Junta boss Min Aung Hlaing attended the opening of a replica of the long-since demolished Haw (palace) of the late Kengtung Saopha (feudal lord) Sao Kawng Kiao Intaleng in Kengtung in eastern Shan State on Sunday. The Haw was a symbol of Shan history and culture until it was destroyed by the previous military regime 33 years ago—a fact the junta media neglected to mention in their otherwise extensive coverage of the opening of the replica, which will serve as a museum.
The palace was built by Indian architects. Construction started in 1903 and was completed in 1906. Kengtung Saopha Sao Kawng Kiao Intaleng, his son Saopha Sao Kawng Tai and grandson Saopha Sao Sai Long and their families lived in the palace till 1959. The white palace, which combined European and Indian architectural features, was a symbol of autonomy in eastern Shan State.
The palace was used as a government office after Myanmar’s first dictator General Ne Win seized power in a coup in 1962. In 1991, the military government that succeeded Ne Win after a popular uprising in 1988 ordered the demolition of the palace to make way for a hotel, removing the symbol of Shan national identity.
Sao Kawng Kiao Intaleng’s son Sao Saimong was arrested in 1962 after Ne Win’s coup. Yin Yin Nwe, a granddaughter of Sao Kawng Kiao Intaleng and daughter of Sao Saimong, attended the opening of the replica Kengtung Haw together with Min Aung Hlaing, and cut the ribbon. She has been an advisor to the junta boss since he seized power in a coup in 2021, and was married to the son of General Ne Win, who ordered the arrest of her father.
“In 1962, the Haw Palace was used as a government office. At the request of relatives of the Saopha and local residents, in 2021 construction of the building started under the guidance of the Senior General [Min Aung Hlaing],” the May 13 issues of junta newspapers reported.
The reports however did not mention that the symbol of Shan identity in eastern Shan State was flattened in 1991 on orders from the previous regime, which said the structure was too old. Bricks from the historic site were used to pave streets in Kengtung town. A newly built hotel with ties to the ruling generals, the New Kyaing Taing Hotel, emerged on the palace site.
The hotel, Amazing Kengtong Resort, is operated by Aung Myo Min Din, a former student of Min Aung Hlaing’s wife Kyu Kyu Hla. Aung Myo Min Din also serves as the frontman for Min Aung Hlaing’s family businesses. The replica of the Haw that Min Aung Hlaing opened on Sunday is in another location.
