Lut Sein Win - Open your fist

Every journal asks me to write an article summarizing 2011. It's a task that every journalist must do at the end of the year. It's like a year-end summary so that readers don't miss out on everything they need to know in a short amount of time.

Unbelievable year 

To put it in the shortest and clearest way possible, as a journalist, 2011 was a year of incredible events, one after another. In the second half of the year, the “Nayaka” military government, which had ruled the country with a dictatorship since 1988, was officially dissolved, and the Prime Minister, General Thein Sein, was replaced by President U Thein Sein. According to reports, Senior General Than Shwe has resigned from all positions. This is truly incredible news for the people.

The scent of democracy 

In his first speech as president, U Thein Sein, who has transformed into a civilian, said that since the government was elected by the people, it will respect the will of the people and implement the democratic system that the people want. It will fight poverty. It will be necessary to implement the rule of law. It will also strengthen the fourth estate. This is also unbelievable news.

Meeting with the President 

Then Minister U Aung Kyi met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. They met again. Then the President himself met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Nay Pyi Taw. This is unbelievable news. Not only did the President meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who had not even wanted to be named until recently, but both Speakers of the National Assembly also expressed their respect for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and their welcome to her participation in parliamentary politics. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said that she was pleased to meet him and that she believed in President U Thein Sein’s honesty. It’s unbelievable, isn’t it?

Carbamazepine and Bessala 

Then, unbelievable things started happening every day. Aung San Suu Kyi’s pictures appeared in every journal. They were competing to get an interview with her. Like a “full moon,” every journal had her picture on the cover. Some people joked that Aung San Suu Kyi was also being “covered” by journalists. Some even asked for her own writings to be included. And not only her. U Win Tin’s writings, which were previously not even allowed to be included in journals, were allowed to be published in books. U Win Tin immediately became a “bassela” who was being chased by publishers. Isn’t this incredible?

Dam project issue 

We will work together on common ground, setting aside our differences with the opposition. We will work to find ways to work together with those who have not yet accepted the constitution. We hear encouraging words from government leaders every day that we will work towards lasting peace. These are unbelievable words. One of the most incredible things is President Thein Sein’s decision to suspend the Ayeyarwady-Myitsone Dam project in accordance with the will of the people. I have never heard of a government policy being changed in fifty years because of the will of the people. It is absolutely unbelievable.

We have witnessed incredible events and changes, and there are many reports that we believe without any doubt because we have seen them with our own eyes. At the second regular session of the Yangon Region Parliament, U Kyaw, representative of Thingangyun Constituency No. 1, put forward a motion to distribute sufficient drinking water in Yangon City. When the motion was put to a vote, it was defeated with 24 votes in favor and 98 votes against. It was unbelievable. But I believed it because it was written in the Messenger Journal on November 7 (7.11.2011). Some areas near Yangon are being confiscated for various reasons, and farmers are protesting in front of the Housing Department office. It is unbelievable that such confiscations are taking place even near Yangon, despite the fact that the President and the Speaker of the Parliament have repeatedly said that they will respect the will of the people and work to make the people happy. But I believed it because I had seen it with my own eyes.

Rising economy 

And the fact that the railway fares have increased tenfold is not just a rumor, it is a fact. The postage for a regular letter in the country is twenty to one hundred, and in the United States it is thirty to five hundred. I hear that water and garbage taxes will also increase. Foreign loans, aid, and investments did not come with Hillary Clinton. She came all at once. The immediate result is that prices have risen sharply. The question is whether a market economy always wants prices to rise. There are even those who want to call it a “price-gouging economy.”

Every time I think about it, my bones ache.

There are unbelievable changes and unbelievable changes. Minko Naing, Khun Htun Oo, and others are still in prison. The civil war has not ended for more than sixty years. People are still fighting and dying. It is shameful to think about it. The Burmese are weak on both sides. Every time I think about it, my bones ache. I don't want to be included in the 2012 annual report. So I urge you to show us the unbelievable things with real work, not air.

12 - 12 - 2011

Open your fist . 

There is a former student who runs a very large business conglomerate. He is in his forties and is achieving great success. His name is always at the forefront of every event.

Day and night 

He usually comes once or twice a year. Whenever he comes, he talks non-stop and opens up. Usually, he complains about his work and social obligations because he can't keep up with them day and night. Even so, he is not married. His parents are healthy, so he doesn't have to take on big responsibilities. He runs at least four, five or six large companies, so it's natural that he has a lot of work. If he complains, he complains. Try while you're young and can handle it. I just encourage him to try until you can compete with neighboring countries.

No doubt. 

This girl was also an excellent student in school. There is no doubt that if she sets her mind to it and works hard, she can penetrate even neighboring countries. Many of the businessmen from neighboring countries who do business with her do not speak or read English fluently like her. Some of them work as interpreters. She can communicate well with people from any country. In addition to English, she also speaks Japanese and French.

Family style 

If you set a goal and work hard, you can be good. You can relieve yourself of the fatigue that comes with working day and night. You just need to learn to do big business like a big business. The Burmese people's routines and ways of doing things need to be changed. Traditionally, Burmese people tend to do big businesses like small family businesses. In a family business, the father or the sister thinks about and decides on anything, and the rest of the family just works around them. They don't have the right to think and decide. So the father and mother are tired.

Unprofessional 

Even in medium and large-scale businesses, they often operate in a family-like manner. They also have family-like relationships in their workplace. They are not “professional.” They do not separate work and social life. The worst thing is that the owner and the boss control all the decisions. When this happens, the owner is involved in every job and everywhere, and he has no time. Employees also do not have to use their heads to do the work that requires thinking and making decisions, and after a while, they do not think. They do not use their heads anymore.