I want to speak on behalf of Khin Aung Myint for Ye Htut's response

I want to speak on behalf of Khin Aung Myint for Ye Htut's response

Published on Sunday, 21 September 2014 19:57

Written by Zaw Ye Hein

I have read the new Information Minister Ye Htut's response to the criticisms over the government by Khin Aung Myint, a former Minister of Culture who is currently serving as Upper House Speaker under the quasi-civilian government, and with this article, I want to speak on behalf of Khin Aung Myint.

I will start with the budget issue in the current administration. Nearly Ks 4,400 billion budgets have been allocated for the health and education sectors from 2012 to 2014.

This amount equals the amount received from selling natural gas - the number one export product in Myanmar - between a year and a half and two years. 

The health budget has been increased from Ks 92 billion in 2011 to Ks 652 billion now so it has been increased up to seven-fold. The education budget is also the same. It has received a three-fold increase. Only Ks 752 billion was allocated for the education sector in 2012, but it has increased up to over Ks 1,142 billion in this fiscal year.

When these budgets, money from tax-payers, are reused for the public's education and health sectors, unsatisfying situations have arisen such as a building not being able to meet its standard, a school being built with boards instead of bricks as it was originally stated, or a school built with half the budget although a gigantic amount was shown on the paper as the total cost of the building.

An Upper House MP submitted these situations in the parliament on September 16, for example, a detailed evidence of the construction of a school from the beginning until its completion.

Upper House MP Khin Aung Myint criticized wasting tax-payers' money after the MP submitted the situations with the evidence.

However, the newly-appointed Union Minister of the Ministry of Information Ye Htut responded to Khin Aung Myint by saying that he needs to speak precisely as it is unpleasant for the government to receive such a criticism and in other countries accusations are made with detailed information. So, I want to speak to the Union Minister Ye Htut on behalf of Khin Aung Myint with precise numbers.

The outstanding highlights made by Khin Aung Myint

With this short-to-the-point example made on September 16, Khin Aung Myint was able to point out how the budgets for the health and education sectors have been wasted by people pocketing the money for themselves even though the government has increased the budgets for many-fold.

"It's like a tray of plums being dropped at a fair. After it was dropped, one person takes a handful of plums and another person takes another handful of plums so only half of them are left. The budget issue is like this."

"Whenever a construction tender is invited, it has become like a So Kya Mal Pyaw Kya Mal [Let's Sing and Be Happy] singing competition. We can't accept such kind of things with bad intentions," he added blankly.

Before Khin Aung Myint made these remarks, he said the MP has submitted strong evidence and he himself realized such kind of fraud after looking at the photo evidence on the construction of buildings, difference, and unbalanced costs.

Khin Aung Myint made the points because he wants to point out how the public's hard-earned money are continued to be wasted and briberies still exist in the health and education sectors and he wish it be stopped.

Ye Htut's response after the government's weakness was pointed out

This is how the President's spokesperson and Information Minister Ye Htut responded to Khin Aung Myint's remarks.

"I accept the Upper House Speaker, who is serving great duties of the country, for criticising the weaknesses of the ministries. However, his remarks need to be precise as he is serving a great duty. It would be better if he would name the ministry and speak in details."

"The Upper House Speaker Khin Aung Myint said that there have been many cases in the construction industry where public funding is wasted under the new government. What I want to say is that, the President has given orders and instructions to ensure transparency in all the stages from the invitation of the tender to carrying out the project during the new government's term. For the construction projects in states and regions, the Ministry doesn't perform the construction so that the regional government can supervise and work together with the construction company. The Auditor-General's Office inspects the completion of the projects in details on whether they are worth it or not. Also, the Speaker Khin Aung Myint served as a minister during the previous government administration. His ministry also did such kind of construction projects. Compared to the tender system for construction projects at that time, the tender system in the current government is more transparent and accountable. As the administrative body, we are ready to take action if he names a ministry. If he thinks the government's actions are not enough, he can speak through the Anti-corruption Committee. I think it is sad that the entire government has been criticised. I have never seen him speak in general like this before. In other countries, they always speak with concrete numbers," Ye Htut added in his response. This response was published in the Democracy Today newspaper on September 19.

Khin Aung Myint took charge of the Ministry of Culture in the past. Compared to other economic-related ministries, it is obvious that the bribery cases under this ministry are relatively smaller. Now, he has pointed out the waste of national budget and the continued existence of bribery in the construction projects so as to fix them and not to waste the public money.

However, the Union Minister Ye Htut's response seems to imply that Khin Aung Myint needs to be precise in criticising the government and the Speaker may have carried out such kind of projects while he was serving as a minister during the previous government administration.

I'd like to ask, too, Ye Htut.

What Union Minister Ye Htut said included the tender affair.

Though the President is said to be giving instructions to have transparency concerning with tenders, both us and business environment still know that in reality, there are dishonesties containing in almost every tender.

For example: in the article "Auctions as Usual" published in 7 Day journal, it is described that a construction business person said "Although tender haven't not called for, the business person was already let know. And make him prepare the required designs and logos beforehand. Only after that, the tender is called for". Moreover, a business person who frequently bid at the auctions also said in the journal "It is unfair that the questions are exposed".

Likewise, everyone knows there are the cases that instead of the people who would invest the most, those who will invest a little win the bid.

It is obvious that concerning with the tender, briberies exists among the government official who are concerned with the tender and the consecutives. If evidence is needed, their possessions and their original salary can be checked.

If the cases that are done secretly like this are asked to be exposed exactly, it is like asking to show both the thief and the person who accommodate the thief. Those who bribe will not obviously do that. Although everybody knows that there are relations between the cronies and the government, who can tell the given bribe amount and the way the advantages are taken? But the cronies evidently get the advantages.

Thus, will the corruption that the citizens know be taken action only if it is pointed out exactly? I would like to ask.

Let me talk about this, Khin Aung Myint.

Though I don't mean to offend Khin Aung Myint, as it is asked to point out, let me talk on behalf of him.

In my opinion, rather than pointing out the bids, the government officials' salary and their current possessions would better be compared as this can make obvious in one shot about whether there are briberies and corruption.

The President's salary is Ks. 1.5 million per month and Ks. 54 million for 36 months but as it is amended to be Ks. 5 million per month, he would receive Ks. 25 million for five months till the end of August, and for his President term, for 41 months, Ks. 79 million in total will be got.

A Union Minister who is consecutively being a union minister during the new government, will get Ks. 36.6 million, and a deputy minister – Ks. 26.2 million. And a director general – nearly Ks. 8 million as the salary in over three and a half year.

A person who becomes a minister during 41 months of the new government's term, would be able to save only Ks. 36.6 million even if he doesn't eat, drink or use. He won't be able to afford to buy a small apartment in a decent place. Similarly, the deputy minister, too. Director General level won't even be able to buy an apartment.

Yet, look at the director generals who are in business-related departments and the departments in which briberies can be done. Even people on that ranks own many apartments, lands and cars. (Directors with less corruption and directors who have been ignored are exempted.)

Only if the ownership of Union level government officials and Region/State government officials during 41 months of the current government term is investigated, whether bribery cases still exist will become obvious.

To be a model of ethical citizen as Ye Htut usually talked

Union Minister Ye Htut is noticed to be talking about the ethics frequently. He mostly emphasizes about the ethics of the journalists.

What we understand is that a good civil servant is a person who does not misuse the public budget, who does not encourage those misuse, and who protect the public budget from being misused. We comprehend this as the ethic of a good civil servant.

Even though Khin Aung Myint just reported about the current situation, if Ye Htut wants the accurate pointing-out, he, himself, ought to expose and compare his possessions as a model.

I wouldd like to present in practical. During Union Minister Ye Htut's 17 months as a director general in the new government's term, he had got over Ks. three million as the salary, for 23 months as a deputy minister – over Ks. 16.5 million, and for August as an Union Minister – Ks. three million, so, the total salary of Ye Htut in over three and a half year would be over Ks. 22.6 million. This is the total income without any expenses such as food, clothing and medical treatments.

Our editors' salaries vary from Ks. 500,000 to 700,000. In this three and a half year time, an editor gets from Ks. 20 million to Ks. 28 million in total. The amount is more than that of a director general.

However, we, editors, still cannot buy a house due to living expenses, medical expenses, and others. But what about the possessions of some of the director generals whose official salary is lower than ours?

How did the Union Minister Ye Htut managed to survive only on this salary? What about showing his possession and salary in public? Neither his parents' possession cannot be a reason because everyone knows that he was not very rich in his military life nor his spouse.

If he can do that, Ye Htut would really become a model Union Minister among the government officials and we would also regard him to be ideal.

To get final solution for Ye Htut's reaction

Upper House Speaker Khin Aung Myint emphasized about the public money has being wasted in health and education sectors and it is still being weak in controlling briberies and it should be fixed. There might be related information that he have witnessed or heard.

In Myanmar, the ministry which has authority, responsibility and capability to investigate the briberies and corruption is the Ministry of Home Affairs.

If it must or is needed to spotlight as Union Minister Ye Htut said, hand the Ministry of Home Affairs and Special Intelligence Department to Upper House Speaker Khin Aung Myint along with the authority to investigate the possible corruption cases. Then, it would be known whether Khin Aung Myint tell about this indiscriminately or he can point out exactly.

http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/i-want-to-speak-on-behalf-of-khin-aung-myint-for-ye-htuts-response/