Hot curry

Curry powder sparks fire alert on Air India plane
Article from: AAP
From correspondents in Mumbai

June 13, 2009 08:28pm

AN Air India passenger jet heading to Frankfurt was forced to return to Mumbai after a bag of curry powder set off smoke and fire alarms, according to reports.
Pilots on the Boeing 747-400 plane activated fire extinguishers after receiving a cockpit warning about a fire in the cargo hold early Friday morning, the Mumbai Mirror newspaper said.
But on the plane's return to India's financial and entertainment capital, engineers said the alert had been triggered by the escape of particles from a bag containing up to 3kg of curry powder.
The bag, belonging to a passenger from the western Indian state of Gujarat, was removed before the plane took off again after a 12-hour delay.
"On taking off for the second time, the pilot apologised for the delay and announced that a bag containing curry powder had caused the problem," Air India spokesman Jitendra Bhargava was quoted as saying.
Mangoes and meat products that generate heat have been suspected of causing similar incidents on Air India flights in the past, the newspaper said.

Local Papua New Guinea beauty

Picture of a local beauty at the Kerevat National High School singsing day outside Rabaul, East New Britain province, last weekend. Picture by JOHN PANGKATANA

 

7 quarantined for suspected swine flu in Papua New Guinea

Swine flu test samples sent to Brisbane

 

By KESSIE TADAP in The National, Papua New Guinea’s leading daily newspaper

 

THE Pacific International Hospital (PIH) in Port Moresby has reported that it has clinically quarantined seven people suspected of carrying the influenza A (H1N1) or swine flu virus.

However, the hospital is yet to confirm the cases as swine flu because tests have to be done in Brisbane, Australia as facilities to carry out the tests are not available in the country.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) late last night declared that the outbreak has reached the level of a full-blown pandemic, raising its alert level on the pandemic alert scale to phase six.

It is the first official pandemic to be declared in 40 years. Worldwide, more than 27,000 people in 74 countries have been sickened by the virus, with 141 deaths (see reports on Page 15).

PIH deputy chairman, Dr Mathias Sapuri, said yesterday that the hospital should receive the test results from

Brisbane by tomorrow.

The hospital screened patients over the last four weeks and tested 20 people for the swine flu virus. Of these, seven have been quarantined.

Dr Sapuri said the suspected cases had been quarantined, meaning that they have been cautioned to stay at home and keep to themselves, wash their hands, wear masks as much as possible, and also to keep away from others, including their family members.

Dr Sapuri said these suspected cases had also been given Tamiflu vaccine, the medicine supplied by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Their swabs have been collected and sent to Australia for confirmation and tests.

“We have done the clinical diagnosis but their blood tests, which we are waiting for, will tell us whether they have the virus or not,” Dr Sapuri said.

He said the seven people had flu-like symptoms and had also passed through Australia, where an influenza A (H1N1) epidemic has been declared.

Dr Sapuri also said that if anyone was experiencing flu-like symptoms, they must go to PIH where swine flu tests could be done and free Tamiflu medicines could be provided to those confirmed to be carrying the virus.

He said this was important, so that any cases of the virus could be quarantined and treated early before a pandemic broke out in PNG.

He said all suspected cases must be tested because if there was an outbreak, many of the vulnerable population which includes children, the elderly, those malnourished and sick, would not be able to resist and fight many diseases such as pneumonia.

Dr Sapuri said PIH was in the process of introducing a much quicker swine flu testing kit, which will take only 15 minutes to give a reading.

He said PIH would continue to conduct free swine flu tests for the public including providing free Tamiflu vaccine and would also continue to follow the guidelines set by the WHO to combat the virus.

Health Minister Sasa Zibe warned earlier this week that it was only a matter of time before the epidemic arrived in PNG.

 

Irregular carbon credits cause upheaval in the government of Papua New Guinea

From Economist.com

AT THE United Nations climate change conference in Bali two years ago, the head of the delegation from Papua New Guinea, Kevin Conrad, became a celebrity of sorts. He challenged America to lead the world on climate change or “get out of the way”. America, which had been insisting that poorer countries make more promises on fighting climate change, backed down. That allowed delegates to agree on a road map for setting up an international treaty to replace the existing Kyoto protocol.

Mr Conrad directs an organisation called the Coalition for Rainforest Nations, an alliance of 33 countries that promotes “avoided deforestation”—which means taking measures to prevent trees being chopped down. Deforestation accounts for about a fifth of the world’s emissions of greenhouse gases. The coalition argues that poor countries urgently need the revenue logging can bring. If rich countries want them to preserve their forests to keep the planet cool, they should provide some compensation for the forgone logging revenue. In other words, rich countries that are obliged to make reductions in carbon emissions under a new climate treaty could pay owners of forests to stop deforesting as a way of reducing carbon emissions.

The World Bank, the UN and various donor countries such as Norway are enthusiastic about the approach—partly after prodding by Papua New Guinea.

The proposed process for formalising such trading is known as REDD, which stands for reduction of emissions from deforestation and degradation. International talks are under way in Bonn as part of an attempt to decide how REDD would work. But for now the UN does not endorse any offsets based on avoided deforestation. Nor do rules apply to voluntary credits, such as those bought by airline passengers to offset the carbon emissions of their flights.

Even before agreement on which projects might qualify, a REDD market has emerged on the basis of promises to deliver carbon credits from pilot REDD projects. Some traders are willing to buy and sell on the assumption that real credits will be delivered one day. In 2008, REDD projects made up 14% of forest carbon “credits” traded on the voluntary credit market.

Such trading may be speculative, but it is legitimate. Yet no government is able to issue any legal REDD credit, as no framework exists for doing so. Indeed, even if REDD is formalised later this year, some expect that credits would be issued by third parties not governments. Nonetheless, the government of Papua New Guinea has apparently been issuing credits. For example, documents obtained by The Economist suggest that, on November 3rd 2008, the country’s Office of Climate Change (OCC), a part of the executive branch, issued REDD credits for 1m tonnes of carbon, supposedly under the proposed REDD mechanism.

Betha Somare, press secretary for the prime minister, said in a formal statement “the OCC has no legal mandate to issue any forest carbon credits, other than afforestation and reforestation through the Clean Development Mechanism, nor is there currently any REDD asset in existence due to a lack of a regulatory framework for forest carbon in Papua New Guinea”. Officials are now looking in to how REDD credits came to be issued.

Further investigation suggests that at least 39 more such REDD “credits”, which apparently each denote 1m tonnes of carbon, have been issued by the OCC for projects across the country in pilot projects of up to a dozen forests. One of the companies involved in the development of these forests as future REDD credits said a number of certificates had been issued by the OCC. These, it added, were “not real” but rather “symbolic” certificates.

One of these REDD carbon “credits” has caused particular outrage in the country. The area of forest is given as the “Kamula Duso REDD Project”. Yet the 800,000 hectares of virgin rainforest in Kamula Duso are at the heart of a long-running legal dispute over ownership, and the land is now the subject of a court injunction. Until the courts settle the legality of an agreement with the Forest Authority to permit logging, nobody is supposed to touch it.

The emergence of the Kamula Duso credit was one of the reasons for a crisis meeting of the country’s governors in May. All of the governors asked for the OCC to be referred to a public-accounts committee, and to undergo an audit. They also demanded that the office should be restrained from issuing any carbon credits or approving any carbon trade project. At the same time the governors also wrote to the Norwegian and Australian governments, the UNDP and the EU asking for aid funding to be suspended pending these inquiries.

The Economist has also obtained credits that were signed by a government minister in 2005 and that denote ownership in carbon sinks in relation to the Clean Development Mechanism. These credits are also now the subject of investigation by officials. As too is a financial arrangement that would have seen brokers provide money for running the OCC, should REDD be agreed.

Upon receiving a copy of the Kamula Duso credit last week, Ms Somare said, “very recently apparent irregularities within the OCC have come to our attention. As a result the prime minister has asked for a review to be carried out and a report to be made to his office. Other prudential measures are being taken within the OCC until the results of the review are available.” She added that the government could not say more at this stage while it was taking legal advice.

Kevin Conrad, interviewed last week, said it was too early to conclude what went wrong but said an “independent review” was under way. He added that “carbon speculators” were putting pressures on landowners in many countries to sell large tracts of forest ahead of a possible deal on avoided deforestation in Copenhagen later this year.

The broader issue with any kind of carbon credit, however, is ensuring that governments of poor countries behave impeccably. Indeed, if problems like this can happen in Mr Conrad’s own back yard, it suggests that the challenges ahead for REDD are tough ones.

Avoided deforestation is a big deal for climate-change policy. It is also a prize worth fighting for, even if it is hard to achieve. Poor governance, on top of poorly defined and defended forest property rights, mean that without proper care REDD could become a recipe for disaster rather than part of a solution the world needs.

 

Papua New Guinea carbon racket dupes landowners

Landowners in Papua New Guinea are being cheated by conmen offering fake carbon trading deals and promising big returns.

AAP reports the carbon trading racket has duped at least 500 villagers since late last year around Popondetta in Oro province.

Some people have paid 400 US dollars to register as shareholders in a carbon trading company after being promised big dividends from the millions of dollars expected to be made from carbon trading in the country.

The villagers receive a receipt from an agent but never see their money again.

The conservation organisation, WWF says there is confusion in Papua New Guinea about how to make best use of its lucrative rainforests

WWF spokesperson Dave Melick, says people are calling it ’sky money’ or ’selling the air’.

This month, Reuters and The Economist magazine reported a litany of anomalies with PNG’s Office of Climate Change.

It appears the office has been offering millions of dollars worth of carbon credits while no legislation or policy exists in the country or under United Nations guidelines.

The Prime Minister’s spokesperson says a review is being conducted into the apparent irregularities.

Government sources say the Climate Change Office director Dr Theo Yasause could soon be sacked.

 

Law and Justice Sector exhibition launched at University of Goroka

On the 9th June 2009, an awareness exhibition from the Law and Justice Sector Secretariat was officially launched at the University of Goroka.

The ceremony, held on campus at the Mark Solon Auditorium, was attended by students, UOG staff, local stakeholders of the Law and Justice Sector, its NGO partners and local dignitaries from the provincial administration. 

The university showed its support for the Law and Justice Sector by agreeing to co-host the exhibition on campus.

Acting Vice Chancellor of UOG, Associate Professor Michael Mel stated that the University has always supported the Law and Justice Sector and “recognises it as significant within the community”.

 In his official speech for the event, he pointed out that “justice remains within us..and it is our own responsibility to protect our rights and to recognise our responsibilities in the community”. 

Associate Professor Mel also stated that UOG was happy and proud to have the exhibition on campus and available to the community.

Associate Professor Mel officially opened the exhibition with Law and Justice Sector on the day with the Easter Highlands Province Deputy Administrator Mr John Gimeseve. 

Aimed at students and the general public, the exhibition will help to inform the community of their rights when it comes to the law. 

It will also highlight the assistance available for the solving of law and order disputes, and inform the public of the various departments involved in law and justice issues.

The exhibition entitled Respect for Law, Respect for Property and Respect for One Another is currently being held in the ground floor of the Steven Eka Library at UOG until the 19th June 2009. 

Geoff Baskett and the land of ‘Islands and Mountains’

Kristen Redio carved gift

Holding carving are Kristen Redio founder Geofrey Baskett, chairman Len Valu (right), and manager Robin Steven in Lae in 1991

Geoff Baskett singing at Lae celebrations to mark Kristen Redio's 25th aniversary in 1991

Geoff Baskett (left) at the presentation of an MBE at Government House in Sydney in 1990 for 56 years of dedicated service to Paoua New Guinea

Captain Geoff Baskett (third from left) during WW11

Last week, after years of not knowing where or how he was, I finally heard from a great icon of Papua New Guinea, Geoff Baskett.
In a life of achievements, he is most famously known in PNG for being the composer of well-know songs such as ‘Papua New Guinea’ (which might have become our national anthem), ‘Islands and Mountains (known internationally as The Song of Kwaro)’ and ‘We Are Free’.
I basically lost touch with Mr Baskett in 1995 and, after a brief stint with Kristen Redio in Lae, and since then, trying to locate him has been like searching for a needle in a haystack.
I finally hit the jackpot a couple of weeks ago when my good mate, veteran journalist and Post-Courier features writer Newman Cuthbert, asked me if I had a copy of Mr Baskett’s acclaimed autobiography Islands and Mountains.
Indeed I had, and I willingly lent it to Newman, who reciprocated by providing me with Mr Baskett’s contact details.
Receiving an email from this great man, now aged 93, was a very emotional experience for me.
“Now, at the age of 93, my next New Home is based on the Lord’s promise of eternal life with Him,” he wrote.
“Quoting from the Bible: ‘My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going. I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’.
“My prayer is that many who read these words will join me in the beauty, joy and peace of a Christian’s life here on earth. May all who claim Him as their Lord and Saviour now, come in the future to live with Him in the place He has prepared for us.”
Baskett was born at Kohat in the high Himalayan Mountains of India and lived a fascinating life, one which every schoolboy dreams of.
As a teenager, he left Sydney for a six-week visit to Kwato, an island off the southeast coast of Papua.
That visit turned into nearly 60 years of service to the nation of PNG.

Baskett first came to PNG in 1933 and worked day and night shifts on tractors and a gold dredge on the Bulolo gold fields, served on the islands and mainland with Australia New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU) during World War 11 when he rose through the ranks from private to captain.
He also worked in various capacities on the staff of the well-known Kwato Mission and founded a complex for the production of Christian radio programs for 19 radio stations before his “retirement” to Australia.
“When I finally retired in 1990, I went to live in Australia and at the very kind invitation of retired missionaries from Papua New Guinea, Mr Alan Nutt and his wife Elaine,” Mr Baskett wrote.
“I stayed with them at their home in Castle Hill, Sydney, New South Wales.
“I was able to help Elaine who was teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) at the Redeemer Baptist School.
“Elaine looked after the younger Asian children from the kindergarten stage and higher classes while I taught the Asian students from Form 9 to Form 12.
“ This suited me very well as I had found it hard to hear the voices of the younger generation and when I did, I found it even harder to understand what they were saying!
“I thoroughly enjoyed teaching the students as I found them all keen to learn English and very appreciative of the help I was giving them on a voluntary basis.
“The students were from South Korea, Taiwan and China and I understood from them that all Asian students were keen to learn English as it made it possible for them to read books printed in that language.
“It also meant that there were many more opportunities for them to find employment in Australia and in their home countries after leaving school.
“In 1997, Alan and Elaine Nutt decided to leave Castle Hill and live at Port Macquarie, some 390km north of Sydney.
“Once again they very kindly invited me to stay with them and as a result we moved into a double-storied home at Amaroo Parade close to the ocean at Port Macquarie.
“Port Macquarie is a most delightful city.
“It boasts eight beautiful surfing beaches, modern shops and, according to a recent newspaper report, the best climate in the world!
“In July this year Alan and Elaine Nutt and I moved into a new home in an area known as ‘Sanctuary Springs’ in Port Macquarie.
“It’s in a very pleasant open area, close to four lakes surrounded by gum trees and with a wide variety of birds and even the occasional kangaroo!”
Baskett tells of the songs he wrote, and his love for PNG, in his autobiography Islands and Mountains.
“Four songs I have written are now printed in a hymn book that is in wide use in Papua New Guinea, and I have often thought that these songs have contributed more to this nation than any book I could have written,” he writes in the book.
“After all, a book once it has been read is usually put away on a shelf for a very long time before it is read again, whereas a song, usually a hymn, is used time and time again, often long after the death of the composer.
“So, as I said, I think there is more value in composing a song that is known to many thousands of people than in writing a book that is read by relatively few.”

Papua New Guinea

Our land is the island of high mountains,

Of sunlit palms and coral sea,

Where our people sing while the drums are beating,

For our land is strong and free.

Papua……….New Guinea……….

Papua New Guinea our Motherland

Every tribe and race, let us work together,

United we shall stand

There’s a bright new day dawning for our land

As every tribe and race unite

Sons and daughters arise, we’ll advance together

With God to guide us in the right.

Papua……….New Guinea……….

Papua New Guinea our Motherland

Every tribe and race, let us work together

United we shall stand.

Islands and Mountains

Islands and mountains, and sunshine and breeze,

Flowers and moonlight, swaying palm trees,

Jungles and rivers, white coral sand,

This is my country, this is my land.

Dark were the days when men lived in fear,

Fear of the arrow, stone club and spear,

Fighting and hatred filled every land,

That was my country, that was my land

Then came the change that brought peaceful days,

News of our Saviour, learning his ways,

Darkness is fading out of our land,

We know the peace of His guiding hand.

What of the future? Soon we shall be,

Teachers and leaders of our country,

We’ll build our nation as God had planned,

Make this His country, make this His land.

Then shall our country be free and strong,

Homes will be filled with laughter and song,

Peace in our hearts and work for our hands,

Unite our nation with other lands,

Unite our nation with other lands.

We Are Free

Like the birds as they fly over high mountains,

Like the fish as they swim in the sea,

Like the clouds as they float in the clear blue sky,

We are free! We are free! We are free!

Like the songs of a bird at the break of day,

Like the wind in the leaves of a tree,

Like the waves as they break on a coral shore,

We are free! We are free! We are free!

Independence has come, now we all must work

To unite Papua New Guinea,

We shall build our new nation in peace and love,

We are free! We are free! We are free!

We are free! We are free! We are free!

Geoff Baskett can be contacted on email anu16734@bigpond.net.au or write to him at 27 Serene Circuit, Port Macquarie, NSW 2444, Australia.

Wildflowers of Simbu

Edith Babul and her relative

Lina Giuka, Sasha Paru and Cathy Rex at the summit of Daulo Pass showing the way home to Lae

“Anyone for a flower lei,” says this little girl on Daulo Pass. The selling of floral lei made from everlasting flowers and ferns is a thriving business for the settlers along the road

An orchid specimen that is so breathtaking to look at on display in one of the stalls at the show

School children with innovative ideas … making caps from tree moss

The women behind the display at the PNGWiADF stall representing the Bubia Floriculture Group, Sasha Paru, Cathy Rex, Lina Giuka and Monica Mazi

By BARBARA TOMI of National Agriculture Research Institute

The hills are alive … not with the sound of music but wildflowers.
The glorious bright colours lit up the dull and cloudy skies from the foothills of Kassam Pass as we entered the highlands of Papua New Guinea leaving behind the smoldering kunai grass and the smoke-covered plains of the Markham Valley.
The amass radiant colours along the Okuk Highway was a welcome contrast from what was just witnessed and delighted the occupants of the 25-seater Coaster bus as it weaved its way around bends, up and down countless hills and over fast-flowing rivers meandering down into the valleys unknown.
The passengers of the bus scanned the hills from side to side as they attempted to conjure up words to explain the view that sprang up before them even for a brief moment.
“Aiyo lukim dispela flaua ya (look at that flower),” one exclaimed, while another almost screamed, “lukim kainkain tanget stret, (see different kinds of Cordyline [tangets]).”
One would imagine that these were school children going on their first excursion to a national park and not women well advanced in age.
These passengers had keen eyes for flowers and were definitely on the lookout for the exotic high altitude species that could claim a central spot in their backyards if only they could get their hands on them.
Whether they would survive the hot and humid weather in Lae never came into contention.
The cool mountain air up Daulo Pass sent shivers through their bodies and for an instant their minds switched from floral displays to keeping warm as each one rummaged through their carry bags to grab a sweater.
After a quick stop at a watering hole for a taste of a cool and naturally-chilled mountain water the bus continued its journey down the last inch of the Daulo Pass and into the foreboding limestone-studded hillside of Simbu.
The late afternoon sun lit up Simbu’s mountainous limestone ranges and beckoned the weary passengers as their guide and driver known only as Kandre Man announced that “we are now entering Simbu and would soon be arriving at the capital, Kundiawa”.
The words of a song containing Simbu rocks sprang to mind as I tried unsuccessfully to remember the tune summed up the scenes that were unfolding.
With the limestone in the background, the thing that struck the visitors most was the abundant flora in brilliant shades of pink and red welcoming them.
Despite the bumpy ride on some sections of the Okuk Highway due to the continuous natural disasters that had hit the province in the recent past, the carefully-tended gardens of shrubs, the gallant pine trees swaying in the dust of the limestone settling on the branches and an array of Cordylines of different colours and leaf shapes was refreshing and set the scene to what would be a marvelous two days of mingling with flower lovers of Simbu and the interior of the Highlands for this group of women from Lae.
The group finally arrived at the Dickson Oval in Kundiawa after 5pm and was handed over to the organisers of the Simbu Plant Show as their tour guide and driver bid them farewell for the time being until Saturday for the return trip.
All the lovely scenes of the wildflowers were put on hold while the group settled themselves to the space allotted to them to plan their exhibition.
The groups were members of the Papua New Guinea Women in Agriculture Development Foundation involved in two agriculture sectors: horticulture and floriculture.
Horticulture was represented by fruit farmer Edith Babul from Munum and the floriculture segment was represented by the Bubia Floriculture Group of Lae, Morobe province.
The event that drew the group to Kundiawa was the Simbu Plant Show hosted by the local environmental conservation groups Sangamanga Culture Environmental Protection and Simbu Botany Club.
The event was to coincide with the World Environment Day on June 6, 2009.
The show, which spanned two days, was packed to a capacity crowd with various side shows to keep the crowd entertained.
On both days, Thursday 4th and Friday 5th June, invited guests spoke on the importance of plants to the environment and to humans and why conservation and environment protection is detrimental to the survival of both plants and humans.
One of the speakers stressed this importance on scientists’ prediction of El Nino-induced drought and floods in 2012 and its impact on the environment especially the drying of rivers like the Simbu River.
The school children were very much involved in the celebrations putting up displays of orchids, ferns and trees, processed spices, poems, drama and songs based on the World Environment Day and show theme: ‘Your Planet Needs You – Unite to Combat Climate Change’.
Dignitaries outside the province such as the NCD Governor Powes Parkop and the greenest thumb of all Justin Tkatchenko arrived on the last day to put their seal of approval on the show and close the event on a high note.
When addressing the crowd and show committee, Mr Parkop said the large participation by schools, NGOs and community-based organisations, with the support of the Governor of Simbu Fr John Garia, Kundiawa – Gembog MP Joe Mek Teine and Gumine MP Lucas Dawa, indicated that Simbu was serious in addressing issues related to plants.
He said he was happy that this plant show would become an annual event. “Simbu has realised the importance of nature, that plants give life, oxygen, food, firewood, houses, in fact, nearly everything including money. So let’s look after nature,” Mr Parkop added.
For a province that is continually being affected by natural disasters, it is a small comfort to see the support it has received in terms of participation from groups inside and outside of the province in this most important event.
Perhaps the answers to some of the problems affecting the province are in some of the little things that people choose to overlook in the quest of making big changes in the name of development.
Sometimes the most profound/drastic change are in the little things we do and take for granted such as planting trees or flowers.
Our planet needs us now more than ever to combat climate changes which we humans have contributed to.
And in that rocky interior that is Simbu, you have challenged the fertile plains of Markham and Morobe province that gloriously-sparkling flowers do grow on rocks and limestone.
What we have seen will be preserved for a long time just like the everlasting flowers of Mt Wilhelm and Daulo Pass in full bloom.

The 'raskols' of Philipine Congress

 

Letters from Port Moresby

By ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ

SOMETIME last year, Papua New Guineans were outraged when the Members of Parliament unanimously voted to give themselves hefty allowances several times more than what they usually had in their wallets. The Members’ blatant act came amidst a deeply-rooted poverty across the nation due to widespread joblessness and homelessness among close to 90 per cent of the country’s workforce. For their unconscionable acts, the marginalized among close to 5 million branded their representatives “raskols” – they have just enriched themselves again while the people go hungry and homeless. In PNG, “raskols” is pidgin for thieves, hoodlums, hold-up men, corruptors, looters, and many more non-endearing adjectives that go back to the word “criminal”. Well, the “raskols” in the Parliament of Papua New Guinea would be pleased to know that they now have their worthy counterparts in Philippine Congress – 170 congresspersons who, like thieves, gathered together in the dead of the night to launch themselves towards the road to a systematic plunder of the nation’s coffers in the future. The privilege is theirs; all they have to do is play their cards, or votes, well. Disregarding the Senate, these congresspersons – all beholden to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo – met on the night of June 2, 2009, and passed House Resolution 1109 that paves the way for vital changes in the constitution, now notoriously known among Filipinos as Cha-cha, or Charter Change. When the Filipinos woke up the next morning, they had faced the specter of Gloria still at the graft-ridden Palace by the stinking Pasig River after May 2010. Simply said, the adoption of HR 1109 has allowed the “raskol” House of Representatives to convene as a constituent assembly to amend the Constitution, without the necessary participation of Senate. With the next presidential election barely a year away, the perception that these “rascals” would tinker with the Constitution by rewriting it to allow Arroyo to stay in power beyond May 10, 2010 becomes even more persistent and pervasive.  Thus, fueling the notion about the so-called “Gloria forever” agenda. To do this, the Arroyo allies will change the system of government from the present presidential to parliament, in which she will be chosen as the prime minister. Let’s not forget that most of the members of Congress are perceived to be in the pocket of the “Arroyo clique” and they are the “Raskol 170”. Across the nation, it is widely known that congresspersons have been promised P20 million each for their votes supporting the change of government system, one that Arroyo has been scheming all along but playing “dead-ma” (innocent) to the bone about it. This incentive money easily amounts to P3.4 billion, an amount which many observers consider peanuts as far as the Arroyo regime’s cash stash is concerned. All through the years, since becoming the President eight years ago, she has been perceived as laying away money, through her bagmen, from generously boated billion dollar contracts that private investors-contractors, mostly foreigners, inked with her government. Immediately, the blatant acts of the representatives came under fire from all sectors of the Philippine society – the Opposition, the business sector, the labor and religious groups, the professionals and former senior government officials, among many others -- accusing the so-called “people’s representatives” of railroading a questionable resolution that endangers the future of the country. The Makati business Club (MBC) has been very vocal with its indignation directed at Malacanang. In a statement released yesterday, the premier business group said: “The timing, less than a year before the presidential election, was also very much suspect, considering that there was no clamor to amend the Constitution and the resolution contained no issue of profound impact on the people’s welfare. “By this action of pro-administration congresspersons, any remaining doubts about the determination of the Arroyo administration and its allies in the House to manipulate our democratic processes and institutions to prolong their hold on power have been erased,” the statement stressed. Equally outraged, the civil group Pagbabago! (People’s Change Movement) declared: “Allowing Arroyo and her cohorts to get away with Cha-cha is consent for the perpetuation of a regime guilty of graft and corruption, political repression, and further impoverishment of millions of Filipinos through its anti-people policies.” A letter circulated on the cyberspace by the V-team for Advocacy & Community Service/Volunteers in Service to Filipinos, minced no words. It said: “The absence of integrity in the House of Representatives came to light on the 11th hour of June 2, 2009. “The sworn protectors of the Philippine Constitution – those who swore upon that document when they assumed office – are now those who seek to subvert it and silence all opposition. “It was in railroading the passage of an ill-willed resolution, dismissing dissent, and playing numbers game that the possibility of “Gloria Forever” becomes a haunting specter. “More than ‘Gloria Forever’, the railroading and ramming through of HR 1109 is a clear indication that the public interest is secondary to personal political interests, or at the very least, ell-defined ones. “… what you did was a clear violation of the dignity of this nation … what you did was to kill democracy … you have no shame.” A FILIPINO lady-friend of mine here in Port Moresby had asked me about the latest goings-on back home, especially those concerning Arroyo and the recent acts of her minions in Congress that have spawned ripples of indignation among the people across the nation.  Having read about Cha-cha and the political scheming carried out, and intrigues being sown, by the President’s allies over the last many months, I simply told her that nothing much has changed because Arroyo is “committed” to see an election in May 2010, an exercise she can no longer join in, having finished a maximum of two terms allowed by the Constitution. She couldn’t believe that. She said Filipinos across the country have just been angered, and now agitated, by the recent acts of Arroyo’s thieves in Congress, and that they are now raising their arms to oppose any plans to scrap next year’s presidential election. I told her these “raskols” have been elected by their constituents to represent them in Congress. So, whatever they do on the floors of the lawmaking body are supposedly according to the people’s wishes. “Yes, that’s true, but not to commit crime just like what our representative and his buddies did recently.” Alas! More than perpetuating Gloria forever, what these “raskols” have done is an act to shame a revered democracy in our country, especially in the eyes of America, of President Barack Obama, and of the entire civilized, democratic world. Will the people have the time to stop and ponder seriously what is to happen to our Motherland after May 2010? Will the ignominy of the June 2, 2009, courtesy of the “Raskol 170”, start a new revolution, or trigger the expulsion of Arroyo’s regime from its seat of power in Malacanang? As they say, “abangan ang susunod na kabanata …” (Let’s see what happens next).  To see the original website posting, please visit: http://www.batasmauricio.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=318:the-raskols-of-philippine-congress&catid=40:letters-from-port-moresby&Itemid=117 Email the writer: alfredophernandez@thenational.com.pg or Jarahdz500@online.net.pg

 

In defense of cheap and poor-quality Chinese products in Papua New Guinea

 

Letters from Port Moresby (Year 4)

By ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ

CHEAP and poor quality consumer products have been with most of Papua New Guineans ever since they learned how to eat cheap rice and cheap canned meat and fish. Over the years, low-priced imports from China started flooding in after consumer products from Malaysia, Singapore and other Asian countries found their way into local stores and spawned sustained demands from the locals. These were also among the very first imports of this country even before it gained independence from Australia on September 16, 1975. And notably, the inflows of these products have grown as population ballooned to its present mass of more than 5 million. This simply shows that in PNG, there’s market for everything imported, whether or not they are of good quality. In a country with almost 90 percent of consumers wallowing in poverty, the people’s first consideration would always be the product’s affordability. Whether or not it is of good quality is one luxury that could only come up later. The most important thing at the moment is that there’s something the family could use. First-time users of imported foodstuff like rice (especially those who have just been weaned from eating taro, sweet potato, yam, banana and the like), canned foods and clothing, and other consumables like toothpastes, detergents, perfumes, hair-and-body care items, and lately electronic goods, simply have no idea whether the products they bought were of good quality. This is because they have no experience yet with the better counterparts. And those with fewer kina in their pockets tend to go for the only item their money could buy, and this is obviously the one being sold cheap, which, in most cases, could also be of poor make. When I was a young boy in the 50s, I remember receiving a toy gun from may father as Christmas present. I did not want to play with it because it was made in Japan, which according to my playmates in the neighborhood, would easily break down. I wanted one “Made in USA”, because by buddies carried US-made toy guns, which they claimed were durable, thus the better ones. In short, during those days, the Philippines was flooded with poorly-made products, notably from Japan and Hong Kong, aside from the ones made locally, and were fiercely competing in the market against American imports. Those days, Japan and Hong Kong were notorious for their lemon exports. But gosh! Look at them now and how their goods have captured markets worldwide. But as the Philippine economy expanded and people’s incomes improved consumers with increased buying power started chasing better quality products, mostly US goods. For them, Philippine-made consumer items were “no good” and non-US brands were likewise. One major reason was that the Philippines during those days did not have yet the technology to churn out outstanding products as it was just beginning to rise from the rubbles of World War 2 that ended towards the middle of 1945. So this was understandable. Now, immediately after the Philippines gained independence from America in July 4, 1946, having been a colony for 50 years, and trade between the two countries began, came a tsunami of US-made products – from my favorite chocolate treats M&M and Hershey and candies, to quality ready-to-wear clothing items and footwear, household appliances, perfumes and scents, electronic goods and many more. This was also the reason why the Filipinos were accused of having “colonial mentality” because they normally preferred US brands to those produced locally. This is true even up to these days despite the top-quality Philippine products available across the country. Secondly, America has now become second home to the growing number of Filipino migrants, who would occasionally send home door-to-door boxes with favorite American goodies. Right now, the number of Filipinos living across America is at four million, or about 1.5% of US population. Their number made the flood of “Balikbayan” boxes (returning Filipino gift boxes) to the Philippines a major industry for door-to-door cargo delivery services. OF LATE, there has been a misplaced outcry against Asian traders   (translation: Chinese merchants) in PNG and the allegedly poor- quality goods that they sell, most of them Chinese goods. Such reaction to bad consumer products is normal, and it happens all the time everywhere across the globe. This is one progress achieved by consumer movements anywhere – to be able to air complaints against bad products, especially foodstuff, and convince governments to do something about them for consumers’ welfare. But the people leading this so-called “outcry movement”, if we can call that, are denouncing low-quality imported foodstuffs and various other consumables before a group of people who are simply misinformed, unschooled and have no options or access to better-made, imported consumer products; people who have no clear understanding why such products exist and what good they do, if there’s any, to those who happened to acquire them (poor quality products). These are the people, who, even if there are top quality foodstuff and other consumer items available at local stores, will never be able to enjoy them simply because they just couldn’t afford the price. I am referring to the ill-informed grassroots, and there are close to five million of them across PNG, who barely survive their day to day existence for lack of sustainable jobs or source of sustainable livelihood. These are the people living the hand-to-mouth existence, those who are willing to forego lunch so that whatever food the family has could last for another day or two. It goes without saying that the instigators fanning the flame of anti-Asian sentiments are, by all means, nuts, plain illiterate, or that they are the usual scheming kinds with an agenda of their own more sinister than what most PNG politicians have right now. And the agenda is to make a fast buck out of people’s ignorance. Having been a consumer myself for more than 60 years, I came to categorize into three the quality of products which are normally found in the market. First, there are the cheap but poorly-made products; second, the cheap but good-enough-quality products; and third, the top-quality but expensive, beyond-every-ordinary-people products. In short, these items have been produced and marketed to give consumers the choice, a glowing virtue of active consumerism. It would be anarchy if traders would impose on consumers a particular product without giving them an option or the right to choose. All these – whatever they are -- have corresponding market out of the poor, the average, the middle-class and the rich. Simply put, there are no products that could go to waste as there’s one for everybody – the poor, the middle-class and the rich – according to their paying capacity. With that, consumers have no reason to complain against poor quality Chinese products or Asian products for that matter. All they have to do is ignore them, leave that Chinese store and walk across the road towards the other store that sells the same product but of high quality. Only they should be ready to fork more kina to be able to have it. Are they ready to pay the price? Back in the Philippines, poor-quality but cheap products have become a multi-billion peso industry because the number of consumers patronizing them continues to grow. And they come from the ranks of the very poor, the better-off poor, the middle class and the rich. That’s why the so-called bargain districts of Divisoria and Binondo in the city of Manila, and Baclaran in the city of Paranaque – all within the bustling 17-city Metropolitan Manila – have remained the biggest trading centers in the country. Here, billion of pesos change hands everyday, from early morning to sundown. It is here where countless cheap local products and those from all over Asia, led by Chinese goods, are dumped day in day out, because the buying and selling involving thousands of people never slows down. It is here where you can find everything, from the biggest to the smallest, to the simplest in design to the most outrageous, all at very affordable prices – all you have to do is ask. AFTER I WROTE in this column early this year about a group of 16 Chinese-owned variety shops at Gordon in Port Moresby, which I called “Little Binondo”, and saying they sell low-priced Chinese-made products, bargain hunters positively reacted by coming here to have a look, after which they bought a piece or two of the items. And simply by word of mouth, the place became popular among ordinary consumers who were after cheap items and good bargains. Others came from villages in hired PMV trucks. When they left the stores’ compound, they carried various items they would be taking back home in the village. Finally, they discovered a place where their money could easily match up with products they liked. And they are Chinese. This simply shows that cheap Asian products – whether Chinese-made, Taiwanese-made, Malaysian-made, Singaporean-made, Japan-made, and what have you – always have a ready market. Ordinary consumers would always gravitate towards them because such items are what they could easily afford. There’s no need to hold a mass demonstration to expose or denounce cheap imported goods as there’s just no point doing this. Because at the end of the day, those who supported this mass action would go home, still poor as they are, only to go back to the store the next day to buy the same cheap but poor-quality products that, ironically, are the ones giving them sustenance. They know such products very well, being the ones they could readily afford. Meanwhile, in the other store, there’s that expensive, high-quality item waiting for them to pick. But alas, there’s no taker. So, the basic moral of this story is simple: Those who demand quality should be ready to pay for it. Otherwise, they should settle with what they could easily afford. And don’t expect that these cheap items would go away. Never, because everyday, there would be a new army of consumers who’ll be looking for products that suit their pockets, and these are usually the cheap and poor-quality Chinese-made.  To see the original website posting, please visit the weblink below:  http://www.batasmauricio.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=286:in-defense-of-cheap-and-poor-quality-chinese-products-in-png&catid=40:letters-from-port-moresby&Itemid=117 For any feedback, please email the writer: alfredophernandez@thenational.com.pg  or  jarahdz@online.net.pg

 

Farm funnies...

How Voco Point, Lae, got its name

mv Umboi at Voco Point

mv Rita at the Lutheran Shipping wharf at Voco Point in Lae

mv Gejamsaoc off Voco Point with the Huon Gulf in the background

Lutheran Shipping's pride mv Gejamsaoc and mv Rita at Voco Point in Lae

Voco Point, Lae, is one of the busiest coastal trading points in the country.
On any given day, coastal vessels from throughout the country – from Alotau to Manus, from Lihir to Vanimo – line up at the wharves.
The passenger boats ferry people to Finschhafen, Siassi, Kimbe, Rabaul, New Ireland, Oro Bay, Alotau, Madang, and Wewak.
The local shops make fortunes every day and the roads are chock-a-block with humans and vehicles.
In a nutshell, Voco Point is one of the busiest coastal trading points in the country.
It continues a great tradition started by Morobeans of long ago.
However, to this day, many people – including those who work and live there – do not know how Voco Point got its name.
The pre-World War 11Vacuum Oil Company – Mobil – had a depot at the site of Voco Point; hence, Voco is short for Vacuum Oil Company.
Mobil Oil Australia was established in Australia in 1895 and traded as Vacuum Oil Company.
It was the first oil company to operate in Australia, New Guinea, and of course Lae.
As Lae boomed with the Wau and Bulolo goldfields in the 1920s, a shipping depot connected by railway to the airstrip was established at Vacuum Oil Company (Voco) Point, and remained as the main wharf until after the war.
The local Lae villages call Voco Point Asiawi, and in days of yore, it was a traditional trading ground that bustled with activity.
They came from as far away as the Siassi and Tami Islands, Bukawa, Salamaua, and Labu to meet and exchange goods in this ancient market place.
Researchers know that around the Huon Gulf, a complex and extensive trading system – dependent on canoe voyages – had existed long before contact with Europeans.
The greatest mariners were the Siassi and Tami Islanders, whose boats sailed up the Rai Coast towards Madang, plied the coast of New Britain, and penetrated far to the south in the Huon Gulf.
The Lae, unlike their Labu neighbors, were not great mariners but did build two types of canoes: a small dugout for local fishing and the larger kasali (sailing canoe) for longer trips.
Supply lines stretched across the Vitiaz Strait to New Britain, up the Rai Coast towards Madang, and deep into the Upper Markham and the high valley of the Huon Peninsula.
According to one researcher, the distinctive feature of this trade was specialisation in the production of certain goods.
The Lae produced taro and fruits; the Labu specialised in woven handbags and baskets; the Bukawa produced taro, fruit, rain capes and mats of pandanus leaves sewn together; the Tami Islanders carved a variety of wooden bowls; while Siassi Islanders acted as middlemen, trading Huon Gulf products into New Britain and bringing back obsidian for knife blades and ochre for paints.
The inlanders and mountain people brought to the beach produce that the coast did not grow so well: yams, sweet potato, and tobacco.
They also brought with them items of wealth such as birds of paradise plumes, dog’s teeth, and cockatoo feathers.
In return, they took shells and shells ornaments, pigs, fish, and salt.
The inland trade route at Lae ran through Yalu to the Markham Valley and through Musom to the highlands of the Huon Peninsula.
Trading was carried out through a system of partnership with certain individuals and families at different ports.
This may explain how traces of the old Ahi-Wampar language are said to exist as far away as the coast of West New Britain.
It may also explain the undercurrent of friendship and co-operation between the people of the Huon Gulf coast - from Salamaua to Siassi.
In 1979, a strange phenomenon occurred when a whirlpool came and tore away a large chunk of land and destroyed part of the Yacht Club.
This surprised many people, but not the local landowners, who said it was an evil spirit called yaayaa.
According to the traditions of the Gwatu clan of Butibam Village, their original village, Ankuapoc, was near Asiawi.
Asiawi, according to mythology, used to be a long point which went out much further than today but was eaten by the evil spirit called yaayaa which comes in a whirlpool and takes away chunks of land, the last of which was in 1979.
As Lae boomed with the Wau and Bulolo goldfields in the 1920s, a shipping depot connected by railway to the airstrip was established at Voco Point and remained as the main wharf until after the war.
Voco Point is now the terminal for local shipping and small boats, second to the Lae Port.
But it has made an indelible mark on the history of Lae, Morobe Province, and PNG, and continues in the same vein.
Where once ancient mariners braved the rough seas, with only the moon and stars to guide them, now modern coastal vessels load machinery for the new gold mine on Lihir.
This is Voco Point, also known as Asiawi.