Myanmar’s lower house approves state counsellor bill

Hanoi (VNA) - Myanmar's House of Representatives (Lower House) on April 5 passed a bill on the appointment of a state counselor in the new cabinet, a post to be created for Aung San Suu Kyi – chairperson of the National League for Democracy (NLD).

The bill was approved by the majority of the elected MPs without amendment and agreed by the House of Nationalities, after serious debate by the Bill Committee and some non-elected military representatives, who constitute 25 percent of the MPs within the House.

The state counselor bill was approved by the House with 137-68. The bill was first submitted to the House of Nationalities (Upper House) on March 31, where it sailed through on April 1.

The bill, which includes five chapters and eight articles, guarantees Aung San Suu Kyi's right to contact government ministries, departments, organisations, associations and individuals for counsel.

She will be accountable in her duty to the Union Parliament.

The term of office for the counselor of state is the same as that of the president.

Aung San Suu Kyi was first appointed on March 30 as Myanmar's new Foreign Minister concurrently holding three other portfolios, Minister at the President's Office, Minister of Education and Minister of Electric Power and Energy.

In the latest development, as re-proposed by President U Htin Kyaw on April 5, the parliament approved the substitution of the last two of her portfolios, naming U Myo Thein Gyi as Minister of Education and U Pe Zin Tun as Minister of Electric Power and Energy.

Aung San Suu Kyi's first two portfolios, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the President's Office remained unchanged.

The Lower House had also appointed Aung San Suu Kyi as chairperson of the Joint Coordination Committee for Development of Parliamentary Affairs.-VNA