Myanmar’s repugnant and undemocratic constitution will haunt the process of reform
NOBODY ever expected Myanmar’s democratic dawn to come up quite like thunder. But after the euphoria of by-elections on April 1st, in which the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) won 43 out of 45 seats, it did seem to be approaching fast. This week it was put back a little. On April 23rd the NLD’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and its other successful candidates refused to take up their seats in parliament. There were echoes of the day in November 1995 when the NLD pulled out of the national convention drafting the constitution, and was left in the political wilderness. But the party played down its latest protest: not a “boycott”, it insisted, merely a “postponement”.
Indeed, the proximate cause of its withdrawal seems trivial and bureaucratic. Yet the underlying problem is fundamental to the country’s hopes of democracy. That is a constitution foisted on Myanmar’s people by the former junta in a farcical referendum in 2008 (a 92.48% “yes” vote on a turnout of 98.12% in a poll held just after the devastation and chaos of Cyclone Nargis).
The row was over the oath used to swear in members of parliament, requiring them to promise to “safeguard” this constitution. It seems odd that the NLD should be asked to swear this. One of the concessions made by the “civilian” government installed last year after a rigged parliamentary election in 2010 was to amend the electoral law. To persuade the NLD to join the political process, eligible parties no longer had to “safeguard” the constitution but to “respect” or “honour” it. So the inconsistency with the oath looks like an oversight. Thein Sein, the president, whose apparent commitment to reform was a chief factor in winning over Miss Suu Kyi, has been away in Japan. Perhaps, in his absence, nobody had the clout or the will to fix the matter.
It may not be quite so straightforward, however. The oath is actually incorporated as an annex to the constitution itself. And one of that charter’s most objectionable features is that it can only be amended with the consent of 75% of the members of parliament. (Another, not entirely coincidental, is that 25% of the seats are reserved for the army.) The upset has drawn attention to the big unanswered questions about Myanmar’s “democratisation”. Will the army ever accept amendment of the constitution? And, if not, what meaning will democracy have?
It is a document of the army, by the army, for the army. The president must have “military knowledge”. “All affairs” of the armed forces, including budgets and promotions, are beyond civilian control. A state of emergency can be declared by a National Defence Security Council, dominated by the army high command and the ministry of defence. The army commander can overrule the president and “exercise state sovereignty”. It also provides immunity to the former junta for any misdeeds in office.
No wonder Miss Suu Kyi has campaigned on a platform of constitutional reform. Parties representing Myanmar’s many ethnic minorities want other big changes, too—to reduce central-government as well as military domination. The limited devolution of power that the charter envisages falls far short of the federal structure many hope for.
No wonder, either, that there is little sign on the part of the army that it has any intention of even discussing relinquishing its power and perks. In a speech to mark Armed Forces Day on March 27th, the commander-in-chief, General Min Aung Hlaing, said the army has an obligation to defend the constitution and will continue to take part in politics. Even the reforming Thein Sein, in a speech on March 1st marking the first anniversary of the transition to civilian rule, declared: “Our country is in transition to a system of democracy with the constitution as the core.”
This was hardly a surprise from the former general. Since 2003 Myanmar’s leaders have been following a seven-stage “road map to discipline-flourishing democracy”, the first four stages of which entailed drafting and embedding the constitution. But it does raise serious questions about the limits to Myanmar’s reforms, and of how foreign governments should react.
Nobody can deny that Myanmar has already been transformed, hugely for the better. Many—though far from all—political prisoners have been released. The press enjoys unheard-of freedom. Miss Suu Kyi and 42 of her party are elected legislators. Liberalising economic reforms, notably of the exchange rate, have attracted a gold rush of excited foreign businesses.
To the spoilers, the victory
To reward all these positive changes, Western governments now seem to be racing each other to ease the sanctions they imposed on the junta. America and Australia have lifted some restrictions. On April 21st Japan waived nearly $4 billion in debt arrears. And on April 23rd the European Union “suspended” for one year all sanctions other than an arms embargo. Its restrictions cover: dealings with the Burmese timber, mining and gems industries; visas for members of the army and of the junta; a freeze on the assets of hundreds of individuals and firms; and the suspension of all but humanitarian aid.
To ensure the measures could easily be reimposed in the event of backsliding on reform, they are suspended, not lifted. In a statement on the sanctions decision, Catherine Ashton, the EU’s foreign-policy chief, said the EU was looking for progress on releasing political prisoners and ending ethnic conflicts. She did not mention the constitution at all, let alone demand explicitly that it be amended to a document embodying something closer to democracy as understood elsewhere.
Some in Myanmar see a danger in the sudden opening up of their country. A bonanza in foreign trade and investment as foreign sanctions are relaxed could end up benefiting above all the very soldiers and cronies the sanctions were intended to punish. After all, these men retain their economic interests. From this perspective all the boasts of political reform look less like a blueprint for democracy, and more like the generals’ pension plan.
Dipetik dari - The Economist
Sunday, April 29, 2012
What broke the impasse that led to the signing of the “GPH-MILF Decision points”
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Thursday, April 26, 2012
Ujian GO dan FR perlu dikaji semula
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Rabu, 25 April .- Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar 'Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan dan Yang Di-Pertuan Negara Brunei Darussalam bertitah menekankan agar ujian atau peperiksaan Peraturan-Peraturan Am (GO) dan Peraturan-peraturan Kewangan (FR) dikaji semula mengikut kaedah dan keperluan semasa, sementara dasar-dasar yang dianggap yang tidak sesuai diganti dengan kaedah yang lebih mesra, tetapi berkesan.
Bagi tujuan itu baginda mencadangkan agar kaedah atau sistem peperiksaan yang ada sekarang ditukar kepada kaedah atau sistem berkursus, tetapi jika tidak berkesan, cari formula sehingga benar-benar berkesan atau jika mahu juga kepada kaedah peperiksaan hendaklah hanya kepada mereka yang benar-benar berkaitan sahaja seperti pegawai-pegawai pentadbir dan yang ada kaitan dengan selok belok peraturan-peraturan kewangan, sementara yang tidak berkenaan dimestikan untuk mengikuti kursus.
Menurut baginda, sifat kursus boleh mendatangkan hasil, lebih lumayan jika ia dikendalikan dengan baik. Melalui kursus seseorang bukan sahaja mendapat ilmu dan maklumat, malahan juga boleh menjadi pakar di dalam bidang-bidang yang dikursus jika dibandingkan dengan menjawab soalan-soalan secara ujian atau peperiksaan.
Baginda bertitah demikian ketika berkenan berangkat membuat lawatan ke Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam dan Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Awam, di Lapangan Terbang Lama Berakas, di sini.
Sempena dengan lawatan itu,baginda juga bertitah mempersoalkan tentang sejauh mana kesesuaian bagi pegawai-pegawai kerajaan diperingkat tertentu dimestikan menduduki Peperiksaaan Peraturan-peraturan Am atau 'General Oder' (GO) dan Peraturan-peraturan Perkhidmatan dan Peraturan-peraturan Kewangan atau 'Financial Regulation' (FR) dikehendaki lulus sebagai kriteria untuk kenaikan pangkat.
Titah baginda bahawa peranan Perkhidmatan Awam amat penting selaku jentera pentadbiran kerajaan dan ianya wujud di semua negara, cuma terdapat perbezaan-perbezaan tertentu dalam pelbagai hal seperti dari segi penggunaan-penggunaan kaedah atau peraturan samada konvensional atau bukan konvensional. Bagaimanapun menurut baginda pada kebiasaannya orang memang cenderung untuk memakai yang terbaru.
Bagi tujuan itu, baginda tidak ada halangan untuk memakai apa sahaja yang baru asalkan benar-benar membawa kebaikan dan kemanfaatan kepada semua pihak.
Baginda berpendapat semua pegawai kerajaan memang perlu untuk mengetahui GO dan FR, tetapi janganlah menghukum semua orang tidak boleh naik pangkat hanya kerana tidak lulus peperiksaaan GO dan FR, sedangkan mereka berjawatan, misalnya sebagai pensyarah, imam berijazah, pegawai pertanian, pegawai perhutanan dan lain-lain.
Berkaitan dengan GO dan FR menurut Surat Keliling pada Oktober 2009, baginda juga mempersoalkan ketidak sesuaian pada masa ini kepada semua pegawai B2 EB3 dan ke atas atau sebanding dengannya yang menghendaki untuk lulus peperiksaan perkhidmatan awam iaitu Peraturan-peraturan Am 1961 dan Peraturan-Peraturan Perkhidmatan dan Peraturan-Peraturan Kewangan.
Menurut baginda, Surat Keliling itu telah membatalkan Surat Pemberitahuan Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA) yang terdahulu iaitu Bilangan 7 - 2005, di mana telah menjelaskan bahawa bahawa tujuan peperiksaan itu adalah supaya pegawai-pegawai berkenaan dapat mengetahui dengan baik peraturan-peraturan Go dan FR tersebut.
Walau bagaimanapun, tegas baginda, perlu difikirkan implikasi kesesuaiannya kepada semua pegawai diatas sebagaimana yang dijelaskan dalam Surat Keliling 2009 yang masih dalam percubaan.
Baginda menjelaskan sebagaimana Peraturan Kewangan 1983 Bahagian 1- Pendahuluan Perkara 4 berbunyi : Adalah menjadi tugas semua pegawai supaya mahir dalam selok belok peraturan peraturan kewangan dan surat-surat keliling perbendaharaan dan arahan-arahan perkiraan khas tertentu yang ada kaitannya dengan mereka atau jabatan masing-masing.
Asal dari kandungan Peraturan 1983 ini, titah baginda, tidak ada menyebut, dikehendaki lulus atau mesti lulus dan begitu juga pegawai yang dikehendaki supaya mahir dengannya adalah khas tertentu yang ada kaitannya dengan mereka atau jabatan masing-masing sahaja.
Baginda seterusnya bertitah bahawa persyaratan bagi pemohon pekerjaan yang berjalan selama ini ialah dari segi kelayakan akademik mereka, seperti Diploma, Sijil, HND, BA dan lain-lain.
Dengan adanya peperiksaan atau ujian GO dan FR, jelas baginda, seolah-olah menepikan semua kelayakan untuk menjadi penentu mutlak bagi kenaikan pangkat semua pegawai, tanpa mengira apa kelulusan mereka.
"Awda penyandang BA boleh naik jika lulus sebaliknya penyandang MA dan malah penyandang PHD jika tidak lulus tidak boleh naik, walaupun sehingga pencen", jelas baginda.
Baginda berpendapat dengan dasar mesti lulus GO dan FR ini seolah-olah mengenepikan kelayakan-kelayakan akedamik yang ada tidak kira mereka itu profesional atau tidak.
"Apa betulkan dasar begini? Kalau kita mahu mengatakan betul apakah kita akan bersetuju kalau ada orang Brunei mengambil sikap tidak payahlah lulus tinggi-tinggi sangat memadai sederhana sahaja kerana yang lebih penting dan lebih menentukan itu ialah lulus GO dan FR bukannya kelayakan akademik yang tinggi.", jelas baginda.
Baginda menjelaskan bahawa Surat Keliling Bilangan 13/2009 telah menyatakan kurikulum peperiksaan disediakan oleh JPA dan Kementerian Kewangan dengan peperiksaan dikendalikan oleh JPA. Ini bererti JPA dan Kementerian Kewangan bertindak selaku penggubal kurikulum peperiksaan.
Baginda sendiri menyedari apabila membaca sendiri soalan dan jawapan Peperiksaan GO dan FR yang terlalu membebankan, amat susah dan memerlukan hafalan untuk dapat menjawab, lebih-lebih lagi buku GO yang mempunyai 167 halaman dan FR yang mempunyai hampir 100 halaman.
Baginda menjelaskan bahawa kegagalan yang melebihan 50 atau 60 peratus adalah berkemungkinan mereka terdiri dari pegawai-pegawai yang tidak ada kena mengena dengan FR dalam jawatan mereka atau bukan bidang tugas harian mereka sehingga menyebabkan mereka tidak berminat untuk membenar-benari.
Baginda juga membuat perbandingan antara nisbah kegagalan dalam peperiksaan di sekolah-sekolah atau di universiti dan peperiksaan GO dan FR.
Sempena dengan lawatan itu, baginda juga menyarankan agar buku GO dan FR diterbitkan untuk memudahkan kerja dan untuk rujukkan. Dengan adanya buku itu semua orang boleh merujuk seperti buku undang-undang senang dirujuk sahaja dimana yang perlu tanpa mesti menghafalnya.
Dipetik dari - Pelita Brunei
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Peace talks with MILF now beyond ‘three-for-one’ proposal
ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 24, 2012) – The Philippine government has abandoned its earlier “three-for-one” proposal to Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels in an effort to save the peace talks.
Peace negotiators resumed talks in Kuala Lumpur and both sides have identified preliminary decision points on principles that will serve as a framework for the eventual signing of a peace agreement.
“Our panels decided to look at what may be common between our proposals. We have identified at least 11 points where we might have an agreement and found language for at least ten points,” chief government peace negotiator Marvic Leonen said, adding the Aquino government has moved beyond its “three-for-one” proposal.
Manila’s proposal has three components - socio-economic development wherein the MILF partners with government in the implementation of projects and creation of a Bangsamoro Commission, wherein the MILF gets three out of 9 slots; and finally, the rewriting of Moro history on the premise, without stating, that Moro narration is part of the national reality.
“Our panels, and our principals, know that these are only an initial set of agreements which must be contextualized later by the full final agreement,” Leonen said.
He said to mark their agreement and progress, both sides agreed to craft it in a “signable” document as suggested by the MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group which has been fighting for decades for self-determination.
But Leonen clarified to the rebel group that the decision points are “not unreasonably set in stone.”
He said despite the different standpoints of the peace panels, they continue to share one common goal of attaining just peace in Mindanao.
“If we are to find workable and meaningful answers to the Bangsamoro question, it may be time for us to spend more time to look seriously at each other's reasons rather than to cause our people to believe that we rattle our sabers. We have seen the face of armed conflict; and both of us know that it is the least of the options that we want to pursue,” Leonen said.
Mohagher Iqbal, the MILF chief peace negotiator, said before Monday resumption that Manila of forcing upon them its proposal for a wider autonomy in Mindanao.
Iqbal said the MILF is demanding a Muslim sub-state in the southern region similar to Malaysia, but Manila flatly rejected this and offered the five-province Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao.
“We have already rejected this proposal and we will continue to do so, because it will never solve the age-old problem in Mindanao. On the contrary, it would only prolong and complicate it,” he said.
He said the current state of the negotiation is so tough and fraught with complexities that unless the Aquino government “sees the light of our proposal for a state-sub-state asymmetrical arrangement and adopt it, we see no instant or forthcoming breakthrough.”
Iqbal said close to the end of the second year in office of President Benign Aquino, no substantive agreement has been signed with the government, adding much of it was spent on peripheral issues.
“Our negotiation with the government has dragged on for more than a decade already. Since January 1997, we have already dealt with four Philippine presidents and ten chief peace negotiators or peace panels, not to mention the signing of around 90 documents on various issues and concerns.”
“Combine all these with the time, efforts, and resources that both peace panels and their principals - and the Malaysian government as facilitating country - have invested on this peace process, the result would be staggering and awesome,” he said.
He said finding the political solution to the conflict in Mindanao remains on the negotiating table. “It is therefore time to conclude this negotiation under the Aquino administration. Passing the buck to the next administration is not a good policy. It is laden with uncertainties,” Iqbal said.
He said what the MILF wants is for the Muslims to run their own internal affairs, pursuant to the principle of the right to self-determination and essence of real autonomy.
“This is the reason why the agenda on power-sharing, wealth-sharing, territory and interim arrangement are on the negotiating table. We are not seceding from this Republic; the future Moro sub-state or whatever name we can agree with the government to call it is still part of the larger Philippine state,” Iqbal said.
“Through this state-sub-state arrangement, the Moros would like to stand on their own feet. Whether they swim or they drown, they themselves are to be blamed. It is time to prove which of the two sides of the argument is correct: The Moros are a problem, hence, referred to as Moro Problem or their marginalization is caused by outsiders especially the suffocating effects of the unitary system prevailing in this country. The Moros are much maligned, despised, or even hated - why not let them self-destruct by giving them their sub-state? This sounds nihilistic, but we are solving a problem. Sometimes, in curing a serious illness you have to amputate a leg, hand, or finger.”
Dipetik dari - The Mindanao Examiner
Peace negotiators resumed talks in Kuala Lumpur and both sides have identified preliminary decision points on principles that will serve as a framework for the eventual signing of a peace agreement.
“Our panels decided to look at what may be common between our proposals. We have identified at least 11 points where we might have an agreement and found language for at least ten points,” chief government peace negotiator Marvic Leonen said, adding the Aquino government has moved beyond its “three-for-one” proposal.
Manila’s proposal has three components - socio-economic development wherein the MILF partners with government in the implementation of projects and creation of a Bangsamoro Commission, wherein the MILF gets three out of 9 slots; and finally, the rewriting of Moro history on the premise, without stating, that Moro narration is part of the national reality.
“Our panels, and our principals, know that these are only an initial set of agreements which must be contextualized later by the full final agreement,” Leonen said.
He said to mark their agreement and progress, both sides agreed to craft it in a “signable” document as suggested by the MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group which has been fighting for decades for self-determination.
But Leonen clarified to the rebel group that the decision points are “not unreasonably set in stone.”
He said despite the different standpoints of the peace panels, they continue to share one common goal of attaining just peace in Mindanao.
“If we are to find workable and meaningful answers to the Bangsamoro question, it may be time for us to spend more time to look seriously at each other's reasons rather than to cause our people to believe that we rattle our sabers. We have seen the face of armed conflict; and both of us know that it is the least of the options that we want to pursue,” Leonen said.
Mohagher Iqbal, the MILF chief peace negotiator, said before Monday resumption that Manila of forcing upon them its proposal for a wider autonomy in Mindanao.
Iqbal said the MILF is demanding a Muslim sub-state in the southern region similar to Malaysia, but Manila flatly rejected this and offered the five-province Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao.
“We have already rejected this proposal and we will continue to do so, because it will never solve the age-old problem in Mindanao. On the contrary, it would only prolong and complicate it,” he said.
He said the current state of the negotiation is so tough and fraught with complexities that unless the Aquino government “sees the light of our proposal for a state-sub-state asymmetrical arrangement and adopt it, we see no instant or forthcoming breakthrough.”
Iqbal said close to the end of the second year in office of President Benign Aquino, no substantive agreement has been signed with the government, adding much of it was spent on peripheral issues.
“Our negotiation with the government has dragged on for more than a decade already. Since January 1997, we have already dealt with four Philippine presidents and ten chief peace negotiators or peace panels, not to mention the signing of around 90 documents on various issues and concerns.”
“Combine all these with the time, efforts, and resources that both peace panels and their principals - and the Malaysian government as facilitating country - have invested on this peace process, the result would be staggering and awesome,” he said.
He said finding the political solution to the conflict in Mindanao remains on the negotiating table. “It is therefore time to conclude this negotiation under the Aquino administration. Passing the buck to the next administration is not a good policy. It is laden with uncertainties,” Iqbal said.
He said what the MILF wants is for the Muslims to run their own internal affairs, pursuant to the principle of the right to self-determination and essence of real autonomy.
“This is the reason why the agenda on power-sharing, wealth-sharing, territory and interim arrangement are on the negotiating table. We are not seceding from this Republic; the future Moro sub-state or whatever name we can agree with the government to call it is still part of the larger Philippine state,” Iqbal said.
“Through this state-sub-state arrangement, the Moros would like to stand on their own feet. Whether they swim or they drown, they themselves are to be blamed. It is time to prove which of the two sides of the argument is correct: The Moros are a problem, hence, referred to as Moro Problem or their marginalization is caused by outsiders especially the suffocating effects of the unitary system prevailing in this country. The Moros are much maligned, despised, or even hated - why not let them self-destruct by giving them their sub-state? This sounds nihilistic, but we are solving a problem. Sometimes, in curing a serious illness you have to amputate a leg, hand, or finger.”
Dipetik dari - The Mindanao Examiner
Making Labuan the centre of shipping business
By Siti Nafsiah Ahmad Shaffie
What does Labuan have to attract and assure foreign ship owners that Malaysian flag is the right choice to avail with?
Most people know that Labuan is a major international business financial centre in the Asian region.
What does Labuan have to attract and assure the foreign ship owners that Malaysian flag is the right choice to avail with?
The island of Labuan is strategically located in the middle of Asia-Pacific region and an increasingly popular choice of International Business Financial Centre jurisdiction.
It is also located in the waters of the South China Sea where it is close to major shipping routes, free from natural disasters such as typhoons and hurricanes.
Labuan also has a good port, which has deep anchorage of about 11 to 21 meter draft. The port is well maintained by Labuan Liberty Port and offers top facilities to any vessels using their port.
Apart from the nature of Labuan itself, there are also other facilities which can attract ships or vessels owners to use Labuan for the Malaysian International Ship Registry (MISR) registration purposes, such as follows:
Other benefits
Labuan has been declared as one of the country’s oil and gas hub. This will further boost the oil and gas industries in Labuan;
The Malaysian government has introduced many incentives for businesses conducted through the island of Labuan. These include a reduction or exemption of income tax and stamp duty fees for individuals and companies doing business in Labuan;
Setting up a company is a quick and simple exercise, and approvals come from a one-stop regulator, the Labuan Financial Services Authority (Labuan FSA);
Ship owner may enjoy the tax regime of 3% tax from net profit or a flat rate of RM20,000. To enjoy the said tax treatment, the shipping activity comply with the Labuan Business Activity Tax Act 1990;
Labuan is the centre of International Business Financial Centre (IBFC) in Asian region. This has put Labuan as one of the premier IBFCs in Asia Pacific.
With an attractive tax regime and incentives, competitive cost for the formation of Labuan company without sacrificing quality, with access to expertise and world-class infrastructure and competitive ship registration fees, Malaysia International Ship Registry (MISR) has the potential to attract shipping companies to use Labuan IBFC as the centre for their shipping business.
For more information about Labuan shipping activities in Labuan, you can log on to www.labuanfsa.gov.my and www.labuanibfc.my.
Dipetik dari - Free Malaysia Today
What does Labuan have to attract and assure foreign ship owners that Malaysian flag is the right choice to avail with?
Most people know that Labuan is a major international business financial centre in the Asian region.
What does Labuan have to attract and assure the foreign ship owners that Malaysian flag is the right choice to avail with?
The island of Labuan is strategically located in the middle of Asia-Pacific region and an increasingly popular choice of International Business Financial Centre jurisdiction.
It is also located in the waters of the South China Sea where it is close to major shipping routes, free from natural disasters such as typhoons and hurricanes.
Labuan also has a good port, which has deep anchorage of about 11 to 21 meter draft. The port is well maintained by Labuan Liberty Port and offers top facilities to any vessels using their port.
Apart from the nature of Labuan itself, there are also other facilities which can attract ships or vessels owners to use Labuan for the Malaysian International Ship Registry (MISR) registration purposes, such as follows:
- Labuan has excellent infrastructures such as hotels, communications services and transportation services;
- World class shipping support services such as shipyard, ship care, floating repair, hull cleaning within Labuan water, direct supply of food, fuel supply to vessel and garbage disposal services; and
- Competent and professional Marine Department officers to handle the registration and other matters related to the ships or vessels.
Other benefits
- There are also other benefits that ship or vessel owners can enjoy when using Labuan for the MISR registration purposes:
- Labuan is one of the safest place to visit in the region, as it is near to the Malaysian Navy base and air force base;
- Labuan is Malaysia’s most established duty free island. A host of value-adding and manufacturing activities can commence in Labuan.
Labuan has been declared as one of the country’s oil and gas hub. This will further boost the oil and gas industries in Labuan;
The Malaysian government has introduced many incentives for businesses conducted through the island of Labuan. These include a reduction or exemption of income tax and stamp duty fees for individuals and companies doing business in Labuan;
Setting up a company is a quick and simple exercise, and approvals come from a one-stop regulator, the Labuan Financial Services Authority (Labuan FSA);
Ship owner may enjoy the tax regime of 3% tax from net profit or a flat rate of RM20,000. To enjoy the said tax treatment, the shipping activity comply with the Labuan Business Activity Tax Act 1990;
Labuan is the centre of International Business Financial Centre (IBFC) in Asian region. This has put Labuan as one of the premier IBFCs in Asia Pacific.
With an attractive tax regime and incentives, competitive cost for the formation of Labuan company without sacrificing quality, with access to expertise and world-class infrastructure and competitive ship registration fees, Malaysia International Ship Registry (MISR) has the potential to attract shipping companies to use Labuan IBFC as the centre for their shipping business.
For more information about Labuan shipping activities in Labuan, you can log on to www.labuanfsa.gov.my and www.labuanibfc.my.
Dipetik dari - Free Malaysia Today
Monday, April 23, 2012
Labuan's tourism target
By BAVANI M
The Pearl of Borneo, already known for its offshore financing facilities and oil and gas industry, is poised to become a tourism hub.
More people-centric projects planned for Labuan to spur the Pearl of Borneo’s economy
IT HAS been almost three decades since Labuan was declared a Federal Territory, but the tourism potential of the island located off the northwest coast of Borneo has remained largely untapped.
However, things are set to change with Labuan being included in the Economic Transformation Programme for its oil and gas sector and the Labuan Corporation’s plan to form a committee called “Invest Labuan”.
This is to further boost Labuan’s status as a duty-free destination.
Already an International Offshore Financial Centre (IOFC), tourism is set to add another facet to the island’s economy.
The government is planning more people-centric projects for the Federal Territory of Labuan to spur the island’s economy and provide job opportunities for thousands of its residents.
The Pearl of Borneo, already known for its offshore financing facilities and oil and gas industry, is poised to become a hub for tourism with emphasis on helping the locals promote their businesses.
Labuan MP Datuk Yussof Mahal said there are many potential investors who are keen on working in the various sectors to develop the tourism industry of the island as they see great potential in its natural resources and beauty.
Heaven on Earth
Pulau Papan, one of Labuan’s most beautiful islands, will soon be transformed into a lively place of fun and leisure as plans are in the pipeline to turn it into a multi-million ringgit resort akin to Singapore’s Sentosa Island.
According to Yussof, the government through Labuan Corporation, the local authority which administrates the Federal Territory of Labuan, is currently in talks with investors who are keen to develop the island into a resort.
“We have a few investors who are keen to develop the Pulau Papan’s marine parks and sea sports as well as constructing hotels to promote the area,’’ he said.
The island’s natural beauty is an attractive option for investors who can tap into the pristine environment offered by the island and the marine sport industry.
Pulau Papan is only a five-minute boat ride from Labuan and is the most developed of several islands near Labuan, with beautiful landscaping and an old colonial lighthouse adding to its charm.
The island has a mini agriculture park with an interesting collection f plant life from the region.
It is a popular weekend getaway for people from Brunei as well as locals who go there for trekking, picnics and snorkelling.
Chalets are available for rent, but tourists, especially foreigners, prefer to rough it out by camping on the beach.
Apart from Pulau Papan there are five other islands that make up the Federal Territory of Labuan.
Plans to upgrade the other islands and their beaches with facilities to attract visitors are also underway.
The other islands include Kuraman, Rusukan Besar and Rusukan Kecil.
Yussof added that, since Labuan is a duty-free zone, setting up duty-free shops could be one way to attract even more tourists.
Shopping haven
New shopping malls and hotels will also be coming up in Labuan in the near future.
Yussof said that a Brunei investor is keen on investing RM20mil to build a textile mall in Labuan.
“Land has already been indentifed for the mall and things are still in the prelimininary stages,” he said.
And with a few other projects planned, Labuan could soon become a landmark destination for vacations.
On the old Labuan Hotel, he added the hotel will be demolished and replaced by a new hotel. RM200mil will go into the hotel project, which is expected to start at the end of the year.
“We are also working with University Malaysia Sabah to open a campus in Labuan offering international courses focused on the oil and gas industry to attract students from Brunei, the Philippines and Indonesia. We have the expertise since Labuan is a hub for the oil and gas industry,” Yussof said.
Homestay centre
Renowned for its rustic homestay programmes, Labuan Corporation, in collaboration with the Tourism Ministry, has allocated RM1.5mil to upgrade the homestay programmes in Labuan’s water villages to boost tourism.
“Water villages are a feature of Labuan, hence, we have indentified three water villages to benefit from basic infrastructure such as bridges and better roads,” he said, adding that the bridges would be constructed in Kampung Bebuluh Laut, Kampung Patau-Patau and Kampung Ranca-Ranca.
He added that the construction of rural roads connecting villages is estimated at RM400,000 while the bridges will cost RM600,000.
Yussof also said that allocations would be given to villagers to upgrade their homestay facilities as well as help them carry out small businesses to complement their homestay programme.
Halal hub
The RM86mil Labuan Halal Distribution Hub (LHDH) located in Kiamsam will be fully operational by June with phase 1 and phase 2 already fully completed.
Once the hub is fully operational, it will become the centre of distribution for Malaysian halal products for the domestic and international market.
Yussof said the RM50mil phase 1 and 2 involved building cold-storage facilities as well as a warehousing complex, dry warehouses, cold room facilities and a traceability system. Phase 3, comprises the construction of the jetty for the boats to load goods, is still underway.
He added that Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Ministry has already appointed a company to carry out the running of the hub.
“We are confident that our products exported to Muslim countries will be received with trust as we are certified by Jakim (Malaysian Department of Islamic Development),” Yussof said.
“Currently we already have someone from the seafood industry who will be working wih us to export to Japan and Taiwan,” he said, adding that he is confident more investors will come as Labuan offers the best prawns and tuna in the region.
With the completion of the halal hub, Yusoff is confident that the halal industry will contribute 30% to Labuan’s economic growth as well as creating a spin offs in other areas and provide employment for locals. The halal hub is located in the south-west of Labuan.
The LHDH development, covering a 40.5ha site, will focus on the marine fisheries and aquaculture industry.
FT Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin had said recently, the hub, with its stringent, high-quality standards, would further raise the name of Labuan in the international arena just as its status as an International Business and Financial Centre did in the early 90s.
Dipetik dari - The Star, Monday 23 April 2012
The Pearl of Borneo, already known for its offshore financing facilities and oil and gas industry, is poised to become a tourism hub.
More people-centric projects planned for Labuan to spur the Pearl of Borneo’s economy
IT HAS been almost three decades since Labuan was declared a Federal Territory, but the tourism potential of the island located off the northwest coast of Borneo has remained largely untapped.
However, things are set to change with Labuan being included in the Economic Transformation Programme for its oil and gas sector and the Labuan Corporation’s plan to form a committee called “Invest Labuan”.
This is to further boost Labuan’s status as a duty-free destination.
Already an International Offshore Financial Centre (IOFC), tourism is set to add another facet to the island’s economy.
The government is planning more people-centric projects for the Federal Territory of Labuan to spur the island’s economy and provide job opportunities for thousands of its residents.
The Pearl of Borneo, already known for its offshore financing facilities and oil and gas industry, is poised to become a hub for tourism with emphasis on helping the locals promote their businesses.
Labuan MP Datuk Yussof Mahal said there are many potential investors who are keen on working in the various sectors to develop the tourism industry of the island as they see great potential in its natural resources and beauty.
Heaven on Earth
Pulau Papan, one of Labuan’s most beautiful islands, will soon be transformed into a lively place of fun and leisure as plans are in the pipeline to turn it into a multi-million ringgit resort akin to Singapore’s Sentosa Island.
According to Yussof, the government through Labuan Corporation, the local authority which administrates the Federal Territory of Labuan, is currently in talks with investors who are keen to develop the island into a resort.
“We have a few investors who are keen to develop the Pulau Papan’s marine parks and sea sports as well as constructing hotels to promote the area,’’ he said.
The island’s natural beauty is an attractive option for investors who can tap into the pristine environment offered by the island and the marine sport industry.
Pulau Papan is only a five-minute boat ride from Labuan and is the most developed of several islands near Labuan, with beautiful landscaping and an old colonial lighthouse adding to its charm.
The island has a mini agriculture park with an interesting collection f plant life from the region.
It is a popular weekend getaway for people from Brunei as well as locals who go there for trekking, picnics and snorkelling.
Chalets are available for rent, but tourists, especially foreigners, prefer to rough it out by camping on the beach.
Apart from Pulau Papan there are five other islands that make up the Federal Territory of Labuan.
Plans to upgrade the other islands and their beaches with facilities to attract visitors are also underway.
The other islands include Kuraman, Rusukan Besar and Rusukan Kecil.
Yussof added that, since Labuan is a duty-free zone, setting up duty-free shops could be one way to attract even more tourists.
Shopping haven
New shopping malls and hotels will also be coming up in Labuan in the near future.
Yussof said that a Brunei investor is keen on investing RM20mil to build a textile mall in Labuan.
“Land has already been indentifed for the mall and things are still in the prelimininary stages,” he said.
And with a few other projects planned, Labuan could soon become a landmark destination for vacations.
On the old Labuan Hotel, he added the hotel will be demolished and replaced by a new hotel. RM200mil will go into the hotel project, which is expected to start at the end of the year.
“We are also working with University Malaysia Sabah to open a campus in Labuan offering international courses focused on the oil and gas industry to attract students from Brunei, the Philippines and Indonesia. We have the expertise since Labuan is a hub for the oil and gas industry,” Yussof said.
Homestay centre
Renowned for its rustic homestay programmes, Labuan Corporation, in collaboration with the Tourism Ministry, has allocated RM1.5mil to upgrade the homestay programmes in Labuan’s water villages to boost tourism.
“Water villages are a feature of Labuan, hence, we have indentified three water villages to benefit from basic infrastructure such as bridges and better roads,” he said, adding that the bridges would be constructed in Kampung Bebuluh Laut, Kampung Patau-Patau and Kampung Ranca-Ranca.
He added that the construction of rural roads connecting villages is estimated at RM400,000 while the bridges will cost RM600,000.
Yussof also said that allocations would be given to villagers to upgrade their homestay facilities as well as help them carry out small businesses to complement their homestay programme.
Halal hub
The RM86mil Labuan Halal Distribution Hub (LHDH) located in Kiamsam will be fully operational by June with phase 1 and phase 2 already fully completed.
Once the hub is fully operational, it will become the centre of distribution for Malaysian halal products for the domestic and international market.
Yussof said the RM50mil phase 1 and 2 involved building cold-storage facilities as well as a warehousing complex, dry warehouses, cold room facilities and a traceability system. Phase 3, comprises the construction of the jetty for the boats to load goods, is still underway.
He added that Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Ministry has already appointed a company to carry out the running of the hub.
“We are confident that our products exported to Muslim countries will be received with trust as we are certified by Jakim (Malaysian Department of Islamic Development),” Yussof said.
“Currently we already have someone from the seafood industry who will be working wih us to export to Japan and Taiwan,” he said, adding that he is confident more investors will come as Labuan offers the best prawns and tuna in the region.
With the completion of the halal hub, Yusoff is confident that the halal industry will contribute 30% to Labuan’s economic growth as well as creating a spin offs in other areas and provide employment for locals. The halal hub is located in the south-west of Labuan.
The LHDH development, covering a 40.5ha site, will focus on the marine fisheries and aquaculture industry.
FT Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin had said recently, the hub, with its stringent, high-quality standards, would further raise the name of Labuan in the international arena just as its status as an International Business and Financial Centre did in the early 90s.
Dipetik dari - The Star, Monday 23 April 2012
China's military warns of confrontation over seas
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's military warned the United States on Saturday that U.S.-Philippine military exercises have raised risks of armed confrontation over the disputed South China Sea, in the toughest high-level warning yet after weeks of tension.
U.S. army soldiers patrol as they conduct an ambush drill as part of the Filipino-U.S. joint military exercises inside a Philippine army camp in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija, north of Manila April 21, 2012.
China's official Liberation Army Daily warned that recent jostling with the Philippines over disputed seas where both countries have sent ships could boil over into outright conflict, and laid much of the blame at Washington's door.
American and Filipino troops launched two weeks of annual naval drills on April 16 amid the stand-off between Beijing and Manila, who have accused each other of encroaching on sovereign seas near the Scarborough Shoal, west of a former U.S. navy base at Subic Bay.
The joint exercises are held in different seas around the Philippines. The leg that takes place in the South China Sea area, which could be rich in oil and gas and is spanned by busy shipping lanes, starts on Monday.
"Anyone with clear eyes saw long ago that behind these drills is reflected a mentality that will lead the South China Sea issue down a fork in the road towards military confrontation and resolution through armed force," said the commentary in the Chinese paper, which is the chief mouthpiece of the People's Liberation Army.
"Through this kind of meddling and intervention, the United States will only stir up the entire South China Sea situation towards increasing chaos, and this will inevitably have a massive impact on regional peace and stability."
The Pentagon said this was a regular exercise "not tied to any current situation."
"The focus of this year's exercise is on disaster response and civic assistance," said Pentagon spokeswoman, Navy Commander Leslie Hull-Ryde.
Up to now, China has chided the Philippines over the dispute about the uninhabited shoal known in the Philippines as the Panatag Shoal and which China calls Huangyan, about 124 nautical miles off the main Philippine island of Luzon.
China has territorial disputes with the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan across the South China Sea.
Major General Luo Yuan, a retired PLA researcher well-known for his hawkish views, amplified the warnings from Beijing issued through state media.
"China has already shown enough restraint and patience over this incident," Luo said of the friction with Manila, according to an interview published on Chinese state television's website (http://news.cntv.cn).
If the Philippines "takes irrational actions, then the current confrontation could intensify, and the Chinese navy will certainly not stand idly by," he added.
REGIONAL TENSIONS
Beijing has sought to resolve the disputes one-on-one with the countries involved but there is worry among its neighbours over what some see as growing Chinese assertiveness in staking claims over the seas and various islands, reefs and shoals.
In past patches of tension over disputed seas, hawkish Chinese military voices have also risen, only to be reined in later by the government. The same could be true this time.
Since late 2010, China has sought to cool tensions with the United States. Especially with the ruling Chinese Communist Party preoccupied with a leadership succession late in 2012, Beijing has stressed hopes for steady relations throughout this year.
Nonetheless, experts have said China remains wary of U.S. military intentions across the Asia-Pacific, especially after the Obama administration's vows to "pivot" to the region, reinvigorating diplomatic and security ties with allies.
The Liberation Army Daily commentary echoed that wariness.
"The United States' intention of trying to draw more countries into stirring up the situation in the South China Sea is being brandished to the full," said the newspaper.
Dipetik dari - The Star Online
China's official Liberation Army Daily warned that recent jostling with the Philippines over disputed seas where both countries have sent ships could boil over into outright conflict, and laid much of the blame at Washington's door.
American and Filipino troops launched two weeks of annual naval drills on April 16 amid the stand-off between Beijing and Manila, who have accused each other of encroaching on sovereign seas near the Scarborough Shoal, west of a former U.S. navy base at Subic Bay.
The joint exercises are held in different seas around the Philippines. The leg that takes place in the South China Sea area, which could be rich in oil and gas and is spanned by busy shipping lanes, starts on Monday.
"Anyone with clear eyes saw long ago that behind these drills is reflected a mentality that will lead the South China Sea issue down a fork in the road towards military confrontation and resolution through armed force," said the commentary in the Chinese paper, which is the chief mouthpiece of the People's Liberation Army.
"Through this kind of meddling and intervention, the United States will only stir up the entire South China Sea situation towards increasing chaos, and this will inevitably have a massive impact on regional peace and stability."
The Pentagon said this was a regular exercise "not tied to any current situation."
"The focus of this year's exercise is on disaster response and civic assistance," said Pentagon spokeswoman, Navy Commander Leslie Hull-Ryde.
Up to now, China has chided the Philippines over the dispute about the uninhabited shoal known in the Philippines as the Panatag Shoal and which China calls Huangyan, about 124 nautical miles off the main Philippine island of Luzon.
China has territorial disputes with the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan across the South China Sea.
Major General Luo Yuan, a retired PLA researcher well-known for his hawkish views, amplified the warnings from Beijing issued through state media.
"China has already shown enough restraint and patience over this incident," Luo said of the friction with Manila, according to an interview published on Chinese state television's website (http://news.cntv.cn).
If the Philippines "takes irrational actions, then the current confrontation could intensify, and the Chinese navy will certainly not stand idly by," he added.
REGIONAL TENSIONS
Beijing has sought to resolve the disputes one-on-one with the countries involved but there is worry among its neighbours over what some see as growing Chinese assertiveness in staking claims over the seas and various islands, reefs and shoals.
In past patches of tension over disputed seas, hawkish Chinese military voices have also risen, only to be reined in later by the government. The same could be true this time.
Since late 2010, China has sought to cool tensions with the United States. Especially with the ruling Chinese Communist Party preoccupied with a leadership succession late in 2012, Beijing has stressed hopes for steady relations throughout this year.
Nonetheless, experts have said China remains wary of U.S. military intentions across the Asia-Pacific, especially after the Obama administration's vows to "pivot" to the region, reinvigorating diplomatic and security ties with allies.
The Liberation Army Daily commentary echoed that wariness.
"The United States' intention of trying to draw more countries into stirring up the situation in the South China Sea is being brandished to the full," said the newspaper.
Dipetik dari - The Star Online
Friday, April 20, 2012
After the storm in the South China Sea
By Nazery Khalid
The recent stand-off between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the South China Sea has once again sent the political temperature in this strategic sea lane soaring to worrying heights.
The prospect of a lull in tensions has ebbed and given way to choppy seas. Sparks flew again when the biggest ship in the Philippines' naval fleet, Gregorio del Pilar came across eight Chinese fishing vessels in the disputed waters near the Scarborough shoal.
As the Philippines navy, which claimed that the Chinese vessels were trespassing the Philippines' waters, prepared to board the fishing vessels and arrest the crew, two Chinese surveillance vessels dispatched to the area positioned themselves between the Gregorio del Pilar and the fishing vessels. Each side then traded accusations of trespassing and ordered the other to leave the waters.
The incident triggered a frenzy of diplomatic efforts by Beijing and Manila to prevent the situation from deteriorating further. This however was peppered by volleys of strongly worded condemnations and the exchange of warnings between the two nations. At the point of writing, vessels from both sides are still in a tense face-off.
Manila said the incident was "a clear violation of Philippine sovereignty" and described the Scarborough shoal as an "integral part" of its territory. This was matched by Beijing's description of the incident as a "harassment of Chinese fishermen" by armed Philippine naval personnel, while emphasizing that the shoal, a mere 124 nautical miles off Luzon Island in the northern Philippines, is in China's "territorial waters".
High voltage
The standoff did not happen in a vacuum. The Scarborough shoal incident is the latest in a long line of confrontations between China and the Philippines in the Sea.
Tensions between the two states have been building over the last few years. The Philippines accused Chinese vessels of harassing its fishermen in waters Manila claimed to be within the State's territory. China protested a Philippines vessel undertaking exploration activities in disputed waters in the Sea.
Adding to the tension, the Philippines has called upon the United States to come to its aid in the event of a naval conflict in the South China Sea. This has greatly upset China since it rejects any intervention from outside parties in what it insists is a regional matter to be resolved on a bilateral basis by the disputed parties.
Through the infamous "nine dotted lines", China stakes a claim that stretches well into the territorial waters of the littoral states of the sea. The claim is devoid of any legal basis and has been flatly rejected by other claimant states. China's increasingly aggressive acts toward enforcing this claim have unnerved the other claimant states and stoked tensions in the region.
Standing in the middle
How will the post-Scarborough shoal incident pan out? Will it fizzle like previous spats or will it get out of hand and come to an ugly, bloody, deadly conclusion? Will China and the Philippines take a deep breath and live up to their pronouncements of seeking diplomatic solutions to the dispute?
These are questions that other claimant states are particularly keen on finding out. Nations such as Malaysia and Brunei, which have not experienced the kind of face-off with China that the Philippines and Vietnam have had, will be closely observing the dynamics of such a confrontation. They will surely keep a close watch on post-Scarborough shoal developments to prepare their options well in advance. The progression of events that unfold between China and the Philippines will provide a crucial indication in how China will act and react in the future, and consequently, how the party in dispute should respond.
The Philippines' inability to safeguard its interests in the Sea was cruelly exposed during the Scarborough shoal saga. The fact that China only dispatched ships belonging to paramilitary units to face off with a Philippine Navy ship is telling. This should provide plenty of food for thought for other claimant states on the need to back their posturing to defend their interests at sea with the capacity and capability to do so.
This does not mean other claimant states could give the might of China's navy a run for its money in a conflict, or even attempt to confront China militarily. They must walk the fine line of telling China it is wrong to act like a big bully while at the same time maintain harmonious relations with this regional giant and safeguard their other national interests.
Can the likes of Malaysia and Brunei expect their relations with China to remain cordial over their overlapping claims in the Sea? Would China continue to view its relations with these claimant states favorably if disputes in the Sea mount and those countries find themselves in China's crosshairs? Given Beijing's stern declaration that the South China Sea is an area of "core interest", one should assume that China will be just as adversarial with other claimant states if they threaten its interests in the Sea.
Cure for the itch
The fact that the incident occurred over fishing underscores the need for an agreement or joint-development between the Philippines and China - and for that matter among other claimant states - to explore fishery resources together and to agree on the conduct, regulations and jurisdiction of fishing activities. This is crucial to avoid the kind of situation like in Scarborough shoal from reoccurring.
Cooperation breeds understanding and confidence. It is a key aspect to peace that is currently needed in abundance amid the tense times in the Sea to prevent the parties in dispute from doing anything rash.
There is an urgent need for claimant states to engage one another at very high diplomatic levels to ensure such a stand-off does not reoccur. For them to hope that there will be a binding Code of Conduct appearing soon to save the day would be rather unrealistic.
To this end, it would be helpful for the parties involved to explore other modalities to ensure that situations like the Scarborough shoal incident do not escalate into something more serious. A model like the Prevention of Incidents at Sea Agreement (INCSEA) may be worth considering as an interim measure to prevent conflicts.
Over and above these operational remedies, the disputing parties must address situations arising from unresolved claims and counterclaims. While we can be encouraged by the progress made between ASEAN and China to implement the Declaration of Conduct (DOC), it would be far-fetched to expect the DOC to be the magic wand that can resolve rifts among ASEAN and China. They must no longer shy away from discussing the issue on existing regional multilateral platforms such as ASEAN Regional Forum and East Asia Summit. While ASEAN and China continue to work together to implement the DOC, more pressure must also be exerted on China to be transparent and clarify its claims in the Sea based on international law and principles.
Breaking the habit
It is certainly not in anyone's interest to see a further escalation of the situation in the Scarborough shoal, although the possibility of a full-blown conflict breaking out is rather distant. Nevertheless, it would be lazy of us to simply shrug off the incident and believe the disputing parties will move on and be nice to each other again until another incident happens.
This approach has not helped in avoiding maritime tensions in the past and it does not appear that it will work in untangling the current knot between China and the Philippines. Even if the tension dies down - as we all hope it does - there will surely be another incident in the Sea between them. Something more concrete than wishing the tension to subside without resolutely addressing the root causes of the problem needs to be done to avoid reoccurrences. We cannot just accept the periodic outbreak of incidents in the Sea as a given.
One wonders that if push comes to shove, will the parties in the dispute fire shots at one another? This possibility cannot be dismissed, judging from the rhetoric used by both sides immediately following the incident at the Scarborough shoal. Beijing condemned Manila's conduct as "beyond tolerance" and a "blatant challenge to Chinese territorial integrity", while Manila stressed that it would be "prepared to secure its sovereignty" if it was "challenged".
There seems to be little attempt by both sides to temper their language with diplomatic niceties. Their pronouncements indicate that both sides are willing to show some teeth in order to safeguard their interests, despite diplomatic maneuvering to calm the tension.
Further escalation could draw the involvement of the United States, which has thrown its support behind the Philippines in its disputes with China. Although Washington has declared that it does not side with any of the claimant states and has denied that it is out to "contain" China, many analysts believe that the "pivot to Asia" policy of the United States is designed to rein China's growing influence in this key theater.
It is easy to understand China's grievances concerning diplomatic and military actions by the United States in the region, which Beijing believes are targeted towards China. Washington's support towards the Philippines, its declaration of having a 'national interest' in the South China Sea, its stationing of Marines in northern Australia, and its conduct of naval exercises with the Philippines and Vietnam in disputed waters have irked China that rejects the "intervention" by external powers in maritime disputes.
It is important to understand Manila's verve in standing up against Beijing in the context of these developments. No doubt the Philippines is emboldened by the presence of the United States in the region and by the latter's support in Manila's disputes against China. Whether or not Washington would come to Manila's aid in times of conflict is quite another thing, yet its public support has added a worrying new dimension to the South China Sea saga.
To be sure, not everyone in the Philippines or China supports the hawkish positions taken by those countries. However, should the spat turn ugly, nationalistic sentiments on both sides could hit fever pitch. Already there were public protests in the Philippines condemning China's actions. Goaded by the vociferous protests and the angry local constituencies, Beijing and Manila could take a course of action that may result in a dispute spiraling into military conflict.
Such is the logic of unintended consequences. This could unleash similar sentiments in other claimant states should they find themselves in a similar situation. An already tense situation would be made even more unnerving if parties in dispute assume an increasingly adversarial stance against one another.
This of course would not be desirable at all. While tough talk may satisfy domestic constituencies, it will not be helpful to finding a diplomatic solution to disputes in the Sea.
One step closer
One wonders how united the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) members will be when they meet with China in Phnom Penh later this year to push forward an agenda for establishing a legally binding code governing their conduct in the South China Sea. Given the difficulty for them to come up with an 'ASEAN position', taking into account that not all members are claimant states and some are considered close allies of China, the prospect of a finalized Code of Conduct between ASEAN and China in the near future is rather dim.
China has thus far not shown any signs of wanting to change its stance on discussing disputes in the sea on a multilateral platform. On this basis, one should not put too much hope on the 2011 agreement in Bali between ASEAN and China to implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (COP), which was signed in 2002 to settle disputes in the Sea peacefully. While the agreement to implement the COP was a positive development, it has to be emphasized that the COP has failed to prevent incidents in the Sea among the parties in dispute.
Following this latest incident with the Philippines, it would be hard to imagine China wanting to be tethered to a binding code of conduct that will limit its strategic options. Add Vietnam's equally strong stance against China in maritime disputes and one is even more reluctant to wager on China agreeing to engage ASEAN on the matter anytime soon.
One hopes for reason to prevail in the Scarborough shoal and other disputed areas of the South China Sea for the sake of regional peace, prosperity and stability. The Sea hosts so much economic interests and strategic importance to the littoral states as well as the international community, and it is imperative that the stakeholders ensure it remains peaceful and accessible to all. However, when evaluating the facts based on past and recent developments, one cannot help but feel very worried that a full-blown conflict is only a short fuse away.
Despite the current tensions, this most recent maritime dispute is not unfamiliar. If and when the tension cools off, many are optimistic that the parties concerned will come away from the Scarborough shoal incident with a renewed sense of realization that any shots fired would only disturb the peace that they and others cherish and need. This may spur efforts to work towards establishing long-lasting peace in the South China Sea.
Dipetik dari - Asia Times Online
The recent stand-off between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the South China Sea has once again sent the political temperature in this strategic sea lane soaring to worrying heights.
The prospect of a lull in tensions has ebbed and given way to choppy seas. Sparks flew again when the biggest ship in the Philippines' naval fleet, Gregorio del Pilar came across eight Chinese fishing vessels in the disputed waters near the Scarborough shoal.
As the Philippines navy, which claimed that the Chinese vessels were trespassing the Philippines' waters, prepared to board the fishing vessels and arrest the crew, two Chinese surveillance vessels dispatched to the area positioned themselves between the Gregorio del Pilar and the fishing vessels. Each side then traded accusations of trespassing and ordered the other to leave the waters.
The incident triggered a frenzy of diplomatic efforts by Beijing and Manila to prevent the situation from deteriorating further. This however was peppered by volleys of strongly worded condemnations and the exchange of warnings between the two nations. At the point of writing, vessels from both sides are still in a tense face-off.
Manila said the incident was "a clear violation of Philippine sovereignty" and described the Scarborough shoal as an "integral part" of its territory. This was matched by Beijing's description of the incident as a "harassment of Chinese fishermen" by armed Philippine naval personnel, while emphasizing that the shoal, a mere 124 nautical miles off Luzon Island in the northern Philippines, is in China's "territorial waters".
High voltage
The standoff did not happen in a vacuum. The Scarborough shoal incident is the latest in a long line of confrontations between China and the Philippines in the Sea.
Tensions between the two states have been building over the last few years. The Philippines accused Chinese vessels of harassing its fishermen in waters Manila claimed to be within the State's territory. China protested a Philippines vessel undertaking exploration activities in disputed waters in the Sea.
Adding to the tension, the Philippines has called upon the United States to come to its aid in the event of a naval conflict in the South China Sea. This has greatly upset China since it rejects any intervention from outside parties in what it insists is a regional matter to be resolved on a bilateral basis by the disputed parties.
Through the infamous "nine dotted lines", China stakes a claim that stretches well into the territorial waters of the littoral states of the sea. The claim is devoid of any legal basis and has been flatly rejected by other claimant states. China's increasingly aggressive acts toward enforcing this claim have unnerved the other claimant states and stoked tensions in the region.
Standing in the middle
How will the post-Scarborough shoal incident pan out? Will it fizzle like previous spats or will it get out of hand and come to an ugly, bloody, deadly conclusion? Will China and the Philippines take a deep breath and live up to their pronouncements of seeking diplomatic solutions to the dispute?
These are questions that other claimant states are particularly keen on finding out. Nations such as Malaysia and Brunei, which have not experienced the kind of face-off with China that the Philippines and Vietnam have had, will be closely observing the dynamics of such a confrontation. They will surely keep a close watch on post-Scarborough shoal developments to prepare their options well in advance. The progression of events that unfold between China and the Philippines will provide a crucial indication in how China will act and react in the future, and consequently, how the party in dispute should respond.
The Philippines' inability to safeguard its interests in the Sea was cruelly exposed during the Scarborough shoal saga. The fact that China only dispatched ships belonging to paramilitary units to face off with a Philippine Navy ship is telling. This should provide plenty of food for thought for other claimant states on the need to back their posturing to defend their interests at sea with the capacity and capability to do so.
This does not mean other claimant states could give the might of China's navy a run for its money in a conflict, or even attempt to confront China militarily. They must walk the fine line of telling China it is wrong to act like a big bully while at the same time maintain harmonious relations with this regional giant and safeguard their other national interests.
Can the likes of Malaysia and Brunei expect their relations with China to remain cordial over their overlapping claims in the Sea? Would China continue to view its relations with these claimant states favorably if disputes in the Sea mount and those countries find themselves in China's crosshairs? Given Beijing's stern declaration that the South China Sea is an area of "core interest", one should assume that China will be just as adversarial with other claimant states if they threaten its interests in the Sea.
Cure for the itch
The fact that the incident occurred over fishing underscores the need for an agreement or joint-development between the Philippines and China - and for that matter among other claimant states - to explore fishery resources together and to agree on the conduct, regulations and jurisdiction of fishing activities. This is crucial to avoid the kind of situation like in Scarborough shoal from reoccurring.
Cooperation breeds understanding and confidence. It is a key aspect to peace that is currently needed in abundance amid the tense times in the Sea to prevent the parties in dispute from doing anything rash.
There is an urgent need for claimant states to engage one another at very high diplomatic levels to ensure such a stand-off does not reoccur. For them to hope that there will be a binding Code of Conduct appearing soon to save the day would be rather unrealistic.
To this end, it would be helpful for the parties involved to explore other modalities to ensure that situations like the Scarborough shoal incident do not escalate into something more serious. A model like the Prevention of Incidents at Sea Agreement (INCSEA) may be worth considering as an interim measure to prevent conflicts.
Over and above these operational remedies, the disputing parties must address situations arising from unresolved claims and counterclaims. While we can be encouraged by the progress made between ASEAN and China to implement the Declaration of Conduct (DOC), it would be far-fetched to expect the DOC to be the magic wand that can resolve rifts among ASEAN and China. They must no longer shy away from discussing the issue on existing regional multilateral platforms such as ASEAN Regional Forum and East Asia Summit. While ASEAN and China continue to work together to implement the DOC, more pressure must also be exerted on China to be transparent and clarify its claims in the Sea based on international law and principles.
Breaking the habit
It is certainly not in anyone's interest to see a further escalation of the situation in the Scarborough shoal, although the possibility of a full-blown conflict breaking out is rather distant. Nevertheless, it would be lazy of us to simply shrug off the incident and believe the disputing parties will move on and be nice to each other again until another incident happens.
This approach has not helped in avoiding maritime tensions in the past and it does not appear that it will work in untangling the current knot between China and the Philippines. Even if the tension dies down - as we all hope it does - there will surely be another incident in the Sea between them. Something more concrete than wishing the tension to subside without resolutely addressing the root causes of the problem needs to be done to avoid reoccurrences. We cannot just accept the periodic outbreak of incidents in the Sea as a given.
One wonders that if push comes to shove, will the parties in the dispute fire shots at one another? This possibility cannot be dismissed, judging from the rhetoric used by both sides immediately following the incident at the Scarborough shoal. Beijing condemned Manila's conduct as "beyond tolerance" and a "blatant challenge to Chinese territorial integrity", while Manila stressed that it would be "prepared to secure its sovereignty" if it was "challenged".
There seems to be little attempt by both sides to temper their language with diplomatic niceties. Their pronouncements indicate that both sides are willing to show some teeth in order to safeguard their interests, despite diplomatic maneuvering to calm the tension.
Further escalation could draw the involvement of the United States, which has thrown its support behind the Philippines in its disputes with China. Although Washington has declared that it does not side with any of the claimant states and has denied that it is out to "contain" China, many analysts believe that the "pivot to Asia" policy of the United States is designed to rein China's growing influence in this key theater.
It is easy to understand China's grievances concerning diplomatic and military actions by the United States in the region, which Beijing believes are targeted towards China. Washington's support towards the Philippines, its declaration of having a 'national interest' in the South China Sea, its stationing of Marines in northern Australia, and its conduct of naval exercises with the Philippines and Vietnam in disputed waters have irked China that rejects the "intervention" by external powers in maritime disputes.
It is important to understand Manila's verve in standing up against Beijing in the context of these developments. No doubt the Philippines is emboldened by the presence of the United States in the region and by the latter's support in Manila's disputes against China. Whether or not Washington would come to Manila's aid in times of conflict is quite another thing, yet its public support has added a worrying new dimension to the South China Sea saga.
To be sure, not everyone in the Philippines or China supports the hawkish positions taken by those countries. However, should the spat turn ugly, nationalistic sentiments on both sides could hit fever pitch. Already there were public protests in the Philippines condemning China's actions. Goaded by the vociferous protests and the angry local constituencies, Beijing and Manila could take a course of action that may result in a dispute spiraling into military conflict.
Such is the logic of unintended consequences. This could unleash similar sentiments in other claimant states should they find themselves in a similar situation. An already tense situation would be made even more unnerving if parties in dispute assume an increasingly adversarial stance against one another.
This of course would not be desirable at all. While tough talk may satisfy domestic constituencies, it will not be helpful to finding a diplomatic solution to disputes in the Sea.
One step closer
One wonders how united the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) members will be when they meet with China in Phnom Penh later this year to push forward an agenda for establishing a legally binding code governing their conduct in the South China Sea. Given the difficulty for them to come up with an 'ASEAN position', taking into account that not all members are claimant states and some are considered close allies of China, the prospect of a finalized Code of Conduct between ASEAN and China in the near future is rather dim.
China has thus far not shown any signs of wanting to change its stance on discussing disputes in the sea on a multilateral platform. On this basis, one should not put too much hope on the 2011 agreement in Bali between ASEAN and China to implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (COP), which was signed in 2002 to settle disputes in the Sea peacefully. While the agreement to implement the COP was a positive development, it has to be emphasized that the COP has failed to prevent incidents in the Sea among the parties in dispute.
Following this latest incident with the Philippines, it would be hard to imagine China wanting to be tethered to a binding code of conduct that will limit its strategic options. Add Vietnam's equally strong stance against China in maritime disputes and one is even more reluctant to wager on China agreeing to engage ASEAN on the matter anytime soon.
One hopes for reason to prevail in the Scarborough shoal and other disputed areas of the South China Sea for the sake of regional peace, prosperity and stability. The Sea hosts so much economic interests and strategic importance to the littoral states as well as the international community, and it is imperative that the stakeholders ensure it remains peaceful and accessible to all. However, when evaluating the facts based on past and recent developments, one cannot help but feel very worried that a full-blown conflict is only a short fuse away.
Despite the current tensions, this most recent maritime dispute is not unfamiliar. If and when the tension cools off, many are optimistic that the parties concerned will come away from the Scarborough shoal incident with a renewed sense of realization that any shots fired would only disturb the peace that they and others cherish and need. This may spur efforts to work towards establishing long-lasting peace in the South China Sea.
Dipetik dari - Asia Times Online
Spaniards livid over King Juan Carlos's elephant hunt
In one fell swoop, King Juan Carlos of Spain has managed to unite right and left, young and old, those with jobs and those without in universal outrage over his tone-deaf African hunting safari.
As Spain foundered amid economic woes, what did the 74-year-old monarch do? He slipped away to hunt elephants in southern Africa.
Let's count the ways that miscalculation of elephantine proportions has turned into a public relations disaster:
- A lavish trip amid severe economic pain at home
Interest rates for Spanish bonds have risen alarmingly in recent days, with fears mounting that the country could be the next in Europe to need a bailout. Not exactly the right time to go on an exotic holiday that one major newspaper estimated could cost twice a Spanish worker's average annual wages.
Spain is also struggling with 23 per cent unemployment - the highest in the 17-nation eurozone - which soars to nearly 50 per cent for young workers. The trip makes the king's earlier comments about how he can't sleep at night thinking about the country's unemployed ring rather hollow.
"Awful. I think what the king did is awful," said Angelica Diaz, a 70-year-old homemaker pushing a baby stroller in Madrid. "Because of the lack of solidarity with people here who are going hungry. What he did is wrong. He has to show more humanity."
- A secret trip that even the government did not know about
This particular trip - it is not clear if taxpayer money was used - only became public when the king stumbled and fell before dawn on Friday at his bungalow in Botswana and fractured his right hip, forcing an emergency flight home and hip replacement surgery.
The El Mundo newspaper said the king had not told Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government of his trip abroad until after the accident.
"The prime minister must know at all times where the head of state is," El Mundo said in an editorial.
- A trip that just adds to royal family gaffes
Juan Carlos's family has been in the news lately - for all the wrong reasons. The king's son-in-law, Inaki Urdangarin, is a suspect in a corruption case, accused of using his position to embezzle several million euros in public contracts through a not-for-profit foundation he ran.
Over Easter, the king's 13-year-old grandson shot himself in the foot with a shotgun, even though by law in Spain you must be 14 to handle a gun. The boy's father could face a fine.
- A trip that even outraged longtime supporters
The conservative newspaper El Mundo ran a cartoon with two scenes: the king's crown on the ground and the word "Bang! above it" - the loud report of an elephant gun - then the pachyderm thudding to the ground and smashing the crown to bits.
The paper said the king has done a lot for Spain, especially overseeing its transition to democracy after the death of longtime dictator General Francisco Franco in 1975. But its lead editorial on Sunday read "An irresponsible trip at the worst possible time."
Juan Carlos should "admit his mistake and learn from what happened," the paper said, sounding as if it were admonishing a child.
- A trip that blasts a hole in the king's conservation credentials
The king is an honorary president of the Spanish branch of the Worldwide Fund for Nature - which could raise questions about why an alleged conservation enthusiast is killing some of the most intelligent animals on the planet.
- A trip that leaves Spain with a fill-in monarch
With his father now out on medical leave for at least a month, 44-year-old Crown Prince Felipe is filling in. No one of any real import is calling for the king to step aside, but some have taken the very rare step of urging him to apologise.
"It would not be a bad idea," Patxi Lopez, president of the Basque region, said on Monday. "In these hard times, there are things people just do not understand and this is one of them."
Javier del Rey, a professor of political communications at Complutense University in Madrid, said Spaniards are not pro-monarchy at heart. Rather, they accept the king without a lot of questions largely out of gratitude: he was key to putting down an attempted coup in 1981, just four years into Spain's fledgling democracy, by army officers nostalgic for dictator Franco's rule.
His father, widely known as Don Juan, never ruled as king. Juan Carlos's grandfather, Alfonso XIII, fled the country in 1931 after anti-monarchy parties won a local election. The king was groomed by Franco to become head of state upon the latter's death, which ended four decades of rightwing rule.
But del Rey said the king could not have shown poorer lack of judgment with his elephant-hunting trip. He does not expect the king to abdicate, although he said it would the "elegant" thing to do.
He said Felipe must be livid - both with his father and with his brother-in-law Urdangarin - for making the royal family look so bad.
"He knows that there are things which are not inherited," del Rey said. "To some extent, the monarchy is a daily plebiscite, not just an inheritance you are entitled to."
Dipetik dari - The Age
As Spain foundered amid economic woes, what did the 74-year-old monarch do? He slipped away to hunt elephants in southern Africa.
Let's count the ways that miscalculation of elephantine proportions has turned into a public relations disaster:
- A lavish trip amid severe economic pain at home
Interest rates for Spanish bonds have risen alarmingly in recent days, with fears mounting that the country could be the next in Europe to need a bailout. Not exactly the right time to go on an exotic holiday that one major newspaper estimated could cost twice a Spanish worker's average annual wages.
Spain is also struggling with 23 per cent unemployment - the highest in the 17-nation eurozone - which soars to nearly 50 per cent for young workers. The trip makes the king's earlier comments about how he can't sleep at night thinking about the country's unemployed ring rather hollow.
"Awful. I think what the king did is awful," said Angelica Diaz, a 70-year-old homemaker pushing a baby stroller in Madrid. "Because of the lack of solidarity with people here who are going hungry. What he did is wrong. He has to show more humanity."
- A secret trip that even the government did not know about
This particular trip - it is not clear if taxpayer money was used - only became public when the king stumbled and fell before dawn on Friday at his bungalow in Botswana and fractured his right hip, forcing an emergency flight home and hip replacement surgery.
The El Mundo newspaper said the king had not told Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government of his trip abroad until after the accident.
"The prime minister must know at all times where the head of state is," El Mundo said in an editorial.
- A trip that just adds to royal family gaffes
Juan Carlos's family has been in the news lately - for all the wrong reasons. The king's son-in-law, Inaki Urdangarin, is a suspect in a corruption case, accused of using his position to embezzle several million euros in public contracts through a not-for-profit foundation he ran.
Over Easter, the king's 13-year-old grandson shot himself in the foot with a shotgun, even though by law in Spain you must be 14 to handle a gun. The boy's father could face a fine.
- A trip that even outraged longtime supporters
The conservative newspaper El Mundo ran a cartoon with two scenes: the king's crown on the ground and the word "Bang! above it" - the loud report of an elephant gun - then the pachyderm thudding to the ground and smashing the crown to bits.
The paper said the king has done a lot for Spain, especially overseeing its transition to democracy after the death of longtime dictator General Francisco Franco in 1975. But its lead editorial on Sunday read "An irresponsible trip at the worst possible time."
Juan Carlos should "admit his mistake and learn from what happened," the paper said, sounding as if it were admonishing a child.
- A trip that blasts a hole in the king's conservation credentials
The king is an honorary president of the Spanish branch of the Worldwide Fund for Nature - which could raise questions about why an alleged conservation enthusiast is killing some of the most intelligent animals on the planet.
- A trip that leaves Spain with a fill-in monarch
With his father now out on medical leave for at least a month, 44-year-old Crown Prince Felipe is filling in. No one of any real import is calling for the king to step aside, but some have taken the very rare step of urging him to apologise.
"It would not be a bad idea," Patxi Lopez, president of the Basque region, said on Monday. "In these hard times, there are things people just do not understand and this is one of them."
Javier del Rey, a professor of political communications at Complutense University in Madrid, said Spaniards are not pro-monarchy at heart. Rather, they accept the king without a lot of questions largely out of gratitude: he was key to putting down an attempted coup in 1981, just four years into Spain's fledgling democracy, by army officers nostalgic for dictator Franco's rule.
His father, widely known as Don Juan, never ruled as king. Juan Carlos's grandfather, Alfonso XIII, fled the country in 1931 after anti-monarchy parties won a local election. The king was groomed by Franco to become head of state upon the latter's death, which ended four decades of rightwing rule.
But del Rey said the king could not have shown poorer lack of judgment with his elephant-hunting trip. He does not expect the king to abdicate, although he said it would the "elegant" thing to do.
He said Felipe must be livid - both with his father and with his brother-in-law Urdangarin - for making the royal family look so bad.
"He knows that there are things which are not inherited," del Rey said. "To some extent, the monarchy is a daily plebiscite, not just an inheritance you are entitled to."
Dipetik dari - The Age
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Ruak New Timor-Leste President
Former freedom fighter Jose Maria de Vasconcelos is the new president of Timor-Leste after winning a peaceful run-off election against Francisco Guterres “Lu Olo” of the opposition Fretilin party. His victory appears promising for stability within the often strife-torn country.
Initial results show that Vasconcelos – also known as Taur Matan Ruak – has won more than 60 percent of the vote for the position, which is largely ceremonial but not without influence in a country plagued by poverty and animosities stemming back to East Timor’s fight for independence from Indonesia.
Ruak is expected to unify opposing factions and in his own words restore some lost dignity among the veterans, widows and their families whose anger at being sidelined by previous governments had led to an astonishing level of violence and bloodshed given Timor-Leste’s short history.
Ruak, 55, also replaces the high-profile Nobel Laureate Jose Ramos-Horta, who was dumped as president in the initial vote a month ago following a fall out with Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao and his National Congress for the Reconstruction of East Timor party (CNRT).
The CNRT switched allegiances to Ruak shortly before the poll after Ramos-Horta made noisy allegations of corruption and nepotism within the CNRT’s ranks. This led to a fall out with his old friend Gusmao.
If no candidate wins more than the mandatory 50 percent of the initial presidential ballot then a run-off is held within a month. This was widely expected as 12 candidates were competing in the poll.
"He can become a president who will unify all political forces,” Ruak’s spokesman, Fidelis Magalhaes, said.
Ruak’s moniker means two sharp eyes and he was the last commander of the country’s National Liberation Army before independence. As a former Portuguese colony, Timor-Leste was invaded by Indonesia in 1975 and annexed.
He could also prove an important ally for Gusmao.
As president, Ramos-Horta was instrumental in getting Gusmao into power following the 2007 polls. In Timor-Leste, executive power belongs to the government of the prime minister who wins an outright majority in parliament. However, if an outright mandate isn’t obtained then the president can decide which party has the right to form a coalition. This constitutional ruling allowed Ramos-Horta to block Fretilin from forming government at the last election.
Subsequently, Gusmao and his CTRN were granted an opportunity to form a coalition. Whether Ruak will be required to follow the Nobel Laureate’s lead remains to be seen.
Next month, Timor-Leste will mark a decade of independence. General elections are scheduled for July7 and if those elections are deemed free and fair and without violence, then U.N. peacekeepers are expected to end an 11-year presence and withdraw before the end of the year.
And Timor-Leste will finally be left to stand on its own.
Dipetik dari - The Diplomat
Initial results show that Vasconcelos – also known as Taur Matan Ruak – has won more than 60 percent of the vote for the position, which is largely ceremonial but not without influence in a country plagued by poverty and animosities stemming back to East Timor’s fight for independence from Indonesia.
Ruak is expected to unify opposing factions and in his own words restore some lost dignity among the veterans, widows and their families whose anger at being sidelined by previous governments had led to an astonishing level of violence and bloodshed given Timor-Leste’s short history.
Ruak, 55, also replaces the high-profile Nobel Laureate Jose Ramos-Horta, who was dumped as president in the initial vote a month ago following a fall out with Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao and his National Congress for the Reconstruction of East Timor party (CNRT).
The CNRT switched allegiances to Ruak shortly before the poll after Ramos-Horta made noisy allegations of corruption and nepotism within the CNRT’s ranks. This led to a fall out with his old friend Gusmao.
If no candidate wins more than the mandatory 50 percent of the initial presidential ballot then a run-off is held within a month. This was widely expected as 12 candidates were competing in the poll.
"He can become a president who will unify all political forces,” Ruak’s spokesman, Fidelis Magalhaes, said.
Ruak’s moniker means two sharp eyes and he was the last commander of the country’s National Liberation Army before independence. As a former Portuguese colony, Timor-Leste was invaded by Indonesia in 1975 and annexed.
He could also prove an important ally for Gusmao.
As president, Ramos-Horta was instrumental in getting Gusmao into power following the 2007 polls. In Timor-Leste, executive power belongs to the government of the prime minister who wins an outright majority in parliament. However, if an outright mandate isn’t obtained then the president can decide which party has the right to form a coalition. This constitutional ruling allowed Ramos-Horta to block Fretilin from forming government at the last election.
Subsequently, Gusmao and his CTRN were granted an opportunity to form a coalition. Whether Ruak will be required to follow the Nobel Laureate’s lead remains to be seen.
Next month, Timor-Leste will mark a decade of independence. General elections are scheduled for July7 and if those elections are deemed free and fair and without violence, then U.N. peacekeepers are expected to end an 11-year presence and withdraw before the end of the year.
And Timor-Leste will finally be left to stand on its own.
Dipetik dari - The Diplomat
Poverty line needed to assist disadvantaged preschoolers
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
A COUNTRY needs to establish a poverty line first before they reach out to preschoolers who came from poor or disadvantaged families and in need of early childhood care and education
The Regional Education Advisor under UNICEF, East Asia Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO), Dr Clifford Meyers (picture) pointed this out at the opening of a "Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education and Regional Forum on SEAMEO Project Five (Preschool Programme for All)" yesterday afternoon.
Speaking during an interview, Dr Meyers emphasised the importance of early childhood care and education and said that it was one of the most important elements to education that a government can invest in.
Early childhood care and education is not only good for reducing disparities, but it was also good for the growth of the whole country, he added.
"We need to invest more for children who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, because that is where the biggest return on the investment will be," he said.
In the case of identifying a poverty line, he cited Indonesia as an example, who he said, had already established this line and are making efforts to ensure their children are going to school. "Indonesia have done this in both regular primary school and preschool pupils. If their families are below the (poverty) level, their kids become a prerequisite for receiving social welfare benefits but they need to have their kids give a regular school attendance," he said.
For countries like Brunei, who have yet need to define a poverty line, The Brunei Times asked Dr Meyers how Brunei can go about helping poor or disadvantaged students in rural areas, for example.
He said that countries like Mongolia, whose population was also relatively small similar to Brunei, found out that the cost of monitoring and reaching out to the most disadvantaged student is more expensive than reaching everybody.
"So what Mongolia did was that they made (early childhood care and education) universal," he said.
Brunei may decide to do the same thing, where a parent could request to receive an allowance or incentive for enrolling their kids in preschool.
Those who don't need the incentive may never apply, but no one would be denied it, he added. "Because sometimes to monitor these types of situations can create more problems. It's like a situation of whose rich or whose poor. Sometimes people are proud in saying they are not poor and need help but there are others who want to be richer, and capture these incentives so the people who need it the most don't get it," he said.
One strategy that Brunei could also adopt in terms of investing in children with poor backgrounds was to strategise by adhering towards a "one size does not fit all" policy.
"(In terms of policy) You don't want to make everything uniform, you want to make everything adaptable to the context of the children themselves," Dr Meyers said.
He admitted that he was not an expert on Brunei education, but said that some people would say Brunei was considered a "small country and everything was uniform". "There is no place that was to small to say that everything is the same. It's all a matter of doing a bit of situation analysis to see where the biggest gaps are in terms of kids not being in preschool and what are their family's reasons for not sending them to school," he said.
In some countries, families have blamed the cost of bringing their children to and from a remote school. "They say it's just not worth taking their time and some countries will provide a food incentive such as cooking oil, rice rations once a month just for bringing in their children into the child centre every day," he said.
However, he did admit that sometimes a poverty line was not worth defining as the definition can be a bit "skewed". He said that in some cases, "it was not worth" drawing the poverty line, because defining the line, for example whether it depended on the number of material items one would have in their apartment, as well as monitoring the line, can be very diverse. Dr Meyers reiterated how important it was to invest in early childhood and care education and that extended help should not just come from the Ministry of Education but multi-sectoral.
Dipetik dari - The Brunei Times
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
A COUNTRY needs to establish a poverty line first before they reach out to preschoolers who came from poor or disadvantaged families and in need of early childhood care and education
The Regional Education Advisor under UNICEF, East Asia Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO), Dr Clifford Meyers (picture) pointed this out at the opening of a "Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education and Regional Forum on SEAMEO Project Five (Preschool Programme for All)" yesterday afternoon.
Speaking during an interview, Dr Meyers emphasised the importance of early childhood care and education and said that it was one of the most important elements to education that a government can invest in.
Early childhood care and education is not only good for reducing disparities, but it was also good for the growth of the whole country, he added.
"We need to invest more for children who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, because that is where the biggest return on the investment will be," he said.
In the case of identifying a poverty line, he cited Indonesia as an example, who he said, had already established this line and are making efforts to ensure their children are going to school. "Indonesia have done this in both regular primary school and preschool pupils. If their families are below the (poverty) level, their kids become a prerequisite for receiving social welfare benefits but they need to have their kids give a regular school attendance," he said.
For countries like Brunei, who have yet need to define a poverty line, The Brunei Times asked Dr Meyers how Brunei can go about helping poor or disadvantaged students in rural areas, for example.
He said that countries like Mongolia, whose population was also relatively small similar to Brunei, found out that the cost of monitoring and reaching out to the most disadvantaged student is more expensive than reaching everybody.
"So what Mongolia did was that they made (early childhood care and education) universal," he said.
Brunei may decide to do the same thing, where a parent could request to receive an allowance or incentive for enrolling their kids in preschool.
Those who don't need the incentive may never apply, but no one would be denied it, he added. "Because sometimes to monitor these types of situations can create more problems. It's like a situation of whose rich or whose poor. Sometimes people are proud in saying they are not poor and need help but there are others who want to be richer, and capture these incentives so the people who need it the most don't get it," he said.
One strategy that Brunei could also adopt in terms of investing in children with poor backgrounds was to strategise by adhering towards a "one size does not fit all" policy.
"(In terms of policy) You don't want to make everything uniform, you want to make everything adaptable to the context of the children themselves," Dr Meyers said.
He admitted that he was not an expert on Brunei education, but said that some people would say Brunei was considered a "small country and everything was uniform". "There is no place that was to small to say that everything is the same. It's all a matter of doing a bit of situation analysis to see where the biggest gaps are in terms of kids not being in preschool and what are their family's reasons for not sending them to school," he said.
In some countries, families have blamed the cost of bringing their children to and from a remote school. "They say it's just not worth taking their time and some countries will provide a food incentive such as cooking oil, rice rations once a month just for bringing in their children into the child centre every day," he said.
However, he did admit that sometimes a poverty line was not worth defining as the definition can be a bit "skewed". He said that in some cases, "it was not worth" drawing the poverty line, because defining the line, for example whether it depended on the number of material items one would have in their apartment, as well as monitoring the line, can be very diverse. Dr Meyers reiterated how important it was to invest in early childhood and care education and that extended help should not just come from the Ministry of Education but multi-sectoral.
Dipetik dari - The Brunei Times
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
MILF asks gov’t to abandon ‘3-in-1’ offer
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) urged the government to abandon its “3-in-1” peace proposal to break the impasse in the southern peace negotiations as the two parties prepare for the next round of talks next week.
The 3-in-1 formula that the government presented during the 22 exploratory talks in August last year involves three components: massive economic development, a peace accord and cultural-historical acknowledgment.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the MILF said the government should also upgrade its proposal beyond an integration framework.
“If the government wants the peace negotiation to proceed or succeed, it must upgrade its offer to the MILF. Any run-around approach will not work.
“It must totally abandon the 3-in-1 proposal and agree to meet the MILF on what is above the ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) now and below independence. This indeed is a fair deal,” the Front said.
The MILF statement on Monday came after it claimed being pressured to accept the government’s proposal.
The government’s offer would counterweigh the MILF’s proposal for the creation of a substate in Mindanao that would give the Moros political power to govern their own territory with marginal intervention from the central government -- dropping an earlier demand for independence.
The MILF peace panel, however, said the offer does not address the Moro Question and the armed conflict but instead it would further prolong the problem.
Both parties tried to renegotiate their respective proposals in the succeeding talks, and eventually settled on 11 key issues that were supposed to be signed in last month’s meeting, but the MILF objected after the government allegedly changed parts on at least four issues, hence, the impasse.
Sought for comment, government chief negotiator Mario Victor F. Leonen told BusinessWorld that the government panel hopes for flexibility in the negotiation. “We should assume that negotiations require that both parties are flexible with their initial positions as they explain their basis to each other. I think this is what is meant as openness and good faith negotiations,” he said.
Despite the impasse, both parties have expressed commitment to stay on course noting they could still reach an agreement within the term of the Aquino administration.
The southern peace talks have been going on since 1997 but these have been punctuated by disagreements and armed conflicts.
Dipetik dari - BusinessWorld Online Edition
The 3-in-1 formula that the government presented during the 22 exploratory talks in August last year involves three components: massive economic development, a peace accord and cultural-historical acknowledgment.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the MILF said the government should also upgrade its proposal beyond an integration framework.
“If the government wants the peace negotiation to proceed or succeed, it must upgrade its offer to the MILF. Any run-around approach will not work.
“It must totally abandon the 3-in-1 proposal and agree to meet the MILF on what is above the ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) now and below independence. This indeed is a fair deal,” the Front said.
The MILF statement on Monday came after it claimed being pressured to accept the government’s proposal.
The government’s offer would counterweigh the MILF’s proposal for the creation of a substate in Mindanao that would give the Moros political power to govern their own territory with marginal intervention from the central government -- dropping an earlier demand for independence.
The MILF peace panel, however, said the offer does not address the Moro Question and the armed conflict but instead it would further prolong the problem.
Both parties tried to renegotiate their respective proposals in the succeeding talks, and eventually settled on 11 key issues that were supposed to be signed in last month’s meeting, but the MILF objected after the government allegedly changed parts on at least four issues, hence, the impasse.
Sought for comment, government chief negotiator Mario Victor F. Leonen told BusinessWorld that the government panel hopes for flexibility in the negotiation. “We should assume that negotiations require that both parties are flexible with their initial positions as they explain their basis to each other. I think this is what is meant as openness and good faith negotiations,” he said.
Despite the impasse, both parties have expressed commitment to stay on course noting they could still reach an agreement within the term of the Aquino administration.
The southern peace talks have been going on since 1997 but these have been punctuated by disagreements and armed conflicts.
Dipetik dari - BusinessWorld Online Edition
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
In Search of the Ultimate Solution of the Bangsamoro Problem
by Rudy Buhay Rodil
It has been 37 years since the start of the negotiation between the government and the MNLF, and now with the MILF. The proper question to ask at this point seems: Why is the peace negotiation taking that long? Are the two parties solving the same problem? Are they really talking to each other? Or are they just fencing to see which one would collapse from exhaustion and give up the fight?
Allow me to share my ringside and inside the ring views, as a Mindanao historian (engaged in research and writing on Mindanao, specifically Moro and Lumad since the summer of 1973), as a member of the Regional Consultative Commission in Muslim Mindanao that helped draft the organic act of ARMM, and as an active participant in the peace negotiations between the Govt and the MNLF (1993-96) and between the government and the MILF (2004-2008.
First, from the very start (1968), when the MIM articulated its intention to put up an Islamic State in predominantly Muslim areas of Mindanao, when the MNLF proclaimed its goal to establish a Bangsamoro Republic covering the entirety of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan, and the MILF announced its objective to create an Islamic State covering the predominantly Muslim areas of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan, the government has always been threatened and has consistently defended itself by asserting that it cannot allow the constitution and national sovereignty to be undermined and the territory of the republic to be dismembered.
Second, in the ensuing peace negotiation with both the MNLF and the MILF, the instruction of the Office of the President to the peace negotiating panel is always: negotiate within the framework of the Philippine Constitution and the territorial integrity of the Republic. And that was how the Tripoli Agreement of December 1976 was reached.
This was how the Final Peace agreement of 1996 was resolved. And this was how the MOA-AD was ruled upon by the Supreme Court in October 2008.
The first paragraph of the Tripoli Agreement of 1976 reveals the extent to which the Philippine Government has opened itself to political restructuring. It says: First: The establishment of Autonomy in the Southern Philippines within the realm of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of the Philippines. Sub-paragraph 16 provides: The Government of the Philippines shall take all necessary constitutional processes for the implementation of the entire Agreement.
Up to the present this position has not changed.
Third, re-reading of Philippine history. I have a question at this point. Which Philippines are we talking about here? And which Bangsamoro juridical entities are the Bangsamoro advocates referring to. May I invite you to take one step backward to June 12, 1898. Or even several steps backward to 1450. Or to 1619.
On June 12, 1898, Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the independence of the Philippines. As an affirmation of that event we now celebrate our independence on June 12. Questions: Was that Philippines the same as the Philippines we have today? Did it include the Sulu Sultanate which had been a state since 1450 to 1898? Did it include the Maguindanao Sultanate which was put together by Sultan Kudarat in 1619 and was still intact in 1898.
My reading is that in June 1898, there were at least three states here in the region we now know as the territory of the Republic of the Philippines: the Philippines, the Sulu Sultanate and the Maguindanao Sultanate. All three suffered the same fate of victims of the manipulation of two colonial powers, Spain and the United States, embodied in the Treaty of Paris of 10 December 1898. Spain sold or ceded its so-called sovereignty over the Philippines, Sulu sultanate and Maguindanao sultanate. And that was how the Moros of the two sultanates and the Pat a Pongampong ko Ranao became, on paper, one body politic, and part of the present Philippines. Our defeats in the wars against the United States completed the process of domination. And unification without benefit of consent. We all became colonial subjects of the Philippines Islands, part of the island possessions of the United States of America. In 1946, the United States gave back only one independence, to the Republic of the Philippines. This was how the Moros became Filipinos.
So, please take note, identity-wise, who were the Filipinos in June 1898? Only those who were covered by the Philippines declared as independent by Aguinaldo. The citizens of the two sultanates of Sulu and Maguindanao and the constituencies of the Pat a Pongampong ko Ranao had their own identities were definitely not Filipinos.
The territory of the Philippines refers only to those parts which were colonized and governed by the Spaniards and declared as independent by the Aguinaldo government. The two sultanates of Sulu and Maguindanao, and the Pat a Pongampong ko Ranao were badly battered by war, suffered the ignominy of defeat many times and garrisons were maintained within their territories, but they were never effectively colonized or governed. They were certainly not colonized in the same way as the Filipinos were. I say that the two sultanates retained at least their de facto status as states–as de facto as the Philippines. This political reality is probably the reason why Aguinaldo sought authority from Congress to negotiate with the Sulu Sultanate for a possible confederation.
So what is the role of the Treaty of Paris in our current discourse? In what way is this connected with the Constitution of the Philippines?
American occupation of the Philippines (as defined in the Treaty of Paris) is premised on the legitimacy of this treaty. What basic documents were used to govern the Philippines Islands?
Take note that each of these is affirming the legitimacy of the Treaty of Paris. And since none of the subsequent constitutions have questioned this very point, I assume, too, that these latter constitutions have affirmed the Treaty of Paris. The Republic of the Philippines of 1946 as we know it today was anchored on this wrong fundamental premise. It was the structure grounded on this wrong premise that gave way to the extinction of the Moro political structures.
Fourth, who created the Moro problem? As I see it the Moro problem is a creation of the colonial structures and of the basic colonial documents carried over into the republic. The marginalized situation of the Moros and the Lumad of Mindanao and Sulu was a direct product of these very structures. It is precisely these structures from which the Bangsamoro is trying to extricate itself in its effort to create its own modern political niche.
Fifth, search for solution. It is now our historic task to jointly find its solution. The solution includes constitutional change.
But the Government insists we have to find the solution within the framework of the Constitution. The way I see it, it seems that the consciousness that created the problem is the very same consciousness that the government is using to solve the same problem. And we are all stuck!
At this point, may I invite you to reflect on this axiom by Albert Einstein:
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
So, what do we do to move forward? If you ask me, I will say: only by constitutional change. We need to reframe the foundations of this republic, this time based on the free and informed consent of the governed. We need to create new boxes, and see realities with new lenses. Our own lenses, not those left behind by our colonizers.
Dipetik dari - MindaNews
It has been 37 years since the start of the negotiation between the government and the MNLF, and now with the MILF. The proper question to ask at this point seems: Why is the peace negotiation taking that long? Are the two parties solving the same problem? Are they really talking to each other? Or are they just fencing to see which one would collapse from exhaustion and give up the fight?
Allow me to share my ringside and inside the ring views, as a Mindanao historian (engaged in research and writing on Mindanao, specifically Moro and Lumad since the summer of 1973), as a member of the Regional Consultative Commission in Muslim Mindanao that helped draft the organic act of ARMM, and as an active participant in the peace negotiations between the Govt and the MNLF (1993-96) and between the government and the MILF (2004-2008.
First, from the very start (1968), when the MIM articulated its intention to put up an Islamic State in predominantly Muslim areas of Mindanao, when the MNLF proclaimed its goal to establish a Bangsamoro Republic covering the entirety of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan, and the MILF announced its objective to create an Islamic State covering the predominantly Muslim areas of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan, the government has always been threatened and has consistently defended itself by asserting that it cannot allow the constitution and national sovereignty to be undermined and the territory of the republic to be dismembered.
Second, in the ensuing peace negotiation with both the MNLF and the MILF, the instruction of the Office of the President to the peace negotiating panel is always: negotiate within the framework of the Philippine Constitution and the territorial integrity of the Republic. And that was how the Tripoli Agreement of December 1976 was reached.
This was how the Final Peace agreement of 1996 was resolved. And this was how the MOA-AD was ruled upon by the Supreme Court in October 2008.
The first paragraph of the Tripoli Agreement of 1976 reveals the extent to which the Philippine Government has opened itself to political restructuring. It says: First: The establishment of Autonomy in the Southern Philippines within the realm of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of the Philippines. Sub-paragraph 16 provides: The Government of the Philippines shall take all necessary constitutional processes for the implementation of the entire Agreement.
Up to the present this position has not changed.
Third, re-reading of Philippine history. I have a question at this point. Which Philippines are we talking about here? And which Bangsamoro juridical entities are the Bangsamoro advocates referring to. May I invite you to take one step backward to June 12, 1898. Or even several steps backward to 1450. Or to 1619.
On June 12, 1898, Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the independence of the Philippines. As an affirmation of that event we now celebrate our independence on June 12. Questions: Was that Philippines the same as the Philippines we have today? Did it include the Sulu Sultanate which had been a state since 1450 to 1898? Did it include the Maguindanao Sultanate which was put together by Sultan Kudarat in 1619 and was still intact in 1898.
My reading is that in June 1898, there were at least three states here in the region we now know as the territory of the Republic of the Philippines: the Philippines, the Sulu Sultanate and the Maguindanao Sultanate. All three suffered the same fate of victims of the manipulation of two colonial powers, Spain and the United States, embodied in the Treaty of Paris of 10 December 1898. Spain sold or ceded its so-called sovereignty over the Philippines, Sulu sultanate and Maguindanao sultanate. And that was how the Moros of the two sultanates and the Pat a Pongampong ko Ranao became, on paper, one body politic, and part of the present Philippines. Our defeats in the wars against the United States completed the process of domination. And unification without benefit of consent. We all became colonial subjects of the Philippines Islands, part of the island possessions of the United States of America. In 1946, the United States gave back only one independence, to the Republic of the Philippines. This was how the Moros became Filipinos.
So, please take note, identity-wise, who were the Filipinos in June 1898? Only those who were covered by the Philippines declared as independent by Aguinaldo. The citizens of the two sultanates of Sulu and Maguindanao and the constituencies of the Pat a Pongampong ko Ranao had their own identities were definitely not Filipinos.
The territory of the Philippines refers only to those parts which were colonized and governed by the Spaniards and declared as independent by the Aguinaldo government. The two sultanates of Sulu and Maguindanao, and the Pat a Pongampong ko Ranao were badly battered by war, suffered the ignominy of defeat many times and garrisons were maintained within their territories, but they were never effectively colonized or governed. They were certainly not colonized in the same way as the Filipinos were. I say that the two sultanates retained at least their de facto status as states–as de facto as the Philippines. This political reality is probably the reason why Aguinaldo sought authority from Congress to negotiate with the Sulu Sultanate for a possible confederation.
So what is the role of the Treaty of Paris in our current discourse? In what way is this connected with the Constitution of the Philippines?
American occupation of the Philippines (as defined in the Treaty of Paris) is premised on the legitimacy of this treaty. What basic documents were used to govern the Philippines Islands?
- The Philippine Bill of 1902
- The Jones Law of 1916
- The Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934
- The Commonwealth Constitution of 1934.
Take note that each of these is affirming the legitimacy of the Treaty of Paris. And since none of the subsequent constitutions have questioned this very point, I assume, too, that these latter constitutions have affirmed the Treaty of Paris. The Republic of the Philippines of 1946 as we know it today was anchored on this wrong fundamental premise. It was the structure grounded on this wrong premise that gave way to the extinction of the Moro political structures.
Fourth, who created the Moro problem? As I see it the Moro problem is a creation of the colonial structures and of the basic colonial documents carried over into the republic. The marginalized situation of the Moros and the Lumad of Mindanao and Sulu was a direct product of these very structures. It is precisely these structures from which the Bangsamoro is trying to extricate itself in its effort to create its own modern political niche.
Fifth, search for solution. It is now our historic task to jointly find its solution. The solution includes constitutional change.
But the Government insists we have to find the solution within the framework of the Constitution. The way I see it, it seems that the consciousness that created the problem is the very same consciousness that the government is using to solve the same problem. And we are all stuck!
At this point, may I invite you to reflect on this axiom by Albert Einstein:
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
So, what do we do to move forward? If you ask me, I will say: only by constitutional change. We need to reframe the foundations of this republic, this time based on the free and informed consent of the governed. We need to create new boxes, and see realities with new lenses. Our own lenses, not those left behind by our colonizers.
Dipetik dari - MindaNews
Monday, April 16, 2012
US, Filipino troops start drills near disputed sea
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Nearly 7,000 American and Filipino troops began annual military exercises Monday that will include combat drills near disputed South China Sea waters.
U.S. and Philippine officials stressed that China, which in the past has protested military exercises involving American forces near the contested region, was not an imaginary target in the drills.
They said the Balikatan — Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder — exercises would mostly focus on civil objectives but would also include combat maneuvers involving the mock retaking of an oil rig supposedly seized by terrorists near the South China Sea.
Asked if China should be alarmed, U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Curtis Hill said in a news conference that the exercises would not focus on any nation as an adversary.
"There is no reason for anyone to feel threatened by us coming together, working through our inter-operabilities so we can better respond and help people across the region," Hill said.
But the larger than usual American attendance at the high-profile event reflects U.S. efforts to reassert its presence in the Asia-Pacific region as a counterweight to China's rise, a move that has rattled Beijing.
In the past, the exercises were held in Philippine regions grappling with decadeslong Muslim and communist insurgencies and threats from al-Qaida-linked militants. This year's main venue, the southwestern island province of Palawan, lies near South China Sea areas disputed by China, the Philippines and four other countries.
The underfunded Philippine military has sought ships, fighter jets and radars from Washington and other allies after Filipino officials accused China last year of repeatedly intruding into its territorial waters in and near contested areas like the Spratly Islands. A U.S.-supplied warship began to patrol the disputed waters last year.
China has dismissed the Philippine claims, saying it has sovereignty on those areas since ancient times.
The Spratlys disputes have long been feared as Asia's next potential flashpoint for armed conflict.
Aside from the Spratlys, China and the Philippines have contested ownership of offshore areas near northwestern Palawan where the Philippine government has invited foreign investors to explore for oil and gas. It's near those waters where U.S. marines would train Filipino counterparts in defending an oil rig from security threats in the current exercises, Philippine military officials said.
Last week, a tense naval standoff erupted between Chinese and Philippine ships at the Scarborough Shoal, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) north of the Spratlys.
Dipetik dari - Associated Press
U.S. and Philippine officials stressed that China, which in the past has protested military exercises involving American forces near the contested region, was not an imaginary target in the drills.
They said the Balikatan — Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder — exercises would mostly focus on civil objectives but would also include combat maneuvers involving the mock retaking of an oil rig supposedly seized by terrorists near the South China Sea.
Asked if China should be alarmed, U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Curtis Hill said in a news conference that the exercises would not focus on any nation as an adversary.
"There is no reason for anyone to feel threatened by us coming together, working through our inter-operabilities so we can better respond and help people across the region," Hill said.
But the larger than usual American attendance at the high-profile event reflects U.S. efforts to reassert its presence in the Asia-Pacific region as a counterweight to China's rise, a move that has rattled Beijing.
In the past, the exercises were held in Philippine regions grappling with decadeslong Muslim and communist insurgencies and threats from al-Qaida-linked militants. This year's main venue, the southwestern island province of Palawan, lies near South China Sea areas disputed by China, the Philippines and four other countries.
The underfunded Philippine military has sought ships, fighter jets and radars from Washington and other allies after Filipino officials accused China last year of repeatedly intruding into its territorial waters in and near contested areas like the Spratly Islands. A U.S.-supplied warship began to patrol the disputed waters last year.
China has dismissed the Philippine claims, saying it has sovereignty on those areas since ancient times.
The Spratlys disputes have long been feared as Asia's next potential flashpoint for armed conflict.
Aside from the Spratlys, China and the Philippines have contested ownership of offshore areas near northwestern Palawan where the Philippine government has invited foreign investors to explore for oil and gas. It's near those waters where U.S. marines would train Filipino counterparts in defending an oil rig from security threats in the current exercises, Philippine military officials said.
Last week, a tense naval standoff erupted between Chinese and Philippine ships at the Scarborough Shoal, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) north of the Spratlys.
Dipetik dari - Associated Press
UMAT YANG KEHILANGAN JENAMA
Prof Madya Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin
Sering kali apabila bersolat di al-Masjidil Haram ataupun Masjid Nabi s.a.w, perasaan saya tersentuh, penuh rasa kagum kepada umat ini. Apa tidak, ratusan ribu, bahkan jutaan manusia datang dari pelbagai negara dan bangsa, latar pendidikan dan budaya yang berbeza, tidak mengenali antara satu sama lain namun tetap mampu untuk membentuk saf-saf salat yang penuh teratur. Tidak pernah sama sekali sebelum itu mereka melakukan apa-apa rehearsal membentuk saf untuk jumlah yang demikian besar, melainkan practise solat berjemaah di negara masing-masing.
Namun, apabila sahaja iqamah dilaungkan, jutaan manusia pelbagai bangsa, pelbagai latarbudaya, pelbagai gaya, pelbagai negara bangun berdiri mengambil tempat dalam saf-saf solat dengan penuh disiplin. Tiada siapa berhak bertanya apakah awak layak berada di sebelah saya ataupun tidak? Tiada siapa berhak menghalau orang lain keluar dari safnya tanpa sebab yang diizinkan syarak. Tiada saf khas untuk golongan bangsawan yang diharamkan golongan bawahan berada sebaris dengan mereka. Betapa agama ini telah menghimpunkan dan mendisiplinkan manusia.
Demikianlah ibadah-ibadah lain dalam Islam ini. Haji, perlambangan keserataan manusia. Tiada hak sesiapa menghalang orang lain bertawaf kerana orang bangsawan ingin bertawaf. Tiada siapa yang berbeza dalam beribadah kepada Allah. Tiada raja ataupun sultan yang boleh menyeru Allah dengan kesombongan diri atau bahasa yang berbeza kerana dia raja atau presiden ataupun sultan. Maha Suci Allah dari membezakan hamba-hambaNYA disebabkan kedudukan dunia mereka. Bahkan, Allah menerima mana-mana doa yang penuh kerendahan jiwa dan menolak doa yang dilafazkan dengan kesombongan diri.
Demikian puasa, zakat dan pelbagai ibadah lain dalam Islam jika dihayati banyak nilai-nilai mulia dalam kehidupan individu dan masyarakat muslim dapat dibina. Bab taharah ataupun kebersihan dan penyucian diri, pakaian dan tempat ibadah mempunyai banyak nilai yang Islam didik penganutnya.
Manakah Kesannya?
Namun, malang sekali negara-negara orang muslim itu kebanyakannya kotor. Ambil sahaja Kaherah yang orang Islam bangga kerana adanya University al-Azhar. Ia dianggap sebagai kota ilmu oleh sesetengah pihak. Namun, Kaherah juga merupakan kota sampah-sarap. Kekotaran seakan menjadi budaya. Tiada disiplin dalam hidup bermasyarakat. Rasuah dan salah guna kedudukan bermula dari tukang sapu sampah sehingga ke presiden negara.
Jalanraya tiada peraturan. Bunyi hon kereta rukun wajib dalam memandu. Sehingga saya pernah bergurau: “Orang Mesir, boleh pandu kereta tanpa tayar tetap tidak boleh pandu kereta tanpa hon”. Asap dan bau busuk adalah aroma kehidupan mereka. Di manakah perginya golongan agama dan ilmuwan kota itu?! Di mana perginya segala perbahasan ilmu yang dilaung-laungkan itu?!! Apakah pula disiplin dan nilai baik yang manusia dapat kutip dari mereka?
Dua minggu lepas saya berada di Irbid, Jordan. Bandar yang mengelilingi University Yarmouk. Malang sekali, sampah sarap bagaikan bunga-bunga yang menghiasi bandar itu. Menyedihkan. Saya bukan ingin memuji Oxford berlebihan kerana saya berada di sini sekarang. Namun ini suatu realiti. Bandar ilmu ini bersih. Sukar sama sekali mendengar hon kenderaan. Juga tiada pencemaran asap bas ataupun kenderaan biasa. Orang tahu menggunakan tong sampah, bahkan tahu membezakan jenis sampah.
Gereja memang banyak di bandar ini, namun ia tidak semakmur masjid-masjid di tempat kita. Bahkan kebanyakan mereka tidak percayakan agama, sekalipun mereka percaya wujudnya Tuhan. Saya percaya nilai-nilai baik itu tiada kaitan dengan agama, tetapi kejayaan pendidikan yang mantap dan berkesan. Sehingga nilai-nilai baik menjadi budaya. Sementara kita, golongan agama ramai yang sibuk dengan teori itu dan ini, ataupun sibuk mengisi dan menggemukkan poket masing-masing melebihi usaha mendidik dan membentuk umat yang berkualiti. Sibuk menghukum orang lain sehingga terlupa mengemaskan diri, rumah dan negara sendiri.
Umat Contoh
Kita membaca firman Allah: (maksudnya)
Perkataan ‘wasata’ yang jika diterjemahkan ke dalam bahasa kita bermaksud pertengahan (moderation). Ayat ini dibahaskan oleh para mufassirin dengan pelbagai tafsiran yang kesemua memberi makna umat Islam ini dijadikan Allah sebagai umat yang adil, mulia dan contoh kepada umat lain. Al-Syinqiti dalam Adwa al-Bayan menafsirkannya sebagai umat pilihan dan adil. Demikian juga Ibn ‘Ashur dalam al-Tahrir wa al-Tanwir memberikan tafsiran yang hampir sama. Dalam edisi English Taisirur Rahman ditafsirkan: “a nation which profoundly great and most superior”. Persoalannya, di manakah ini semua pada hari ini. Ya, umat ini telah membuat sejarah pada masa lalu, tetapi apakah realiti hari ini?
Kita mengutuk ataupun mengkritik Barat tetapi kita jangan lupa bahawa banyak nilai yang baik Barat telah bina untuk kehidupan mereka. Di samping perkara-perkara yang kita tidak setuju tentang mereka, mereka mempunyai banyak perkara positif yang kita gagal dalam kehidupan kita. Ambil sahaja soal hak rakyat dalam mempersoalkan sesiapa yang menyalahgunakan harta awam dan taxpayer’s money, mereka miliki hak itu. Surat khabar dan media mereka berhak mempertikaikan baju, cuti dan segala perbelanjaan yang digunakan oleh HM Queen dan istananya. Tiada sebarang hukuman kerana itu.
Belanja Queen dan istana dibentangkan kepada rakyat jelata. Mereka berhak mempersoalkannya. Jadilah mereka bangsa yang bermaruah dalam soal tersebut. Kita tahu pada tahun ini Kerajaan British menolak untuk HM Queen Elizabeth membeli kapal persiaran. Padahal Queen telah 60 tahun berkhidmat. Jurucakap PM David Cameron, Steve Field menyebut: “I don’t think anyone is suggesting public money should be used for this. There is a difficult economic situation, there are scarce public resources, therefore we don’t think it would be an appropriate use of public money”.
Inilah sikap rakyat yang merdeka dari menjadi hamba penguasa. Malang sekali di dunia muslim; presiden, sultan dan raja boleh menggunakan harta awam tanpa dipersoalkan. Lebih buruk lagi, rakyat yang mempersoalkan itu pula yang dianggap bersalah dan derhaka, sedangkan si penguasa dan raja yang menggunakan harta negara dan awam disanjung mulia. Harta dan belanja mereka tidak dibentangkan kepada awam. Istana, kereta, komisyen projek itu dan ini didiamkan sahaja. Inilah dunia muslim.
Laungan Allahu Akbar (Allah Maha Besar) hanya di corong pembesar suara, tapi dalam kehidupan rakyat, penguasa juga yang maha besar. Inilah rakyat yang diperhambakan dan tidak merdeka. Bagaimana mungkin rakyat yang seperti ini menjadi umat contoh kepada agama lain? Ini bukanlah ciri wasatiyyah yang dimaksudkan oleh al-Quran. Sama sekali tidak!
Sebab itu, walaupun ‘Arab Spring’ mempunyai kesan negatifnya, tetapi positifnya lebih banyak. Sekurang-kurang umat Islam tidak dilihat menjadi hamba golongan regim dan pemerintah yang zalim lagi korupsi, yang memeras harta dan darah, sedangkan umat ini berdiam saja. Ini mesti dihentikan! Sekurang-kurang dibuktikan pada dunia, umat ini masih hidup!
Saya teringat kisah Khalifah Umar bin al-Khattab yang disebut oleh Ibn Qayyim (meninggal 751H) dalam I’lam al-Muwaqi’in bagaimana satu hari beliau bangun berucap di hadapan rakyatnya sambil berkata:
Kita perlu mengembalikan jenama kita yang tinggi nilai di mata manusia. Kita umat yang branded pada suatu masa dahulu. Tiada siapa yang wajar membiarkan kemunduran ini. Hanya golongan pengampu ataupun literalist sahaja yang cuba menjustifikasikan kemunduran kita yang gagal menjadi umat contoh. Islam terhijab dalam banyak keadaan disebabkan realiti yang kita alami ini. Kita mesti berubah. Rakyat dan pemerintah mesti bergerak ke arah perubahan. Kembalikan jenama kita. Kita umat yang branded. Kita umatan wasatan.
Dipetik dari - Minda Tajdid DrMAZA.com
Sering kali apabila bersolat di al-Masjidil Haram ataupun Masjid Nabi s.a.w, perasaan saya tersentuh, penuh rasa kagum kepada umat ini. Apa tidak, ratusan ribu, bahkan jutaan manusia datang dari pelbagai negara dan bangsa, latar pendidikan dan budaya yang berbeza, tidak mengenali antara satu sama lain namun tetap mampu untuk membentuk saf-saf salat yang penuh teratur. Tidak pernah sama sekali sebelum itu mereka melakukan apa-apa rehearsal membentuk saf untuk jumlah yang demikian besar, melainkan practise solat berjemaah di negara masing-masing.
Namun, apabila sahaja iqamah dilaungkan, jutaan manusia pelbagai bangsa, pelbagai latarbudaya, pelbagai gaya, pelbagai negara bangun berdiri mengambil tempat dalam saf-saf solat dengan penuh disiplin. Tiada siapa berhak bertanya apakah awak layak berada di sebelah saya ataupun tidak? Tiada siapa berhak menghalau orang lain keluar dari safnya tanpa sebab yang diizinkan syarak. Tiada saf khas untuk golongan bangsawan yang diharamkan golongan bawahan berada sebaris dengan mereka. Betapa agama ini telah menghimpunkan dan mendisiplinkan manusia.
Demikianlah ibadah-ibadah lain dalam Islam ini. Haji, perlambangan keserataan manusia. Tiada hak sesiapa menghalang orang lain bertawaf kerana orang bangsawan ingin bertawaf. Tiada siapa yang berbeza dalam beribadah kepada Allah. Tiada raja ataupun sultan yang boleh menyeru Allah dengan kesombongan diri atau bahasa yang berbeza kerana dia raja atau presiden ataupun sultan. Maha Suci Allah dari membezakan hamba-hambaNYA disebabkan kedudukan dunia mereka. Bahkan, Allah menerima mana-mana doa yang penuh kerendahan jiwa dan menolak doa yang dilafazkan dengan kesombongan diri.
Demikian puasa, zakat dan pelbagai ibadah lain dalam Islam jika dihayati banyak nilai-nilai mulia dalam kehidupan individu dan masyarakat muslim dapat dibina. Bab taharah ataupun kebersihan dan penyucian diri, pakaian dan tempat ibadah mempunyai banyak nilai yang Islam didik penganutnya.
Manakah Kesannya?
Namun, malang sekali negara-negara orang muslim itu kebanyakannya kotor. Ambil sahaja Kaherah yang orang Islam bangga kerana adanya University al-Azhar. Ia dianggap sebagai kota ilmu oleh sesetengah pihak. Namun, Kaherah juga merupakan kota sampah-sarap. Kekotaran seakan menjadi budaya. Tiada disiplin dalam hidup bermasyarakat. Rasuah dan salah guna kedudukan bermula dari tukang sapu sampah sehingga ke presiden negara.
Jalanraya tiada peraturan. Bunyi hon kereta rukun wajib dalam memandu. Sehingga saya pernah bergurau: “Orang Mesir, boleh pandu kereta tanpa tayar tetap tidak boleh pandu kereta tanpa hon”. Asap dan bau busuk adalah aroma kehidupan mereka. Di manakah perginya golongan agama dan ilmuwan kota itu?! Di mana perginya segala perbahasan ilmu yang dilaung-laungkan itu?!! Apakah pula disiplin dan nilai baik yang manusia dapat kutip dari mereka?
Dua minggu lepas saya berada di Irbid, Jordan. Bandar yang mengelilingi University Yarmouk. Malang sekali, sampah sarap bagaikan bunga-bunga yang menghiasi bandar itu. Menyedihkan. Saya bukan ingin memuji Oxford berlebihan kerana saya berada di sini sekarang. Namun ini suatu realiti. Bandar ilmu ini bersih. Sukar sama sekali mendengar hon kenderaan. Juga tiada pencemaran asap bas ataupun kenderaan biasa. Orang tahu menggunakan tong sampah, bahkan tahu membezakan jenis sampah.
Gereja memang banyak di bandar ini, namun ia tidak semakmur masjid-masjid di tempat kita. Bahkan kebanyakan mereka tidak percayakan agama, sekalipun mereka percaya wujudnya Tuhan. Saya percaya nilai-nilai baik itu tiada kaitan dengan agama, tetapi kejayaan pendidikan yang mantap dan berkesan. Sehingga nilai-nilai baik menjadi budaya. Sementara kita, golongan agama ramai yang sibuk dengan teori itu dan ini, ataupun sibuk mengisi dan menggemukkan poket masing-masing melebihi usaha mendidik dan membentuk umat yang berkualiti. Sibuk menghukum orang lain sehingga terlupa mengemaskan diri, rumah dan negara sendiri.
Umat Contoh
Kita membaca firman Allah: (maksudnya)
“Demikian Kami jadikan kamu umat yang wasat supaya kamu menjadi saksi ke atas manusia dan al-Rasul itu menjadi saksi ke atas kamu” (Surah al-Baqarah: 143).
Perkataan ‘wasata’ yang jika diterjemahkan ke dalam bahasa kita bermaksud pertengahan (moderation). Ayat ini dibahaskan oleh para mufassirin dengan pelbagai tafsiran yang kesemua memberi makna umat Islam ini dijadikan Allah sebagai umat yang adil, mulia dan contoh kepada umat lain. Al-Syinqiti dalam Adwa al-Bayan menafsirkannya sebagai umat pilihan dan adil. Demikian juga Ibn ‘Ashur dalam al-Tahrir wa al-Tanwir memberikan tafsiran yang hampir sama. Dalam edisi English Taisirur Rahman ditafsirkan: “a nation which profoundly great and most superior”. Persoalannya, di manakah ini semua pada hari ini. Ya, umat ini telah membuat sejarah pada masa lalu, tetapi apakah realiti hari ini?
Kita mengutuk ataupun mengkritik Barat tetapi kita jangan lupa bahawa banyak nilai yang baik Barat telah bina untuk kehidupan mereka. Di samping perkara-perkara yang kita tidak setuju tentang mereka, mereka mempunyai banyak perkara positif yang kita gagal dalam kehidupan kita. Ambil sahaja soal hak rakyat dalam mempersoalkan sesiapa yang menyalahgunakan harta awam dan taxpayer’s money, mereka miliki hak itu. Surat khabar dan media mereka berhak mempertikaikan baju, cuti dan segala perbelanjaan yang digunakan oleh HM Queen dan istananya. Tiada sebarang hukuman kerana itu.
Belanja Queen dan istana dibentangkan kepada rakyat jelata. Mereka berhak mempersoalkannya. Jadilah mereka bangsa yang bermaruah dalam soal tersebut. Kita tahu pada tahun ini Kerajaan British menolak untuk HM Queen Elizabeth membeli kapal persiaran. Padahal Queen telah 60 tahun berkhidmat. Jurucakap PM David Cameron, Steve Field menyebut: “I don’t think anyone is suggesting public money should be used for this. There is a difficult economic situation, there are scarce public resources, therefore we don’t think it would be an appropriate use of public money”.
Inilah sikap rakyat yang merdeka dari menjadi hamba penguasa. Malang sekali di dunia muslim; presiden, sultan dan raja boleh menggunakan harta awam tanpa dipersoalkan. Lebih buruk lagi, rakyat yang mempersoalkan itu pula yang dianggap bersalah dan derhaka, sedangkan si penguasa dan raja yang menggunakan harta negara dan awam disanjung mulia. Harta dan belanja mereka tidak dibentangkan kepada awam. Istana, kereta, komisyen projek itu dan ini didiamkan sahaja. Inilah dunia muslim.
Laungan Allahu Akbar (Allah Maha Besar) hanya di corong pembesar suara, tapi dalam kehidupan rakyat, penguasa juga yang maha besar. Inilah rakyat yang diperhambakan dan tidak merdeka. Bagaimana mungkin rakyat yang seperti ini menjadi umat contoh kepada agama lain? Ini bukanlah ciri wasatiyyah yang dimaksudkan oleh al-Quran. Sama sekali tidak!
Sebab itu, walaupun ‘Arab Spring’ mempunyai kesan negatifnya, tetapi positifnya lebih banyak. Sekurang-kurang umat Islam tidak dilihat menjadi hamba golongan regim dan pemerintah yang zalim lagi korupsi, yang memeras harta dan darah, sedangkan umat ini berdiam saja. Ini mesti dihentikan! Sekurang-kurang dibuktikan pada dunia, umat ini masih hidup!
Saya teringat kisah Khalifah Umar bin al-Khattab yang disebut oleh Ibn Qayyim (meninggal 751H) dalam I’lam al-Muwaqi’in bagaimana satu hari beliau bangun berucap di hadapan rakyatnya sambil berkata:
“Hendaklah kamu dengar dan taat!”. Tiba-tiba sahabat Nabi s.a.w yang lain, iaitu Salman al-Farisi bangun dan berkata: “Kami tidak mahu dengar”. Umar pun bertanya: “Mengapa wahai Salman?”. Jawab Salman: “Engkau membahagikan kepada rakyat pakaian seorang sehelai, sedangkan engkau mengambil sebanyak dua helai”. Jawab Umar: “Sabar wahai Salman!. Lalu Umar berkata kepada anaknya: “Wahai Abdullah (bin ‘Umar), beritahulah dia bahawa pakaian yang aku pakai ini adalah bahagian engkau yang engkau berikan kepadaku”. Jawab Abdullah bin ‘Umar: “Ya, demi Allah”. Jawab Salman: “Kalau begitu, silakan, kami mendengar (taat)”.
Kita perlu mengembalikan jenama kita yang tinggi nilai di mata manusia. Kita umat yang branded pada suatu masa dahulu. Tiada siapa yang wajar membiarkan kemunduran ini. Hanya golongan pengampu ataupun literalist sahaja yang cuba menjustifikasikan kemunduran kita yang gagal menjadi umat contoh. Islam terhijab dalam banyak keadaan disebabkan realiti yang kita alami ini. Kita mesti berubah. Rakyat dan pemerintah mesti bergerak ke arah perubahan. Kembalikan jenama kita. Kita umat yang branded. Kita umatan wasatan.
Dipetik dari - Minda Tajdid DrMAZA.com
East Timor votes for new president
More than 620,000 eligible to vote in second-round runoff poll to elect country's next head of state.
Citizens of East Timor are going to the polls to elect a new president in a run-off vote, as the country prepares to celebrate its first decade of independence.
Voters queued before polls to cast their ballots in a poll that sees Franciso Guterres "Lu Olo" take on Taur Matan Ruak, both heroes of the 24-year war against Indonesia for independence.
The winner of the contest will replace Nobel Prize-winning incumbent Jose Ramos-Horta, who trailed in third place in the first round of voting, held on March 17.
While the role of the president is largely ceremonial, the post has enjoyed a high-profile under Ramos-Horta, and the elections are the first of a series of landmark events in the country of 1.1 million people.
In May, East Timor will celebrate 10 years of independence, which came after three years of administration by the United Nations.
On July 7, citizens will choose a new government in a general election.
Ameerah Haq, the UN secretary-general's special representative for East Timor, reportedly said last week that UN peacekeepers, stationed in the country since 1999, would pull out if both elections went off peacefully.
While the first round of voting in the presidential election was peaceful, violence was reported ahead of the second round, with the homes of two political supporters torched and a number of campaign vehicles attacked.
On Friday, about 100 people reportedly pelted stones at Ruak's campaign headquarters in Dili.
Alfonso de Jesus, a deputy police commander, said that despite the incidents, he expected the elections to go off smoothly.
Lu Olo, the most popular candidate in last months' poll with close to 29 per cent of the vote, is backed by several other first-round candidates.
The 57-year-old heads the opposition Fretilin party, which is synonymous with the East Timorese resistance, lost the presidency to Ramos-Horta in a run-off in 2007.
Ruak, 55, is the former commander of Fretilin's military wing.
He is running as an independent and standing for president for the first time, backed by Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao's powerful National Congress for the Reconstruction of East Timor party.
Ruak, who won about 26 per cent of the vote in the first round, has vowed to introduce mandatory military service if elected, and has been accused by the United Nations of involvement in illegal weapons transfers in 2006. At the time, rioting and factional fighting had left the country on the verge of civil war.
The voting age for Monday's polls is 17, and more than 620,000 are eligible to vote at 850 polling stations nationwide.
Polls remain open until 3:00pm local time (06:00 GMT). By law, provisional results must be announced 48 hours after polls close.
Dipetik dari - Al Jazeera English
Citizens of East Timor are going to the polls to elect a new president in a run-off vote, as the country prepares to celebrate its first decade of independence.
Voters queued before polls to cast their ballots in a poll that sees Franciso Guterres "Lu Olo" take on Taur Matan Ruak, both heroes of the 24-year war against Indonesia for independence.
The winner of the contest will replace Nobel Prize-winning incumbent Jose Ramos-Horta, who trailed in third place in the first round of voting, held on March 17.
While the role of the president is largely ceremonial, the post has enjoyed a high-profile under Ramos-Horta, and the elections are the first of a series of landmark events in the country of 1.1 million people.
In May, East Timor will celebrate 10 years of independence, which came after three years of administration by the United Nations.
On July 7, citizens will choose a new government in a general election.
Ameerah Haq, the UN secretary-general's special representative for East Timor, reportedly said last week that UN peacekeepers, stationed in the country since 1999, would pull out if both elections went off peacefully.
While the first round of voting in the presidential election was peaceful, violence was reported ahead of the second round, with the homes of two political supporters torched and a number of campaign vehicles attacked.
On Friday, about 100 people reportedly pelted stones at Ruak's campaign headquarters in Dili.
Alfonso de Jesus, a deputy police commander, said that despite the incidents, he expected the elections to go off smoothly.
Lu Olo, the most popular candidate in last months' poll with close to 29 per cent of the vote, is backed by several other first-round candidates.
The 57-year-old heads the opposition Fretilin party, which is synonymous with the East Timorese resistance, lost the presidency to Ramos-Horta in a run-off in 2007.
Ruak, 55, is the former commander of Fretilin's military wing.
He is running as an independent and standing for president for the first time, backed by Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao's powerful National Congress for the Reconstruction of East Timor party.
Ruak, who won about 26 per cent of the vote in the first round, has vowed to introduce mandatory military service if elected, and has been accused by the United Nations of involvement in illegal weapons transfers in 2006. At the time, rioting and factional fighting had left the country on the verge of civil war.
The voting age for Monday's polls is 17, and more than 620,000 are eligible to vote at 850 polling stations nationwide.
Polls remain open until 3:00pm local time (06:00 GMT). By law, provisional results must be announced 48 hours after polls close.
Dipetik dari - Al Jazeera English
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Clinton Says Asia Needs U.S. Leadership
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said there is no alternative to U.S. leadership in the Asia- Pacific region, recognizing concerns that the U.S. is moving to deny rising Asian nations “their fair share of influence.”
“When it comes to ensuring stability and security in the Asia-Pacific and beyond, there simply is no substitute for American power,” Clinton, the top U.S. diplomat, said in a speech last night at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
Clinton acknowledged tensions with China, citing “cyber intrusions” that include the online theft of American intellectual property, and called for setting clear Internet governance policies with Beijing. She dismissed regional misgivings that talk of American leadership is code for protecting Western prerogatives.
“That is not the case,” she said. “China is not the Soviet Union, and we are not on the brink of a new Cold War in Asia.”
President Barack Obama has made Asia a central focus of his foreign policy, and the interconnected nature of U.S.-Asia ties underscores the importance of the administration’s “pivot” toward the region, Clinton said.
Exports to Asia are crucial to the U.S. economic recovery and reaching consumers in the region’s growing middle class is central to growth, Clinton said.
“The shape of the global economy, the advance of democracy and human rights, and our hopes for a 21st century less bloody than the 20th all hinge to a large degree on what happens in the Asia-Pacific,” Clinton said.
North Korea Concerns
North Korea and other security issues will continue to drive U.S. involvement in the region, Clinton said. North Korean threats to launch a long-range missile, if carried out, would violate United Nations Security Council resolutions and put its neighbors at risk, she said.
Coming just weeks after North Korea agreed to a moratorium on nuclear and missile testing, “the speed of the turnaround” raises questions about the country’s seriousness in saying that it wants to improve relations with the U.S. and its neighbors, Clinton said. “Recent history strongly suggests that additional provocations may follow,” she said.
The U.S. will continue to be “very candid” about areas of tension, such as cyber attacks that threaten economic and national security, Clinton said.
“Because the United States and China are two of the largest global cyber actors, establishing clear and acceptable practices in cyberspace is critical,” she said.
Regional Network
Clinton also touted the need for a strong regional network of organizations, such as the East Asia Summit, to enforce rules and settle disputes including competing claims over the oil-rich South China Sea.
Agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a bloc of nine countries, also create a level economic playing field that allow for an “integrated Pacific economy that is open, free, transparent, fair,” she said.
The international economic system is based on “universal” and “fundamental freedoms” that emerging powers such as India and China will have to protect as they gain greater stature, Clinton said.
“They have benefited from the security it provides, the markets it opens and the trust it fosters,” she said. “As a consequence, they have a real stake in the success of that system. And as their power grows, and their ability to contribute increases, the world’s expectations of them naturally rise as well.”
Disagreement on Syria
While the U.S. and China have worked closely on some international challenges, including coping with North Korea and Iran’s alleged nuclear program, they haven’t agreed on an approach to the regime generated violence in Syria.
China has worked with Russia to veto attempts at the UN to sanction the Syrian government for a crackdown that has left as many as 9,000 dead, according to UN estimates. In Annapolis, Clinton acknowledged China’s support for Syria.
“Some of today’s emerging powers act as ‘selective stakeholders,’” she said, “picking and choosing when to participate constructively and when to stand apart from the international system.”
“While that may suit their interests in the short-term, it will ultimately render the system unworkable,” Clinton said. “And that would end up impoverishing everyone.”
Dipetik dari - Businessweek
“When it comes to ensuring stability and security in the Asia-Pacific and beyond, there simply is no substitute for American power,” Clinton, the top U.S. diplomat, said in a speech last night at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
Clinton acknowledged tensions with China, citing “cyber intrusions” that include the online theft of American intellectual property, and called for setting clear Internet governance policies with Beijing. She dismissed regional misgivings that talk of American leadership is code for protecting Western prerogatives.
“That is not the case,” she said. “China is not the Soviet Union, and we are not on the brink of a new Cold War in Asia.”
President Barack Obama has made Asia a central focus of his foreign policy, and the interconnected nature of U.S.-Asia ties underscores the importance of the administration’s “pivot” toward the region, Clinton said.
Exports to Asia are crucial to the U.S. economic recovery and reaching consumers in the region’s growing middle class is central to growth, Clinton said.
“The shape of the global economy, the advance of democracy and human rights, and our hopes for a 21st century less bloody than the 20th all hinge to a large degree on what happens in the Asia-Pacific,” Clinton said.
North Korea Concerns
North Korea and other security issues will continue to drive U.S. involvement in the region, Clinton said. North Korean threats to launch a long-range missile, if carried out, would violate United Nations Security Council resolutions and put its neighbors at risk, she said.
Coming just weeks after North Korea agreed to a moratorium on nuclear and missile testing, “the speed of the turnaround” raises questions about the country’s seriousness in saying that it wants to improve relations with the U.S. and its neighbors, Clinton said. “Recent history strongly suggests that additional provocations may follow,” she said.
The U.S. will continue to be “very candid” about areas of tension, such as cyber attacks that threaten economic and national security, Clinton said.
“Because the United States and China are two of the largest global cyber actors, establishing clear and acceptable practices in cyberspace is critical,” she said.
Regional Network
Clinton also touted the need for a strong regional network of organizations, such as the East Asia Summit, to enforce rules and settle disputes including competing claims over the oil-rich South China Sea.
Agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a bloc of nine countries, also create a level economic playing field that allow for an “integrated Pacific economy that is open, free, transparent, fair,” she said.
The international economic system is based on “universal” and “fundamental freedoms” that emerging powers such as India and China will have to protect as they gain greater stature, Clinton said.
“They have benefited from the security it provides, the markets it opens and the trust it fosters,” she said. “As a consequence, they have a real stake in the success of that system. And as their power grows, and their ability to contribute increases, the world’s expectations of them naturally rise as well.”
Disagreement on Syria
While the U.S. and China have worked closely on some international challenges, including coping with North Korea and Iran’s alleged nuclear program, they haven’t agreed on an approach to the regime generated violence in Syria.
China has worked with Russia to veto attempts at the UN to sanction the Syrian government for a crackdown that has left as many as 9,000 dead, according to UN estimates. In Annapolis, Clinton acknowledged China’s support for Syria.
“Some of today’s emerging powers act as ‘selective stakeholders,’” she said, “picking and choosing when to participate constructively and when to stand apart from the international system.”
“While that may suit their interests in the short-term, it will ultimately render the system unworkable,” Clinton said. “And that would end up impoverishing everyone.”
Dipetik dari - Businessweek
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