HEARTBEAT OF THE NATION

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DAILY EDITION

ISSUE 26 | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2015

NEWS 3

PAGE

12
PHOTO: AFP

Trawler survivors face

fight for compensation
Recruitment agency that sent 29
Myanmar men to work on a Russian
fishing trawler that sank April 2 says
it has no responsibility to compensate
survivors or relatives of the deceased.
NEWS 6

President U Thein
Sein is welcomed
upon arrival at
Halim airport in
Jakarta yesterday
ahead of the
opening of the
Asian-African
Conference. Asian
and African leaders
will gather in
Indonesia this week
to mark 60 years
since a landmark
conference helped
forge a common
identity among
emerging states,
but analysts say
big-power rivalries
will overshadow
proclamations of
solidarity.

Govt prepares to dole

out millions in loans
A US$300 million China-backed
microcredit program will get under way
before the monsoon cultivation season,
a government official said yesterday.

BUSINESS 8

SPA seeks to change

fortunes at hospital
An Indonesian firm has been brought
in to turn around Pun Hlaing Hospital,
which has struggled to carve out a
market among either the wealthy or
middle-class over the past nine years.
BUSINESS 8

Government warns
illegal futures brokers
Deputy minister for finance says
firms will face legal action unless they
voluntarily stop allowing customers to
trade on foreign futures markets.

Wa defy govt on peace meet

United Wa State Army has invited Kokang rebels and their allies to a meeting on the Chinese border in early May,
despite warnings from the government to exclude them from the conference of armed ethnic groups. NEWS 4

2 News

THE MYANMAR TIMES APRIL 22, 2015

Dengue on
the rise in
Mon State
A DRAMATIC increase in deadly dengue fever has put nearly 150 people in
hospital in the past four months, including one patient who died, health
officials in Mon State say. Dr Nyan Sint,
head of the state dengue haemorrhagic
fever department, said there were now
148 people in Mawlamyine hospital suffering from the fever. Normally there
are just a handful of patients at any one
time, he said.
The reasons for the increase are
the rise in population in urban areas,
he said, also citing unplanned village
development and climate change.
The rapid increase in the number
of dengue patients began with an outbreak in Katoe village, about 25 kilometres from Mawlamyines downtown
area, in January. The number of sufferers rose from 18 in January to 148, all of
them children aged 15 or under.
Mon State Chief Minister U Ohn
Myint raised the issue at a public meeting on April 6, urging people to take
precautionary measures to protect
against the mosquito-borne disease.
Dengue used to occur only in the
rainy season, but now rages throughout the whole year, according to a Mon
State dengue survey. Dengue haemorrhagic fever, the more serious form
of the disease, mostly afflicts young
children. Naw Say Phaw Waa

IN BRIEF
CSOs to lead two workshops
at ASEAN forum

IN PICTURES

PHOTO: AFP

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi gives a speech at a ceremony to mark the
first anniversary of the death of U Win Tin, a senior member of
National League for Democracy, in Yangon yesterday. Civil society
groups used the day to call for the release of political prisoners,
of which there were 173 at the end of March, according to the
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

Rakhine party builds CPC ties

YE MON
yeemontun2013@gmail.com

THE Rakhine National Party has

announced plans for further cooperation with Chinas Communist
Party, following a four-day visit to the
country.
RNP leaders travelled to China at
the invitation of the CPC from April
12 to 15. During the visit they discussed issues related to the development of Rakhine State and its people.
General secretary U Tun Aung
Kyaw said that while Chinese investment was a controversial topic in Rakhine State, his party would support

projects that benefit the Rakhine

people.
The RNP told Chinese leaders of
the need to build up basic infrastructure in the state, including roads,
bridges, hospitals and schools.
We want to develop our state
without anyone being harmed, he
said. If it will help our state develop, we want to work with the Communist Party. China is important to
us.
Cooperation between the two parties is expected to grow in the coming months, with a CPC delegation
scheduled to visit the state in May
and the RNP to send Rakhine youth
leaders to China in June.
U Tun Aung Kyaw said they would
learn about the CPC and Chinas political system, and gather ideas on
how to strengthen the RNP.

The Chinese government would

help them the scholarship. I think
our trip was very profitable too and
our state will develop soon.
Chinese state-owned companies
have invested billions of dollars in
Rakhine State, in projects such as the
Myanmar-China oil and natural gas
pipelines, and a port on Made Island,
in Kyaukpyu township.
However, its investment has been
controversial, with large protests taking place outside the Made Island facility in April 2013.
China has invested in our state
but its projects should be set up so
there is no environmental impact,
said RNP leader U Aye Maung. If
the local people are not satisfied,
they cant move forward with the
project. We discussed this issue with
the CPC.

The RNP was born from a 2013

merger between the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party and
the Arakan League for Democracy.
The party was formally established
in March last year, and controls eight
seats in the Pyithu Hluttaw, six in the
Amyotha Hluttaw and 18 seats in the
Rakhine State Hluttaw.
The party plans to contest 75 seats
in this years election in a bid to win
control of the Rakhine State Hluttaw
and possibly the regional government but only if the constitution is
changed to give legislatures power to
form them.
The partys task will be made
easier this year by the governments
recent decision to cancel white cards,
which will almost certainly strip at
least 600,000 Muslims in the state of
voting rights.

Representatives from Myanmar are

to organise two key workshops in the
ASEAN Peoples Forum that opened
yesterday in Malaysia.
Gender and Development InitiativeMyanmar (GDI) is leading discussions
on peace process negotiations and
refugee issues in the Southeast Asian
region.
We chose the ceasefire-related
workshop because there is no safe
or systematic mechanism for public
participation [in Myanmars ceasefire
process], said U Salai Isaac Khen,
executive director of GDI.
He added that the refugee workshop
would formulate recommendations
to help ASEAN governments respond
effectively to the issue.
Dr May Shi Sho, coordinator of Karen
Development Network and a participant in the forum, said the events
showed ASEAN has recognised the
value of input from the public.
We have to discuss not only refugees but also migrant workers, said
Dr May Shi Sho.
Participants in the four-day forum
will conduct 70 workshops, of which
Myanmar organisations will be involved
in five. About 60 Myanmar civil society
organisations and 50 Myanmar refugees from Malaysia will be taking part.
Nyan Lynn Aung

Campaign targets increase in

preschool enrolment

Education officials are to launch a

major push to persuade parents in the
countryside to send their toddlers to
preschool.
The goal will be to raise preschool
attendance overall from 22.9 percent to
25pc, they say.
We need to explain to parents the
benefit of sending their children to
preschools in Basic Education schools.
The main intention is to get more
children in the villages to attend, said
one official.
Preschool enrolment in towns is
39.1pc, but only 15.9pc in the villages.
The area with the highest preschool
enrolments is Kayah State, and the
lowest is Rakhine State, according to
a report for the All Inclusive Education
Sector Review.
We are now getting preschool
teachers recognised as government
personnel. Two teachers will be assigned to each preschool classroom
no matter how many children there
are, and we plan to open 18 model
preschools in the next year, the official
said.
As of 2014, there were more than 3.5
million children aged between three
and five, according to the population
department. May Thinzar Naing,
translation by Khant Lin Oo

www.mmtimes.com

NEWS EDITOR: Thomas Kean | tdkean@gmail.com

News 3

Kayan
leaders
push for
autonomy
MAUNG ZAW
mgzaw.mmtimes@gmail.com

Survivors of the Russian trawler disaster pose for photos after arriving at Yangon International Airport on April 12. Photo: Supplied

Russian trawler survivors

battle for compensation
WA LONE
walone14@gmail.com

MYANMAR seamen who survived an

icy shipwreck off Russias Far East are
now facing a battle over compensation, with local recruiters who posted
them on the ill-fated vessel reluctant
to take fiscal responsibility.
The Myanmar Seamens Federation
is helping the survivors, who were repatriated on April 12, to take on the
local recruitment agencies that transferred 42 Myanmar workers to Russian trawler the Dalniy Vostok.
Just 22 of the Myanmar fishermen
survived the April 2 disaster, which
saw the ship plunge into near-freezing
waters in the Okhotsk Sea.
The bodies of 16 Myanmar crew
members who died were recovered by
rescue teams, while four others were
never found.
So far, only two of the five recruitment firms that sent Myanmar
workers in violation of government
regulations that prohibit Myanmar
seamen from working on fishing vessels, or from being transferred to another vessel without prior approval
have agreed to make life insurance

payments.
Top Chances Shipping Company
and Asia Wave Company told The Myanmar Times yesterday that the families of the two deceased seamen they
sent to the sunken trawler will receive
US$30,000 each, provided the contracted insurer, Nova Life Insurance,
pays up.
We will give life insurance and
compensation to those who were under our responsibility, said U Nyi Nyi
Thein Myint, managing director of
Top Chances.
He declined to say what kind of
compensation, if any, would be given
to survivors, who paid recruiters thousands of dollars to secure jobs on a
foreign vessel.
Sea Rider Shipping, which sent
27 workers to the Russian freezer
trawler, was less forthcoming about
compensation.
I can only speak definitively about
life insurance money when I get approval from the insurance company,
said manager U Soe Tint, adding that
the long process would take at least
three months.
U Than Chit Kywel, director of Star
Global Shipping Company, said compensation was the responsibility of the
South Korean intermediary agencies
that secured the seamen a job with the
Russian company.
We didnt make a direct contract

with [Russian firm] Magellan we

made a contract with the [South] Korean company so the [South] Korean
company is responsible for compensation, he said.
The Seamens Federation said Myanmar agencies are obligated to provide compensation and has requested
the governments Department of Maritime Administration to pressure them
to comply.
They took the money from the
seamen who encountered disaster on
the trawler, said federation chair U
Htut Htut.
Following revelations that the
recruiters had violated numerous
regulations, including deliberately
falsifying seamens papers, the maritime administration suspended the
licences of five recruitment agencies.
However, no legal action has been
initiated against the firms.
An official from the administration
declined to comment when contacted.
While obtaining compensation
from the recruiters continues to prove
elusive, the Myanmar fishermen were
promised funds from Russia, which
seized the accounts of ship owner
Magellan LLC in a pending criminal
investigation.
In a statement on April 10, the
Russian Investigative Committee said
three of Magellans directors have
been arrested and the government has

seized the companys property and accounts, worth an estimated 17 million

rubles (US$318,000). It has promised
to reimburse the foreign crew.
They worked for very low wages
and, of course, were not registered
anywhere, the report said.
The
Investigative
Committee
blamed the disaster on pathological
greed [that] led to a loss of the ship
and the deaths of several dozen people, as the captain overloaded the ship
with fish.
By the end of April the survivors
will be paid $3000 each and the deceased victims families will receive
$15,000 each, according the Myanmar
embassy in Moscow.
The money is according to the
friendship of Russia and Myanmar
and is a compassionate grant, not compensation, said U Phone Lin Kyawl, a
consular official based in Moscow.
But the surviving seamen, who
have yet to receive any money, said
they were confused about the process.
To clarify the situation, the Seamens
Federation plans to hold a meeting
with the survivors today. It has already
cautioned the fishermen away from
making any hasty decisions regarding
compensation offers.
We already warned the seamen
not to sign any documents from the
companies before discussing it with
us, federation chair U Htut Htut said.

ETHNIC Kayan leaders are calling for the group to be given

its own self-administered zone,
with territory to be carved out of
Shan and Kayah states.
Myanmars constitution created five self-administered zones
for the Naga, Pa-O, Danu,
Palaung and Kokang and a Wa
Self-Administered Region.
However, it makes no provision for the Kayan, a subgroup
of which are known as Padaung
and are famous for the bronze
coils women wear around their
necks.
Lieutenant Colonel Win
Maung from the Kayan New
Land Party said self-administration was important to the Kayan.
The development of our race
has to be undertaken by us. We
plan to ask the government for
[self-administration], he said.
There are already other selfadministered regions in Shan
State. I dont see why we cant
also have self-administration.

The development
of our race has
to be undertaken
by us ... I dont
see why we
cant have selfadministration.
Lieutenant Colonel Win Maung
Kayan New Land Party

He said the group had previously called for self-administration, without any result, but was
heartened by plans to amend the
2008 constitution.
Most Kayan live in Demawso
township, Kayah State, and Pekon township, Shan State.
Kayan Literature and Culture
Association chair U Than Soe
Naing said his group was collecting data to support its bid for
greater autonomy.
We will push for self-administration until we obtain it,
he said. Translation by Kyawt
Darly Lin

Myanmar asylum seeker in first Cambodia-bound batch

LAIGNEE BARRON
laignee@gmail.com
A MYANMAR asylum seeker is among
the first five men to allegedly accept
an offer to leave detention on the Pacific island of Nauru for resettlement
in Cambodia, according to a refugee
advocacy group.
The five would be the first to fulfil a highly controversial refugee deal
signed by Cambodia and Australia last
September. Australia has promised
a nearly US$40 million aid check to
Cambodia in return for accepting the
refugees.
One Iranian, three Sri Lankans
and a Rohingya asylum seeker are
reportedly the first to agree to the arrangement, according to Ian Rintoul,

spokesperson for the Refugee Action

Coalition.
However, none of the men have
received refugee status yet, according to Keo Sarith, director of Cambodias immigration department, and
his country has agreed only to accept
real refugees with refugee status not
asylum seekers.
Refugee advocates fear the Abbott
government is trying to fast-track the
refugee process and exchange claim
approval for Cambodian resettlement.
The Australian government has
had to ask asylum seekers because
there are few, if any, refugees who are
willing to be transferred to Cambodia,
said Mr Rintoul.
He added that cash-in-hand sums
of A$10,000 to A$15,000 (US$7800 to

$11,700) are being offered to asylum

seekers, giving the impression that
agreeing to go to Cambodia is one
way of getting a refugee visa.
Eager to get the ball rolling, Australia circulated an informational
sheet earlier this month on the benefits of resettling in Cambodia, promising a first flight as soon as April 20.
Australias immigration minister
said the flight was delayed due to logistical errors but counterparts in
Phnom Penh expressed confusion over
the date, as they expected to first vet
any volunteers.
A Cambodian delegation is visiting
Nauru to assess the first group, according to both Australian and Cambodian officials.
We dont know when they will

arrive in Cambodia. We have to meet

with them first as we have no idea yet
if they are really volunteers or not,
said Mr Sarith.
In addition to an erroneous date,
the Australian governments circulated letter made a range of grandiose
promises to lure would-be resettlers.
Cambodia is a safe country, where
police maintain law and order. It does
not have problems with violent crime
or stray dogs, the letter said, also
promising villa-style accommodation, good healthcare, and education
and business opportunities to the first
batch or refugees.
The picture described contrasts
with Australias warnings for tourists
interested in visiting Cambodia, which
caution that opportunistic crime,

including assaults, armed robberies,

extortion and banditry, is common.
I find it appalling that Australia is
telling refugees theyll get this marvellous deal if they come as part of the
first flock. Its bribery of the first class,
said Sister Denise Coughlan of the
Jesuit Refugee Service, which works
with Cambodias Rohingya refugee
population.
Most refugees in Cambodia dont
want to stay here, she said.
Over the weekend, refugees on
Nauru staged a protest, chanting,
Cambodia, never, ever, according to
Mr Rintoul.
After the deal was signed, some asylum seekers staged suicide attempts,
while others sewed their mouths shut
in opposition.

4 News
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THE MYANMAR TIMES APRIL 22, 2015

Kokang rebels to push for

peace deal in Wa capital
MNDAA says it will urge other armed groups to pressure government to end fighting in the Kokang region

EI EI TOE
LWIN
eieitoelwin@gmail.com

THE United Wa State Army has defied

a government request to exclude ethnic
Kokang rebels from a conference early
next month at its headquarters on the
China border.
Twelve armed groups, including the
Kokang Myanmar National Democratic
Alliance Army (MNDAA), will attend
the May 1-3 meeting at Pangkham. The
Arakan Army and Taang National Liberation Army, which have been fighting
alongside the MNDAA against the Tatmadaw since February, have also been
invited.
The meeting comes after the governments peace negotiation team, the
Union Peace-making Work Committee,
reached a provisional agreement on
a nationwide ceasefire with the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team
(NCCT), which is negotiating the ceasefire on behalf of 16 armed groups, on
March 31.
The UWSA is not a member of the
NCCT but has previously indicated it
will sign the agreement.
UWSA secretary U Aung Myint told
The Myanmar Times yesterday that the
group had been warned not to invite
the MNDAA, the TNLA and the AA
when it informed the UPWC that it was
holding the meeting.
We have to inform government officials about the objectives and agenda

of the meeting. They wanted us to not

invite them [the Kokang] but we invited them because we think they should
discuss peace with us, he said, adding
that the government had not said what
action it would take if the UWSA defied it.
He said the decision on who to invite came from the UWSA central committee. We decided to invite the strong
ethnic groups, he added.
A senior official from the Myanmar Peace Center said he had received
no information from the government about the Kokang attending the
meeting.
Normally we would receive a letter if the government will take action
against an armed ethnic group, said
U Hla Maung Shwe. Up to now we
havent received anything, so I cant
confirm this information.
He declined to comment on how
the meeting could affect plans for a
ceasefire.
Participants at the Pangkham meeting will discuss the draft nationwide
ceasefire agreement, as well as the current fighting between ethnic armed
groups and the Tatmadaw.
We have been planning to hold this
summit since February but until now it
hasnt been possible. Now we have arranged it to coincide with the signing
of the draft ceasefire.
An MNDAA spokesperson said the
group would definitely attend the
meeting and planned to discuss the
fighting with the Tatmadaw. U Tun
Myat Lin said the group wants its ethnic allies to push the government to
agree to a ceasefire in Kokang.

He added that the Tatmadaw had

recently launched a strong military offensive to crush the Kokang group.
We dont want to fight any more
now we are just defending ourselves.
We decided to attend the meeting to
find a way with our ethnic allies to stop
the fighting.
The MNDAA and its allies have
been fighting the government for control of the Kokang region of northeastern Shan State since February 9. The
government said on April 19 that 126
Tatmadaw soldiers have been killed in
the fighting, while the bodies of 74 MNDAA fighters have also been recovered.

We dont want to
fight any more
now we are just
defending ourselves.
U Tun Myat Lin
Myanmar National
Democratic Alliance Army

Tens of thousands of people have

fled their homes across the border into
China, or inland to cities including
Lashio and Mandalay.
While the MNDAA is a member of
the NCCT, the government refuses to
recognise it and has previously rejected
offers of a ceasefire, despite Chinas
urging to find a political solution.
The NCCT has called on the

government to resolve the Kokang conflict through political means. It has also
said a final ceasefire agreement will be
signed by all NCCT members, including
the MNDAA.
Other groups that will attend the
meeting include the Shan State ArmySouth and National Democratic Alliance Army also non-NCCT members
as well as the Shan State Army-North,
the Kachin Independence Organisation, the Karen National Union, the
Karenni National Progressive Party, the
New Mon State Party and the Pa-O National Liberation Army.
However, the Chin National Front,
the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army,
the KNU-KNLA Peace Council, the All
Burma Students Democratic Front,
the Lahu Democratic Union, the Wa
National Organisation and the Arakan
National Council were not invited.
NCCT member U Khun Okkar said
negotiators had urged the UWSA to
invite all ethnic armed groups to the
meeting.
Because the Wa had not done so,
another conference will be convened
to ratify the draft ceasefire, after which
ethnic armed groups will sign the document with the government.
He said the NCCT hoped this could
be achieved as soon as possible, and
would meet in Chiang Mai on April 28
and 29 to prepare for a leaders summit
to approve the ceasefire.
Delaying the signing of the agreement will have negative impacts for
both sides and could result in an escalation of the current fighting. We hope
the summit meeting can be held in
May, but have not yet decided where.

Refugees return to Laukkai from Lashio

LUN MIN MANG
lunminlm@gmail.com
IN a sign of reduced tensions in the
volatile Kokang region, a party of displaced persons who had fled the fighting for camps in Lashio yesterday set
off for home. However, observers warn
that the fighting, now intermittent,
might not yet be over.
Yesterdays convoy, bound for
Laukkai, was led by an aid foundation
for relocation and resettlement.
U Kyaw Ni Naing, Laukkais Pyithu
Hluttaw MP, said security in Laukkai
was now stable.
There were 241 IDPs, mostly Myanmar nationals and three Kokang
ethnic families, he told The Myanmar
Times yesterday.
The foundation, formed by the government, is led by U Hla Tun, minister
for the Presidents Office, and the chief
minister of Shan State, U Sao Aung
Myat. According to Radio Free Asia,
the foundation currently has a fund of
K500 million, mostly donated by business groups.
Some refugees who had crossed the
border into China returned to Laukkai
on April 13, but U Kyaw Ni Naing said
there could still be more than 30,000
refugees in China. He added that 4000
rice packages were sent to Laukkai,
where returnees can stay in temporary
camps.
The fighting that erupted in Laukkai on February 9 between the Kokang armed group known as the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance
Army and government troops has
inflicted heavy damage on the local
infrastructure, including houses. In
an open letter to President U Thein
Sein, U Kyaw Ni Naing requested
that the presidential reserve fund be

Women who fled the fighting in the Kokang region sleep on the floor of a Lashio monastery on February 20. Photo: Zarni Phyo

used to rebuild the town.

I have asked the president for
K2-3 billion for the reconstruction of
Laukkai, he said.
Despite the return, intermittent
fighting still threatens the security of
the Kokang Self-administered Zone.
Heavy fighting broke out north-east
of Laukkai on April 19, killing two Kokang fighters and leaving one wounded, according to MNDAA spokesperson Tun Myat Lin.
The fighting occurred near Xi Kao
Ling, Xi Tunt Swae and Xiao Lu Tang
villages. They used new types of rockets,

including 122 millimetres, he said.

On April 19, state media reported
that 126 Tatmadaw soldiers had been
killed since the start of the conflict,
while more than 350 had been wounded. The report said the bodies of 74
MNDAA fighters had been recovered.
In a separate development, fighting between government troops and
the Arakan Army (AA) broke out in
Kyauktaw township, Rakhine State,
on April 17 and 18. Lieutenant Colonel
Nyo Tun Aung, the deputy commander-in-chief of the AA, said the heaviest fighting occurred on April 18, and

lasted about an hour.

The fighting started on March 29
and continued until April 18, before
decreasing on April 19 and 20, he said.
According to the Rakhine News
Agency, the local authorities yesterday
banned volunteers from Kyauktaw
township from entering the war zone
to provide humanitarian assistance.
The agency said later that the local
authorities had asked the aid groups
to seek permission from the state government to let them go to IDP camps
in Kyauktaw that were badly in need
of food and water.

News 5

www.mmtimes.com

Amputees get hand prosthetics

SHWE YEE SAW MYINT
poepwintphyu2011@gmail.com
A FOUNDATION offering donated
prosthetic hands to amputees has been
overwhelmed by demand.
Daw Tin May Aung, head of the Dr
Saw Mya Aung Foundation, said yesterday that the group had received 90 applications for the 50 prosthetic hands
in just two days.
She said the foundation plans to ask
the Rotary Club in the United States
that donated the hands to send another
100 to help meet demand.
In the meantime, the foundation
will prioritise applicants based on their
needs and suitability to the devices,
which have the ability to seize and hold
light objects and are not otherwise
available in Myanmar. Most of the applicants lost their hands while using
agricultural or industrial machinery,
Daw Tin May Aung said.
The foundation is named after late
Rakhine politician Saw Mya Aung.
Between 2013 and 2015, the foundation distributed 50 prosthetic hands in
Rakhine State, she said.

Police attribute a drop in crime during festival to a

crackdown on illegal gambling, booze and drugs

TOE WAI
AUNG
linnhtet.lt@gmail.com

A man uses a prosthetic hand to draw on a piece of paper. Photo: Supplied

Support teams formed for Letpadan detainees

SUPPORT groups have been formed in
Yangon and Mandalay to help activists
arrested at Letpadan in March fight
charges that could see them jailed for
years.
The All Burma Federation of Student Unions, better known as Ba Ka
Tha, is working with human rights and
legal experts, former political prisoners
and community leaders to assist the 70

Pre-Thingyan
campaign
nets thousands

people being held at Tharyarwady Prison, member Ko Aung Nay Paing said.
Another 11 have been released on bail.
The activists were arrested on March
while protesting against the National
Education Law after a violent crackdown by police. All are facing charges
under five sections of the penal code. To
date four hearings have been held.
In cooperation with supportive

groups, we will seek justice for arrested

students and their supporters We
will also cooperate with civil society
groups, Ko Aung Nay Paing said, adding that it was obvious that the detainees were being treated unfairly.
He said the teams formed in Yangon
and Mandalay plan to issue a report on
the crackdown. Mg Zaw, translation
by Zar Zar Soe

POLICE have attributed a sharp

drop in the number of Thingyanrelated crimes to a pre-festival campaign that resulted in thousands
of charges being laid for alleged
crimes including weapons and
drugs possession and the sale of illegal liquor.
The Ministry of Home Affairs
said 174 cases were reported nationally during the festival, down 194
last year. However, the number of
deaths still rose slightly, from 15 in
2014 to 16, while injuries were up
sharply, from 190 to 356.
Cases ranged from car accidents,
pickpocketing and theft to fights,
rapes and weapons violations. No
murders were reported.
Police Captain Thi Thi Myint
from Yangon Region Police Force
said the drop in cases was because of
the pre-festival campaign, which also
included an education component.

We took preventative measures

in all states and regions including Nay Pyi Taw one month before
Thingyan ... making arrests so that
crime rates were lower this year. We
also gave educative talks, she said.
The preventative cases totalled
2369, including 777 related to the
sale of illegal liquor, 60 for narcotic
drugs and 31 for possessing uncensored videos.

16

Deaths during the Thingyan festival

However, as The Myanmar Times

has previously reported, police also
forced pharmacies to stop selling
registered birth control medicines,
including emergency contraceptives,
a move that health experts said was
sorely misguided.
Translation by Khant Lin Oo

6 News

THE MYANMAR TIMES APRIL 22, 2015

Govt to hand
out loans
before start
of monsoon
Parliament approved $300 million loan from
China for microcredit program in early March

HTOO
THANT
thanhtoo.npt@gmail.com

THE Ministry of Cooperatives will

begin distributing microloans using US$300 million borrowed
from China ahead of the monsoon
cultivation season, a senior official
says.
Loans of K100,000 to first-time
customers will be offered to farmers, including those raising livestock and fish, while former customers who have paid back loans
will be eligible for up to K500,000.
The interest rate will be 1.15
percent a month, down from the
1.5pc of an earlier China-backed
loan program, Cooperative Department deputy director U Myo
Aung said yesterday.
We are preparing to loan
money to farmers in May and
June. We intend to lend the money before rainy season in all states
and regions, he said.
The loans are being offered
under a controversial loan from
the Export-Import Bank of China
that was approved by parliament
on March 10, following intense
debate.
Some representatives questioned the efficacy of the program,
and the governments ability to
manage it, as well as the relatively

high interest rate on the Chinese

loan. Myanmar must repay the
loan within 10 years, in addition
to 5.3pc in annual interest and
fees.
However, other MPs were supportive, saying that it would mean
farmers did not have to borrow
at much higher rates from illegal
moneylenders.
Of the $300 million, $220 million will be lent to farmers and

1.15%
Monthly interest rate on loans from
the Ministry of Cooperatives

people from breeding and fishery

sectors who have never received
any loans, while $50 million will
be lent to customers who have
paid off their debts.
The remaining $30 million
will be spent on agricultural machinery, which will be sold to
farmers under a hire-purchase
program.
China has agreed to lend Myanmar $700 million for poverty alleviation and rural development.
To date Myanmar has received
$100 million.
Translation by Thiri Min Htun

Officials from the Sri Lankan embassy visit U Khandi Monastery on April 7 to seek approval for a bone relic to tour
Sri Lanka from April 28. Photo: Si Thu Lwin

Sacred bone relic to tour Sri Lanka

SI THU LWIN
sithulwin.mmtimes@gmail.com
A SACRED bone relic of the Gautama
Buddha housed in a Mandalay museum will be sent to Sri Lanka next
week, where they will remain for a
month.
Senior monks at U Khandi Monastery in Mandalay said the visit was being organised at the request of officials
in Sri Lanka, including the countrys
ambassador to Myanmar.
The relics will leave Myanmar on
April 28 and be taken to 10 cities in Sri
Lanka. The tour will be broadcast live
on the countrys Buddhism-focused
television channel, said U Ardicca,
the abbot of the monastery, which is
located at the base of Mandalay Hill.

The visit is likely to be reciprocal,

with Sri Lanka sending the Buddhas
lower left canine tooth to Myanmar at
a later date, he said.
The sacred bone relic will be worshipped for three days in each city, U
Ardicca said, adding that the request
to send the relic had been made on
April 7.
We accepted their request so that
the Sri Lankan people can worship the
bone relics and Myanmar people can
worship their tooth relic.
The bone relic is housed at the U
Khandi Museum, which is near the
monastery at the base of the hill.
It was conveyed to Mandalay
from Pakistans Peshawar by Prince
Pyinmana, son of King Mindon, in
1910. In 1924, the hermit U Khandi

constructed a building for the relic

on Mandalay Hill.
The tour will be the relics first
since 2008, when it was sent to Indonesia. The previous year it travelled
around Malaysia.
In Mandalay, the relic can be seen
by the public on Sabbath days, although U Ardicca allows pilgrims
from outside Mandalay to worship it
on non-Sabbath days upon request.
However, despite its significance
for Buddhists the relic is not widely
known outside Mandalay, said resident Ko Man Ko.
It is the real bone relic of the Buddha, not a copy, he said. But just a
few people know that it is kept at the
monastery on Mandalay Hill.
Translation by Thiri Min Htun

New housing on the horizon for Maubins homeless

CHERRY THEIN
t.cherry6@gmail.com
FAMILIES across the country are being evicted from their homes because
of the rising value of the land they occupy illegally. Even families who have
occupied their homes for years, often
paying rent to local township officials while improving the property,
are being turned out into the street as
once-worthless land now fetches skyhigh prices.
Civil society leaders have declared
growing landlessness a time bomb,
and in some cases philanthropic efforts have been launched to address
the issue. One of the largest programs
is in rural Yangon Region, where
sayadaw U Uttama has established
two villages for previously homeless
families, one in Hlegu and another in
Thanlyin.
In Ayeyarwady Regions Maubin
township, at least a few of those affected are to be offered new homes.
The founder of the Pyo Khinthi Foundation, U Than Htike Aung, told The
Myanmar Times yesterday that 10
houses now being built by the foundation would be complete by the end of
the water festival.
The 3-acre housing project, at Ei
Wine village, will accommodate about
50 people who meet the conditions
imposed by the foundation.
U Than Htike Aung said poor

homeless families would be considered regardless of ethnicity or religion,

but that gambling, alcohol, fighting
and swearing were banned, and families would have to save K100 every day
and organise their own social welfare.
Children must attend school. If the
parents cant afford it, we will pay, he
said.
Each family will get 400 square
feet of land, including a 12-by-14-foot
house (168 square feet total) with a toilet. Occupation will be on the basis of
a contract designed to prevent ownership disputes, and they will be offered
jobs at a nearby fish farm owned by
the foundation. U Than Htike Aung
said the foundation would also provide microfinance to enhance tenants
livelihood.
On March 24, 12 families, numbering more than 50 people, were
evicted from their homes in No 9
quarter in Maubin township after being threatened with prison
if they did not move. Five have already gone, with some renting space
in others backyards for K5000 to
K8000. Three families have asked
the foundation to house them.
U Ohm Myint and his daughters
family were evicted and are now living
on a garbage tip. His daughter and her
husband work at a brick factory, earning about K3000 a day.
I hope for a place, but there are
others before me, he said.

A volunteer helps to build a house for a homeless family in Maubin township,

Ayeyarwady Region, last month. Photo: Cherry Thein

His neighbours, Daw Aye Than and

her five family members, now live at
a small cottage they found after being
turned out.
The court gave us notice to quit.
I know this was not our land, but we
paid K10,000 to a district official for
the past seven years to let us stay, she
said.
A 44-year-old washerwoman, she

tearfully relates the circumstances.

The land they lived on was subject to
flooding, and there was no path. The
families dug out the drainage to improve the field.
When we appealed to the township, they said it was nothing to do
with them. Who could we go to? We
did nothing wrong. Now I feel like
hell, she said. All I need is five or 10

feet to sleep on. Its harder to live than

to die, she said.
A Maubin township official, U Aye
Thaung, told The Myanmar Times
that district officials had given permission to homeless people to stay on the
land, for which each family would pay
them K10,000. Some lived there for
more than 15 years.
With the rise in land prices, as of
late 2014 an acre of land by the main
road can fetch up to K60 million. The
landowners wanted their land back.
This is a civil matter between the
landowners and the families, said U
Aye Thaung, conceding that local officials may have acted mistakenly in the
past. We will help to negotiate if there
is a crisis, he said, adding that the local authorities planned to invite companies to donate about 10,000 acres to
rehouse poor families.
This is happening all over the
country. The government suggests a
rehousing project, and when people
hear about it they run and get the
land to resell. There is also corruption between government officials and
businessmen. The poor stay poor and
homeless.
Maubin-based Metta Shin civil society organisation member U Zar Ni
said, Families in remote villages move
to the city when they lose their land,
but that doesnt solve their problems.
The more they try to narrow the gap,
the wider it gets.

News 7

www.mmtimes.com

Views

Fair pay for Myanmars civil servants

Recent parliament-approved wage rises bring some relief, but disparities between civilian and Tatmadaw salaries remain problematic

NICHOLAS
FARRELLY
nicholas.farrelly@glenlochadvisory.com

AS the economy continues its bustling run fuelled by frontier-market

optimism its worth taking stock of
an economic issue that rarely gets the
attention it deserves. With so many
words spilled on high rents and overpriced hotel rooms, theres barely any
room at the inn for discussion about
wages, particularly the pay of the
decision-makers who keep the entire
system in order.
With around 1 million civilian
employees, the Myanmar civil service reaches the length and breadth
of the country. While some people
still labour under the misapprehension that rank-and-file civil servants
were the handmaidens of dictatorial
excess, they are almost always, in fact,
the very embodiment of understated
Myanmar values.

A senior government
officer of the deputy
director level, who
may be responsible
for hundreds of
staff, a considerable
budget and set
of operations, is
now being paid
K310,000 a month.
These civil servants do the jobs
that need to be done: processing
forms, assessing new legislation,
managing local disputes and implementing central government fashions. It is a largely thankless set of
tasks: Few notice when things are
done right, with courtesy and success.
Its easy to accumulate stories of miscommunication or ill-will. The simple

Salaries for the lowest-ranking civil servants are often barely enough to cover the cost of weekly Nay Pyi Taw-to-Yangon
bus trips. Photo: Naing Wynn Htoon

reality is that most Myanmar civil

servants just get on with their jobs.
Those jobs do not pay much. A
lower desk clerk can expect to take
home K150,000 a month. That might
seem a lot in the impoverished hills
of Chin State, or for a young, single
man or woman without any other responsibilities, but it only just covers
the costs for those commuting between Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw, and
makes a modest contribution to the
growing bills for a family in urban
Myanmar.
For many, a weekly commute between Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw costs
at least K15,000, which, once incidentals and other charges are taken
into account, can quickly mount
to K100,000 a month. Thats just to

make the journey to Nay Pyi Taw

each Sunday, and back on Friday
afternoon.
Given that wages are so low, its
no surprise that the government has
decided to raise pay rates three times
in three years. According to Thura
U Shwe Mann, this is his proudest
achievement as speaker of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. It gives hundreds
of thousands of usually hard-working
people a fighting chance to survive
in an increasingly difficult economic
environment, where inflation quickly
erodes spending power and the relative value of capital over labour increases day-by-day.
To put it in perspective, a senior
government officer of the deputy director level, who may be responsible

for hundreds of staff, a considerable

budget and set of operations, is now
being paid K310,000 a month. This
gives them a chance to save a bit
more each week, after expenses for
travel and food are taken care of.
Families without other income
streams will still, however, need to
make careful decisions and certainly benefit from non-salary income.
Ownership of real estate has helped
some to generate wealth, particularly
through rents, although these cant be
counted on for the long term.
Another issue is that the pay rates
for civilian government officials are
yet to be re-aligned with their military counterparts. The equivalent
of a deputy director in the army is
a lieutenant colonel. They are paid

K410,000 a month and have access to

extra allowances if they are deemed
deserving of danger pay. This means
that a lieutenant colonel is actually
paid more than a deputy director general - one of the highest ranks in civilian government service - despite being the equivalent of two ranks lower.
The two-tiered system, which was
introduced in 2006, already leads to
resentment among those civilians
who feel they deserve equal treatment. It also reinforces the sense
among military officers, even those of
middling rank, that they are more important and more valuable than their
civilian peers. It ensures that the two
chains of command dont work together as smoothly as they should.
And it introduces a significant structural flaw which could, in time, make
Myanmars internal affairs even harder to manage.
Raising pay rates for civil servants, but also for ministers, parliamentarians and many others ensures that these jobs are still attractive
to qualified candidates. But many
civil servants have already weighed
up their alternatives and are looking
for the exit. Private firms and international organisations are usually the
beneficiaries of the training and experience that former civil servants bring
to the table. A talented deputy director would likely command US$2000
a month in the private sector six or
seven times their government wage.
Giving Myanmars civil servants
enough to live on is one way of ensuring that the reforms ordained
from on high are actually implemented on the ground. It is these
nameless and faceless public servants who are expected to get down
to steady business and their duties
will continue regardless of who wins
the next election, or the one after
that. It is such continuity of official
capacity that will ensure Myanmars
infrastructure continues to improve,
that its schools and hospitals can
leapfrog into the 21st century, and
that its people have new confidence
in their justice system.
Nicholas Farrelly is a partner at Glenloch
Advisory and a fellow at the Australian
National University. He leads an
Australian Research Council project on
Myanmars political cultures in transition.

8 THE MYANMAR TIMES APRIL 22, 2015

Business
Government to warn
illegal futures brokers

Sugar prices rise in

Yunnan province

KYAW PHONE KYAW

k.phonekyaw@gmail.com.mm

DEMAND for sugar in Chinas Yunnan

province has risen to K1030 a viss, or
about US$600 a tonne, since the end
of the Thingyan holiday, exporters say.
The deputy chair of the Myanmar
Sugar and Sugar-related Products Merchants and Manufacturers Association, U Win Htay, told The Myanmar
Times yesterday that this was the first
price rise since 2011, and was about 50
percent higher than the world sugar
price of less than $400 a tonne.
In Shweli prices reached K1300 a
viss (one viss equals 1.6kg or 3.6lbs).
The sugar is for Yunnan only, because it is inland. The rest of the country can get sugar imported by ship, but
Yunnan relies on [cross-border trade
from] Myanmar. We dont know how
long this price will hold up, maybe
only a month. Mostly our merchants
are based in Mandalay and the Chinese
buyers come to us. They handle the

THE government is to issue a formal

warning to illegal online futures trading companies to stop trading once offices reopen at the end of the Myanmar
new year holidays today, according to U
Maung Maung Thein, deputy minister
for finance.
They are not operating in accordance with related laws. And we are
seriously afraid that people would
be cheated. There is no regulator for
futures exchanges. So if people have
problems, they cant sue anybody, the
deputy minister said in an interview
with reporters.
According to an investigation by The
Myanmar Times, five or six futures exchange brokerage companies operate
in Myanmar and most have been established since around mid-2014. They
say they provide a service to Myanmar
clients to invest in futures exchanges of
foreign countries.
Each company serves futures exchanges in individual countries, including New Zealand, Hong Kong, Taiwan
and Indonesia. Futures trading is mostly conducted in contracts for commodities such as gold, oil and gas, and timber, as well as foreign currencies.
Experts have warned that online
trading in futures contracts is gaining
ground in Myanmar without proper

regulation and that investors are not

fully aware of the potential for large
losses.
The deputy minister said the government would serve serious warning
notices to the brokerage companies
personally. If they did not then stop
their business then the government
would instruct police to launch criminal investigations and prosecute them,
he said.
Futures trading is not provided for
under the law in Myanmar which has
only enacted the July 2013 securities
exchange law. In the prohibition and
punishment chapter of the law, section 22 states that no one may operate
a business of a stock exchange without permission from the Security Exchange Commission Myanmar, which
is chaired by U Maung Maung Thein.
Ma Myat Myat, assistant business
manager of Asian E-Trade Consultant
(ATC) which acts as a futures exchange
broker for the New Zealand Futures Exchange, said the company had both a
licence from Myanmars Directorate of
Investment and Company Administration (DICA) and the recognition certificate from the New Zealand exchange.
Financial advisor Ko Mynn Nyi Nyi
of Inter Pan Myanmar, a broker for
Indonesia Futures Exchange, also said
they had a licence from DICA since August 2014, and that their company provided good opportunities for Myanmar

investors.
Our parent company from Indonesia is 29 years old and is in the top three
of ASEANs most profitable broker companies for clients, he added.
The deputy director of DICA, Daw
Nilar Mu, said the company licence issued by the department only applies
to the use of the company name and is
just a form of registration. These licences can be used to compete in tenders,
she said. But she noted that such companies also require permission from relevant government organisations, in this
case the finance ministry.
Ma Myat Myat from ATC brokerage
said the company had made financial
deposits with the government, but she
did not say how much.
The deputy minister for finance
rejected that. If they give a deposit, I
must know about that. But I have never
heard about that.
Two clients who invested through
ATC, but asked not to be identified, told
reporters they had been able to earn
about US$2000 within two or three
months. But Ma Myat Myat cautioned
that some clients had lost all their investments, up to $10,000.
U Maung Maung Thein warned, I
want to give a message to the people
not to give their trust easily and not to
be greedy. He said the ministry would
warn the public about the illegal nature
of futures trading companies.

KHIN SU WAI
jasminekhin@gmail.com

PER TONNE

$600
Price of sugar imported by Yunnan

transportation themselves, he said.

In April 2011, the price of sugar
cane, raw sugar and local white sugar stood at K740-780, K950-995 and
K1340-1380 respectively. Current
prices are K550-560, K650-695 and
K1000-1030.
The sudden rise follows a significant drop in the first two months of
this year. The sugar cane season runs
from January to the end of May. The
world price per tonne was $480 in
February, falling to $370 in April.
U Win Htay said that in 2013 exports to China amounted to about
100,000 tonnes. Last year China
bought 400,000 tonnes of higherquality sugar from Vietnam, but nothing from Myanmar. No cross-border
trade took place during the fighting in
the Kokang region, but normal trade
has now resumed.
The sugar is going across the border via both Chinshwehaw and Muse,
said U Win Htay, adding that in China,
the import of sugar was illegal. We
never go to China to sell sugar. Chinese merchants contract with each
other, he said.
It is estimated that about 10,000
tonnes of sugar has been exported to
China so far this year.
A Bloomberg report in February
citing commodity trader Group Sopex
predicted that the sugar market was
set to turn bullish after four years of
declining prices and production curbs
and that worsening shortages were set
to continue through 2017-2018.

Pun Hlaing Hospital gets injection of capital and ideas

FMI in deal with Indonesian healthcare provider Lippo to turn fortunes around at the hospital after nine years of losses

STUART
DEED
stuart.deed@gmail.com

IT has been open for more than nine

years, but Pun Hlaing Hospital is yet
to turn a profit for First Myanmar Investments shareholders. The companys management is betting, however,
that an injection of US$10 million and
a new philosophy on healthcare provision will bring the hospital a new
and profitable lease on life.
While it has enjoyed a positive cashflow for the past three years through
cost-cutting measures, the hospital has
not generated a return for its shareholders since opening in 2005 due to
the high capital investment.
Its location across the Yangon River
in Hlaing Tharyar has never been one
of its attractions. A bigger challenge is
the tendency among wealthier Myanmar to seek treatment abroad.
In a June 2013 research report,
specialist research organisation Thura
Swiss said the hospital was too expensive for ordinary Myanmar citizens
and not trusted by the wealthy class
who continue to travel to other countries in the region for medical care.
As more international airlines
move into Myanmar, the cost of travelling abroad is likely to decrease, creating an even more precarious position
for the hospital, the report said.
Now the hospitals management
is planning to invest heavily in

healthcare, said Serge Pun & Associates (SPA) CEO Melvyn Pun in a recent interview.
Until this year, Pun Hlaing Hospital
was 65 percent owned by SPA and 35pc
owned by First Myanmar Investment
(FMI).
In March, the Myanmar Investment
Commission approved a partnership
with the Indonesian company Lippo,
which will initially invest $10 million,
while FMI plan to invest a further $3
million for the remainder of 2015.
Both parties expect to invest substantially more in the coming years to
expand their facilities. The partnership
between FMI and Lippo will be a 6040 shareholding, with FMI holding the
majority.
Mr Pun said SPA was the managing
agent and major shareholder of FMI.
SPAs role will predominantly be
[to act] as the majority shareholder of
FMI, while the major businesses and
operations will be held by FMI. We do
not intend for SPA to hold significant
investments directly, he said, adding,
Healthcare will be one of the four pillars of key businesses for FMI.
FMI also plans to open more clinics,
including at Mandalay and Bagan, as
well as a 24-hour acute care and emergency centre in downtown Yangon.
Now the hospital is preparing to
launch a new on-duty model, starting May 20, where patients will get the
appropriate care from the appropriate
clinician at all times of the day. Efficiency will be improved by reducing
the hospitals floor space from 20,000
square metres to 16,000, while at the
same time increasing bed numbers by

A patient checks in at Pun Hlaing private hospital which is investing heavily in

its future. Photo: Thiri Lu

100 to 165.
A tiered pricing structure will also
be introduced to entice new clients,
with prices ranging from $10-15 a night
to about $200 a night for the VVIP
category, while the cost of care varies
case by case.
The new four-lane bridge that
opened last November could also help
entice more patients to make the trip
out to Pun Hlaing.
The new chief executive of the hospital, Dr Gershu Paul, brings a wealth

of international management experience. Born in Sri Lanka, educated in

India, he worked in hospital management in New Zealand before spearheading the expansion of the Siloam
hospital group in Indonesia, nurturing
it from four hospitals with a combined
$30 million in revenue in 2006 to 20
hospitals earning $350 million less
than eight years later.
The challenges he faces in Myanmar
are similar those in Indonesia, particularly the lack of human resources and

heath facilities, he said in a recent interview at the hospital.

Doctors are moonlighting in every
hospital here, he said of a practice that
undermines continuity of care.
Some additional help could come
from abroad, in the form of repatriating and foreign specialists. Dr Paul said
he had regularly encountered Myanmar doctors throughout his career in
high-ranking posts around the world.
He has managed to lure many key
specialists back, including in neurosurgery, orthopaedics, internal medicine,
radiology, anaesthesia, emergency care
and paediatrics.
Dr Paul has employed 14 full-time
repatriate specialists and added two
foreign specialists in intervention cardiology and plastic surgery.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Yangon
Medical School was the cradle of health
education in the whole Asian basin so
much so that a Myanmar doctor could
go to the UK and just practise without
doing an exam, he said.
But there are only about 25,000
practising doctors in Myanmar, or less
than one for every 2000 people. There
are also about 7000 specialists, most of
which are centred in Yangon.
Dr Paul seems unfazed by the challenge he has taken on at Pun Hlaing,
and says he believes Myanmars private
health system will emerge from its shell
far more quickly than the six or seven
years it took Indonesia after 1999.
The technology penetration will be
much more rapid, I believe, and there
will be opportunities for us to leapfrog
and develop in a much shorter period of time.

BUSINESS EDITOR: Jeremy Mullins | jeremymullins7@gmail.com

Japanese train sets

word speed record

Party over for Chinas

luxury car market

BUSINESS 10

BUSINESS 11

Exchange Rates (April 21 close)

Currency
Euro
Malaysia Ringitt
Singapore Dollar
Thai Baht
US Dollar

Buying
K1150
K293
K787
K32.8
K1070

Selling
K1170
K304
K796
K33.8
K1080

Carlsberg launches two local brews to

challenge militarys grip on market
CATHERINE
TRAUTWEIN
newroom@mmtimes.com

CARLSBERG has launched sales of

its locally brewed Tuborg and Yoma
brands as it seeks to become the
first post-sanctions foreign producer
to break into a growing beer sector
dominated by state and militarybacked enterprises.
The two beers made it to market in
time for Thingyan new year celebrations after delays of several months
caused by the licensing process.
The Carlsberg Group came to Myanmar in early 2013 in anticipation
of a bubbly beer sector. And although
surveys suggest a majority of men and
women are lifetime abstainers from alcohol, the relatively untapped market
represents a big opportunity as Myanmar urbanises, according to Carlsberg
Myanmar marketing director Birgitte
Weeke Christensen.
Carlsberg established a local partnership with Myanmar Golden Star
Breweries (MGS), taking a 51 percent
stake in their joint venture Myanmar
Carlsberg Co Ltd, and building a US$50
million brewery in Bago. U Thein Tun,
chair of MGS, also heads Myanmar
Consolidated Media, which publishes
The Myanmar Times.
We have followed the developments in Myanmar closely and are
encouraged by the recent political
developments in the country. We believe that the timing is right for us
to invest, said senior vice president
of Carlsberg Asia region Roy Bagattini in a statement. We expect that
the Myanmar beer market will grow
strongly in coming years as the economy expands.
Sales started in early April of
Tuborg in kegs, cans and bottles while
Yoma which means mountain range
in Myanmar is so far only available

A Yangon drinker downs a glass of Myanmar Beer, whose dominant market share new entry Carlsberg hopes to challenge. Photo: Aung Htay Hlaing

in kegs and cans. The joint venture also

plans to produce the flagship Carlsberg
beer which will be marketed as a premium drink.
Both Tuborg and Yoma are intended
to challenge Myanmar Beer, the dominant brand in the sector owned by Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings,
a conglomerate close to the military.
Dutch rival Heineken also hopes to be
in the market soon, having established

East Dagon sees boom

MYAT NYEIN AYE
myatnyeinaye11092@gmail.com
TIN YADANAR TUN
yadanar.mcm@gmail.com
BOOM times are coming to what was,
not long ago, one of Yangons forgotten
townships. In particular, Ywar Thar Gyi
ward of East Dagon township is drawing attention thanks to its improved
road connections and services, local
residents and real estate agents say.
Attractions include the local industrial zone, the Yangon Institute of Economics, bustling small shops and low
property prices, say experts. The ward
is also home to the citys only mental
hospital.
Long-time resident Daw Khin May
said, The prosperity used to be visible
just near the hospital, the institute
and the industrial zone, but now you
can see it throughout the entire ward.
Buyers and speculators started to
take notice of the 97-square-kilometre
ward in late 2012, said local estate agent
U Thaung. Buyers are interested in

the cheap land, he said, adding that

the interest was filtering down from
neighbouring North Dagon along East
Dagons new main roads.
Local resident and estate agent Ma
Ei said, The township started developing two years ago as road communications and electricity supply improved. Bo Mhu Ba Htoo Road, built
in 2013, connects with both North Okkalapa and North Dagon townships.
The new residents like the
public services and the low prices, she
said.
U Khin Maung Aye, an estate agent
with Shwe Kan Myae, said a plot that
could have gone for K10 million a few
years ago could now fetch K50 million, depending on location, though it
is still possible to find a 2400-sq-ft lot
for K4 to K5 million.
East Dagon new town, at Yangons
eastern fringe, shares borders with
Hlegu township in the north, North
Dagon township in the west and
South Dagon township in the south
and west.

a joint venture in 2013 with its own

brewery
Figures from Euromonitor International show that the legal beer market excluding black market imports,
mostly from Thailand hit 172 million
litres in 2013, posting annual growth
of 5.5pc since 2009. In dollar terms,
beer sales amounted to $265 million
in 2013, and have posted 14pc growth
over 2009-2013. Annual growth of 21pc

is expected between 2014 and 2018,

when the market will reach $675 million, according to Euromonitor.
Carlsbergs Yoma has been tailored
to Myanmar tastes and uses rice in the
brewing process, Ms Christensen said.
Ask a Myanmar what they want
theyve got it, she said of the beer,
whose branding is meant to evoke escapism from a busy world. Everyone
said Yoma is like when you leave all

your luggage, sit on a mountain top,

and its refreshing, she said. The
whole concept is about everything is
changing quite fast, and you kind of
need a bit of a chill out.
Attention was also paid to Myanmar
culture in the brewing process. Yomas
alcohol content is set at 5.4pc, with the
sum of the two digits equalling nine a
significant number in Myanmar Buddhist practices.

Land prices near Hanthawaddy

airport project fall pre-election
KO KO AUNG
pmkokoaung@gmail.com
A MIXTURE of political uncertainty
and scepticism has cooled once torrid demand for land around the
future Hanthawaddy International
Airport project, say local real estate
agents.
Land prices skyrocketed up to
tenfold in Bago Region in 2012,
following the announcement that
Incheon International Airport Corporation of South Korea had been
awarded the contract to build and
operate Hanthawaddy, which was
expected to become Myanmars
largest international airport with
a possible price tag of US$1.1 billion. Before the announcement, an
acre of farmland in the area sold for
about K500,000 ($510). Within two
years, the price of an acre had shot

to between K20 million and K50

million.
Then the situation languished.
Demand is low near Hanthawaddy International Airport, and
throughout Bago, said broker Daw
Mya Mya Sein of Galaxy Real Estate
Service.
Ko Aung Myint of Aung Real Estate said, The real estate market is
slowing throughout the entire country. Around Bago and Hanthawaddy, demand is in decline. Both local
and foreign investors are watching
the political climate because of the
election.
After the government announced the airport project, buyers
flocked to Bago. Now hardly anyone
comes, said local resident Ko Myint
Oo.
The future Hanthawaddy Airport
is up to an hour-and-a-half away

from Yangon by road, and was intended to have the capacity to handle 12 million passengers a year. But
after disagreements over financing
and passenger capacity, the deal
with Incheon was terminated and
a new $1.45 billion contract was
granted last October to a consortium comprising Singapores Yongnam Holdings, Changi Airport Planners and Engineers, a subsidiary of
Changi Airport Group, and Japans
JGC Corporation. The consortium
will get official development assistance from the Japanese government for up to 49 percent of the
total contract, with the remaining
funding coming from private lending ($517 million) and investment
by the consortium ($222 million).
Officials said in February that
construction should begin next
year, and be completed in 2020.

10 International Business
IN BRIEF

THE MYANMAR TIMES APRIL 22, 2015

TOKYO

Russian economy hits downturn

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev yesterday estimated the economy

shrank by 2 percent in the first three
months of the year, due to sanctions
pressure and low oil prices.
Negative trends continue this year
following the crisis of the ruble national
currency in late 2014, Mr Medvedev
told Russian lawmakers. Between
January and March, GDP went down
about 2pc.

Investor confidence slips in

Germany

Investor sentiment in Germany fell

for the first time in six months in April
as weak global growth weighed on
confidence, a leading survey found
yesterday.
The widely watched investor confidence index calculated by the ZEW
economic institute slipped by 1.5 points
to 53.3 points in April, disappointing
analysts expectations for a further
increase this month, ZEW said in a
statement.
The German economy is in good
shape. A stable labour market and
increasing wages are strengthening
confidence and boosting consumption, said ZEW president Clemens
Fuest.However, the current weakness
of the world economy is dampening
export prospects and reducing the
scope for further improvements of the
economic situation in Germany, he
added.

Rio-Tinto iron ore output falls

Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto

recorded lower-than-expected iron ore
output for the first three months of the
year blaming poor weather conditions,
but continued to boost its production of
the commodity despite plunging prices.
The worlds second-biggest miner
said iron ore production was 74.7 million tonnes in January to March, a 12
percent increase from the same period
in 2014, but a 6 percent drop from the
previous quarter.
Rio said shipments were up 9pc
to 72.5 million tonnes year-on-year,
although it was a fall of 12pc from
the October-December quarter that
the firm said was due to the impact
of Tropical Cyclone Olwyn and a train
derailment at Dampier port in Western
Australia. AFP

Cambodia seeks TPP inclusion

Prime Minister Hun Sen questioned the

exclusion of certain ASEAN nations, including Cambodia, from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Speaking at the
World Economic Forum on East Asia
2015 in Jakarta, Hun Sen said,Thats a
point that I still question myself. What
is the real purpose of establishing the
TPP, that they include half of ASEAN
to be partners but [are] leaving half of
ASEAN outside? Phnom Penh Post

Central Japan Railways seven-car maglev train returns to the station after setting a new world speed record in a test run near Mount Fuji yesterday. Photo: AFP

Japans maglev train breaks

new world speed record
JAPANS stateoftheart maglev
train clocked a new world speed
record yesterday in a test run near
Mount Fuji, smashing through the
600-kilometre (373-mile) per hour
mark, as Tokyo races to sell the technology abroad.
The seven-car maglev train
short for magnetic levitation hit
a top speed of 603km an hour, and
managed nearly 11 seconds at over
600kph, operator Central Japan Railway said.
The new record came less than
a week after the company recorded
a top speed of 590kph, breaking its
own 2003 record of 581kph.
The maglev hovers 10 centimetres (4 inches) above the tracks and
is propelled by electrically charged
magnets.
About 200 train buffs gathered
to witness yesterdays recordsetting run, with the crowd cheering as
the train broke through the 600kph
mark.
It gave me chills. I really want to
ride on the train, an elderly woman
told public broadcaster NHK as the

carriage rocketed past her.

Its like I witnessed a new page
in history.
An AFP reporter who previously
rode on the super-speed train said
the experience was like taking off in
a plane, with the feeling of gforce
gathering as the speedometer is
pushed ever higher.
The faster the train runs, the
more stable it becomes I think
the quality of the train ride has
improved, Yasukazu Endo, who
heads the maglev test centre
southwest of Tokyo, told reporters
yesterday.

KPH

603

New world speed record for Japan

JR Central wants to have a

train in service in 2027, plying the
route between Tokyo and the central city of Nagoya, a distance of
286km.
The service, which would run at
a top speed of 500kph, is expected
to connect the two cities in only 40
minutes, less than half the present
journey time in Japans already
speedy bullet trains.
By 2045, maglev trains are expected to link Tokyo and Osaka in just
one hour and seven minutes, slashing the journey time in half.
However, construction costs for
the dedicated lines are astronomical
estimated at nearly US$100 billion
just for the stretch to Nagoya, with
more than 80 percent of the route expected to go through costly tunnels.
Japan is looking to sell its shinkansen bullet and maglev train systems overseas, with Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe acting as a travelling
salesman in his bid to revive the
Japanese economy partly through
infrastructure exports.
He is due in the United States this

weekend, where he will be touting the

technology for a high-speed rail link
between New York and Washington.
Last year, Mr Abe took US ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy on
a test ride.
This technology is something that
will bring great benefits to Japan and
hopefully the United States one day,
Ms Kennedy said after the ride.
The maglev train is a contender
for US President Barack Obamas
multi-billion-dollar national high
speed rail project.
Mr Abe said Japan would not
charge licensing fees in the US for
the train, a strong incentive for
Washington to select the system for
a highspeed rail line between Washington DC and Baltimore.
The proposed 60km link will represent the first phase in the US governments plan to connect the capital
and Boston.
Japan started its study on the
maglev train system as a national
project in 1962, and succeeded in
running at a speed of 60kph a decade
later. AFP

ISLAMABAD

Security fears overshadow China-Pakistan corridor

CHINESE President Xi Jinping said
yesterday a US$46 billion economic
corridor offered Pakistan a historic
development opportunity, but security fears linger over the project which
involves major construction in some
highly unstable areas.
Pakistani and Chinese officials on
April 20 signed a series of more than
50 accords to inaugurate the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor, which will
create a network of roads, railways and
pipelines linking Chinas restive west to
the Arabian Sea through Pakistan.
The project is part of Beijings
Belt and Road plan to expand its
trade and transport footprint across
Central and South Asia. It will give
China easier access to Middle Eastern
oil via the deepwater port of Gwadar
in southwest Pakistan.
The Chinese aid also aims to boost Pakistans long-underperforming economy,

which the IMF projects will grow 4.3 percent this year, and tackle its long-running
energy crisis.

Today Pakistan
has a historic
development
opportunity. Prime
Minister Sharif has
crafted the vision
of the Asian tiger
dream.
Chinese president Xi Jinping

Beijing and Islamabad have long enjoyed close ties and Mr Xis speech yesterday, the first by a Chinese president
to a joint session of parliament, was
full of the flowery rhetoric that typifies
their official exchanges.
Today Pakistan has a historic development opportunity. Prime Minister Sharif has crafted the vision of
the Asian tiger dream. It outlines a
great blueprint for Pakistan, he told
lawmakers.
But away from the handshakes and
backslapping, there are real security
concerns over much of the plan, which
relies on developing Gwadar control
of which was passed to a Chinese company in 2013.
The port lies near the mouth of the
Gulf of Oman, east of the Strait of Hormuz through which much of the Middle
Easts crude production passes.
But linking Gwadar to the rest of

Pakistan and on to the western Chinese

city of Kashgar, 3000 kilometres (1860
miles) away, would involve major infrastructure work in Baluchistan.
This is one of Pakistans most unstable provinces and has been dogged
for over a decade by a bloody separatist
insurgency.
Ethnic Baluch rebels, who oppose
Gwadars development while the
province is not independent, have in
the past blown up numerous gas pipelines and trains, and attacked Chinese
engineers.
Earlier this month the Baluchistan
Liberation Front claimed an attack in
the province that left 20 construction
workers from elsewhere in Pakistan
dead, the bloodiest separatist incident
since 2006.
Siddiq Baloch, editor of the Balochistan Express newspaper, said the
rebels want to scare off investors and

developers who are working with the

Pakistani government such as the
Chinese.
There is the thinking that by doing
this, they want to disrupt the working
of the economy, disrupt the administration, challenge the administration in
the area, he told AFP.
Suppressing the rebellion by
force in Baluchistans desolate and
sparselypopulated landscape, much
of which is desert and mountain, has
proven difficult.
Abdul Malik Baloch, the Baluchistan
chief minister, said strenuous efforts
were under way to try to negotiate with
the rebels.
I am trying to convince them, but
still they are not convinced, he told
AFP in the provincial capital Quetta.
This is my honest opinion, this is
the only way to start talking and bring
the insurgents to the table. AFP

International Business 11

www.mmtimes.com
SHANGHAI

Party over for Chinas luxury car market

WHEN Italian luxury carmaker Maserati entered China a decade ago, with
a brand virtually unknown to Chinese
customers, it sold fewer than 40 vehicles its first year.
Last year, the Asian giant was
Maseratis second largest market as
sales of its sports cars including the
Quattroporte, which can cost up to
US$377,000 reached 9400, more than
doubling from 2013.
But now its chief executive acknowledges it will struggle to even maintain
that level this year.
The party is over for the luxury car
market in China, with the country facing the slowest economic growth in a
quarter of a century and a corruption
crackdown orchestrated by Communist Party chief Xi Jinping.
Last year was fantastic, said Maserati boss Harald Wester, sipping a
mineral water on the roof of a Shanghai art museum ahead of Chinas premier auto show.
The target this year is to maintain
more or less the volumes of last year a
very difficult task. We all know about
the slowing down of growth, Mr Wester said.
The worlds second-largest economy
expanded 7.4 percent last year, its slowest since 1990.
So Maserati is buckling down in
China, servicing existing customers,

HONG KONG

Chinese
property
group
defaults
STRICKEN Chinese property developer Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd has defaulted on its US currency debt, making it Chinas first developer to miss a
dollar debt repayment.
The Shenzhen-based company failed
to pay US$52 million of interest on 2017
and 2018 notes due last month, according to a Hong Kong stock exchange
statement.
Kaisa, which is listed on the Hong
Kong stock exchange, had until April
20 to make the payments after a 30day grace period.
The company has been in debt restructuring talks with its onshore and
offshore lenders after it got into trouble having become embroiled in President Xi Jinpings graft crackdown.
In November Shenzhen authorities
blocked sales of its property units allegedly linked to a graft investigation
into the citys former security chief Jiang Zunyu, Bloomberg News reported.
The blockage was allegedly meant
to pressure company chair Kwok Ying
Shing into cooperating with the probe
and left the company with a severe
shortage of funds.
Kaisa is focused on facilitating the
release of its 2014 audited financial results ... [and] will continue its efforts
to reach a consensual restructuring
of its outstanding debts, the April 20
statement said.
Ratings agency Standard & Poors
downgraded Kaisa to default last
month.
Kaisa is in talks with its creditors
to push through a bailout bid by rival
property developer Sunac China Holdings Ltd.
Sunac agreed to buy a controlling
stake in late January, but the deal required a debt restructuring that would
leave investors with lower coupons
and no repayments for up to five years,
Bloomberg News reported. AFP

A man looks at a Maserati sports car on display at a luxury mall in Shanghai on September 16, 2011. Photo: AFP

building its dealer network and awaiting the arrival of its Levante SUV
(sports utility vehicle) in 2016.
Maserati executives say their Chinese
customers are young entrepreneurs,
nearly half female, and deny they are selling to government officials who might be
caught in the much-publicised anti-graft

campaign, now two years long.

But the crackdown is making ostentatious displays less popular, which
could affect sales.
When the entire society is pointing
at some people as having much more
than others, potentially those [people]
hesitate to show it, Mr Wester said.

Photos posted online of the wreckage of lime green Lamborghini and red
Ferrari that crashed drag racing on the
streets of Beijing earlier this month
caused outrage, as people questioned
who owned the luxury cars.
Germanys Daimler believes it may
have hit upon a solution with its new

Mercedes-Maybach S600, saying it is

understated enough to find a market in
the new China.
The Maybach is a really exclusive
vehicle, but still almost an understatement, said Hubertus Troska, member
of the board of management of Daimler with responsibility for China.
We feel like it fits actual Chinese
times.
The slowdown did not stop Britains
Rolls-Royce from choosing China for
the launch of its new Phantom Limelight, which has features including
leather-covered accessory boxes and
handmade fragrance holders.
This precious brand ... occupies a
very special place in the hearts of our
customers here in China, Rolls-Royce
CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos told the
launch ceremony at another Shanghai
art museum.
But parent BMW said it had adjusted the production of Rolls-Royce
specifically because of slower sales in
China, which became apparent last
summer.
We have seen some headwinds in
the top luxury segment, not only RollsRoyce but very expensive goods in this
country, said Peter Schwarzenbauer,
member of the board of management
for BMW who has responsibility for
Rolls-Royce.
AFP

12 THE MYANMAR TIMES APRIL 22, 2015

World

13

WORLD EDITOR: Kayleigh Long

Morsi receives heavy

sentence but skirts
death penalty this time

History lessons:
Syrian Armenians
reflect on the past

WORLD 16

WORLD 17

PHNOM PENH

BANGKOK

Refugee deal hits a snag

AUSTRALIA has reportedly cancelled
a planned flight intended to ferry the
first batch of refugees from Nauru to
Cambodia due to logistical errors
after Cambodian officials on April 19
denied any refugees were expected in
the Kingdom in the coming days.
Up to five asylum seekers in the
Australian detention centre on the
tiny island have accepted cash payments of thousands of dollars to have
their refugee status determinations
fast-tracked in order to be eligible to
come to Cambodia, a refugee advocate said yesterday.
There is only one I can confirm.
But I am told that there could also be
three Tamils and a Rohingya man
One Iranian has definitely [taken the
offer], Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for
the Australia-based Refugee Action
Coalition, said.
As Australian immigration officials had been unable to convince any
refugees already living temporarily
on Nauru to take up the offer of resettlement, the Abbott government had
resorted to targeting those whose
claims had not yet been approved, he
added.
If youre inside the detention
centre the prospect of a fast-track
determination and a visa, even to
Cambodia, would be quite appealing

IN PICTURES
Photo: AFP

to some.
Cambodian officials were due
to arrive on Nauru yesterday to assess the reported applications. The
visit was announced after a letter
handed out by the Australians inviting refugees to head to Cambodia as
early as yesterday caused confusion
among Cambodian officials, who had
not been briefed on the proposed
arrivals.
A spokesperson for Australias
immigration minister, Peter Dutton,
did not respond to a request for comment yesterday, but he told the ABC
that the first plane wont be far off .
Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy
Kuong referred questions about the
Cambodian delegations planned visit
to Nauru to Interior Ministry spokesperson General Khieu Sopheak, who
could not be reached for comment.
Hong Lim, a Cambodian-Australian member of Victorias state parliament who worked closely with refugees arriving in Australia from the
Indochinese wars of the 1970s, said
he was ashamed as an Australian
ashamed as a Cambodian.
Australia has a proud history and
tradition of welcoming more than a
million postwar Jewish, Eastern European and Indo-Chinese refugees.
Phnom Penh Post

A woman holds
a placard as she
joins members
of an eco-waste
coalition and other
environmentalists
in a march to
the presidential
Malacanang
Palace in Manila
yesterday, ahead
of Earth Day
today. The rally
was held to call
on Philippine
President Benigno
Aquino to defend
the Clean Air Act
law from legislative
attacks and keep a
local incineration
ban intact.

JAKARTA

Pair sentenced over

body in suitcase murder
A US couple were given long jail terms
yesterday for the sadistic murder of
the womans mother, whose body was
found stuffed in a suitcase outside a
luxury hotel on Indonesias Bali island.
Tommy Schaefer, 21, was found
guilty of the premeditated murder of
Sheila von Wiese Mack on the resort
island and jailed for 18 years.
His girlfriend and the victims
daughter, 19-year-old Heather Mack
who was pregnant at the time of the
crime, was found guilty of assisting in
the murder and given a 10-year prison
term.
Mr Schaefer wept in the Bali court
as judges recounted harrowing details of the case, in which he beat the
62-year-old victim to death with a fruit
bowl during a blazing row in the fivestar resort, before he and his girlfriend
dumped the body in a taxi.
The defendants actions disturbed
the public and can be considered sadistic, said Judge Made Suweda as he
sentenced Mr Schaefer. The case sent
shockwaves across the tropical holiday
island that welcomes millions of foreign visitors each year.
Mr Schaefers jail term was the
same as that recommended by prosecutors. He escaped a death sentence,
the maximum term for premeditated
murder in Indonesia.
Ms Mack, who hid in the bathroom
while Mr Schaefer attacked her mother,
was found guilty of the lesser charge of
assisting in the murder. Prosecutors
had recommended a 15-year jail term
but Suweda said judges decided to give
her a lighter sentence as she needed to
care for her baby daughter, who was
born last month.
Von Wiese Macks badly beaten
body was discovered in a taxi outside
an upmarket resort on Bali last August.
After her killing, the couple from the
Chicago area fled to another part of

Bali where police arrested them.

Mr Schaefer confessed to the killing during his trial but claimed he was
defending himself during an argument
with Ms von Wiese Mack, who was unhappy that her daughter was pregnant.
Prosecutors alleged that Mr
Schaefer blindly hit Ms von Wiese
Mack with the fruit bowl in a fit of rage
after she directed a racial slur at him.
Mr Schaefer is black.
While her mother was being murdered, Ms Mack hid in the bathroom
and the couple then stuffed the body
into the suitcase together, according to
her indictment.
The pair were tried separately.
Handing down the verdict in Mr
Schaefers case, Mr Suweda said he was
legally and convincingly guilty of premeditated murder.
Ms Macks baby girl Stella is staying
with her in Balis notorious Kerobokan
jail, where prisoners live in cramped,
insanitary conditions and drug abuse
is widespread.
In an interview with the Chicago
Tribune newspaper in February, Ms
Mack said she was petrified and revealed that she was sharing a cell with
10 other women.
I loved my mom with all my heart
and miss her every day, she said.
The case involved a lengthy investigation, with assistance from the US
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Locals and foreigners alike were
horrified at the rare murder on Bali,
a pocket of Hinduism in Muslimmajority Indonesia famed for its
palm-fringed, pristine beaches.
Foreign visitors sometimes run
into trouble on the tropical island,
although they normally fall foul of
Indonesias tough anti-drugs laws,
which include the death penalty for
smuggling narcotics.
AFP

JAKARTA

Key figures to meet

at Jakarta summit
ASIAN and African leaders gather
in Indonesia this week to mark 60
years since a landmark conference
that helped forge a common identity
among emerging states, but analysts
say big-power rivalries will overshadow proclamations of solidarity.
Chinese President Xi Jinping,
Japans Prime Minster Shinzo Abe,
leaders from several African countries, as well as Irans President Hassan Rouhani will attend commemorations of the 1955 conference that
laid the foundations for the Cold
War-era Non-Aligned Movement
(NAM).
The original conference in 1955
gathered around 30 countries, many
of them newly independent after
decades of colonialism and foreign
occupation, in the city of Bandung
on Java island. It was led by Indonesian independence hero Sukarno.
Other prominent figures included Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Egypts Gamal Abdel
Nasser, who were among leaders
who founded NAM several years later, an organisation for countries that
did not want to take sides during
the Cold War with either the United
States or Soviet Union.
However the NAM has struggled
to remain relevant in the post-Cold
War era and as its member countries
grew in clout, now representing a
huge chunk of the global economy.
Some analysts argue the conference is more about big countries

particularly China and Japan

seeking to unilaterally extend their
influence with other participants.
China, especially, has been aggressively forging closer links with
Africa, whose natural resources help
power the countrys growth.
The bigger states have their own
agenda coming here, said Tobias
Basuki, a Jakarta-based analyst.
With more than 80 countries
represented at the five-day conference, Mr Basuki added that it would
be hard for such a diverse group of
states to reach consensus.
Nigerias Bolaji Akinyemi, a former foreign minister, said the original grouping served as an incubator for emerging nations like ours at
independence.
Ahead of the meeting, Chinese
Deputy Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin hailed the tradition of nonalignment.
And, though most analysts remained sceptical, some observers
said the growing economic strength
of the participants showed evidence
of renewed life in the movement.
The conference feels like the
non-aligned movement graduating to BRICS, said Ernest Bower, a
Southeast Asia expert at US thinktank the Center for Strategic and
International Studies.
However the conference has also
been marred by the absence of key
figures.
Though India was a major player

at the first meeting, Prime Minister

Narendra Modi is not attending,
while South African President Jacob
Zuma cancelled due to a wave of
xenophobic violence at home.
The main leaders summit begins
today in Jakarta.
Along with the African and Asian
leaders, a handful of Middle Eastern
countries are represented, including
Iran by Mr Rouhani.
Several controversial figures will
attend, including Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, indicted by the
ICC for war crimes.
Beyond the commemorations,
Muslim-majority Indonesia will
host a meeting of Islamic countries
on the escalating Yemen conflict, as
requested by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
The conflict has sent tensions
soaring between Saudi Arabia and its
regional rival Iran.
Yemen and Saudi Arabia are not
represented at the conference, although several other OIC members
are.
Meanwhile Japans Mr Abe, a
strident nationalist, is due to give a
speech at the summit, which will be
watched closely ahead of a statement
expected later this year to mark the
70th anniversary of the end of World
War II.
The five-day ends on April 24,
with leaders heading to Bandung to
commemorate the original gathering.
AFP

FOUR tonnes of African elephant

ivory worth US$6 million has been
seized at a Bangkok port in a container labelled as beans, Thai customs
said on April 20, in the kingdoms
largest-ever haul of its kind.
The 739 pieces of tusk were found
stashed in a container which arrived at
the port on April 18 after being shipped
from the Democratic Republic of Congo destined for Laos, according to a
statement by Thai customs.
The pieces weigh around 4000
kilograms [four tonnes] and are
worth around 200 million baht ($6
million) ... It is the biggest ivory seizure in Thai history, the statement
said, adding they had been declared
on the cargo list as beans.
Once in neighbouring Laos, authorities believe the ivory would likely be
sold on to buyers from China, Vietnam
or back into Thailand, countries where
ivory ornaments remain highly prized
despite fears the trade is pushing wild
elephants to extinction.
Under Thai law, registered ivory
from domesticated Thai elephants
can be sold. But experts say that loophole allows criminal gangs to launder
poached African ivory through the
kingdom.
Thai authorities say they have
stepped up seizures of illegal ivory

Thai customs officers arrange confiscated elephant tusks during a press

conference at the Customs Bureau in Bangkok on April 20. Photo: AFP

after global regulator the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora (CITES) threatened an international ban on the kingdoms entire
wildlife business if it failed to curb
the trade in tusks on its soil.
Last year CITES set Thailand an
August 2015 deadline to fall into line
or risk wide-ranging sanctions.
A ban would prevent the country

trading anything appearing on that

list with another country, including orchids and exotic wood which
are significant export products for
Thailand.
Conservationists say poaching
and conflict has decimated the number of African elephants in the wild,
prompting experts to warn the species could be wiped out within decades. AFP

SYDNEY

Three dead as storm lashes coast

BANGKOK

Thai charter in the works

DELIBERATIONS
have
commenced on forming a new Thai constitution, which includes clauses to
stop parties winning a majority and
allows unelected officials to govern,
in a bid by the Thai junta to end a
near-decade of political turmoil.
However, the charter is widely
seen as an assault on the electoral
success of the former ruling Shinawatra clan.
Parties led-by or aligned-to Thaksin Shinawatras billionaire family have won every election since
2001, prompting two coups backed
by the royalist establishment and
nearly a decade of acrimony that
has frequently spilled into violence.
On April 20 the junta-appointed National Reform Council (NRC)
began a week of discussion on
the draft charter, a process which
could see the document receive
royal endorsement by September.
Thailands constitution has undergone more than a dozen re-writes
since the end of absolute monarchy
in 1932.
The leaders of last Mays coup
say another new charter is needed
to soothe Thailands divides ahead
of elections slated for next year.
On April 20, Borwornsak Uwanno, chairman of the Constitution
Drafting Committee (CDC), said the
new charter will not allow a majority government which can become a
parliamentary dictatorship.
Speaking in the televised debate
he denied it was a blueprint to end
the domination of the Shinawatras,
but would instead empower the
Thai people at the expense of politicians.

Historic ivory haul seized in Bangkok

Under the draft, future elections

will be decided by a proportional
representation system similar to
Germanys that will favour smaller
parties and coalition governments.
But to avoid legislative paralysis
under coalitions, prime ministers
will not have to be directly elected
by the public.
Lawmakers will also be barred
from becoming ministers so that
they cannot use that power to unduly influence the government,
Mr Borwornsak added, raising the
prospect of unelected officials running the government.
Analysts have said the draft is
not truly democratic and harks
back to an era when a royalist and
military elite had a stranglehold on
politics.
That grip has been threatened
by the rise of the Shinawatras, who
draw on the support of the northern portion of the country, which
is poorer than the south and historically receives a smaller share of
state cash from Bangkok.
Their supporters say the family
recognised their changing political
and economic aspirations with subsidies for farmers and other propoor policies such as virtually free
healthcare and micro loans.
But their enemies, principally
among the elite, military and royalist southerners, have justified army
power grabs by saying the family
has poisoned Thailand with populist policies, cronyism and lead the
poor astray.
The elites main party, the Democrats, have failed to win a popular
vote in nearly 20 years.
AFP

THREE people died as the Australian

state of New South Wales was lashed
by a once-in-a-decade storm yesterday with homes washed away, thousands hit by power cuts and sand drifts
sweeping inland off Sydneys iconic
Bondi beach.
Sea swells also hampered shipping
as the region around Australias biggest city suffered its second day of galeforce winds of up to 135 kilometres per
hour (83 mph) and torrential rain.
The Bureau of Meteorology said 119
millimetres (5 inches) of rain had fallen
in Sydney in 24 hours the citys wettest period since 2002.
The destructive winds blanketed
parks, pavements and roads with sand
from beaches including Bondi, while
trees were uprooted, crashing onto
cars, and power lines blown down.
Dozens of flights were delayed and
at least one cruise ship found itself
stuck at sea outside Sydney Harbour.
New South Wales state Premier
Mike Baird said 4500 calls had been
made to emergency services.

There is no doubt this is a very severe storm event, indeed it is a once in

10-year event, he said.
We have lost some homes. There is
a number of roofs taken off. We have
also lost life. It is a huge storm event
that is wreaking havoc across NSW at
the moment.
New South Wales police said three
people died in the country town of
Dungog, 215 kilometres (133 miles)
north of Sydney, which was soaked by
300mm of rain in 24 hours.
During the morning a woman and
two men were located deceased within
the Dungog township. The circumstances surrounding their deaths are
still to be determined, they said in a
statement.
Video footage posted online showed
a wooden house being swept away by
flash floods, although it was not clear if
this was linked to the deaths.
The Dungog Chronicle said four
houses had been washed away and that
the two men and one woman who died,
all elderly, were trapped in their homes

Heavy seas are whipped up by strong winds at Bondi Beach in Sydney on April
21. Photo: AFP

as floodwater surged through the town.

The water came out of nowhere, it
just rose that quick, Dungog resident
Jarod Rits, 18, told the newspaper. The
water was just a roar, really, just rushing through the streets.
Police advised Dungog residents
and others in surrounding areas to
leave their homes and move to an evacuation centre at a local high school, or
to stay with family and friends.
Baird said the State Emergency
Services (SES) had carried out 47 flood
rescues.
There have been multiple persons
trapped in vehicles, being trapped in
buildings and being trapped on top of
buildings while trying to take refuge
from floodwaters, SES deputy chief
Steven Pearce told reporters.
Speaking earlier to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, he said,
Weve havent seen this sort of weather
pattern, this east-coast low or one as severe as this, in years.
In Sydney, the harbour pilot could
not board the giant Carnival Spirit
cruise ship due to massive swells. The
vessel languished in the open ocean
with hundreds of passengers on board.
The Port Authority of New South
Wales said the harbour had been closed
for commercial shipping, possibly for
48 hours. Ferries across Sydney were
cancelled or had limited services.
ABC reported that one person was
also missing near Newcastle, 150km
north of Sydney, after floodwaters
rushed through a campground and
washed away campervans and caravans.
Dozens of schools were closed,
while the electricity utility Ausgrid said
around 200,000 homes and businesses
were without power across Sydney and
the Central Coast and Hunter Valley areas to the north.
Numerous roads were also closed
due to flooding, fallen trees and
downed power lines. AFP

14 World

THE MYANMAR TIMES APRIL 22, 2015

BURJ HAMMOUD, LEBANON

Syrian Armenians fear history repeating

FOR thousands of Syrian Armenian
refugees in Lebanon, the slaughter
and expulsion of their ancestors a
century ago is less a historical event
than an ongoing trauma.
Though their community is just
one of many caught up in Syrias
brutal conflict, Syrian Armenians say
their fate has been particularly painful because it echoes the tragedy often
termed the Armenian genocide.
Maggie Melkonian fights back
tears as she describes fleeing to
Lebanon from her home in the
Sulamaniyeh district of Syrias Aleppo
city more than two years ago.
Just as our ancestors had to leave
without anything, we had to do the
same, she says.
Were living a second genocide
now. Our houses are all gone ... Our
people are dying again, she adds, her
voice breaking.
Ms Melkonian is safe now, living
in the Armenian district of Burj Hammoud with her daughter and son-inlaw, and her grandchildren.
But her husband remains in
Aleppo, reluctant to leave everything
behind, like so many Armenians who
fled their homes in 1915.
The facts of the tragedy that began 100 years ago this month remain
bitterly disputed.
Armenia and Armenians in the
diaspora say 1.5 million of their forefathers were killed by Ottoman forces in
a targeted campaign.
They say the campaign was
ordered by the military leadership of
the Ottoman empire to eradicate the
Armenian people from Anatolia in
what is now eastern Turkey.
But Turkey takes a sharply
different view, saying that hundreds
of thousands of Turks and Armenians
lost their lives as Ottoman forces battled the Russian Empire for control of

A boy pushes a cart past graffitti in Armenian-dominated Burj Hammoud on the northern outskirts of Beirut on April 16.
Photo: AFP

eastern Anatolia during World War I.

In Burj Hammoud, Lebanese and
Syrian Armenians have no qualms
about labelling the tragedy a genocide
and holding Turkey responsible for it.
The streets are spray-painted with
profanities directed at Ankara and
stencilled graffiti reading Turkey,
guilty of genocide.
In the run-up to the centenary,
placards and banners have been hung
reading We remember and demand,
a reference to a long-standing call for
Turkey to acknowledge the murders as
genocide.

CAIRO

As the Lebanese Armenian

community plans events to mark the
tragedy, many Armenians who fled
Syria say they feel as though they are
still living it.
They draw parallels between the
experiences of their forefathers and
incidents like the targeting of the
Syrian Armenian town of Kasab
and the destruction of an Armenian
church in Deir Ezzor province that
contained the remains of victims of
the 1915 massacre.
I feel that were seeing history repeating itself, says 30-year-old Maral

Giloyan.
We are exhausted. For all these
years, we have not been able to feel
comfortable, to relax.
Ms Giloyan is a refugee twice over.
Her family left Iraqs capital Baghdad in 2005, fleeing the violence that
followed the US-led invasion.
They settled in Aleppo, where Ms
Giloyan married a Syrian Armenian
man and had three children, but
fled last year after her husband was
wounded by mortar fire.
I want to live in peace, but all Ive
known is war, she says.

Alexan Keuchkerian, a member of

Lebanons Armenian Hunchak party,
is at pains to note that all Syrians, not
just Armenians, are suffering.
More than 220,000 people have
been killed in the conflict, and nearly
half the population has been displaced, with more than a million refugees settling in Lebanon.
But for Syrian Armenians, this is a
second forced migration, its a double
wound, he says.
The pain is being repeated.
Members of his own family are
among the recent arrivals from
Aleppo.
His ancestors were expelled during
1915 from the Cilicia region of what is
now Turkey, and settled in Lebanon.
But during the 1975-1990 Lebanese
civil war, they took refuge in Aleppo,
only to flee back to Lebanon when the
Syrian conflict started.
Some of our people feel they are
living a never-ending migration, he
says.
Many of the estimated 10,000
Syrian
Armenian
refugees
in
Lebanon have passed through the
Howard Karagheusian Association in
Burj Hammoud, which offers medical services and classes to all those in
need.
The centres Lebanese Armenian
staff say working with Syrian arrivals
has only strengthened the significance
of the massacre for them.
The stories refugees tell them
remind them of similar memories
their grandparents shared about their
experiences decades earlier.
Its not on the same scale, but its
difficult not to feel that history is repeating itself, said Christine Sarkissian, a social worker at the centre.
It reinforces the idea that all of
us have in our minds that we must be
ready at any time to flee. AFP

SYDNEY

Stop the boats: Abbotts advice to EU

Morsi dodges death
sentence in first verdict
AN Egyptian court sentenced deposed
president Mohamed Morsi to 20 years
in prison yesterday, in the first verdict
against the Islamist nearly two years
after the army ousted him.
The Cairo court delivered its verdict on charges of inciting the killing of
protesters in December 2012, when Mr
Morsi was still in office.
The death penalty, which the court
ultimately decided against, would have
be a symbolic blow against the countrys first freely elected president and
his Muslim Brotherhood movement
the target of a brutal crackdown after then-army chief and now-president
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi overthrew him on
July 3, 2013.
Ahead of the verdict, the Brotherhood slammed Mr Sisi and called for
pro-Morsi protests yesterday.
The coup commander is exploiting
the judiciary as a weapon in the battle
against popular will and the democratic and revolutionary legitimacy represented by President Mohamed Morsi,
it said in a statement.
Mr Morsi also faces a possible death
penalty in two other trials, including
one in which he is accused of spying
for foreign powers.
Separate verdicts in those two
cases are due on May 16 and experts
are not discounting the possibility of
a death sentence being handed down,
given by the fact judges have passed
harsh verdicts against leaders of the
Brotherhood.
Mr Morsi was toppled after street
protests against his year-long rule.
The new authorities then launched
a sweeping crackdown on his supporters in which more than 1400 people

were killed and thousands jailed.

Hundreds have been sentenced to
death after speedy mass trials which
the United Nations called unprecedented in recent history.
The authorities have also targeted
secular and liberal activists who spearheaded the 2011 uprising against longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak, Mr Morsis predecessor.
In November, a court dropped murder charges against Mr Mubarak in his
own trial over the deaths of hundreds
of protesters in 2011.
The verdict involves a case in which
Mr Morsi and 14 other defendants, seven of whom are on the run, are charged
with the killing of three protesters and
torturing several more during clashes
on December 5, 2012.
Defence lawyers say there is no
proof Mr Morsi incited the clashes.
Even if he escapes the death penalty,
Mr Morsi could still face life in jail. The
verdict is open to appeal.
Sisi has vowed to eradicate the
Brotherhood, an 85-year-old movement that staged major electoral gains
between Mr Mubaraks fall and Mr
Morsis presidential victory in May
2012.
The movement was designated a
terrorist group in December 2013.
In a country where the army has
been in power for decades, Mr Sisis
May 2014 presidential victory crushed
hopes raised since the popular antiMubarak revolt of a civilian democracy.
While Mr Sisis regime is widely popular among Egyptians tired of political
turmoil, rights groups say it is more
repressive than under Mr Mubarak.
AFP

AUSTRALIAN
Prime
Minister
Tony Abbott, whose government
introduced tough measures to stop
asylum-seeker boats, said yesterday
the European Union should follow
suit, describing it as the only way to
end deaths at sea.
His comments came after a vessel
crammed with migrants capsized off
Libya at the weekend with the loss
of 800 lives, and as EU foreign and
interior
ministers
met
in
Luxembourg to discuss ways to stem
the flood of people trying to reach
Europe.
Australias conservative government introduced a military-led
operation after coming into power in
September 2013 to turn back boats
carrying asylum-seekers before they
reach the continent.
We have got hundreds, maybe
thousands of people drowning in
the attempts to get from Africa to
Europe, Mr Abbott told reporters.
The only way you can stop the
deaths is in fact to stop the boats,
he added.
While Mr Abbotts controversial
policy has proved successful, with
the nation going nearly 18 months
with virtually no asylum-seeker boat
arrivals and no reported deaths at
sea, human rights advocates say it
violates Australias international
obligations.
Before the policy was introduced,
boats were arriving almost daily
with hundreds of people drowning
en route.
We must resolve to stop this
terrible problem and the only way
you can stop the deaths is to stop the
people-smuggling trade, Mr Abbott
said.

Thats why it is so urgent that

the countries of Europe adopt very
strong policies that will end the
people-smuggling trade across the
Mediterranean.
Under Canberras hard-line policy, navy ships intercept boats carrying asylum-seekers and turn them
back to where they transited from,
mostly Indonesia, or send those on
board to offshore processing camps
in the Pacific islands of Papua New
Guinea and Nauru.

We must resolve
to stop this terrible
problem and the
only way you can
stop the deaths is
to stop the peoplesmmuggling trade.
Tony Abbott
Australian Prime Minister

Asylum-seekers who arrive by

boat are blocked from resettling in
Australia even if they are found to be
genuine refugees. They are left with
the option of either returning home
or living in PNG, Nauru or even
impoverished Cambodia, under bilateral agreements.
The policy has been slammed by
the United Nations and human rights
advocates who say it violates the

1951 Refugee Convention of which

Australia is a signatory.
The offshore processing of
asylum-seekers has also faced
criticism over the camps conditions
and the lengthy processing times.
One of the architects of Australias border policies, retired army
major-general Jim Molan, said the
crisis was due to Europes incompetent policy reaction.
Writing in The Australian
newspaper yesterday, he said the
tragedies were worsened by Europes refusal to learn from its own
mistakes and from the efforts of others who have handled similar problems.
He added, Destroying the
criminal
people-smugglers
was
the centre of gravity of our border
control policies, and judicious boat
turnbacks was the key.
In contrast, UN human rights
chief Zeid Raad Al Hussein said the
unfolding disaster was a result of
Europe turning its back on some
of the most vulnerable migrants in
the world, and risked turning the
Mediterranean
into
a
vast
cemetery.
Italy had a search-and-rescue
operation that saved some 170,000
people last year but it was suspended by Rome in protest over
rising costs, replaced by a smaller
and much more restricted EU-led
mission.
Mr Molan also blamed Europe
and the United States for not sending troops to Libya, where most of the
migrants fleeing to Europe over the
past two weeks have come from, and
the failure of the United Nations to
push for peacekeeping forces. AFP

World 15

www.mmtimes.com
CATANIA

Boat tragedy
leaves 800 dead
ITALIAN police have arrested two suspected people traffickers among the
survivors of the migrant boat that capsized off Libya on April 19, as the UN
said 800 people were killed in the Mediterraneans worst migrant disaster.
They said they had detained a Tunisian man believed to be the captain
of the vessel and a Syrian allegedly a
member of the ships crew, taken from
a group of 27 haggard survivors who
arrived in the Sicilian port of Catania
on the evening of April 20. Both face
charges of people trafficking.
Under-fire EU ministers meanwhile
agreed on a 10-point plan to double the
resources available to the current EU
border surveillance mission Triton, as
the UNs refugee agency and the International Organization for Migration
recounted what those onboard had
witnessed.
We can say that 800 are dead, said
Carlotta Sami, spokesperson for the
United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees in Italy yesterday.
Those who escaped with their lives
described to officials the moment the
20-metre trawler capsized after a Portuguese merchant ship approached the
vessel, causing a stampede.
There were a little over 800 people
on board, including children aged between 10 and 12. There were Syrians,
about 150 Eritreans, Somalians ... They
had left Tripoli at about 8am on [April
18], Sami said.

The survivors hailed from Mali,

Gambia, Senegal, Somalia, Eritrea and
Bangladesh, she added, and all had
been taken to nearby holding centres.
One other survivor was taken to hospital in Catania, on Sicilys east coast.
EU foreign affairs chief Federica
Mogherini had unveiled plans earlier
on April 20 to tackle the growing migrant crisis after telling member states
they had no more excuses not to act.
Even as EU foreign and interior
ministers met in Luxembourg to discuss ways to stem the flood of people
trying to reach Europe, the International Organization for Migration said
it had received a distress call from another boat but cautioned against concluding this was another disaster in the
making.
Italian Premier Matteo Renzi said
separately that Italys coast guard had
asked merchant shipping to come to
the aid of two boats off the Libyan
coast with up to 450 migrants on board
after they sought help.
Police in Greece reported three people killed, including a child, after a boat
coming from Turkey sank off the island
of Rhodes.
Dramatic footage showed people
trying to reach survivors huddled on a
piece of wreckage as they were being
swept towards rocks.
Ninety-three people were rescued
alive, police said.
Europes southern shores have been

The body of a person who died when a fishing boat carrying migrants capsized off the Libyan coast is brought ashore in
Malta on April 20. Photo: AFP

swamped over the past two weeks with

migrants fleeing war and hardship,
mostly via conflict-wracked Libya.
More than 11,000 migrants have
been rescued by Italian authorities
since the middle of last week alone and
current trends suggest last years total
of 170,000 landing in Italy is likely to
be exceeded in 2015.
Unveiling the 10-point action plan,
Ms Mogherini said the EU had to live
up to its humanitarian values and commitments towards migrants, she said,
adding, To send them back is another
way of killing them.
First on the list, ministers agreed
the current EU border surveillance
mission Triton should be increased to
extend its range and capabilities on the
blocs southern flank.
Triton replaced Italys own Mare
Nostrum mission, which Rome

scrapped late last year in protest that

its EU partners would not share the
burden.
The EU will also try to capture or
destroy people-smuggling boats and
increase cooperation across the board,
the European Commission said.
The bloc will also offer a voluntary
pilot project on resettlement, providing
a number of places to persons in need
of protection, a key but small step forward in spreading the problem.
Elsewhere EU president Donald
Tusk announced an emergency leaders
summit for tomorrow to discuss the
plan, saying, We cannot continue like
this. We cant accept that hundreds of
people die.
Italys Renzi, whose country bears
the brunt of the problem, said Rome
was studying the possibility of mounting targeted interventions against

Libya-based people smugglers.

Attacks on death rackets, attacks
against slave traders [traffickers] are
in our thinking, Mr Renzi told a press
conference with his Maltese counterpart Joseph Muscat.
Italian and Maltese navy boats
meanwhile continued to search for the
victims of the disaster, which brings to
an estimated 1600 the number of migrants who have drowned in the Mediterranean this year.
Only 28 survivors have been found
so far, along with 24 bodies, which
were taken to Malta.
The deadliest incident prior to the
April 19 tragedy occurred off Malta in
September 2014, when an estimated
500 migrants drowned after traffickers
deliberately rammed their boat in an
attempt to force the passengers onto a
smaller vessel. AFP

the pulse editor: ChArlotte rose charlottelola.rose@gmail.com

Mai Kuriyama, right, and her younger sister Mika stroll in kimono as part of their maiko training at Yasui Kompiragu shrine in Kyoto, Japan. Photo: Yomiuri Shimbun

THE MYANMAR TIMES April 22, 2015

the pulse 17

www.mmtimes.com

Geisha lessons teach

the art of glamour and
graceful behaviour
By Naoko Moriya

ANY women of various ages are visiting shops and

studios in Kyoto that offer lessons on how to dress and
behave like maiko, the young entertainers of Kyotos
hanamachi entertainment districts known for their
beautiful clothing, glamorous white makeup and
graceful behaviour.
Maiko are apprentice geiko, the term used in Kyoto for geisha.
Maiko are usually aged from about 15 to 20 and perform Japanese
dance for guests at banquets. They also train in singing, playing the
shamisen and other Japanese traditional performing arts to become
geiko.
I asked former maiko Shigeko Yasuda for practical hints on
becoming a more sophisticated, charming woman through a maikos
routine. Yasuda, 68, operates a maiko program near the Gion
entertainment district.
I want you not just to wear the clothing, but also be interested
in maikos beautiful movements, and their courtesy and rules of
etiquette, Yasuda said.
When I visited her shop in mid-March, two local women,
Mai Kuriyama, 24, and her sister Mika, 21, were in the middle of
transforming into maiko. They said they had not worn kimono since
attending their Coming-of-Age Day ceremony.
Customers at Yasudas shop are allowed to stroll around the
neighbourhood with their hair arranged, wearing makeup and
kimono. A basic course lasting about three hours starts at 15,500
yen (about US$130), plus tax.
The workshop begins with hair arrangement. As doing up the
customers own hair takes too much time, wigs are usually used.
After that, the signature white makeup used by maiko is
applied. First, paste powder is dissolved with water and applied
to the face with a brush. The eyebrows, eyelids and lips are then
accentuated with a touch of rouge.
Its like Im somebody else, Mai said, looking at her reflection
in a mirror. It automatically makes me stand straighter.
Next the kimono is put on.
Lets choose kimono with motifs suited to the season, Yasuda
said to the sisters. The kimono chosen for Mika bore a pattern
of temari handmade decorative thread balls on a light blue
background. Its refreshing design was perfect for springtime.
Her elder sister chose one with a large clamshell pattern on
a vermilion background. Drawn in each shell were images of the
seasons flowers and traditional elements in various colours.
After putting on the kimono and some accessories, they went
to the nearby Yasui Kompiragu shrine to pray. Both wore a heavy
wig and pokkuri wooden clogs, the heels of which are more than 10
centimetres (about 3.9 inches) thick. I could imagine how tough it
would be to walk in the outfits.
Straighten your back and pull in your stomach. Tighten your
rump, too, Yasuda said to them. Maiko learn this posture through

practicing Kyomai traditional dancing.

If a maiko stoops even slightly, she is scolded by her teachers to
straighten her back.
According to Yasuda, maiko learn even courtesy and etiquette
from the instructors who teach them performing arts. Also,
they should always stop walking and bow whenever they see
acquaintances on the streets.
When you greet people, you shouldnt do it while doing
something else, Yasuda said. As you cant remember everyones
faces at first, you should greet anything nearby on the ground, even
utility poles so maiko are told.
I want to stand up quickly and gracefully after sitting on my
heels on the floor for a long time. Yasuda shared a secret for not
letting your legs go to sleep: when you sit on your heels, place one
big toe on the other so your right and left legs form a V shape. Then
place your hips on them.
Maiko make a habit of having an
extra pair of tabi Japanese
socks in the basket bags
they take with them
to banquets.
That way

they can change their tabi if they get dirty when theyre taking off
their clogs before the banquets.
I feel I could learn a bit about the secret of a maikos beauty,
Mika said.
I also learned that its not just about beautiful makeup and
wearing gorgeous kimono. Keeping a beautiful posture, walking
and moving gracefully, having knowledge of Japanese traditional
culture, showing consideration for others acquiring these
elements can make any woman more sophisticated and charming.
We can use them in our daily life in Western clothes, too.
The daily items used by maiko also give hints of their feminine
grace.
A sankaku-bukuro, literally a triangular cloth bag, can
hold your raincoat after you take it off and your folding
umbrella. An ozashiki-kago is a drawstring basket that maiko
bring to banquets with them, made with varying patterns
and materials. A tenugui case is meant to hold tenugui cotton
towels, but it would probably look fashionable if you use it for
handkerchiefs.
These items can be purchased online, and at stores specialising in
Japanese fashion items in Kyoto and elsewhere. Washington Post

18 the pulse

THE MYANMAR TIMES April 22, 2015

LOS ANGELES

For Nick Cave, sick

bags chart a rock
stars odyssey
A

IRPLANE sick bags may

be the ultimate symbol of
travel discomfort, with a
journey interrupted by an
outpouring that is both
sudden and disgusting. For Nick Cave,
the image seems intended.
The Australian rock icon has
authored a quasi-memoir in the form
of a collection of sick bags, on which
he jotted down ideas as he flew across
North America on a 2014 tour.
In a storyline with hints of
Homers Odyssey, the 57-year-old
rocker on The Sick Bag Song seeks his
way home and reminisces about his
past as he, symbolically, vomits out
his inner thoughts.
In entries that drift between poetry and journal entries, Cave describes
the haze of his life as a performer.
He writes of walking on stage at the
Bonnaroo festival in Tennessee to
become an object of great fascination
to almost no one and, after the show,
I will sit outside on the steps of our
trailer and smoke.
The book reproduces images of the
sick bags on which Cave scribbled his
observations, which range from see-

ing rock legend Lou Reeds face

appearing on the napkin of a New
York bar to, simply, Masturbated at
the W Hotel, Austin.
The outlook bleak, but with
strong religious undertones and
sexual fixations is no surprise
considering the music of Cave, one
of the darker figures to emerge from
the 1970s punk scene and whose most
famous song, The Mercy Seat, he
narrates from the perspective of a
man facing execution.
Cave, who earlier published two
novels, suggested that The Sick Bag
Song was the closest he would come
to a memoir, other than a film on his
life released last year, 20,000 Days on
Earth.
Its kind of, for me, a work of
fiction about an aging rock star who
looks a lot like me, Cave said April 15
as he launched the book at the Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles.
A taciturn man with an at-times
ghostly gaze, Cave declined to offer
opinions to questions from fans on
everything from his literary influences to his views on music streaming.
Cave, who will conduct similar

readings in New York and London,

said that the book was an attempt at
self-expression, as so often his mind
goes into a blur as he travels.
Performing is something that is
ecstatic on one hand and unbelievably forgettable as well, he said.
In an unusual move, The Sick Bag
Song is being sold exclusively through
a specially designed website and
not in bookstores or through online
retailers such as Amazon.
The Sick Bag Song also has 10 limited editions for each of the 22 cities
in the book. The 750 (US$1100) versions will be personally customised
by Cave with unique additions along
with two vinyl records in which he
reads the book.
Jamie Byng, chief executive officer
of Caves Edinburgh-based publisher
Canongate, said that The Sick Bag Song
offered an opportunity to experiment
on how to produce and sell a book.
With Cave commanding a strong
fan base, Canongate hoped to avoid
the discounts that publishers generally must pass on bookstores.
We felt confident that this was
the right project to do something

Musician Nick Cave poses for the BAFTA British Academy Film Awards at the
Royal Opera House in London. Photo: AFP/Justin Tallis

really innovative with in how it

reaches the readers, said Byng.
The move also allowed Canongate
to focus on the quality of the book,
which has 44 colour pages of sick
bags and comes in its own case, he
said.
Byng said Canongate, whose
authors include Monty Python

comedian Terry Gilliam and Russian

feminist punk activists Pussy Riot,
would not rule out similar sales techniques in the future.
But he said the publisher planned
generally to work with bookstores
and will later sell through traditional
vendors a simpler paperback of The
Sick Bag Song. AFP

JApAN/MyANMAr

Yangon Runway action-drama film to screen in Myanmar this year

Myanmar director Jaw Maran (second from left), Korean-Japanese actress Yuko Fueki (centre) and Japanese actor Sonny Chiba (second from right) pose with a set sound engineer (left) and Sony
representative (right). Photo: Living Sound Entertainment

NANdAr AuNG
nandaraung.mcm@gmail.com
WHAM! Pow! The model with the
karate black belt spins through the
air as she zaps the gang attempting
to kidnap her. Yangon Runway,
the Myanmar-Japanese action and
drama movie, will be on your screens
later this year, promises director
Jaw Maran, CEO of Living Sound
Entertainment.
Right now its about 20 percent
complete, he said. Weve been facing

a lot of difficulties and pressures in

production, but were happy to do it
because this kind of creation is a big
challenge, he added.
Shooting on the 110-minute film,
under the overall direction of Koichi
Ueno, started last year in Japan,
Yangon, Bagan and Naung Tone.
Ueno said he would portray the
beauty and charm of Myanmar, and
its kidnappers, for the benefit of his
compatriots.
We estimate production costs at
US$600,000, not including marketing

and advertising, Jaw Maran told

a press conference on April 10.
His Living Sound Entertainment
organised the Korean pop stars 2NE1
concert at Yangons Myanmar Event
Park last August.
Working with Tokyo-based Sony
Entertainment and Oscar Promotions,
LSE will produce the action-drama film
starring Sonny Chiba, Rina Takeda,
Yuko Fueki and Ai Takeba, as well as
local talent Moh Moh Myint Aung, Awn
Seng, Min Oo, Thu Htoo San and other
models and actors.

The movie features a Japanese

woman who comes to Myanmar to be a
professional model and faces the usual
amusing cultural misunderstandings,
including having to escape from
kidnappers. The film also highlights
Myanmars scenic beauty, traditional
culture and customs.
I will play a model from Japan.
This is my first time in Myanmar and
I am really excited, because I dont
know anything about this country,
said action star Rina Takeda, 23. I
took the role because I wanted to

make my world career as an action

actress. It will be difficult, but
Im sure I can rely on our mutual
understanding.
She shot her way into Japanese
action movies in 2009 with High Kick
Girl after winning her black belt in
Ryukyu shorin-ryu karate.
The film will be shot in Myanmar,
English and Japanese with English
subtitles.
It is such an honour to work
with a leading company like Sony
Entertainment, said Jaw Maran.

the pulse 19

www.mmtimes.com
MiAMi

Sugary, shipwrecked champagne

reveals history of winemaking
Kerry SheridAn

SHIPWRECKED trove
of sugary, 19th-century
champagne is revealing
new details about
centuries-old ways of
making wine, and fresh insights into
the people who drank it, scientists
said.
The latest analysis of a few of the
168 bottles found in 2010 on the floor
of the Baltic Sea shows it was three
times sweeter than modern bubbly,
and suggests that the cool, dark ocean
might make an ideal storage cellar,
said the research published in the
Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences, a peer-reviewed US
journal.
After 170 years of deep sea aging
in close-to-perfect conditions, these
sleeping champagne bottles awoke
to tell us a chapter of the story of
winemaking, said the study, led by
French researchers.
While the labels were long gone by
the time the bottles were discovered,
researchers have traced them to wellknown champagne-makers Veuve
Clicquot Ponsardin (VCP), Heidsieck
and Juglar, based on markings on the
corks.
The bottles contain what is

likely the oldest champagne ever

tasted.
Possibly the most striking feature
of the Baltic champagne samples
is their extraordinarily high sugar
content, said the study led by
Philippe Jeandet, a professor in the
Faculty of Sciences, University of
Reims.
That sweetness may have come
from a grape syrup that was added
before corking, the study said.
The bottles contained about 140
grams of sugar per litre, about triple
the amount typically seen in modern
times. Often, champagne today
contains no added sugar at all.
The sweetness level was high
compared to todays taste, but not for
the era.
Ever since the bottles were
discovered deep in the Baltic Sea
off the coast of Finland, many have
surmised that the shipment was
headed to Russia.
But correspondence from the era
between Madame Clicquot and her
agent in Saint Petersburg shows that
the Russian market had a preference
for very sweet wine, containing 300
grams of sugar per litre.
People there liked sweet drinks so
much, it was customary for diners to
add spoonfuls of sugar to their wine

at the table, researchers said.

Thus, the relatively low levels
of the shipwrecked bottles, less
than 150g/L, suggest that they
might instead have been headed
for the customers in the Germanic
Confederation, said the study.
Scientists have also found
unexpectedly high levels of iron
and copper in the old samples, when
compared to modern champagne.
Copper sulfate was used at
the time to protect against fungal
diseases in grapevines. The iron may
have come from nails that were used
in the wood barrels that contained
the champagne.
Even after nearly two centuries,
the champagne did not go bad.
We are often led to believe that
hygiene is a modern concept, so
it was inspiring to realise that the
170-year-old champagne samples
presented very low concentrations of
acetic acid, a sign of wine spoilage,
said the study.
The findings also suggest that
the cool, dark conditions in the deep
sea might be ideal for champagne
storage, researchers said.
Scientists savored some of the
champagne to examine the allimportant question of taste, and
found that the practice of swirling the

liquid in
the glass
really did
improve
the flavour.
At
first, the
Baltic samples
were described
using terms such as
animal notes, wet hair,
reduction, and sometimes
cheesy, said the study, explaining
that these flavors could result from
fermentation and the lack of oxygen
at the sea floor.
Upon swirling the wine in the
glass to oxygenate it, the aroma
became far more pleasant, with
the main aromas described as
empyreumatic, grilled, spicy, smoky,
and leathery, together with fruity and
floral notes.
A bottle of the champagne sold
at auction in 2012 for 15,000 euros
(US$18,600).
In 2011 a bottle of Veuve
Clicquot raised from the
same shipwreck was
auctioned for a recordsetting 30,000
euros
($37,200).
AFP

A glass of a 200-year-old
champagne in Mariehamn.
Photo: AFP/Jonathan
Nackstrand

20 the pulse

THE MYANMAR TIMES April 22, 2015

DOMESTIC FLIGHT SCHEDULES

Yangon to MandalaY
Flight
Y5 775
W9 515
YH 909
YH 917
YJ 891
YJ 891
K7 282
W9 201
YH 826
YH 835
YH 909
YH 831
YH 911
W9201
YH 829
7Y 131
K7 266
8M 6603
YJ 751
YJ 601
YJ 201
YJ 761
YJ 233
YJ 211
YH 729
YH 737
YH 727
W9 251
K7 822
YJ 151/W9 7151
K7 622
K7 226
YH 731
Y5 234
W9 211

Days
Daily
1
1,2,3,5,6
Daily
1,2,4,5,6
3
Daily
Daily
3
1,7
7
4,6
2
1
5
Daily
Daily
4
5
6
1,2,4
1,2,4
6
5,7
2,4,6
3,5,7
1
2,5
4,7
1
1,3,5,7
2,4,6
Daily
Daily
4

Dep
6:00
6:00
6:00
6:10
6:00
6:30
6:00
7:00
7:00
7:00
7:00
7:00
7:00
7:00
7:00
7:15
8:00
9:00
10:45
11:00
11:00
11:00
11:00
11:00
11:00
11:15
11:15
11:30
12:30
13:00
13:00
13:30
14:30
15:20
15:30

Arr
7:10
7:25
7:40
8:30
8:05
8:35
8:10
8:25
8:40
8:40
8:40
8:40
8:40
8:25
11:05
9:20
10:05
10:10
14:50
12:25
12:25
12:55
12:55
12:25
14:00
13:25
13:25
12:55
16:55
16:45
14:25
14:55
16:40
16:30
16:55

MandalaY to Yangon
Flight
Y5 233
YJ 891
K7 283
YH 918
YH 910
W9 201
YJ 891
7Y 132
K7 267
YH 830
YH 912
YJ 762
YH 832
YH 827
YH 836
YH 910
YJ 212
YJ 212
YJ 202
YJ 602
YJ 762
YH 732
YH 732
YH 728
W9 152/W97152
Y5 776
W9 211
K7 823
8M 6604
K7 227
8M 903
YH 738
K7 623
YH 730
YJ 234
W9 252

Days
Daily
1,2,4,5,6
Daily
Daily
7
Daily
3
Daily
Daily
5
2
4
4,6
3
1,7
1,2,3,5,6
5,7
5,7
1,2,4
7
1,2
6
Daily
1
1
Daily
4
2,4,7
4
2,4,6
1,2,4,5,7
3,5,7
1,3,5,7
2,4,6
6
2,5

Dep
7:50
8:20
8:25
8:30
8:40
8:40
8:50
9:35
10:20
11:05
11:30
13:10
13:20
13:20
13:20
13:20
15:00
15:00
15:30
15:40
16:35
16:40
16:40
16:45
17:05
17:10
17:10
17:10
17:20
17:20
17:20
17:25
17:40
17:45
17:45
18:15

Arr
9:00
10:15
11:30
10:45
10:05
10:35
10:45
11:30
12:25
14:55
13:25
17:00
14:45
14:45
14:45
14:45
16:25
16:25
16:55
17:35
18:00
18:05
18:45
18:10
18:30
18:20
19:15
18:35
18:30
18:45
18:30
18:50
19:05
19:10
19:10
19:40

Yangon to naY pYi taw

naY pYi taw to Yangon

Flight
FMI A1
FMI B1
FMI C1

Flight
FMI A2
FMI B2
FMI C2

Days
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5

Dep
7:15
10:45
17:00

Arr
8:15
11:45
18:00

Yangon to nYaung u
Flight
K7 282
YJ 891
YH 909
YH 917
YJ 891
YH 909
K7 242
7Y 131
K7 264
YH 731
W9 129
W9 211
W9 129

Days
Daily
1,2,4,5,6
1,2,3,5,6
Daily
3,7
4
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
1,3,6
4
1

Dep
6:00
6:00
6:00
6:10
6:30
6:30
7:00
7:15
14:30
14:30
15:30
15:30
15:30

Days
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5

Dep
8:35
13:30
18:20

Arr
9:35
14:30
19:20

nYaung u to Yangon
Arr
7:20
7:20
8:25
7:45
7:50
8:05
8:20
8:35
16:40
17:25
17:35
17:40
17:35

Flight
YJ 891
YH 918
YJ 891
YH 910
YH 910
K7 242
7Y 131
K7 283
K7 265
YH 732
W9 129

Days
1,2,4,5,6
Daily
3,7
4
1,2,3,5,6
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
1,3,6

Dep
7:35
7:45
8:05
8:05
8:25
8:35
8:50
10:10
16:55
17:25
17:50

Arr
10:15
10:45
10:45
9:25
9:45
11:45
11:30
11:30
18:15
18:45
19:10

Yangon to MYitkYina

MYitkYina to Yangon

Flight
YH 829
YH 826
YH 835
YH 831
YJ 201
YJ 201
W9 251

Flight
YH 827
YH 832
YH 836
YH 830
YJ 202
YJ 202
YJ 234
W9 252

Days
5
3
1,7
4,6
1,2,4
3
2,5

Dep
7:00
7:00
7:00
7:00
11:00
11:15
11:30

Arr
9:40
10:05
10:05
10:05
13:50
14:05
14:25

Days
3
4,6
1,7
5
1,2,4
3
6
2,5

Dep
11:55
11:55
11:55
12:30
14:05
14:20
16:20
16:45

Arr
14:45
14:45
14:45
14:55
16:55
17:10
19:10
19:40

Yangon to HeHo
Flight
YJ 891
K7 282
YH 917
YJ 881
YJ 891
K7 242
7Y 131
K7 266
Y5 649
YH 505
YJ 751
YJ 751
YJ 761
YJ 233
YH 727
YH 737
YH 727
K7 828
K7 822
K7 264
YH 731
W9 129

Days
1,2,4,5,6
Daily
Daily
7
3
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
1,2,3,4,5,6
3,7
5
1,2,4
6
1
3,5,7
3
1,3,5
2,4,7
Daily
Daily
1,3,6

Dep
6:00
6:00
6:10
6:30
6:30
7:00
7:15
8:00
10:30
10:30
10:30
10:45
11:00
11:00
11:15
11:15
11:15
12:30
12:30
14:30
14:30
15:30

HeHo to Yangon
Arr
8:50
9:00
9:35
8:45
9:20
9:15
10:05
9:15
12:45
11:55
11:40
11:55
12:10
12:10
12:40
12:40
12:40
13:45
13:45
15:45
15:55
16:40

Yangon to MYeik
Flight
Y5 325
K7 319
7Y 531
Y5 325

Days
1,5
1,3,5,7
2,4,6
2

Dep
6:45
7:00
11:45
15:30

Days
1,3,6
Daily
1,3,5,7

Dep
11:30
11:45
12:00

Days
Daily
1,2,3,4,5,6
1,3,6
1,3,5,7
Daily
1,3,4,6

Dep
7:00
10:30
11:30
12:00
13:00
15:45

Flight
Y5 326
7Y 532
K7 320
Y5 326

Arr
12:55
12:55
13:50

Flight
W9 309
6T 612
K7 423

Days
1
2,4,6

Dep
7:00
11:45

Days
3,7
5
2,4,6
1,3,5

Dep
10:30
10:45
11:00
12:30

Arr
10:35
13:10
13:50
12:50
13:35
16:40

Flight
K7 243
YH 506
7Y 413
W9 309
K7 422
Y5 422

Arr
8:10
12:50

Flight
K7 320
7Y 532

Days
3
4,6
1,7
2,5

Dep
7:00
7:00
7:00
11:30

Dep
8:35
16:05
11:30
17:15

Arr
10:05
18:10
13:35
18:45

Days
1,3,6
Daily
Daily

Dep
13:10
13:15
15:10

Arr
14:55
14:20
16:30

Days
Daily
1,2,3,4,5,6
1,3,5,7
1,3,6
Daily
1,3,4,6

Dep
10:50
13:10
13:05
14:05
14:10
16:55

Arr
11:45
14:00
15:25
14:55
16:30
17:50

Days
1,3,5,7
2,4,6

Dep
12:25
17:05

Flight
YJ 752
K7 829
K7 829
YJ 752
YH 730

Days
5
1,3
5
3,7
2,4,6

Dep
13:15
15:05
15:05
15:40
16:45

Arr
16:30
15:55
17:25
17:55
19:10

putao to Yangon
Arr
11:00
11:00
11:00
15:25

Air Bagan (W9)

Tel: 513322, 513422, 504888. Fax: 515102

Air KBZ (K7)

Tel: 372977~80, 533030~39 (airport), 373766
(hotline). Fax: 372983

Asian Wings (YJ)

Tel: 515261~264, 512140, 512473, 512640
Fax: 532333, 516654

Golden Myanmar Airlines (Y5)

Tel: 09400446999, 09400447999
Fax: 8604051

Mann Yadanarpon Airlines (7Y)

Tel: 656969
Fax: 656998, 651020

Flight
YH 836
YH 832
YH 827
W9 252

Days
1,7
4,6
3
2,5

Dep
11:00
11:00
11:00
15:45

Tel: 383100, 383107, 700264

Fax: 652 533

FMI Air Charter

Tel: 240363, 240373, 09421146545

Airline Codes
7Y = Mann Yadanarpon Airlines

W9 = Air Bagan
Y5 = Golden Myanmar Airlines
YH = Yangon Airways
YJ = Asian Wings
FMI = FMI Air Charter

Arr
13:35
18:10

lasHio to Yangon
Arr
12:45
13:00
13:00
14:50

Domestic Airlines

K7 = Air KBZ

dawei to Yangon

Yangon to putao
Flight
YH 826
YH 831
YH 835
W9 251

Days
1,5
2,4,6
1,3,5,7
2

tHandwe to Yangon

Yangon to lasHio
Flight
YJ 751
YJ 751
YH 729
K7 828

Arr
10:10
10:15
11:30
10:35
11:45
10:45
10:45
11:30
12:25
14:00
16:30
17:00
18:00
18:45
17:25
18:10
18:15
18:50
17:55
19:10

sittwe to Yangon

Yangon to dawei
Flight
K7 319
7Y 531

Dep
9:00
9:05
9:15
9:25
9:30
9:35
9:35
10:20
11:10
11:55
14:20
15:50
15:50
15:55
16:10
16:00
16:30
16:40
16:45
16:55

Yangon Airways (YH)

Arr
8:15
9:05
13:50
17:00

Yangon to tHandwe
Flight
K7 242
YH 505
W9 309
7Y 413
K7 422
Y5 421

Days
7
1,2,4,5,6
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
3
Daily
Daily
1,2,3,4,5,6
5
4
1,2
Daily
1,3,5
1
Daily
3,5,7
3,7
1,3,6

MYeik to Yangon

Yangon to sittwe
Flight
W9 309
6T 611
K7 413

Flight
YJ 881
YJ 891
K7 283
W9 201
K7 243
YH 918
YJ 891
7Y 132
K7 267
YH 506
YJ 752
YJ 762
YJ 762
YH 732
K7 829
YH 728
K7 264
YH 738
YJ 752
W9 129

Arr
14:45
14:45
14:45
19:40

Subject to change
without notice
Day
1 = Monday
2 = Tuesday
3 = Wednesday
4 = Thursday
5 = Friday
6 = Saturday
7 = Sunday

the pulse 21

www.mmtimes.com

InternAtIonAl FlIGHt SCHeDUleS

YANGON TO BANGKOK

Flights

Days

Dep

Arr

PG 706
Daily
6:05
8M 335
Daily
7:40
TG 304
Daily
9:50
PG 702
Daily
10:30
TG 302
Daily
14:50
PG 708
Daily
15:20
8M 331
Daily
16:30
PG 704
Daily
18:35
Y5 237
Daily
19:00
TG 306
Daily
19:50
YANGON TO DON MUEANG
Flights
DD 4231
FD 252
FD 256
FD 254
FD 258
DD 4239
Flights

Days
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily

8:20
9:25
11:45
12:25
16:45
17:15
18:15
20:30
20:50
21:45

Dep
8:00
8:30
12:50
17:35
21:30
21:00

Arr
9:45
10:20
14:40
19:25
23:15
22:55

YANGON TO SINGAPORE
Days

Dep

Arr

BANGKOK TO YANGON

Flights

Days

Dep

Arr

TG 303
Daily
8:00
PG 701
Daily
8:45
Y5 238
Daily
21:30
8M 336
Daily
10:40
TG 301
Daily
13:05
PG 707
Daily
13:40
PG 703
Daily
17:00
TG 305
Daily
18:05
8M 332
Daily
19:15
PG 705
Daily
20:15
DON MUEANG TO YANGON
Flights
DD 4230
FD 251
FD 255
FD 253
FD 257
DD 4238
Flights

Days
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily

8:45
9:40
22:20
11:25
13:50
14:30
17:50
18:50
20:00
21:30

Dep
6:30
7:15
11:35
16:20
20:15
19:25

Arr
7:15
8:00
12:20
17:05
20:55
20:15

Dep

Arr

8M 231
Daily
8:00
12:25
Y5 2233
Daily
9:45
14:15
TR 2823
Daily
9:45
2:35
SQ 997
Daily
10:25
15:10
3K 582
Daily
11:45
16:20
MI 533
2,4,6
13:35
20:50
8M 233
5,6,7
14:40
19:05
MI 519
Daily
16:40
21:15
3K 584
2,3,5
19:30 00:05+1
YANGON TO KUALA LUMPUR

TR 2822
Daily
7:20
Y5 2234
Daily
7:20
SQ 998
Daily
7:55
3K 581
Daily
9:10
MI 533
2,4,6
11:30
8M 232
Daily
13:25
MI 518
Daily
14:20
3K 583
2,3,5
17:20
8M 234
5,6,7
20:15
KUALA LUMPUR TO YANGON

8:45
8:50
9:20
10:40
12:45
14:50
15:45
18:50
21:40

8M 501
AK 505
MH 741
8M 9506
8M 9508
MH 743
AK 503

11:50
12:45
16:30
16:30
20:05
20:15
23:20

AK 504
8M 9505
MH 740
8M 502
8M 9507
MH 742
AK 502

8:00
11:15
11:15
13:50
14:50
15:05
18:25

Arr
0550+1

Flights
CA 905

Flights

Flights
CA 906

Days

Dep

Arr

1,2,3,5,6
7:50
Daily
8:30
Daily
12:15
Daily
12:15
Daily
15:45
Daily
16:00
Daily
19:05
YANGON TO BEIJING
Days
3,5,7

Dep
23:50

YANGON TO GUANGZHOU
Flights

Days

8M 711
CZ 3056
CZ 3056
Flights

Days

Daily

Dep

Arr

Flights

Flights

Days

13:15
15:55
22:10

Dep

Arr

10:50

16:10

VN 956

1,3,5,6,7

Dep

Flights

Days

2,4,7

Days

CZ 3055
CZ 3055
8M 712
Flights

Days

CI 7915

Daily

Arr

Dep

19:10

Arr

Flights

21:25

Dep

Days
1,4,6

17:05

Flights

Days

Flights

4,7
Daily

Dep
7:55
Dep

0:50
23:55

Arr
11:40
Arr

8:50
07:45+1

YANGON TO HONG KONG

Days

KA 251
KA 251

1,2,3,4,6,7
5

Flights

Days

Daily

Arr

05:45
05:55

Dep

22:10

Arr

06:45+1

YANGON TO DHAKA

Flights

Days

BG 061
BG 061
Flights

Dep

01:10
01:30

YANGON TO TOKYO

NH 914

2
5

Dep

Arr

11:45
19:45

YANGON TO INCHEON

PG 724
W9 607
8M 7702
8M 7502

Days

1,3,5,6
4,7
Daily
4,7

Dep

12:50
14:30
23:30
00:35

Days
2,4,6
1,5
4,7

VN 957

Flights

Days

3,5,6
2
1,5

Flights

Days

VN 943

2,4,7

Flights

Days

Flights

AI 234
AI 228

1
5

Dep

7:00
13:10
14:05
Dep

13:10
Dep

14:05
18:45

MANDALAY TO BANGKOK

Flights

PG 710

Days

Daily

Dep

14:15

MANDALAY TO SINGAPORE

Flights

MI 533
Y5 2233

Days

2,4,6
1,2,4,5,6

Dep

15:45
7:50

MANDALAY TO DON MUEANG

Flights

FD 245

Days

Daily

Dep

12:50

MANDALAY TO KUNMING

Flights

MU 2030

Days

Daily

Dep

13:50

NAY PYI TAW TO BANGKOK

Flights

PG 722

Days

1,2,3,4,5

Dep

19:45

Days
3,5,7

10:35
16:40
15:50

Dep

Arr

7:00

9:50

Dep

Arr

11:50
11:30
14:00
Arr

16:40
Dep

11:45

Flights

Days

KE 471
0Z 769

Daily
3,6

Flights

Days

KA 252
KA 250

4
1,2,3,5,6,7

Flights

Days

Daily

Flights

Arr

Days

2
5

INCHEON TO YANGON

Arr

Arr

Days

2
3,5,6
5
Days

Dep
9:25
13:45
17:20
Dep

9:10
9:20
15:00
Dep

7:00

KOLKATA TO YANGON

AI 227
AI 233

Days

1
5

Dep

10:35
13:30

BANGKOK TO MANDALAY

Flights

PG 709

Days

Daily

Dep

12:05

SINGAPORE TO MANDALAY

Flights

Y5 2234
MI 533

Days

Daily
2,4,6

Dep

7:20
11:30

DON MUEANG TO MANDALAY

Flights

15:15

FD 244

Arr

Flights

Days

Daily

Dep

10:55

KUNMING TO MANDALAY

16:40

MU 2029

Arr

Flights

22:45

11:00
17:20
18:45
19:50

DELHI TO YANGON

Flights

Flights

20:50
14:15

1,3,5,6
4,7
Daily
3,6

Dep

GAYA TO YANGON

Flights

Arr

Arr

Days

Days
2,4,6
1,5
4,7

AI 235
8M 602
AI 233
AI 235

16:40

Dep

8:30
16:30

CHIANG MAI TO YANGON

16:30
17:20
19:45

Dep

11:45

DHAKA TO YANGON

Flights

Arr

Dep

22:50
21:45

TOKYO TO YANGON

NH 913
BG 060
BG 060

Arr

Dep

18:30
19:30

HONG KONG TO YANGON

13:00
21:00

8:20
14:10
15:05

Dep
19:45

Days

Daily

Dep

12:55

BANGKOK TO NAY PYI TAW

PG 721

Days

1,2,3,4,5

Dep

17:15

Tel: 255412, 413

Air Asia (FD)

Tel: 09254049991~3

Air Bagan Ltd.(W9)

Tel: 513322, 513422, 504888. Fax: 515102

Air China (CA)

Tel: 666112, 655882

Tel: 253597~98, 254758, 253601. Fax 248175

Bangkok Airways (PG)

Tel: 255122, 255265. Fax: 255119

Biman Bangladesh Airlines (BG)

Tel: 371867~68. Fax: 371869

Condor (DE)

Tel: 370836~39 (ext: 303)

Dragonair (KA)

Tel: 255323 (ext: 107), 09-401539206

Golden Myanmar Airlines (Y5)

Tel: 09400446999, 09400447999
Fax: 8604051

Malaysia Airlines (MH)

Tel: 387648, 241007 (ext: 120, 121, 122)

Fax: 241124

Myanmar Airways International (8M)

Tel: 255260. Fax: 255305

Nok Airline (DD)

Tel: 255050, 255021. Fax: 255051

Qatar Airways (QR)

Tel: 379845, 379843, 379831. Fax: 379730

Singapore Airlines (SQ) / Silk Air (MI)

Tel: 255287~9. Fax: 255290

Dep

SEOUL TO YANGON

Flights
Y5 252
7Y 306
W9 608

YANGON TO KOLKATA
Days

Flights
QR 918

Arr
8:05
12:50
16:20

Dep
6:15
11:00
14:30

YANGON TO DELHI

AI 236

Arr

3
8:25
Daily
11:10
1,2,4,5,6,7 13:30
HANOI TO YANGON
1,3,5,6,7

PG 723
W9 608
8M 7701
8M 7501

YANGON TO GAYA

8M 601
AI 236
AI 234

Days

Days

14:45
16:20
07:50+1
09:10

YANGON TO CHIANG MAI

Flights
Y5 251
7Y 305
W9 607

Dep

18:10

Thai Airways (TG)

Arr

Tiger Airline (TR)

13:25

DOHA TO YANGON

YANGON TO SEOUL

0Z 770
KE 472

Arr
22:50

HO CHI MINH CITY TO YANGON

Arr

14:25

Flights

MU 2011
CA 415
MU 2031

YANGON TO DOHA
Flights
QR 919

Dep
19:30

3,6
8:35
1,5
14:40
2,4,7
14:15
TAIPEI TO YANGON

15:55
18:50
18:15

YANGON TO HO CHI MINH CITY

VN 942

Arr

KUNMING TO YANGON

Daily
12:30
3
12:40
1,2,4,5,6,7 14:50
YANGON TO HANOI
Days

Dep

Daily
6:55
Daily
10:05
Daily
10:05
1,2,3,5,6
12:50
Daily
13:40
Daily
13:55
Daily
17:20
BEIJING TO YANGON
Days
3,5,7

Flights

YANGON TO KUNMING
CA 416
MU 2012
MU 2032

Days

GUANGZHOU TO YANGON

2,4,7
8:40
3,6
11:35
1,5
17:40
YANGON TO TAIPEI

CI 7916

Flights

All Nippon Airways (NH)

Air India

SINGAPORE TO YANGON
Days

International Airlines

Arr
0459+1
Arr

22:30
23:40
Arr

00:30
23:30
Arr

17:15
Arr

10:45
18:45

Tel: 255491~6. Fax: 255223

Tel: 371383, 370836~39 (ext: 303)

Vietnam Airlines (VN)

Tel: 255066, 255088, 255068. Fax: 255086

Airline Codes
3K = Jet Star
8M = Myanmar Airways International
AK = Air Asia
BG = Biman Bangladesh Airlines
CA = Air China
CI = China Airlines
CZ = China Southern

Arr

11:55
18:10
22:25
23:25

DD = Nok Airline
FD = Air Asia
KA = Dragonair

Arr
10:15
14:35
18:10
Arr

12:10
12:30
18:00
Arr

12:10
Arr

13:20
18:00
Arr

13:25
Arr

16:30
14:50
Arr

12:20
Arr

12:50
Arr

19:15

KE = Korea Airlines
MH = Malaysia Airlines
MI = Silk Air
MU = China Eastern Airlines
NH = All Nippon Airways
PG = Bangkok Airways
QR = Qatar Airways
SQ = Singapore Airways
TG = Thai Airways
TR = Tiger Airline
VN = Vietnam Airline
AI = Air India
Y5 = Golden Myanmar Airlines

Subject to change
without notice
Day
1 = Monday
2 = Tuesday
3 = Wednesday

4
5
6
7

=
=
=
=

Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

22 Sport

THE MYANMAR TIMES April 22, 2015

Boxing

Pacmania sweeps Philippines

ahead of Mayweather clash
M
anny Pacquiao's face is
on shirts, dolls and postage stamps, his life story
is playing in movie houses, and millions are getting ready to party as the Philippine
boxing heros fight of the century
nears.
Pacmania is sweeping the Southeast asian nation of 100 million people ahead of the May 2 Las Vegas bout
against unbeaten Floyd Mayweather
to decide who is the best boxer of their
generation.
The mood is upbeat. Of course, it's
the fight of the century," Manila film
producer Lucky Blanco told aFP.
Blanco is a co-producer of the Pacquiao film Kid Kulafu now showing at
scores of theatres across the country
and a high-profile scene-setter for the
world's richest fight.
For many, the 36-year-old Pacquiao, winner of an unprecedented
eight world championships in different weight divisions, symbolises their
hope of escaping the grinding poverty
that afflicts one in four of his countrypeople.

This [stamp] is
a fitting tribute
to his exceptional
character and ability
that truly unites the
nation whenever he
fights.
Josie de la Cruz
postmaster-general

The movie tells the story of the

runaway high school dropout who,
years before becoming a ring legend,
sold doughnuts on the streets and
stacked shelves with Vino Kulafu, a
cheap Chinese wine brand.
years later, as he became one of the
world's richest sportsmen and one of the
most famous Filipinos, a Manila television network would give the left-hander
another name: The national Fist.

Customers check boxing gloves signed by Manny Pacquiao on sale at a store in

Manila. Photo: AFP

Pacmania always sweeps the

Philippines ahead of his fights, but the
intensity dropped in recent years after
Pacquiao lost an unprecedented two
straight bouts.
He then had three wins, reviving
excitement and hopes Pacquiao still
has what it takes to be the world's best.
But Mayweather is the opponent
his fans have always wanted him to
fight.
Millions of Filipinos will don Pacman paraphernalia to cheer their idol
on live television screens during the
fight, which will take place on a Sunday morning in the Philippines.
Baseball caps, T-shirts, US$68 boxing gloves signed by Pacman himself,
and $565 vinyl dolls of Pacquiao boxing against the Disney character Mickey Mouse are flying off shelves.
On fight day everyone wants to be
seen wearing something that will symbolise their support, Joy Saransate,
manager of a Pacquiao-owned Team
Pacquiao memorabilia shop in Manila,
told aFP.
Government agencies have even
been swept up in Pacmania, with the
state postal authority this week releasing half a million stamps of a fighting
Pacquiao.
This ... is a fitting tribute to his exceptional character and ability that truly
unites the nation whenever he fights,"
postmaster-general Josie de la Cruz said.
Pacquiao, a sometime actor, politician and professional basketball player
on the side, also released a video last
week of a new song, I Will Fight for
the Philippines. to be used for his ring
entrance in Las Vegas, that is getting
widespread publicity in the media.
Whetted by saturation newspaper
and television coverage, and primed
by training clips fed through his official social media sites, Filipinos are
clearing their schedules to make sure
they will be able to watch the fight.
It will be shown live on pay-perview television, while local networks
also struck an unprecedented deal to
air it without ads and on a slightly
delayed basis on free television.
However, in keeping with tradition
throughout his career, many Filipinos

Manny Pacquiao merchandise is sweeping the Philippines as their national

hero prepares to face Floyd Mayweather in one of the most highly anticipated
pugilistic encounters in the history of professional boxing. Photo: AFP

will prefer to watch the fight in public

places, including at gyms and parks
across the country or in restaurants
and watering holes.
a popular pizza chain in Manila
is taking reservations for 200 seats at
$16 each so fans can cheer their hero
on while swigging beer and munching
on buffalo wings.
Pacquiao fights always pack them
in, but this time we expect even more

people to come because of the quality

of the opponent," restaurant manager
Hershey Ebalo told aFP.
Blanco, the Pacquiao film producer,
said he expected the streets of the Philippine capital, a sprawling metropolis
of 14 million, to be empty on fight day,
with criminals also taking a day off.
Definitely there will be no crime
on the streets, just like in past Pacquiao fights," he said. AFP

footBall

SEA Games squad look east

Kyaw Zin Hlaing
kyawzinhlaing.mcm@gmail.com
FOLLOWInG last weeks draw for the
football tournament to be held at Junes
28th Southeast asian Games, the players
competing to represent Myanmar U23
in Singapore entered a yangon-based
training camp.
an initial selection of 30 players
joined the camp at Inya Lake Hotel on
april 18. Those players will then travel to
South Korea and Japan to face K League
and J League opponents.
Before we leave we will face three
Myanmar club sides, on our trip we will
face three more teams between May 4
and 19 and when we return we will host
a friendly international game, said Zaw
Min Htike, a Myanmar Football Federation spokesperson.
The players have been gradually improving as a team and I believe they will
develop a great deal of experience from
this trip, U Kyi Lwin, the U23 head
coach told The Myanmar Times.
This side visited Japan in March during their preparation for their unsuc-

cessful aFC U23 Championship qualification campaign. On that occasion the

team lost 9-0 to their Japanese equivalents.
During their aFC U23 qualifiers Myanmar beat Hong Kong and Chinese
Taipei to come second in their group but
after losing heavily to top side australia,
they failed to secure one of the runnerup qualification spots for the final tournament.
Our team has played many international matches. These matches have
been played at continental level and so
our team has learned from this international experience, added U Kyi Lwin.
On March 22 the U23 drew 1-1 with
the Malaysian U23 team, a side the Myanmar U20s had beaten 3-0 only days
before.
Last weeks SEa Games tournament
draw saw the White angels pulled out
of the bag and into Group a, alongside
hosts Singapore, 2013 runners-up Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines.
Singapore national coach aide Iskandar told the games official media
that he thought Group a looked the

easier half of the draw.

Were happy with the draw. Even
though Group B looks tougher we cannot underestimate any opponents in our
group, the Singapore coach said, adding that he saw Indonesia and Myanmar
as his toughest opponents.
Im not interested in whether our
group is considered a tough or easy one.
I will give the same attention to every
game and respect all opponents equally,
said Kyi Lin.
The MFF originally declared their
target of a semi-final berth but the
deputy minister for sport challenged the
team to return with gold.
I dont want to be giving my estimation of results. I can make no promises
except that we will try our best, added
the Myanmar coach.
Defending champions Thailand will
form Group B along with Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos, Brunei and Timor-Leste.
Teams playing in Group B will have
to play one additional game at the group
stage, something that could potentially
be a factor in the gruelling incessant nature of tournament football.

in PiCtUREs

Photo: ISSF
website/Nicol
Zangirolami

On April 12, Myanmars Ye Tun Naung

qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympics in the
Mens 10m Air Pistol. Competing in his first
final on the world stage in round three of
the ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup held in
Changwon, South Korea, he scored 201.0
points to claim a silver medal and a Rio
2016 Olympic Quota Place.

Sport 23

www.mmtimes.com
FANTASY FOOTBALL

When Saturday comes

his saturday sees the relaunched General Aung

san shield get under way
and with it The Myanmar
Timess first football predictions competition.
On April 25, MNL-2s, 2nd-place horizon face 4th-place Mawyawday FC in
a rematch of the bad-tempered affair
that closed out the first half of the regular season competition on March 27.
As that game kicks off at Thu-

1st Round

Round of 16

wunnas Youth Training Centre venue

across town at the Aung san stadium
hantharwady United will face Pong
Gan FC, also at 4pm.
Youll need to predict the winners
of that and 19 other matches to win
our prize to be announced later in
the week and of course more importantly bragging rights over your
friends until the next competition.
sport Editor Matt Roebuck and
reporter Kyaw Zin hlaing will also

Quarter Final

be putting their necks on the line by

atemmpoting to predict the outcome
of this years competition, though of
course they will only be playing for
bragging rights.
The games over the first weekend will be worth two points each
for every correct selection. With six
games that means 12 points are up
for grabs.
Those in the Round of 16 will also
be worth two points but after that

Final

Semi Final

points double, meaning that 16 points

is the top score from the games to be
played between July 11 and 14.
The quarter-final and semi-final
rounds will also be worth 16 points
each, with a correct selection being
worth four and eight points respectively in each round and the correct selection of the final winner on October
25 should one of your teams make
it will bag you 16 points.
You can download a copy of the

Semi Final

Quarter Final

Yadanarbon
Mawyawady

Match 7

Match 1

???

???

Match 8

???
???

???

Match 19

Magwe

???

GFA

Match 10

???

???

Year

Winner

Result

Runner-up

2010

Okktha United*

31

Southern Myanmar FC

2011

Yangon United

50

Nay Pyi Taw FC

2012

Ayeyawady United

10

KBZ FC

2013
2014

Ayeyawady United

20

???

Nay Pyi Taw FC

horizon FC

hanthawady United

Phong Gan FC

Myawady FC

GFA FC

silver stars FC

University

southern Myanmar FC

Best United

Dagon FC

Rakhine United

Yadanarbon FC

Winner of Match 1

Winner of Match 2

KBZ FC

Magwe FC

Chin United

Write only the name of the side you believe will win. For instance if you
believe Mawyawady FC will win Match 1, write their team name. if you
believe they will then go on to beat Yadanarbon FC in Match 7, then again
write Mawyawady FC do not write Winner of Match 1.

10

Winner of Match 3

Yangon United

11

Zwekapin United

Zeyar shwe Myay FC

12

Winner of Match 4

Ayeyawady United

Points will be awarded as follows:

First Round 2 point for each correct selection (12 total points possible)
Round of 16 2 points for each correct selection (16 total points possible)
Quarter Final 4 points for each correct selection (16 total points possible)
Semi-Final over two legs 8 points for each correct selection (16 total
points possible)
Final 16 points for each correct selection (16 total points possible)
* Do not fill in the points column this is for administrative purposes only.

13

Manaw Myay FC

Winner of Match 5

14

Winner of Match 6

Nay Pyi Taw FC

15

Winner of Match 7

Winner of Match 8

16

Winner of Match 9

Winner of Match 10

17

Winner of Match 11

Winner of Match 12

18

Winner of Match 13

Winner of Match 14

19

Winner of Match 15

Winner of Match 16

20

Winner of Match 17

Winner of Match 18

21

Winner of Match 19

Winner of Match 20

Alternatively download this form from www.mmtimes.com and e-mail the

form below to sport@mmtimes.com by saturday 25th April, 2pm.

Match 6

Match 14

Rakhine Utd

ENTRY FORM

Mawyawady FC

Deliver your entry to Myanmar Times, No 379/383 Bo Aung Kyaw street,

Kyauktada Township, Yangon by Friday 24th April, 5pm.

???

Nay Pyi Taw

*Renamed Hantharwady United

All predictions must be made at the beginning of the competition, if you

incorrectly predict the two finalists then you will be unable to score any
points in Match 21.

Match 5

Dagon

Team 2

Complete the form below by inserting the name of the side you believe will
win each match (Match 19 and 20 the semi-finals will be played over
two legs but counted in our competition as a single fixture.)

southern

Match 18

Cancelled due to SEA Games

Z
5.

???

Team 1

Instructions

4.

Match 13

Best Utd

Match

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3.

???

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Myanmar Times Fantasy Football

General Aung San Shield 2015

2.

University

Winners of MFF Knockout competition (in professional era)

Yangon Utd

1.

Match 4

Match 12

Manaw Myay

Match 20

???

Match 16

Match 3

???

Match 21

Chin Utd
Myawady

silver stars
???

Ayeyawady Utd

???

KBZ

Match 9

1st Round

Match 11

Match 17

???

hantharwady Utd
Phong Gan

Round of 16

Zeyar shwe Myay

Match 15

???

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Zwekapin Utd
???

horizon

Match 2

entry form at www.mmtimes.com and

e-mail it to sport@mmtimes.com or
alternatively you can fill out this form
below and deliver it to the Myanmar
Times head office at No 379/383 Bo
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Winner
Prediction

Points*

Sport
24 THE MYANMAR TIMES APRIl 22, 2015

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

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SPORT 23

Myanmars Road to
Russia begins in Laos
fOOTball

MaTT ROebuck
matt.d.roebuck@gmail.com

yanmar have been

drawn in Group G of the
FIFa World Cup 2018 and
aFC asian Cup 2019 Preliminary Joint Qualification round Two alongside South Korea
who have qualified for every World Cup
since mexico 86.
South Korea will be favourites to
automatically advance to the asian
Cup and round Three of World Cup
qualifying which is the reward for topping the group. also featured alongside
myanmar will be arabian Peninsula
sides Kuwait and Lebanon, plus fellow
Southeast asian side Laos.
myanmar will travel to Vientiane for
their first game on the roads to russia
and the UaE in order to face Laos on
June 11. Their second game is a home
draw against South Korea on June 16.
That game is likely to be held in Bangkok as a result of the crowd violence
that marred myanmars 2014 World
Cup qualifier with Oman at yangons
Thuwunna Stadium in July 2011.
myanmar were initially banned
from FIFa 2018 qualification but were
later reinstated under the proviso that
qualification games would be played at
a neutral venue.
The White angels have only competed in qualification for the FIFa
World Cup twice before after having
withdrawn from or not entered every
competition until the campaign for
2010. On that occasion myanmar lost
11-0 on aggregate to China and chose to
play their home game in October 2007
at a neutral venue in malaysia.
The fixtures draw that pits myanmar
first up against a Laos team they will be

Photo: AFC

expected to beat and a South Korean side

expected to outclass them should be a welcome one for coach raddy avramovic.
When he spoke to The Myanmar
Times in march, he and U20s coach
Gerd Zeise both expressed their expectation that at least half a dozen of
the players that will follow the latter to
new Zealand on may 30 for the FIFa
U20 World Cup will join the senior side,

although the June 11 and 16 games will

come too soon. By the September 3 visit
to Kuwait, the White angels may well
have a more youthful aspect.
Elsewhere in the draw Group F
looks of particular interest for the possibility of Southeast asian advancement
as Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam
are all drawn together with Iraq and
minnows Chinese Taipei.

While the winners of the Groups

will qualify for the 2019 asian Cup, the
top two finishers will automatically
qualify for round Three of the FIFa
competition. The five of the 10 secondplace sides with the best records will
also make the asian Cup, while the other five will need to go through a third
round of qualifying for the asian Cup
that will be run separately to the third-

round World Cup qualifiers.

Third-place finishers will be eliminated from the FIFa competition but
will qualify for the asian Cup round
Three. The top five fourth-place sides
will also be guaranteed in that stage
of the competition but the bottom five
will be required to go through a play-off
round alongside those sides that finish
fifth in the group.