In Mon State, only eight out of 398 complaint letters regarding corruption have been investigated from January to October 2019, according to the State Anti-Corruption Committee.

Anti-Corruption Committee member, U Myo Myint explained the situation at the International Anti-Corruption Day ceremony held at the State Hall in Mawlamyine on December 9th.

“In 2019, there are 398 complaint letters in total which include eight for investigation and another 41 that have been sent to the State government,” said U Myo Myint.

Meanwhile, only one letter out of 482 complaint letters had been investigated, and 43 letters were sent to the State government in 2018, he added.

Vice-chair of the Mon State Hluttaw (Parliament) Dr. Aung Naing Oo argued that it is more important to prevent corruption than letting it happen and handle it later.

“There is no possibility of good governance yet. The government team, as well as the administrative team, will never improve as long as corruption still exists,” said Dr. Aung Naing Oo.

He added, that administrative capacities to address this issue should be strengthened, and corruption will gradually decrease if the state government could handle issues systematically.

The ceremony was attended by 500 participants including a State Minister, the Chief Minister of Mon State, State Hluttaw representatives, representatives from government departments, teachers, students, and the public.

President U Win Myint sent a message for the event saying, “the root cause of the corruption problem is the key to the country’s reformation and establishment path.”