The extremist group also recently released a threatening video to the Malaysian government, which is currently stepping up operations to detect and detain suspected IS-affiliated individuals.

As previously reported by The Straits Times, in a video in the Malay language, the Malaysia-Indonesia IS unit -the Katibah Nusantara – said it would take revenge for the capture of its members.

Entitled “Mesej Awam Kepada Malaysia” (A Public Message for Malaysia), the video warns: “If you catch us, we will only increase in number, but if you let us be, we will draw closer to our goal of bringing back the rule of the caliphs.”

He continued: “I urge you all to create a genuine democratic, federal Union, cooperating with each other together with unity and love. Our dignity will be promoted if we are dutiful to the national interest instead of personal interests. We should all perform our best since we are the ones who will participate in writing new pages of the country’s history.”

He also said the MPs are legislators and should not violate the country’s laws.

He continued that the second parliament must focus on legislation, including amending, cancelling and drafting laws to protect the people’s lives and security. Also, the parliament has to examine whether existing laws, including orders and notifications, are in line with human rights and democratic standards.

He said: “I’m pleased to be the speaker of the parliament. I will try my best to fulfil this responsibility fairly.”

The parliament will reconvene on February 4.

Win Myint is a member of the NLD’s central executive committee. He represented NLD in Tamwe constituency, Yangon Region. He also won seats in the 1990 and 2012 elections, representing the party.

More than 600 local and foreign reporters covered the parliament session opening on February 1. Former Lower House Speaker Thura Shwe Mann, former deputy speaker Nanda Kyaw Swa, and several ex-MPs attended the event. Tin Oo, NLD patron, was also present as an observer. Only four representatives, including vice presidents Dr Sai Mauk Kham and Nyan Htun from the USDP were absent yesterday.

The Lower House is comprised of 433 MPs: 255 from NLD, 30 from USDP, 12 each from the Rakhine National Party (RNP) and the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), three each from the Pa-o National Organisation and the Ta’ang National Party, two each from the Zomi Democracy Party and the Lisu National Development Party (LNDP), one each from Kachin Democracy Party, Wa Democratic Party and Kokant Democracy Party as well as 110 military representatives.

The new MPs were aspired to move the nation forward.

“There are great expectations for the building of a federal Union, equal rights for ethnic minorities and the country’s development. We don’t know how far we can go. The Lower House speaker is now responsible for bringing about equal rights for the people. We’re now going to see how much the parliament can do for national unity. I’m rather optimistic,” said Ba Shein from the Rakhine National Party (RNP).

“We want equal rights for ethnic people. The NLD and ethnic representatives should have equal rights. I hope they will,” said La Marlay from the LNDP.

Sai Zin Thant from the SNLD noted that his party discussed issues such as whether the opposition should be shaped, something absent during the previous session.

“The previous five years will not be the same as the coming five years,” he said, adding that if there would be no opposition if SNLD did not take the matter in its hands.

Prior to the November election, SNLD planned to team up with NLD to form the opposition, he noted.

The upper house is to be comprised of 135 MPs from the NLD, 11 from the USDP, 10 from the RNP, three from the SNLD, two each from the Zomi Democracy Party and the Taang National Party, one each from the Mon National Party, National Unity Party and the Pa-O National Organisation, two independents as well as 56 military representatives.

The foreign community rushed to congratulated Myanmar on the opening of the new parliament session. Good wishes came from many countries including France and the United States.

The US embassy in Yangon released a statement on February 1 saying: “On November 8, 2015, the people of Myanmar made their voices heard in a historic election. Today, we congratulate the newly elected parliamentarians on their first day in office and wish them well as they take on the difficult but urgent task of advancing peace, prosperity, justice and reform in this country. The US Embassy salutes the process of democracy that led to this historic day and looks forward to providing support for these new parliamentarians as well as others throughout the country seeking to promote democratic practice in coming years.”

“We’re facing an uphill battle,” said the 35-year-old novice legislator. “Most of us have little experience in government, but we are very determined to make it work.”

The new NLD members flooded the imposing parliament building on Monday, many clad in the traditional burnt orange tunics that have been worn by the party for decades and overwhelmed the olive green of the army bloc as the freshly elected legislature met for the first time since Suu Kyi’s massive poll win in November.

Expectations are sky-high after the NLD won about 80 per cent of elected seats, crushing the junta-linked ruling party and setting the stage to replace the semi-civilian government of President Thein Sein.

“It was like a dream because Daw Aung San Suu Kyifought alone against the military – and then she won,” said Khin Maung Myint, a first-time NLD lawmaker from Hpakant, a remote town in the north of the country famous for its jade production.

The former jade and gems trader clutched a black suitcase given to parliamentarians last week containing a starter kit for first-time MPs, including a copy of Myanmar’s military-drafted constitution from 2008 and a basic guide to lawmaking.

“It did not only shake Myanmar, it shook the whole world,” he said.

The 255 members of the NLD’s lower house caucus come from diverse backgrounds – artists, former political prisoners and small-scale entrepreneurs warily wandered the corridors of power together as they gathered to choose a speaker for the chamber.

But they comprise two main groups: experienced pro-democracy stalwarts who were persecuted and imprisoned under the junta, and members of a younger generation that joined the party after the country embarked on a process of reform in 2011.

The two groups share two things in common: they will be forced by the 2008 constitution to work with former enemies from the military; and they have very little experience of governing.

FINE LINE

Suu Kyi has to tread a fine line, compromising between the change-hungry party grassroots, the general public and the army that still holds a quarter of seats in parliament and controls a large chunk of Myanmar’s state apparatus.

Choosing the speaker is another stop on the NLD’s journey that began last September, when the candidates hit the campaign trail and canvassed votes in a well-organised operation, which included rigorous media training.

Some activists left the party over Suu Kyi’s choice of candidates as she focused on creating a disciplined caucus, leaving some experienced activists out and making room for well-educated younger members who can enact laws – and also could be more willing to engage with the army.

Myo Zaw Aung was expelled from university in 2002 and was acting as Suu Kyi’s bodyguard a year later during what has become known as the Depayin Massacre, when her motorcade was attacked by pro-junta thugs and 70 of her supporters were killedin what was seen as an assassination attempt.

“I was arrested and tortured, but I can forgive the military. We now have to work together to ensure a smooth transition,” he said.

The NLD resembles less a modern political party with a cohesive agenda, and more a broad movement united by years of struggle for democracy under Suu Kyi’s charismatic leadership.

“I feel like the parliament is very big and marvellous, but still most people are poor,” said Myint Lwin, a newly-elected NLD lawmaker. “I want to fulfil the people’s wishes as much as I can and make their lives as marvellous as this parliament.”

The challenge now facing Myanmar’s new ruling party is to turn vague aspirations into a coherent policy platform.

King Ngaih Mang, 42, a new lawmaker from the Zomi Congress for Democracy Party, an ethnic party from Myanmar’s impoverished Chin State, offered an insight into the scale of the task.

“Our region still doesn’t have paved roads, it still has roads that were paved during the Second World War,” she said. What we need for our region is the infrastructure, roads, healthcare, all of which are very necessary.”

– Reuters

“One of the striking aspects about this exhibition is that judges are looking for the best artists and the best art, subjectively defined. And one can see very clear linkages and connections among the works,” says Harger, who is also the museum’s executive director.

This year’s chosen works show the artists’ approach to social, economic and geopolitical issues and their attempts to convert personal experiences into universal feelings.

In When Need Moves the Earth, Thai artist Sutthirat Supparinya, who was nominated in the video and digital category, shows two power projects in her home country. Through her camera, she talks about the challenges to the environment posed by the Srinakarin dam and the Mae Moh lignite mine.

“The two constructions are located in a sensitive geological environment. I want to explore the impact of human and industrial activities on the (sites’) natural surroundings,” she says.

Huang Po-chih, an artist from Taipei, provides a microcosmic insight into industrialization in Taiwan and on the mainland. His installation Production Line explores agricultural recession and individuals within the structures of manufacturing and consumption.

He links his mother’s story with the story of “Auntie Huang”, another woman from southern China’s Shenzhen city, where many cloth factories get their money from Taiwan. The two women share a similar background: Both went to cities from the countryside and ended up working on such production lines.

Huang put up a youthful photo of his mother at the exhibition venue and a photo of the other woman facing away from the visitors. Near them he has placed a stack of jeans made in the factories of Taipei and Shenzhen, with the words, “Sorry, I don’t have an off today”, projected on a nearby wall.

“In Taiwan, nobody cares about personal stories. People always focus on the economy, finance and business. That’s why I try to look at the very small universe of individuals,” says Huang, who was one of the award-winners.

Shanghai-based sculptor Yang Mushi also dwells on individuals. His installation-like sculpture on show, called Grind, displays several groups of objects in different formations – some look like piles of timber and some like sharpened pencils. The articles, placed on a large aluminum plate, took two years to make at a Shanghai factory. He then darkened their surfaces with lacquer.

He says the objects reflect the various states of his mind.

“I felt rather pessimistic and pained during the production process. I saw the materials becoming smaller inside the machines, and felt my own life fritter away.”

He sees the process as a confrontation with his “other” side that easily blends into the social mainstream. He says the work helps him cool down, release his anxiety and maintain a distance from his surroundings.

Zhang Wei, a Beijing-based photo artist and awards nominee, says many young artists today “simply sell ideas or depend on impulse to create”.

“But when one reaches middle age, an artist should rely on his experiences to go on.”

If you go 10 am-7 pm, through March 27. Level 3, ArtScience Museum, Marina Bay Sands, 6 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore. +65-6688-8888.

The first initiative, a US$17 million programme known as the Berbak Green Prosperity Project, will help to restore the water of peat swamp forests in Jambi. The restoration of this system will help to eventually decrease the prevalence of peat fires in the province.

“The Berbak project will also provide training to increase production of local agriculture and will facilitate smallholder oil palm certifications and community-based palm oil mill effluent renewable energy systems,” the US embassy said in a statement on Monday.

The second initiative is a $13 million agreement with three palm oil mills in Riau Province for biogas power plants utilizing palm oil mill effluent and assisting independent smallholders in each mill’s supply base to become RSPO certified.

This grant alone is expected to produce 3 MW of renewable energy from biogas, the equivalent amount of electricity needed to power 9,000 rural homes; capture 117,000 tCO2e/year, which is equivalent to emissions from vehicles driving 785 million kilometers per year. It is also expected that the project can improve productivity and management practices for 2,000 independent smallholders.

The US embassy said these two programmes, both of which will be implemented by an Indonesian agency, the Millennium Challenge Account – Indonesia (MCA-I), were part of the US government’s overall support for Indonesia’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions and protect vulnerable peatlands.

Apart from these projects, the US, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), has recently launched a new portfolio of projects to address climate change and support Indonesia’s goal of reducing emissions by 29 percent by 2030.

According to the embassy, USAID will partner with the Indonesian government to help conserve and sustainably manage 8.4 million hectares of forest and peatland that can serve as carbon sinks.

The embassy further said that USAID would help eliminate 4.5 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and leverage $800 million in private sector investment in clean energy for five million citizens.

“USAID will also help protect local communities from the effects of a changing climate and more extreme weather by assisting national and provincial governments implement effective climate change adaptation strategies.”

The US embassy said USAID had also invested more than $38 million into environmental initiatives in 2015.

“Moving forward, we have a planned investment of $47 million for forest conservation and land use planning, $24 million for land use policy and conservation advocacy, $19 million for global climate change adaptation, $19 for clean energy and $5 million for forest research,” it said.

“These programmes are a sign of our commitment to working in partnership with Indonesia to combat the causes of climate change and to help the country achieve its goal of reducing emissions in the future.”

But popularity and power are only the beginning for the Nobel laureate and her hundreds of new MPs, many of whom have no experience of public office.

Here are a few of their main challenges:

Picking a president

===================

Suu Kyi’s party can form a government, but who will lead it?

The Nobel laureate is barred from the presidency by a clause in the junta-drafted constitution because her children are British.

Many believe it was scripted specifically to block her path to power.

She has said she will rule “above” a puppet president, who will replace outgoing President Thein Sein in late March.

If she does, that position is not covered in the constitution and could rile the powerful military who have ceded some powers but retain 25 per cent of seats in parliament — and with them an effective veto on major charter change.

Military still in play

======================

Given the presidency issue, Suu Kyi may need to sweeten up an army which held her prisoner for some 15 years.

Observers say good relations between Suu Kyi and the military will be crucial to get anything done.

That is because the military’s political powers are not limited to parliament.

The 2008 constitution that was scripted under ex-dictator Than Shwe hands the army chief control over three key ministries: home affairs, defence and border affairs.

Home affairs is a bureaucratic juggernaut and includes the police force and the sprawling General Administration Department (GAD), a vast network that forms the backbone of the civil service.

Beyond this soldiers are also in active combat as civil wars continue to rage in parts of Myanmar’s ethnic minority borderlands.

Uncertain peace

===============

Myanmar’s ethnic minorities have fought for greater autonomy for more than 50 years.

Thein Sein signed ceasefires with several of the country’s major ethnic armed groups, but heavy fighting continues, particularly in Kachin and Shan states.

As a member of the ethnic majority Bamar, Suu Kyi has sometimes been viewed with suspicion by these groups.

But the NLD won handsomely in ethnic states and Suu Kyi has pledged to work towards a federal system.

She also must tackle the scourge of anti-Muslim sentiment that has fomented since an explosion of unrest in Rakhine state in 2012 between Buddhists and minority Rohingya communities.

Tens of thousands of Muslim Rohingya are still trapped in bleak displacement camps and the next government faces pressure from the international community to find a solution for them.

But they will be wary of enraging Rakhine Buddhists, who largely see the Rohingya as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh.

Economic development

====================

Myanmar’s economy has surged under reforms by Thein Sein’s government. Foreign investment swept in as most Western sanctions were lifted.

Mobile phones are now ubiquitous, car imports are rising fast and several special economic zones are in the pipeline.

The economy grew at 8.5 per cent in the 2014/15 fiscal year, but the World Bank expects this to moderate to 6.5 per cent this year.

But poverty is still a problem for huge swathes of a country that relies on agriculture.

With many of the previous government’s so-called “quick win” policies already enacted, the NLD has said it will focus on luring more international investment.

Speedy development is held back by patchy electricity supply, poor road and rail networks and an unskilled workforce.

Graft is also endemic. Myanmar ranked in joint 147th place out of 168 in Transparency International’s 2015 corruption perception index.

There is also the question of febrile relations with China — Myanmar’s biggest trading partner.

– AFP

“A special medal is designed for each category and is awarded once a year. Every year all qualified medalists already selected in the previous year are re-evaluated, and are added to the new qualified candidates of this year.”

http://www.lianorg.com is an authentic and professional tourist information website that provides overall travel information, published in Chinese.

On the website, each tourist attraction enjoys an individual webpage, where tourists can find useful practical information including GPS maps and photos.

The Vat Phou temple complex is located in Champassak province and was listed as Laos’ second World Heritage Site in 2001.

According to a UNESCO report, the Vat Phou temple is a remarkably well-preserved planned landscape more than 1,000 years old. It was shaped to express the Hindu vision of the relationship between nature and humanity, using an axis from hilltop to riverbank to lay out a geometric pattern of temples.

Vat Phou bears exceptional testimony to the cultures of South-East Asia, in particular the Khmer Empire.

Mr Oudomsy said over 60,000 tourists visited Vat Phou in 2015, an increase of 10 percent compared to the previous year. However, Chinese tourists represented only 10 percent of the total figure.

“I’m optimistic that more Chinese will visit Vat Phou in the near future because this site is being promoted through the Chinese website,” he said.

“Tourists can enjoy a number of facilities while visiting Vat Phou including coffee and souvenir shops, a museum and tour buses.”

Champassak provincial authorities are preparing to mark the 15th anniversary of Vat Phou being declared Laos’ second World Heritage Site.

An official ceremony will take place from February 20-22. Other related activities such as a trade fair will take place from February 16.

The grand event will feature a number of activities including parades, sports and cultural performances. A cultural performance group from India has confirmed its participation.

Performance troupes from neighbouring countries including Vietnam and Thailand have been invited to attend but have yet to confirm their presence.