To the sound of patriotic songs extolling the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, as the North is officially known, and lauding its leader Kim Jong Un, they wave their banners and beat red drums for up to an hour.

They are deployed at major sites and key transport hubs such as the Ryugyong hotel and the city’s main train station, each group in a different uniform but their equipment identical.

Their displays of sweeping, flowing gestures — accompanied by disciplined looks — are intended to motivate the North’s workers to greater efforts in their toils.

“We do this propaganda with the desire to give happiness to the Marshal,” said Kim Chun Hui, referring to the leader.

Kim spoke to AFP after her performance Saturday outside the Ryugyong hotel, the unfinished pyramid that towers over Pyongyang but has yet to open for business — although its facades are now illuminated at night, topped with a North Korean flag.

“We encourage the citizens to achieve greater successes in their work,” added the 47-year-old, who has two sons.

“So we are not tired. We regard this as our great pride and we think this is what we have to do.”

Ordinary North Korean citizens always express wholehearted support for the authorities when speaking to foreign media.

The shows have their origins in two production drives the North declared in 2016, the “70-day battle” and “200-day battle” — Pyongyang often uses military language when setting goals for its economy, hit by sanctions imposed over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.

Those “battles” are long over but the flag-waving — whose formal name is the “Agitation Activity of the Members of the Socialist Women’s Union in Rush Hour” — continues six days a week, the routines unchanged.

The Socialist Women’s Union is an official body through which the highly regimented North organises the lives of its housewives, and the flag-waving is one of its activities.

All non-working women are members, largely in their 30s to 50s — North Korean women in their 20s are assigned jobs, but many leave formal employment once they marry and have children.

“We regard the Supreme Leader as our father,” said Song Yang Ran, 57, the SWU head for Pothonggang district in the centre of the capital.

“We always do this thinking of the Supreme Leader,” she added.

“We will do it forever.”

Asean Cultural Year continues through the weekend in Bangkok with the colourful Asean Ethnic Festival. Amid lively traditional dances, eye-popping costumes and cheery camaraderie, there’ll also be time for serious discussion about the issues hampering the lives of Southeast Asia’s ethnic minorities.

Activists and anthropologists are pressing leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to address concerns at their upcoming Asean Summit and do more to promote diversity, sustainable development and ethnic tourism.

The interest is there, with Thailand in the driver’s seat as this year’s chair of the regional bloc. There has been considerable talk about tapping Southeast Asia’s astonishing cultural diversity as a tourism draw and about developing a unified “creative industry” spanning all 10 countries.

“Using culture as ‘soft power’ offers a gateway to addressing serious social, political and economic issues,” said Surapong Kongchantuk, director of the Karen Studies and Development Centre.

“The festival might inspire people to explore ethnic culture more by travelling to visit the villages where the performers and craftspeople live. But what’s most important is developing a respect for ethnic wisdom.”

Surapong, a former head of a Lawyers Council of Thailand committee on displaced Thais, pointed out that the Asean ideal is to eliminate the trade and travel barriers that separate the member-nations so that people across the region can share in the same benefits, from technological progress to human rights.

And that, he said, should extend to ethnic people as well.

The festival, hosted by the Culture Ministry, brings together more than 100 ethnic performers to dance at the National Museum near Thammasat University and at the Asean Cultural Centre on Ratchadamri Klang Avenue near the Democracy Monument.

The festival opened on Friday at the museum with dancers from eight Asean countries – Brunei and Singapore sat that one out – as well as from India and China taking turns on the stage.

Not surprisingly, some of the most vivid dancing originates from Myanmar, a mosaic of diversity in itself with eight different races represented in the population and around 140 different ethnic groups.

Aye Sandar Aung from the National University of Arts and Culture Mandalay told The Nation Weekend that every one of those ethnic minorities has its own unique culture and costumes.

“We hope to share something of their way of living through the dances,” she said. “I believe that respectful understanding of other people’s cultures can help bring peace to our region.”

The dances from Cambodia and Laos reflected those nations’ reliance on agriculture, a characteristic they share with Thailand. The choreography was inspired by harvest rituals and depicted simpler ways of life, always in harmony with nature.

Pok Sarann of Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture of Fine Arts echoed Aung’s sentiments, calling cultural performances an “important tool for conveying the message of peace and helping people understand each other”.

Thailand’s programme includes Phutai dances by the Ban Silapin Troupe, whose members live in Sakon Nakhon, Kalasin and Nakhon Phanom.

Also on the schedule are a knowledge exchange among the dancers and culture experts from across Asean and India and China, and a discussion about enhancing cooperation for more such exchanges in the near future.

As beautiful as the costumes and dances are, there is a host of problems afflicting ethnic Southeast Asians, many of whose families have led unprivileged lives for generations with no hope of improvement.

Activists are prodding the Thai government to get Asean acting on these chronic social issues.

“Thailand has over 70 ethnic groups, all of which have their own forms of valuable wisdom, and yet their ways of life are in danger,” said Wittawat Tepsong, vice president of the Ethnic Council of Thailand, which has 200 members from dozens of minority groups.

“More than 400,000 out of 10 million ethnic people living in the Kingdom are ‘stateless’, which means they have no access to humanitarian aid, education, healthcare or other kinds of welfare.”

“Moken culture is in danger,” said activist Maitree Jongkraijug, referring to the people of the Thai South sometimes clumsily identified as “sea gypsies”.

“The government should do more to protect the diversity of ethnic races and cultures,” added the founder of the Chumchon Thai Foundation, which works with 14,000 Moken, Moklen and Urak Lawoi people in Ranong, Phang-nga, Phuket, Satun and Krabi.

“Asean should establish more ethnic-tourism corridors to allow visitors to understand our culture and ways of life as well as generate income for ethnic people,” Maitree said.

Associate Professor Damrongphon Inchan, head of anthropology at Silpakorn University, suggested that people adopt the “native point of view” when learning about ethnic culture rather than peering in as outsiders.

The government should select ethnic-study models for the sustainable development of diversity, possibly with study centres established in Ratchaburi’s Mahachai district, home to many Myanmar and Mon people, and in Tak’s Mae Sod district, with its abundance of hilltribes.

The Karen of the North are among the largest ethnic minorities, with a population above 500,000. With those numbers, they also enjoy the highest level of cultural protection. The Culture Ministry in 2013 formally recognised the traditional Karen method of rotational farming as a form of national intangible heritage.

“We’re trying to push the ministry to propose the farming technique to Unesco so that the wisdom can be more easily sustained,” said Surapong.

“We’re also pushing the government to declare August 6 the National Day of Ethnic People, coinciding with the International Day of World Indigenous Peoples.”

Photos and videos of the President have gone viral on social media, showing him wearing his signature white shirt as he stood among a crowd of the commuters, smiling and taking photos with them.

Bey Machmudin, head of the presidential protocol and press bureau, said Jokowi had made the impromptu decision to take a train to return to Bogor Palace, West Java, instead of his usual presidential car.

The President departed from Tanjung Barat Station in South Jakarta after concluding his official schedule in the area, where he was promoting his administration’s social welfare programs, Bey said.

“[Jokowi] has been wanting to use the train for a long time,” Bey told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

In the pictures and videos posted by Twitter users on the social media platform, Jokowi was seen interacting with his fellow passengers, even listening to some who asked for more trains.

Netizens went into a frenzy over the fact that the President had boarded a train during after-office rush hour when many residents of Greater Jakarta who live in its suburbs or satellite cities crowd the commuter line to return home.

Some netizens even pointed out that Jokowi was truly the man of the people.

Twitter user @FujiatiRahmi said in her post: “We are happy that Pak Jokowi boarded the KRL with the people this afternoon. A populist and humble leader.”

Another Twitter user, @fajarperdana87, pointed out in his tweet that Jokowi might have decided to use the train because of traffic congestion.

“Pak @jokowi in KRL @commuterline. Is it because the toll road is jammed?

Near her family home in Hulu Langat, Selangor, was the Higher National Youth Skills Institute where she could see helicopter pilots undergoing their training. She remembers vividly the sound of rotor blades roaring in the sky as the pilots took off and landed.

“My siblings and I would wave at the helicopter from afar. As the helicopter landed, we would run to the field to experience the powerful downwash (wind). I’ve always been in awe of helicopters, from when I was in kindergarten,” says Lt Kol Norhana, whose father worked with the British Army in Singapore.

She was the only one among her 15 siblings who joined the armed forces.

Lt Kol Norhana says it is important for women to work towards attaining their dreams.

“Initially, my father wasn’t too supportive of me joining the army. So I did my diploma in Secretarial Science from UiTM. But after that, Abah finally gave me his blessing and I applied to join the Air Force,” says Lt Kol Norhana, 45, who started her training at the Flying Training Center One, RMAF College in Alor Setar in 1995.

Besides flight training, Lt Kol Norhana also underwent basic military, parachute and survival training. She was offered a chance to become a jet fighter pilot but turned down the offer.

“I remember my father telling me not to fly too high or fast. So, I chose to fly the helicopter.”

It didn’t take her too long to realise that flying a helicopter was a totally new ball game.

She learnt news skills such as hovering a helicopter and making contingency plans and memorised the many functions of flight controls.

In the past, most female military staff didn’t hold jobs perceived as dangerous. Instead of serving as combat soldiers or fighter pilots, they functioned as support staff.

But times have changed and women are now given equal opportunity to take on the same responsibilities as men, and also vie for leadership roles.

Girl power: RMAF has 40 female pilots including (from left) Mejar Patricia Yapp Syan Yin, Lt Kol Norhana and Mejar Teoh Siow Ling.//Photo: Bernama

In 2007,  Major General (R) Dato’ Dr Roshidah Ishak became the country’s first brigadier-general in the armed forces (professional duty). In 2011, Kol (R) Nurhuda Ahmad became the country’s first woman brigadier-general in the Armed Forces (general duty).

In 2017, Kapten Rohana Jupri was appointed the first woman naval captain.

That same year, Mejar Patricia Yapp became the first female Asian fighter pilot to fly the MiG-29.

Last year, Maritime Leftenan Aida Arzahari became the first woman to command a Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency ship.

Lt Kol Norhana earned her wings as a helicopter pilot in 1997. Today, our Air Force has 40 female pilots (including seven helicopter pilots). Many of these women are based at RMAF’s flight training college in Kepala Batas and operational squadrons across the country.

“Women are capable of protecting the nation, just like men. There is an increasing number of female military officers who are breaking the glass ceiling in their respective departments,” says Lt Kol Norhana, who has 1,800 flying hours under her belt as a Nuri and Aerospatiale Alouette III chopper pilot, and has served as an airforce operational pilot/instructor for close to 25 years.

Since 2012, she has been stationed at RMAF’s tactical, operations and strategic team at the Defence Ministry in KL.

The journey as a helicopter pilot has had its fair share of turbulences but Lt Kol Norhana has managed to steer her chopper through each rough ride.

Traditionally, the aviation field is always perceived as a testosterone-dominated industry. Till 1997, RMAF pilots have been entirely men and naturally, it took a while for them to adjust to having to share the cockpit with a woman.

Lt Kol Norhana’s core job as a helicopter pilot includes SAR (search and rescue) operations, medical aid services and supporting sister services including Royal Malaysian Navy and army.

“I’ve had a fair share of hurdles. When I became a wing commander, some of my male colleagues wouldn’t listen to my instructions. During my briefing sessions, a number of them would ask difficult question and challenge my aviation knowledge. There were also negative comments when I was pregnant with my first child,” says the mother of four children, aged between six and 19.

Instead of being disheartened, Lt Kol Norhana worked even harder to prove her mettle.

Lt Kol Norhana Abd Manaf’s name will go down in history as the country’s first female helicopter pilot. Photo: The Star/Sia Hong Kia

“To keep up to date, I continuously read aviation material and researched the Internet. Most of my male colleagues didn’t realise that by doubting my talents, they made me better in my job. In the long run, they had to work harder to pull up their socks,” said the soft-spoken woman.

In the course of her work, Lt Kol Norhana had had her share of hardships.

She was once stranded in the jungles of Pahang after her helicopter experienced a technical glitch during a medical aid services mission. Lt Kol Norhana and her crew ended up living among the orang asli community for several days.

“It was an unforgettable experience having to sleep in a bamboo house on stilts and surviving with bare necessities. I also got to see how to live, such as how they enjoy eating boiled tapioca dipped in cough syrup,” recalls Lt Kol Norhana.

Her saddest experience was participating in a search and rescue mission when her colleagues’ helicopter crashed in 2007.

It was Lt Kol Norhana who had spotted the crashed copter’s tail boom amidst the thick jungles of Genting Sempah.

“When I saw the broken tail boom, I knew the possibility to locate any survivors were very slim. It felt painful having to ferry a close colleague’s body back to base.”

Despite the challenges, Lt Kol Norhana is happy she pursued her ambition.

“The best bit is being able to serve people from all walks of life, including royalty, natural disaster victims and rural communities. The most important part is returning safely with my crew after each mission. I love my job as it enables me to meet different people from all walks of life.”

Lt Kol Norhana encourages women to challenge themselves to greater heights.

“I am living my dream of being a pilot. It’s really exhilarating being high up in the sky and soaking in the view from above. Live your dreams and always soar high to attain greater success,” recalls Lt Kol Norhana.

Ivana Smit fell from the 20th floor Kuala Lumpur condominium of an American man and landed on a sixth floor balcony in December 2017 after a night out.

The sensational death drew huge amounts of attention after lurid claims emerged that 18-year-old Smit, the American and his Kazakh wife consumed large quantities of drugs and alcohol and had group sex.

Police initially said there was no foul play but authorities agreed to an inquest after pressure from the family of Smit, who had reportedly lived in Malaysia since she was a child.

Handing down her ruling, Coroner Mahyon Talib acknowledged there may have been a struggle between Smit and the couple, businessman Alex Johnson and his wife Luna.

“Grip marks on her arm, the trauma at the back of her head, the broken bottles and (American man) Alex’s DNA under Ivana’s nails suggest that there might have been a possibility that there was a struggle,” she said.

The couple are reported to have left the country.

The coroner also agreed with a Dutch pathologist, who had concluded Smit died before her body was found on the sixth floor balcony.

But she ruled no one was criminally involved in causing the model’s death.

“We cannot know what actually happened between the three of them,” the coroner said, adding that the death was being classified as “misadventure”, meaning it was likely an accident.

Lawyer S. N. Nair, representing Smit’s family, criticised the ruling, questioning how the coroner had accepted that Smit was likely killed in the apartment and then concluded the death was “misadventure”.

“How is it that her body was eventually found at the bottom of the condominium — surely a dead body can’t walk over and take a dive? Somebody threw her body down,” he told reporters at the Kuala Lumpur court.

“I am not satisfied with the verdict.”

A Filipino teen girl shouts slogans during a rally marking International Women’s Day in Manila, Philippines, 08 March 2019. // EPA-EFE PHOTO

Protesters marched on Malacanang presidential palace chanting against Duterte, who has repeatedly made jokes about rape and said last year that when he was a teenager he indecently “touched” the family maid.

    Presidential aides have stressed that the comments were mere jokes, not policies, and should not be taken seriously.

But protest leader Joms Salvador of women’s group Gabriela told AFP that Duterte’s “misogynistic” statements were “unacceptable, be they jokes or not.”

“Law enforcers construe them as policy pronouncements and they embolden criminals,” she added.

Activists from Gabriela push a carriage with an effigy of Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte as they march toward Malacanang palace to commemorate International Women’s Day in Manila on March 8, 2019. // AFP PHOTO

One woman or child is now raped in the Philippines per hour, a 153 percent increase from the decade before Duterte was elected president, according to Salvador.

A small group of policemen monitored the protesters at the palace, numbering around 4,000 according to journalists on the scene, before the group marched to a public square in another section of Manila in the afternoon.

Elsewhere in the city a shopping mall exhibition displayed clothes worn by women and girls when they suffered “gender-based violence” including rape at home, in school, at work or elsewhere.

Filipino women and supporters hold placards during a rally marking International Women’s Day in Manila, Philippines, 08 March 2019. International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global day that celebrates women’s achievements in socially, economically, culturally and politically and also an invitation for all elements of society to accelerate gender equality. // EPA-EFE PHOTO

The sponsors said the show, backed by the United Nations Population Fund local office and which has run since last month, challenges “the idea that women’s appearance and behaviour are to blame when they are assaulted”.

“The Gateway (shopping mall) exhibit ‘don’t tell me how to dress’ is heart-rending. Seeing it personally make(s) me feel uncomfortable,” Twitter user @HAUTEANGELUS posted.

“Terrible, I cried while reading all their stories,” @anabemish tweeted with a picture of herself at the exhibit.

“It’s a good exhibit. It raises awareness about rape. Women of all ages and backgrounds can become victims and it is infuriating that some people trivialise it,” said Salvador, the protest leader.