Suu Kyi making first campaign tour

DAWEI, Myanmar: Thousands of supporters in Myanmar’s countryside cheered opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi during her first campaign tour for parliament Sunday, highlighting how quickly and dramatically politics is changing in this long-repressed Southeast Asian nation.

Throngs of people crowded the airport to greet Suu Kyi in the southern town of Dawei and lined the roads shouting: “Long Live Daw Aung San Suu Kyi!” “Daw” is a title of respect in Myanmar.

Many waved bouquets of flowers, and some hoisted babies on their shoulders to glimpse the Nobel Peace laureate, who is revered as Myanmar’s icon for democracy. Banners with pictures of Suu Kyi decorated the town.

“People had been afraid to discuss politics for so long,” said Aung Zaw Hein, an environmental activist. “Now that she’s visiting, the political spirit of people has been awakened.”

Suu Kyi, 66, has devoted much of her life to the struggle against authoritarian rule, but spent 15 of the past 23 years under house arrest and has never held elected office. If she wins, Suu Kyi will have limited power in the legislature, which remains dominated by the military and the ruling party, but victory would be highly symbolic and give the longtime political prisoner a voice in government for the first time.

The one-day campaign stop in Dawei follows a series of unprecedented reforms enacted by the nominally civilian government that took over when a military junta ceded power last year. The government has released hundreds of political prisoners, reached cease-fire deals with ethnic rebels, increased press freedoms and eased censorship laws.

The April 1 by-election is being held to fill 48 seats in the lower house of parliament that were vacated after lawmakers were appointed to the Cabinet and other posts last year.

Her party boycotted the last vote in 2010, but registered earlier this month for by-elections after authorities amended electoral laws, enabling her party to legally participate.

The Election Commission must still accept Suu Kyi’s candidacy. A ruling is expected in February.

Suu Kyi is hoping to run for representative for the constituency of Kawhmu, a poor district just south of Yangon where villagers’ livelihoods were devastated by Cyclone Nargis in 2008.

The vote is being closely watched at home and abroad because it is seen as a crucial test of the regime’s commitment to change.

Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her nonviolent struggle for democracy, has rarely traveled over the last two decades outside Yangon, the country’s main city.

Although she conducted one successful day of rallies in two small towns north of Yangon last August, a previous political tour to greet supporters in 2003 sparked a bloody ambush on her convoy that saw her forcibly confined to house arrest at her lakeside home.

Suu Kyi was finally released from house arrest in late 2010, just days after the country’s military rulers organized elections widely viewed as neither free nor fair.

In Dawei, a coastal town south of Yangon, Suu Kyi will campaign on behalf of another candidate running for a parliament seat, party spokesman Nyan Win said.

She will make similar campaign trips to other Burmese towns, including the country’s second city, Mandalay, in early February before campaigning for her own seat, Nyan Win said.

In Dawei, Suu Kyi will meet party supporters and conduct rallies. The town is home to activists who recently helped persuade the government to ditch construction of a 4,000-megawatt coal-fired power plant over environmental concerns.

A 400-megawatt coal plant is still planned, however, because it will be needed to fuel a massive industrial complex project that includes construction of a deep sea port, a steel mill and a petrochemical plant. The project also includes railroads and highways that will connect Burma’s coast directly to Thailand and the rest of Southeast Asia.

Dipetik dari - Arab News

Russia, Brunei jointly move towards prosperity

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is currently touring counties of the Asia-Pacific region. On Saturday, he visited Japan, and on Sunday – Brunei.

In Brunei’s capital, a city called Bandar Seri Begawan, Mr. Lavrov met with Second Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Lim Jock Seng. Then, the Russian Foreign Minister went to the local university, where he made a speech. His audience consisted of Brunei’s top officials and businesspeople, as well as the university’s teachers and students.

As far as Islam is the official religion in Brunei, every ceremony there usually starts with a prayer. This time, the audience also prayed to Allah before Mr. Lavrov’s speech.

In his speech, Sergey Lavrov stressed that Russia is an inseparable part of the Asia-Pacific region, and Russia’s interests in the region are one of the main aspects of the Russian government’s policy.

At present, the role of the countries of the Asia-Pacific region in the world policy is evidently growing, and Mr. Lavrov spoke mostly on this topic in his speech. The Russian minister thinks that currently, Russia has no serious contradictions with any of the countries of the region, and those small misunderstandings which still exist can be settled through talks.

Economic cooperation between Russia and Asian countries is also growing, Mr. Lavrov said.

n 2012, a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum will be held in Russia – for the first time in the forum’s history. Mr. Lavrov believes that the forum will open new possibilities both for Asian countries and for Russia.

The Russian Foreign Minister also spoke about concrete plans for Russian-Brunei cooperation:

“For many years, Russia has had very good relations with Brunei. The two countries are cooperating very closely – both in politics and in other spheres. For example, intensive talks are now being held between the two countries’ energy ministries. Some time ago, a delegation of the Brunei Ministry of Energy visited Russia, and later, a delegation of the Russian Energy Ministry paid the visit back. The Russian gas giant “Gazprom” is discussing possible contracts with “Brunei Petroleum”. Brunei will probably buy some oil-producing equipment from Russia. Besides, a delegation of the Russian “Rosatom” atomic agency has visited Brunei. Russia and Brunei are also planning to think over possible joint projects in other countries – and, I believe, much may be done here if we join our potentials.”

This is Sergey Lavrov’s first visit to Brunei in the status of Russia’s foreign minister.

Diplomatic relations between Russia and Brunei were established in 1991.

Dipetik dari - Voice of Russia


Asia-Pacific top foreign policy priority, says Russian minister

Adam Radhi
BRUNEI-MUARA
Monday, January 30, 2012

THE Asia-Pacific region has become a top foreign policy priority for Russia as it seeks to build regional security through further trade and investment liberalisation to forge economic integration.

Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov while delivering a lecture on Russian foreign policy at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) yesterday, said Russia's first priority is to assume an active participation in building the "regional architecture of security and cooperation".

Lavrov, who is on a two-day visit to the Sultanate as part of a working tour around the Asia Pacific region, underscored the importance of the East Asian Summit in charting a path towards a more secure regional order.

He added: "Special attention" will be given to it as it offers a "natural format for developing a holistic concept of transformation of the regional order and establishing a new security architecture in East Asia".

"We focus our attention on the promotion of trade and economic ties with the Asia-Pacific region states," Lavrov told an audience comprising students and staff of UBD, foreign dignitaries and government representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

In promoting the liberalisation of trade and investment activities, he said Russia invites partners to carry out large-scale projects in the Far East and Siberia regions.

Also, Russia will be placing emphasis on establishing "modernisation alliances" on the basis of innovations in high-added-value economic sectors, Lavrov said, adding high technologies and outer space activities as examples.

Other key priority areas highlighted were: cooperation for innovative growth, improvement of transport and logistics systems, and strengthening food security.

Dipetik dari - The Brunei Times

The US and its double standards on human rights

By ABDEL AZIZ ALUWAISHEG

Double standards are nothing new in politics. The gap between rhetoric and actual practice is especially wide when it comes to lofty claims about human rights. US administrations, in particular, are frequently singled out for criticism of employing one standard for its rhetoric and another for its own practices.

Is such criticism fair or valid? A report issued last week by Human Rights Watch may help answer this question. Few governments invoke principles of human rights as much as the United States government does. By its own rhetoric, the US sets a higher standard for human rights compliance, which is logically used by its critics to evaluate its record.

At least since the Carter Administration, the US has employed human rights compliance or lack thereof as a key element in its foreign policy, or at least public pronouncements about its friends and adversaries, in varying degrees.

Nowadays, the US probably has the largest human rights section in its foreign affairs bureaucracy. The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor is an important part of the State Department, headed these days by Michael Posner, a former human rights lawyer and head of Human Rights First, a well-known human rights organization based in New York.

The division produces the controversial annual “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices,” which provides meticulous details about human rights infractions around the world, but nevertheless provokes criticism for using different standards for different countries.

However, the more important test for the US government’s human rights pretensions is in the actual practice of its own agencies. How does the US fare in actually living up to the high principles it advocates? Is there a double standard operating here, as is often claimed?

Human Rights Watch’s report issued on Jan. 22 provides several facts that make reasonable people conclude that there may in fact be a double standard operating in more cases than can be explained by bureaucratic failures or cultural norms.

Consider these examples that the HRW report documents:

1. The US incarcerates more people than any other country in the world, sometimes imposing very long sentences marred by racial disparities.

2. Some 363,000 non-citizens are held in immigration detention facilities, although many are not dangerous or at risk of flight.

3. Detentions without charge at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

4. Seriously flawed military tribunals.

5. Blocking lawsuits seeking redress for torture victims.

6. 46 million people live in poverty in the US, the largest number in recent memory. Poverty often intersects with racial and gender inequalities.

Keep in mind that HRW, which has documented these infractions of the US’ own standards, is a moderate, middle of the road American organization. If anything, it is accused sometimes of soft-peddling, not over-criticizing, US human rights violations.

There is no question that US advocacy of human rights has been frequently quite useful for a variety of reasons, but its value would be greater if it had a better record of compliance.

Dipetik dari - Arab News

Oil stabilisation fund creation sought

Ubaidillah Masli
BRUNEI-MUARA
Friday, January 27, 2012

BRUNEI should establish a fund to retain and convert some of the wealth generated from oil and gas into human capital through investments in education and skill-building, a foreign expert said.

This, said Professor Dr Jorg Beutel, would ensure the sustainable development of the economy.

In measuring sustainable development, Beutel explained that economists would have to consider increases in produced capital and human capital and the decrease in natural capital which together form gross capital and its relation to gross national income (GNI) to deduce a country's net or "genuine" savings rate.

"You would hope, specifically for a country in which the population is growing, that the gross capital of all three is not declining every year because then, we would be in trouble.

"You would become poorer," said Beutel, who is a professor of Economics and Environmental Sciences at the Hochschule Konstanz University of Applied Sciences in Germany.

"It would also allow a certain substitution between the three forms of capital," he added.

"This is why I would like to encourage you to establish an oil stabilisation fund or future generation fund because you should transfer your oil and gas (wealth) into education and man-paid capital, because then the gross capital will remain in place."

Beutel, a senior research associate for DIW econ GmbH, was involved in the team of German consultants that helped produce Brunei's Input-Output Table for 2005, which was unveiled last Tuesday.

The table is aimed to be used as a tool for effective policy planning and decision making.

Based on the comprehensive data compiled, however, it showed that Brunei was in the red for its adjusted net savings, a yardstick used by the World Bank to assess nations.

"Unfortunately (for Brunei), we have a negative number here.

"The share of Gross National Income is minus one per cent, so net savings is negative, which means that gross capital stock is declining but still at the moderate rate of minus one per cent," the consultant said.

"But it's not growing despite the population growing," he added.

"So this is not a good piece of information that I have to give."

Initially, Brunei had "one of the highest (gross national) savings ratio on Earth" at 53.5 per cent of GNI, but this was before deductions of fixed capital consumption and energy depletion, among other deductions in natural capital.

The figure turned out negative primarily due to the "very heavy" percentage share of energy depletion, at 44.3 per cent, from the country's GNI.

"We are an oil and gas producer for a real long time in the economic history. So gradually, these sources are depleting than when we started," he said.

He added: "(With activities like) deep sea drilling, this is very heavily allocated and this calculation is based on the same methodology implemented by the World Bank, so this information is comparable."

From fossil fuel to education

Meanwhile, Beutel noted that expenditure on education, which was added on because it was considered an investment to the nation, was "not bad" at 3.6 per cent of national income.

"But it is not a world record... So we could do be better, specifically, when we have to transform fossil fuel into education into human capital," he said.

The deductions of mineral depletion, net forest depletion and particulate emissions damage to Brunei's environment were negligible, while damage from carbon dioxide emissions were "not a bad result", recorded at a cost of 0.4 per cent of GNI.

"We must try to (pursue the path) of transforming natural capital your energy, your fossil fuels into physical man-made capital," Beutel reiterated.

Dipetik dari - The Brunei Times

Sombong bukan akhlak ahli PAS

Idris Ahmad
26 Jan 2012

Sombong, bongkak, angkuh, atau takbur mempunyai satu pengertian yang sama iaitu tergolong dari sifat mazmumah (sifat-sifat tercela atau keji). Sifat ini, walaupun sedikit, menjadi kebencian dan kemurkaan Allah. Dan boleh menghalang kita mendapat Syurga.

Firman Allah yang bermaksud:

“Sesungguhnya mereka yang sombong untuk taat sebagai hamba-Ku, mereka akan masuk neraka jahanam sebagai makhluk yang hina-dina.” - (Al-Mukmin: 60).

Sifat sombong atau takbur boleh dibahagi kepada dua: takbur zahir dan takbur batin. Takbur zahir boleh dilihat melalui percakapan dan tindakannya. Gayanya angkuh, mulutnya tajam, mudah menghina orang yang dianggapnya lebih rendah daripadanya. Kadangkala ia boleh dilihat melalui percakapan seperti tidak mahu mengaku kalah, menganggap dirinya sentiasa benar dan tidak mahu mendengar atau mengikut nasihat.

Imam Al-Ghazali berkata:

“Orang yang takbur ialah apabila ditegur dia marah, sedangkan kalau menegur orang lain, caranya keras dan kasar.”

Takbur batin ialah membesarkan diri dalam hati. Inilah maksiat hati yang dicela. Contohnya iblis menganggap dirinya lebih baik dan mulia daripada Nabi Adam. Lalu dengan angkuhnya dia enggan tunduk kepada Nabi Adam sehingga menyebabkan Allah melaknat Iblis dan seluruh keturunannya.

Sombong adalah penyakit hati yang bahaya. Orang yang berpenyakit ini tidak boleh menjadi pemimpin jamaah terutamanya. Ditakuti melalui tindak-tanduknya akan menampakkan akhlaknya yang buruk. Lebih bahaya lagi jika dia mewakili jemaah kerana nama jemaah akan turut buruk.

Sifat ini boleh membawa kebinasaan kepada petugas dan pemimpin jamaah. Kerana sifat takbur ia menjadi benteng penghalang masyarakat untuk rapat dengan dia dan jamaah.

Orang yang takbur mereka lupa bahawa sombong adalah pakaian Allah, iaitu hak uluhiyah-Nya yang tidak boleh dirampas oleh sesiapa seperti dinyatakan dalam hadis yang diriwayatkan Muslim,

Rasulullah Saw bersabda:
“Allah Swt berfirman; Kemuliaan adalah pakaian-Ku, sedangkan sombong adalah selendang-Ku. Barang siapa yang melepaskan keduanya dari-Ku, maka Aku akan menyiksanya”. [HR Muslim]

Tanda-tanda sifat takbur dalam berbagai bentuk

- Tidak mahu bergaul dengan orang miskin sebaliknya suka memandang berat kepada golongan kaya dan orang kenamaan.
- Mengambil berat secara berlebihan dalam pakaian.
- Tidak mahu berucap melainkan dalam perhimpunan yang dihadiri ramai orang.
- Menggunakan bahasa yang payah dan berbunga dengan berlebihan sehingga sukar difahami. Inilah yang diperingat oleh baginda nabi Muhammad SAW:

“Sesungguhnya Allah benci kepada pemidato dari (golongan lelaki) yang memilih (kata-kata) dengan lidahnya seperti lembu memilih-milih (rumput) dengan lidahnya” (Abu Daud dan al-Tirmizi)

- Kagum dengan ilmu sendiri dan membodohkan orang lain

Cara untuk mengubat

Untuk mengatasi penyakit ini kita mesti bersifat tawadhuk. Orang yang tawadhuk dia hidup dengan semua orang dan bersedia menyambut semua orang, bercakap dengan semua orang, menziarahi semua orang dan mengasihi semua orang. Dia memberi khidmatnya kepada orang. Beliau sentiasa berhubung dengan orang ramai bukan memutuskan dan menjauhi mereka.

Sebagai ahli PAS hendaklah mesti bersikap rendah diri sama ada sesama anggota atau dengan orang lain lebih-lebih lagi yang bertaraf pemimpin. Railah ahli PAS, bukan wang yang mereka minta. Mereka hanya perlukan senyuman, teguran dan sentuhan daripada pemimpin. Ini sahaja yang mereka minta. Mereka tidak minta upah semasa mereka memenangkan kita sebagai wakil rakyat. Mereka meninggalkan kerja harian, untuk bertugas kepada calon yang bertanding, walaupun keluarga mereka memerlukan perbelanjaan harian. Mereka tidak pernah merungut dan mengeluh terhadap curahan tenaga mereka yang tidak pernah dibayar.

Walaupun kita bijak macam mana sekalipun, dia perlu membuang sifat ego daripada dirinya. Kerana yang ia memimpin ini satu jamaah Islam, bukan badan kerajaan atau swasta, bukan gerakan elit, ahlinya bekerja secara sukarela bukan ada gaji. Apabila ini dapat dibuktikan dalam jamaah insyaAllah ia akan merancakkan kerja jamaah dan dapat melebarkan pengaruh PAS kepada orang luar. Sekiranya ahli dan pemimpin PAS dengan sifat ego dan merasakan dirinya pandai dan bijak maka ia tidak akan boleh membawa parti ke arah yang lebih cemerlang. Orang ego dan sombong tidak boleh kekal lama dalam Pas dan memajukan jamaah dengan lebih cemerlang. Malahan akan memalapkan usaha dan perancangan jamaah.

Abdullah Ibn Masud ada menyebut dua perkara yang membinasakan manusia iaitu berputus asa dan rasa bangga diri.

Sifat tawadhuk akan membuka hati mad’u untuk tertarik dengan apa yang dibawa oleh PAS. Mereka apabila bertemu dengan orang ramai, dia yang memulakan salam dengan semua yang ditemuinya. Mereka bersikap sederhana ketika berkumpul dengan orang-orang fakir dalam satu majlis. Mereka makan dengan apa yang dihidangkan kepadanya dan berjalan di atas muka bumi dengan rasa rendah hati.

Firman Allah s.w.t.:

“Dan hamba Allah yang baik; ialah orang-orang yang berjalan di atas muka bumi dengan rendah hati dan apabila orang-orang jahil menyapa mereka, mereka mengucapkan kata-kata yang mengandungi keselamatan (kesejahteraan) (al-Furqan: 63)

Merendah diri dan menerima kebenaran dan bersedia mengikutnya sekalipun orang-orang jahil menasihatinya. Takabbur atau sombong sangat dibenci oleh Allah dan juga oleh manusia lain. Kemuliaan di sisi Allah diukur dari segi ketaqwaan seseorang itu bukannya pangkat, harta dan lain-lain.

Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda:

“Barangsiapa yang merendahkan diri kerana Allah, maka ia diangkat darjatnya oleh Allah dan barangsiapa yang sombong, maka direndahkan tingkatnya oleh Allah.”

Juga sabdanya s.a.w.:

"Sesungguhnya Allah telah mewahyukan kepadaku agar kamu bersifat tawadhuk sehingga seorang tidak merasa megah terhadap seorang yang lain, dan juga tidak bersikap melampau di antara seseorang dengan seorang yang lain” (Muslim dan Abu Daud) Nasih : 38

Imam Ghazali telah memberi beberapa panduan untuk mengelakkan sikap takbur ini. Apabila berjumpa kanak-kanak, anggaplah mereka lebih mulia daripada kita kerana kanak-kanak belum dibebani dosa. Apabila berhadapan dengan orang tua pula, anggaplah juga mereka lebih mulia kerana lebih lama beribadah daripada kita. Ketika berjumpa orang alim, anggaplah beliau lebih mulia kerana banyak ilmu dan apabila melihat orang jahil anggaplah juga mereka lebih mulia kerana berbuat dosa disebabkan kejahilan sedangkan kita berbuat dosa dalam keadaan mengetahuinya.

Jika berjumpa orang jahat, jangan anggap kita mulia. Tetapi, katakanlah mungkin orang jahat itu akan bertaubat pada masa tuanya, sedangkan kita belum tahu akhirnya. Begitu juga apabila bertemu orang kafir. Katakan, belum tentu dia akan kafir selama-lamanya.

Dipetik dari - HarakahDaily

Semoga intipati tulisan ini dapat diambil pengajaran dan memberi manfaat kepada warga NDP.

Democracy Taiwan's 'best gift' to China: Ma

TAIPEI
Thursday, January 26, 2012

TAIWAN'S President Ma Ying-jeou said this month's presidential vote was the island's "best gift" to China, hailing the potential for the poll to show the path to democracy on the mainland.

Ma has said hundreds of millions of people in mainland China watched Taiwan's presidential candidates debate live on television last month for the first time through the Internet.

The poll, which saw Ma re-elected, could inspire Chinese democracy supporters, he said in a statement released by the Presidential Office.

"The peaceful election, a sign of democracy taking roots and bear fruits on the soil of a Chinese community, will make them feel that this will also happen on the mainland," the statement said.

"I believe this is the best gift from us to the mainland."

He added that the January 14 vote will demonstrate to the mainland that "headcount is the best way to solve differences between the two sides".

Ma, of the China-friendly Kuomintang party, retained his post after four years of policies that have seen the most dramatic thaw in the island's ties with China since the two sides split more than six decades ago.

Dipetik dari - The Brunei Times

Can a protracted economic slowdown be avoided?

The world economy is teetering on the brink of another major downturn. As in 2008, economic woes in the major developed economies are weakening economic prospects around the world. This and other findings were presented as DESA’s flagship report the World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2012 was launched today in Addis Ababa, Beijing, Geneva, Johannesburg, Moscow and New Delhi. Regional releases of the report are also scheduled for Mexico City on 18 January; and in Bangkok and Beirut on 19 January.

There are multiple concerns, but policymakers throughout Europe and the United States are mainly fixated on reducing large fiscal deficits and public debt. The concerns are serious, and the ongoing sovereign debt crises in the euro zone have been a source of continuous turmoil in financial markets.

Unfortunately, the present policy responses are highly inadequate. Most developed economies have phased out stimulus measures and shifted to fiscal austerity. With unemployment rates remaining very high and financial sectors still clogged, this approach is pulling the plug on the recovery by exacerbating the lack of aggregate demand, further weakening the prospects for jobs recovery and economic development in the longer run.

Bleaker medium and long-term growth prospects would also undermine the financial sustainability of health and pension systems over time, thus achieving precisely the opposite of what policymakers are aiming at through fiscal austerity.

Is there an alternative? Yes. As shown in the UN’s World Economic Situation and Prospects 2012, many developed countries have more than adequate fiscal space for additional stimulus. If well targeted at job creation and green growth and adequately coordinated internationally, additional stimulus could quicken the recovery and put the global economy on a more balanced and sustainable growth path.

In conjunction with the launch of the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2012, the Development Policy and Analysis Division (DPAD) of UN DESA is organizing a live chat on Facebook to answer questions concerning the risks and opportunities for the world economy, as well as the scope for policy action in the year ahead.

Join Rob Vos, Director of DPAD, and economists from the Global Economic Monitoring Unit for this live Facebook chat on 20 January 2012 at 9:00 am to 10:00 am EST at http://on.fb.me/wesp2012

--> WESP 2012. Full Report

Dipetik dari - DESA News - United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs

Posting berkaitan,
--> Report warns of heightened risk of new recession