Maung Maung Ohn sits in far left corner while taking part in a DVB Debate in Yangon in June. Photo / Aung Naing Soe / Coconuts Yangon
Maung Maung Ohn, the bespectacled and always well-dressed chief minister of Rakhine state, is making good on a vow to leave his post and run in the November 8 elections.
President Thein Sein signed a statement authorizing his resignation on August 25, 7Day Daily reported.
The military general was appointed to the sensitive post last year in the wake of religious violence in Rakhine. His predecessor, Hla Maung Tin, was “allowed to retire.” Hsan Hsint, the minister of religious affairs for the state, was sacked.
Rakhine is home to internal displacement camps, the majority of which are occupied by stateless Rohingya Muslims. Clashes between Muslims and Buddhists in 2012 killed scores.
Today, some 140,000, including a relatively small minority of Rakhine Buddhists, languish in the camps. Attempts by thousands to flee on boats combined with a crackdown on people smuggling triggered Southeast Asia’s own migrant crisis in May.
Local Buddhist residents opposed Maung Maung Ohn’s appointment on grounds that he wasn’t an ethnic Rakhine (he is Burma). But he said he would only be in charge for about a year.
He is planning on running in Rakhine’s Ann township. He will be temporarily replaced by economics and planning minister Mya Aung, according to 7Day.
