Owner of guesthouse where Suu Kyi stayed in Kayah state reprimanded by authorities

File this in the “cheap shot” department.

Authorities in Kayah state have warned a local guest owner about the need to register visitors with the local administration office. 

Sure, that may be a silly rule, but still a rule, okay.

But wait, wait, who was her guest?

AUNG SAN SUU KYI!

Are the seemingly very distracted and overburdened public servants in Loikaw, the state capital, always so strict about registering visitors who visit  what one travel website described as one of the least visited states in the country? Were they somehow not aware that Suu Kyi was swinging by to campaign for the most historic election in more than half a century? 

In Loikaw, it seems, anything’s possible.

Daw Min Inn, the owner of the Nan Htike San guesthouse, told Radio Free Asia that the local officials didn’t know Suu Kyi was staying at the guesthouse and were informed by higher-ups. Min Inn said the administrator ordered her to come to the office and sign an oath not to commit the grievous error again.

“They said they didn’t know and they came here to watch as the higher level called them. But, the doors were closed when they came and watched here. I said them that we had to close the doors when the Lady is here,” she said, referring to Suu Kyi. 

“Even I couldn’t go inside the guesthouse at that time.”

Photo / Aung Naing Soe / Coconuts Yangon

Subscribe to the WTF is Up in Southeast Asia + Hong Kong podcast to get our take on the top trending news and pop culture from the region every Thursday!




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
YouTube video
Subscribe on