The Kachin State Hluttaw soundly shot down a proposal for a new public holiday: Kachin State Day.
MPs resisted the motion on the premise that Myanmar already has too many public holidays. Adding to the calendar of public holidays also requires the Union government’s approval, which was cited as a secondary concern by the state’s Minister of Social Affairs, U Than Lwin.
State Hluttaw MP U Zaw Moe Naw from Ingyanyan Constituency – 1 submitted the proposal, which was supported by MP U Naw Li from Waingmaw Constituency – 2.
U Zaw Moe Naw described his proposal as a restitution of ethnic rights.
“We have been able to celebrate on the [Kachin] State Day by closing the offices and schools and holding other festivals on January 10 even if we were unable to hold the Manaw festival in the past,” he said. “The U Ne Win government abolished everything when it came into power in 1962. Now, all the MPs have been elected by the public after the civilian-elected NLD [National League for Democracy] government took office. That’s why we have submitted [the proposal] to get our rights back.”
When put to vote on December 1, Kachin State Day netted 17 yeas, 27 nays, and one invalid vote.
The National League for Democracy (NLD) and the Tatmadaw occupy the majority of the seats in the Kachin State Hluttaw.
A similar proposal put forward in the previous government’s term by MP U Sut Naung from the National Unity Party (NUP) was likewise shot down when put to vote.
In a statement released on December 5, the Kachin State Democracy Party (KSDP) expressed regret at the result of the vote.
