State govt still being centralized: Chin minister

11 April 2015 — The government of Chin State still functions in a highly centralized system under Thein Sein’s administration, according to Minister of Transport Ngun San Aung.

The 62-year-old Chin minister indicated in a Radio Free Asia interview that the State government followed instructions from the central government for much of their work.

It was contrary to what President Thein Sein had said to members of Union level organizations, chief ministers of states and regions, and Union deputy ministers on 6 April 2011, days after the new government was formed.

According to the April 7 edition of the New Light of Myanmar, a state-run newspaper, he said that a new system and new era had emerged. So, it was required to make changes in ideas and procedures.

“Duties and responsibilities have been assigned to respective ministries and states and regions. The centralization has been reduced and governments from states and regions have been entrusted with rights and powers. They will have to take charge of their own duties.”

The Chin minister said that they were not able to work freely as they wished as they had to work in accordance with directives from the Union government.

“We would be able to do much more if we worked under the direct authority of the State government,” added Aung, who was appointed a minister by the Chin State legislative assembly in September 2011.

Originally from Matupi, Chin State, Aung got his Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the Rangoon Institute of Technology in 1979, and retired as State Chief Construction Engineer in Hakha.#