Auction Of Aung San Suu Kyi's House Worth IDR 1.4 Trillion By Myanmar Court Lacks Interest

Aung San Suu Kyi when receiving British Foreign Minister William Hague at the house where he was being held. (Wikimedia Commons/Foreign and Commonwealth Office)

JAKARTA - The auction of the house of former leader and Myanmar democracy icon Aung Sang Suu Kyi by a court managed by the military junta on Wednesday was empty of interest.

Witnesses and local media reported that no enthusiasts came in the house auction worth around 90 million US dollars (Rp1,416,519,000,000).

Family property in Lake Inye Yangon, covering an area of 1,923 hectares (0.78 hectares) will be auctioned at the order of the Supreme Court, after years of legal battles between Suu Kyi, who was ousted in the 2021 coup, and her exiled brother Aung San Oo.

"No buyer came today so the officer in charge of the auction has left," an eyewitness told Reuters, who asked not to be named because of the sensitiveness of this matter.

Aung San Oo could not immediately be reached for comment. A spokesman for the Myanmar military government did not immediately respond to attempts to seek comment.

The news of the house's auction first came in January. This house is where Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 15 years. In total, he spent more than three decades in the colonial-style building since returning from England.

Later, Suu Kyi moved to the capital Naypyitaw to attend parliament after she was released and remains there as the leader of Myanmar's de facto until her overthrow in February 2021.

He gave a passionate speech to his crowd of supporters in front of the gate of the house, holding several important meetings with world figures, including former US president Barack Obama and Foreign Minister Hillary Clinton.

This family home was inherited by his mother, Khin Kyi, after the assassination of his father and independence hero General Aung San in 1947.

The 78-year-old's older brother, Aung San Oo, first sued in 2000 to get a share of the property. In 2016, the court issued a verdict that divided the plot evenly to siblings.

Aung San Oo has repeatedly appealed for the court to sell the property through auction and the results are divided between him and Suu Kyi. However, it didn't work.

After the coup, the Supreme Court granted the appeal in particular and decided to sell the property through an auction.

Nobel laureate Suu Kyi is currently serving a 27-year prison term at an undisclosed location, for a number of offenses her supporters say are fabricated.