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What shall be repaired? Are the government officers taking bribes? What is really happening on the ground? Are the people really enjoying their rights which are guaranteed by the Constitution? Do the people really have property rights, either for their moveable or non-moveable possessions? All these matters will likely be the questions in Parliament.

We shouldn't talk only about the union government. The Parliament should also look into whether the MPs are really representing the people of their constituencies or whether they are betraying their voters. For all these matters, the media will step in to investigate and criticize the performance of each individual MP. President Thein Sein mentioned in his first speech that the media is the fourth pillar of the nation. The media should also take a neutral stand to criticize all the good and bad aspects of the legislative, executive and judiciary bodies. We have to accept it. Whether or not we accept the 2008 Constitution, we have to demand the rights given by the Constitution gradually and to try to amend the Constitution.

Q:  There were weaknesses on the part of the MPs in their questions or proposals, which didn't provide accurate facts and figures in order to make them strong. What are your plans to have a more effective discussion in the next Parliament sessions?

A:  It is really important and the political parties must be systematic in their structures. To observe the situation at the grassroots level, we must have at least an R&D [Research and Development] department. To collect the accurate facts and figures, the parties also need the support of their local branch offices and the NGOs [non-government organizations] can also provide assistance. Later on, I will establish a research unit in my party.

Q:  The government has all the data and information of the development projects that they are carrying out in the country. As chairman of the Guarantees, Pledges and Undertakings Vetting Committee for the Upper House, do you have the right to get access to this information? How much authority can this committee exercise?

A:  The committee's duty and responsibilities are set already. The duty is that when a parliamentary committee has questions regarding the performance of the government, it can ask the respective minister to come and answer those questions in Parliament. In doing so, the Parliament can examine only the pledges that the minister made in front of the Parliament. There can be projects that the government is carrying out outside the Parliament, but the committees are in no position to examine them. We have to examine the pledges that the ministers made in their answers to the questions of the MPs and we can go to the place to which the pledge referred and examine it in the prescribed time frame. After conducting the inquiry, the committee has to submit its findings to the Parliament, which approves them with a majority vote and sends them to the President with the signature of the House Speaker. Identifying and enhancing the scope and authority of the Parliament in comparison with the other parliaments in the Asean [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] is the task that we have for the future in order to promote the role of Parliament to perform the act of “check and balance” against the administrative tasks of the government outside the Parliament.

Q:  Do you think this Parliament is indeed meaningful? What is your response to the skepticism that there is no change because the new government was formed by the same ministers from the military junta?

A:  In structure, it can't be seen as the same between the new and old governments. Although the players are the same, the rule is not. The president has already given the speech three times and we have to watch the consistency of his speech and deed. It is the responsibility of us all to watch whether the government keeps following its pledges correctly. Although the policies, but not the policymakers, have been changed, if they have the will to change their desire, feelings and visions, we can say that both the policies and the policymakers have changed after a period of time.

Q:  Before the emergence of the Parliament, there was an assumption that as the parliamentary system was designed to be a civil-military one, there would be an opportunity between the military and civilian MPs to build a mutual understanding.