Feb 11, 2013
The Old Image Search, Still Available
The Old Image Search, Still Available: The old Google Image Search interface is still available in the OneBox result that's displayed for some Google searches like [tropical birds] or [europe map]. If you add "image", "images", "photo" or "photos" to your query, Google will show 4 times more image results. It's like a simplified image search interface inside the regular Google Search.
Land Activist Defends Actions
Land Activist Defends Actions: 
Freed after three months of detention, a Lao land activist defended her efforts to press for government compensation for land taken over from villagers for a road project.
Sivanxay Phommarath told RFA’s Lao Service that she had been released last Friday after paying a 700,000 kip (U.S. $88) fine and promising that she and her husband Soukphaouane Phommarath would refrain from taking part in any “unlawful” actions.
Sivanxay was detained in October last year after she led a more than 20 people from Khammouane province’s Nhommalath district to meet with an unknown person in Savannakhet province the group believed would help them get better compensation for land being taken over for a road expansion.
After finding no one at the planned meeting spot—on a bridge over the Mekong River on the Thai-Lao border—the villagers returned home to Nhommalath but were taken into custody for questioning from authorities on the reason for their trip.
When Sivanxay refused to divulge information about the person she was supposed to meet, she was charged with inciting social disorder and taken to the Khammouane provincial prison on Nov. 19.
Authorities gave no explanation for her sudden release Friday after being held incommunicado.
Despite the lengthy detention and her group’s failure to find help in their battle for compensation, Sivanxay said she had no regrets about her actions.
“Indeed I am glad,” she said. “It does not matter whether I get my land back or not, I don’t have any regrets.”
“I did my best—I fought for the sake of several people. I am proud of what I did.”
She said the conditions set by the authorities for her release stipulated that she and her husband “will not make any propaganda, incite groups of people to carry out unlawful acts in any way, will be good citizens socially and will not break any Lao laws.”
Road expansion
Officials representing Nhommalath district had met with Sivanxay and other villagers in August to present offers of compensation for land needed for the road expansion project near the Nam Theun 2, Laos’s largest hydroelectric dam, according to a source living in Seattle with contacts in the area.
The Nam Theun 2 Dam, built on a tributary of the Mekong River, has been producing electricity for sale to Thailand and into the Laos grid since March 2010, following the resettlement of 6,300 people living in the assigned reservoir area on Laos’s Nakai Plateau.
Though Sivanxay parted with one parcel of her family’s land and received compensation, she refused to vacate a second parcel adjoining the proposed site of construction, sources said.
Khampouvanh Xayalath, the Nhommalath district officer who had called villagers to the August meeting, said that Sivanxay and her husband had “issues” with district authorities about land.
Since all land in Laos is owned by the state, residents can be forced off their land with little or no compensation as they are pushed out to make room for development projects.
Lawmakers have expressed concern that inadequate land surveys ahead of major development projects have led to a rash of complaints over encroachment on villagers' land and created a range of environmental problems, according to the state-owned Vientiane Times newspaper.
During the last session of Laos’s parliament, the National Assembly, at the end of the year, lawmakers debated a new draft of a national land policy strategy aimed at eradicating loopholes relating to land disputes and addressing disagreements between residents and officials over compensation, according to the paper.
Reported by RFA’s Lao Service. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Freed after three months of detention, a Lao land activist defended her efforts to press for government compensation for land taken over from villagers for a road project.
Sivanxay Phommarath told RFA’s Lao Service that she had been released last Friday after paying a 700,000 kip (U.S. $88) fine and promising that she and her husband Soukphaouane Phommarath would refrain from taking part in any “unlawful” actions.
Sivanxay was detained in October last year after she led a more than 20 people from Khammouane province’s Nhommalath district to meet with an unknown person in Savannakhet province the group believed would help them get better compensation for land being taken over for a road expansion.
After finding no one at the planned meeting spot—on a bridge over the Mekong River on the Thai-Lao border—the villagers returned home to Nhommalath but were taken into custody for questioning from authorities on the reason for their trip.
When Sivanxay refused to divulge information about the person she was supposed to meet, she was charged with inciting social disorder and taken to the Khammouane provincial prison on Nov. 19.
Authorities gave no explanation for her sudden release Friday after being held incommunicado.
Despite the lengthy detention and her group’s failure to find help in their battle for compensation, Sivanxay said she had no regrets about her actions.
“Indeed I am glad,” she said. “It does not matter whether I get my land back or not, I don’t have any regrets.”
“I did my best—I fought for the sake of several people. I am proud of what I did.”
She said the conditions set by the authorities for her release stipulated that she and her husband “will not make any propaganda, incite groups of people to carry out unlawful acts in any way, will be good citizens socially and will not break any Lao laws.”
Sivanxay Phommarath
Officials representing Nhommalath district had met with Sivanxay and other villagers in August to present offers of compensation for land needed for the road expansion project near the Nam Theun 2, Laos’s largest hydroelectric dam, according to a source living in Seattle with contacts in the area.
The Nam Theun 2 Dam, built on a tributary of the Mekong River, has been producing electricity for sale to Thailand and into the Laos grid since March 2010, following the resettlement of 6,300 people living in the assigned reservoir area on Laos’s Nakai Plateau.
Though Sivanxay parted with one parcel of her family’s land and received compensation, she refused to vacate a second parcel adjoining the proposed site of construction, sources said.
Khampouvanh Xayalath, the Nhommalath district officer who had called villagers to the August meeting, said that Sivanxay and her husband had “issues” with district authorities about land.
Since all land in Laos is owned by the state, residents can be forced off their land with little or no compensation as they are pushed out to make room for development projects.
Lawmakers have expressed concern that inadequate land surveys ahead of major development projects have led to a rash of complaints over encroachment on villagers' land and created a range of environmental problems, according to the state-owned Vientiane Times newspaper.
During the last session of Laos’s parliament, the National Assembly, at the end of the year, lawmakers debated a new draft of a national land policy strategy aimed at eradicating loopholes relating to land disputes and addressing disagreements between residents and officials over compensation, according to the paper.
Reported by RFA’s Lao Service. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Five Soldiers Killed in Thailand’s Restive South
Five Soldiers Killed in Thailand’s Restive South:
Security personnel and rescue workers gather around a body of one of the victims of an attack on army in the troubled southern province of Yala February 10, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)PATTANI, Thailand — Suspected militants killed five soldiers and wounded five others in two roadside attacks Sunday in Thailand’s insurgency-plagued southern provinces, police said.
In one of the attacks, insurgents detonated a car bomb on a road in Raman District in Yala Province as a truck carrying six soldiers passed by early Sunday, Police Maj. Torphan Pusanthia said.
The militants then opened fire on the soldiers, killing five of them, and took away the dead soldiers’ rifles, he said. One wounded soldier was rushed to a hospital.
The six soldiers were on their way to guard a group of local farmers on their way to work.
In the other attack, insurgents set off a bomb on a road in Ra Ngae district in Narathiwat province and wounded four soldiers, Police Col. Jiradet Phrasawang said.
He said the insurgents hid an improvised bomb under the road surface and detonated it as a pickup truck carrying the soldiers passed by.
More than 5,000 people have been killed in Thailand’s three southernmost provinces since an Islamic insurgency erupted in 2004.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said Sunday that the government would examine whether curfews are needed in the restive south, especially in the areas where attacks frequently occur.
“Authorities are looking into details,” Yingluck told reporters. “Any areas that are peaceful, we don’t want to announce curfews, but any areas that remain problematic, we will look at it on a case-by-case basis.”
Officials from security agencies are scheduled to meet on Friday to discuss safety measures for the southernmost provinces.
Teachers as well as security officials have been targeted as government representatives by the insurgents, who have made no public pronouncements but are thought to be fighting for an independent Muslim state. The area used to be an Islamic sultanate until it was annexed by Thailand in the early 20th century.
Muslims in Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and part of Songkhla provinces have long complained of discrimination by the Buddhist-dominated central government.
Associated Press writer Thanyarat Doksone contributed to this report from Bangkok.
Security personnel and rescue workers gather around a body of one of the victims of an attack on army in the troubled southern province of Yala February 10, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)
In one of the attacks, insurgents detonated a car bomb on a road in Raman District in Yala Province as a truck carrying six soldiers passed by early Sunday, Police Maj. Torphan Pusanthia said.
The militants then opened fire on the soldiers, killing five of them, and took away the dead soldiers’ rifles, he said. One wounded soldier was rushed to a hospital.
The six soldiers were on their way to guard a group of local farmers on their way to work.
In the other attack, insurgents set off a bomb on a road in Ra Ngae district in Narathiwat province and wounded four soldiers, Police Col. Jiradet Phrasawang said.
He said the insurgents hid an improvised bomb under the road surface and detonated it as a pickup truck carrying the soldiers passed by.
More than 5,000 people have been killed in Thailand’s three southernmost provinces since an Islamic insurgency erupted in 2004.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said Sunday that the government would examine whether curfews are needed in the restive south, especially in the areas where attacks frequently occur.
“Authorities are looking into details,” Yingluck told reporters. “Any areas that are peaceful, we don’t want to announce curfews, but any areas that remain problematic, we will look at it on a case-by-case basis.”
Officials from security agencies are scheduled to meet on Friday to discuss safety measures for the southernmost provinces.
Teachers as well as security officials have been targeted as government representatives by the insurgents, who have made no public pronouncements but are thought to be fighting for an independent Muslim state. The area used to be an Islamic sultanate until it was annexed by Thailand in the early 20th century.
Muslims in Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and part of Songkhla provinces have long complained of discrimination by the Buddhist-dominated central government.
Associated Press writer Thanyarat Doksone contributed to this report from Bangkok.
Filipino Extremists Face New Foe: Fellow Rebels
Filipino Extremists Face New Foe: Fellow Rebels:
Moro National Liberation Front commander Khabir Malik, front left, talks at their camp in Jolo, in the southern Philippines’ Sulu Province on Feb. 4, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)MANILA — After years of fighting the government from hidden jungle bases in the southern Philippines, an Al-Qaida-linked militant group is facing a new adversary: fellow Muslim insurgents who can match their guerrilla battle tactics and are eager to regain their lost stature by fighting the widely condemned terrorist group.
The emerging enmity between the Abu Sayyaf militants and the Moro rebels could bolster a decade-long campaign by the Philippines and Western countries to isolate the al-Qaida offshoot Abu Sayyaf, which remains one of the most dangerous groups in Southeast Asia.
In their first known major clash, Abu Sayyaf gunmen battled rebels from the larger Moro National Liberation Front in fighting early this week, leaving at least 22 combatants dead in the mountainous jungles on southern Jolo Island. A Moro rebel was beheaded—Abu Sayyaf’s signature act.
Bonded by blood ties and war, the two armed groups had co-existed for years on Jolo in a predominantly Muslim region, where abject poverty, guns and weak law enforcement have combined in an explosive mix to fuel their rebellions and pockets of lawlessness.
The trouble began after the Moro rebels—seeking to regain their former dominance in the region—tried to arrange the release of several hostages held by the Abu Sayyaf, including a prominent Jordanian TV journalist and two European tourists. When the Abu Sayyaf commanders refused to free the hostages, Moro rebels launched an attack.
The Moro rebels are now trying to rescue the captives and end the Abu Sayyaf’s reign, Moro commander Khabier Malik told The Associated Press.
“We breathe the same air, speak the same language and live and fight in the same jungle,” he said by telephone. “We’re a bigger force and we cannot allow this small group to reign with this brutality.”
For years, a shadowy alliance is believed to have existed between the groups. While the Moro rebels signed a limited peace deal with the government years ago, some Moro commanders are suspected of giving sanctuary to Abu Sayyaf men and carrying out kidnappings for ransom with them.
“Collusion between the Abu Sayyaf Group and MNLF members—many of whom are relatives—on Jolo is a major reason why large swaths of the island have been essentially ungovernable for years,” said Bryony Lau of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group think tank. The government “should consider whether the recent clash has shifted relations between them in a way that could make it easier to isolate senior figures of the Abu Sayyaf Group.”
But the rift offers no easy answers for the Philippines. Weaning the Moro rebels from hardened militants would mean a true government alliance with the rebels, some of whom are suspected of involvement in attacks on civilians and government forces.
Walking a tightrope amid the clashes, President Benigno Aquino III said the Moro offensive was not sanctioned by his government. But government officials also are not trying to stop the fighting, presumably hoping each group weakens the other. Police and soldiers have simply set up checkpoints to seal off the area around the fighting, trying to keep it from spilling into other rural areas.
Sulu provincial Governor Abdusakur Tan said he would allow the Moro attacks to continue, at least for now.
“They’re cleaning their ranks. These kidnappers are either their former members or one of their own,” Tan said.
The Moro National Liberation Front spearheaded an underground movement in the early 1970s for a separatist Islamic state. But it dropped its secessionist goal when it accepted limited autonomy for minority Muslims in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation’s south, prompting key guerrillas to break away, including a Libyan-educated radical, who established the Abu Sayyaf.
Another major guerrilla bloc broke off from the original Moro group and formed the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which has emerged as the country’s largest Muslim rebel group.
The Moro rebels were not required to disarm under the landmark 1996 peace deal, allowing fighters to settle to their Jolo communities with their weapons. The accord also lacked a provision to formally enlist the rebels in hunting down criminals and terrorists straying into their strongholds, an oversight that may have helped foster collusion years later between the Moro rebels and the Abu Sayyaf.
Philippine officials forged such a pact in peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front with impressive results. Hunted by US-backed Filipino troops in 2005, Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani and other militants sought refuge in a stronghold Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which turned them away. Janjalani, then among the most-wanted terrorist suspects in Southeast Asia, was killed by troops the following year on Jolo.
The Abu Sayyaf—“Bearer of the Sword” in Arabic—was founded with funds and training believed to come from a collection of Asian and Middle Eastern radical groups, including al-Qaida. It came to US attention in 2001 when it kidnapped three Americans, one of whom was beheaded, along with dozens of Filipinos and openly swore allegiance to Osama bin Laden’s movement.
The kidnappings prompted Washington to deploy hundreds of troops in the south in 2002 to train Philippine forces and share intelligence, helping the military capture or kill most of the Abu Sayyaf’s top commanders. Now without a central leader, the group has less than 400 armed fighters, who the military says are constantly on the run from US-backed local offensives.
Philippine security officials attribute the Abu Sayyaf’s resilience to the difficulty of hunting down small pockets of fighters by soldiers unfamiliar with the vast mountainous jungles of Jolo and outlying islands.
Moro National Liberation Front commander Khabir Malik, front left, talks at their camp in Jolo, in the southern Philippines’ Sulu Province on Feb. 4, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)
The emerging enmity between the Abu Sayyaf militants and the Moro rebels could bolster a decade-long campaign by the Philippines and Western countries to isolate the al-Qaida offshoot Abu Sayyaf, which remains one of the most dangerous groups in Southeast Asia.
In their first known major clash, Abu Sayyaf gunmen battled rebels from the larger Moro National Liberation Front in fighting early this week, leaving at least 22 combatants dead in the mountainous jungles on southern Jolo Island. A Moro rebel was beheaded—Abu Sayyaf’s signature act.
Bonded by blood ties and war, the two armed groups had co-existed for years on Jolo in a predominantly Muslim region, where abject poverty, guns and weak law enforcement have combined in an explosive mix to fuel their rebellions and pockets of lawlessness.
The trouble began after the Moro rebels—seeking to regain their former dominance in the region—tried to arrange the release of several hostages held by the Abu Sayyaf, including a prominent Jordanian TV journalist and two European tourists. When the Abu Sayyaf commanders refused to free the hostages, Moro rebels launched an attack.
The Moro rebels are now trying to rescue the captives and end the Abu Sayyaf’s reign, Moro commander Khabier Malik told The Associated Press.
“We breathe the same air, speak the same language and live and fight in the same jungle,” he said by telephone. “We’re a bigger force and we cannot allow this small group to reign with this brutality.”
For years, a shadowy alliance is believed to have existed between the groups. While the Moro rebels signed a limited peace deal with the government years ago, some Moro commanders are suspected of giving sanctuary to Abu Sayyaf men and carrying out kidnappings for ransom with them.
“Collusion between the Abu Sayyaf Group and MNLF members—many of whom are relatives—on Jolo is a major reason why large swaths of the island have been essentially ungovernable for years,” said Bryony Lau of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group think tank. The government “should consider whether the recent clash has shifted relations between them in a way that could make it easier to isolate senior figures of the Abu Sayyaf Group.”
But the rift offers no easy answers for the Philippines. Weaning the Moro rebels from hardened militants would mean a true government alliance with the rebels, some of whom are suspected of involvement in attacks on civilians and government forces.
Walking a tightrope amid the clashes, President Benigno Aquino III said the Moro offensive was not sanctioned by his government. But government officials also are not trying to stop the fighting, presumably hoping each group weakens the other. Police and soldiers have simply set up checkpoints to seal off the area around the fighting, trying to keep it from spilling into other rural areas.
Sulu provincial Governor Abdusakur Tan said he would allow the Moro attacks to continue, at least for now.
“They’re cleaning their ranks. These kidnappers are either their former members or one of their own,” Tan said.
The Moro National Liberation Front spearheaded an underground movement in the early 1970s for a separatist Islamic state. But it dropped its secessionist goal when it accepted limited autonomy for minority Muslims in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation’s south, prompting key guerrillas to break away, including a Libyan-educated radical, who established the Abu Sayyaf.
Another major guerrilla bloc broke off from the original Moro group and formed the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which has emerged as the country’s largest Muslim rebel group.
The Moro rebels were not required to disarm under the landmark 1996 peace deal, allowing fighters to settle to their Jolo communities with their weapons. The accord also lacked a provision to formally enlist the rebels in hunting down criminals and terrorists straying into their strongholds, an oversight that may have helped foster collusion years later between the Moro rebels and the Abu Sayyaf.
Philippine officials forged such a pact in peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front with impressive results. Hunted by US-backed Filipino troops in 2005, Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani and other militants sought refuge in a stronghold Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which turned them away. Janjalani, then among the most-wanted terrorist suspects in Southeast Asia, was killed by troops the following year on Jolo.
The Abu Sayyaf—“Bearer of the Sword” in Arabic—was founded with funds and training believed to come from a collection of Asian and Middle Eastern radical groups, including al-Qaida. It came to US attention in 2001 when it kidnapped three Americans, one of whom was beheaded, along with dozens of Filipinos and openly swore allegiance to Osama bin Laden’s movement.
The kidnappings prompted Washington to deploy hundreds of troops in the south in 2002 to train Philippine forces and share intelligence, helping the military capture or kill most of the Abu Sayyaf’s top commanders. Now without a central leader, the group has less than 400 armed fighters, who the military says are constantly on the run from US-backed local offensives.
Philippine security officials attribute the Abu Sayyaf’s resilience to the difficulty of hunting down small pockets of fighters by soldiers unfamiliar with the vast mountainous jungles of Jolo and outlying islands.
Feb 10, 2013
South Africa mourns gang-rape victim
South Africa mourns gang-rape victim: Brutal gang-rape and murder of 17-year-old woman stirs soul searching in country with world's highest reported rape.
Chile court orders exhumation of poet Neruda
Chile court orders exhumation of poet Neruda: Remains of famed poet and Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda to be exhumed as part of investigation into his death in 1973.
Iran's Press TV taken off air in N America
Iran's Press TV taken off air in N America: State run channel says its removal by Galaxy 19 satellite is part of sanctions imposed over Tehran's nuclear programme.
Syrian cabinet reshuffled amid more violence
Syrian cabinet reshuffled amid more violence: President Bashar al-Assad appoints seven new ministers, in a move that appears aimed at trying to shore up the economy.
Russian activist put under house arrest
Russian activist put under house arrest: Court's decision comes amid accusations Sergei Udaltsov incited mass disorder to overthrow President Putin's government.
Israel destroys W Bank protest camp
Israel destroys W Bank protest camp: Soldiers forced Palestinian activists to evacuate West Bank camp set up in protest against illegal Israeli settlements.
US states dig their way out of snow storm
US states dig their way out of snow storm: Northeast emerging from blizzard that caused at least nine deaths and paralysed the region with winds and snow.
Egypt blocks YouTube over anti-Islam film
Egypt blocks YouTube over anti-Islam film: Court orders suspension of video-sharing website's services for a month for carrying anti-Islam film.
UN condemns attack on Iranian exile camp
UN condemns attack on Iranian exile camp: Ban Ki-moon demands investigation by Iraqi authorities into deadly attack on dissident base that left at least six dead.
Israel's Lieberman scoffs at Palestinian deal
Israel's Lieberman scoffs at Palestinian deal: Ex-foreign minister calls peace "impossible", saying the conflict between Palestinians and Israel can only be "managed".
Bahrain launches new round of national dialogue
Bahrain launches new round of national dialogue: Government-sponsored talks come just ahead of the two-year anniversary of pro-democracy protests in Bahrain.
Dunford takes charge of NATO in Afghanistan
Dunford takes charge of NATO in Afghanistan: General expected to be last commander of NATO and US forces there, as combat troops are set to withdraw by end of 2014.
Celebrations mark start of Lunar New Year
Celebrations mark start of Lunar New Year: Week-long festivities to usher in the Year of the Snake kick off in China and elsewhere.
Boeing completes 'uneventful' Dreamliner test
Boeing completes 'uneventful' Dreamliner test: Company releases few details on first 787 test flight since airplanes were grounded due to battery problems last month.
Iranians march to mark 1979 revolution
Iranians march to mark 1979 revolution: Hundreds of thousands of pro-government supporters have been rallying to mark the 34th anniversary of Iran's revolution.
British firm 'avoids paying tax' in Zambia
British firm 'avoids paying tax' in Zambia: UK charity ActionAid finds major food company has used allowances and incentives to pay no income tax since 2007.
Thai soldiers killed in roadside bombings
Thai soldiers killed in roadside bombings: At least five soldiers killed and another five wounded in two roadside bombings in country's restive south.
Clashes break out in key Mali city
Clashes break out in key Mali city: Armed rebel group claims responsibility for attack on Gao in the country's north, following two suicide bombings there.
Tunisian president's party quits cabinet
Tunisian president's party quits cabinet: Crisis sparked by assassination deepens after secular party withdraws ministers over unmet demands for cabinet changes.
Deadly stampede mars Hindu festival in India
Deadly stampede mars Hindu festival in India: At least 20 killed after footbridge collapse at train station in Allahabad where millions have gathered for Kumbh Mela.
Rebels launch assaults across Syria
Rebels launch assaults across Syria: Battles raged between regime forces and opposition fighters near Damascus as rebels made advances in country's east.
Feb 9, 2013
Feb 8, 2013
Concern Over Chinese Investment
Concern Over Chinese Investment: 
Cambodia’s largest opposition party has expressed concern that China’s investment in the country is heavily skewed towards exploiting natural resources, wreaking havoc on the environment.
China is Cambodia’s largest investor by a wide margin, having poured U.S. $9.7 billion into the country over the past 18 years, a government report said Wednesday.
Most of the investment has been in energy, mineral resources, the garment industry, banking and finance, real estate, and tourism, it said.
But opposition Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Son Chhay warned that China is having excessive control over Cambodia’s natural resources as companies from the Asian giant carry out extensive mineral exploration and logging and embark on hydropower projects in the impoverished country.
“Chinese investors are focusing on Cambodia’s natural resources,” with some of the projects wreaking devastation on Cambodia’s natural resources and forests, he said.
Investment in hydropower projects, such as the Stung Areng and Ta Tai dams under construction by Chinese companies in Koh Kong province, is causing the destruction of thousands of acres of forests amid logging activities, he said.
The Sam Rainsy Party has also called on Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government to better regulate bidding processes for construction and infrastructure projects that can help encourage competition and cut implementation costs.
Son Chhay said Chinese companies have been favored over those from other countries in securing projects such as the dams, allowing them to set costs too high.
“Chinese investors prefer to build hydropower dams because they can arbitrarily set the price [of the project] and they are offered longer concessions compared to other neighboring countries.”
“This is a problem that Cambodia should be aware of about Chinese investment in Cambodia. This is bad investment.”
Loans
Cambodia, Beijing’s top Southeast Asian ally, has borrowed vast sums from China in recent years to finance road, hydropower, and defense projects, many of which are contracted to Chinese firms.
“China gives us loans, but they allow companies to set high prices,” Son Chhay said.
Cambodia owes about U.S. $3 billion dollars in loans from China, he said, adding that the debt gives the giant neighbor too much political influence in the country.
Cambodia’s reported foreign debt levels vary, with the Sam Rainsy Party putting the country’s total foreign debt at over U.S. $10 billion in total, and the ruling Cambodian People’s Party and international sources giving a figure between U.S. $2 and $7 billion.
China is not giving Cambodia humanitarian aid, as perceived by many Cambodians, but rather loans it will have to pay back, Son Chhay said.
Many of the construction projects Chinese companies are granted through the loans, such as the building of national roads, are done at high cost and with “low quality,” he said.
The quality of the construction of National Road 7 came under widespread criticism for shoddy construction last year, including from Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Reported and translated by Samean Yun for RFA’s Khmer Service. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.
Cambodia’s largest opposition party has expressed concern that China’s investment in the country is heavily skewed towards exploiting natural resources, wreaking havoc on the environment.
China is Cambodia’s largest investor by a wide margin, having poured U.S. $9.7 billion into the country over the past 18 years, a government report said Wednesday.
Most of the investment has been in energy, mineral resources, the garment industry, banking and finance, real estate, and tourism, it said.
But opposition Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Son Chhay warned that China is having excessive control over Cambodia’s natural resources as companies from the Asian giant carry out extensive mineral exploration and logging and embark on hydropower projects in the impoverished country.
“Chinese investors are focusing on Cambodia’s natural resources,” with some of the projects wreaking devastation on Cambodia’s natural resources and forests, he said.
Investment in hydropower projects, such as the Stung Areng and Ta Tai dams under construction by Chinese companies in Koh Kong province, is causing the destruction of thousands of acres of forests amid logging activities, he said.
The Sam Rainsy Party has also called on Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government to better regulate bidding processes for construction and infrastructure projects that can help encourage competition and cut implementation costs.
Son Chhay said Chinese companies have been favored over those from other countries in securing projects such as the dams, allowing them to set costs too high.
“Chinese investors prefer to build hydropower dams because they can arbitrarily set the price [of the project] and they are offered longer concessions compared to other neighboring countries.”
“This is a problem that Cambodia should be aware of about Chinese investment in Cambodia. This is bad investment.”
Loans
Cambodia, Beijing’s top Southeast Asian ally, has borrowed vast sums from China in recent years to finance road, hydropower, and defense projects, many of which are contracted to Chinese firms.
“China gives us loans, but they allow companies to set high prices,” Son Chhay said.
Cambodia owes about U.S. $3 billion dollars in loans from China, he said, adding that the debt gives the giant neighbor too much political influence in the country.
Cambodia’s reported foreign debt levels vary, with the Sam Rainsy Party putting the country’s total foreign debt at over U.S. $10 billion in total, and the ruling Cambodian People’s Party and international sources giving a figure between U.S. $2 and $7 billion.
China is not giving Cambodia humanitarian aid, as perceived by many Cambodians, but rather loans it will have to pay back, Son Chhay said.
Many of the construction projects Chinese companies are granted through the loans, such as the building of national roads, are done at high cost and with “low quality,” he said.
The quality of the construction of National Road 7 came under widespread criticism for shoddy construction last year, including from Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Reported and translated by Samean Yun for RFA’s Khmer Service. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.
Feb 7, 2013
Scholar Put on 24-hour Watch
Scholar Put on 24-hour Watch: 
An ethnic Uyghur scholar who was blocked last week from leaving China to take up a post at a U.S. university said Thursday that he is being watched around the clock by police stationed outside his Beijing home and that his website has also been hacked.
Ilham Tohti said one of his students at the Central Minorities University in Beijing where he teaches is also being harassed by the authorities, who have warned him against giving interviews to foreign news organizations.
“Because I speak to foreign media, they question me and warn me, but I will never stop speaking out,” Ilham Tohti told RFA’s Uyghur Service by telephone from his Beijing residence. “In China, there is no freedom for anyone,” he said.
On Saturday, Tohti was detained at an airport in Beijing while attempting to board a flight that would take him to the U.S., where he was set to take up a post on a U.S.-issued J-1 visa as a visiting scholar at Indiana University.
Daughter safe
His teenage daughter, who was to have accompanied him, was allowed to take the American Airlines flight to the U.S. and is now safe in Indiana, Tohti said.
After being questioned by police at the airport for eight hours, Tohti was taken back to his home in Beijing, he said.
“Now, a police car is parked outside my home 24 hours a day, and police question anyone who speaks to me in person or on the phone,” he said, adding that the Public Security Bureau in Beijing has warned him not to speak to foreign media.
“But I speak for freedom and democracy, and I want the world to know about the situation of the Uyghurs,” Tohti said.
A vocal critic
Tohti, who has been detained several times before, is a vocal critic of the Chinese government’s treatment of the minority Uyghurs, most of whom live in the northwestern Xinjiang region and complain of discrimination by the county’s majority Han Chinese.
Following his airport detention, unknown hackers attacked his website uyghur.net, which is hosted overseas and discusses Uyghur social issues and news from Xinjiang, Tohti said.
The website, a successor to the Uyghur Online website which he founded but was shut down by Beijing in 2009, had reported details of his detention, he said.
Chinese authorities have also harassed his student Atikem Rozi, Tohti said, with police taking her on Feb. 5 from her home in Toksu county in Xinjiang’s Aksu district and questioning her for four to five hours.
“Things are very bad for her right now, and her parents are very worried,” he said.
Canceled class
Ilham Tohti told RFA in December that speaking out on Uyghur issues was negatively impacting his family’s life in Beijing as well as his own.
In August 2012, Chinese authorities interrogated the professor, warning him not to speak to foreign media or discuss religion online after he alleged that Chinese security forces had been sent to mosques in Xinjiang to monitor Muslims during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
In September 2011, the Central Minorities University canceled a class taught by Tohti on immigration, discrimination, and development in Xinjiang, where many Muslim Uyghurs say they suffer ethnic discrimination, oppressive religious controls, and continued poverty and joblessness under Chinese rule.
Reported and translated by Mihray Abdilim for RFA’s Uyghur Service. Written in English by Richard Finney.
An ethnic Uyghur scholar who was blocked last week from leaving China to take up a post at a U.S. university said Thursday that he is being watched around the clock by police stationed outside his Beijing home and that his website has also been hacked.
Ilham Tohti said one of his students at the Central Minorities University in Beijing where he teaches is also being harassed by the authorities, who have warned him against giving interviews to foreign news organizations.
“Because I speak to foreign media, they question me and warn me, but I will never stop speaking out,” Ilham Tohti told RFA’s Uyghur Service by telephone from his Beijing residence. “In China, there is no freedom for anyone,” he said.
On Saturday, Tohti was detained at an airport in Beijing while attempting to board a flight that would take him to the U.S., where he was set to take up a post on a U.S.-issued J-1 visa as a visiting scholar at Indiana University.
Daughter safe
His teenage daughter, who was to have accompanied him, was allowed to take the American Airlines flight to the U.S. and is now safe in Indiana, Tohti said.
After being questioned by police at the airport for eight hours, Tohti was taken back to his home in Beijing, he said.
“Now, a police car is parked outside my home 24 hours a day, and police question anyone who speaks to me in person or on the phone,” he said, adding that the Public Security Bureau in Beijing has warned him not to speak to foreign media.
“But I speak for freedom and democracy, and I want the world to know about the situation of the Uyghurs,” Tohti said.
A vocal critic
Tohti, who has been detained several times before, is a vocal critic of the Chinese government’s treatment of the minority Uyghurs, most of whom live in the northwestern Xinjiang region and complain of discrimination by the county’s majority Han Chinese.
Following his airport detention, unknown hackers attacked his website uyghur.net, which is hosted overseas and discusses Uyghur social issues and news from Xinjiang, Tohti said.
The website, a successor to the Uyghur Online website which he founded but was shut down by Beijing in 2009, had reported details of his detention, he said.
Chinese authorities have also harassed his student Atikem Rozi, Tohti said, with police taking her on Feb. 5 from her home in Toksu county in Xinjiang’s Aksu district and questioning her for four to five hours.
“Things are very bad for her right now, and her parents are very worried,” he said.
Canceled class
Ilham Tohti told RFA in December that speaking out on Uyghur issues was negatively impacting his family’s life in Beijing as well as his own.
In August 2012, Chinese authorities interrogated the professor, warning him not to speak to foreign media or discuss religion online after he alleged that Chinese security forces had been sent to mosques in Xinjiang to monitor Muslims during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
In September 2011, the Central Minorities University canceled a class taught by Tohti on immigration, discrimination, and development in Xinjiang, where many Muslim Uyghurs say they suffer ethnic discrimination, oppressive religious controls, and continued poverty and joblessness under Chinese rule.
Reported and translated by Mihray Abdilim for RFA’s Uyghur Service. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Google’s Hotel Finder now offers neighborhood information to help you find the perfect room
Google’s Hotel Finder now offers neighborhood information to help you find the perfect room: 
Google’s Hotel Finder service has been updated with a new feature that makes it easier to find accommodation in any city over a specific period of time.
Now, when you visit google.com/hotels, you’re asked not only to search for the area you want to stay in, but also the dates that you’re planning on being there. Google then does all the hard work, bringing up its trademark maps with a dizzying number of red dots that represent its search results.
The update includes a dark box, overlaid on the top left-hand corner of the map, that brings up a detailed description of the various neighborhoods when you hover over the name with your cursor.
The text summary and cover photo are useful enough, but the feature becomes much more interesting once you select the neighbourhood name from the drop down. Google’s Hotel Finder then zooms into the map, applying a four-cornered box that conveys the boundaries of the neighborhood.
It’s an incredibly useful way of finding out where your accommodation is in relation to key places you want to visit. With the ability to set custom areas on the map too, it means users can easily find the perfect room based solely on location parameters.
The list of hotels on the left hand-side of the webpage are updated automatically based on the neighbourhood you’ve selected, and can now be filtered directly from the search box. So rather than manually navigating via the sort button, and looking at hotels in order based on price or user rating, it’s possible to just type in from the outset: “Three star hotel in Barcelona under $200 with a WiFi connection.”
Last but not least, the Hotel Finder also has a new default filter along the top of the map, called ‘Brand’, which sits alongside Price, Star Rating, User Rating and Amenities.
Image Credit: Rich Brooks/Flickr
Google’s Hotel Finder service has been updated with a new feature that makes it easier to find accommodation in any city over a specific period of time.
Now, when you visit google.com/hotels, you’re asked not only to search for the area you want to stay in, but also the dates that you’re planning on being there. Google then does all the hard work, bringing up its trademark maps with a dizzying number of red dots that represent its search results.
The update includes a dark box, overlaid on the top left-hand corner of the map, that brings up a detailed description of the various neighborhoods when you hover over the name with your cursor.
The text summary and cover photo are useful enough, but the feature becomes much more interesting once you select the neighbourhood name from the drop down. Google’s Hotel Finder then zooms into the map, applying a four-cornered box that conveys the boundaries of the neighborhood.
It’s an incredibly useful way of finding out where your accommodation is in relation to key places you want to visit. With the ability to set custom areas on the map too, it means users can easily find the perfect room based solely on location parameters.
The list of hotels on the left hand-side of the webpage are updated automatically based on the neighbourhood you’ve selected, and can now be filtered directly from the search box. So rather than manually navigating via the sort button, and looking at hotels in order based on price or user rating, it’s possible to just type in from the outset: “Three star hotel in Barcelona under $200 with a WiFi connection.”
Last but not least, the Hotel Finder also has a new default filter along the top of the map, called ‘Brand’, which sits alongside Price, Star Rating, User Rating and Amenities.
Image Credit: Rich Brooks/Flickr
NPD: 37% of PC users have switched to a smartphone or tablet to browse the Internet and check Facebook
NPD: 37% of PC users have switched to a smartphone or tablet to browse the Internet and check Facebook: 
It’s a widely accepted trend: as more and more consumers adopt more and more mobile devices, certain activities on the PC end up transitioning over. In fact, 37 percent of consumers who used to access content on their PCs have already switched to doing said activities on their tablets and smartphones.
The latest finding comes from NPD, which says the top two activities that consumers are shifting from their PCs to their tablets and smartphones are Web browsing and Facebook. Rounding out the top three on tablets is playing games and reading books, while on smartphones it’s uploading photos:
The difference in the number three spot makes sense: a bigger screen makes the tablet activities easier while a better camera means smartphone users take more photos. This is not to mention that anyone taking a photo with their tablet looks like a total idiot, but I digress.
If you’ll notice, however, there is no content creation in the chart above. One could argue that photo uploading is not consumption, but the other activities certainly are. That’s the PC’s role, and it likely won’t be changing anytime soon.
Let’s break down the 37 percent number further. 27 percent of tablet owners say they are using their PC less frequently for accessing the Internet while 20 percent say they are using their PC less frequently for accessing Facebook. On the smartphone side, it’s more equal: 27 percent have decreased both their Internet and Facebook usage on their PCs because they now use their mobile device for these activities.
All that being said, the PC isn’t dead. Internet browsing is still highest among PC owners at 75 percent, smartphones at 61 percent, and tablets at 53 percent, while Facebook interaction follows the same rank with PC owners at 63 percent, 55 percent for smartphone owners, and 39 percent among tablet owners.
This year, we think, that standing is going to get flipped upside down.
See also – Facebook’s mobile ad revenue made up 23% of its total ad revenue in Q4, worth $305 million and Facebook passes 1.06 billion monthly active users, 680 million mobile users, and 618 million daily users
Image credit: Toshifumi Kitamura/Getty
It’s a widely accepted trend: as more and more consumers adopt more and more mobile devices, certain activities on the PC end up transitioning over. In fact, 37 percent of consumers who used to access content on their PCs have already switched to doing said activities on their tablets and smartphones.
The latest finding comes from NPD, which says the top two activities that consumers are shifting from their PCs to their tablets and smartphones are Web browsing and Facebook. Rounding out the top three on tablets is playing games and reading books, while on smartphones it’s uploading photos:
The difference in the number three spot makes sense: a bigger screen makes the tablet activities easier while a better camera means smartphone users take more photos. This is not to mention that anyone taking a photo with their tablet looks like a total idiot, but I digress.
If you’ll notice, however, there is no content creation in the chart above. One could argue that photo uploading is not consumption, but the other activities certainly are. That’s the PC’s role, and it likely won’t be changing anytime soon.
Let’s break down the 37 percent number further. 27 percent of tablet owners say they are using their PC less frequently for accessing the Internet while 20 percent say they are using their PC less frequently for accessing Facebook. On the smartphone side, it’s more equal: 27 percent have decreased both their Internet and Facebook usage on their PCs because they now use their mobile device for these activities.
All that being said, the PC isn’t dead. Internet browsing is still highest among PC owners at 75 percent, smartphones at 61 percent, and tablets at 53 percent, while Facebook interaction follows the same rank with PC owners at 63 percent, 55 percent for smartphone owners, and 39 percent among tablet owners.
This year, we think, that standing is going to get flipped upside down.
See also – Facebook’s mobile ad revenue made up 23% of its total ad revenue in Q4, worth $305 million and Facebook passes 1.06 billion monthly active users, 680 million mobile users, and 618 million daily users
Image credit: Toshifumi Kitamura/Getty
Feb 6, 2013
Viddsee is a place for Southeast Asia’s top short filmmakers to showcase their work
Viddsee is a place for Southeast Asia’s top short filmmakers to showcase their work: 
If you have a taste for independent short films, newly-launched Viddsee is well worth your time. The video site is a place where indie filmmakers from Southeast Asia can ‘showcase’ their content, without the noise and clutter of YouTube, Vimeo and other established sites.
Viddsee has more than 100 carefully selected films from the region, which includes Chinese films from Singapore, Indonesian shorts and more. It features a range of directors, including Kelvin Sng and Quek Shio Chuan.
The service is the brain child of Singapore-based filmmaker Ho Jian and Derek Tan, a business development executive for photo-app maker Cooliris. It is based on their own experiences, Ho explains that the idea came to him when he released a film last year and decided to put it online.
“I explored the option of putting my film on Vimeo and YouTube, but the problem for filmmakers is that just getting their work online doesn’t guarantee that it’ll be watched by a large audience,” he tells TNW. ”Good short films get drowned among Gangnam Style parodies on YouTube, and discovery of Asian films is hard on Vimeo.”
After building a dedicated site for his own creations, Ho realized that others were in the same boat and keen to avoid watching their hard work lost among the sea of content across the Internet. After linking up with Tan — who is involved on a part-time basis away from his day job — the idea for Viddsee was born.
The site is very much in its early stages. Visitors can log in via Facebook to share content to the social network, and it has its own system to gather likes for films – you can like specific elements, such as the story, acting or music. There’s no option to embed content elsewhere as yet, but this will change in time, Ho says.
Right now, the founders are focused on attracting the attention of top short film-makers with the promise that their content will be prominently featured on the site. It costs nothing to put video forward for Viddsee — each film is individually vetted for suitability — and the goal is to build interest and get feedback, rather than make money.
That gives the site a nice, ad-free complexion. Ho says that, further down the line, they may embrace advertising, and distribution deals with carriers and integration deals with entertainment sites are also possibilities for generating revenue.
The company snagged a grant that’s “enough to give us a kick start” from Singapore’s Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE), but there are no immediate plans to raise seed funding. Ho says that the next six months will be dedicated to understanding its users — both producers and watchers — and setting its goals, after that it may look for investment to develop.
For now, Viddsee is looking to partner with upcoming filmmakers in Southeast Asia, such as Sng who released ‘The Gang’ (Viddsee link) exclusively on the site. Ho admits that exclusive launches are ideal as they helps generate interest and publicity, but he accepts that there is plenty of sense in launching across other platforms too.
There are no plans to go global but the founders are keen to expand to cover Asia as a whole, in time. Given the diversity of culture in Southeast Asia alone, there’s surely plenty to keep them busy for now.
➤ Viddsee
Headline image via m4tik / Flickr
If you have a taste for independent short films, newly-launched Viddsee is well worth your time. The video site is a place where indie filmmakers from Southeast Asia can ‘showcase’ their content, without the noise and clutter of YouTube, Vimeo and other established sites.
Viddsee has more than 100 carefully selected films from the region, which includes Chinese films from Singapore, Indonesian shorts and more. It features a range of directors, including Kelvin Sng and Quek Shio Chuan.
The service is the brain child of Singapore-based filmmaker Ho Jian and Derek Tan, a business development executive for photo-app maker Cooliris. It is based on their own experiences, Ho explains that the idea came to him when he released a film last year and decided to put it online.
“I explored the option of putting my film on Vimeo and YouTube, but the problem for filmmakers is that just getting their work online doesn’t guarantee that it’ll be watched by a large audience,” he tells TNW. ”Good short films get drowned among Gangnam Style parodies on YouTube, and discovery of Asian films is hard on Vimeo.”
After building a dedicated site for his own creations, Ho realized that others were in the same boat and keen to avoid watching their hard work lost among the sea of content across the Internet. After linking up with Tan — who is involved on a part-time basis away from his day job — the idea for Viddsee was born.
The site is very much in its early stages. Visitors can log in via Facebook to share content to the social network, and it has its own system to gather likes for films – you can like specific elements, such as the story, acting or music. There’s no option to embed content elsewhere as yet, but this will change in time, Ho says.
Right now, the founders are focused on attracting the attention of top short film-makers with the promise that their content will be prominently featured on the site. It costs nothing to put video forward for Viddsee — each film is individually vetted for suitability — and the goal is to build interest and get feedback, rather than make money.
That gives the site a nice, ad-free complexion. Ho says that, further down the line, they may embrace advertising, and distribution deals with carriers and integration deals with entertainment sites are also possibilities for generating revenue.
The company snagged a grant that’s “enough to give us a kick start” from Singapore’s Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE), but there are no immediate plans to raise seed funding. Ho says that the next six months will be dedicated to understanding its users — both producers and watchers — and setting its goals, after that it may look for investment to develop.
For now, Viddsee is looking to partner with upcoming filmmakers in Southeast Asia, such as Sng who released ‘The Gang’ (Viddsee link) exclusively on the site. Ho admits that exclusive launches are ideal as they helps generate interest and publicity, but he accepts that there is plenty of sense in launching across other platforms too.
There are no plans to go global but the founders are keen to expand to cover Asia as a whole, in time. Given the diversity of culture in Southeast Asia alone, there’s surely plenty to keep them busy for now.
➤ Viddsee
Headline image via m4tik / Flickr
Zemanta launches a content recommendation network for readers of its network of 300,000 publishers
Zemanta launches a content recommendation network for readers of its network of 300,000 publishers: 
Zemanta, the startup that provides suggestions of media to use and content to link to as writers prepare articles in blogging platforms like WordPress and Tumblr, is expanding its offering today with a new plugin that recommends content to readers instead.
The new service is essentially a content recommendation network that shows links to relevant related articles on the other sites, as well as advertising. Publishers running the plugin on their sites get to control which sites are linked to either manually or via a blacklist that allows them to exclude, for example, direct competitors.
Aside from these controls, content is selected using the algorithms that have made Zemanta a popular choice for bloggers and other publishers looking for inspiration as they write. A back-end dashboard offers data about how many inbound visitors the service has driven, the click-through rate, page views generated and the like.
New York-based Zemanta boasts a network of 300,000 publishers, who will be able to tap into the new service. Using the service, which has mobile and tablet optimized formats available in addition to a traditional desktop mode, as a way to monetize via advertising is a clever move as long as publishers get a suitable cut of the action (we’re waiting to hear back from Zemanta about this) and the advertising is as relevant as the content recommended.
Features like this that harness existing publisher networks are nothing new, but as anyone who’s used Zemanta’s back-end plugin before will know, the recommendation technology here is particularly good.
Zemanta was a Seedcamp winner back in 2007 and has received funding from Union Square Ventures, Eden Ventures and The Accelerator Group.
➤ Zemanta
Zemanta, the startup that provides suggestions of media to use and content to link to as writers prepare articles in blogging platforms like WordPress and Tumblr, is expanding its offering today with a new plugin that recommends content to readers instead.
The new service is essentially a content recommendation network that shows links to relevant related articles on the other sites, as well as advertising. Publishers running the plugin on their sites get to control which sites are linked to either manually or via a blacklist that allows them to exclude, for example, direct competitors.
Aside from these controls, content is selected using the algorithms that have made Zemanta a popular choice for bloggers and other publishers looking for inspiration as they write. A back-end dashboard offers data about how many inbound visitors the service has driven, the click-through rate, page views generated and the like.
New York-based Zemanta boasts a network of 300,000 publishers, who will be able to tap into the new service. Using the service, which has mobile and tablet optimized formats available in addition to a traditional desktop mode, as a way to monetize via advertising is a clever move as long as publishers get a suitable cut of the action (we’re waiting to hear back from Zemanta about this) and the advertising is as relevant as the content recommended.
Features like this that harness existing publisher networks are nothing new, but as anyone who’s used Zemanta’s back-end plugin before will know, the recommendation technology here is particularly good.
Zemanta was a Seedcamp winner back in 2007 and has received funding from Union Square Ventures, Eden Ventures and The Accelerator Group.
➤ Zemanta
Google could be working on new Chromebook Pixel computer with high-density and touchscreen display
Google could be working on new Chromebook Pixel computer with high-density and touchscreen display: 
Google may be working on a new Chromebook computer, one with a high-density display complete with a 2560 x 1700 resolution and also be a touchscreen. As reported by Android Authority, a new video posted shows that the supposed Chromebook Pixel as being designed by Google, which, if true, could usher in a new series of computers for the company.
Discovered by developer Francois Beaufort, the laptop appears to be undergoing testing at Google. It’s noted that the video in question was created by Slinky.me, a company that has worked with the search engine giant before. It’s CEO Victor Koch says that hackers attacked its servers and leaked onto YouTube several video projects that hadn’t been published yet.
New ChromeBook – Next Generation Concept… by androidauthority
Google’s Chromebooks have become more popular over the past few months. The Samsung Chromebook rose to prominence as the top seller this past holiday season on Amazon. More manufacturers are joining in the fray, with HP announcing earlier this month the launch of its HP Pavillion 14 Chromebook. What’s noteable about the Chromebook Pixel is that it would probably be the first computer that was designed by the company in-house, instead of leaving it to other electronic companies.
Photo credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Google may be working on a new Chromebook computer, one with a high-density display complete with a 2560 x 1700 resolution and also be a touchscreen. As reported by Android Authority, a new video posted shows that the supposed Chromebook Pixel as being designed by Google, which, if true, could usher in a new series of computers for the company.
Discovered by developer Francois Beaufort, the laptop appears to be undergoing testing at Google. It’s noted that the video in question was created by Slinky.me, a company that has worked with the search engine giant before. It’s CEO Victor Koch says that hackers attacked its servers and leaked onto YouTube several video projects that hadn’t been published yet.
New ChromeBook – Next Generation Concept… by androidauthority
Google’s Chromebooks have become more popular over the past few months. The Samsung Chromebook rose to prominence as the top seller this past holiday season on Amazon. More manufacturers are joining in the fray, with HP announcing earlier this month the launch of its HP Pavillion 14 Chromebook. What’s noteable about the Chromebook Pixel is that it would probably be the first computer that was designed by the company in-house, instead of leaving it to other electronic companies.
Photo credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Russian Firm Steps Up Dam Deal
Russian Firm Steps Up Dam Deal: 
Laos has stepped up plans for three hydropower dams on Mekong River tributaries, updating an eight-year-old deal with a Russian investor to build the projects for U.S. $1.5 billion.
Lao authorities signed a project development agreement with Russia’s Regional Oil for the Sekong 4, Sekong 5, and Nam Kong 1 projects in southern Laos on Friday, solidifying plans in the works since previous deals signed in 2005.
The authorities have developed plans to relocate people from the dam sites in Sekong and Attapeu provinces.
The projects, set to be completed by 2014, will displace over 7,000 villagers from their homes.
An official from Laos’s Ministry of Energy and Mines told RFA’s Lao Service that the previous project development agreements were not complete and the new deal gives the company a 30-year land concession to build the dams.
He said the three dams have a combined capacity of 822 megawatts and most of the power generated will be exported to Thailand with the rest reserved for local use.
On Friday, Regional Oil also signed an agreement with Thailand’s state energy enterprise, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), to jointly develop the projects.
Resource-starved Laos is aiming to become the “battery” of Southeast Asia by selling hydroelectric power to its neighbors.
But it has come under fire for plowing ahead on the Xayaburi dam, the first dam across the main stem of the Mekong River, without first getting regional consensus from downstream neighbors concerned about the project’s transboundary impact.
Laos has a total of over 70 dams under construction or in the planning or considerations stages, many of them on waters flowing into the Mekong, a key regional artery.
Sekong and Nam Kong
The Sekong 4 and 5 will be built on the Sekong River, an important tributary for the Mekong, and the Nam Kong 1 will dam waters flowing into the Sekong.
Global green group International Rivers has said the effects of the two Sekong dams will be felt as far as the mainstream Mekong in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.
It also predicts the Sekong 4, the largest of the three, will lead to a sharp decline in fisheries that will significantly affect local livelihoods.
The Sekong 4 hydropower project, with a capacity of 300 to 600 megawatts, will displace 4,458 people from 18 villages in Sekong province’s Kaleum district. A new Kaleum town will be made (30 kilometers) further east.
The Sekong 5, with a capacity of 330 megawatts, will displace 2,735 people from 25 villages.
The Nam Kong 1 will have a capacity of 75 megawatts. The number of people it will directly affect is not known.
The dates when each of the dams will begin operation is expected to be announced by the end of 2013.
Reported by RFA’s Lao Service. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.
Laos has stepped up plans for three hydropower dams on Mekong River tributaries, updating an eight-year-old deal with a Russian investor to build the projects for U.S. $1.5 billion.
Lao authorities signed a project development agreement with Russia’s Regional Oil for the Sekong 4, Sekong 5, and Nam Kong 1 projects in southern Laos on Friday, solidifying plans in the works since previous deals signed in 2005.
The authorities have developed plans to relocate people from the dam sites in Sekong and Attapeu provinces.
The projects, set to be completed by 2014, will displace over 7,000 villagers from their homes.
An official from Laos’s Ministry of Energy and Mines told RFA’s Lao Service that the previous project development agreements were not complete and the new deal gives the company a 30-year land concession to build the dams.
He said the three dams have a combined capacity of 822 megawatts and most of the power generated will be exported to Thailand with the rest reserved for local use.
On Friday, Regional Oil also signed an agreement with Thailand’s state energy enterprise, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), to jointly develop the projects.
Resource-starved Laos is aiming to become the “battery” of Southeast Asia by selling hydroelectric power to its neighbors.
But it has come under fire for plowing ahead on the Xayaburi dam, the first dam across the main stem of the Mekong River, without first getting regional consensus from downstream neighbors concerned about the project’s transboundary impact.
Laos has a total of over 70 dams under construction or in the planning or considerations stages, many of them on waters flowing into the Mekong, a key regional artery.
Sekong and Nam Kong
The Sekong 4 and 5 will be built on the Sekong River, an important tributary for the Mekong, and the Nam Kong 1 will dam waters flowing into the Sekong.
Global green group International Rivers has said the effects of the two Sekong dams will be felt as far as the mainstream Mekong in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.
It also predicts the Sekong 4, the largest of the three, will lead to a sharp decline in fisheries that will significantly affect local livelihoods.
The Sekong 4 hydropower project, with a capacity of 300 to 600 megawatts, will displace 4,458 people from 18 villages in Sekong province’s Kaleum district. A new Kaleum town will be made (30 kilometers) further east.
The Sekong 5, with a capacity of 330 megawatts, will displace 2,735 people from 25 villages.
The Nam Kong 1 will have a capacity of 75 megawatts. The number of people it will directly affect is not known.
The dates when each of the dams will begin operation is expected to be announced by the end of 2013.
Reported by RFA’s Lao Service. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.
Prisoners 'Buy' Early Release
Prisoners 'Buy' Early Release: 
A Cambodian rights group has urged Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government to investigate charges that prisoners paid bribes to be placed on a list for release under a royal pardon, sources said on Wednesday.
The pardon, which applied to 405 prisoners who had already served two-thirds of their sentences, was announced this week by Cambodia’s King Sihamoni on the occasion of the funeral of his father, the former King Sihanouk.
But some prisoners held in Kampot province who were eligible for release are still in custody, while others paid bribes to prison officials to have their own names placed on release lists instead, Yun Phally, Kampot provincial investigator for the rights group Licadho, told RFA’s Khmer service.
“They gave U.S. $100 to the prison guards to be put on the lists,” he said, adding that one of the prisoners who paid the bribe had been sentenced on drug-related charges.
To reconcile the numbers of prisoners considered eligible for release, guards then failed in some cases to list the names of prisoners who had served the required two-thirds of their terms, Yun Phally said.
Charges denied
Kampot province deputy director for prisons Em Bo however rejected accusations that prison officials had taken money to free prisoners who were ineligible for release.
“We didn’t take any bribes. Who would dare to do that?” he said, adding that all 17 of the prisoners released in Kampot province had served the required two-thirds of their sentences.
But one woman who was freed because she had only five days of her sentence left to serve said that a friend had paid U.S. $100 to be released under the terms of the royal pardon.
“I didn’t give any money to the guards, but my friend did,” she said.
On Tuesday, prisoners at the Prey Sar prison in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh said that some of the inmates held there who had served two-thirds of their sentences were not freed in the pardon.
“I already served eight months of my term, and some have served 10 years, but none of us were released,” one man said.
Rights groups and international observers have long pointed to what they call Cambodia’s “culture of impunity” in accounting for corruption and violations of human rights, with Berlin-based corruption watchdog Transparency International ranking Cambodia 164th worst out of 182 countries surveyed in its 2011 Corruption Perception Index.
Reported by Ouk Savborey. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Richard Finney.
A Cambodian rights group has urged Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government to investigate charges that prisoners paid bribes to be placed on a list for release under a royal pardon, sources said on Wednesday.
The pardon, which applied to 405 prisoners who had already served two-thirds of their sentences, was announced this week by Cambodia’s King Sihamoni on the occasion of the funeral of his father, the former King Sihanouk.
But some prisoners held in Kampot province who were eligible for release are still in custody, while others paid bribes to prison officials to have their own names placed on release lists instead, Yun Phally, Kampot provincial investigator for the rights group Licadho, told RFA’s Khmer service.
“They gave U.S. $100 to the prison guards to be put on the lists,” he said, adding that one of the prisoners who paid the bribe had been sentenced on drug-related charges.
To reconcile the numbers of prisoners considered eligible for release, guards then failed in some cases to list the names of prisoners who had served the required two-thirds of their terms, Yun Phally said.
Charges denied
Kampot province deputy director for prisons Em Bo however rejected accusations that prison officials had taken money to free prisoners who were ineligible for release.
“We didn’t take any bribes. Who would dare to do that?” he said, adding that all 17 of the prisoners released in Kampot province had served the required two-thirds of their sentences.
But one woman who was freed because she had only five days of her sentence left to serve said that a friend had paid U.S. $100 to be released under the terms of the royal pardon.
“I didn’t give any money to the guards, but my friend did,” she said.
On Tuesday, prisoners at the Prey Sar prison in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh said that some of the inmates held there who had served two-thirds of their sentences were not freed in the pardon.
“I already served eight months of my term, and some have served 10 years, but none of us were released,” one man said.
Rights groups and international observers have long pointed to what they call Cambodia’s “culture of impunity” in accounting for corruption and violations of human rights, with Berlin-based corruption watchdog Transparency International ranking Cambodia 164th worst out of 182 countries surveyed in its 2011 Corruption Perception Index.
Reported by Ouk Savborey. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Sombath Case a ‘Blow’ to ASEAN
Sombath Case a ‘Blow’ to ASEAN: 
The “forced disappearance” of Lao activist Sombath Somphone is a blow to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), rights groups said Tuesday, as members of parliament across Asia and Europe urged the Laotian Prime minister to order an “urgent” investigation into his case.
The unresolved case of Sombath, who has been missing since leaving the office of his antipoverty training center on Dec. 15, represents a “threat to human rights” in the region, the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) said.
“From the perspective of human rights, it can be construed that Sombath Somphone is a defender of human rights, of resources—he protects people in his locality,” Pratabjit Neelapaijit, a representative of the Philippines-based rights group, told RFA’s Lao Service.
“Therefore the involuntary disappearance of Sombath Somphone amounts to a forced disappearance—an attack against human rights workers,” Neelapaijit said during a seminar by rights groups and nongovernmental organizations to discuss the missing activist’s case at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand on Tuesday.
Sombath, 60, is one of Laos’s most prominent civil society figures and his case has prompted international concern that his disappearance could be tied to his human rights work.
Saksinee Emasiri, a coordinator for the Human Rights and Peaceful Studies Institute at Thailand’s Mahidol University who was also present at Tuesday’s seminar, told RFA that Sombath’s disappearance was a sign that the state of human rights in the ASEAN bloc of nations—which includes Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam—were regressing.
“We feel as if the ASEAN community is stepping backwards,” she said.
“While the world is moving forward, suddenly Sombath Somphone was kidnapped in full public view on a busy street. How can such an incident happen?”
Police have shared CCTV footage from the night Sombath went missing that shows him pulling over his jeep at an intersection in Vientiane and getting out to speak with traffic police. He has not been seen since the video.
But police have not explained whether the vehicles and individuals in the footage have been identified, whether Sombath’s car has been found, and what police manning the traffic post that night had seen.
Participants at Tuesday’s seminar praised Sombath for his work in community development in Laos and said the activist provided a worthy example for ASEAN youngsters to follow.
Emasiri said that besides affecting the ASEAN community, his disappearance had also sent a chilling message to members of civil society groups in Laos.
MP letter
The seminar in Thailand was held as scores of parliamentarians from across Asia and Europe on Tuesday wrote a letter to Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong, requesting an “urgent investigation” into the case of Sombath, who it called “one of the most respected and influential voices for sustainable people-centered and just economic and social development in Laos as well as in Asia.”
The open letter also urged the Lao government to “undertake all actions necessary to ensure [Sombath’s] immediate safe return to his family,” saying the members of parliament were “concerned about his safety, his state of health and his well-being.”
The request was signed by members of parliament from Austria, Australia, Belgium, Cambodia, Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia, The Netherlands, The Philippines, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, and the European Parliament.
Sombath’s wife Ng Shui Meng, who is a Singapore national, recently expressed regret over the lack of vital information from police on her husband’s case, stressing that the activist was in need of daily medication and urging authorities to allow her to see him if he was in official custody.
But a police report from Jan. 11 republished in the official Vientiane Times newspaper on Monday said Sombath was not in official custody and that his disappearance could have been due to personal or business conflicts.
An official of the Ministry of Public Security, speaking on condition of anonymity, told RFA on Monday that there was no new information on the case but that the investigation was ongoing.
Sombath, executive director of the Participatory Development Training Centre (PADETC) in Vientiane, is the recipient of the 2005 Ramon Magsaysay Award for community leadership for the group’s efforts to promote sustainable development through the training of young people.
The activist had studied in the U.S. before returning to Laos to found PADETC’s precursor in 1980 and in October last year represented local civil society groups as a member of Laos’s national committee at the Asia-Europe People’s Forum in Vientiane on the sidelines of an international summit.
PADETC, which receives funding from the Dutch-based Novib/Oxfam and the EU, among other agencies, works on poverty prevention and sustainability projects such as fuel-efficient stoves, fish farming promotion, recycling, media, school volunteers, and teacher training.
Reported by RFA’s Lao Service. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
The “forced disappearance” of Lao activist Sombath Somphone is a blow to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), rights groups said Tuesday, as members of parliament across Asia and Europe urged the Laotian Prime minister to order an “urgent” investigation into his case.
The unresolved case of Sombath, who has been missing since leaving the office of his antipoverty training center on Dec. 15, represents a “threat to human rights” in the region, the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) said.
“From the perspective of human rights, it can be construed that Sombath Somphone is a defender of human rights, of resources—he protects people in his locality,” Pratabjit Neelapaijit, a representative of the Philippines-based rights group, told RFA’s Lao Service.
“Therefore the involuntary disappearance of Sombath Somphone amounts to a forced disappearance—an attack against human rights workers,” Neelapaijit said during a seminar by rights groups and nongovernmental organizations to discuss the missing activist’s case at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand on Tuesday.
Sombath, 60, is one of Laos’s most prominent civil society figures and his case has prompted international concern that his disappearance could be tied to his human rights work.
Saksinee Emasiri, a coordinator for the Human Rights and Peaceful Studies Institute at Thailand’s Mahidol University who was also present at Tuesday’s seminar, told RFA that Sombath’s disappearance was a sign that the state of human rights in the ASEAN bloc of nations—which includes Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam—were regressing.
“We feel as if the ASEAN community is stepping backwards,” she said.
“While the world is moving forward, suddenly Sombath Somphone was kidnapped in full public view on a busy street. How can such an incident happen?”
Police have shared CCTV footage from the night Sombath went missing that shows him pulling over his jeep at an intersection in Vientiane and getting out to speak with traffic police. He has not been seen since the video.
But police have not explained whether the vehicles and individuals in the footage have been identified, whether Sombath’s car has been found, and what police manning the traffic post that night had seen.
Participants at Tuesday’s seminar praised Sombath for his work in community development in Laos and said the activist provided a worthy example for ASEAN youngsters to follow.
Emasiri said that besides affecting the ASEAN community, his disappearance had also sent a chilling message to members of civil society groups in Laos.
MP letter
The seminar in Thailand was held as scores of parliamentarians from across Asia and Europe on Tuesday wrote a letter to Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong, requesting an “urgent investigation” into the case of Sombath, who it called “one of the most respected and influential voices for sustainable people-centered and just economic and social development in Laos as well as in Asia.”
The open letter also urged the Lao government to “undertake all actions necessary to ensure [Sombath’s] immediate safe return to his family,” saying the members of parliament were “concerned about his safety, his state of health and his well-being.”
The request was signed by members of parliament from Austria, Australia, Belgium, Cambodia, Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia, The Netherlands, The Philippines, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, and the European Parliament.
Sombath’s wife Ng Shui Meng, who is a Singapore national, recently expressed regret over the lack of vital information from police on her husband’s case, stressing that the activist was in need of daily medication and urging authorities to allow her to see him if he was in official custody.
But a police report from Jan. 11 republished in the official Vientiane Times newspaper on Monday said Sombath was not in official custody and that his disappearance could have been due to personal or business conflicts.
An official of the Ministry of Public Security, speaking on condition of anonymity, told RFA on Monday that there was no new information on the case but that the investigation was ongoing.
Sombath, executive director of the Participatory Development Training Centre (PADETC) in Vientiane, is the recipient of the 2005 Ramon Magsaysay Award for community leadership for the group’s efforts to promote sustainable development through the training of young people.
The activist had studied in the U.S. before returning to Laos to found PADETC’s precursor in 1980 and in October last year represented local civil society groups as a member of Laos’s national committee at the Asia-Europe People’s Forum in Vientiane on the sidelines of an international summit.
PADETC, which receives funding from the Dutch-based Novib/Oxfam and the EU, among other agencies, works on poverty prevention and sustainability projects such as fuel-efficient stoves, fish farming promotion, recycling, media, school volunteers, and teacher training.
Reported by RFA’s Lao Service. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Feb 5, 2013
KL112 and a new Malaysian identity?
KL112 and a new Malaysian identity?:
The symbolism of the Malaysian peoples uprising on January 12 2013, or KL112 cannot be underestimated for its importance in myth-making. In facilitating this ‘peoples uprising’, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has not only created new myths that would solidify its presence in the memories or ‘imagery‘ of Malaysians in a positive manner, but more importantly, PR has also moved decisively in dismissing myths created by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and its subordinates in the Barisan Nasional (BN) that have been the grand narrative/s in Malaysia for the past 55 years.
Myths – stories, memories and symbols – provide the basis for the narratives that create, forge or reaffirm identities. These are especially crucial in periods of critical transformation and/or when societies are undergoing a crisis of identity. Jose Luis Borges noted that the past and the future inhibit the present. In the context of the KL112, PR is representing the present by connecting to a more glorious Malaysian past and the promise of a more glorious future.
But why is PR now the purveyor of hope, a realm that was firmly in the hands of UMNO with visions of grandeur and Malaysians, Malays and Muslims being world beaters? The reasons are multifaceted and can be explained by incompetence, mismanagement and corruption by the ruling regime being often touted as the main reasons. It could also be that Malaysia and Malaysians are undergoing an identity crisis.
This crisis of identity came to the surface with the twin economic and political crisis: the East Asian Financial Crisis (EAFC) of 1997/98 and the political and social fall-out as a consequence of the sacking and the subsequent brutal and humiliating treatment of then Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. While the May 13 1969, pogrom scarred Malaysians in the way the different races – especially between the [older] Malays and Chinese – related to each other, many Malaysians especially Malay-Muslims, saw UMNO and the government in a different light after these twin crises. The popular Deputy Prime Minister who was to many Malay-Muslims, an icon of how Islam (and Muslims) can co-exist, even thrive in and with modernity felt terribly bitter in the manner he was treated. To the Malays, it was argued that a sacred feudalistic social contract had been breached. More importantly and tangibly, the EAFC brought down to earth UMNO and Malay-Muslim pride that were then running on a can-do attitude captured through slogans such as ‘Malaysia Boleh‘, ‘Melayu Baru’,'Melayu Korporat’ and rising bank balances (let alone the sole right to lead Malaysia). A cataclysmic crisis to an artificially created race that was always insecure and unsure of themselves.
Difference between opposition public demonstrations and BN’s and the creation of identities
Several simple but important observations can be made of the public demonstrations by PR in contrast to the ruling regime.
A united message – While the BN is in disarray with its 1Malaysia slogan that has lead to a series of debacles, ridicules and outright rejection at the highest levels of administration, PR through a series of broad based public demonstrations either in supportive or leading roles, have been instrumental in forging a new identity focusing on what is wrong in Malaysia. What this identity is precisely remains unclear and subject to different interpretations, but nevertheless it is bringing Malaysians genuinely together, united in opposing the regime.
People centred and issue focused – Another important difference is that the mass gatherings manufactured by the BN are always about support of or for its leader/s and its leadership. The public demonstrations organised by PR and civil society are about issues that matter to Malaysians. Personalities do matter, but primary importance is given to the issues. Malaysians are not spending their money, braving retribution from the government, risk limb and livelihood just to hear leaders of PR and/or civil society talk – they are there to make a point about issues that matter to them. And these issues are serious enough for Malaysians often characterised as docile and lackadaisical to come out of their comfort zones.
A sense of purpose – this is possibly the most important point in the creation of identities. While BN organises events which do not have any sense of purpose for its participants, the public demonstrations are driven by a sense of purpose. This is critical in validating the myth. Broad sections of Malaysians – whole families, young and the old, workers and students, blue and white collar, Peninsular and East Malaysians, conservatives and progressives, leaders and followers – all have a sense of purpose. And when they’re sprayed with chemically-treated water, tear-gassed or baton-charged, there is now a badge of courage, a shared myth, ridiculed by the mainstream media and elected leaders, a story is to be told. The story becomes a myth and a shared identity. It does not matter if they are a Keadilan, a PAS, a DAP, a PSM supporter or the various civil society and grass-roots movements, or the different races, or Malaysians making a stand on a myriad of issues. There is a story – a same story to be told.
No BN member has anything that comes close. The last time was in 1946, when UMNO marched against the Malayan Union.
A nation of equals – And remarkably, there is an air of egalitarianism. Among the speakers at the KL112 other than the political party leaders, were two women from minority races, representative from East Malaysia and grassroots leaders. The time given for each speaker were almost equally distributed. PR leadership did not have exclusive rights to the speeches but was shared with civil society and grassroots leaders. There was no emphasis on any particular party – PAS, DAP, PKR or PSM had almost equal time, with Anwar Ibrahim of PKR, designate Prime Minister, having the last word. BN’s events in turn are always focused on the leaders and on one particular individual (and often on his wife). Whether it’s a walk-about, or a teh-tarik session, or a mass rally – it is and always is – about the leader.
Myths created, questioned and shattered
Operasi Lalang catalysed civil societies in Malaysia but it was Reformasi that provided Malaysians opposed to the ruling regime with a shared myth that was different from the existing grand narrative. While many Malaysians lost their innocence (or belief) in UMNO, BN and their government, many Malaysians were also given the opportunity to work together to form a new ‘identity’ against the existing narrative.
This grand narrative is two-fold: that Malaysians due to their racial and religious differences are incapable of managing themselves; and that only UMNO through BN can manage these differences.
Since the time of Alliance, even the much loved Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia’s Father of Independence, had used this narrative. Many Malaysians believe in this myth, and to a large extent, the BN had delivered on this myth – not only managing competing racial and religious demands, but delivering growth, peace and stability.
Edward Said remarked in Culture and Imperialism that, ‘neither past nor present…has a complete meaning alone’ but that they ‘inform each other, each implies the other.’ By choosing the Merdeka Stadium, the site where Independence was declared, and by chanting the words of Malaysia’s ‘Father of Independence’, PR and especially Anwar Ibrahim has linked the present to a romanticised past that lingers happily in the memories of Malaysians. Anwar Ibrahim can now take on the mantle of Malaysian leadership from BN in delivering this myth (of growth, peace and stability).
In hailing Merdeka seven times, replicating the call made by Malaysia’s much loved ‘Father of Independence’, Tunku Abdul Rahman on Independence Day in the very same location, could not have been more symbolic. The grand narrative – that it was UMNO and Tunku Abdul Rahman (among the Malaysian Independence leaders) -who secured the independence of then Malaya from the British – the brutal colonisers – and delivered prosperity to Malaysians have now been appropriated by PR. KL112 went further and rewrote the narrative with PR and Anwar Ibrahim promising to free Malaysians from their new brutal colonisers, UMNO, after 55 years of misrule and delivering prosperity – once again.
Another component of the grand narrative, that only BN knows how to ‘share power‘ to the satisfaction of all communities was also questioned. In successfully organising this public demonstration including forcing the government to accept most of its terms and conditions, sharing stage with civil society and grassroots leaders, and more importantly, providing clear evidence that the opposition coalition were prepared to take over Putrajaya in a responsible manner to the satisfaction of all communities, PR has set the stage for the final push towards elections.
The final potent myth that has ensured the continued dominance of UMNO was that only UMNO can provide stability to Malaysians and to the international community. To many non-Muslims and Muslims – particularly from the older generation, and especially those who lived through the May 13, 1969 pogroms – UMNO was the best hope of protecting the interests of the minorities (non-Muslims and progressive Muslims) from the intolerant and excessive demands of the conservative elements of the Malay-Muslim majority. In recent years – especially since the 2004 general elections but in the most pronounced manner since the 2008 general elections – it has been UMNO that has become the vehicle for intolerant and excessive demands.
The KL112 sealed in the conscience (or imagery) of Malaysians, that Malay-Muslims in general, but especially through the Malay-Muslim dominated [Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)] or Malay-Muslim exclusive parties [Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS)] and civil society organisations [Solidariti Anak Muda (SMM) or Persatuan Anak Peneroka FELDA (ANAK)] are capable of being moderate and articulating the interests of all Malaysians – a departure from the behaviour of present day UMNO and its sponsored right wing groups (such as PERKASA). More importantly, it demonstrated that when Malaysians focused on issues (and not race and religion), they were more than capable of managing themselves.
The international community is also possibly sleeping better knowing that their long held view that in Malaysia, only UMNO with its secular and capitalistic (although ethno-nationalistic) values would provide a bulwark against anti-capitalists and anti-Western forces such as communism and Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism can now be rethought. The demands raised at the KL112 were focused on the democratic rights of citizens, workers, minorities, indigenous communities, the environment and good governance are values that in its essence supports capitalism and Western ideals such as the rule of law and democracy.
However, the question still remains on what this new identity is?
While the myths that these public demonstrations have created signify a break from the past, only time will tell whether the series of events beginning since Operasi Lalang, heightened by the Reformasi movement, and the events since the Badawi administration have fundamentally changed the characteristics of Malaysians in a meaningful way.
Greg Lopez is a Visiting Fellow at the Department of Political and Social Change, and the editor of New Mandala’s Malaysia section, both at the College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University.
The symbolism of the Malaysian peoples uprising on January 12 2013, or KL112 cannot be underestimated for its importance in myth-making. In facilitating this ‘peoples uprising’, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has not only created new myths that would solidify its presence in the memories or ‘imagery‘ of Malaysians in a positive manner, but more importantly, PR has also moved decisively in dismissing myths created by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and its subordinates in the Barisan Nasional (BN) that have been the grand narrative/s in Malaysia for the past 55 years.
Myths – stories, memories and symbols – provide the basis for the narratives that create, forge or reaffirm identities. These are especially crucial in periods of critical transformation and/or when societies are undergoing a crisis of identity. Jose Luis Borges noted that the past and the future inhibit the present. In the context of the KL112, PR is representing the present by connecting to a more glorious Malaysian past and the promise of a more glorious future.
But why is PR now the purveyor of hope, a realm that was firmly in the hands of UMNO with visions of grandeur and Malaysians, Malays and Muslims being world beaters? The reasons are multifaceted and can be explained by incompetence, mismanagement and corruption by the ruling regime being often touted as the main reasons. It could also be that Malaysia and Malaysians are undergoing an identity crisis.
This crisis of identity came to the surface with the twin economic and political crisis: the East Asian Financial Crisis (EAFC) of 1997/98 and the political and social fall-out as a consequence of the sacking and the subsequent brutal and humiliating treatment of then Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. While the May 13 1969, pogrom scarred Malaysians in the way the different races – especially between the [older] Malays and Chinese – related to each other, many Malaysians especially Malay-Muslims, saw UMNO and the government in a different light after these twin crises. The popular Deputy Prime Minister who was to many Malay-Muslims, an icon of how Islam (and Muslims) can co-exist, even thrive in and with modernity felt terribly bitter in the manner he was treated. To the Malays, it was argued that a sacred feudalistic social contract had been breached. More importantly and tangibly, the EAFC brought down to earth UMNO and Malay-Muslim pride that were then running on a can-do attitude captured through slogans such as ‘Malaysia Boleh‘, ‘Melayu Baru’,'Melayu Korporat’ and rising bank balances (let alone the sole right to lead Malaysia). A cataclysmic crisis to an artificially created race that was always insecure and unsure of themselves.
Difference between opposition public demonstrations and BN’s and the creation of identities
Several simple but important observations can be made of the public demonstrations by PR in contrast to the ruling regime.
A united message – While the BN is in disarray with its 1Malaysia slogan that has lead to a series of debacles, ridicules and outright rejection at the highest levels of administration, PR through a series of broad based public demonstrations either in supportive or leading roles, have been instrumental in forging a new identity focusing on what is wrong in Malaysia. What this identity is precisely remains unclear and subject to different interpretations, but nevertheless it is bringing Malaysians genuinely together, united in opposing the regime.
People centred and issue focused – Another important difference is that the mass gatherings manufactured by the BN are always about support of or for its leader/s and its leadership. The public demonstrations organised by PR and civil society are about issues that matter to Malaysians. Personalities do matter, but primary importance is given to the issues. Malaysians are not spending their money, braving retribution from the government, risk limb and livelihood just to hear leaders of PR and/or civil society talk – they are there to make a point about issues that matter to them. And these issues are serious enough for Malaysians often characterised as docile and lackadaisical to come out of their comfort zones.
A sense of purpose – this is possibly the most important point in the creation of identities. While BN organises events which do not have any sense of purpose for its participants, the public demonstrations are driven by a sense of purpose. This is critical in validating the myth. Broad sections of Malaysians – whole families, young and the old, workers and students, blue and white collar, Peninsular and East Malaysians, conservatives and progressives, leaders and followers – all have a sense of purpose. And when they’re sprayed with chemically-treated water, tear-gassed or baton-charged, there is now a badge of courage, a shared myth, ridiculed by the mainstream media and elected leaders, a story is to be told. The story becomes a myth and a shared identity. It does not matter if they are a Keadilan, a PAS, a DAP, a PSM supporter or the various civil society and grass-roots movements, or the different races, or Malaysians making a stand on a myriad of issues. There is a story – a same story to be told.
No BN member has anything that comes close. The last time was in 1946, when UMNO marched against the Malayan Union.
A nation of equals – And remarkably, there is an air of egalitarianism. Among the speakers at the KL112 other than the political party leaders, were two women from minority races, representative from East Malaysia and grassroots leaders. The time given for each speaker were almost equally distributed. PR leadership did not have exclusive rights to the speeches but was shared with civil society and grassroots leaders. There was no emphasis on any particular party – PAS, DAP, PKR or PSM had almost equal time, with Anwar Ibrahim of PKR, designate Prime Minister, having the last word. BN’s events in turn are always focused on the leaders and on one particular individual (and often on his wife). Whether it’s a walk-about, or a teh-tarik session, or a mass rally – it is and always is – about the leader.
Myths created, questioned and shattered
Operasi Lalang catalysed civil societies in Malaysia but it was Reformasi that provided Malaysians opposed to the ruling regime with a shared myth that was different from the existing grand narrative. While many Malaysians lost their innocence (or belief) in UMNO, BN and their government, many Malaysians were also given the opportunity to work together to form a new ‘identity’ against the existing narrative.
This grand narrative is two-fold: that Malaysians due to their racial and religious differences are incapable of managing themselves; and that only UMNO through BN can manage these differences.
Since the time of Alliance, even the much loved Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia’s Father of Independence, had used this narrative. Many Malaysians believe in this myth, and to a large extent, the BN had delivered on this myth – not only managing competing racial and religious demands, but delivering growth, peace and stability.
Edward Said remarked in Culture and Imperialism that, ‘neither past nor present…has a complete meaning alone’ but that they ‘inform each other, each implies the other.’ By choosing the Merdeka Stadium, the site where Independence was declared, and by chanting the words of Malaysia’s ‘Father of Independence’, PR and especially Anwar Ibrahim has linked the present to a romanticised past that lingers happily in the memories of Malaysians. Anwar Ibrahim can now take on the mantle of Malaysian leadership from BN in delivering this myth (of growth, peace and stability).
In hailing Merdeka seven times, replicating the call made by Malaysia’s much loved ‘Father of Independence’, Tunku Abdul Rahman on Independence Day in the very same location, could not have been more symbolic. The grand narrative – that it was UMNO and Tunku Abdul Rahman (among the Malaysian Independence leaders) -who secured the independence of then Malaya from the British – the brutal colonisers – and delivered prosperity to Malaysians have now been appropriated by PR. KL112 went further and rewrote the narrative with PR and Anwar Ibrahim promising to free Malaysians from their new brutal colonisers, UMNO, after 55 years of misrule and delivering prosperity – once again.
Another component of the grand narrative, that only BN knows how to ‘share power‘ to the satisfaction of all communities was also questioned. In successfully organising this public demonstration including forcing the government to accept most of its terms and conditions, sharing stage with civil society and grassroots leaders, and more importantly, providing clear evidence that the opposition coalition were prepared to take over Putrajaya in a responsible manner to the satisfaction of all communities, PR has set the stage for the final push towards elections.
The final potent myth that has ensured the continued dominance of UMNO was that only UMNO can provide stability to Malaysians and to the international community. To many non-Muslims and Muslims – particularly from the older generation, and especially those who lived through the May 13, 1969 pogroms – UMNO was the best hope of protecting the interests of the minorities (non-Muslims and progressive Muslims) from the intolerant and excessive demands of the conservative elements of the Malay-Muslim majority. In recent years – especially since the 2004 general elections but in the most pronounced manner since the 2008 general elections – it has been UMNO that has become the vehicle for intolerant and excessive demands.
The KL112 sealed in the conscience (or imagery) of Malaysians, that Malay-Muslims in general, but especially through the Malay-Muslim dominated [Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)] or Malay-Muslim exclusive parties [Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS)] and civil society organisations [Solidariti Anak Muda (SMM) or Persatuan Anak Peneroka FELDA (ANAK)] are capable of being moderate and articulating the interests of all Malaysians – a departure from the behaviour of present day UMNO and its sponsored right wing groups (such as PERKASA). More importantly, it demonstrated that when Malaysians focused on issues (and not race and religion), they were more than capable of managing themselves.
The international community is also possibly sleeping better knowing that their long held view that in Malaysia, only UMNO with its secular and capitalistic (although ethno-nationalistic) values would provide a bulwark against anti-capitalists and anti-Western forces such as communism and Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism can now be rethought. The demands raised at the KL112 were focused on the democratic rights of citizens, workers, minorities, indigenous communities, the environment and good governance are values that in its essence supports capitalism and Western ideals such as the rule of law and democracy.
However, the question still remains on what this new identity is?
While the myths that these public demonstrations have created signify a break from the past, only time will tell whether the series of events beginning since Operasi Lalang, heightened by the Reformasi movement, and the events since the Badawi administration have fundamentally changed the characteristics of Malaysians in a meaningful way.
Greg Lopez is a Visiting Fellow at the Department of Political and Social Change, and the editor of New Mandala’s Malaysia section, both at the College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University.
Comprehensive electoral reforms in Malaysia
Comprehensive electoral reforms in Malaysia:
The Malaysian Electoral Reform Programme (MERP) launched last month by the civil society group Tindak Malaysia (TM) was initially intended for Bersih’s use, TM founder Py Wong has told the New Mandala.
Bersih’s refusal to adopt the MERP left Py “shocked,” who argued the MERP provides a comprehensive outlook on electoral reform which “goes beyond Bersih.” But Bersih spokesperson Wong Chin Huat has responded saying that the movement has reservations on some aspects of the MERP, and that time constraints were a factor in not adopting the MERP.
Py founded the TM website in 2008, intending it to be a “library” of sorts: “Politics is a long, drawn-out process. It’s not possible to remember everything, so if I see something of interest, I’ll put it on TM.” He had been working as a businessman in Brunei when Anwar Ibrahim was sacked as Deputy Prime Minister, and felt it was his “duty” to come back as he realized that “no Malaysian is safe.”
Back in Malaysia, Py took it upon himself to learn as much as he could about the country’s political situation. When he felt he had “learnt enough”, he set up TM the year after the first Bersih rally.
Despite their shared vision of electoral reform, Py said there are differences in approaches by the two organisations, describing TM as more “reclusive”: “We (feel) that there are people who can be effective in protesting, and we feel that we can work more effectively if we use our brains and strategise.”
TM, Py says, nonetheless remains supportive of Bersih’s work. In an email to the New Mandala, Chin Huat described TM as a “member and a partner” of the Bersih coalition, and noted that the two had collaborated together on a number of occasions. The Bersih website has a link to TM’s PACABA (Polling Agent/Counting Agent/Barung Agent or booth observer) training program, an initiative Py started in 2010 with a view to increase transparency in the voting process.
However, TM felt that Bersih’s goals were “too loose”, and, while “good for slogans”, did not specifically address flaws in the electoral system – “you can drive a truck through the eight demands,” said Py. TM then took the initiative to draft the MERP – a process which Py said took over a year and was done in consultation with a team of lawyers.
The MERP has some 19 demands compared with Bersih’s eight demands. These demands are grouped under five categories – “institutional reform”, “clean the electoral roll”, “fair election process”, “transparent elections roll-out”, and “ethics and integrity.”
It also recommends 204 legislative amendments as a part of its implementation – including randomizing ballot papers and restructuring MP distribution among the states – but says that six of its goals can be adopted immediately without the need for legislation. The MERP, Py argued, provided a definitive course of action to address local electoral flaws.
With the country’s 13th general elections – which Bersih has already said it expects to be the country’s dirtiest yet – due soon, Py said that TM worked hard to get the MERP ready to be adopted by Bersih quickly. “We told them right from the beginning – we are doing this for you,” Py said. But according to Py, when he presented the MERP to Bersih, he was told to drop it until after the elections.
“Then we went back and we said, if you want to negotiate with the politicians, you have to do it now, before the elections. After the elections, they won’t have time for you.”
In an email to the New Mandala, Chin Huat explained that while the MERP was “very extensive”, Bersih had some reservations on some of its contents. Whilst welcoming discussion on the issues the MERP raised, Bersih decided it covered too many aspects.
“Legally, we hold that the drafting and revision of laws are very complicated and one needs to look at all relevant laws,” he wrote. He added that Bersih was uncertain it would have the time and energy to do so before the elections.
Chin Huat also expressed concern that the randomization of ballot papers would “complicate” the voting process, “when it may already take longer time due to indelible ink”, and that the proposal to randomize ballot papers for overseas voters was “unrealistic.” Chin Huat, who researches electoral systems, also wrote that the delineation of constituencies needed more discussion, citing the need to prevent gerrymandering.
Ultimately, Py said, TM could not agree to wait on the MERP, and so, despite their self-confessed aversion to publicity, launched the platform at a press conference last month. The response so far has been fairly positive, with Py citing publicity in Malaysia Today and the Selangor Times, from popular radio personality Patrick Teoh, and also some responses on the social networking site Facebook.
He has even been invited to do regular shows on the topic of electoral reform on one local radio station. “This is something the public must know,” he said, as the discussion on just how to reform the electoral system in Malaysia throws out more food for thought.
The Malaysian Electoral Reform Programme (MERP) launched last month by the civil society group Tindak Malaysia (TM) was initially intended for Bersih’s use, TM founder Py Wong has told the New Mandala.
Bersih’s refusal to adopt the MERP left Py “shocked,” who argued the MERP provides a comprehensive outlook on electoral reform which “goes beyond Bersih.” But Bersih spokesperson Wong Chin Huat has responded saying that the movement has reservations on some aspects of the MERP, and that time constraints were a factor in not adopting the MERP.
Py founded the TM website in 2008, intending it to be a “library” of sorts: “Politics is a long, drawn-out process. It’s not possible to remember everything, so if I see something of interest, I’ll put it on TM.” He had been working as a businessman in Brunei when Anwar Ibrahim was sacked as Deputy Prime Minister, and felt it was his “duty” to come back as he realized that “no Malaysian is safe.”
Back in Malaysia, Py took it upon himself to learn as much as he could about the country’s political situation. When he felt he had “learnt enough”, he set up TM the year after the first Bersih rally.
Despite their shared vision of electoral reform, Py said there are differences in approaches by the two organisations, describing TM as more “reclusive”: “We (feel) that there are people who can be effective in protesting, and we feel that we can work more effectively if we use our brains and strategise.”
TM, Py says, nonetheless remains supportive of Bersih’s work. In an email to the New Mandala, Chin Huat described TM as a “member and a partner” of the Bersih coalition, and noted that the two had collaborated together on a number of occasions. The Bersih website has a link to TM’s PACABA (Polling Agent/Counting Agent/Barung Agent or booth observer) training program, an initiative Py started in 2010 with a view to increase transparency in the voting process.
However, TM felt that Bersih’s goals were “too loose”, and, while “good for slogans”, did not specifically address flaws in the electoral system – “you can drive a truck through the eight demands,” said Py. TM then took the initiative to draft the MERP – a process which Py said took over a year and was done in consultation with a team of lawyers.
The MERP has some 19 demands compared with Bersih’s eight demands. These demands are grouped under five categories – “institutional reform”, “clean the electoral roll”, “fair election process”, “transparent elections roll-out”, and “ethics and integrity.”
It also recommends 204 legislative amendments as a part of its implementation – including randomizing ballot papers and restructuring MP distribution among the states – but says that six of its goals can be adopted immediately without the need for legislation. The MERP, Py argued, provided a definitive course of action to address local electoral flaws.
With the country’s 13th general elections – which Bersih has already said it expects to be the country’s dirtiest yet – due soon, Py said that TM worked hard to get the MERP ready to be adopted by Bersih quickly. “We told them right from the beginning – we are doing this for you,” Py said. But according to Py, when he presented the MERP to Bersih, he was told to drop it until after the elections.
“Then we went back and we said, if you want to negotiate with the politicians, you have to do it now, before the elections. After the elections, they won’t have time for you.”
In an email to the New Mandala, Chin Huat explained that while the MERP was “very extensive”, Bersih had some reservations on some of its contents. Whilst welcoming discussion on the issues the MERP raised, Bersih decided it covered too many aspects.
“Legally, we hold that the drafting and revision of laws are very complicated and one needs to look at all relevant laws,” he wrote. He added that Bersih was uncertain it would have the time and energy to do so before the elections.
Chin Huat also expressed concern that the randomization of ballot papers would “complicate” the voting process, “when it may already take longer time due to indelible ink”, and that the proposal to randomize ballot papers for overseas voters was “unrealistic.” Chin Huat, who researches electoral systems, also wrote that the delineation of constituencies needed more discussion, citing the need to prevent gerrymandering.
Ultimately, Py said, TM could not agree to wait on the MERP, and so, despite their self-confessed aversion to publicity, launched the platform at a press conference last month. The response so far has been fairly positive, with Py citing publicity in Malaysia Today and the Selangor Times, from popular radio personality Patrick Teoh, and also some responses on the social networking site Facebook.
He has even been invited to do regular shows on the topic of electoral reform on one local radio station. “This is something the public must know,” he said, as the discussion on just how to reform the electoral system in Malaysia throws out more food for thought.
Managing voice, exit and loyalty in Singapore
Managing voice, exit and loyalty in Singapore:
Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) government has lost two by-elections in eight months – one in Hougang on 26 May 2012, and most recently in Punggol East on 26 January 2013 to the Worker’s Party (WP). Some commentators describe the losses as symptoms of a sea change in Singapore politics, and some predict more PAP losses in future elections. Supporters of the PAP government, however, remain optimistic that the ruling party can reinvent itself before the next general elections due in 2016.
In his classic work, Voice, Exit and Loyalty (1970), Albert O. Hirschman combines economic principles and political science by analysing voice and exit as mechanisms for improving the quality of products in an economy or governance in a state. He defines the giving of feedback as voice and the choice of turning to a substitute brand or product as exit. Loyalty, according to Hirschman, is a “less rational, though far from wholly irrational” concept when analysing the response of dissatisfied customers of a company or disgruntled voters in a country. From the two by-election defeats suffered by the PAP, voters in Singapore have taken the exit option by choosing an alternative candidate over the PAP.
To be sure, there are many factors that account for the loss of the Hougang and Punggol East seats by the PAP to the WP. Perhaps the WP candidates, Png Eng Huat and Lee Li Lian, connected better with residents in Hougang and Punggol East, respectively. It could also be the popularity of WP as an alternative political party to the PAP. Some opine that both PAP by-election losses were attributed to a broader discontentment with the government’s policies related to immigration, housing, and transportation. But without comprehensive studies and strong data, it is hard to be sure what the reasons are, and even harder to resist the trend.
Between exit and voice, the ruling party clearly chooses voice as a mechanism to improve its quality of governance. The PAP must listen, or at least be perceived to be listening, to the voices of the people. Soon after the general elections of 2011 (GE2011), the PAP government embarked on a structured approach to gather feedback from cross-sections of the population through the “Our Singapore Conversation” (OSC) project. The prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, and other ministers were featured on forums broadcasted on national television in English and Chinese channels, apparently to demonstrate sincerity in listening to the voices of the people. The OSC has drawn more criticisms than applause because of the composition of the committee reflecting the glaring absence of participants from other political parties.
Prime Minister Lee has also started his own Facebook page where he attempts to engage the section of Singapore’s population that actively plugs in to social media. Unlike the use of traditional media such as television and newspapers, PM Lee’s Facebook posts attract mostly encouraging comments. It may well be a sign that the prime minister is making some headway in engaging the people through Facebook.
Despite its ostensible goals, OSC falls short of Hirschman’s definition of voice. The voice in the OSC lacks the spontaneity in most democratic societies where civil rights are respected and protected. Without the freedom to speak up openly on issues deemed to be unjust, Hirschman argues that “dissatisfaction is more likely to take the form of silent exit”.
There are at least two ways that Singaporeans can choose exit over voice. Elections remain a legitimate and effective means to shift allegiance from the PAP to opposition parties. Another form of silent exit comes in the form of migrating overseas. The number of Singaporeans giving up citizenship hovers around 1,200 annually since 2007, and the number of Singaporeans currently residing overseas is approximately 200,000 based on the newly-released Population White Paper.
The PAP government now struggles to create a positive trajectory in guarding PAP votes and retaining Singapore’s best and brightest talents. When weighing the costs of exit, exiting citizens must reckon that the greatest loss is their right as citizens to participate as members of the society to have a voice. Yet since the PAP government has successfully curtailed freedom of speech and public demonstrations, more Singaporeans may pack and leave the country for good.
There is a third group: the PAP loyalists. They, too, may not be fully satisfied with the government’s policies. They remain loyal, however, because they are hopeful that the PAP will deliver on its promises and hold the belief that if they preserve their right to a voice, no matter how small that voice may be, they will eventually be heard. To be sure, the GE2011 results indicate that majority of Singaporeans voted for the PAP. They are the ones putting up “Likes” and supportive comments on the Facebook pages of PAP MPs. But this group looks set to shrink very quickly. To reverse the downward trend, the PAP will have to fight GE2016 on two fronts: One, to retain the support of the loyalists with continuance of policies that worked well in the past; two, to convince the Singaporeans on the threshold of exiting that they have a voice.
Daniel Wei Boon Chua is a PhD Candidate at the College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University.
Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) government has lost two by-elections in eight months – one in Hougang on 26 May 2012, and most recently in Punggol East on 26 January 2013 to the Worker’s Party (WP). Some commentators describe the losses as symptoms of a sea change in Singapore politics, and some predict more PAP losses in future elections. Supporters of the PAP government, however, remain optimistic that the ruling party can reinvent itself before the next general elections due in 2016.
In his classic work, Voice, Exit and Loyalty (1970), Albert O. Hirschman combines economic principles and political science by analysing voice and exit as mechanisms for improving the quality of products in an economy or governance in a state. He defines the giving of feedback as voice and the choice of turning to a substitute brand or product as exit. Loyalty, according to Hirschman, is a “less rational, though far from wholly irrational” concept when analysing the response of dissatisfied customers of a company or disgruntled voters in a country. From the two by-election defeats suffered by the PAP, voters in Singapore have taken the exit option by choosing an alternative candidate over the PAP.
To be sure, there are many factors that account for the loss of the Hougang and Punggol East seats by the PAP to the WP. Perhaps the WP candidates, Png Eng Huat and Lee Li Lian, connected better with residents in Hougang and Punggol East, respectively. It could also be the popularity of WP as an alternative political party to the PAP. Some opine that both PAP by-election losses were attributed to a broader discontentment with the government’s policies related to immigration, housing, and transportation. But without comprehensive studies and strong data, it is hard to be sure what the reasons are, and even harder to resist the trend.
Between exit and voice, the ruling party clearly chooses voice as a mechanism to improve its quality of governance. The PAP must listen, or at least be perceived to be listening, to the voices of the people. Soon after the general elections of 2011 (GE2011), the PAP government embarked on a structured approach to gather feedback from cross-sections of the population through the “Our Singapore Conversation” (OSC) project. The prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, and other ministers were featured on forums broadcasted on national television in English and Chinese channels, apparently to demonstrate sincerity in listening to the voices of the people. The OSC has drawn more criticisms than applause because of the composition of the committee reflecting the glaring absence of participants from other political parties.
Prime Minister Lee has also started his own Facebook page where he attempts to engage the section of Singapore’s population that actively plugs in to social media. Unlike the use of traditional media such as television and newspapers, PM Lee’s Facebook posts attract mostly encouraging comments. It may well be a sign that the prime minister is making some headway in engaging the people through Facebook.
Despite its ostensible goals, OSC falls short of Hirschman’s definition of voice. The voice in the OSC lacks the spontaneity in most democratic societies where civil rights are respected and protected. Without the freedom to speak up openly on issues deemed to be unjust, Hirschman argues that “dissatisfaction is more likely to take the form of silent exit”.
There are at least two ways that Singaporeans can choose exit over voice. Elections remain a legitimate and effective means to shift allegiance from the PAP to opposition parties. Another form of silent exit comes in the form of migrating overseas. The number of Singaporeans giving up citizenship hovers around 1,200 annually since 2007, and the number of Singaporeans currently residing overseas is approximately 200,000 based on the newly-released Population White Paper.
The PAP government now struggles to create a positive trajectory in guarding PAP votes and retaining Singapore’s best and brightest talents. When weighing the costs of exit, exiting citizens must reckon that the greatest loss is their right as citizens to participate as members of the society to have a voice. Yet since the PAP government has successfully curtailed freedom of speech and public demonstrations, more Singaporeans may pack and leave the country for good.
There is a third group: the PAP loyalists. They, too, may not be fully satisfied with the government’s policies. They remain loyal, however, because they are hopeful that the PAP will deliver on its promises and hold the belief that if they preserve their right to a voice, no matter how small that voice may be, they will eventually be heard. To be sure, the GE2011 results indicate that majority of Singaporeans voted for the PAP. They are the ones putting up “Likes” and supportive comments on the Facebook pages of PAP MPs. But this group looks set to shrink very quickly. To reverse the downward trend, the PAP will have to fight GE2016 on two fronts: One, to retain the support of the loyalists with continuance of policies that worked well in the past; two, to convince the Singaporeans on the threshold of exiting that they have a voice.
Daniel Wei Boon Chua is a PhD Candidate at the College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University.
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