The Govt’s New Year’s Resolution Should be a Cabinet Reshuffle

Posted by AsiaViews | Jan 7, 2018 | 0 |

Irrawady

5 Jan 2018

Rather than wishing its fellow citizens good health and wellbeing in the new year, the NLD government should be more serious if it wants something meaningful for 2018 — a cabinet reshuffle.

Over the course of its 21 months in office — to the public’s dismay — most of the leaders of civilian-run ministries have proved themselves inept. They have been incapable of even making their own decisions. They are reluctant to take risks, as U Win Htein, one of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s aides, put it. (Three military-run ministries are excluded, as the government has no power over them.)

With those people in charge, it’s no wonder that we have heard reckless comments, for example that Myanmar’s economy would take off like a “jet” even while local manufacturers were facing hurdles — a lack of infrastructure and an unfair tax system — in trying to attract international investors. People can no longer recall the name of the ethnic affairs minister, who stays out of sight most of the time. And it was disappointing to see a muted information minister when northern Rakhine State was burning and Myanmar was besieged with international criticism over the issue.

For the NLD government, it was a waste of time to have spent nearly two years on incapable ministers. President U Htin Kyaw’s administration had a bumpy start. The announcement of his cabinet was met with ridicule when it emerged that several of his new ministers had fake degrees. When the administration turned one last year, its de facto leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, boasted that the cabinet was corruption-free. It was a delight for the people to hear that. However, they need not only a clean government but also cohesive and effective ministries with the right people in the right places to move the country forward. Political will alone is not enough to build a nation.

It’s an open secret that there are some high-level department officials who are reluctant to be loyal to the NLD government. The majority of them had worked for General–turned-President U Thein Sein during the previous administration. By putting national reconciliation ahead of everything else, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has remained patient with them, hoping they would work for the good of the country. Now, 21 months on, those officials remain far from fulfilling her hopes, U Win Htein said.

So now is the time for the NLD government to have an administrative shakeup for the sake of the people who heartily voted it into power in 2015. It should not let the people down. Any failure of the shakeup to meet the people’s expectations will lead to a failed democratic transition. With the 2020 elections looming, the party seems to be feeling the heat — it just announced plans to reform the party structure in a bid for better performance. The government should follow suit, but quickly, for the clock is ticking.

(source:https://www.irrawaddy.com/opinion/editorial/govts-new-years-resolution-cabinet-reshuffle.html)

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EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

The Govt’s New Year’s Resolution Should be a Cabinet Reshuffle