Artistes on a mission to promote indigenous languages

Posted on The National

AN Australian indigenous singer is in the country to work with a local female artist in promoting the International Year of Indigenous Languages and ending violence against women and girls.
Emily Wurramara will work with Mereani Masani in a range of activities organised by the Australian High Commission.
Wurramara and Masani took part in cultural identity workshops and mentored high school students and youths in Port Moresby yesterday.
They travel to Goroka today.
The workshops are to highlight to young people the importance of preserving and promoting languages which are an important component of their cultural identity.
They will also introduce the “No Moa” video at the PNG 2019 Human Rights Film Festival in Goroka.
The video is being used as a campaign tool to raise awareness on ending violence against women and girls.

Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/artistes-on-a-mission-to-promote-indigenous-languages/

LNG money inquiry put off

By REBECCA KUKU - The National

THE Public Accounts Committee has the “ultimate power” to inquire into public entities as it is “an extension” of Parliament, according to Acting Auditor-General Gordon Kega.

Kega told The National yesterday, after the committee-sanctioned commission of inquiry into the Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited (KPHL) had to be called off, that it was a State-owned entity even though it operated as a business.
“Public money was used to set up KPHL, so it is a state entity.
“Although they operate as a private entity they are still owned by the state.”
KPHL lawyers, on behalf of the board chairman and managing director, late on Monday requested in a letter to committee chairman Sir John Pundari that the inquiry be postponed for 14 days because “key persons named in the summons” were out of the country.
It will now be held on Nov 5.
Kega said in his capacity as the auditor-general, he could go and audit KPHL because it was a state-owned entity.
“My audit reports are given to the Parliament.
“The Speaker then gives the reports to the Public Accounts Committee for deliberation before being presented to Parliament or to the National Executive Council,” he said.
“So the public accounts committee has the ultimate power to inquire into KPHL.”
The inquiry into KPHL is in relation to information sought on the aggravated income generated from the 500-plus shipments made since the start of the PNG LNG project and the first shipment in May 2014.
Sir John Pundari said it was the first time during his five terms in Parliament to see public servants unable to attend a Commission of Inquiry on a date set by the committee.
“Well I guess because they are occupying important offices, they have got other business to attend to on the date set by the committee for the Commission of Inquiry,” he said.
The committee had asked for KPHL to provide information on:

• How much had been made so far in the export of Liquefied Natural Gas;
• how much of that money had been given to the State and landowners;
• how much had been given to the provincial government of the affected areas for development and infrastructure; and,
• How much was used for KPHL’s operational cost

Sir John at an earlier press conference said that the people had the right to know how much was made from the shipment of LNG and where that money was.

Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/lng-money-inquiry-put-off/

Paper money and tooth brushes

By BETTY GABRIEL WAKIA - The National

WITH the invention of paper and printing on its account, China was almost destined to produce the first paper money.
The first paper money was invented in the ninth century and was made by the Tang Dynasty so that wealthy merchants would not have to carry large amounts of heavy copper coins.
It was called ‘flying money’ in those time because it was so light it could blow out of one’s hand. The paper money was made as an offshoot of the invention of block printing. The first paper money was a draft rather than real money. Original paper money like the today’s deposit receipts with the amount of total money available to the merchant written on them.
During that time, in order for merchant to exchange for cash in the provinces they deposit their cash in the capital and received a paper certificate called an exchange certificate. In this way paper money was quickly adopted by the government for forwarding tax payments. The first people to use a checking system were Muslim bankers in the 1200s, followed by Italian bankers in the 1400s.
The first Western money was issued in Sweden in 1661 followed by America in 1690, France in 1720, England in 1797, and Germany in 1806. The paper money is seen as the most common form of currency around the world today.

One of the greatest Chinese inventions of the medieval world was the mechanical clock. It was invented by the Buddhist monk, court astronomer, mathematician and engineer Yi Xing in 725 AD during the Tang Dynasty. Xing called it “Water Driven Spherical Birds Eye View Map of The Heavens” to keep track of celestial activity but unfortunately lasted only a few years before the water in the mechanism caused the metal to corrode. Without causing metal to corrode, later clocks used mercury with iron and bronze mechanisms. Hundreds of years later, an astronomer and mechanist of the Song Dynasty Su Song developed a more sophisticated clock called the Cosmic Empire in 1092. The first mechanical clock was developed in Europe two centuries earlier, but they did not have the escapement mechanism that is characteristic of mechanical clocks.
The compass was probably invented in between 221 BC and 206 BC during the Qin Dynasty by Chinese fortune-tellers who used lodestones to construct their fortune telling boards. During the Han Dynasty, they used this knowledge to create a direction finder device which resembles a spoon and when it is placed on a plate on the ground, the handle points to the south. It was first used in determining direction for the layout of buildings.
During the Song Dynasty, they come up with magnetised needles replacing the loadstone and it became very important to map makers and for the navigational devices on ships. The first person recorded as using a compass for navigation was Zheng He from Yunnan Province, who made seven ocean voyages between 1405 and 1433.
Around 960AD, Arab traders sailing to China probably learned of the Chinese method of sailing by compass and returned to Europe with the invention in 1127. Before those times, the compass had opened up the oceans for exploration and led to the discovery of the New World by using the sun, moon and the pole star to give a constant bearing and made navigation safer.
The world’s first toothbrush is thought to have been created in China. For thousands of years ago, Chinese found different tools to keep their gums and teeth clean, their teeth white and their breath fresh. They came up with water and rough cloth to clean their teeth and also rubbed things like chalk and salt across their teeth to try to get rid of grime. For mouth freshener, they used chewing twigs culled from aromatic trees and also sharpened at one end to use as a toothpick.
However, in 1498, the Chinese invented the bristle toothbrush, similar to the type used today. The bristles toothbrush was invented during the Tang Dynasty and was most likely made from coarse hairs taken from the back of a hog’s neck and attached to handles made of bone or bamboo. The first people to use the instrument to clean the teeth were Northern Chinese monks. The use of tooth brushes then spread to Europe by travelers and was adopted in Europe during the 17th century.
The Chinese-invented toothbrush might not be as interesting as paper or gunpowder but it is something that everybody uses every single day.

Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/education-3/

Gunpowder changes war forever

By BETTY WAKIA - The National

ANCIENT Chinese made a variety of inventions and were very good at using what nature gave them.
One of the most powerfully explosive substances and best known inventions that the Chinese ever created and it is still in use to this very day is gunpowder. Ancient Chinese gunpowder made war more deadly, and it has more interesting uses, including bombs, fireworks, mining, guns and even rockets. Civilisation would be less civilised without gunpowder.
In the Han Dynasty around 1,000 AD, gunpowder was invented by the Chinese Taoist alchemists. They tried to create a recipe that would keep them alive forever, but unfortunately, this immortal panacea was never discovered, but they came up with the formula of ancient Chinese gunpowder. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, ancient Chinese proposed their knowledge of potassium nitrate and sulphur to develop a formula for gunpowder. The gunpowder still used today is very similar to the gunpowder used before, which is a mixture of charcoal, sulphur and potassium nitrate.
They are originally used to make flares of signals and fireworks which used to scare away evil spirits. Gunpowder was used in Chinese New Year, weddings and many other specials celebration in China. Today, the fireworks are still very popular in China and used around the world for celebrations.
The knowledge of ancient Chinese formula of gunpowder spread across the rest of the world and weapons powered by gunpowder stated to appear in India, Europe and the Middle East. In Europe, the use of gunpowder was first recorded in 1313 which they used it as cannons while the Chinese used it mainly for firecrackers.
In the mid to late 19th century, despite early understanding of explosives and their use, Europeans were still able to rule China by using cannons and guns; China did not pursue the development of weapons and equipment like the West. Other countries are also working to refine and find the use of gunpowder, but it is not clear whether China or other countries have a responsibility to improve the mixture of refining but they can still be attributed to its creation.
Whether you are against war or not, the Chinese have taught this knowledge to the world. You must agree that ancient Chinese gunpowder does have its benefits and still used to these days and follows the original Chinese formula.
Before printing was invented, knowledge could only be passed on by word of mouth. After that extremely expensive handwritten manuscripts were invented, but it was slow, and there was no guarantee each copy would be the same. In the Western Han Dynasty from 206 BC to 25 AD, a form of printing had been developed and it was a stone tablet rubbing, very similar to brass rubbing in principle and was used to spread Confucian knowledge and Buddhist sutras. Building on this idea, Chinese came up with two types of printing; the woodblock printing and movable type printing.
Printing
Woodblock printing was invented in 868 AD during the Tang Dynasty and it was perfectly suited to print Chinese characters. It was created by carving text and design pictures on a flat piece of woodblock by dyeing and printing the relief onto the paper or fabric. In that same year, this technology produced the first ever book, using full page woodcuts. It was a Buddhist sutra called “The Diamond Sutra”. All of a sudden, this technique of woodblock printing spread across Asia, through Japan, Korea, Philippines and Vietnam.
During the Song dynasty in 1045 AD, movable type printing was first invented by Bi Sheng. He used the idea of carving a single character on a small, identical square piece of clay and then hardened them with fire. He later glued them to an iron plate to print a page and then broke it up to redistributed for another page. Once the print was completed, the pieces were put away for future use. This invention made books cheaper and more available which spread across to Korea, Japan, Vietnam and later Europe.
In 1400s, Johann Gutenberg of Europe separately invented movable type printing further by making the individual characters of metal. The first European book printing with movable type was called Gutenberg’s Bible and it was printed in 1450s. Interestingly, until the 1490s, the Chinese started using metal type. So the printing technology remained until the invention of computers and photocopying in the 21st century makes all books are printed using movable type.
Paper
Paper was first invented in China around 105 AC and played a big role in the development of civilisation and which spread throughout the world. Before the invention, bones, tortoise shells and bamboo slips were used as writing surfaces, and their civilisation developed more creatively, which proved to be unsuitable due to their weight and volume.
In those ancient times, silk and hemp fibers were used for papermaking but the quality was far from satisfactory. During second century in the Eastern Han Dynasty, paper was traditionally assumed to be invented by Chai Lun, who was the head of a royal workshop that time. He made his paper by mashing up the bark of a tree, hemp, fishing nets, linen and also adding water until a wooden frame with interwoven weed sieves was immersed and removed from the mixture and allowed to dry in the sun. In terms of concept and technology, the earliest paper is very similar to modern paper.
Paper gradually spread from China and around 610 AD; it was brought to Japan then at the beginning of the sixth century it moved to Vietnam and India. During the eighth century, paper spread throughout Chinese Turkestan in central Asia, the Arab world, reaching Syria, Egypt, Morocco, and Spain.
It took a thousand years after inventing the right paper to reach southern France and the rest of Europe. It was not until around 1490 when it reach Britain and the first well-known paper mill was built in England. In the 16th century, paper reached the Americas, by which time it had become a truly global product.


Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/gunpowder-changes-war-forever/

Ancient land of inventions, discoveries

By BETTY WAKIA - The National

IN PNG and other Pacific Island countries, China plays a significant role in providing both investments and development aid. More than 40 of its firms are established in PNG’s infrastructure development and property construction, while the Ramu Nickel and Cobalt mine leads China’s resource extraction.
Chinese firms contribute to PNG in investment and development helping make PNG the fastest growing economy in the Pacific region today. Currently China is trying to connect itself to the Pacific Island countries through the trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative by pushing more of their university students to study some of the Pacific Island languages.
Because of those investments between the two countries, every household in PNG has products ranging from store goods to material goods from China.
One thing that we in PNG don’t realise is that those products in one way or another have been invented or discovered in China.
As we all know China has changed faster in the last 20 years than any other country in the world. With its high speed economic growth, it has impacted the world, increased its global reach and participation in international organisations.
It created a worldwide unbeatable manufacturing and export empire and its products can be found in houeholds the world over today.
As the economy, science, technology, society and culture make rapid progress, people around the world fix their eyes on this great ancient nation that may provide clues to the driving forces behind the current rapid economic growth.
As time went by the skills and materials improved the quality and type of tools available at that time.
Chinese are known for several important inventions that later spread around the world.
Although China may currently export a large number of products, it once was exporting very valuable information, and without it, the rest of the world would have lost it.
China is known as the land of inventions and discoveries, which the whole world are eager to learn about its past that has led the world and given birth to a brilliant ancient science and technology.
The development of science and technology in those times was based on the concept of ‘integration of nature and man’ which was observing and studying of the human body, the objective world, the heavens and earth which nourished Chinese culture and civilisation and contributed greatly to mankind.
For centuries China stood as one of the world’s oldest and leading ancient civilisations, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences.
China can trace its culture back to a mixture of small primitive tribes that have expanded to become the great nation it is today.
For over 40 centuries, they have created a culture with a strong tradition, values, and philosophy that was included in the orthodox version of the traditional religion called the Confucianism.
This was taught in the academy, and tested in imperial civil service exams.
These values are widely used throughout Chinese society, and are characterised by a secular emphasis on society and administration.
The Ancient Chinese are known to be the pioneers in many fields and very clever civilisation, innovative and creative people and were able to utilise the materials they had available to make tools that they found useful. Many of the things that we take for granted today were first invented or created by the Chinese.
Prime examples of their creativity and inventiveness are printing technology, paper, compass, clock, gunpowder and small things like the tooth brush or tooth paste that everybody uses every single day.
The Chinese are also best known for their creative muscles in various forms of artistic practices ranging from literature to pottery and music to painting.
Today the Chinese have managed to preserve their traditions that have attracted worldwide attention.

Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/ancient-land-of-inventions-discoveries/

Icon of Badi’ High leaving his post

By Rev SEIK PITOI - The National

TO MANY people around the country, the name “Mr Bala” is synonymous with Badihagwa High School.
This is understandable for a person who has faithfully served in that particular school as principal since 1995. At the end of this year, Bala will chalk up 24 years as principal at Badihagwa, 27 years as principal in general, and will have rendered a total of 39 years of service in his teaching career.
November 2019 will also mark his first year of serving without his ‘helpmeet’, fellow teacher for many years, best friend and wife – Clarissa Bala. This is his story.
Maru Bala’s illustrious career began with his own education at his humble Galomarubu Village in the Rigo district of Central. He commenced at his village LMS School, then to the nearby Bina Primary school, and eventually to Port Moresby at the Hohola Demonstration School where he completed his sixth grade in 1973.
He continued with high school education to Grade 10 at Kwikila High in 1977, then spent the next HREE years at Goroka Teachers College before graduating with a Diploma in Secondary Teaching in 1980. Armed with his diploma, he began his teaching career in 1981 at Palmalmal High School in Pomio, East New Britain.
For Maru the year 1981 is outstanding for two reasons: He commenced his teaching career at Palmalmal, and secondly, he met a special teacher at the school, a lovely young lady from Oro called Clarissa. The two became friends, then married soon after. They began serving together as teachers while raising a family.
Maru’s teaching career continued in East New Britain with the next two years at Kokopo High School (1982-83), and another six years as senior teacher at George Brown High School (1984-89). Being a Christian, he devoted the next three years teaching at the United Church-run Wesley High School in Milne Bay as deputy headmaster, eventually taking up the headmaster’s post in 1992.
The Bala family moved back to New Britain from 1993 to 1994, this time to the western half as Maru took up his post as headmaster of Kimbe High. Since his graduation, he had spent all his time outside of his own province. Now, it was time to come home. That happened when he was appointed headmaster of Badihagwa High School in 1995. He has served in that capacity until today, broken only by a two-year study leave from 2008-09 at the University of Goroka for his Bachelor’s degree in Education Planning and Administration.
Maru and his late wife were science teachers. Apart from that, she also took on counselling, while he added commerce. However, due to his training, he was more of a planner and strategist and that became evident when, as principal, he began to spend less time in the classroom and more time in plotting the paths of the schools under his care. Maru also values the overseas training he received from principals’ conferences he attended in Japan, Thailand and Australia. These programmes broadened his outlook and helped him appreciate the ways schools are run in other countries.
On the spiritual side, he is the chairman of the Papua Ekalesia fellowship at Ela United Church. He and his late wife’s tour to Israel in 2013 added another dimension to their lives and strengthened their faith in the Lord. Maru considers both entities – faith in the Lord and commitment to the job of teaching, as important pillars in his life.
Principal Bala is also the chairman of the NCD high school principals committee, He is passionate about the treatment of teachers. He has been very vocal about the ‘free education policy’ which is “an excellent concept but needs to see all stakeholders cooperate” to ensure its success.
“There is no magic solution,” he said. “We can talk about raising education standards but if the state continues to balk at paying its component to the schools on time every year; if leave tickets are not paid for teachers, housing issues are not addressed, classrooms are overcrowded, and if materials cannot be purchased on time, we will still fail to rise to the required standard. When teachers’ personal needs are not addressed and when the infrastructure is falling apart, there is a decline in staff morale which affects the students as well,” he added.
“For parents, their cooperation is vital. This all about ‘shared responsibility’ and parents must appreciate the difficulties the schools face and assist with the little that is apportioned to them to pay. We take in transferees from private schools and Christian academies where they used to pay K4,000 to K7,000 per year for their children’s education. When they cannot afford it any longer, they come to us in the government schools where they are asked to pay very little in comparison. We are happy to receive all who come to us but parents must be prepared to make sacrifices for their children too.”
Badihagwa High was established in 1957 on land belonging to Hanuabada villagers and was primarily a high school for Motu-Koita students. The first enrolment was in 1967 with 160 students. Today, it is a large school with over 2,000 students. With the motto of Progress through Effort, the school has opened up to cater for students from every province in PNG.
However, Maru has always had a concern for the local people, desiring to see their children excel in their studies. Thankfully, he has had the joy of seeing many from Hanuabada and other Motu-Koita villagers pass through Badihagwa High, now called Badihagwa Technical Secondary School (BTSS), become important citizens of our nation.
Sadly, as with all high schools in the country, cultic practices like “generation or system” and drug and alcohol abuse exist at Badihagwa. But with a strict disciplinarian in Principal Bala, there is “zero-tolerance” for students who prefer to engage in such practices. He has always points out that there are many students out there who cannot come to school. These current students are the fortunate ones. However, if they wish to engage in illegal activities instead of concentrating on their studies, they have no space at the school.
Apart from these students, who are a minority, the school also has a strong Christian student body with Scripture Union and religious instruction classes being well attended.
The Bala children have also done their parents proud. With two teachers in the house, it is not surprising to see them obtain their degrees after passing through Badihagwa. Eldest girl, Nancy, is in New Zealand, about to graduate with a Master’s degree in pharmaceutical studies. The second girl, Moira, is an IT specialist and third born Ruth has a degree in Social Work. Baby of the family, Emmanuel, is a third year Journalism student at UPNG. “The kids have done well, thanks largely to the encouragement of their late mother,” said Maru.
“With the hard work they have put in, they rightfully deserve their awards!”
With 27 years under his principal’s belt, Maru would be one of the oldest serving headmasters in PNG. From his vast experience, he urges teachers to demonstrate Christian principles, commitment to work, and a genuine love and concern for students. This will always set the better teacher apart from the mediocre.
To young headmasters, he says: “Get to know the Education Act, the In-Service Act, and PNGTA Code of Ethics. Be familiar with the parameters of your work so you will stay safe within the guidelines. Also, ensure to apply for annual inspection for appraisal in order to prove yourselves. Regular appraisal is important so one does not become stagnant!”
On a personal note, the effect of losing his beloved wife nearly a year ago can still be felt. “Even with my loving children and family members around me, I still miss her presence in our home,” he laments. “With mum in the home, there is order, things are neat and tidy, and there is that special warmth that only mum can give,” he said.
His final advice was to married teachers: “Husbands, love your wives and honour them. Wives and husbands must show that love for each other so if one is called home by the Lord, there are no regrets.
“As teachers, we need stable homes that practice godly principles of love and respect to provide a safe place to bring up our own children. At the same time, this positive attitude will spill over into the classrooms to positively affect our students,” he advised.

Indeed, for someone who has served with distinction in a position of leadership in schools for many years, his advice on work and life should be closely noted.

Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/icon-of-badi-high-leaving-his-post/

The opportunist who came & now must go

By SHILA YUKULI PAIA - PNG Attitude blog

ADELAIDE - I am a proud Papua New Guinean who will always stand very tall and speak boldly, loudly and clearly knowing that PNG is one of the best democracies. In this context I have some observations to make on the saga of the attempted arrest of former prime minister Peter Charles Paire O'Neill, another critical moment in the history of PNG’s political development.

Unfortunately, we once again see heightened evidence of corruption and power manipulation at the expense of PNG’s potential to develop and to fully use its natural, human and social resources to become a prosperous country.

According to available evidence, O’Neill had a calculated personal agenda when he entered the doors of PNG’s parliament in 2002 as the member for Ialibu Pangia in the Southern Highlands Province.

O’Neill was soon entrusted with the portfolio of labour and industrial relations by the government of Sir Michael Somare. But the new man had other ideas and was transferred to the post of public service minister in 2003.

His ambitions worried Somare ahd O’Neill was dropped from the ministry in 2005 whereupon he took his People's National Congress out of government, later that year emerging as opposition leader.

He tried a vote of no confidence in Somare and lost it - but O’Neill was never one for giving up and changed tactics. After the 2007 general elections, he rejoined the Somare government and regained his public service ministry.

O’Neill was on a mission of his own and no road block was going to stop him. There was a land of milk and honey out there and he was determined to land on it. It came a lot closer in 2010 when he was appointed finance minister.

Then, in 2011, Somare fell seriously ill and was hospitalised in Singapore for many months. The decent Tei Abal took over as acting prime minister but, wary of O’Neill, demoted him to the works ministry. But Abal was no match for the wily Southern Highlander.

O’Neill now was more determined than ever to secure the top job and joined a movement to unseat Somare, succeeding in tipping out of office the convalescing prime minister, 94 votes to 70. Somare challenged O'Neill in the supreme court, which ruled that Somare was the legitimate prime minister.

This precipitated a constitutional crisis when O’Neill refused to step down and for several months PNG had two prime ministers, two police commissioners and political chaos. The governor-general intervened and called an election in 2012, from which O’Neill emerged victorious as head of a coalition government.

There were still challengers in the ranks who sought to depose him, but by deft use of his ability to expand the ministry and reward local MPs with large grants, O’Neill remained in power. He was tough, ruthless and always did his groundwork. He was now seated on what he believed was his rightful throne.

But a turning point came in 2019. It could have been that O’Neill became too much the autocrat. It could have been that some powerful colleagues believed he had gone too far in enriching himself. It could have been that the country was hurtling into bankruptcy. But whatever the cause, a turning point was reached.

James Marape - previously a close confidante - baulked, and quit his position as finance minister.

O’Neill reacted by trying to recast his ministry with loyal supporters, sought to forge new alliances, using parliamentary procedure to try to thwart those seeking to oust him, resuming his usual practice of using the courts to force a pathway, exerted his dwindling authority on the media and even ‘promising’ to resign in favour of an ageing acolyte. All the while he ignored the constitution as he fought to retain his job.

It was all too late.

In his defeat on the floor of parliament, O’Neill fought to the last breath. He had reached the promised land and touched, tasted and accumulated the milk and honey. This last fight was for his ego.

Peter Charles Paire O'Neill’s tenure at the top was accompanied by dealings the PNG public are entitled to know about but O’Neill has thoroughly buried much of the detail. What evidence exists is for royal commission, police and courts to dig up.

He accomplished his mission. He played his game efficiently. He has his milk and honey. But now his ego is scratched and his friends are few and we Papua New Guineans, who have been the losers, want to see justice and fairness and prosperity return.

Is O’Neill above the law? None of us is above the law.

My war cry - as it should be for all young Papua New Guineans - is that this time, for once and for all, O’Neill needs to be prosecuted.

And we call on him to comply with legal proceedings.

Go to this link for more: https://www.pngattitude.com/2019/10/the-opportunist-who-came-now-must-go.html