Burma Tha Din can exclusively reveal today that the National League for Democracy (NLD) will soon have its first policy.
A senior leader at the NLD headquarters in Rangoon told Burma Tha Din on condition of anonymity; "I can't tell you what it is or even which area it will be, but someone from the HQ who was taking post and other documents to The Lady's house in Naypyidaw was using the restroom and overheard through the door people in the office mention something about a policy.”
Speculation has been growing that the NLD will announce at least one policy ahead of key national elections expected in late November next year.
Earlier this year the NLD held its first national conference in decades, and some observers had expressed hope that this conference would discuss policy, but in the event no policy matters were put on the agenda, only NLD organisational issues. The establishment of NLD committees on some issues, such as education, also led to fevered speculation about the NLD having specific policies, but so far none have materialized.
NLD officials gave mixed responses to our correspondent when asked about the lack of policies. One NLD leader stated that there is no need for the NLD to have any policies as they are not in government, and they will make some when they get into government. Another said that people will vote NLD anyway, so they don’t need any. Why take the risk of upsetting anyone?
However, another NLD leader said that they may indeed have policies, but simply haven’t been told about them. “Dr Tin Mar Aung won’t let us see The Lady, so we have no idea what she is agreeing in all the meetings that she has with the United Nations and foreign visitors. When Dr Tin Mar Aung decides the time is right, she will let the people she likes know what the correct policy is.”
