Myanmar

My work place has just took in 2 new crews from Myanmar. Hearing stories about their plight has urged me to write about the country.


Union of Myanmar, or Burma is the largest country in Indochina (Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam). It is a fertile land like no other, irrigated by the vast Irrawaddy Delta all year round. It is a country rich in culture and tradition, influenced by its neighbors such as Thailand, China and Bangladesh.

The people of Myanmar speak Burmese, and write in Burmese script. There are about 50 million people in Myanmar, compared to 26 million in Malaysia.

They are, however, different from us in many aspect.

Myanmar is ruled by the military government, and life is really tough...
So the military junta of Myanmar started in 1988 when General Ne Win led a military coup and ended the democratic government in Myanmar. The power-crazed dude ruled for 26 years and did many changes to the country, and during this period, Burma became one of the most impoverished countries in the world.

Criticism was scathing, such as an article published in a February 1974 issue of Newsweek magazine describing the Burmese Way to Socialism as 'an amalgam of Buddhist and Marxist illogic'.


Junta Leader General Than Shwe

So cut the history short, Myanmar was accepted as a part of ASEAN in 1997, the capital was moved from Rangoon to Yangon in 2005, in 2007 there was a major demonstration by monks in Burma. I was a lil' dude then and didn't realize the significance of the demonstration..




Some of the monks were executed and their bodies thrown into the river

Aung San Suu Kyi is a prominent figure in Myanmar. An activist of democracy, she won the Nobel peace prize in 1991.


She is currently being held in the prison by the junta after an American swam into her home in 2009, and I guess everyone knows about this.

In 2008, Cyclone Nargis hit Burma and devastated the massive delta. Millions were left homeless and there were cases of Malaria being reported in the worst-hit areas. The juntas, being ruthless and cold-blooded, continued to enjoy in their luxurious villas while delaying the entry of United Nations planes carrying medicine, food and supplies.


Devastation in Myanmar after being hit by Cyclone Nargis

My new colleague told me that he has earned himself a degree in Physics back in Myanmar in 2004.



Being a Christian, he could not find a job after graduation and was eventually left to become a volunteer teacher in his village, without a proper teaching document.

The juntas found out and there is a strict regulation for teaching in Myanmar(just in case you're teaching democracy). Knowing that he got himself into trouble, he fled his country without his certificate because the it is not allowed to be carried out of the country.

And so, a degree holder from Myanmar working as a waiter in Malaysia.. I heard that a maid of a lecturer holds a degree in law, and another one holds a degree in some medical field...

Hence this is really a lesson to some people I know, who has the opportunity to obtain a degree and a job, in the comfort of their own country, without having to fear for their lives... and yet they choose to waste all their time on games and only start revising during study week. What is this???


Argue all you want; enjoy uni life la, enjoy cuz u'll never know when is your last day la.. Well look at those people in Myanmar and Thailand now. They are stuck in their position with nowhere to go, and they could be shot dead ANYTIME, and we are worried about ISA and critisizing MACC =.=

In UM, there are some dudes who are so into managing their PBCUM la, PTUM la, debate la, college activities la... to the point that they neglect their studies. No matter how you argue; to produce excellent people with excellent leaderSHIT qualities, you MUST not deny that university is the place for you to obtain knowledge and prepare you for the your future career and THE PURPOSE OF YOU ENTERING UNIVERSITY IN THE FIRST PLACE IS NOT TO ENJOY THOSE ACTIVITIES AND GAMING EVERYDAY AND GRADUATE WITH A 2.50 CGPA.



There is a person I know, who only wakes up at 11am, sleeps at 2am, has absolutely no sense of consideration (turning on Hi-Fi when his roommates are studying), lousy English(asking how to reply email from potential employer, and typing "about" as "bout" in a formal reply), do not know what he wants, cheat whenever it's possible(he admits it, and that's why his pointer is above 3.20). He stays in college but he eats out everyday. Then why stay in college? We stay college to ease our financial burden, he stays college because its easier to see his girlfriend (its amazing he has a girlfriend at all). And the worst of all, he's a gambler.



This kind of people is to me, an absolute trash.

The future doesn't look good for Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi just got another 5 years I think from the court and I guess the prospect of having a fair election in Burma is kinda bleak. The Burmese crews in my working place are all trying to obtain the UN refugee status to continue living in Malaysia, because Hell has never been so close...its their home...

Compared to them, we are so lucky to be born in Malaysia. Though we are sometimes unhappy with the government, but still...

be grateful and appreciate what you have
and stop becoming a trash~



Malcolm