The shadow National Unity Government (NUG) has suspended Daw Kyi Pyar, permanent secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office, and her husband U Nyi Nyi Min as of Nov. 22, following allegations of nepotism, corruption and misuse of authority.
According to the NUG, 12 staff members of the Prime Minister’s Office filed complaints with the acting president, the prime minister and the chair of the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) on Nov. 19, requesting an investigation into what they described as the couple’s “running the PM’s Office like a family business.” The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw is Myanmar’s Union Parliament. The CRPH was formed after the 2021 coup by ousted elected lawmakers.
The complaint letter did not reach the mailbox of the Prime Minister’s Office, but was received by Acting President Duwa Lashi La, who formed an investigation team on Saturday to handle the matter. The team has been tasked with promptly questioning the complainants, the accused, witnesses from both sides and other relevant sources of evidence, before reporting its findings and recommendations back to Prime Minister Mahn Winn Khaing Thann, the NUG said.
Daw Kyi Pyar and her husband will remain suspended during the investigation period, it said, adding that further action will be taken as necessary based on the findings. U Nyi Nyi Min is a finance officer at the PM’s Office.
The 12 complainants include staff members with the ranks of director general, director and joint secretary.
Rejecting the accusations in the complaint letter, Daw Kyi Pyar wrote on her Facebook on Nov. 21 that it was a coordinated “personal attack” motivated by an “insignificant” instance of personal dissatisfaction.
She said that during the current critical period of the country’s political revolution, someone had used their title as an officer in the NUG Prime Minister’s Office to make false accusations and damage her political reputation, adding that she cannot accept such “defamation”.
Daw Kyi Pyar said she had requested that the NUG urgently form a team to investigate the matter and that she would fully cooperate throughout the process.
