The New Nation - Internet Edition

Fakhruddin tells Bangladeshi expatriates in New York: Khaleda, Hasina have to decide whether they will be in politics

Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed, Begum Khaleda Zia and Sheikh
Hasina

Staff Reporter

Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed has said it is the respective political parties, of Begum Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina to decide whether they will continue to participate in politics. The Government has nothing to do in this matter, he said.

It was speculated that the two leaders during their release agreement undertook that they would not participate in the coming election and would not allow their party leaders who had amassed black money and resorted to terrorism to participate in the December 18 Polls.

Fakhruddin denied his government had struck a compromise deal with political parties and corrupt lobby under which all politicians facing graft charges were bailed out.

There was widespread speculation that the two top leaders of the two major parties had to obtain their release on some behind the scene 'arrangements'. What could be the points of the 'arrangements' are hard to imagine. Deferring of Hasina's returning home on the issue of treatment and her personal physician's emphasis on that and Begum Zia's cautious steps and statements are reinforcing the speculation that there might have been some 'behind the scene 'arrangements.'

Political analysts, of course, are of the view that if there were some such arrangements those would gradually surface with the moves of the two leaders and the government's response towards them. "Now it is time to wait and see" they opined.

Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed said his caretaker government did not violate the Constitution through a lengthy stay in power and cited the High Court verdict settling this matter.

He made the observations when asked by journalists from the Bangladeshi media based in the US city about the lengthy clinging to power by the caretaker government and prolonged emergency rule in the country.

Referring to the decisions of the High Court that has disposed of the matter, he said, "We did not violate the Constitution. The caretaker government was formed as per provision of the Constitution."

The present caretaker government was installed after the 1/11 (2007) changeover in state power through military intervention amid a serious political crisis over the issues of general election, which was eventually cancelled.

With an avowed aim of ridding the country of such problem, the interim regime launched a clean-up drive and carried on massive reforms, particularly in legal and politico-electoral arena before going to the next polls. A good number of high-profile persons were arrested amid a continuing anti-graft drive.

Asked for his comment regarding Tarique Rahman's physical problem due to torture in custody, he said he does not know about it. "The authority concerned has replied to questions over the matter."

Regarding bail to the suspected corrupt individuals, he said, "Once the government was criticized as bail was not given by the judicial department and now it is being commented that the government has understanding with the judiciary."

Replying to questions during interaction with Bangladeshi local media in New York at Hotel Helmsley on Thursday afternoon, the head of the caretaker government categorically said that the government had not got any understanding with the judiciary.

Dr Fakhruddin said, everybody would be tried under the due process of law of the land. "To ensure due process of law, higher court gives decision and we are obeying it."

He hoped that the independent and efficient Anti-Corruption Commission would carry on its activities against the corrupt.

On political parties' reform, he said political reforms cannot be forcibly imposed-it has to be done through a process. "Registration of political parties has been made mandatory, which was not in force previously.

To a question over government decision on rail communications between Bangladesh and India and promotion of army officials, he said those were the matters of administrative decisions that he thought did not require any ratification in parliament.

He however, said those laws have been promulgated as Ordinance that would be placed in next parliament for their ratification.

Replying to another question as to whether the caretaker government's popularity is on the decline, the CA said never did they think of testing their popularity rather took decisions and carried out works for national and people's interest keeping in mind the question of accountability.

He however said some decisions or works of the government may create adverse reaction.

Replying to another question, the Chief Adviser said the government has worked with an honest aim, and if the laws are made with good intentions, the future parliament would ratify those.

Regarding consensus on national issues, he said discussion might be continued further with political parties to have consensus on some national issues.

On the much-talked-about general election, which was earlier stalled amid a political crisis, a smiling Fakhruddin said, "You have to wait for that date of election (December 18) as I have now nothing to say to assure you over the matter. I have spoken repeatedly since assumption of office about holding election within the announced timeframe."

Replying to a question, he told the expatriate journalists that the government looks upon all mass media equally. He termed journalism the mirror of society which acts as a bridge between the government and the people.

Foreign Adviser Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, CA's Press Secretary Syed Fahim Munaim, Ambassador to the USA M Humayun Kabir and Bangladesh Permanent Representative to the UN Ismat Jahan were also present at the briefing.

News Analysis: Taking care of a brewing malaise in education

Mostafa Kamal Majumder

The record results at the Higher Secondary Certificate Examinations this year have come as a pleasant news to all. But underneath the news lies a malaise that is brewing with nobody paying proper attention to and which may explode taking everyone by surprise.

Of the 4 lakh 37 thousand students who passed the examinations with a record 74.85 percentage of success, there will be a significant number of dropouts who will join the ranks of the educated unemployed. The public universities and the university colleges under the National University have capacity for intake of about 1 lakh 96 thousand pupils.

A total of 22,045 students who secured grade point average (GPA-5), there is scope for accommodating only 14,750 in the better known government universities and colleges and a few more thousand others in a limited number of private universities which are doing well.

Poor ones among the GPA-5 achievers again cannot afford education in even the average private universities because of pecuniary reasons. Some of the GPA-5 scoring students would also not get chance to study the subjects of their preference.

Senior university teachers are of the opinion that students are getting good results by answering multiple choice questions (MCQ) which, however, cannot ensure proper IQ test, and some of the high achievers reportedly fail to properly articulate points and are found not scoring similar results at the higher level.

The quality of education is going down also because of the mass proliferation of private coaching or tuition centres which charge fees from students depending on the quality of 'notes’ they supply. Thus, one finds every high achiever to have gone to coaching centres or private tutors for almost all the subjects they appear in.

Most private tutors have again turned education into a business and some of them allegedly do not give marks to pupils that they deserve at school annual examinations if they do not come to their coaching centres. Those going to coaching centres get better marks at school examinations, it is alleged.

Private tutors who are running coaching centres by distributing 'quailty’ notes appear to have taken advantage of the abolition of notebooks at the lower secondary level since the late seventies of the last century. That measure was intended to make pupils read text books instead of relying only on notebooks which used to contain answers to sample questions.

During those days there was competition among publishers to bring out quality notebooks by assigning qualified senior teachers, at relatively cheaper prices. There were also guilds of teachers publishing notebooks.

At present quality of instructions at the schools are suffering because of the predominance of the coaching centres to which teachers give more attention. Concerned people believe that this unhealthy development can be taken proper care of by withdrawing the ban on note books. Even consultation of note books along with the text books used to help students get the chance of at least developing some analytical skills which are completely missing now. Note books distributed from coaching centres are only for memorisation and do not help the development of analytical faculty of students.

The education authorities thus may consider the question of restoring the open competition in the publication of note books for students instead of making them to remain hostage to private coaching centres which also prosper by selling notes.

Tragedy haunts Rangs Bhaban: Two workers injured in 2nd incident

Two workers engaged in demolition of Rangs Bhaban
were injured in an accident yesterday. Focus Bangla

Staff Reporter

Tragedy visits Rangs Bhaban again. Two more workers dismantling the structure suffered injuries after they fell from what remained of the multi-storeyed building in the city yesterday.

Police and Rajuk officials said Mizanur Rahman, 22, and Bhutto, 23, accidentally fell from the 6th floor of the building at about 3:00pm during the demolition work of the partially dismantled 22-storey commercial building near Bijoy Sarani.

The critically injured workers were rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital from where they were shifted to Pangu Hospital.

The ill-fated workers were dismantling a five-inch partition wall when their scaffold gave way plunging them on to the second floor and impaling them on protruded centring rods.

Building worker Zohurul Islam told the New Nation that the demolition work has become all the more dangerous as the towering side pillars may collapse any time and cause fatalities.

Rajuk started demolition of the building on August 3, 2007 and it has so far been able to knock down only upper half of the 22-storey structure. Lack of experience in demolition works of this scale led to the death of at least 12 workers in the first phase of the work.

Ban Ki-moon due Nov 1

Ban Ki-moon

UNB, New York

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon would visit Bangladesh November 1-2, ahead of a crucial general election in the country.

Foreign Adviser Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury made the announcement during an interaction of Bangladeshi local media in New York with Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed at Hotel Helmsley on Thursday afternoon.

He said the UN Secretary General's two-day tour of Bangladesh "will bring benefit for the country".

He said during a meeting between the Chief Adviser and the UN Secretary General on Friday, the matter would be discussed in detail.

The Foreign Adviser further informed that Bangladesh has got the commanding post of UN Peacekeeping force in Liberia and Georgia.

Terrorist killed in crossfire

Staff Reporter

A terrorist was killed in a shootout between his cohorts and RAB at Holan in Dakshinkhan area in the city early Friday.

The dead was identified as Syed Mohammad Shihab, 35, ring leader of 'Shihab Group', RAB sources said.

Son of late Syed Md Shahid of Nasirnagar upazila in Brahmanbaria district, Shihab was a resident of Mirpur in the city.

RAB-1 men arrested Shihab from city's Badda area at about 8:00pm on Thursday and interrogated him. According to his statement, a team of RAB alongwith Shihab went to Holan area to recover hidden arms. When they reached the spot at about 2:00am, the sidekicks of Sihab opened fire on the elite force. RAB personnel also fired back, triggering a gun-battle.

"Sihab was caught in the crossfire and killed on the spot," said an eyewitness account of RAB.

The elite force also recovered a pistol, a revolver and some bullets from the scene.

Police said Shihab was wanted in 15 cases, including in connection with six murders.

Shihab's elder brother Syed Md Shahin said that Shihab was on bail in all the cases filed against him.

Craze for footwear: Eid shopping gains momentum

Eid shopping is always fun to the children except
when asked to choose their footwears. This photograph was
taken from Karnafuli Garden City yesterday. NN
photo

Shamim Jahangir

As the Eid festival is only a few days away, the foot-wear shops in the capital have been witnessing heavy rush of buyers since Thursday .

The well-off people were found thronging the shoe outlets at Basundhara City, DCC Park Market , Navana Tower, Shoppers World and Star World at Gulshan, New Market and Elephant Road.

Women and children were mainly seen rushing to the shoe markets.

The less privileged people preferred makeshift shoe outlets at Gulistan, Gaushia Market, surrounding areas of New Market and Dhaka College and many other places across the capital.

Salesmen at different shoes markets said that the male consumers were mainly choosing flat hill shoes, Kolapuri and Davdas sandal, Nagra shoes this year. One pair of these shoes is selling between Tk 6,00 and Tk 2,000.

The male customers have also chosen both country and foreign brand shoes to make their Eid festival more enjoyable and colourful. The price of brand shoes is varying from Tk 1,000 to Tk 25,000. The ordered shoes cost Tk 8,00 and Tk 10,000.

The female consumers have been showing interest in coloured and designed sandals with marble and stone settings. They are priced between Tk 4,00 and Tk 15,000, a sales manger of Navana Tower said.

On the other hand, different varieties of children shoes and sandals were selling at prices ranging from Tk 450 to Tk 5,000 per pair.

The foot-wear outlets at the Elephant Road have been doing brisk business with both home made and foreign foot wears. The prices of one pair of shoes at this market vary from Tk 1,000 to Tk 25,000.

A shoe shop owner at Elephant Road said the prices of shoes have shot up by 10 to 12 percent this year following price hike of raw materials.Still prices shoes are much less compared to other essential commodities, he noted.

Mantra, an exclusive fashion store at Gulshan-1, is stuffed with all kinds of men and women brand shoes.

"Mantra is selling men's Jens shoes at prices ranging from Tk 2,500 to Tk 4,500, ladies colourful sandal from Tk 12,00 to Tk 5,500," an executive of Mantra said.

Kumudini Handicrafts, a unit of Kumudini Welfare Trust of Bengal Ltd, is charging Tk 250 to Tk 450 for a pair of Nagra shoes.

Taslim, a third- year honours student of the National University, told the New Nation at shoe shop at elephant road said, "though the prices of the shoes and sandal have registered a sharp rise this year, still I can't imagine celebrating the Eid without buying them".

BNP to start poll activities after Eid: Hannan Shah

Staff Reporter

BNP chairperson's adviser Brig Gen (retd) Hannan Shah said yesterday that the Awami League President Sheikh Hasina and BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia should sit across the table in the greater interest of the nation to bring about qualitative changes in the politics and future governance.

"We should stop all sorts of politics of confrontation and violence and culture of boycotting parliament with a view to establish democracy on strong footings," he told journalists at his New DOHS apartment.

Replying to a question on the preparation of BNP for the next parliamentary elections, he said mass contact as well as nomination process would start under the guideline of Khaleda Zia after the Eid-ul- Fitr.

Responding to another query on the new office for the party Chairperson, he said a new office would be set up after the Eid from where Begum Zia would conduct party activities including the nomination process.

"BNP will participate in the elections," he said and pointed out that a positive atmosphere regarding the election is prevailing in the country.

He said that those who had committed corruption, amassed black money and tarnished the images of the party would not get party nominations.

"As per the party constitution necessary action would be taken against those involved in corruption," he added.

Senior bankers abusing banking rules

Staff Reporter

Some top-level officials of different private banks are allegedly abusing rules to continue with the job over their retirement ages.

"He has forgotten his birthday," has become a witty saying among the bank officials pointing at some aged chief executives of private banks in Dhaka, who are not going on retirement despite end of their terms.

Rather, the top officials are moving from one bank to another securing better offers, for they are champions in serving personal interests of the boards of directors of various banks, it is alleged.

The Chief Executives or Managing Directors of some of the banks are allegedly harmful to the banks as well as to the interests of depositors and other stakeholders.

These officials, at the cost of the institutions that they head, move from one bank to another by pursuing a "three-fold" technique to be a successful careerist.

After joining a private bank as deputy managing director or managing director in the first phase, they recklessly allow sanctions of loans to the bank directors or their cohorts. They also help rescheduling these loans.

Before the damages to the bank comes to light the managing director inter into the second fold and join another bank and start to do the same thing and ultimately inter into the third fold of their jobs. As many as 17 chief executive officers of private commercial banks and non-banking financial institutions were identified to have pursued the "three-fold" policy.

The Boards of Directors of different banks are fond of appointing these sorts of bankers because they know how to use the loopholes in the banking system efficiently and how to deprive the depositors and shareholders of what they rightfully deserve.

After retiring from the post of managing directors some of these bankers rejoin the same bank as advisers.

The Banks where such practices are on include: Uttara Bank, Eastern Bank, Dutch-Bangla Bank, Mercantile Bank, Shahjalal Islami Bank, Premier Bank, Bank Asia, Jamuna Bank and Trust Bank.

Allegations of rampant corruption were not found against the top officials of those banks. But their weak and lenient administration allegedly harmed the banks that they served earlier.

However, the situation has improved slightly after passing of the Bank Companies Act of 1991.

Rules on private banks say, "On the matter of retirement and re-employment, the employees shall be governed by the Provisions of the Public Servants (Retirement) Act 1974.

Public servants go on retirement at the age of 57. But the Chief Executives of the banks are not used to follow this rule. They are used to retire after 65, though some of them are allegedly continuing jobs beyond this limit.

However, Bangladesh Bank has issued a circular on Rules and Regulations for appointment of Chief Executive and Adviser in Banks, which gives additional facility to the bankers in respect of retirement.

It says, "No person crossing the age of 65 years shall hold the post of Chief Executive of a bank."

According to Bank Companies Act of 1991, the banks need to obtain prior approval of Bangladesh Bank in respect of appointment, dismissal, release or removal of Chief Executive and Adviser.

But the central bank still approves the appointments according to desire of boards of private banks.

The rule has made the appointment of Chief Executives renewable after a completion of a compulsory three years tenure.

4-Party meets on polls participation tomorrow

Rafiqul Islam Azad

The BNP-led four-party alliance is likely to hold a meeting tomorrow to discuss their participation in the forthcoming general polls dated for December 18 and expansion of the alliance to face the grand alliance led by Awami League.

The secretaries general level meeting is expected to be held at BNP Secretary General Khondoker Delwar Hossain’s NAM flat residence in the city.

A senior BNP leader told The New Nation that the meeting will formally decide whether the alliance would take part in the coming parliamentary polls and discuss the necessity of expansion of the alliance further.

The BNP and its allies welcomed the Chief Adviser’s address to the nation declaring the date for parliamentary elections, but they are yet to take a decision if they are going to the December 18 polls.

Echoing the Awami League leaders, BNP leaders Saifur Rahman and MK Anwar recently told reporters they are ready to go to the polls.

However, BNP Secretary General Khondoker Delwar Hossain did not own their statements terming those as personal opinions. He further said, the decision if the alliance would take part in the elections would be taken after discussing with alliance leaders.

On the other hand, Khondoker Delwar Hossain on Thursday alleged that the level paying field for the participation of all political party had yet to be created.

Sources, however, said that the BNP and its allies are ready to go to the polls but they are per suing tactics to keep the Caretaker Government in pressure by not declaring their position so early.

After her release, BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia has stated that they are ready to go for dialogue and elections if a congenial atmosphere is created.

Leaders and activists of the four-party alliance hoped that the alliance leaders would take a decision in this regard soon so that they can take preparations for the polls.