The New Nation - Internet Edition

Protecting poultry sub-sector

THE World Bank has termed avian influenza as a major challenge to the poultry sector. The disease has already affected poultry in 42 out of 64 districts. In a recent report presented at a seminar, the World Bank said the occurrence of avian influenza and destruction of the birds hit the industry, which was playing a significant role in the country's fight against poverty. The culling of fowls has risen to nearly a million since the outbreak of avian influenza last year. A similar number of eggs of poultry farms have also been destroyed. The flu has caused losses of about Taka 5,500 crore to the poultry sector, according to a preliminary report.

In this regard, a 'poultry coordination committee' formed by the government with leaders of the sector and officials concerned, has completed the report that dealt with the losses caused since February 2007 when the first case of avian influenza was detected. Nearly one lakh poultry farms have been so far shut down due to the outbreak. Panic has spread among the people. There were some 22 crore poultry birds in about 1.80 lakh farms in the country and 50 lakh people were involved in the sector. Adverse effect has gone to such an extent that production of day-old chick came down to 35 lakh per week from 65 lakh last year. The flu has ravaged the rising poultry industry incurring huge losses.

The Bangladesh Poultry Industries Association (BPIA) has demanded immediate import of 'inactivated vaccine' to combat 'H5N1' type virus and 'recombinant vaccine' to protect broiler, cockerel, and layer chickens. It has also demanded bank loans on easy term for affected poultry farms and owners of the feed mills. The World Bank report said small-scale commercial producers needed improved technical knowledge of intensive poultry production to save the birds from endemic diseases.

For high-value agriculture

BASED on a recent study, the World Bank observed that increased support to high-value agriculture and agro-business is likely to help attain a comprehensive development of the economy. The study said the growing demand for high-value agricultural commodities can provide significant opportunities for greater rural employment and income. As a result of sustained economic growth, rising incomes and rapid urbanisation shifts in food habit have taken place leading to higher demand for fruits, vegetables, spices, fish and livestock. The study estimated that by 2020 the additional demand for these items would be about US$ 8 billion calculated on the basis of 2005 price index. This increased demand, according to experts, has created the national and international markets for the high-value agricultural goods and agro-business to grow.

This has also led to changes in traditional way of agriculture. Commercial cultivation and production for the market alongside subsistence farming has developed significantly in recent years. Cultivation of a number of items like flower, summer onion and tomato is a reflection of commercial agriculture.

Adequate marketing facilities for agricultural products are of prime importance for the growth of high value agriculture. Coordinated development of agriculture and food processing industries is vital for its overall growth. Huge quantities of pineapple, jackfruit, tomatoes and mangoes cannot be preserved for lack of such industries. Increased support to agriculture like subsidies and bank loans on easy terms is necessary for contitined growth of the agricultural economy. Greater numbers of agro-industries will create more demand for agricultural products. Higher demand again is expected to increase production leading to food security, more employment and increased income. A comprehensive plan is needed to ensure planned development of agriculture on which a majority of the population still depends.

Upcoming governance partners in Pakistan

Dr. M. S. Haq

It now appears (as at 22 February 2008) President Pervez Musharraf, the caretaker government and the election commission have been able - with the help and assistance of people of Pakistan, friends of Pakistan including inter alia the US, political parties, media (print, electronic, etc.) and others - to deliver to Pakistan and the rest of world a reasonably free, fair, transparent and peaceful election on the 18th day of February this year (2008) - save and except the election day incidents and complaints that can largely be considered as 'normal' under the country's present situation in pertinent areas. Well done - everybody! Congratulations!

The contributions of defense forces of Pakistan in particular - Pakistan Army, the paramilitary, the police, and others towards maintaining the law and order situation during for example, the election hours and towards facilitating the holding of elections in the country's security sensitive areas were indeed commendable.

The roles of media especially, those associated with PTV, GEO TV (hereinafter: GEO), Radio Pakistan, the Dawn newspaper and the APP in for example - creating, sustaining and promoting environments conducive to an acceptable and satisfactory election in Pakistan; preparing Pakistanis for election results; and sharing the election results with Pakistanis and others in an effective and efficient manner - were, in an average sense, praise worthy. It may be mentioned here, the performance of PTV newscaster and anchor person Zubayer (I hope the name here has been written correctly) and others during various phases of the election city - a 72 hour non-stop special program of PTV on elections, 2008 - deserves appreciation. The concluding session of the election city led by Zubayer was, in many respects, necessary, just, relevant, justifiable, equitable, and motivational because it was associated, among other things, with the introduction of the programme's team management, as well as members (who were able to appear before the camera at that point in time) whose efforts and contributions were instrumental largely in making the election city a success. Keep up the good work!

Despite the good things said about election related performances of the media both during and immediately after the elections, there existed, however, instances of media failure or media shortfall or both in pertinent areas. For example, the utterances of at least one discussant / anchor person on GEO - at the time when the emergence of PPP and PML (N) as two leading national assembly seat holders started becoming apparent - were, among other things, found to be lack of journalistic civility, objectivity, tolerance and wisdom - I am afraid, a continuation of the kind of journalistic behaviors demonstrated by for example, the discussant / anchor person mentioned and telecast by GEO could in the future be instrumental in, among other things, taking a toll on GEO's good will plus image in a significant manner and a windfall from that could make it harder for concerned Pakistanis to internalize eventually the election results in the spirit of democracy, per se. It is hoped GEO would not indulge again in the future in similar journalistic activities that could help divide further the already divided Pakistani nation along various lines, for an instance. GEO should take the note - there exist ways and means for delivering desired messages to viewers without hurting Pakistan, without damaging journalistic credibility and without affecting journalistic obligations, per se.

As regards the concerns raised by certain sections of in- and ex-country media about the election day security against the backdrop of Pakistan's pre-election security situation, I believe those were, among other things, blessings in disguise for the country because they had helped Pakistan and Pakistanis either directly or otherwise to: broadening further the scope of security related considerations in pursuits of a more comprehensive and full proof security on the day of elections than that on the days prior to the day of elections; upgrading further the level of alertness, as well as preparedness among say, the security operatives for better management of uncertainties in relevant areas; and taking those security concerns as additional challenges - resulting in an enhancement of internal motivations of all concerned for meeting any election day eventuality in a more informed (I mean, at least possibility-wise) and result-oriented manner; to mention a few. Further, those concerns represent, as applicable and among other things, feelings of relevant quarters for the well-being of Pakistan. It is expected matters relating to security will continue to hold a critical task status in policy, planning and operation domains of post election Pakistan and beyond, as required.

A brief analysis of election results at national and provincial levels would reveal inter alia mixed pictures of: firstly, voters' mindsets in terms of say, time, space, context, environment, motivation, and circumstance associated with for example, 2008 elections; and secondly, the voters vote related decisions - whether or not informed, whether peripheral or otherwise, whether or not voluntary - reflecting on matters like, anticipated impacts of the votes on the future progress and prosperity at individual, societal, national and other levels, as applicable. The people of Pakistan had, as appropriate: voted both in favor of and against relevant agenda-s of the government; voted both in favor of and against relatively hazy and poorly focused developmental agendas at local, national and other levels; cast both sympathy and no-sympathy votes; used votes in support of independent candidates whose political affiliations or affinities or both are yet to come into light or to take shapes; voted both in favor of and against 'moderate' political elements; voted both in favor of and against the present day modus operandi of the war on terror or relevant aspects of international relations in a progressively reintegrating and ever competitive universe; cast votes both in favor of and against agendas that reflected more on respective political parties than on the overall national interest in pertinent areas; and used votes both in favor of and against 'change' in relevant structural and non-structural areas. The bottom line is: the voters had voted overwhelmingly for some kind of change through the foreseeable future but the desired change can, in a sense and at this point in time, be considered only as a hypothesis as it is yet to be tested and put into real life practice for expected outcomes, per se.

The factors such as and as appropriate - the nature, scope, configuration and behavior of upcoming coalition governments at the center and in the provinces + the behavior of existing senate under the post election situation + the behavior of political parties outside of the upcoming parliaments + the behavior of those who could influence the country's governance and politics in a significant manner + uncertainties, used in a wider sense - would perhaps be instrumental in defining prima-facie the arts and the sciences - the physics, the chemistry, and the biology, per se, of upcoming teams of President Pervez Musharraf in the domain of the country's future governance.

The prospect of reported coalition government (PPP + PML (N) + ANP at the moment) at say, the center, the effort of coalition partners towards capturing at least 2/3 majority in the national assembly, the current political rhetoric about 'impeachment' of President Musharraf and other ongoing political activities tend to indicate inter alia:

one, the upcoming coalition government-s - either in part or in full - could probably attempt to destroy or harm otherwise, whether deliberately or not, the spirit and the practice of national reconciliation spearheaded by the president - that not only facilitated inter alia the holding of national and provincial elections in a free, fair, transparent, peaceful and acceptable manner in the country but helped starting and promoting the ongoing political dispensations. It may be mentioned here, a further success of national reconciliation activities in the future could take Pakistan to new heights in areas of democracy and better governance, per se. On the other hand, a misuse or a no use or an under use of reconciliation programmes could be counter productive, in varying degrees, to a further cultivation of culture of tolerance, understanding, democracy and peaceful co-existence in the country, per se;

two, certain influential political leaders (to whom it may concern) are at present making efforts towards taking a kind of 'revenge' against President Musharraf and the government in pertinent areas. Interesting though, the same president and the government were - in the immediate past - instrumental in inter alia: bringing a number of those leaders back home (I mean, Pakistan) prior to the expiry of period of exile agreed previously by them with the help of Saudi Arabia; bringing the rest of them back home from self-exile through US brokered agreements; and affording them election related opportunities.

It should be noted here: the ongoing effort on the part of those leaders could be a futile exercise; the people's verdict could go largely against their effort; and sympathies of friends of Pakistan (including inter alia the US, Saudi Arabia, China and Turkey), neighbors of Pakistan (including inter alia India) and others could evaporate; if the effort fails eventually to bringing about something better for Pakistan and Pakistanis than what the president and his administration has done so far for them. A windfall from the development could weaken, in varying degrees, the country's anti-terror efforts, efforts towards economic emancipations, efforts towards competitiveness and excellence, and efforts towards protecting nuclear warheads, to mention a few;

three, an eventual implementation of reported agreement between PPP and PML (N) on the reinstatement of former chief judge - who was a product one of the PCOs of Musharraf government - plus other concerned judges through parliamentary processes could in effect challenge for example, the legitimacy of processes leading to reprieves received by the concerned PPP and PML (N) leaders from Musharraf government;

Four, the expected configuration of coalition governments might for example, last up to and including the time period that would be required for implementation - in part or in full - or non-implementation of political agendas such as: reinstatement of judges; international probe on the death of Late PM Benazir (May Almighty God bless her heaven!); and impeachment of the president. It should be noted here: PPP, PML (N) and other interested parties would probably be required to pass number of hurdles before they could be able to materialise most of the agendas. A few of those hurdles could be: gaining of 2/3 majority in the parliament and the willingness of that majority to support relevant agenda-s of above parties; legal complications - cases and counter cases; time lags, and costs of distractions from competing national and other priorities plus costs that might arise out of sufferings of say, poor Pakistanis as a result of those distractions; the role of Pakistan senate when it comes to dealing with the impeachment of President Musharraf; uncertainties associated with role of Pakistan defense forces, ISI and others in resultant scenarios, as applicable; the strength of Musharraf-US relationship in areas say, state to state cooperation through the foreseeable future; the resistance from Musharraf's supporters and constituencies; difficulties associated with building upon gains made so far by Musharraf governments; pro-terror opportunities; losses at local, national, global and other levels on account of say, confrontational politics.

In short, I believe the opportunity has come once again to Pakistan for maximising and sustaining - between now and the foreseeable future - it efforts towards for example, national security, political stability, economic growth and satisfaction of maximum number of Pakistanis and rest of the world people through tools or practices (or both) like: national reconciliation, elimination of wastage at local, national and other levels; enhanced accountability of the parliaments to the people and vice verse; a further upward revaluation of per capita election votes in real terms; a more proper selection, placement and retention of the right person for say, the right political position at the right time and place - allowing more professionals to run the future governments than the lawmakers and rehabilitating higher number of lawmakers in areas say, law making and law implementation related monitoring; further empowerment of women in development, protection of the judiciary and the public service from further contaminations; improvement of bottom up transactions through parliamentary committees and other people's bodies; putting national and people's interest over personal interest, as far as possible or justifiable or both at any time; setting examples of excellence and sustaining those examples by optimising and harnessing comparative, competitive and other advantages of Pakistan in pertinent areas through discoveries, inventions and innovations; implementation of - as applicable - more wholesome, more forward looking, more balanced, more flexible, more quick impact friendly, more adjustable, more result-oriented, more opportunity friendly and more innovative diplomacy; and implementation of policies and programmes that are more non-discriminatory, more people-centered, more return-oriented, less resource-intensive (I mean, usable resources) and costly, more affordable, simpler, and more user-friendly, among other things.

The last word: Policies of inclusion, team spirits, and constructive engagements of all concerned in nation building will, among other things, be critical to the future of Pakistan and Pakistanis. Pakistanis should allow President Musharraf to continue his nation building efforts in a more peaceful, uninterrupted and result-oriented manner as an individual and as an important, as well as integral part of the upcoming governments so that his capabilities and potentials could be harnessed at the maximum by all concerned in the greater interest of Pakistan and the world at large. Please note: no human being is 100 percent perfect but his or her luck, intention, attribute, and contribution to a cause could make him or her perfect to the extent one can muster best at any given time, per se. President Pervez Musharraf is no exception to that.

Malaysia's political poverty

Philip Bowring

Malaysia's many middle-of-the-road critics of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi are in a quandary as the March 8 election looms. Do they deliver the governing coalition, led by the United Malays National Organisation, the drubbing that it richly deserves for its money politics and abuses of power? Or do they vote for the coalition out of concern that a poor electoral performance would undermine the well-meaning if weak Abdullah and enhance the positions of those politicians more closely associated with sleaze, religious intolerance and racial preferences?

The election cannot change the government. Malaysian politics is trapped in an institutionalised racial ghetto. The coalition is sure to win, as it has for 50 years. Abdullah himself acknowledges that it will not do as well as in 2004, when he was enjoying a honeymoon after 22 years of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. But most likely, the governing coalition of race-based parties will retain a two-thirds majority in Parliament - failure to do so would be a humiliation for Abdullah.

Nevertheless, the election results will indicate important trends. The vote comes at a time when economic and political issues point in different directions. The economy is growing at 6 percent, underpinned by strong commodity export prices. Added to this has been a pre-election surge in government spending and massive subsidies for fuel and food that otherwise would have pushed consumer price inflation to double its official 2.3 percent rate. The assumed peak of the economic cycle explains why the election is being held now when Abdullah could have waited a year. Judging by history, a vote now should ensure few discomforts for the governing party.

But the election also comes in the wake of a host of scandals and disputes, some attributable to the current government, some the belated uncovering of corruption under Mahathir's watch.

Issues include well-founded reports of high-level judicial corruption and influence peddling, and the bizarre conduct of the trial of Razak Baginda, an arms-dealing associate of the deputy prime minister and defence minister, Najib Abdul Razak, for the murder of his mistress.

While Abdullah has removed a few of those who prospered under Mahathir, there has been widespread disappointment at his failure to make more reforms.

It remains to be seen whether these issues resonate with the Malay majority, which has two alternatives - to vote for the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, commonly known as PAS, or support the multi-ethnic Parti Keadilan Rakyat, or People's Justice Party, led by a former deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim. PAS has yet to prove that it can escape its mix of modern fundamentalism and rural conservatism and broaden its appeal among increasingly urbanised Malays. Anwar has yet to prove that his stature and Islamic past can translate into Malay votes for a multi-ethnic party, or that he can shake off the suspicions that many non-Malays have about his commitment to secular and multiracial principles.

The governing coalition will almost certainly suffer from the increased disaffection of non-Malays. Indians who traditionally support it have been upset by discrimination. Many may defect to the predominantly Chinese opposition Democratic Action Party or the People's Justice Party.

The Chinese are increasingly frustrated by the continuation of racial preferences that enrich the Malay elite at their expense, and by the low standing of the faction-riddled Malaysian Chinese Association in the government. Non-Malays are fed up with discrimination against non-Muslims.

Yet the influences that drive non-Malays into the arms of the opposition may help United Malays National Organisation retain the loyalty of Malays who see it as the most effective guardian of their privileges and status of their religion. Thus they will overlook its many sins, just as many non-Malays will, however reluctantly, vote for an UMNO-led coalition, which they see as the best safeguard against Malay and Muslim extremism.

There is not much sign that Abdullah will use the election to bring change; radical moves are not his style. Yet if he does want to leave a legacy of doing more than keeping the leader's seat warm he will need to start soon after the election. Will the election make him see the necessity of change? Or leave him without the authority to achieve it?

(International Herald Tribune)