SALON

Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 10:00 AM UTC

Myanmar leader voices concern about corruption

By

Topics: From the Wires,

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar’s president voiced rare public criticism of his government Wednesday, saying that rampant corruption, bribery and inefficiency were getting in the way of the country’s much-touted reform process.

In another sign of the changes sweeping Myanmar, President Thein Sein reprimanded a gathering of Cabinet ministers, regional leaders and other senior bureaucrats in a speech broadcast live on nationwide television and radio.

It marked a sharp contrast to secretive leadership of the former military regime which did not admit its own failings.

Since taking office last year, Thein Sein has introduced a wave of new freedoms and democratic reforms that have opened the country to the outside world after a half-century of military rule.

He told Wednesday’s gathering that the first wave of change under his government focused on political reforms and national reconciliation, while the second wave was aimed at helping the country’s economy. The third phase, he said, will target corruption.

“Good governance is still very weak in Myanmar and still falls short of international norms,” Thein Sein said. “I would like to stress that bribery and corruption must be effectively prevented in order to implement good governance.”

Thein Sein has frequently spoken about the need to eliminate corruption, and said he has repeatedly told government officials “to strive for good governance and clean government.”

“But we have found that departments at various levels of administration have failed to listen to the voices of the people and lack transparency.”

He did not outline upcoming reforms but said that cleaning up and overhauling bureaucracy will be “the third phase of our strategy for the reforms and development of the country.”

The 67-year-old ex-general, who had been prime minister under the ruling junta, has won international praise for spearheading reforms that have included ending direct media censorship, releasing political prisoners and allowing public demonstrations.

The U.N. General Assembly on Monday adopted a resolution welcoming positive changes in Myanmar but expressing serious concern at an upsurge of sectarian violence between Muslims and Buddhists in strife-torn Rakhine state. The resolution echoed concerns of the international community about continuing violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

More By Aye Aye Win.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 0 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: Chekhov's story mirrors Russia's own

Recommendations