The New Nation - Internet Edition

Many observers believe that civil service reforms could be carried through by the present caretaker government because political governments, influenced by interest groups, would not atempt to do it But the moot question is, what should be the core area to be addressed by this government in reforming the civil services. While there is merit in increasing remunerations of the civil servants as a way of discouraging them from corruption and inefficiency, the mater is not really so simple. The Chief Adviser recognised this aspect when in his recent speech he underlined that honesty, integrity and neutrality in the character of civil servants are more important qualities than anything else to be promoted to improve the performance of the civil services. He laid stress on these requirements while addressing the newly recruited members of the civil services.

Civil servants in Bangladesh, scholars and members of the civil society opined on occasions, have traditionally behaved as if they form a privileged group in the sense that they feel accountable to none. Many of them look at their jobs as 'sinecures' really from where none can dislodge them. This mentality breeds both arrogance and indifference. Thus, notwithstanding suggestions of improving the financial benefits for civil servants, the main cure to poor governance in the Bangladesh context can be no other than a system well laid in place to put the civil servants of any rank under compulsion to perform beter.

In other words, there must be instituted an 'accountability structure' to make the civil servants accountable for what they do or do badly and the penalties to be paid for that . Simultaneously, there should be also devised a system to reward promptly and amply the civil servants for their good and exceptional performance.

A framework of discipline and motivation can work beter than any amount of suggestions thrown at the civil servants to go for auto improvements of their performance or increasing their salaries and perks. Individuals in most cases do not or cannot take the initiative to improve themselves. However, if an effective system is in place to guard against their wrongdoings and slothful and corrupt mentality, then the same undoubtedly delivers beter results in all situations.

A series of commissions and commitees were set up by successive governments to study and recommend administrative reforms. But the study reports have been gathering dust and only a few out of the many hundreds of recommendations for administrative reforms have been actually implemented so far.

Vested interest groups in the civil services themselves continue to be very alert to defeat any move for substantial reforms of the government departments that, they perceive, would undermine their prospects for privilege. Therefore, the imperative for the present caretaker government is to push through during its tenure the implementation of the main proposals of the past administrative reform commissions, for they are essentially similar and their implementation at an early date can achieve qualitative improvements in the functioning of the civil services. Good governance will not come about from wishing for it or urging the civil servants to that end. It can be atained only through purposeful actions to create a system and from reform activities.

Recently, people came to know about question paper leaks in BCS examinations. Persons who become civil servants after taking and passing such examinations, in some cases, cannot be relied upon to have any integrity to start with. Besides, it is no secret these days that some civil servants look at their jobs as cash cows to squeeze out as much as possible in the form of graft Thus, officials whose monthly salaries are not even fifteeen thousand taka are found to have indulged in life-style not commensurate with their known sources of income.

We feel civil service reforms can no more be delayed because the services are the sources of some of the serious corruptions in Bangladesh today. The deep cleansing of the civil services is absolutely necessary to clean them and to this end sweeping reforms are indispensable.

RAJDHANI Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) is the official organisation responsible for ensuring that all construction within the Dhaka metropolitan region is carried out in full conformity with prevailing governmental rules and regulations . But it has been singularly negligent in doing this job and this is manifest in large scale violation of its building code. RAJUK contends that it has had insufficient manpower to do its work effectively. But how is it that it did not take care of its manpower insufficiency over so many years? RAJUK is now seen suddenly active in cracking down on unauthorised structures or those without its proper approval or built without observing the building code. This latest activity of RAJUK is but a waste of resources in a country that should put a premium on conserving resources. Those who have constructed structures violating the code, knowingly or unknowingly, will now suffer loss of resources. RAJUK will also have to expend resources in demolishing the structures. Thus, a double waste is involved and the same could be prevented if RAJUK authorities had been sincere in their duties from the outset

It is hard to believe that RAJUK could not enforce adherence to the code in the past by maintaining vigilance by its inspectors on a regular basis because it would lead to a halt in the construction of structures. It is well known that such constructions could continue as the pecuniary interests of RAJUK officials were satisfied. Thus, RAJUK and no other, must acknowledge its own deficiencies and wrongdoings and make a whole new start Conditions need to be created at RAJUK so that its officials feel obliged not to repeat their past underperformance.

Meanwhile, a report alerted that some private developers are alluring people to buy apartments and land, although these have no authorisation from RAJUK . The news is a bombshell because such properties will remain insecure for the buyers as potential targets for demolition. What RAJUK should be doing is running frequent publicities in the mass media from now on so that the greatest number of people can come to know about dealing with these real estate companies at such high risks. RAJUK should also persuade the companies, wherever possible, to satisfy its terms and conditions and requirements of regulations so that these can be approved as legitimate housing schemes at some stage and on this hope members of the public can continue to deal with them. Otherwise, all would be lost for the hapless buyers of such properties.

Ameer Hamzah

The holy month of Ramazan begins today or tomorrow. During this month, the Muslims all over the world keep from food, drinks and wives from dawn to dusk. The Quran says, "It is made lawful to you to go unto your wives on the night of the fast; they are apparel to you and you are apparel for themt Eat and drink until the whiteness of the day becomes distinct from the blackness of the night at dawn, and complete the fast till dark of night,"-2/187.

Fasting is an order of God decreed not only for the Muslims but all those before them. The Quran says, " O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard (against evils),"-2/183.

The said verse teaches man to avoid all kinds of sins including doing harms to others. The sins of serious nature are 18 in number as described at page no. 648 of in Ma Areful Quran by Mufti Muhammad Shafi. These are:

Ascribing partner to God, 2. To disobey parents, 3. To tell a lie, 4.To abandon namaj or prayer, 5. To kill someone, 6. Pre-marital physical union between opposite sexes, 7. Theft, 8. To take wine or any kind of liquor, 9. To make false statement, 10. Perjury, 11. Sorcery, 12. Usury, 13. To devour properties of orphans, 14. To run away from Jihad, 15.To accuse a woman falsely, 16.To snatch away properties of others, 17. Breach of promise, 18. To abuse a Muslim and 19. To convict an innocent

The Prophet Muhammad (SM) said, "There is no need of him keeping from food, drinks and wives who does not stay away from falsehood,"-Bukhari Sharif in Bengali at page No. 175.

Since the number of days varies in the Arabic months, The Prophet said, "(Arabic) month consists of 29 days also. You will not, therefore, keep fasting until the moon is sighted. If the sighting is not possible due to clouds in the sky, fulfill the month (of Shaban) 30 days,"-Ibid at page no. 175. The Prophet has distinctly said, "Keep fasting at the sighting of the moon and break fasting at the sighting of the moon. If the sighting of moon becomes not possible (due to clouds in the sky), fulfill (the month of Ramadan) 30 days,"-Bukhari Sharif in Bengali at page n. 176.

Fasting is compulsory, and not optional. There is no room for a man of sound health to escape it The sick man and the traveler shall fast a like number of days. In case of a sick man having least chance to recover, he will feed a poor twice a day- (ref: 2/184). Regarding the number of days feeding a poor, the Prophet said that a man would feed the poor as many days he was sick- (Ref: Bukhari Sharif in Bengali at page No. 189.

Roza or fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam. The four others are namaj (prayer), zakat (poor-due), hajj (pilgrimage) and Jihad (striving hard for a society based on justice and equality to end exploitation of man by another)-Ma Areful Quran by Mufti Muhammad Sharif at page no. 1080.

Society is divided into two classes--the rich and the poor. The rich does not understand the sufferings and agony of hunger. By keeping fast, the rich takes a taste of appetite and a lesson of standing by the poor in time of need, sharing their sorrows. In the month of Ramadan, the rich is under obligation to pay zakat or poor due @ taka 2.50. In the days of early Islam, the Prophet had a separate ministry to collect zakat from the eligible persons. The amount so collected was used to rehabilitate the poor. Zakat is not a mercy nor optional.

The two most remarkable things of the month of Ramadan are that Allah first began the revelation of the Quran unto the Prophet (SM) and secondly the fate of every human being for the next one year is decided on the Night of Qadr. Allah says, "The month of Ramadan is that in which the Quran was revealed, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs of guidance and the distinction (between right and wrong),"-2/185. The said verse clearly points out that Quan has been sent unto mankind, not for a particular community.

And that Hazrat Muhammad was Prophet unto mankind is known by verse no. 4/79. The text is: We have sent thee (O Muhammad) as Prophet unto mankind. Verses no. 44/2,3,4 and 97/1,4 are the evidence of deciding fate of mankind on the Night of Qadr, also known as Blessed Night

With nightfall, whoso keeps fasting breaks it taking food and drink as ordained by Allah-(Ref: 2/187). At the same time, He has warned men of wasting and exceeding the limit- (Ref: 2/60, 5/87). In this connection, the Prophet said, "Whoso takes varieties of foods, wear varieties of cloths and resort to useless conversation is really unfortunate,"-Murshid-e- Ameen by Imam Ghazzali at page No. 231.

In the society of Bangladesh, a very bad practice has grown over years of taking food as much as possible at the time of Iftar. Islam does not have any sanction. Allah says, "Eat and drink of the provision of Allah and act not corruptly in the earth, making mischief,"-2/60. Again, He says, "O ye who believe! Forbid not the good things, which Allah has made lawful for you but exceed not the limits,"-5/87.

It is not wrong to think that Allah will not take the account of the varieties of foods in the month of Ramadan. Such kind of thinking is against the Quran. The Quran says, "Allah will take account of all things,"-4/86. Imam Ghazzali writes that roza is of three categories, namely, ordinary, special and extra ordinary.

Above all, Ramadan is a character-building month. It guides man to patience, self-discipline and feelings for others. The return of a man to the truth from sinister way of life is the teachings of Ramadan. The success completely depends upon one's will and determination.

In this regard, the Islamic scholars and imams of mosques have a great role to play. They could admonish the devotees, ask them to take lessons from the Quran and what the Prophet said and to follow a simple way of life. Islam does not promote luxury, wastage of property, lewdness and doing harm to others but justice and equity.

M. Mizanur Rahman

When we want to solve a mathematical problem we become happy only when it is rightly solved. Similarly, who wants to go wrong way? None but fools. That is why there is a very popular adage that fools rush in where angels fear to tread. So let us hold this mathematical hypothesis in our life-style. This is the very path of righteousness.

When you do wrong knowingly then it is incorrigible. It is said that to err is human. But it can only be applicable to that person who does not do wrong usually but slips to go frustrated unknowingly. In this case wrong can be corrected to the point of right And that opportunity is always optional for the right person.

One who is locked in belief of any religion must hold the hypothesis that Allah's path is righteousness. None can deny it Now if we turn to mathematical solution we may ask our self-consciousness for what is right or what is wrong. That intelligent person knows it well how to do the right thing in good faith. To induct such knowledge into the mind of our children we educate them.

You may say your prayer to perform your religious rites according to your ritual belief that does not, under any circumstances, harm any person of another belief. That consideration must be inherent in the minds of all righteous believers. The very word 'Allah' is used in different name for different faiths. That maters litle for the unseen One. It is human mind that makes difference. But the right is always appreciated doing away with the wrongs. This is universal for the benefit of mankind.

A soul is set mysteriously in animal body. It is mysterious that how sensitivity is created throughout the body and how the unseen soul is set between heart and mind. Now it seems to be a fathomless question. Everywhere we start from zero space but on the point of no return. Hence we say Allah or call it in any other name as our divine Creator. Every sensitive person has the fear of this supernatural being on any pretext Keeping this fear in mind we say our prayer to that divinity of the Almighty for the atonement of any wrong we do unknowingly! Though our conscience is positive we often fail to apprehend the righteousness of divinity for our every day's welfare by creating mutual respect towards right to live for everyone. Let us think of this positive end. And this end certainly justifies the means. Here we must bring about our moral and mental discipline towards mutual understanding. Every life naturally moves on the same axis without distinction of genders in spite of human creation of caste and creed. That is why equality between man and woman is recognised and acknowledged in the civilised society to contain social discipline.

It is evident that Satan (Devil), the destroyer of moral fabrics of the human, is prevailing in the shape of lust for power, money and allurement in our society that requires to be stemmed at the ambience. This lusty Devil is the source of all crimes and corruption. The people are often frustrated and deviated by deceptions of the devil indulging themselves in crimes and corruption leaving away the right path of dignity of labour and honest living.

Only inculcating the spirit of righteousness in life thoroughly you can expel the ominous shade of the devil from your mind. We are likely to be enamoured by the beauty of the serpent but when it gives its poisonous bite we have to be succumbed to its injury. Hence any temptation is immoral and harmful. This always causes disastrous end. To procure something in right way is beter than amassing money or making property or wealth by devious means. Justice must be done to the honest ones. But for that the Judge must be the honest person first

Ding Ying

Gordon Brown has started his diplomatic road show. In making the rounds, the new British prime minister has to deal with his predecessor Tony Blair's unpopular diplomatic legacy such as Britain's support of the Iraq war. Brown has quickly turned his atention to bolstering relations with Britain's major allies.

During his first full month in office, Brown busied himself with relations with some of his country's biggest allies. Brown went to Germany for his first official foreign visit as prime minister on July 16, then to France. Several days later, the ongoing diplomatic tussle between Britain and Russia picked up steam, with the two countries dismissing each other's diplomats. Then in late July, Brown visited the United States for a meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush.

Brown's visits show that he "will stick to the traditional diplomacy of 'three circles,' which is based on close relations with commonwealth nations, the United States and European countries," said Xing Hua, Director of Research Center of European Union with the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS).

Not only does Brown have to maintain diplomatic momentum with Britain's big political and economic ally, the United States, but also unlike his predecessor, he must strengthen Britain's ties with the EU. Because Russia never has been part of the "three circles," Brown must tackle heightened tensions with the country, and atain a balance power in Europe once again.

First, Germany and France

Right after he became prime minister, Brown visited Berlin and Paris in early July. Brown, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are expected to form a new EU leadership triangle.

"Britain will pay much more atention to the EU's development rather than to its alliance with the United States," Xing said.

Currently, the EU faces five major challenges that will affect diplomatic relations between the continent's three heavy hiters. First, the EU's integrity has been set back by the vetoed EU constitution draft Second, the EU's future development lacks economic engine power. Third, the whole of Europe sees differences between "new Europe" and "old Europe," with the former preferring the U.S. shield on politics and security, while the later relies on independent diplomatic, political and security policies. Fourth, the EU is threatened by Russia's growing tough atitude. And last, the United States is strengthening its influence in Europe, which recently caused a dispute with Russia over the antimissile defense system that the Americans plan to establish in Eastern Europe.

Under such circumstances, Britain will stick to its traditional policy of balancing power with Germany and France and pay more atention to its cooperation with the EU. During his Berlin visit, Brown said that he would urge Britain's Parliament to approve the new EU treaty that creates a President of Europe and a single legal identity for the bloc, as soon as possible. Britain views the new treaty as a de facto constitution for the EU. The country's approval of the treaty would be a signal to the EU that Britain seeks to establish closer relations with Germany and France. If the new Britain-France-Germany alliance is established, the whole EU will be more united and a new balance of power between EU and the United States will emerge.

Tit-for-tat diplomacy

London and Moscow's diplomatic brawl was triggered in mid-July when Russian officials refused to extradite Andrei Lugovoi, the prime suspect in the poisoning case of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian-born British citizen. Lugovoi, also a former KGB officer, was accused of murdering Litvinenko by contaminating his tea with the radioactive isotope polonium-210.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said on July 16 that Britain would expel four diplomats from the Russian Embassy in London because Moscow refused to comply with the extradition request In its defense, Russia cited its constitutional ban on turning citizens over to other nations as well as a European convention that lets signatories refuse to extradite their citizens. As a payback, Russia expelled four British diplomats.

Xing from the CIIS pointed out that the expulsions of diplomats by the two countries had not been uncommon after World War II.

"Actually, the whole extradition thing was only the last straw," he said, adding that the current tense situation was caused by the hard-line diplomatic policies of both sides.

But having survived the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the financial crisis in August 1998, Russia feels that now is the time to step out of fallow ground and re-emerge as a

world political and economic power. "With growing power, it will not allow limitations that are launched by Western countries any longer," Xing said, adding that Russia will pay much more atention to its own interests and its image in the world.

Russia now has conflicts with European countries mainly over two issues-energy and "color revolutions," Xing said.

As energy prices keep rising throughout the world, Russia, which possesses abundant oil and natural gas reserves, has been re-powered. It not only uses its energy supplies as a political weapon, but also as a new way to collect money. It has tried to maximize interests from its energy industry in two ways: first, by raising prices for the oil and natural gas that it transfers to European countries; and second, by demanding that big Russian energy companies participate in Europe's whole crude oil sale system, which means that Moscow wants to receive payments from each part of the supply chain instead of only at the original source.

Russia also believed that Britain and the United States were jointly squeezing its strategic space, due to the "color revolutions" in Ukraine and Georgia, Xing said. "Color revolutions" took place in countries in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as Central Asia, which were traditionally under Russian influence. Those movements were mostly sponsored by the United States.

Experts, however, also believe that the tension between Britain and Russia will come under control, due to their closer economic relationship. Britain now is the biggest investor in Russia. During the first three months of 2007, Russia received a total investment of $3.1 billion from Britain, according to an article in London's The Times.

Russian President Vladimir Putin made a damage-control announcement on July 21, describing the diplomatic fight as a "mini-crisis" and predicted that the two countries would soon recover from the row.

"I think that Russian-British relations will develop normally," Putin said in a public statement on the crisis. "On both the Russian side and the British side, we are interested in the development of these relations."

According to a report in the British daily newspaper The Guardian, Russia's decision to limit the expulsions of British diplomats in Moscow to only four when it could have sent home as many as 80, indicated that it wanted to avoid a lengthy and harmful confrontation. Instead, Russia hopes that it can quietly rebuild its relationship with Britain in the autumn once the Lugovoi affair has died down, according to the report

Keeping a reachable distance America

Britain and the United States kept extremely close ties during Blair's term, but it still remains to be seen whether Brown will maintain this relationship, which brought Britain both benefits and troubles. When Brown made his first official visit as prime minister to the United States in late July, he met with Bush at Camp David to discuss the two countries' mutual interests and concerns. They talked about hot issues in the world, including terror threats, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Iran's nuclear crisis and the conflicts in Darfur, Sudan.

Due to their common interests, the two countries will not head in opposite directions, but Brown will use a different approach in his diplomatic relations with the United States, Xing said.

Blair has kept a close personal relationship with Bush. His departure after 10 years at his post was believed to be one reason for increasing public opposition to his support for the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

"Brown is clear that some of Blair's policy about America was not supported by the people, and some even brought troubles to Britain. He will keep some distance from the Bush administration on certain issues, while sharing common interests," Xing said, stressing that Brown would at least make their alliance look as close as before.

"The United Kingdom and the United States work in a partnership that I believe will strengthen in the years to come," Brown said at a joint press conference with Bush at the U.S. presidential retreat

Britain has approximately 5,500 troops in south Iraq, according to Xinhua News Agency. British Defense Secretary Des Browne said in early July that Britain would reduce its troops in Iraq to 5,000 within weeks and then consider how to withdraw the remaining contingent Whether or not Britain will pull out from Iraq, and when, are now considered a signal of future relations between London and Washington.