Kyaw Swar Lin, the man tipped to become Myanmar’s next military chief, has led a charmed life, earning the trust of junta boss Min Aung Hlaing despite his unremarkable career, military analysts say.
He evaded combat duty to become the country’s youngest lieutenant general at 45, prompting his peers to nickname him “Nay Toe” and “Pyi Ti Oo” after two of Myanmar’s most well-known actors.
Lt-Gen Kyaw Swar Lin currently serves as both acting Army Chief of Staff and Quartermaster General, responsible for managing a military budget worth more than 5.6 trillion kyats (around US$2.7 billion) for the 2023-24 fiscal year.
Part of the Defense Services Academy 35th intake, Kyaw Swar Lin replaced former Lt-Gen Moe Myint Tun as Chief of Staff after the latter was jailed for corruption earlier this year.
Kyaw Swar Lin first rose to prominence after succeeding Moe Myint Tun as personal staff officer for Maung Aye, deputy supremo of the previous military regime led by Than Shwe.
“Moe Myint Tun was then a captain, and when he needed to go into the field to earn his promotion to major, he handed over his post as Maung Aye’s assistant to Kyaw Swar Lin,” said a military analyst.
Kyaw Swar Lin served as captain in the war office, before being appointed commander of the Light Infantry Battalion based at Pyinmana near Naypyitaw. The battalion has no combat duties and is responsible merely for security in the administrative capital.
He then became a colonel and tactical commander in Shan State’s Tachilek, under Triangle Region Command. The command was then headed by Than Tun Oo, who now chairs the Naypyitaw Council.
“There was no fighting while he served as tactical commander in Triangle Region Command. There were tensions with the Restoration Council of Shan State, and troops were deployed in some locations, but there was no fighting,” said a former captain who defected to the civil disobedience movement (CDM) after the coup.
The Tachilek tactical commander is known to be a lucrative post that attracts large bribes from drug traffickers, smugglers and casinos.
He was then promoted to chief of Bureau of Special Operations 6 near Pyinmana. The bureau is tasked with security in Naypyitaw. Next came a move to Naypyitaw itself, after he was promoted as a commanding officer in war office headquarters.
Up until this point, Kyaw Swar Lin had never been involved in fighting or commanding combat forces. Instead, he was assigned simple tasks while enjoying enviable sources of extra income, according to analysts.
Kyaw Swar Lin was one of the commanders responsible for so-called clearance operations against the Rohingya in northern Rakhine State in 2017. As a chief of staff, he served as coordinator between the military chief, deputy military chief and commanders in the field.
In response to the Rohingya “clearance operations”, the military punished the Bureau of Special Operations 3 chief and Major-General Maung Maung Soe of Western Command, which oversees Rakhine State. But Kyaw Swar Lin escaped punishment for his role in what the UN termed a textbook case of genocide.
“Kyaw Swar Lin was among those who issued orders [to persecute Rohingya]. Perhaps he is from the inner circle of Min Aung Hlaing. He even got promoted after the incident,” said a researcher who has compiled a report on the Rohingya issue in Rakhine.
In 2018, Kyaw Swar Lin was appointed to head Central Command based in Mandalay. On his watch, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army attacked the Defense Services Academy in Mandalay Region’s Pyin Oo Lwin.
After two years as regional commander, he rose further up the ladder to lieutenant general and was also appointed Quartermaster General. A regional commander usually has to serve three years to earn promotion to lieutenant general, but Kyaw Swar Lin needed only two, becoming Myanmar’s youngest-ever man in the post.
“Min Aung Hlaing planned to take the presidency if the Union Solidarity and Development Party won the 2020 election. He had earmarked Moe Myint as his next military chief when he stepped down, and Kyaw Swar Lin as deputy military chief. So, he promoted Kyaw Swar Lin despite the fact that he had only served two years as a commander,” said a military analyst.
The previous record-holder as Myanmar’s youngest lieutenant general was none other than Min Aung Hlaing, who earned the distinction under the previous military regime.
Observers say Kyaw Swar Lin has no special individual qualities, but his blind obedience to Min Aung Hlaing has won the junta leader’s trust and fondness.
The post of Quartermaster General is the most lucrative in the military, being the main gatekeeper for businesspeople seeking deals with the Myanmar army. Successive junta leaders have reserved this position for their most trusted subordinates.
Sources told The Irrawaddy that Min Aung Hlaing has lost trust in his inner circle after being forced to purge his right-hand man, Moe Myint Tun, and is having difficulty choosing a successor as military chief.
The Army General Staff post left vacant by Moe Myint Tun still can’t be filled, which is why Kyaw Swar Lin has been appointed in a caretaker role.
If his appointment as chief of General Staff – No. 4 in the army – is made permanent, Kyaw Swar Lin is very likely to succeed Min Aung Hlaing as chief of the armed forces, say military analysts.
