Week in Review: Myanmar

MIRAIT Technologies Corp, a Japanese comprehensive engineering company, has established a local subsidiary in Myanmar mainly to offer services for maintenance, designing communication facilities and mobile phone-related infrastructure.

It said it had already received orders for mobile phone communication works as a project in Myanmar and the new company will take over full-scale development.
Japanese companies are pouring investment into Myanmar. Earlier this month, Mitsui announced US$10.5 million (Bt366.3 million) investment in a fertiliser plant.
According to JiJi Press, Marabeni also planned one fertiliser plant in 2017. Mitsubishi Corp, Itochu Corp and Sumitomo Corp are ramping up their automobile-related businesses.

One of least happy nations
Myanmar is among the least happy countries in the world, ranked 119th in the World Happiness Report 2016 among 156 countries.
The ranking is the lowest among Asean countries: Singapore (22), Thailand (33), Malaysia (47), Indonesia (79), the Philippines (82), Vietnam (96) and Laos (102).

Drought hits Inle Lake
The water level of Inle Lake is decreasing, causing approximately 80 villages to face difficulties with transportation, according to Save the Inle Lake, a non-profit organisation.
Boats have to wade through marsh. Farmers around the lake have begun removing mud from the lake to facilitate transportation. People living on some islands in Myeik have to buy water brought in on boats. The water cost them 500 kyat (Bt14) per barrel. Some villagers have to travel 13 kilometres to get water from another island.
Villagers save water from the rainy season to consume throughout the rest of the year, but it is not always sufficient.

Death penalty for murderers
Three young men were sentenced to death for killing a man and raping his wife in Nay Pyi Taw. The crime committed last year involved another minor, aged only 16, who is still on trial.
The murdered couple, both about 16 years old, were attacked by the four young men while they were travelling by motorbike to downtown Nay Pyi Taw. They were attacked in the Diplomatic Zone.

Tourism sector attracts investment
The combined value of domestic investment in the hotel and tourism sector amounted to 1.2 trillion kyat (Bt35 billion) or about 15 per cent of total, according to the Economic Development Ministry.
Myanmar’s citizens have invested more than 8 trillion since the investment figures were collected in 1988. The investment spread on 48 sectors. While the hotel and tourism sector is the most popular, other sectors include livestock breeding and fisheries, mineral, manufacturing, transport, real estate, construction and industrial zones.

Mandalay MPs wrestling with land grabs: NLD
The Mandalay regional government is working to solve judicial affairs and land grabs, the two main problems facing ordinary people, according to Dr Khin Maung Htay, the region’s deputy speaker.
“We must address poverty and inequality. Land grabbing disputes cannot all be solved at once. We will follow procedures and submit matter to the government and the chief justice,” said Khin Maung Htay.
He said he would cooperate with the new government to resolve the disputes.
The National League for Democracy holds 48 of the 76 seats in the regional parliament and appointed the Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

13,000-year-old cave declared as heritage
Pyadarlin Cave, located in Yawngan Township in the Danu Self-Administered Zone, will be officially classified as the “Pyadarlin Cultural Heritage Site”, according to the Department of Archaeology and National Museum (Mandalay Branch).
The cave, estimated to be over 13,000 years old, was first discovered by archaeologist Khin Maung Kyaw in 1961. Over 1,600 ancient weapons, 12 wall paintings and fossils were found in the cave.
The discoveries were sent to New Zealand for analysis, and the results show that the fossils were around 13,400 years old and that the paintings were drawn sometime between 11,000 to 20,000 years ago.
The wall paintings found in the cave are similar to others found France, Spain, Malaysia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. The cave is the first of its kind to be found in Myanmar.

Salon ‘sea people’ threatened
The population of Salon people in the Myeik Archipelago, who are often called “sea people” because of their tradition of nomadic seafaring lifestyles, is declining rapidly, sparking concerns that they are in danger of extinction.
Khin Maung Aye, the deputy minister for Livestock and Fisheries, said only 1,800 of them are left.
The danger of the extinction of the Salon is linked to the use of narcotic drugs and alcohol, low marriage rates within the community, the migration of people from other regions and their migration to Thailand.
The 1976 census said there were more than 6,000. The number had dwindled to 4,000 by 2001.

Illegal fishing destroys coral reefs
Coral reefs in Lampi Island Marine National Park in the Myeik archipelago are seriously endangered by illegal fishing, according to the Eco Resort Project, a body working on the conservation of the Lampi reefs.
Fishing crews have long plundered the waters around the park without following procedures.