President U Htin Kyaw allowed the Mon State Chief minister U Min Min Oo to voluntarily resign from his position as well as from that of the state minister for municipal development and construction on Thursday afternoon.

U Min Min Oo publicly announced his resignation from the post on Saturday, Feb. 18, making him the first minister in the nearly one-year-old National League for Democracy (NLD) government to quit voluntarily.

U Min Min Oo told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that he would also resign from his position as a regional lawmaker for Bilin Constituency No. 2, which he won in the November 2015 election.

“I am going to send the resignation letter from the parliamentary position to the Mon State parliament on Friday,” he said.

He said he would also be leaving the NLD, but would not leave politics behind and would be “always ready whenever [his] help is needed.”

U Min Min Oo said he “just want[s] to live in peace,” adding that since he took office, he had been “under anxieties.”

Despite his absence for the two key posts, he said he had made preparations to fill the gaps created by his resignation, particularly in drafting the budgets, for the next fiscal year.

Some of U Min Min Oo’s constituents traveled this week to the chief minister’s office and asked him not to leave his posts, but he said he had already made up his mind.

The deputy speaker of the state parliament speaker also urged him, earlier this week, to continue serving in the legislature for the sake of the people.

If U Min Min Oo leaves his post as a regional lawmaker, the state parliament won’t be able to find a replacement for his seat, as the April 1 by-election campaigns have already started.

The Mon State parliament has just 31 lawmakers, including the military appointees. The President has not yet appointed a new chief minister, but U Win Htein, spokesperson for the ruling NLD, told reporters on Monday that the party had voted on Dr. Aye Zan, the state lawmaker from Kyaikto Constituency for the post.

Source:
courtesy of THE IRRAWADDY

by NYEIN NYEIN

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