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A good read article from the myanmar media. Seems like pain in the burmese arse is increasing day by day due to their crime against Rohingyas.
https://www.mmtimes.com/news/year-despair-and-despondency.html
A year of despair and despondency
THOMPSON CHAU 28 DEC 2018
After a century, historians looking back will see how, at a time of national crisis, Myanmar’s leaders collectively abdicated political and moral responsibility over the country. Photo - EPA
2018 is the year in which Myanmar’s failure to execute key reforms has plunged the country into crises and chaos, overshadowing the considerable progress made in some areas. It would take years, if not decades, before we climb out of the abyss into which we have sunk.
The National League for Democracy (NLD) party swept into office in 2016 with its mantra of “change”. Although that term was vaguely defined in their election manifesto, it is fair to assume that the electorate wanted change for the better, and they wanted positive change for the many.
As the NLD-led administration passed midpoint of their five-year term in October, it is clear the Myanmar people are getting none of what they wanted, or anywhere near that. 2018 is shaped by the aftermath of the advent of Rakhine. We were chosen as the Economist’s “country of the year” in 2015. The government’s response to the crisis, coupled with the failure on the economic front, has turned Myanmar into the cautionary tale of how things could go wrong.
“Rarely has the reputation of a leader fallen so far, so fast” was the verdict of State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi by International Crisis Group’s August report. The same assessment could be said of Myanmar.
In 2018, business confidence has sunk to a three-year low; approved FDI has fallen short of the official estimates by a wide margin; and the business community is despairingly frustrated with the protectionist policies and lack of reforms. Myanmar’s growth forecast is downgraded by the World Bank by 0.5 percentage points to 6.2pc in 2018-19. Tourist arrivals stagnated (0.7pc) for the first nine months of this year compared with an increase of 7.1pc in 2017.
While the incumbent administration repeatedly pledged to elevate Myanmar into the top 100 in the Ease of Doing Business ranking by 2020, the country failed to improve at all under Daw Suu, being buried at 171st. In comparison, China, India and Malaysia all made significant improvements in the index.
Many of the major policy failures are covered by this paper’s review in October, such as inertia in revising the electricity tariff structure and debacles in either boosting tourism or liberalising the retail/ wholesale sector. Similarly, the severe lack of clarity in the regulatory environment for the mining and oil and gas sectors puts off investors.
One defining characteristic of Myanmar’s shambolic leadership is the extent to which it clings on to protectionism. The transport ministry rejected two airline joint venture proposals over the last 13 months to shield off competition for domestic players. Sectors such as healthcare, retail banking and shipping remain heavily guarded.
Notably, investor patience has passed the tipping point over the finance ministry’s failure to deliver on its commitment made last year to open up the insurance market. A major Asian insurance firm, having opened a Yangon office and waited for years to enter the market, has already pulled out.
2018 is also the year when Daw Suu tried to reboot her government’s economic team, changing her finance minister and creating a new ministry to oversee foreign aid and investment. Neither has pulled off any showy achievements to date, as the clock is ticking fast and the window of reform is closing soon.
Potential trade access withdrawal
The European Union is now considering revoking Myanmar’s tariff-free access to the bloc owing to alleged human rights violations in northern Rakhine. This paper has argued that Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) withdrawal would go against the recommendations of the UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on Myanmar and derail our hard-won economic progress.
Yet, the provocations and comments from Nay Pyi Taw are undoing the lobbying efforts from trade groups and business chambers to stop the withdrawal.
This month, religious minister U Thura Aung Ko said the Muslim refugees from northern Rakhine who are living in Bangladeshi camps are being “brainwashed” into “marching on Myanmar”, while deputy communications minister U Kyaw Myo recently blamed 9/11 on Facebook and social media.
Right before the monitoring mission visited Yangon, a senior official from the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration dismissed the impact of GSP withdrawal on pending foreign investments, commenting that “EU countries have never been the leading investors in Myanmar, Asian countries are.”
Meanwhile, anti-Muslim activist Rick Heizman, a US national, was allowed to tour parts of Rakhine where professional journalists have no access. His visit was covered by a state media. Mr Heizman then gave a presentation about Rakhine in a Yangon University talk organised by the Yangon government. GSP decision-makers in Brussels would hardly have found any of these constructive or helpful.
Look East policy hits the rocks
The episode about the Asian insurance firm giving up on Myanmar is telling. It proves that the NLD’s “Look East” ambition, in terms of drawing investments and tourism, has little substance. It is true that Asian companies, unlike Western ones, seldom encounter shareholder and media activism on human rights. But that is where the differences end.
The Rakhine issue, having dominated media headlines across the region, is colouring perceptions of Myanmar’s political risks. Contrary to what officials say, many actors in Asia are as concerned as “the West” on the plight of the refugees. Just within ASEAN, Malaysia and Indonesia, the latter of which accounts for roughly half of the bloc’s entire population, are taking an increasingly vocal stance.
Beyond politics, private investors in Asia share many of the same concerns as those from Europe and America. The “East vs West” dichotomy fails to explain why that Asian insurer withdrew, why Samsung built several factories in Vietnam but none in this country, and why Japanese and Indian business leaders, during interviews with this paper, have urged Myanmar authorities to address their worries.
Considerations about policy clarity, red tape, economic nationalism, the regulatory environment, labour contracts and judicial independence are fundamental investor concerns, regardless of nationality. The four areas considered by the World Bank as the key impediments on doing business in Myanmar - access to land, utilities, finance and human capital - affect Asian investors as much as they do to Western ones. Therefore, the key to attracting responsible investments from Asia or elsewhere is the same.
History will not be kind
This grim reading on the country’s leaders is based on realistic benchmarks. Businesses and people are disappointed not because they expect the land to turn into a utopia overnight - the despair comes from the lack of willingness and political leadership in Nay Pyi Taw to even start initiating the reforms and spelling out the reality - economic and political - to its citizens about the Rakhine crisis and other key issues.
2018 also saw the passing away of Kofi Annan, who was chair of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State. Mr Annan counselled open dialogue, sustained engagement and the rule of law in order for Myanmar to win the trust of both Muslim and ethnic Rakhine communities. For a brief period, Daw Suu’s endorsement and pledge to implement all of the Commission’s 88 recommendations represented a glimmer of hope. Yet, the lack of access to Rakhine, the absence of transparency over what’s proposed/ achieved and the jailing of the two Reuters reporters this year have extinguished almost all of the goodwill left in the international community.
Politicians and leaders here would probably go on saying “we understand our country better than any other country” whenever they face criticisms from abroad. But history will have little room for such an excuse.
After a century, historians looking back will see how, at a time of national crisis, Myanmar’s leaders collectively abdicated political and moral responsibility over the country. There are none so blind as those who will not see.
@TopCat @bluesky @shourov323 @Species @Black_cats @UKBengali @Mage @The Ronin @Al-Ansar @Centaur @Avicenna
https://www.mmtimes.com/news/year-despair-and-despondency.html
A year of despair and despondency
THOMPSON CHAU 28 DEC 2018
After a century, historians looking back will see how, at a time of national crisis, Myanmar’s leaders collectively abdicated political and moral responsibility over the country. Photo - EPA
2018 is the year in which Myanmar’s failure to execute key reforms has plunged the country into crises and chaos, overshadowing the considerable progress made in some areas. It would take years, if not decades, before we climb out of the abyss into which we have sunk.
The National League for Democracy (NLD) party swept into office in 2016 with its mantra of “change”. Although that term was vaguely defined in their election manifesto, it is fair to assume that the electorate wanted change for the better, and they wanted positive change for the many.
As the NLD-led administration passed midpoint of their five-year term in October, it is clear the Myanmar people are getting none of what they wanted, or anywhere near that. 2018 is shaped by the aftermath of the advent of Rakhine. We were chosen as the Economist’s “country of the year” in 2015. The government’s response to the crisis, coupled with the failure on the economic front, has turned Myanmar into the cautionary tale of how things could go wrong.
“Rarely has the reputation of a leader fallen so far, so fast” was the verdict of State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi by International Crisis Group’s August report. The same assessment could be said of Myanmar.
In 2018, business confidence has sunk to a three-year low; approved FDI has fallen short of the official estimates by a wide margin; and the business community is despairingly frustrated with the protectionist policies and lack of reforms. Myanmar’s growth forecast is downgraded by the World Bank by 0.5 percentage points to 6.2pc in 2018-19. Tourist arrivals stagnated (0.7pc) for the first nine months of this year compared with an increase of 7.1pc in 2017.
While the incumbent administration repeatedly pledged to elevate Myanmar into the top 100 in the Ease of Doing Business ranking by 2020, the country failed to improve at all under Daw Suu, being buried at 171st. In comparison, China, India and Malaysia all made significant improvements in the index.
Many of the major policy failures are covered by this paper’s review in October, such as inertia in revising the electricity tariff structure and debacles in either boosting tourism or liberalising the retail/ wholesale sector. Similarly, the severe lack of clarity in the regulatory environment for the mining and oil and gas sectors puts off investors.
One defining characteristic of Myanmar’s shambolic leadership is the extent to which it clings on to protectionism. The transport ministry rejected two airline joint venture proposals over the last 13 months to shield off competition for domestic players. Sectors such as healthcare, retail banking and shipping remain heavily guarded.
Notably, investor patience has passed the tipping point over the finance ministry’s failure to deliver on its commitment made last year to open up the insurance market. A major Asian insurance firm, having opened a Yangon office and waited for years to enter the market, has already pulled out.
2018 is also the year when Daw Suu tried to reboot her government’s economic team, changing her finance minister and creating a new ministry to oversee foreign aid and investment. Neither has pulled off any showy achievements to date, as the clock is ticking fast and the window of reform is closing soon.
Potential trade access withdrawal
The European Union is now considering revoking Myanmar’s tariff-free access to the bloc owing to alleged human rights violations in northern Rakhine. This paper has argued that Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) withdrawal would go against the recommendations of the UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on Myanmar and derail our hard-won economic progress.
Yet, the provocations and comments from Nay Pyi Taw are undoing the lobbying efforts from trade groups and business chambers to stop the withdrawal.
This month, religious minister U Thura Aung Ko said the Muslim refugees from northern Rakhine who are living in Bangladeshi camps are being “brainwashed” into “marching on Myanmar”, while deputy communications minister U Kyaw Myo recently blamed 9/11 on Facebook and social media.
Right before the monitoring mission visited Yangon, a senior official from the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration dismissed the impact of GSP withdrawal on pending foreign investments, commenting that “EU countries have never been the leading investors in Myanmar, Asian countries are.”
Meanwhile, anti-Muslim activist Rick Heizman, a US national, was allowed to tour parts of Rakhine where professional journalists have no access. His visit was covered by a state media. Mr Heizman then gave a presentation about Rakhine in a Yangon University talk organised by the Yangon government. GSP decision-makers in Brussels would hardly have found any of these constructive or helpful.
Look East policy hits the rocks
The episode about the Asian insurance firm giving up on Myanmar is telling. It proves that the NLD’s “Look East” ambition, in terms of drawing investments and tourism, has little substance. It is true that Asian companies, unlike Western ones, seldom encounter shareholder and media activism on human rights. But that is where the differences end.
The Rakhine issue, having dominated media headlines across the region, is colouring perceptions of Myanmar’s political risks. Contrary to what officials say, many actors in Asia are as concerned as “the West” on the plight of the refugees. Just within ASEAN, Malaysia and Indonesia, the latter of which accounts for roughly half of the bloc’s entire population, are taking an increasingly vocal stance.
Beyond politics, private investors in Asia share many of the same concerns as those from Europe and America. The “East vs West” dichotomy fails to explain why that Asian insurer withdrew, why Samsung built several factories in Vietnam but none in this country, and why Japanese and Indian business leaders, during interviews with this paper, have urged Myanmar authorities to address their worries.
Considerations about policy clarity, red tape, economic nationalism, the regulatory environment, labour contracts and judicial independence are fundamental investor concerns, regardless of nationality. The four areas considered by the World Bank as the key impediments on doing business in Myanmar - access to land, utilities, finance and human capital - affect Asian investors as much as they do to Western ones. Therefore, the key to attracting responsible investments from Asia or elsewhere is the same.
History will not be kind
This grim reading on the country’s leaders is based on realistic benchmarks. Businesses and people are disappointed not because they expect the land to turn into a utopia overnight - the despair comes from the lack of willingness and political leadership in Nay Pyi Taw to even start initiating the reforms and spelling out the reality - economic and political - to its citizens about the Rakhine crisis and other key issues.
2018 also saw the passing away of Kofi Annan, who was chair of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State. Mr Annan counselled open dialogue, sustained engagement and the rule of law in order for Myanmar to win the trust of both Muslim and ethnic Rakhine communities. For a brief period, Daw Suu’s endorsement and pledge to implement all of the Commission’s 88 recommendations represented a glimmer of hope. Yet, the lack of access to Rakhine, the absence of transparency over what’s proposed/ achieved and the jailing of the two Reuters reporters this year have extinguished almost all of the goodwill left in the international community.
Politicians and leaders here would probably go on saying “we understand our country better than any other country” whenever they face criticisms from abroad. But history will have little room for such an excuse.
After a century, historians looking back will see how, at a time of national crisis, Myanmar’s leaders collectively abdicated political and moral responsibility over the country. There are none so blind as those who will not see.
@TopCat @bluesky @shourov323 @Species @Black_cats @UKBengali @Mage @The Ronin @Al-Ansar @Centaur @Avicenna
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