Suu Kyi urged to take PM post
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Upper House Speaker Khin Aung Myint suggested that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi should assume the title as the country's prime minister if the charter amendment is delayed and further bars her from becoming the president.
“Unless Section 59(F) is amended, Suu Kyi will be suitable for the position of speaker of the parliament. As for me, I thought she would be the prime minister. In my suggestion regarding constitutional amendment, I proposed that she take the position of prime minister,” Khin Aung Myint said on June 9.
During President Thein Sein’s term, the prime minister post has been vacant.
Under Section 59(F) of the 2008 Constitution, individuals with foreign spouses or children cannot join the presidential race.
Khin Aung Myint said that he told Suu Kyi of his idea during a discussion on charter amendment, adding that the prime minister post will not be entangled in Section 59(F).
President Thein Sein, Union Speaker Thura Shwe Mann, senior general Min Aung Hlaing and Aung San Suu Kyi are all expected to vie for the presidency.
When journalists asked Khin Aung Myint who should be president, he said: “All the candidates will have to compete in the elections with all-out effort. We won’t see a landslide victory like the 2010 elections. The NLD (National League for Democracy) did not participate in the 2010 general elections,” Khin Aung Myint said.
“I want the country to develop. I want the situation before and after the elections to remain stable. Many political parties want to be leaders. Small parties should join hands with big ones,” he said.
Suu Kyi today kicks off her 5-day visit to China, where she will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang.
NLD delegations have visited China at the invitation of Chinese Communist Party, but this is the first for Suu Kyi.
