[Myanmar] NLD MP-Elects to Hold Strategy Meeting

[News_Editor]

Party leader Aung San Suu Kyi leaves a meeting of the NLD campaign committee and candidates in Rangoon on April 7. (PHOTO: Reuters)

The 43 MP-elects from the National League for Democracy (NLD) who won seats in last Sunday’s by-election will hold a strategy meeting ahead of entering the upcoming parliamentary session on April 23, according to party sources.

NLD spokesman Nyan Win told The Irrawaddy that the 43 MP-elects, including party leader Aung San Suu Kyi, will hold a two-day meeting at the party headquarters in Rangoon starting on April 19 to discuss parliamentary proceedings and other issues.

“We will be in Parliament for the first time, so we have to be prepared,†said Nyan Win.

The NLD representatives, who will come from different parts of the country, will also talk about proposed amendments to the 2008 constitution, and issues concerning development in their respective areas, the spokesman said.

Nyan Win also told The Irrawaddy that although Suu Kyi may be offered the position as Education minister, he did not think she would leave her party behind.

“Suu Kyi used to say that she would never leave the NLD,†said Nyan Win, adding that if she becomes education minister she will have no other choice but to resign from her party.

The NLD legislators are reported to have prepared several issues that they intend to present to the parliament.

Myint Oo, the NLD MP-elect from Thanatpin Township in Pegu Division, said he will first focus on farmers in his constituency and nearby areas.

“Our farmers are in great trouble,†he said. “They can’t pay off government’s loans, and their farmlands have been severely affected by bad weather conditions. Therefore, what I will ask the government to do is to suspend the return of current loans or cancel them and provide farmers with another round of agricultural loans.â€

He said that after resolving farmers’ problems, he will concentrate on constitutional amendments, free education for primary-level children, and unemployment issues.

Sandar Min, the party’s MP-elect for Naypyidaw’s Zabuthiri constituency, told The Irrawaddy that her focus will be on constitutional amendments and local issues concerning her constituency.

“I have studied the constitution very carefully and am currently collecting data in my area,†she said. “To present certain issues to Parliament, we have to be specific with facts and figures—that’s why are taking our time to prepare.â€

Zayar Thaw, the hip-hop artist-turned-MP who won a seat in Naypyidaw’s Pobbathiri Township, said he turn his attention to development and other reforms in his constituency, which he says need to be addressed both within and outside the Parliament. He said his proposals will be put forward at the NLD meeting on April 19.

The NLD contested 44 seats out of 45 in the April 1 by-elections, winning 43, including 11 constituencies with female candidates.

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