Outcome of Bangladeshi PM's trip

by Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
May 21, 2010

http://www.weeklyblitz.net/744/outcome-of-bangladeshi-pms-trip

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is back to home after her 6-day visit to South Korea and Malaysia.

In Seoul, Hasina attended the inaugural ceremony of the 66th Session of Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific [ESCAP] and held a meeting with the leaders of Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry [KCCI]. She also held bilateral talks with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak when four protocols were signed between Dhaka and Seoul on economic, energy and cultural cooperation.

At the last leg of her six-day tour, Hasina arrived in Malaysia on May 18 to attend the 66th World Islamic Economic Forum [WIFE] in Kuala Lumpur, the next day where she delivered a special speech. During her stay in Kuala Lumpur, she held bilateral talks with her Malaysian counterpart Mohammed Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak when some long standing issues, including legalizing Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia, were prominently discussed. Highly placed sources claimed that during the meeting, the Malaysian prime minister assured Hasina of considering the issue of legalizing Bangladeshi workers to his country with utmost sincerity.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged Malaysian entrepreneurs to invest more in Bangladesh, particularly in labor-intensive industries including readymade garment, textile, light engineering, electronics, agro-based products, ICT, power and infrastructure.

Hasina said Bangladesh has adopted public-private partnership [PPP] policy to build infrastructure projects in power, gas and water sectors. She said her government allocated a huge amount for PPP in these areas under 2009-10 national budget. "Malaysia, with its experience of PPP, can support Bangladesh for such projects."

Some 2000 dignitaries including heads of states and governments, plus business leaders, attended the WIEF conference in Kuala Lumpur. The WIEF has emerged as a forum for economic cooperation between Muslim countries.

While, Bangladeshi Prime Minister was on her tour to South Korea and Malaysia, Bangladesh's largest opposition party held a huge public meeting in Dhaka on May 19, 2010, where, according to sources, a few hundred thousand people attended. Former Prime Minister and now leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia has announced nation-wide strike on June 27 to protest the 'misrule' of the present government.

The general strike, first in nearly three-and-half- years, was called by Khaleda Zia in the first public rally of her Bangladesh Nationalist Party [BNP] since the 2008 general elections that brought Hasina's Awami League-left alliance into power.

During her 2-hour-long address, Zia criticised the government for its "failure" to run the country and exposing the people to their "worst miseries".

Here we have two things to discuss. One is the visit of Prime Minister and the next is general strike by the opposition party.

The major expected outcome of the PM's South Korea and Malaysia tours would be to resolve the existing obstacles in sending more Bangladeshi workers to those countries as well receiving increased investments from both the nations to Bangladesh.

Earlier, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited a number of Middle East countries, especially Saudi Arabia in resolving the existing crisis as a number of Muslim nations in the Middle east sent back huge number of Bangladeshi workers just in past one and half years. We cannot be very much optimistic of any good response either from South Korea or Malaysia in helping Bangladesh in sending more workers, or at least resolving the existing problems faced by Bangladeshi expatriate workers in those countries.

As to the matter of receiving more foreign investments, Bangladesh should remember that, none of the foreign investors would love to burn their money in any country, where acute power shortage is a daily phenomenon as well, where ruling party leaders and activists are almost openly involving into various forms of extortions. Local entrepreneurs and businessmen are already fed-up with the increasing trend of extortion by the leaders of the student's wing of Bangladesh Awami league. Even the Prime Minister repeatedly warned her party activists to refrain from such illegal activities, but it is evidently proved that, no one paid heed to such calls. If the government cannot resolve the power crisis as well ensure excellent law and order situation, no foreign investor will ever consider investing in Bangladesh. This is a harsh reality!

It is equally true that, the government is trying hard in resolving the power crisis as well doing everything possible in suffocating the voice of political opponents. There is unseen censorship of media and the government even is using the intelligence agencies, including a very sensitive agency in putting pressure on various political leaders as well as members of media in keeping them mum. This sensitive intelligence agency is even abducting people secretly thus holding them inside their headquarters and adopting tactics of blackmail. A few over-enthusiastic officers, backed and blessed by the ruling party are playing key role in this illegal process.

But, the government should remember one thing; no repressive tactics ever saved any regime in the past in any of the countries in the world. Repressive tactics would only contribute in turning the government quickly unpopular. But, it is fact that, no one learns from the past. Any democratically elected government never needs to use any sensitive intelligence agency in suffocating voice of the people. Sheikh Hasina's party was elected in power with massive mandate from the people of Bangladesh. A huge proportion of the voters pledged their trust and confidence on her leadership, because, they already were frustrated with the serious misrule and corruption of the BNP led coalition government as well rise of Islamist militancy. Because of such misrule, notorious elements like Jamaatul Mujhadin, Hizbut Tahrir, Hizbut Towhid, Khatmey Nabuat etc could gain strength and continue their Jihadist activities inside Bangladesh. Even notorious militancy groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Sipah Sahaba and even Al Qaida started considering Bangladesh as their safe haven. Now, Sheikh Hasina cannot afford to make her voters dissatisfied or broken heart. She needs to take every possible step in brightening her own image as the daughter of the Founding father of the Nation. For this reason, she needs to check the unruly activities of her party-men from massive extortion and other forms of illegal activities as well, she also needs to warn those over-enthusiastic officers of the sensitive intelligence agency to refrain from blackmailing the politicians as well as members of media. Complete freedom of press and expression is the prime requirement for a good democracy. Hopefully, Bangladesh's present government will realize this.

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