Parliament not for self-promotion, Suu Kyi tells MPs

NAY PYI TAW — National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has told Union MPs that they are not to use their positions to further themselves or their own interests, at an international training programme for freshman lawmakers in Myanmar’s capital on Monday.

Addressing hundreds of newly-minted MPs in the Union parliament building, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said that those assembled had been elected to represent the national interest.

“MPs are in the parliament to represent the people, not representing themselves,” she said. “The Hluttaw is not a place for self-interest or self-promotion. It is not a boxing ring to host fights between people of different opinions. It is a place for all to work together for the benefit of the country.”

In total, 303 of 330 elected members of the Pyithu Hluttaw members attended the Monday training session, along with 149 of 168 Amyotha Hluttaw MPs.

This week’s training schedule, aimed at familiarising new lawmakers with the mechanisms and procedures of parliament and supported by the United Nations Development Programme, runs until Friday.

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A number of international instructors are participating in the in the training, including former and current MPs from Australia, Bhutan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Korea, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

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