About 1,627 square miles out of 3,176 are to be separated from Paletwa Township for the creation of Sami Sub-Township, leaving Paletwa little more than 1,500 square miles. In response, a letter of complaint was submitted to the central government on July 9, 2012.  An appeal sent to U Thein Sein, president of the new Burmese government, requesting Paletwa not be divided included 2,254 signatures from local people.

The proposal to create the new sub-township was submitted to the central government via the Chin state government by a representative of the Paletwa Township No. 12 constituency and Salai Khawi Yan, a member of the Amyotha Hluttaw for the Union Solidarity and Development Party.

Salai Khawi Yan told Khumi News Group that he acted in accordance with article (54) of the Burmese constitution that requires local residents to give "prior consent" regarding changes to territorial boundaries. He also said that the proposal for establishing Sami Sub-Township was submitted during the Burmese military government era.

One local said, “I do not want to complain about the sub-township issue, but I don’t want the division of Paletwa. I do not know when [the government] included our areas in Sami Sub-Township."

“The new government has to function according to a democratic system. Public opinion should be respected on any public issue," said a resident.

The creation of Sami Sub-Township in Chin State was officially announced on July 31, 2012, despite local protests.