|
A roadmap for Biman
Nation needs a viable airline
Sheikh Monirul Islam Opee
A very powerful businessman who made fortunes out of Biman once said to me, “As long as we are there, Biman would never be made a PLC”. Such was the power of that syndicate that they obviously felt that way. I do not blame them; they were the product of the system at the time. Now the time has changed.
We hear so much about national security these days, especially, the National Security Council. Very rightly civil aviation as well as the air transportation is part of national security. At times when RMG industries require making urgent shipment to meet the deadline, air transport is the obvious choice.
Second, we must get rid of that idea of national flag carrier which is only symbolic. Let us establish a viable airline business first. Success story will pour in automatically if we take nationalistic pride in it. The regional traffic growth is above nine per cent. So there is no fear to take up this venture without any further delay.
No easy ride
Let the government remove all the barriers by taking the liabilities; so that shares can be offered to viable business partner. A word of caution here: big investors look at our deed first; they look at our country profile; they will hunt for any data available from reliable international sources; and based on that they will make their decision. So there is no scope of looking for any shortcut method, because there is none.
The country does not have the required management skills to run a commercial airline. There are no easy rides; we have to face the problem. Unless we are ready to make a study group, prepare a rescue mission, and with all the necessary required documents to please a viable investor, a high-power delegation will have to go to a country like UAE where a big investor like Mobadala group with interest in aviation just might be ready to give you an appointment. Do not be discouraged; behind every frustration great hopes are lying behind.
No Biman man
So, we need to generate a huge amount of cash which is impossible from our internal resources. Having said that, let us hope that funds are available.
Next, how are we going to govern and administer the day-to-day technical business in general? In another word who is going to run the show? Only professionally sound, accountable manager with solid and proven track record internationally. This is the only precondition for success.
Now here come resource management and strategic direction. A highly motivated group of people with sound track record, once again, can be trusted with the task. No one previously employed in Biman is definitely a suitable choice.
I like to propose the following suggestions:
Present fleet
1. Three F-28 aircraft are big liabilities, very difficult to sell them; no one would offer a price. So what we do with them? Give one to airline training centre where they are able to use it for their training purpose, keep one for future aviation school, and third best can be turned into corporate jet for hire by businessmen/VIPs.
2. Four Airbus 310 can be sold in the market at a commercially competitive price.
3. DC-10s are our good assets, we need some investment here. Take them to Singapore ST Aviation; modify them to cargo aircraft. Keep 2 or 3 for our future cargo operations; sell the other two to make some money as they have demands in the market.
Fleet and engines
1. Our first criterion must be fuel efficiency; so choice of Airbus fleet suits our need. In terms of maintenance concept Airbus aircraft are far versatile as they are easy to maintain due to their advanced technology. Spare parts are available everywhere as they are widely operated within our network; it will give us more flexibility to handle our line station capabilities.
2. Airbus has price competitiveness advantage over any other commercial aircraft.
3. If we choose A320 for our domestic/regional routes, A330 for short/medium hauls, and A340 for the medium/long range, then it will be the perfect win-win situation. But we must be careful in choosing engines for these aircraft. CFM-56 for the A320 and A340 and CF6-80 for the A330 are perfect choice as general Electric engines are the best proven already. Using these three types of aircraft will provide better logistic support as we have to spend less for keeping stock of spare parts as many items are common in use in these three types of aircraft. Having all General Electric engines will make it easy to set up our workshop for maintenance.
4. And finally, most expensive affairs in airline industry is training pilots and engineers. Within days a pilot from A320 can be made ready to fly A330 and A340 and so are the engineers. It is conceptually a brilliant idea which brings huge cost effectiveness.
Aviation school
We have no alternative but to set up our own work force development strategy. There is an extreme shortage of required human resources internationally. This is a pre-condition for our success as we need long-term security in this regard.
Pilots/engineers
All professionals will be put to contractual job hire requirements. All high salary jobs are contractual and renewable on the basis of performance alone. In this way unions will not be effective. Our own trained people will be available to balance that bargaining empowerment. Again this will give long-term security.
MRO station
Due to very fast and robust expansion in the industry, third party maintenance is a very lucrative business. Setting up Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul (MRO) station will be a long-term but surely successful venture. In the region a huge number of operators are buying new aircraft, and within the next five to 10 years time maintenance activities are going to be in high demand.
Airline/CAAB/airport authorities
Biman requires a free hand to run its affairs and all decisions should be made for commercial reasons only. Removing Ministry of Aviation from Secretariat and relocating it in the same building where CAAB can also be housed, will cut down cost dramatically. This will bring close cooperation between all the associated and all concerned organisations to develop our future aviation industry.
Sheikh Monirul Islam, a licensed Aircraft Engineer, has worked for 26 years with Qantas, Biman, Malaysia Airlines & Etihad Airways.
E-mail: opshelley@yahoo.com
 ^ TOP OF THIS PAGE ^ MAIN PAGE
CAMPUS CAPERS
Lee Kuan Yew
Rayyan Kamal
Lee Kuan Yew, the man credited with propelling Singapore into the first world, was the nation’s Prime Minister during its first twenty-five years of independence and remains highly influential in Singaporean politics today. As a child, Lee attended Telok Kurau Primary School, Raffles Institution, and subsequently went to Raffles College. At home he was strongly influenced by British culture due to his anglophile grandfather, Lee Hoon Leong, who had educated his sons at English-medium schools. His grandfather nicknamed him “Harry,” which is what family and friends call him.
Following the war, Lee attended Fitzwilliam College in Cambridge University, an institution that was later attended by his sons. He graduated with double starred first class honors. Back in Singapore Lee joined the law firm Laycock and Ong. Founder John Laycock, known for his tireless support of multiracialism, made an impression on the young Lee, who would later take Laycock’s views into account when formulating government policy as Prime Minister.
Singapore became a self-governing state under Britain in 1959 and was granted independence from the mother country in 1963. Lee had hoped that the end of British colonial rule in Singapore would coincide with its initiation in a federation with Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei. A referendum held in September of 1962 demonstrated that 70% of those who voted backed him. However, Singapore’s membership in the Federation of Malaysia, as it was called, would be brief. The Malaysian Central Government was uncomfortable with the inclusion of Singapore’s Chinese majority and Singapore’s People’s Action Party (PAP), led by Lee Kuan Yew.
Race riots broke out. The price of food spiraled out of control. Transport was disrupted. Malaysia’s then Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman moved to eject Singapore from Malaysia. Lee, who believed that being a part of Malaysia was essential to Singapore’s survival, exhausted all his energy to prevent this split. His efforts were futile, however, and Malaysia cut ties with the island-state in 1965. In a televised press conference aired on August 9, Lee announced the news to his people.
The future looked grim for Singapore. The country had no attractive natural resources, was dependent on Malaysia for water, and possessed a mediocre military at best. Lee became ill days after Singapore’s independence. However, this did not stop him from springing into action. For the next twenty-five years, as Prime Minister, he would work tirelessly to empower his country and its people.
Lee approached the daunting task of developing Singapore by dividing up his work into three parts: national security, the economy, and social issues. Lee succeeded in having Singapore admitted to the United Nations the month after it gained independence. He stressed neutrality in foreign policy, adopting Switzerland’s model. Mandatory military service for males was instated in 1967. In steering the Singaporean economy into affluence, Lee was ably aided by ministers Goh Keng Swee and Hon Sui Sen. Among their many forward-thinking policies were that of attracting foreign investment and promoting tourism.
Lee transformed Singapore from an inconsequential nation to one of the four Asian tigers within a matter of decades. Little wonder why Singaporeans revere him for his immeasurable contribution to the growth of their nation.
Rayyan Kamal is a sophomore at Yale University.
^ TOP OF THIS PAGE ^ MAIN PAGE
Breast cancer: Hormone therapy
may be an answer
Andrew Glass, MD
A new analysis provides even stronger evidence that recent declines in menopausal hormone therapy use are linked with lower incidence of breast cancer.
“The principal finding here is the confirmation that breast cancer rates have been moving in tandem with hormone use since 1990,” said Andrew Glass, MD, the lead author on the Kaiser Permanente study and a senior investigator at Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research in Portland, Oregon. “The advantage of this news for women is that while you can’t do anything about your genetic risk or family history, you can control what goes in your body. This gives women the chance to do something that decreases breast cancer risk.”
A sharp drop in breast cancer rates in America from 2003 to 2004 is linked to an even larger drop in women’s use of Hormone Therapy that began around 2000, according to a Kaiser Permanente study in the August 1, 2007, issue of the Journal of the US Cancer Institute that confirms the connection between breast cancer, hormone therapy and mammography screening over the past 25 years.
Kaiser research
The study, conducted at Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research reviewed the histories of 7,386 women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and treated at Kaiser Permanente Northwest from 1980 through 2006. Researchers used Kaiser Permanente’s unique, integrated care delivery and data systems — its tumour registry and clinical, pathology, and pharmacy data systems — to trace connections among breast cancer rates, mammography screening, hormone therapy use, and estrogen receptor status.
“This study was made possible by the existence of Kaiser Permanente’s multiple, computerized, interlinked databases. Because Kaiser Permanente is an integrated care delivery system with accurate records dating back many years, we were able to look at 26 years of data pertaining to multiple aspects of each woman’s cancer,” Glass said.
Other key findings of the new study include: — Breast cancer rates increased 26 percent from the early 1980s to the early 1990s, increased an additional 15 percent through 2001, then decreased by 18 percent from 2003 through 2006. — The 26 percent rise in breast cancer rates from 1980 to 1991 paralleled sharp increases in rates of mammography screening and use of hormone therapy, particularly of estrogen plus progestin. — The 15 percent rise in breast cancer rates from 1992 to 2002 paralleled a continued increase in hormone therapy use, but mammography screening remained stable at 1991 levels. — The sharp decrease in breast cancer rates starting in 2003 paralleled a 75 percent drop in hormone therapy use, but rates of mammography screening continued to remain virtually unchanged. — These patterns of breast cancer rates were largely restricted to women over age 45 and to estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancers, the kind of breast cancer that is sensitive to hormones.
“It’s been known since the late 1970s that if you had the kind of breast cancer that was sensitive to estrogen, you could shrink it by changing the woman’s hormonal milieu. For example, if you gave breast cancer patients anti-hormones like tamoxifen, you could shrink the woman’s breast cancer. But only recently did we begin to suspect that if you gave hormones to women free of cancer, you might start a process where they developed breast cancer,” Glass said.
The study found that increases in the rate of breast cancer occurred almost entirely among ER+ cancers (breast cancers sensitive to hormones, such as estrogen receptor-positive), which made up more than 80 percent of the breast cancers diagnosed in women over the age of 45. Recent laboratory and epidemiological evidence suggests that such changes may also particularly increase the development of receptor-positive breast cancer. This study confirms that the increased use of hormones led to more receptor-positive breast cancers and that declines in hormone use led to parallel declines in receptor-positive cancers. On the other hand, the pattern for ER- cancers was quite different and is enigmatic. The rate of ER- cancers decreased from 1980 to 1995, increased from 1995 to 1999, then decreased sharply from 2000 to 2006. This pattern does not coincide with the time periods of increased mammography screening and hormone therapy use and the drop in hormone therapy use that began around 2000. The drop in hormone therapy began around 2000, confirming the suspicion that ER- cancers are not sensitive to the rise and fall in hormone therapy.
This work was funded by the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. James V. Lacey Jr., Ph.D.; J. Daniel Carreon, M.S.; and Robert N. Hoover, M.D., Sc.D., of NCI’s Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics actively collaborated in all aspects of the study.
Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research, founded in 1964, is a non-profit research institution dedicated to advancing knowledge to improve health. Kaiser Permanente is America’s leading integrated health plan. Founded in 1945, it is a not-for-profit, group practice programme headquartered in Oakland, Calif. Kaiser Permanente serves more than 8.7 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia.
Additional information
Breast cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the breast.
The breast is made up of lobes and ducts. Each breast has 15 to 20 sections called lobes, which have many smaller sections called lobules. Lobules end in dozens of tiny bulbs that can produce milk. The lobes, lobules, and bulbs are linked by thin tubes called ducts.
Each breast also has blood vessels and lymph vessels. The lymph vessels carry an almost colourless fluid called lymph. Lymph vessels lead to organs called lymph nodes. Lymph nodes are small bean-shaped structures that are found throughout the body. They filter substances in a fluid called lymph and help fight infection and disease. Clusters of lymph nodes are found near the breast in the axilla (under the arm), above the collarbone, and in the chest.
The most common type of breast cancer is ductal carcinoma, which begins in the cells of the ducts. Cancer that begins in the lobes or lobules is called lobular carcinoma and is more often found in both breasts than are other types of breast cancer. Inflammatory breast cancer is an uncommon type of breast cancer in which the breast is warm, red, and swollen.
Age and health history can affect the risk of developing breast cancer. Risk factors for breast cancer include the following:-
Older age; Menstruating at an early age; Older age at first birth or never having given birth; A personal history of breast cancer or benign (noncancer) breast disease; and a mother or sister with breast cancer.
A doctor should be seen if changes in the breast are noticed. The following tests and procedures may be used:
Mammogram: An x-ray of the breast.
Mammography of the right breast.
Biopsy: The removal of cells or tissues so they can be viewed under a microscope by a pathologist to check for signs of cancer. If a lump in the breast is found, the doctor may need to cut out a small piece of the lump. Four types of biopsies are as follows:
Excisional biopsy: The removal of an entire lump or suspicious tissue.
Incisional biopsy: The removal of part of a lump or suspicious tissue.
Core biopsy: The removal of part of a lump or suspicious tissue using a wide needle.
^ TOP OF THIS PAGE ^ MAIN PAGE
ROAMING RACONTEUR
Daughter of Destiny
Saad Quasem
Daughter of Destiny is the pseudonym Benazir Bhutto has given herself. Her autobiography (the title of which is the same as her alias) has been republished lately. She defines herself as a figure that lives out of suitcases as her duty is to represent Pakistan and fight for democracy. She disclaims all charges against her and repetitiously repeats herself as the Daughter of Destiny.
At her birth, the parents named her Pinkie as she was unusually pink for a brown baby. She was educated at Radcliffe College, Harvard University and at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University. She returned to Pakistan in 1977; ten days after her arrival, the Bhutto regime had been toppled by General Zia.
It is then that she became the daughter of destiny. Her father had been imprisoned and faced a farcical trial that caused him a death penalty. Benazir and her mother lead the PPP campaign for the numerous elections Zia called and cancelled. Pinkie had been arrested several times, because it was deemed necessary under martial law regulations. Her not so pleasant sojourns were spent in Sihala, Karachi, Lahore and Kot Lokhpat prisons. She spent about four years in sub-jail at the Bhutto residence in 70 Clifton and the ancestral home in Larkana, Sindh called Al-Murtaza. She flew to Europe in 1984 and lived in London launching an international movement to restore democracy in Pakistan. Her commitment was all part of her destiny.
She got a heroic welcome in Lahore in 1987, when she returned to take part in the upcoming polls. In 1988, after Zia’s death, elections were confirmed. Benazir won on a ground breaking landslide and took oath as the first Muslim woman to lead a nation. Two years later the President dismissed the Assemblies. She moved back to power in 1993, but faced the same fate as her first term. Destiny!!
After the imposition of Martial Law in 1999, she left her imprisoned husband and numerous loyalists to begin a self-exile, based in Dubai and London. She is still facing a few dozen infamous cases, the implications of which expedited her self-banishment. Today she carries out meetings while globetrotting to ensure a safe return to her homeland and consequently back to the Prime Minister’s Office in Rawalpindi. After eight years in exile, she signed numerous deals with her ex-opponents and possibly with Gen Musharraf. As the current military ruler is facing unpopularity, he is looking for safe ways of power disposal with the ever admired leader. Benazir, like her father constantly tries to champion democracy, so she desires to sign a deal with Pervez Musharraf, but not the General. If Destiny allows, then the daughter will receive another warm, epic like homecoming.
The Bhutto family has a legacy of living in exile. Zulfikar and Shah Nawaz failed to follow this path, but Benazir is fully swinging this way. Shah Nawaz’s father Ghulam Murtaza Khan Bhutto had been a handsome fellow and during his walks through the Karachi high, Murtaza was subject to scandalous stares from many ladies. Much of those ladies were English. It so happened, that Murtaza fell in love with a relative of an English bigwig and decided to elope. All of Sindh had been in red alert as an English lady was known to have been kidnapped by the Bhutto of the day. The new couple escaped far away, leaving all his land behind. Lo and behold, the couple was found in a trench at the Khyber Pass. Rumor has it that Murtaza was killed in exile. He never returned alone to Larkana, the Bhutto family home. Shall Pinkie face the same doom? We hope the daughter reaches her destiny and homeland safely, unlike her great grandfather.
^ TOP OF THIS PAGE ^ MAIN PAGE
|
