Township administrative office chief Ko Ko Latt made the remark to more than 100 village and quarter administrative chiefs in a meeting at Mya Shwe Wa Hall in quarter No. 4 in Myaungmya Township, Irrawaddy Region, on Thursday, according to village and quarter chiefs. The USDP is the state-backed ruling party.
 
The administrative chiefs meeting was held a week after National League for Democracy [NLD] chairman Aung San Suu Kyi’s campaigned in Myaungmya Township as a part of her first campaign trip to Irrawaddy Region.
 
The chiefs of all 14 quarters in Myaungmya and all 116 village chiefs in Myaungmya Township attended the meeting.
 
Meanwhile, five village chiefs who were offended by Ko Ko Latt’s threat are planning to resign and submit applications to join the NLD, a village chief said.
 
“We will resign as village chiefs on Monday. We have submitted application forms at the NLD office. They made enquires, and we filled out the forms,” another village chief said.
 
Myaungmya Township NLD official Win Swe said, “Yes, when the meeting ended, they came to our office and filled out applications. They also took our official letter to show to their office and to resign.”
 
In early February, Suu Kyi made an electoral campaign trip to Myaungmya Township appearing before tens of thousands of enthusiastic supporters, telling residents that Burma’s main problems are poverty and a lack of jobs.
 
Johny, a former NLD MP in the 1990 general elections is an NLD candidate in the by-election in Myaungmya Township on April 1. The local NLD office is now organizing electoral campaign teams and campaigning in the township.