THE Ministry of Foreign Affairs handed over the sealed ballot papers for advance votes sent by 28 Myanmar embassies, missions and consulates in foreign countries to the Union Election Commission yesterday.

Forty-three parcels containing ballot papers were delivered by Myanmar DHL Service at 6:30 am with tight security to Nay Pyi Taw via Yangon-Nay Pyi Taw Highway and arrived at the Nay Pyi Taw Toll Gate at 10:30 am. Then, Managing Director U Kham Aung of Myanmar Post under Ministry of Transport and Communications handed over these parcels to Director-General U Aung Soe Win of Planning and Administrative Department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After that, he transferred to Director-General of UEC U Khin Maung Oo.

The Myanmar embassies, missions and consulates in foreign countries respectively sent back the ballot papers for advance votes to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the ministry systematically transferred the ballot papers sent from a total of 34 polling stations to UEC – the ballots sent from 4 polling stations on 14 October, from 2 polling stations on 15 October and from 28 polling stations on 19 October. Moreover, 273 Myanmar nationals in the UAE cast their advance votes in Dubai on 18 October and a total of 554 voters cast vote on the first two-day of polling.

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PHOTO : MNA

(Translated by Khine Thazin Han)

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THE Myanmar Posts under Ministry of Transport and Communications will sell K200 postage stamps to honour the 100th anniversary of Myanmar motion picture industry today.

The stamps are available at the central offices in Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon, Mandalay and the local post offices in cities of regions and states, commencing 9:30 am.

The postage stamps and first day covers bought on 13 October can be stamped mark and date at the Central Post Offices of Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon and Mandalay as a special offer.

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Translated by Aung Khin

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THE Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation yesterday morning organized a virtual meeting on production processes of monsoon paddy for this year via videoconferencing.

Union Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation Dr Aung Thu; Union Minister for Commerce Dr Than Myint; Deputy Ministers, the Permanent Secretaries, the Directors-General and officials of the two ministries; Myanmar Rice Federation Chairperson and other officials of the federation; and officials of the Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Mechanization Department participated in the virtual meeting held via Zoom Application.

Union Minister Dr Aung Thu talked about the need to eliminate needless costs in the production processes of monsoon paddy during harvest this year. He said that his ministry will make necessary negotiations and arrangements in advance to cope with various relevant difficulties, which can be caused by travel restrictions related to COVID-19 pandemic.

During the meeting, the participants discussed growing monsoon paddy rice this year, possible paddy yields, situations related to the need of paddy field workers and skilled workers, difficulties sparked by travel restrictions, and necessary preparations and arrangements to overcome the difficulties.

This year’s monsoon, it was planned to grow a total of 15.1 million acres of monsoon paddy, and out of them, 14.7 million acres were grown by the end of September.

Areas in lower Myanmar have already begun harvesting for monsoon paddy. More than 30,000 acres in Bago Region, about 1,000 acres in Yangon Region and more than 20,000 acres in Ayeyawady Region have been harvested by late September.

By the end of October, an estimated 350,000 acres will be harvested.

Because of changes in farming techniques and systems, paddy farmers need to harvest their crops in the same period, so many paddy-harvesting machines, transportation of them and skilled workers will be needed in the period. The meeting is also intended to make necessary discussions to respond to those challenges and to overcome the possible impacts on paddy prices, which can pose difficulties for farmers.

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Translated by Maung Maung Swe

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A ceremony to donate cash to National-Level Central Committee on Prevention, Control and Treatment of Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) was held at the Ministry of Health and Sports yesterday morning.

During the ceremony, Union Minister for Labour, Immigration and Population U Thein Swe, on behalf of the well-wishers, said that the ministry’s staff willingly donated cash to honour the Ministry of Health and Sports staff and volunteers who are working in the front line of COVID-19 preventive measures.

He added that the ministry has accommodated suspected patients at three Workers’ Hospitals and social security clinics were cooperating with the Ministry of Health and Sports, saying that the ministry will continue participating in prevention, control and treatment of COVID-19.

Then, Union Minister Dr Myint Htwe said that there might be small waves of infections in the country after the second wave of COVID-19 and before the vaccine is developed.

He said that the employees and supervisors are necessary to follow the health rules and related ministries and departments are needed to cooperate in dealing with the problems with long-term plans.

He urged labourers to wear masks and face shields and to avoid crowded places as possible as they can when the factories and industries resume operations.

The Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population’s Union Minister and staff donated K11.6 million; Dr Zaw Thu Aung+Dr Su Myint Tin, daughter Ma Shin Thant Myint Thu and son Mg Khant Phone Myint Thu from Australia, and U Nyunt Tin (author-Pyithayar)+ Daw Nan Shwe Myint family donated K1million each, and staff of the Union Minister Office (Health) of the Ministry of Health and Sports K400,000.

Union Minister Dr Myint Htwe and Deputy Minister Dr Mya Lay Sein received the cash donation and returned certificates of honour to the donors.

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(Translated by Khine Thazin Han)

Photo: MNA

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THE fourth coordination meeting to draft bill for the Law Amending for Farmland Law (2020) was held at the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation yesterday.

The meeting was attended by Union Minister Dr Aung Thu, Permanent Secretary U Kyaw Min Oo, Deputy Permanent Secretary U Myo Tint Tun, Directors-General, Deputy Directors-General and directors of related departments.

During the fourth session to draft bill for the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Law No 2, the Law Amending for Farmland Law (2020) which was signed by the President on 14 February 2020, the officials of the Department of Agriculture Land Management, Department of Agriculture and Agricultural Mechanization Department and other related departments respectively proposed the points that should be added in the bill. The Union Minister and other officials discussed in details in accordance with section and sub-section regarding land-use rights for nomadic hill farming sector.

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(Translated by Khine Thazin Han)

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UNPRECEDENTED Occurrences require unprecedented actions. As Covid-19 strikes globally, the safety of the Indonesians in Myanmar is the priority of the Indonesian Embassy in Yangon. The capability to stay in touch with Myanmar friends and colleagues are also essential. Although the Covid-19 pandemic restricts people to gather, to the Embassy, being idle has never been an option.

Safety is priority

Prof. Dr. Iza Fadri, Indonesian Ambassador to Myanmar often reiterates that the safety of the Indonesian citizens is the priority. We use every channel possible (including the Embassy's social medias, whatsap group, zoom meetings and contacting them personally) to reach out to approximately 800 Indonesians in Myanmar, to ensure that they are updated with any developments concerning the pandemic and stay alert on how to stay safe.

Since April 2020, the Embassy has assisted Indonesian Citizens to repatriate. As the pandemic spreads wider, more Indonesians are repatriated. So far, 151 Indonesians have returned safely. We coordinate closely with Myanmar Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Myanmar Airways International to ensure its success. We deeply appreciate their support.

Economic blow or economic opportunities?

Restriction on overseas and domestic travels have resulted in the cancellation of a large-scale event including trade promotions. Therefore, The Indonesian Embassy encourages direct business-to-business contacts. Several Indonesian companies have successfully met their Myanmar importers or exporters for several product lines such as chemical raw materials, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). especially food and beverages, cosmetics and personal care, grains, and coal. The trade value between the two countries is quite stable until July 2020 at USD464 million. In details, Indonesia exported products amounted USD593 million, while Myanmar exports to Indonesia USD128 million.

JAPFA Comfeed, Kalbe Myanmar, Telkom International, Wijaya Karya (WIKA), Mayora and Nabati are some of the companies that are successfully maintaining their positive business flow amid the pandemic. Notably in the early days of the pandemic and during quarantine in April 2020, JAPFA, the livestock company, was among the main suppliers of broiler chickens sold in Yangon markets. With their growing interests and expansion within Myanmar market, Indonesia is currently planning to form a business community consisting of Indonesian companies and entrepreneurs to increase the bilateral trade.

Amidst an uncertain situation, Myanmar has not lost positive sentiment from foreign investors and profitably approved USD5 billion new Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from October 2019 - July 2020. An Indonesian pharmaceutical company Kalbe Myanmar is one of the investors. The company has constructed a ready to operate drugs factory in Thilawa SEZ. The plant is currently undergoing clinical trials for their drugs before they are registered to the authorities. Once fully operational, Kalbe is committed to maximizing its factory capacity to help overcoming Covid-19 or another disease outbreaks in Myanmar.

Scholarships from Indonesia

Nine Myanmar students in July 2020 received scholarship to pursue their master's and doctorate degree in Andalas University (UNAND), Padang, Indonesia. The scholarship is under a direct of cooperation between the Embassy and UNAND. Among the awardees are graduates from the University of Medicine 1, Myanmar (Dr. Zarni Win), Technological University, Mandalay (Khin Thu Zar Htay), Mandalay University (Hnin Phyu Wai) and Yangon University of Distant Education (Thet Paing Oo, an alumnus of the Indonesian Language Course held in Yangon).

On 1 September 2020, the Myanmar awardees took part in a zoom meeting socialization event for new foreign students of the UNAND postgraduate program. Scholarship recipients from Thailand, Vietnam, United Kingdom and Tajikistan were also present. UNAND is one of the best universities in Indonesia and highly capable to organize an international program. The learning process is conducted online. When the pandemic ceases, the students will study in Indonesia.

From 2019-2020, twenty Myanmar students received scholarship under direct cooperation between the Indonesian Embassy and universities in Indonesia and many more from different schemes. Currently three Myanmar students are studying at Brawijaya University, East Java and eight students at Padang State University, West Sumatra, More scholarships are offered in the future.

Two of the awardees studying at Brawijaya University are teachers from the Indonesian International School Yangon (IISY). The students and teachers of IISY are mostly from Myanmar. With the objective to improve IISY quality, providing scholarships and trainings to the teachers are inevitable.

This year, fifty new students are accepted by IISY out of 200 applicants. The total number of IISY population is 358 students (ECCE to Grade X). The learning process are currently online and will continue until it is safe for the students to return to the school.

Covid-19 does not equal fewer engagements

The Indonesian Embassy is aware that Myanmar people are active users of facebook (fb). Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Indonesia's independence, we held a video competition "What does the friendship of Indonesia and Myanmar mean to you?", announced a week before 17 August 2020. We received more than 40 videos and uploaded them in our fb (Kbri Yangon) and instagram (indonesia in yangon). The Embassy reactivated its fb in January 2020. When the competition was announced in August 2020, it only had 466 friends. In the beginning of October 2020, it has 1,153 friends. The more than 147% increase is because the video competition allows more interactive engagements so we could promote Indonesia more.

One of the winners is Captain Aung Po, a Myanmar National Airlines pilot who studied in the Indonesian Government owned aviation school in Curug, Indonesia. He now owns a house production, which has been importing five Indonesian TV series to be played in Myanmar TV channels.

The Indonesian Embassy also reaches out to organizations that serve the people in need. Prof. Dr. Iza Fadri visited Yangon Muslim Free Hospital in November 2019 and saw how the hospital treated the patients equally regardless their religion. The Embassy donated a few times and in August 2020, Indonesia contributed required medicine. The value is considerably small, but we believe any contribution is helpful. Dawn Education Center is another non-profitable organization we supported this year with food and medicine supplies. Currently, we are in contact with Myanmar National Blood Center so we would be able provide them with required items within our reach.

Perceiving the pandemic as a challenge instead of obstacle, the Indonesian Embassy is determined to continue strengthen Indonesia Myanmar cooperation, so both nations could keep on harvesting from it.

Photo: MNA

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The steering committee on capacity-building programme for pre-service teachers held a meeting via videoconferencing yesterday morning.

The meeting was participated by Union Minister for Education Dr Myo Thein Gyi, Finnish Ambassador to Myanmar Ms Riikka Laatu, Counsellor for Development at the Finnish Embassy in Myanmar Ms Sanna Takala, Head of the UNESCO office in Myanmar Ms Min Jeong Kim, members of the National Education Policy Commission, the National Academic and Quality Assurance Assessment Committee and the National Curriculum Committee, the directors-General, the deputy directors-General and the directors from the Ministry of Education and the directorates, and the officials from the UNESCO Myanmar Office.

Union Minister Dr Myo Thein Gyi expressed words of thanks to the Government of Finland and the UNESCO for their financial and technical assistance to support the Myanmar Pre-Service Teacher Capacity-Building Programme.

He said that the Ministry of Education enhanced the policy and teaching capacity in 25 education degree colleges during the second phase of the STEM Project of Myanmar pre-service teacher capacity-building project and the technical assistance was provided in designing a new education degree college curriculum, for gender equality, peace, sustainable and balanced development and teacher opportunities

He continued that two-year education degree colleges have been upgraded to four-year degree colleges and the textbooks for the first semester and second semester of the First Year and the Second Year Education Degree College and teacher guidebooks have been planned to publish.

He thanked for the support in developing the framework for assessing quality of primary teachers.

He also said that he believed the programme will support the National Education Strategic Plan (2021-2030).

The meeting discussed the performance of the STEM Project from July to September 2020, the report of the project phrase 2 and the report on the evaluation of the implementation of the New Education Degree College Curriculum.

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(Translated by Ei Phyu Phyu Aung)

Photo: MNA

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Advance voting of Myanmar citizens started in South Africa and the Nanning city of China yesterday.

Nine eligible voters cast their votes at the Myanmar Embassy in Pretoria of South Africa and 17 persons at the Myanmar Consulate-General in Nanning city of China.

Moreover, Myanmar people continued advance voting, with 791 persons in Bangkok of Thailand, 71 in Cairo of Egypt, over 1,700 persons in Singapore, 93 persons in Seoul of the Republic of Korea and 402 persons in Tokyo of Japan.

More advance voting stations will be set up at Myanmar Embassy in New Delhi of India and at Myanmar Consulate-General in Kunming city of China on 8 October, and at Myanmar Embassy in Malaysia and in Nagoya city of Japan on 9 October respectively.

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(Translated by Aung Khin)

Photo: MNA

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The Ministry of Commerce held a videoconference with the Yangon Region government, the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and its associate organizations yesterday for the smooth flow and stable prices of commodities.

At the meeting, Union Minister Dr Than Myint confirmed sufficient fundamental commodities such as rice, cooking oil, beans and onion for the whole country during COVID-19 crisis, based on the data collected by the ministry.

He also said that the commodities are still flowing in and out of the Yangon Region despite some difficulties in the processes, and the ministry is coordinating with the Yangon Region government for the regular flow of goods and the stability of prices.

Yangon Region Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein explained the coordination of his government and relevant organizations in transportation of goods for 44 townships in the region, stability of prices, using COVID-19 test kits for truck drivers and their mates, the use of Yangon-Mandalay highway in line with the directives of Ministry of Construction, the government-to-government discussions for using test kits and the trade between the business-to-businesses.

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The Ministry of Education yesterday morning organized a virtual event celebrating the World Teachers’ Day, which falls on 5 October.

During the event, the Union Minister for Education Dr Myo Thein Gyi said that the development of a country largely depends on the development of the education sector of that country, so the role of teachers is very significant.

He stressed that teachers can also provide leadership in trying to overcome various problems of the world, including the impacts of pandemic, by sharing knowledge. Teachers can shape the future of a country, he said.

Nowadays, the world faces various challenges such as economic issues, rapid changes of technology, uncertainties, climate changes and other natural disasters. One of the greatest challenges that the world is facing now is COVID-19 pandemic, which severely affected people’s health, economies and the entire society. During the event, the Union Minister pointed out that the COVID-19 crisis also affected educational systems worldwide.

He said that teachers from various fields in Myanmar will have to lead in responding to the COVID-19 related impacts on the education sector, and in shaping the future. He also highlighted the theme of 2020 World Teachers’ Day “Teachers: Leading in crisis, reimagining the future” and said that teachers’ efforts can be good examples to the people.

He said that education will have a crucial role in rehabilitating various sectors of the country in the post COVID-19 period. He said that teachers, who will shape the country, need to be healthy and have great capabilities.

During the event, he also reiterated what State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said in a forum on educational development in December 2018 by saying that teachers, who perform a key role in education, need to be very knowledgeable about their relevant fields and need to have goodwill.

Regarding showing good examples and providing effective leadership, the Union Minister said that teachers should be mentors for students not only in schools but also outside classrooms. He said that the Ministry will help all stakeholders to arrange various learning systems including “face-to-face learning, online learning, offline learning, and blended learning” systems.

The Union Minister said that the Ministry’s Education Channel will broadcast TV lessons and Myanmar Digital Education Platform will provide online lessons. Those who cannot access the Internet will be given DBE Boxes, which consists of teaching and learning contents in various formats such as videos, short stories, poems and illustrated materials, according to the Union Minister, who added that the Ministry will also cooperate with MRTV and privately-owned TV stations to deliver TV lecturers, in which teachers will have a key role.

He also highlighted the need to provide 21st Century skills to students, the need to nurture them and the need to create jobs for them.

During the ceremony, Secretary General of Myanmar National Commission for UNESCO Dr Kyi Shwin read the joint message sent by five UN organizations, and Myanmar Teachers’ Federation chairperson Dr Sai Khaing Myo Tun read the message of his federation.

On World Teachers’ Day, the Ministry of Education annually presents awards for honourable teachers, those who took no leave for 25 years and above, and those who had worked in difficult locations. As for this year, Education Research, Planning and Training Department Director-General Dr Win Tun presented the activities of the 14 honourable teachers, and announced the names of the six teachers who took no leave for 25 years and the 55 teachers who had worked in difficult locations in the Rakhine State.

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