Lecture by Dean Kishore Mahbubani at the Dili Convention Centre

Lecture by Dean Kishore Mahbubani at the Dili Convention Centre

https://www.mof.gov.tl/lecture-by-dean-kishore-mahbubani-at-the-dili-convention-centre/?lang=en

 

Excellencies,

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

It is truly a great pleasure for me to finally visit Timor-Leste. As I was President of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) when Timor-Leste became independent on May 20, 2002, I have always felt a special bond with Timor-Leste. This is why I am truly delighted that Ms Noeleen Heyzer, the Special Adviser of the United Nations Secretary General for Timor-Leste, has arranged this very special and sentimental visit to Timor-Leste.

 

On April 26, 2002, when Xanana Gusmão and Mari Alkatiri visited the UNSC, we had a debate in the UNSC on the future of Timor-Leste. I said: “The lesson of the history of the past few decades is relatively clear: independence, even if it comes after a hard-fought struggle, may still be a relatively easy victory. Success after independence, unfortunately, has been relatively rare.” Since Timor-Leste became independent under very difficult circumstances as a conflict-afflicted country, it is remarkable how far it has come. Still, it has a long way to go.

 

The history of the post-colonial period shows that few newly-independent countries have succeeded. It is therefore remarkable how well Singapore has done. I was 17 years old when Singapore became independent in 1965. There was total gloom and doom when Singapore was expelled from Malaysia. At independence, Singapore was poor and struggling. The GDP per capita was $500 – the same as Ghana. I myself felt the pinch of poverty – I was so undernourished as a child that in elementary school, I was placed on a special feeding programme. Singapore was also struggling in other aspects. There were ethnic riots on the streets. I remember seeing men cutting each other with beer bottles at my doorsteps. Against this backdrop, Singapore’s current success is truly amazing.

 

Today, Singapore has one of the highest HDIs in the world – 9th in the world with a score of 0.901. Singapore has the 4th-highest GDP per capita in the world at $76,237 (in PPP terms), nearly double that of its former colonial master, the UK ($37,017). More than one in six households have $1 million in cash savings. In the past decade alone, the number of Singaporeans running their own business has doubled. The US is the only other country in the world with more entrepreneurs-per-capita. Singapore has consistently ranked as one of the best cities in the world to live in. People from all over the world come to our small city-state – attracted by our state-of-the-art education and health systems. We are also ranked consistently as one of the safest countries in the world.

 

10 reasons for Singapore’s success

 

The big question is: how and why did Singapore succeed? Unfortunately, we still do not have a good history book on Singapore. There is no consensus. In my efforts to understand why Singapore succeeded, I came up with 10 reasons. I am sharing these 10 reasons with you in the hope that it will be helpful to Timor-Leste in the coming 50 years. I believe that Timor-Leste can be as successful as Singapore. This is why I want to share the reasons for Singapore’s success.

 

The first reason is that Singapore has been lucky. By an accident of fate, Singapore, like the United States, was blessed with good founding fathers, such as Lee Kuan Yew, S. Rajaratnam, and Goh Keng Swee. These were 3 amazing individuals. I worked with all three of them. They were intellectually brilliant. They were totally dedicated to improving the lives of Singaporeans. They were also good learners. For example, Goh Keng Swee learned from the Meiji reformers in Japan. Hence, they formulated policies which benefited Singaporeans. Timor-Leste is as blessed as Singapore. It has also been blessed with good founding fathers, such as Xanana Gusmão, Mari Alkatiri, and Jose Ramos Horta. Timor-Leste has this in common with Singapore. With the right leadership in place, countries can succeed.

The second reason why Singapore succeeded was the implementation of meritocracy by its founding leaders. They selected other good people to lead the country and laid down meritocracy as the cornerstone of public service appointments. As Lee Kuan Yew himself said, “A strong political leadership needs a neutral, efficient, honest civil service. Officers must be recruited and promoted completely on merit. They have to share the same nation-building philosophy and development goals of the political leaders. They must be adequately paid so that temptations would not be difficult to resist. An impartial, capable Public Service Commission had to be shrewd at assessing character. Appointments, awards of scholarships must be made to the best candidates.” This is something that Timor-Leste can do as well. Meritocracy ensures that the best talent in the country is attracted to public service and also serves to create a fair society.

 

The third reason why Singapore succeeded was the pragmatic outlook of its leaders in terms of their willingness to learn from other countries. As Dr Goh Keng Swee once told me, “Kishore, no matter what problem we encounter, somebody, somewhere has found the solution. Let us find that solution and adapt it intelligently to Singapore.” Singapore is the most pragmatic country in the world and it has copied solutions from all other countries. This is also why Dr Goh studied the Meiji Restoration very carefully. Japan succeeded in becoming the first Asian country to modernise because the young Meiji reformers of that time had no hesitation to study, copy and adapt best practices into Japan from all around the world. Dr Goh tried to inculcate the same spirit of pragmatic learning in Singapore. Few would doubt that he succeeded in this goal. This is something Timor-Leste can do as well. In fact, the Lee Kuan Yew School’s Graduate Education and Executive Education programmes are dedicated to disseminating best practices from Singapore to developing cities across the world. I welcome civil servants from Timor-Leste to attend our programs and learn more about adapting best practices to suit Timor-Leste’s needs.

 

Fourthly, as a small country, Singapore was also pragmatic in its foreign policy. For example, during the Cold War, Singapore was friendly with the United States – but it did not shun the Soviet Union. When I visited the Soviet Union in 1976 with Mr S. Rajaratnam, the legendary Foreign Minister of Singapore, he said that Soviet ships would also be welcome to Singaporean waters. Small states like Singapore and Timor-Leste cannot afford to make enemies. As S. Rajaratnam said in his 1965 speech at the United Nations on Singapore’s foreign policy, “We want to live in peace with all our neighbours simply because we have a great deal to lose by being at war with them. All we therefore ask is to be left alone to reshape and build our country the way our people want it. We have no wish to interfere in the affairs of other countries or tell them how they should order their life. In return we ask other countries to be friendly with us even if they do not like the way we do things in our own country. This is why Singapore has chosen the path of non-alignment.” Pragmatism in foreign policy is something which Timor-Leste can do as well.

 

The fifth reason for Singapore’s success was the fact that the leaders focused on starting with small wins. An incremental approach to policy reforms is advised by many leading academics and scholars of public policy today. But even before these things became common knowledge, the leaders of Singapore recognised the need to make small improvements in order to achieve big changes. Lee Chiong Giam once said that in the early days, if they could just get a standing pipe in a village to provide water, the governing party would get the villagers’ votes. This would in turn lead to the provision of public housing and schools. Development cannot be achieved through big sweeping reforms alone. Small steps that have a huge impact on the everyday lives of people are necessary to ensure that progress happens in a meaningful way. This is something Timor-Leste can do as well.

 

Sixth, Singapore did not rely on foreign aid to achieve its development goals. As I said in my book The Great Convergence, “I believe that if a large-scale objective study were done of Western foreign aid, it would demonstrate that the primary intention is to enhance the national interests of the donors and not to help the interest of the recipients.” Furthermore, a large chunk (about 80%) of Western aid goes back to the donor country in the form of administration expenses, consultancy fees and contracts for donor country corporations. In short, there is very little actual transfer of aid to the developing countries. Singapore has always distrusted foreign aid. Instead, we believed in trade and investment: We believed that trade, not aid, was the way forward for us. When others shunned investment, Singapore welcomed it. In this regard, the Economic Development Board of Singapore is particularly worth studying. The EDB was set up in 1961 to create economic opportunities and jobs for the people of Singapore, and to help shape Singapore’s economic future. The EDB has been instrumental in Singapore’s success by bringing in FDI, and has been a driving force behind Singapore’s transformation into a financial hub that is at the forefront of several service industries in Asia. This is something which Timor-Leste can do as well. By setting up a one-stop specialised agency that focuses on foreign direct investment, Timor-Leste will also signal to the rest of the world that it means business when it comes to attracting FDI.

 

The seventh reason for Singapore’s success is its inclusive policy on ethnic groups. Singapore’s main ethnic groups are Chinese, Malay, Indian, and others. So we have four official languages: English, Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil. This way, everyone feels included.

 

Singapore’s founding father, S. Rajaratnam, said: “In a multi-racial society, one soon learns that no one people has a monopoly of wisdom and that one’s own culture is not without flaws. This breeds not only tolerance for different viewpoints but also a readiness to learn and borrow from the accumulated wisdom of other people.” It is remarkable that among the five small multi-racial states that the British decolonized all over the world (namely Guyana, Cyprus, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Fiji), Singapore was the only one to avoid ethnic strife.

 

In a multi-racial society, if there is no common language, the people cannot communicate. That is why the main language of instruction in Singapore schools is English. Singapore made English its common language for pragmatic reasons. Firstly, English was a neutral language. If another language, like Mandarin, had been chosen as the common language, non-Chinese Singaporeans would have felt marginalised. Secondly, English is the international language of commerce. Knowing English, Singaporeans would be able to do business with people from around the world.

 

Timor-Leste can also improve English literacy by teaching it in schools. It can also ask the parents of the children to choose if they want their children to learn English, Portuguese or Tetum, I believe many of them will start to ask for English, so that their children can work with people from all around the world. But they can still learn Tetum or Portuguese as well, so that they will remain in touch with their rich cultural and historical roots.

 

The eighth reason for Singapore’s success is that its leaders, like Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Keng Swee, believed in thinking long-term. For example, though Singapore had signed a 100-year water agreement with Malaysia in 1961, we knew that Malaysia could threaten us by cutting our water supply. Thus, we invested in ways to get our own sources of water. We built reservoirs, desalination plants and water reclamation facilities. In March 2013, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, said: “We will certainly be water independent well before the expiry of the last agreement with Malaysia.”

 

Timor-Leste can also think long-term. For example, unlike Singapore, Timor-Leste has abundant oil and gas resources. But these oil and gas reserves will not last forever. So Timor-Leste can now think ahead about how to solve the problems which it could face when that day comes. Norway, for example, has invested its oil and gas money in a big sovereign wealth fund. Only 4% of the surplus from the fund is spent on public projects. I am glad to learn that Timor Leste is following the example of Norway in this area.

 

The ninth reason for Singapore’s success is that it avoided populist measures. Singapore has always been opposed to the welfare state. Former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew said, “Watching the ever-increasing costs of the welfare system in Britain and Sweden, we decided to avoid this debilitating system. We noted by the 1970s that when governments undertook primary responsibility for the basic duties of the head of the family, the drive in people weakened. Welfare undermined self-reliance. People did not have to work for their families’ well-being. The handout became a way of life… They became dependent on the state for their basic needs.”

 

The welfare state is too expensive for developing countries. It also undermines productivity. However, even though Singapore did not become a welfare state, it cared deeply about the welfare of its people. Singapore found other ways to make sure that its people would be well provided for. It invested in the welfare of its people through universal education, quality healthcare, affordable public housing and public transportation. In addition, it set up the Central Provident Fund, a compulsory savings fund. Singaporeans and their employers automatically contribute some money to this fund when they receive their salaries every month, and the money can be used to buy a house, for medical expenses, and, primarily, as a retirement fund.

 

Singapore also has trade unions, but they are pragmatic. The government, unions and employers cooperate in a tripartite system, which, as Mr Lee Kuan Yew says, “has brought benefits to workers, the government and employers because industrial peace creates confidence and increases foreign investments. Whenever employers make above average rates of return on capital, profits are shared.”

 

Similarly, Timor-Leste can avoid the costs of welfare state spending by finding its own innovative methods of cooperating with employers and workers to make sure that employees can earn a fair wage to support themselves, and to make sure that every employee is able to save enough to provide for their own health care, housing, and retirement.

 

The tenth and final reason for Singapore’s success is honesty. This is the most challenging to achieve. The first generation of Singaporean leaders were brutally honest. In 1975, a minister of state was invited by a businessman friend to go on holiday. He said no, because he didn’t have the money, but the businessman offered to pay. So he went, and he was arrested when he came back.

 

When there is honesty, the people and the investors will trust that government policies are meant to benefit the country, not to benefit the politicians. Only then will they feel confident in the leadership. This also creates a more stable political system, which gives investors peace of mind. Thus, a remarkable degree of honesty in a country’s leadership will lead to success.

 

Although some may be difficult to replicate, these ten reasons are all things that other countries can do. But it is important to adapt these principles to the local context.

 

When many people visit Singapore today and see a modern city-state, they tend to assume that Singapore was always like that. Actually, Singapore was one of the poorest and most unlucky countries when it achieved independence. It had no natural resources. This is why it is useful to study Singapore’s experience. If Singapore can succeed against the odds, other countries can do so also. This is why I am happy to come to Timor-Leste to share Singapore’s experience. I hope that it will be helpful to all of you. Thank you.

The World Bank’s training on the analysis of pension fiscal regime

The World Bank’s training on the analysis of pension fiscal regime

The World Bank recently delivered one week training on the analysis of pension fiscal regime to the selected Government’s officials from the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Social Solidarity. The training took place from the 26^th to the 30^th January 2015 at the Ministry of Finance’s Training Center.

The training, delivered by the World Bank trainers, focused on the Pension Reform Options Simulation Toolkit (PROST) – a computer-based toolkit to simulate pension systems over times. The system is designed to estimate future trends of the pension system over a long time frame including coverage, contributions, benefits, financial flows, test robustness of the system to the shocks (e.g. demographic and economic) and evaluate and compare reform options to promote informed policy making.

The system can produce demographic projections, pension system demographics, pension system finances and other individual outputs.

In the context of Timor-Leste, the training was very relevant as “it focused on the recently proposed pensions or Social Security Scheme”.

Timor-Leste is not the first country to learn this system. It has used widely in more than 90 World Bank client countries. It was used to study the impact of the financial crisis on different types of pension system, implicit pension debt and compare its test results with the ILO and some actuarial models.

The training concluded with the ceremony handover of certificate the 13 selected participants from the National Directorate for Economic Policy of the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Social Solidarity.

https://www.mof.gov.tl/the-world-banks-training-on-the-analysis-of-pension-fiscal-regime/?lang=en

Banku Mundial fo treinamentu “análize rejime fiskal pensaun” 

Banku Mundial foin lalais ne’e fo treinamentu durante semana ida konaba “análize rejime fiskal pensaun” ba ofisial sira Governu nian husi Ministériu Finansas no Ministériu Solidariedade Sosial. Treinamentu refere realiza husi Sigunda, 26 to’o Sesta, 30 Janeiru 2015 iha Sentru Treinamentu Ministériu Finansas.

Treinamentu ida ne’e, ne’ebé fornese husi treinador sira Banku Mundial, foka liu ba iha Pension Reform Options Simulation Toolkit (PROST) – sistema informátiku ida hodi halo simulasaun ba sistema pensaun. Sistema ida ne’e dezeñadu hodi halo estimasaun ba tendênsia futura sistema pensaun ba tempu naruk, inklui kobertura pensaun, kontribuisaun, benefísiu, fluxu finánseiru, no teste sistema ninia robustez ba surpreza sira (hanesan demográfika no ekonómika) no avalia no kompara opsaun sira hodi promove desizaun informada.

Sistema ida ne’e bele prodús projesaun demográfiku, sistema demográfiku pensaun, sistema finansiamentu pensaun no rezultadu individual sira seluk.

Iha kontektu Timor-Leste nian, treinamentu ida ne’e relevante tebes-tebes tamba “nia foka liu pensaun ka Rejime Siguransa Sosial ne’ebé foin lalais ne’e propoin ona”.

Timor-Leste laos nasaun primeiru ne’ebé aprende konaba sistema ida ne’e. Nasaun membru liu sia-nulu (90) maka uza tiha ona sistema ida ne’e. Sira uza hodi estuda impaktu krizi finanséiru ba sistema pensaun tipu oin-oin, dívida implísita pensaun, no kompara resultadu teste husi sistema ne’e ho modelu OIT nian no modelu aktuarial sira seluk.

Treinamentu semana ida ne’e remata ho seremonia entrega sertifikadu ba partisipante selesionadu nain sanulu resin tolu (13) husi Direisaun Nasional Polítika Ekonómika Ministériu Finansas no Ministériu Soliedaridade Sosial .

A Portuguese mission to assess Timor-Leste’s taxation system

A Portuguese mission to assess Timor-Leste’s taxation system

 https://www.mof.gov.tl/a-portuguese-mission-to-assess-timor-lestes-taxation-system/?lang=en

A Portuguese mission, upon the request from the Ministry of Finance of Timor-Leste, visited Dili, from 26 to 31 January 2015 to conduct an assessment of the Timor-Leste taxation system. The mission is part of the Government’s effort to start reforming Timor-Leste’s taxation system. The engagement of foreign taxations experts is part of a broader consultative process before reforms are agreed to.

The mission will meet with the Minister and Vice Minister of Finance, senior staff in the General Directorate of Taxation, Customs, SERVE, Information System (IT) and representatives of the private sector. The mission is also scheduled to visit the Ministry of Justice; Ministry of Health; Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Environment; Ministry of Social Solidarity; Ministry of Transport and Telecommunication and the National Police Force (PNTL).

The mission will study the existing background documentation and interview relevant personnel to collect the supporting information to write up a report that will be given to the Minister of Finance at the end of their mission.

The mission staff comprises of Dr. Álvaro Matias, Director General of Office for Economic Policy and International Affairs (GEAPRI); Dra. Rosa Caetano, Head of Department for Cooperation and International Institutions (GEAPRI); Dr. Manuel Gonçalves, Head of Cabinet of Secretariat of State for Tax Affairs (SEAF); Dra. Ana Cristina Bicho, Head of Department for Tax Law of Tax and Customs Authority; and Dra. Clotilda Mata, Head of Multidisciplinary Team for Tax Infractions and Litigations of Tax and Customs Authority.

The recommendations provided by the Mission will serve as one of the inputs for the Government in carrying out its fiscal reform. The reform aims at increasing tax revenues by broadening the tax base while remaining attractive to investors – END.

Misaun Portuguesa halo avaliasaun ba sistema fiskal Timor-Leste

Misaun Portuguesa, tuir pedidu husi Ministériu Finansas Timor-Leste, sei vizita Dili, husi dia 26 to’o 31 Janeiru 2015, hodi halao avaliasaun ba sistema fiskal Timor-Leste nian. Misaun ida ne’e hanesan parte ida husi esforsu Governu nian hodi hahú reforma sistema fiskal Timor-Leste. Involvimentu husi matenek-nain estranjeiru hirak ne’e hanesan parte ida husi prosesu konsulta alargada ida molok implementasaun reforma fiskal.

Misaun ida ne’e sei hasoru malu ho Ministra no Vice Ministra Finansas, funsiunáriu senior iha Diresaun Jeral Impostu, Alfândega, SERVE, Sistema Informasaun no reprezentante seitor privadu. Misaun ida ne’e mos sei halao vizita ba Ministériu Justisa; Ministériu Saúde; Ministériu Komérsiu, Industria no Enviromentu; Ministériu Solidariedade Sosial; Ministériu Transporte no Telekomunikasaun no Polisia Nasional Timor-Leste (PNTL).

Misaun ida ne’e sei estuda dokumentus relevantes hotu ne’ebé existi no sei halo entrevista ho pesoal relevantes sira hodi halibur informasaun adisional atu tulun sira prepara relatóriu ida ne’ebé sei aprezenta ba Ministra Finansa wainhira sira nia misaun remata.

Peritu sira misaun Portuguesa ida ne’e kompostu husi Dr.  Álvaro Matias, Direitor Jeral (Departamentu Polítika Ekonómika no Asuntu Internasional – GEAPRI); Dra. Rosa Caetano, Xefe Departamentu ba Koperasaun no Instituisaun Internasional – GEAPRI); Dr. Manuel Gonçalves, Xefe Gabinete Sekretariu Estadu Asuntu Fiskal (SEAF); Dra. Ana Cristina Bicho, Xefe Departamentu Lei Tributaria (Autoridade Impostu no Alfândega) no Dra. Clotilda Mata, Xefe Ekipa Multidisiplinariu ba Infrasaun no Letígiu Tributaria (Autoridade Impostu no Alfândega).

Rekomendasaun hirak ne’ebé sei fornese husi Misaun ida ne’é sei sai hanesan input ida ba Governu hodi implementa reforma fiskal. Reforma refere mai ho objetivu ida atu hasae reseita fiskal liu husi alargamentu baze tributaria no iha tempu hanesan atrativu nafatin ba investidor sira – FIM.

Uma missão portuguesa avalia o sistema fiscal de Timor-Leste

Uma Missão portuguesa visitou Díli entre 26 e 31 de Janeiro de 2015, a pedido do Ministério das Finanças de Timor-Leste, com o objectivo de conduzir uma avaliação ao sistema fiscal de Timor-Leste. A missão faz parte do esforço do Governo para reformar o sistema fiscal de Timor-Leste.

A Missão reunir-se-á com a Ministra e a Vice-Ministra das Finanças, com funcionários superiores da Direcção-Geral de Tributação, das Alfândegas, do SERVE e do Sistema de Tecnologias de Informação (TI), bem como com representantes do Sector Privado. Está igualmente previsto que a missão visite o Ministério da Justiça, o Ministério da Saúde, o Ministério do Comércio, Indústria e Ambiente, o Ministério da Solidariedade Social, o Ministério dos Transportes e Telecomunicações e a Polícia Nacional de Timor-Leste (PNTL).

A Missão irá assim procurar estudar a documentação de fundo existente e entrevistar elementos relevantes a fim de recolher as informações de apoio que lhe permitam redigir um relatório para ser entregue à Ministra das Finanças aquando do final da missão.

A Missão é composta pelo Dr. Álvaro Matias, Director-Geral do Gabinete de Planeamento, Estratégia, Avaliação e Relações Internacionais (GPEARI); Dra. Rosa Caetano, Chefe do Departamento de Cooperação e Instituições Internacionais (DCII); Dr. Manuel Gonçalves, Chefe do Gabinete da Secretaria de Estado dos Assuntos Fiscais (SEAF); Dra. Ana Cristina Bicho, Chefe do Departamento de Direito Fiscal da Autoridade Fiscal e Aduaneira; e Dra. Clotilde Mata, Chefe da Equipa Multidisciplinar de Infracções e Litigações Fiscais da Autoridade de Impostos e Alfândegas.

As recomendações fornecidas pela a Missão servirá como uma das inputs para o Governo na xecução da sua reforma fiscal. A reforma visa aumentar as receitas fiscais através do alargamento da base tributária, ao mesmo tempo permanecendo atraente para os investidores – FIM.

Oé-Cusse: the beginning of a better future for Timor-Leste

Oé-Cusse: the beginning of a better future for Timor-Leste

 https://www.mof.gov.tl/oe-cusse-the-beginning-of-a-better-future-for-timor-leste/?lang=pt

Timor-Leste is embarking on the next stage of its journey towards becoming an upper-middle income country with a prosperous, healthy and educated population. The ceremonial handover of powers and competencies from the Central Government to the Authoridade Região Administrativa Especial Oé-Cusse (ARAEO), and Zona Especiais de Economia Social e Mercado (ZEESM) marked the beginning of a better future, not just for the atoni people of Oé-Cusse, but also for all of the people of Timor-Leste.

The two-day handover ceremony started with the Council of Minister meeting on Friday morning, 23^rd January 2015. On the following Saturday morning, the 24^th January 2015, a ground-breaking ceremony for the constructions of Monumento Lifau, Jardim da Frente Marítima and Centro de Informação Turistíca e Cultural took place at Lifau. These projects designed by young Timorese architects and to be constructed by Timorese contractors, are expected to be completed before the commemoration of 500 years of the arrival of Portuguese navigators and missionaries. This is scheduled to take place on the Independence Day – 28 November 2015.

The official handover ceremony was initially scheduled to take place in the afternoon, but due to a heavy rain pour, it was adjourned. The ceremony continued with a welcoming dinner hosted by the Government to all delegations including Vice Governor of Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT), Vice General of Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI), Kapolri NTT, Regent of Atambua and other Indonesian delegates.

The official ceremonial handover of powers and competencies, which took place on Sunday, the 25^th January 2015 in Oé-Cusse, Ambeno, was attended by the Prime Minister, all members of the Government, members of the National Parliament, Prosecutor General, President of ARAEO, Anti-Corruption Commissioners, General F-FDTL, Diplomatic Corps, public servants, private sector, parish priest, NGOs and the atoni people of Oé-Cusse. The Ceremony started with the singing of the national anthem, lian-nain chanted kuku – a traditional incantation – a blessing from the Priest, and a traditional dance performance by the women of Oé-Cusse.

Dr. Mari Alkatiri, President of the ARAEO, in his speech, mentioned that Law No.03/2014 in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic permits the creation of ARAEO and the establishment of the ZEESM. He added that “the special status of Oé-Cusse does not meant a total separation from the mainland; instead Oé-Cusse can become a hub of development that will contribute to the development of the whole nation”. The transfer of powers and competencies, he argued, simply means the Government can get closer to the people of Oé-Cusse and empower them to become the hub for the nation’s development. He cautioned that “a lot of challenges await us. These challenges should not cause us to step back, but they will strengthen us and allow us to progress and overcome new challenges”.

The Prime Minister, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, in his speech, called on to the Oé-Cusse people to be open-minded and fully participate in the extended process of development. He encouraged the people to work together to identify difficulties, improve and empower themselves so that they are prepared to face new challenges in the future.

He reminded the Oé-Cusse people that 40 years ago they sang “we atoni people were forever slaves”. Now they can sing a new song “we atoni people want to work hard to develop Ambeno for the good of our children and grand children”. The Prime Minister concluded his remarks with a very important, united political message – “believe in yourself and move forward because together we can develop our country from its rural heartland to make a big difference to the future of our people”. 

500 years ago the Portuguese navigators and missionaries first landed in Oé-Cusse before continuing on their exploration and spreading the good news to the rest of the Timor-Leste. Today Oé-Cusse once again is set to become the beginning of a better future as a hub of development for Timor-Leste. Oé-Cusse is simply the beginning and the future.

Oé-Cusse: inísiu husi futuru ida diak ba Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste hahú tama tan ba iha etapa foun ida iha ninia viajen naruk ba realiza ninia mehi hodi sai nasaun rendimentu médiu-altu ho populasaun ida prósperu, saudável no matenek. Seremónia tranferénsia poder no devolusaun kompeténsia husi Governu Sentral ba Autoridade Administrativa Espesial Oé-Cusse (ARAEO) no Zona Espeial Ekonomia Sosial no Merkadu (ZEESM) sai nuda’ar inísiu ba futuru ida diak, laos deit ba povo atonio Oé-Cusse, maibe mos ba povo tomak Timor-Leste nian.

Seremónia loron rua ne’e hahú ho enkontru Konsellu Ministrus iha 23 Janeiru 2014. Lansamentu primeira pedra ba konstrusaun Monumentu Lifau, Jardim Frente Marítima no Sentru Informasaun Turístika no Kultural realiza iha Sábadu dadér, 24 Janeiru 2015. Projeitu hirak ne’e artiketu/a Timor oan maka dezeña no sei konstrui husi kontrator Timor oan sira. Projeitus hirak ne’e sei remata molok komemorasaun tinan 500 navigador no misionáriu Português sira sama-ain iha Timor-Leste. Seleberasaun ne’e sei halao iha Loron Independénsia – 28 Novembru 2015.

Inisialmente seremónia ofisial tranferênsia poder no devolusaun kompetênsia sei halao iha loro-kraik 24 Janeiru 2015. Maibe tamba udan-bo’ot, seremónia refere adia tiha loron tuir mai. Maske nune’é iha parte loro-raik kontinua ho han-hamutuk ida ne’ebé oferese husi Governu ba delegasaun sira ne’ebé inklui mos Vice Governador Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT), Vice Jeneral Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI), Kapolri NTT, Administrador Atambua no delagasaun Indonesia nian sira seluk.

Seremónia ofisial tranferênsia poder no devolusaun kompetênsia, ne’ebé realiza iha Domingu, 25 Janeiru 2015 iha Oé-Cusse, Ambeno ne’e, atende husi Primeiru Ministru, membru Governu hotu, membru Parlamentu Nasional, Prokurador Jeral, Presidente ARAEO, Komisariu KAK, Jeneral F-FDTL, Korpu Diplomátiku, funsiunáriu públiku, seitor privadu, nai-lulik, ONGs no mos povo atoni Oé-Cusse. Seremónia refere hahú ho hananu hinu nasional, tuir kedan ho lia-nain sira halo kuku, bensaun husi nai-luluk no hafoin dansa trandisional husi feto Oé-Cusse.

Dr. Mari Alkatiri, Prezidente ARAEO, iha nia diskursu hateten Lei Nu.03/2014, tuir Konstituisaun Repúblika, fo dalan atu kria ARAEO no estabelese ZEESM. Nia mos akresenta katak “estatutu espesial Oé-Cusse la signifika separasaun total husi Timor-Leste, maibé Oé-Cusse sei sai hanesan polo dezenvolvimentu hodi kontribui diak liutan ba dezenvolvimentu nasaun tomak”. Nia argumenta katak transferênsia poder no devolusaun kompetênsia simplesmente signifika Governu Central hakbesik-an liu tan ba povo Oé-Cusse hodi hakbi’it sira atu sai polo ba dezenvolvimentu nasaun nian. Nia mos hameno katak “dezafiu barak maka sei hein ita. Dezafiu hirak ne’e la bele dada ita ba kotuk, maibe halo ita prepara-an liu tan hodi hasoru dezafiu foun”.

Iha bibán hanesan Primeiru Ministru, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, iha nia diskursu husu ba Oé-Cusse oan sira atu neon-nakloke no partisipa ativamente iha prosesu dezenvolvimentu ida ne’e. Nia enkoraja povu tomak atu servisu hamutuk hodi identifika dezafiu, hadiak no hakbi’it sira nia-an atu preparadu hodi hasoru dezafiu foun iha futuru.

Nia fo hanoin ba Oé-Cusse oan sira katak tinan 40 liu ba sira hananu “ami povu atoni sai atan ba bebeik”.

Nia husu ba sira atu husi ohin ba oin sira hananu ai-knanoik foun “ohin ami povu atoni hakarak servisu makas hodi dezenvolve rai Ambeno sai diak ba ami oan no bein-oan sira”. Primeiru Ministru remata ninia diskursu ho mensajen importante ida ne’e – “fiar a’an lao ba oin tamba hamutuk ita bele dezenvolve ita nia nasaun husi baze hodi halo mudansa ba futuru povu nian”.

Tinan 500 liu ba navegador no misionariu Português tama uluk iha rai Oé-Cusse molok kontinua sira nia esplorasaun no haklaken lian-maksoin ba rai seluk iha Timor-Leste. Ohin Oé-Cusse dala ida tan sai hanesan inísiu ba futuru ida diak hodi sai polo ida ba dezenvolvimentu Timor-Leste. Oé-Cusse simplesmente “o início e o futuro”.

Oecusse: o início de um futuro melhor para Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste está a entrar na fase seguinte na sua jornada rumo à transformação num país de rendimentos médio-altos com uma população próspera, saudável e instruída. A cerimónia de transferência de poderes e devolução de competências do Governo Central para a Autoridade da Região Administrativa Especial de Oecusse (ARAEO) e para a Zona Especial de Economia Social de Mercado (ZEESM) assinalou o início de um futuro melhor, não só para o povo atoni de Oecusse, como também para todo o povo de Timor-Leste.

A cerimónia de transferência, com a duração de dois dias, teve início com o encontro do Conselhos dos Ministros no dia 23 de Janeiro de 2015. A cerimónia de lançamento das construções do Monumento Lifau, do Jardim da Frente Marítima e do Centro de Informação Turística e Cultural ocorreu na manhã de sábado, dia 24 de Janeiro de 2015. Estes projectos, desenhados por jovens arquitectos timorenses e a serem construídos por empreiteiros timorenses, deverão estar concluídos antes da comemoração dos 500 anos da chegada dos navegadores e missionários portugueses. Está previsto que estas cerimónias tenham lugar no Dia da Independência – 28 de Novembro de 2015. 

A cerimónia oficial de transferência de poderes e devolução de competências inicialmente foi marcada para a tarde de Sábado, mas por causa da chuva, foi adiada ao dia seguinte. A cerimónia prosseguiu então com um jantar de boas-vindas oferecido pelo Governo a todas as delegações, incluindo o Vice-Governador de Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT), o Vice-General das Forças Armadas Indonésias (TNI), Kapolri NTT, o Regente de Atambua e outros delegados indonésios.

A cerimónia oficial de transferência realizada domingo, dia 25 de Janeiro de 2015, em Oecusse Ambeno, contou com a presença do Primeiro-Ministro, de todos os membros do Governo, de deputados, do Procurador-Geral, do Presidente da ARAEO, de Comissários Anti-Corrupção, de um General das F-FDTL, de membros do Corpo Diplomático, de funcionários públicos, de elementos do sector privado, do padre da paróquia, de elementos de ONGs e do povo atoni de Oecusse. A Cerimónia iniciou-se com o cantar do hino nacional, o kuku – um encantamento tradicional – feito por lian-nain, uma bênção do padre e uma dança tradicional feita por mulheres de Oecusse.

No seu discurso, o Dr. Mari Alkatiri, Presidente da ARAEO, referiu que a Lei N.º 03/2014, de acordo com a Constituição da República, permite a criação da ARAEO e o estabelecimento da ZEESM. Acrescentou que “o estatuto especial de Oecusse não significa uma separação total em relação ao território principal; ao invés, Oecusse pode transformar-se num centro de desenvolvimento que contribuirá para o desenvolvimento da nação inteira”. Para o Dr. Mari Alkatiri, a transferência de poderes e devolução de competências significam apenas que o Governo passa a estar mais próximo do povo de Oecusse e que o povo tem assim a possibilidade de transformar Oecusse no centro do desenvolvimento da nação. Avisou que “temos muitos desafios pela frente. Estes desafios não nos devem fazer recuar, mas sim reforçar a nossa determinação para continuarmos no rumo do progresso”.

No seu discurso, o Primeiro-Ministro Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão apelou ao povo de Oecusse para que tenha uma menta aberta e que participe de forma plena no processo alargado de desenvolvimento. Encorajou os cidadãos a trabalhar lado a lado para identificar dificuldades e para se melhorarem e emanciparem a si próprios, de modo a estarem preparados para enfrentar novos desafios no futuro.

Lembrou os cidadãos de Oecusse de que há 40 anos eles cantavam “nós atoni nunca fomos escravos”.

Hoje podem cantar uma nova canção “nós atoni queremos trabalhar no duro para desenvolver Ambeno, para o bem dos nossos filhos e dos nossos netos”. O Primeiro-Ministro concluiu a sua intervenção com uma muito importante mensagem política de união – “acreditai em vós e continuai em frente, porque juntos podemos desenvolver o nosso país a partir do seu coração rural e fazer a diferença para o futuro do nosso povo”. 

Há 500 anos os navegadores e missionários portugueses atracaram pela primeira vez em Oecusse, antes de continuarem a sua exploração e de espalharem a boa nova pelo resto de Timor-Leste. Hoje Oecusse volta a ser o início de um futuro melhor, enquanto centro de desenvolvimento para Timor-Leste. Oecusse é simplesmente o início e o futuro.