Acumen September 2013

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September

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Editor’s Note The editorial team at Acumen is proud to inform our readers that it now enters into a fourth edition at a time when the world is closely watching the developments of news and views in Myanmar.

August is a month much remembered among those who witnessed the nationwide people’s uprising and brutal clampdown of the military 25 years ago. Thousands died on 8 August, 1988 which is why ‘8888’ has become a very sad date in this nation of about 60 million people. After much blood, sweat and tears have been sacrificed, we now have a civilian government but are still being represented by 25 percent military personnel in both Pyithu Hluttaw and Amyotha Hluttaw (parliament). Most stakeholders agree the 2008 Constitution needs to be changed but questions remain about how, and to what extent, it will be changed.

Once very secluded, our country has lately been hosting unprecedented numbers of foreign dignitaries including, in a historic visit, the United States President Barack Obama last November. We agree that democracy is still in its infancy here and in rather a sensitive stage. The successful carrying-out of the democratization process would make Myanmar the best and simplest instance of a successful transition to democracy in the world. In our cover story, John McGarry mentions that Buddhists seem to be heading for the trap set by those who wish to turn back to the path of the previous military regime who worked with extremists to create clashes that are superficially of a religious and racial nature. This issue of Acumen argues that Buddhism is a religion of peace and not, as depicted by western media, terror.

Acumen would like to point out the crucial role played by media, especially in a developing country like Myanmar. It would also like to remind western as well as local media to act responsibly, whatever angle they decide to take. Though still in an early stage in the publication industry here, Acumen strives to defend the national interest and national security, just like in all other big democracies in the world. A

ACUMEN Editorial Board CEO / Chief Editor Dr. Htet Zan Linn Director Dr. Hein Thu Aung, Tin Tun Kyaw Executive Editor Phyo Wai Editors Hein Zaw, Khin Win, Khaing Minn Nyo Contributors John McGarry, Myitmakha, Htay Paing, Dr. Tin Maung Kyi Designers Aung Aung (AN Computer), Thaw Tar Oo Computer Operator Zin Wai Wai Shein Marketing Department January Khine Mon, Naw Keziah, Yadanar, Nan Mo, May Hsu Mo Mo Photographers Dr. Hein Thu Aung, Aung Kyaw Moe (New Image), Myitmakha, Hein Zaw Publisher and Copyright Dr. Htet Zan Linn Printer

Advisors Prof. Dr. Aung Tun Thet (Senior Advisor, UN Resident Coordinator's Office) Prof. Maw Than (Rector (Ret), Yangon Institute of Economics Yangon) Soe Tint Aung (Special Consultant for Advocacy, PSI Myanmar) Dr. Tun Lwin (Consultant, Myanmar Climate Change Watch,Tun Lwin Foundation) Than Lwin (Deputy Governor (Ret), Central Bank of Myanmar) Tin Zan Kyaw (Principal, Device Business Management Academy) Grace Swe Zin Htaik (Media Advocacy Advisor, PSI Myanmar)

Office No. 24/26, 4B-C, Race Course Condo, South Race Course Street, TAMWE TOWNSHIP, YANGON Tel : (+959) 420033355 66 77 (Hot Line), (+959) 73045140, 49317457, 73143313, (+951) 8603886, 8603887 ~ ~ myanmarb2b@gmail.com ceo@myanmarb2bmagazine.com, management@myanmarb2bmagazine.com, editor@myanmarb2bmagazine.com, marketing@myanmarb2bmagazine.com,

Voices ‘‘We don’t have policy to control market price. At present, operator permission license would be offered among foreign companies and local companies which will lead to market competition.

Later on, the competitor companies will reduce phone calling cost together.’’

U Thaung Tin Deputy Minister Ministry of Communication and Information Technology

“On the topic of communal and religious violence, I would like to quote General Aung San as saying that freedom of worship is a fundamental right of our citizens and in promoting truthfulness, loving kindness and the right way to live through right actions cannot be a deterrent to progress of our society. But our society must never tolerate thoughtless, ruthless and abusive violent acts in the name of religion.”

U Thein Sein President

‘‘Corruption effects country’s dignity, national dignity, and also individual dignity of Myanmar. As for youngage democracy in Myanmar, the corruption is big obstacle for the country development, international trust-building and international investment.”

Dr. Sai Mauk Kham Vice-President

‘‘They have to examine where the flaws or mistakes in the reform process are and find workable solutions for national unity, national reconciliation, rules of law and stability, and armed conflict. It’s time to carry out practical reforms rather than blaming each other.”

Thura U Shwe Mann Speaker of the Lower House

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Photo Feature

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News in Brief

Mercedes steps into Myanmar car market The Automobile Alliance Co., Ltd of Myanmar joined hands with Singaporelisted Jardine Cycle & Carriage (JC&C) Co., Ltd. to import luxury Mercedes Benz cars into Myanmar.

The launch ceremony to Mercedes Benz was officially held at Sedona Hotel, Yangon on July 26. It has already opened Satellite Workshop on Kaba Aye Pagoda Road. Mercedes is planning to open main showroom on Pyi Road and main workshop in Ywar Ma Kyaung Road early next year.

U Aung Moe Kyaw from Automobile Alliance, chairperson of IBTC group, said, ‘‘I am proud to introduce Mercedes-Benz to Myanmar. I believe that these cars will be successful in luxury category in Myanmar."

‘‘We are committed in bringing the best of Mercedes Benz automobiles, direct from Germany with the deserved quality of care and service by our German trained experts. We have great aspirations for Mercedes Benz in Myanmar and we hope that you will experience our passion through our friendly staff and world-class facilities and services," according to Mercedes on its website.

The special models for Myanmar consumers are: A-Class Saloon; B-Class Sports Tourer; C-Class Saloon Estate, Coupe; CLA-Class Coupe, CLS-Class Coupe, Shooting Brake; E-Class Saloon,

Estate, Coupé, Cabriolet; G-Class CrossCountry Vehicle; GL-Class Off-Roaders; GLK-Class Off-Roaders, M-Class OffRoaders(w166), S-Class Saloon; SL-Class Roadsters; SLK-Class Roadsters; and SLS AMG Coupe, Roadsters.

For more details, Website: www.mercedes-benz.com.mm and Phone: +95 95057045. A

China's Hin Leong Group invests US$ 200m in Myanmar oil sector China’s Hin Leong Group has invested US$ 200m in Myanmar oil sector. True to raising situation of investment from foreign countries in Myanmar and because of local oil demand, an oil trading company Singapore-based, Hin Leong Group, has entered into Myanmar oil trading market to fulfill the rising demand of consumers in Myanmar. The group aims to launch in part of distribution and selling of fuel product directly to end users. ‘‘A lot of businesses are entering Myanmar after opening its doors, so its

oil-demand is rising very fast," Lim, founder of the group, said in an interview with Reuters.

In Myanmar, Hin Leong Group is one of the top fuel suppliers, and the company

is planning to build up safety storages near Yangon region area.

Not only in Myanmar but also in China, East Timor and Indonesia, the group planned to invest US$ 400 million over all in South East Asia.

The first step of its investment would start to supply kerosene, gasoline, jet fuel and asphalt in amount of 100,000 cubic meters of storage in East Timor.

Hin Leong Group was established in 1963 and provides oil trading, bunkering, lubricants blending, diesel retailing, logistics support and storage support. A

EU and US try to extend their garment manufacturing in Myanmar

Europe and the United States are trying to invest in Myanmar garment manufac14 ⏐ ACUMEN

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turing industry, said Daw Khine Khine Ngwe, secretary of Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association. ‘‘Just now, a buyer from UK comes to study Myanmar garment manufacturing. And a delegation from UK Trade Investment has come as well as from the United States. Not like previously, they are now coming to us," said Daw Khine Khine Nwe. ‘‘The situation is getting better. Dewhirst Company has started to work together with some local factories. In the

previous months, they just came to study and went back, but now the number of companies which would practically invest in Myanmar are increasing", she continued.

Dewhirst is a garment manufacturing company based in United Kingdom since 1880s and extended its branches to Bangladesh, China, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Indonesia especially supply Mark & Spencer (M&S) company, a large company in UK. Myanmar will be one of its extended countries in Asia running factories with more than 2,000 workers.

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Myanmar reinstatement in the EU's GSP (Generalised System of Preferences) will take effect and apply retrospectively from 13 June 2012 and there will be more potentials for investment in Myanmar.

Myanmar access to EU's GSP was temporarily held in 1997

as a result of practices of forced labour that were identified by International Labour Organization.

It is also not so far from US's GSP (Generalised System of Preferences) because of the negotiation GSP on Myanmar by the voices of GSP watchers. A

Indonesia's Telkom wins tender

Investment law becomes debated topic to revise

State-owned telecommunication company PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom), Indonesia's largest telecommunication and network provider, started to step into Myanmar's International Network competing tenders in this year, but unluckily as its first step, it failed in the pre-qualification stage of Telkon tender hold in April. But now, fortunately in this time, it has won a tender to manage Myanmar's international networks. ‘‘The trust given by the Myanmar government is the result of our team's hard work on the ground in Myanmar. This will be an opportunity to show Telkom can be aligned with other big international operators," Arief Yahya, president director of state-controlled Telkom, said.

Telkon will develop and modernize Myanmar information and communications technology service for sustainable progress and is planning to open representative office in Myanmar - its process of economic, liberalization, would provide business opportunities, Arief added.

As extension of oversee business of Telkom, the Telkon also provide services in Hong Kong, East Timor, Australia, Malaysia and Singapore as well as Middle East, and Australia.

In East Timor, Telkom is doing proper investment of US$50 million to establish GSM and 3G telecommunications operations by consumers' demand.

Now in Myanmar, GSM Mobile Phone Users are able to directly apply for internet access by pressing an SMS message to 133 likely to other ASEAN countries.

Not only Indonesia Telkon investment but also Indonesia's fertilizer investment are looking to penetrate the Myanmar fertilizer market, which has millions of hectares of paddy fields with low yields and a lack of fertilizing efforts. A

Burma/Myanmar Company Act 1914 will be amended by the confirmation of the parliament on July 23. The reasons to amend the act are out of date for over 100 years; and discrimination among investors.

U Kyi Myint, a Parliamentarian representative of Latha Township, Yangon Region, pointed the differences between; the ownership of citizens and foreigners and company registration, in the 1914 act and foreign investment law in 2012. ‘‘Investment law will be revised, but how and what parts to be amended is not known in detail yet. Many people see foreign and citizen investment laws should be combined. But some disagree with it as they believe that citizens' businesses need to be protected," an official from the ministry said.

There are two investment laws in Myanmar separate for local and foreign investment. ‘‘In the investment sectors, fairness based on non-discrimination is important because actually, we don't see the investment laws are separated like as local and foreign investment as well as international community including ASEAN countries. But, in Cambodia, land-ownership is a prohibition for foreign investors in their investment law, section VIII. The section pointed -apart from land-ownership, no discrimination for foreign investors' companies in the ownership sectors." Deputy Minister U Sat Aung said.

To revise the foreign investment law, it is needed to be: internationalized standard; be accomplished in developing economic; upgraded to online system registration; and etc, by the financial assistance from ADB (Asian Development Bank) and technical assistance from international community. A ACUMEN ⏐ 15

Cover Story

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A Buddhist monk teaching Buddhist ethics to children and novices at a monastic school. /Aung Kyaw Moe (New Image)

Cover Story

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midst the sounds of a downpour and strong winds, there came out a voice, calm and serene: ‘‘It’s necessary for all men in the world to have kind consideration and Metta (Lovingkindness) for each other’’.

That was a Buddhist monk teaching Buddhist ethics to young students at a Buddhist monk-taught school.

Myanmar, since the times of its ancient kings, has had Buddhist monks playing a vital role in the education of the people including members of royalty. Chronicles say teachings by Buddhist monks contributed to the growth of literacy rate which was even five times greater than that of India in 1931.

This work still continues to this day with over 1,500 monastic schools teaching and taking care of needy and orphaned children, all for free.

Buddhist monks are still carrying out such philanthropic work as well as activities that help preserve the Buddha’s teachings.

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Hush - Hartwig HKD/Flickr

Buddhism endangered The Theravada teachings of the Buddha professed and practised by the majority of people in Myanmar has its origins in India in about 500 BC. Siddhattha (which means goalaccomplished), a prince of royal lineage, spent a life of forestdwelling recluse in search of the ultimate realities of human existence. Through his own efforts he discovered the Four Noble Truths and attained Buddhahood. His efforts to teach the Dhamma encountered tremendous opposition by adherents of other religious faiths, but he managed to subdue them all through metta, not by means of intimidation, nor by coercion nor by flattery. He taught only the right and proper way that could, if practised, bring real peace of mind. With the member of adherents increasing, Buddhism enjoyed widespread popularity.

Following the Great Demise or the Passing away into Parinibbana of the Buddha, Buddhism was passed from one generation of bhikkus (Buddhist monks) on to the next in an uninterrupted effort of preservation. The path of preservations, however, had its own problems : some monks wished to change the original teachings of the Buddha as they liked, which brought about two versions namely Mahayana (Great Vehicle) Buddhism and Theravada (School of Elders) Buddhism i.e, the Buddha’s

original doctrine approved and preserved in its pristine condition by the Thera (Elderly monks). Eventually things came to a sad pass when Buddhism was compelled to bid farewell to its land of origin. Chronicles say in 1197 and 1203 Turkish Muslims devastated a number of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist temples and monasteries, institutes of learning and libraries; many Buddhist monks were killed. Hindus and Jains, in their white garbs, could manage to mingle unknown with ordinary crowds and thereby escape being killed, whereas Buddhist monks had no way of hiding themselves because of their easily distinguishable yellow robes and their shaven heads. Buddhist monks living in their secluded monasteries fell victim to the attack by Muslim marauders. Some monks, seeing imminent danger, had fled earlier on to Tibet, China, Korea and Japan, making it possible for the Buddha’s teachings to survive to this day. Buddhism later spread to Myanmar, Srilanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Lao’s, etc., where generations of Theravada Buddhist monks have managed to keep Buddhism in its pristine form by studying and practising the basic tenets such as Metta (Lovingkindness) and Khanti (Tolerance).

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Cover Story

Tricking into a trap Now, unfortunately, Buddhism is being misrepresented globally as a terrorist religion and Buddhists as advocates of terrorism. All that stemmed from an incident in the Rakhine State in which a young woman was raped by a group of Bangalese men (or Rohinjas, as some countries and some human rights activists would like to call them). It was portrayed wrongly by some foreign media, some human rights activists and some countries as a conflict between Buddhism and Islam. The situation was exploited by political diehards and those who wish to revert to the old regime. Whipped up by them the flare of anger flare up in several towns, such as Meiktila, Lashio, Okkan and Bago. Some local people said that every incident of violence involved groups of strangers they had not ever before seen in their respective localities. Government authorities claimed that there were instigators behind the scenes but they failed to take any effective action. This, some say, led to a rapid spread of violent incidents.

Myanmars are traditionally a nationalistic people. They also have a radical turn of mind, a temperament forged during their resistance against the Japanese rule and their struggle for national independence. It is that temperament that some diehards exploited by fomenting violence among the people of different faiths by means of stirring up religious feelings. Thus Myanmar Buddhists were tricked into the trap, quite unknowingly. Worse still, they are misrepresented as blood-thirsty terrorists killing Muslims - an allegation totally rejected by Venerable U Pannacara, Presiding Sayadaw of a monk-taught school in Myintha, who said, ‘‘Anyone who tortures, destroys and kills is not a true Buddhist. Terrorism in particular is diametrically opposed to Buddhism’’.

Every religion has extremists. Those people, though professedly religious, are deviators from the tenets of their own religion.

It will be illogical to say that a particular religion is a terrorist religion just because it is the religion of such extremists. But it is unfortunate that the recent incidents are being misrepresented as religious or racial conflicts, even as ethnic cleansing.

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Peace is every step Jean-Marie Hullot/Flickr

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Cover Story

Waiting for a job offer

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The conflicts in the country are not at all due to religious fanaticism nor to racial hatred. economic development is an essential factor in resolving these conflicts .

A boat powers down the Ayeyarwady River in Myanmar, which would have been affected by the Myitsone Dam International Rivers/Flickr

Vicious Cycle

Cheap human resources

Whoever they are or whatever their motives are, one thing is certain: they are trying to slow down the progress of Myanma’s democratization process which is gathering momentum. Since the civilian government headed by U Thein Sein came to power in 2011, it has been implementing three programmes of reform in the fields of politics, economy and peace-making efforts. These programmes of work are so much inter-related. The success of democratization depends on the achievement of internal peace that in its turn depends on the complete cessation of civil war in the country - a condition difficult to achieve because of a number of factors such as blind patriotism, relatively low levels of health, economy and education and high unemployment that have been there under the former repressive military regime as well as the present-day radical trend. The conflicts in the country are not at all due to religious fanaticism nor to racial hatred. Economic development is an essential factor in resolving these conflicts. Myanmar, though rich in natural resources and human resources, has been an isolated country under economic sanction until recently. Foreign investment plays a pivotal role in the country’s economic development but there have been problems with projects such as Letpadaung Taung copper mining project and Myitsone project that can have adverse effect on the natural environment and that have been of little benefit to the local people. Now, happily, sanctions have been lifted and the FDI law has been in place.

Now Myanmar is in a win-win situation where the country’s natural resources combined with cheap labour could be highly profitable both to Myanmar and to the foreign investors. But political instability in the country could pose a barrier to prospective investors and this could hinder the country’s development. Lack of economic development would hamper the progress of effort to secure internal peace as well as the progress of democratization. All this might form a vicious cycle.

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Cover Story Indonesian Army - AK Rockefeller/Flickr

The two soldiers are working together / Flickr

Armed Forces Day parade in the Capital Naypyidaw in Myanmar / Messenger news

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Another Round of Nightmare?

Democracy in Myanmar is now still in its infancy; it is in a rather sensitive stage.

The successful carrying out of the democratization process would make Myanmar the best and simplest instance of successful transition to democracy in the world; failure to accomplish it would only render it utterly impossible to get the kind of opportunity now available.

The present conflicts, according to some views, are designed to create instability in the country in order to pave the way for the military to take over power from the civilian government. These views are based on the fact that the country’s constitution has a provision for the military to take control of the country as well as the fact that the military representatives make up 25 percent of the MPs. It is said that that number of soldiers in Parliament will be scaled down as in Indonesian Parliament. But the two armies are different: the Indonesian army took part in UN Peace-keeping Missions after the Cold War, and they have US military training, so they are democratic-minded, whereas the Myanmar military had been under a totalitarian regime for a long time. No one can say for sure that Myanmar will be like Indonesia in this repect. But it is not possible to send the military back to the barracks.

Myanmar is the only country in the world with armed ethnic conflicts going on.

Minimizing the role of the army would only throw the country into chaos. The best way, therefore, is to transform authoritarianminded military into a democratic-minded one.

Myanmar at present is only at the introductory stage of democratization. It will certainly take some time for the army and the people to get used to democracy and that is a crucial period of transition. In the meanstime it is imperative for Myanmar Buddhists to adhere to the Buddha’s Metta and Khanti teachings and continue to live peacefully with peoples of other faiths in the country with whom they have been living peacefully together for a long time now.

Otherwise there is a likelihood of yet another round of nightmare. A September 2013

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Feature

The inexperienced country The establishment of an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) agreed at the Asean Leaders Summit held in Bali, Indonesia in 2003 will become a reality on 31 December 2015. With the two pillars, i.e. the ASEAN Security Community and ASEAN Socio-cultural community, the AEC will appear for regional economic integration between the ten South East Asian countries by 2020.

Though only two years remain for the process, Myanmar that has been stuck in a time warp is quite unfamiliar with the procedure. Though now, on becoming free, workshop meetings have been held in Myanmar that has never previously heard of AEC, the small number of attendees and their response in discussions plainly show that they are not familiar with the subject. The number of attendees to the ‘Preparing Myanmar for Opportunities from Integration in the AEC and Global Economy' workshop meeting sponsored by UNESCAP, ITD and DTN from Thailand and held at the UMFCCI building on 29 and 30 July was unsatisfactory. On the second day there were only about 60 attendees and of them two-third were departmental staff. And the business delegates kept mumble rather than participate enthusiatically in discussions.

In other words, it means it would take quite some time for a sharing-culture to develop between the Myanmar businessmen.

It is noticeable that the word ‘protection' occurs time and again in the AEC workshop discussion. Some of the Myanmar businessmen wanted to know, mainly, what kind of protection the government will give them. An attendee asked, ‘‘How is the government going to protect me? We want to know what kind of protection we need to begin from now so that we don't lose our competitiveness? ’’ That anxiety is quite natural for those who have been isolated for nearly 50 years. Thus, now when the door is opening a crack, all must lend a hand in opening it wider by mutual dealing.

At one side though the Myanmar government is mentioning PPP (Private, Public, Partnership) whenever it gets the chance much is needed for the government and private sector to cooperate more than this. Up to now the private sector is doing the sharing concerning AEC. A consultant for a private company that has been holding AEC workshop meetings has said that departmental-in-charges have refused requests to attend meetings and has discussed that it would be very beneficial for the public if they cooperated. As the government is participating in ASEAN Conferences only those officials could precisely utilize the latest data and agreements.

The origin and goal of AEC In reality the AEC program started in ASEAN about 15 years ago. The 2020 ASEAN vision is To be a stable, wealthy, highly competitive region, to be an equally developed economic zone, to be able to lessen poverty and social economy gaps-was 28 ⏐ ACUMEN

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The small number of attendees and their response in discussions plainly show that they are unfamiliar with the subject.

an aim the ASEAN leaders agreed at the 1997 Kuala Lumpur Summit. That agreement mainly built on the three pillars was solidified at the 12th ASEAN Summit and agreements were reached on free movement of Goods, Free flow of services, free flow of investment and free flow of skilled labour.

The ASEAN, that started with five countries, i.e, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand in 1967 and become an organization of ten in 1997 seem to have aimed to become a single market like the E.U. ‘‘In the ASEAN leaders opinion, if all the economies of the ASEAN countries could be grouped together, it will become the second largest grouping of economies, so they had ideas.’' said Dr. Zaw Oo of Chiang Mai University in a lecture. Being situated near the two big power nations, China and India, that had a population of more than one billion each, ASEAN tried harder to unite in the future, so it would be an aid to regional competition.

The ASEAN that will become the single market and basic production region will join with AEC for the region's progress and to lessen the proverty gaps. At the World Economic Forum held in Naypyidaw. Ceasar V. Purisima, the finance minister of the Philippines said, ‘‘Individually, ASEAN countries are small, but we are stronger together." He added ‘‘We need to complement rather than compete against each other."

Myanmar that will have to accompany Myanmar that had been forecasted to be an Asian tiger September 2013

during the 1960s was left behind, in a back-ward state due to the governments wrong policies. During the later part of the 20th century though Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia subsequently leapt ahead, up till now Myanmar is desperately in the least developed countries list of ASEAN that is known as CIMV in short form. If the country that has risen again with U Thein Sein's government could use the 2015 reconciliation as an opportunity the current situation could be left behind. At the Naypyidaw WEF, group chief executive officer of Air Asia, Anthony F.Fernendes remarked, ‘‘I believed in ASEAN probably before ASEAN believed in itself. For me it is the final piece of the puzzle to get Myanmar into this wonderful group of countries. It is a very exciting period for us and a great way to reduce poverty."

When competing in equal terms within the region there are some situational abilities that one has as a rising country.

Firstly, geo-politically Myanmar is strategically placed. It is a neighbour of China and India, two big powers and also own a long coastal boundary. By looking at China and Thailand's investment in the Kyauk Phyu deep-sea port and Dawei deepsea port, one could know the value of Myanmar's coastal ports. If the Dawei deep - sea port materializes, experts believe it could cast an influence on Singapore's economy. Secondly, has abundant natural resources. Myanmar's teak and jade is famous the world over and there is much unused, unexplored earth and marine resources. Myanmar that is an area 678,500 square kilometers wide owns vast agricultural land and cheap

labour force. An extraordinary fact is that the Myanmars are known as the best English language speaking people in the region. The final strong point is that Myanmar that has been acclaimed to be the last frontier market for international investors stand as an attractive market. The transparency of the new government and the international standard new foreign investment law has also appeared distinctly in 2012.

By the lifting of the sanctions of countries like EU and US, the market of those countries have now again opened and due to the 2011 leader's open door policy international investors are specially eyeing Myanmar.

Myanmar that has those natural strong points will be able to sell its products and services freely in a market enlarged due to AEC opportunities and be more intimate with organizations, businesses, experts and trade data. Concerning Myanmar's AEC opportunity Dr. Mia Mikic, the ARTNeT coordinator from Trade and Investment Division, UNESCAP has said, “Opportunity is really good in large market available for your products, services and to allow you to more people as well." In the AEC period Myanmar will be able to sell its natural resources in a transparent market and be able to obtain more investment from Asia and countries from other regions.

Dr. Zaw Oo also has a positive opinion about Myanmar and AEC's link and said so. ‘‘This AEC thing is a tension. Tension has more positivity than pressure. By trying to get all to be inclusive. I think we could raise the country to a better rank.’’

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‘‘Individually, ASEAN countries are small, but we are stronger together.’’

As much as the aim of the ASEAN Economic Community is good and the opportunity is good on the other side there are challenges. Dr Surim Pitsuwan, the secretary-general of the community himself has mentioned his fear concerning the influence of ASEAN regional solidarity. ‘‘It's quite certain that I need to worry of the weak points in uniting. It won't do to be exited and see the good part only.

There are also weak points. If we can't deal with the gaps, and differences we will also suffer the consequences of problems contiguous from member countries." (VOA) There is a gap between Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, the six-nation group that are ahead and Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, the four nations that have been left behind. The least developed countries could be a burden on the remaining countries of the group and the least developed country with itself wonder if it could keep up with the others.

Though Myanmar, a CLMV member has some strong points that were mentioned afore, it has many weak points.

Firstly because the transformation the government began is just two years old it is not completely clean of the influence of the previous regime. Though it is said that the whole world was amazed because the transformation has been so fast, it is hard to say yet for sure if there has been any change. Mainly it is noticeable in the business sector. As there has been criticism that the lives of the grassroots people has not changed it is clear that more changes are needed. Though a flexible foreign investment law has appeared, the reason sufficient foreign investment has not come into the country may be due to the internal conflicts occourring and lax of transparency, some observers believe. Especially Myanmar's rank 172 in the world corruption index, may be a barrier to investment and foreign partnership, it is feared. The need to clearly define the finance factor which is the main driving force for the economic section also may be a crucial matter. Though subjects like foreign exchange has progressed, the local businesses still have to pay up 30 ⏐ ACUMEN

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to 13 percent as interest when borrowing from banks. The five billion kyats that is loaned with an 8.5 percent interest by the SMIDB bank is very little in amount. Mainly it's crucially difficulty for the Myanmar SME (small and medium enterprises) that has 99 percent of all businesses that must compete in the AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area).

The undeveloped state of the basic infrastructures, such as communication, roads and bridges, parts and electricity is still a barrier for foreign businessmen who would push forward. As all have been started right now, the local businessmen will have to keep on paying highly in various sectors before 2015.

Especially as the need for electricity is high, in manufacturing expense the competitors get an upper hand. Another challenge is that, though there is a large labour force in Myanmar there is a need for entrepreneurs and many skilled workers to appear.

The reentry of skilled workers who left the mother country in the previous era, is still low and in senior posts the home businesses have to depend on the foreigners.

How are you going to march?

As said afore, Myanmar seems to have just come into contact with AEC and AFTA. The experts believe that except the developed six countries and lately emerging Vietnam, the remaining countries, i.e, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia will have to be given a helping hand. Myanmar pre-AEC effort would not come into life by some casual workshop meetings and a few awkward participants. One chance is the program that Myanmar will be the alternate chairman of the ASEAN in 2014.

Including the ASEAN summit meeting, over six hundred meetings will have to be held so the infrastructure in certain areas need to become noticeably developed and ASEAN leaders and leaders of country linked with ASEAN would definitely take note.

For small and medium size business to develop, the government and private business need to practically join hands.

The government needs to create flexibility for a workable enviSeptember 2013

ronment and the private sector must build up its competitive capabilities. The general secretary U Moe Myint Kyaw of the UMFCCI said, ‘‘Of our part we will have to make an effort and of the other part, the government needs to do promotion. So that the SMEs grow, so that they worked, there is a need to facilitate matters and the SME would progress.''

Things needed to prevent will be done on a highly sensitive list, if conditions were set. There will be nothing to worry. But for the private sector, if the SME don't truly make an effort, If they do not rise properly in the future it would be harder; he continued.

As for resource speaker Dr.Tang Zhi Min of the Panyapiwat Institute of Management in Thailand, at a lecture, he advised Myanmar, ‘‘You may deal with outside world very quickly.'' Narration, as an example, that the Chinese become proficient in business by learning from American migrants he advised Myanmar not to stay locked up within the narrow boundaries but to get out of the country and deal with the world. His advice commensurate with the Myanmar's current culture.

Currently most of the Myanmar businessmen are talking about competing with business that would enter the country from other ASEAN counties.

They are still weak to cooperate with them and get their advantages.

A Myanmar expert is not only advising to go joint with foreign companies that enter Myanmar but especially to enlarge outward bound and to go and work in other ASEAN countries during the ASEAN free trade period. Though Myanmar is backwards in various ways it would be very beneficial it could learn from the weak points, strong points of other ASEAN countries.

Though the ten countries that together march are from the same region, the weak and strong points of each country cannot be exactly the same. For instance, industry economy and servicing business may have strongly developed in countries like. Singapore and Thailand, basic economies like agriculture flourish in Myanmar and Lao. That is why if AEC member countries could go by the standard one is strong in it will be beneficial to all. Speaking of the way one needs to prepare for the situation U Moe Myint Kyaw said, ‘‘We can't compete with all. We must work on where are we strong. Then we can compete. After that we must strive for upgrade of quality the customer will accept. If not so, but yet reach a quality grade, then the customers will accept that it is little low compared to imports but cheaper and quite useable. If there is no harm, people will use it. If it's of low quality, but high priced, people won't use it.''

That is right. The Myanmar businessmen who is unable to do quality control must forget his biohazard manufacturing and servicing and must try hard to produce competitive merchandise of international grade. Mainly, servicing business, that could be swiftly upgraded and agriculture, gems, marine products that has natural strong points should be givien preference in the beginning while grades of manufacturing businesses could be slowly raised so that they could compete with foreign products.

On the last day of 2015, the ten ASEAN countries will start their journey together to do their solidarity goal. With those ten countries there maybe those with a complete set of oars,those that haven't had a complete set and those with broken oars. Myanmar who up to now is one of the three four countries without a complete set of oars is the ASEAN alternate chairman in 2014. It is to face political transformation in 2015, so the challenges it faces is more than others. Thus only if that country could correctly summarize its weak points and strong points and appropriately join in would

The Myanmar businessmen who are unable to do quality control must forget his biohazard manufacturing and servicing and must try hard to produce competitive merchandise of international grade.

the AEC be able to hope for the next tiger of South East Asia.

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September 2013

ACUMEN ⏐ 33

Feature

T

here is a Myanmar saying that life depends on knowledge and wealth relies on destiny or fate.

Just as knowledge is power, ignorance hurts human lives. We have to eat something to live.

Ko Myint Tun, a farmer at Wetpote village in the western part of Pyay District of Bago Region, said that he used only natural humus for growing crops since 2012 after having used chemical pesticide and fertilizer for a decade. “I am extremely shocked at seeing that some farmers here have died of cancer. Now I use just natural humus as my ancestors have done,” he said. In his native Wetpote village, farmers grow various seasonal crops such as corn, pumpkin, gourd plants, cucumber, aubergine, cabbage and cauliflower, all of which are sent to Thirimingalar market in Yangon.

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Several villages such as Wetpote and Badigon in Pyay District of Bago Region are the rural areas where 70 percent of crops sent to Yangon Region market.Ko Myint Tun, a Wetpote resident, has encountered the soil depreciation because of having used chemical pesticide and fertilizer around 2002, his son, also his colleague, has suffered from respiratory disease, and his wife has been undergoing medical treatment for her chronic illness for long, he said. ”We farmers use pesticide without gloves. When we spray it, we do not use mask not being careful with the windward side of the plantation.

I think my son and wife have had disease because of that negligence.

Since then, I have been using natural manure and fertilizer for growing crops,” he said adding, “There are some 6 farmers who have died of cancer this

year and some farmers have resumed using natural humus as they are afraid of chemical hazard.” There are many farmers using chemical pesticide and fertilizer made in Thailand and China in their cultivation and now some farmers have change their behaviour by resuming natural humus and manure because they have witnessed that chemical pesticide and fertilizer have harmed the health of their family members, he explained. “All of us living in Wetpote village live by cultivating crops. As you may know, we use chemical pesticide and fertilizer bought on credit from companies. We farmers have suffered the consequences of them as we do not know how to use them systematically,” said Ko Aung Myint a corn grower of Wetpote village.Farmers use chemical pesticide and fertilizer sold by companies without noticing hazard be-

September 2013

cause they cannot read instruction and warning written in Thai and Chinese on the sacks of pesticide and fertilizer, said an agricultural official who asked not to be named.” Farmers use pesticide and fertilizer as their content because they do not know how many amount they are supposed to use. In addition, they want to rush plucking crops that have recently been sprayed with pesticide to send them to the market. So pesticide affects not only growers but also consumers and then causes soil depreciation,” he added. Al-

though farmers used natural manure, humus as their ancestors did in Myanmar, they started using chemical fertilizer after 1970 and they have been using chemical pesticide and fertilizer banned for using in neighbouring countries entering Myanmar market after 1990, say the grower sources. “Farmers using chemical pesticide and fertilizer are at risk.

Nowadays, you will see rural people more than urban people in cancer department.

That is due to chemical pesticide and fertilizer they have used. They spray crops

with pesticide without proper precaution through lack of knowledge,” said the agricultural official.Moreover, as farmer deliver crops sprayed with pesticide to the market, customers who have eaten crops with pesticide face some problems with their health such food poisoning and diarrhoea.

Farmers spray cabbage and cauliflower with more pesticide since they are the kinds of crops that are prone to be infected with insects and consumers face health problem because farmers rush ACUMEN ⏐ 35

Feature

to sending them to the market instead of waiting for the pesticide clearance, said the agricultural official. That almost all farmers use a great deal of pesticide impacts on the foreign market, an exporter said. “Most of the farmers use too much chemical weed-killers, pesticide and fertilizer in growing crops for getting the better yield. They first earned more income because of good yield. However, they faced some problems several years later. When we exported those crops grown using too much chemical pesticide and fertilizer to foreign countries, the buyers refused to purchase them on the grounds that those crops contained chemical residuals more than the amount that a man can eat,” explained Ko Tin Hlaing, a bean exporter. Although Myanmar bean is exported to India, Bangladesh and China, the news that it contains chemical residuals affects the bean market and bean merchants have thus urged farmers to grow organic crops 36 ⏐ ACUMEN

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to hold on their position again in the market, he said. “Now we conduct awareness rising to farmers to grow organic bean and some of them start growing crops with organic methods as they have been aware of chemical hazard,” he added. It is known that Ministry of Agriculture & Irrigation, Ministry of Commerce and Myanmar Rice & Paddy Merchants Association would check importing chemical pesticide and fertilizer. In doing so, checking chemical pesticide and fertilizer on the road with mobile team, the companies importing, wholesalers and retailers in townships and farmers growing crops will be reportedly implemented. “We have heard that chemical pesticide and fertilizer banned by international community have been entering Shan State, Yangon Region, Mandalay Region and Sagaine Region through illegal route. We have scheduled to check it on those routes. Besides we will mainly check the pesticide and

fertilizer farmers are currently using in their plantations,” said a member of the checking committee. If the exporters of chemical pesticide and fertilizer are guilty of having no registration in accordance with the rule and regulation imposed, That will be sentenced to one year imprisonment according to Myanmar Agricultural Law, it is said. “Taking action is good. The authorities should check every company importing pesticide and fertilizer from abroad to be able to carry out it more effectively. There are even some companies importing pesticide at bargain prohibited in Thailand and China.

They should be severely taken action,’ said the agricultural official. Myanmar merchants and farmers should make efforts to come out organic crops and the organic crop market and then both consumers and growers will be free from the consequences of crops with chemical residuals and benefit from organic crops,he concluded. A September 2013

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ACUMEN ⏐ 39

Feature Ma Pa Pa said her family has ben using ‘Promina’ make-up from Thailand up to now taking the advice of her mother and aunts.

“I use it because it is affordable,” she said.

As a worker of the textile industry in No 2 industrial zone of Hlaingthayar Township, she earns K50,000 a month. She cannot afford better make-ups available in the cosmetic market.

Not only city girls like her but also many women in other districts can afford only cheaper creams such as Promina and Archie costing about K2,000 to K3,000 a pack, said Daw Phyu Win, a 45-year-old cosmetic distributor for about 20 years.

Those two brands have started penetrating the market since 1980 and have since been in a strong position in the domestic market.

“Grass roots can’t afford expensive foundation cream like imported make-up costing more than K10,000. The foundation make-up worth only about K2,000 produced by Cemella is also gaining ground because of its cheaper prices. As all know it is the affordable price for low incomers,” Daw Phyu Phyu Win said.

The women on a salary bracket of K50,000 and K100,000 have to use the cheaper foundation cream costing around K2,000 and the women having a salary between K150,000 and K200,000 use the expensive make-up worth more than K10,000, she added.

As there are not only traditional habits of making up Thanakha but so many low-income people in Myanmar, it is only women living in cities such as Yangon and Mandalay that can use expensive make-up, according to some cosmetic distributors.

“There are even many girls everyday wearing cream of bark of tamarind tree because they can’t even afford to pay something worth about K2,000 and Thanakha in some areas outside Yangon,” Daw Phyu Phyu Win said.

Accordingly cosmetics costing only K2,000 or K3,000 coming from Thailand and China are in the strong position of the market in Myanmar, she added.

Myanmar has been a big market for Thai cosmetics manufacturers.

Thailand is expected to export cosmetics worth US$ 140 million in 2013, according to Kasikorn research paper of Kasikorn Bank in Thailand.

The study says that Myanmar middle-class youths like more Thai made cosmetics and they have major market shares in Yangon, Mandalay, Naypyidaw, Mawlamyine and Myawady.

Shampoo, facial foam, toothpaste, skin oil and foundation are popular items among Thai products, according to the paper.

“Thai cosmetics are not so expensive and their quality is better than that of China mades. We cannot expect all Chinese products are good. We need to choose carefully which item is good even if they are of the same brand. The quality of Thai made cosmetics is consistent,” said Ma Thadi Thait, who opened 40 ⏐ ACUMEN

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Thanakha for sale - Hein Zaw

a beauty parlour in Thailand in the past when she used certain Chinese products.

It has been found that the cosmetic market in Myanmar is very competitive for Myanmar customers with different tastes and different budgets, says the Kasikorn research paper.

“The wealthy has been using cosmetics made in (South) Korea among those made in Thailand and China since 2009. By 2012 the world-known cosmetics have entered the country,” said an employee of Sweet Smile beauty salon in Yangon.

She explained that after 2010, not only China and Thailand but also Japan and South Korea have exported cosmetics to Myanmar.

“Cosmetics at reasonable prices from Japan and Korea in addition to those from Thailand have entered the market. Now September 2013

A traditional make up. Myanmar women produce themselves this liquid made up by special type of wood on a very smoothly surfaced rock. It is very common for ladies and girls in Myanmar. the fight is between Japan and Korea for the market here,” she added.

Cosmetics lower than K20,000 from Singapore, Japan and Thailand are in demand and some brands such as Loreal, Kanebo and Camella are maintaining their market shares.

The prices of foundation cream such as Loreal, Kanebo and Kracie have plummeted from K20,000 in 2010 when certain foreign cosmetics were banned, according to the market sources.

With the increase in the number of cosmetics, as the owners of shops are attracting customers through lucky draws and discounts for its members which works, it is said.

“Although some cosmetics are expensive, there are customers using them because of their quality and reputation, If one is a member, one can get an item at a discount,” said Ma

Aye Win Let, a promoter of Seingayhar Supermarket in downtown Yangon.

Although there are expensive cosmetics for skincare priced at K20,000 to K100,000 on the market, a few women can use such cosmetics, according to market sources.

“Nowadays as make-up is used for not only beauty but also skincare, both women and men use skincare, day cream and night cream. But they are elites and most of the people can’t afford such expensive goods,” said Ma Thazin Aye, manager of one of the cosmetic shops.

In studying the consumer behaviour among foundation make-up users, it is found that the market has a diversity of users according to their income and knowledge, she said.

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Grass roots can’t afford expensive foundation cream

It has been found that the cosmetic market in Myanmar is very competitive for Myanmar customers with different tastes and different budgets.

Myanmar, it needs to promote advertisements and sell them at bargain. Price needs to be affordable.

The cheaper the goods are, the more customers buy them here. Only a handful of elite can spend much money buying expensive well-known brands,” she added.

The sources of Ohnmar cosmetic shop in Yangon say that cosmetic costing only K2,000 or K3,000 per unit are the hottest.

A cosmetic distributor in Yangon says that some merchants have imported low quality cosmetics and the expired cosmetics at lower price since there is no one to enforce the quality checks of the imported cosmetics and standards set for them.

“We have seen certain imported cosmetic do not meet the quality standards because the merchants want to import the low priced goods.

Even if customers are suffering from skin diseases, as they have used poor cosmetics, they are not aware of them.

That is why there should be teams that check the standards of cosmetics imported to Myanmar,” the distributor said.

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Interview

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ACUMEN ⏐ 45

Interview Prof. Dr. Aung Tun Thet : Could you please tell me a little about your background history, which I’d especially like to know? What are the things you have done? What is their extent? To let the readers know, please tell me beginning from the time you went abroad for the first time.

Philip Maung : The time I went abroad for the first time was in 1987. When I reached the United States, it was 1989. On arrival, I had no relatives there. There was only a friend of mine there.

As that friend was attending U.C.L., he himself was only a student.

He met me on my arrival and frankly told me that he could not help me much. He also told me to stay in his apartment for three or four days and then to go on in my own way. That’s how I started my life there.

At the beginning, I did whatever job I found. I worked in a factory, in the Shipping Department and at a gas pump day and night. It was convenient for me to work at night. Customers are few at night and I could read at ease as I love reading. It was 20 years ago. I had already read many books of Donald Trump before I went abroad. I read them because I wanted to be successful like Donald Trump. Another thing is that I am very fond of Donald Trump.

As soon as I reached there, the food I ate first was Mc Donalds as there was no such food in my own country. I also wanted to know how they were running their foods and tens of thousands of their outlets. But as I had no capital, real estate was the first short cut to save money. So I took real estate license exams while working at night. I worked with real estate

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in Los Angeles, California for about three years. My main task was saving money. I know myself that I would not work with real estate in the long term. I was not interested in this job of a broker either. But I saved money quickly and planned to run a chain of restaurants. As many new kinds of food came out in California at that time, Sushi industry became popular first in California.

In the United States, there are two coasts namely East Coast and West Coast. When it began in the West Coast, nobody started it in the East Coast. As nobody did it in the middle part of the country, I found that opportunity. I personally like Sushi is a very healthy food free of frying or fat. So I thought this kind of food would become popular sometime in the future and I looked for a place in East Coast to set up my headquarters. I reached Charlotte, which is the headquarters of the Bank of America and second largest city in the United States at that time.

Money was essential to do a business. The town was also the one I liked. As the town was small, people were more polite. Their culture was called “Southern Hospitality”. The culture of the south is very polite. People help one another. The climate is similar to that of Taunggyi. Competitions were few in business and that’s why I started to settle there. It was in about 1998. But what I calculated were all wrong. There was no bank that was willing to talk with me. A good resume was essential to start a business. I must have a successful history and experience. As I had nothing of the sort, it was very difficult for me to get money.

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So I started my business with a computer in the dining room of my apartment. Then I had to borrow money from others.

They were sometimes my friends and sometimes my relatives.

They also included credit cards. I had to apply for many credit cards. if one credit card expired in 45 days, I had to repay it by drawing money from another credit card and if the latter expired again, I had to repay it by drawing money from the former. So I began to realize that financing is important at the beginning of a business. The first project is the most important. Only after two years, the money began to come out on a regular basis.

In the Independent Contractor system you’ve said about, how do you make arrangements with the person who wants to open a shop?

We give all training to a person who wants to open an outlet. We let him use our brand. We train him in all our operational manuals. We show him all our techniques and all our recipes. We help them set up outlets with only a small amount of money.

Then, did the shop begin in Charlotte? How about the one which expanded out of your locality?

Getting outside was in my second year. I was expanding my outlets to other states at that time.

You teach them all things such as cutting?

We train them in everything. Training is very important. In order to make the products consistent wherever it is, we give training through teleconference every six months. Our regional managers are everywhere. They make inspection and if the products are found to be of low quality, we give training again.

Then, as you were interested in McDonalds, did you franchise by using McDonalds method in your expansion? Or in what style?

Ours was not a franchise then. We called it Independent Contractor. We are currently running with that system. It is very similar to franchise. However, we are now processing franchise. The main reason to become a franchise is that those abroad are making contact with us all the time. As they want our outlets, franchise system is easier for us. Though there is no problem locally, we realize that it must be fully franchised when it is expanded abroad.

In the Independent Contractor System, how are business arrangements made?

They are no longer our employees. An employee has a regular pay. We give them only benefits. They have become private businessmen. As they are private businessmen, we give them necessary support. In franchise system, there are loyalty fees. We get loyalty fees percentage from the sales. In the remaining part, they have to invest man power. Normally, we give all products by the use of credit system. It is not necessary to have a lot of money to set up a shop. We help them set up everything and subtract the cost from the sales gradually.

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Interview When those independent contractors are set up and your brand is sold, do their customers make many take-aways?

Take-aways are many. There are also eating by sitting.

The customers we target a lot are called “Yuppies”. They are young professionals. As they have no time, we focus more on “grab-and-go”.

Are there “Yuppie markets” and “Grab-and-go Markets” only?

How about “Sitting-s”?

Of course, there are. They are also at the buildings of office high-rises and airports.

Are they through Independent Contractors?

It depends on location too. At such places as airports and shopping malls in our city, we run them by ourselves. At some important places, it is better if quality controls itself. The profit is small. When we give franchise to others, the control generally falls.

As there are totally more than 400 outlets including independent contractors and distribution outlets, what are the percentages for independent contractors and self-run outlets in the breakdown?

The percentages are about 30 percent and 70 percent.

Corporate-owned outlets are 30 percent and those outsourced to others are 70 percent.

In outsourcing, the major challenge is quality. Do you have persons who monitor quality control?

Of course, we have. In every town, we have our regional managers and supervisors. They always carry out inspections to control the quality. That’s why Starbucks was always dubious when it turned out first. Which is appropriate, franchising or self-running? Franchising is easy to raise money. Many outlets can be opened. But the style starbucks chooses is floating shares, making the company public and expand the business using the money earned from it. As it runs all its outlets by itself, if can control the quality a little more.

When self-control is conducted, management labour union relation is very important. Then, how do you handle it?

It is the key point for the success of a company. Our culture is unique. There is a culture that is particularly set only for us.

When did we realize it? During the first ten years, we didn’t realize how important HR is. It was also because I myself didn’t believe the core values. I thought many of the values and mission statements are only PR slogans. Many of the companies don’t do it practically at all. All of them hang them for show in the lobby. But many people don’t do it in practice.

Normally, a company has about 5 or 6 core values. We made it with 11 items at last. We selected those 11 at our own 48 ⏐ ACUMEN

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will and everybody must abide by them. These values must be followed not only at work but also in one’s personal life. Number one value is service. All our managers are provided with iphones and PDA-s. They have e-mails too. Cell phone numbers must be mentioned on every business card including my own.

There must be no case in which customers can’t find us.

When the company is very large, it can become a corporation. I am frightened of it very much. After making the company very large, we must know how to stay small. So we want all to be transparent. When someone searches my website, he must see my name, my cell phone number and my e-mail address. We don’t like if we are not found. We would like the customers call us. Nowadays, many people are talking about “social media”. The words are very sexy but we like the words “conventional channel” better. I am satisfied with the 5 minutes during which you and I sit and talk to each other than the 5 minutes during which we talk to each other on the phone. If you just give me five minutes, I can give you undivided attention.

There is no such thing in social media. Things have their own ways.

Then, as our core value No. 4 is “open and honest communication”, I myself must make practice. I stayed inside my office room before. As my employees rarely dare knock my door, I came to realize the truth. It was impossible for me to continue sitting inside my room any more. So I set up a cubicle on the floor and moved into it. I became the same as they were.

I no longer had a door. As it was an open door policy, their communication with me became at the same level. So they also became at ease. And so did I. One of the key point is to be happy at work. So one of our values is “generate fun” and another is “work hard, play hard”.

People like these two best. According to a survey conducted on our employees, people like these two values best. People want to be happy. If statistics are really examined ...., why do people take this job? Top three do not include money. It is not because of money. The main thing is that they want respect. They want to be happy at work. They want a good communication among them. They want a friendly environment. So it includes learning others by studying the survey.

I learn such companies as Google, Apple and Starbucks and I also learn their good practices. I learn how they motivate their employees and how they make innovations and I set up a cinema in our work place. As I read a lot, I want people to read and I set up a library. I also set up a gymnasium. I invite Yoga instructors. I arrange karaoke nights. We celebrate all the successful events. We also recognize personal successes achieved outside the work place. We also organize celebrations, for example, to recognize those who pass external examinations.

Before specifying “core values”, our manager alone made decisions on hiring and firing. But now, as we have HR department, there are two interviews before hiring an employee.

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The department manager interviews him to find his skill set.

HR sees whether purely HR skill set fits our core values. It doesn’t matter how talented he is. His skill set may be very good. His qualifications may be very good. We may know he can contribute to our work as soon as he joins us. But we cannot hire him if he does not fit our values. In our way of making decisions, if there is someone we like, we ask our receptionist about him when he leaves. How did he deal with the receptionist? Was he haughty? We won’t hire him if he is haughty however talented he is. It is more important for us to hire a person who fits our values. We don’t want our culture poisoned.

What is the total number of your employees?

About 300 altogether. Actual key people are about 20.

Do you deal with those key people only? How about the employees at the lower levels?

As I am very busy, can’t always deal with those at the lower levels. But I always set my channel open. I talk with them at the forum which is held every three months. I also travel all the time. When I travel, I hold meetings with them. I hold meetings with those from basic levels. What problems do they have? Then I have my meals together with them. These are my dealings with those from lower levels. The next thing is that all of them know my cell phone numbers. We have a policy that calls must be responded within 24 hours. In our values, it is 50 ⏐ ACUMEN

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called “high-speed and high-touch”. If we find no solution within 24 hours, a response must be made. A solution may not be obtained but a response must be made.

Are there shares and other benefits in addition to normal salary and bonus?

The benefits we offer are generous compared to our industrial standard. There is a retirement plan there. Normally, even large companies don’t offer such benefits. Even Fortune 500 Company doesn’t offer like this. They have cut benefits since 2008. But we increase benefits every year. In our retirement plan, if an employee deposits a dollar, we also contribute a dollar. We make dollar to dollar matching. Some companies contribute only about a quarter or half a dollar if an employee deposits a dollar in his account. If an employee deposits US 1,000 wd also contribute US1,000. Moreover, there are many companies which demand 3 or 4 years of compulsory service.

If an employee leaves the job without completing the compulsory term, he is entitled to refund the money he deposited but not the money contributed by the company. We are not like them.

We don’t hold the money we have contributed. If someone leaves his job a day after he has deposited a dollar and we have contributed a dollar, he can take both his money and our contribution.

We don’t expect to continue hiring an unhappy person. It will be good neither for him nor for us. If we maintain an unhappy employee in our hand, if may be a virus for our culture.

September 2013

People are no longer happy if they are controlled strictly. Now we are in the 21st century. Only a few companies like ours allow things such as the use of Facebook. We allow it. Concerning with coming in and going out, we used cards to control the working hours of the office staff in the past. But we have already quitted it. We quitted it totally. Sometimes, they are late for work. But I’ve already told everyone one thing. What I always tell them is to be responsible if they use such things as Facebook.

All the employees are adults. They are no longer youngsters.

They must have conscience to take responsibility for themselves.

People become happy when they are no longer under control.

If they come to work late, they leave late and more work is done. They also become happier in their work.

Then, if we think of the future, is the growth only in the East Coast?

We are in 30 states and District of Columbia. In both east and west. From California and Washington to Boston, Massachusetts, spreading out all over east and west.

When they are enquired, many of the Myanmars in New York say they sell Sushi. So how many competitors are there?

There are not many competitors. What many Myanmars are doing is something like franchising. They get outlets from companies like ours. For a company like ours, there are only about 20 competitors. They are the ones who are doing their business as a major one. Even among these 20, only 5 or 6 are

running as large firms. The rest who are said to sell Sushi are those who take outlets from others. They are like the ones who take outlets from ours.

Today business is no longer pure business and tools and techniques of management come into use. Then which techniques do you think are learnt and applied?

Our technique is always making our people think how to improve service for our customers and employees. The rest will happen automatically. We spend no money at all for marketing. It’s also because I don’t believe in marketing. But we do promotion. Marketing and promotion are a little different.

“Buy this one and if you buy it you will also get that one”. It is promotion. “Buy one get one” is another thing. They all are good for consumers. We are No. 1 in TV commercials. But it is shameful to say that we are the best. It is something like selfboasting. We contribute more to the benefits of the employees instead of spending money there.

Everyone is a marketer and they are the marketing department. So our employees do marketing through words of mouth while having meals with friends or relatives. The customers themselves also do so through words of mouth. It is more valuable for us. One day, when I went back home, I had to join a queue for something. The things I was going to buy were only one or two as I didn’t need to use many. There was an old woman behind me pushing a big trolley. I told her to overtake me. She asked me why I said so to spend about 15 ACUMEN ⏐ 51

Interview

minutes more for only one or two things. Saying to overtake her seemed strange for her. After she finished paying for the things, both she and the cashier asked me why I did so. I said, “This is a part of our duty.” When I next said, “It is a part of our core values. I did what I could whether it is big or small,” she asked me what company I was working for. I replied I worked for “Hissho Sushi”. These are our image.

After setting our core values, there are many companies making contact with us. They came to see us. They came and saw our corporate culture. In our corporate culture, one must decorate one’s own cubicle. One has to design one’s own cubicle.

I judge the winners and reward them with things such as ipads. Therefore people begin to generate creative ideas. It is the most important to empower them.

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What you said recently includes “Given back to community.”

One thing interesting in Myanmar now is “Corporate Social Reponsibility (CSR)”. What else does your company do as CSR apart from what you said recently?

It is very important. To have “corporate responsibility” is very important for companies that enter this part of the region.

Our No. 5 value is “compassionate & humble”. People there make charity on such religious days as “Thanks giving” and “Christmas”. They don’t want to go anywhere on such days. It is because it is their family time. On such days when there are no people, the weather is very cold and the homeless need a lot of assistance. They need blankets, clothes and so on. We go there to offer volunteer service on these days. We donate writing

September 2013

Brief History of U Phone Lwin alias Philip Maung Date of Birth

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Parents Native Place Hobbies tennis and golf Spouse Children

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February, 1967 (Fourth son of six siblings) U Ko Lay & Daw Yin May Lwin Yangon, Myanmar Reading, Swimming, Playing

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Daw Pan Myat Win Shwin Two sons

HISSHO SUSHI Commencement of the Business Number of outlets Location of Headquarters Work Force Website Twitter Facebook

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1998

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more than 400 Charlotte, North Carolina Around 300 www.hisshosushi.com, twitter.com/Hissho98, facebook.com/ PhilipMaung

paper, ball-pens, pencils etc. to the needy children.

The donations we are making are many. We urge them to promote both as a team and as individuals.

As diabetes rate among children is getting very high, we always make donations for research foundations for it. Then there are also things we are doing for the refugees from Myanmar.

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Opinion

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September 2013

Good News In June - 2013, five new insurance companies held the official grand opening ceremony in Yangon. For nearly 50 years this industry was monopolized by the government - owned insurance company, namely Myanma Insurance Enterprise.The opening of the new insurance companies indicates the most significant change made by the new democratic government in order to liberalize the insurance market in line with the increasing demand for insurance arising out of the economic progress of the country. The insurance industry now will regain glory again with the new competitors in the market by providing value added services for entire satisfaction of the insuring public.

Actually Myanmar insurance history dated back to the year 1824 in which the Anglo Burmese War broke out and Burma lost the battle. And then some British colonialists came into Burma to operate the insurance business to protect loss of their wealth and lives. So this industry has been lasting for nearly 190 years in this country.I want to make some contributions in presenting development insurance business in Myanmar because I have some working experiences of over 41-years services in this business alone. So my recollection of past experiences may make the reader understand more about this subject.

In Myanmar, books on insurance subjects written either in English or in Myanmar are very rare.The new era of insurance will be becoming bright very soon again.However for those who want to acquire insurance knowledge they should have easy access to these books of insurance. So I am trying to share my knowledge and experiences by writing articles or books.

1 . Anglo Burmese War (1824) In 1824 Anglo Burmese war broke out, Burma lost the battle and the lower part of the country fell under the colony of the British Empire.

Since then many foreign traders and entrepreneurs came into Burma, and established the business companies. Round about 1845, it was learned that insurers and underwriters also entered the country and found insurance companies in order to protect the lives and wealth of the foreigners.

During the years 1845-1897 nearly 18 underwriting

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companies were formed and operating insurance business in lower Burma.

2 . During the year 1897 to 1940 Under the British colonial rule, the number of companies increased to nearly 110 and these companies were generating different classes of insurance business all over the whole country.

The whole insurance industry was entirely dominated by foreigners nearly for more than 100 years.

3 . The emergence companies

of

two

Burmese

In 1938, two Burmese owned companies emerged in the market, they are A. Burma National Insurance Company, B. Burma Government Security Insurance Company Ltd. These above two insurance companies were only transacting life insurance business in competition with foreign companies. However as these companies were too small to compete with giant foreign ones, the whole industry was still under the control of the foreigners. Among the renowned, famous and larger foreign companies consisted the following;

4. Foreign Insurance Companies in Myanmar After the independence of Myanmar in 1948 another two insurance companies owned by Myanmar citizen emerged again.These two handled general insurance business only. During those days, different classes of insurance business operated by many insurance companies both foreign and Myanmar, were life and non-life business.

Name of Insurance Company The Alliance Insurance Co., Ltd. The Imperial Insurance Co., Ltd. The Northern Insurance Co., Ltd. The Royal Insurance Co., Ltd. The Sun Insurance Co., Ltd. The Liverpool-London & Global Insurance Co., Ltd. The North British &Mercantile Insurance Co., Ltd. The London & Lancashire Insurance Co., Ltd. The London Insurance Co., Ltd. Phoenix Assurance Co., Ltd. Atlas Assurance Co., Ltd. The New Zealand Insurance Co., Ltd. The Commercial Union Assurance Co., Ltd. The Royal Exchange Assurance The Scottish Union & National Assurance Co., Ltd. Norwich Union National Assurance Co., Ltd. Yorkshire Insurance Co., Ltd. The Caledonian Insurance Co., Ltd.

Year of Entery into Myanmar 1845 1845 1860 1863 1878 1870 1878 1880 1883 1883 1886 1889 1890 1891 1891 1897 1897 1897 ACUMEN â?? 59 ACUMEN â?? 59

Opinion

Changes of Myanmar

Insurance

industries

in

After our country regained her independence in 1948,many changes were taken place in insurance industry.

Firstly the government nationalized the aforesaid Burma National Insurance Company and transformed it into ‘’ The Union Insurance Board in 1952 (UIB) which was fully state owned.

This board started only life insurance business for seven years in the foreigner’s dominated insurance market to compete them.

However after 7 years later, the board underwrote general insurance business.

Especially due to the lack of experience, technical knowhow and expertises the state - owned enterprises can’t compete successfully and the foreign insurance companies were still dominating the major share of the life and non-life business. At

that time different types of insurance business transacted in the market are 1 . Life Insurance 1 . Whole Life Insurance 2 . Term Life 3 . Endowment Life (with profit) 4. Educational Life Insurance Policies 5. Group Life Insurance 2.

Non-Life; General Business 1. Fire Insurance 2 . Motor Insurance 3 . Marine Hull 4. Marine Cargo 5. Engineering Insurance 6. Cash in Safe Insurance

There is a lack of public awareness about the essence of insurance system in Myanmar.

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September 2013

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colleagues said that “Buying insurance brings comprehensive protection for your complete peace of mind”.

Cash in Transit Insurance Public Liability Insurance Fidelity Insurance Miscellaneous Insurance Reinsurance Business Personal Accident

Insurance Schemes For Farmers

Monopoly of life insurance In 1959, the government made the significant changes regarding life business. All the private insurance companies were prohibited to transact life insurance business. So the state owned enterprise, ‘’The Union Insurance Board,’’ monopolized the entire life insurance business in Myanmar since that year 1959.

Everybody knows that Burmese political system was changed from democratic government to military junta in 1962.

In 1964, the military junta (Revolutionary Council) abolished all private insurance companies and there were no longer competition of private underwriters in the country since then. The aim of the ban was to deter the outflow of foreign exchange to other countries. Before 1964, there was a very strong agency network in Myanmar for a long time. In those days, nearly four thousands agents were selling different types of insurance policies in the market.However the whole insurance agency scheme was abolished by the government in 1969. Since then, the popularity of the insurance business among the public became to faint day by day and at present the essence of the insurance business was nearly forgotten by the younger generation. Ever since I was a young boy, I heard some of senior

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Under the span of Myanma Socialist Program Party, the socialist government introduced very large insurance schemes throughout the country especially for farmers in 1980. These schemes were mainly implemented by Township Party units and it reached the grass root of the country. These four projects were, 1. Peasant Life Insurance 2. Education Insurance 3. Old Age Life and Annuity Insurance 4. Cattle’s Live Stock Insurance These big projects were carried out in more than 280 townships all over the country. As our customers are farmers, living in rural areas, the Myanma Insurance Enterprise’s employees had to go to the villages to sell the insurance certificate in cooperation with party carders.

During the reign of SLORC (1988-2010) The aim of these projects were mainly to give financial protection against the peasants and their families when they met the unexpected life events.These projects were successful and popular among the villagers. When BSPP was terminated in 1988,so also these projects automatically ceased. During the reign of the SLORC (1988-2010) some developments were seen in insurance market. Many new products were introduced and they are; A. Oil and Gas Insurance B. Seaman’s Life Assurance C. Oversea Worker’s Life Assurance D. Sport man Insurance E. Snake Bite Insurance F. Miner’s Liability Insurance G. Travelling Insurance

Name of Insurance Company First National Insurance Public Co., Ltd. IKBZ Insurance public Co., Ltd. Young Insurance Global Co., Ltd. Capital Life Insurance Co., Ltd. Grand Guardian Insurance Public Co., Ltd. Global World Insurance Co., Ltd. Excellent Fortune Insurance Co., Ltd. Aung Thit Sar Oo Insurance Co., Ltd. Pillar of Truth Insurance Co., Ltd. CB Public Insurance Co., Ltd. Aye Yar Myanmar Insurance Co., Ltd. Aung Myint Mo Min Insurance Co., Ltd.

Back Ground Company Htoo Group KBZ Bank Young Auto Diamond Star ShweTaung Development Asia World Jade King & Jade Queen UMEHL Parami Energy CB Bank Max MEC ACUMEN ⏐ 61

Opinion In 1996, the SLORC enacted the new law, “The Insurance Business Law’’ in order to liberalize the state monopolized insurance business in Myanmar. Although private sector had been controlled by the government for a long time there happened a significant change in 1996. In the industry “Myanmar International Insurance Co.,” (MMIIC) which was a joint venture company between MEC (Myanmar Economics Corporation) and foreign private company emerged and operated all types of insurance business. However, this company lasted nearly five years and was forced to abolish by the government in 2002.

Since then there were neither rivals nor competitors in the market again. With the flourishing of democratic changes and reforms into Myanmar, the new government liberalized the market and ordered the Insurance Business Supervisory Board to issue licenses for the private entrepreneurs to tract the insurance business. This is the most important step taken by the government to liberalize the private insurance sector, which had been for more than five decades monopolized by the state.

The invitation of applications by the IBSB The Insurance Supervisory Board invited the applications for business license for formation of new companies on 27 April 2012. It was learned that more than 200 applications were sold before the closing date 29 June 2012. But only 20 companies applied for license before the closing date. The Board issued the notifications on 5 September 2012 that out of 20 companies applied for were eligible for issue of business permit.

The preliminary eligible companies and their back up corporation were mentioned below. These back up companies were very huge and afford to pay the required paid-up capital amount kyats 46-billion for a composite insurance company.

Among these companies only some companies are public insurance companies, namely IKBZ, Grand Guardian Insurance Public Co.,Ltd. and Citizen Bank Public Insurance Co.,Ltd. However till the end of May 2013, not a single company can start to launch business operation because they are waiting for the business licenses to be issued by IBSB. Some journalists very recently made criticism for delaying of the operational launch of that insurance business.

The future for insurance business becomes bright again and very soon, the industry will be booming again with the momentum. The main theme of insurance is to give financial protection against unexpected losses encountered by the individuals as well as by corporate. The demand of insurance may be fulfilled by the supply of 12 companies and at the same time new job opportunities will be created. The main benefit gained by the emergences of the new insurance companies will be that most of the citizens of Myanmar may live in peace of mind under the umbrella cover of the insurance. Because the wealth of our people will be financially protected by the insurance system and the burden of the cost of medical treatment will 62 ⏐ ACUMEN

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reduced by the medical insurance and some financial problems to be encountered after retirement in old age, may also be resolved by enjoying the benefits of the endowment life insurance and annuity products. These are my optimistic points of views about the emergence of the new companies.

However many challenges are waiting for the entrepreneurs.

Many Challenges The first one is lack of skilled workforce .The second is lack of advanced and modern insurance technology. The third is lack of public awareness about the essence of insurance system. Please allow me to explain more about the above challenge faced by these entrepreneurs who are very eager to venture in the emerging insurance market. Lack of skilled workforce is detrimental to sustainable development of the insurance industry in future. It is worthy to mention that I have never heard of any existence of insurance institute which can foster the work force for the industry.

The second point is that the insurance business was introduced by the British colonialists soon after the first Anglo Burmese war in 1824.Since Aung Thisa Oo the fall of Burma under the rule of Insurance office colonialists. So the insurance system has been practicing in Myanmar for more than 150 years.

To be frank, I have never noticed that any significant changes were made in this industry. I have been working in this industry for more than 41 years .According to my experience , during the reign of previous socialist government , some new products such as ,farmers insurance, education insurance , life insurance, cattle and live insurance were introduced in the market ,especially for the rural people. However the launches of these products were meant only for propaganda for the prestige and reputation of the Myanmar Socialist Program Party.

When the socialist program party was abolished so also these products perished. What I want to say here is that our people were financially protected by the life insurance for adversities in case of lost life for more than 150 years. But the long term life products are not attractive to the public so only September 2013

Opening Ceremony of Grand Guardian Insurance

very few policies were bought by the public .The present endowment life insurance schemes which now is operating in Myanmar does not allow neither profit nor bonus at the end of this policy term for the policy holder. Drawback of the product is that policy holder expects to get back some kind of interest from what he has paid to the insurance company as premium at the maturity date.

Moreover Myanmar people lost their faith in the insurance system and so also it becomes the severe impact for the new insurance companies because it will take a lot of time in trying to regain the lost faith of the public. Another very severe impact is the sky rocketed inflation rate which affects the policy holder

when he gets the saved money back as a maturity profit from this policy.

Real value of the money was decreased. So I lost a lot of money because of buying this life insurance policy. Moreover I got neither bonus nor profit out of this policy. The worst was that I did not get any kind of interest for the money. I had paid to the insurance company as a premium.This is the main reason why Myanmar People lost their faith in saving life insurance products. These are recollection of my past experience and rational views about this present insurance market situation in Myanmar.

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Culture

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September 2013

ACUMEN ⏐ 65

Culture The village is ‘Sak Khin’ (a patch of millet), the name itself indicating a subsistent crop in a dry land without a canal or water supply.

Large man-made water tanks bordering north and south of the village insure water supply for the village population the whole year round. Many corrugated iron roofs betray well-to-do class with a good income. In every house, two or three huge glazed pots with enormous capacity for storing water are found placed under the eve. It indicates every house save rain water. The rain water is good to brew hot tea for every family.

The houses are all built with Pumpkin Chedi are found in afterMap of Palangan (now deserted) available bamboos and walled Burenaung Peroid 17-18 century. This with palm leaves. Cut trunks of is from abandoned village near Satpalm trees hollowed out were dish khin. for dinner (manger) served to the cattle. The houses are clean mostly grounded (meaning not built on stilts); so they do not need to keep cattle under the floor. So the cattle are kept separate away were going. On answering he said he was going in the same from their houses. direction and we thanked him as he led us to it across an open The village was a small one with about 150 houses, rice field. maintained under a tutorship of a Buddhist monastery. Several chedis (pagoda), large and small, prove the village prosperity His version of the old story and contribution to the religion.

Many many years ago, a group of settlers came to this

Location of the village Both Sakkhin and deserted Phalangan are located in Wandwin township, about 70 miles south from Mandalay. Arriving at Phaya-su (a village) on motor car road, we turn to west for about 8 miles. There is one more village on the way. We drive about 45 minutes on a tract used by carts and cattle.

One must be careful asking about the way- whether the road or tract ahead would be good. The answer is usually yes from village folks met on the way, meaning their ‘motor cycle’ can run on the road; whether the car can run or not they have no idea.

Arriving at Sat Khin village, we picked up one village elder.

He got our message ahead one or two days before. We have also informed our intention and that we will not collect antiques but to visit the abandoned Thai settlement-Phalangan.

The Thai Settlement From the northen wall of the Sat Khin village, we saw a Chedi propping up from the tree top. It was Phalangan half a mile away. A man about 45 years of age asked us where we 66 ⏐ ACUMEN

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place with provisions and possessions carried on ‘nine elephants and nine bullock carts.’ How many persons in the group he was not sure about but one can estimate from number of elephants and bullock carts. How many horses, this also he could not say.

They could not grow rice at first as it was a virgin land.

After a few years of hardship, they decided to settle here. And their new village was now known as Phalangan.

Probability They were Thais coming here after Burenong’s reign. It was a time of xgaos. To escape this they ran away to north from Honsawaddy to settle in a new far-a-way place. They were supposed to be service-men and their families to a Thai princess, Nang Suwun (Suwanna) a sister of Phra Naresuon.

So they decided to settle here at Phalangan. They were studious fellows and work hard for their survival. In few years their colony grew bigger and started to enjoy peace and prosperity.

It was at this time that a pumpkin style chedi was built for worshipping. Few generations passed and their past faded into oblivion.

September 2013

Map showing car tract to Sat-Khin and Palangan at Wundwin Township, Mandalay Division.

Pumpkin type chedi tells their time of settlement The oldest chedi was a ‘Siamese’ type, as evident from its height, one and a half higher than its diameter of the base.

Mainly there are two types of chedis. When the height was equal to the base, it was know as ‘Myanmar type’. Example is Shwedagon.

Another indicator is a design of the old chedi. It has ‘Khonan’ or corners and the whole chedi is like a cucumber with different folds. (See photo of old chedi). The type was exactly like the ones built by two Kings at Ava, Sanay Min (1698-1714) and Taninganwe (1714-33). (See a chedi built by Sanay) It was also contemporary to a group “at Han Myint Mo”. (See a chedis at Hanmyint-mo) All these Chedis have one thing in common. Their corners are like a cucumber. These are usually 12 corners counted all around four corners. The Myanmar call them ‘Kho Nan’ (a small cage for the dove). The Thai call them ‘Sibsong Mun.’ Sibsong Mun were widely found in design of chedis and palaces since Sukhothai period.

Kho nan was found on votive tablets of Pyu period (early Christian Era) in Myanmar, according to traditional architect U Win Maung, but Khonan becoming more popular to decorate regalia, betel containers, on chedis and palaces during Bayint Naung’s (Buren-nong’s) reign and after.

It is difficult to tell which side was earlier in adopting Khonan design but it is safer to say both countries got the style

from ancient India. The Myanmar elaborated 12 corner design into four categories- Kho-nan, Pon-nan, Maw-yun and Mawline. From these available designs, we can estimate their time of settlement here after Buren-nong or late Nyaung-yan period.

According to elders in the village, the first were Thai settlers!

Probably they came here during the chaos in this period.

Wars in the past were a necessity on both sides and neighbouring countries. The country usually had a wide space of arable land and ample source of food, vegetables and meat but human resource was lacking. For example Chiangmai was depopulated for several decades because of the wars and Kavila, new Lord of Chiengmai, decided to fill up the gap by population brought form neighboring countries. His policy was now better known as ‘Put all the vegetables into a basket.’

So the settlers lived here for a century or so. From time to time their peaceful settlement was repeatedly joined by newcomers as well. Naturally the population increased and the land still could provide sufficient food.

New comers and a new revolt They were from Mingaung-nora-hta group. He was one of Alaung Phaya’s generals who fought at the front line in Ayutthaya (1760) A grudge had been brewed between the King’s son and him. The general close to the King, spotted a secret love story of the prince and a concubine who closely attended the King.

Knowing this, the prince made a plan to remove him. When the ACUMEN ⏐ 67

Culture king was mortally wounded at Ayutthaya, all the troops were ordered a hasty retreat. The general was the last to depart Ayutthaya as he had to cover the rear.

The prince denied food supply to the general on the way back. The general’s troops came home starving. An open attempt to arrest the general at Toungoo failed. It would be a chapter to describe his adventure. So the general boldly captured Ava and declared himself a King. Nearly a year later he found himself retreating south. In an attempt to cover his men, he was killed.

Many of his soldiers escaped along with their families and dispersed.

One group came and joined with the Thai village here at Palangan. They all merged together after few years.

A new monastery It was said the general’s descendants built a pagoda, now found in one corner of the abandoned monastery. (Someone had renovated recently, see the pagoda.) They needed a tutor to guide them in every aspect of their life. A village was not complete without a monastery. So, they built a monastery here in a compound walled with bricks.

Years past without any incidents. The area south of Mandalay was a ‘cavalry area’ providing horse-men to the king’s service. They were free from tax. When a new tax was imposed on them, they revolted in 1866 coinciding with the King’s sonMyin-goon Rebellion.

After that the area was no more peaceful. Many groups contested for power struggle in the area and it was almost on man’s land.

The villagers of Phalangan built a new monastery, decorated with a lot of carvings. Probably the time was in late Konebaung

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A chedi at Han-Myint-Mo

Kho-nan or A Cage for a Dove September 2013

Mythical animals from abandoned monastery.

The Jaws reflet colonial influence

Recently renovated Pagoda Originally built by the General’s men

or early british colonial time.

When the monastery was completed someone reported that a palace was being built to raise a flag of resistance. When a rumor arrived that someone was coming with a force, the leader and elders of the settlement fled away. The Palangan village went to disorder and many people moved about half a mile to the south and the present village Sat Khin was a new settlement since then.

Present situation The abandoned site Palangan was gradually deserted.

Altogether four Chedis were left to ruin. Jungle had encroached and engulfed the old site. Later three chedis were renovated by wealthy formers and the one with oldest design (old chedi) found now was nearly crumbling.

No one visited here except cattle herders herders. But the excellent carving were a lure to the antique hunters. Many were lost before the chief abbot from the new village decided to rescue the art objects. The abbot was wise enough to fore-see the village heritage. He made a bold decision - to move all movable

Design conserved in the present monastery.

Lions and florals are all western.

art and antiques to the new village. The rest of the monastery he moved all and re-built a new monastery close to his. (See the photos of the two monastery) He also put up panels of wood carvings to the wall of his monastery and covered up with iron sheets to ensure from antique hunters.

When we arrived the village on 1 july 2013, the carvings are still nailed vertically at the wall under the iron sheets.

Hundreds of art objects are in the new monastery and a book will be necessary to list them into a catalogue. Under care of the abbot, all art objects are forgotten in corners dusted in dim light.

The art objects suggest a period of transition to both monarchial and colonial time. The old village folks maintained their Thai origin. The oldest Chedi indicates a settlement at a time of late 17th century. The villagers also reported that two separate groups of Thais, had visited the site about 30 years ago. A Thai lady in our group is sorry that she cannot claim herself the first Thai visiting the site!

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Dining Out

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International Flight Schedules D AY S

FLIGHT

DEP

ARRI

D AY S

DAILY

TG - 302 TG - 304 TG - 306 PG - 702 PG - 704 PG - 706 FD - 2752 FD - 2756 FD - 2754 8M - 335 8M - 331

14:45 09:50 19:40 10:45 18:20 07:15 08:30 12:15 17:50 09:00 16:30

16:40 11:45 21:35 12:40 20:15 09:30 10:15 14:05 19:35 10:45 18:15

DAILY

TG - 301 TG - 303 TG - 305 PG - 701 PG - 703 PG - 705 FD - 2751 FD - 2755 FD - 2753 8M - 336 8M - 332

13:00 07:55 17:50 08:50 16:45 20:15 07:15 11:10 16:35 06:15 19:15

13:45 08:50 18:45 09:40 17:35 21:30 08:00 11:45 17:20 07:00 20:00

DAILY

DAILY MON TUE

WED THU FRI

SAT

SUN

Yangon - Bangkok

Bangkok - Yangon

Yangon - Singapore

SQ - 997 MI - 517 8M - 231 8M - 335 MI - 509 8M - 6232 MI - 509 8M - 6232 8M - 6232 8M - 6232 8M - 6232 8M - 233 MI - 509 8M - 6232 8M - 233 MI - 509 8M - 233 8M - 6232

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10:25 16:40 08:00 09:00 00:25 11:30 00:25 11:15 11:30 11:15 11:30 15:05 00:25 11:30 15:05 00:25 15:05 11:15

14:45 21:15 12:25 15:15 05:00 16:05 05:00 15:50 16:05 15:50 16:05 19:30 05:00 16:05 19:30 05:00 19:30 15:50

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FRI

SAT SUN

DAILY MON TUE WED FRI SAT SUN DAILY MON TUE WED FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN

FLIGHT

DEP

ARRI

D AY S

FLIGHT

SQ - 998 MI - 518 8M - 232 8M - 6231 8M - 234 MI - 520 8M - 234 MI - 520 8M - 234

07:55 14:20 13:25 08:55 20:30 22:10 20:30 22:10 20:30

09:20 15:45 14:50 10:25 21:55 23:30 21:55 23:30 21:55

MON TUE

MH - 741 AK - 1421 AK - 1425 8M - 501 MH - 743 8M - 501 MH - 743 8M - 501 MH - 743

12:15 16:45 08:30 07:50 16:55 07:50 16:55 07:50 16:55

16:30 21:00 12:50 11:50 21:10 11:50 21:10 11:50 21:10

VN - 957 VN - 1121 VN - 943 VN - 943 VN - 1197 VN - 957 VN - 1121 VN - 943 VN - 1197 VN - 943 VN - 957 VN - 957 VN - 957 VN - 1121 VN - 943 VN - 943 VN - 1197

16:35 18:10 06:00 08:00 11:40 13:25 11:40 13:35+1 21:55 23:55 16:35 18:10 06:00 08:00 11:40 13:25 21:55 23:55 11:40 13:35+1 16:35 18:10 16:35 18:10 16:35 18:10 06:00 08:00 11:40 13:25 11:40 13:35+1 21:55 23:55

MH - 740 AK - 1420 AK - 1424 8M - 502 MH - 742 8M - 502 MH - 742 8M - 502 MH - 742

10:05 15:05 06:55 12:50 14:45 12:50 14:45 12:50 14:45

11:15 16:15 08:00 13:50 15:55 13:50 15:55 13:50 15:55

MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN

CZ - 3056 8M - 711 CZ - 3056 8M - 711 CZ - 3056 CZ - 3056 8M - 711

17:40 8:40 11:20 8:40 17:40 11:20 8:40

22:10 13:15 15:50 13:15 22:10 15:50 13:15

VN VN VN VN VN VN VN VN

19:10 19:00 19:10 19:00 19:10 19:10 19:10 19:00

21:30 21:00 21:30 21:00 21:30 21:30 21:30 21:00

MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN

CZ - 3055 8M - 712 CZ - 3055 8M - 712 CZ - 3055 CZ - 3055 8M - 712

14:45 14:15 08:40 14:15 14:45 09:05 14:15

16:35 15:50 10:30 15:50 16:35 10:30 15:50

MON TUE

MU - 2032 CA - 906 MU - 2032 CA - 906 MU - 2032 MU - 2012 CA - 906

14:40 14:15 14:40 14:15 14:40 12:20 14:15

17:55 17:35 17:55 17:35 17:55 18:10 17:35

Singapore - Yangon

Yangon - Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur - Yangon

Yangon - Hanoi -

956 772 956 772 956 956 956 772

WED THU FRI SAT SUN

WED THU

DEP

Hanoi - Yangon

Yangon - Guangzhou

Guangzhou - Yangon

Yangon - Kunming

ARRI

September 2013

D AY S

FRI SAT

SUN

MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN

FLIGHT

DEP

ARRI

MU - 2032 CA - 906 MU - 2032 CA - 906 MU - 2032

14:40 14:15 14:40 14:15 14:40

17:55 17:35 17:55 17:35 17:55

MU - 2031 CA - 905 MU - 2031 CA - 905 MU - 2031 MU - 2011 CA - 905 MU - 2031 CA - 905 MU - 2031 CA - 905 MU - 2031

13:30 13:00 13:30 13:00 13:30 08:35 13:00 13:30 13:00 13:30 13:00 13:30

14:00 13:15 14:00 13:15 14:00 11:30 13:15 14:00 13:15 14:00 13:15 14:00

Kunming - Yangon

Yangon - Teipei

DAILY

CI - 7916

10:50

16:10

DAILY

CI - 7915

07:00

09:50

WED SAT

MU - 2012 MU - 2012

12:20 12:20

16:25 16:25

WED SAT

MU - 2011 MU - 2011

12:20 12:20

16:25 16:25

DAILY

QR - 619

08:00

11:45

DAILY

QR - 618

21:05

7:35+1

Teipei - Yangon

Yangon - Nanning

Nanning - Yangon

Yangon - Doha Doha - Yangon

D AY S

FLIGHT

DEP

Yangon - Seoul

ARRI

DAILY THU SUN

KE - 472 OZ - 770 OZ - 770

00:05 08:00+1 00:35 09:10 00:35 09:10

DAILY WED SAT

KE - 471 OZ - 769 OZ - 769

18:40 19:50 19:50

MON TUE WED THU SAT SUN

MON TUE WED THU SAT SUN

Seoul - Yangon

Yangon - Ho Chi Minh VN - 1169 VN - 1169 VN - 942 VN - 1169 VN - 1169 VN - 942 VN - 1169 VN - 1169 VN - 942 VN - 1169 VN - 1169

06:00+108:00+1 18:30+110:30+1 14:25 17:10 06:00+108:00+1 18:30+110:30+1 14:25 17:10 06:00+108:00+1 18:30+110:30+1 14:25 17:10 06:00+108:00+1 18:30+110:30+1

Ho Chi Minh - Yangon VN VN VN VN VN VN VN

-

957 943 957 943 957 943 957

22:15 23:25 23:25

16:35 11:40 16:35 11:40 16:35 11:40 16:35

18:10 13:25 18:10 13:25 18:10 13:25 18:10

Yangon - Chiang Mai

D AY S

MON FRI DAILY

DAILY MU - 2030

14:40

17:20

DAILY MU - 2029

13:55

13:50

DAILY MON TUE WED

FD - 2761 PG - 710 TG - 782 PG - 710 TG - 782 PG - 710 TG - 782 TG - 782 PG - 710 TG - 782

12:45 14:10 09:30 14:10 09:30 14:10 09:30 09:30 14:10 09:30

15:00 16:35 11:55 16:35 11:55 16:35 11:55 11:55 16:35 11:55

FD - 2760 PG - 709 TG - 781 PG - 709 TG - 781 PG - 709 TG - 781 TG - 781 PG - 709 TG - 781

10:50 12:00 07:25 12:00 07:25 12:00 07:25 07:25 12:00 07:25

12:15 13:20 08:50 13:20 08:50 13:20 08:50 08:50 13:20 08:50

MON FRI

Mandalay - Kunming Mandalay - Kunming

FRI

SAT SUN

W - 99607 W - 99607

14:20 14:20

16:10 16:10

THU SUN

W - 99608 W - 99608

17:20 17:20

18:10 18:10

SAT SUN

TG - 306

19:45

21:40

DAILY

23:45 00:45+1 14:05 15:05 14:05 15:05

Kolkata - Yangon

TG - 314 TG - 301 TG - 303 AI - 227 AI - 233 AI - 227

ARRI

06:10 13:45 08:50 13:20 18:00 13:20

THU SUN

Yangon - Kolkata

TG - 313 AI - 228 AI - 228

DEP

02:00 13:00 07:55 10:35 13:30 10:35

DAILY MON TUE WED

Chiang Mai - Yangon

FLIGHT

FRI

Mandalay - Bangkok

Mandalay - Bangkok

ACUMEN ⏐ 75

ACUMEN ⏐ 11