That Myanmar woman who inadvertently filmed military coup in aerobics video danced to a hit Indonesian tune

Myanmar woman recording an aerobics workout video while a convoy of military vehicles heads towards the parliament building amid a coup d’état. Photo: Video screengrab from Khing Hnin Wai
Myanmar woman recording an aerobics workout video while a convoy of military vehicles heads towards the parliament building amid a coup d’état. Photo: Video screengrab from Khing Hnin Wai

All eyes around the world have turned to Myanmar, where the military have staged a coup d’état, upending the country’s transition to democracy. Yet amid all the worrying developments, there appeared to be room for some respite from politics in the form of a woman who inadvertently recorded the coup in the background of her workout video.

Related — Why Myanmar’s aerobics dancer didn’t miss a step despite the coup behind her (Video)

With the video going viral worldwide, Indonesians were quick to notice that she was dancing to hit dangdut tune Ampun Bang Jago (Have Mercy, Bang Jago) by Tian Storm and Ever Slkr. The earworm of a tune, which fuses traditional dangdut beats with electronic disco sounds, was released in September 2020 and has since become a huge cultural phenomenon in Indonesia (by virtue of being the tune that all the kids in TikTok dance to).

And in Myanmar too, apparently.

The woman, who, according to her Facebook profile, is named Khing Hnin Wai and identifies as a PE teacher at the Ministry of Education, regularly records workout videos near the parliament building in Naypyidaw. The above was one of her latest videos, posted yesterday, which shows a convoy of military vehicles whizzing towards the parliament building while she kept pumping to Ampun Bang Jago.

As Khing Hnin Wai danced, the military staged a coup and arrested State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders of the country’s democratically elected government. The military has alleged, without proof, fraud in last November’s elections and has seized control of Myanmar from the civilian government.

Ampun Bang Jago playing amid a military coup is quite fitting, considering that the song is about bowing to the titular Bang Jago, which translates to a figure of authority, before the downtrodden rises up through perseverance.

Is the song foreshadowing another civilian revolution in Myanmar? If that’s going to be the case, we can’t imagine a better anthem than Ampun Bang Jago.






Reader Interactions

Leave A Reply


BECOME A COCO+ MEMBER

Support local news and join a community of like-minded
“Coconauts” across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

Join Now
Coconuts TV
Our latest and greatest original videos
Subscribe on