At the meeting, state government officials expressed an interest in joining the Mon National Day (MND) executive committee, asking that Chief Minister Ohn Myint and State Parliamentary Chairman U Kyin Pe serve as honorable leaders, and tapping Dr. Min Nwe Soe and Minister U Khin Maung Thwin as the chairman and vice-chairman of the event.

In response to the proposition, MND Chairman Nai Tin Aung said the event’s executive committee members had already been selected, and if the officials wanted to join the organizing body they needed to submit a formal letter to the committee. Minister Dr. Min Nwe Soe replied that state officials had instead decided not to pursue involvement in the preparations.

“What the state government officials discussed about taking part [in Mon National Day] has been cancelled. They won’t participate. So the Mon National Day [executive committee] will continue to organize the event. That’s what Minister Dr. Min Nwe Soe explained,” said Nai Tin Aung.

The 66th Mon National Day celebration will be held on February 16 in Paung Town of Thaton District. As in previous years, the ceremony will include performances, concerts, and competitions in traditional Mon music and dancing.

The first Mon National Day was in held in 1946 in Pa-nga Village of Thanbyuzayat Township by the newly-formed Mon National Association and was chaired by Mon Po Cho and Nai Aung Tun. The event commemorated the founding of the Hongsarwatoi Kingdom on the first day of the waning moon in the Burmese calendar month of Ta-Poe Twe, or February.