The New Nation - Internet Edition

No stimulus for solar power

THE government keeps on harping that it wishes alternative power sources to develop in the backdrop of poor supply of conventional energy. But its public statements are not matched by appropriate measures in this area. A manifestation of this has been the proposed budgetary measures on solar panels and equipment. Import duties are imposed on equipment and solar panels and developers of solar power have been drawing the attention of the government for long that VAT and import duties on these need to be either waived or reduced substantially to facilitate the rapid spread of solar power use in the country. But no such tax or duty cuts or waiver are noted in the budgetary proposals and this has come as a damper for entrepreneurs in this sector. However, there is still time to act in this area as the budget has not yet been passed and there is scope to consider such tax and duty reductions or waiver.

Notwithstanding the pricey nature of solar power installations, the same have been rapidly growing in the country. The power ministry indicated recently that there are plans to increase power output using renewable resources by 10 per cent at an early date. And the most promising of the renewables is solar power. But one fails to understand how the drive to popularise the renewables, specially solar power, can quite succeed when supporting fiscal policies are not there. There are several firms in the solar sector which have drawn up extensive plans to make available solar power to a vast number of consumers. There efforts would help reduce pressure from the national grid and open up a bright alternative for many types of users of power who otherwise remain depressed in their entrepreneurial activities.

Displaced people in double jeopardy

ARMED conflicts and 'violence' displaced more than 26 million people within their own countries in 2007 - the highest number in over a decade. Last year, the number of displaced people rose sharply to almost 2.5 million in Iraq, 1.4 million in Congo and one million in Somalia. While there is growing international attention to the plight, no breakthrough in reducing their numbers or improving their situation was in sight as media reported recently from Geneva quoting Norwegian Refugee Council specialists. The number of such displaced people reached 24.5 million in 2006 and that figure continued to grow in 2007. In Columbia and Sudan, significant populations were displaced internally.

As monitored by an international body, beyond displacement, these refugees were also 'too frequently victims of the gravest human rights abuses,' facing continuing attacks as well as hunger and disease. Many national governments in 2007 were still unwilling or unable to prevent people being forced from their homes or provide adequate assistance to the displaced ones. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees also pointed to the unwillingness of some governments to provide their own uprooted people with adequate protection and assistance. The displaced were among the most vulnerable to rising food and energy prices that sparked riots.

Many of the displaced population end up among the urban poor, or if they are in rural areas they do not usually have direct access to farming and are impacted by rising prices in their lives. Rising food prices also extend poverty and generate instability and confrontation, and help trigger war and conflict. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees very rightly said with a note of warning that economic and environmental factors were the growing causes of conflict and displacement, thus complicating further the attempts of aid agencies to achieve a peaceful resolution.

The Long March in Pakistan and after

Nasim Zehra

While the Long March in Pakistan demanding restoration of judges did underscore public support for the cause of the restoration of the judiciary, the inconclusive manner in which it ended does not bode well for how the non-lawyer community would respond to another Long March call.

The lawyer community will now have to explore its 'movement toolkit' to identify its onward and credible path. Continued dialogue with the parliamentary forces remains indispensable for the judiciary's restoration. Meanwhile the pre- and post-Long March posturing, moves and statements of various political parties are significant. It raises numerous questions about the future trends in Pakistani politics. Eight are noteworthy.

One, what did the Long March signify? It was a reiteration of the spirit of 2007 which mobilised people through most of the Long March route to either support it or actively participate in it. The numerical success of the Long March was also a manifestation of the growing post March-9 phenomenon, the new non-partisan popular political power which cuts across political, ideological and class divide and seeks the exercise of Executive, government and State power within the parameters laid down in the Constitution.

Two, should the PML-N supporters and leadership have participated in the Long March? The opinion within the PML-N was divided. Given PML-N's commitment to the restoration and also Nawaz Sharif's commitment to keep the coalition intact, it was a tough call. The PML-N's political support and its workers participation was a must.

However, it was Nawaz Sharif's address not his presence at the Long March, in Lahore that indicated perhaps a separation, even though only issue-based, from the ruling coalition. His own contribution to the coalition's cause however was that he contributed towards preventing a sit-in by the participants. Press reports in fact hold him squarely responsible for unpopular no sit-in decision - a fact that PPP should be grateful for!

Three, what was the PPP leader's political response to the Long March? Asif Zardari's response came in his Governor House speech in Lahore. He sought to claim monopoly of the PPP on the leadership role in Pakistan's original democratic struggle, on the sacrifices for democracy, on the ability to steer Pakistan back to genuine democracy, on the ability to organise a genuine Long March and on the capability to successfully fight a military dictator now as it did in the past.

In Zardari's Governor House speech, there was no mention of his coalition partners. The 'reconciliation man' who hardly talks of democracy without mentioning the centrality of the PML-N partnership to strengthening the democratic system, now resentful, was responding to PML-N's participation in the Long March. A visibly agitated Zardari announced that very soon the PPP would place a PPP president, another Salman Taseer in the President House. Four, what were the objectives and role of un-elected political forces? The un-elected political forces have aligned themselves with the restoration movement because they must believe in the cause. Yet, barring Nawaz Sharif, most have limited electoral support and they have their own political agendas and their political strategies, ranging from threatening the elected government with deadlines and ouster.

The organisers must ask themselves if allowing the politicians to address the Long March was a politically correct move. While the presence of these leaders was necessary, their making speeches meant that the Long march was being used to promote different and even contradictory political agendas by non-elected groups.

Five, can Pakistan's political temperature be reduced without the restoration of the judiciary? No. The restoration issue is one that requires resolution because this is one that has captured the imagination of hundreds of thousands willing to occupy public space.

Also the moral and constitutional legitimacy of the demand too requires an early resolution of the issue. The best way forward now would be to de-link the restoration from the constitutional package and restore, all the judges while retaining the existing judges as ad hoc or regular. A perfect solution is impossible but a less than perfect too will be a major achievement for Pakistan's society and politics.

Six, how should general Pervez Musharraf exit? The disputed and constitutionally controversial president's exit will contribute to lessening the country's political temperature. For that to happen the two routes include the voluntary route meaning his resignation. Second is the constitutional route i.e. impeachment.

The mammoth crowd at the Long March, led by the political leaders who said Musharraf must not get safe exit chanted "hanging, hanging, hanging." Such an eventuality is most unlikely and not what this country needs. Musharraf's voluntary exit is the best option for him and the country that remains plagued by immense turmoil.

Seven, for the Lal Masjid issue, which still warrants a closure, what is the judicious way to settle it? This question becomes relevant given that virtually every speaker during the Long March demanded justice for the victims and punishment for those who conducted the operation. The dreadful end to the Lal Masjid saga has left people pained but the way forward is not to use this as a political tool against opponents. It instead requires a genuine and fair hearing of the Lal Masjid case by a credible judiciary so that the excesses and the causes of excesses by all sides can be identified and rectified for the future.

Eight, what is the way forward on the Kargil issue? Much political footballing around Kargil has been going one. Seeking cheap political gains over a serious issue is merely self-serving. As a national service, a serious impartial inquiry can be instituted. Kargil manifested the poverty of the skewed functioning of state institutions juxtaposed with the weakness of the functioning of the government. It was a blunder on many fronts and those responsible must be identified.

These multiple issues notwithstanding, the real question that trumps all is the future of the ruling coalition. The demands of judicious politics are that the coalition stays intact and that the element of trust between the coalition partners is strengthened. 'Going it alone' for both parties is of course possible.

However, a likely fallout of separation will mean politics of confrontation and the dissipation of political energy in political battling. This would weaken, not strengthen, the parliamentary system and mark the return of politics of vendetta, further weakening state institutions. The cumulative and the gravest impact of confrontational politics will be that the ruling coalition will render itself incapable of solving the acute problems that this ruling coalition has inherited. The crisis facing our state, society and politics will augment, not diminish.

(Nasim Zehra is a political and security analyst based in Islamabad)

A PM on the ropes

Farish A Noor

On Monday, 23rd June, Malaysia's political future may be decided on a permanent basis. Three months after the elections of March 2008, and in the wake of the most disastrous showing for the ruling National Front coalition led by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party that has been in power for more than half a century, the Badawi administration is facing yet another challenge that it cannot afford not to take seriously.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi came to power in 2004 riding on the biggest mandate ever given to any Prime Minister in Malaysia's history. The overwhelming votes cast in favour of his UMNO party and the Barisan coalition it leads should have given him ample opportunity to carry out many of the reforms that he had promised the Malaysian electorate. Badawi had promised to be 'the Prime Minister of all Malaysians', to listen to the plight of the racial and religious minorities of the country, to open up the judiciary, police force and government sector to public enquiry and to create a new mode of governance that was more accountable and transparent.

Instead in the space of four years, practically none of these reforms were ever achieved. Corruption, abuse of power by the police, nepotism in high places and the rise of religious and communal sectarian politics became the salient features of his first term in office, and his inability to act decisively at a time when the Malaysian public wanted a decisive leader were among the factors behind his untimely downfall.

A significant example would be his poor leadership handling cases of inter-religious marriages and divorces where time and again the non-Muslims felt they were being discriminated against in a country that was moving further to the right in terms of conservative Islamist politics.

Yet again and again, Badawi failed to act as a moderate and balanced statesman who could and should have stepped in the fray, to defend the rights of the minorities. Now it would appear that the costs of his inaction have finally piled up and the bill has been served. Malaysia is divided into East and West Malaysia, with much of the wealth and development of the country on the side of the West. The East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, located on the northern coast of Borneo (Kalimantan) remain lagging behind in terms of economic development and political representation at the centre of power in Kuala Lumpur.

Since the elections of March 2008, the Parliamentarians of East Malaysia who now play the role of king-makers in Malaysia's convoluted racialised politics have been demanding more representation and more power in the face of a beleaguered government that has lost its two-thirds majority in Parliament.

Cognizant of the fact that it was the parties of East Malaysia who helped the ruling National Front stay in power, many of the representatives of East Malaysia are now demanding what they feel is due to them.

This week one of the East Malaysian parties - the Progressive Party of Sabah (SAPP) - has come out with a series of demands and the warning that they will table a vote of no-confidence in Parliament on Monday, 23rd June.

Such a move is almost without precedent in Malaysian politics, and with Badawi weaker now than ever before there is the small likelihood that a vote of no-confidence may actually make it through the Parliament. If such were to happen, it would be the first time that a Malaysian Prime Minister would be deposed from office in such a manner; the last time anything of the sort was even attempted was in 1969 when the then prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman was deposed from within his own party.

But the crux of the matter is this: History's verdict on Badawi will be a mixed one for sure. In many ways the virtues of the man are the virtues of default: A soft-spoken individual who rarely loses his temper in public, Badawi has never been a populist but remains the quiet bureaucrat at heart.

However, with the entire region teetering on the verge of turmoil due to a global economic crisis precipitated by the collapse in value of the US dollar, it would take more than a man like Badawi to keep Malaysia's fragile economy and plural society together.

Likewise the demands put on Badawi now - to placate the demands of practically every single religious, racial, ethnic and cultural constituency in the most plural and heterodox country of the Asean region - would put any leader to the test. While there are those who call for Badawi to step down for his failure to pursue his reforms to the end, there are also those who equally want him to step down for initiating the reforms in the first place.

Badawi's political demise may now come sooner than later, but one thing is for certain: Should Malaysia's fifth Prime Minister leave his office and vacate his seat in the coming weeks, that seat will remain the hottest in the country and it wont be a comfortable ride for whoever takes his place. Decades of sectarian politics gone unchecked may have finally rendered Malaysia almost ungovernable.

(Dr. Farish A. Noor is Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies; Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)

Exposing corrupt journalists of our time

Nava Thakuria

Corruption in journalism often makes news in Indian media. The creator of news also emerges as a matter of reporting in many parts of the country. The alienated Northeast too never ignored the trend. In fact, soon after the arrest of an Assamese scribe for his involvement in a bribery case with a seasoned politician, the issue comes to the center stage of Assam media.

While it was appalling news for the people of Assam, as one of its active state ministers was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials few weeks back in New Delhi with the charges of offering bribe to an officer (to get rid of a murder case), more shocking news waited for the media persons. The investigation agency also picked up the scribe accusing him to get involved in the episode. The arrest of Mukul Pathak, who was associated with an Assamese daily along with the then Education minister Ripun Bora (third prey was a Delhi-based businessman, Ramesh Maheswari), made huge media headlines for many days in Assam.

The immediate reaction of the people in general and media persons in particular was that Mukul got nothing but his dues. Meanwhile wild allegations were poured against the young scribe that he managed hundred thousand bucks with his unethical understanding and activities with the minister. Few journalists came out with more serious versions that Mukul destroyed the image of Assam media to the greatest extent. Those journalists even tried to create an atmosphere that after Mukul's arrest, everything became so crystal clear and the Assam media emerged as a place for holy cows only.

So there were hot debates and discussions about the punishments that could be pronounced to Mukul, who was then serving the term for judicial custody at Tihar jail. If the CBI can arrest him for his involvement in episode of bribing one of its officers with Rs 10,00,000 in cash by the minister, why not the journalists' body could condemn and expel him from the community-many journalists raised voices. There was however little voice in support of Mukul to explain his point of views. It was a general understanding that if Mukul was arrested by the CBI (which can never do wrong!), he must have been a criminal. And hence there were no point discussing his version of self defense and even not to wait for the final verdict of the court regarding the episode.

But a journalists' meeting at Guwahati Press Club on June 22 changed the face of anger against Mukul. Organised by the Journalists' Action Committee, Assam and the representative of National Federation of Newspaper Employees, the meeting insisted on providing space for Mukul to clarify his stand at the earliest. Presided over by a journalist Keshab Kalita, the meeting also decided to send a delegation of journalists to New Delhi to meet Mukul and pick up his explanation on the incident. The delegation was supposed to meet the concerned CBI officials as well.

Various speakers in the meeting were unanimous in asserting that Mukul could never be 'the only and the last tainted reporter', working in Assam for various media. It was observed that a section of journalists tried to establish it with their comments soon after the incident. Hence they urged the editors to keep a vigil on the working journalists of the respective media houses.

"If Mukul is proved to be involved in the episode, for which he was arrested by the CBI, the journalists' body would support appropriate actions against the reporter. He will also be expelled from the journalists' body," said in a resolution of the meeting.

In another resolution, the meeting demanded the minimum salary and other economic facilities to the working journalists of Assam. Speakers including Prakash Mahanta (a senior journalist and the secretary of Journalists Action Committee, Assam), Sabita Lahkar (editor of an Assamese monthly, Ajori), Mukul Kalita and Naresh Kalita (both are Guwahati based senior journalists) expressed resentment at the disappointing condition of the working journalists of the state, where over 60% of them were compelled to work without a proper appointment letter, salary structure, leave and other relevant facilities, which are recommended by various laws including the Indian Labour Act. The meeting was also addressed by Pankaj Dutta, Neetumoni Saikia, Samir Sandilya, Nayanjyoti Bhuyan (all are reporters associated with vernacular media) etc.

"This is very unfortunate that media persons in Assam have to work with a salary starting with even Rs. 2000 with absolutely no job security. Many times, the journalists (including the editors) are used by the proprietors of media groups for their business (other than media) interest. So in such a chaotic situation, we can hardly expect a fair journalism in the state," commented a Guwahati based senior citizen, Dimbeswar Talukder. He however added that it was not only the local and less paid scribes, who were engaged with some corrupt means, but a section of established journalists (belonged to news agencies and metro dailies) with adequate financial security too continued indulging with such kind of activities.

His comment was supported by a city based scribe, Haren Kalita, arguing that there were many journalists, who pursued unethical means for personal benefits, of course, in a different way. "Why are you making so much noise against the poor reporter (Mukul Pathak)? Do not you know that many so-called senior and responsible journalists were equally involved in corrupt practices? I know that they do it in a more polished manner. So nobody find it worth bothering," he commented.

Devashish Bhattacharjee, another city based reporter raised a vital point, "Take an example. We have a number journalist cum documentary film makers (employed with professional media houses) in the city, who works for the government controlled Prasar Bharati Corporation Limited. There may be nothing wrong to produce documentaries for Doordarshan, but when one does it on some government departments, it might turn sour. Suppose, one proposes for productions related to the state forest department and take all possible advantages (conveyance to lodging in forest guest houses) from the department while on shooting, is not it a wring way? Because the producers had already received (or will receive) the money against all relevant expenditures from Prasar Bharati, then why he should go begging the unethical support from the department? Will he be able to raise voice (to file news) against the department in future in a credible way?"

Bhattacharjee wrapped up with a final say, "Was not exactly it a cause, why many journalists in Assam ignored the public resentment against the state forest department during the last few months for its failure to protect the endangered one horn rhinos in various national preserves? One can go for record that those journalists remained silent while the conscious people of the state came to the streets condemning the state forest minister for his negligence in duties, but they were too quick to report when the minister or the forest officials made some statements (though many times those were proved useless). Is not it a matter of corruption in different shape and sizes?"

(The writer is a senior journalist based in Gowahati, Assam, India.)