In Response to Second School for Myanmar Children & Real Figure of BRO Chairman U Maung Hla

by Aung Myint, a Burmese welfare worker in KL,

Surprisingly, Burmese Refugee Organisation (BRO) chairman U Maung Hla’s current returning mode to spurious welfare platform which was highlighted in Malay-mail on 5th March 2010, was shocked upon tens of Burmese refugee organisations, Burmese welfare organisations and Burmese political organisations based in Malaysia.

As we know, UNHCR in Malaysia is not favoured for not doing enough her exercises regarding its concern refugees. Beside this, some organisations come to advantage on the right time. While UNHCR has planned to assist funding of its registered refugee organisations, there is no doubt that theses made BRO chairman U Maung Hla to exploit by investing to show a few welfare activities in order to collect such offer and explore private donations.

Before getting to uncertainty, his real image would be described here. In deed, he was involved in a murder-case in Bangkok in 1999 and he escaped to Singapore. After he was in black-list for forgeries, he finally entered into Malaysia in 2002.

He sought refuge at Burmese Buddhist Monastery in Penang where he had met with some members of Democratic Federation Burma (DFB). He was invited to join at DFB thus he was lifted to Kuala Lumpur. At the end of 2003, he was kicked out from DFB for misusing Penang Burmese Abbot U Pann-Nya-Wan-Tha’s transferred fund about 6,000-RM.

Again, he joined as a secretary in National League for Democracy (NLD-LA) led by Ko Hla Min(who is now in Norway), while another origin NLD-LA led by Dr.Naing Linn is still existing. NLD-LA is a political party so that they founded the BRO as a branch to jeopardise refugee affairs. U Maung Hla worked as an in-charge for newly form BRO and collected funds for UNHCR facilities including selling BRO cards. He collected as much as 100,000-RM but he didn’t show the money at the meeting. So, NLD-LA president Ko Hla Minn terminated him from both NLD and BRO by issuing an official letter.

Later, U Maung Hla did not stop his representation for BRO as well as he named as a chairman of BRO. Although the origin branch BRO was remained under NLD-LA, the NLD-LA handed over the BRO branch to Ko Tin Aye and Dr Myat Nu Khiang to lead independently. One of U Maung Hla’s wild behaviour was that he raped a Karen women, Ma Myat Noo-25 who entered from Thailand and sent to BRO office for shelter by a Burmese welfare worker. He assisted her to get UNHCR facility as a compensation. Now, she is residing in Maesott-Thailand. Furthermore, some Burmese refugee organisations had raised BRO U Maung Hla’s unacceptable behaviours in a meeting with Dr Siva of SUHAKAM to redress the matters. Since then to early 2007, U maung Hla gone to silent mode.

In Malay-mail, his mentioned of BRO school opened in 2007, was only an occasional sector in BRO office but no computer like now. The sector also was opened only on the time of visitor visiting days. Moreover, how his wrongful consideration is that he claiming all about 100,000 people are its members. However, it is revealing his ignorance of different Burmese organisations’ presently representations in Malaysia.

In 2008, Malaysian police had tried to nab him after filed several cases but he was covered by a local NGO and backed by UNHCR. Hereafter, he corporated with police and worked as an informer through sharing information. Recently, he is also responsible for blocking a Burman from departing for a foreign country.

The opportunities of all forms of corruptions, fund-raising for self, have been paved particularly based on UNHCR facilities and supports. UNHCR also asked subsequently to all different Burmese organisations to work together with BRO. It come to understood and corroborated on the past memorandums to UNHCR on the recurrences of such circumstances. Of them, the most resent corruption have been taking places in UNHCR by collaboration of the following organisations; Arakan League for Democracy-ALD, Arakan Refugee Relief Committee-ARRC, splitted BRO led by U Maung Hla, splitted NLD-LA led by U Kyaw Kyaw, Community of Burmese Ethnic in Malaysia-COBEM. In Rohingya community, splitted Rohingya Information Center-RIC led by Abdul Ghani but only a few amount collected from community due to restricted UNHCR facility towards Rohingya.

Ironically, about 6,000 members of Burma’s the most oppress undocumented Rohingya refugees are not yet registered with UNHCR even though their datas had been collected since in the mid of year 2009.

I would also provide here similar story from Arakan Refugee Relief Committee-ARRC. One of its member, a US citizenship holder, Mr Nyi Nyi Lwin had taken the organisation’s funds about 50,000-RM and escaped to Thailand. Despite the ARRC didn’t explain how its funds come from, it was collection money from recently registration with UNHCR of its 12,000 members. It had collected 600 to 1,200-RM for each person registration with UNHCR. You could count how much total collected for 12,000 members and benefited to UNHCR staffs. But, there is no one dare to stand against international body UNHCR. In last year, The Arakan Refugee Relief Committee-ARRC had also committed physical abuses against a Burmese migrant worker woman working in Penang. The victim was forcefully lifted to Bangkok and sent back to Burma.

Selling resettlement and other forms of briberies in UNHCR are shocking among vulnerable genuine refugees but criticising goes to who raise this matters because no one believe it could happen in humanitarian fields. Here is one the case that a 24 yo Chin women refugee who was resettled to New Zealand by UNHCR-Malaysia on about September 2010, but she was kept pending in community detention centre of New Zealand. Her case is hang because she is not a genuine person of who had been approved to resettle at New Zealand but she achieved to reach there under someone identity.

Unequivocally, these were already happen in social fields and continuing to happen. Now, we got known and we have to make sure in order not to happen again by blocking all kinds of assistances which would access to fraud ways.

In summary, everyone is welcome to get know about the BRO chairman U Maung Hla’s real image by approaching to representatives of different refugee organisations and other individual welfare workers who are still existing in Malaysia. Therefore you can’t deny this report.

For malaymail source: www.mmail.com.my/content/59869-second–school–myanmar–children