(Letter) – I have never come across such undiplomatic phrases and unintelligent remarks made by a diplomat on a complicated subject like poverty reduction. It is quite obvious that Ambassador Horst has very little or no regard at all of the timing and objectives of the important paper written by the much respected economist-cum-academic, Professor U Myint.
The social, political and economic problems as well as the general attitude of the masses generated over half a century in an underdeveloped country can’t be swept away even by the most experienced experts, and certainly not without Alice’s magical wand.
However, if Ambassador Horst believes he might have such a magical formula in his procession, perhaps it is most fitting that he should be nominated to replace the disgraced Dominique Strauss-Kahn as head of the IMF to eradicate poverty in poor nations or to fix the current economic woes in developed countries in a few days thus saving billions in bail-out money.
Dr. U Myint made an excellent proposal his paper to establish an independent, non-political and legal institute of excellence–a Myanmar Development Resource Institute (MDRI) to undertake policy research and to help plan and implement economic and social programmes and projects, which I believe would help improve the living standard and quality of life of all people in the country, which Ambassador Horst intentionally ignored and failed to recognize it.
I totally concurred with Aung Thu Nyein’s comments recently that, ‘..Dr. U Myint set the stage for comprehensive policy options because there was no effort or record whatsoever in the government on this issue..’, which highlighted the window of opportunity that Dr. U Myint was able to capture and introduce much needed economic policy reforms in the country.
