Junta boss Min Aung Hlaing purged two confidants, Lieutenant General Moe Myint Tun and Lieutenant General Soe Htut, from the regime’s governing body, the State Administration Council (SAC), for corruption on Monday.
In what is likely to have been a tough decision for the coup leader, he finally ended weeks of speculation and brought the axe down on the two scandal-plagued generals.
On the SAC, Moe Myint Tun was replaced by the Myanmar military’s chief of the general staff (army, navy and air) General Maung Maung Aye. The reshuffle follows the lieutenant general’s replacement last week as the head of key supervisory bodies overseeing foreign investment, trade and foreign exchange by General Mya Tun Oo.
Another new member of the SAC is Lieutenant General Nyo Saw, the chairman of military-owned business conglomerate Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC). A long-term trusted aide of Min Aung Hlaing, he likes to keep low profile. It’s not clear if he was brought in as a replacement for Lt-Gen Soe Htut.
Analysts believe Min Aung Hlaing used Lt-Gen Moe Myint Tun and former home affairs minister Lt-Gen Soe Htut to limit the power of deputy junta chief Soe Win.
Before his purge, Moe Myint Tun, who reportedly took millions of dollars in bribes from business owners, served as the trade chief. In the previous military regime, then dictator Than Shwe entrusted that position to his deputy Maung Aye.
For whatever reason, Min Aung Hlaing chose Moe Myint Tun over his deputy Soe Win for the role; now, to his shame, he has had to sack Moe Myint Tun for corruption.
Min Aung Hlaing has also created deputy prime minister positions to keep Soe Win in check—Soe Htut was one of five in the current regime. The junta chief was however left with no choice as not only Soe Htut but also members of his family abused his position of power to line their own pockets.
In another bitter blow, Min Aung Hlaing has been forced to hand the home affairs minister position to Lieutenant General Yar Pyae, a classmate of Soe Win’s in the 22nd intake of the Defense Services Academy.
To keep Yar Pyae in check, Min Aung Hlaing has promoted his trusted official Major General Ni Lin Aung to lieutenant general and appointed him as deputy home affairs minister.
Min Aung Hlaing has also kept Maung Maung Aye in the position of chief of the general staff (army, navy, air) despite the fact that he has been transferred to the Myanmar military’s reserve force.
It may seem odd that a general who is reaching retirement age continues to hold the No. 3 position in the Myanmar military. The reason is that Maung Maung Aye is an in-law of another Min Aung Hlaing confidant, military spy chief Ye Win Oo.
Joint secretary of the SAC, Ye Win Oo, who played an important part in the 2021 military coup, is seen as an alter ego of Min Aung Hlaing.
Prior to making him an SAC member, Min Aung Hlaing kept Lt-Gen Nyo Saw on as the MEC chair even though the former quartermaster-general had reached retirement age. Then in July, he appointed him as his advisor.
Both Nyo Saw and Maung Maung Aye are intimidated by Min Aung Hlaing. Nyo Saw lines his own pocket by displaying loyalty to Min Aung Hlaing, and Maung Maung Aye is always scolded by Min Aung Hlaing at the war office.
Min Aung Hlaing replaced General Mya Tun Oo, who was then widely tipped to become next military chief, with Maung Maung Aye as the chief of the general staff (army, navy and air).
Mya Tun Oo appeared to have fallen out of favor when he was transferred from the Defense Ministry to the Transport Ministry in a cabinet reshuffle in August, but Min Aung Hlaing has now handed the helm of crucial economic committees over to him.
The fact that Min Aung Hlaing has brought back generals who have reached retirement age, and relinquished important positions to generals who are not his loyalists, reflects instability in the military leadership.
