A group of Mon State villagers are furious at their parliamentary representative after the recent sacking of a local administrator.
On September 21, around 100 people from Hmein Ga Nein Village in Mudon township gathered to protest the administrator’s firing.
U Aung Ko, the village administrator, was reportedly dismissed earlier this month after allegations of misconduct and unfair distribution of land.
The Mon State government has been cracking down on local-level administrators and officials perceived as being corrupt or discriminatory, especially with regard to the backlog of land issues. In August, seven administrators were sacked. Mon State government office director U Myint Than Win told Irrawaddy at the time that 31 additional administrators were under investigation and the dismissal of two, including a Mudon township official, was under consideration.
Another official told the Irrawaddy that the state hluttaw had received an onslaught of 500 complaints since April 2015, with most revolving around the sale of vacant lots to stock village funds.
Daw Than Aye, a resident of Hmein Ga Nein Village, claimed their local administrator had been unfairly sacked. She blamed the township MP, Daw Mya Theingi Maw for the axing. The protesters called from Daw Mya Theingi Maw to resign.
“An MP is elected by the public so he or she has a responsibility to look the public in the face and stand on the side of justice,” said Daw Than Aye.
MP Daw Mya Theingi Maw said the villagers’ rage was misdirected.
“I don’t mind being criticized for doing my job,” she said. “But this recent issue is like treating a wound with the wrong medicine. The administrator got sacked but I didn’t sack him. It’s quite wrong for them to protest against me instead of protesting against the people who were actually responsible for firing the administrator.”
She added that the protesters don’t know better.
The protestors marched through Hmein Ga Nein Village and along Strand Road in Mawlamyine.
