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3PHOTO: AFP

Police defend Letpadan tacticsDuring yesterdays trial of student activists arrested during the Letpadan crackdown in March, the head of the Letpadan town police force invoked EU training as the standard allegedly used to quell the protesters. NEWS 4

People rescued from a human smuggling boat receive medical attention at a temporary shelter after officials found over 2000 passengers from Myanmar and Bangladesh stranded in waters off Indonesia and Malaysia. Rights groups say thousands will die if regional governments do not immediately conduct a search-and rescue mission.

WWW.MMTIMES.COM DAILY EDITION ISSUE 41 | WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2015

500Ks.

HEARTBEAT OF THE NATION

NEWS 2

Tougher fines proposed for traffic offendersA new draft transportation law has been sent to the president that would increase traffic fines in response to growing accident rates. Critics say suspending licences would be more effective.

NEWS 4

Ethnic parties alliance aims for vice presidency An alliance of ethnic parties plans to field over 200 candidates in the November elections and hopes to win enough seats to secure nomination of a vice president in the next government.

BUSINESS 9

Ooredoo Myanmar chief executive steps downOoredoo Myanmar chief Ross Cormack is replaced by Rene Meza, currently managing director of Vodacom Tanzania and a specialist in emerging markets.

BUSINESS 8

Dagon City One developers rebuff criticsMarga Landmark issues statement clarifying its mixed-use Dagon City One project and warns against what it calls critics spreading wrong information and engaging in groundless speculation.

2 News THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 13, 2015

Yangon police step up campaign against noisy power exhausts

NOISY drivers beware: The police will take you off the road if you rig your car to make excess racket. Po-lice Lieutenant Colonel Lin Htut of No 2 Yangon Traffic Police says drivers who installed noisy power exhausts now face arrest and a six-month driving ban.

The confiscation of vehicles fitted

with power exhausts began at the end of last year, as Yangon regional and traffic police seized 90 offending vehi-cles and suspended the drivers licenc-es for a month. They were forced to sign a pledge not to repeat the offence, and faced the loss of their licence for six months if they reoffended.

But Col Lin Htut said the cam-paign had failed to curb the problem and punishments would be stepped up.

Mindless and undisciplined driving continues, he said. Because it hasnt stopped, we will start ar-resting any driver whose vehicle an-noys the public.

As of May 4, the department had seized 925 cars fitted with illegal noisy exhausts and 67 motorbikes.

Well keep arresting people and taking them off the road until they get the message, he said.

Translation by Emoon

TOE WAI AUNGlinnhtet.lt@gmail.com

Higher traffic fines expected later this year

TRAFFIC authorities have started to respond to the many critics who have spoken out about the problems caused by the huge influx of new cars on the streets of Yangon and Mandalay. Since restrictions on the importation of cars were relaxed in 2011, the arrival of sev-eral million vehicles has caused conges-tion and a sharp rise in the number of accidents.

Respect for the law is also a casual-ty, as the fines payable under outdated legislation are derisory. Now, U Chit Ko Ko, director general of the Road Transport Administration Department (RTAD), says something is going to be done about it. A draft revised transpor-tation law has been submitted to the Presidents Office, after which it will be submitted to parliament.

We have working on the draft since 2013. After getting clearance from the Attorney Generals Office, we submitted it to the Presidents Office last month. We hope the new law can go before hluttaw as soon as possible, so that it could enter into force later this year, he told The Myanmar Times yesterday.

Under existing laws, which date back to 1964, some fines are as low as K1500 so low they are not an effective deterrent. An order introduced by the military regime requiring an additional K50,000 payment to the current fine was revoked in October 2013 because of complaints that the fine was too high.

At one point, traffic police chiefs complained that some drivers were of-fering to pay for their next 10 offences in advance. It is not yet known what the new fines will be, although officials

have previously said they are pushing for it to be again set at K50,000.

But taxi driver U Kyaw Soe said more than K10,000 would be too high. K1500 is too low but I think the amount is not so important. Suspend-ing the driving license will be a more effective deterrent, he said.

Critics also say police should en-force the law impartially, no matter how important the offender. Another measure already in force where fines are inadequate is the withdrawal of licences of offending drivers for six months instead of three.

Along with the surge in cars, unli-censed drivers have taken to the roads in huge but unknown numbers, which officials say is responsible for a rise in accidents. Many new drivers acquired their licences without being properly tested, often using brokers. The RTAD has banned the use of licence brokers and adopted a computer system for road rules exams to stamp out wide-spread cheating on paper tests.

U Chit Ko Ko cautioned that raising road fines alone would not stop people from breaking the law. I dont think people were breaking the law because the fines were too low it was because they didnt know the law. Its a question of driver education, he said.

AYENYEIN

WINayenyeinwin.mcm@gmail.com

Seized cars are parked inside a compound on Pyay Road in October 2014. Photo: Thiri

KYAT

1500Current maximum fine for most traffic

offences under 1964 law

News 3www.mmtimes.com NEWS EDITOR: Thomas Kean | tdkean@gmail.com

Disease, starvation and death feared for migrants stuck at sea

AFTER weeks aboard overcrowded boats on one of the most dangerous smuggling voyages, thousands of mi-grants from Bangladesh and Rakhine State are now feared trapped at sea, unable to disembark and at risk of dying from disease and starvation, ac-cording to rights groups.

Since May 10, more than 2000 mi-grants have swum to Malaysias shore or been rescued while adrift on boats abandoned near Indonesia. The Inter-national Organisation for Migration estimates 8000 more are in need of immediate rescue from boats linger-ing around the Malacca Straits after the ongoing crackdown on Thailands secluded jungle camps has prohibited smugglers from depositing the human cargo along the usual routes.

There are up to 100,000 fishing boats in these waters - thats a lot of needles in a very big haystack, said Joe Lowry, spokesperson for the IOM. We cant find them ourselves, we

dont have the ability, but the govern-ments in the region do.

He added that it was a matter of es-calating urgency as the migrants have been held on the ships since March and the people who were rescued in Indonesia were in very poor shape.

We know some of these people are suffering from beriberi, a very debili-tating disease from vitamin B deficien-cy, he said. The governments need to be ready to give them an injection when they land or they will die.

At least 40 percent of the pas-sengers are also expected to be malnourished.

According to the UN, 25,000 peo-ple are estimated to have fled Myan-mar and Bangladesh by smugglers boats in the first three months of this year. At least 300 died while at sea.

Despite the rising humanitarian crisis, yesterday Indonesia refused to allow another migrant-laden boat to disembark, and instead towed the ship back to international waters.

The passengers were still alive and in good condition, Indonesian Navy spokesperson Manahan Simor-angkir told Reuters. They were seek-ing help and they didnt want to go to Indonesia. They wanted to go to Ma-laysia, so we sent them on their way

after providing them with food, water and medical supplies.

The Indonesian Embassy in Yan-gon could not be reached from com-ment about the incident or what it plans to do with the hundred of mi-grants currently accommodated in a sports centre. A receptionist at the embassy said all the diplomats and of-ficers were in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday watching a basketball match.

Amid calls for enhanced re-gional cooperation, Thailand an-nounced it will hold a regional summit on May 29 to address the illegal flow of people from the Bay

of Bengal. Officials from Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, the US and Australia have been asked to attend.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha said on May 8 that Myanmars cooperation is being sought to end the deadly human smuggling trade which was re-exposed after Thai officials be-gan finding human remains at a net-work of secluded death camps.

The Presidents Office has not re-turned repeated requests for comment over whether collaboration with Thai-land is being considered. However, office deputy director general U Zaw Htay told the New York Times on May 12 that he ruled out internationalis-ing the issue through regional discus-sion. He also said those rescued in Indonesia and Malaysia might not be from Myanmar.

The root of this problem is Bang-ladesh, he told AFP.

The UN refugee office (UNHCR) said the escalating smuggling crisis needs to be resolved through regional cooperation.

The current situation clearly shows the need for a regional response to search and rescue at sea and the disembarkation of passengers, said Vivian Tan, a UNHCR spokesperson.

With AFP

LAIGNEE BARRON

laignee@gmail.com

A young boy waits along with other rescued migrants currently housed at a temporary detention centre in Langkawi in Malaysia. Nearly 2000 people thought to be from Myanmar and Bangladesh have been rescued off the coasts of Indonesia and Malaysia. Photo: AFP

Muhammad Shorif, a rescued migrant from Myanmar, displays his identification card. Photo: AFP

Thura U Shwe Mann criticizes the governments lack of transparency

PYITHU Hluttaw Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann has criticised the govern-ments lack of transparency and called on officials to demonstrate account-ability through their practices, not their words.

The Speakers intervention came yesterday after Yankin township MP U Thar Win accused the livestock and fisheries ministry of weaknesses in ac-countability over the question of wells dug with the use of community devel-opment funds.

In reply, U Khin Maung Aye, depu-ty minister for livestock, fisheries and rural development, said the ministry had transferred funds to the state and regional governments responsible for implementing the projects.

The [local] governments con-cerned invited tenders for the projects, which are then contracted to the win-ning companies, he said.

However, the Speaker noted a lack of transparency occurring in many states and regions.

Accountability is not just a word. It must be practised. This is a govern-ment of the people that must operate

democratically, he told parliament.If such cases occur across Myan-

mar, raising questions about the use of public funds, money will be lost and the image of the government and of MPs will suffer, he added.

Thura U Shwe Mann is not the first to criticise a system that allows private companies to develop government pro-jects on a tender system that is less than fully transparent.

Nay Pyi Taw-based businessman U

Nay Soe spoke to The Myanmar Times yesterday of his own experience of bias in the tender process initiated by a ministry.

If a businessman who submits a tender is familiar with the ministry, there are not many questions. If not, he gets asked all sorts of questions about his companys history, assets, capabilities and so on. The competi-tive tender process really should be fair and square, he said.

Thura U Shwe Mann can be out-spoken in his criticism. In March, the Speaker dismissed as lies a statement from the deputy transport minister about the causes of the Aung Takon 3 ferry disaster off Rakhine State.

Amyotha Hluttaw Speaker U Khin Aung Myint once denounced the poor quality of some outsourced building projects, apparently resulting from the siphoning of state funds during the ten-der process. He compared it to children grabbing fruit spilled from an upended bowl of plums.

In an annual corruption index by Transparency International, Myanmar ranked 156th out of 175 countries last year, the third-lowest of Asia Pacific nations.

Translation by Thiri Min Htun

Committee demands govt clarify white cardsTHE White Card Campaign Commit-tee has demanded a meeting with the government over the voting status of temporary citizens. WCC spokesperson Sayadaw U Par-mouk-kha said yester-day that members of the activist group want to meet a commission set up by President U Thein Sein to study the laws governing the temporary ID docu-ments known as white cards.

The cards were issued as a stop-gap to Myanmar residents whose citi-zenship still needs to be established. President U Thein Sein ordered the in-validation of the temporary papers on February 11. Holders were given until May 31 to hand in their white cards and undergo a citizen verification process carried out by local authorities.

The upper house of parliament vot-ed on February 2 in favour of a proposal allowing white-card holders to vote in a constitutional referendum. But protests largely driven by Buddhist nationalists, monks and parties representing the Buddhist majority in Rakhine State led to a swift government U-turn.

Officials have since collected more than 300,000 cards, which are no long-er valid. However, the White Card Cam-paign Committee is demanding the gov-ernment explain how they will proceed.

We want to know whether those whose white cards were revoked have the right to vote. We need to know this before the election, said U Par-mouk-kha.

WCC members say they are pre-pared to change the election results.

We are watching very closely what the government is doing over the white-card issue. What we said about chang-ing the election result doesnt mean we will disturb the election, but it could en-courage a change in the election results for some parties, said one WCC mem-ber, Ko Naung Taw Lay.

U Maung Maung Than, director gen-eral of the Ministry of Immigration said that the ministry could not say what the policy would be with regard to the former white-card holders, but that it would be announced before the elec-tion. Aung Kyaw Min, translation by Zar Zar Soe

HTOO THANTthanhtoo.npt@gmail.com

Accountability is not just a word. It must be practised.This is a government of the people that must operate democraticlly.

Thura U Shwe Mann Parliamentary Speaker

4 News THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 13, 2015

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Ethnic parties aim for vice presidency

THE Nationalities Brotherhood Fed-eration (NBF) says it intends to field over 200 candidates in Novembers parliamentary elections as the alliance of ethnic parties hopes to become a third force in Myanmars politics by winning enough seats to secure the position of one of two vice presidents in the next government.

Daw Chin Chin, NBF director and member of the Chin National Demo-cratic Party, told The Myanmar Times yesterday that the federation would contest 84 seats in the Amyotha Hlut-taw, upper house, and 133 seats in the Pyithu Hluttaw, lower house. At least 20 percent of candidates would be women, she said.

Identity politics is likely to domi-nate the elections in areas with large non-Bamar populations. The federa-tion of 21 parties sees itself as defend-ing ethnic interests against the Bamar-majority and military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party

(USDP) and the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD).

The NBF intends to run in all constituencies in all seven states and field candidates in three out of seven regions, namely Magwey, Tanintharyi and Bago.

Myanmars electoral system means that ethnic groups are rela-tively over-represented in parlia-ment, leading to the possibility of a broad three-way divide as the 2008 military-drafted constitution guar-antees a quarter of all seats in each house to the military.

But the NBF also faces the risk of seeing the vote split among competing ethnic parties while also facing tough competition from the NLD in town-ships with large Bamar populations. Members of the NBF say the USDP and the NLD should avoid running in ethnic-minority constituencies in the seven states if they want to secure na-tional unity.

Three candidates for president are nominated by each of the two houses of parliament and the military. The

two nominees who fail to secure the top job in a straight vote are appointed vice presidents.

We expect to win the seat for the vice president. We believe we can get this seat because the vice president po-sition should be an ethnic representa-tive, Daw Chin Chin said.

She said NBF member parties would also contest all constituencies for the seven state parliaments with the aim of forming state governments with only ethnic parties or ethnic representatives.

At this early stage in the transition and given the long marginalisation of ethnic minority communities, identity politics still holds sway. This means parties tend to form around ethnic identities, not policies, the Interna-tional Crisis Group, an NGO, said in a pre-election report last month.

Party registration for the elections has been completed and a total of 73 have been accepted to take part. About two-thirds are ethnic-based. The 2010 general elections, boycotted by the NLD and other groups, saw 37 parties

competing. Ethnic parties in 2010, in-cluding pro-government and opposi-tion groups, won 29 seats in the upper house and 46 seats in the lower house.

Until the 2012 by-elections, which were contested by the NLD, the second -largest party in parliament was the NBFs Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP). The NBF currently has over 60 members of parliament.

Parties must name their candidates this month.

We will decide the candidate list soon and new candidates will be in-cluded in this list. And also we will name a candidate for vice president before the nomination in parlia-ment, said U Sai Hla Kyaw, a SNDP member of parliament who is NBF spokesperson.

Daw Chin Chin stressed the fed-erations independence from the rul-ing party. Some people told us the USDP supported the NBF. This false news can lead to misunderstandings between us and our ethnic people. We never got support from the USDP, she said.

YE MONyeemontun2013@gmail.com

Police claim to have employed EU standards at Letpadan

A POLICE captain involved in the bru-tal crackdown against student protest-ers in Letpadan testified at the trial of 70 activists yesterday that security forces had applied EU standards.

U Phone Myint, a police captain and witness for the prosecution, told a packed courtroom in Tharyarwady township that the operation and mass arrests on March 10 followed EU standards and techniques. He did not elaborate but noted that po-lice had held extensive negotiations with the students in failed attempts to get them to stop their illegal protest march against the national education law.

The 70 students and activists, who have been in prison for two months, face an array of charges, including unlawful assembly and rioting, and could face long prison sentences if convicted. The next hearing was

scheduled for May 26. Eleven others on bail are to face a separate trial tomorrow.

The EU, which has held training courses for the Myanmar police, con-demned the use of police violence af-ter students, supporters and reporters were beaten, kicked and charged with

batons. EU officials said the excessive use of force demonstrated that more training was required.

Observers from the EU, German, French and US embassies in Yangon were allowed to attend the hearing yesterday.

Bastian Boddenberg, a legal

research officer with the German embassy, said the EU and German missions were concerned about the outcome of the trial. The police and judiciary had to carry out their work in a fair and impartial way, he said.

Observers said they wanted to monitor the transparency of the trial and the human rights situation of the detainees.

The detainees held in Tharyarwady prison complained of serious health problems, particularly skin infec-tions, denial of clean water and lack of nourishment, as well as human rights violations.

Ko Shwe Kyal Moe, a 22-year-old philosophy student at Eastern Yangon University, said he was suffering seri-ous injuries to his spine and shoulder after being beaten with batons during the crackdown. I need medical care in prison hospital but nobody cares, he said.

One of the students present was or-dered by the judge to face a juvenile court as he was under the age of 16.

Ma Phyo Phyo Aung, secretary of the All Burma Students Federation Un-ion and one of the detainees, said they would reject the prosecutors account.

WA LONE

walone14@gmail.com

Activists with flags run alongside police cars delivering student protesters from prison to the Tharyarwady court yesterday. Photo: Zarni Phyo

Student leader Ma Phyo Phyo Aung arrives at the Tharyarwady court for the trial of student protesters yesterday. Photo: Wa Lone

News 5www.mmtimes.com

High-school fees to be waived this year

FREE education is to be extended to high-school students for the first time in the coming academic year, at a cost to the budget of about K5 billion, the education ministry has confirmed.

Under the current system, no fees are charged to students in primary and middle-school levels, either for tuition or for parent and teacher association fees and sports fees. Text and most ex-ercise books, pens and pencils are also supplied gratis, and students are given

six exercise books and K1000.For the basic education sector, our

department will adopt a free educa-tion system for all students, at the pri-mary, middle and high school levels. We plan to provide school uniforms for primary students for free this year, said a director from the Department of Basic Education.

Free primary education was intro-duced in 2012-13 and free secondary education last year, at a cost of K7 billion.

Among middle school students, grade 6 students are exempt from

paying a textbook charge of K1550 and K500 for school fees, and grade 7 students are exempt from paying K1550 for textbooks and K600 of school fees. In high school, grade 8 students get K1700 worth of text-books free as well as K700 in school fees, and grade 9 students are spared K2300 of textbook charges and K800 in school fees. Moreover, they dont need to pay parent and teacher asso-ciation fees, or the previous station-ery fee of K500.

However, parents may still face extra expenditure for their childrens

education in the form of tuition fees and bus, or ferry, fares.

The higher the level of the stu-dent, the more we have to pay. It would be better if school uniforms were provided free for all students at all levels, said the mother of a middle-school student.

There are more than 8 million primary and secondary students in Myanmar, of which 700,000 are high school students, according to statistics from the Department of Educational Planning and Training.

Translation by Thiri Min Htun

MAY THINZAR NAINGmaythinzarnaing.mcm@gmail.com

Govt, hotels pressure local officials over sand mining

THE government, hoteliers and civil society are stepping up the pres-sure on Thandwe authorities to curb rampant sand mining at Myanmars premier beach destination, Ngapali. Tourism sources close to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism say President U Thein Sein is aware of the issue, and has ordered action to be taken against companies that take sand from Ngapa-lis beaches for construction projects.

At a meeting in Yangon on May 6, the Rakhine branch of the Myanmar Hoteliers Association agreed to hire international conservation experts to assess the impact of sand mining at Ngapali and report to the Union government.

Three days later, Minister for Ho-tels and Tourism U Htay Aung in-structed the newly appointed district administrator to halt sand mining in the area, according to sources present at the meeting, and take legal action against those who continue to take sand from the beach with trucks.

As The Myanmar Times report-ed, earlier this year the Thandwe township General Administration Department granted permission to private companies to take sand from three beaches in the Ngapali area for regional development, prompt-ing complaints from hoteliers and environmentalists.

The decision to allow sand min-ing, which has been an intermittent problem in the area since the 1990s, contravened a Ministry of Hotels and Tourism directive from 2004 on the development of coastal areas and also a local order that the head of the department, the Thandwe township administrator, issued in January.

Opponents say the mining of this finite resource for short-term financial gain will have long-term effects on the natural environment at Ngapali and drive away tourists.

They also point out that the use of untreated sea sand in construction is potentially dangerous because it can corrode reinforcing. The Myanmar Times understands the sand is being used widely in construction projects in Thandwe that are funded by the government but contracted to pri-vate firms, including schools, bridges, roads and health facilities.

U Aung Myo Min Din, head of the Rakhine branch of the hoteliers asso-ciation, said the decision to hire the foreign environmental team was taken because sand mining for construction sites was starting to affect the beach area.

Teams of workers from local con-struction companies are loading trucks with sand beside hotels, he said, adding that tourists were sur-prised that the trucks were permitted on the beach. Some had taken photos and posted them online, which could potentially harm Ngapalis image as a destination.

We need to maintain the natural beauty, environment and ecology of Ngapali beach for people who rely on it. They will suffer if the beach is dam-aged. Thats why we decided at the meeting to hire an expert team from a foreign country, he said.

He also noted that some hotels still under construction were also taking sand from the beach.

We dont want to blame anyone but we will get advice from the experts and report it to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism together with photos.

On May 9, Minister for Hotels and Tourism U Htay Aung visited Nga-pali, meeting local officials at Amaz-ing Ngapali Resort. The minister was joined on the trip by the Thai ambas-sador to Myanmar and Thai business-people interested in investing in tour-ism, air services, entertainment and fisheries in Rakhine State.

U Htay Aung told the new admin-istrator for Thandwe district that only area residents should be allowed to take sand from the beach, and not construction firms, according to U

Khin Aung Htun, joint general secre-tary of the Myanmar Hoteliers Asso-ciation, who attended the meeting.

He ordered the administrator to take legal action against anybody re-moving sand from the beach with trucks, as well as those taking sand from unpermitted areas.

U Htay Aung said the beach should essentially be left untouched by the sand mining, in line with the min-istrys 2004 Directives for Coastal Beach Areas, which bans sand mining outright.

The minister said that permission to take sand is only for small projects, such as house construction for villag-ers, U Khin Aung Htun said yesterday.

He said that nobody should be al-lowed to sell sand by the truckload. This case has already been reported to the president and we want serious ac-tion to be taken against those illegally taking sand with trucks.

Area residents have told The Myanmar Times that local officials are collecting money from private construction firms for every load of sand taken from the beach, but have stopped residents from taking sand for private use.

One of the supporters of the cam-paign to end sand mining is the My-anmar Centre for Responsible Busi-ness. On April 30, the centres director, Vicky Bowman, wrote to Vice Presi-dent U Nyan Tun, chair of the Tour-ism Development Central Committee, warning that Ngapalis beaches can be destroyed in less than a decade unless action is taken against sand mining.

Ms Bowman said the problem requires an urgent and sustained response involving all stakeholders focusing on strengthening policy and enforcement, research into the im-pacts of sand mining and economic value of Ngapalis beaches, and educa-tion about the importance of protect-ing the beaches.

She said the centre was willing to work with the committee to tackle the problem together with local and na-tional stakeholders.

Mandalay Hill shopsto reopen, with conditionsShopkeepers on Mandalay Hill have received a reprieve, if a con-ditional one, from the authorities. The pagoda board of trustees will allow them to reopen their shops, the boards chair U Thein Tun said on May 10. so long as they clean up their act and dont stay overnight.

The shopkeepers would stay overnight on the hill and throw rubbish around. Thats why we decided to shut them down. But bearing in mind their means of livelihood, we have revised our decision to let them reopen later if they dont stay overnight, said U Thein Tun.

Another member of the board said the unpleasant smell of rub-bish and human waste spoiled the natural beauty of the hill, and had led to complaints from pilgrims.

Shopkeepers cooked there too so it spoiled the image of the pagoda, he said.

Of the nearly 200 shops that plied their wares in the stairways up the hill, only 48 establish-ments on the pagoda platform are permitted to open legally, by paying monthly rent of K15,000.

As long as they dont stay overnight, the board of trustees will arrange security for them, said U Thein Tun.

Foreign visitors and local pilgrims visit Mandalay Hill to pay homage at the pagoda and enjoy the views from the 240-metre peak, particularly at sunset.

Ma Ni Ni Aung, a shop owner at the southern entrance of the hill, said she welcomed the compromise.

We are opening a shop here to cover our daily living expenses, so we want this issue to be solved to the benefit of all concerned, she said. Some shops have been operating here for more than 10 years. Mg Zaw, translation by Zar Zar Soe

A truck arrives at Zeephyukone beach, near Thandwe airport, to take a load of sand on April 4. Photo: Thomas Kean

EI EI THU THOMAS KEAN

Nobody should be allowed to sell sand by the truckload. This case has already been reported to the president.

U Khin Aung Htun Myanmar Hoteliers Association

Minister for tourism and hoteliers association both take steps to stop sand mining at Ngapalis beaches

IN BRIEF

Mandalay police raidgaming shops, make arrestsMandalay police have raided shops in Pyigyitagun township that they allege were operating il-legal gaming machines imported from China.

Responding to a tip-off, police raided Yuri Game Shop on 62nd Street on May 10, arresting a 20-year-old staff member and 31-year-old customer. They seized two Chinese-made gam-ing machines and K146,400. The manager of the shop is still at large, and all three have been charged under the Gambling Act.

Following the arrests, police raided D-7 Game Shop, also on 62nd Street, arresting a 20-year-old manager, three staff aged between 19 and 25, and one customer, aged 38.

Police seized three Chinese-made gaming machines and K900,000, and have charged five people under the Gambling Act.

Toe Wai Aung, translation by Khant Lin Oo

Monsoon season setto hit south before May 20Rough sea is forecasted in the Mon and Tanintharyi coast while a monsoon wind approaches southern Myanmar, said U Kyaw Lwin Oo, director of the Depart-ment of Meteorology and Hydrol-ogy. He added that it was prob-able the monsoon would strike the southern part of the country between May 15 and May 20.

People should be cautious of weather conditions such as thunder storms and strong winds ... resulting from cumulonimbus cloud, he said.

- Aye Sapay Phyu

6 News THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 13, 2015

London Sayadaw rejects Sangha committee charges

FIVE monks on trial for allegedly disobeying religious authorities have criticised the Yangon Region Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee for conduct-ing a high-profile police raid on a monastery in Tarmwe township, Yan-gon Region.

They also complain of discrimi-natory treatment at the hands of re-ligious authorities after their arrest in the raid on Mahasantisukha Mon-astery in June last year. About 300 police, 280 monks and officials from the Ministry of Religious Affairs took part in the raid, which was apparently prompted by a tangled ownership dispute.

The 11pm raid, which resulted in the eviction from the site of 20 monks and 32 laypeople, was widely con-demned at the time by religious and lay critics alike, with some saying it recalled the tactics of the former mili-tary regime. Others said it was little more than a politically motivated land grab. I have never seen a situation where a monastery was nationalised like this, political commentator Moe Thu (Mandalay) wrote on his Face-book page.

The raid took place while the founder and head of the monastery, U Pannavamsa widely known as Penang Sayadaw was visiting Japan for missionary work. U Pannavamsa founded the monastery in 1999, but it was confiscated by the military gov-ernment in 2002 while he was over-seas and given to the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, the body that oversees all monks in Myanmar.

With U Pannavamsa out of the country, Thone Htet Monastery Say-adaw U Panyeinda and London Say-adaw U Ottara, a British citizen, were detained as the acting heads of the Mahasantisukha.

U Panyeinda was freed on the morning of June 11 after signing a pledge to refrain from any further in-volvement with the issue, but U Otta-ra and six other monks were detained for interrogation, according to presi-dential adviser U Ant Maung, speak-ing at a press conference the morn-ing after the raid. At the same press

conference, the head of religious af-fairs for Yangon Region, U Sein Maw, said the raid had been conducted at night with the agreement of the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee to avoid unnecessary problems for both monks and laypeople.

In the resumed trial at Tarmwe Township Court, on May 8, London Sayadaw objected to the statement of U Sein Maw to the effect that the monks had charged for disobeying the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Commit-tee, better known by the acronym Ma Ha Na.

He said Ma Ha Na had not given any instructions to the monks staying in the monastery.

All I knew was that Penang Sayad-awgyi was in a dispute over the own-ership of the monastery. I was just staying there temporarily as a guest, he told the court.

The deputy chair of Yangon Region Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, U Gunarlinkarra, said at the time of

the raid that the monastery would be restored to whoever won the lawsuit over its ownership. He also said the monastery was searched because of rumours that 30 of the monks living there possess arms. No mention of arms was made by the police at the time.

U Ottara said the monks had been treated unfairly by the regional Sang-ha committee.

Ma Ha Na didnt listen to our explanation, let alone accept our apology. They didnt listen to the explanation of Thone Htat Kyaung Sayadaw, who is the senior monk of the monastery built and donated by former senior general Than Shwe and Daw Kyine Kyine. Thone Htat Kyaung Sayadaw never defied Ma Ha Na, U Ottara said.

I have no grudge with U Sein Maw. But he should explain to Ma Ha Na that when we were arrested we were simply staying in the monastery as guests. I hope the court will decide fair and square, he added.

On April 29 the court, under judge U San Aung, rejected a plea by advo-cate U Thein Win, the lawyer for U Ottara, to throw out the case.

The five monks are charged under section 295(a) of the penal code and 20/90 of the 1990 Law Concerning Sangha Organizations, both of which carry a potential two-year prison term.

Former ministers appeal to be heard this monthAUNG KYAW MINaungkyawmin.mcm@gmail.com

AUNG KYAW

MINaungkyawmin.mcm@gmail.com

All I knew was that Penang Sayadawgyi was in a dispute over the ownership of the monastery.

London Sayadaw U Ottara

U Ottara, a senior British Buddhist monk, arrives at Tarmwe Township Court prior to his hearing on June 27, 2014. Photo: AFP

THE appeal of former minister for religious affairs U San Sint will be taken up by the Supreme Court of the Union after May 27, his lawyer U Tin Tun says.

U San Sint was sacked and arrested in June last year, follow-ing a controversial raid on the Mahasantisukha Monastery in Yangon.

He was convicted of sedition and criminal breach of trust at Dekkhinathiri District Court, Nay Pyi Taw, in October. He was jailed for 13 years and fined K100,000.

Fifty members of parliament petitioned President U Thein Sein for his release, and other public figures have expressed their sup-port for him, claiming his down-fall was politically motivated.

An earlier appeal to the Man-dalay Region High Court was rejected.

The case bore upon the ex-penditure by U San Sint of K10 million for a ceremony to conse-crate a pagoda near Nay Pyi Taw in December 2013. He later paid back K2.8 million, according to the government.

Presidential spokesperson U Ye Htut has publicly stated, how-ever, that the ministers downfall was related to his defiance of President U Thein Sein and al-leged mishandling of the raid on the Mahasantisukha Monastery in Tarmwe township

U Tin Tun said U San Sint was confident the court would overturn his conviction, but would accept the courts verdict either way.

He said the political nature of the verdict was evident in the fact parliament has recently ex-amined cases of misuse of pub-lic funds much larger than the K7.2 million U San Sint allegedly spent on the pagoda.

His mind is very strong. He told me, I can be satisfied that Im not like those present minis-ters and retired army officers, U Tin Tun said.

MCDC suspends levy on vehicles entering Mandalay

APPARENTLY bowing to public pres-sure, Mandalay authorities have sus-pended a controversial scheme to levy a roadside tax on vehicles registered outside the city as they enter. The scheme, announced in April, came into force on May 1, but was suspended on May 4 until the end of the month.

U Khin Maung Tint, secretary of Mandalay City Development Commit-tee, said on May 4 that the tax collec-tion would be suspended until the end of May.

There are more than 140,000 ve-hicles in Mandalay, some of which are registered in other townships. The levy of entrance tax on those vehicles will temporarily be suspended until the end of May to give them the chance to get MDY registration, change the ownership and pay related taxes, and it will resume in June, he said.

The program was aimed at reducing

congestion, while also raising money to spend on infrastructure projects.

The levy is collected upon entry to the MCDC area, which comprises six townships, and applies to all non-Mandalay-registered cars, even those driven by Mandalay residents. The tax ranges from K2000 to K10,000 depending on vehicle weight, with the

highest tax being levied on vehicles weighing more than 5 tonnes.

Toll booths have been set up on ma-jor roads leading into urban Mandalay from Madaya, Pyin Oo Lwin, Sagaing and Yangon, including both the new and old Yangon-Mandalay highways.

In the four days it was levied, more than 4000 non-Mandalay-registered

vehicles entered Mandalay each day, paying about K10 million a day in tolls, U Khin Maung Tint said.

MCDC has promised the money will be spent on municipal activities, including road construction, improve-ments to the drainage and water sup-ply networks, and cleaning.

But the tax has attracted residents ire, with some saying it has contribut-ed to rather than reduced congestion.

Opposition to the plan has been led by a Mandalay-based Facebook group, Mandalay Tadin Pone Yeik Myar (Man-dalay News and Images), which was started in June 2013 and has 52,910 members.

Some members of the group threat-ened to stage public demonstrations unless the plan was halted.

If MCDC taxes these cars, they will do whatever they can to avoid visiting Mandalay and the city will miss out on economic opportunities, said resident U Ye Win Aung. If they are going to collect it, the fee should be reduced to no more than K1000.

MCDC insists it will resume col-lection of the tax from June 1. In the meantime, it is working with the In-ternal Revenue Department and the Road Transport Administration De-partment to help car owners wishing to change their vehicle registration.

U Nay Lin, a regional staff officer at the Mandalay Region Road Trans-port Administration Department, said there had been a strong response. Weve been helping the drivers of 80 vehicles a day to change ownership since the announcement [on April 1], he said.

Resident Ko Phyo said he believed the tax was simply aimed at getting people to change the registration of their car, as this requires payment of a tax. Most cars in Mandalay are regis-tered elsewhere in the country, he said.

By changing the address, we have to spend money - we have to pay tax to the Internal Revenue Department, he said. I think the regional government is just trying to get this tax.

Translation by Khant Lin Oo

SI THU LWIN THAN NAING SOEnewsroom@mmtimes.com

U Khin Maung Tint, secretary of Mandalay City Development Committee, speaks about a new congestion tax at a meeting last week. Photo: Si Thu lwin

News 7www.mmtimes.com

ViewsCeasefire or political dialogue first?

WHICH should come first: the nationwide ceasefire or political dialogue? This is not a chicken-and-egg ques-tion. We are having this debate be-cause the politics of the 2015 elections are impacting the peace process.

I am aware this is a political reality. Frustrations aside, I also know no one is to blame.

Having been a political analyst ear-lier in life, I understand that rational thinking in politics and peace process-es is hard to find. Nonetheless, I will commit the political sin and say it: For someone like me, it is crystal clear that the nationwide ceasefire must come before political dialogue.

Based on my experience in the peace process, doing it the other way round would be messy. These are the problems with progressing to political talks first.

First, it would start with questions on the criteria as to who should be eligible to negotiate the political set-tlement. We know more or less who the key players are. However, having no nationwide ceasefire means there are no parameters to determine who would be eligible to participate.

Perhaps we could start with the 14 ethnic armed groups that have signed bilateral ceasefires. But how would we determine the status of groups such as the Kachin Independence Organisa-tion and others that have yet to sign bilateral truces? Will they be given the same status as the bilateral ceasefire groups? Will they be satisfied being observers to a process that would de-termine the fate of their nation? What would the consequences be if they stayed out of the process completely?

Critically, such an endeavour would adversely affect the idea of all-inclu-siveness and would have negative consequences for the outcome of the political talks.

Second, without a nationwide ceasefire there would be no clear and strong ceasefire monitoring mecha-nisms or codes of conduct in place to strengthen the existing bilateral ceasefires, which are only preliminary. There would be no way skirmishes could be stopped even if indeed the stakeholders could overcome the first hurdle of representation in the po-litical negotiations. This would mean that fighting in all shapes and sizes would haunt and continually disrupt the peace talks.

Such a scenario would force par-ties, especially ethnic armed groups, to leave the peace negotiation table. Un-der these circumstances, political dia-logue would add to the acrimony that already exists among the protagonists. It could easily lead to a resumption of open hostilities.

Because ethnic groups exist close to each other and even have overlapping claims of territory and operational ar-eas, there is a likelihood that if a non-ceasefire group continues its fight, it could inadvertently draw neighbour-ing groups into the conflict.

Third, armed clashes are always accompanied by abuses committed by armed groups, either intentionally or unintentionally. How could these be stopped without any protective or monitoring mechanisms? There would be constant demands from all sides to address these issues during political negotiations. Under those cir-cumstances, these demands could eas-ily distract the negotiators from their political talks.

Finally, who would lead the pro-cess? Obviously, it could be the govern-ment. But given our experience in the peace process, the whole negotiation process works best when its a joint ex-ercise. And if the government were to lead the process and take ownership, or is seen to be taking the lead and claiming sole ownership of the pro-cess, there would be further problems, because there is not enough trust for ethnic groups to give the government such a free rein.

In fact, there are other issues that must be taken into account, such as establishing the timing, timeframes, objectives, agenda and perhaps the buy-in from key stakeholders, such as parliament and the Tatmadaw.

Meanwhile, all the stakeholders who have spent the past four years negotiating a nationwide ceasefire through hundreds of meetings would feel that their efforts were wasted. And even with a successful political dialogue, at some stage a strong, last-ing ceasefire would still have to be achieved.

So what would be the benefits of a

ceasefire-first process?In any armed conflict, ceasefires to

stop the killing should always come first. This gives peace of mind to all ne-gotiators; they can negotiate without having to worry about ongoing fight-ing or ceasefire violations. In addition, the situation on the ground even the semblance of normalcy once all par-ties agree to stop the fighting can

help the peace process immensely.Second, the Nationwide Ceasefire

Agreement is often described as the doorway to political dialogue. This is true because it contains guarantees about the political negotiations.

Thirdly, the agreement has

promised three long-standing de-mands of the ethnic armed groups: a nationwide ceasefire, political dia-logue and federalism. These demands are more or less supported by the pop-ulation at large.

Fourth, the agreement outlines the mechanisms to strengthen the cease-fires, such as ceasefire monitoring mechanisms, codes of conduct, civil-ian protections, public consultations and the suspension of the Unlawful Associations Act otherwise known as section 17/1 for signatories.

Fifth, the nationwide ceasefire agreement establishes two joint com-mittees: one for political dialogue, and another for ceasefire monitor-ing. These are to be formed and their work is to be implemented in a spirit of compromise and cooperation. More importantly, monitoring mechanisms would seek to prevent ceasefire vio-lations along with abuses against the civilian population.

Sixth, the agreement would help the stakeholders to establish the cri-teria for political dialogue through a framework for political dialogue. It would ensure inclusiveness. In addi-tion, it contains a roadmap for peace

that would indicate the scope of the whole process.

Finally, political dialogue after the nationwide ceasefire agreement has been signed would be easier as the ceasefire process has built trust, estab-lished mechanisms and outlined the way forward. Perhaps once we sign the agreement the negotiators would have the luxury of taking as much time as they need to come to a final political consensus.

This is a simple analysis as to which process should come first. However, from an operational stand-point both the ceasefire and political dialogue processes must be carried out simultaneously.

I say this because signing of the nationwide ceasefire does not mean that fighting will stop immediately. All stakeholders must work together to actually stop the fighting by imple-menting the various provisions con-tained in the agreement. This will take some time. In other words, the cease-fire monitoring mechanisms must be implemented in earnest while political dialogue is conducted.

Second, the nationwide ceasefire is not just about ending the fighting but, along with political dialogue, it will lead to negotiations over security rein-tegration, ensuring completion of the whole peace process.

Finally, while the ceasefire starts the peace process, the political ne-gotiations will provide the finishing touches. Although the ceasefire must come first, the dual process will begin as soon as the political dialogue starts.

Political dialogue will not finish in one or two sittings. It will be a long process. Even if we can start the pro-cess during the remainder of the cur-rent administration, the next govern-ment will have to shoulder much of the responsibility that comes with advancing these political negotiations.

In a recent monthly radio address, President U Thein Sein said, It is dif-ficult to achieve peace within a single term of an elected government.

It is crucial that we institute the nationwide ceasefire first and follow it with political negotiations at the ear-liest time possible in order to leave a foundation for the next government to build on.

Aung Naing Oo is director of the Peace Dialogue Program at the Myanmar Peace Center.

AUNG NAING OO

newsroom@mmtimes.com

A Karen National Union official speaks at an ethnic leaders conference in Laiza in July 2014. Photo: Zarni Phyo

In any armed conflict, ceasefires to stop the killing should always come first.

Developer warns against rumours on paused project

8 THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 13, 2015

Business

THE joint venture to develop the first phase of the industrial estate in Myanmars Dawei megaproject has been put on hold indefinitely.

The partners have not yet set-tled the benefit-sharing deal, SET-listed Rojana Industrial Park Plc said.

Amara Charoengitwattanagun, a director of Rojana, said the company and its partner, SET-list-ed Italian-Thai Development Plc (ITD), had not finalised details of the benefit-sharing scheme since they had yet to complete an infra-structure plan for the project.

The first phase of the indus-trial estate as well as the signing ceremony for the memorandum of understanding with the Myan-mar government will have to be delayed. We dont know for how long, she said yesterday, adding that the signing ceremony was initially set for this month.

Ms Amara said another major problem was the company had not yet finalised a plan for loca-tion of main infrastructure fa-cilities such as power plants and roads for the large-scale indus-trial estate.

The first phase of the estate in Dawei is a joint venture between Rojana and Ital-Thai, with equal shareholding of 50 percent each and a total budget of 20 billion baht (US$59 million).

We cannot develop the first phase at this stage. No one will

buy land and invest in anything if theyre not confident about when all the infrastructure will be in place, Ms Amara said.

So we need to wait and be sure about the infrastructure be-fore selling the land for industrial development, she added.

Thailand and Myanmar agreed in June 2013 to set up Dawei SEZ Development Co (DSEZ), the SEZ part of a project that aims to more closely link Bangkok with the Indian Ocean.

Myanmar also needs to get parliamentary approval for the loan and conduct an environ-mental impact assessment for the road construction, part of the

first phase of development.Japan is also to join the part-

nership for DSEZ, the special-purpose vehicle (SPV) that will manage the deep-sea port and the SEZ, according to Thai officials.

Japan intends to participate in the project, offering technical and financial support.

It is set to sign a deal in July to participate in DSEZ, running the languishing multibillion dollar megaproject.

In addition, Thailand and My-anmar have agreed to set up SPVs to manage the port, road and rail links, power plants, waterworks, industrial estates, telecommuni-cations, and a township.

Ms Amara said the company is still awaiting a clear sign from its partner on how to proceed with the infrastructure, especially the electricity network, before any further progress on the signing ceremony.

Somjet Tinnapong, managing director of Dawei Development Co, a subsidiary of Ital-Thai, said talks about the project are still ongoing but declined to give de-tails.

ROJNA shares closed yester-day on the SET at 7.50 baht, down 15 satang, in trade worth 26.4 mil-lion baht.

ITD shares closed on the SET at 7.15 baht, down 45 satang, in trade worth 666 million baht.

The Bangkok Post

Dawei economic zone on hold as private-sector partners negotiate benefit-sharing deal

BANGKOK

MARGA Landmark has issued a statement clarifying its mixed-use Dagon City One project and warned against what it calls critics spread-ing wrong information and engag-ing in groundless speculation.

Dagon City One is one of five projects that have been temporarily suspended by government authori-ties since February, following pub-lic concern that the projects may af-fect the view of nearby Shwedagon Pagoda or disturb its foundation.

Marga is made up of a number of international and local investors, and is the owner of perhaps the most prominent of the five paused projects in Dagon township. Four other projects by Thu Kha Yada-nar, Shwe Taung Hyday, Shwe Taung Development and Adventure Myan-mar have also been temporarily suspended.

Marga said in the statement that while its plans have been publically known since receiving Myanmar Investment Commission approval in March 2014 and opening a tem-porary gallery in June 2014, it only started facing harsh comments and baseless accusation in January 2015, raised by a small number of individuals and parties.

These individuals and parties had not contacted or reached out to us to find out and clarify the facts, it said. They continued tell-ing wrong information and making groundless speculations and allega-tions in spite of the fact that Dagon City One has been and is following and abiding by the law and the ap-proved plans.

It added the board of directors of Marga Landmark is prepared to take legal action against individu-als who have repeatedly made per-sonal defamatory comments with inaccurate information and preju-dice, causing losses to Marga.

While Marga did not name any person or entity in particular in the statement, one of their foremost critics has been U Khin Hlaing, an elected member of Yangon City De-velopment Committee.

He has been one of the most out-spoken figures opposing the pro-ject, criticising the project in local media. Besides being a YCDC com-mittee member, he is also a publish-er, sells religious robes and owns the Myanmar Big Shops Shopping Mall near Shwedagon Pagoda. He told The Myanmar Times on May 11 that he would absolutely not al-low the project to move forward.

U Khin Hlaing said he is respon-sible for the district of Yangon con-taining the project.

I am vested with authority from the people, and I say no through this authority, he said. Asked whether he was concerned he may be at risk for legal action as out-lined by Marga, he said it was his duty as an elected representative to voice the publics concerns.

U Khin Hlaing said he was appeal-ing directly to the Tatmadaw to recon-sider the long-term lease it had given Marga and the other four developers.

Please, Tatmadaw, love your land, take back whats yours and make a beneficial project for the people or for the Tatmadaw that will save Shwedagon Pagoda, he said.

U Khin Hlaing also said that it was not only Dagon City One but the other four projects that are the target of his criticism.

The five projects are temporar-ily paused until YCDC gives ap-proval to move forward. Marga says it received initial permission from the Myanmar Investment Commis-sion in March 2014, including for the master plan and height limit of Dagon City One.

All works have been prepared according to what we have been ap-proved [to do], it said.

Authorities subsequently paused the five projects in February, and the Myanmar Investment Commission had industry body the Myanmar Engineering Society conduct a re-view. The societys review confirmed Dagon City Ones plans are compli-ant with what has been approved by the Myanmar Investment Commis-sion and YCDC, according to Marga. It added that a special task force was appointed to focus on water drain-age and on road systems.

YCDC Department of Engineer-ing deputy director U Nay Win said on May 11 he would not comment on the five suspended projects, as they are still under analysis.

myatnyeinaye11092@gmail.com k.phonekyaw@gmail.com

MYAT NYEIN AYE

KYAW PHONE

KYAWAYE

We cannot develop the first phase at this stage. No one will buy land and invest in anything if theyre not confident.

Amara Charoengitwattanagun Rojana director

A man in Dawei prepares his boat for a journey. Photo: Staff

CONTINUED ON BUSINESS 10

These individuals and parties had not contacted or reached out to us to find out and clarify the facts.

Marga Landmark statement

paused project

9BUSINESS EDITOR: Jeremy Mullins | jeremymullins7@gmail.com

Exchange Rates (May 12 close)Currency Buying Selling

EuroMalaysia RingittSingapore DollarThai BahtUS Dollar

K1194K300K801

K32K1088

K1214K315K810

K35K1089

Jade industry pushes for more added value, but challenges remain

Indias Modi looks for investment partners and finds an old rival

BUSINESS 10 BUSINESS 11

A woman leaves the Ooredoo offices at MICT Park. The firms CEO is also heading out the door. Photo: Aung Htay Hlaing

Ooredoo Myanmar CEO Ross Cormack shows off internet speed last year. Photo: Aung Htay Hlaing

OOREDOO Myanmar chief Ross Cormack has chosen to step down as CEO from the first international telco to launch services in Myan-mar, the firm announced on May 11.

Mr Cormack will be replaced by Rene Meza, currently the managing director of Vodacom Tanzania. Mr Meza has made emerging markets a specialty as he has occupied senior positions at telcos across Asia, Af-rica and Latin America, according to Ooredoo.

Ross feels that hes achieved what he wants to in Myanmar with Ooredoo Myanmar successfully es-tablished and he feels that the time is right to look for a new profes-sional challenge, said Ooredoo My-anmar senior public relations man-ager Ma Thiri Kyar Nyo yesterday. She added it is anticipated Mr Meza will take over for Mr Cormack in the third or fourth quarter of 2015.

Mr Cormack led Ooredoo My-anmar through a highly competi-tive telecoms tender and challeng-ing licensing process, through to a splashy launch in August of 2014. The company, which recently an-nounced its financial results for the first quarter of 2015, has racked up 3.3 million customers in total add-ing more than 1 million subscribers in the last three months.

The company drove QAR236 mil-lion (US$65 million) in revenues and achieved a major milestone in March when its operations finished EBITDA-positive for the month.

About eight of every 10 Oore-doo Myanmar users are on smart-phones, and average revenue per user (ARPU) for the quarter came in quite high, at K7600 or about $7. That figure is expected to drop as the company rolls out into Myan-mars more rural areas and poorer regions get hooked up with Oore-doo service.

What you are seeing right now is the ARPU from the high-income and high-GDP areas, said Ooredoo Group chief financial officer Ajay Bahri during this quarters analyst presentation.

As we move to more semi-urban areas, I think you will obviously see an impact of that ... And within the urban areas, as we move to the next segment of the customers, I think

that one should expect some sort of an ARPU decline.

The company turned on more than 500 new network sites from the beginning of January until the end of March 2015. Oordoos ser-vices now blanket more than half the population 28 million peo-ple and have gone live in all the countrys major cities and half of its townships, including 20 added this quarter.

International telecoms competi-tor Telenor Myanmar, which began launching services in Myanmar one month after Ooredoo, has beaten the Qatari firm on user acquisition, however, with almost double the customers.

The Norwegian telecom has ac-crued 6.4 million subscribers since

launch, adding nearly 3 million this quarter.

Though the competition between the two telcos is intense, Frost & Sullivan analyst for Asia Pacific tel-ecoms Naveen Mishra stressed that its still early days for both Telenor and Ooredoo in Myanmar.

The country only recently opened up and revamped its tel-ecoms sector, semi-privatising the market with the debuts of three international telecoms in the past year: Ooredoo, Myanmar, and Ja-pan-based KDDI in support of state-owned MPT.

Mr Mishra pointed to the smart-phone figure released by Ooredoo as proof that many in Myanmar need to connect to the internet.

The services were not available

... Now [that they are], penetra-tion and subscribers are increasing quickly, he said.

As for Telenors rapid accumula-tion of users over Ooredoo, which telco users choose could come down to data and pricing.

Telenors offering is more at-tractive to consumers, Mr Mishra said.

However, he reinforced that in these initial days, neither telco is better than the other and said Mr Cormack was likely not replaced due to poor performance.

Ooredoo is off to a very good start, he said. Within a year they are turning the business into a posi-tive business.

Meanwhile, Telenor also revealed a major leadership change yester-day. Telenor Group President and CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas is to be replaced by executive vice president and head of Telenor Asia region Sigve Brekke on August 17. Addi-tional reporting by Jeremy Mullins

Change in chiefs for Ooredoo MyanmarCATHERINE TRAUTWEIN

newroom@mmtimes.com

TRAUTWEIN

SOUTH Korean-based Dongbu Insur-ance has become the 16th international insurance firm to open a branch office in Yangon.

International insurance companies are currently not allowed to operate in Myanmar. However, the Myanmar Insurance Business Supervision Com-mittee was established last year with a view to eventually issuing licences to allow foreign companies to operate in special economic zones.

I hope that Dongbu Insurance Company will collaborate in Myanmar to help develop the domestic insur-ance market, said Dr Maung Maung Thein, deputy minister for finance, to reporters after the opening ceremony for the new office, which was held at Sule Shangri-La Hotel in Yangon last week.

We will allow international insur-ance companies to operate here if they fulfill the criteria we set. All foreign companies will be given the same op-portunity, regardless of when they open a branch office here, he said.

He added that Japanese insurance companies have already applied for permits, while the other companies

are waiting for the criteria to be con-firmed.

Lee Jung-Woo, chair of the Korean Association in Myanmar, said it will research the insurance system and culture in general in Myanmar, and aims to serve as a bridge between the Myanmar and Korean insurance in-dustries.

From this point of view, Dongbu will do its best to help the develop-ment of Myanmars insurance sector, he said.

We know that Myanmar is seeking to expand the competitive force of its financial sector, said Lee Baek-Soon, South Korean Ambassador to Myan-mar. The development of insurance

companies, that reduce the burden and the risks for entrepreneurs, is es-sential in doing business, along with the development of the economy, he said.

Dongbu Insurance was established in 1962, as South Koreas first auto maker. Currently, it is a South Korean- represented insurance company offer-ing services for casualty insurance in-cluding motor, fire, marine cargo and health insurance.

It has operations in the US, China and Southeast Asia, as well as South Korea, and is looking to expand its business.

Dongbu chair Kim Jeong-Nam said Myanmars insurance market will be one of the more important markets in Southeast Asia. Myanmar has also gradually improved its financial mar-ket, and has the possibility for large-scale development.

We are pleased we can open our representative office in Yangon, as the first South Korean insurer in Myan-mar, he said.

A number of foreign companies have received permission to open Myanmar branch offices, including companies from Japan and the United States. Translation by Khant Lin Oo and Thiri Min Htun

South Koreas Dongbu Insurance opens Yangon officeSHWEGU THITSARkhaingsabainyein@gmail.com HTOO THANT

thanhtoo.npt@gmail.com

We will allow international insurance companies to operate here if they fulfill the criteria.

Dr Maung Maung Thein Deputy minister for finance

THE Ministry of Commerce is prepar-ing a law aimed at closing the widen-ing trade deficit.

The Safeguard Law will allow for countermeasures against unfair practices, such as instituting an anti-dumping taxes on those selling below cost to corner the market, and coun-tervailing duties, which aim to neu-tralise foreign subsidies.

Pyithu Hluttaw representative U Win Myint, representing Yangons Hlaing township, said the government should be prepared to implement pre-ventative measures against excessive imports.

While Myanmar is a member of the World Trade Organisation and must abide by its guidelines, it must also be concerned with possible negative ef-fects from removing tariffs and trade barriers.

Our draft of the Safeguard Law has reached the second stage, and we are discussing it with government depart-ments, said deputy minister for com-merce U Pwint San. Work on the third stage will start on May 13, as the work-ing committee holds meetings with

government departments, organisa-tions and private businesses.

U Win Myint said some entrepre-neurs are worried that lowered trade barriers may result in a consistent trade deficit for the country. The ASEAN Free Trade Zone is to open at the end of 2015, and while Myanmar is somewhat insulated until 2018, it will ultimately have to drop its trade barriers.

In the past, taxes could be targeted about foreign companies, but the new commercial law removes much of this discretionary power, he said.

Deputy minister U Pwint San said many international countries have re-duced their trade barriers to zero, but still maintain the powers to safeguard the market against those dumping products or unfairly subsidising their own production.

Pyithu Hluttaw speaker Thura U Shwe Mann said he suggested the law be drawn up as soon as possible, to submit it to the combined Pyidaungsu Hluttaw in June.

We want to give our hluttaw a suitable amount of time to discuss the bill, he said. If its submitted by June, it can be discussed for two months in the hluttaw. Translation by Zar Zar Soe and Thiri Min Htun

NAY PYI TAW

Safeguard law to curb unfair imports planned

10 Business THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 13, 2015

MANDALAYS jade market fills up every morning with businesspeo-ple intent on a deal. Hundreds of little shops lay out their precious stones, and potential buyers cruise their stalls looking for a deal. The vast majority of the purchased jade eventually finds its way to China, where most of the stones are cut and made into jewellery.

There are a few craftspeople at Mandalays Mahar Aung Myay mar-ket who stay out of the buying and selling fray, but instead work the precious stones into statues.

Yet the business is small com-pared to the volume of jade moving through the market. Most stones are ultimately crafted into jewel-lery in China, meaning the finan-cial benefits of the artistry go to foreign craftspeople.

Mandalay craftspeople say they need to be more familiar with mod-ern techniques to compete with Chinese carvings.

Ko Kyaw Hein, who has more than 20 years experience in the business, said he is careful to pro-duce carvings that suit Chinese buyers, such as floral designs and lockets in the form of leaves.

We have to make fashionable sculptures, so we look at images from Chinese catalogues, he said. So, we can say that we are also learning from China about produc-ing better sculptures.

Improving the quality of Myan-mar-produced statues is not only a matter of know-how. Chinese craft-speople often have access to larger investments to purchase the de-vices used to create beautiful jade works of art.

We need modern machines, such as polishing devices, to be able to compete with Chinese carv-ings, he said.

Other jade carvers say demand may evolve over time, with more room for Myanmar-style designs.

Carved jade dealer U Myo Zaw said he reckons Myanmar-style carvings could be popular on the international market, if high-qual-ity designs can be created.

For instance, Myanmar-style lion carvings look different than Chinese-style lion carvings. While

most lions for export are current-ly in the Chinese style, that could change in the future.

Myanmar jade carvings are cur-rently selling in the Chinese mar-ket. If Myanmar carvings wants to take a share of the international market, Myanmar jade carvings must reflect Myanmar designs, while including modern machinery and better sculptors, who can teach youngsters, he said.

Myanmar jade carvings have weaknesses in polishing, and the worksmanship needs to be more tidy.

Most locally produced carvings are first made with machines, with the finishing touches added by hand. Sculptures made with quality stones and better worksmanship of course attract higher prices though for jade particularly, assessing value is something of an art in itself.

Sculptor Ko Kyaw Hein said he reckons the industry could be greatly benefited by a training school in jade carving.

Carving is a slow art that can take three or four years to learn.

U Yone Mu, chair of the Myan-mar Gems and Jewellery Entre-peneurs Association, said a gems training school is being built in Nay Pyi Taw.

Chinese experts will train local craftspeople in working jade and

gems, following agreement be-tween the two countries.

The association has pursued several plans to add value to locally produced gems in order to boost the export and domestic markets, said U Yone Mu, adding that this process would take time and re-quire industry support.

For years weve been selling raw gems because we dont have the knowledge or the technique to work them. Chinese people revered and cherish jade, which is often carved with Chinese zodiac signs. But we dont have the skills to do this ourselves, he said.

We will send a study tour to China to learn about their culture

and customs before the school opens, he added. I would like to urge local entrepreneurs to work together in trying to create a fin-ished product market. If not, we look like we are serving the inter-est of their traders.

Producing local statues is no easy task.

Some images take four days to be cut, and Chinese traders are very exacting about the quality they will purchase for export.

Recently, Chinese traders have been keen on monkey statutes, im-ages of smiling people and statues of the Kwan Yin Goddess.

Proficiency in jade sculptures depends on learners study, creativ-ity and aptitude, he said.

The price of jade sculptures var-ies widely depending on the quality and size, with standard prices in Mandalay of between K30,000 at the low end up to K1 million or sometimes beyond.

Besides the jade school, the in-dustry is looking at other ways to improve local products and capture more value-add inside the country.

Myanmar sponsored the third International Gems and Jewellery Expo at the Myanmar Gems Mu-seum on Kabar Aye Pagoda Road from March 27 to 31.

The goal was to study advanced technology in cutting and polish-ing, with an eye to extending these skills in the local industry. Experts from over 20 countries took part, including from as far afield as Viet-nam, Italy and Germany.

Myanmar Gems and Jewellery Association secretary (2) U Tun Hla Aung said the polished gems dis-played during the show were not for sale.

Some countries produce fewer stones than Myanmar, but they have a big market share because of tech-nology. We must study it, he said.

Ma Myintzu, an official at the exposition, said Myanmar is rich in natural resources such as jade and rubies, but lacks the other factors that make successful exporters.

We are studying the advanced technology used in cutting and pol-ishing. If we can use that machin-ery, our gems and jewellery market will be wider, she said.

While many in the industry are trying to capture higher value inside the country, there is a long way to go before the Mandalay craftspeople are international leaders.

Translation by Zar Zar Soe and Thiri Min Htun

Carving a niche in jadeMANDALAY

Finished jade statues are ready for sale. Photo: Staff

Myanmar jade carvings have weaknesses in polishing, and the worksmanship needs to be more tidy.

U Myo Zaw Jade carver

SHWEGU THITSAR HLAING KYAW SOE

Jade workers in Mandalay finish their work. Photo: Kaung Htet

Other experts have entered the de-bate. U Thant Myint-U, a noted his-torian as well as founder and chair of the Yangon Heritage Trust, tweet-ed in February that it was a brave decision for Yangon government to suspend a project near Shwedagon.

Yesterday, Yangon Heritage Trust vice chair and director Daw Moe Moe Lwin said the organisation welcomed the regional government and MICs decision to stop the cur-rent works in order to make a full reassessment of the Marga project.

Being next to the nationally significant Shwedagon Pagoda and other historic religious sites, this project should be considered very carefully for its potential impacts before any decision is made, she said.

Any proposed project in the vi-cinity of the Shwedagon or other important cultural heritage sites must be carefully assessed for their heritage, environmental and so-cial impacts before any decision is made.

Daw Moe Moe Lwin also said the trust would like to see careful as-sessments of the long-term impacts of the project. She added that no YHT staff or management has met with representatives of Dagon City or provided advice to the project.

Independent experts said that while the five projects are near sensitive Shwedagon Pagoda, there are many similar instances around the world where construction has taken place near important structures.

U Zaw Zaw Aye, managing di-rector of SEAFCO (Myanmar), a firm with experience building large projects on a contract basis, said experienced designers and firms can build foundations in a way that does not affect other nearby struc-tures. The five paused projects are about 500 metres (1640 feet) from Shwedagon at their closest point.

If they build near sensitive buildings, care must taken and there must be good plans and de-signs done with skilled technical engineering then the projects can be built, he said.

In the world, there are so many buildings that are near important buildings, but sensitive construc-tion is still completed.

He added Shwedagon Pagoda is not only iconic, but a religious site, meaning there are many emotions tied to the project, which may also affect decisions .

Additional reporting byJeremy Mullins

CONTINUED FROM BUSINESS 8

Marga warns against untrue rumours

If they build near sensitive buildings, care must be taken and designs done with skilled technical engineers.

U Zaw Zaw Aye Construction expert

International Business 11www.mmtimes.com

INDIAS Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take his global invest-ment push to China this week, as Asias rival superpowers look to put aside a festering border dis-pute and identify areas of econom-ic cooperation.

Mr Modi will fly out for his first visit as premier to China before heading to South Korea where he will also seek help to upgrade In-dias creaking infrastructure.

After Mr Modi hosted Chinas President Xi Jingping last year in his home state of Gujarat, Mr Xi will return the favour by giving him a tour of his ancestral home prov-ince of Shaanxi before they head to Beijing.

Mr Modi will also meet busi-ness chiefs in the financial hub of Shanghai, seeking to deliver on election promises for foreign in-vestment in Indias crumbling rail and other infrastructure.

I firmly believe this visit to China will strengthen the stabil-ity, development and prosperity of Asia, Mr Modi wrote on Sina Wei-bo, Chinas version of Twitter, of the three-day visit that begins May 14.

Despite a reputation as a hard-line nationalist, Mr Modi moved quickly to engage with Beijing after winning power last May. His main focus in his first year since taking office has been to revive Indias stuttering economy, courting a list of major economic powerhouses such as the United States, Japan and Germany.

Ties between China and India

have long been strained over the border dispute and Beijings recent push to forge closer ties with coun-tries in Indias backyard has caused some alarm in New Delhi.

But in a sign of Mr Modis prag-matic approach toward Beijing, he has appeared relaxed about Chinas ambitions, saying it has a right to seek greater influence.

During Mr Xis visit to India last September the first visit by a Chi-nese president in eight years the two men spoke of their desire to place cooperation above competi-tion and ensure tranquility along their border.

The two countries fought a brief but bloody border war in 1962 over the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, areas of which Beijing claims as South Tibet.

However, in an interview with Time magazine last week, Mr Modi said that the two countries have shown great maturity in recent decades over the border issue and were both committed to economic cooperation.

For his part, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the boundary ques-tion is a problem left over from his-tory, albeit a difficult one for the two countries.

Phunchok Stobdan, a China ex-pert at Delhis Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis, said mutual mistrust remained below the sur-face but Mr Modi knows there is lit-tle point in being confrontational.

China is our immediate neigh-bour so there are compelling reasons

for India to be mellow with Beijing, said Mr Stobdan.

Its a very pragmatic thing to understand and recognise Chinas strength rather than try and com-pete with them. Cooperation with China is the need of the hour as far as India is concerned.

Mr Li told India Today magazine that China stands ready to deepen

our strategic and cooperative part-nership as well as economic ties that include two Chinese industrial parks in India.

Cooperation between China and India is a huge treasure house waiting to be discovered, the pre-mier said.

Analysts said Mr Modi would be seeking greater access to Chinas

markets for its vast pharmaceu-ticals industry, and progress on funding for Indian infrastructure projects.

There will clearly be a focus on trade and on infrastructure, such as the development of high-speed rail, said Shi Yinhong, professor of international relations at Beijings Renmin University.

China is Indias biggest trading partner with two-way commerce totalling $71 billion in 2014. But Indias trade deficit with China has soared from just $1 billion in 2001-02 to more than $38 billion last year, Indian figures show.

Trade will also be the main focus of Mr Modis two-day visit to South Korea which begins on May 18 after a stopover in Mongolia.

As well as talks with President Park Geun-Hye, Mr Modi is also ex-pected to meet business leaders.

Oh Hwa-Suk, of the Seoul-based India Economy Research Institute, said Korean firms such as Samsung, Hyundai and LG have become ma-jor players since India opened its doors to foreign investors two dec-ades ago, and others were hoping to reap similar benefits.

South Korea has made far less investment in India than other Asian rivals like China or Japan despite the countrys vast growth potential, he said.

And India, given its rocky rela-tions with the regional rival China, is more likely to be keen on attract-ing investment from South Korea.

AFP

An Indian pedestrian walks past the entrance to a Chinese restaurant in the Chinatown area of Kolkata. Photo: AFP

NEW DELHI

Modi looks to rival China for investment

12 International Business THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 13, 2015

TESLA will adopt Chinas future standard for charging electric ve-hicles, a company statement said, in an issue which has been a bar-rier to sales for the US firm in the worlds largest auto market.

Teslas imported electric vehi-cles now use a plug based on the European standard, which is in-compatible with the current Chi-nese standard, Tesla officials have said.

But Tesla has pledged to make its vehicles match Chinas charg-ing standard, which is still under review, said the statement re-leased late on May 11.

Tesla will also provide conver-sion devices for vehicles to real-ise perfect compatibility with the new standard, it said.

China is currently formulating its own standards for electric ve-hicles including charging, the Min-istry of Industry and Information Technology said in September, but gave no timing.

Solving the charging problem is the top priority in promoting pure-electric cars, Zhu Xiaotong, Teslas general manager for the China re-gion, said in the statement.

Tesla will fully cooperate on the development of the national standards and construction of public charging infrastructure, he added.

The company has struggled in the Chinese market despite early positive media coverage, building up an inventory of unsold cars and laying off staff.

The founder of the United

States-based firm, Elon Musk, ear-lier this year told the media, China is the only place on Earth that we have excess inventory.

Chinas electric car market re-mains small for now.

Electric and hybrid vehicle sales in the country reached 26,581 in the first quarter of this year, three times the same period in 2014 but still accounting for less than 1 per-cent of total sales, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

AFP

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (left) pauses for photos with Tesla CEO Elon Muskat at Tesla headquarters in Palo Alto, California, last month. Photo: AFP

SHANGHAI

Tesla to adopt Chinese charging standards

Tesla will also provide conversion devices for vehicles to realise perfect compatibility with the new standard.

Tesla statement

IT is the most dangerous hour in the Chinese stock market when the worlds biggest boom suddenly goes bust.

The time is 1:20 to 2:20pm, and its losses stand out in a rally that added 545 points, or 15 percent, to the Shanghai Composite Index over the past 30 days.

In that hour alone, the equity gauge dropped 359 points. It fell in 19 of 30 sessions, the most con-sistent declines among rolling one-hour periods when the Shanghai bourse was open for trading.

So whats behind the losses? Hao Hong, a strategist at Bocom

International Holdings in Hong Kong, says large Chinese institu-tions are probably choosing that time to place sell orders as they gradually re-balance portfolios to accommodate a 109pc surge in shares trading in Shanghai over the

past year.A competing theory comes from

William Wong, a director at Chi-nese brokerage Shenwan Hongyuan Group.

He says overseas inv