Dear Kudrung...

OL with hot perks

Kudrung recently sent me a letter. The letter was posted on this blog as a comment to an article. The comment had nothing to do with the article, “Illegal, immoral and dangerous”. Here’s what Kudrung wrote:

My Dearest OL,

I hate to say this but I just can’t hold myself to say aloud how much I envy you.

An Opposition Leader with the rank of the cabinet has all the the time in the world to create a blog, moderate them daily, write articles and finally post it. How can he do it ? I only wish I have so much time to do all this. As a office goer I hardly have time even to read and reply my emails.

Guys, please recommend me what should I do to be like the OL with all the perks of a Minister, with high status and power, highly revered (for being only the two elected in the party)and all to do is to moderate articles in a website/blog.

How much I wish to be like him.

Kudos to him.

I should have replied to Kudrung’s letter immediately. But, like Kudrung, I’ve been pressed for time. Plus I didn’t know if I was expected to reply. So I’m writing now, with apologies for the delay.

Dear Honourable Kudrung:

You forgot to leave a return address. But don’t worry. I have the IP address of the computer you used. Your computer sent it to me automatically when you registered your nickname on my blog. And your IP address tells me that you are a member of the national assembly. So, I’m following protocol, and prefixing your name, even if it’s only a nickname, with the title “honourable”.

I thank you for your letter. But I found it rather confusing. You see, immediately after addressing me (and thank you for calling me your “Dearest OL”) and confiding in me (by admitting aloud “how much I envy you”) you chose to ignore me. Yes, I agree that you talked about me. But you were talking to everyone else, not to me – you’d quickly relegated me, your subject, to the third person.

I am not offended though. I just didn’t know whether you expected me to reply to your letter or not. Hence, the delay.

You sound envious of my position. Yes, as opposition leader, I am accorded the rank of a cabinet minister. And, yes, I enjoy the perks that come with it. But, I haven’t been given any more “status and power” than you, Honourable Kudrung. Unless, that is, you were referring to my orange kabney. I guess the kabney does lend a little more “status”. But, I swear, I have no more “power” than you. And, I assure you that there’s absolutely no reason to imagine that I am any more “revered” than you. My party, the opposition, has only two members. And, because of that, our party may get some sympathy. But reverence? None at all. We haven’t done anything to deserve it. So, there’s absolutely no need to be worried.

Talking of parties, you are obviously from the ruling party. So I’m confused. Your party won. And won comprehensively. You control 96% of the National Assembly. The ten cabinet ministers and the prime minister are from your party. And so are the speaker and the deputy speaker. Plus most of the chairpersons of the committees belong to your party.

And still you covet the opposition leader’s position.

For the sake of democracy, permit the opposition party to appoint the opposition leader. But if you really, really want to become the opposition leader, next time join the losing party.

You do know that the opposition leader is not required to maintain a blog, don’t you? So if it’s the blog that you’re really after – if you didn’t like what I wrote about in “Illegal, immoral and dangerous” – you should start your own weblog. There’s no law that prevents our members of parliament from doing so. In fact, your blog would be very welcome. Our people would find you more accessible. You’d be able to benefit by interacting with them. And you would be able to put their wisdom and their insight to good practice.

Yours respectfully,

Tshering Tobgay

P.S. I hope you like the picture.  It’s by Bhutan Observer. And you can see what I think about it here.

Relief Fund...

“Disaster relief” generated a fair deal of debate. And most of it was good.

Some of our readers (Sonam, Shogan and others) felt that the donations were made specifically for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the damages caused by the May 26 floods. And that, as such, the donations should not be used for relief purposes.

One reader (Guest) pointed out that the restoration of damages caused by calamities is the government’s responsibility. And that kidu, which is His Majesty’s prerogative, should not be confused with restoration.

But other readers (especially Linda Wangmo) felt that the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the damages caused the floods should be financed from the government’s budget. And that the donations should all go to the Relief Fund.

And one reader (DRoLo) wondered if I was “trying to play up PM (and thus his democratically elected government) against the King.” That obviously is not true. And I regret that some of our readers may feel that way.

“Disaster relief” was not about His Majesty the King. Or about the Prime Minister. It was about the Constitution. And it was specifically about Article 14 Section 12 of the Constitution which requires that “Parliament shall establish a relief fund and the Druk Gyalpo shall have the prerogative to use this fund for urgent and unforeseen humanitarian relief.”

We have not yet established a relief fund. During the first three sessions of the Parliament, we did not discuss any legislation to establish the fund. We did not discuss the objectives of a relief fund or its scope. And we did not discuss how the fund would be financed. Instead, we have earmarked Nu 20 million as a budget item called “HM’s Relief Fund” without establishing the scope of the fund – without defining what “urgent and unforeseen humanitarian relief” means.

According to Change.org, a social entrepreneurship nonprofit, specific humanitarian relief activities include “food distributions, emergency shelter and other essential non-food items, camp coordination, provision of basic services such as health, water, sanitation and hygiene and education agricultural support and protection activities.” These activities are expected to provide a seamless transition “to early recovery which would lead to longer-term development.”

Obviously not all these activities, and the other definitions they provide, will be relevant to us. But we need to define by law – that is by the parliament establishing the Fund – what “humanitarian relief” means and covers in our context. Otherwise we’ll risk creating even more confusion.

The Relief Fund, once it’s established, would also define procedures for receiving donations and contributions – from governments, agencies and individuals – for disaster relief. All such contributions should, I believe, first be deposited in the Relief Fund. From there, the money would, if needed, be routed to relevant agencies (ministries, local governments, NGOs) that would carry out the relief work.

Big butter lamp...

Buttering lamp?

I enjoyed reading your answers to the last Big Picture. And knowing that we’d get a few more interesting answers, I was tempted to keep the question open. But I visited the National Memorial Chorten today, and decided to announce the answer.

The big picture was, indeed, a big butter lamp in the National Memorial Chorten. Dinesh Pradhan answered first. He didn’t mention “butter lamp”, but it’s obvious he knew what the picture was and where it was taken. Dinesh, please contact me, by email, to claim your prize: lunch at the Musk.

The gigantic butter lamp, a tshen barma, is at the National Memorial Chorten. Like most of the other butter lamps there, it was donated by a devotee. This particular lamp holds five and half tins – that’s 88 kgs – of vanaspati, and can give continuous light for three months. That’s a lot closer, literally, to the ideal butter lamp espoused in the original “Marmi Moenlam”. Its composer, Songtsen Goenpo, compares the oil in the perfect butter lamp to a vast ocean, and the wick to an upright cypress tree.

I went to the National Memorial Chorten today to observe the Moenlam Chenmo and Bazaguru Dungdrup that is currently being conducted by the Central Monastic Body. The week-long prayers for the well-being of our country are being led by His Holiness the Je Khenpo.

I’ve posted some pictures of the Memorial Chorten in our gallery.

Our democracy...

Yesterday, HRH Ashi Sonam Dechan Wangchuck inaugurated a workshop entitled “Democracy in our Place”. During this important workshop, participates will discuss various concepts about democracy and good governance.

In her royal address, HRH observed that many of us readily declare that “democracy must succeed in Bhutan.” But for democracy to succeed, HRH commanded that “…it must be relevant to the lives of the citizens, and most importantly it must be beneficial to them.”

A gentle reminder for all of us.

The workshop, which is being conducted in Hotel Zhiwaling, is organised by the Election Commission of Bhutan. You’ll find the full text of the Royal Address is here.

Disaster relief...

On 21^st July, the Ambassador of India to Bhutan presented Nu 100 million to our government. The money, a gift from the government and people of India, was to carry out relief works of the damages caused by the May 26^th floods.

Yesterday, the Ambassador of Thailand to Bhutan presented US$ 20,000 to our government, also to carry out relief works on the May 26^th floods.

The gifts reflect the sympathy of these countries towards us, and underscore the friendship and goodwill that we enjoy with them. We must put their money to good use. And the best possible way to do this is to deposit the money in the Relief Fund.

Article 14 Section 12 of the Constitution requires that “Parliament shall establish a relief fund and the Druk Gyalpo shall have the prerogative to use this fund for urgent and unforeseen humanitarian relief.”

Parliament has not yet established the Relief Fund. Instead, the government has budgeted a mere Nu 20 million for “HM’s Relief Fund”. This is hardly enough. Consider that the May 26^th floods alone were estimated to have cost our country Nu 720 million.

We will, no doubt, be hit by many more disasters, both natural and manmade. So obviously, we must prepare to provide effective urgent and unforeseen humanitarian relief. What better way to prepare than by establishing a strong and reliable Relief Fund?

And what better way to start than by depositing the gifts made by India and Thailand to the Relief Fund? Their generous contributions are, after all, meant for relief.

Nopkin.com...

Active Nopkin

Is this site too serious? Do I complain too much? Does my writing lack style? Am I boring?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you should visit Nopkin.com. There you’ll find a good supply of exciting stories and funny jokes, all contributed by members who write and live by the Nopkin maxim: “make somebody’s day!”

Nopkin is the brainchild of Sangay Tenzin. When Sangay joined work, in 2005, he realized that it was difficult to stay in touch with his friends. So he decided to do something about it. He painstakingly developed a website that was a cross between a blog and a social networking site. And, on 13 April 2007, he launched Nopkin.com.

He’d actually tried to call his website Charo.com or Charo.net, but those domain names were already taken. So he settled for his nickname, Nopkin.

In Tsangla, nopkin means “a lazy or a clumsy person”. Sangay and his friends used it to describe their English teacher, Nopkin Sir. But one day, Sangay’s classmates mistook him for Nopkin Sir. And from that day on, his friends affectionately called him Nopkin.

Is Sangay a nopkin? Is he lazy? Consider this: Nopkin.com already has 2630 articles, 1447 jokes, 1126 photographs and 66 polls and 1280 members. And the impressive numbers keep growing. That’s one big, valuable resource for Bhutan. Definitely not something that a lazy, lethargic nopkin would be capable of producing.

Need more proof that Sangay is not a complete nopkin? Members of his site automatically belong to Nopkin Volunteers for Social Service. And Nopkin Volunteers have already carried out several cleaning campaigns in Thimphu and beyond.

Go ahead, make somebody’s day – join the Nopkin experience.

Language, culture and identity...

Mind our language

On 24 June 2009, H.E Pavan K. Verma, India’s ambassador to Bhutan, talked about Culture, Identity and Globalization. The talk, which was organized by the Centre for Bhutan Studies, was attended by wide cross section of people, from scholars, teachers and civil servants to consultants, businesswomen and politicians.

Ambassador Verma, an accomplished scholar and writer, warned his audience that, due to the unprecedented reach of globalization, change in Bhutan is inevitable. And that unless we have an intimate knowledge of our own culture – a knowledge that can only come from deep introspection – we will not be able to exercise discriminating choice about change and tradition; we will not be able to stay anchored to our culture, our identity and to GNH.

But he also noted that Bhutan is blessed with vision and resolve. The vision – that of a society that changes, yet is fully conscious of its culture and identity – is a gift from His Majesty the King. And the resolve, to achieve this vision, is articulated in the Constitution.

Ambassador Verma also touched on an issue that I thought was particularly important for us: language. Culture, apparently, is hard-wired to one’s brain before the person turns 18. And, native language – or mother tongue – plays a significant role in that process.

Our country has barely 600,000 people. Dzongkha is our national language. And, we have about 20 other languages and dialects. These range from Tsangla and Khengkha which are widely spoken, to Moenpai-kha, Lhopi-kha, Gongdugpi-kha and Chalipi-kha which are already classified as “endangered dialects”.

The medium of instruction in our schools is English. So every school-going child learns this foreign albeit global language. And English is the preferred language among much of the educated elite. This is inevitable. And may even be good.

But I am concerned. Hence, the last poll on our national language.

60% of you can speak, read and write Dzongkha. 21% can speak and read, but cannot write Dzongkha. 11% can speak, but not read or write Dzongkha. And only 8% cannot even speak the national language. In other words, 81% can speak and read Dzongkha. That’s not bad. And, 92% can speak Dzongkha. Not bad at all.

Our polls are not accurate. But still, the results are reassuring.

Now what about me? My spoken Dzongkha is barely passable (you’ve seen me struggle in the National Assembly); I read, but very slowly; and I cannot write. I must learn to write. I must learn sumtag and ngadroen.

Our next poll is about women in our society.

Big Picture – 5...

The first one to get this week’s Big Picture wins a lunch at the Musk. Be specific.

More Bhutanese bloggers...

PaSsu in Bajo

Like many of you, I follow several Bhutanese bloggers. But, some of the first bloggers I came across rarely write now. And one of them – who used the pen name Bhutanese Blogger – even announced, two months ago, that it was time to “move on”.

But, there’s good news. Every now and then, I come across new Bhutanese bloggers. PaSsu, a teacher in Bajothang, writes about life in Wangduephodrang in his blog, PaSsu Diary. And occasionally, he gives IT-related advice, like “Speeding up your computer – some tips” which many of us will find useful.

Liz Warren is another blogger. She’s not a Bhutanese. She’s American. But, since she teaches in the Early Learning Centre and writes about Bhutan, I’m featuring her site, Teaching in Thimphu, in our blogroll. (the Postman: many thanks for the introduction).

Support our bloggers. Visit their sites regularly. Here are two worth frequenting (I have already introduced both of them earlier). One is Jurmi Chhowing’s IamDRUKPA. Jurmi (a.k.a. Taliman a.k.a. the Postman) writes regularly. And you’ll find his articles interesting.

The other is Yeshey Dorji’s Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon. Yeshey is one of our leading photographers. He was recently in London to cover the Wimbledon Championships. And he’s posted some of his photographs of Wimbledon. They are very good.

Policing the legislature...

Jurmi Chhowing asked me to post his article “What exactly is The RBP’s Status?” on this blog. It appears that Bhutan Observer inadvertently ran an unedited version of the story. And, more importantly, that they wrongly credidted the article to Thuji Nadik.

If you wish to feature your story as a “guest”, please send them to me by email. Do not post your stories as comments.