June 6-12, 2014
SURPRISES SERENDIPITY SRI LANKA
Contents June 6-12, 2014
❖ Travel
❖ Weekly Briefing
❖ Politics
Serendipity in Sri Lanka
World cup spurs sales of colourful wigs
No big bang for ‘One Asean’ in 2015
Contents June 6-12, 2014
❖ Business
❖ Politics
❖ Culture
❖ Politics
Mining for bio-billion$
Nine years in conflict
Language of discrimination
Mining for bio-billion$
Contents June 6-12, 2014
❖ Culture
❖ Travel
Datebook
Learning ‘omotenashi’
A deliciously wrapped tradition
Happenings around Asia
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WEEKLY BRIEFING
June 6-12, 2014 AFP
‘SCOOTCASE’ He Liangcai, a farmer in Changsha, China’s Hunan province, has spent the past 10 years building a 7-kilogram “scootcase”, powered by a rechargeable lithium battery and can carry two adults at speeds of up to 20kph for a distance of 50-60km when fully charged.
JAPAN’S SUMMER TIME DRESS CODE Japan once more kicked off a "Super Cool Biz" campaign to get workers to dress casually so thermostats can be set at an energy-saving, environment-friendly 280C. Workers are encouraged to shed jackets, ties and business shoes for polo shirts, chino pants, sneakers and even Hawaiian shirts.
The 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, which kicks off next week, has spurred an increase in orders of colourful sport wigs. Jifa Group Holdings Co Ltd, a 60hair product and garment manufacturer in China, expects to sell 50,000 this year compared to just 15,000 annually.
BRAZILIAN TURNED KOREAN “Xiahn”, a Brazilian man had plastic surgery to look more Oriental, undergoing 10 surgical procedures on his eyes, along with other less-invasive procedures, which cost him around US$3,100. He also be-
gan wearing contact lenses to change his eye colour. Originally blue-eyed with blonde hair, he became interested in having plastic surgery after spending some time as an exchange student in Korea.
AFP
WORLD CUP SPURS SALES OF COLOURFUL WIGS
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June 6-12, 2014
NO BIG BANG FOR ‘ONE ASEAN’ IN 2015 Doris C. Dumlao Philippine Daily Inquirer Manila
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any look forward to 2015 with both fear and excitement. It is the year when members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) become a single bloc, called the Asean Economic Community (AEC) or One Asean. Envisioned as an economic powerhouse of 600 million people with a combined gross domestic product of about US$2 trillion, AEC will be a region where goods, services, investments, labor and capital will flow freely.
It will be the third most populous region and seventh largest economy in the world. “One Asean” was a key theme of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia hosted by the Philippines on May 2123, 2014. “We’re excited about the future of Asean, but there isn’t going to be a big bang [in 2015],” Philippine Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said during a WEF luncheon hosted by Indonesia’s Lippo group in Manila.
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June 6-12, 2014
AFP PHOTO
Thai office workers walk past advertising promoting the Asean Economic Community in Bangkok. The 10 countries comprising the Asean agreed to launch the AEC in 2015.
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June 6-12, 2014
investasean.asean.org
June 6-12, 2014
The members of Asean “must not lose sight of the potential, but also be aware of the challenges, and make sure that in our respective domestic policies, we must not go for the easy solutions”. “In integration, there will be winners and losers,” Purisima said. “But I would like to take the view that there would be more winners than losers here, therefore, we must not create policies that would benefit the few at the expense of the many.”
Single market
If the AEC road map were to go as planned, the 10-member Asean would have formed a single market and production base by next year, becoming a highly competitive region marked by equitable economic development and fully integrated into the global economy. There are 12 “priority” sectors identified in the road map: agro-based products, air travel, automotive, “e-Asean”, electronics, fisheries, healthcare, rubber-based products, textiles and apparel, tourism, wood-based
BUSINESS
products and logistics, as well as the food, agriculture and forestry sectors. The so-called “e-Asean” is a framework that will allow AEC to function using the latest in digital technology. The framework contains six elements: connectivity, local content, a seamless environment for electronic commerce, a common marketplace for ICT (information, communication and technology) goods and services, human resource development, and e-governance. “The key takeaway is that the forum validates the fact that Asia-Pacific will lead global growth in the next 100 years,” said David Leechiu, international director and country head of property consulting firm Jones Lang Lasalle in the Philippines. But Leechiu, one of the business leaders who attended the WEF summit, went on to ask the more pertinent questions concerning AEC: “Will the Philippines evolve and adapt to ensure we maximise the opportunities available? Will we have the political will to effect change to open up the Philippines to the global market? Will [President Aquino] make this happen? Will the next president?”
BUSINESS
June 6-12, 2014
Disparity
the task at hand is how to get more out of the unification, said Jaspal Singh Bindra, group executive director for Asia at Standard Chartered Bank. “I think the intent is there, but given such a disparity among the constituents of Asean, it is very difficult to get the same resource and commitment,” he said in an interview. While it’s not going to be easy, Bindra said, Asean would at least benefit from the hindsight provided by the European Union experience. “So, clearly, they are not chasing the dream of the currency and monetary union. But I think there’s clear intent [to integrate] and that’s important,” he added. Among the Asean members, Singapore and Brunei are way ahead of the others in terms of per capita GDP (gross domestic product). Then there are the middle-income economies like Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. There are also the newly opening economies of Burma (Myanmar), Laos and Cambodia, as well as Vietnam, which is fast catching up with its middle-income neighbours.
One challenge
“I think one challenge is managing expectations about what One Asean is going to deliver by 2015. The wrong thing would be to expect a big bang,” said John Pang, a visiting scholar from New York University Stern School of Business and former chief of CIMB Asean Research Institute. Pang, who has spent a lot of time working on the Asean integration agenda, said that what could be feasible by 2015 would be some acceleration of pace. “The challenge is to find a project that will really set it off—some sort of a low-hanging fruit, some sort of beachhead that will really give people an opportunity to say ‘this is really what integration means,’” Pang said. A potential catalyst may be a simple common electronic card system to facilitate the immigration process among Southeast Asians, Pang said. “Once people start to feel that, then we’ll make progress because the Asean doesn’t have the institutional muscle, and the governments don’t have the appetite to [exert]
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June 6-12, 2014
… that muscle. What they need to do is to rely on informal means, on initiatives, on smart ideas,” he explained.
Imperatives
But all the talk about the looming Asean integration only underscores the Philippines’ shortcomings—how much more work it needs to do to sustain its momentum in the face of a changing and more challenging regional structure. “We may talk about the soft power of the Philippines but there’s no substitute for hard infrastructure. We have to build. We have to build fast. We have to build plenty,” said Guillermo Luz, co-chair of the National Competitiveness Council representing the private sector. Purisima acknowledged the need for the country to boost investments in infrastructure and build up financial markets, enabling the Philippines to tap sources outside the usual western capital markets. The upcoming integration may also require huge investments in human capital.
Purisima noted that education would be the key to making sure that hundreds of millions of people in the countries become productive participants in the integrated Asean market. “I don’t think we will be able to harvest demographic dividend of faster growth, more vibrant labour market, without investing in the people,” Purisima said. On the part of the Asean governments, Purisima said the Asean must create a common customs border to build trust and confidence among member-states. Like tariffs, crossborder processes are effective trade barriers.
Unifying standards
purisima also cited the need for the Asean to further harmonise its standards, allowing freer movement within the integrated market. Also, he urged Asean economies to trade more among each other in order to reduce the region’s dependence on foreign export markets. Intra-Asean trade is now estimated at only 25 per cent of the region’s total volume, composed mostly of intermediate goods and raw materials.
June 6-12, 2014
Purisima said Asean economies must increase the trade of finished consumer goods, considered to be of higher value, across the region. “Ours is a big enough market, especially if we empower our people,” he explained. Also, there are many who advocate safety nets for the country’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Small traders left out
while the local big boys like SM, Ayala, Alliance Global Group, San Miguel Corp., Universal Robina Corp. and Lucio Tan groups in the Philippines have been preparing for the integration, and some may already be engaged in cross-border businesses, the small traders appear to be left out. “The big companies have the advantage…. But I think they may not take all the boxes in 2015. As they move to common listing rules, freer movement of labour, open skies, common visa, a lot of these countries will benefit from things like tourism, which will be a huge posi-
BUSINESS
tive for the smaller nations,” said Bindra of Standard Chartered. “But SMEs, I think, will have to wait for more widespread inclusion for things to be implemented. They will take a little bit longer than the larger companies,” he said. What is clear is that, even though obstacles still abound, this game-changing union will happen soon. “The integration of Asean is not preordained. The [member] countries must make it happen,” Purisima said.
Leaders of THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS join hands as a symbol of solidarity during the 24th asean summit in myanmar.
June 6-12, 2014
BUSINESS
WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN IN 2015? NOTHING, SAYS INDONESIAN MINISTER PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL
asean one: a key topic in the recent world economic forum on east asia held in manila.
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June 6-12, 2014
Kristine Angeli Sabillo Philippine Daily Inquirer Manila
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hat should people expect from the 2015 deadline of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)? “Nothing,” said Indonesian Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi during an earlier conference in Manila. Lutfi was quick to add that this was because most of the tariff targets have already been reached by the Asean countries. “Because 99.6 per cent of the tariff is now zero,” he said, agreeing to Philippine Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo’s earlier pronouncements. Of course, he was referring only to the trading of goods. “There are many components to the AEC (Asean Economic Community) 2015. But from the trade minister’s perspective we’re looking at trading of goods and services,” Domingo said.
“The programmes for trading of goods have basically been accomplished four years ago. Wherein Asean, as a whole, reduced its tariffs on more than 99 per cent of goods traded by member-countries. For the Asean 6 (Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand), the tariffs were brought down to zero,” he explained. According to Domingo , Asean is now working on the trade of services and the removal of non -tariff barriers. Lutfi and Domingo were joined in the conference by Malaysia Minister of International Trade and Industry Mustapa Mohamed, Cambodia Commerce Minister Sun Chanthol, Singapore Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo and Mitsubishi Chairman of the Board Yorihiko Kojima. ¬
June 6-12, 2014
MINING FOR BIO-BILLION$ Malaysia has a potential genetic gold mine in medicinal herbs
BUSINESS
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June 6-12, 2014
Natalie Heng The Star Petaling Jaya
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he world’s equatorial band of tropical rainforest is home to 170,000 out of 250,000 known plant species. This represents one of the greatest gene pools on the planet, and a potential source of new drug discoveries. After all, half of all new drugs approved between 1981 and 2010 were based on derivatives or synthetic versions of chemicals found in natural products, including fungi and bacteria. Yet it is estimated that less than 5 per cent of the world’s tropical rainforest plant species have been studied for
chemical compounds and medicinal value. Malaysia, home to one of the oldest rainforests in the world, is ranked 12th on the National Biodiversity Index and contains a vast repository of untapped knowledge. The country’s warm, humid climate harbours an abundance of ecosystems, habitats and species,
Tongkat li
Kacip fatimah
from microorganisms such as bacteria to mammals, birds and fish. We seem to have it all, including a gold mine of traditional knowledge. So why aren’t we rolling in exciting drug discoveries? Translating Malaysia’s genetic resources involves zooming in on specific plants which for years have been valued in traditional medicine. This approach aims for the low-hanging fruit—everyone in Malaysia has heard of tongkat ali or kacip fatimah, so why hasn’t the rest of the world?
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June 6-12, 2014
We examine Malaysia’s drive to substantiate age-old claims with hard science, and explore hidden obstacles that stymie the country’s attempts to transform its treasure trove of biological resources into high-end products to be marketed worldwide. Despite the huge potential of local herbs, we take a look at why the only products likely to be hitting the stores soon will be low-claim products without any guarantees of efficacy. And, more interestingly, why this may in fact be a necessary stage in nurturing the local herbal product development industry, if we are to avoid strangling this momentarily fragile new enterprise.
A new approach
asia has a long history of traditional herbalism—think Ayurvedic, Chinese, Tibetan and Unani medicine.
The 1960s heralded a global shift towards synthetic medication, partly fuelled by advances in mapping the human genome and our understanding of molecular biology. There was also the notion that synthetic drugs with specific targets were safer, with less room for side effects. Recently, however, plants have come back in vogue as a medicinal source. As our knowledge and understanding of disease has grown, so too has the number of possible new drug targets. Instead of relying on the finite number of chemical compounds that we do know, or being restricted by the various limits of synthesising new drug structures, mining the millions of undiscovered, unique plant compounds is beginning to look like an attractive option. Furthermore, as we’ve mentioned earlier, Malaysia is among
the world’s richest places in terms of biodiversity. Despite this, next to no blockbuster drugs have emerged from the country—ever. Of the ones that do show promise—the anti-HIV compound Calanolide A, for example, or the potential anti-cancer agent, Silvestrol, both of which come from trees that grow in Sarawak—a lot of the work was either instigated or funded by foreign institutions, with some local input. Even then, it’s been over two decades since the initial hype over Calanolide A, and 10 years since Silvestrol was discovered; both are still undergoing clinical trials. The length of time and money to get a drug to market is one investment few Malaysian companies are prepared to make. And with no private sector players willing to partner and
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invest in commercialising the work of research institutions, there is no product. This is the general landscape of drug development in Malaysia. To date, no Malaysian herbs have led to highclaim drugs emerging on the market. The only products you will find are herbal teas or supplements for general health and ailments. Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)-based Amin Shah Malik Abdul Majid, who is developing an anti-angiogenic herbal drug from misai kuching, knew he had his work cut out for him; but he was hopeful that a different approach to drug development would make a difference.
Misai kucing
Instead of developing a single-target drug based on one active compound, his product would be a standardised herbal extract, containing a mixture of naturally occurring active compounds.
Multi-target drugs are an emerging trend, and herbal extracts are thought to hold promise in complicated multi-factor diseases like cancer. Importantly, they also generally cost a lot less to develop.
LIFESTYLE BUSINESS
June 6-12, 2014
Amin explains: “Let’s say you have found an active compound in a plant extract and you want to manufacture a drug from it. “To do that, you have to isolate that compound from the plant extract. That will involve an expensive purification process. “The alternative is to synthesise an analogue of that compound, which is also very expensive,” he says. Whereas in herbal extracts, you boil the plant, use a solvent to extract the active compounds, and then prove that their biological activity meets quality control standards. To qualify as a herbal drug, however, the concentration of active compounds within an extract needs to be standardised. Each dosage must be safe and have a consistent affect. “Herbal extracts can be very complicated,” he adds. “Take
a mango, for instance. Every harvest may yield fruits with a slightly different level of sweetness. It’s the same with variations in the concentration levels for different compounds within a plant extract—this could result in different levels of potency for the active compound. “Too little, and there may not be an effect; too much, and it may be toxic.” Herbal extracts have been used in traditional medicine for centuries, albeit without the science to back them up. Until recently, however, they were never deemed practical for use in the pharmacological world. Now, Amin says, technology has made otherwise tedious analytical processes less labour-intensive —making herbal extracts a more financially feasible area of exploration.
Untapped treasures in herbal products
Malaysia is still a long way from producing anything more than general and medium-claim health supplements that offer “improved vitality”, “maintenance of good health”, or “promote healthy bones”. For our herbal drug development industry to grow past infancy, it needs to overcome numerous challenges: from Asian superstitions and popular psychology to risk-averse corporations and a lack of coordination across institutions.
Gung-ho about herbs
where would you look for the next big anti-cancer or hypertension drug? Nature has provided us with the materials for plenty of revolutions: life-saving antibiotics, game-changing antimalari-
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June 6-12, 2014
als, immunosuppressant drugs that enable us to perform organ transplants, anti-cancer drugs ... the list goes on. Malaysia is one of the richest places on Earth in terms of biodiversity. It is home to about 12 per cent of all plant species, and about 2,000 of those found locally are already known to possess medicinal qualities. In 2010, the government announced its intention to make the country a serious player in the high-value herbal products business. The industry’s global market value had more than tripled in just eight years, hitting US$200 billion by 2008. And it is expected to balloon to 20 times that amount over the next few decades, according to estimates by the World Bank ($5 trillion by 2050). This makes the herbal products industry a prime candidate
Hempedu bumi
to drive Malaysia’s emerging bioeconomy. The government made development of the herbal industry a priority under Entry Point Project 1 (EPP1) of Agriculture, one of 12 National Key Economic Areas.
Initially, the focus was on five plants known to Malay traditional medicine—tongkat ali, misai kucing, hempedu bumi, dukung anak and kacip fatimah. Since then, six more— mengkudu, roselle, ginger,
June 6-12, 2014
BUSINESS
Dukung anak
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June 6-12, 2014
mas cotek, belalai gajah and pegaga—have been added to the list. The trade in unregistered supplements and medicine is booming—not surprising, considering that the region has historically been a confluence of Malay, Chinese and Ayurvedic traditional medicines. Culturally, communities maintain strong ties with traditional beliefs and practices; consulting traditional healers and witch doctors such as bomohs is not uncommon. Culturally, there is little demand for oversight of the validity of product claims. It is perhaps ironic that our ready acceptance of herbal medicines is, in fact, partly why it is so hard to drag the industry out of its infancy. It all boils down to what makes sense as a financial investment.
MENGKUDU
This is how Dr Ibrahim Jantan, a senior professor at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia who heads the university’s Natural Products Research Cluster, explains the psychology behind local investors: “Why should they spend on R&D when products already flooding the market are making
so much money?” It’s a toss-up—selling your product overseas may fetch a higher price, but generally, developed markets demand quality. That’s where legal use of the label “clinically proven” really begins to matter, and that’s one of the goals EPP1 is striving for.
June 6-12, 2014
BUSINESS
ROSELLE
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The problem is that R&D increases costs, so why bother with it if the sole objective is to make money, and there are many willing buyers in Asia? A report published by the Global Science Advisory Council last year is telling. Entitled "Public Research Assets Performance Evaluation: Unlocking Vast Potentials", Fast Tracking The Future, it notes that little is spent by industry, especially SMEs, on R&D. This indicates that companies in Malaysia generally have a low rate of innovation, and little focus on product development. They want “ready-made” technologies from public research institutions without any cost. As Ibrahim puts it: “What’s happening now is that generally, we are not coming up with our own products—we are trading products.”
Hidden dangers
most countries do not regulate traditional medicine and health supplements. Like so many of them, Malaysia has
less stringent criteria for such products. These read like an abridged version of pharmaceutical product registration criteria.
MAS COTEK
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June 6-12, 2014
Which makes sense, if the goal is to nurture growth within a fragile new industry with market incentives stacked against it. The upshot is that products are evaluated based on their safety and quality, not their efficacy. As it stands, the active ingredients of many herbal products are not even known. This leads to a rather bizarre situation: there is no real way of measuring/testing a product to ensure it contains the appropriate dosages in standardised extracts to achieve its claims. Government seed funding encourages R&D and identification of the active ingredients, as well the concentrations required for efficacy. There’s another reason why moving towards more clinically-backed products is important: safety. Just because something has been consumed for hundreds of years doesn’t mean there are no
chronic toxicity or side effects, Ibrahim points out. After all, practitioners are more likely to only notice and make a clear connection between the consumption of a specific herb if the ensuing symptoms are acute. This also applies to safe dosages: “Let’s say the herb is supposed to reduce blood pressure; the question is, does it reduce it to a therapeutic level?” Either way, there is plenty of merchandise being sold, sometimes at exorbitant prices, to gullible consumers. So improving standards within the industry will benefit both health and pocket. The first step is to try and change consumer habits. Products approved by the Drug Control Authority (DCA) may not need to prove efficacy, but safety tests are needed to guard against harmful adulteration—a big problem in the vast market of illegal
and unregistered herbal supplements and drugs. Often the products are bogus; confiscations and tests have showed up poisons, heavy metals and slimming agents. Prescription drugs such as paracetamol, antihistamines, steroids, anti-diabetics, and synthetic PDE-5 inhibitors (sex stimulants) have also been found, presumably as a deliberate action to produce some sort of therapeutic effect.
Precautions
as the global herbal supplement industry continues to grow, standards and oversight measures are likely to come under closer scrutiny. Science has shown that many herbs have a huge amount of medical potential, so the target should be to encourage a more science-based approach to the herbal industry, bringing it up to par with conventional medicines.
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June 6-12, 2014
Public perception and trust in traditional medicines continue to fuel growth, despite widespread media reports about expensive supplements exposed for misleading claims. It will be a huge challenge to convince local industry players to move away from the temptation to make a quick buck by scrimping on R&D costs, to simply manufacture lowand general-claim products. With the wealth of promising local herbs, the prize for creating a “killer” scientifically-backed product could be big. Six EPP1 champion companies have been partnered up with research institutions to bring local herbal products to market. Only two of the six, however, have their eyes on the high-claim (disease risk reduction) products—Natureceuticals Sdn Bhd, with its anti-angiogenic Misai Kuching extract Canssufive, and Nova Laboratories Sdn Bhd, with its Hepar-P Capsule, a liver protection agent. The two hope to have completed clinical trials by 2017 and 2015 repsectively.
Pegaga or pennywort
If their work does prove a success, they will be the first Malaysian companies to come up with high-claim herbal products. For now, however, a better informed public and a crackdown on illegal products and misleading claims (that defy regulations like the Sale of Drugs Act), may go a long way to helping that cause. ¬
CHECK IF A HERBAL product is legitimate: ∫ Registered products are affixed with a hologram ∫ Cross-reference the product registration numbers against the National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau database (https://www.bpfk.gov.my/) by doing a QUEST search.
POLITICS
June 6-12, 2014
NINE YEARS IN CONFLICT Thailand’s political crisis has been described as one of the biggest political purges in recent times Tan Hui Yee The Straits Times Bangkok
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he lists of those summoned by Thailand's junta are read out on television, and they are given just about half a day to report to the army compound. After they turn up, they are questioned for hours, then driven away in vans with tinted windows. Their mobile phones are taken away. And they disappear from public view.
POLITICS
June 6-12, 2014
PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL/AFP
Thai army chief General Prayuth Chan-O-Cha (C) speaks during a press conference at the army headquarters in Bangkok on May 26, 2014.
While the junta has shifted its focus to reviving an economy battered by six months of political conflict since it seized control of the country on May 22, it has not let up on the huge operation to snuff out dissent or resistance. Soldiers with sweeping powers under martial law are raiding homes and offices to round up a far wider list of people including prominent activists and academics. The detentions, says the junta, are necessary to create a "sustainable" form of "peace and order". It hopes to make detainees "change their opinion" and gives the assurance that they will not be prosecuted after being released. Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha had said on May 26 at his first press conference after the coup:
POLITICS
June 6-12, 2014
NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP
Thai soldiers are surrounded by angry protesters and people after a man was arrested by the Thai army at the end of an anti-coup rally, at Victory monument in Bangkok on May 28, 2014.
POLITICS
June 6-12, 2014
MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP
Suthep Thaugsuban (C), a firebrand leader of the recent anti-government protests, leaves the Criminal Court in Bangkok on May 26, 2014. The leader of mass protests against the former Thai government, which was toppled by an army coup, was freed on bail by a court on May 26, his lawyer said.
POLITICS
June 6-12, 2014
AFP
Chaturon Chaisang (C), who was the Thai education minister in the government ousted by the military, is escorted by soldiers and police to a military court in Bangkok on May 28, 2014. Thailand's junta freed leaders of the "Red Shirt" movement allied to the civilian government ousted in a recent coup, after holding them without charge for nearly a week.
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June 6-12, 2014
"If you try to provoke the situation we will call you again. Right now we ask you to stay calm. We have had these conflicts for nine years. We need to restore our country's and foreigners' confidence." Observers call it one of the biggest political purges in recent times. A Bangkok-based security analyst told The Straits Times: "At a political level, it's intended to purge the country of the Thaksin family, his cronies, his party and his influence." Thaksin Shinawatra was the prime minister of Thailand until a military coup in 2006, but he continued to influence the country through his political and business networks. His sister, Yingluck, was made premier after the Puea Thai party's landslide victory in 2011, but was thrown out by the Constitutional Court on May 7. So far, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)—as the junta calls itself—has summoned more than 200 people. Those who
do not show up risk having their assets and financial transactions frozen, a fine of 40,000 baht (US$1,226), and a two-year jail term. A large number of those summoned are linked to Thaksin. They range from Puea Thai party politicians, including secretarygeneral Phumtham Wechayachai, to leaders of "red shirt" pro-Puea Thai movement United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship. But they also include nonaligned but outspoken figures like Thammasat University associate law professor Worachet Pakeerut and The Nation's senior journalist Pravit Rojanaphruk. As of May 24, about 150 people remained under military detention. Yingluck, who was taken in on the day before was released on May 27. She is believed to be under strict supervision. Troops are conducting a sweep of red shirt heartlands in the northeast, driving even academ-
ics into hiding. After the coup, armed soldiers turned up at the home of Chiang Mai University political scientist Tanet Charoenmuang three times, he said. He was in hiding when this reporter last spoke to him on May 23 and efforts to reach him since then have failed. The NCPO has assured the country that detainees are "treated well". One red shirt activist who was detained on May 22 and released the day after said he spent his time in solitary confinement in a 10-square-metre military cell with a rag to sleep on and a bucket of water for bathing. Nattapat Akkahad, 25, said he was not physically harmed, but was made to sign a statement saying that he would not take part in political activities, to secure his release. He says he will not let up, though. "If they want to arrest me, then just let them arrest me," he told The Straits Times. ¬
June 6-12, 2014
CULTURE POLITICS
LANGUAGE OF DISCRIMINATION
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June 6-12, 2014
Aliraza Khatri
Karachi Children’s Literature Festival.
Urdu language is being used to differentiate between Pakistan’s income classes Hajrah Mumtaz Dawn Islamabad
O
n one hand, it is a matter of preserving the script. Between text messaging and advertising, the writing of Urdu in the Roman alphabet has become common, decreasing the
usage of the authentic script—one of my personal bugbears. A decade ago, at a university where I used to teach in Lahore, I asked my students—the majority of whom had studied Urdu as a compulsory subject throughout their schooling years —how many could comfortably still read Urdu. Few could, even though all of them could speak it, of course. Then a couple of years ago, I went looking for a children’s puzzle book that featured the Urdu alphabet: the sort that is used to teach preschoolers the sequence
CULTURE
June 6-12, 2014
Dawn
Karachi Children’s Literature Festival
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of the alphabet by making them fit the letters into the correct spaces. I searched at several bookstores in the upmarket areas. None of the stores carried these books, though they had many books to teach the English language. The closest I could find was a book on Arabic alphabet—it wasn’t Urdu because of a few missing consonants. Since then, every time I visit a bookstore in an upmarket, I would look for children’s books in Urdu. I have not found many, and when I would ask the storekeepers they would tell me that children’s books written in the Urdu language— other than religious books—are just not in demand anymore. Even at the Karachi Children’s Literature Festival, which was held several months ago, I could not find the book I was looking for: Iqbal’s "Lab Pay Aati Hai Dua".
So, it seems that the literate in Pakistan—in particular, the upper-income class—are not interested in teaching their children how to read and write in Urdu anymore, and it is not hard to figure out why: language and accents have been used as the stuff of politics, to differentiate between social classes in Pakistan. This, of course, does not just apply to the Urdu language but several other languages used in the region as well: for example, many students in private schools in Lahore cannot speak Punjabi apart from a few words or phrases, but they can understand it. And this is also not to suggest that Pakistan is losing Urdu as a language altogether. There is still new literature being churned out in the language on a regular basis.
However, what I am trying to point out is that there seems to be an elitist trend in the upper class that is producing a generation of young people who regard the Urdu language “beneath them”. I even know of a few private schools where students are discouraged from speaking in Urdu among themselves, and have even penalised students who speak in the language at school. The only ones who stand to lose out from this are the young people. Are they being taught to forget their own culture, ripping even wider the already large gap between the poor and the rich in Pakistan’s society. To me, this is another evidence of the growingly unpleasant realities in this country, and the fact that no one is doing anything about them. ¬
June 6-12, 2014
PEOPLE
BEING BADJAO Historians say they emigrated from Borneo to the Philippines over 500 years ago—but elders claim they are descended from the royal guard of a Bornean sultan, cast out to forever look for a princess who had been claimed by the sea A young man displaying part of his “harvest” from the sea.
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Gregg Yan Philippine Daily Inquirer Tawi-tawi
H
e had to be at least 60 years old, gnarled hands twiddling a cigarette stump, face etched with the lines of wisdom. Still, his eyes were young—and they always scanned the sea. Inside a modest hut above the turquoise waters of Tawi-Tawi, sat Santarawi Lalisan, a Badjao elder reputed to be among the best free divers in the Philippines. Beside him sat his stoic son, Piram Li. “My father can dive to 80 feet and stay three and a half-minutes underwater,” said Li. “My older brother Bruce Li (yes, named after the legendary martial artist) can hold his breath for over two minutes. Good, but not as good as father.”
We had travelled to the southern tip of the Philippines—slipping in and out of alleyways and stilt houses, between old ways and new practices, between today and tomorrow—to meet the Badjaos, a resilient people standing at the edge of change, but reluctant to jump in. When asked how it was that his people could dive so deep, he cupped his ears to listen. Decades of free diving to improbable depths had burst both eardrums, robbing him of good hearing. The old man pointed to the ocean, answering in Sinama, the dialect of the sea-people. “Because we grew up there.” Legendary free-divers and seafarers, the Badjaos are intimately attached to the sea—possibly more than all other cultures. Many live their entire lives in houseboats, coming ashore only for repairs, to trade and to die.
Poorest, most oppressed Also called Bajo, Sama Dilaut or Orang Laut, the Badjaos have inhabited the waters between the Philippines and Borneo long before Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei or the Philippines became countries. Yet, few Badjaos consider these nations their own. Gentle to a fault, they are among the poorest and most oppressed people in Southeast Asia. Historians say the Badjaos emigrated from Borneo to the Philippines over 500 years ago—but elders claim they are descended from the royal guard of a Bornean sultan, cast out to forever look for a princess who had been claimed by the sea. Today they are expert fishers, hunting their quarry with nets, spears, even their bare hands, sometimes groping for ferocious
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June 6-12, 2014
Santarawi Lalisan, a Badjao elder, and son Piram Li.
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Badjao children unmindful of their situation.
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moray eels with just their fingers. Guided by Allah and Omboh Dilaut—God of the Sea—they travel the oceans in boats or live in precariously-perched stilt villages, where men relax and women weave colourful mats, grow seaweed, dry fish and take care of their mischievous, high-diving children. Their breath-holding and free diving abilities are well-known, allowing them to gather fish, sea cucumbers and shellfish at depths most scuba divers would think twice about. Gentle as they are, times have been rough for the Badjaos, who have endured decades of ridicule and hate. “Most are little more than beggars and thieves,” commented my guide, as we walked through a crowded refugee camp in Zamboanga City, site of a recent clash between the government and Islamic militants. The 20day battle gutted 10,000 houses and displaced 116,000 people—mostly Badjaos—from their seaside homes.
On the fringes of society
In Sabah, Malaysia, we were warned never to venture too deep into the labyrinthine mazes of the Kampong Ayer—the water villages. By a floating village near Brunei’s Bandar Begawan, a passenger remarked, “They are dirty and lazy. Few have jobs.” Even in Manila, many laugh at Badjao children drumming on scrap tin cans for change. In the age of Facebook and Instagram, few Badjaos are literate. Most don’t know how old they are and some don’t even have names. Education drives have made some progress, but owing to the Badjao’s natural distrust of land-dwellers, the vast majority remains on the fringes of society. The sea itself is changing and seemingly, has turned against them. “We work harder now to catch less fish than we used to,” admitted Billy Atung, a former blast fisher who lost his right hand
when the explosive he was using went off too soon. Many Badjaos have been forced into illegal means to make ends meet. By a deserted highway in Bongao, capital of Tawi-Tawi in the Philippines, we encountered a Badjao boat laden with illegally-harvested coral. Climate change is looming as well, another blow to the already precarious life among the Badjaos. In August 2006, huge waves, some higher than 10 feet, swept inland to destroy almost 1,000 stilt houses in Tawi-Tawi. Four were killed and 6,200 were displaced. Oceanographer Filemon Romero explained: “The mangroves, reefs and sand bars that once acted as natural barriers to protect the area have since been destroyed. This coastal decline has left (the place) virtually defenseless against storms.”
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At their best
worst are attacks on the Badjaos themselves. On Jan 3, 2014, policemen found a boat floating off the village of Manicahan in Zamboanga. Found aboard were eight Badjaos, two of them children. All were shot by unidentified gunmen on Christmas Day of 2013, and beheaded. Even for the peaceful, peace has remained elusive. As I navigated through the network of rickety planks connecting a new Badjao village, this time near Bud Bongao, I noticed that nothing holds down the weathered wooden planks—not nails, nylon or cord. The slightest distraction could mean a plunge into the iridescent waters of the Sulu Sea—not half bad, but I was toting a camera. I felt like the Pied Piper of Bud Bongao, trailed by a little army of blond-haired kids. I peered into a house to see a lady weaving a lovely mat. I sat near her, with the giggling children clustering outside.
“This is a tepo mat, woven from pandan leaves. It takes a month to make,” explained deeply-tanned Bunga Ridya. The mat is dyed pink and purple—the colour of royalty. This was what I came to see— the Badjaos at their best, far different from the refugees in Zamboanga and the beggars in Manila. For the Badjaos do not belong in ports begging for coins, or in cities drumming beats on tin cans. They are brave divers, skilled fishers, expert weavers. They are of royal blood—lords and ladies not on land but of the sea. As modern ways besiege ageold cultures, it might do us well to learn from the Badjao, instead of insisting they be more like us. For though education and eventual integration may ease ridicule and hate, emancipating them from their so-called backwardness might free them from who they really are. I came to Tawi-Tawi to see the Badjaos in their element; now I know why they call the sea home.
Weaver Bunga Ridya displays her mat
Here, living on the fringes of society, there is no one to judge, or shun, or hate them. Here, they can be themselves. The mat is finished and Bunga Ridya held it aloft. From the children came laughter, and from the sea a gentle breeze. ¬
June 6-12, 2014
CULTURE AFP PHOTOS
LEARNING ‘OMOTENASHI’ Japan is already getting ready for the 2020 olympics with plans to educate locals on hospitality
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Midori Matsuzawa The Japan News Tokyo
W
ith two Japanese friends, you arrive at Narita Airport in Chiba Prefecture to meet a Canadian friend. After greeting her, you introduce your Japanese friends and then give her information about transportation routes into central Tokyo so she can choose one. This was the scenario given in a recent role-playing practice at Eikaiwa Bella, an English conversation school in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo. It may seem to be a common topic for a conversational lesson, but this course also has a special purpose—improving the language skills of participants with an eye on the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo. The school’s Omotenashi English Conversation Course for Beginners
caters to an increasing need for the language after Tokyo was chosen in September as the host of the 2020 Games. The course began in February, offering 24 lessons through July. According to Kyoko Hiki, senior manager at Eikaiwa Bella, the school brainstormed ideas by thinking about what it could do to help people interact with foreigners coming for the Tokyo Games. “It’d be OK if that [what they can do for foreign visitors] is just giving them directions on the street,” Hiki said. “We’ll be happy if the people taking this course become friends and apply as volunteers [for the Games] together.” The course offers lessons on Thursday mornings, mainly targeting senior citizens and nonregular workers as potential volunteers. Yukiko Kitajima, who teaches the class, acquired certification as an official guide to both the cities of London and Westminster when she lived in Britain for four years through 2012. The course focuses
on basic scenarios such as describing how to use Tokyo’s transportation systems and guiding people at popular sightseeing spots in the metropolitan area, but the 44-yearold instructor also encourages her pupils not to rely on information available in existing guidebooks, but to utilise their own strengths— knowledge about their likes, hobbies and so on. “Even when you talk about the same place, each of you can give unique presentations by featuring your strengths. That’ll be fun for you, and make your tours more interesting to your guests,” Kitajima said. One member of the class said she decided to take the lessons as she had been studying English on her own, but had had a few opportunities to speak English. She said she initially “didn’t even think” of applying to be a volunteer for the Tokyo Games, but now she hopes to improve her skills so that she can.
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Volunteer recruitment
The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games estimates 80,000 volunteers will be necessary for the 2020 Games—a figure nearly two and a half times larger than that of volunteers
registered for the 1998 Nagano Winter Games. In Nagano, about 5,500 were registered to serve as interpreters or in other roles that required foreign language skills. The committee said it has yet to start examining details on volunteers, such as how many people will be neces-
sary for each assignment and whether it would require a certain level of foreign language ability. The year 2020 seems to be a long way off, but volunteer recruitment will start before that. “Details will likely be available after the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games end,” said a spokeswoman at the committee. In fact, the candidature file compiled by the Tokyo 2020 Bid Committee set 2016-17 as the period to “launch the volunteer recruitment and training programme.” One-on-one lessons may be an option for people too shy to take group lessons or those wanting to hone their conversational skills at their own pace. Gaba, an English conversation school offering lessons mainly in the Tokyo and Osaka areas, has been receiving an increasing number of people for its one-on-one lessons who
CULTURE
June 6-12, 2014 TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP
Japan's three-time Olympic women's wrestling gold medalist Saori Yoshida (R, TOP) carries a torch during the official farewell event for the national stadium in Tokyo on May 31, 2014. A new national stadium will be built for the forthcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympic games.
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want to work as volunteers at the Tokyo Games. Many of them are homemakers in their 40s and 50s, according to the school. Some athletes aiming to compete in the 2020 Games have also begun lessons at Gaba, the school said. “Athletes will likely have more chances to compete in overseas competitions ahead of the Tokyo Games,” a Gaba official in charge of marketing said. “The hope is that they can better communicate in English with foreign athletes and officials at those events.”
Making fans of Japan
the need for tour guides with foreign language skills is expected to increase as the 2020 Games will attract a large number of visitors to Japan. In this regard, Tokyo Free Guide (TFG) will play a leading role in meeting such demand as a nonprofit organisation that
connects foreign guests with its 250 volunteer guides. One recent weekend, Junko Murakami and fellow TFG member Koji Yamada took Dutch tourist Sandra van Es-Duhen and her husband to Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture. Murakami, a 52-yearold part-time worker in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, has been a TFG member for six and a half years. “There used to be pillars,” Murakami told her guests during a visit to the Great Buddha, showing the large cornerstones around the statue as she explained that it used to sit inside a building. Volunteer guides do not have to give as detailed information as professional guides do, Murakami said. “It’s not what our guests expect from us,” she said. “Foreign visitors just want to have contact with ordinary Japanese people.” The Dutch couple enjoyed a tour given by Yamada five years ago when they first visited Japan. Since
then, they have kept in contact, and Murakami is friends with the couple on Facebook. Van Es-Duhen said tours by volunteer guides make them “feel very welcome in Japan” as they can feel familiar with the country’s local culture. Murakami joined TFG as she sought regular opportunities to use English. Having guided 150 tours, she has realised language skills are not the only factor necessary to be a volunteer guide. She often guides non-native speakers of English. “It’s more important to have imagination to figure out what others are trying to say,” Murakami said. “I often have a much better time when I have guests who are non-native speakers [of English], trying so hard to make ourselves understood.” Murakami has stayed in touch with a number of the guests she has guided in TFG tours. “I can become lifetime friends with them,” she said happily. ¬
June 6-12, 2014
FOOD
TRADITION WRAPPED IN FLAVOURS The types of zongzi, glutinous rice wrapped in athe many regional cuisines, with different shapes and fillings, although they are almost always made of sticky or glutinous rice
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Ye Jun and Pauline D. Loh China Daily Beijing
A
lmost all Chinese festivals are linked to foods, and many have stories behind them. The origin of zongzi, rice dumplings wrapped in leaves, is most often linked to Qu Yuan. He was a poet and a patriot who lived during the turbulent Warring States Period (475-221 BC). When the kingdom of Qin occupied his home, the kingdom of Chu, Qu threw himself into the Miluo River in protest. It was said that the people of Chu dropped rice balls into the river to stop fish and shrimp from eating his body. Later, a fisherman said he dreamed that Qu told him dragons had been eating most of the rice
balls, so the people wrapped the rice balls with chinaberry leaves, and tied them up with colourful threads. They would row in the river and throw in the dumplings on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the day Qu died. The types of zongzi eaten in China are as varied as the many regional cuisines, with different shapes and fillings, although they are almost always made of sticky or glutinous rice. In Beijing, they are most commonly stuffed with a candied or dried jujube, the dried Chinese red date. Some zongzi are left plain, to be dipped into sugar. Other places in north China replace glutinous rice with glutinous yellow millet, and these days, some folks replace white glutinous rice with purple rice. But the huge variety of zongzi south of the Yangtze River makes zongzi so much more a south China food. Other than jujubes,
southern dumplings are stuffed with ham, braised pork, salted egg yolk, chestnut, fragrant mushroom, barbecued pork, and the ubiquitous red bean paste. In some parts of Guangdong and Fujian provinces, and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, people soak the glutinous rice in alkaline water, which gives
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the rice a honey-coloured glaze and a softer texture. People in Sichuan province make a spicy zongzi with chilli powder and preserved pork while in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, the locals put a piece of pork fat into the dumpling to give it a special aroma. In Hainan, zongzi are wrapped in banana leaves, while dumplings on the mainland are wrapped in either bamboo or reed leaves. Over on the island of Taiwan, zongzi are made with fried glutinous rice and fried pork, as well as bamboo shoots, dried mushroom and dried bean curd. But the most famous zongzi in China are those from Zhejiang's Huzhou and Jiaxing, and these have become the national standard. In Huzhou, salty zongzi are made with fresh pork flavoured with soy sauce,
while sweet zongzi are made with jujube or red bean paste, with a piece of pork fat added to make the paste even more aromatic. Jiaxing zongzi use chicken and "eight treasure" stuffing, as well as the more common red bean paste and preserved duck egg yolk.
But fresh pork zongzi is the most popular. The meat is taken from the hock and marinated with sugar, salt, soy sauce and baijiu (Chinese liquor) to give it plenty of flavour. It is then wrapped in bamboo leaf and boiled. ÂŹ
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FOOD
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RECIPE SAVORY RICE DUMPLINGS Ingredients (makes about 30):
1kg glutinous rice, soaked and drained 1kg pork belly 200g dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked 300g ready-to-eat chestnuts 200g dried prawns 500g red bean paste (dousha) 50g dried chilies 300 g garlic, minced 1 piece ginger 1 medium brown onion 2 tsp pepper 1 tsp five-spice powder 300g shallots 1 tsp salt 2 tbsp oyster sauce 3 tbsp light soy sauce 3 tbsp dark soy sauce
METHOD: 1. Prepare spicy prawn paste. Pound the dried prawns in a pestle and mortar until fine. Grind together dried chili, ginger, garlic and onion and add to pounded prawns. 2. Heat up some oil in a wok and fry the mixture until fragrant. 3. Peel and slice the shallots and fry in oil over low heat until fragrant and crisp. Set aside. 4. Blanch the pork belly in boiling water for five minutes. Remove from heat and cut into smaller chunks.
5. Marinate the pork belly pieces in the light and dark soy sauce, minced garlic, pepper and five-spice powder. Leave to season for an hour or longer. 6. Place the marinated pork over low fire and cook for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside the gravy. 7. Add the glutinous rice to the gravy in the pan and fry and mix well. Take the rice off the fire and mix in the crispy fried shallots.
June 6-12, 2014
TRAVEL FOOD
SERENDIPITY IN SRI LANKA In earlier times, the Muslims of south India called the country serendip, as in “serendipity”, or finding happiness in unexpected places. And rightly so, as in this country of surprises, we found unexpected bliss
Tea plantation, a typical site in Sri Lanka
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Photos and Text By Fara Manuel and Liz Ranola Philippine Daily Inquirer Kandy
I
t may not make it to the list of top 10 places to include on your bucket list, but Sri Lanka, which literally means resplendent or blessed island, is definitely worth a visit. Sri Lanka is a country for the laidback tourist, the nature and animal lover, the tea drinker, the adventure seeker, the curious historian, and those on a strict budget. For such a small country, it offers a lot more bang for a lot less bucks. Our five-day backpacking journey proved to be a feel-good experience, with many
unexpected encounters with the friendly locals, trained animals and the place itself. Invariably, at the end of our day, we found ourselves smiling at the memory of such rich moments. The start of our journey, when we hopped on an overloaded bus to Kandy, proved to be prescient. As we had to stand on the bus for three hours, a woman on the front seat offered to carry our backpacks, a big help in such a congested space. But Third World as the transport might be, the streets of Kandy showed us the fascinating contrast
A cow with its haul traversing the street
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A tourist enjoying the site from one of the temples.
More contrasts
between the grandeur of British architecture in its restaurants and government offices, and the lush mountains in
the distance dominated by a huge white statue of a Buddha sitting above its peak. The stark cultural mix is amazing.
At the heart of the city is a tranquil lake that provides one a good glimpse of the famous Temple of the Tooth, so called because this is where the tooth relic of Buddha is believed to be preserved. The white temple stands in sharp contrast to the dark green of the forest in the background, and shelters a vast garden studded with a few stupas, structures that are used for worship and to house the relics and ashes of Buddhist monks. There are countless shrines dedicated to Buddha, each with the requisite bodhi tree, the most important tree in Sri Lanka. The
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trees provide welcome shade to visiting pilgrims and tourists alike, the warm welcome underscored by the prayer flags of white, yellow and red fluttering from tree branches. A country known for its elephant conservation programmes, Sri Lanka gives one an excellent excuse to visit one such facility. We visited the facility in Kegalle, Pinnawala, just an hour away from Kandy, which has a vast, natural forest and a stream. We headed to the stream where Rani, our 30-yearold female elephant, was waiting for us. The mahout instructed Rani to lie down on the water for her bath, and we cleansed her body using a coconut husk. The elephant then kneeled down and the mahout helped us sit on her back. Suddenly, Rani stood up and thence commenced our moment of fright and excitement. Our ride felt unstable and we
quaked with mixed emotions. We heard the mahout instructing Rani in Sinhalese, and next thing we knew, the elephant was hosing us down with water from her trunk! She did it twice, the second time with more precision and strength. It was a good playful bath.
More than just a ride
Still riding on Rani’s capacious back, we toured the forest and met two more tourists having the ride of their lives as well. But elephants in Sri Lanka apparently give more than just thrilling rides to tourists. Even their dung contributes to the country’s economy, as we found out when we visited the only elephant dung paper factory in South Asia. A sprightly old man greeted us by scooping, without any hesitation, a handful of elephant dung from a pile.
Extending his hand to the level of our faces, he gestured for us touch and smell the dried-up dung. It was surprisingly odourless! In this elephant conservation that houses six elephants, the pachyderms are fed rice paddy straw, cinnamon, coconut leaves or banana bark. Since most kinds of fiber can be converted into paper, elephant dung from digested fibre can be made into paper. As elephants yield tons of dung in a month, the sustainable business found a way to turn waste into eco-material and a way to earn a living for the locals. The trip to the dung paper factory completely changed our way of seeing dung. Thanks to a meticulous process perfected by the country’s entrepreneurs, we now equate dung in Sri Lanka with books and papier mache products. Wanting to give ourselves a natural high, we next travelled to Nuwara Eliya, a town situated at a
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high elevation. The salubrious climate in hill stations provided us respite from the equatorial climate of the rest of Sri Lanka. As our bus reached the station, our attention was drawn to a rosy-pink bricked structure. The quaint-looking post office in 18th century Tudor style building was among the few old buildings in the community that have survived the ravages of time. A few hours away, the Horton Plains National Park adjacent to high mountain ranges, provides access to an authentic wildlife reservation amidst grasslands and cloud forests. Just when hiking through seems an endless, thankless task, the plain comes to a sudden stop at World’s End. The thrilling experience of standing next to a cliff that cuts straight down some 860 metres and which overlooks tea plantations, is truly unforgettable.
Tea making
after a day of trekking, a cup of tea sounded good. Fortunately, Sri Lanka is also famous for making good tea, so we didn’t miss a chance to taste it at a tea farm near the main road. Farmers were picking leaves when we arrived, a good photo opportunity except they were asking for money in exchange for picture-taking. The view was amazing and free, however, with the morning sun bathing the farm in dappled light. At the tea factory, the guide toured us and explained the process of tea making, from the planting to the grinding. The tour ended with a complimentary cup of fine tea that we drank in the café whose ambience reminded us of a country home overlooking a farm. Another must-see is the Unesco World Heritage site built in the 5th Century A.D,
the Sigiriya Rock. The entrance to The Rock complex is a long stretch of terracotta-brown dirt road, lined with tall trees. Entering the walled city circled by a moat, one is entranced by the symmetrical plan of the place. The Rock sits in the middle of the vista and can be reached through a central pathway lined with trees and flanked by man-made water gardens used as a hydraulic system. On the day we visited The Rock, we joined the long line of tourists inching their way up the steel stairway to reach The Rock’s summit. Mid-way to the top, on the west wall’s rock depression, were frescoes of apsaras or celestial nymphs rendered in radiant colours and drawn in linear manner. Further up the base is a massive rock sculpture of a lion, its paws wide apart and its wide-open mouth serving as an entrance.
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This mouth has a stairwell further up the summit of The Rock, that serves as entry point to the “city palace”. At the summit, we wandered around the gardens and ruins of this former palace. Taking in fresh air 200 metres above a lovely, verdant plain, we felt ourselves relaxing completely, our consciousness wrapped momentarily in the sublime beauty of the landscape. Suddenly, we found ourselves landing back to earth with a thud—a monkey had quickly and effortlessly swiped our bag of two bananas! Lesson learned: Never leave bananas dangling when passing through monkey territory.
Ruins of Sri Lanka
then it was on to more ruins in Sri Lanka’s second capital city built over 800 years ago:
Polonnaruwa. The 20 ruins consisting of temples, stupas, houses, and Buddha statues are all located in a large area called The Quadrangle, where biking seems to be the ideal mode of getting around as a natural forest, a pack of deer, and background music from humming birds and wailing monkeys provided unsurpassed entertainment. The place couldn’t be more charming, what with a turn-of-the-century European train station and the helpful and cheerful locals. Left untouched to be explored by one’s imagination are the ruined walls and the intricate sculptures of elephants, apsaras and vine patterns. Walking barefoot beside a Buddha with only its feet left and standing in front of a human figure with its head gone, one can only turn to imagination to fill in what once was there.
Going further, one found that structures became more interesting and larger in scale. One temple had an exterior architecture that was surprisingly like that of a cathedral. The stupas, running about 100 metres in diameter, were both intriguing and alienating, as they don’t have visible entrances, just a flat surfaced dome from the ground up with a spire at the top. The largest image house in Sri Lanka made of red bricks had a decrepit giant Buddha as its centrepiece. Three more colossal Buddhas—one seated, another standing, and yet another sleeping, were sculpted directly from a mountain rock. They were so big that the ankle of the standing Buddha was about our height. This standing Buddha also has its arms uniquely crossed on his chest. When we visited, a gaggle of high school students were praying in front of them.
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Colourful dance number
Our trip in Polonnaruwa ended at the train station where we had booked an overnight trip to Colombo. The station’s office had vintage European equipment that, to our surprise, are still being used. The officer eagerly gave us a quick demo on how things work and we
felt like we were in a museum tour. We felt even more timewarped when we saw our cabin and the fresh sheets and a private bathroom, all of which made us feel like rich privileged women from a more genteel past. We thanked the officer for accommodating us and
taking care of our luggage. Knowing him was a good way to conclude our trip. He has never left Polonnaruwa, he said, not even during the war. And he is mighty proud of it. I guess, given Sri Lanka’s many charms, he has more than enough reasons to stay. ¬
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TRAVEL
Exotic food
June 6-12, 2014
DATEBOOK
ÂŹ Manila STOMP returns to Manila Following its Philippine premiere in 2011, London's West End and OffBroadway's percussion sensation, STOMP, will return to the Cultural Center of the Philippines' (CCP) main theatre for an eight-performance engagement this month. Its producer, Lunchbox Theatrical Productions, says the shows will feature two additional acts, "Frogs" and "Trolleys". Co-created by Luke Cresswell, STOMP showcases performers who use ordinary objects as musical instruments, i.e. brooms, dust bins, boxes of matches, plumbing fixtures for "Frogs", and supermarket trolleys for "Trolleys", among others, while they show off their dance moves and flair for comedy.
When : June 17-22 Where: Main Theatre, Cultural Centre of the Philippines Tickets: TicketWorld
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¬ Kuala Lumpur Taylor Swift 'The Red Tour' live in KL Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Taylor Swift brings her much-vaunted Red Tour to Malaysia this month. The brains behind ‘You Belong to Me’, ‘Love Story’ and ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ is best known for being country music’s most successful pop crossover sensation in recent memory, having churned out chart-topping records like 2008’s ‘Fearless’ and 2012’s ‘Red’.
When : June 11 When: National Sports Complex Bukit Jalil Info: http://ticketpro.com.my
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¬ Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival An ancient Chinese festival has become one of the world’s greatest parties. Thousands of the world’s top dragon boat athletes compete in the CCB (Asia) Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races—three days of intense racing that fill the city’s iconic harbour with heartstopping action, a profusion of colour and the sounds of drummers and fans urging paddlers on to the finish line.
When: June 6-8
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¬ Fulong, Taiwan Fulong Sand Sculpting Art Festival
This festival has established a creative space for Taiwanese sand sculpting and attracts artists from home and abroad sculptures. When: Until June 30 Info: events.necoast-nsa.gov.tw/SandArt14/
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¬ Singapore Singapore Street Festival 2014 Join in the buzz as one of Singapore's most dynamic festivals gets under way. With a range of diverse activities, there's something to excite every creative youth. Budding artists and performers will bring this year's theme ”SUPER DUPER YOUth” to life through riveting performances, from parkour, showcase, a yoyo competition, magic shows, belly dancing, J-rock, rap to urban football.
When: June 13-July 6 Where: Various venues Info: www.singaporestreetfestival.com/
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June 6-12, 2014
DATEBOOK
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