Constitutional Monarchy
Very Important Role

-By Mukti Rijal

MONARCHY is a historic institution in Nepal. The history of Nepal has accorded a special place to monarchy. It is not for anything that the institution of monarchy is revered in this country. There are several reasons for it. First, monarchy is an inalienable part of the Nepalese social cultural and political tradition. The institution is wedded to each and every strands of this country’s history and culture.

Progressive
Second, monarchy has been a progressive and forward-looking institution in Nepal. It is, unlike the traditional and conservative monarchies of the Medieval Europe, always at the forefront to give this country new and futuristic direction. In fact, monarchy is maker of this nation state.

King Prithvi Narayan Shah-the Great welded together the small principalities and built a state. Had he not undertaken the campaign for unifying the small and petty feudatories, the existence of this country as an independent nation would have become an uncertain premise. Sandwiched between two big countries China and India this country is faced with a challenge of balancing keel even as a strategy for survival.

The sagacious monarchs of the country have wisely led the country and helped earn a name in the comity of the nations.

His Majesty King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev- the reigning King of Nepal-is a descendant of the illustrious ancestors and upholder of the noble tradition. He is a democrat and wise King who has exemplified from time to time, his mettle to adapt to the changes of the time and aspirations of the people. He is a modern King exposed to progressive and liberal values of the governance.

The Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990 establishes the role of the King in line with the principles of constitutional monarchy. His Majesty the King had promulgated the constitution in a noblest democratic spirit of change and innovation. It is a rare case in the modern political history where such a peaceful change of far reaching consequence was effected without convulsions in social and political fabric of the country.

Almost for nine years, we are dispensing with multiparty governance imbued with liberal democratic norms and fundamental human values. Multiparty governance is a critical process that lets a wide space for people to decide about their political and social affairs. It is also a process that requires that stakeholders play fair game bound by its sovereign rules and principles.

However, some problems do affect the process of democratisation in
Nepal. Political institution are weak and feeble. Democratic value orientations suffer from one or other kind of distortions. Political leaders are alleged to have failed to grasp the substance of democratic values and liberal ideas. At this backdrop, the role of His Majesty the King as a Constitutional Monarch is very important. The King’s role has been to reign, not to rule.

The government formed by the representatives elected by the people governs the country. People enjoy legitimate rights in a democracy to create their role in the political system. People put forth several demands for an authoritative allocation of resources and values by the elected government to subserve their interests. Demands may be classified in many ways showing the degree of their range and variety. They may be for the allocation of goods and services. Demands may be for the regulation of behaviour such as provisions for public safety. Demands may be for participation in the political  system or  for communication  and information. If the   government fails to comply with the demands, people may lose faith in the system they chose through ballot.

It is in the fitness of the thing that His Majesty King Birendra has emphasised on addressing popular aspirations. In the remarks given at a reception organised on behalf of the diplomatic community in the capital city, the other day, His Majesty the King emphasised on the need to work earnestly to keep faith of the people in democratic polity.

His Majesty’s concern for the welfare of the people and consolidation of democratic values is obvious, and calls for honest response from the actors concerned. The Constitution of the  Kingdom of Nepal 1990 recognises the  prominent role of the monarchy as the fundamental structure of the Nepalese democracy and political value system.

Larger Interest
His Majesty the King has pronounced time and   again the weal and welfare  of the Nepalese people lies in the observance of the Constitution in its letter and spirit. It is time we all heeded to the call of the Constitutional Monarch and contribute for the larger interest of democracy and people.

Macao Handover: It’s Significance

-By M.R. Josse

AT the stroke of mid-night on December 20, 1999 Macao returned peacefully to China after 442 years of Portuguese rule thereby bringing the curtain down on a once-vast empire governed from Lisbon including Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Goa, and East Timor.

BACKGROUND: While marking the virtual end of Western colonialism in Asia, the Macao handover recalls the rich history of the small enclave attached to mainland China which commenced when the first Portuguese sailors began to chart the then unknown seas in the 15th century under Portugal’s intrepid explorer, Vasco de Gama, who earlier had landed in India in 1498.

(Western colonial dominance in Asia will formally and finally come to an end when an independent East Timor rises in Dili in a few years time. Incidentally, the relatively smooth Macao handover came as a stark contrast to Goa’s in the early 1960s, not to mention the onset of civil war which saw and end of Portuguese rule in Angola. Mozambique and East Timor.)

Unlike the British colonisation of Hong Kong, which came much later, the Portuguese settlement on Macao was not the result of a war imposed on a weak China. Rather, it was the consequence of China’s gratitude to the Portuguese in helping her to fight piracy then rampant in the seas around the Chinese coast.

If the Portuguese came up to Macao, which had been settled by the Chinese only some 500 years earlier, they quickly transformed the picturesque 23.4 sq km peninsula into one of the most important trading posts between Europe and the Far East—until the rise of Hong Kong nearby send it into relative decline.

Laid-back Macao has been a favourite destination for stressed out Hong Kongers who come not only to gamble in Macao famous casinos but also to sample her gastronomical delights, including “fusion cuisine”—a blend of Chinese, Portuguese and African food.

Comparisons with Hong Kong readily come to mind, not only because Hong Kong, too, reverted to Chinese sovereignty (in 1997) under the “one country, two systems” formula, the brain-child of China’s late  paramount leader Deng Xiaoping.

In marked contrast to its Pearl Delta neighbour, Hong Kong, news reports suggest that Macao welcomed its handover to China not least of all as a means of terminating years of bloody feuds by triads, secret Mafia-style gangs, that were virtually left untouched by the Portuguese authorities.

That development began in 1995 with an influx of rival triads from pre-handover Hong Kong and continued, according to AFP, “as the Asian financial crisis combined to decimate profits from casinos, loan sharking, prostitution and protection.”

TAIWAN REMAINS: Thus, when twelve hours after Macao reverted to China the People’s Liberation Army arrived in Macao and paraded in strength to receive a rousing welcome from Macao Chinese.

Watching the handover ceremony live on BBC/CNN one was inevitably struck by the absence of the tension and emotionalism that marked the handover in Hong Kong more than two years earlier.

While the difference may lie, partly, in the divergent ways in which the British and Portuguese came to acquire their Chinese possessions, what may also be profitably recalled is that Lisbon, once it reverted to democratic rule in the mid-1970s, had herself been in favour of a speedy pull out.

Interestingly, it was Beijing that then coaxed Lisbon to be patient and wait for the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997, a date that was treaty-specified.

Possibly, according to some China-watchers, Beijing wished to first demonstrate the efficacy and credibility of the “one country, two systems” in the more important Hong Kong before moving on the Macao—and Taiwan.

Be that as it may, Beijing’s perspective on the matter was not only provided in the massive display of joy all over China at Macao’s return to the motherland but also underlined by Chinese President Jiang Zemin who, in his address at the handover ceremony, vowed that Taiwan was next.

As Jiang, put it: “This marks a significant progress by the Chinese people in accomplishing the great task of national reunification. The implemen-tation of the concept ‘one country, two systems’ in Hong Kong and Macao has played and will continue to play an important exemplary role for our eventual settlement of the Taiwan question.

“The Chinese government and people are confident and capable of an early settlement of the Taiwan question and the complete national reunification.”

As explained by Chinese Ambassador Zeng Xuyong at a recent function in Kathmandu: “After the return of Macao, the Chinese government will unswervingly implement the policies of ‘one country, two systems’. ‘Macao people administrating Macao,’ and a high degree of autonomy.

The Macao Special Administrative Region will, in accordance with the law, be vested with executive, legislative and independent judicial power, including that of final adjudication. Macao inhabitants will enjoy the rights and freedoms guaranteed by law.”

Despite such assurances, it is inevitable that some Mecanese, Macao inhabitants of mixed Chinese and Portuguese heritage, may choose to leave Macao for Portugal, much in the fashion of those Anglo-Indians who choose, upon India’s independence in 1997, to leave India for Britain, Canada and Australia.

Overall, however, one would expect the majority of them to stay on—just like the bulk of Anglo-Indians have done.

NEPAL: The happiness of the majority of the Nepalese people have been well expressed by King Birendra in a congratulatory message to President Jiang on the occasion of Macao’s handover to China.

It is particularly significant for China’s neighbours that she has resolved two highly complex, sensitive problems left over by history in a very sophisticated and eminently peaceful manner.

Value Of The Rupee

-By Uday Lama

THE purchasing power of the average Kathmanduite has been reduced following inflation—the increase in prices of essential commo-dities and the hike in electricity and water tariffs are the underlying factors. Everyone is faced with a hard decision; on now to buy the maximum of goods and avail services with a minimum of money.

The value of the one hundred rupee note has shrunk and it is not what it used to be several years back. This indicates how changes in the economic infra-structure affects the relative value of the note.

The city furthermore funds the maintenance works and development projects and their costs goes up fueling speculation in the Stock Exchange.

The farmers supply vegetables, fruits and grains to the city and sell them at a lower rate than what they might have got. While the traders, retailers and wholesalers sell them at a much higher cost and makes a net profit.

What this means is a rise in the price of consumer goods as the market tries to adjust to the supply-and-demand situation. An artificial shortage of goods can lead to a further increase in its price tags.

This set-up determines the quality and quantity of raw and processed food available in the marketplace and on the shelves of small and big shops. And also gives value to the money being spent no matter how much. This may vary from person to person depending on the size of his wallet. A temporary set-back on the financial front such as births, deaths or weddings may mean more expenditures and make adjustments much harder.

An improved state of the economy is to be desired and when this is lacking there maybe resentment and bitterness instead of a general mood of expec-tation.

The little that an individual has, monetarily speaking, is only sufficient to maintain self and a small family. And the end of the month sees him in a state bordering on panic—which subsidies when he draws his paycheck.

Government emplo-yees too easily fall victims because they are directly or indirectly dependent on the state run enterprises. In recognition of services they are either given a cheque or remuneration. It is a notable point that the money received does not keep pace with the changing market scenario. So they find themselves cutting back on expenses to make ends meet.

Moreover, devaluation of the rupee has weakened the currency. As this has happened several times in the past it has de-regulated the market mechanism. In short the exchequer has to pay more for foreign imports (which flood the local departmental stores and supermarkets) and receive less for its exports.

There is a need to strengthen the base upon which the city economy rest—which is dependent upon the carpet, garment and tourism industries. Because these employ and absorb a large segment of the workforce, the hard-earned foreign currency has more value.

With rising expecta-tions of the middle-class there is a clear indication that corporations, institu-tions and firms both in the public and private sectors may have to come up with timely measures and market reforms must also come about.