THE 12th regular session of the Second Pyithu Hluttaw concluded yesterday following its 16-day meeting.
At the meeting, Union Minister for Information Dr. Pe Myint replied the questions raised by MP U Mya Sein of Dagon Myothit (Seikkan) constituency if the laws prescribed by the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw are published sufficiently to the people or not.
The Union Minister said U Htay Oo of Yangon Region constituency-2 asked an asterisk-marked question if there was a plan to portray the recently ratified laws in the annual publication law manual and he replied the question at the 12th-day meeting of the fourth regular session of the Amyotha Hluttaw on 22 February, 2017. Similarly, U Saw Sein Tun of Kayah State constitution-4 asked the ministry if it had a plan to publish the ratified laws, rules and regulations free for the public and the ministry also answered the question at the Hluttaw on 29th January, 2018.
He continued to say that when he replied the question raised by U Htay Oo, he answered that Union-level institutions and ministries which drew the laws and rules and regulations published and distributed them with the own plan.
Besides, Ministry of Information also publishes the ratified laws, and rules and regulations in the Government Gazette, he said.
In his answer, he also replied that the ministry is providing publishing services at reasonable prices for publishing the legal documents, said Dr. Pe Myint. The published laws, and rules and regulations manuals are available at the Sarpay Beikman bookshops in Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw, he said.
The MP raised the question making reference to the newspapers published in 2016, therefore, the ratified legal documents in 2019 did not include in his reference, said the Union Minister.
Some pointed out that private book shops have offered a larger collection of the legal books and documents than Sarpay Beikman’s book shops. Sarpay Beiman’s book shops have a miscellaneous collection of different subjects including legal books and documents. But, some private book shops have mainly offered legal books and documents and they also publish books on legal. This was a reason why private book shops has offered a larger selection of legal books and documents than Sarpay Beikman book shops, he said.
He continued to say that in his answer to MP U Saw Sein Tun, he replied that the ministry was on a tight budget and could not afford to publish the books free of charge for the public at that moment as the ministry was carrying out its tasks depending on its budget allocation. Therefore, only if the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw allocated a separate budget to the ministry, the ministry would fulfil the need.
However, the ratified legal books and documents are available at the ministry’s website www.moi.gov.mm, said the Union Minister.
The Union Minister said in his previous answer, he also mentioned that the ratified legal books and documents are also available at 417 libraries of the Information and Public Relations Department and also encouraged the private libraries to collect the legal books and documents and pledged to render assistance to them.
In response to the question raised by U Mya Sein of Dagon Myothit (Seikkan) constituency, the Union Minister said the legal books and documents annually prescribed by the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw are available at the Sarpay Beikman book shops in Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw. Meanwhile, the books and documents are also published in the government gazette which are also available at the Saypay Beikman book shops. He continued to say there are 470 kinds of legal books published by Sarpay Beikman, Pyithu Hluttaw Office, Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, the Attorney-General Office and private publishing houses.
Besides, the legal books and documents are available at the Ministry of Information’s webportal www.moi.gov.mm. The bills are also put on the websites for public before they are made into laws. The laws, and rules and regulations are also covered in the daily-newspapers, he said.
The existing laws, and rules and regulations are also put on the website of the Union Attorney-General Office www.mlis.gov.mm.
In his answer to related question raised by U Mya Sein asking the ministry to sell the legal books and documents on a reasonable price to the people, Union Minister for Information Dr. Pe Myint said distributing the legal books and documents is not possible but the ministry can provide publishing services at a reasonable price.
U Maung Myint, MP for Mingin constituency, raised a question acting for clarification on the matters surrounding the incidents on 29 January 2019 where a live broadcast by MRTV of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw session was temporarily cut off for 5 minutes, from 2:20 pm to 2:25 pm.
▲ Appropriate penalties imposed on those responsible ▲
Union Minister for Information, Dr. Pe Myint, replied that it was already explained in the 1 February edition of The Myanma Alinn that the cause of the disruption was a failure in the fibre connection between the advanced communication center (Yay Pyar) and MRTV headquarters.
He said he will respond to the request for clarification on the announcement of the Tatmadaw True News Information Team made on 7 February which states that the disturbance in the live broadcast was not the cause of a fibre network line failure.
The Union Minister said a report on the incident was submitted on the same day by officials bearing relevant responsibilities on that day which states that the 5-minute blackout was caused by a failure in the fibre connection network between the two transmission points.
The Union Minister said he summoned the concerned officials to thoroughly reassess the situation and resubmit a more concise report on 30 January. He said the summoned officials gave a reply similar to the previous report, citing the failure in the fibre connection network as the source of the issue.
The Union Minister said the Ministry of Information then uploaded the incident in full detail on its website on 31 January and again in State-owned newspapers on 1 February.
The Union Minister said that as soon as he was notified of the announcement from the Tatmadaw True News Information Team saying the interruption of the live broadcast was not the cause of the fibre connection network, he ordered MRTV to report on the actual events that transpired. He said he also ordered the formation of an investigation team, in line with the Civil Service Personnel Law and its related Bylaw, to probe into the truth of the matter.
The Union Minister said the investigation team came to the finding that the interruption of the live broadcast was not caused by a disruption in the fibre connection network, but rather it was caused by a disturbance in the satellite network.
With this revelation, a departmental review committee was formed to take appropriate further actions towards the officials responsible for reporting falsified information, said the Union Minister. He said the committee carried out appropriate penalties towards the responsible officials, in accordance with the Civil Services Personnel Law and its related Bylaw.
▲ MP’s asks additional questions ▲
MP U Maung Myint first thanked the Union Minister for responding to his question and acknowledged that the Union Minister has already clarified the matter with a similar reply during a press conference on 21 May.
U Maung Myint said he is not satisfied that the matter has now been written as a disturbance in the fibre connection network. He said his question was intended towards the five-minute blackout of the continuous direct transmission of the satellite net-work and whether the network recovered automatically on its own is something to question.
The MP said the public is capable of thinking and reasoning and are still inclined to think the interruption to the live broadcast, which was disseminating important news, was intentional.
He said under normal circumstances, the Speaker of the Hluttaw had the authority to interrupt a debate during session but he views this interruption as a breach on established procedures. The MP stated his belief that the Union Minister’s responses indicate there was no specific order to carry out this incident.
U Maung Myint raised additional questions on MoI’s procedures. He asked whether only the staff are responsible and whether the Union Minister or Deputy Minister are also accountable or not. He asked whether this incident can be published publicly in its entirety in the newspapers, owing to the fact that we live in a period of increased calls for responsibility and accountability.
▲ Union Minister reaffirms comprehensive answer ▲
Union Minister Dr. Pe Myint replied that he thought he had already given a comprehensive and satisfactory answer. He said the fibre connection network was already under maintenance before the incident occurred. He said fibre networks to the broad-casting station in Tatkon were used in addition to the satellite networks.
The Union Minister said if the satellite network has to be used, there may be disruptions when a transmission is made from another point and interferes with the former transmission, as there is only one satellite network line.
The Union Minister said the interruption was caused by news being relayed from other regions that interfered with the live broadcast of the Hluttaw as they share the single satellite line. He said the official in charge notified the senders of the regional news to relay their transmission to a different line when they noticed the disruption. He said the live broadcast was returned to normal five minutes after the regional news stopped relaying.
The Union Minister said that while the report on the incident was made from the those on the ground, they were all high-ranking officials of MRTV who bear direct responsibility, and thus, their report was published. He said the appropriate scrutinization and action against them was taken when it was revealed they had falsified their report.
▲ The Speaker’s closing speech ▲
Pyithu Hluttaw Speaker U T Khun Myat delivered the concluding speech on the 12th regular session of the Second Pyithu Hluttaw.
He said this session held 16 meetings, answered 131 starred questions and 258 non-starred questions, submitted 14 motions, approved 8 motions and put 3 motions on record with 3 motions remaining for debate, and reviewed 7 bills with 13 remaining for review.
Aye Aye Thant
PHOTO: MNA
(Translated by Zaw Htet Oo)
Ref; The Global New Light of Myanmar
