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
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