Week in Review: Myanmar

Kanbawza (KBZ) Group of Companies clinched an IT deal |with Microsoft to modernise its IT |infrastructure. 

Kicking off the rollout will be one of its flagship firms KBZ Bank, the largest commercial bank in the country. The digital transformation journey will, at a later stage, involve the other subsidiaries of KBZ Group, which includes interests in mining, banking, aviation, insurance, manufacturing, agriculture, real estate, trading, healthcare, tourism and hospitality.

KBZ Bank expects to fully implement this IT transformation in 12 months.

 

Floods as river overflows

Several villages in Mandalay, Magway, Bago and Ayeyawady regions were flooded due to overflows from the Ayeyawady River. Heavy rain in Tanintharyi Region also inundated the Myeik-Kawthoung union road, stopping bus lines.

The water was over a metre deep, and mudslides were also reported. 

The National Disaster Management Committee said more than 1.6 million flood victims require healthcare and measures to improve hygiene. 

 

24th EU Film Festival

Goethe-Institut Myanmar kicked off the 24th European Film Festival, which will run until September 29. 

Eleven films are to be screened during the period. The event was sponsored by the European Union Delegation to Myanmar and the embassies of Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. The Embassy of Israel is a special guest.

 

Prayers to end land grabbing

About 300 ethnic minority residents in Myeik, Tanintharyi Region, held a prayer meeting and sent a petition to the government asking for an end to land-grabbing. 

Members of the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society, university students and representatives from civic organisations and political parties also attended the meeting. Trees for palm oil have been forcibly planted on 17,000-hectare plot in the area. 

 

New aquarium in 2016

The Kandawgyi Fresh Aquarium will be partially completed next year, said Minister for Agriculture and Livestock for Yangon Region Soe Min.

The construction of the aquarium, a first in Myanmar, kicked off in 2013 and |is expected to cost more than US$15 |million.

 

JICA loan to SMEs

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has agreed to loan Ks50 billion (Bt13 billion) to SMEs, with the first batch of Ks5 billion to be extended in December. The SMEs will be charged an annual interest of 0.01 per cent compared to the 8.5 per cent levied now. 

 

YCDC land auction postponed

The Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) decided to postpone its land auction to a future unspecified date after facing widespread opposition. The committee put up 74 plots for auction, sparking outcries from people who farm some of the plots. 

 

Yellow Ribbon protest 

Lawyers who are members of the Yellow Ribbon Movement held another rally in Nay Pyi Taw, opposing the transfer of military officials into the justice department. Between September 9 and 14, four rallies were hosted at |different townships in the capital.

People from various professionals, including health ministry staff and electrical engineers, joined the movement, protesting the appointment of untrained military officers to senior positions within their organisations.

 

Achieving ceasefire 

Union Minister for the President’s Office and Union Peacemaking Working Committee chairman Aung Min said the government and ethnic armed groups will sign a nationwide ceasefire agreement in the first week of October and start the political dialogue next January.

 

Int’l Democracy Day marked

Myanmar celebrated the International Day of Democracy in Nay Pyi Taw on September 15.

Among those attending the event held in the Parliament were Union Parliament Speaker Thura Shwe Mann, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and government officials. 

The presidential message, read out by a union minister, said public participation was the essence of democracy, and that peace and national development could only be achieved via democracy and national unity. 

 

Lawyers seek students release

Myanmar Lawyer’s Network demanded the release of student |protesters, many of whom have been held since March 10. 

After six months, no prosecution witness has been heard in court and the charges are still week, the network said, adding that this was the time to boost national unity and drop lawsuits like these. 

The court has rejected the students’ bid to sue police officers for allegedly using batons during the raid in March.

 

MAI best Mekong airline 

Myanmar Airways International (MAI) has been awarded Best Airline of 2015 by the Mekong Tourism Alliance for a third year in a row. The airline also won the Asean Business Award in 2014 as it spread its services across the Asean region.