October 2009Timor-Leste - Security Council Report

Expected Council Action • Key Recent Developments • Human Rights-Related Developments • Key Issues • Options • Council Dynamics • UN Documents • Other Relevant Facts • Additional Useful Sources • Other SCR Reports on Timor-Leste

Expected Council Action
No Council decisions on Timor-Leste are expected in October, but the Council is likely to receive a briefing from the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Timor-Leste, Atul Khare.

At press time the Secretary-General’s progress report on the activities of the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) was expected by 30 September. As requested in resolution 1867 (which in February extended UNMIT’s mandate until 26 February 2010), the report will update the Council on the transfer of policing responsibility from UNMIT to the Policia Nacional de Timor-Leste (PNTL). Khare may also brief on the village (suco) and sub-village (aldeia) elections for chiefs and councils due on 9 October.
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Key Recent Developments
The 10^th anniversary of the UN-organised referendum that led to Timor-Leste’s independence was marked on 30 August. In remarks to the press, the president of the Council said the Council commended the people and government of Timor-Leste on their efforts towards peace, stability and development. In Timor-Leste Khare said that “in the last 10 years, Timor-Leste had achieved significant progress in the areas of consolidation of the institutions of democracy, respect for human rights”. He noted the development of the police and the local military, but added that “the road ahead is still long.”

In a report released on 27 August, Amnesty International warned the Council that there was a need for a long-term comprehensive plan to end impunity for crimes in Timor-Leste. It proposed that an international criminal tribunal be set up with jurisdiction over all crimes committed in Timor-Leste between 1975 and 1999. There are 400 outstanding arrest warrants issued by the Serious Crimes Unit, originally set up within the UN Transitional Authority in East Timor (UNTAET) in 1999.

Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta, speaking on the 10^th anniversary of the referendum, rejected the idea of an international tribunal and said it was time for the UN to disband the Serious Crimes Unit.

The impunity issues were highlighted on 30 August with the release of Martenus Bere, who had been indicted in 2003 by the Serious Crimes Unit on charges of crimes against humanity, including the Suai church massacre in September 1999. Bere had been detained in Timor-Leste on 8 August. However, a top Indonesian official invited to participate in the 10^th anniversary celebration refused to enter the country if Bere remained in custody. A spokesperson for the Secretary-General has said Bere’s release is contrary to resolution 1704, which set up UNMIT in 2006, and conflicted with the UN’s position of no amnesty or impunity for crimes against humanity. Timor-Leste’s Supreme Court is investigating the case to determine if Bere’s release violated the constitution.

The gradual resumption of policing responsibilities by the PNTL started in 14 May. It had been halted in 2008 due to the security situation following the dual assassination attempt against the country’s president and prime minister. So far the UN Police have transferred to the PNTL control of three of Timor-Leste’s 13 districts. In September the PNTL took over an UN-supported police training centre in Dili. The criteria that had to be fulfilled included: the PNTL being able to respond appropriately to the security environment; final certification of at least 80 percent of eligible officers; availability of initial operational logistical requirements; institutional stability; and mutual respect between the military and the national police.

Council activities in the first half of the year included an open debate of the Secretary-General’s report on 19 February, the renewal of UNMIT’s mandate on 26 February and a private meeting on 27 May with troop-contributing countries to discuss the updating of the concept of operations and rules of engagement for UNMIT.
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Human Rights-Related Developments

On 13 March the Secretary-General’s Representative on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Walter Kalin, reported to the Human Rights Council on the situation in Timor-Leste (amongst other countries). Kalin commended the government for voluntarily closing the majority of the IDP camps established during the 2006 crisis. The return of IDPs from the Metinaro camp will bring more than 13,500 to the total number of families who have received recovery or reintegration packages under the National Recovery Strategy. This leaves 2,480 individuals remaining in transitional shelters. Kalin identified a number of ongoing challenges: addressing the underlying causes of violence and displacement, redressing prevailing impunity, adopting a land and property law in order to resolve and prevent further land disputes and adjusting compensation packages to assist the most vulnerable, including those with no place of return. The UN’s third human rights report on Timor-Leste, covering July 2008 through June 2009, was published on 15 September. The report said that Timor-Leste had made progress in key human rights areas such as the strengthening of the judicial system and adherence to the rule of law, but still had work to do in the area of accountability.

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Key Issues
A key challenge for the Council is factoring the specific needs of Timor-Leste into its overall approach to peacekeeping, represented in its most recent review in an August presidential statement (S/PRST/2009/24).

A related issue is finding ways incorporate more peacebuilding elements into UNMIT’s work in light of paragraph 9 of that statement.

Recent history shows the risks in Timor-Leste of the Council and UNMIT being lulled into a sense of security. Ensuring that UNMIT retains an effective oversight function in the districts transferred to the PNTL may be a key issue.

Developments in the Bere case and the response to the Amnesty International proposal suggest that accountability for past human rights violations will continue to be a serious issue. Bere’s release to the Indonesian government may feed underlying discontent among some sectors of the Timor-Leste population about continuing impunity for crimes committed over the years.
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Options
The most likely option is a general discussion in the Council of the situation in Timor-Leste, particularly progress in the handing over of policing responsibilities to the PNTL.

Possible options include:

• initiating expert-level discussions on possible adjustments to UNMIT’s mandate and strength leading to the February 2010 expiry of the mandate;
• requesting the Core Group to provide Council members with recommendations on how to better involve UNMIT in peacebuilding as well as peacekeeping; and
• issuing a press statement emphasising the need to see concrete progress in developing a national security policy and reminding the Timor-Leste government of its pending accountability and justice obligations.

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Council Dynamics
Timor-Leste struggles to get priority attention from most Council members. The apparently stable security situation again leads most members into feeling that things are moving in the right direction. In the last debate most members welcomed the benchmarks and the positive assessment of the overall situation.

Members are interested in Khare’s assessment of the transfer of policing responsibility to the PNTL in the three districts and the prospects for it to continue smoothly for the next ten. But members are not currently expecting any surprises from the report that would require them to make any immediate decisions.

Japan is the lead country on Timor-Leste.
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UN Documents

Selected Security Council Resolutions

S/RES/1867 (26 February 2009) extended UNMIT until 26 February 2010. S/RES/1704S/RES/1704 (25 August 2006) established UNMIT.

Latest Report of the Secretary-General

S/2009/72 (4 February 2009)

Other

S//PV.6086 (26 February 2009) was on the adoption of resolution 1867. S/PV.6085 (19 February 2009) was the last Council debate on Timor-Leste.

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Other Relevant Facts

Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of Mission

Atul Khare (India)

Size, Composition and Cost

Maximum authorised strength: up to 1,748 police and 34 military officers\ Size as of 31 July 2009: 1,582 police and 33 military liaison officers Civilian staff as of 31 July 2009: 364 international and 880 local, 170 UN Volunteers Key police contributors: Malaysia, Portugal, Bangladesh and Pakistan Approved budget (1 July 2009–30 June 2010): $205.94 million

Duration

25 August 2006 to present; mandate expires 26 February 2010

International Stabilisation Force

Size as of 1 July 2008: approximately 920 troops Contributors: Australia (750 troops) and New Zealand (170 troops)

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Additional Useful Sources

• ‘We Cry for Justice’, Impunity Persists 10 Years On in Timor-Leste, Amnesty International, August 2009

Elder of Burmese Opposition Grapples With Election Dissonance - NYTimes.com

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By THE NEW YORK TIMES

YANGON, Myanmar — U Win Tin, Myanmar’s longest-serving political prisoner, was tormented, tortured and beaten by his captors in the notorious Insein Prison for nearly two decades. Now, at 80, he faces a new kind of torment: watching colleagues from his political party decide whether to play by the rules of the junta that put him behind bars.

Released in September 2008 after more than 19 years in prison, Mr. Win Tin remains remarkably spry, upbeat, and politically engaged. A co-founder of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, he is a vocal opponent of taking part in national elections set for next year. The vote, along with the implementation of a new constitution, would introduce a shared civilian and military government after four and a half decades of military rule.

But while the constitution, passed in a disputed referendum held amid the widespread devastation of Cyclone Nargis in 2008, allows elected representation, it accords special powers to the military in what the junta calls “disciplined democracy.” Many critics call it a sham.

“The election can mean nothing as long as it activates the 2008 constitution, which is very undemocratic,” Mr. Win Tin said in a recent interview.

However, his party is split over whether to boycott the election. Some members say participating would mean losing moral claim to the party’s landslide victory in the 1990 general election, which was ignored by the junta. Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent much of the period since under house arrest and was sentenced to a new term of 18 months in May, has not made her views on the issue public.

Still, the constitution offers some protections. In August, the International Crisis Group, the Brussels-based nongovernmental organization that seeks to prevent and resolve deadly conflicts, issued a report recommending that opposition groups participate in the election. It said that, although the new constitution “entrenches military power,” the changes at least establish “shared political spaces — the legislatures and perhaps the cabinet — where co-operation could be fostered.”

And internationally, some policies toward Myanmar are shifting.

Last week, the Obama administration announced that it would engage the junta directly, while keeping sanctions in place. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called for the unconditional release of political prisoners, including Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, and “credible, democratic reform.”

“If the direct engagement of the U.S. will result in the release of all political prisoners and in a revision of the 2008 Constitution, then dialogue could begin between us and the junta, and we would consider running in the election,” Mr. Win Tin said.

Mr. Win Tin — warm, razor-sharp and clearly determined — said the junta might have released him, shortly before his jail sentence was complete, in order to split the party. He admitted that “we are having some arguments about whether we are going to participate in the elections or not,” but insisted that there was “no conflict within the party now.”

Before being jailed for three years in 1989 after he became secretary of the then newly formed National League for Democracy, Mr. Win Tin had worked as a journalist. In 1991, he was given 10 more years for his involvement in popular uprisings in 1988 that were crushed by the military. In 1996, he was given seven more years for sending the United Nations a petition about abuses in Myanmar prisons. Much of the time, he was in solitary confinement.

“I could not bow down to them,” he said. “No, I could not do it. I wrote poems to keep myself from going crazy. I did mathematics with chalk on the floor.”

He added: “From time to time, they ask you to sign a statement that you are not going to do politics and that you will abide by the law and so on and so forth. I refused.”

When all his upper teeth were bashed out, he was 61. The guards refused to let him get dentures for eight years, leaving him to gum his food.

Early this month, Mr. Win Tin was briefly detained after he wrote an op-ed that appeared in The Washington Post, criticizing the ruling military junta and its plans for the election next year.

“I think they are trying to intimidate me, to stop me from appearing in the foreign media,” he said.

During the interview, on his cousin’s leafy porch in suburban Yangon, government spies openly watched and took photographs from outside the gate.

Never married, Mr. Win Tin talks fondly of his adopted daughter, who lives in Sydney, Australia, after gaining political asylum 15 years ago. He has not seen her since.

Accustomed to a spare prison diet, he has one meal early in the day and a bit of fruit in the evening.

“I don’t want to be a burden on anyone,” he said.

Since his release, Mr. Win Tin has tried to reinvigorate the leadership of the National League for Democracy by stepping up the frequency of meetings and lobbying overseas governments. Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi remains popular, despite the long years of detention, but the party has been crippled by the arrests of hundreds of the younger members, Mr. Win Tin said.

“We have some young men, but they are followed and sent to jail all the time,” he said. “Sometimes, they go to the pagoda just for praying. They are followed and charged with something and sentenced.” Many, he said, are tortured.

In one kind of torture, called “riding the motorcycle,” the subject is made to bend the knees, stand on tiptoe with sharp nails under the heels, and make the sound of a revving engine. When the subject can no longer maintain the tiptoe, the nails penetrate the foot.

All but one of Mr. Win Tin’s eight colleagues on the party’s central executive committee are older than him. The committee president and chairman, U Aung Shwe, is 92, and so infirm that he has not visited party headquarters for months. The party secretary, U Lwin, 87, is bedridden and paralyzed. The youngster in the group, is U Khin Maung Swe, 64.

Despite the challenges his party faces, Mr. Win Tin remains upbeat.

“We expect democracy can happen anytime,” he said, recalling the country’s postcolonial democracy period between 1948 and 1962. “But sometimes, you have to sacrifice everything for a long, long time. It might extend for more than your life span.”

Thai Ruling Highlights Pollution Concerns - WSJ.com

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By JAMES HOOKWAY

BANGKOK -- Thai government officials said they would appeal a court ruling to suspend dozens of projects at the country's largest industrial park because of pollution concerns, saying the order could alarm investors as Thailand shows signs of emerging from the global economic slump.

Thailand's Administrative Court late Tuesday ordered 76 industrial projects at the Map Ta Phut complex on Thailand's eastern seaboard to temporarily shut down while government investigators examine whether they had disregarded environmental health regulations. The projects include some run by the country's largest corporations, national oil and gas company PTT PCL and industrial conglomerate Siam Cement PCL.

The court-suspension order reflects growing concerns in Thailand over the threat of pollution after decades of rapid growth that has transformed a mostly agrarian economy into a major exporter of automobiles, electronics and consumer goods. It could be viewed as a setback to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who recently returned from a trip to the U.S. in part to drum up investor confidence in Thailand.

Mr. Abhisit on Wednesday ordered Thailand's industry ministry to appeal the court order, said government spokesman Puttipong Punnakan.

Environmental activists say the 76 projects at Map Ta Phut violate a requirement in Thailand's new constitution, enacted in 2007, that says the government must safeguard the right of ordinary people to live in a healthy environment. The activists allege that government agencies had failed to verify the safety of the various industrial projects in the area.

Supavud Saicheua, an economist with one of the country's largest brokerages, Phatra Securities PCL, said the combined investment value of the projects in Map Ta Phut was around 400 billion baht ($11.9 billion), or some 4.5% of Thailand's gross domestic product. "They comprise strategic investments that define Thailand's long-term competitiveness in manufacturing," Mr. Supavud said. A lengthy shutdown, he said, "could have a material impact on investor confidence and affect Thailand's long-term growth potential."

Siam Cement informed the Stock Exchange of Thailand that the ruling could affect a new naphtha cracker plant being constructed by its unit, SCG Chemicals, as well as a number of joint-venture operations. The company said it would work together with the government to find a solution. It shares fell five baht, or 2.2%, to close at 222 baht a share.

PTT, which has 25 projects at the Map Ta Phut complex, said in a statement that it strictly complies with international standards and has been cooperating with government agencies to reduce chemical emissions in the area. Its shares closed three baht, or 1.6%, higher at 262 baht, while the broader Stock Exchange of Thailand Index rose 0.25% to 717.07 points.

Write to James Hookway at james.hookway@wsj.com

The Associated Press - Fever, inflamed lungs keep Thai king hospitalized

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BANGKOK — Thailand's 81-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej spent his 12th day in a Bangkok hospital Wednesday with what the palace obliquely called a second bout of low fever and inflammation in his lungs.

Bhumibol, the world's longest-serving monarch, was hospitalized Sept. 19 for fever, fatigue and lack of appetite. Since then, the palace has released almost daily updates on his condition without saying what is causing the symptoms.

After being hospitalized four days, the king's temperature returned to normal on Sept. 22 but then returned several days later, according to the palace.

"His overall condition has improved," the Royal Household Bureau said in its latest statement Tuesday evening, which raised new questions by noting a lung condition. "The fever is lower. A chest X-ray found that lung inflammation has reduced."

The brief statement said that a medical team would continue to give the king antibiotics and nutrients intravenously as it has since his arrival.

Thousands of well-wishers have crowded outside Bangkok's Siriraj Hospital and events have been organized around the country in honor of the king.

The king's health is an extremely sensitive topic in Thailand because of concerns that the succession may not go smoothly. The heir apparent, his son, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, does not yet have the stature or moral authority of his father.

In October 2007, the king suffered the symptoms of a minor stroke. Last year, he was unable to make his traditional annual birthday speech. His daughter, Princess Sirindhorn, said he was weak and suffering from bronchitis and inflammation of the esophagus.

Bhumibol is a constitutional king with no formal political role, but he has repeatedly brought calm in times of turbulence and is considered the country's moral authority and a unifying figure.

He has reigned through a score of governments, democratic and dictatorial. In his six decades on the throne, he has taken an especially active role in rural development and is respected for his dedication to helping the country's poor.

Bhumibol is revered by most Thais, but in recent years the palace has come in for unprecedented, though usually discreet, criticism because of allegations that the king's advisers interfered in politics, including playing a part in inspiring a 2006 military coup that ousted a democratically elected government.

Open discussion of the matter is barred by strict lese majeste laws that make criticism of the monarchy punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Malaysia scores US$2.5b deal with Saudi Arabiia - Malaysian Insider

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KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 — Malaysia today made a major breakthrough in economic ties with Saudi Arabia, setting up a US$2.5 billion joint-venture company with the oil-rich kingdom.

The company is expected to spearhead flow of foreign direct investments (FDI) from the Middle East into Malaysia as well as make strategic investments in high-impact projects here.

The partnership between 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and PetroSaudi International Limited (PSI) also comes at a time when the global economy is recovering and countries are in great competition for FDI.

This venture is the first undertaken by PSI in this region and will be read by analysts and government officials as a sign of confidence in Malaysia and economic prospects here.

The 1MDB is wholly owned by the government of Malaysia and was established recently to drive strategic initiatives for long-term sustainable economic development and promote flow of FDI into the country.

PSI, based in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, is mandated to carry out investments which can strengthen the relationship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and key countries worldwide.

In a joint press release, the 1MDB and PSI said that the aim of the joint venture company is “to seek, explore, and participate in business and economic opportunities which results in the enhancement of and promotion of the future prosperity and long-term sustainable economic development of Malaysia.” It is also expected to actively make investments in the renewable energy sector.

The JVC is also expected to be a vehicle for investments from the Middle East into the region, thereby giving Malaysia the edge in drawing investments from the cash — and resource — rich region.

CEO of 1MDB Shahrol Halmi said: “Malaysia has long been a model of stability and development for developing countries. We believe that recent economic liberalisation policies announced by the Prime Minister will only make Malaysia a more attractive place for investors.

“We envisage Malaysia becoming an important partner for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.’’

Also lauding the setting up of the JVC was 1MDB’s chairman Datuk Mohd. Bakke Salleh.

He said: “The JVC is set to further increase foreign direct investment from the Middle East, in particular Saudi Arabia. We will leverage on PSI’s strong international presence, their networks and expertise to promote Malaysia as the preferred investment destination.”

This is the first major economic initiative with a Middle Eastern nation since Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak became the Prime Minister in April.

Several countries in the region, notably Singapore, have been courting Middle East investors in recent years.

At a press conference held after the unveiling of Tabung Haji’s new logo event here later, Najib said the joint venture will definitely help boost the country’s efforts to rake in more foreign investments into the country.

“This JVC also reflects the confidence Saudi Arabia has in the bilateral relations of both the nations.”

Saudi Arabia will be coughing up USD$1.5 billion for the JVC while Malaysia will provide the rest through government bonds.

“This cooperation will also be the starting point of investment flow from other capital surplus countries into Malaysia and foster a long term sustainable economic development,” added Najib.

The prime minister hinted that more nations have embarked on similar joint venture efforts and expect more of the details to be revealed later.

He said the sectors that would benefit from the JVC includes the oil and gas, real estate and renewable energy sectors.

Mon migrant workers in Malaysia invited to register with the UN - Democracy for Burma

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Wed 30 Sep 2009, Asahi

On the 15th this upcoming October, 2849 Mon migrant workers in Malaysia will be allowed to register as refugees with the United Nations (UN).

The invitation has been extended not only to Mon workers already residing in Malaysia, but also to Mon refugees living in refugee camps in Thailand, many of whom are now moving to Malaysia to take advantage of the UN’s offer.

Registering as refugees win the UN provides migrants with official United Nation identification documents; such identification aids them in finding employment and provides legal benefits.

According to Nai Sai Wana, chairman of the Malaysia Mon Refugee Organization, migrant workers from many Burmese ethnic minorities will be allowed to register in much higher numbers than last year. Between 600 and 700 Ka Chin, 10, 000 Chin, over 600 Shan, over 2,800 Mon, over 1,000 Karen, and roughly 400 Karen Ni migrant workers from Burma will be allowed to register with the United Nations by then end of a registration period that started on July 17th and will last until the cutoff point on October 15th.

“On the 15th of March 2009, we registered with UN about 5,000 Mon migrants in Malaysia. So, they gave many Mon migrants this special this October. In 2009, those who have been registered at the UN can get a job easier than others. And NGO groups help those who have registered already to get jobs,“ he added. Nai Sai Wana also mentioned that opportunities for migrant worker registration in Malaysia this year were far greater than last year, when only migrants recently released from prison, or those infected with diseases like HIV, were allowed to register with the UN. According to the chairman, there are over 20,000 Mon migrant workers living, but only 6,500 are members of the Malaysia Mon Refugee Organization. By becoming members of the MMRO, migrant workers are allowed to register with the United Nations as legal workers in Malaysia.

According to a worker already registered in Malaysia, this year the MMRO wants to register more Mon migrants than last year, because the organization is anxious to draw UN attention to migrant worker issues and abuses in Malaysia.

“After we registered, we got a paper [like a certificate] and then one month later we got a UN ID. If we have a UN ID, we are supported when we want a job, and the police don’t arrest us. In fact, we can get a good job as well as a good salary. We aren’t afraid of a boss who doesn’t pay money each month for a working salary,” this worker added.

According to a Mon migrant worker who registered with the UN just last month, many Mon migrant workers in Malaysia want to register with the UN because not registering leaves them vulnerable to being arrested by the Malaysian police will. It is also very difficult to get a good job without a UN certificate and a passport.

“If we have no UN ID or passport, the police can arrest us at any time. And we have to be afraid that they will arrest us if we go somewhere. Those who have a ID get a salary of 1200 Malaysian ringgit per month, but those without an ID only get 800 ringgit per month. Sometime a boss wouldn’t pay our salaries, and we couldn’t complain, this worker added.

On the 13th of August in 2009, 250 Mon migrant workers in Malaysia were allowed to register with the UN, Nai Sai Wana pointed out.

The chairman also mentioned that last year, the UN allowed Kachin migrant workers to register in greater numbers than members of other ethic minorities from Burma. Only 30 member of each ethnic group (including the Mon) were allowed to register.

WPR - Terrorist's Death Calms Indonesia-Malaysia Relations

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Luke Hunt | 30 Sep 2009

KUALA LUMPUR -- If timing matters in the art of diplomacy, then those responsible for the death of Noordin Mohammad Top did the foreign services of Indonesia and Malaysia a big favor.

The killing of Southeast Asia's most wanted terrorist came as neighborly relations were sliding rapidly into a political abyss amid declarations of a "cultural war." Opportunists on the fringe were even calling for the real thing as the foreign ministers from both countries tried to mend a few broken fences torn apart over the historic origins of a traditional dance.

"As for Noordin M Top, while Indonesians were happy to see the end of him, the fact that he was a Malaysian was another complaint they had about their neighbors," said Keith Loveard, a Jakarta-based security analyst with Concord Consulting. According to Loveard, the general attitude in Indonesia was that not only did Malaysians steal Indonesian culture, they exported terrorism too. "It's a pretty childish argument, but it was the way many people felt."

Noordin was killed in a raid by Indonesian police in central Java on Sept. 17, after eluding an intense manhunt that stretched back to 2002. Born in 1968 in Malaysia's Johor state, he attended lectures at a boarding school set up by regional terrorist group and al-Qaida affiliate Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) in the mid-1990s.

JI advocates jihad to establish an Islamic caliphate ruled by Shariah law in Malaysia, Indonesia, the southern Philippines and southern Thailand.

Noordin quickly rose through the ranks and was linked to the 2002 bombing of a nightclub in Bali that killed 202 people. Three men convicted of the attack -- Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Ali Ghufron -- were executed by firing squad last year.

Since then, Noordin has been a suspect in every major attack on a Western target in Indonesia, including the initial strike on the JW Marriott Hotel in 2003 and the bombing of the Australian embassy the following year.

He then split from JI and was believed responsible for the second suicide strikes on Bali in 2005. He escaped gun battles with the police and was the chief suspect in this year's July 17 attacks at the JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels.

Throughout Noordin's time at large, Indonesia has borne the brunt of the regional spotlight on terrorism, much to the chagrin of officials who note that many of the terrorists were Malay and trained in Malaysia. Analysts said it had become a sore point that festered.

The ill will contributed to relations deteriorating further after Malaysia stood accused of "stealing" a traditional Indonesian dance. The dispute erupted after Malaysia supposedly screened tourism advertisements featuring the traditional "pendet" dance of Indonesia's Hindu-majority Bali island.

The ad was actually a botched promotion for a Discovery Channel program on Malaysia. But the announcements that the Malaysian government was not involved were hardly heard above the din of Indonesian protests.

Underlying the enmity are negative sentiments that date back to the 1960s. At that time, former President Sukarno belligerently played on nationalist sentiment with his "Konfrontasi" campaign leveled at Malaysia, which was emerging from British colonialism and becoming a regional power in its own right.

The resentment lingers, particularly in light of Malaysia's relative economic success.

"This is a complex subject," said Loveard. "In essence it is proof of the old saying, 'Familiarity breeds contempt.' The two countries are, at least at first glance, too much alike and therefore competition becomes the logical outcome. At the same time there is the opportunity to 'steal' resources, particularly intellectual ones, because there is this strong common cultural heritage stemming from a shared ethnicity."

Indonesian media conveniently ignored Discovery Channel's admission of error and subsequent apology, as local newspapers ran a steady stream of perceived Malaysian slights. Protestors burned Malaysian flags and threw rotten eggs at the country's embassy.

Mustar Bonaventura, the coordinator of a Jakarta recruitment drive by nationalist youth group Bendera, added to the volatile mix when he warned that hundreds of volunteers had signed up for war.

Brad Allan, director of the Hong Kong-based security firm Allan & Associates, said relations were ruffled by a small group of Indonesian nationalists, with some politicians jumping on the bandwagon, regardless of how ridiculous the pretext was. "But it is a sign of a working democracy in Indonesia [that] a lunatic fringe can talk nonsense, but the vast majority of Indonesians ignore it," he said.

The death of Noordin was also more revealing for what transpired behind the scenes. Analysts said that regional governments, including Indonesia and Malaysia, have forged much closer ties regarding counterterrorism issues.

This wasn't lost on Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, who had just completed bilateral talks with his Malaysian counterpart, Anifah Aman, at the time of Noordin's death. Hassan announced that an understanding had been reached which would help both countries avert a repeat of the alleged stolen dance episode, but that, more importantly, fresh initiatives were undertaken aimed at strengthening counterterrorism and intelligence-sharing.

"We might even run joint operations if they are needed," Hassan said.

Amid the ballyhoo over a dance, the latter point largely escaped the broader media's attention. But the ability of the two countries to overcome petty grievances and focus on issues that matter, like rounding up the remaining members of JI, was encouraging.

"Any Islamic extremist killed, whether Indonesian or Malaysian or Filipino, is a win for everyone," Allan said. "They all have links, some strong and some weak, and all are potential attackers to any country in Southeast Asia."

Luke Hunt is a Hong Kong-based correspondent and a World Politics Review contributing editor.

Indonesia quake kills 75, thousands trapped - Houston Chronicle

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By NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press Writer

JAKARTA, Indonesia — A powerful earthquake rocked western Indonesia Wednesday, trapping thousands under collapsed buildings — including two hospitals — and triggering landslides. At least 75 people were killed on Sumatra island and the death toll was expected to climb sharply.

The magnitude 7.6 quake struck at 5:15 p.m. local time (1015GMT, 6:15 a.m. EDT), just off the coast of Padang city the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was along the same fault line that spawned the massive 2004 Asian tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

A tsunami warning for countries along the Indian Ocean was issued, and panicked residents fled to higher ground fearing giant waves. The warning was lifted about an hour later.

When the quake struck, the ground was shaking so hard that people sat down on the streets to avoid falling over, footage shot in Padang and broadcast by local TVOne network showed.

Children screamed as residents tried to put out fires started in the quake. Thousands fled the coast in cars and motorbikes, honking horns.

Initial reports received by the government said 75 people were killed, but the real number is "definitely higher than that," Vice President Jusuf Kalla told reporters in the capital, Jakarta.

"It's hard to tell because there is heavy rain and a blackout," he said.

Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari told MetroTV that a mall and two hospitals had collapsed in Padang — a sprawling low-lying city in Western Sumatra province of around 900,000 people that geologists have warned could be vulnerable to a massive quake or tsunami.

"This is a high-scale disaster, more powerful than the earthquake in Yogyakarta in 2006 when more than 3,000 people died," Supari said, referring to a major city on the main island of Java.

Rustam Pakaya, head of the Health Ministry's crisis center, said "thousands of people are trapped under the collapsed houses."

A field hospital was being prepared to assist the injured and medical teams were on the way from neighboring provinces, he said.

"Many buildings are badly damaged, including hotels and mosques," said Wandono, an official at Meteorology and Geophysics Agency in Jakarta, citing reports from residents.

Footage from Padang showed flattened buildings, the foot of one person sticking out from beneath the debris.

"The earthquake was very strong," said Kasmiati, who lives on the coast near to the epicenter. "People ran to high ground. Houses and buildings were badly damaged."

"I was outside, so I am safe, but my children at home were injured," she said before her cell phone went dead.

TV One said the quake triggered landslides that cut all roads to Padang. Power and telecommunications were also cut. Fire also broke out in buildings on a road to the city, officials said.

"I want to know what happened to my sister and her husband," said Fitra Jaya, who owns a house in downtown Padang and was in Jakarta when the quake struck. "I tried to call my family there, but I could not reach anyone at all."

Wednesday's quake came a day after a quake with a magnitude of between 8.0 and 8.3 in the South Pacific hurled a massive tsunami at the shores of Samoa and American Samoa, flattening villages and leaving at least 99 dead and dozens missing.

The epicenter of Wednesday's temblor off Indonesia lies several thousand miles (kilometers) to the west, on the other side of Australia.

The shaking could be felt in high buildings in Jakarta, several hundred miles (kilometers) away. It was also felt in neighboring Singapore and Malaysia.

Padang was badly hit by an 8.4 magnitude quake in September 2007, when dozens of people died and several large buildings collapsed.

_____

AP reporters Ali Kotarumalos, Irwan Firdaus contributed to this article.

Why Singapore “meritocracy” isn’t meritocracy - The Temasek Review

Image by Henryleonghw via Flickr

By Abdul Gafoor, Social Correspondent

Singapore is a strange country where everything suggested, which is contrary what the government, politicians and policy makers claim, has to be “substantiated with evidence” even though the same government, politicians and policy makers are not required to substantiate their claims with any evidence. No other country has such an idiosyncratic attitude which was introduced by Lee Kuan Yew given his background as a lawyer. He tries to make the country a court room where the rules apply to everyone except government, politicians and policy makers.

The claim that meritocracy exists is one of the various notions that PAP has successfully marketed to the people even without having gone the length to ever proving it actually exists. Other such successes include Singapore being a developed country, education system being one of the best in the world etc. However PAP has had its fair share of failures in some of its baseless claims such as in eugenics where in order to produce smart kids, graduate men should marry graduate women.

The reason why many Singaporeans want to accept this baseless claim that meritocracy exists instead of rejecting is because they are afraid to deal with the factual situation where meritocracy does not exists.

The majority Chinese are afraid that they will fall into the shallowness as the majority Malays of Malaysia. The minority Singaporean leaders are afraid that they have not responded to a situation for fifty years where their bright and smart have been sidelined.

The minority Singaporean masses are afraid to even imagine they may have been systematically marginalized in last five decades because it shatters their crystal image of their state. Furthermore since they are clueless of how to respond they rather imagine it does not exist pretty much like how a person at health risk refuses to go for a screening test because they are not sure how to cope if they are diagnosed with a condition.

I have talked to so many academics, writers and thinkers around the world and everyone tend to point out to two characteristic in Singapore which will never allow meritocracy to exist.

Firstly income inequalities across the ethnic groups. Most Singaporeans even policy makers do not seem to understand what this means. Income inequalities across the ethnic groups does not mean a Chinese, a Malay, a Tamil and an Eurasian are earning not the same dollar as lame cynical Singaporean critics will foolishly claim.

Income inequalities across ethnic groups mean, the difference in incomes across ethnic groups is too large and significant. This is too visible and obvious to deny. Given this reality, meritocracy cannot exist even if you say the highest marks get the scholarship blah blah. You will have to level the playing field before you let them compete.

With the perverse income inequalities, the minorities will not be able to achieve equivalent or better successes than Chinese masses in examinations and job interviews even though they may have the capacity and potential.

What many Singaporeans tend to naively say is that because the minorities do not achieve as much, that is why their representations in ministries, scholarships etc etc are lower than their population proportions and they claim therefore their “meritocratic” system based on “scores and results” qualify as meritocracy.

This then brings to the second reason why meritocracy cannot be existing in Singapore. The way Singapore implements meritocracy is invalid. You cannot use past “scores and results” which is the main method in Singapore used to award scholarships, jobs etc. What you instead require is past, present and future performance because meritocracy is supposed to be based on potential not past achievements.

What someone achieves in the past indeed shows his potential but what someone does not achieve in the past does not show his potential. Therefore assessments have to be based on potential and for that past performance alone cannot be used. Secondly the proper assessments must be used for to evaluate a person for the job or scholarship.

In Singapore a government scholar typically gets to become a senior military officer or police officer not because he is brilliant in military work or police work but because he scored high marks in GCE O and A level examinations and managed to complete his degree on scholarship and survived through the fast tracked career. That is not meritocracy.

Singapore employers are also extremely subjective when assessing employees. I have seen far too many non-Chinese friends applying to banks only to be rejected. The reasons the employers give are that these friends do not have relevant experience if they are crossing over from say engineering industry. However many (a large number) of Chinese friends who were formerly working as engineers have crossed over into banking industry within the same banks and same departments which rejected those non-Chinese friends.

I also have seen non-Chinese friends with business and finance degrees not even getting interviews whereas their Chinese classmates do. Almost all my non-Chinese friends from JC who got straight As in GCE A Levels are now working as teachers as they could not find employment in the industry for which they were trained for. Likewise I have seen so many non-Chinese friends who have migrated being able to secure jobs in banks which in Singapore rejected them, in industries which in Singapore also rejected them.

What is clear is employers are not giving fair and equal opportunities to minorities in Singapore. What is also clear is that assessment and evaluation of candidates for scholarship and jobs in Singapore is not consistent. Race is a factor.

For many years, there have been calls to set up a labour laws and labour courts to address this just like in any developed and civilized country. Every PAP labour minister over last 50 years have refused. The fact they refused only shows they know the above problems exists and that they are not confident in tackling them.

Singaporean politicians, policy makers and ordinary people refuse to acknowledge these realities and instead insist on imagining Singapore offers a level playing field for all races. The problem is they fail to realize they are unnecessarily creating instabilities into the country with this. A small country like Singapore despite its size does have the capacity to offer sufficient opportunities to everyone in education and jobs.

Having a kiasu attitude and creating unleveled playing fields and believing the whole system functions as a meritocracy only makes Singapore an unsafe place because social unrest will eventually be the natural outcome as proven in so many cases around the world in just the history of the last 100 years.

Part of the problem is fueled by Malaysian Chinese who want to create an impression that what exists in Malaysia does not exist in Singapore. The forms of the problems that exist in the two strange twin countries maybe different but essentially they are the same. They are two sides of the same coin.

What change is required basically in Singapore or even in Malaysia is a leveled playing field for everyone. The governments will have to work towards eliminating income inequalities across the ethnic groups.

Opportunities for education need to be created such that dreams and potential be the criteria for selection. Opportunities also need to be created for promising students who are caught in the storms and shortcomings of their family backgrounds. These opportunities should be available, accessible, universal and abundant such that should any student with potential can reach and attain them easily. Sometimes opportunities should be extended to test to even identify where the brightest and smartest are.

In terms of employment same criteria for evaluations need to be put in place. The culture of rewarding and measuring a person through relationships should be stopped. Instead workplace should be about performance and potential. Legal safeguards must be put in place to make every employer a fair and equal opportunity employer.

Courts must be there to strike fear in those employers who want to select one over the other based on instincts, relationships and subjective evaluations. None of solutions I have said is utopian. They basically are the realities that exist in the developed and civilized world.

About the Author:

Abdul Gafoor is a researcher based in the United Kingdom

Singapore Dissident - Lee Kuan Yew's son, the Singapore Prime Minister wants to make it another hub!

Image via Wikipedia

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singapore's state controlled newspaper the Straits Times, which Reporters Without Borders placed 157th position in the world for being almost the least free, has this story on Sept 29, 2009 on it's online edition "Institute to Groom Talent". This time, just as Lee's son's many previous grandiose castles in the air, he has started a new initiative to "bring together business schools, corporate universities and professional services firms devoted to leadership and talent development"!

As expected the article is very badly written (but what can you expect from a state controlled newspaper not much different from those in Burma?) obviously because they are unable to recruit good writers, but trying hard nevertheless to understand, it appears to be an attempt by him to nurture and advance business and leadership talent!

Unless the education and training is conducted entirely in Mandarin Chinese, I think it would be rather difficult to attract anyone to Singapore, let alone keep them there sufficiently to train them!

You see, anyone who can read English would very soon find out that such as political party known as the Singapore Democratic Party exists. They are also going to find out that it's leader Dr. Chee has been fined $400,000.00 this last time, not counting the earlier times, by a Singapore judge all because he criticized Singapore's leader Lee Kuan Yew. They are also going to find out that such a man known as Gopalan Nair was sent to jail for 3 months for, among other things, criticizing that same judge Judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean for corruption and bias in a court case.

And finding this out, however much Lee Kuan Yew or his son tried to keep this hidden, they will find out that Singapore has a corrupt judiciary, the politicians are corrupt and there is no human rights at all. And once they discovered that, they would be asking themselves what in Heavens are they doing in Singapore trying to improve on leadership and talent! They might as well be in Rangoon, Burma!

And once they find out the truth, not only will they leave Singapore as fast as they came, they will also turn out to become first class ambassadors for the bad news that Singapore is.

If Lee Kuan Yew's son, who his father handpicked for Prime Minister did not know, Singapore is losing it's talent at such a scale, it is already destroying the country. Not too long ago in a survey, 2 out of 3 young people said, if given a chance they would emigrate. Only 2 moths ago, Goh Chock Tong, teary eyed admitted that Singapore is losing it's talent at such a rate that 2 in 3 students who go abroad never return. And what is worse, the birth rate has shrunk to a level below replacement.

"Singapore Dissident" has been working hard to spread the truth about Singapore, which is, an authoritarian dictatorship that has no free press, free speech or an independent judiciary. And it is hoped that all those who come to Singapore by mistake, hoodwinked by the Singapore government that it is something else, will hopefully read this blog and the others and realize the truth.

The only alternative for this administration is to lure more and more Chinese speaking conformists and crawlers from mainland China to populate the country. Without the necessary qualities, they will be no real replacement for those Singaporeans with talent and an English education who have left.

And coming back to Lee Kuan Yew's son's Human Capital Summit, nothing will be heard about it anymore, as is the story of all his other plans.

Lee Kuan Yew's greatest mistake was to misuse the judiciary. This discredited the entire country. A country which has lost it's reputation for integrity will lose everything. It is no longer trustworthy.

Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/

Ketsana Death Toll Rises to 38 in Vietnam - Thanh Nien Daily

Image by omgayeo via Flickr

At least 38 people have died and 10 people are missing in central Vietnam after typhoon Ketsana hit the region Tuesday afternoon, according to the national flood and storm control committee.

Another 73 people have been injured, and over 100,000 houses with at least 90 boats were damaged or submerged, the committee said on Tuesday evening.

Ketsana, which strengthened from a tropical low on Saturday and killed at least 246 people in the Philippines before heading for Vietnam, has since weakened into a low.

The central provinces had managed to evacuate over 370,000 residents to safe areas before the storm touched land, local authorities said.

“Different from other storms that often cause heavy rains after their landfall, the ninth storm [to hit the East Sea this year] has caused much heavier rains over a large area before and during its arrival in Quang Nam – Quang Ngai provinces,” said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dao Xuan Hoc.

“[This] has caused especially severe flooding and some rivers have risen to record levels,” Hoc said.

In fact, with the rainfall measuring up to 1,300 millimeters in some localities like Thua Thien – Hue on Tuesday evening, water levels in the Tra Bong River reached 5.58 meters, 0.19 meters higher than the historic flood peak in 1964.

Floods on the Po Ko River in Kon Tum province also made a record at 5.56 meters, 2.26 meters higher than the record set in 2006, according to Bui Minh Tang –director of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF).

The flood waters will continue rising on Wednesday, NCHMF said on its website yesterday morning.

Meanwhile, power blackouts and severed traffic had isolated some localities like Thua Thien Hue, Quang Ngai, and Quang Nam.

Over 2,000 people on Nhon Chau Island in Binh Dinh Province were also totally cutoff from the mainland.

“The greatest challenge is not only food supply but also the spread and treatment of diseases,” said Ngo Van Quy, chairman of Nhon Chau People’s Committee said.

“Difficult births and appendicitis can be fatal if patients aren’t transferred to the mainland [for proper treatment]. Local people have to wait for at least another three days before accessing the mainland, in case the weather is good.”

According to the national forecast center, the fierce storm weakened into tropical low and reached the south of Laos with winds blowing at 31-96 kilometers per hour on Tuesday night.

The low will reach the northwest of Thailand on Wednesday, it added.

However, the center warned that the low pressure would still affect Vietnam, causing torrential rains, flash floods and landslides in the central and central highlands provinces.

On Tuesday afternoon Nguyen Van Thanh, deputy director of Saigon Railway Station, said the storm has caused them to cancel many trains from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to central provinces.

The cancellation and shortening of train routes will continue on Wednesday, he added.

Also on Tuesday, national carrier Vietnam Airlines announced it would resume flights from Hanoi and HCMC to the central region from Wednesday at 7 a.m., and add more flights on the routes.