lesser extent the
source for tablets seized in south and
east Asia. Analysis of the 2013 amphetamine type stimulants seized in China
revealed that most of the seizures 85

percent came from Yunnan province

where almost all of the tablets had
been imported from Myanmar.
Methamphetamine tablets are reported to be mostly manufactured in
the northeastern Shan State, bordering
China, Lao PDR and Thailand, said
the UNODC report. Between 2004 and
2013, law enforcement authorities in
Myanmar have discovered 31 methamphetamine tablet pressing machines,
nearly all of which were located in the
Shan State.
Earlier this year, the US State Department indicated Myanmar was one
of 22 major illict drug producing countries and said that it had failed in its
counter-narcotics efforts, but President
Barack Obama waived sanctions that
may have accompanied such a ranking.

News 5

www.mmtimes.com

Inle Authority to be formed next month

KHIN SU
WAI
jasminekhin@gmail.com

INLE Lake will soon have a longdelayed administrative oganisation

aimed at preserving one of the countrys most important habitats and
tourist attractions. Experts say the
lake, the second-largest in Myanmar,
is being polluted by industry and agriculture and has already shrunk to half
its original size, with the danger that it
could disappear within a century.
Intha Ethnic Affairs Minister U Win
Myint, representing the ethnic group
among the 400,000 people who live on
and around the lake in Shan State, said
the Inle Lake Authority will be formed
next month. Government and international organisations will manage funding for the lakes conservation, while
local people will also have the right to
join project committees.
U Win Myint told The Myanmar
Times that it had taken three years
to set up the lake authority and that
regional government officials had met
on May 22 to tackle the issue.
In the past, the Union government
was occupied with conservation projects, and international organisations
also helped and supported conservation and rehabilitation of the lake, he
said. But help and support did not go
directly to local people and they did
not have the chance to be involved
with programs.

A boatman rows across

Inle Lake in Shan State.
Photo: Staff

Some 25 percent of local people live

below the poverty line and villagers
complain they have been denied jobs
in conservation projects.
Funding for the new authority will
come from the Union budget, the Shan
regional budget and zone fees for the
lake. The private sector will also be
involved through the participation of
hotels and local investors, including
banks, U Win Myint said.
The lake attracts more than
100,000 visitors a year. Zone fees now

cost US$10, up from $5 in 2010 and

$3 in 1990. The levy is allocated to the
Shan State government, which was
supposed to spend half on conservation projects.
Experts from Japan, Vietnam and
Tibet have joined workshops to discuss how to set up the authority.
If we all work hard together, the
lake could be sustainable. We are
learning from the statutes of lake authorities abroad, U Win Myint said.
However, Ko Soe Min Latt, a mem-

ber of the Federal Union Party from

Nyaung Shwe, was sceptical about the
impact of the new body, saying that it
might shatter like many other organisations have in the past.
Experts say the lake is afflicted by
a host of problems. Its surface area
is shrinking because of rising silt
through soil erosion from surrounding
deforested hills. Native water plants
are declining, and water quality is deteriorating because of poor sanitation,
chemical fertilisers and chemical dyes.

The rapid rise in visitor numbers is

also a factor.
The UNDP and the Norwegian
government have helped fund the Inle
Lake Conservation and Rehabilitation
Project, a five-year program covering
71 villages in collaboration with the
Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry.
The Institute of International Development and UN-Habitat have also
drawn up long-term plans to save the
lake.

London Sayadaw
lawyer complains over
court proceedings
AUNG KYAW MIN
aungkyawmin.mcm@gmail.com

Children play football on a condominium rooftop in Yangon, where residents complain of the lack of public space caused
by the housing construction boom. Photo: Phyu Phyu Zin

Public space dwindles in Yangon

KYAW PHONE KYAW
k.phonekyaw@gmail.com
HIGH-RISE buildings are sucking up
Yangons air and water, suffocating its
inhabitants, say space-starved residents. According to a recent survey,
the once-green city offers its residents
almost zero public space.
U Than Moe, who works with the
UN-Habitat Urban Research and Development Institute, said Yangons city
dwellers have only 0.37 square metres
of public space per person. The figure
comes from a survey conducted by
the Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA) and Japans Ministry
of Land and Infrastructure, Transport
and Tourism.
Public space available to the people of Yangon is almost zero, he said.
In the past, Yangon was called a green
city, but not anymore. He added that
Singapore and Bangkok have 10 times
as much space per person as Yangon.
They should create more open
spaces instead of building wherever
they see vacant ground, said U Than
Moe.
The relentless pace of development
over the past few years has taken its
toll.

Parks are rare in Yangon, said Ko

Myo Min Oo, a resident of Mingalar
Taung Nyunt township. Even townships that have parks close them at 6
pm. Whenever they see a vacant lot, all
the authorities think about is its possible business use. Now, if we want recreation, we go to the shopping malls.
A resident of Botahtaung township,
Ko Kyaw Zin Tun, said, Honestly, I
feel as if Im suffocating. The city is
hotter. Where there are recreation areas, they arent clean or green. Now, if
we want fresh air, we have to go outside the city.
The Yangon City Development

They should create

more open spaces
instead of building
wherever they see
vacant ground.
U Than Moe
UN-Habitat Urban Research
and Development Institute

Committee does not agree. U Ko Ko

Lin, chief of services for the Playgrounds and Parks Department, said
YCDC had inherited only 43 playgrounds from its predecessor authority, and had added more than 50 new
ones. In the past, there were 58 parks
in the 33 townships under YCDC jurisdiction. He said 23 had been upgraded
and 21 were regularly maintained. No
parks or playgrounds are being destroyed, he said.
YCDC has also scrapped entrance
fees for most of Yangons parks and reports a rise in the number of visitors.
But two parks in Yankin and Tarmwe townships are being converted to
high-rise car parking, according to residents. And former student leader U
Ko Ko Gyi of 88 Generation has joined
a protest mounted by the residents of
South Okkalapa township get back a
park from a construction company.
The authorities should not be so
greedy, said Ko Myo Min Oo.
U Win Myo Thu, the managing
director of EcoDev, also warns that
the high-rise buildings might threaten Yangon. If every single high-rise
building extracts underground water.
It will damage the citys health, he
said.

A DEFENCE lawyer in the London

Sayadaw case arising from the controversial police raid on Mahasantisukha Monastery has complained
about repeatedly being prevented
from questioning witnesses in the
case.
Tarmwe Township Court judge U
San Aung yesterday intervened to
strike down a question from defence
lawyer U Thein Win, who was attempting to cross-examine a Yangon
religious official who played a prominent role in the high-profile case.
In June last year, about 300 police, 280 monks and officials from
the Ministry of Religious Affairs took
part in the raid, which was apparently prompted by a tangled ownership
dispute.
The night raid was widely condemned, with some saying it recalled
the tactics of the former military
regime.
U Uttara, known as London
Sayadaw because he is a citizen of
the United Kingdom, and four other
monks are facing charges of insulting religion and refusing to obey
the order of sangha organisations.
The charges, brought under Law No
20/90 of the former military regime,
relate to their alleged creation of the
International Organisation of Burmese Monks, or Sangha Regency, an
overseas missionary body. The law
carries a potential two-year prison
term.
The clash between judge U San
Aung and the lawyer came as U
Thein Win questioned U Sein Maw,
the director of the Yangon Region
Department of Religious Affairs,
concerning his statement that the

monks had been arrested for disobeying the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, better known by its
acronym Ma Ha Na. He asked, Do
you understand the law under which
the defendant is charged?
The judge disallowed the question,
saying, The plaintiff is not from the
legal profession, so please dont ask
about law-related questions.
U Uttara said, Theyve accused
us of defying Ma Ha Na by forming
the Sangha Regency. But this is not
forbidden by Law No 20/90. The law
states in chapter 2 that there shall
be only one Sangha Organisation in
the Union of Myanmar, comprising
all Orders of the Sangha prescribed
under the Basic Regulations.
But it doesnt say there is no
right to form a sangha organisation
abroad.
When our lawyer asked U Sein
Maw whether the law also covered
the formation of a sangha organisation abroad, the judge disallowed
the question. It looks to me as if they
dont understand the legal basis of
their own accusation, or they made
it unlawfully. We are not pleased, he
added.
Law No 20/90 was enacted under
the State Law and Order Restoration
Council on October 31, 1990, by Senior General Saw Maung.
The Sangha Regency was set up
in 1985 to carry out Buddhist missionary work overseas. It was reorganised in 2007 under the guidance
of Penang Sayadaw, said London
Sayadaw.
U Thein Win said he planned to
file an appeal against the exclusion
of his questions. We were prohibited from asking three questions today, he said.
Translation by Zar Zar Soe

News 7

www.mmtimes.com

Views
A Rohingya woman holds her
child in the Thet Kel Pyin camp
for internally displaced persons
in Sittwe, Rakhine State, on
May 25. Photo: EPA/Nyunt Win

INTERVIEW

New guidelines for

advance voting
Union Election Commission director U Thaung Hlaing
talks to the Myanmar News Agency about preparations
for the November election

Why enact a law that

will not be enforced?
SITHU AUNG
MYINT

newsroom@mmtimes.com

THE Health Care for Population

Control Bill was signed into law by
President U Thein Sein on May 19.
This came after the president had
sent an lightly amended version of
the bill back to the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, which reapproved it on May 15.
The law, which was published in
the state-run Myanma Alin newspaper on May 23, is part of a package
of four pieces of legislation intended
to protect race and religion drafted
under pressure by the Committee
for the Protection of Nationality and
Religion, a group of nationalist Buddhist monks better known as Ma Ba
Tha.
In essence, the new law allows local authorities to conduct surveys to
determine whether there are problems in their respective areas related
to an imbalance of resources caused
by a high number of migrants in
the area, a high population growth
rate and a high birth rate. If such
problems are determined to exist,
regional or state governments are
empowered to implement a birthspacing policy requiring a 36-month
interval between the birth of each
child.
The law has raised widespread
criticism outside parliament, and
some groups submitted suggestions
for revisions to parliamentary committees. There was also some debate within parliament, but it was
limited: Given that the bill seemed
to specifically target the Bengali-Rohingya populations of Buthidaung
and Maungdaw townships in Rakhine State, there were few MPs in the
Amyotha Hluttaw who were willing
to stick their necks out in defence of
such minority affairs.
In this way, the bill was passed
by the two houses and reached the

Presidents Office. On May 14 the bill

was resubmitted to parliament with
the presidents amendments: His
suggestions were limited to changing some minor points in accordance with the new structure of the
Department of Health.
Pyithu Hluttaw MP Daw May
Win Myint, the National League for
Democracy representative for Yangon Regions Mayangone township,
was one of the few MPs who was vocal in her opposition to the bill, even
during the final stages of discussion
when it was clear that it would be
passed by parliament.
The presidents cabinet and his
advisory team should deeply reevaluate the bill before the president
signs it because it may impact ethnic
minorities, womens rights and family rights, she said, adding that it
would also have socioeconomic and
wider human rights implications.

Perhaps President
U Thein Sein and
Speaker Thura U
Shwe Mann teamed
up to satisfy Ma
Ba Thas hunger
for so-called racial
and religious
protection.
Daw May Win Myint said the
law would be especially harmful to
women, who make up more than
half of Myanmars population. It
will produce only bad consequences
rather than helpful effects, she said.
But deputy attorney general U
Tun Tun Oo from the Union Attorney Generals Office insisted that the
bill was drafted in line with international standards set by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination Against Women,
the International Conference on
Population and Developments Pro-

gram of Action, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and
International Family Planning 2020.
He noted that the laws 36-month
birth-spacing plan follows World
Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, and added that the intention
was not to enforce birth-spacing
with the threat of punishment but
to provide health education. For
these reasons, U Tun Tun Oo said,
the law is not intended to discriminate against women and does not go
against international treaties.
Before being sent back to the
president to be signed, the bill was
passed by 530 votes for and 443
against, with 39 abstentions. At the
time, Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann
told MPs that the bill mainly focused
on providing health education about
childbirth, and did not include provisions for strict law enforcement.
All of this raises an interesting
question: Why enact a law that cannot be enforced, or that includes no
provisions for planning or implementation by the Department of
Health?
Perhaps President U Thein Sein
and Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann
teamed up to satisfy Ma Ba Thas
hunger for so-called racial and religious protection. Perhaps these politicians are less interested in maternal healthcare and more intent on
in gaining the support of nationalist
monks.
On May 17 Thargithway Journal published an article titled Ma
Ba Tha for the Nation, written by
Ma Ba Thas chair, Insein Ywarma
Pariyatti Monastery Sayadaw Ashin
Tilawkar Biwonsa. He branded
those who oppose the religious protection laws as traitors to the nation. He demanded that those who
vote in the 2015 election avoid such
traitors and cast their ballots for
those who are dependable for the
good of the country and nationality
and religion.
In short, President U Thein Sein
and Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann
supported the Health Care for Population Control Bill not in the interests of maternal healthcare or the
rule of law, but purely for their own
political self-interests.
Translation by Zar Zar Soe

THE Union Election Commission has

begun its voter education activities.
Advance lists of voters have been posted in a number of townships, starting
in Yangon, so that voters can check the
lists and ensure that their names are
properly recorded.
The UEC says the complete list of
voters will be ready by August, well in
advance of polling day.
The commission has held meetings
with political parties and civil society
organisations, briefing them on various aspects of the forthcoming election, which is scheduled for November.
Now details are starting to emerge
of the practical modalities of the voting, for which no precise date has yet
been set.
This week, the Myanmar News
Agency interviewed UEC director U
Thaung Hlaing on matters relating to
advance voting. U Thaung Hlaing also
outlined areas where voting practices
and procedures in 2015 represent an
improvement on the 2011 election.
He said it was important that all
voters, political parties, electoral observers and media are aware of these
improvements and the voting procedures to ensure the greatest transparency and to eliminate fraud or error to
the extent possible.
Another aim of the measures is to
ensure that all qualified voters have
the chance to vote, and ineligible persons are not permitted to do so.
In view of complaints about certain
weaknesses in the way polling was
conducted during the 2010 election and the 2012 by-election, particularly with regard to the question of advance voters, what steps
have you taken to improve arrangements?
The 2010 election was the first general election held in Myanmar for
decades, so there were weaknesses in
disseminating public education on the
voting system, information about the
electoral legislation and guidance for
the process at various levels, especially
with regard to advance votes.
Political parties and voters were
not properly prepared, and errors were
made. We have taken into account all
those weaknesses and revised our systems accordingly.
First, we will generate separate lists
of advance voters, which was not done
last time. We will also prepare separate ballot boxes for advance votes,
which will be sealed in envelopes.
The boxes will be delivered to polling stations on polling day before 6am.
Those ballot boxes will also be placed
under seal, under the observation of
registered observers, to ensure that no
votes can be removed or added other
than those qualified.
You say some voters will be able to
cast their votes before polling day
for various reasons. What are the
categories of these advance voters,
and how do they cast their votes?
There are several categories of advance voters. Some are voters who will
be outside the constituency in which
they are registered to vote on election
day. These include students, trainees,
prisoners and hospital patients. All of
these will be within the country. Outside the country, there will be foreign
service officials, including embassy
and consular staff, migrant workers

and students. There will also be serving Tatmadaw members and their
families stationed outside their constituencies.
Those who are within their constituency but physically unable to attend the polling station include the
elderly, the bedridden or disabled people, nursing mothers and military and
police officers who are on duty
throughout the day.
Qualified voters who expect to be
absent from the constituency in which
they are registered on election day
may apply to cast their vote one month
in advance of the election. Their votes
will then be counted along with all the
other votes once voting is complete.
There are three main kinds of
advanced votes. University students,
workers attending training courses,
patients in hospitals outside their constituency and prisoners are in the first
category of advanced voter.
They may apply at the nearest
township election commission office
for Form 15 as soon as the date of the
election is announced, stating their
reasons for applying and providing
their current address.
They then return the completed
form to that office, which will forward
it to the voters home ward or village,
which will confirm that the voter is
registered there and list him/her as an
advance voter.
Voters who expect to be overseas on
election day may apply for Form 15 at
the Myanmar embassy once the date
of the election has been announced.
The embassy sends the completed form via the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and the UEC to their home
townships and wards, which verify the
information contained and register
them as advance voters.
Members of the Tatmadaw and
their families need not apply for Form
15. The township election commission
where their unit is located will ask the
commanding officer for a list of the
officers and men concerned who will
be outside the constituency on polling
day, as well as their family members
who are registered voters.
The names of those qualified are
then listed by the local election commission.
What is the difference between
ward/village advance votes and
township advance votes?
In wards and villages, the number of
voters is much smaller. It is easier to
correlate the number of ballots in the
boxes set aside for advance votes with
the list of advance voters.
But in townships, with their larger
population, that kind of verification is
not so easy. It is possible that advance
votes, sent by post, will be coming in
throughout the day on polling day
itself.
We have therefore decided that advance votes can be placed into the ballot box until, but not later than, close
of polls at 4pm.
After that, no further advance votes
will be accepted, and any that arrive
thereafter will be declared invalid.
This practice represents a change
from the past, when no list of advance
voters was posted, no special ballot
box was set aside for advance votes,
and the votes themselves were not
sealed.
Translation by Thiri Min Htun

8 THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 27, 2015

Business
Authorities grapple with restaurants cheating on tax
AYE THIDAR
KYAW
ayethidarkyaw@gmail.com

A SCHEME for tax labels to be affixed to local restaurant receipts

is running up against widespread
cheating, according to insiders.
While some restaurants have
taken to assiduously placing the
stickers on each receipt, many others leave them off and avoid paying
the taxes.
Different restaurants are taking different approaches, said one
31-year-old resident of Kyauktada
township. Some restaurants attach
a K500 label when it really should
be K1000, while others pretend to
forget about it or claim theyve just
run out of labels.
The labels were introduced in
Yangon Region last year in an effort
to force local restaurants to pay a 5
percent commercial tax on the bill.
They are purchased from the Internal Revenue Department and come
in a range of denominations.
The system had been in an educational period until May 1, with
no fines handed out to those contravening the law. However, now
that the period has ended, some
restaurants have been fined for
transgressions.

One of the first to draw the Internal

Revenue Departments ire is a location
of South Korean restaurant chain Lotteria in Bahan township, which local
media says has been fined after failure
to follow the rules. Lotteria officials
declined to comment on the issue.
Lotterias local partner Myanmar Golden Star shares ownership
with the parent company of The
Myanmar Times.
The townships have incentivised
customers to report on restaurants
breaking the rules, saying they can
receive 10pc of the penalties.
First-time transgressors are to
be fined K200,000, with fines of
K500,000 for the second incident
and K700,000 to K1 million for further transgressions.
U Nay Lin, deputy chair of the
Myanmar Restaurants Association,
said some customers cheat to take
advantage of the incentive.
I dont mean all customers do
this, but some peel labels away on
receipts and try to claim rewards
from the tax office, he said.
To combat the problem, labels
ought to be more adhesive, while
the Internal Revenue Department
could look to other countries best
practices for other solutions. U Nay
Lin said the tax plan is also confusing in that it does not apply to all
restaurants. Small-scale, roadside
tea shops and restaurants are generally exempt, particularly as they
do not issue receipts.

Some restaurants have followed the rules on restaurant stamps, though many have not. Photo: Zarni Phyo

The number of staff is not yet

enough to enforce the program in all
of Yangons townships, according to
Yangon Region Internal Revenue Department deputy director U Tin Tun.
The policy is new and we have to
try to make the habit more ingrained

Let the kyat fall

An artificial US dollar-kyat exchange rate risks distorting the market, experts say
CLARE HAMMOND
clarehammo@gmail.com
AYE THIDAR KYAW
ayethidarkyaw@gmail.com
AS the spread between the official
and unofficial foreign exchange
rate widens, economists argue the
central bank should relax controls
and allow the kyat to depreciate to
the market rate.
Since the Central Bank of Myanmar floated the currency at K818 to
the US dollar in April 2012, it has
depreciated by 32 percent. At first,
the market rate remained largely
in line with the reference rate, but
over the past three months, the
spread has widened.
Two weeks ago, the Central Bank
issued a directive to Myanmars licenced financial institutions, forbidding them to trade outside a
0.8pc band around its official reference rate. The official rate is published each day by the Central Bank.
Since the directive was issued, this
figure has remained unchanged at
K1082. Meanwhile, the unofficial
rate has fallen to K1180 and small
money changers in Yangon continue
to offer the weaker rate.
The Central Bank is enforcing
restrictions on trading foreign exchange to increase stability in the
local currency, according to a Central Bank official. We dont have a
pre-determined exchange rate, our
role is to intervene to ensure there
is no volatility or fluctuation, he
said. However, experts say the wide
spread between official and unofficial rates is actually increasing
volatility.

The kyat intra-day trading range

has soared, reflecting a highly volatile daily trading environment. This
has underscored the significant level
of risk in holding the still-fledgling
currency, said a May 13 report by
BMI Research. BMI has downgraded
its end-2015 forecast for the currency to K1120 from K1060.
If the gap between the official
and unofficial rate persists, it could
lead to distortions in the market,
said Koji Kubo, research fellow at
the Japan External Trade Organization in Bangkok. In such a context, targeting the exchange rate in
a certain level or range could distort the foreign exchange market,
resulting in outflows of the Central Banks foreign reserves or the
emergence of multiple exchange
rates, he said.
However, some fear that if the
Central Bank allows the currency
to devalue freely it may lead to increased inflation. While a strong
US dollar accounts for some of the
currency weakness, it is mostly
due to a growing trade deficit that
shows no signs of reversing.
This country is susceptible to
imported inflation given the impact of a fast devaluing currency
on a rapidly expanding import bill,
said Vikram Kumar, resident representative for Myanmar at the International Finance Corporation.
Myanmars trade deficit has
risen quickly since fiscal year 2012,
when the country recorded a surplus of US$100 million. In FY2013,
the deficit was $91 million, rising to
$2.6 billion in FY2014, according to
statistics published by the Central

Statistical Organisation. In FY2015,

the deficit jumped another 88pc to
over $4.6 billion, according to the
Global New Light of Myanmar.
Year-on-year
inflation
this
January was 7.39pc according to
the CSO. The Asian Development
Banks (ADB) fiscal year 2015 figure is 8.4pc. Rising inflation is a
concern, particularly as those with
the lowest incomes will be hurt the
most.
Furthermore, downward pressure on the kyat is likely to increase.
Gas is one of Myanmars major exports, and in many cases the sales
price is indexed to gas prices with
a one-year lag, so the full impact of
falling global gas prices has not yet
been felt in Myanmar, according to
Mr Kumar. On the other hand, imports are galloping to feed a hungry
economy, he said.
Adding to the pressure is the
fact that illegal sales of timber,
gems and drugs are often made in
kyat, with the proceeds converted
into US dollars. Speculation can
also weaken the currency.
On the other hand, a weaker kyat
means that Myanmars exports become more competitive, a positive
outcome for local exporters of commodities such as rice, pulses and
beans, marine products, and also
garments.
The kyat does not need support, partly because we do not
know if it is under- or over-valued.
Two years ago, there was much commentary about it being too strong
and that it should devalue to support Myanmar exporters. Maybe it
is at equilibrium now, maybe not,

and familiar, he said.

We are finding the best solution,
but it will take time to work.
U Tin Tun added one measure it
is attempting is to make the tax label more secure.
Not all Yangon residents are

convinced that the cheating will

stop, though.
A source at the Internal Revenue
Department said it has cut restaurants commercial tax to 5pc partly
in an effort to encourage more tax
contributions.

but I dont think it is way out of

line, said Adam McCarty, chief
economist at Mekong Economics.
A useful indictor for export competitiveness is the real exchange
rate, said Mr Kubo. This shows how
many more times something can be
bought overseas after conversion
into a foreign currency, than in the
local market for the same price.
Two points are notable. First, in
the past 12 months, real exchange
rates compared to the US dollar
and Thai baht did not depreciate
markedly despite the depreciation
of the kyat in nominal terms, he
said. This is largely because inflation in Myanmar is higher than in
the US and Thailand.
Second, the real exchange rates
remain appreciated compared to
levels in the pre-reform period. For
Myanmars non-resource export sectors to recover their competitiveness

rise in prices of these goods in the

local market, he said.
Based on the connection between prices and exchange rates
in Myanmar in the past, there is
no clear link between the exchange
rate and the Consumer Price Index
(CPI) or the rice price, he said.
On the contrary, the trend of
CPI is largely influenced by the
rice price, due to the way it is composed. Roughly speaking, CPI is a
weighted average of the prices of a
bundle of consumption goods. In
that bundle, rice usually accounts
for a high weight, whereas imported goods do not in the case of Myanmar, he said.
This suggests that rice price stability is more important than the
stabilisation of the exchange rate
for ordinary households in Myanmar, he said.
On the other hand, the profitability of import businesses and
foreign companies operating in
Myanmar is likely to be hurt by the
depreciating currency. This could
be mitigated by the introduction of
hedging facilities such as forward
contracts, which some of the international banks are reportedly looking to establish.
Meanwhile, instead of enforcing
controls that may lead to distortions and foreign reserve outflows,
the government should focus on encouraging long-term foreign direct
investment (FDI), said Mr Kumar.
This is the only way to offset
the current account deficit and this
should help stabilise the currency
over the medium term, he said.
There is significant FDI coming
into resource intensive sectors like
oil, gas and mining and potentially
into real estate, but not much into
other key sectors like infrastructure, agriculture, and financial
markets, sectors that would underpin the long-term growth story for
Myanmar.

KYATS PER DOLLAR

1082
Central Bank of Myanmars official
reference rate for kyat-dollar
conversion yesterday

level in 2010, we still need an additional 5pc to 10pc depreciation.

Furthermore, Mr Kubo believes
depreciation in the kyat wont
translate into increased inflation.
The depreciation of kyat might
bring in inflation via two channels.
One is a rise in prices of imported
goods in terms of kyat. The other
is through increased exports of rice
and tradable goods, leading to a

BUSINESS EDITOR: Jeremy Mullins | jeremymullins7@gmail.com

Large Chinese firm

tries hand at Corporate
Social Responsibility

Samsung merger
clears the way for
conglomerates heir

BUSINESS 10

BUSINESS 11

Exchange Rates (May 26 close)

Currency
Euro
Malaysia Ringitt
Singapore Dollar
Thai Baht
US Dollar

Buying
K1183
K301
K803
K32.5
K1097

Selling
K1203
K310
K817
K34
K1099

Condo developers go small-town

TIN YADANAR HTUN MYAT NYEIN AYE

AS the market for condominium developments in Yangon becomes increasingly crowded, developers are
looking at other locations across the
country for opportunities to build new
projects.
Yangons skyline is changing quickly as developers race to build high-end
condominiums, but elsewhere in Myanmar, the pace of growth has been
much slower.
Mandalays first condominium was
built by Mann Myanmar Construction
in 2013. Apart from this, there were no
high-rise condominiums anywhere in
the country, including in Nay Pyi Taw,
until last year.
However, since late 2014, a handful of companies have made plans
to build high-rise projects in several
towns. If the projects go ahead, these
high-rises will become the first in their
respective regions.
On May 23, Hong Kong-based company H&Co held a launch event in Yangon for a US$200 million luxury housing project called Platinum Pathein
Condominium, which will be built in
Pathein, Ayeyarwaddy Division.
We hope to transform Pathein
into an international city. We also
have many plans to develop real estate
projects in other townships across
Ayeyarwady Region, said an H&Co
spokesperson.
The Platinum Pathein Condominium will be built on 18 acres of land. It
will include 26 villas, three condominiums with a total of 410 units, as well as
a shopping centre, a cinema and hotels.
Each apartment will be priced at around
K100,000 (US$92) per square foot.
When we launched in Pathein we
had pre-sold around nine units, and
there is also some interest from prospective customers in Yangon. Yangon
real estate is a new market for us, said
Ma Hla Yamin Phyu, from the projects
marketing department.

A construction worker is straped in for some high-rise work Photo: Zarni Phyo

Pathein is in a region that needs

more development, and it is in a good
location with good access to other
regions. For example, people must
pass through it to reach Myanmars
popular beaches such as Chaungtha
and Ngwe Saung, said the H&Co
company spokesperson.
Nan Htike Shwe Sin Company is
building the first high rise building in
Shan State, to be located in its capital city, Taunggyi. The 16-storey condominium, which will have 48 units,
was launched in December 2014.
Executive condominiums are being built in the major cities of Myanmars regions and states since 2014,
said chairman of Nan Htike Shwe

Sin, U San Linn.

However, although high rises are
being built outside of Yangon, residents in other cities have not bought
units. The main customers for these
condominiums are Yangon residents,
he said.
He added that Taunggyi residents
are still considering whether or not
to buy units, as they are not familiar
with condominium culture.
They are worried because there
is no grant lease, like when they own
a house. But Yangon residents are
familiar with condo culture, and are
very interested in buying, because the
price of one unit is around K200 million. This is half the price of a condo

in Yangon, he said.
Taunggyi may become the fourth
city of Myanmar, so the company intends to build more condominiums
there, said U San Lin.
Nay Pyi Taws first condominium
is being built by First Myanmar Investment in collaboration with lighting company Krislite. The two-tower,
10-storey development will include
114 apartments, a car park, swimming pool and retail plaza, as well as
an outdoor infinity pool, lounge, gym
and playground.
Yangon sales started on the 20th
of March, and Yangon customers are
more interested in the apartments,
said an FMI spokesperson at the time.

Yangon real estate agents said that

the condominium market in Yangon
is overcrowded because there are so
many projects under construction,
and that there are other opportunities for property investment in other
developing townships across Myanmar.
In the towns where condominiums are being built, the property
market will improve once the projects are complete, said real estate
agent Ko Htun Htun.
H&Co also has plans to build a
new city in Ngwe Saung for the tourism and business sectors in 2017,
which will need around $1 billion in
investment.

Developers hope Condo Law brings life back to market

NOE NOE
AUNG
noenoeag@gmail.com

DEVELOPERS are pinning their

hopes on completed Condominium
Law this year to jumpstart the quiet
property market.
Foreigners are currently barred
from buying condo units, though a
draft of the law has said foreigners
would be able to purchase units on
the sixth floor or above, up to a maximum of 40 percent of the building.
The Condo Law has been repeatedly delayed since 2013, though, and
experts say they now hope to see a
final version before the end of the
year.
The law contains more than 60
main points, but many of them are

still under discussions, according to

Myanmar Real Estate Services Association president U Khin Maung Than.
The most significant of the 60
points is likely the one which allows
foreign ownership.
We hope that, because foreigners will be able to own apartments,
the real estate market especially
around condominiums could liven
up, U Khin Maung Than said.
U Tin Tin, owner of Royal Smart
construction company, said passing the law would invigorate a quiet
market, but also provide protection
and security to buyers.
Industry scandals have marred
the pre-sale market, hurting the
market.
If the law comes out, it will help
people feel safe about their property,
leading the condominium market to
be prosperous again, he said.
Industry insiders say potential
buyers cannot simply rely on the law,

but must do their own due diligence

with developers before making a
purchasing decision. Potential buyers ought to ask for approval permits
from Yangon City Development Committee, along with any conditions, as
well as the status of the land title.
Still, the law is set to shake up the
business. The government will take a
large step with the legislation, moving from banning foreign ownership
to allowing a significant percentage
of real estate to be sold to non-Myanmar people.
Urban planner U Kyaw Latt said
that under the new law, up to four of
every 10 apartments can be sold to a
foreigner.
However, just because foreigners
will soon be able to buy property does
not mean they are rushing to do so.
Foreigners who are keen to own
properties in Myanmar are taking a
wait and see position as they look
forward to the announcement of the

new condominium law, said Daw

Khaing Mi Mi Kyi, deputy general
manager of Capital Development,
the firm behind Gems Garden Condominium. Currently, a small number of foreigners investing in Myanmar purchased property under their
locally incorporated companies or
spouses name.
Daw Khaing Mi Mi Kyi said Gems

If the law comes

out, it will help
people feel safe
about their
property.
U Tin Tin
Royal Smart construction

Garden Condominium buyers are

locals, though she has seen interest
from Yangon-based foreigners. A majority originate from Asian nations,
though Americans, Italians and British people have also made enquiries.
However, owning property in Myanmar is quite challenging, while
there are other general concerns
around the ongoing political and
economic reforms taking place, she
said.
Daw Khaing Mi Mi Kyi notes
that many construction projects
launched recently have made little
progress and that prices are impacted by property location, product
offering and who gets hired to help
with construction.
Obviously, the potential foreign
as well as local buyers would shy
away from overpriced projects when
they start comparing them with
those of more established neighbours, he said.

10 Business

THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 27, 2015

MPE opens
more
tenders

KYAUKPHYU, RAKHINE STATE

AUNG SHIN
koshumgtha@gmail.com

Chinese giant works

to win the people
A man takes a seat in Ma-u-pyein village, Rakhine State. Photo: Thiri Lu

SU PHYO
WIN
suphyo1990@gmail.com

THOUGH the Kyaukphyu area is set

for large-scale investments, it is in
Rakhine State, which is also home
to some of the countrys poorest
communities.
Kyaukphyu hopes to become a
hub for the oil and gas industry and
is to be home to one of Myanmars
three Special Economic Zones yet
local residents risk being left behind
in the rush to develop.
Chinese companies in particular
have shown interest in investing the
region, with a number of companies
entering bids to build parts of the
SEZ. No winner has yet emerged, as
negotiations, which were set to wrap
up in December, have been repeatedly delayed.
Yet Chinese investment has proven
controversial. Some Chinese companies have provoked popular backlashes, including the firms behind the
Myitsone dam and the Letpadaung
copper mine. Others, though, are looking to change their approaches from
deals resting on government to agreements with broad popular support
which often includes a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) component.
CITIC claims to be the largest
Chinese conglomerate. Japanese
investors and Thailands CP Group
owning a significant portion of the
firm. CITIC is trying its hand at local
CSR as it also looks at local business
activities, such as bidding for some
of the Kyaukphyu SEZ work.
CITIC Construction vice president Frank Ma Chuanfu said his firm
realises it needs to communicate on
the ground level to overcome some
negative perceptions of China people. In the past, some governmentto-government business has run into
trouble, and it will take time to overcome these perceptions.
The company is importing a CSR
project it has run in Thailand for 15
years. The program gives a US$1.5
million grant to the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Rural Development to fund projects in 50 selected
villages across the country. Most
states or regions will end up with

three such selected villages.

Kyaukphyu is in one of the least
developed areas, and we are concerned for the CSR project there,
said Frank Ma Chaunfu.
Each of the 50 selected villages
will receive K30 million (US$27,000)
to serve as an agricultural development fund, managed by a committee
made up of elected villagers.
The program aims to function as
a targeted microfinance program.
Poramete Aridete, director of National Village Fund Thailand, said at

We still have
questions for the
training team,
as these kind of
programs are new
for us.
U Ba Shwe
Village official

first individual loans will be no more

than K200,000, for periods of not
more than one year. The programs
representatives will also purchase
the agricultural implements on behalf of the committees, rather than
the committees purchasing them directly.
The loans are set at a rate of 0.5
percent per month, for a maximum
of 6pc per year, well below the usual
microfinance limit of 30pc a year.
Visiting Ma-u-pyein village, one
of the first Myanmar villages in the
program, requires a three-hour boat
ride and a half-hour hike over a
mountain range from Kyaukphyu. It
is a remote area, and the poverty and
need for capital is evident.
Local villagers said the rates on
offer with CITICs program are attractive, but they are still unsure
about the program.
Were unhappy with our alternative rates, as we have to give between
15 to 20pc minimum a month for
informal lending, said U Ba Shwe, a
village fund committee member from
Gantgar North village in Kyaukphyu
tonwship.
But we still have questions for

Citizens of Ma-u-pyein sign up for the CITIC loan program. Photo: Thiri Lu

the training team, as these kind of

programs are new for us.
U Ba Shwe said the limit on the
first loans of K200,000 is too small
for those looking to start a business
from the proceeds, but in the future
it may become more money.
Others say that while the program is helpful on the whole, they
are worried about the possibility of
corruption with these activities.
Ma Su, 30, said the K200,000 limit per person had not been strictly
adhered to, with some connected villagers ending up with K2 million and
others only K50,000.
Thats only enough money to
buy one piglet, he said. How can we
make a bigger profit?
Although business has arrived,
locals said they have not connected
the two.
Another labourer working at a
nearby jetty, Daw Aung Thein Hla,
38, says she does know about the
plans for Kyaukphyu SEZ, despite
living in Kyaukphyu town.
I have no idea what Ill be doing
if those projects arrive, she said, after reporters explained the purpose
of the SEZ.

MYANMA Petrochemical Enterprise

(MPE) has invited local and foreign
companies to submit proposals for a
further slate of joint ventures, according to an announcement on May 25.
The first tender invites private
companies to build a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) terminal and supply chain for the LPG business.
Interested investors should submit letters of expression of interest individually or as a consortium.
They should have global experience
in LPG importation, storage, wholesale, distribution, marketing and
services, said the announcement.
The new LPG terminal will be
built in No 1 Refinery (Thanlyin). Two
candidates are still in the running for
the Thanlyin Refinery project Thailands state owned PTT and Singaporean firm Puma Energy, according to
an announcement last year.
The second tender invites laboratory services for petroleum and petrochemical products. The winning company or companies will be expected
to analyse the specification and qualification of petroleum and petrochemical products in accordance with ISO
(International Organisation of Standardisation) standards. Additional
information about the projects and
submission details are available during office hours, from May 27 to July
15, according to the announcement.
Last year, MPE invited private
companies to bid for a joint-venture
partnership to run the Nyaung Don
LPG plant. A total of 22 companies
submitted letters of expression of
intent, but the process has been delayed for almost a year. The government also issued a tender for LPG
businesses in 2013 and local companies were awarded licences for LPG
import and distribution.
Myanmar has three LPG plants
which mostly need to be modernised. The LPG plant in Minbu
township started operating in 1986,
Nyaung Don plant opened in 2005
and Kyun Chaung plant in 2010.
The total production capacity of
MPEs LPG plants is 72.85 billion
tonnes per year.

Ooredoo
lowers
internet costs
OOREDOO has cut its internet rates
from K10 per megabyte to K6 per
megabyte in a new promotion for
the next three months matching
those of its international competitor,
Telenor.
The companys new Phalan Phalan Internet plan arrives as the telco
gears up for fresh expansion into Myanmars more remote territories. Earlier this year, the firm lowered its calling rate to K20 a minute, K5 below
Telenors rate.
Ooredoos Norwegian rival had set
pay-as-you-go internet rates through
its standard My Internet package at
K6 per megabyte.
Ooredoo Myanmar CEO Ross Cormack said yesterday that the firms
coverage has reached 45pc of the
population. That figure will increase
by 30pc up to three-quarters of the
population by the end of this year.
Well be touching nearly every
region and state by that stage, Mr
Cormack said.
Ooredoo Myanmar has positioned
itself as a strictly 3G telecoms service
provider. Catherine Trautwein

International Business 11

www.mmtimes.com
SEOUL

Samsung merger plan

clears way for heir
SAMSUNG Group announced yesterday the merger of two major
affiliates, as the South Korean business giant accelerates restructuring efforts ahead of a generational
power transfer within the founding
Lee family.
The all-stock deal, approved
by the boards of both companies
would see Samsungs de facto
holding company Cheil Industries
which has interests from fashion to theme parks acquire general trade and construction affiliate
Samsung C&T.
The merger, which is expected to
be completed by September pending shareholder approval, will see
Cheil offer 0.35 new shares for each
Samsung C&T share.
The two companies are both
listed on the Seoul stock market,
with Cheil valued at 22 trillion won
(US$2 billion) and Samsung C&T
8.6 trillion won as of yesterday
morning.
The combined company which
will take the Samsung C&T name
will target annual sales of about
60 trillion won in 2020, compared
with their combined sales of 34

SHANGHAI

Chinese
bottle
maker
defaults
on bonds
A CHINESE bottle supplier for Coca-Cola and PepsiCo said yesterday
it was unable fully to repay nearly
US$100 million worth of bonds, the
latest default as growth slows in the
worlds second-largest economy.
Zhuhai Zhongfu Industrial Co
has 590 million yuan ($96.6 million) of bonds due tomorrow but
will only be able to return a quarter
of the principal, it said in a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, where it is listed.
China has seen several bond defaults from both private companies
and state-owned enterprises in recent months as growth slowed to
7.0 percent in the first quarter, the
lowest rate since the global financial crisis.
Zhuhai Zhongfu, whose main clients include US beverage giants Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, said it would
be able to pay interest of 31.15 million yuan.
Premier Li Keqiang in March
signalled that China was willing
to accept some debt defaults, saying individual cases were hardly
avoidable when companies are undergoing economic restructuring.
Last month technology company
Cloud Live said it could not meet
a 241 million yuan debt repayment,
making it Chinas first company to
default on its corporate bond principal. Shortly after that, a power
equipment maker became the first
state-owned enterprise to default
on making a bond payment in
modern China, according to media
reports.
AFP

trillion won in 2014, Samsung said

in a statement.
The two companies expect to
create synergy by combining their
construction businesses, while
Samsung C&Ts global network will
help develop new opportunities
overseas for Cheils fashion, resort
and catering businesses, the statement said.
Yesterdays announcement was
the latest in a series of moves apparently aimed at solidifying the
Lee familys grip on the sprawling
behemoth.
The family-run Samsung Group,
currently chaired by Lee Kun-Hee,
has merged, broken out or newly
listed some of its key units in recent
years as he prepares to hand over
the reins to his son, JY Lee.
The Lee family controls the
vast Samsung Group via a complex
web of cross shareholdings across
the groups subsidiaries, including
Cheil, where JY Lee has a controlling stake.
Samsung C&T has a 4 percent
stake in Samsung Electronics
the groups flagship unit and the
worlds top maker of smartphones

and mobile phones.

The Lee family currently has
a less than 5pc stake in Samsung
Electronics, a holding that will be
boosted by the merger.
This is a merger of the two most
important Samsung units from the
perspective of the heir, said Lee
Kwang-Soo, analyst at Seoul-based
Mirae Asset Securities.
Recent health problems concerning the senior Mr Lee, currently bedridden after suffering a heart attack
last year, prompted the group to
step up restructuring efforts.
Cheil Industries considered
the de facto holdings company of
Samsung Group last year merged
with Samsung SDI, the worlds largest smartphone battery maker.
The group also sold last year
stakes in four affiliates worth $2
billion in a move analysts said was
designed to streamline and to focus
on key profit-making units.
The group, comprised of dozens
of units ranging from electronics to
hotels, earns a collective revenue
equal to around 20pc of South Koreas annual economic output.
AFP

NANJING

Solar plane stuck in

China awaiting sun
for Hawaii leg
THE most challenging leg of Solar
Impulse 2s landmark flight around
the world powered only by the sun
was delayed yesterday due to concerns about the weather, organisers
said.
The single-seater aircraft was due
to leave Nanjing, in eastern China,
for the 8500-kilometre (5270-mile)
flight over the Pacific Ocean to the
US island of Hawaii in the early
hours of the morning.
But the much-anticipated seventh
and longest section of the maiden
solar-powered global circumnavigation was delayed once again due to
concerns about the weather.

We have big
problems that added
[together] make the
risk too high.
Connor Lennon
Solar Impulse spokesperson

The flight that weve been looking forward to tonight is not going
to happen, Solar Impulse spokesperson Connor Lennon said in a
video post on the groups YouTube
channel.
Mission director Raymond Clerc
said cloud cover over Nanjing and
the Sea of Japan made take-off difficult and the journey would have
taken an unacceptably long seven
days and seven nights, two more
than originally planned.
We have big problems that
added [together] make the risk too
high, he said in the video.
Meteorologists are studying the
weather conditions and should know
in a few hours whether the aircraft
will be able to launch in the next
couple of days, he added.
Solar Impulse 2 has already spent
nearly two months in China after arriving at Chongqing airport from Myanmar on March 31, where it was also
held up by weather issues.
Its journey began in Abu Dhabi
in March and is scheduled to take
12 legs, with a total flight time of
around 25 days. AFP

12 THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 27, 2015

13

World

WORLD EDITOR: Fiona MacGregor

Tax protests
turn violent in
Cambodia

Funds shortages
hamper Nepal
support

WORLD 14

WORLD 15

BAMAKO

QUITO

Peacekeeper shot on UNs

most dangerous mission
MILITANTS opened fire on two Bangladeshi peacekeepers in Malis Bamako
on May 25, killing one, the second attack within days in the capital of what
is considered the most dangerous UN
mission in the world.
One of the peacekeepers, both
ranked as privates, died on the scene
and the other was rushed immediately
to hospital with bullet wounds after
the ambush on their SUV, Bangladesh
army spokesperson Nur Islam said
yesterday.
Armed men that we have not yet
identified shot at two peacekeepers
who were on board a UN vehicle on
Monday night. One of them was killed
and the other seriously wounded, a
Malian security source told AFP.
We are seeking clarification and
details. This has to be viewed as a terrorist act. The perpetrators are the enemies of peace, the source added.
With more than 40 peacekeepers
killed since its inception in 2013, the
11,000-strong MINUSMA peacekeeping force in the country is considered
the most dangerous UN mission in the
world.
It is regularly targeted by militants
in the north and while attacks in the
capital are rare, May 25 ambush came
just five days after a militant opened
fire on a UN residence in the citys Faso
Kanu neighbourhood.
A source from MINUSMA told AFP
that the peacekeepers had been travelling from Bamako airport towards the
south of the city when they were shot at
by assailants from a car.
The unidentified gunman shot and
wounded a civilian guard and hurled
two grenades which failed to explode
in the early hours of May 20, but no
troops were hurt.

The countrys northern desert has

been plagued by violence by jihadist
groups that seized control of the region
from Tuareg rebels before being routed
by a French-led international intervention that began in 2013.
The UN in January named Northern Mali as the deadliest place for its
personnel last year, with 28 peacekeepers killed there between June and
October.
Despite peaceful elections after the
French operation, the country remains
deeply divided and the north has seen
an upsurge in attacks by pro-government militias and the Tuareg-led rebellion known as the CMA.
The government and several armed
groups signed a peace accord on May
15 in a ceremony in Bamako attended
by numerous heads of state but missing
the crucial backing of the CMA.
Frances defence ministry announced last week special forces had
killed Amada Ag Hama, known as Abdelkrim the Tuareg, who claimed the
kidnapping and murder of two French
journalists in Mali in 2013.
He was a leader of an al-Qaeda in
the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) battalion
and a former lieutenant of Abdelhamid
Abou Zeid, one of the AQIM commanders killed fighting the French army in
northern Mali in February 2013. The
French defence ministry said the men
were two of the main leaders of
AQIM and Ansar Dine, another jihadist
outfit linked to al-Qaeda.
No group has claimed responsibility
for either attack on the UN in Bamako,
but they come at a time of strained relations between the government and MINUSMA, which has complained that its
impartiality has been regularly called
into question. AFP

WASHINGTON

Police probe BB King

poisoning allegations
LAS VEGAS police have launched a
homicide investigation into the death
of BB King, a coroners office announced yesterday, after the daughters
of the blues guitar legend reportedly
accused his aides of poisoning him.
Mr King died aged 89 on May 14 in
Las Vegas, where he lived while he kept
up a gruelling schedule of tours that
ended only last year. Mr King suffered
from Type II diabetes for the last two
decades of his life.
Two of his daughters, Karen Williams and Patty King,have alleged he
was poisoned by his business manager
Laverne Toney and his personal assistant, E-Online reported.
I believe my father was poisoned
and that he was administrated foreign
substances to induce his premature
death, the daughters wrote in separate
but identical affidavits, the entertainment site said.
[I] request a formal investigation
into this matter, the court documents
reportedly said.
Despite his legendary musical status, Mr Kings final days were clouded
by an apparent dispute between his
family and manager over his care.
Mr Toney, who is the executor of Mr
Kings estate, shrugged off the daughters charge.
Theyve been making allegations

all along. Whats new? Mr Toney said,

according to E-Online.
An attorney for Mr Kings estate also
dismissed the daughters accusations
as ridiculous.
I hope they have a factual basis
that they can demonstrate for their
defamatory and libelous allegations,
Brent Bryson said in a statement, according to the entertainment site.
Earlier the local coroner confirmed
the homicide investigation and said
that Mr Kings remains would undergo
an autopsy with results due in six to
eight weeks.
Given the timeframe for the autopsy, local media reported Mr Kings
burial in his home state of Mississippi
will likely be postponed.
Riley B King was born in poverty
and grew up working in cotton fields,
but develped a passion for the guitar
and entered the music business after
travelling to Memphis.
He became known as the Beale
Street Blues Boy, which eventually
earned him the moniker BB King.
For decades, Mr King played shows
almost every night, becoming the premier ambassador for the blues.
Mr King won 15 Grammy awards
over his career and is considered a
master of the guitar who influenced a
generation of musicians. AFP

IN PICTURES
Photo: AFP

Saudi Shiites take

part in a mass
funeral in the
village of Kudeih,
in the mainly Shiite
Saudi eastern Gulf
governorate of
Qatif, 400km east
of Riyadh, on May
25. The ceremony
was held for the
victims of a mosque
bombing carried out
by the Islamic State
(IS) group four days
earlier. The suicide
bombing was the
second mass killing
of Shiites in the
kingdom since late
last year.

BAGHDAD

Iraq defends role in Ramadi battle failure

IRAQ has rejected accusations by
the US defence chief that its security forces dodged battle in Ramadi
and lack the will to fight the Islamic
State group.
Pentagon chief Ashton Carter argued that the May 17 fall of Ramadi,
the worst defeat Baghdad has suffered in almost a year, could have
been avoided.
We have an issue with the will

of the Iraqis to fight ISIL and defend themselves, he told CNN on

May 24, using an acronym for the
jihadist group.
Washington has been one of
Baghdads key partners in the
war to reclaim the ground lost to
IS last year, and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on May 25
expressed disbelief at Mr Carters
stinging comments.

Im surprised why he said that.

I mean, he was very supportive of
Iraq. I am sure he was fed with the
wrong information, Mr Abadi told
the BBC.
A senior Iranian general involved in the fight against IS hit
out, saying Washington had failed
to help Iraqi forces in Ramadi despite its military presence at the AlAsad air base in the same province.

Iraqi fighters from the Shiite Popular Mobilisation Unit hold their weapons in the outskirts of Baiji refinery north of Tikrit,
during an operation to retake the remaining area of the oil refinery from IS group jihadists, on May 25. Photo: AFP

How can you be in that country

under the pretext of protecting the
Iraqis and do nothing? This is no
more than being an accomplice in
a plot, said Qassem Suleimani, the
Revolutionary Guards commander
of foreign operations.
Shiite Iran has military advisers in Iraq and Syria and provides
financial and military support to
the governments of both countries in their battle against Sunni
extremists.
US Vice President Joe Biden later sought to end the rift.
In a call to Mr Abadi, the White
House quoted Mr Biden as saying
he recognised the enormous sacrifice and bravery of Iraqi forces over
the past 18 months in Ramadi and
elsewhere.
The loss of Ramadi, capital of
Iraqs largest province Anbar, raised
questions over the strategy adopted
by both Baghdad and Washington
to tackle IS.
Months of air strikes and the deployment of advisers to reform and
train the security forces have failed to
keep up with ISs aggressive tactics.
Secretary Carters remarks are
surprising and likely to negatively
affect the morale of the ISF, Iraq
analyst Ahmed Ali said, referring to
Iraqi security forces.
Mr Ali argued there were examples of Iraqi forces showing plenty
of grit and cited the Baiji refinery,
where elite troops have repelled relentless IS attacks for months.
Ahmed al-Assadi, spokesperson
of the Hashed al-Shaabi umbrella organisation for Shiite militia
and volunteers which Mr Abadi

reluctantly called in after Ramadis

fall, reacted angrily to Mr Carters
comments.
This lack of will the US defence
secretary mentioned is how the enemies of Iraq have tried to depict
the Iraqi security forces, he said.
The government has admitted to
shortcomings, vowing to investigate
the chaotic retreat from Ramadi
and punish recalcitrant fighters.
After a year of fighting and despite a string of territorial losses, the
jihadists will to fight, on the other
hand, was never really in doubt.
IS is a trim fighting force which
has time and again displayed great
tactical skill and whose men see
death on the battlefield as the ultimate reward.
Mr Abadi and Washington had
hoped to keep the Hashed and its
Iranian-backed militia out of the
Sunni stronghold of Anbar.
But the collapse of the security
forces during Ramadis fall was
seen as evidence Baghdad could not
afford to do without the Hasheds
determination to fight and sheer

Secretary Carters
remarks are likely
to negatively affect
the morale of the
ISF.
Ahmed Ali
Iraq analyst

numbers.
It makes my heart bleed because we lost Ramadi but I can assure you we can bring it back soon,
Mr Abadi told the BBC.
Iraqi regular forces backed by
the Hashed and Sunni tribal fighters from Anbar have begun clawing
back land east of Ramadi during
the past few days.
Mr Abadi said a major counteroffensive in Anbar would be
launched in a matter of days.
The US-led coalition said another 25 air strikes were carried out
against IS in Iraq in a 24-hour period straddling May 24 and 25.
The capture of Ramadi together
with the IS takeover of Palmyra in
eastern Syria last week has consolidated the jihadists grip on
the heart of their self-proclaimed
caliphate.
IS is accused of executing hundreds of people in and around Palmyra since it swept into the oasis
city last week.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says it has documented
the executions of at least 217 people,
among them 67 civilians, including
14 children.
A Syrian military source said regime aircraft struck more than 160
IS targets around Palmyra and elsewhere in the east of Homs province
on May 25.
The source said an unspecified number of terrorists were
killed and their military hardware
destroyed in the raids, which the
Observatory said were the most intense since the jihadists overran the
city on May 21. AFP

Galapagos volcano
Eruption on Monday
generated a plume
of smoke that
rose 10 km into the air,
lava streamed down
southeast flank

GALAPAGOS
ECUADOR

Wolf Volcano
1,707 m

Santa
Cruz

Alcedo
PACIFIC
OCEAN

Sierra Negra
Cerro Azul

Equator

Santiago

Darwin

Isabela

San Cristobal

Puerto Villamil

25 km

Volcano eruption sparks

fears for rare wildlife
A VOLCANO in the Galapagos Islands
erupted for the first time in more than
30 years May 25, spilling streams of
bright orange lava and raising fears
for the rare wildlife that lives there.
The Galapagos National Park
warned on Twitter that Isabela Island,
where Wolf Volcano erupted at dawn,
holds the worlds only population of
the critically endangered Conolophus
marthae, also known as the Galapagos
rosy iguana.
But the park later said the iguanas
habitat on the volcanos northwest
side may have avoided the worst of
the danger.
The iguanas, which share the
habitat with yellow iguanas and giant Chelonoidis becki tortoises, are
situated on the northwest flank, which
raises hopes that they will not be affected, it said in a statement.
The fiery streams of lava that trickled down the volcano May 25 morning were on the opposite side, officials
said.
A tourist boat passing by the uninhabited area informed authorities the
1707-metre (5,600-foot) volcano was
erupting. Park officials then flew over
the zone to assess the impact of the
eruption.
Pictures released by the park show
bright lava streaming down the volcano as a puff of smoke rises into the
air and tongues of fire dart from the
crater.
The eruption generated a very
large column of smoke that rose more
than 10 kilometres (6miles) into the
air, and later drifted toward the southwest part of the volcano, said Sandro
Vaca of Ecuadors Geophysics Institute.
However, there has been no effect

on residents.
The islands inhabitants live in Puerto Villamil, some 115km south of the
volcano.
mr Vaca said the volcanos activity
could continue for several days, potentially causing further lava flows.
Park officials said the eruption
posed no danger to tourists, and operations in the key tourism sector continued as normal in the area.
But environmentalists voiced concern over the pink iguanas, which
were discovered in 1986 and established as a separate species after an
analysis of their genetic makeup determined they were distinct from their
cousins, the Galapagos land iguanas.
The iguanas are pink with charcoal
stripes, and are listed as critically endangered by the International Union
for Conservation of Nature.
Wolf Volcano last erupted in 1982.
Isabela Island is the largest in the
Galapagos, the Ecuadoran archipelago
made famous by Charles Darwins
studies of its breathtaking biodiversity, which was crucial in his development of the theory of evolution by
natural selection.
The chain of 13 islands and 17 islets,
which sits about 1000km off the coast
of Ecuador, is one of the most volcanically active regions in the world.
Isabela island, which strides the
equator, also has four other volcanoes:
Darwin, Alcedo, Cerro Azul and Sierra
Negra.
UNESCO, which has declared the
Galapagos a World Heritage Site, has
warned the islands environment is
in danger from increased tourism
and the introduction of invasive
species.
AFP

A handout picture released by the Galapagos National Park shows the eruption of
the volcano Wolf on Isabela Island, Galapagos, Ecuador, on May 25. Photo: AFP

14 World

THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 27, 2015

BEIJING

Massive nursing home

blaze claims 38 lives

Charred building frames and bedsteads are seen after a fire broke out in a nursing home in Luxian county in Pingdingshan,
central Chinas Henan province, on May 26. Photo: AFP

A FIRE at a nursing home in central

China has left 38 people dead and six
injured, officials said yesterday.
The fire broke out on May 25 evening in an apartment building at a privately owned old peoples home in
Pingdingshan, the state news agency
Xinhua said.
Two of the injured were in critical
condition in hospital, the work safety
bureau of the central province of Henan
said in a statement on its website. Pictures posted online showed a thick column of black smoke rising from behind
a petrol station near the facility.
Another displayed the blackened
frame of a building, with a charred
wheelchair in the foreground.
State broadcaster CCTV said around
130 people were in the care home when
the blaze broke out in an area for paralysed residents. It was put out an hour
later, China News Service said.
Search and rescue operations were
continuing, Xinhua said, and the cause
of the fire remained unclear.
Industrial accidents and fires are
common in China, where enforcement
of safety standards can be lax, with
some property and business owners

PHNOM PENH

KUALA LUMPUR

Import tax protests

turn violent as army
and porters clash
A PROTEST over import taxes in
Cambodias Poipet town on May 25
descended into brick-hurling and
beatings, with the local governor
ultimately pointing the finger at an
opposition official and a local union
boss for inciting the riot.
The demonstrators, one of
whom was left hospitalised following the protest, only dispersed after
military police fired several warning shots in the air.
Han Tren, 26, one of those involved in the protest, said that demonstrators fled after the shots were
fired, but at least four were injured
over the course of the day.
Mr Tren identified the most seriously injured as Mao Son, also
known as Sros, 35, who had been
badly beaten by military police.
Police had handcuffed Mr Son
and were attempting to transfer
him to a vehicle when protesters
rushed the officers, seized Mr Son
back and attempted to send him to
hospital.
The military police officer
punched Mao Son in the face many
times, kneed and handcuffed him,
and was going to drag him to their
car for detention, but we rushed to
fight them and liberated him, Mr
Tren said.
However, during the fight he
was beaten unconscious, he added.
Protesters were ultimately successful in bringing him to hospital,
according to Mr Tren.
Ran Sreymom, 27, Mr Sons wife,
said her husband had regained consciousness in hospital, but he was
still confined to his bed.
Right now, I need some people
to help my husband, because he has
a serious problem, and cannot get
up, she said.
Im afraid he will die of his
wounds, she added.
After sending Mr Son to hospital, Mr Tren said, protesters were
met by customs official Sem Sam

Ath and acting Customs Department director Nuon Sovuthy, who

told them that the office could not
drop the tax on imported goods,
which is set at the national level.
The men allegedly accused porters coming across the citys busy
checkpoint of obscuring the identity of the goods real owners to avoid
taxes on larger shipments.
He also reportedly asked protesters to cooperate, and assured them
that it was the goods owners who
were liable for the taxes, not the
porters hired to bring them across.
However, the protesters were unhappy with the officials explanation
and demanded to meet permanent
customs chief Chhuon Hai, who was
on a trip to Phnom Penh.
Protesters then continued to
demonstrate, ultimately setting
tyres alight, knocking down the
customs office gate, and smashing
the buildings glass facade and the
windows of parked cars with bricks
until they dispersed, according to a
police officer.
Poipet police chief Um Sophal
said that authorities had decided
to open fire after protesters began
pelting them with bricks, one of
which struck a customs office security guard he identified as Em in
the head.

We needed to
open fire in order
to keep the peace
and safety, and
to restore public
order.
Um Sopha
Poipet Police chief

We needed to open fire in order

to keep the peace and safety, and
to restore public order, he said.
They used violence to break down
the gates of the Customs and Excise
office, and damaged some cars and
the building.
Customs head Chhuon Hai said
the porters had been tricked into
demonstrating by the businessmen who import goods across the
border.
He called on the porters to simply tell customs officials the names
of the owners of the goods so that
the owners could be made to pay
the appropriate tax.
Those protesters, they do not
understand the taxation law, he
said.
They demanded our officials
not charge taxes on [shipments of ]
less than 60 cases. Over 60 cases,
they asked that officials drop the
price. [These rules] are not described in the taxation law, and we
do not respond to that request.
Mr Tren, the demonstrator, said
that the porters had actually demanded that shipments of less than
30 cases be made tax-free.
We call for the authorities,
police and the court to find the
businessmen who were behind the
protesters to arrest and sentence
them, Mr Hai added.
However, Poipet Governor Ngor
Meng Chroun, in a letter sent to the
Banteay Meanchey provincial governor, said that he suspected CNRP
deputy Poipet commune chief Chao
Veasna and local IDEA union head
Din Puthy of being behind the
protest.
Mr Veasna could not be reached
for comment, but Sao Chandeth, an
opposition senator for Banteay Meanchey, denied the claims, saying
that as a local authority, Mr Veasna
would have been at the protest to
simply observe.
Phonm Penh Post

paying off corrupt officials to look the

other way.
A nine-year-old boy was detained
in February after a shopping mall inferno killed 17 people in Huidong, in
the southern province of Guangdong.
Police said that blaze was caused by a
boy playing with fire at the mall.
A fire at a poultry plant in the
northeast of the country killed 119 people in 2013.
Reports at the time said that managers had locked doors inside the factory to prevent workers from going to
the toilet, leading to the high death toll.
Nursing homes in the country,
where care workers are often outnumbered several times over by sick and
elderly residents, are also prone to accidents and abuses.
In 2013, 11 nursing home patients
burned to death in the northeastern
province of Heilongjiang after one of
them set the facility on fire in a row
over money. In February this year, a
worker in Hunan province killed three
people and injured another 15 when he
attacked residents and staff at a nursing home after a row with its owner.
AFP

HK protest leader
barred from Malaysia
HONG Kong student leader Joshua
Wong was yesterday refused admission to Malaysia, where he planned
to speak about the citys pro-democracy movement and the anniversary of Chinas Tiananmen Square
massacre.
Mr Wong was the teenage face
of the Umbrella Movement, which
brought parts of Hong Kong to a
standstill for more than two months
late last year with mass rallies calling for fully free leadership elections.
This morning we stopped Hong
Kong activist Joshua Wong from
entering Penang. We subsequently
deported him back to Hong Kong on
the same Dragonair flight, said an
immigration official at Penang airport on condition of anonymity.
The official declined to say why
Mr Wong was denied entry.
Malaysian government is not
letting me enter their border. Taking my original flight back to Hong
Kong, Mr Wong had said earlier on
his Twitter account.
In a separate tweet he added that
a Malaysian customs officer had said
the refusal was due to a government
order. Mr Wong did not elaborate.
He was due to arrive back in
Hong Kong in the late afternoon.

Scholarism, the student protest

group which Mr Wong founded,
posted a statement on its Facebook
page saying he had been invited to
visit by Malaysian activists.
Local personnel temporarily
took away his passport for inspection when he arrived ... and later
refused his entry and asked him to
be returned to Hong Kong with no
reason, it said.
Mr Wong, 18, said he had been
invited to share his experience and
views on the Umbrella Movement
and the June 4 incident, the South
China Morning Post reported.
His visit came less than two
weeks before the 26th anniversary
on June 4 of the Tiananmen Square
massacre of pro-democracy protesters in Beijing.
Hong Kong commemorates the
anniversary each year with a candlelit vigil attended by thousands in
Victoria Park.
A spokesperson for Hong Kongs
immigration department said the
entry of its residents to other countries was out of the control of the
Hong Kong government.
Hong Kong authorities have not
imposed any travel restrictions on
Mr Wong. AFP

Joshua Wong talks on the phone in Hong Kong on January 15. Photo: AFP

World 15

www.mmtimes.com
NEPAL

Lack of donations threatens quake aid

CATHERINE TRAUTWEIN
ONE month on from Nepals calamitous earthquake, international humanitarian organisations say emergency relief measures have received
just a fraction of funds provided to
other countries following major disasters, endangering the delivery of aid
and support to hundreds of thousands
of people.
As support provision becomes a
race against time with monsoon season just weeks away, one major organisation has said it is going to have
to cancel some relief projects due to
funding shortages.
United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Nepal Jamie McGoldrick
said the UN and associated humanitarian organisations have so far arranged shelter for about one-third of
the more than 350,000 families left
homeless by the disaster.
But as of yesterday, donors had
provided $93.6 million just 22 percent of the amount appealed for to
fund the response plan.
That figure is a fraction of what
international organisations have donated in the immediate aftermath of
previous disasters. One month after
an earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010, $735 million had been committed, while $275 million had been
raised to help the Philippines respond
to Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013
over the same period, according to the
International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Aid (UNOCHA) public information officer Leszek Barczak said the international coalition
has the capacity to deliver aid, even
to affected populations in far-flung
corners, but desperately requires the
funding to do so.
We are now in position to deliver
on what we have committed to. All the
logistics things have been put in place
at this stage we are certain that we
can reach even the most remote communities in the two weeks to come,
he said. The funding isnt there so we
really urgently need more ... for humanitarian [responses].
After the April 25 disaster, the
United Nations called for US$415 million through a flash appeal to deliver
vital relief in Nepal, later upping the
figure to $423 million. In total, humanitarian funding has now reached
$272 million, just over half of what
was asked for the flash appeal alone.
The emergency has been funded, but the pipeline has not, which
means that were about to fail in our

Nepalese residents and others participate in a candlelight memorial for the victims of the April 25 earthquake
in Kathmandu on May 25 as the country marks one
month since a deadly earthquake struck the Himalayan
nation. The April 25 disaster was followed by another
massive quake on May 12, which sent shockwaves
through the country.The twin tremors killed over 8,600
people and left thousands desperate for food, shelter
and clean water. Photo: AFP

commitment to ensure rural families

have the tools they need to survive the
monsoon, International Organisation
for Migration Nepal chief of mission
Maurizio Busatti said in a statement.
It is incredibly frustrating to have
hammered together a solid platform
from which to deliver aid, identified
dedicated staff and volunteers, and
secured the commitment of local government, only to find that the cupboards are bare.
According to IOM, it has already
had to cut back on orders for relief materials due to funding gaps and could
be forced to stop a number of aid projects, including one which helps discharge and provide follow-up care to
people who have been hospitalised.
Meanwhile, another project around
debris-clearing in Chautura will run
out of gas in about a week, impeding
the flow of aid moving through vital
transportation corridors, IOM said in
a statement.
If we dont see some additional
funding through the Flash Appeal,
well have to shut these projects
down, said IOM spokesperson Paul

Dillon. [Its] running on fumes. This

applies to a whole range of projects
were doing.
Thats shelter, camp management,
health and protection issues like trafficking initiatives all of these things
are at risk.
Mr Dillon said that 80pc of IOMs
assisted discharge and referral patients display symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Organisations on the ground have
been providing mental health support
since the early days of the earthquake
response, but disruption around
homes and schools have spurred major issues.
Dena Allen, an emergency response communication manager for
the Canadian branch of child-focused
aid organisation Plan International,
told The Myanmar Times from Nepal
that people were dealing with psychological trauma.
[They] were starting to get on
with and rebuild their lives, and then
another aftershock will come, she
said, adding that people will overreact to loud sounds and sudden move-

ments jumping from chairs or running from rooms.

Around 1 million children are currently believed to be without schooling following the disaster in which
an estimated 50,000 classrooms were
damaged or completely destroyed,
according to the Nepal Education
Cluster.
One million kids that will not
have access to school thats traumatic and thats an emergency, Mr
Barczak said.
Plan Nepal country director Mattias Bryneson also warned that children
not in school are at an increased risk
of exploitation and trafficking.
The organisation has moved to set
up child-friendly spaces and around
100 temporary learning spaces outfitted with two classrooms each, targeting 12,000 children, according to a
press release.
The UN Flash Appeal has requested $21.4 million for education initiatives. More than 98pc of that ask has
remained unfunded.
Though tales of inequitable
distribution of aid have proven diffi-

cult to confirm, a gender equality bulletin from an inter-cluster gender task

force stated that Nepali women especially single women, female-headed
households, women with disabilities
and older women had reported
discrimination in access to relief and
information.
Ms Allen also said that in Nepal, a
hierarchical society, the marginalised
poor may have a harder time than
others.
Groups like the Dalit [Untouchable] population ... theyre on the bottom rung and doubly so in a state of
emergency, she said.
All this comes as the weather
sours and locals prepare not only for
the rains, but also the winter that
follows.
What matters now is care for the
survivors providing people with
roofs and food and ongoing medical care ... monitoring and preventing disease outbreaks, waterborne
and airborne diseases, Mr Barczak
said. Five hundred thousand people
outside in the rain and in the cold
thats what we are facing now.

HYDERABAD

Heatwave death toll tops 800 as temperatures near 50C

AT least 800 people have died in
a major heatwave that has swept
across India, melting roads in New
Delhi as temperatures neared 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit).
Hospitals were on alert to treat
victims of heatstroke and authorities advised people to stay indoors,
with no end in sight to the searing
conditions.
Indias Meteorological Department said it had issued heat warnings to several states where temperatures were forecast to top 45 Celsius
over the next few days.
As of now, we dont predict any
respite from the extreme heatwave
for the next few days, spokesperson
BP Yadav said yesterday.
Hundreds of people mainly
from the poorest 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.

Streets were deserted yesterday
in Hyderabad, capital of the worsthit state of Andhra Pradesh in southern India where 551 people have died
in the last week.
The state government has taken
up education programs through television and other media to tell people
not to venture into the outside without a cap, to drink water and other
measures, said P Tulsi Rani, special
commissioner for disaster management in the state.
We have also requested NGOs
and government organisations to
open up drinking water camps so
that water will be readily available
for all the people in the towns.
Hyderabad street vendor P
Gangamma said the heat was making her head pound, but she had no
choice but to stay outside.
For the past three days hot

wind has been coming in, said the

65-year-old, who sells cigarettes on a
busy intersection.
I am a diabetes patient, but I
have no husband and no sons, so I
have to stay here and keep shop.
Large parts of India, including
the capital New Delhi, have endured
days of sweltering heat, prompting
fears of power cuts as energy-guzzling air conditioners work overtime.
The Hindustan Times daily said
the maximum temperature in the
capital hit a two-year high of 45.5
degrees Celsius on May 25 5 degrees higher than the seasonal
average.
The paper carried a front-page
photo of a main road in the city
melting in the heat, with the white
pedestrian crossing stripes curling
and spreading into the black asphalt.
Its baking hot out here our
outing has turned into a nightmare,

said Meena Sheshadri, a 37-year-old

tourist from the western city of Pune
who was visiting Delhis India Gate
monument with her children.
My throat is parched, even
though Ive been constantly sipping
water.
Delhi street food vendor Hari
Om said business was slow, with few
people venturing out in the furnacelike conditions.
All the food is getting spoilt even
though I prepared it fresh in the
morning. Its bad business, but what
to do? he said.
People are not coming out and
they also dont feel like eating. All
they want is to sip cold water all
day.
In Telangana state, which borders
Andhra Pradesh in the south, 231
people have died in the last week as
temperatures hit 48 Celsius over the
weekend.

In the western state of Orissa 11

people were confirmed to have died
from the heat.
Another 13 people have died in
the eastern state of West Bengal,
where unions urged drivers in the
city of Kolkata to stay off the roads
during the day.
Indias power industry has long
struggled to meet rapidly rising demand in Asias third-largest economy, with poorly maintained transmission lines and overloaded grids.
The Hindustan Times warned
that some of the hot, dry conditions
could plunge the worst-affected
states into drought before monsoon
rains arrive.
The monsoon is forecast to hit
the southern state of Kerala towardsthe end of this month before sweeping across the country, but it will be
weeks before the rains reach the arid
northern plains. AFP

THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 27, 2015

IT

GE
T

YO

GERS O
N
I
F
N

DEPUTY PULSE EDITOR: TOM BARTON tom.a.barton@gmail.com

Fair Price Dinner offers a variety of fair-priced fare.

Dinner for the

ZON PANN PWINT
zonpann08@gmail.com

T isnt a free lunch. But it is very reasonably priced.

The rice, chicken, pork, soup and vegetable
lunches delivered around town by the Fair Price
Dinner movement in Ingapu township, Ayeyarwady
Region, keep local people from hunger. They are also
the cure for a mysterious ailment that Fair Prices founder,
Dr Nanda Win, had diagnosed in many of his poorer
patients.
In his 15 years treating patients in rural and farming
communities, the most common illness that Dr Nanda
Win encounters is hypertension. Back when he was new to
the job, he would earnestly advise his patients not to eat
pork, hilsa fish, duck or chicken.
He might just as well have told them to cut down on
the caviar and champagne while he was at it.
They just laughed at me and said they couldnt afford
those things anyway, he recalls.
So what, then, was causing their high blood pressure?
Dr Nanda Win discovered the cause of the illness when
he started visiting patients homes after being assigned to
Ingapu Hospital, about 185 kilometres (115 miles) north of
Yangon, three years ago.
The culprit is ngapi yay, fish paste (shrimp or fish
fermented in salt), a staple of local diet.
I would visit my patient in the evening after finishing
my rounds. I found they lived on a diet of rice and ngapi
yay, which is a major contributor to high blood pressure,
Dr Nanda Win said in a recent interview. When I told
them not to eat ngapi yay, they said it was delicious. They
also said it was all they could afford.
Dr Nanda Win is the brainchild of the Fair Price
Dinner movement. Every day at 4pm, four trishaws carry
steaming bowls of rice, fried chicken, pork curry and pea
soup with vegetables cooked by his staff at the hospital
They drive to the streets, selling a dish of pea soup for
K200, a pork dish for K400, a chicken dinner for K500.
About 450 households in Ingapu township rely on those
Fair Price Dinner trishaws. His customers are manual
labourers, farm workers and people too poor to afford a
healthy meal.
The project started April 19, after Dr Nanda Win found
people werent turning up to the charity lunches he would
offer to mark his birthday and religious ceremonies.
I went door to door, inviting each household. But they
didnt come. They are poor but they have their pride, and

poor
they wouldnt accept a free lunch, he said.
That understanding prompted him to sell nutritionally
balanced meals at very low prices. He acquired a trishaw
and organised his staff at the hospital to cook every day.
Local donors provided enough for another three trishaws,
and the four drivers divide up the township between them.
When the trishaw arrives, a crowd of my customers
gather around and buy the curries. The best-selling curry
is pea soup with vegetables because its cheapest. They buy
the chicken and the pork when theyve earned a lot, he
said.
He doesnt use monosodium glutamate (MSG) or
palm oil, preferring pumpkin, jackfruit and drumstick to
sweeten the pea soup. A jackfruit costs K6000.
Better-off people in Ingapu also buy our curries
because they know they are healthy, delicious,
nutritionally balanced and clean. They pay the same price
as the poor, said Dr Nanda Win, who said a two-tier price
structure would make poorer people feel inferior.
The project is very successful and the idea has spread.
Villagers in Myan Aung, Mae Sot and Monywa have also
launched Fair Price Dinner projects.
It is hardly a money-maker. On rainy days, chicken and
pork dont sell well. His staff save the leftovers for dinner.
When it doesnt rain, each trishaw makes a profit
of K800 or K1000. Its not much. But we will continue
because about 450 households who dont own a farm or
land depend on us, he said.
Wealthier citizens donate peanuts, sesame oil and curry
powder.
They say the price of the meals is very fair, not much
more than the cost of firewood to cook rice. It makes me
very happy to see a crowd of people gather around the
trishaws each day, Dr Nanda Win said.
It troubles him that his staff work for free, receiving
only free meals.
But now he has the trust of the local residents.
In the past, we would ask them to build fly-proof
toilets, but they didnt. Now theyve started to build them,
he said.
He looks forward to the day when his idea is put into
practice across the country.
We cant reduce poverty quickly, but we can reduce the
number of people who suffer from nutrient deficiency, Dr
Nanda Win said.

Volunteer drivers ready their trishaws for another days sales. Photos: Supplied

the pulse 17

www.mmtimes.com
BANGKOK

Bizarre and beautiful:

139 new species
discovered in Myanmar
and the Greater Mekong
tOm BArtON

ZOMBIFYING wasp,
giant insect, fanged bat,
chameleon frog and wolf
snake. Sounds like life
forms of some far-off
nightmare planet? Have no fear
or, actually, be afraid all of these
creatures can be found right here on
Earth.
A new report released by the
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) today
uncovers a cornucopia of newly
discovered animal and plant species
across the Greater Mekong region,
including Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos,
Thailand and Vietnam.
The WWFs Magical Mekong
report details a total of 139 species
discovered in 2014, of which all have
finally passed the arduous process of
being investigated and granted their
very own official scientific names.
A total of 90 plants, 23 reptiles,
16 amphibians, nine fish, and one
mammal were discovered in the

Greater Mekong. The grand tally

of new species found in the richly
biodiverse Greater Mekong between
1997 and 2014 is a staggering 2216
an average of three new species per
week.
These discoveries show the
extraordinary richness and biological
diversity of the Greater Mekong
and especially Myanmar, which is
a treasure trove of biodiversity,
Michelle Owen, conservation program
manager at WWF-Myanmar, told The
Myanmar Times.
Teak Seng, conservation director
for WWF-Greater Mekong, added, As
Magical Mekong reveals, the scientists
behind these discoveries feel they are
racing against the clock to document
them and strongly advocate for their
protection before they disappear.
Indeed, the wild and whimsical
creatures seem too surreal to be
true. Take the Ampulex dementor
wasp from Thailand, namesake of
the soul-sucking dementors of Harry
Potter. The wasps venom paralyses its

The Yentuensis stick insect is second-longest in the world at 54cm.

Photo: Jerome Constant

The colour-changing Gracixalus

lumarius frog, in day mode (left) and
night mode (right).
Photo: Jodi Rowley/Australian Museum

cockroach prey into a frozen zombie

so it can eat it alive.
Discovered in Laos, the Pipistrelle
bat is distinguished by its extremely
long fangs. Dont fear, however, as
this little creature may in fact need
our help its habitat is under threat
from dam and quarry construction.
Speaking of bats, the doubly-scarysounding wolf snake of Cambodia
has a distinctive flying bat pattern
across its back to help it hide in its
jungle surroundings.
Myanmars own crocodile newt,
Tylototriton shanorum, could also
be in trouble. Its breeding habitat,
a university campus pond, may be
eliminated by a construction project.
Unfortunately, the newt has already
been a hit in the illicit international
pet trade, seen by scientists for sale in
shops as far afield as Europe.
In Vietnam, a stick insect has
fronted up to claim its title as the
worlds second-longest insect. Found
less than 1 kilometre away from a
village, the Yentuensis stick insect

The stealthy wolf snake from Cambodia. Photo: Neang Thy MoE/FFI

measures 54cm.
The WWF report also detailed two
previously unnamed orchid species
discovered being sold in Bangkoks
Chatuchak Market. The scientist
who brought them to the attention
of the scientific community battled
with his conscience before making
his discovery official, fearing the
attention would drive up illicit sales.
The barrage of threats to the
Greater Mekong ecosystem are
endless.
This report highlights the need
for additional exploration and
conservation, because there are still
so many more species left to discover
and many are threatened by issues
such as habitat loss and illegal
wildlife trade, said WWFs Owen.
Tom Gray, manager of species
conservation for WWF-Greater
Mekong, echoed Owens sentiments.
While species are being
discovered, intense pressures are
taking a terrible toll on them, he
said.

Myanmars own crocodile newt, Tylototriton shanorum. Photo: WWF/Tim Johnson

One wonders how many species

have disappeared before they were
even discovered.
The WWF has called for
nations to urgently increase law
enforcement efforts at combating
illegal wildlife and timber trade.
They highlighted the need for
wildlife habitat protection,
emphasising the importance of
countries cooperating across
borders to make sustainable
decisions on issues such as where to
construct large infrastructure, like
roads and dams.
Seeing these incredible new
species discoveries from a colourchanging thorny frog to the historic
10,000th reptile species gives me
hope for the future of the Greater
Mekong, Gray said. Whether its
conducting critical field research or
training forest guards, WWF and
its partners are working to ensure
that these species and those yet
to be discovered are protected for
generations.

18 the pulse

THE MYANMAR TIMES May 27, 2015

CaNBErra

Australia makes
its mark on
global coffee
culture
glENda KwEK

USTRALIA is worldrenowned for its love of

beer. But its passion for
a different type of brew
coffee is what has been
making global headlines recently.
Sasa Sestic, from the capital
Canberra, is the second coffee maker
from Down Under to win the World
Barista Championship in the competitions 15th year, which drew national
champions from some 50 countries.
Young, driven and keen to shake
up the coffee scene, Sestic, like many
of his Australian peers, is helping
to shape global tastes in the brown
beverage.
He wowed international judges at
the annual competition in the United
States in April, using winemaking
techniques and a special ingredient
shiraz viognier grape juice sourced
from a Canberra vineyard to become the surprise champion.

I started competing initially to

learn and the major reason I have
been competing for the last two years
is to bring a message to the coffee
industry that I can potentially
improve our industry and make it
better, Sestic said of his desire to
encourage innovative approaches to
coffee-making.
Those 15 minutes in Seattle in
the finals were my biggest moment,
the best in my coffee career. Even if I
finished at number two, three or four, I
could not have done things any better.
A wave of post-war immigrants
from Turkey, Greece and particularly
Italy has long seen Australia embrace
the bean culture.
But more recently, its citizens
have been driving innovation in the
sector through more sophisticated
espresso-based brews and vibrant cafe
experiences, said Australian Speciality
Coffee Associations Brent Williams,
who has served as a judge at the
barista championships.

Barista and caf owner Sasa Sestic hoists his hardware at his staff training cafe in Canberra. Photos: AFP/Mark Graham

A lot of the younger generation

that have come through have moved
away from the beer-style culture, especially the urban dwellers, Williams
said, adding that there was a growing
thirst for new coffee experiences.
Italians have their particular way
of doing coffee and they are very rigid
in making sure that it stays to the
Italian tradition, whereas Australia
and New Zealand are quite international countries.
So they are making coffee and
developing it so that it suits international requirements.
Sestic, a former Australian Olym-

Sasa Sestic poses with his trophy after winning the World Barista Championship in the competitions 15th year.

pian in handball, was born in Bosnia

and lived in Serbia before moving to
Australia at 18 with his family. He has
been unable to step away from coffee
machines since he began working
with one in 2001.
Now 37, he runs a A$10 million
(US$8 million) business that includes
three Canberra cafes and a wholesale
green-bean company connecting coffee
farmers in developing countries with
international clients in countries such
as China, Hong Kong and Malaysia.
Entrepreneurs like him have
thrived as Australias robust coffee market goes from strength to
strength, even during slower economic periods, expanding at an annualised 3.2 percent over the past five
years, market researcher IBISWorld
said in an April report.
More of a brewers than growers
market, the domestic industry was estimated to have generated A$4.3 billion
(US$3.3b) in revenue over the 2014-15
financial year, IBISWorld added.
The report noted the Australian market was highly fragmented
and traditionally encompasses a
larger number of single-establishment
owner-operated cafes. As a result,
prominent chains have struggled to
find favour with the countrys sophisticated coffee clientele.
Starbucks, which dominates
some international markets, saw its
Australian operations lose money in
the years after its first store opened in
Sydney in 2000. The chain was taken
over locally by Australias 7-Eleven
owners, the Withers Group, in 2014.
Regular Flat White drinker, Ben
Neville, 36, said he enjoyed building
rapport with local cafe owners something that is lacking in big chains.
Its more standardised in Star-

bucks, Neville said of the way the

coffees are made. I also think that as
a perception, you get a more genuine
product from a local cafe, whereas from
a major chain, you get something thats
more artificial or prefabricated.
Australian tastes have instead
invaded Starbucks, with the company introducing the Flat White
steamed milk poured over one or
two shots of espresso, believed to
be an Antipodean invention to its
American menu in January.
Meanwhile, Australian entrepreneurs are finding friendly tastebuds
in New York, opening a string of
cafes there named after streets in the
southern city of Melbourne.
They followed in the footsteps of
coffee roasters Tobys Estate. New
Yorkers were quick to embrace its
Australian-style brews, and just
several months after opening a cafe in
trendy Williamsburg in 2012, Tobys
Estate was nominated as a top pick in
a local coffee guide book.
The coffee is rich and intense,
and so very Australian, was another
nod, from the New York Times.
Tobys Estate has also expanded
to Singapore, with Asia seen as a
promising market where middle-class
consumers are seeking out Westernstyle coffees.
Sestic, who sources beans from 10
countries and 50 farmers, is hopeful he can bring his Australian cafe
experience to Asia.
We are so far away from coffee
farms from Brazil, Central America,
Africa but yet we are one of the
leaders in the world in speciality coffee, he said.
I believe what we have in Australia is very special, very diverse and
pretty amazing. AFP

A bridge between Myanmar and international literature translation

NaNdar auNg
nandaraung.mcm@gmail.com
HOW do translators convey the tone
and flavour of a work in a foreign
language while making it fully
accessible to foreign readers?
This is a question that many
writers have addressed, all the while
acknowledging that the skill of
the translator might sometimes be
acknowledged as almost equal to the
art of the original author.
What would have happened if
the great Sayar Gyi Shwe Oo Daung
had not chosen to interpret the
works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,
written in English, thus presenting
to a local readership his vision of the

fictional character Sherlock Holmes?

Thanks to his insight, we can enjoy
the adventures of U San Shar, who
continues to enrich the fans of
adventure and mystery.
The same can be said for our
colleague Ko Nan Doi, who every
week enthrals readers of our
Weekend supplement with his
sometimes accurate and always
stirring depictions of the real-life
adventures of the great Yangon
consulting detective of yesteryear, U
Sha Lok.
Surely, works of genius like
these afford some sort of protection
to the otherwise irresistible tide
of Facebookery and Twitterdom,
reminding us that more complex and

subtle forms of communication do

still exist.
The quality of translation is
a weak spot as far as Myanmar
literature is concerned, said
writer Ma Thida (Sanchaung)
in a recent interview. Foreign
books, whether in English or
other languages, still appear in
the Myanmar language, though in
lesser numbers than before. But
I find it very upsetting that fewer
and fewer Myanmar books are
translated into English.
In a welcome effort to bridge that
gap, the Link the Wor(l)ds (Ya Tha Ta
Dar) literary translation seminar and
workshop will be held from today until
May 31 at Yangons Taw Win Garden

Hotel for the first time in Myanmar.

Link the Wor(l)ds, an act of
fusion connecting Myanmar and
international literature through
translation, is presented by PEN
Myanmar with the support of
the British Centre for Literary
Translation, the Writers Centre
Norwich, the Select Centre and
Penguin Random House.
In the five-day event, writers
and translators can engage in a
program of hands-on translation
practice alongside wide-ranging
discussions about writing,
publishing and editing. Two groups
of translators, Myanmar to English
and English to Myanmar, will be
working side by side to produce a

consensus translation.
One group of 10 will work
together with workshop leaders
Alfred Birnbaum, Alfian Saat from
Singapore, Suzanne Joins from the
UK, and Myanmars Nyi Pu Lay, Min
Khite Soe San and Moe Thet Han.
I think this event will have a very
positive impact on Myanmar literary
translation, said Ma Thida. I hope it
will form a bridge between Myanmar
and international literature through
translation that could offer a solution
to the next generation of writers and
translators.
Link the Wor(l)ds runs from May
21 to May 31, 10:30am-5pm at Taw
Win Garden Hotel, 45 Pyay Road
(beside Taw Win Centre), Dagon.

the pulse 19

www.mmtimes.com
HARARE

Tears of laughter heal in

troubled times

ith Zimbabwes
economy on its
knees and life a daily
struggle for most
people, there is one
luxury that many can surprisingly still
afford laughter.
We laugh at ourselves. We laugh
at funerals. We laugh even when
things are not going well for us and
we should be moaning and groaning,
says award-winning dramatist and
poet Chirikure Chirikure.
Out of difficult times, with
unemployment rampant and poverty
widespread, a new generation of
comedians has emerged to give the
stressed nations funny bone a muchneeded tickle.
Simuka Comedy made up of
Victor Mpofu, better known by his
stage name Doc Vikela or simply the
Doctor, Michael Kudakwashe, Samm
Monro and Comic King attract full
houses to their regular shows at the
Book Caf, a popular arts joint in the
capital harare.
the young comics spare no sacred
cows as they poke fun at anyone from
veteran President Robert Mugabe and
his wife Grace to corrupt traffic police
officers, white former commercial
farmers and local celebrities.
Donning a doctors white coat
and stethoscope, Mpofu dishes out

what he calls doses of humour to

audiences sick of hard times after 15
years of economic decline blamed on
the policies of Mugabes government.
the Doctor has his audience in
tears of laughter as he imitates the
91-year-old president announcing the
list of countries he has just visited
on one of his frequent trips abroad
while the government cant find the
money to pay civil servants salaries.
he also takes a dig at Mugabes 35
years in office.
Zimbabweans, for all our literacy
with a 99.9995 percent literacy rate
we are the only country that will fail
to answer a simple question: Who is
your former president?
For many, Mugabe, who has been
in power since independence in 1980,
is the only leader they have known.
Explaining the growing popularity
of their shows, Mpofu said relentless
hard times made people look for
comic relief.
humour is a medically proven
stress reliever, he said.
things are tight and people need
something to take the stress off their
lives. People would rather spend their
little cash laughing and drinking.
Comedy fan and regular showgoer
Enright tsambo agreed, while noting
that the drinking part of a night out
was seriously limited by a lack of cash.

We cant afford to drink as much

as possible so some of us just buy one
beer and spend an evening laughing
at a comedy show, he said. it takes
the stress away.
in a country where insulting the
president is a crime punishable by up
to a year in prison, the comedians have
found a way of tackling serious issues
without making direct statements, so
they get away with jokes that could get
ordinary citizens arrested.
Away from the comedy venues,
Zimbabweans share jokes across
social media such as Facebook and
WhatsApp and through street theatre
shows and some of them have
landed in trouble.
We have had several cases where
people have been prosecuted for
freely expressing themselves and in
most cases they will just be sharing
or cracking a joke, said Kumbirai
Mafunda, spokesperson for Zimbabwe
Lawyers for human Rights.
the University of Zimbabwe also
came in for ribbing as the record
holder for the fastest conferment of a
doctorate after Mugabes wife Grace
was awarded a PhD three months
after registering.
Monro is also among newscasters
on the satirical Zambezi News,
which parodies the state broadcaster
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation,

Zimbabwean artist Jonathan Khumbulani Nkala perfoms in the play The

Crossing during Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA).
Photo: AFP/Jekesai Njikizana

renowned for its pro-government spin.

One of the countrys top
production houses has produced
a play, All Systems Out of Order,
portraying the collapse of amenities
such as public toilets as a symbol of

the state of the country.

there is so much pain, and people
find solace in looking at themselves
and laughing at themselves, said
theatre producer and actor Obrien
Mudyiwenyama. AFP

20 the pulse

THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 27, 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
Bundesliga Bayern conTinue eFFiciency drive

Sport 23

www.mmtimes.com

THE MYANMAR TIMES May 27, 2015

Champions of Europe

sper lig a sTar is Born

The Myanmar Times guide to this years winners...

Pep Guardiola is consoled by the fact that beer is excellent shampoo. Photo: AFP

PeP Guardiola has vowed Bayern Munich will return stronger next season
after they were crowned German league
champions for the third year running.
The Bavarian giants ended their
three-match losing streak in the Bundesliga with a 2-0 win over Mainz to
win their 25th Bundesliga title on the
last day of the league season.
The Bavarians are set to strengthen
their squad over the summer and Guardiola has promised changes as they
hunt a fourth straight Bundesliga title.

Next season we will come back

stronger and satisfy the fans with the
way we play. That is my target, insisted the Spaniard who has won five titles in two seasons at Bayern with one
year left on his contract.
im hoping for the best possible
squad. Now we go forward.
There were plenty of customary
beer showers on the pitch as Bayern
players hunted victims over which to
pour huge glasses of frothing liquid
after the final whistle. AFP

sTJarnan

zeniT sainT peTersBurg

HJK

B36 TrsHavn

Fans of Turkeys Galatasary fans lit flares as soon as the final whistle declared them champions. Photo: AFP

GAlATASARAy were crowned champions of Turkeys top flight for a record

20th time on May 25, after perennial istanbul rivals Fenerbahce had four men
sent off in a 2-2 draw at Basaksehir.
The result leaves Galatasaray with
an unassailable five-point lead at the
top of the table and also earning Tur-

Molde
englisH preMier league - THe special one

MalM FF

levadia Tallinn
venTspils

celTic

algiris
vilnius
BaTe Borisov

dundalK
THe new
sainTs

cHelsea
?

psv eindHoven
Bayern
MunicH

genT
Fola escH

hile Chelsea head

into the close season
serene in the knowledge of their Premier
league supremacy,
the english summer holds weeks of
recalibration for the teams seeking to
topple them.
Can Manchester City, the usurped
champions and runners-up this season, successfully rejuvenate a starting
Xi that has barely changed since their
2012 title triumph?
Will third-place Arsenal, newly
streetwise in confrontations with their
major rivals, finally shake off the fragility that has prevented them from
maintaining a sustained title challenge since 2004?
Are Manchester United, back in the
Champions league after a season of
uneven progress under louis van Gaal
and with millions to spend on new
players, equipped to return to centre
stage?
And can liverpool, shorn of Steven
Gerrard and chastened by a 6-1 drubbing at Stoke City on the final day,
rediscover the winning formula that
took them to the brink of the title 12
months ago?
Chelsea moved quickly and decisively in last years transfer window,
recruiting Cesc Fabregas and Diego
Costa, and looked like champions in
waiting from the moment they won
3-1 at Burnley on the seasons opening
weekend.
having seen his side finish the
campaign eight points clear of City
at the top of the pile, manager Jose
Mourinho says his only priority during
the close season will be making sure
he keeps his squad together.

The base last year was to sell some

to buy some, Mourinho said. The
base this season [2015-16] is to keep
my squad.
City, Arsenal, United and liverpool will all be active in the transfer
market, and with the Premier leagues
new 5.14 billion (US$7.98 billion)
television rights deal kicking in next
year, the expectation is that they will
spend big.
City must seek to revitalise a squad
that has become overly reliant on
the goal-scoring brilliance of 26-goal
Golden Boot-winner Sergio Aguero.
Goalkeeper and striker would appear to be priority positions for Arsenal, but as the arrivals of Mesut Ozil
and Alexis Sanchez demonstrated, it
is difficult to second-guess manager
Arsene Wengers transfer strategy.
United, meanwhile, find themselves linked with an ever-lengthening
list of superstar names, following reports they will match or even exceed
their 150 million splurge from last
year.
Should goalkeeper David de Gea join
Real Madrid, as widely predicted, a replacement will be sought, while Memphis Depay has already been brought in
to add pace and vim to Van Gaals attack.
liverpools transfer committee also
seeks goal-scorers, after their forwards
could only muster a meagre haul of 52
goals in the first campaign of the postluis Suarez age.
Tottenham hotspur, beaten by
Chelsea in the league Cup final,
looked no closer to breaking into the
top four and would have finished
much lower than fifth had it not been
for the stunning emergence of harry
Kane. AFP

paris
sainT-gerMain

viKoria plze
red Bull
salzBurg

Basel

dinaMo
zagreB

Fc sanTa coloMa

JuvenTus
Barcelona

anything.
We knew it would be a season
of transition and we tried to do our
best. We have two titles still to play
for, but we already have the one that
rewards consistency.
A treble would be just the second
in Barcas 115-year history.
however, many of the current
squad were also part of the side that
achieved the feat for the first time in
the 2008-09 season. AFP

dila gori

parTizan

pyuniK

ludogoreTs
razgrad

vardar

galaTasaray QaraBa

sKnderBeu
Kor
MaccaBi
Tel aviv

olyMpiaKos
lincoln red iMps
* sTill To Be decided:

summer after Barcas first trophyless

campaign in six years and he lauded
their response in what he described
a season of transition.
i hope it can be a new era. We
have to deserve to win the other titles. We have two finals left and we
need to show we are better than the
opponents, he said.
We started 10 months ago with
many changes at the club and coming off a season having not won

ligue 1 - Money TalKs

MilsaMi
orHei

videoTon

BARCelONA coach luis enrique

believes his sides 23rd la liga title
can be the launching pad for another
prolonged period of success and a
potential treble this season.
Barca face Athletic Bilbao on
home soil in the Copa del Rey final
on May 30 before taking on Juventus in the Champions league final a
week later.
luis enrique was recruited
along with seven new players last

MariBor
?

BenFica

asTana

dyanaMo Kyiv

Trenn

Drogba is crowned by his league winning teammates . Photo: AFP

one more than last years champions

Fenerbahce on 19.
Under Turkish tradition, Galatasaray will now be the first in Turkish football history to wear four stars
on their shirts. A Turkish team is
awarded a star for every five championship victories. AFP

la liga a new dawn

MidTJylland

crusaders

keys automatic Champions league

spot for next season.
Fenerbahce will finish second and
the third great team of istanbul, Besiktas, in third place irrespective of the
results in this weekends matches.
Galatasarays victory means the
team has now won a record 20 titles,

apoel

HiBernians
rudar or suJesKa

saraJevo or elJezniar

Folgore or Juvenes-dogana
Zoumana Camara is thrown into the air by his conquering colleagues. Photo: AFP

sTeaua BucureTi or Trgu Mures

Spain.

Italy.

Russia.

legia warsaw or lecH pozna or Jagiellonia BiaysToK

Belgium.

Portugal. Photos: AFP

lAUReNT Blanc says while he and the

Paris Saint Germain players will treasure their third successive ligue 1 title
the goal is to build on the success and
there remains room for improvement.
The 49-year-old coach who could
yet land an historic domestic treble as
PSG take on ligue 2 Auxerre in the
French Cup final admitted this title
had been won in adversity.
PSG, who landed the league Cup
earlier in the season beating Bastia,
had to battle hard to win the title this
time round with first Marseille and
then ultimately lyon giving them a

tough fight.
Blanc, who replaced Carlo Ancelotti as coach after the italian left for
Real Madrid following the first title
win in 2013, said he could not say if
PSG were set to dominate domestic
football like the lyon side did at the
beginning of the century.
i cannot tell you if that will come
to pass, said Blanc, whose major disappointment was the tame way PSG
lost to Barcelona in the Champions
league quarter-finals having shown
great character to beat Chelsea in the
previous round.

however, Paris do not want to

stop now, we want to continue to
make progress, to get better, whether
it be the players, the [coaching] staff,
the board of directors.
The club pay their players higher
salaries than any other team in world
sport, according to figures published
last week.
The Global Sports Salaries Survey
for 2015 found that PSG bankrolled
by Qatar Sports investments pay
their first-team players an average
yearly salary of US$8.236 million.
AFP

Sport
24 THE MYANMAR TIMES May 27, 2015

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

Europes football leagues

reach their finale
SPORT 22-23

A Golden opportunity
LeThwei

Kyaw Zin hLaing

kyawzinhlaing.mcm@gmail.com

he seventh edition of the

Golden Belt lethwei championship tournament will
begin at Thein Pyu Stadium
on May 30.
Since 1996 this tournament has
been an inconsistent calendar feature
and was last held in 2010, a trend the
Myanmar Traditional Boxing Federation hopes to change.
This tournament needs to be held
on an annual basis because if we are
to expand the reach of our sport then
we must open up more opportunities
for young talented boxers to emerge,
said Thein Aung, a spokesperson for
the federation.
In the past we have only had open
weight champions. After this tournament we will have champions in each
weight category. If we are to turn our
traditional sport toward professionalism we need many Golden Belt champions, he added.
A total of 45 traditional boxers will
appear in the tournament that kicks
off at the quarter-final stage for the
51kg, 54kg, 57kg, 60kg, 63.5kg and
67kg weight categories on May 30 and
31.
Fighters at the 71kg category will begin at the semi-final stage on June 7, before the best of the best will fight in the
tournament finals on June 7. All events
will begin at 2pm.
hoping to make the June 7 date will
be well-known fighters Thapyay Nyo,
htet Aung Oo, Ye Tagon, Kyal Sin Phyo
and Ye Yint Aung, as well as a number of
new young hopefuls who will endeavor
to add their name to the list of greats.
Organiser Sai Zaw Zaw said at the
tournaments launch, The Golden
Belt is the dream of every young boxer
Young fighters will appear from 80
percent of Myanmars top clubs as well
as a number of famous names who are
yet to wear a Golden Belt.

The Golden Belt Championship was last held in 2010. Photo: Staff

One hopeful in the 54kg weight,

Saw Phyo Wai, told The Myanmar
Times, This tournament is a great
opportunity for me and every young
boxer. I want a Golden Belt and I believe I can win one.
Lethwei is traditionally won by
knockout, with the bout declared a draw

if no fighter lands a decisive blow. But

in order to ensure a consistent route of
progress to the final, this tournament
will be judged on a points system to determine the winner if neither combatant
delivers that final blow.
Fights will last a maximum of five
3-minute rounds, and the fighters will

start each round with 20 points apiece.

A successfully landed blow will see a
fighter steal one of their opponents
marks. At the end of the fight whoever
owns the larger share of the 200 points
on offer will be declared the winner.
The final winners will receive K2 million (US$1834) in the 67kg and 71kg cat-

egories. The winners of the 57kg, 60kg,

and 63.5kg categories will take home
K1.5 million and the 51kg and 54kg
champions each receive K1 million.
entry to the bouts will be K5000
and K8000 for ordinary seating. Special seating will be priced at K15,000
and K20,000.

baSKeTbaLL

Myanmar crowns
summer hoops
champions

Club, state and regional representatives contested the finals of Myanmar Basketball Federations Summer Invitational on May 25. Photos: Aung Htay Hlaing

AUNG San Stadium hosted the Myanmar

Basketball Federations Summer Invitational tournament from May 17 to 25.
Duelling for the trophy were club sides
from the countrys major cities as well as
state and regional representative teams. A
total of 44 teams contested the four categories of play: U19 competitions for males
and females, and an open competition for
each gender.
A team with numerous past successes
the Mandalay Foxes won the open male
competition, overpowering the Jin Jaing
team in the final. Than Lwin came out top
in the female open tournament after they
beat the representatives of Sagaing in their
closer.
The Sagaing Region women showed
they will be a force to reckon with for many
years to come as their junior side ran out
winners over the second-placed Mon State.
Blank Basketball Club were winners
in the junior male competition, seeing off
competition from KMe in the final. Staff