Thursday, April 4, 2019

Congress passes 'historic' bill to end US role in Yemen war, setting up showdown with Trump

US president has vowed to veto resolution, passed in House and Senate, regardless of its bipartisan support

By MEE staff-4 April 2019

The US House of Representatives has passed a resolution that seeks to end American military involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen, a historic vote that was welcomed by US lawmakers and human rights advocates.

The House voted 247-175 in favour of the resolution on Thursday, only weeks after it was passed in the US Senate.

Senator Bernie Sanders, who introduced the bill in the upper house last month, took to Twitter to celebrate the bill's passing, calling it "a clear stand against war and famine".

"This is just the beginning of a national debate over when and where we go to war and Congress' authority over those interventions," Sanders said.

The resolution, various iterations of which have been voted on in both the House and Senate since last year, seeks to end US military involvement in the war in Yemen that has not received prior authorisation from Congress.

That restriction falls under the US War Powers Act of 1973, which seeks to rein in where and when US forces are involved in military conflicts.

Trump poised to veto

The resolution's passing sets up a showdown with US President Donald Trump, who must give it his stamp of approval before it can come into effect.

However, Trump has already vowed to veto the legislation, as his administration insists that US support for Saudi-led forces in Yemen must continue.

'This is just the beginning of a national debate over when and where we go to war'

- US Senator Bernie Sanders

Last month, the president's office describedCongress's efforts as "flawed".

It said the bipartisan resolution raised "serious constitutional concerns" as it seeks to override Trump's ability to make decisions "as commander-in-chief".

The administration also said passing such a motion would harm Washington's relations with its allies, as well as the US's ability to "prevent the spread of violent extremist organisations".

Despite that, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, who has been at the forefront of the efforts to end Washington's involvement in Yemen, said on Thursday he was "hopeful that the president will sign this legislation".

Speaking alongside Sanders during a news conference after the House vote, Khanna said supporters of the bill planned to send a bipartisan letter to the president requesting a sit-down to discuss the resolution.

Sanders, who reiterated his call for Trump to sign the "historic legislation", added that the US Constitution gives Congress - and not the president - the responsibility and power to declare war.

"Today the Congress says we are taking that responsibility back, not just in Yemen, but in the future as well," Sanders said.

'American complicity'

The vote comes amid heightened pressure on the Trump administration to end its support for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen in the aftermath of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates launched the war in Yemen in 2015 to root out the country's Houthi rebels and restore the country's Saudi-backed president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, to power.

Saudi Arabia would end Yemen war without US support, experts say

The ongoing conflict has pushed Yemen into a dire humanitarian crisis, with millions of people facing famine and disease and thousands killed.

Despite continued calls to end its support for the Saudi-led coalition, the US continues to provide it with intelligence sharing, logistics support and other training.

Experts say that without US backing, Saudi Arabia would be forced to end its war effort in Yemen.

The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), a Quaker lobby group that has championed the bill, applauded its passing, with Kate Gould, the group's legislative director for Middle East policy, brushing off Trump's promised veto.

"The grassroots movement that propelled this landmark legislation through Congress has generated momentum that can't be stopped by the president's anticipated veto, and it won't stop until American complicity in the world's largest humanitarian crisis ends," Gould said.

However, if Trump blocks the Yemen resolution, as he is expected to do, it would have to gain the support of two-thirds of US senators in order to overcome the president's veto.

The US Senate passed the bill in a close 54-46 vote on 13 March, far from that required two-thirds majority.

With ouster of senior women leaders, Trudeau’s image as ‘feminist’ hero takes a hit

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives for a Liberal Party caucus meeting Tuesday on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. He has faced criticism for expelling two female members from the party. (Chris Wattie/Reuters)

By Emily Rauhala-April 3 at 6:07 PM

Spare a thought for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s scheduler — and maybe another for Trudeau himself.

On Tuesday night, Trudeau announced his party was ousting two prominent female leaders — Jody Wilson-Raybould, the once-rising star who until January served as Canada’s first indigenous attorney general, and Jane Philpott, the respected former president of the Treasury Board — after they challenged his handling of an ongoing political scandal.

On Wednesday, Trudeau attended a previously scheduled event for young female leaders who aspire to leadership positions such as the cabinet roles that Wilson-Raybould and Philpott held. Later, he kept an appointment with Inuit leaders working to improve relations with the government.

As he addressed the women in Canada’s House of Commons, about 30 tuned their backs on him.

“He’s not acting as a true feminist,” said Deanna Allain, a first-year student at McMaster University who attended. “He is not lifting up women in politics.”

The protest says much about the challenge facing the 47-year-old prime minister.

The telegenic son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau swept to power in 2015 promising a new era for Canada in which government would be transparent, women would be equal to men, and Canada would take painful but important steps toward reconciliation with indigenous communities — and became a global icon along the way.

But as he heads into the federal election in October, the political controversythat led his Liberal Party to expel Wilson-Raybould and Philpott is threatening his standing among the very people he boldly promised to include, promote and represent.

[Trudeau’s party expels former allies who challenged him in political scandal]

Though his government is taking pains to cast the ouster of the women as a matter of party discipline and the scandal as a misunderstanding, his handling of the crisis is raising questions about his commitment to inclusion — questions that probably will hurt him at the polls.

“The prime minister has taken a massive personal hit on his brand,” said Nik Nanos, a Canadian pollster.

Among female voters, a key Liberal constituency, Trudeau once enjoyed a 10- to 20-point advantage, Nanos said. That margin has shrunk to perhaps five points.

“The primary driver is disappointment,” Nanos said.

The controversy rocking Ottawa didn’t start as a matter of gender or indigenous equality. But that’s how it’s now playing out. And that’s a dangerous development for the Liberals.

At the heart of the scandal are allegations that Trudeau and his office pressured Wilson-Raybould as attorney general to defer the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, an engineering firm from Trudeau’s home province that was accused of bribery — and demoted her to a lesser cabinet role when she resisted.

Canadian authorities charged the Quebec firm in 2015 with paying bribes to secure business in Moammar Gaddafi’s Libya. Under deferred prosecution, a legal tool used by authorities in several countries, firms that are charged with crimes may avoid convictions if they admit wrongdoing, pay fines and commit to stricter compliance rules.

[Justin Trudeau loves apologies. Not with this particular scandal.]

Wilson-Raybould told a parliamentary committee in February that Trudeau, top aides and government officials pressured her inappropriately, resorting to “veiled threats” to get her to offer the company such a deal.

Trudeau moved Wilson-Raybould in January from attorney general and minister of justice to minister of veterans affairs. It was widely viewed as a demotion. She resigned from the veterans affairs department in February.

Trudeau and his aides have denied any improper pressure. They say it is normal for the prime minister’s team to discuss legal matters with the attorney general.

If SNC-Lavalin were convicted, the firm would be prohibited from federal contracts in Canada for 10 years. Avoiding a trial, Trudeau’s team says, was about saving Canadian jobs.

No one is alleging that money changed hands or that laws were broken in the cabinet scandal.

But in the months since emerged in February, the conversation has shifted from a debate about the relationship between the executive and the judiciary, to a conversation about who in Canadian society really holds power.

Trudeau, a self-proclaimed feminist, put together Canada’s first gender-balanced cabinet, stocking his team with talent from outside the Ottawa establishment — including Wilson-Raybould, an indigenous lawyer from British Columbia.

Now, her account has cast doubt on Trudeau’s commitment to his stated principles.

In her testimony, Wilson-Raybould described being undermined and bullied by a predominantly white and male team. She reminded her peers that Canada had a long history of using the law against indigenous communities and said — forcefully — that she would not be cowed.

“These are the teachings of my parents, grandparents and my community,” she told the House of Commons justice committee. “I come from a long line of matriarchs, and I am a truth-teller in accordance with the laws and traditions of our Big House.”

Soon, Philpott resigned in solidarity.

[Justin Trudeau’s rise to power seemed charmed. Now he faces a fight for his political life.]

Some saw sexism or racism in the way the crisis was handled and the story was covered. After Wilson-Raybould resigned from the cabinet, a Canadian Press piece sourced to unnamed Liberal insiders cast her as uncooperative and selfish.

“Trudeau’s team has tried to explain it as ‘She’s not a team player,’ ” said Priscilla Settee, a professor of indigenous studies and women and gender studies at the University of Saskatchewan. “It’s an argument that men always use against women, that they are not team players, they don’t understand how it works.”

She added: “As a First Nations woman, it seems like things can only go so far, and then it falls back to the large structures, to political domination, to colonialism.”

University of Toronto political scientist Sylvia Bashevkin said it’s too late for the Liberals to change leaders before the October election and too early to say whether women who supported Trudeau in the last election will vote for a different party this time around.

But she said there’s no question that expelling Wilson-Raybould and Philpott could hurt Trudeau’s prospects. Now that they’ve been ejected from the Liberal caucus, the pair may feel more inclined to speak freely about their experiences in Trudeau’s cabinet, uninhibited by the demands of party loyalty.

“They’ve been martyred,” Bashevkin said.

Empowerment – A must have!

Thursday, 4 April 2019

Empowerment is a buzz word in the corporate world today. We here of “empowering people” and “empowered organisations” .The dictionary meaning of empower is to “authorise, allow and sanction” more elaborated as “give power to” and/or “make powerful”! What exactly is the definition then of empowerment in the context of corporate or business entities?

It is a combination of all of the above. Empowerment is giving power to the people of organisations to act and authorising them to take decisions and standing by or sanctioning the actions and decisions taken. But after making sure that the people are enabled or able to act and decide according to the needs of the organisation and its betterment situationally.

The above statement or qualifier “after making sure that the people are able or enabled…” is the critical factor which makes empowerment much more daunting, challenging and grave than its mere dictionary meaning. It means that somebody – the empowering authority – has to make sure that the people “empowered” can think and act accordingly before they called empowered and sanctioned to act. In the corporate world superiors are required to empower their subordinates to take decisions and act in the furtherance of business objectives.

Why is empowerment necessary?

The organisation has limited human resources as any other resource. Organisation structures whether they are tall or flat, are hierarchical in nature with authority flowing down from top and in certain situations such as matrix structures (where both functional and hierarchical reporting exist) horizontally as well. In any event direction and guidance flow from a higher plane to the next level.

There are departments, divisions, task teams, project teams and many other “units” being supervised and managed by superiors. Therefore as organisations grow and expand it becomes practically impossible for a superior to supervise and manage all activities; and the necessity to delegate or pass down certain tasks to lower level arises. It is in that backdrop that superiors delegate tasks to their juniors depending on their various levels and complexity of the tasks at hand. This is done to ensure that the superior retains enough time and flexibility to focus on more mission critical tasks and also for planning and envisioning – strategic matters.

Now the impression is created and more often than not the greatest misunderstanding prevalent in the business world today is that empowerment equals delegation and therefore empowerment is delegation! Wrong. Empowerment is not delegation. Delegating is merely passing on or assigning or even allocating a task. It does not entail or demand “giving power to” or “enabling the people”. Things delegated can be taken back. But empowerment would not require curtailing action unless proper empowerment is not done or empowered ability is misused.

Empowerment requires grounding in the “rules of the game”, inculcating values, teaching the tasks to be performed, coaching and guiding and correcting during the learning period, testing the capabilities and finally once satisfied giving the green light to perform independently with the confidence that the person can go on his own – of course putting in place checks and balances to regulate and ensure desired action and outcomes. This is identical to issuing a person a driver’s license – empowerment is an accepted license to perform or drive the business!

Qualities of empowered employees in an organisation

An empowered person or in a corporate context an employee has the following distinct characteristics:

1.Possesses the right attitude or the emotional intelligence to align oneself with his/her needs and the needs of the organisation and the team to create a win – win synergistic bond

2.Is equipped with the required academic, professional and skill accomplishments to be competent in the present job.

3.Has a searching and an inquisitive mind which yearns of constant learning and knowledge gathering. Willing to take advice and be guided unconditionally

4.Armed with an in-depth knowledge of the objectives of the organisation, his/her role in it and what is expected of him or her

5.Action oriented, decisive and bold

6.Loves praise and accepts constructive criticism.

7.Honest and is of high integrity

8.Humble yet is of very high self esteem

9.Ambitious and is on the constant look out for results and advancement

10.Delivers the bottom-line or results above all

Lack of empowerment in State sector and its impact on development and progress

The State sector or the public sector is abysmally inadequate in empowering its labour or employees. This is primarily due to the hierarchical governance structures and procedural red tape associated with management of government owned institutions and business undertakings. The tight demarcations of responsibility has resulted in mere execution of duties procedurally sans ownership and accountability for the effectiveness of decisions taken or output given.

The classic examples would be not taking situational decisions in an emergency and waiting to “push up” decision making to a higher authority; or not going ‘out of the way’ for the betterment of the organisation or its larger cause. However we cannot blame the public servants as their initiative and drive has been killed by a plethora of red tape and laws in the name of governance, transparency, accountability and compliance.

The case espoused by the proponents of these draconian rules are that without these corruption, abuse and misuse of resources and power would be rampant. However they sadly miss the point. Corruption is not a function of lack of or controls or red tape; neither is abuse or misuse an inherent by product or function of empowerment, freedom of decision making. Compliance doesn’t ensure effective checks and balances.

The key to avoid and ensure lack of corruption, abuse and misuse is to primarily put in place effective monitoring and reporting systems, establish and insist on measured results and output, impose heavy penalties for offences and above all to accolade achievement, motivate and reward performance and above all to nurture a culture of honesty and integrity from top down.

Impractical controls which retard creativity and decision making is not the answer. Questioning educated and experience judgment, tying up employees on a set of rules (often never reviewed) called policies, which are in fact free of accountability standard answers to recurrent questions and punishing situational decision making or outside the box thinking to get things done will only create programmed robots in the State sector sans passion.

The top wisdom, tacit knowledge and experience and talent in the State sector is wasted with such criminal stifling of thought and action. You don’t need human to blindly follow scripts and work within frameworks. Computers can manage that. What you need is a dynamic set of guidelines and objective monitoring and rules and penalties for abuse; whilst allowing to thrive on creative effort and accountability. This is the very reason that our State sector employees perform and achieve absolutely well in foreign climes. Therefore empowerment in the state sector is a must.

It can start from public sector ‘service delivery’ vision and roadmap for the country. Policymakers and Legislature to embrace this thinking and allow it to permeate to different strata. Needless to say commitment and absolute resolve from those who govern are a must to initiate this paradigm shift. Singapore did it, Malaysia did it, Philippines, Japan and Korea are other examples. Indian bureaucracy is getting more objectively flexible and of course display more national mindedness. Sri Lanka can definitely get there with zest.

The benefits of having an empowered set of employees or empowering your employees is manifold. Amongst these the key benefits to the organisation are:

Decision making can be broad based and trickled down to all levels thus ensuring more creativity, innovativeness, quick decision making at ‘ground level’ leading to increased effectiveness
Actions and tasks are decentralised greatly eliminating ‘bottlenecks,’ ‘red tape’ and so-called ‘processing time,’ resulting in enhanced overall efficiency.
The creation of leaders at all levels and ‘independent work groups’ allowing increased output, faster turnaround and a pool of future leaders
Full engagement of employees and long-term retention (motivation with passion for work)
The competitive advantage of having a talent pool at all levels with the ability to draw up clear people development succession plans
More time, space, energy and flexibility for strategic thinking and action by the top management – to do their job right

Pray, why then with all the above advantages which are evident and documented in many a corporate success story, do we find it difficult to have empowered people in our organisations, even in the private sector? I am inclined to pin the blame squarely on the superiors or the top management.

Empowerment is not automatic or a natural phenomenon. Adequate time and effort has to be invested in it – yes, by the top management of course, which means critically from the immediate superior. But many superiors do not have the will power or the willingness to consciously empower their people.

Some suffer from the ‘no time’ syndrome. Some are victims of ‘will I lose my job to him?’ phobia. Whatever the reason(s) may be it is incumbent on the organisational leadership to imbed empowerment as part of the corporate culture by identifying the advantages of same and quelling the many ‘fears’ against same. In a properly empowered organisation, the managers/superiors stand to gain much more contrary to the notion that it is a threat.

The empowerment way forward

The empowerment culture cannot be brought about overnight. It is a transformation enabling which has to be executed and managed painstakingly. A structured approach as espoused by successful practitioners takes the following form:

The organisation must first have a formal structure with clearly established channels of authority and communication routes.
Each level of people in the structure has to be profiled with the skills, attitudes and knowledge that they should possess based on a competency model (the competencies ideally have to flow from – must have to should have and to preferred).
The decision making and action capabilities of each level has to be deliberated, agreed and elaborated/established.
Conscious awareness must be effected on the empowerment exercise, its benefits to all stakeholders and how it’s planned. A formal ‘prepare for your next job or promotion’ empowerment imitative has to be launched and incorporated in to the performance evaluation system.
Each person down to the shop floor level or support level must be assigned a coach or mentor from the next or a higher level – to teach guide and coach ‘on the job’ and ‘next job’ key result areas.
Furthermore a TNA or training need analysis must be done to provide development input where people lack the competence to perform certain tasks.
Gradually decision making independently and taking responsibility within set parameters has to be encouraged, sanctioned and monitored/corrected where necessary.
Group decision making, ground level leadership in action has to be encouraged. Very importantly mistakes during the ‘cutting in’ time have to be tolerated. There can be a cost to this but the benefits long term outweigh same.
Consciously give power to people to make decisions and act and hand down some of the managers or the next level immediate superiors’ responsibilities to be executed by the subordinate.

Appreciate and recognise empowered performance; offer accolades. Highlight the fruits of empowerment.

In conclusion, a word of caution about the pitfalls of improper empowerment. If the empowerment process is not executed in a planned manner as elaborated above, the ill-effects would be devastating. Virtually the whole organisation can collapse with inept people behaving like bulls in a china shop.

Unplanned empowerment would result in incompetent or sub optimised performance, wrong decision making at huge costs. Therefore the right approach is vital. Furthermore, once empowered, the superiors must ensure that they do not breathe down subordinates’ necks in the name of monitoring, thus stifling performance and independence action. Parameters of performance and decision making has to be established and people set free to perform.

Empowerment is an investment towards organisational sustenance!

(The author is a senior professional with three decades of experience in the corporate sector in management and human resource development, with two decades of senior managerial exposure in diverse industries. A senior skill development facilitator and corporate trainer, he headed the HR Professional Association of Sri Lanka during the last two years. He has headed the HRD function of many private sector companies and has been a senior management team member of the national airline for the last eight years serving as Head of Human Resources and Head of Logistics. He also serves in taskforce committees with national interests in human capital development.)

Brazil education minister accused of whitewashing 1964 coup and dictatorship

Ricardo Vélez accused of ‘historical revisionism’ after saying school history books will be rewritten to give ‘a fuller version’

Brazilian army tanks stand in Rio de Janeiro on 1 April 1964 during the military push that led to the overthrow of President João Goulart. Photograph: -/AFP/Getty Images

Dom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro-Thu 4 Apr 2019

Brazil’s education minister has been accused of “historical revisionism” after saying school history books will be rewritten to give a positive spin to the country’s 1964 coup and 21-year military dictatorship.

His comments came a day after the far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, described the Nazi regime as “leftwing” during a visit to Israel and added to concerns that his new administration is set on rewriting history.

“It is historical revisionism of the worst quality,” said Lilia Schwarcz, a historian, columnist and co-author of a bestselling history of Brazil.

Education minister Ricardo Vélez made the comments to the Valor Econômico business daily, days after Bolsonaro broke with precedent and ordered the military to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the coup that installed the military dictatorship.

“There will be gradual changes so a fuller version of history can be redeemed,” said Vélez.
Brazilian conservatives argue the military regime saved the country from becoming a communist state at a time of cold war tension.

History shows that the presidency of João Goulart was forced out in a secret congress session with support from the military; army marshal Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco was voted in as president only after leftist lawmakers lost their political rights.

Under the military governments which followed, leftist politicians, unionists, journalists and dissidents were exiled, tortured and murdered, along with members of armed Marxist groups.

Newspapers, theatre, film and music were censored and thousands of indigenous people killed as military rulers forcibly colonised the Amazon.

A CIA telegram from 1974, revealedlast year, showed the dictator Ernesto Geisel personally approved summary executions against “dangerous subversives”.

“It was a democratic regime of force, because it was necessary at that moment,” Veléz said.
Schwarcz called this argument a “contradiction”.

“It is an assault on our history and a profound disrespect to the thousands of Brazilians who were tortured and exiled, to those who disappeared at the hands of the military,” she said.

She said Brazil’s foreign minister, Ernesto Araújo, has previously “sought to revise history”
by arguing that the Nazi regime was left wing – an argument widely contradicted by historians.

On Tuesday, during a visit to Israel, Bolsonaro said there was “no doubt” that Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime was leftwing because of its name – the National Socialist German Workers party.

He spoke after visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum, whose websitedescribes the Nazi party as a “radical rightwing” group.

Under the Nazis, communists and socialists were deemed enemies of the state and sent to
concentration camps. Hitler himself said in a 1923 interviewthat “Bolshevism” was Germany’s “greatest menace” and vowed: “I shall take socialism away from the socialists.”

On Thursday, BBC Brasil reported that Bolsonaro’s government had sent a telegram to the United Nations insisting there was no coup and that military governments were “necessary to remove the growing threats of a communist takeover of Brazil”.

The telegram was sent by the foreign ministry to Fabián Salvioli, special rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, after he criticised government plans to commemorate the 1964 coup, the BBC said.

What Najib Razak’s corruption trial means for Malaysia – and the region

000_1FC1J5-940x580 — Malaysia's former prime minister Najib Razak (C) leaves a court in Kuala Lumpur on April 3, 2019, after facing his trial over alleged involvement in the looting of sovereign wealth fund 1MDB. Malaysia's disgraced former leader Najib Razak pleaded not guilty to all charges against him as he went on trial April 3 over a multi-billion-dollar fraud. Source: Mohd Rasfan/AFP

3 Apr 2019

THE corruption trial of Najib Tun Razak, the former prime minister of Malaysia, has finally begun following two postponements and an attempt on the opening day of the trial for a third. Many Malaysians were starting to wonder if Najib would ever get his day in court.

Najib’s lawyers have used every legal manoeuvre at their disposal to try to delay the trial as long as possible. These tactics verged on the ridiculous when a month ago Najib’s main lawyer claimed his pet dog had injured his wrist. The move worked – the former PM was granted another reprieve.

The trial over Najib’s role in a financial scam involving Malaysia’s 1MDB sovereign wealth fund will certainly not proceed smoothly, and the defence is sure to file new objections to higher courts to try to stop it again.

The reason Najib wants the trial delayed is simple: if he is found guilty, it will have a major impact on other upcoming trials.

SEE ALSO: 1MDB: Why Malaysia fell victim to the biggest heist in history

His wife is also charged with money-laundering in connection with the scandal. (She’s accused of splurging on designer clothes and handbags during million-dollar shopping trips.) If Najib is found guilty, this would undoubtedly strengthen the case against her. Several ministers who served under Najib have also been charged with corruption.

Najib himself also faces several other trials related to the 1MDB scandal. For the government, the current trial is by far the simplest and easiest to prosecute. It involves 42 million Malaysian ringgit (A$14.5 million) that made its way from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB, to Najib’s personal account. All these transactions occurred in Malaysia, unlike the other cases, which involve international transactions and multiple jurisdictions. The paper trail for this trial is straightforward.

Najib has pleaded not guilty to all charges and claimed the money in his accounts did not come from SRC International.

If Najib is found guilty, he will automatically lose his seat in parliament and face possible jail time. Being an MP gives him the platform to influence politics and say anything he likes against the current government, led by his political rival, Mahathir bin Mohamad.

Najib is already working on his political comeback – part of the strategy is to maintain a high profile as an MP through social media.

How Malaysians are viewing the trial

Many Malaysians want the trial to proceed without any more interruptions, because it would show the accountability process is finally working in Malaysia.

Najib and his government were ousted from power in last year’s election because voters wanted the PM (and his wife) to face trial over the corruption allegations. Previously, it was understood that if you held a high political office, you were likely to get away with corruption.

If Najib isn’t convicted, many will likely wonder if there was any point to the change in power. The new government knows this and must deliver a credible trial. There is no other political option.

If Najib and his expensive lawyers are able to continue delaying the trial, Malaysians may start to lose faith with the new administration. Mahathir has publicly pledged to jail Najib for corruption before he hands over power next year to party leader Anwar Ibrahim, and if he cannot deliver on this, it will damage his successor’s political capital.

SEE ALSO: Goldman Sachs ‘cheated’ Malaysia on 1MDB, says PM

Najib may even try to delay his trials until after the next election, due in 2023, so he can continue to mount his political comeback.

Far more important for Malaysia, however, is the issue of political immunity. No previous leader has ever been charged with corruption and it is vitally important the rule of law is applied here for future generations.

This has regional implications, as well. Many activists in countries such as Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand see the Najib trial as a benchmark for tackling corruption in their own countries.

In many Southeast Asian countries, a culture of impunity persists at the highest levels of government. There is a belief among many political leaders that once they leave office, the sins they committed while in power will not lead to jail. It is as if this is one of the benefits of being elected to office.

In the coming days, expect more delay tactics by Najib’s defence team. The case might even be halted again due to a legal challenge on a point of law.

But given the stakes involved, I have no doubt the new Malaysian Attorney-General, Tommy Thomas, will make sure Najib’s trial goes ahead. Malaysia as a nation cannot have closure over the 1MDB affair until he is called to answer for his alleged crimes.

James Chin is a Director at the Asia Institute Tasmania, University of Tasmania

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence.

'Erasing the poor': Pakistanis feel crunch of rising prices

Saad Sayeed, Syed Raza Hassan-APRIL 4, 2019

ISLAMABAD/KARACHI (Reuters) - Pakistan’s surging petrol prices have more than halved the income of taxi driver Yasir Sultan, just one of many consumers whose faith in a government elected last year on a pledge to help the poor has been shattered.

Inflation at its highest in more than five years has shocked many Pakistanis who voted for Prime Minister Imran Khan and his promise to eradicate poverty, create jobs and build an Islamic welfare state.

“Imran Khan has said big things about getting rid of poverty, but he isn’t erasing poverty. He is erasing the poor,” Sultan, 30, told Reuters.
“Sometimes I think I should set this taxi on fire,” he said from behind the wheel of his rundown 1980s-era Suzuki Mehran.

Wrestling with a ballooning current account deficit as it seeks a 13th bailout package from the International Monetary Fund, the government has a hard choice - impose pain now or face a balance of payments crisis that could crash the economy.

Foreign reserves of $8.5 billion are better than the start of the year, but barely cover two months’ worth of imports.

“Demand compression is part of stabilisation to bring down current account and trade deficits,” said Asad Sayeed, an economist at the Collective for Social Science Research.
Inflation was over 9.4 percent in March, its highest since November 2013, with strong increases in food and energy, the two most sensitive items for most consumers.

A vendor arranges different types of rice, with their prices displayed, at his shop in a wholesale market in Karachi, Pakistan April 2, 2019. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro/Files

The central bank forecasts growth at 3.5-4 percent in the 12 months to end June, well off a government target of 6.2 percent.

With a large pool of surplus labour keeping wage rises in check, living standards will suffer, Sayeed said.

“I voted for PTI believing in Khan’s slogan for the change. Now, I am repenting,” said Sara Salman in the bustling eastern city of Lahore, referring to the prime minister’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.

With the rupee losing over a quarter of its value in the past year, the squeeze is acute in the creaking power sector where the government is under pressure to cut subsidies cushioning consumers against sharp price hikes.

Authorities on Monday hiked petrol prices by 6 rupees to 98.88 rupees ($0.70) a litre, bringing pain to skilled workers who earn 1,000-1,300 rupees ($7.08-9.20) a day and labourers who make up to 600-800 rupees.

The price hikes will keep consumers away from all but essential items, economists say.

“The fiscal trajectory now depends on what extent the government is going to adjust energy prices,” said Saad Hashmey, chief economist at Topline Securities, adding it has to fix the energy deficit and bring earnings in line with production costs.

“If they are to go the full extent they need to plug the gap, then inflation in a few months will go into double digits,” he said.

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Finance Minister Asad Umer has said an IMF deal could be agreed by May, its 13th bailout since the late 1980s and the last one needed by Pakistan, the government says.

Slideshow (5 Images)

While talks continue, Pakistan has sought help from China, its partner in the $60-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, part of Beijing’s vast Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also extended about $11 billion in loans and credit arrangements on oil deliveries in recent months.

The government says it is stepping up efforts to replace imports with domestic production and build up an export sector that has traditionally relied on textiles with special economic zones designed to attract new investment.

It is also trying to widen the tax net to boost collections, but has struggled on both fronts.

Rising oil prices and a currency devaluation “were bound to happen”, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said this week, adding, “God willing, a better time will be coming.”

For a government that promised an “Islamic welfare state” focused on uplifting the poor, the forecast is uncomfortably vague, observers say.

“They have to undertake a very painful economic adjustment,” said Khurram Hussain, business editor of Pakistan’s Dawn Newspaper. That means higher taxes and interest rates, lower imports and government spending, and a devalued rupee, he said.

“In that environment it is extremely difficult to deliver on welfare oriented promises,” Hussain said.
While economists believe Pakistan has no choice but to cut spending and raise prices, consumers’ patience is wearing thin.

“The current financial policies and price-hike shows contempt for the people,” said Muhammad Waqas, a Lahore school teacher. “If the PTI government cannot resolve these problems, it should step down.”

Additional reporting by Mubasher Bukhari in Lahore and Asif Shahzad in Islamabad; Writing by Saad Sayeed; Editing by James Mackenzie and Darren Schuettler