From Burma’s oppression under 18th century British colonialism, to the modern political and social changes of today’s democratic Burma, the Mon people of Lower Burma have been striving to achieve their destiny. The Mon people have been fortunate to have political and community leaders born from to a highly intellectual sect from lower Burma, historically known as Monland. The late Mon leader Mr. Nai Tun Thein is an exceptional figure among Mon leaders who have passed away in recent years. This tribute feature is dedicated to the ‘master’, whom, over the past seventy years, many Mon people have regarded as ‘a leader for all seasons’. The gentleman, intellectual, and honest man left an honorable legacy as a person who acted with compassion and integrity towards others, whose moral authority could not be contested by the new politicians in modern Burma.
The leader was born:
Mr. Nai Htun Thein, aka Nai Taw Sorn in Mon, was a bright young man born to a wealthy Mon family in 1917 during Burma’s British rule; he lived through colonialist, communist, and socialist rule, with Burma’s democratic hopes emerging at the end of his life.
As a bright young boy, Nai Htun Thein was awarded a scholarship in 1938, and easily completed his Bachelor of Science in 1945, despite engaging in the students’ movement for an independent Burma and the Mon Literature Project in Rangoon (Yangon), where the bright Mon youths of the time united for the common discourse Mon Literature Project to be taught in public schools with support from the prestigious Mon organization, the All Mon Rehmonya Association. Mr. Nai Thein was appointed General Secretary of the association from 1947-1949, during the turbulent years that Burma campaigned for its independence from British rule. At the same time, Mon social and political elites were campaigning for greater autonomy of civil and political rights for the Mon people within Burma.
The bright man had become a political activist, which came with a price. Due to his political activities, Mr. Nai Thein was denied permission to travel to America to accept a scholarship to study at Michigan University. The determination he had for his political aspirations were not deterred by this set back, and at that moment, Nai Htun Thein promised himself he would continue to campaign for the self-determination of the Mon people within Burma. He formally served on the Central Committee of the Mon People’s Front (MPF); the first Mon political party and its armed wing was established in 1949, as a Foreign Affairs office based in Mae Sot, Thailand. The game was on for modern Mon politics.
The emergence of Modern Mon politics:
Through the late 1950s to the 1960s, the Mon political campaign began winning popular support throughout lower Burma. As the determined ‘master’, Nai Htun Thein never rested as he fought to garner support for the idea that armed struggle must not be used as the first policy for Mon autonomy, but as the last resort, applied strategically, in order to obtain political power for the Mon people within Burma.
In 1958, the time finally came when the Government of Burma, under Prime Minister U Nu, called for a peace agreement with the Mon People’s Front. The ‘master’ and his colleagues returned to the Motherland with a sense of hope that peace agreement’s proposal for the Mon people’s self-determination would be viewed as the winning ticket in the modern Mon political movement. The dream was short lived, as the ‘master’ was detained and sentenced to prison from 1962-1968 by the new military government under General Ne Win. Nai Htun Thein was forced to suspend his fight for modern Mon politics, but his liberated colleagues remained un-bowed.
Nai Htun Thein was a well-education and respected leader, who devoted his life committed to Mon National Affairs, with commitment to the Mon nation and its politics. He worked for Mon national freedom and the burgeoning democracy in Burma for more than half a century. Prior to Burma’s independence in 1948, Nai Htun Thein was involved in politics with Nai Shwe Kyin. Nai Htun Thein sacrificed his life for the benefit of the Mon people, and all nationalities in Burma, without looking for his own benefit. One could not measure his goodwill and kindness for the people. Nai Kun Yekka, the author of Mr. Thein’s biography, remarked that until his death, Nai Htun Thein had engaged in the struggle with a pure mind, strong spirit, bright power, and lively patriotism.
A New hope:
The ‘master’ of the Mon and Burmese political movement was given another golden opportunity in 1988, during the uprising of Burma’s democracy movement, when the ‘maser’ and his colleagues formed a new modern, but legally registered, Mon political party. In October 1988, the Mon National Democratic Front (MNDF) was established under the ‘master’s’ chairmanship. The MNDF was a second chance for the Mon people to claim self-determination during modern Burma’s democratic transition. When the ‘master’ was elected as a popular member of parliament in Burma’s 1990 general election, the political dream came true at a doubtful time. The troubling time once again reached the ‘master’; Nai Htun Thein was jailed without trial in August 1994 because the military government accused him of threatening ‘national security’, despite no grounds upon which to base the accusation. The only sin the ‘master’ committed was that he and his political colleagues disapproved of the National Convention being sponsored by the military government, without providing freedom of expression and association among Mons and other political leaders.
The master’s faith in politics:
Nai Htun Thein did not choose the road of a scholar, instead he actively participated in the Mon national movement and high level political organizations, through which he could serve all people. His love for literature flourished as he wrote many books and articles for the Mon and other nationalities. Nai Htun Thein spent precious time writing, teaching classic Mon literature and Mon stone inscription, as well as participating in Mon national affairs and political organizations for emerging democracy in Burma.
Nai Htun Thein spent ten years living in the jungle, for the freedom of all people. His nature was quiet and he loved peace. He was an excellent communicator and spoke politely; he was satisfied and always humble. Nai Ponnya Mon, a Mon scholar based in the USA, remarked that Nai Htun Thein was loved and respected by the people because his work for Mon national affairs and politics proved that he had all the attributes of a good leader; honesty, nobility, goodwill, hard work, fairness of mind, and widely knowledgeable.
After seventy years spent devoted to serving the Mon people, the ‘master’ now rests in peace, and the struggle for the Mon people’s self-determination is carried on by the new generation.
The ‘master’s last words:
Although he could live a comfortable life, his love for others forced him to take the difficult road in order to free all from suffering, unfairness, and injustice, until his current age of 87 years. When he needs to do something, or go somewhere, he still takes the local bus, even to crowded downtown Rangoon. Although he is getting old, he will never give up on the struggle against injustice and unfairness, since his last goals of equality, democracy, peace and self-determination have not yet been reached.
As Nai Htun Thein biographer Kun Yekka recalled Nai Htun Thein’s last words, which he said very often, “I wrapped my clothes in a bag at all times; it means I’m ready to be detained whenever they (Military Intelligence) like.”
In regards to morals and ethics, Nai Htun Thein was immaculate. As his nephew, I have first-hand knowledge of his moral righteousness. When General Khin Nyunt learned of my uncle’s frequent visits to the American and British Embassies, he was asked to retire from politics because of his old age, and in compensation he would be given a luxury flat in downtown Rangoon, plus many hundreds of thousands of kyat for him to retire on. To this, Nai Htun Thein replied to Khin Nyunt “thank you very much for your kind offer, but I already have two houses, one in Moulmein and another in Rangoon. I am a widower with no children; I am served good food daily by close friends and relatives, so there is no need for me to have money.” With these two statements, Khin Nyunt backed down. “He is a man who cannot be bought with money,” recalled Nai Banyi Kin, a close relative of the ‘master’, from Sydney. This is proven evidence of our moral leader in Modern Burmese politics. The ‘master’ upholds the test of leadership in faith, but the characteristic of the gentleman in practice.
Modern Mon political elites and leaders shall reflect on the ‘mater’s’ faith in politics, his sincerity to the people, and his conviction in the truth of serving the people and the nation.
