This Week in Parliament (May 16-20)

May 16 (Monday)

Khin San Hlaing, a National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker from Pale Township constituency, submitted a proposal to the Lower House that called for repairs to dams in Magwe and Sagaing divisions. The Lower House put the proposal on record, and will wait for further site visits to assess damages.

In a question and answer session, lawmakers asked about coal production in Shan State’s Mongyal Township and Sagaing Division’s Pinlebu Township, as well as land confiscation disputes in Sagaing Division’s Khin-U Township.

Meanwhile, the Upper House turned heads when its members engaged in debate over a penis-shaped soap controversy. Earlier this year, the Happy Zone amusement park in Rangoon gave out phallic bars of soap as prizes. After photos of the scandalous soap spread on social media, the issue drew the attention of the deputy minister of home affairs, Maj-Gen Aung Soe. The deputy minister said the owner and manager were made to sign letters stating they would no longer distribute the genitalia-shaped prizes.

May 17 (Tuesday)

The Union Parliament approved the appointment of Kyaw Tint Swe as the minister of the State Counselor’s Office. It also approved the appointment of Kyaw Myo as deputy minister of transportation and communications, and Win Myint as the deputy attorney general. (Courtesy of irrawaddy.com)

Dateline Irrawaddy: How Can Women Play a Greater Role in Burma?

Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy! This week, we’ll compare the roles of women under the previous quasi-civilian government and current elected government, and discuss their potential role in decision-making on important issues such as the shaping of political, economic and social policies. Ma Khin Ma Ma Myo, a director with the Myanmar Institute of Gender Studies, and Ma May Sabe Phyu, a director with the Gender Equality Network, will join me for a discussion. I’m The Irrawaddy’s English editor Kyaw Zwa Moe.

How do you compare the roles of women in the time of the U Thein Sein government and under the new government, the government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, in terms of policy-making and decision-making? Do you see greater potential for the role of women now compared to the past, or if not, do you think it will get better in the future? (Courtesy of irrawaddy.com)

Myanmar votes down ‘Rohingya’ citizenship verification

Myanmar’s parliament has voted down a powerful nationalist ethnic party’s proposal for an urgent citizenship verification process for Muslims in troubled Rakhine State, state media reported Saturday.

The proposal, under which more than half the undocumented Muslims in Rakhine and other regions could have been eligible for citizen status, received 154 votes in favor and 228 against, with seven abstentions, in the lower house, according to the Myanmar Ahlin newspaper.

Khin Saw Wai of the Arakan National Party (ANP) had earlier told Anadolu Agency that once granted citizenship under the 1982 Citizenship Act, the Muslims -- many of whom have been living in internally displaced persons camps since 2012 -- would be free to leave Rakhine, where they were subject to violence. (Courtesy of thepeninsulaqatar.com)