When US President Barack Obama hosts a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders in California this week, his Myanmar counterpart Thein Sein will be notably absent.Myanmar's outgoing president abruptly pulled out of the summit as secretive talks continued between his country's powerful military and the incoming government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
For his admirers, a smooth transition of power would seal Thein Sein's legacy as the former general who led Myanmar's dramatic emergence from nearly half a century of military dictatorship.He freed political prisoners, scrapped censorship, oversaw a historic election and repaired relations with the West, turning Myanmar from a global pariah into a buzzing destination for tourists, investors and world leaders.On March 31, he will pass the unfinished task of transforming Myanmar to a National League for Democracy (NLD) government led by Suu Kyi, his wildly popular political rival, who in November won the country's first credible general election in 25 years.
Despite fears of fraud, the election ran smoothly and Thein Sein's Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), dominated by former military officers, accepted a crushing defeat.But critics say Thein Sein, who gave no reason for cancelling his attendance at the California summit today and tomorrow, did little to tackle his country's profound poverty or the religious tensions that regularly erupted into deadly violence.Nor did he challenge the military, whose abiding influence over every aspect of Myanmar - politics, bureaucracy, business - poses a major challenge to Suu Kyi's fledgling administration. (Courtesy of webindia123.com)
February 16, 2016
Parliament should be people-centred, not group-centred: Suu Kyi
National League for Democracy chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi said the parliament is a place where everyone will have to work together for the sake of the nation and its citizens. She urged parliamentarians to exercise people-centred leadership without being “group-centred”.
She spoke at the parliament meeting in Nay Pyi Taw on February 15.
“MPs should not forget that we are just representatives. We represent the people in the parliament. We do not represent ourselves. All MPs should keep that in mind. The parliament is not a stage where each MP works for his or her own sake. And it’s not a ladder to climb up the ranks. It’s not a boxing ring where people with different views wrestle. It is a place where we all should try our best for the sake of the nation and the people. The people’s representatives should only take care of the people, not their parties or groups. We should live up to the good standards set by the first parliament, regardless of one’s own party, sect, religion or race, without self-centredness,” said Suu Kyi. (Courtesy of Eleven Myanmar)
She spoke at the parliament meeting in Nay Pyi Taw on February 15.
“MPs should not forget that we are just representatives. We represent the people in the parliament. We do not represent ourselves. All MPs should keep that in mind. The parliament is not a stage where each MP works for his or her own sake. And it’s not a ladder to climb up the ranks. It’s not a boxing ring where people with different views wrestle. It is a place where we all should try our best for the sake of the nation and the people. The people’s representatives should only take care of the people, not their parties or groups. We should live up to the good standards set by the first parliament, regardless of one’s own party, sect, religion or race, without self-centredness,” said Suu Kyi. (Courtesy of Eleven Myanmar)
The challenges ahead for Myanmar’s new leaders
Ever since the National League for Democracy won a significant victory in Myanmar’s November 2015 elections, attention has turned to who will become president for the next five years. This issue has generated a large amount of interest not only because the president holds a significant amount of power under the 2008 Constitution, but also because the most favoured person, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, cannot be nominated. The constitutional requirements for presidential nominees appear designed to explicitly exclude Aung San Suu Kyi.
So who are the new leaders of Myanmar, how are they appointed and what constitutional challenges will they face moving forward?
Electing new leaders
The quality and skill of the country’s new leaders will determine the NLD’s impact, and this goes beyond the leadership of the president. On 1 February 2016, the new members of parliament took office in Naypyidaw, the capital city. The NLD has a majority in both houses of parliament, although its members sit alongside a handful of members of parliament from ethnic political parties and members from the Union Solidarity and Development Party (backed by the military), as well as the 25 percent of non-elected members from the military. (Courtesy of UNSW Newsroom)
So who are the new leaders of Myanmar, how are they appointed and what constitutional challenges will they face moving forward?
Electing new leaders
The quality and skill of the country’s new leaders will determine the NLD’s impact, and this goes beyond the leadership of the president. On 1 February 2016, the new members of parliament took office in Naypyidaw, the capital city. The NLD has a majority in both houses of parliament, although its members sit alongside a handful of members of parliament from ethnic political parties and members from the Union Solidarity and Development Party (backed by the military), as well as the 25 percent of non-elected members from the military. (Courtesy of UNSW Newsroom)
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