YANGON—The vice-chairman of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party, Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, has urged NLD lawmakers to work hard, saying that people will not vote for them in the 2020 election just because they represent the party.
“In the past the State Counselor [Daw Aung San Suu Kyi] asked for votes, saying just to vote for the [NLD] party without taking the capacities of the candidates into consideration, and people did as she said,” said U Zaw Myint Maung during the seventh tripartite meeting between the Yangon NLD chapter, the Yangon regional government and the regional parliament on Thursday.
“But today, people have greater political awareness. They have become more politically mature. They will no longer vote just because of your party membership like they did before. So, lawmakers should enhance their capacity, hone their skills and improve their abilities,” he added.
He also called for checks and balances between the government and the parliament.
The meeting was intended to resolve frictions between the government and the parliament in order to serve the interests of the public, said Yangon Region NLD chapter Vice-Chairman Dr. Soe Win Oo.
“We have to discuss with each other through these meetings how to overcome the problems, difficulties and challenges facing our country. The day we don’t meet and discuss with each other is the day we fail,” he said.
U Myint Htay, a senior member of the Yangon Region NLD chapter, also warned party members about their behaviors and actions.
“It is time that individual members change their attitudes and behave themselves,” he said, saying that the misconduct of some individual party members can negatively impact the overall image of the party.
U Zaw Myint Maung urged party members to stay strong amid political challenges. He urged them to work with unwavering confidence to win the election in order to hold a ruling majority in the government. He also stressed that it was important for the younger generation of party members to participate in order to reinforce the party.
Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko
