Putting political intentions aside, free short messaging service (SMS) here is impractical and barely possible. The Philippines is the world's texting capital accounting for more than 300 million text messages sent daily. Unlike in other countries where SMS is a supplement to their primary revenue-generating voice services, many Filipinos spend more for text messaging than for voice calls especially the prepaid subscribers. Calls are usually made only when there are very important or urgent matters to relay or when text messages become incomprehensible.

The National Telecommunications Commission ruled out that SMS, being a value-added service of wireless networks, must be free-of-charge. In a land of ten-peso (about $0.24) prepaid airtime reload and 30-peso SIM cards, asking for freebies can mean getting mediocre services and hurting the underground economy.

We are already complaining of dead spots (i.e. areas beyond wireless coverage), delayed or lost messages, and erroneous load deductions in prepaid accounts. How then can we be assured that the upgrading of network infrastructures and improvement of cellular techonologies will continue if a major (in the case of the Philippines) wireless service suddenly becomes a public service? SMS servers will surely clog as the quantity of messages balloons up while network capacity sits still.

The income of cellphone dealers and small retail stores will also get dented as prepaid reloading demand will significantly drop down. Reloading business may seem marginal but it actually caters to the majority of the local mobile market.

The healthy competition within the telecom industry is already a potent force in driving technology forward and its prices downward. Of course, consumers will appreciate lower voice call rates, longer validity period for prepaid load, and cheaper inter-network messaging. Nevertheless, SMS must not be a free service for now as it can spawn text spams and other abuses, affect related businesses, and encourage further insensibilities among texters.

If the politicians really want to offer us some things for free, I'd rather that they be a transparent government free from corruption and a globally-competitive country that we would rather measure by Gross National Happiness like Sudan's than by Gross National Product which feels nothing more than a press release each time. Let the cost of text messaging send itself down at its own rate.

The best things in life are free. The better ones come cheap. The worst are desperately trying to win votes for the next elections.

There is every reason to rejoice for the citizens of the tranquil Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. The world’s last Shangrila embraced democracy following completion of its first historic parliamentary elections on 24 March, which brought to an end 100 years of monarchy. With the blessings of the fourth King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck who has been instrumental in bringing the transition in the Himalayan Kingdom, a large number of discerning voters from across the Kingdom exercised their franchise.

The voter turnout for National Assembly elections held on 24 March was close to 80 per cent of the 318,465 registered voters, which is two per cent higher than the National Council elections. The female voters outnumbered the male and the highest numbers of registered voters were from Gelephu constituency. The democracy of the tiny Himalayan Kingdom is a comprehensive one with its prospective citizens blessed with the right to govern and can reap the benefits of democracy. All fundamental rights mentioned in the draft Constitution, which will be adopted by the new National Assembly are enshrined in the interest of the Bhutanese citizens. The polls have shown that the political parties, constitutional offices, bureaucracy, judiciary and the media will work towards the greater interest of the citizens.

Two political parties contested in the first parliamentary elections, which include the People’s Democratic Party (founded on 24 March, 2007) and Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (founded on 25 July, 2007). The Druk Phuensum Tshogpa has been declared the ruling party led by Lyonpo Jigmi Yoeser Thinley secured a landslide victory in Bhutan’s historic National Assembly elections winning 45 of the 47 seats to the National Assembly. The DPT won all the seats in the eastern, central and southern constituencies while the People’s Democratic Party won two seats in Gasa and Haa.

The Druk Phuensum Tshogpa has to shoulder larger responsibilities entrusted by the people of Bhutan to lay a strong foundation for a vibrant democracy initiated by the fourth Druk King of Bhutan. The victory of DPT is contributed to the fact that its party manifesto promised clean and corruption free government and urged to bring equity and justice on the lines of Gross National Happiness platform. The newly elected government will adopt the draft Constitution and structure the draft Tenth Five Year Plan to the party’s manifesto.

Under the leadership of Lyonpo Jigmi Y. Thinley, the DPT is all set to start a corruption free and transparent government that will be accessible to the media and accountable to the people. It will be highly responsive to the demands of its citizens and will not compromise in matters relating to corruption. The party will bolster the Anti Corruption Commission and make it more stringent. One of the premier priorities of DPT will be to strengthen the existing strong ties of friendship with India. It is most likely that the newly elected Prime Minister of the Himalayan Kingdom will make a round of India in the coming months and India will be the first country to be visited.

A country where growth and progress is scaled in terms of Gross National Happiness rather than Gross National Product, the new government of Bhutan will concentrate on democracy as a strategy to achieve good governance. The Bhutanese citizens have always remained contented with the affairs of their nation and it has been the institution of monarchy that has kept the people united. Beginning in the current year, the Tenth Five Year Plan is based on the perspective of GNH. The milestones on the path of GNH are polls, democracy and good governance.

In the latest development, the ruling party president, Jigmi Y Thinley has been elected as the new Prime Minister of “the Land of Powerful Dragon.” One of the prime goals of the party is to make Bhutan a corruption free country in another five years. Freedom of press is another area that can enhance the interest of the government’s accountability and the party will come up with ways and means to ensure transparency in the government and parliament.

Soon after the polls, the fifth King has appointed five young, eminent nominees to the National Council that reflects the King’s far-sighted vision in expanding leadership among the young. The National Council is now replete with 25 members, of which 20 members have been earlier elected from Dzonkhags in December and January 2007. The elected members of the National Council and the National Assembly assembled together in presence of the Fifth King and discussed about the prosperity of the nation that symbolised the success of democracy under the leadership of His Majesty.

With Bhutan joining the road to glory in the realm of democracy, the Fifth King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck will emerge as the first democratic constitutional monarch with the prestigious job of supporting the Constitution. The King rightly stands as the symbol of integrity of the land.

The concept of GNH as i dealt in my previous article is a simple, top-down micro level approach to measure the economy of a state. The concept based on four pillars touches the core of the heart of every human being when it talks of happiness. On the other hand, if we look at its flip side, we will come to know that too much simplicity makes it a wild concept to be implemented and too realistic to be realized. Here it is where Justice Martha Nussbaum of Liberal Theory of Justice and the Nobel Laureate, Mr.Amartya Sen advocates a micro level, bottom-up approach to the concept and coins the term as Capability Approach.

Sen, after ample research work and surveys on several sensitive issues like famine, drought, flood etc. concludes that it is the inequality prevalent at all levels in the society which leads to unhappiness and is the root of all evils considering the fact that only a particular section of the society suffers from its consequences every time and not all. He also professes that the need of the hour is to change the mindset of the people and the society rather than increasing the funds in the consecutive union budgets by sitting the example of teaching illiterate girls. Contrary to Utilitarian and Libertarian theories where the stress is on utility rather satisfaction, CA talks about providing sleep rather than bed and comfort rather than so called facilities.

He says that the government should measure its economy neither with what its subject has at the end of a financial year nor with what significant achievements did it register in the year passed by but the real parameter should be to analyse that how much does it have to its credit as compared to how much it was capable of as compared to how much could it achieve. A microscopic analysis of the aforesaid point can leave one dumbstruck.

Sen claims that the individual opportunities as capacities and at the same time lays stress on enhancement of these capacities ranging from fundamental ones to complex ones. He clubs these opportunities together as Capability Set. This Capability set is formed through the process in which available resources and income are converted through the functions of utilisation namely: Personal, Social and Environmental Factors into political human functioning such as social, economic and political freedoms. Personal Factors include metabolism, physic, sex, intelligentsia etc and Social conversion Factors include social norms, gender and caste issues and several discriminating practices. Environmental Factors talk about demographic factors and climate etc. Sen professes the conversion of the characteristics of all the factors as discussed above under different headings into functioning from the atomic to the molecular level.

He draws attention towards increasing opportunities at every level and says that a piece of land, whose output doesn't surpass the input or is not sufficiently large enough to earn a livelihood to the concerned, shouldn't be considered to be productive. Here it is where he says that the need is to increase the capability of the asset whether an individual or a commodity or the society as a whole. The concept says that it is not the resources but it is the capability of the resources which actually matters.

Referring to inequality as the root cause of the unhappiness, Sen identifies five most important factors leading to diversity: Personal Heterogeneity, Environmental diversities, variations in social climate, differences in relational perspectives and Distribution within the family. I would prefer not to go for a detailed description and switch over to Liberal Theory of Justice by Martha Nussbaum having ample relevance to the context. The theory says that. "Which changes or transitions are compatible with the continued existence of a being as a member of the human kind and which are not?" It also talks about what kind of activity must be there if we are going to acknowledge a given life is human.

The journey so far had been very exciting. Isn't it?? GNH concept supplemented by CA is broad enough to cover all the dimensions and ultimately leading to the dream of what one calls "Happiness". The concept of these new parameters, by now would be clear to the readers. Yet questions like, "what is the relevance of this alien concept to the economy as big as that of ours?? Is it realistic or not??, implementation issues and of-course What exactly Happiness is??" ,still remains unanswered. I shall deal with them in my next article and conclude this superb concept.

It might have been more accurate to say "It's not conclusive, but it's persuasive that..." or "2 out of 4 economists agree that..." or even "Say, here's something interesting."

And it's not strictly about money, as the studies examined a wide range of material goods.

Essentially, some academics are getting into a little fracas, trying to see the truth or falsehood in adages like "Money can't buy happiness", "More is better" or "He who dies with the most toys wins."

On April 14th, Tom Fudge of KPBS Radio's These Days intereview UCSD economist David Schkade. http://www.kpbs.org/radio/these_days;id=11402# In the intereview, Mr. Schkade shares his findings about what leads to happiness.

Some of his observations:

• Happiness is not about how much money you have.
• What people do with their time is most strongly correlated to their satisfaction. It's less about their health, wealth, or color of their newest Hummer.
• Those in engaged activities are the happiest. This includes all kinds of mostly social activities from chatting with friends, playing sports, exercise, sex, and even talking on the phone.
• Those spending their time in work and watching TV report the lowest happiness.

Only two days later - April 16th - the International Herald Tribune released this counterpoint: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/16/business/leonhardt.php?page=1

Entitled "Maybe Money Can Buy Happiness After All", the researchers referenced in the article have compared the growing economies of many countries with their general satisfaction ratings.

Now remind me again: why do they call economics the dismal science?

p.s. anyone have the TV household adoption data for Bhutan? In 1972, its king introduced the Gross National Happiness (GNH) measure. Since that time, TV adoption has soared and, reportedly, happiness has started to soften. Is it to early to draw any causal conclusions?

p.p.s. If you want to improve your happiness, there are some other resources from a modern version of the hedonimiter (not only for hedonists) to a nobel-laureate-designed U-Index.

http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/moneyhappy/75948

As Bhutan enters these uncharted political and economic waters, its leaders want to prove that they can achieve economic growth while maintaining good governance, protecting the environment and preserving an ancient culture. To do that, they’ve decided to start calculating GNH. It means coming up with an actual happiness index that can be tracked over time.

This index has surprisingly led to traditionally sought after economic growth. Bhutan has averaged a growth rate of about 7% annually during the focus on increasing national happiness.

Originally developed in the 1980s by one of the nation's kings, the metric must now stand up to modern critiques and emerge a quantifiable means for assessing the development and economic health of this country. Today the country successfully held an election, and plans are in motion to join the WTO. The emphasis on GNH has no doubt lead to unusual results in the past.

Happiness as defined by King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who is credited with creating GNH and whose philosophy still guides the commission, can be found in a life that incorporates cultural traditions and respects the natural world. Traditional Bhutanese robes are required dress for all nationals in government buildings, for instance. It is national policy for 60% of the country to be covered in forests (the actual figure is slightly above 70%). Public smoking is also banned, although widely skirted at the many new pubs and karaoke bars in the capital, Thimphu.

No longer satisfied with the abstract concept, thinktanks are now trying to establish a quantifiable metric for GNH.

The Center for Bhutan Studies, a local think tank, has been devising a way to quantify that mood. It is developing a GNH index based on extensive public surveys. Researchers have fanned out across the country, interviewing more than 1,000 households, according to Karma Ura, head of the center. The sample size is considered large in a country with only 750,000 people and not a single traffic light.

However, such an approach will continue obfuscate the fact that Bhutan remains a relatively poor country with feeble infrastructure. Also, the GNH has been used in the past to support questionable immigration policies, particularly with the deportation of Nepalese individuals. Nevertheless the focus on happiness has resulted in some progressive and socially conscious goals. Bhutan's proposal for 2020 indicates just this:

It contains some novel proposals. Rather than increase the population, Bhutan wants to reduce the birth rate by almost two-thirds over the next 15 years -- mainly by spreading the use of contraceptives and trying to ensure girls stay in school longer. And rather than urbanize Bhutan, which is the size of Vermont and New Hampshire combined, the government wants to stay largely agrarian to protect the environment.

Thimphu, Bhutan: The command came from the king, as commands normally do in a nation where royalty has ruled for a century. But when the Precious Ruler of the Dragon People spoke that day, he stunned this deeply isolated corner of the Himalayas: The age of monarchs is ending, he said, and power should be yours.

That was a little over two years ago. Now, on the eve of national elections Monday that will upend a system rooted in feudal monarchism, much of the country remains unconvinced there should even be a vote.

Just ask the candidates. "If you had a referendum, even today, Bhutan would reject democracy. That's the ground reality," said Khandu Wangchuk, the burly, gravel-voiced former foreign minister who is running for a seat in the western town of Paro. "But there's no use wishing democracy away."

What most people want is what they've always had: a powerful king.

[Photo: Bhutan's King and the Crown Prince]

More:

Smile census: Bhutan counts its blessings

In The Wall Street Journal, Peter Wonacott reports from Thimphu:

GNH (Gross National Happiness) is about to face a series of big tests. On Monday, Bhutan will hold its first democratic election. That will install a parliament, pass a new constitution and dilute the powers of a popular monarch. Later this year, Bhutan plans to join the World Trade Organization, even though its industry comprises little more than high-end tourism and hydroelectric power.

As Bhutan enters these uncharted political and economic waters, its leaders want to prove that they can achieve economic growth while maintaining good governance, protecting the environment and preserving an ancient culture. To do that, they've decided to start calculating GNH. It means coming up with an actual happiness index that can be tracked over time.

[Photo: The Punakha dzong, one of Bhutan's most beautiful buildings]

More:

If you happen to go through the magazines these days and accidentally come across a news related to Mr. Chidambaram, you might find his pen or specs or several other things missing but a placard in his hands with a text in bold letters, "India's GDP is 8.8" shall never be missing. The Indians on the other hand never miss an Opportunity drawing a sense of pride from these stats. I stop for a moment, pause and think whether the much talked about century long traditional parameters of the Economy based on the money-centric approach of utility, production and consumption has anything to do with the well being of the common mass or not and end up on the other side with umpteen no. of questions unanswered. I look for the definition and end up totally confused with mind-boggling jargons. Things like this leave me confused and I move to other much talked about nations and their economic policies. I search for Americas, UK, China and to your utter bewilderment end up with Bhutan where the Barometer to measure the progress is Happiness and not the Money. This country lays more stress on the Qualitative aspects rather Quantitative ones.

The neo-classical economic indices like GDP,GNP, PPP etc, do not reflect the inequality of resource distribution arousing out of the huge differences in the assets of a capitalists and the common beings. It gives imbalanced human development resulting into a vast gap between different sections of people and environmental degradation making life even worse to live in and account for economic utilization of the resources from the point of capital productivity and not from the point of view of the satisfaction and pleasure of the common man. The Gross National Happiness Concept directly addresses the subject and their major concerns such as their cultural and social well being in contrast to other concepts which remains confined only to the Monetary Parameters of the state. The most exclusive characteristics of the concept lies in the fact that it gets straightway to the common mass and shows concerns for their cultural and social well being without getting much into the technical complexities as is the case with other concepts. Although the concept was first pronounced by his Majesty, the King in his speeches soon after acceding to the throne in 1972,it was first introduced to the international community in the autumn of 1998 at the Asia-pacific Millennium Summit in Seoul. Though the term till now has not been coined with exactitude and researches are still on but according to International Institute Of Management, USA it is the index function of the total average per capita of the economic, environmental, social, physical, mental, political and workplace wellness each of which to be evaluated via direct surveys and statistical measurements.

The GNH concept, on the contrast tries to alleviate the loopholes of the traditional money-centric approach by introducing four pillar objective approach at macro level resulting to more satisfaction, happiness, welfare and subject oriented approach to the state. The four pillars of GNH are 1.Balanced Equitable Development 2.Environmental Conservation 3.Preservation and Promotion of Culture & Heritage and 4.Good Governance. Until now 3 International Conferences have been held. In the recently concluded 3rd International Conference on GNH between 22nd and 28th November 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand, Groups and Individuals encouraged others to mirror their own authentic efforts with GNH developments in Bhutan and appealed to the rest of the world to contribute to the "Globalization of GNH" so that it becomes a new parameter to measure the standard developments. Thus the concept of true GNH or a more society-oriented approach requires each constituent of the national economy and society irrespective of the factors whether they are rural population or the urban one, whether their gender is male or female, whether the age group they belong to is young or oblivion, whether one is an agnostics or an ardent devotee, whether one is a Communist or a Marxist, and likewise every constituent of the state to be "develop-enabled”. The emphasis is on satisfaction of the subject. The point is to work on the grass-root level and to look for equality of every human being in its true spirit.

A similar concept which also evolved almost at the same time when the GNH concept came is that of "Capability Approach”, professed by the great Amartya Sen but at the micro level in contrast to GNH which is at macro level. I shall deal this approach and also several other aspects of the concept like, "What exactly Happiness is?", in the coming issues.

NOTE: The terms and definitions used and defined here have been taken from wikipedia, google search and official websites of Bhutan government and the same is acknowledged herewith.

You may not be able to buy happiness, but you don't have to look far to find a multitude of ways to try.

As a baby boomer -- I'm at the back of the pack -- I find I've been asking myself if I'm happy or if I need to make any life changes. I reluctantly admit that my growing awareness of life slipping by is a sign of middle age. But it doesn't help that there is a recent bumper crop of books with titles like "1,000 things to do before you die". The pursuit of happiness (or "happyness", as in the 2006 movie starring Will Smith) is in full swing.

Now, in some ways, I'm predisposed to happiness. I read on CBC yesterday how researchers have discovered that genes are responsible for certain personality traits:

"Those who are conscientious, extroverted and not overly neurotic are more likely to be happy. People with these personality traits also tend to have a happiness buffer to help them through hard times."

I've always said that optimism is in my blood because my blood type is "B+", so I'd say I definitely have the right genes. OK, check. And not too long ago, a quality of life survey found that people in my home town -- Saint John, New Brunswick -- were the happiest in all of Canada. The results suggest that knowing and trusting your neighbours is a major factor, and more likely in smaller cities with static populations and deep roots. OK, I'll give myself half a check for that one, because I've been in Ontario for almost 20 years.

As well, there's a current trend -- started by the tiny country of Bhutan -- where economists measure the GNH (gross national happiness) rather than relying on the GDP (gross domestic product). I remember listening to the Quirks and Quarks program on happiness research, first broadcast in May 2006 on CBC, and being fascinated

Then a few years back, University of Leicester psychologist Adrian White -- following a trend in studying "positive psychology" -- prepared a World Map of Happiness, based on the findings of over 100 different studies around the world, which questioned 80,000 people worldwide, as well as data about regional health, wealth and access to education. Adrian concluded:

"There is a belief that capitalism leads to unhappy people. However, when people are asked if they are happy with their lives, people in countries with good healthcare, a higher GDP per captia, and access to education were much more likely to report being happy."

The study results show that the 10 happiest nations are:

1. Denmark
2. Switzerland
3. Austria
4. Iceland
5. The Bahamas
6. Finland
7. Sweden
8. Bhutan
9. Brunei
10. Canada

OK, as a resident of Canada, I'll give myself another checkmark. By the way, the U.S. scored 23 on the list, the UK 41, and the unhappiest of all was Burundi, at 178. It's interesting to consider that the American constitution names "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" as unalienable rights, while in Canada, our constitution aims for "peace, order and good government".

On the "Global Estimate of Life Satisfaction" test, which includes such things as family and work relationships, I scored a 7.9 -- "satisfied" -- a pretty high rating. That deserves another check. And I'll add one more check because, as a member of the boomer generation which is supposed to be one of the most affluent and secure -- and self-indulgent -- in Canadian history. Not that I'm affluent (in the least), but I really do have everything that I want need, and that puts me in the privileged class for sure.

So, let's see: I scored 4 1/2. I think that's pretty good. How would you measure your happiness?

I don't think I have to do 1,000 things before I die. Instead, perhaps I'll think about how to spread that happiness around a little more.

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Related Links:
CBC Quirks and Quarks: Happiness
CBC: "Happy genes set you up for life"
New York Times: "A new measure of well-being"
Test Yourself: General Inventory of Life Satisfaction
"Why the GDP says little about authentic happiness"
Gross International Happiness
Toronto Star: "Much to do about... much to do

(Catatan dari diskusi dengan Prof. DR. Eyup Ganic, mantan Presiden Bosnia Herzegovina)

Oleh

M. Habib Chirzin

(President, Islamic Forum for Peace, Human Rights and Development)

1-       Wacana Baru Pembangunan Manusia.

Memasuki tahun 2008, wacana pembangunan manusia (human development) semakin memperoleh perspektif holistik, dalam kaitannya dengan pelestarian lingkungan hidup, harmoni sosial, pemajuan budaya, perdamaian dan penghormatan hak asasi manusia. Tuntutan reformasi pembangunan yang berbasis HAM semakin disuarakan oleh penduduk dunia. Pendekatan yang berbasis HAM pada prinsipnya adalah realiasasi yang secara eksplisit menghubungkan kebijakan pembangunan, tujuan, proyek dan hasilnya kepada standar HAM internasional (international human rights standards), yang menuntut bahwa pembangunan harus diarahkan kepada pemenuhan HAM. Demikian pula, pendekatan pembangunan yang berbasis HAM ini merupakan strategi proaktif untuk mengubah hak-hak asasi manusia menjadi tujuan pembangunan dan standar-standarnya. Misalnya, proyek-proyek pendidikan, kesehatan, air bersih dan reformasi agraria, harus dirancang dan dikerangkakan dengan, dan secara substansial diarahkan kepada pemenuhan aspek prosedural dan substantif dari hak-hak asasi manusia yang berkaitan. Pada intinya, pendekatan pembangunan berbasis HAM ini merupakan upaya untuk  mengubah tujuan dan sasaran pembangunan kepada hak, pemenuhan, perlindungan, tanggung jawab dan akuntabilitas. Pendekatan ini sudah barang tentu juga mendasarkan diri pada Deklarasi PBB tentang Hak atas Pembangunan yang telah diadopsi oleh Sidang Umum PBB, pada bulan Desember 1986. Namun sampai dengan berakhirnya tahun 2007 yang lalu, setelah 21, realiasinya belum sebagaimana yang dimanatkan di dalam deklarasi tersebut.

Universal Peace Federation (UPF) yang berpusat di New York, telah beberapa kali menyelenggarakan konperensi yang bertema Pembangunan dan Perdamaian ini di beberapa kota besar, seperti, Tokyo, Seoul dan Washington DC, dengan menghadirkan para pakar pembangunan dari lembaga-lembaga di lingkungan PBB, para pejabat dan mantan pejabat tinggi negara, seperti mantan Presiden, Perdana Menteri, Ketua Parlemen dan Menteri-menteri; maupun dari kalangan Universitas dan lembaga studi lainnya. Pada kesempatan tersebut di antara mantan-mantan kepala negara, hadir juga Prof. DR. Eyup Ganic, mantan Presiden Bosnia Herzegovina, bersama isterinya DR. Farijah Ganic, yang seorang dokter ahli bedah plastik yang juga mengajar di Fakultas Kedokteran di Universitas Bosnia.

Dari diskusi yang berkembang di dalam konperensi UPF di Tokyo dan Seoul, pada bulan Maret dan  Juni 2007 yang lalu, maupun kajian-kajian lainnya, ditemukan bukti-bukti bahwa alam kenyataannya, lebih dari negara-negara lainnya, bangsa-bangsa di Afrika telah menggunakan the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development sebagai basis pemikiran bagi pembangunan yang berbasis HAM. Secara konseptual. Hak atas Pembangunan PBB ini terkait dngan African Charter on Human and People’s Rights yang telah diadopsi pada tahun 1981 dan ini sesuai dengan kebutuhan bagi upaya pemberantasan kemiskinan yang terjadi di beberapa negara Afrika. Di dalam dua dokumen tersebut, pembanguan dikonseptualisasikan sebagai proses untuk secara terus menerus meningkatkan kualitas manusia yang diinkorposarikan dengan dimensi ekonomi, social dan budaya dalam kerangka hak asasi manusia.

Presiden Bosnia DR. Eyup Ganic (sekarang mantan) dan penulis sendiri mengingatkan bahwa Deklarasi Hak atas Pembangunan merupakan produk pada akahir 1970-an dan awal 1980-an, pada saat ini hak atas pembangunan ini telah mengambil bentuk yang baru pada decade akhir 1980-an dan 1990-an. Hal ini merefleksikan upaya bersama dunia untuk menghubungkan antara pembangunan, hak asasi manusia, dan lingkungan. Laporan tentang ”Integrating Human Rights with Sustainable Human Development”, yang dikeluarkan oleh UNDP pada tahun 1998, menjadi salah satu contoh dari orientasi ini. Sama halnya dengan Hak atas Pembangunan, teks ini meyakinkan dalam menunjukkan bahwa hak asasi manusia itu multidimensional ( sosial, ekonomi, budaya, sipil dan politik), saling berhubungan dan tak terpisahkan (indivisible).

Deklarasi Hak atas Pembangunan ini telah lama direncanakan dan disusun, sebelum akhirnya disahkan oleh Sidang Umum PBB pada tanggal 4 Desember 1986. Semenjak tahun 1981 sutu kelompok kerja yang terdiri dari para ahli tentang Hak Asasi atas Pembangunan telah dibentuk oleh Dewan Ekonomi dan Sosial PBB (ECOSOC), untuk melakukan studi tentang wilayah dan isi dari Hak atas Pembangunan ini dan cara-cara yang paling efektif untuk menjamin realisasinya di semua negara dalam bidang hak ekonomi, sosial dan budaya, yang didukung oleh instrumen internsional yang beraneka ragam. Secara khusus perhatian diberikan kepada kemungkinan hambatan-hambatan yang dihadapi oleh negara-negara yang sedang berkembang di dalam upaya mereak untuk menjamin terlindunginya hak-hak asasi manusia dan terbangunnya perdamaian. Termasuk di kawasan yang pernah mengalami konflik seperti di Bosnia, Balkan, Afganistan, Zimbabwe, Rwanda dsb.

Keharusan realisasi Hak atas Pembangunan ini sebenarnya telah ditekankan kembali di dalam “World Summit on Sustainable Development”, yang diselenggarakan di Johannesburg, 26 Agustus – 4 September 2002. Sek Jen PBB misalnya mengingatkan agar dunia menfokuskan kepada pencapaian pembangunan yang sekaligus merupakan sebagai pemenuhan hak asasi manusia atas air dan sanitasi, energi, produktifitas pertanian, keaneka ragaman hayati dan manajemen ecosistem serta kesehatan.  Suatu langkah-langkah yang harus diambil sebagai tindak lanjut dari Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) yang telah dideklarasikan oleh PBB pada bulan September 2000.

2-       Reformasi Hak atas Pembangunan

Telah menjadi kesadaran bersama bahwa perdamaian internasional dan keamanan merupakan unsur yang essensial bagi pelaksanaan pembangunan telah mengilhami perumusan Hak Asasi Pembangunan ini. Hal ini meneguhkan kembali hubungan yang sangat erat antara perluncutan senjata untuk sangat mempengaruhi kemajuan di bidang pembangunan. Demikian pula, sumber daya yang di belanjakan lewat program perlucutan senjata hendaknya di sumbangkan bagi pembangunan sosial dan ekonomi serta kesejahteraan semua rakyat, khususnya bagi masyarakat di negara-negara yang sedang berkembang.

Dasar perumusan Hak atas Pembangunan ini adalah pengakuan bahwa pribadi manusia merupaka sentral dan subyek bagi proses pembangunan. Dan kebijakan pembangunan hendaknya menjadikan manusia sebagai partisipan dan sasaran utama baii pembangunan. Upaya pada peringkat internasional untuk meningkatkan dan melindungi hak-hak asasi hendaknya dibarengi dengan upaya untuk menyusun tatanan ekonomi internasional baru. Atas dasar itu maka disepakatilah Deklarasi tentang Hak atas Pembangunan, sebagai hak asasi manusia.

Secara khusus, dalam Pasal 9, ditekankan peran dan kewajiban negara untuk mengambil langkah, pada tingkat nasional, untuk merealisasikan Hak Atas Pembangunan dan menjamin kesamaan kesempatan untuk semua di dalam akses terhadap sumber-sumber dasar, pendidikan, pelayanan kesehatan, pangan, perumahan, pekerjaan dan pembagian pendapatan yang layak. Pengukuran yang efektif harus dilakukan untuk menjamin bahwa kaum perempuan memiliki peran yang aktif di dalam proses pembangunan. Reformasi Ekonomi dan sosial yang tepat harus pula dilakukan dengan pandangan untuk mengatasi semua masalah ketidakadilan sosial.

Menurut Jan Martenson, pejabat Sekretariat Jenderal PBB untuk masalah Hal Asasi Manusia, pernah  mengemukakan bahwa, merefleksikan tentang apa yang dimaksudkan denganHak atas Pembangunan sebagai Hak Asasi Manusia, perlu dicatat pertama bahwa, pembangunan yang dimaksud oleh Deklarasi ini adalah lebih luas dari sekadar peningkatan yang terus-menerus di dalam indikator ekonomi. Pembangunan adalah konsep yang memiliki berbagai faset yang meliputi seluruh manusia di dalam semua aspek hak-hak dasarnya, apakah itu hak ekonomi, sosial, budaya ataupun hak sipil dan politik. Pembangunan berarti  penghargaan tehadap hak-hak asasi manusia dan hak-hak dasar masyarakat untuk memiliki akses terhadap berbagai sumberdaya untuk mencapai kehidupan yang bermartabat.

Isu-isu mendasar tentang pembangunan di dalam pengertiannya yang luas menyentuh berbagai kegiatan dalam sistem PBB, dan harus ditemukan jalan untuk melaksanakan standar hak-hak asasi manusia dan mengimplementasikan mekanisme untuk menghadapi dan mengatasi kekurangan gizi, kemiskinan, kematian anak-anak, kekurangan pendidikan dan latihan kerja dan sederetan masalah lainnya. Semua standar hak-hak asasi manusia, di dalam pendekatan yang terpadu, termasuk penentuan nasib sendiri, demokratisasi dan partisipasi masyarakat, termasuk hak sipil, budaya, ekonomi, politik dan sosial, harus ditekankan di dalam pembangunan manusia.

Masih banyak hambatan bagi pelaksanaan hak asasi atas pembangunan sampai saat ini. Kurang dihargainya hak-hak manusia dan khususnya hak atas pembangunan ini telah menimbulkan berbagai konflik dan ketidak stabilan. Antara lain yang berupa semakin meningkatnya ketergantungan nasional, hutang luar negeri, perpindahan penduduk secara paksa, meningkatnya modal terbang, kejahatan internasional dan dan kerusakan lingkungan hidup.

Masalah kegagalan untuk menjadikan prinsip-prinsip Hak atas Pembangunan dalam pembuatan perjanjian antara negara-negara berkembang dengan Bank Dunia dan Internasional Monetary Fund, dan bank-bank komersial lainnya tentang pembayaran kembali hutang luar negeri dan penyesuaian struktural, telah menjadikan hambatan bagi pelaksanaan hak asasi bagi pembangunan dan hak-hak asasi manusia lainnya. Demikian pula pola nilai tukar yang berlaku pada saat ini, kebijakan keuangan dan beberapa persyaratan yang dihubungkan dengan bantuan bilateral dan multilateral, yang dilakukan dengn proses pengambilan keputusan secara tidak demokratis dalam lembaga-lembaga ekonomi, keuangan dan perdagangan internasional. Hal-hal mendasar semacam inilah yang perlu menjadi perhatian bersama di dalam proses reformasi menuju pembangunan yang lebih adil, sejahtera, damai dan lestari, sebagai realiasasi Paradigma Baru  Gross National Happiness (GNH) , memasuki tahun 2008.

Jakarta, 8 Januari 2008

National Happiness (GNH) isn’t everyone’s cup of tea - especially those who have to think twice about where the sugar or milk is going to come from. And that is what distinguishes rhetoric from reality. Conceptually speaking, GNH is perhaps the highest goal that any nation can aspire for. Yet, when one person out of every four exists, or persists, below the poverty line, it remains a lofty goal. One that is delegated to the realm of literate thinkers and those who will finance anything that is out of the ordinary.

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First I started with getting in touch with all those that have had an impact in my life, throughout my lifetime. I spontaneously e-mailed and phoned a lot of folks from middle school and high school, old family friends, old professors, and family members from the motherland. Almost all of them responded with the same enthusiasm I reached out to them with. We agreed it was unfortunate that we've lost touch -- which was mostly due to laziness and life getting in the way -- but to have spoken to each other again was a genuine delight.

Secondly, I quit my job. And replaced it for a one that pays less, makes me work harder for longer hours, and is a further commute. But all of my new colleagues are so incredibly cooperative and fun to be around, that to be in their presence, it's truly a pleasure.

Mind you, I don't have any negative feeling towards my previous coworkers. Rather, some of them have become, what I believe, long term friends. I'm really referring to the complete work environment that existed there. Sure, it paid more. And I was recognized by thousands. But to not have a peace of mind was proving to be detrimental to my well being.

Going back to the BBC special mentioned above. I learned that Bhutan measures its progress based on the country's gross national happiness, contrary to the traditional measurement -- gross domestic product.

While conventional development models stress economic growth as the ultimate objective, the concept of GNH claims to be based on the premise that true development of human society takes place when material and spiritual development occur side by side to complement and reinforce each other. (Wiki)

And the BBC series also mentioned that

Britain is less happy than in the 1950s - despite the fact that we are three times richer. (BBC)

Strange, isn't it? But it makes sense though. I just wished I realized this perspective a few years earlier. I would've not had any gray hair at such a young age.

Regardless, I'm glad I know now to make decisions weighing in what I treasure most: sanity, happiness and the company of good people.