Burmese transliteration confuses Chin voters
02 October 2015 — Villagers in Chin State are confused over the voter’s list posted in preparation for the upcoming 2015 general elections.
They said that they were not able to find their names as the list was written only in Burmese – the language they could not understand.
Mai Ni Siang said that people had lost interest in it as they thought it had no meaning to them at all.
“A lot of people do not even know whether their names are on the list,” said Salai Thian Uk Thang, a Falam candidate of the Chin National Development Party.
According to the 2014 nationwide census, 79 per cent of the population in Chin State are in rural areas.
“The Burmese transliteration of ethnic names have always been an issue that has made confusion in all contexts. What is unfortunate is that there is very little attention being paid to this issue by most actors, including people in the media. This only adds to more confusion, and therefore very disrespectful,” said Salai Za Uk Ling of Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO).#