SYDNEY: Malaysia has temporarily suspended live cattle and buffalo imports from Australia, the Australian government said, days after Indonesia paused some imports after lumpy skin disease (LSD) was detected in a small number of cattle after arrival. Australia was urgently engaging with its Malaysian counterparts to lift the curbs whileContinue Reading
Getty ImagesPakistan’s parliament has been formally dissolved, but polls meant to be held within 90 days will likely be delayed.
The electoral commission says electoral boundaries must be redrawn to reflect fresh census data, a months-long process.
Last week, former prime minister Imran Khan was arrested and jailed, and then barred from politics for five years.
He had openly challenged the powerful military establishment and claimed it was “petrified” of elections.
With President Arif Alvi’s order on Wednesday to dissolve the National Assembly, a caretaker government will take charge. Outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his government have been given three days to name an interim leader.
A senior Election Commission of Pakistan official told the BBC: “The elections will be held once the census is done, which will take about four months’ time. As a result, the elections may be delayed till next year.”
Mr Sharif, who warned that the country cannot progress without “national unity”, also told reporters recently that polls may not be held this year.
Some feel the election is being delayed as the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) coalition isn’t confident about winning at the polls, due to Mr Khan’s enduring popularity, as well as the effects of runaway inflation despite a bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
Despite their once close relationship, Mr Khan has rattled the military like no other politician before him. Senior analyst Rasool Bakhsh Raees even reckons that the former cricket star’s detention will increase his popularity.
In May, Mr Khan’s arrest on corruption charges sparked nationwide protests that saw at least eight deaths and some 1,400 arrests, amid unprecedented attacks on military property and buildings.
The 70-year old, who is appealing his conviction on graft charges, has claimed that the military’s goal was to “eventually put me into prison and to crush my party.”
But the rule remains the same: anyone who challenges Pakistan’s military, even someone with the charisma and international stature of Mr Khan, must go. The former cricket star is simply the latest politician since the 1970s to find this out the hard way.
As former senator Afrasiab Khattak told the BBC, there are two systems of government operating in parallel. Now, “the unsanctioned, de facto force wants to take over the parliamentary process,” said Mr Khattak. “Pakistan’s military has always been powerful, but they want more powers so that their unsanctioned rule is not challenged either by politicians, activists, or journalists.”
Perhaps this was why two draconian laws were tabled in the National Assembly last week, in a bid to further enhance the powers of the military and intelligence agencies.
Proposed amendments to the century-old Official Secrets Act will broadly empower the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) to arrest citizens over “suspected breach of official secrets”. In addition, a new bill recommends a three-year jail term for anyone who discloses the identity of an intelligence official.
The amendments provoked a ruckus in parliament, with both the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and PML-N’s coalition partners calling the government out for passing “draconian laws in haste” and without discussion.
Senator Mushtaq Ahmed of Jamaat-e-Islami also warned that the Official Secrets Act amendment will grant intelligence agencies “extraordinary powers” of arrest and search without warrant. “This will have an impact on the human rights, individual rights and press freedom across the country.”
The Pakistani intelligence services are regularly accused of illegally detaining opposition members, politicians, activists and journalists, with human rights organisations noting the increasing number of enforced disappearances every month.
In the month of July alone, 157 more cases of enforced disappearances were reported, according to the government-led Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances.
The bills have been sent to President Alvi, a co-founder of the PTI, and must be signed by him before they can be legislated into law.
Once the winner of a six-million-baht lottery prize, Uan, whose last name is not disclosed, ended up homeless on Ratchadamnoen Avenue when her money dried up.
The 53-year-old woman told the Bangkok Post she was earlier working as a taxi driver. Ms Uan was struggling with the rising cost of living including petrol prices, and her income was not enough to pay for the taxi’s daily rent and home rental.
Fortunately, Ms Uan won the lottery, and was able to buy her former house with it. She put her grandmother’s name down as the legal owner. That move was to have nasty consequences later.
Ms Uan’s situation worsened when her grandmother fell ill. She said her grandmother was suffering from many diseases, such as cancer. The money left from buying the house was used up paying medical bills.
Before her grandmother died, she transferred rights over the house to Uan’s brother. After her death, Uan’s brother decided to sell the house, resulting in Uan losing her home and ending up on the streets.
Ms Uan added that she has been living on Ratchadamnoen Avenue — an area in Phra Nakhon district of Bangkok known to be packed with homeless people — for three months.
Ms Uan’s experience is one example of the many homeless people living on Ratchadamnoen Avenue. The Bangkok Post talked to them to find out why they are homeless and hear their response to a ban on their sleeping there.
The Phra Nakhon District Office has announced that it will no longer allow the homeless to sleep on Ratchadamnoen Avenue from September onwards.
According to the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, there were 2,499 homeless people in Thailand in 2023, 1,217 in Bangkok alone. Data also shows that 500-600 of these homeless people in the capital occupy areas in Phra Nakhon district.
Fences along Ratchadamnoen Avenue are to be put up to bar homeless people from sleeping on the road and prevent hoarders from littering.
Some believe the authorities would like to improve the city’s landscape and enforce safety for pedestrians and locals.
However, it is inevitable that some people view the regulation as a type of window dressing that will only push the homeless out of one area and into another.
Tip Sakda, 52, told the Bangkok Post that he has spent six years living as a homeless man in Phra Nakhon district, in Sake Alley on Assadang Road. He said he had conflicts with his family and decided to leave for good.
Social workers informed him about the fences which will be installed soon. They told him to move to a new place, a plan Mr Tip admitted he was not yet prepared to execute.
Mr Tip said he wants public agencies to offer homeless people a proper shelter and job opportunities. Many suffer from chronic illnesses without access to healthcare.
“In the past, some homeless men fell ill but they did not receive treatment. Some were later found dead on the streets,” Mr Tip added.
Like many other people who lost their jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic two years ago, Pai Sontiwong, 44, said he was also laid off during that time. Lacking a stable income to afford the rent, Mr Pai had no choice but to hit the streets.
He said he usually wanders around Sanam Luang or Rattanakosin Hotel. He goes to Sake Alley every day and waits for food donations, philanthropic NGOs or individuals who help the homeless.
When asked about the fence plan for Ratchadamnoen Avenue, Mr Pai said the regulation would prove difficult for him and he is not prepared to move.
Mr Pai said agencies should offer more help to the homeless. The Mirror Foundation has a programme for homeless people to sign up for job opportunities and cheap apartments; however, Mr Pai said the scope of work is still small compared to the number of homeless in Phra Nakhon district.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Admi- nistration (BMA) and its network has established two drop-in stations in Sake Alley and under Somdet Phra Pinklao Bridge (on the Phra Nakhon district side).
Officials from the BMA, National Health Security Office, Ministry Of Social Development and Human Security, Department of Social Development and Welfare and charitable foundations are based at the drop-in spots.
They offer assistance on healthcare, welfare for the elderly or people with disabilities, laundry services, bathrooms, job employment and apartments.
Reports said the BMA is also discussing bringing back emergency shelters for the homeless at a building next to Chaloem Wan Chat Bridge in Phra Nakhon district.
The project is a joint one between the BMA and Mirror Foundation to offer training and allowances to homeless people, helping them get jobs and prevent them from returning into a cycle of homelessness.
The emergency shelters would mitigate ongoing harm against homeless people where scammers trick them into opening up mule accounts, an act punishable by imprisonment.
Sittipon Chuprajong from the Mirror Foundation said some groups of men extort money from homeless people.
They also hire the homeless for 500 baht to open bank accounts or mule accounts.
Many homeless people have been arrested by police and jailed.
Mr Sittipon said these groups usually roam Ratchadamnoen Avenue and other places in Phra Nakhon district.
“The causes which force people to become homeless remain unchanged. Some lost their jobs and were unable to support their family, leading to conflicts at home making them feel like a burden to family members.
They cannot return to the workforce because of their age in many cases so have to leave the house,” he said.
The BMA, the Mirror Foundation and their network are pushing projects to offer jobs and cheap apartments for the homeless people as well as helping them gain access to state welfare.
The Move Forward Party (MFP) gave no clear answer on Wednesday as to whether it will vote for the Pheu Thai Party’s prime ministerial candidate in parliament, according to Paetongtarn Shinawatra, head of the Pheu Thai Party Family.
Pheu Thai, led by Ms Paetongtarn and other party heavyweights, including its leader Cholnan Srikaew, deputy leader Phumtham Wechayachai, and secretary-general Prasert Chantararuangthong, met the MFP for talks on Wednesday.
The Pheu Thai team walked from their office on Phetchaburi Road to the MFP’s headquarters nearby. The parties chatted for around 90 minutes.
The MFP team was led by party leader Pita Limjaroenrat, deputy leaders Sirikanya Tansakul and Pijarn Chaowapatthanawong, and secretary-general Thawatchai Tulathon.
It was the first time that Pheu Thai has reached out to the MFP for help in voting for its prime ministerial candidate, Srettha Thavisin.
Pheu Thai has two other candidates: Ms Paetongtarn and Chaikasem Nitisiri.
It has replaced the MFP as the party leading efforts to form a coalition government after Mr Pita’s bid to become prime minister failed to garner sufficient support from the Senate.
Pheu Thai has since scrapped the memorandum of understanding (MoU) it signed with the MFP and other parties regarding the formation of the next government.
That also frees it to pursue other suitors, as most parties have now vowed not to join any coalition featuring the MFP due to the latter’s stance on reforming the lese majeste law.
Parties in the previous coalition — Bhumjaithai, Palang Pracharath, United Thai and the Democrat Party — are all against amending Section 112 of the Criminal Code.
At the same time, Pheu Thai and the MFP were thought to have suffered a bitter split after Pheu Thai suggested it could no longer work with the party.
But by turning to the MFP, Pheu Thai is seen as potentially being concerned it may not be able to mobilise enough senators to vote for Mr Srettha.
Pheu Thai said if the MFP agrees to back Mr Srettha, it would not need the Senate’s vote to get its candidate through.
For a prime ministerial candidate to pull through, they must receive the support of at least 376 MPs and senators.
Emerging from yesterday’s talks, Ms Paetongtarn said the MFP gave no clear indication of whether it would support Pheu Thai’s prime ministerial candidate in parliament.
“I think we might have to wait a bit longer [for the answer],” she said.
Mr Pita also described Wednesday’s talks as inconclusive. He said the two parties would remain on amicable terms in parliament.
ELECTION DATE QUESTION MARK There has been speculation for months that there could be a delay to elections as the establishment grapples to stabilise the country, which is facing overlapping security, economic and political crises. Data from the latest census carried out in May was finally published at the weekendContinue Reading
The Move Forward Party (MFP) gave no clear answer on Wednesday as to whether it will vote for the Pheu Thai Party’s prime ministerial candidate in parliament, according to Paetongtarn Shinawatra, head of the Pheu Thai Party Family.
Pheu Thai, led by Ms Paetongtarn and other party heavyweights, including its leader Cholnan Srikaew, deputy leader Phumtham Wechayachai, and secretary-general Prasert Chantararuangthong, met the MFP for talks on Wednesday.
The Pheu Thai team walked from their office on Phetchaburi Road to the MFP’s headquarters nearby. The parties chatted for around 90 minutes.
The MFP team was led by party leader Pita Limjaroenrat, deputy leaders Sirikanya Tansakul and Pijarn Chaowapatthanawong, and secretary-general Thawatchai Tulathon.
It was the first time that Pheu Thai has reached out to the MFP for help in voting for its prime ministerial candidate, Srettha Thavisin.
Pheu Thai has two other candidates: Ms Paetongtarn and Chaikasem Nitisiri.
It has replaced the MFP as the party leading efforts to form a coalition government after Mr Pita’s bid to become prime minister failed to garner sufficient support from the Senate.
Pheu Thai has since scrapped the memorandum of understanding (MoU) it signed with the MFP and other parties regarding the formation of the next government.
That also frees it to pursue other suitors, as most parties have now vowed not to join any coalition featuring the MFP due to the latter’s stance on reforming the lese majeste law.
Parties in the previous coalition — Bhumjaithai, Palang Pracharath, United Thai and the Democrat Party — are all against amending Section 112 of the Criminal Code.
At the same time, Pheu Thai and the MFP were thought to have suffered a bitter split after Pheu Thai suggested it could no longer work with the party.
But by turning to the MFP, Pheu Thai is seen as potentially being concerned it may not be able to mobilise enough senators to vote for Mr Srettha.
Pheu Thai said if the MFP agrees to back Mr Srettha, it would not need the Senate’s vote to get its candidate through.
For a prime ministerial candidate to pull through, they must receive the support of at least 376 MPs and senators.
Emerging from Wednesday’s talks, Ms Paetongtarn said the MFP gave no clear indication of whether it would support Pheu Thai’s prime ministerial candidate in parliament.
“I think we might have to wait a bit longer [for the answer],” she said.
Mr Pita also described Wednesday’s talks as inconclusive. He said the two parties would remain on amicable terms in parliament.
Getty ImagesGig workers in India are celebrating a small but significant victory in their ongoing fight for labour rights and better working conditions.
The work is gruelling, hours are long, the pay is meagre and there’s no job security or access to basic rights like paid leave, insurance or pension.
But on 24 July, the western state of Rajasthan passed a landmark law that aims to provide platform-based gig workers social security benefits – a right they have been demanding for a long time – among other provisions.
The Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act 2023 proposes to set up a social security fund by imposing a welfare tax of 1%-2% on every transaction made by a customer on apps that fall within its ambit, like food delivery and ride sharing. State government grants and contributions by gig workers will also be pooled into the fund.
The law also aims to create an online database of gig workers in the state by registering them and the platforms they’re associated with; set up a system to address their grievances and a welfare board to monitor and enforce rules and fine aggregator platforms that don’t comply.
Many labour rights activists have praised the law saying it will give gig workers at least some of the rights enjoyed by those in the formal economy. They also say it will provide a model for other states to follow.
But critics argue that the law might slow down the gig economy by irking customers, who may end up paying more for transactions as aggregator platforms could increase prices to pay the welfare tax.
Gig workers even in the US and UK have been unionising to demand labour rights. Their Indian counterparts have been doing the same as they aren’t included under the country’s labour laws, since they are not classified as “employees”.
Gig platforms also do not call themselves “employers”, preferring the term “aggregators” instead and call their workers “partners” or “independent contractors”. Experts say this is unfair as gig workers aren’t given a share of the profits but are expected to adhere to rules laid down by the platform.
India has a huge population of platform-based gig workers – a little over seven million, according to the government-run think-tank Niti Aayog. But experts say that this number is likely to be higher. The country’s soaring population has fuelled shortages in the job market, forcing many – especially youngsters – to turn to gig work to make a living.
Akriti Bhatia, a labour rights activist, calls the Act “significant” as it focusses on registering gig workers, which is the first step towards bringing them under a social security net. “It also makes data transparent, including financial transactions of apps, and this can dissuade platforms from indulging in unfair practices – like deleting a rider’s data or charging arbitrary fines,” she adds.
Nikhil Dey, member of a workers’ rights group that spearheaded the drafting of the bill, says that the new law provides a system for workers to organise themselves by giving them representation in the form of a welfare board. It also offers a breakthrough in the way social security funds can be collected and disbursed.
As per the law, every gig worker registered on the database will be given a unique ID, which will stay the same no matter the platform they work for and will be valid in perpetuity. Worker can use this ID to check their earnings across platforms through an integrated tracking and financial management system.
So, for example, if a driver does two rides with Ola and four with Uber in a day, he can track his earnings across both platforms using the ID. “This system also makes it easy for workers and the board to check who stands to gain how much in social security, depending on their earnings,” explains Mr Dey.
The nature of gig work isn’t constant, and a worker might switch to another industry and never return; or return to gig work after a couple of months or years. In such a scenario, a person can choose to continue making contributions to the fund and enjoy the benefits after the fund matures, Mr Dey says.
“It was a strategic decision not to push for regulation but to find a way to implement something everyone agrees on – even aggregator platforms agree that gig workers should get social security,” he adds.
Experts also say that the Act circumvents some of the problems faced during previous efforts to grant workers social security.
However, some experts have pointed out that the new law does not address more pressing labour rights issues, like a cap on maximum working hours or minimum earnings. They also say that there needs to be more clarity on how the welfare tax is going to be deducted, so that it is not cut from the workers’ incentives or made up through fines.
“Only after the law is implemented will we be able to gauge its success,” says Nilanjan Banik, an economics and finance professor at Mahindra University.
Ms Bhatia, however, says that the law isn’t challenging to implement if there is adequate political will. She also says that it provides a roadmap for the creation of similar laws across states and for different jobs in the unorganised sector.
Lawmakers and governments have become more amenable to the demands of gig workers – associations representing them say it’s because they represent a sizeable vote bank.
In 2020, the federal government enacted the Code on Social Security, which obligates gig platforms to contribute towards a fund for their workers, but the rules for it are yet to be framed. In July, the Karnataka government announced that it would provide free accidental and life insurance cover of 400,000 rupees ($4,827; £3,790) to gig workers and that the state would pay the annual premium.
The new law too was passed by the Congress-led Rajasthan government just months before the assembly elections are due to take place in the state.
Shaik Salauddin, a labour union leader who was a part of government discussions on the bill, says gig workers will continue to put pressure on governments to get their rights. “Parties across the spectrum have realised our potential as a vote bank and they can’t ignore us anymore,” he says.
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All major exporting nations showed steep year-on-year declines in shipments during June and July led by South Korea and India, which both fell by 16% during July and June, respectively. China and Taiwan registered year-on-year declines of 9.2% and 10.4% in July. Singapore’s July exports, moreover, fell 19.3% year over year, while Vietnam’s fell by 15%.
China’s July pullback drew attention from major media because of the tense political atmosphere surrounding its trade, but the Chinese data are unremarkable. As the above chart shows, China’s export performance was in line with the rest of East Asia and South Asia. The most prominent “re-shoring” venues – countries that supposedly offer an alternative to China’s enormous export machines fell even farther than China itself.
The shrinkage in exports occurred across all major markets. China publishes detailed export data earlier than most countries, and these show a downturn in all major destinations.
According to US data for June, the latest month available, total American imports fell by 9.9% year over year. The fall in China’s exports to the US is exactly in line with the overall shrinkage of US exports.
Part of the world export slump is due to lower prices. After the 2021-2022 burst of inflation, which peaked at a 19% year-on-year rise in export prices in May 2021, world export prices fell into deflation during the past three months. Overall, export prices showed a 5% decline as of May, according to the Netherlands Central Planning Bureau.
Consumer electronics, which boomed during the COVID lockdowns, were one of the most affected sectors. The semiconductor shortage of 2021-2022 has turned into a global glut, with substantial price discounting for computer chips.
The cash crunch at Country Garden, once the largest property developer in China by sales, has worried many homebuyers who have paid for but not yet received their apartments.
Some commentators called on the Chinese government to look into the matter and ensure that the property developers will deliver apartments to buyers.
The calls came after Country Garden failed to pay interest, due Sunday, on two bonds worth a total of US$22.5 million.
Although the company can pay within a 30-day grace period to avoid a default, it still has to repay US$2.9 billion of bonds by the end of this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Over the past two years, most Chinese property developers have cut their property prices by more than 50% to boost revenue and lower gearing, but many homebuyers remain reluctant to enter the markets as they are suffering from unemployment or otherwise unstable income. They have become very cautious in home purchases since Evergrande Group faced liquidity problems in 2021.
“Don’t let Country Garden collapse!” Wang Xinxi, a Guangdong-based business writer, says in an article published on Wednesday. “For the moment, it’s very important to avoid the default of Country Garden, which will hit the property sector and create a systemic risk to the banking sector.”
“The company has built many properties in the third- and fourth-tier cities but residents there have low incomes,” Wang says. “Many people used savings from parents and relatives to buy their homes. They won’t be able to receive their properties if Country Garden goes bankrupt.”
He says such a crisis will affect other property developers and homebuyers while home owners also cannot sell their properties in the secondary markets.
He criticizes Country Garden and other property giants for having used a high leveraging strategy to boost their sales over many years. He says the only thing that these developers can do now is to sell their apartments at huge discounts to repay debts.
A Shanghai-based commentator using a pen name “Huoyi” published an article with the title “Country Garden is a much bigger crisis than Evergrande” on Wednesday.
“Country Garden said its total assets amounted to 1.54 trillion yuan (US$214 billion) at the end of 2022 while its total liabilities were 1.23 trillion yuan. It seems that it had net current assets of more than 300 billion yuan but it’s hard to know whether the company has any hidden debts,” Huoyi says. “Evergrande had once said its liabilities were about 1.8 trillion yuan but it turned out that they reached 2.44 trillion yuan.”
He says Country Garden recorded 668 billion yuan of contract liabilities at the end of last year, meaning that it still owes one million flats to homebuyers.
The writer says there’s no doubt that Evergrande’s founder, Hui Ka-yan, was very extravagant but he spent and invested most of his money domestically and could trace it. He says it is worrying that Country Garden has invested in many overseas property projects, including those in Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand.
On March 30, Country Garden said its revenue dropped 17.7% to 430.4 billion yuan for the year ended December 30, 2022 from a year earlier. Gross margin fell from 17.74% to 7.64%.
The Fosan-based firm recorded a net loss of 6 billion yuan in 2022, compared with a net profit of 26.8 billion in 2021. It has been the company’s first net loss in 15 years since it was listed in Hong Kong in 2007.
The company had 69,932 full-time employees at the end of last year, down from 100,705 a year earlier.
On Sunday, it failed to pay two dollar-bond coupons. Both bonds, US$500 million each, are listed in Singapore and will mature in 2026 and 2030.
The company said its usable cash has been steadily shrinking, showing “periodic liquidity stress” due to the deteriorating selling and refinancing environment, and the impact of various fund regulations.
CreditSights, a research unit of Fitch Group, says in a research report published on Tuesday that Country Garden’s struggle to address even a modest coupon payment underscores the extent of its cash crunch.
“Country Garden’s ability to remain above water has become increasingly challenging amid poor contracted sales generation, high exposure to lower-tier cities, limited funding avenues and a stretched liquidity position,” it says.
With falling home prices month-on-month across the past few months and faltering economic growth in China, another large developer’s default is the last thing the Chinese authorities need right now, CreditSights says.
It says Country Garden’s woes have spilled over to affect sentiment regarding other property developers and will hurt overall homebuyer sentiment.
A property columnist writes in an article published in May that Country Garden has significantly cut prices for its apartments over the past few years.
He says the company is now selling its apartments at about 6,000 yuan per square meter in a rural area in Guangzhou, down from the peak of 12,000 yuan per square meter in 2018. He says its apartments in a prime site in Dongguan are now priced at 25,000 yuan per square meter, compared with 35,000 yuan per square meter in the past.
He says nearby homeowners were upset by these sales promotions as their property values were dragged down.
In the second half of 2021, Evergrande, the largest Chinese property developer by land bank at that time, had a serious liquidity crunch. Clients of Its wealth management units also complained that they could not get their money back after the products they bought matured.
Evergrande started restructuring its debts early last year in response to the Guangzhou government’s intervention. Hui was ordered by officials to sell his personal assets to repay debt and ensure that his company would continue to deliver apartments to homebuyers.
The company did not announce its 2021 results until July 17, 2023. It lost a combined 803 billion yuan in 2021 and 2022. At the end of last year, it had net current liabilities of 687.7 billion yuan and total liabilities of 2.44 trillion yuan (US$339 billion), which almost hits Hong Kong’s 2022 nominal gross domestic product (US$360 billion).
The company has not yet gone bankrupt and is still negotiating with foreign creditors for a haircut in its debts.
Read: China to boost consumption, private investments
Follow Jeff Pao on Twitter at @jeffpao3
