~Labor crunch<\/p>\n
Having postponed the amnesty period over and again, the
\ngovernment has finally taken the decisive step to flush out
\nillegal foreign workers still lurking in the country.<\/p>\n
After the raid operation, the construction and manufacturing
\nindustries have suffered serious labor shortage; many eateries
\nhave gone out of business; sales at sundry shops have dropped
\ndrastically; the oil palm industry is in tatters. In other words,
\nthanks to a lack of timely preventive measures, foreseeable
\nconsequences have materialized.<\/p>\n
The government has turned down the proposals to legalize
\nillegal foreign workers on the spot. Now the government is
\nsending away these illegals and want them to spend some money to
\ncome back here through legal channels. The sheer waste in
\nresources should have been avoided.<\/p>\n
While we still need a lot of foreign workers in this country,
\nany strategy related to foreign labor should therefore be far-
\nsighted. There is no point making a lot of noise and then allow
\neverything to fall back to square one again.<\/p>\n
-- Sin Chew Daily, Selangor, Malaysia<\/p>\n
Direct elections in Egypt<\/p>\n
President Hosni Mubarak has just called for the Constitution
\nto be amended so as to allow more than one candidate to run for
\npresident in direct and free elections. Commentators argue that
\nno candidate can pose a credible challenge to Mubarak.<\/p>\n
Egypt is emerging from half a century of patriarchal rule
\nduring which the president's charisma and the backing of the
\nmilitary hindered the search for political alternatives. In
\npatriarchal regimes the leader is projected as father to the
\nentire nation and the thought of his absence is often
\ndisconcerting.<\/p>\n
The public, as well as the opposition, have lived for a long
\ntime in this climate. There may not be enough candidates capable
\nof catching the nation's imagination. Yet this is a historic
\nopportunity. The election has to be fair and free. It will test
\nthe nation's political maturity as much as it will test the
\ncandidates already waiting in the wings.
\n-- Al-Ahram, Cairo<\/p>\n
Argentina's debt restructuring<\/p>\n
The best thing about Argentina's successful US$100 billion
\ndebt restructuring is that it holds the promise of ridding the
\ncountry of its status as an economic pariah and improving the
\nlives of its citizens.<\/p>\n
It's easy to forget, amid all the self-congratulation by the
\nArgentine government, that the mismanagement of the economy led
\nto six years of lost growth, an increase in poverty, job loss on
\na massive scale and general social and economic misery.
\nBankruptcy isn't pretty.<\/p>\n
At a time when Latin America is beginning to feel the
\ncompetitive economic pressure from China, the Argentine deal
\ngives potential investors reasons to think twice about investing
\nin Latin America. By forcing investors to settle for 30 cents on
\nthe dollar - a new low in such a massive default - Argentina has
\nincreased the risk premium, which potential lenders and investors
\nwould be foolish to ignore.<\/p>\n
-- Miami Herald<\/p>\n
The litigation game<\/p>\n
We are all too conversant with the proclivity of party in
\npower to involve its political opponents in litigation on
\ncorruption charges. The process commences, soon after a newly
\nelected government has taken over the reins of power, sometimes
\nwith the issuing of what is euphemistically called a 'white
\npaper' containing 'black deeds' of the past government, preceded
\nby a period of witch hunting aided by various agencies.<\/p>\n
We ask whether these cases are really motivated by the desire
\nto root out corruption from public domain starting with the
\npoliticians or it is merely a ploy to wreak vendetta and reprisal
\non the political opponents?<\/p>\n
We are constrained to make the query, given the outcome of
\nmost of these cases we have seen all these years, that are either
\nquashed by the court for lack of evidence or are set aside
\nparticularly in respect of those that were against the ruling
\nparty members, by the party in power. Regrettably, we are yet to
\nsee a juridical conclusion of or any conviction in, any of the
\ncases.<\/p>\n
Corruption must be curbed at all costs and by all manner and
\nmeans, and dishonest individuals must be called to account,
\nwhatever be the rank or political status, but such action must
\nnot be bereft of objectivity and transparency.
\n-- The Daily Star, Dhaka<\/p>",
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