“I have personally come here to listen to the needs of the public in Hpruso Township during my remaining term in office. I’m not here to campaign. I want to fulfill some of the public’s needs with the remaining money in the budget. If it is urgent and essential, we will consider it and carry it out,” said the Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister also devoted time to explaining the organization and achievements of the Karenni State government in the five years since it was formed. He then told the people in attendance that he wanted to fulfill all the desires of the ethnic people living in Karenni State but that he was unable to do so due to an insufficient budget.

“I want to fulfill the desires of each ethnic person in my state. However, we don’t have that much money so we couldn’t fulfill the desires of all human beings. This is our weakness,” he said.

Some of the local residents considered the public meeting to be an unacknowledged campaign event since the Chief Minister was indirectly encouraging people to vote for his party, the USDP.

“What the Chief Minister said is the same as the words of the candidates from the ruling party. So we think this public meeting was actually an indirect canvass for votes,” said U Thè Reh from Hpruso Township.

The Chief Minister also admitted that he was not even 25% satisfied with his term in office due to his inability to solve issues faced by the public and carry out development tasks. This sentiment was echoed by some attendees who are also dissatisfied with the Chief Minister’s track record.

“They were unable to carry out what we wanted. It may be because they didn’t have authority. Another thing is that the government has not been able to solve the issues faced by the public, especially the land grabbing issues and human rights issues. We’re not satisfied with them,” said U Thè Reh.

Karenni Peasants Union’s chairman U Too Reh said neither the state government nor the Chief Minister was able to speak on behalf of the farmers regarding land issues.

“There may be development, but while there is development on one side there are negative effects on the other side. I wonder if [the Chief Minister] considers the construction of roads and having phone connections to be development. These are the government’s duties,” he said.

Local residents who attended the meeting said they desire to have government representatives who have actually experienced the issues faced by regular people in Karenni State, and who will work hard to fulfill their needs. Some attendees said that they only want a government who can truly understand the feelings of poor people.

During the public meeting, local residents made a number of direct requests for assistance to the Chief Minister. These requests included an emergency vehicle for the Township Social Welfare Association, drilling equipment to dig for underground water in order to provide drinking water during the summer, electricity in some villages, kitchen facilities at the market for sellers who have travelled from faraway areas, and improved road and communications infrastructure in villages.

According to attendees, the Chief Minister said that the state government had asked for a 100 million kyats budget to carry out road and communications improvement and other development tasks in Karenni State during its five-year term, but it has only received 80 million kyats to date. The Chief Minister admitted to the public that there are still many development tasks to be completed in Karenni State since his government gave priority to improving road and communications infrastructure.