Alarming rise in dengue cases

Rabiatul Kamit
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

BRUNEI recorded its highest number of dengue cases last year as well as its first outbreak of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) virus.

In his speech at the World Health Day event, Health Minister YB Pehin Orang Kaya Johan Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Adanan Begawan Khatib Pehin Siraja Dato Seri Setia Hj Mohd Yusof revealed that 414 cases of dengue were recorded in 2013, an increase from 298 the previous year.

Of the dengue cases that were recorded last year, four involved dengue haemorrhagic fever. However, no deaths were reported from dengue haemorrhagic fever over the past two years.

Dengue cases are on the rise, but the minister noted that a review of the dengue haemorrhagic fever statistics has shown a decrease in trend since November 2013. From January to March this year, only 35 known cases have occurred.

“One of the vector-borne diseases that is worrying, not only in this region but in the Sultanate and the rest of the world, is dengue,” he remarked.

Classified as the fastest growing vector-borne disease, dengue has increased by up to 30 times over the past 50 years. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 50 to 100 million dengue cases occur annually and over 2.5 billion people are at risk of from the global health threat.

Although dengue is similar to a mild fever, the vector-borne disease can become serious and result in death from dengue haemorrhagic fever.

YB Pehin Dato Hj Adanan explained there is no specific treatment for dengue, however early detection by immediately visiting the doctor as well as access to medical treatment can reduce the risk of complications.

“Prevention and control of dengue can only be effectively implemented by controlling the vector of dengue, that is the Aedes mosquito,” he said.

Aside from efforts to tackle malaria and dengue disease in the country, the Ministry of Health (MoH) also implemented another eradication programme for filariasis. Caused by microfilia worms, filariasis is a parasitic and infectious tropical disease.

In 2013, the programme was carried out in at-risk areas, such as Mukim Labi, Bukit Sawat, Sukang and Melilas in Belait; Mukim Lamunin, Ukong and Ramai in Tutong; and Mukim Labu in Temburong.

Residents were required to consume two types of medicine to eradicate the microfilia worms that are carried by Mansonia mosquitoes. The minister said the cooperation of the residents were crucial in the fight against the vector-borne disease.

However, he added that the response in some of the mukims were below 65 per cent, forcing the year-long programme to be repeated in 2014.

“In regard to this, MoH will continue to work on implementing measures of prevention and control strategies that are more potent and effective in addressing the mosquito-borne disease,” said YB Pehin Dato Hj Adanan.

He called on all stakeholders, including government agencies, NGOs and the private sector, to play a part in the eradication of mosquito-borne diseases by keeping their respective premises clean. “With methods such as these, I believe they can be undertaken at all levels of society and individuals in the country, which is deemed as a strategy that is the best and effective in preventing and controlling vector-borne diseases,” he said. Brunei also reported its first outbreak of JE virus in October 2013. A total of 15 people were infected with the potentially fatal mosquito-borne disease. Following the cases, MoH decided to administer the JE vaccine to the most affected areas in the Belait. The minister previously claimed that environmental sanitation was still the most effective method to control the JE virus.

“All stakeholders…need to play a role and take steps that are proactive and effective as these steps together will insya’Allah eradicate mosquito-borne diseases,” he said yesterday. Reiterating the importance of environmental sanitation, YB Pehin Dato Hj Adanan also urged the law enforcement agencies to take action in carrying out any laws related to ensuring public cleanliness. The World Health Day event on vector-borne diseases was held at the Al-‘Afiah Hall, MoH.


Sumber - The Brunei Times

Indonesia’s Legislative Polls About Corruption, Not Islam

Written by A. Lin Neumann

Political Islam is fading as corruption concerns rise for April 9 elections

With Indonesians going to the polls next week to elect the 560 members of the House of Representatives (DPR), a lot is at stake, but stability is not in question. The contenders are vying for traditional power and influence, not for the soul of the nation. And even though widespread distaste over corruption is a factor driving public sentiment, the tools in the legislative races are still the usual ones – money and connections.

There is no bitter national division akin to what is happening in Thailand. The racial cleavages felt in Malaysia are largely absent. The body count that is so common during Philippine elections is missing. Indonesia, which was considered to be on the brink of possible dissolution after the Suharto era ended in 1998, has righted itself in the last 10 years.

The April 9 election will determine the dominant parties going into the presidential election on July 7, and will presage the horse-trading that will fix the coalitions needed meet a strict threshold (20 per cent of the seats in the DPR or 25 percent of the popular vote for a party or a coalition) to put up a candidate for president. On a local level, parties are trying to sway voters with cash and goodies. Individually, candidates ‑ some of whom pay a lot of money to parties just to get on the ballot ‑ stand to recoup their investment through access to the underground rivers of wealth that flow to lawmakers.

It is messy, noisy, brash and sometimes shameless.  The Jakarta Globe newspaper this week quoted a local voter about the process: “I attended the Democratic Party’s campaign not long ago and they handed out Rp 30,000 [US$2.60]. My cousin, who went to the Gerindra Party rally at Gelora Bung Karno [Stadium], also received money.” The woman, Albarkah, said she was disappointed when a smaller party held a rally and did not hand out money.

Behind the scenes, vast amounts are spent as the country’s elites vie for influence in the next legislature. Payback comes later in the form of loopholes written into legislation that is drafted secretly and can seem puzzling when it emerges. I have met staffers working in the DPR who joke about suitcases of money passing through their offices as a result of legislative deals.

Can this system last? Many recent polls show corruption to be the No. 1 issue among voters, a fact that fuels the popularity of Jakarta Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who has been endorsed as the presidential candidate of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). Indeed, without pointing fingers at his predecessors in City Hall, Jokowi has quietly set about making sensible changes, such as putting business tax collections online as a way to eliminate notorious “tax brokers” who skim off revenues intended for the government.

But there also still seems to be a kind of resignation among voters about corruption. A Public Perception Survey on Election Integrity conducted by the official Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in 2013 showed that 71 per cent of the respondents believed the practice of “money politics” was normal. Even more sobering, 67 per cent said the practice should continue.

That finding seems to fit the air of calm during an election season in which racial, ethnic and religious tension is mostly absent, with few expecting unrest and religious parties fading as an electoral factor. Nobody is seriously marching in the street. The system may be corrupt, the people seem to be saying, but the nation is doing pretty well.

The decline of political Islam is a case in point. The country’s five main Islamic political parties are among the 12 parties running, but none is expected to do very well. Rising displays of Islamic piety are common, with headscarves and Muslim clothing common even in stylish Jakarta, where such clothing was once rare, but it does not translate into political power.  Take the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS). A beacon of Islam-driven reform in the dying days of Suharto, PKS got caught up in a sex-and-money scandal linked to rigging beef import quotas last year and it is now an object of ridicule. Other Islamic parties have fallen to infighting as religion takes a backseat to secular parties, regardless of how many women choose to cover their hair.

In 1999, when political Islam first became a factor (Islamic political expression was tightly controlled by Suharto), religious parties got about 34 per cent of the vote. In 2009, that fell to 26 per cent. This time around, pollsters predict a showing of maybe 15 per cent.

All of the major parties are secular. Nationalist-oriented PDI-P, led by Jokowi’s reform image, does not seem hurt by the fact that he is said to practice a form of syncretic Javanese Islam that is anathema to Islamic purists; the party is expected to capture 30-35 per cent of the seats on April 9, far more than any other party. Jokowi’s closest challenger, former Gen. Prabowo Subianto, is scornful of religious intolerance and comes from a mixed Christian-Muslim family. His Gerindra party has been rising in the polls, but will struggle to do well enough to put a presidential candidate on the ballot without a coalition partner. The third major party, Golkar, was founded by Suharto as a secular, nationalist vehicle for his dictatorship and it remains the most cohesive party in the country.

It is difficult to say what the 2014 legislative elections come down to, other than a possible pause before a gathering storm, as increasingly sophisticated voters seem unlikely to put up with the massive taint of corruption indefinitely. Scandals have already taken their toll on PKS and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party; both Golkar and PDI-P have had their fair share of jailed lawmakers in recent years.

Should the PDI-P come out of the DPR elections with a major share of the vote, the message will be clearer. Yudhoyono’s party rose to prominence by pledging to fight corruption but corruption is now bringing it down to the single digits in most polls.

The voters seem poised to give a Jokowi-led PDI-P the chance to take a stand for reform. Regardless of the surface cool in the country, it would be unwise to disappoint the public a second time.


Sumber - Asia Sentinel

Hudud: Kelantan bawa 'private bill' ke parlimen

KOTA BHARU: Kerajaan Kelantan akan membawa satu rang undang-undang persendirian (private bill) berkaitan dengan isu Enakmen Kanun Jenayah Syariah (2) 1993 ke Parlimen dalam masa terdekat.

Menteri Besar Ustaz Datuk Ahmad Yakob berkata perkara itu diputuskan dalam mesyuarat exco hari ini sebagai menyahut seruan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom bahawa pusat bersedia membantu Kelantan melaksanakan undang-undang itu.

"Kerajaan Kelantan dengan ini akan menyiapkan satu rang undang-undang persendirian (private bill) yang akan dibawa ke mana-mana sidang Parlimen yang terdekat oleh salah seorang ahli parlimen bukan kerajaan bagi mendapat kebenaran untuk Kelantan melaksanakan undang-undang tersebut seperti yang diperuntukkan oleh Perkara 76 (A) Perlembagaan Persekutuan.

"Satu rang undang-undang persendirian (private bill) juga akan dibawa bagi meminda Akta Mahkamah Syariah (Bidangkuasa) 1965 untuk memberi bidang kuasa yang lebih luas kepada Mahkamah Syariah Negeri Kelantan bagi membolehkannya menghukum sebagaimana peruntukan dalam Enakmen Hudud," kata beliau pada sidang media hari ini.

Beliau berkata, keputusan kerajaan negeri itu dibuat kerana sebahagian besar dari kesalahan jenayah hudud dan qisas seperti mencuri, merompak, merogol, mencedera dan membunuh terletak dalam bidang kuasa Kerajaan Persekutuan sebagaimana yang diperuntukkan dalam Kanun Keseksaan (Penal Code), begitu juga agensi-agensi pelaksana seperti polis dan penjara.

"Kerajaan Kelantan sedia memberi jaminan bahawa sekiranya tiada halangan dari Kerajaan Persekutuan untuk memberikan laluan kepada dua undang-undang persendirian ini dibentang dan diluluskan di Parlimen, Insha-Allah Enakmen Kanun Jenayah Syariah (2) 1993 paling lewat akan berkuatkuasa di Kelantan pada tahun 2015,"

Berikut kenyataan penuh beliau.

Dengan Nama Allah Yang Maha Pemurah Lagi Maha Penyayang

Berikutan keputusan mesyuarat Exco Kerajaan Negeri Kelantan pada hari ini, 2 Jamadil Akhir 1435H bersamaan 2 April 2014M, saya ingin mengumumkan beberapa pendirian yang telah diambil oleh Kerajaan Negeri Kelantan berkaitan dengan isu Enakmen Kanun Jenayah Syariah (2) 1993 yang merangkumi hukuman hudud. Ianya adalah seperti berikut :

1. Kerajaan Kelantan menyambut baik kesediaan Kerajaan Persekutuan untuk memberikan laluan kepada mana-mana kerajaan negeri termasuklah Kelantan untuk menguatkuasakan undang-undang hudud sebagaimana yang telah dinyatakan oleh Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom baru-baru ini di Dewan Rakyat.

2. Kerajaan Kelantan dengan ini akan menyiapkan satu rang undang-undang persendirian (private bill) yang akan dibawa ke mana-mana sidang Parlimen yang terdekat oleh salah seorang Ahli Parlimen Bukan Kerajaan bagi mendapat kebenaran untuk Kelantan melaksanakan undang-undang tersebut seperti yang diperuntukkan oleh Perkara 76 (A) Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Ini kerana sebahagian besar dari kesalahan jenayah hudud dan qisas seperti mencuri, merompak, merogol, mencedera dan membunuh terletak dalam bidang kuasa Kerajaan Persekutuan sebagaimana yang diperuntukkan dalam Kanun Keseksaan (Penal Code), begitu juga agensi-agensi pelaksana seperti polis dan penjara.

3. Satu rang undang-undang persendirian (private bill) juga akan dibawa bagi meminda Akta Mahkamah Shariah (Bidangkuasa) 1965 untuk memberi bidang kuasa yang lebih luas kepada Mahkamah Shariah Negeri Kelantan bagi membolehkannya menghukum sebagaimana peruntukan dalam Enakmen Hudud.

4. Kerajaan Negeri Kelantan sedia memberi jaminan bahawa sekiranya tiada halangan dari Kerajaan Persekutuan untuk memberikan laluan kepada dua undang-undang persendirian ini dibentang dan diluluskan di Parlimen, Insha-Allah Enakmen Kanun Jenayah Syariah (2) 1993 paling lewat akan berkuatkuasa di Kelantan pada tahun 2015.

Sekian, salam hormat.

Ustaz Dato Ahmad bin Yakob
Menteri Besar Kelantan.


Sumber - Harakahdaily

Brunei mula laksanakan hukum hudud

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 2 April - Brunei muncul negara Asia Timur pertama melaksanakan hukum hudud bermula semalam, yang menyaksikan semua rakyatnya termasuk masyarakat bulan Islam turut tertakluk di bawah undang-undang tersebut.

Pemerintahnya, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah menyelia sendiri peralihan itu yang antaranya memperuntukkan hukuman berasaskan undang-undang Islam terhadap pelbagai kesalahan seperti mencuri, merogol, berzina, meliwat, minum minuman keras dan terlibat dalam kegiatan lesbian, gay, biseksual dan transgender (LGBT).

Brunei sebelum ini telah pun melaksanakan undang-undang syariah, namun hanya terhad kepada masalah melibatkan perkahwinan, wasiat dan keluarga Islam.

Bermula semalam, perundangan Islam itu diperluaskan lagi melibatkan hukuman seperti direjam sampai mati kerana kesalahan berzina dan sebatan sekiranya melakukan pengguguran bayi.

Badan bebas, Global Voices Online yang beribu pejabat di Amsterdam, Belanda sebelum ini melaporkan, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah pernah memberi amaran bahawa individu yang menentang pelaksanaan hukum hudud boleh didakwa.

Akhbar berbahasa Inggeris India, Deccan Chronicle pula melaporkan, keputusan Brunei untuk melaksanakan hukuman hudud dan memperkenalkan semula hukuman mati, menerima banyak kritikan daripada badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) dan kumpulan hak asasi manusia yang menyifatkannya bertentangan dengan undang-undang antarabangsa.

Selain itu, perkara tersebut turut menimbulkan kegusaran dalam kalangan masyarakat bukan Islam Brunei, yang turut tertakluk dalam beberapa ketetapan kod berkenaan.

Penasihat Undang-Undang Antarabangsa Asia Tenggara, Suruhanjaya Undang-Undang Antarabangsa (ICJ) Emerlynne Gil dalam sepucuk suratnya kepada Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah berkata, jika peraturan baharu itu dilaksanakan, pencabulan hak asasi manusia yang serius bakal berlaku.

"Brunei tidak mengamalkan hukuman mati sebelum ini dan keputusan melaksanakannya begitu mengejutkan," ujar Gil.


Sumber - Utusan Malaysia Online

Malaysia not ready to sign TPP

SINGAPORE: Malaysia is not ready to sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and like its other Asean counterparts should focus on regional integration, a top government official said.

“I don’t want to speak on behalf of the International Trade and Industry Ministry, but as far as I know, we are not ready,” Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Paul Low told Malaysian journalists covering the Invest Asean 2014 conference here yesterday.

“I don’t think Malaysia wants to sign for the sake of signing,” Low, who was one of the panel guests at the event, added.

The TPP is a free trade agreement currently being negotiated by Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, Vietnam, Japan, Canada and Mexico.

The negotiations started in March 2010.

Low opined that the Asean Economic Community, which refers to a single regional common market made of Asean countries targeted for 2015, will come into existence before the TPP is formalised.

“I think some of the other countries are also not ready. There are several sticky issues and we have to make sure that whatever we sign will benefit the people as well,” Low said.

“Priority should be on Asean integration.”

Low said the Asean region should make sure that its markets are integrated so that when investors come to the region, they will not ‘think of us as 10 separate countries’.

“There are many barriers, we have to make sure that we are more seamless.”

However, given that not all Asean countries are on the same economic level, the challenge is to ensure that the countries complemented each other as opposed to competing with each other, he said.

“For example, some of the industries that require intensive labour should go to Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos as we move along.”

To a question on the level of integration that has been achieved thus far within the region, Low said: “We have free trade, we have reduced a lot of tariffs, the issue is we got to eliminate the non-tariff barriers.”

Low emphasised the need for a more integrated regional investment policy so that investors would be treated the same at all times.

“Our (policy) right now is not rule-based, it is more consensus-based. If you are rule-based, then it is very clear for investors.

“Asean must build into that…the heads of states that are responsible for this,” he noted.


Sumber - The Star Online

Why China can grow without democracy

By Lisbeth Moeller

As China's socioeconomic modernization and cultural globalization deepens, spill-over effects into the political arena are increasingly anticipated.

Authoritarian-led development elsewhere in East Asia has typically lasted two to three decades, before the supposedly inevitable transition towards democracy, as per capita incomes reach a certain level. Is China headed in the same direction?

Commentators emphasize an increasingly assertive middle class, political decay associated with rampant corruption and systemic risks in the form of rising inequality and environmental degradation as irreversibly derailing the steely authoritarian Chinese locomotive. Yet, every rule has its exception, and China may well be able to continue growing without democratizing, for the strict Western dichotomy of authoritarianism versus democracy does not apply to East Asia.

China considers itself democratic

A 2002 East Asia Barometer survey confirmed that Chinese development and growth has been accompanied by increasing public support for the general notion of democracy and for many of the same democratic values that underpin other East Asian democracies. The Chinese, however, see no apparent contradiction between these values and the current Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership, with more than 80% of respondents judging the present regime to already be democratic.

Moreover, Chinese citizens were found to trust domestic political institutions, particularly at the national level, more than their democratic neighbors. While this paradox may be partly explained by successful CCP propaganda and media control, the master key seems to lie in a fundamentally different conception of democracy.

The survey demonstrated a Chinese notion of democracy closely associated with populism, reflecting the country's socialist credentials but also a belief in the idea of benevolent dictatorship, which can be traced back to imperial times. China's Confucian heritage is similarly reflected in the high levels of institutional trust, which rest on traditional values of hierarchy and collectivism.

The key democratic pillar of accountability, moreover, is also manifested in Chinese society - albeit in a different form than the strictly procedural definition associated with free elections. In the East Asian context, accountability is more appropriately defined in terms of what Francis Fukuyama calls "substantive outcomes", and on this premise the CCP leadership has certainly delivered, raising substantially the living standard of millions. Indeed, in accordance with this East Asian accountability definition, the majority of citizens in China and its neighboring democracies were found to prioritize economic development over democracy.

Economic democratization

That economic growth takes priority over democracy has been the hallmark of East Asian development. Indeed, all successful East Asian economies, with the rule-proving exception of Hong Kong, were led to high growth by competent authoritarian developmental states.

The difficult reconciliation of democracy and development is often ascribed to the need for massive and rapid resource mobilization to foster economic growth. A task for which the democratic toolkit of accommodation and compromise is inherently ill-suited. The institutional choice between fast growth or democracy is nowhere more apparent than in the breakneck investment speed and intensity of autocratic China compared to the slow infrastructural development and low investment rates of democratic India.

Yet, while economic growth undoubtedly conferred significant legitimacy on autocratic East Asian states, the same development eventually brought them to their knees, as new middle classes asserted their demands for influence.

The circumstances in China, however, may prove different, as the Chinese regime is taking marked steps to advance economic democratization so as to head off unrest motivated by increasing inequalities. Starting with the 11th Five-Year Plan [2006-2010] the CCP leadership has adopted a significant shift in policy towards more inclusive and socially responsible growth. Moreover, while the trend trailing the global financial crisis has been one of scaled-back government elsewhere in the world, China has intensified its commitment to direct state intervention in the economy. State-owned enterprises have been consolidated; even strengthened, and social policies boosted.

China will remain exceptional

The legitimacy of CCP leadership rests on several supportive pillars, making it less vulnerable than many commentators make it seem. While the until now most significant legitimizing factor, the regime's exceptional economic performance, is likely to diminish in importance, as growth rates inevitably level off, other elements play a more fundamental and therefore durable role.

Firstly, China's populace appears to appreciate a level of democracy under the current set of circumstances which is far more advanced than a Western definitional standard would concede. Chinese citizens already consider their society democratic in ways that matter to them, thus greatly reducing calls for regime change.

Moreover, trust in political institutions is higher than in China's democratic neighbors, underpinned by ancient ideals of hierarchy and collectivism.

And finally, while performance legitimacy may stand to decline, the regime seems well on the way to building a new economic pillar on which future CCP governance can comfortably rest. Chinese economic development is moving in a markedly democratizing direction, broadening the base of beneficiaries, and the success of this process may ultimately allow China to remain exceptional in solving the conundrum of sustained economic growth under authoritarian leadership.


Sumber - Asia Times Online

OPINION: Prison food budget luxurious

Dear Editor,

THE $3.56 million prison food bill reported in The Brunei Times article dated March 23, 2014, on page A12, begs some outrage.

It translates to a daily food costs of more than $18 on each of the 543 inmates in Brunei. The last time I spent $18 a day on my food was never. That’s the cost of my weekly groceries for two people – and I eat quite well!

The article clearly states that this is strictly a food cost, so one has to wonder what kind of feasts are being served up in Bruneian prisons, or do they hold lavish birthday parties every day for prisoners?

I understand that prisoners, like any member of society, deserve correct and humane treatment even if this means providing three square meals a day and caring for their health and nutrition needs.

Prison sentences are a second chance for criminals and they are no less human than you and I. They are certainly no more, either.

Calculate that amount and you realise that an inmate’s monthly food expenditure comes to roughly $540, which is higher than the salaries of many lower-income workers in this country. A pensioner gets less than half of that.

My feeling is that the food supplier is the culprit, rather than decadent inmates. There has to be a way to at least halve that cost and put the $1.8 million savings into more constructive prison programmes.

Free citizen, Belait


Sumber - The Brunei Times

Philippines Seeks Arbitration at U.N. Over China's Claims in South China Sea

Contested Waters Carry Huge Volume of World Trade

By James Hookway

The Philippines filed an arbitration case Sunday with the United Nations over China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea, raising the ante in a long-running dispute over who owns what in the strategic, energy-rich waters.

Manila has been preparing for months to file its challenge to China's claim to control everything within a broad expanse of the sea delineated by its so-called "nine-dash line." The Philippines' submission is nearly 4,000 pages long, includes more than 40 maps and is aimed at countering Beijing's argument that controlling mostly submerged features such as reefs or shoals provides China with sovereignty over the sea, including some 80% of the Philippines' U.N.-declared exclusive economic zone.

The contested waters include areas potentially rich in oil and gas, as well as rich fishing waters such as Scarborough Shoal, where Philippine and Chinese vessels were locked in a standoff for nearly two months in 2012.

China so far has abstained from the proceedings in the matter, which the Philippines first raised in January under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. Now that the case for arbitration has been filed, the UN tribunal will decide on what steps are to be taken next.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said on Sunday that seeking arbitration "is about defending what is legitimately ours" and securing a "just and durable solution grounded on International Law."

China's foreign ministry dismissed the arbitration filing in a statement posted on its website Sunday night, reiterating its position that it considers the dispute a bilateral matter to be resolved through direct negotiations. "Regardless of how the Philippines packages its complaint, the direct cause of the dispute is illegal occupation of reefs in the South China Sea on the part of the Philippines," it said.

The Philippines' challenge comes as Manila engages in another protracted cat-and-mouse game to evade Chinese ships apparently attempting to blockade one of the Philippines' few outposts in the region: a rusting hulk marooned on Second Thomas Shoal.

A Philippine ship managed Saturday to slip past a Chinese vessel to resupply a small contingent of Filipino soldiers aboard the World War II-era Sierra Madre, which was steered onto Second Thomas Shoal in 1999. The wreck is one of the Philippines' few visible claims to sovereignty in the South China Sea, something of a symbolic marker in efforts to withstand China's growing ambitions.

In recent weeks China has attempted to stop Philippine forces from resupplying the wreck, forcing the Philippines to conduct air drops. Journalists from the Associated Press and other news organizations were aboard the Philippine supply vessel and reported hearing a Chinese coast guard ship warning it to stay away by radio. The Philippine ship, carrying some 10 tons of food and water, slipped away after heading into shallower waters where the Chinese vessel couldn't follow.

China's foreign ministry said in a statement Saturday that "China will absolutely not allow the Philippines to occupy" Second Thomas Shoal.

The Philippine legal challenge to China's claims is perhaps a more significant display of resistance.

The waters, which carry around half of the world's trade, are also claimed in part by Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan and tensions have led to a series of confrontations in past decades. Any decision by the U.N. could bear on how the overlapping territorial claims are ultimately resolved and could stir tensions between China and the U.S.

The Obama administration infuriated Beijing in 2010 when then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described the free navigation of the South China Sea as being in America's "national interest."

China has since attempted to step up control, among other things dispatching nominally civilian coast guard vessels into disputed waters. Beijing argues each territorial dispute should be resolved on a bilateral basis. Washington and the Association of Southeast Asian want a multilateral, rules-based approach.


Sumber - WSJ.com

Gov’t-MILF peace pact makes history

By Christian V. Esguerra, Jerome Aning

MANILA, Philippines—His country is going through a harrowing crisis, but Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is flying to Manila Thursday to witness the historic signing of the final peace agreement between the government and the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Malacañang on Wednesday confirmed that Najib will attend the signing ceremonies for the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) to be held on the grounds in front of the Kalayaan Hall at 4 p.m. Thursday, citing information from the Department of Foreign Affairs.

“We know that Malaysia is undergoing a crisis owing to the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines plane, [but] Malaysia is fully aware of its international commitments, and we thank them that despite the difficulty that they’re encountering, they have accepted our invitation to grace the signing of the agreement, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda told a Palace press briefing on Wednesday.

Biggest gathering

According to Lacierda, Thursday’s event will be the biggest gathering so far for the three-year-old Aquino administration.

“We decided to move it to the Kalayaan grounds where we believe we can hold, in our estimate, over 1,500 [guests],” he said.

The MILF contingent alone is expected to number almost 500, he said. Officials at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Wednesday said about 500 Muslim Filipinos arrived at the airport in two batches on Wednesday. They were said to be guests of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos. The officials said they were told that some were members of the MILF and representatives of the Muslim royal families in Mindanao.

The rest on the guest list include members of the diplomatic corps, congressional leaders, the Mindanao bloc in the House of Representatives, and members of the international contact group and the international monitoring team for the peace talks.

Foreign Assistant Secretary Charles Jose, the DFA spokesman, said Najib’s working visit will push through even as Malaysia is coordinating the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which went missing on March 8.

As of Wednesday, a multinational search effort had yet to recover what is believed to be debris from the ill-fated jet. Najib earlier announced that the plane, which carried 239 people, had crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.

The DFA did not release Najib’s flight and arrival details.

Working visit

Malaysia served as the facilitator of the negotiations with the MILF since 2001, hosting negotiations in Kuala Lumpur, the DFA said in a statement. It also heads the international monitoring team observing the ceasefire between the government and the MILF rebels.

Before witnessing the signing, Najib will sit down with President Aquino “to briefly discuss matters of mutual concern between the Philippines and Malaysia,” the DFA said.

Najib last visited Manila in October 2012, to witness the signing of the framework agreement, a crucial initial document in the peace negotiations.

The Malaysian prime minister and Aquino last met during the state visit that the President made to Malaysia on Feb. 27 and 28.

No perceived threats

Lacierda said the signing ceremony would be beamed live from Malacañang. He said a portion of the Kalayaan Hall would serve as a prayer room for the Muslim guests.

He said the Palace was aware of no specific threats intended to disrupt the signing ceremonies.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has placed the entire 148,000 force natiowide on heightened alert for the event.

Senior Supt. Wilben Mayor, spokesman for PNP Director General Alan Purisima, said the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) had been on full alert, the equivalent of red alert in the military, since Tuesday night.

“The NCRPO is also directed to provide mobile cars to foreign ministers who will attend the event and provide civil disturbance management personnel (to guard against) possible mass action and to initiate countermeasures,” he said.

Who will sign

The five-page comprehensive agreement will be signed by members of both negotiating panels. Aside from Aquino and Najib, also witnessing the signing will be Teresita Quintos-Deles, the presidential adviser on the peace process, and MILF chair Murad Ebrahim.

Signing for the government will be chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, panel members Senen Bacani, Yasmin Busran-Lao and Mehol Sadain, and consultants Zenonida Brosas and Jose Luis Martin Gascon.

The signatories for the MILF will be Mohagher Iqbal, Michael Mastura, Maulana Alonto, Abhoud Syed Lingga, Abdulla Camlian and Antonio Kinoc.

Abdul Ghafar Mohamed, the Malaysian facilitator, will also sign as witness, according to Ferrer.

Dignitaries

Other Malaysian officials invited to witness the signing include Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, the defense department secretary general and the chief of the Malaysian armed forces, all of whom were to arrive in separate flights Wednesday.

Visiting United Nations Development Program (UNDP) administrator Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand, will also witness the signing.

The dignitaries attending Thursday’s signing also include Saudi Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah, Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Naci Koru of Turkey, State Minister Maria Bohmer of Germany, Director Salem Ali Othman of Libya, Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman.

Drafting the basic law

The comprehensive agreement will encompass all the negotiated and signed agreements, including the framework agreement signed in 2012 and the four annexes and addenda that came after.

The agreement will be the basis for the drafting of the basic law or constitution of the Bangsamoro region that will be created for the Muslim minority in Mindanao. The basic law, which is now being drafted by a transition commission, will be submitted for approval by Congress, after which it will have to be voted on in a plebiscite in the regions to be covered by the Bangsamoro autonomous territory to be created by the agreement.

Increase ARMM budget

Sen. Ralph Recto on Wednesday called on Malacañang to increase the preliminary P20.4-billion budget for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in 2015, its final year before it is replaced by Bangsamoro.

In a statement, Recto said that a higher ARMM budget would benefit the new regional government that will take over once it is in place; its budget may not be less than the last appropriation received by the ARMM.

Recto said that even if the ARMM’s 2015 indicative budget would be P840 million bigger than this year’s, “in real terms it is still negative growth.”

“This is because if you add the population growth rate and the inflation rate, the sum is bigger than the 4.2-percent hike in the budget,” he said.

He said the national government has the obligation to give more funds to a region that, though poor, is rich in potential.

“If next year is the ARMM government’s last hurrah, then the best goodbye gift we can give it is a bigger budget, which in turn benefits the successor government because it will be using a higher base in asking for subsequent funds,” Recto said.

That budgetary allocation remains government’s most effective equity in the peace project, he said.

“Peace has a price but from a funding point of view an imperfect peace is still less costly than a just war,” he said.


Sumber - Inquirer News


Power-sharing central to Moro self-rule

By Ryan D. Rosauro

With the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro Thursday, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is abandoning its armed struggle for an independent Muslim state in Mindanao.

For the rest of the country and perhaps the world, this is the heart of the peace process with the Moro rebels.

In exchange, the government is committing to redo a 37-year autonomy experiment whose current version, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), has failed to live up to the Moro people’s aspiration for freedom from an overly centralized government.

The establishment of the Bangsamoro, which has an asymmetrical relationship with the central government, is deemed the remedy for a defective autonomy.

For the MILF and its supporters, this is the crowning glory of their four-decade struggle.

MILF chief Murad Ebrahim has said that even ordinary Moros consider the present instrumentalities of the Philippine state—its agencies and local governments—that they deal with every day as a “government of the aliens.”

17 years of negotiating

After four decades of war over the question of freedom, peace in Mindanao is bought with the grant of greater leeway for the Moro people to decide for themselves.

The historic moment in Malacañang comes after more than 17 years of political negotiations, the last 13 years of which involved neighboring Malaysia as a third-party facilitator.

This breakthrough also comes more than 17 years after the government signed a peace pact with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the original group from which the MILF broke away in 1984.

The government is confident that the Bangsamoro accord embodies most of the measures that adequately deal with Moro political demands. Hence, its negotiations with the MILF will be the last of such processes.

First, it talked peace with the rebels more than 39 years ago, through the undivided MNLF. The meeting took place on Jan. 18, 1975, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, under the auspices of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, now the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), according to the book “Bangsamoro: A Nation Under Endless Tyranny.”

Embrace democratic ways

As a sign of embracing democratic means to pursue its political goals, the MILF has agreed to decommission its armed wing, the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF). This will be done in phases, principally following the achievement of milestones defined in a plan for the establishment of a new autonomous region by mid-2016.

Some other conditions for the decommissioning of MILF forces are the redeployment of government security forces within Bangsamoro, establishment of the Bangsamoro police force, disbandment of private armed groups, socioeconomic development aid for former combatants, and the institution of transitional justice and reconciliation measures in a bid to straighten unjust historical narratives, correct historical injustices, and repair relations among conflict-affected communities and peoples.

“We believe that the formula we have agreed with government is the best formula that can be had. We cannot build our institutions in the context of continuing war,” said MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal, a veteran of the four-decade Moro rebellion.

Iqbal said that as previously announced, the MILF would remain a social movement while a political party will be formed as vehicle for its members’ participation in the electoral arena soon.

Redesign autonomy

In the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro, the preliminary accord signed on Oct. 15, 2012, the government and the MILF aimed to establish a new autonomous region encompassing predominantly Moro-populated areas in Mindanao.

The two sides concluded that the ARMM lacks the institutional attributes to effectively respond to the Moro people’s longing for self-rule. It needs to be replaced with another autonomous body imbued with far greater political and economic powers.

The ARMM continues to be dependent on economic and financial doles from the central government. Its political dynamics is largely dictated by the tenant of Malacañang; since 1989, those who have become regional governors have been anointed by the President.

The Bangsamoro will have a ministerial form of government. This feature, according to government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, makes for its asymmetric relations with the central government, which follows the presidential setup in political administration.

Bangsamoro constituents will elect the members of the regional legislative assembly, envisioned to compose at least 50 representatives coming from “district, party-list, reserved seats and sectoral constituencies.”

The assembly is to be “representative of the Bangsamoro’s constituent political units, as well as non-Moro indigenous communities, women, settler communities, and other sectors.”

A chief minister will run the Bangsamoro Cabinet, to be elected by assembly members from among themselves. The chief minister will then appoint a deputy and other ministers.

The chief minister will also preside over a council of leaders composed of provincial governors, city mayors, and “a representative each of the non-Moro indigenous communities, women, settler communities and other sectors.”

Power-sharing

Central to the autonomy redesign is power-sharing. Currently, the ARMM charter lists 14 areas that are outside the powers of the regional legislature.

In the power-sharing aspect of the comprehensive peace accord, the parties came up with a list of 81 powers categorized into reserved for the central government, exclusive to the Bangsamoro and concurrent or shared by the two sides.

Of the 81 powers, 58 are devolved to the Bangsamoro, nine are reserved to the central government, and 14 are shared.

In addition, the future Bangsamoro government was given a greater share in revenues collected in the region, a greater share in income from natural wealth, and was granted authority to collect some types of taxes, all in the spirit of enhancing its fiscal capacity.

According to government panel member Senen Bacani, tax collection in the ARMM stood at P1.5 billion annually, while the regional government and its constituent local governments require P30 billion annually to operate.


Sumber - Inquirer News

Zakat underused anti-poverty tool

Lack of professional management and poor book-keeping are keeping idle billions of dollars worth of assets held by Muslim charitable organisations which could support efforts to reduce poverty, a study released on Tuesday found.

Islamic alms-giving (zakat) and endowments (awqaf) have been in existence for centuries, but have yet to develop efficient use of their assets, a report by the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) and Thomson Reuters said.

These asset pools include vast real estate portfolios that are often poorly managed, which could otherwise help reduce poverty across Muslim communities, the study said.

"At a micro level, institutions in this sector need to address the issue of sustainability in the supply of funds," said Azmi Omar, director general of the IRTI, a unit of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank.

This would involve professionals who are adequately trained not just in sharia-compliance but also in modern financial management techniques for charity-based and not-for-profit institutions, he added.

The study estimates that zakat donations could contribute significantly to poverty alleviation in countries with sizeable Muslim populations such as Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

Muslim minorities in India and Singapore, for instance, could collect zakat in the range of about 0.26 percent to 0.65 percent of their gross domestic product.

Growth of zakat contributions in these countries has often been in the double digits: Indonesia collected $231.6 million in 2012, up 27.3 percent from a year earlier; Pakistan collected $105 million in 2011, up 34.5 percent from a year earlier.

Malaysia had one of the largest donation pools with 1.6 billion ringgit ($497 million) collected in 2011, a 20.3 percent increase from a year earlier.

While there is no official data for India, the report estimated total annual zakat collections stood at a whopping $1.5 billion.

But it is hard to mobilise these resources because of a lack of standard and globally accepted definitions of what assets are eligible for zakat and how to estimate zakat donations, the study said.

AWQAF

The study also shed light on assets held by Islamic endowments, where India again holds the most untapped potential.

There are about 490,000 registered awqaf in India with a total area of about 600,000 acres and a book value of about 60 billion rupees ($987 million).

Most of these properties are located in city centres and their current market value is many times more than their book value, the study said.

The current annual income from these properties is about 1.63 billion rupees, equivalent to a 2.7 percent return on their book value. Properly managed, the properties could generate returns many times bigger, the study said.

In Bangladesh, a government survey identified 150,593 awqaf properties in the country, although only 15,300 were registered with the government awqaf administrator.

In Indonesia, registered land from awqaf reached 1,400 square kilometres but most of them were idle, while the market value was estimated at 590 trillion rupiah ($52 billion).


Sumber - Reuters


Thomson Reuters Releases the Islamic Social Finance Report in Partnership With The Islamic Research & Training Institute

Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Thomson Reuters, the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, released today the Islamic Social Finance Report 2014 in collaboration with the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group.

The report is the first of its kind study covering Islamic social finance across countries in South and Southeast Asia with sizeable Muslim populations including Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam.

The report studies the historical trends, legal and regulatory environment, supporting infrastructure, success stories, good practices and potential of Islamic social finance by key players in Zakah and Awqaf.

According to the report, Islamic social funds could potentially meet resource shortfalls to alleviate widespread poverty in South and Southeast Asia. The potential of Islamic social funds remains unrealized as actual Zakah (compulsory annual contributions) and returns of Awqaf (endowments) are not fully utilized in most countries. Additionally, most countries in South and Southeast Asia do not have an Islamic microfinance industry, which further diminishes the optimal potential of Islamic social finance.

Both, South and Southeast Asia, account for about 720 million (45 percent) of the world’s Muslim population which totals to around 1.6 billion.

Poverty is widespread in four of the seven countries. Around 76.5 percent of Bangladesh’s population lives on less than US$2 a day, while India is 69 percent, Pakistan is 60 percent, and Indonesia is 46 percent.

Professor Dr. Mohamad Azmi Omar, Director General of IRTI, said: “A sustained flow of social funds demands high degrees of social acceptance and credibility, which in turn, are influenced by levels of integrity, transparency and professionalism in the management of these funds.”

Dr. Sayd Farook, Head of Islamic Capital Markets, Thomson Reuters, said: “Despite overarching goals of social justice and equity, Islamic banking, Takaful and the Islamic capital market are for-profit sectors of the Islamic economy that have been criticised for not doing enough to help the poor. Islamic social finance has a significant role to play in alleviating poverty.”

He added: “The report confirms that transparency and good governance are the fundamental requirements for the success of Islamic social finance institutions. With the increasing calls for corporatization and an increased level of professionalism; the use of a large network of private institutional Zakah collectors is far more efficient as compared to a large number of unconnected private individual collectors.”

According to the report, Zakah collection reached US$1.4 billion in Bangladesh which has the highest poverty level in the South and Southeast Asia region. The report suggests that Zakah collection in Pakistan and Indonesia could fill the resource gap to alleviate hardcore poverty across this region.

With the absence of data on Awqaf data in most of these countries, the study focuses on Indonesia and India as they constitute the largest Muslim populations. Registered Awqaf have an estimated market value of US$24 billion in India and US$60 billion in Indonesia. At a minimum return of 10 percent, Awqaf assets could earn the equivalent of 0.3 percent of India’s GDP and 0.8 percent of Indonesia’s GDP, which is more than the resources required to push the Muslims out of hardcore poverty.

According to the report, there is an overwhelming use of Murabaha among Islamic Microfinance Institutions (MFI) due to the contract’s simplicity and familiarity. However, these sharia-compliant modes offer no in-built protection against exploitation and abuse. The report adds that Islamic MFIs should use profit and risk sharing modes as opposed to debt creating modes to safeguard beneficiaries against a debt spiral.

The report concludes that a professionally managed Zakah-financed microfinance program could potentially serve a much larger population of the poor. Furthermore, the report illustrates with examples from Singapore and Malaysia that state control may not necessarily hamper creativity and innovation in Awqaf development. The report suggests that Waqf development must be a mandatory obligation of the Waqf management and new forms of Waqf should be explicitly covered in the regulatory framework for Awqaf.

To download the full report version of the Islamic Social Finance Report 2014, please visit the link below.

http://www.zawya.com/islamic-finance/isfr/


Sumber - Thomson Reuters