By Han Ni
Photo: Htein Nan Naw
Amyotha Hluttaw that had held onto the policy of performing legislative duty in accordance with the Constitution without regards to race, region or ideology had past the third year stage.
Second Amyotha Hluttaw’s first regular session was started on 3 February 2016 and its eleventh session was held until 21 March 2019 so it can be said that its term had past the three year stage.
During this three year Amyotha Hluttaw raised motions and questions that reflect the people’s voices, wills and expectations to check and balance the administrative and judicial pillars. It also represented the people, repealed, amended and enacted laws to be in line with the time and era.
Organisation and conducts
Furthermore, it had formed committees and commissions to study legislation, administration, ethnic national affairs, economy, finance, foreign affairs and other matters.
Amyotha Hluttaw formed four permanent committees and 13 affairs committees with elected representatives from the constituencies to fulfil the desires and aspirations of the people in the best possible ways. With regards to complaints and grievances of the people, relevant committees made field and site visits and inform the relevant ministerial departments and government organisations and stand together with the people and worked for the benefit of the people.
From the legislative pillar, Hluttaws had amended, appended, repealed and enacted laws to be in accord with the time and era. It also strives toward providing protection of the law for the people to live peacefully, safe and securely, had equal protection of the law equally and for people to understand and abide by the law in a wide ranging manner, said Amyotha Hluttaw Speaker Mahn Win Khaing Than while explaining about the works of the Amyotha Hluttaw.
In the Hluttaw meetings, speeches delivered by the President were put on record. Messages sent by the Presidents and messages sanctioned by the Speaker were read and put on record. Bills were tabled, debated and decided upon. Matters prescribed under the Constitution for the Hluttaw to conduct were discussed and decided. Reports submitted to the Hluttaw were discussed, decided, put on record. Motions tabled were debated, discussed, questions raised and answered.
Amyotha Hluttaw conduct these with the aims of achieving rule of law, peace and stability, instituting freedom, equality and justice, raising the quality and capacity of the Hluttaw representatives and the personnel of the Hluttaw office and to coordinate among union level organizations.
During the three year period 19 motions were tabled, 11 approved and four put on record by Hluttaw representatives for the benefit of the region, country and the people.
1,094 asterisk marked questions and 1,238 non asterisk marked questions were raised and union level members of relevant ministries answered in person in the Hluttaw or in writing.
Hluttaw representatives in the legislative pillar were striving toward the establishment of a peaceful and developed democracy federal union by using their full physical and mental abilities and the entire people were urged to cooperate with their full collective forces, said the Amyotha Hluttaw Speaker.
In addition to raising a total of 2,332 asterisk marked and non asterisk marked questions, 18 Hluttaw representatives had tabled 19 motions out of which 11 was approved, four were put on record, one was under discussion and three were not approved.
Of the asterisk marked questions, a question by U Aung Kyi Nyunt of Magway Region constituency 4 on preventing the sale of dangerous and harmful foodstuff and foodstuff without proper labels in Myanmar languages was answered Union Minister for Health and Sports Dr. Myint Htwe. The question and answer were reported in detail by state-own newspapers.
Similarly U Pe Tin of Mon State constituency 6 raised a question on a plan to stop the decline in Myanmar railway sector and restore the good tradition and services it had provided. The question was answered by Union Minister for Transport and Communication U Thant Sin Maung and the question and answer were reported in detail by state-own newspapers.
During the three year period Amyotha Hluttaw Speaker received foreign ambassadors, State leaders and oranisations 135 times and occasionally met and discussed with ethnic national and civil society organisations.
During the period when the Hluttaw was in recess Amyotha Hluttaw Speaker went to states and regions 28 times to meet with members of the constituencies on Huttaw and regional development matters.
In addition to this, Amyotha Hluttaw Speaker had formed 4 permanent committees and 13 affairs committees to conduct legislative and Hluttaw works on checking and balancing the three pillars of the country in accordance to the desire of the people.
Bill Committee
During the three year period the Bill Committee had tabled and discussed 47 bills out of which 9 were sent to Pyithu Hluttaw, 3 were still being worked on in Amyotha Hluttaw, 2 were suspended and 33 were enacted into laws.
Of the 41 bills that were originated in Pyithu Hluttaw and sent to Amyotha Hluttaw, 2 were worked on, 3 were returned to Pyithu Hluttaw and 36 were enacted into laws.
Of the total of 89 bills enacted into laws, 69 were worked on by Amyotha Hluttaw and Pyithu Hluttaw while 20 were worked on by the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. Up to 2 February 2019 a total of 241 Bill Committee meetings were held.
Public Accounts Committee
The committee held 38 committee meetings and 122 joint committee meetings. It attended 158 events and met with foreign organizations 12 times and held discussions once.
Hluttaw Rights Committee
The committee held 31 coordination meetings, met with foreign organizations 7 times and submitted two reports to the Hluttaw.
Government Guarantees, Pledges and Undertakings Vetting Committee
The committee held 40 committee meetings, 26 meetings with ministries and states/regions, 3 meetings with foreign organizations, 23 meetings with local organizations, submitted 9 routine reports and one interim report and conducted 3 discussions.
Local and International Non-governmental Organizations Committee
The committee held 27 coordination meetings, 12 meetings with ministries, 9 meetings with INGOs, one foreign meeting with WFD, two meeting with NDI and submitted 3 reports.
Health, Sports and Culture Committee
The committee conducted 54 work coordination meetings, 6 coordination meetings with ministries, 12 meetings with international organizations, 6 meetings with local organizations, attended 58 sports and award presentation events, 182 workshops, meetings and events, 14 foreign meetings and conducted 2 field visits.
International Relations, Inter-Parliamentary Friendship and Cooperation Committee
During the three year period the committee held 33 work coordination meetings, seven meetings with Ministry of Foreign Affairs, received and met 42 times with international organizations.
Ethnic Affairs Committee
The Ethnic Affairs Committee held 34 work coordination meetings, joint assessment group held 13 meeting with ministries, 3 meetings with ministries, met twice with foreign organizations and three times with local organizations, conducted one debate, three field visits and met once with a state/region hluttaw.
Farmer Affairs Committee
The committee held 59 work coordination meetings, 13 debates, 7 meetings with ministries, received 5 courtesy calls, met twice with state/region hluttaws, 7 times with local organizations and conducted seven field visits.
Women and Children’s Rights Committee
The committee met once with people who had filed a complaint, 24 times with foreign organizations, 20 times with local organizations, held 44 work coordination meetings, 4 debates, read one short paper, conducted 4 reviews after a law was enacted, conducted one field visit and held one legal discussion.
Education Promotion Committee
The committee held 60 coordination meetings, 4 meetings with foreign organizations, 14 meetings with local organizations, 7 meetings with ministries, 2 discussions, made one local trip, had one hearing and submitted three reports.
Immigration, Local and Overseas Workers Affairs Committee
The committee assessed 80 out of 306 complaints received. Held 83 coordination meetings, 30 meetings with foreign organizations including ILO, 21 meetings with union ministerial departments, 22 meetings with local organizations, one coordination meeting with ministers responsible for resolving ongoing workers affairs in states and regions and a meeting with the Ever Green Group to discuss human trafficking of Myanmar fishery workers. Three reports were submitted and four field visits were conducted.
Citizens’ Fundamental Rights, Democracy and Human Rights Committee
This committee held 88 coordination meetings, one meeting with ministries and 4 discussions. It submitted 3 reports, conducted 10 field visits, met 8 times with local experts and had 9 foreign meetings.
Mineral, Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation Committee
The committee held 4 meetings with foreign organizations, 39 meetings with local organizations, 74 work coordination meetings, 6 meetings with ministries and business persons, conducted 11 field visits, submitted 3 reports, made 2 foreign visits and 2 works related to laws and rules.
Public Complaints Committee
The committee received 9,841 complaint letters, conducted 22 field visits on 53 cases, hearings 4 times, submitted 203 reports to authorities, 399 reports to ministerial departments, 846 reports to states/regions, 1,012 reports to Central Committee for Scrutinizing Confiscated Famrlands and Other Lands. It also submitted 3 reports, held 81 coordination meeting and sent letters to 517 persons.
Agriculture, Livestock and Fishery Development Committee
The committee held 33 coordination meetings, 4 meetings with foreign organizations, 10 meetings with local organizations, 13 meetings with ministries, 8 discussions, submitted 3 reports and conducted 10 field visits.
Construction, industry, electricity and energy committee
The committee held 18 coordination meetings, 8 meetings with ministries, one meeting with foreign organization, 2 meetings with local organizations, attended 60 workshops, courses and events.
With regards to research works conducted by Amyotha Hluttaw, the Second Amyotha Hluttaw first regular session to 11 February when the eleventh regular session was being held, Public Relations and International Relations Department conducted 29 research papers to support the legislative works of the Hluttaw representatives. 1,318 queries by Hluttaw representatives were researched and replied.
During the three year period 18,768 local and 1,826 foreign visitors visited the Amyotha Hluttaw.
Amyotha Hluttaw website was posted on 12 February 2015 and was upgraded on 26 February 2018.
Additional postings
Amyotha Hluttaw website includes a Meeting section, Legislation section, Committee/commission section, Representative section, Library section, Hluttaw study section, Research section, International Relations section and News and information section. Starting from the Second Hluttaw term, a brief record of the days when meetings were held, seating plan of representatives, representatives and their constituencies, news notes and partner organization sectors were posted in the website.
Amyotha Hluttaw was formed with 12 elected representatives each from states and regions totaling 168 representatives, 4 Tatmadaw representatives each from states and regions totaling 56 Tatmadaw Amyotha Hluttaw representatives selected by Tatmadaw Commander-in-Chief. Amyotha Hluttaw was to be formed with not more than these 224 Amyotha Hluttaw representatives and at the moment 224 Amyotha Hluttaw representatives were striving to fulfill the wishes of the people.
Second Amyotha Hluttaw organized in such a way will be continuing to strive toward fulfilling the people’s requirement
The Second Amyotha Hluttaw organized in such a way with representatives representing the people will continue to strive toward fulfilling the desires of the people according to the motto of “People’s Voice, Hluttaw’s voice, People’s Will, Hluttaw’s Will, People’s Expectation, Hluttaw implements.”
(Translated by Handytips)
