Regional Minister Impeached in Rakhine
By The Irrawaddy 2 January 2018
Rakhine State Parliament voted to strip state Municipal Affairs Minister U Min Aung of his duties on Tuesday.
During the parliamentary session, the proposal to impeach the minister passed with 37 of a possible 45 votes, the other eight opposed.
Minister U Min Aung tried to explain during the session on Tuesday that information collected by an investigation team looking into his performance was unlawful.
However, U San Kyaw Hla, the state Lower House speaker, stopped him and said that as he was no longer the minister he did not have permission to issue a complaint. The speaker added that the decision was made according to the law and that the investigation team had carried out its duties lawfully.
U Min Aung, who also serves as spokesman for the state government, was appointed by the National League for Democracy to serve as regional municipal affairs minister two years ago.
In November 2017, 17 members of the state Parliament from the Arakan National Party (ANP), the National League for Democracy (NLD) and the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) lodged a complaint against U Min Aung that claimed that the minister had not properly consulted on the state budget.
In early December 2017, Rakhine State Parliament formed an investigation team to look into whether the minister had failed to perform his duties, as lawmakers claimed.
In the Rakhine Parliament, nine seats are held by the NLD, three by the USDP, 21 by the ANP, one by an independent and 12 are reserved for the military.
