Malaysia Sees- Philippines could be the new ASEAN giant

Ceritalah by KARIM RASLAN (the Star Online – Malaysia)

The Philippines – with natural resources such as gold, copper, nickel and oil and gas aplenty – has tremendous potential. Last year, the republic registered an amazing 7.1% growth rate, and growing.

MALAYSIANS have looked down on the Philippines for decades, seeing the republic as South-East Asia's basket case, a source of maids, manual workers and little else.

However, with Noynoy Aquino's thumping electoral victory in last year's presidential election, international perceptions are starting to change and the Philippines fastpaced of its Rebranding.

At long last, the republic has a leader with an unquestionable mandate.

Indeed, the Philippines – especially for the businessman – is beginning to look very interesting.

On a personal note, and having experienced how Indonesia started turning around soon after Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's victory in 2004, Manila 2011 reminds me a great deal of how Jakarta was all those years ago: gradually reaching some measure of stability before booming.

Of course, recent natural disasters such as Typhoon Pedring have tended to focus our attention on the Philippines' many weaknesses, much in the same way the 2004 tsunami shook Indonesia.

Still, there's no denying that the two countries share many unfortunate similarities, beginning with their susceptibility to natural disasters, high levels of corruption and poverty, poor infrastructure and weak government.

Nonetheless, scale has its advantages.

The two great archipelagic nations are sprawling, island-based nations with huge populations – the Philippines' 94 million to Indonesia's 240 million.

Both are hampered by poor infrastructure, vast distances and a degree of lawlessness – especially in regions far from the centre of power.

However, the Philippines' poverty levels are more acute.

More than a fifth of all Filipinos (23.1 million) currently subsist on less than US$2 (RM6.2) a day.

Furthermore, the Philippines, having endured decades of Marcos' autocratic and venal kleptocracy, has only just managed to achieve a measure of political stability as institutions and civil society now seek to regain strength and resilience.

Indeed, political violence is still a reality in the Philippines – as the 2009 Maguindanao massacre tragically demonstrated.

Nevertheless, the Philippines, much like Indonesia, has tremendous potential.

In 2010, the republic registered an amazing 7.1% growth rate.

Natural resources ranging from gold, copper and nickel are also plentiful. Troubled Muslim-majority Mindanao is estimated to have a whopping US$1 trillion (RM3.1 trillion) worth of natural oil and gas deposits.

Indeed, the Philippines – for decades an international laggard – is no longer cash-strapped.

For starters, individual Filipinos have become big savers and the country's reserves (US$76bil or RM238.6bil) far exceed net foreign debt: a record that would put most European nations to shame.

There are three fast-growing drivers of the local economy; business process outsourcing (BPO), remittances and tourism.

According to the brokerage CLSA, BPO generated US$9bil (RM28.2bil) in 2010, up 25%.

Indeed, the republic is targeting US$25bil (RM78.5bil) in revenues by 2016.

Meanwhile, BPO jobs have kicked off a mini-boom as housing, banking and auto-sales have benefited from the advent of well over 600,000 middle-class consumers across the country with major hubs in provincial cities such as Cebu and Davao.

Remittances have also been growing steadily.

With over ten million Filipinos working abroad in 2010, well over US$18.8bil (RM59bil) was sent home.

Moreover, the country is sending more and more trained and skilled workers (such as nurses, accountants and technicians) to Europe, the Middle East and North America.

Tourism is also set to grow.

The archipelagic nation is set to become a major playground for North Asian tourists.

The soon-to-be inaugurated Air Asia Philippines will no doubt bring even more visitors to the islands of Bohol, Boracay and Iloilo with their white sandy beaches and historic towns and cities.

At the same time, casino operators, having witnessed Resorts World's phenomenal success, will be pouring money into newer and even grander developments along the Manila Bay area, thereby enhancing Philippine tourism offerings even more.

With a 70% approval rating, President Aquino has a golden opportunity to change his nation's future fundamentally.

Having seen how SBY has altered Indonesia's standing, it would be very unwise to bet against the Philippines' nascent turn-around.

What does this all mean for Malaysia?

For starters, it means that Filipinos, much like Indonesians, will not be flocking to work in our homes or on our plantations and construction sites in the near future.

Today's Filipino overseas workers possess skills (including fluency in the English language) that often surpass what's available in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru or Penang.

Second, the Philippines will become a major challenge to our own services economy.

Third, the republic's booming and vast domestic market will attract global MNCs desperate for growth, distracting them from smaller nations including our own.

As the First World shudders once again with an impending credit crisis, middle-income nations like Malaysia have to weigh their options carefully.

Are we nimble enough to compete with Singapore and Hong Kong?

If not, can we fend off the competition from the new Asean giants – Indonesia and, now, the Philippines?

Can we become a more efficient destination for global business as these vast nations begin to stir?

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No Impasse - Libya's new leaders declare liberation

(Autopsy confirms Gadhafi killed by gunshot to head)

Members of Libya's interim government urged "tolerance and reconciliation" on Sunday as they declared the official liberation of Libya, three days after the death of former leader Moammar Gadhafi in a battle in Sirte.

The ceremony in the eastern city of Benghazi began with a reading from the Qur'an and the singing of the national anthem in front of hundreds waving the new Libyan flag.

"We declare to the whole world that we have liberated our beloved country, with its cities, villages, hill-tops, mountains, deserts and skies," said an official who opened the ceremony, which comes after eight months of conflict between rebels and Gadhafi's forces.

National Transitional Council leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil took the podium at the end of the event, starting by praying for "the souls of all the martyrs" — those who fought Gadhafi's forces and who died during the late dictator's reign.

"We should have forgiveness, tolerance and reconciliation. We should reject hatred. This is a necessary matter for the success of the future Libya," Jalil intoned. "Do not use force to take your rights back. All you have to do is to be faithful, patient and tolerant."

U.S. President Barack Obama hailed the declaration in a statement released on Sunday.

"After four decades of brutal dictatorship and eight months of deadly conflict, the Libyan people can now celebrate their freedom and the beginning of a new era of promise," Obama said.

He added the U.S. looks forward to working with Libyans to "help advance a stable, democratic transition" as they prepare for free and fair elections.

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also added his congratulations Sunday, sending out a statement that the UN is committed to supporting "the Libyan people and their authorities as they work to build this brighter future."

"From this day onward, the Libyan people will be in full charge of their future — a future that their new leaders have declared will be based on justice and national reconciliation."

Sharia law 'basic source' of legislation

He emphasized that Sharia law would be the "basic source" of legislation in the country and that laws that contradict the teachings of Islam would be nullified.

Jalil talked about immediate changes to laws — specifically amending regulations concerning marriage, banking and housing loans, banishing massive interest rates — to conform to Sharia customs. He added that something special would be done for anti-Gadhafi fighters and widows of dead fighters but did not elaborate.

The CBC's Sasa Petricic, reporting from Misrata, says building a democracy after more than four decades of Gadhafi's rule will not be easy.

The Libyans, he said, "have to build a lot of institutions from the ground up and they have to do it in a country which has a lot of political, tribal and regional differences."

In Benghazi, Jalil thanked the businessmen who supported the fighters, funded convoys and "gave money for the sake of God and the Mighty."

Jalil also vowed to set up a national army that would serve the people and protect Libya's borders.

"Today we are one national flesh," said Jalil in the final moments of his speech. "We are all brothers and we love one another."

Jalil has pledged for elections for a new governing body to be held by June of next year.

After that the new body, called the Public National Conference, is to:

Appoint a prime minister, an interim government and a constituent authority which will draft a new constitution within 60 days.

The constitution will be put to a referendum.

Once the constitution is approved, general and presidential elections will be held within six months.

Questions remain concerning Gadhafi's death

Also on Sunday, Libya's chief forensic pathologist says an autopsy has confirmed that Gadhafi was killed by a shot to the head.

Dr. Othman al-Zintani says doctors completed the examination on Sunday but he won't disclose more details until he delivered a report to the attorney general.

Bloody images of Gadhafi being taunted and beaten by his captors in his hometown of Sirte have raised questions about whether he was killed in crossfire as suggested by the government or deliberately executed.

International concern about the issue had clouded plans by the transitional government to declare liberation later Sunday after months of bloodshed in a rebellion to oust the hated leader of nearly 42 years.

After the autopsy at a Misrata morgue, Gadhafi's body was returned to the meat locker where it has been on display to crowds of Libyans.

Countdown to elections

The CBC's Derek Stoffel, reporting from Libya, said the biggest celebration will be in Benghazi, where the rebel movement began.

Gadhafi's blood-streaked body has been put on display at a shopping centre in Misrata, as Libyan authorities argued about where to bury the remains.

Men, women and children lined up to view the body, which was laid out on a mattress on the floor of an emptied-out vegetable freezer.

"We are very happy that we got rid of the tyrant who made us tired and made us run all across Libya," said Misrata resident Mohamed Erhoma.

Fighters from Misrata, a city brutally besieged by regime forces during the civil war, seemed to claim ownership of the body, forcing the delay of a planned burial on Friday.

Son's body also on display

The bodies of Gadhafi's son Muatassim and his ex-defence minister Abu Bakr Younis were also put on display on Saturday, although they were covered with blankets so only their faces were visible.

The long-awaited declaration of liberation in Libya came more than two months after revolutionary forces swept into Tripoli and seized control of most of the oil-rich North African nation.

It was stalled by fierce resistance by Gadhafi loyalists in his hometown of Sirte, Bani Walid and pockets in the south.

The public display of the body underscores the message the interim government is trying to drive home to Libyans — that there is no going back.

"Wherever Libya goes, it's going to have to go in a new direction," Stoffel said.

Acting PM wanted Gadafi alive

At the same time, it's likely Gadhafi will be buried in a place where he can't be idolized or used as a symbol by those dissatisfied with the new direction, he said.

Jibril, who has said he plans to resign as acting prime minister after liberation, said Libya's National Transitional Council must move quickly to disarm former Libyan rebels and make sure huge weapons caches are turned over in coming days. The interim government has not explained in detail how it would tackle the task.

Jibril told the BBC in comments to be broadcast Sunday that "at the personal level I wish [Gadhafi] was alive" so he could face questions from the Libyan people buckling under decades of his harsh rule.

Jibril said he would not oppose a full investigation under international supervision into Gadhafi's death.

No more stalemate

The new peace winning tactics is to leave without impasse. This is the new war concept that the US power promoting to all allies. US learned from the past after the Korean War in 1953 leave stalemate which ends no victory but a forever struggle of people in the North Korea in absence of freedom and democracy.

The Arab spring has been warned by the Obama Administration that if people will desire transition of their government and oust their dictators, UN and Washington Power will back for no stalemate policy.

The victory of Libyan people reminding the other Arabian leaders that if the revolution will begin, they must have to step down prior to their death as the UN & US powers will support for the democracy and won't allow impasse in any war.

For the US move to restore power in ASIA is also giving a warning that if there is a battle in the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea) as UN & US is on the back to the Philippines with other surrounding strong allies like Japan, Australia, India, and New Zealand the war should end at no impasse. 

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