MANDALAY—Chief Minister of Mandalay Region U Zaw Myint Maung said on Friday that the National League for Democracy (NLD) has received more complaint letters regarding local parliamentarians—most of them “fake”— than it ever has since taking over government.
“Most of the complaints are fabricated and fake. We have reviewed the complaints and the remarks that were made, and we will take action against those who fabricated the complaints according to the party’s rules and regulations,” U Zaw Myint Maung said at a meeting between the NLD, regional government officials and local NLD parliamentarians in Mandalay.
According to the NLD’s spokesperson, the complaints were mostly sent by party members, with few from other parties—more so the case than in the past.
“We will take action accordingly with the rules and regulation of the party against those who fabricated complaints to gain advantages in the upcoming election. However, to those who are not party members, we can do nothing,” said U Myo Nyunt, the NLD spokesperson.
U Myo Nyunt said the party received the most complaints about Yangon, Irrawaddy, Pegu and Thanintharyi Region parliamentarians.
“When investigating the complaints, we call the person who filed the complaint to the headquarters, and people from far away cannot come. I think this is why we received more complaints from nearby regions,” he said.
The spokesperson said party members who filed fake complaints could lose their membership, depending on the type of complaint filed.
Apart from the fake complaints, some complaints over corruption, personal and social problems and a lack of work done by parliamentarians were also received, said the spokesperson.
“We will punish those who are corrupt and will give warnings to those who are inactive. If their actions are serious, they won’t be able to compete again in the next election,” he added.
Chief Minister Dr. Lei Lei Maw of Thanintharyi Region was arrested recently and is facing a lawsuit under an anti-corruption law following several complaints filed against him.
There have been examples of parliamentarians and party members being expelled from their duties for corruption, inactivity and personal or social problems in recent years, in Yangon, Magwe, Chin, Kachin and Irrawaddy Regions.
At Friday’s meeting, the chief minister also warned the parliamentarians about their use of social media and about the need to increase efforts on regional development projects and to work more with locals and party members.
