Myanmar Regime Parachuting Army Officers Into Senior Govt Roles

Myanmar regime chief Min Aung Hlaing transferred more than a dozen military officers to the Union Civil Service Board (UCSB), a body responsible for recruitment and promotion of civil servants, the Union Election Commission (UEC) and the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations. Half of the 30 ministries in the military regime’s cabinet are now overseen by military officers. Known as the ‘parachute policy’ in Myanmar for the way in which high-ranking military officers are dropped in to preside over ministries and agencies, it results in professional and competent administrators having to work under active or retired military personnel who have little or no knowledge of their areas of responsibility. The UCSB has nine officers led by a colonel posted there in November, reports The Irrawaddy. They have been assigned to handle the records of civil servants, said a UCSB official. The UEC is headed by former Major General Thein Soe, and already has members who are former army officers. Thein Soe oversaw the 2010 general election, which was widely criticized as a sham.