Eye of the Buddha

Posted inReligion
I’m impressed at the response to the “What in our world” challenge I posted yesterday. Your answers were interesting and varied. They ranged from the imaginative (Tshewang Nidup: “…this is the symbol of the sun and the moon”) to the wishful (Phub Dorji Wang: “Eye of our Fouth Druk Gyalpo, His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck”). One used the opportunity to express frustration (Sonam Tshering: “Megatron, the evil leader of deception”), while another was filled with adulation (Postman: “Genghis Khan”). Most of you got the answer: the iconographic eye of Lord Buddha. But, only two knew that it belonged to…

Observing the state of the Nation

Posted inGovernment25 Comments
I made a brief statement on the PM's state of the Nation address today in the National Assembly. What follows is a summary of what I said... Introduction I thank the Honourbale Speaker for allowing me to submit my views on the prime minister’s annual report on the State of the Nation to the Parliament. I congratulate the prime minister and the cabinet for presenting a detailed report on the activities of the government during the last year. I’ve divided these activities into four broad categories: (i) those that were part of the Ninth Five Year Plan; (ii) those…

The big picture

Posted inMiscellaneous
Here’s a challenge. The first one to recognize this picture wins a prize, the book “Portrait of a Leader” by Dr Mieko Nishimizu.

Wanted: live TV

Posted inMedia
The poll on the National Assembly’s decision to ban live TV coverage for most of its proceedings attracted considerable interest. But with 292 of the 315 participants (that’s 90% of them) disagreeing on the National Assembly’s recent decision, our readers’ views are clear. Only 23 voters (7%) supported the ban. And 10 people admitted that they really didn’t care. The public outcry against the National Assembly’s decision is obvious. And I’m not just referring to our poll. BBS has shown many people, from various walks of life, all denouncing the restrictions imposed on BBS TV’s live broadcast. Yet, the…

Electric cars

Posted inEconomy, Nature
I drove an electric car last week. It was a Reva, an electric vehicle manufactured in India. The Department of Energy is currently testing the car on Bhutanese conditions. The Reva is small. In fact, it’s not much bigger than a golf cart. So it can fit only two adults – that’s the driver and one passenger. The car actually has rear seats, where you can squeeze two little children. But if you do, you won’t be able to find space for even small luggage. Only this, and yet the car costs Nu 450,000 without taxes. Theoretically, the Reva…

Inaugural session

Posted inDemocracy, Legislature, Monarchy
I’m posting the speech I delivered in Parliament today. I’d proposed a vote of thanks for His Majesty the King’s gracious presence during the inaugural ceremony of the third session of the Parliament. The original speech was delivered in Dzongkha. And I spoke from points I had prepared earlier. But I’ve tried my best to translate what I presented into English as accurately as possible. The photograph shows Tshering Tobgay addressing the National Assembly’s second session in January 2009 Vote of Thanks to His Majesty the King Welcome His Majesty the King On this most auspicious day, I, on…

Third session

Posted inLegislature
The third session of the first Parliament of Bhutan begins tomorrow. His Majesty the King will grace the inaugural ceremony of the third session. And the prime minister will submit his annual report on the state of our Nation to the Druk Gyalpo and the parliament. The proceedings tomorrow will be broadcast live by BBS. As will the entire proceedings of the National Council. But the National Assembly, as of now, has not changed its decision to prevent the BBS from broadcasting most of its proceedings. I’m still working on some talking points for tomorrow. But I’m finding it…

Tweeting

Posted inMiscellaneous
I’ve now been blogging for more than six months. And I’ve started receiving good feedback. During the weekdays we easily get four to five thousand hits. And, increasingly, many of the readers offer valuable comments. So, overall, I’m quite satisfied. But to enhance my interaction with friends, especially those in Bhutan, I’ve also been on Facebook, a free social networking site, for a while now. Please join me here. And to expand the blogging experience I’ve been experimenting with Twitter, also a free social networking site, but one that specializes in microblogging. Twitter users post updates, called “tweets”,which are…

Another bear cub is rescued

Posted inNature
I’ve just learnt that another resident of Haa will be arriving in Taba soon. Pema Tshering, the Forest Ranger in Haa, has just informed me that they’ve rescued another bear cub. This cub was discovered in the Tshaphey Lower Secondary School premises with its back to the wall, defending itself from a pack of dogs. Officials of the Forestry Management Unit arrived literally on time to save the little bear who, I’m told, appears to be fine. No one knows the whereabouts of the mother bear. So the cub will stay in the Wildlife Management and Rehabilitation Centre in…

Breaking news

Posted inMedia
The National Council has decided that their proceedings will continue to be telecast live on BBS. I’m hopeful that the National Assembly members will reverse their earlier decision to ban live TV broadcast for most of their sessions.

Lakshuman Chhetri

Posted inPeople
Yesterday, Lakshuman Chhetri, a senior officer in the National Assembly Secretariat, left his office for the last time. After serving the National Assembly for 22 continuous years, Mr Chhetri left to take up his new assignment as head of BICMA’s media division. Mr Chhetri, who I met in Sherubtse College (he was an outstanding athlete then), was the first graduate to join the National Assembly. He did so, as a trainee officer, in September 1987. And during the last 22 years, he’s seen the National Assembly Secretariat grow from a small office with only six staff to today’s efficient…

IAMDRUKPA

Posted inPeople
The Bhutanse blogging community is growing faster than most of us realize. The latest blogger I stumbled upon is Jurmi Chhowing, now with K4 Media, previously with Bhutan Observer and before that Bhutan Times. In his blog, IAMDRUKPA, Jurmi seems to offer his random thoughts on a range of topics from life to love, and from politics to the Purple Lounge. His latest entry, I Wanna Watch my Parliamentarian, is about the importance live TV coverage of the National Assembly deliberations.

No middle path for live TV broadcast

Posted inMedia
Middlepath (very good nickname) had this to say on my last entry about the National Assembly’s decision to discontinue live TV broadcast for most of its proceedings: “OL and others, please do not abuse the provisions of the Constitution to suit your position on the live telecast. The Constitution says that the proceedings of the NA should be conducted in public but the speaker has the discretion to exclude the press and the pubic from all or any part of the proceedings….(Art 10,15). Public should not be understood as live coverage – it should be understood as open for…

Live TV poll

Posted inMedia
Our last poll, on the PCS, has been up for hardly four days. But it generated 51 votes. Almost three-fourths of them were cast against the position classification system. And only 14 voters supported the PCS. Several of the commentators, however, clarified that the PCS is actually a useful system, but that its flaws come from poor implementation. I agree with them. If the RCSC wants to continue with the PCS, it should implement the system completely. In particular, it should put into practice the dual principles of “right person for the right job” and “equal money for equal…

Corporate salaries – part 2

Posted inGovernment
So the government cannot dictate the salaries of DHI employees. But what about the other corporations – those that are owned by the government, but are not part of DHI? Can the government set their salaries? Technically, yes. The government can dictate the salaries of these employees. This, in fact, was precisely what our previous governments did. But they always defined them in favour of corporate employees. The logic was simple: these corporations (BBS, Bhutan Post, FCB, BDFC, and others) were considered less attractive than the civil service. Yet they delivered important, sometimes vital, services for the nation. So…