Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T21:29:34.793Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

7 - Shwe Mann's Checkmates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2020

Get access

Summary

The greatest impact on the Myanmar Spring was the rivalry between President Thein Sein and the Speaker of the lower house Shwe Mann. On the surface this was seen as a rivalry between the executive and the legislative branches. In reality it was a consequence of Shwe Mann's attempt to control the USDP and to sideline the president. Shwe Mann believed that Thein Sein was of lesser ability than himself and that he had been denied his rightful position of the presidency by Senior General Than Shwe. From the first day, he sought to use the parliament as a tool to impose his policies on the government.1 Six major incidents took place between 2011 and 2016 in which Shwe Mann tried to weaken the president and undermine his power.

2012–13 Budget

The first incident was the 2012–13 budget. On 7 February 2012, Shwe Mann delivered a speech as the Speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw (lower house or people's assembly) at a rare meeting of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (Union assembly). Unusually, instead of speaking from his seat like other representatives, he mounted the rostrum from which he addressed the joint assembly. Rather astonishingly, Shwe Mann failed to consult with the president or the cabinet in advance of this address, which mainly concerned the government's economic policy.

The immediate issues Shwe Mann dealt with in detail were the raising of the salaries of civil servants and the suspension of development projects2 carried over from the previous military government. He announced three issues that the Union Parliament should demand the government to comply with. Of these, the following two had an immediate impact on the government.

  • The government should increase civil servants’ salaries in the coming 2012–13 budget.

  • The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw should thoroughly scrutinize government development projects and suspend or reject those thought to be unnecessary.

  • Shwe Mann urged the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw members to consider a resolution based on his suggestions. That was Shwe Mann's political trick. If he had made this proposal in the Pyithu Hluttaw, the resolution would have been nonbinding. However, if the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw adopted such a resolution, the government was bound to implement it and to duly report back to the Hluttaw.

    Type
    Chapter
    Information
    Publisher: ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
    Print publication year: 2019

    Access options

    Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

    Save book to Kindle

    To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

    Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

    Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

    Available formats
    ×

    Save book to Dropbox

    To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

    Available formats
    ×

    Save book to Google Drive

    To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

    Available formats
    ×