The New Nation - Internet Edition

Attach priority to foreign employment : Bahrain investor suggests to Bangladesh

Abdul Jalil Salman Al Khamis

Staff Reporter

Though Bangladeshi workers are very hard working but most of them are unskilled and hence are getting lower salary and non-conducive working environment abroad, particularly in the Middle East.

This is what an owner of a company of the Kingdom of Bahrain revealed while addressing a press conference at a local hotel in Dhaka recently.

Abdul Jalil Salman Al Khamis, owner of a renowned company in Bahrain, who made a short visit to Dhaka last month, emphasised the need for overseas employment of skilled workers for getting good salaried-job and suitable working condition.

According to him the sufferings of the Bangladesh workers abroad mainly arise out of two reasons--obtaining Free Visa and employment in non-reputed companies. At the same time they should have the skill to perform duties for which they have been employed, he said.

Salman Khamis observed Bangladesh professionals and skilled workers are working abroad with the full satisfaction to their employees not only in Gulf countries but also in advanced and developed countries like UK, USA, Canada, Australia and other European counties.

He said, during his short stay in Dhaka, he visited a number of recruiting agencies including the Career Overseas Consultants Ltd.

He expressed his satisfaction over the performance of the agency saying that they religiously follow the recruitment criterion and provide in-built training to the recruits on several disciplines in their training institute before boarding them abroad and they send them to the well recognized reputed companies.

Replying to a question Salman Khamis said he was visiting Dhaka on a fact-finding mission for the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers in the Gulf countries.

He emphasised the need for overseas employment for skilled workers for getting good salaried-job and suitable working condition and suggested the government for giving the employment issue overseas a highest priority for the betterment of the country.

He said, after the visit he was going to Bahrain with the understanding to employ Bangladeshi skilled workers in Bahrain.

From the Foreign Press: Perfecting the Union Roger Cohen

Beyond Iraq, beyond the economy, beyond healthcare, there was something even more fundamental at stake in this U.S. election won by Barack Obama: the self-respect of the American people.

For almost eight years, Americans have seen words stripped of meaning, lives sacrificed to confront nonexistent Iraqi weapons and other existences ravaged by serial incompetence on an epic scale.

Against all this, Obama made a simple bet and stuck to it. If you trusted in the fundamental decency, civility and good sense of the American people, even at the end of a season of fear and loss, you could forge a new politics and win the day.

Four years ago, at the Democratic convention, in the speech that lifted him from obscurity, Obama said: "For alongside our famous individualism, there's another ingredient in the American saga: a belief that we are connected as one people."

He never wavered from that theme. "In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people," he declared Tuesday night in his victory speech to a joyous crowd in Chicago.

In that four-year span, Obama never got angry. Without breaking a sweat, he took down two of the most ruthless political machines on the planet: first the Clintons and then the Republican Party.

An idea has power. John McCain had many things in this campaign, but an idea was not one of them. At a time of economic crisis, he could not order his thoughts about it. Hard-hit Ohio drew its decisive conclusions. It was not alone.

McCain flailed, opting on a whim for a sidekick, Sarah Palin, who personified the very "country-first" intolerance and Bush-like small-mindedness of which many Americans had grown as weary as the world has.

Gracious in defeat, McCain seemed almost relieved, free to return to himself and escape the rabid fringes of Republicanism.

Obama's idea, put simply, was that America can be better than it has been. It can reach beyond post-9/11 anger and fear to embody once more what the world still craves from the American idea: hope.

America can mean what it says. It can respect its friends and probe its enemies before it tries to shock and awe them. It can listen. It can rediscover the commonwealth beyond the frenzied individualism that took down Wall Street.

I know, these are mere words. They will not right the deficit or disarm an enemy. But words count. That has been a lesson of the Bush years.

You can't proclaim freedom as you torture. You can't promote democracy as you disappear people. You can't stand for the rule of law and strip prisoners of basic rights. You can't dispense with the transparency and regulation essential to modern capital markets and hope still to be the beacon of free enterprise.

Or rather, you can do all these things, but then you find yourself alone.

Obama will reinvest words with meaning. That is the basis of everything. And an American leader able to improvise a grammatical, even a moving, English sentence is no bad thing. Americans, in the inevitable recession ahead, will have a leader who can summon their better natures rather than speak, as Bush has, to their spite.

I voted in Brooklyn. There was a two-hour line. I got to talking to the woman behind me. I told her that as a naturalised American I was voting for the first time.

When I emerged from the voting booth the woman said: "Congratulations.:

That single word said a lot about citizenship as an idea and a responsibility, rather than a thing of blood or ethnicity or race.

And it occurred to me that Obama's core conviction about the American saga - his belief in the connectedness of all Americans - stemmed from his own unlikely experience of American transformation.

A Kenyan father passing briefly through these shores; a chance encounter with a young Kansan woman; a biracial boy handed off here and there but fortunate at least in the accident of Hawaiian birth.

Obama has spoken without cease about his conviction of American possibility born from this experience. He intuited that, after years of the debasement of so many core American ideas, a case for what the preamble to the U.S. Constitution calls "a more perfect union" would resonate.

He was rarely explicit about race, although he spoke of slavery as America's "original sin." He did not need to be. At a time of national soul-searching, what could better symbolise a "more perfect union" and the overcoming of the wounds of that original sin than the election to the White House of an African-American?

And what stronger emblem could be offered to the world of an American renewal startling enough to challenge the assumptions of every state on earth?

The other day I got an e-mail message saying simply this: Rosa Parks sat in 1955. Martin Luther King walked in 1963. Barack Obama ran in 2008. That our children might fly.

Tough days lie ahead. But it's a moment to dream. Americans have earned that right, along with the renewed respect of the world.

Remove law secy: Judges ask authorities

Bdnews24.com, Dhaka

The judges have asked authorities to force law secretary Kazi Habibul Awal from office by tomorrow or face actions.

The Judicial Service Association in the ongoing extended meeting that started at 9am Friday said, "Law Secretary Habibul Awal and solicitor Israil Hossain must be withdrawn by Sunday, otherwise stern movement will folllow."

The association president Khulna district judge Md. Rafiqul Islam told bdnews24.com, "A formal decision on the issue will be announced later in the afternoon before the meeting concludes."

The judges appreciated the government's decision to withdraw the administration cadre officials Hedayetullah Al Mamun and Humayun Kabir from the posts of additional secretary and joint secretary to the law ministry.

They demanded that officials from the judiciary were posted in these two senior posts.

Moriarty expects all party polls on Dec 18

Staff Reporter

US ambassador James F. Moriarty yesterday hoped that a free, fair and credible parliamentary election would be held on December 18 with the participation of all the political parties for restoring democracy in the country.

"We categorically hope that a free and fair national election will be held on December 18 in Bangladesh. We think the people of the country will spontaneously participate in the national polls," he said.

James F. Moriarty made this remark while talking to reporters after a meeting with Awami League Chief and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasian at her Sudha Sadan residence in Dhanmondi.

Moriarty also expressed his concern on BNP's threat to boycott the December 18 polls and said the political parties and the political leaders should reach a consensus by negotiation for the sake of free, fair and credible parliamentary polls. "The government should take proper initiative to resolve this problem," he added.

" If the national election is deferred from December 18, it will then be uncertain the when the election will be held," he noted.

He said, "During the meeting we discussed about US election, Bangladesh's parliamentary election and present political and economic situation of the two countries."

AL acting General Secretary Syed Ashraful Isalm said, " We discussed about different political and economic issues including electoral atmosphere, withdrawal of state of emergency and the views of the US Government in Bangladesh's parliamentary polls. We have reached in a consensus that the national election should be held on December18."

Ashraf also hoped to prevent corruption, to eradicate poverty and to keep the price of daily essentials within buying capacity of the people, if AL is voted to power.

About the BNP's threat to boycott election he replied, "there may be some demands of any political party. But it does not mean the boycott of election. We know that BNP is taking preparation for participating in the election."

He also called on to stop mud slinging and to participate in the December election for the sake of restoration democracy in the country.

He categorically said that there was no chance to refrain from the election and any conspiracy to foil the election would be resisted.

Dr. Hasan Mahmud, special assistant to Sheikh Hasina, Dr Dipu Moni, Women Affair Secretary of AL, among others, were present in the meeting.

Allout efforts to protect garment industry urged

Staff Reporter

There is no alternative to increasing efficiency to protect the garment sectors of the country, said speakers at a seminar in the city yesterday.

Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BGMEA) organised the seminar on "Global Recession and its Impact on RMG" and "Changing Time and Changing Focus in Garment Trade" at Hotel Sonargaon.

Mamun Rashid, managing director of City Bank and Md Akbar Hassan, CEO and managing director of Briddhi-Industrial & Marketing Consultants, presented key-note papers separately, while Prof Abu Ahmed of the Department of Economics, Dhaka University, Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmed, president of Bangladesh Economic Association and Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury, president of BGMEA, were the panelists in the programme.

The panelists said it is possible to enhance our GDP more than 7 per cent, if we want the existing market of garment sector to grow.

BGMEA president pointed out that we had huge lacking in the management of the garment sector. Quoting the management system of other developed countries, he said scientific management system is needed to run an institution, which is competitive like the garment industry.

Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmed blamed the Bush administration for the current recession across the world.

Garment sectors should develop backward linkage, if necessary taking money from stock market, to survive in this competitive global market, said Prof Abu Ahmed.

Revolution, Solidarity Day observed

Staff Reporter

BNP and different political parties and socio-cultural organisations yesterday observed the 'National Revolution and Solidarity Day ' with elaborate programmes across the country with a call to uphold the spirit of the day.

BNP has also urged the government to reintroduce the day as government holiday.

Speaker Barrister Muhammad Jamiruddin Sircar and Deputy Speaker Akther Hamid Siddiqui have also paid homage to Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman on the occasion.

Khandaker Delwar Hossain, Secretary General and central leaders M Shamsul Islam, Tariqul Islam, ASM Hannan Shah, Nazrul Islam Khan, Selima Rahman, Rizvi Ahmed, Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal president Barkatullah Bulu, general secretary Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal, organising secretary Khairul Kabir Khokan accompanied the party chief at the mazar.

"This is a part of the conspiracy that the day has not been observed officially", Delwar told journalists.

To mark the day BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia along with leaders and workers of the party placed floral wreath at the mazar of late president Ziaur Rahman at 7 am. Khaleda prayed at her late husband's mazar.

They laid floral wreaths at the mazar of late president and stood together for a minute in solemn silence as a mark of respect. They also offered munajat-seeking salvation of the departed soul.

In the early morning of the day party flag was hoisted at the party's central office at Naya Paltan in the city. A discussion meeting was also held at the auditorium of the Institution of Engineers.

Supporters of BNP streamed to the mazar of the founder of BNP and chanted slogans holding colourful banners and festoons.

Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, Jubo Dal, Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal, Jatiyatabadi Mohila Dal, Jatiyatabadi Krishak Dal, Jatiyatabadi Ulama Dal, Jatiyatabadi Motshyajibi Dal, Doctors' Association of Bangladesh (DAB), Engineers' Association of Bangladesh, Zia Shishu Sangathan, and Jatiyatabadi Samajik Sangskriti Sangstha have also placed wreaths at late president's mazar.

It may be mentioned that on November 7 in 1975 people and soldiers (sipahi-janata) had foiled a conspiracy against the national independence and sovereignty and freed the then chief of army staff, Ziaur Rahman, from captivity in Dhaka Cantonment.

JU teachers begin work abstention

JU Correspondent

The Jahangirnagar University Teachers Association (JUTA) will observe works abstention programme for an indefinite period from today demanding expulsion of the students who are involved in assaulting a teacher of Drama and Dramatics Department.

The decision was taken at its general meeting held at the central auditorium on Thursday last to press home their demand.

The JUTA authorities stated in written statement that all kinds of academic and other activities of the University would be suspended till their demand is met.

Only ongoing final examination, the finance committee and the syndicate meetings are kept beyond the purview of the strike.

Asian markets see mixed trading

BBC Online

Stock markets in Asia have seen mixed trading with South Korea's Kospi index up following an interest rate cut but Japan's Nikkei index falling.

South Korea's central bank cut rates to 4%, the third cut in a month, helping the Kospi index to end up 3.9%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 3.3%, but in Tokyo the Nikkei closed down 3.6%, although it had been down 7% earlier.

Toyota shares fell 9.2% as investors reacted to Thursday's news that the firm was cutting its profit forecasts.

On Thursday, global shares saw sharp falls, despite interest rate cuts by both the Bank of England and the European Central Bank (ECB).

The Bank of England cut UK rates to 3% from 4.5% - a much bigger cut than had been expected - while the ECB cut eurozone rates to 3.25% from 3.75%.

The UK's FTSE 100 index ended the day down 5.7%, and on Wall Street the Dow Jones index sank 443.2 points, or 4.9%, nearly matching Wednesday's 486-point slide.

On Thursday the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut its growth forecasts for the global economy.

It predicted that developed economies as a whole would shrink by 0.3% next year, having forecast growth of 0.5% less than a month ago.

The IMF also cut its 2009 growth forecast for the global economy to 2.2% from the previous estimate of 3%.

Cop killed, 3 injured in road accident

Narsingdi Correspondent

A constable was killed and three others were injured in a road accident at Raipura upazila while a truck pushed a pick-up, which was carrying police personnel engaged in patrol duty.

The truck Dhaka Metro ta-14-1737 to Sylhet loaded with potatoes pushed the pick up Narsingdi ma-02-0023 Wednesday mid night and fell into on a ditch. Md Faujder Hossain, Police Constable was killed and S.I. Sakhawat Hossain, Constable Abu Taher and Constable Abdul Hannan were injured.

Police arrested helper of the truck.

Obama, Bush meet next week

Agency, Washington

US President George W Bush has said he and Barack Obama will discuss issues such as the global financial crisis and the war in Iraq "early next week".

In a speech at the White House, Bush congratulated the president-elect and said he would make every effort to ensure a smooth handover on 20 January.

The president-elect is due to hold his first news conference on Friday, after a meeting with his economic advisers.

Earlier, Obama was reported to have won North Carolina - which had not voted for a Democrat in more than a generation. The state's 15 electoral votes increase his total to 364. McCain has 162. Missouri is now the only state that remains too close to call.

Fake match-makers fleecing youth offering expat spouse

Mamunur Rashid

At least 100 marriage media centers and more than 500 floating match makers are running their illegal business and collecting huge amount of money from eligible bachelors in the city bating them with prospective migrant spouses from US, UK, Canada, Australia and Europe.

The Dhaka City Corporation authorities had issued licences to only ten marriage media firms on condition of complying with the rules.

"Around 100 marriage media centres have mushroomed in the city without obtaining permits from the relevant authorities, they are regularly publishing advertisements specially in vernacular dailies" said Selim, managing director of Lagan Marriage Media of Gulshan, while talking to this correspondent.

"I became a member of the Kazi Marriage Media on payment of Tk 500 with an assurance that I will be married to a Canadian citizen. After marriage, I will go to Canada, but I was deceived," said Kamal, a resident of Mayakanan in the city.

Another cheated young man Atiq said, a good number of organised gangs having links with a section of dishonest police officials are regularly harassing innocent people and collecting huge amount of money in the name of arranging marriage with expatriates of the first world countries.

Despite the massive hunt against all sorts of corruption by different law enforcing agencies, these media centres are running illegally in the capital and cheating people in the name of assuring marriage with male or female expatriates.

In a bid to root out this type of criminal activities, special team of DB have started massive drive at different marriage media centres in the city and arrested at least 10 alleged cheats in this connection, according to RAB sources.

Masudur Rahman, Assistant Commissioner of Detective Branch (DB) of police told the New Nation "On the basis of complaints, we have started massive drive at marriage media centres at Uttara and arrested a number of people, including women on charge of deceiving the people.

Framing pro-environment energy policy stressed

Barisal Correspondent

Speakers at a discussion yesterday called for framing energy policy in a way that would defend the interest of the people and take into account its impact on environment, agriculture and livelihood of the people.

They pleaded for involvement of people in the framing of energy and natural resources policy.

They also urged the people to resist any move to plunder natural gas, coal and marine resources by the multinational companies under the cover of offshore block bidding.

The discussion was organised by the National Committee to protect Oil,Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Port at the Shahid Abdur Rob Seriniabad Auditorium of Barisal District Bar Association.

The day long programme was presided over by Prof Abdus sattar,Barisal district convener and conducted by Rabindra Nath Roy, member secretary of the committee.

More than 200 people belonging to different walk of life participated in the discussion.

The speakers included Prof. Anu Muhammad of the Jahangirnagar Universitry,Sheikh Md. Shahidullah, convener of the committee, Principal Mizanur rahman,Hiron Kumar Das and Prof Mustafizur Rahman.

Prof. Anu suggested that our government, politicians and businessmen must have to be bold enough to question the prescriptions by donor agencies such as IMF,WB and ADB.

He pointed out that many of the African and Latin American countries endowed with rich natural resources became poor for blindly following advices of these multilateral agencies.

He regretted many of the top functionaries of our countries including ministers and businessmen had worked in the past and still are working as public relations officers of multilateral and multinational companies throwing the interest of the people to the dust.

The companies like the Asian Energy have been able to buy the services of some journalists, bureaucrats and businessmen to tout their interests at the cost of the people and the nation, he noted.

Today the people have only 20 percent ownership of the country's natural resources. The people of the country lost ownership of these resources due to exploitation by the successive governments, civil and military bureaucrats, according to him.

He suggested the government to give sufficient allocation to the energy and mineral resources division, develop skilled manpower and technology and strengthen the Geological Survey of Bangladesh. He also laid stress on taking up hydrocarbon exploration programme in right earnest.

Sheikh Md. Shahidullah warned that they would launch tough movement if the government did not scrap the offshore block bidding and the coal policy.

He said coal has now achieved new focus as gas reserve in Bangladesh is almost drying out.

South Africa pile up 283 for 8

Sports Reporter

South Africa piled up a fighting 283 for the loss of eight wickets in the stipulated 50 overs against Bangladesh in their first ODI match at the Serwas Park in Potchefstroom on Friday.

Jaques Kallis top-scored with 50 off 73 balls.

Naeem Islam got three wickets at the cost of 60 runs while Shakib Al Hasan bagged a pair of wickets conceding 48 runs.

Dhaka Warriors post 145/7

Sports Reporter

Dhaka Warriors posted 145 for the loss of seven wickets in the allotted 20 overs against Lahore Badshahs in their Indian Cricket League (ICL) clash in Ahmedabad on Friday.

Shahriar Nafees, Nazim Uddin Aftaf Ahmed, Habibul Bashar Alok Kapali added 35, 20, 20, 17 (not out) and 16 runs respectively to the Dhaka Warriors total. Naved-ul-Hasan and Saqlain Mushtaq captured three wickets each for 18 and 35 runs respectively.

Quality treatment for heart patients urged

Staff Reporter

Speakers at a press briefing in the city yesterday said the heart rhythm disorder causes most of the heart failure.

They were speaking after the inauguration of 1st International "Dhaka Heart Rhythm Summit" organised by Medtronic with the cooperation of Popular limited.

Addressing as a Summit Director National Prof Brig (Retd) Abdul Malik said at the briefing Bangladesh had started to give quality treatment. He mentioned poverty and ignorance as the main obstacles on the way of ensuring good treatment at the grassroots-level.

They said, "Therapies are available, specialists are very skilled but we are very far from reaching the goal. This kind of Summit would help the doctors exchange their experiences about this kind of diseases."

Dr Balbir Singh, Electro Physiologist of India said media had to play a vital role to create awareness among the people. The vital difference between USA and South Asia is that USA is more conscious of their health.