EDITORIAL : THE NEW STRAITS TIMES, MALAYSIA

First in Asia

PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is proud that Malaysia is the top Asian country in the English Proficiency Index compiled by Education First (EF).

Others may be astounded that countries with better English-speaking credentials, like India, lag far behind us. It's certainly surprising that, given its British past and large population of English speakers, India is on a similar level as China. Malaysia's standing as the country with the best command of English in Asia and the only non-European high-proficiency country definitely defies the widely-held view that the standard of English has declined with the use of Bahasa Malaysia as the main medium of instruction.

Certainly, as this is the first index of its kind, there is no historical data to show with any degree of certainty that there has been a marked improvement in English fluency. But the findings of the ground-breaking study at least provide evidence that proficiency in English has not deteriorated as alarmingly as some suggest. In fact, as we are more than holding our own by global standards, the investment in initiatives to raise the standard of English seems to be paying off.

To be sure, the Asian list excludes Singapore, which would have been expected to take first place. It also does not include the Philippines, a country where English is also used as a medium of instruction as in the island republic. But then again, as English is not the only language of instruction, and the ability to speak English has been said to be declining there, the inclusion of the Philippines may not have materially changed Malaysia's position. Suffice to say, as Hong Kong is not much better than South Korea or Japan, using English as a medium of instruction does not necessarily lead to higher levels of competency in the language. In fact, as the stellar performance of the Nordic countries and the Netherlands suggest, outstanding scores in proficiency can be achieved even when English is studied as a foreign language.
For this reason, rather than engage in endless debates on fine-tuning the medium of instruction, it would be more worthwhile to pay attention to the things that really make a difference, such as teacher quality, learning materials and instructional methods. Above all, just as the Northern Europeans are motivated to learn English because they realise that it is the only way to survive in the global economy, as the EF report put it, every Malaysian must fully appreciate the cold, hard fact that mastery of English has become an indispensable asset in today's world.

 

EDITORIAL : THE ASHARQ ALAWSAT, SAUDI ARABIA, published in LONDON

My Brother, Muhammad Sadiq Diyab

I left London on Friday afternoon for Jeddah, and as soon as I arrived in the city I received a number of messages on my cell phone reading "my condolences on the passing of Muhammad Sadiq Diyab." I was extremely shocked by this news, and until now I have not felt like I am in Jeddah.
I told my dear friend Abu Ghinwa [Muhammad Sadiq Diyab] that I do not feel as if I am in Jeddah until I have visited him. Muhammad Sadiq Diyab was, to me, like magical old Jeddah, the city of dreamers and poets, ambition and artists, and above all else, the gateway to the Two Holy Mosques. Muhammad Sadiq Diyab was, to me, like the city of Jeddah itself; with his tolerance and flexibility…he was like the Jeddah Sea! I knew him for nine years, and our relationship grew closer over the past 5 years, particularly during the period that he spent in London for medical treatment. During this period, we would either meet, or speak on the telephone, or most often, send text messages to each other, including poetry, prose, jokes, and advice. He would [also] send text messages to me commenting on some of my articles, in the beautiful Jeddah accent, writing "Sir, by God you are a problem, but God will protect you!" I never knew him to be hypocritical or duplicitous, for this was not his character. Abu Ghinwa did not antagonize anybody or pay lip service, nor did I ever hear him disparage anybody during the 9 years that I knew him.
It was through my dear friend and brother Muhammad Sadiq Diyab that I got to know the artistic, poetry, and intellectual community in Jeddah. We would meet during Jalsats [traditional Arab get-togethers] in Jeddah, as well as in London, which were even attended by prominent Saudi Arabian singer Mohammed Abdu. Fans of the Saudi singer would also meet with us, however Abu Ghinwa would say I am Mohamed Abdu's greatest fan, I am not one of these masses that says to him "good, Mohamed, good." Indeed, during one of these special Jalsats I heard him speaking to the "artist of the Arabs" [Mohammed Abdu], directly saying to him what he would not write, and I was surprised at how Mohammed Abdu not only listened to him, but took every word that he was saying seriously.
Abu Ghinwa…he is Jeddah. Mohammed Sadiq Diyab the journalist, intellectual, historian, and novelist. Indeed his last novel was called "Maqam Hejaz" [Hejaz Verses] which he was in the process of completing when he was stuck by illness. He then hesitated to complete this book; however his friends and colleagues – including myself – encouraged him. During a visit in London, I was shown the book's cover, which was designed by the poet Abdul Mohsen al-Halit. On that day, along with Mohammed Abdu and a number of friends in London, the talk turned to [poetry] verses, and Abu Ghinwa turned the question on Mohammed Abdu, and so the Jalsat turned to a literary Jalsat, and [later] the Riyadh Book Fair indeed saw the publication of his novel "Maqam Hejaz."
I once told Abu Ghinwa, whilst we were sitting together alone in a London apartment, that "my friend, don’t stop writing, be committed [to this], for how many people who are alive live as if they are dead." He looked at me and said in the Jeddah accent "what, are you already writing my obituary?" I began to explain, but he interrupted me, grabbing my hand and said "do you see this malicious illness, it is the best thing to prepare one to meet God, and my prayer is to leave this life for a better one [in the Hereafter]." I tried to explain that this was not what I meant, when he answered "I tell you what, change the subject, otherwise my wife will hear you and the mood will become miserable." Then he began to laugh…that is how Abu Ghinwa was.
May God grant him peace and mercy, and grant us and his family patience!

EDITORIAL : THE AUSTRALIAN, AUSTRALIA

 

The challenges continue in multi-level economy

ALMOST three years after avoiding the global financial crisis, the nation is facing complex economic challenges that must be addressed if we are to ensure prosperity for all Australians.

As this newspaper reported this week, it's a mixed world out there, with the mining boom masking a real economy that exhibits weaknesses in sectors such as tourism, retail and housing.

None of these contradictions is news to the millions of Australians who, despite tightening their belts and paying down their mortgages since the GFC struck the northern hemisphere in 2008, are still feeling cost-of-living pressures.

Nor is it news to the Reserve Bank of Australia, which has been signalling for several quarters now that managing this economy is not just a simple matter of adjusting interest rates. Yet Labor has failed to advance the kinds of deep structural reforms needed to take the pressure off the non-resource sectors. Indeed, two-speed is an over-simplification, given that even the minerals-rich state of Western Australia is in a technical spending recession with successive quarters of negative growth in state spending.

The contradictions in the economy are matched only by the contradictions in the Gillard government's stance on a whole range of related issues. The government talks of the need to tackle a skills shortage yet spruiks a small-Australia policy, eschewing the robust immigration approach that has always underpinned national growth. It talks about pulling people off the disability and unemployment benefits list at a time when more workers are needed and unemployment is below 5 per cent, yet at the same time endorses rigidities in a labour market that is increasingly seen to favour hard-core union bosses rather than assisting Australian employers and entrepreneurs who want to expand their businesses and develop new ones. It talks about reform while pursuing three new taxes -- the flood levy, the mining tax and the carbon tax -- that have more to do with ideology than with sound economic thinking. Finally, this is a government that is committed to returning the budget to surplus on the one hand and committed to huge spending projects, such as the Building the Education Revolution and the National Broadband Network, on the other.

This loose fiscal policy is undermining efforts by the RBA to manage the economy through interest rates and the floating dollar, and it is compounding the differences between mining and the rest of the economy.

There can be no excuses for Labor's failure to come to grips with the nation's economic challenges. After almost 12 years in opposition and 3 1/2 years in power, the party should have a clearer appreciation of the need for policies that aid rather than inhibit the market and business.

Indeed, if Wayne Swan had a surer command of his portfolio, he would have been arguing the case well before now for some policy U-turns to address some of these challenges. He and Julia Gillard must urgently reverse the reregulation of the labour market; they must look at genuine tax reform; they must address infrastructure problems; and they must reverse the move to a "small" Australia. They talk of problems in the economy, but too many of the policies they are pursuing simply add to those pressures.

Spies, lies and life lessons 

THE cache of M15 files released in London last weekend are more than half a century old but have lost none of their power to shock and enlighten.

As our European correspondent, Peter Wilson, scours the documents, extraordinary information -- as fascinating as any WikiLeaks dump -- continues to emerge about a period of our history that is only now beginning to be fully understood.

Today we reveal how the then prime minister, Robert Menzies, so distrusted Labor leader Herbert Evatt that he secretly ordered ASIO to hand top-secret files to Britain and the US for safe keeping ahead of the 1958 election that he feared Labor would win. It is a vital reminder of the fears of communist infiltration at the highest levels in Canberra in this volatile Cold War period. Some, like security expert Des Ball, believe the M15 files suggest Evatt was not just erratic but almost certainly a Soviet agent. Others give the Labor leader the benefit of the doubt. But the material, along with other revelations that ASIO chief Charles Spry warned M15 during the 1954 Petrov affair that Britain should consider withholding intelligence information from a Labor government, confirm the complete breakdown of the normal bonds of trust between political leaders and bureaucrats in this period.

That it had come to this says much about the passion with which some of the nation's best and brightest had pursued the communist dream of delivering a better life for the working man. Dismayed by what they saw as the excesses of capitalism as it was developing in the US and with the trauma of the Great Depression still fresh, many Australians, and others in the West, who followed broad social-democratic principles, flirted with Soviet communism. They were blind to the monstrousness of a regime that caused the death of 25 million of its citizens. The death toll under Mao was even higher, at 70 million; the total under communist regimes, 105 million.

It is clear that those who allied themselves to the communist cause were desperately misled. Energy, talent and resources were wasted in support of a distorted political creed. Some who find themselves on the wrong side of history cling to the notion that Petrov was a beat-up and Evatt a hero. The M15 files tell a different story.

Their value in the search for historical truth and as a lesson in the dangers of being consumed by a bad idea is invaluable.

Red-tape overkill is no solution

IF the Gillard administration is determined to qualify for what ANZ chief executive Mike Smith yesterday called "the weak government club", its national occupational health and safety strategy is a step in the right direction.

It looks every bit like short-term, populist policy that is against the nation's long-term interest.

It fails to live up to the promise of the Council of Australian Governments agreement in July 2008 to standardise workplace safety laws inspired by Kevin Rudd's vision for a more effective federalism, one that boosts productivity by reducing red tape across different jurisdictions. The reverse will be the case if the government's workplace health and safety agency, Safe Work Australia, proceeds with many of the excessively prescriptive proposals detailed in 550 pages of draft regulations, as well as 12 codes of practice covering issues such as preventing hearing loss in noisy environments, labelling hazardous chemicals, removing asbestos and preventing falls in the workplace.

Business is rightly concerned that the government's approach will increase compliance costs, hand excessive powers to employee representatives and divert resources away from frontline safety to paper compliance. As the Business Council of Australia argues, safety regulations should be simple, clear and sensibly enforced. They should not attempt to provide for all possible eventualities but establish a flexible framework to ensure workers are safe on the job.

Unfortunately, such heavy-handed, process-driven solutions are typical of the bureaucratic approach favoured by the Rudd and Gillard governments, from prescribing fines for use of the "naughty corner" in childcare centres to Health Minister Nicola Roxon's investigating the ugliest colour for cigarette packets as a supposed deterrent for smokers. Kevin Rudd's health changes were also more about bureaucratic changes than directly improving outcomes for patients.

Labor's approach to Aboriginal art fraud is another example: rather than directing police to track down and prosecute carpetbaggers forging Aboriginal art and profiteering, the government adopted a bureaucratic approach, including a voluntary code of conduct. Such micro-management wastes resources and is not the best solution to most issues.

EDITORIAL : THE NATIONAL POST, CANADA

 

Russia a natural partner for Canada

In this era of galloping globalization, geopolitical shifts and game-changing economic challenges, Canada has no choice but to develop much stronger economic linkages beyond North America. The primacy of the North American partnership, and the need to strengthen it, I believe, is a foregone conclusion. But our asymmetric dependence on the United States is a major risk exposure that must be balanced by new and more vibrant relationships with other countries.

The maturation of linkages with Europe is underway and urgently needed breakthroughs in the Asia-Pacific region are at least on the radar. But there are other unique opportunities as we develop a strategy for Canadian prosperity in the years ahead. A more substantial, committed and forward-looking relationship with Russia is a case in point.

With a population of 140 million, the world's largest national land mass, the world's largest Arctic presence, and a wealth of natural resource and agricultural potential, Russia is a natural partner for Canada.

Some might say we're too similar; that we are more competitors than collaborators. But in today's world of global networks of value creation that is no longer the case. Virtually every product we buy today has significant elements of value originating elsewhere. The research, the embedded technology, the innovation, the manufacture, the skilled labour and the components will inevitably be drawn from around the world. Even Canadian exports of goods and services often come back home embodied in imports. Similarly, market scale to enable efficient production, distribution, marketing, branding and finance now depend on worldwide reach and commercial integration. Neither Russia nor Canada has the market size to achieve competitive success in a world of countries with more than a billion people and trading blocs containing hundreds of millions.

Competitive success is about establishing and building durable Canadian roots and managerial leadership of tightly integrated networks of commerce and value creation that span the globe. Anything less is vulnerable to emerging competitors.

Notwithstanding high-profile examples like Research in Motion, Canada currently accounts for an extremely small percentage (about 2% or 3% and declining) of the world's innovation. And we are relatively poor when it comes to commercializing leading edge science. Our future as a knowledge-based economy will increasingly come from science, technologies and research related to the core economic drivers we love to disparage -natural resources and agriculture. "Hewing wood and drawing water" has gone high tech, while high tech is commoditizing at breakneck speed.

When you think of Canada's alternative economic futures in this way, the potential for teaming with Russia, and expanding commercial and technological linkage, begins to resonate.

Research collaboration around Arctic stewardship, natural resource opportunities and challenges, environmental imperatives, transportation and logistics, northern agriculture in a warming climate -all offer potential for a powerful partnership. And it's more than wishful thinking. Livestock breeding and crop selection in a northern climate; space and GPS technologies with numerous global monitoring applications; nuclear co-operation with applications in critical areas of medicine, computing and low-carbon energy; transportation technologies and approaches adapted to the environmental and ecosystem fragility of the North are very specific examples of low-hanging fruit that can be harvested through scientific and technological collaboration.

Joint initiatives between universities, research institutions and among private-sector organizations could put both countries at the leading edge internationally in areas vital to our economic future. But we need government-to-government framework agreements to define the modes of collaboration, deal with human mobility issues, security issues, funding mechanisms and so on. If government does not put the foundation in place, it probably will not happen.

Russia will soon be a member of the World Trade Organization, which will reduce the risks and uncertainty of trade and investment for Canadians and Canadian companies. With a framework in place that creates greater certainty and a fair basis for dispute resolution, companies in forestry, energy and mining from both countries will have endless opportunities to trade and to combine, often through joint ventures, to create highly advanced supply chains and value networks that can compete with the world's best.

The Russian economy is expected to be among the most rapidly growing in the world over the next 50 years. Governance and political risk remain, but Russian engagement with stable, democratic and non-imperial countries like Canada can only help.

It's time to go beyond the global value networks of professional hockey to forge a deeper, long-lasting partnership with Russia. Both countries can reach a higher plateau of knowledge-based competitive success. And, just maybe, we can develop co-operative approaches to managing the Arctic in a more peaceful, more economic and more environmentally sound way.

? David Emerson is a former federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Industry and International Trade.

Fury of poor would erupt without unions

There's no doubt where the global financial crisis of 2008, and the resulting worldwide recession, started. It was in the private sector. First in finance, then it spread to the "real" economy. We can argue about the precise causes of the crisis, and about whether subsequent policy responses were appropriate or not. But there can be no argument about where the whole problem started: squarely with business.
This makes it incredibly ironic that as Canada and the rest of the world are still crawling out of the recessionary muck, we face a torrent of vitriol aimed against trade unions that's more aggressive than anything since FDR and the New Deal.
The stripping of collective bargaining rights from public-sector workers in Wisconsin has captured headlines. But the same crusade is underway in many other jurisdictions. Dozens of U.S. states are pondering measures to limit or prohibit union rights, across increasingly far-flung swaths of the economy. Never mind that most of the world (including Canada, since the historic Supreme Court Health Services decision in 2007) considers collective bargaining to be a fundamental human right, and hence many of these new U.S. laws would be immediately struck down. (The United States, in contrast, never ratified most United Nations conventions on labour rights, and its constitutional protections for union rights are weak.)
Yet the politics of this anti-union tide, if not its precise policies, are certainly bubbling up here in Canada, too. Several mayors (such as Toronto's Rob Ford) have declared outright war on unions. Provincial politicians like Ontario's Conservative leader Tim Hudak (who has already painted labour arbitrators as Public Enemy No. 1) aim to fan the anti-union fires, for maximum electoral gain. If the Harper Conservatives should win a majority in the current election, I fully expect a similar tone to infect labour policymaking at the federal level.
How is it, then, that in the wake of the most spectacular failure of private enterprise in 80 years, the most pointed focus of populist animosity has been the very organizations that were formed to protect common working people against the excesses of private enterprise?
Why wouldn't populist jealousy be directed against bankers or CEOs, whose gluttony dwarfs the salaries and perks of any unionized workers? After all, Canada's big six banks alone paid out a record $9-billion in bonuses last year, while other Canadians struggled to make ends meet. Strangely instead, it's the humble garbage-collector on the receiving end of the vitriol.
Don't accept for a moment that this is because bankers' bonuses and CEO fortunes are determined by the "market," while union wages reflect some kind of "distortion." There's no bigger distortion than someone -anyone -who takes in eight or even nine figures in a single year, and whose behaviour is perverted by the all-encompassing drive to boost the share price, at any cost. More likely, the misdirection of modern populism reflects the business-friendly power of media and think-tanks, which glorify highly paid executives while demeaning those who perform the more humble tasks that really make our economy go round.
All this finger pointing against unions is misplaced and dangerous. It's misplaced: unions did not cause the financial crisis or the recession, unions did not cause deficits, unions did not cause $1.25 per litre gasoline. Corporations did all those things. The finger pointing is dangerous: an orchestrated effort to vilify and scapegoat any identifiable group of people, and to take away their rights, justified by economic tough times. This fundamentally undermines democracy; it paves the way to the marginalization and repression of other vulnerable groups.
Unions play a constructive and valuable economic role. That role is just as important during times of crisis as during times of vibrant growth. We limit the erosion of wages during times of mass unemployment, thus stopping deflation. We negotiate innovative provisions, like work-sharing and early retirements, which share the pain and preserve needed jobs until the recovery comes. We boost productivity by reducing turnover, facilitating lifelong learning, and forcing employers to treat labour as a valuable resource (rather than a cheap, just-in-time, throwaway input).
Above all, we push both employers and governments to act with a measure of fairness in the labour market, promoting equality, inclusion and hope. No society without free and vibrant unions is truly democratic. And no economy without widespread collective bargaining has ever attained truly mass prosperity.
Imagine if the Scott Walkers of the world had their way, and unions were somehow banned altogether. The non-union workers at the local fast food outlet would still be making minimum wage, with no benefits, no security, and no pension. But a crucial, constructive channel through which their hopes and frustrations could be directed, has now have been closed off. Who knows where and how the simmering fury of exploited, poor people would then bubble up?
Thoughtful opinion leaders in Canada's business community, therefore, should think twice before throwing in their lot with this anti-union bandwagon. We can work together to build prosperity, fairness and innovation. Or we can expend all our energy and creativity in a fight to the end, over whether unions are even allowed to exist. Even if business was to eventually win that fight, it's our whole society that would lose.

It's the thought that counts

Coming, as it does, on the heels of their March 2011 budget, the Conservatives' election platform offers few surprises. For better and worse, it reiterates many of the party's budget commitments: A renewal of the ecoENERGY home renovation tax-credit program, increased support for seniors, a children's arts tax credit and the purchase of the F-35 fighter jets. But the platform also contains many long-standing conservative policies, several of which deserve a hearty thumbs-up. These include: Phasing out public political subsidies, which disproportionately benefit the Bloc Québécois; presenting a bill to rid the country of the costly and ineffective long-gun registry; and reforming the Senate. The Conservatives' proposed omnibus crime legislation, which rolls at least 11 bills into one, would be passed within 100 days of a new Tory government taking office.
The platform also maintains planned corporate tax cuts and offers a pleasant surprise: Eliminating the deficit one year earlier than forecast (according to the Tories' somewhat contentious math, at least). Even under this scenario, however, Canadians will still see their national debt increase until 2014; it would have been more pleasant had the Tories rolled this date back by an additional year or two.
If the books are balanced and the Tories are still in office in 2014 -we are promised -Canadian families with children under 18 would benefit from a welcome change to the tax structure: Income splitting for families. This measure would equalize the tax burdens of single-and dual-income households that bring home the same combined wage. That would make it possible for more families to have one parent care for their children at home, rather than relying on daycare and a second job for daddy or mommy.
The Tories also hold out other, far more dubious, carrots, in the form of increased fitness credits for children and adults, which, likewise, are reserved for the days when the budget is balanced three years from now. As with income-splitting, these baubles may well be forgotten by the time 2014 rolls around. Three years is a lifetime in politics, and the Tories' 2014-targeted promises should be seen as akin to the professions of love offered by young paramours who, at their high school graduation, promise to marry one another ... after they've both finished with college.
Which is to say: It's a nice thought -but a lot can happen in the intervening years to make you forget it.
The biggest elephant in the room remains health care. The Liberals call it the "sleeper issue" and are determined to shake voters awake, by challenging the Conservatives to match their commitment to renewing a 6% escalator clause in the next round of federal health transfer negotiations in 2013. The Conservatives have promised to renew health-care funding, but properly make no mention of the escalator clause in the platform. However, Mr. Harper has stated that he supports a regular 6% increase.
Mr. Harper's attitude is disappointing: Two years in advance of the accord's renewal date, it does not make sense to tie the federal government to an arbitrary number, nor to an automatic escalator. There are many other, more market-oriented means of improving health care without additional federal dollars, and these should be explored before throwing more taxpayer money at the system.
Other Conservative measures, such as requiring bureaucrats to eliminate one existing regulation for every new one they enact, may make good sound bites on the campaign trail, but would be entirely impossible to put into practice; a better policy would simply have been to set an overall target for regulation reduction. The Conservatives also have pledged to implement a one-year review of federal programs to find what they hope will be about $4-billion in savings; whether that number is more than wishful thinking is unclear, as savings have yet to be identified. In any event, all politicians say they will find massive waste and inefficiencies in the existing system; few, once elected, seem to find it.
Overall, the Conservatives' platform is a stay-the-course program, ornamented with specific vote-buying pledges and elements of eyebrow-raising political science fiction, but which at least has the virtue of staking out the right ideological ground and offering modest progress toward reducing taxes and slaying the deficit. Not the most exciting fare on offer, but still preferable to the explicitly Trudeauvian, big-state vision offered by the other two federalist parties.

EDITORIAL : THE GUARDIAN, UK

 

Phone hacking: An apology – but no answers

One imagines there to have been limited joy in heaven after News International's qualified statement of repentance

One imagines there to have been limited joy in heaven yesterday afternoon as the news broke of News International's qualified statement of repentance. Yes, the company has expressed "genuine regret" for its past behaviour over phone hacking. It has offered an unreserved apology and damages to some, but not all, of those who have launched legal actions. And it has admitted that the company's previous inquiries had failed to be remotely searching enough. This is a massive move from the company's original stance in July 2009, when News International's chief executive wrote to MPs claiming that this newspaper had "substantially and likely deliberately misled the British public". Of course the statement, qualified as it is, should be welcomed. It is a substantial concession from a company which has hitherto not only denied a pattern of criminal behaviour, but spent large sums of money covering it up.

But with the overall welcome come questions. The move is a clear attempt to stop the multiple civil actions in their track before the torrent of discovered documents and emails is exposed to the public eye. The high court has been resolutely demanding that claimants are given access to police files, phone records, notebooks and internal emails. Next Thursday, for example, the police are due to hand over unredacted copies of the material raided from the home of the private investigator Glenn Mulcaire. No wonder the company is desperate to draw some kind of line in the sand. And no doubt many claimants will wish to wait and see what documentary evidence emerges – together with who was responsible – before deciding on whether to settle.

But the more that information has been dragged out of News International and a disgracefully unco-operative Metropolitan police, the more disturbing the picture has become. This week the police arrested Neville Thurlbeck, the current chief reporter of the News of the World, as well as its former news editor Ian Edmondson. Both the director of public prosecutions and the four leading mobile phone companies have called into question the evidence to parliament of John Yates, the police officer who until recently was leading the inquiry. Mr Thurlbeck has not been suspended by News International, which continues to pay the legal fees of Mr Mulcaire, as he resists attempts to reveal what he knows.

The police inquiry must, of course, continue. There are searching questions under section 79 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act about the governance and responsibility of the company and its directors for criminal acts. Who is going to hold the police to account for – until recently – their lamentable performance over this case? MPs who previously backed down from calling News International witnesses will doubtless feel more emboldened now. And there are very uncomfortable questions over the performance of the Press Complaints Commission under its chair, Baroness Buscombe, who had the remarkable distinction of being forced to pay libel damages to one of the claimants' solicitors, in her apparent keenness to pour cold water on the allegations.

But the biggest question is for the culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, who was poised to wave through News Corporation's bid for full ownership and control of BSkyB, thereby creating the largest and most powerful media company Britain has ever seen. It is now apparent his predecessor as culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, had her phone hacked. Imagine if a bank had hired investigators to hack the chancellor of the exchequer's phone. It is difficult to imagine that Mr Hunt could possibly allow the bid to go through in the circumstances when so many unanswered questions hang over the company and where so many documents have yet to be revealed. Only a full judicial inquiry can now answer the many unresolved issues.

 

Unthinkable? Banishing tyrants to exile

A formal system of exile to lure tyrannical has-beens away from their nations is needed

Wanted: a small island, cut off from the world, prepared to revive the ancient practice of banishment. St Helena would do, still funded by the British, unreachable except by sea and accustomed to housing military-minded former national leaders with delusions about their stature. What worked for Napoleon in 1815 is necessary once again: the world is awash with prime ministers, presidents and dictatorial colonels-for-life who are refusing to quit because they have nowhere to run. The likes of Laurent Gbagbo, Robert Mugabe, Kim Jong-il and Colonel Gaddafi are clinging on to their wrecked national economies and bombed-out palaces, destroying their countries and confounding international diplomats as they do so. What is needed is a formal system of exile to lure tyrannical has-beens away from their nations to everyone's benefit. The process would, it must be admitted, limit the opportunity of trying them for war crimes, but for the exiles that would have to be part of the deal. In time this island of the dammed would no doubt become crowded, and perhaps some of its inmates tamed, as happened to Napoleon when he turned to gardening in the stony St Helena soil – so much healthier than invading his neighbours. Squabbles could be expected and some residents might hope for the possibility of returning to power, as Napoleon did from Elba. But it's a long swim in any direction from St Helena; a shelter for the corrupt and the cruel that would formalise the removal of tyrants.

EDITORIAL : THE NEW YORK TIMES, USA

 

Three Men in a Room

That’s right. The rules for a more open government are being negotiated secretly by Mr. Cuomo; Dean Skelos, the Senate majority leader; and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

Mr. Skelos and Mr. Silver have helped pass a few modest reform efforts over the years, but they always manage to avoid fundamental change. One of the biggest gaps is the weak disclosure requirements for legislators’ outside businesses. Outside income is listed, but only in wide ranges, and even that isn’t disclosed to the public. The 45 members who are lawyers are not required to reveal clients even if they do business with the state. That includes Mr. Skelos and Mr. Silver, both of whom are affiliated with high-powered law firms.

Newsday reported that Senator Skelos’s firm has $1.75 billion in contracts with state agencies and public authorities. Mr. Skelos denies any conflict, but how can we know? We have no idea whether Mr. Silver’s firm has business with the state. We hope in his tête-à-têtes, Mr. Cuomo is pushing disclosure hard.

Campaign finance laws need to be a lot tougher (no more $500 fines) and they need to be enforced. The state needs public campaign financing, starting with the comptroller’s office. The reform law should also create an independent ethics commission — not an in-house cop — to oversee both the governor’s office and the Legislature. As Mr. Cuomo is fond of saying, self-policing is an oxymoron. We hope he’s making that case in his private meetings.

Reform must also include the creation of a nonpartisan redistricting commission to end the gerrymandering that all but ensures re-election for nearly every legislative incumbent, no matter how incompetent or venal.

State Senator Michael Gianaris and Mr. Silver — both Democrats — are pushing a sensible law proposed by the governor last month. Mr. Skelos and his Republican caucus are trying to slither out of their campaign promises on redistricting reform by pushing for one that could not possibly take effect until 2022. Talk about a fake.

There is no time to waste. The 2010 census numbers are in and the 2012 election is just 19 months away.

Mr. Cuomo could move things forward if he reminded legislators of his campaign vow to veto any politically skewed maps. That would send the redistricting to the courts and a special master. With an independent commission the Legislature would still have input — choosing some members and voting on the commission’s maps.

Mr. Cuomo has also vowed that if the Legislature fails to adopt real reform, he will take matters into his own hands and create a Moreland Act Commission to investigate legislative abuses. Some Albany hands suggest that this 104-year-old law doesn’t allow the governor to investigate the Legislature, but Mr. Cuomo could still threaten to hold hearings, subpoena witnesses and generally embarrass legislators for their wayward or even illegal ways.

It may come to that. But Mr. Cuomo could increase his chances of success if all New Yorkers — not just three men in a room — could see working drafts of an ethics bill. Voters are rightly fed up with Albany. They are the governor’s best allies for real reform.

How Much of a Threat?

Thousands of Japanese citizens are dead or missing after last month’s devastating earthquake and tsunami, hundreds of thousands have lost their homes and Japan’s government and power company are still struggling to control three badly damaged nuclear power reactors.

As part of that struggle, authorities have been venting limited amounts of radioactive water into the ocean and radioactive gases into the air, and leaks exacerbated by explosions have spewed radioactive materials. People in Japan and in this country are rightly concerned. But, as of now, potential health risks appear to be limited in Japan and virtually nonexistent in the United States.

We stress “as of now.” Operators have still not been able to restore emergency cooling systems for the reactor cores and spent fuel pools. Nuclear fuel could still melt and release huge amounts of radioactive materials. Aftershocks pose a continuing threat. But the radioactive material that has been released so far — deliberately or accidentally — seems too small to pose a present danger.

Top officials from American health agencies said this week that Americans are in no danger from the trace amounts of radiation being detected in this country’s air, water or food supplies. Thomas Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said emphatically: “There is no threat to health in the U.S. from radiation coming from Japan.”

That means there is no reason for anyone here to take potassium iodide pills or any nostrums being peddled as protective. The Food and Drug Administration is testing food imports from Japan for traces of radiation just to be safe, and the Japanese government is banning or monitoring various food exports before they leave that country.

In Japan, the biggest radiation doses have hit workers within the plant. Beyond the plant boundaries, small amounts of radioactive material have fallen on land, but not enough to be an immediate health hazard. Much bigger amounts of radiation have been detected just off shore, although the levels appear to be diminishing and a major leak has been plugged.

The ocean should disperse and dilute radioactive materials to safe levels. However, a fish caught dozens of miles away from the plant was found to contain high levels of radioactive iodine, showing the potential for radiation to concentrate in marine life. Officials in Japan and around the globe will need to keep monitoring the air and water and the fish supply for many months, if not longer.

Cue the Obama Money Bundlers

President Obama’s campaign machine is telling its chief money raisers to go all out in the big-dollar political art called bundling. The goal is to enlist 400 or more bundlers — specialists in packaging contributions from deep-pocketed supporters — to pledge to raise $700,000 each for the 2012 campaign.

The high-stakes preparation reported by Politico is not surprising as Republicans bolster their war chests. But the president’s bid for hundreds of millions in private support should make voters wonder whatever happened to his 2008 pledge — after he spurned public financing — to repair the less-corrupting and less-expensive public system created in the wake of Watergate.

There is no question that the 1976 subsidy formula needs updating to reflect inflation and the higher cost of campaigning. The White House has not pushed Congress to tackle the problem. But some House Democrats have a good proposal and there are plans for one by Senate Democrats. They dearly need the president’s vocal support. Meanwhile, Congressional Republicans are determined to kill off public financing. While the White House has issued statements of opposition, there’s been no ringing promise of a veto, should the G.O.P. prevail.

In the 2008 campaign, Mr. Obama reaped a windfall in small Internet donations, declaring, “We have created a parallel public financing system” to challenge “the wealthy and the powerful” who buy political influence. This time around, the president clearly wants to have it both ways by galvanizing bundlers and their wealthy and powerful friends as much as small Internet donors.

This is not surprising considering the Republicans’ expected edge in unlimited corporate donations that the Supreme Court has now invited with the Citizens United decision. Mr. Obama rightly denounced that ruling. His convictions would be a lot more credible if he were also pushing to reform and revive the public financing option.

The Vocal Stylings of New York City Transit

New York City is a very up close and personal sort of place. But we’ve been struck recently by the number of automated voices we hear. Commuters, in particular, travel to the backdrop of those voices. The accents often sound homegrown. But there is often something just slightly, deliciously off.

Some of the voices, speaking from on high, are computer-created, grafting individually spoken words together. This is the kind you hear on the West 86th Street subway platform. “There IS ... a DOWNtown ONE train apPROACHing the STAtion” — a recognizably human, male voice speaking with decidedly nonhuman articulation.

Catch the shuttle at 42nd Street, and you hear a male voice speaking an entire sentence instead of patched-together words. The voice is deep, almost Barry White in pitch, and rich in personality. “The next train arrives on track three ... baby,” it seems to say, as if to assure you that this is the big time, so why not be cool about it?

At Grand Central a voice descends from the ceiling zodiac offering self-guided tours of the station: “You may be surprised at what you learn.” This is the antithesis of the shuttle voice, higher in pitch, with a Wouldn’t-it-be-swell? lilt. Listen closely, and you realize it is the voice of a young New York father explaining to his daughter, on Christmas morning, why a bicycle is much more practical than a pony.

Then comes the long ride up the Harlem Line on Metro-North, the train saying at each station, “THIS is the TRAIN to Southeast,” as if it were saying, “MY name is BOB.” The stations pass one after another, each one announced with professional assurance. All but one, that is. After Croton Falls comes “BREWster!!,” which the train says as if in gleeful answer to the question, “What goes cock-a-doodle do?”

EDITORIAL : THE DAILY YOMIURI, JAPAN

 

Govt must create recovery blueprint soon

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Japan now faces an unprecedented crisis due to the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake.

The central and local governments must move swiftly to reestablish normal daily life for the hundreds of thousands of people living in disaster-hit areas or staying at evacuation centers. The government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. must bring the ongoing chain of crises at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power station under control as soon as possible and then smoothly move on to post-disaster work there.

However, responses by the government as well as the ruling and opposition parties to the hydra-headed crisis have been too slow and far from sufficient. The government must compile a recovery plan as soon as possible and establish conditions in which it can speedily enforce necessary laws even under the so-called divided Diet, in which the ruling parties have a majority in the House of Representatives and opposition parties control the House of Councillors.

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Respect local voices

The administration of Prime Minister Naoto Kan plans to install a recovery initiative commission, a panel of experts, by Monday, one month after the March 11 earthquake. The panel will be tasked with drawing up a blueprint for recovery programs for the disaster-hit areas. The government plans to appoint National Defense Academy President Makoto Iokibe as panel chairman.

After the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995, the Hanshin-Awaji Restoration Committee was launched. Committee Chairman Atsushi Shimokobe, a former administrative vice minister at the National Land Agency, compiled various proposals with panel members including the Hyogo prefectural governor and Kobe mayor.

The new panel is modeled on the Hanshin-Awaji Restoration Committee. The government's headquarters for the restoration of areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, to be launched this month, will formulate and enforce a concrete recovery plan after it receives proposals to be compiled by the restoration initiative panel.

What is important here is to give the greatest possible respect to what those directly affected by the disaster really want. Heads of local governments and local economic circles should take active leadership roles in restoration and recovery work because they know best how things really are in their areas.

We hope they will proactively provide ideas on how to make "quake and tsunami-resistant towns," while identifying and correcting faults in the existing disaster management programs.

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Utilize bureaucrats fully

It is important for the government to drop its "governance led by politicians" stance, which is little more than a slogan, and fully utilize the power of bureaucrats who are knowledgeable and experienced in practical work.

The government's response so far has always been a few steps late in assisting those hit by the disaster because of a vicious circle: Kan and other Cabinet ministers distrust bureaucrats, and bureaucrats await instructions from Kan or other ministers.

Also, the Prime Minister's Office has not been functioning adequately as a command center as too many panels and various headquarters have been set up, leading to considerable confusion.

Now, the secretariat of the restoration headquarters will serve as the control tower for carrying out restoration programs. The amount of work will likely be far larger than after the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake.

Despite the size of the job, the headquarters should not be just another bloated organization. Its primary objective should be to make the Cabinet Office and each ministry work efficiently.

The Democratic Party of Japan's special legislation study team has compiled drafts of a basic law on disaster recovery and related special laws. However, the creation of special taxes stipulated in the drafts provoked a great number of objections even within the party. We hope members of the party will discuss the matter thoroughly enough for the party to take a firm, unified stance on the matter.

The cooperation of opposition parties is essential to passing the relevant bills in the divided Diet. It is necessary to establish a forum for talks between the ruling and opposition parties as soon as possible.

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Forget dole-out measures

Some members of the government and the ruling coalition have said the Kan administration should build a grand coalition with the opposition Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito by appointing their members as ministers in a national salvation Cabinet.

In fact, the prime minister directly asked LDP President Sadakazu Tanigaki to join his Cabinet, but Tanigaki refused.

Though Kan is said to be still positive about forming a grand coalition with the LDP and Komeito, a question remains about how serious he is.

We agree with Tanigaki, who said "a grand coalition cannot be built without adjustment of mutual policies."

It is a major premise that parties must agree on basic policies among themselves in advance if they want to form a coalition. The LDP and Komeito are urging the ruling DPJ to give up on child-rearing allowances and other dole-out policies the DPJ promised in the 2009 House of Representatives election. They also said that funds allocated to such programs should instead be used for disaster recovery work. We agree with their opinions.

If the Kan administration demands that the opposition parties share responsibilities in a grand coalition government, it must pay them due consideration in turn. Otherwise, the opposition will only grow more hostile, thinking that a grand coalition is a mere stratagem to help the DPJ-led government survive longer.

Members of the LDP and Komeito strongly distrust the prime minister. Results of The Yomiuri Shimbun's latest poll also showed that a majority of the public considered Kan to lack leadership and supported the formation of a strong administration based on a grand coalition to advance measures to deal with the disaster.

If he asks opposition parties to join his coalition government, the prime minister must develop conditions conducive to that end by showing he is ready to accept most of their positions without hesitation.

The LDP and Komeito should not refuse to join the coalition government if the DPJ develops conditions for policy agreements with them, including the withdrawal of dole-out policies.

The opposition parties should specify a term for the grand coalition, which would be several months, taking into consideration the time likely to be needed until deliberations of emergency measures become unnecessary in the current ordinary Diet session, which could be extended considerably.

An immediate issue is the first extra budget. We hope the LDP and Komeito will join discussions on the budget from its drafting process onward and share their past experience as ruling coalition parties. They should also work together with the DPJ to pass a special public bond bill to allow the government to issue deficit-covering bonds.

This earthquake disaster must be turned into an opportunity to build a new and more stable political system in Japan.

EDITORIAL : THE DAILY MIRROR, SRILANKA

Increasing divisions between the haves and have-nots

In the wake of its resounding victory at the March 17 local council election, the government is reported to have decided to set up a powerful Metropolitan Corporation to oversee the work of Colombo Municipal Council, the Dehiwela-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council, the Kotte Municipal Council and others in the greater Colombo area. Questions are raised if this go against the principles of de-centralization.

We in Sri Lanka today seem to be lacking in historical perspectives. That means we do not seem to have learnt our lessons from the war which ended in May 2009. The concern is that one of the root causes of this was the failure to de-centralize or devolve power especially to the ethnic minorities in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

About 20 years ago, Dr. Shelton Wanasinghe a well known public servant turned international civil servant, at a forum to discuss the concept of the Constitution and de-centralization said that within Sri Lanka much could be done at grassroots level in local areas by the people there and for the people there.

We need to ascertain if this will help in making economic development people-centered or service-centered and help or hinder the process of finding a solution to the crisis that led to the southern and northern youth insurrection from the late 1960s. Thankfully, in recent times the divisions are not so much minority versus the majority as it has been for decades, but more so to divisions between the haves and have-nots.In 1994 the Chandrika Kumaratunga administration said it would have an open economy with a human face, which meant effective steps for a more equitable distribution of wealth and resources.

In the context of the wide and growing gap between the rich and the poor, can centralizing economic development really help the poor?

EDITORIAL : THE INDIAN EXPRESS, INDIA

 

Caste & cleansing

The Kerala Human Rights Commission has asked the secretary, taxes department, for an explanation on a bizarre incident. After the then inspector-general of registration, A.K. Ramakrishnan, retired on March 31, his office and official car were allegedly washed with cowdung-mixed water. Ramakrishnan complained to the commission that this incident took place the very next day, on April 1, and that to dodge the charge that his office was being specifically “cleansed” because he happened to be a Dalit, the entire office too was sprayed with this mixture. As reported in this newspaper, the office of a panchayat president at Elanthur had been similarly washed with cowdung water after it was vacated by a Dalit.

The commission has sought a reply by May 7, and it would be right to wait till then before passing judgment on the incident. But the very fact of the complaint is a reminder of the demeaning and dehumanising ways in which caste creeps into even those spaces we had thought to have been long liberated from ritual hierarchies. At worst, of course, the slight administered to those perceived to be of a lower caste is deliberate — and in each case that this happens, there must be disciplinary action, to make the point that this amounts to outright discrimination and simply cannot be allowed to pass unchecked. But even the more generous view that often the slight is caused inadvertently is problematic. Administrators have to be conscious of the nuances that consolidate inclusiveness.

Purification rituals that are coded with caste hierarchies do not convey inclusiveness — in any situation their survival is a reminder of our unfinished democratisation. But when they occur in a public space, they are that much more deplorable.

Make it better

But such generalised invective against the entire political class is both empty and dangerous — our representatives are as we are. Besides, such anti-politics nearly always serves as a cover for politics. As Edmund Burke memorably wrote, this cynicism about politics and, by extension, Parliament only makes you “think ill of that very institution which, do what you will, you must religiously preserve, or you must give over all thoughts of being a free people”. Those who seek radical insta-solutions to the tortuous processes of democracy would do well to ponder the alternative. They may see why the solutions to so many of our problems lie in empowering our legislatures and holding them more stringently and transparently to account.

Tagore’s gifts

Ties between India and Pakistan have never been easy, but have always been given a certain sort of attention. Hindustani poetry has been quoted back and forth, even — perhaps especially — during political interactions; singers move across the border, celebrated here and there; the nostalgia and affection that Punjabis on each side of the border have for the towns and villages of the other side informs and pushes efforts to bring the two nations closer. Oddly, with our other large neighbour, with whom even more Indians share a common, tightly held heritage, and with whom relations have improved rather than stagnated, little of this cultural sheen animates our interaction. There could be many reasons for this, but it is definitely true that Delhi’s policy establishment’s look westward rather than eastward is driven not just by cold realist calculation, but partly by culture. It is necessary, perhaps, to inject into India-Bangladesh ties, too, a reminder of shared civilisational heritage.

The productive meeting this week of India’s and Bangladesh’s culture secretaries, which resulted in a confirmation that Rabindranath Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary would be commemorated this May in a series of joint programmes, is thus welcome. Tagore, the writer of the two countries’ anthems, an outspoken internationalist who is beloved in both nations, is the best starting point for reviving cultural exchanges. But this cannot be left to languish in boring sarkari cultural-ghetto hell. The schedule that has been released, for example, focuses on opening ceremonies in New Delhi and Dhaka; West Bengal could justifiably complain that it is being ignored.

... contd.

 

 

 

 

 

EDITORIAL : THE DAWN, PAKISTAN

 

Afghan refugees

THREE decades after they began to seek sanctuary here from violent conflict, large numbers of Afghans remain on this side of the Durand Line. About 1.7 million registered refugees live in Pakistan today, and the government estimates that another million are unregistered. Many have low incomes and live in poor conditions in refugee villages and urban slums. At the same time, the burden on Pakistani hospitals, schools and housing, especially in struggling Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, cannot be ignored. The province has become reliant on foreign aid to maintain the infrastructure in rural areas where the concentration of refugees is high, and cities around the country have shouldered the burden on their own. Deforestation has resulted from the need to make room, and some camps are reported to have sheltered militants from Afghanistan. Both refugees and locals have suffered while no permanent solution has been found.
The good news is that there does seem to be a plan in place: as per an agreement between the government and UNHCR, registration cards have been renewed until the end of 2012. Meanwhile, refugees will be encouraged to return voluntarily in return for incentive payments and facilitation by UNHCR on the other side. Around 150,000 will be able to extend their stay — businessmen and students through visas and female heads of households by beginning a naturalisation process. Attempts will also be made to identify unregistered Afghans and encourage their return. At first glance, then, the plan seems to be a comprehensive one addressing the needs and contributions of various subgroups within the refugee population.

The success of the scheme, however, remains highly dependent on the willingness of Afghans to return. The American invasion of Afghanistan led to a flood of voluntary returns — 3.6 million since 2002 — clearly indicating that Afghans are not averse to going home if incentives exist. But providing those incentives is up to the Afghan government, which has largely taken a back seat in the development of a repatriation strategy. While UNHCR and the Pakistan government have joined forces to look after, register and repatriate refugees, the Afghans’ own government has done little to welcome them back. Nor should we wait, as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa information minister suggested on Thursday, for the restoration of peace in Afghanistan. While the country is still at war, there are relatively calm pockets where refugees could be resettled. The current administration there also enjoys billions of dollars in aid and on-the-ground support from the international community. While Pakistan will not, and should not, force refugees to leave, their own government must also make efforts to bring them
back home.

Eau de colonialism

WAS it a slip of the tongue, a ‘semi-jocular aside’ (BBC) or a case of a British prime minister awkwardly coming clean about the world’s worst-kept secret? Whatever the truth, it seems modern-day fans of colonialism in Britain are up in arms against their prime minister, David Cameron, who dared suggest Britain’s colonial past was “responsible” for “so many of the world’s problems”. Mr Cameron’s comment came in response to a Pakistani student’s question about the role the UK could play in the settlement of the Kashmir dispute. Condemnation in Britain has been swift. The venerable Daily Telegraph deplored Mr Cameron’s statement, arguing that the prime minister “should not run down his own country”. But even tabloids with a more liberal bent have laid into the hapless Mr Cameron. The Daily Mirror haughtily suggested, “It is not the job of the British prime minister to go abroad and do Britain down.” The famous British stiff upper lip seems to be quivering with indignation.
Some of the outrage is almost comical. Writing on the BBC website, Nick Lloyd, a lecturer at King’s College London, has claimed, “The British Empire in India, known as the Raj, was the greatest experiment in paternalistic imperial government in history. By the time the British left India in 1947 they had given the subcontinent a number of priceless assets, including the English language ….” It would be hard to make up such stuff. Then again, perhaps we here in Pakistan should be grateful for the priceless gift of English because we can also read Seamus Milne of The Guardian: “[M]any of the world’s most intractable conflicts are in former British colonies or protectorates: from the West Bank and Gaza, Iraq, Kurdistan, Yemen and Somalia to Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Cyprus and Sudan — with the reflex imperial resort to partition a recurrent theme.” The things we learn thanks to the English language! Of course, it would be absurd to pretend that 64 years into this country’s creation, our most intractable problems are completely the fault of outside powers. But outraged Britons ought to remember that a little reflection and confession doesn’t do much harm.

Long, hot summer

WITH the mercury rising nationwide and demand for power increasing, the country is beginning to feel the pinch of loadshedding. The situation in Lahore was quite grim on Thursday as, according to this newspaper, a 40 per cent reduction in power generation caused Pepco to carry out eight to 10 hours of loadshedding in urban areas, while rural areas had to put up with 12 to 14 hours of power cuts. Though officially the shortfall was said to be over 3,500MW, observers say the actual supply-demand gap was over 5,000MW. Pepco says it is carrying out the cuts due to shortages of both furnace oil and gas, while the hydel contribution to the power grid has also come down due to reduced releases from Tarbela. Several power plants also remain out of operation. The situation in Karachi is not much better as the KESC has said residents of the metropolis could face up to 13 hours of power cuts due to short gas supply.

The menace of loadshedding has a decimating effect on industrial production while such prolonged outages in stifling heat amount to inflicting psychological torture on the people. Having to labour without power for over half the day is not a welcome prospect. We must ask what the government’s planning regarding the power crisis is. It’s safe to say there’s barely any. The writing has been on the wall for a while, but what practical steps has the state taken to combat growing shortages? For example, has there been a serious national initiative to try and explore the feasibility of alternative fuels or secure energy supplies from nations with surpluses? Perhaps only on paper. The truth is, there are no quick-fix solutions to loadshedding of such magnitude. Unless there is a miracle and the nation’s power plants start generating non-stop electricity, the people must be prepared for an uncomfortably long and hot summer.

 

 

 

EDITORIAL : THE DAILY STAR, BANGLADESH

 

Stock market scam report

Bring the culprits to book

We congratulate the probe committee for completing its task in good time and handing over its report to the finance ministry. The committee has identified around 100 persons, many of them 'powerful' people, who seem to have been involved in the stock market manipulation. The enquiry, we feel, has established prima facie case against some institutions, companies and individuals of their involvement in the manipulation. The report has come down strongly on the lack of oversight and collusive role of the SEC.

While we laud the finance minister's pledge to bring all those responsible for the debacle to justice, we are a bit confused by his suggestion that the names of those mentioned in the report would be deleted before the report is published, which will be in the next 10 to 15 days.

We understand the minister's commitment to double check the findings of the committee, but if the intention is to re-verify some of the findings of the report, it does not justify deletion of the names of those whose role in the scandal has already been established. We feel that deleting the names established through the probe committee's enquiry is bound to convey the impression that this is being done to protect the culprits and that the veracity of the findings is being questioned. His comments have cast doubts on the Probe Report itself, which is most unfortunate.

It should not be lost on anyone that names of most of all those behind the share market crash is known to the public and no amount of maneuverings will change their views.

The recent share market scam has had tremendous impact on small investors, and the vast portion of the amount of twenty thousand crore that was swindled, and the 15 crore taka siphoned off, belonged to them. There is need to not only expose the culprits involved in the scandalous affair, they must also be brought to book expeditiously, not only for the sake of justice but also for the sake of stability and efficient management and functioning of the stock market.

We demand transparent handling of the report and quick implementation of its recommendations, including punishment of the manipulators. 

Proper use of antibiotics

Timely call made for it

The World Health Day passed off the day before yesterday with a call for informed and rational use of antibiotics. This came under the theme of the day which was “Antimicrobial resistance and its global spread”.

The call is extremely relevant for Bangladesh. Here, people get to use antibiotics indiscriminately even when afflicted by simple fever or pain. There is a widespread lack of knowledge of the consequences such casual application of antibacterial drugs leads to. Pharmacies, many of them unregistered, dispense antibiotics for any complaints that patients come up with. Sometimes physicians also may try the hard drug to get quick relief to patients suffering from common cough or fever.

It is feared that such uninformed use of antibiotics might have seriously scaled up resistance to drug. Even where a less potent antibiotic would have worked perfectly well on patients they would need to have higher potency drugs to cure themselves. This has also other ill-effects on the body's immune system.

To mitigate the riotous application of antibiotics a four-pronged strategy needs to be adopted. In the first place, the overarching imperative is to make it legally binding on pharmacies to sell antibiotics only on the basis of a prescription from a qualified doctor. Secondly, the Drug Administration will have to be adequately staffed and equipped to carry out monitoring operations in the market. This is a specialised job which cannot be done through ordinary law enforcers. Thirdly, pharmacies that remain unregistered would have to be formally enlisted with the health directorate within a specified timeframe. Last but not least, an awareness campaign ought to be launched through the media, both electronic and print, to sensitise people all over the country about the hazards of indiscriminate antibiotic uses. Patients should be warned against self-medication. Finally, doctors will have to ensure that patients not only use an appropriate antibiotic but also apply the same for the stipulated number of days.