I have the privilege of being able to watch and participate in the development of a country that has slowly come out of its shell after more than 50+ years of isolation. Myanmar was the modern “Paris” of Asia in the early 20th century before shutting itself out from the rest of the world for a long time and finally opening up again less than 5 years ago.
I started going to Myanmar for work-related trips about the same time it was opening up during 2013/14. Back then, the citizens were still wary of foreigners and fellow citizens were still encouraged by the military junta to spy on each other in order to maintain control. Mobile phone network was patchy and non-existent and a new SIM card costs almost USD 1,000. There were limited hotel rooms available in Yangon, the capital city. Rooms were going for USD 300 per night and each trip required a visa that cost a lot and took a few weeks to apply.
How things have changed in such a short time. SIM cards are free now (5GB data plan is just a few dollars now) and hotel rooms can be had for USD 70 per night. The country is buzzing as its people has a taste of the modern world and like what they see. Everyone has a mobile smartphone nowadays and have gone immediately to wireless, skipping the need to have LAN phone lines. While salary levels are still relatively low (I understand that a senior military person’s pay may only be a few hundred dollars a month), the quality of life has certainly improved for many.
For the last few years of military rule before they handed power to Aung San Suu Kyi, the generals had been able to hire good technocrats to map out a detailed plan to prepare the country for the modern world. They learned from the past mistakes of their neighboring countries in order to avoid them and studied other countries’ best practices to adopt as their own. The financial sector was slowly opening up and global/regional banks were invited to operate there.
As expected that implementation process was slow. They had to take baby steps and most areas had to begin from scratch as they had hardly any previous planning infrastructure to work on. Financial reforms accelerated and the legal rule of law framework was drafted. The handing of power to the new government was smooth but the military ensured that they still had a hand in matters in order to preserve their interests.
The new government, being in opposition and suppressed for so long, were still wet behind their ears. You cannot blame them for being wary of politicians in general, having been locked up for years. They naturally veered towards loyalty and trust to appoint key people. These were not necessarily technocrats or the right people for the jobs on hand.
Hence for the last 2 years, everything has been bogged down by bureaucratic BS and progress ground to a halt. What was promised to be implemented soon never happened, risk-taking by office holders is virtually non-existent and the Rohingya mess added to the problems. Without knowing what the military is doing, Miss Aung is now looking more like a figurehead being controlled by puppet masters. I do suspect that this is the exact intent of the military, to manage the people’s expectations and eventually rise as a credible opposition in a few years time.
Meanwhile, my engagement with the country continues. I was there for a number of times in my old job to help set up a new microfinance company. My ex-colleague now runs another one that is focused on agriculture and he had invited me to become a financial consultant to his firm. I started in Jan this year and have been having business trips there every month.
I strongly believe that this country has very strong potentials. With a large and diverse population (> 55 million, multiple ethnic groups) and huge untapped natural resources, it is in a position to become a great nation. Many things can go wrong but it takes time to progress. Miss Aung must take control and allow professionals to come in.
There are many Burmese people who have had to go overseas over the years to find employment to survive. This big group is eager to return to their home country to participate in the development of the nation. I wish it every success and hopefully, I can also contribute to it in my own little way.
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