Naypyidaw, Myanmar Capital Who Is Considered Failed Because Of Quiet

The parliamentary complex in Naypyidaw was built before it was officially used in 2008. (Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - The Myanmar government has rushed to move the State Capital from Yangoon to Naypyidaw. The owner of power hopes that the new center of power can be greeted with great fanfare. Alias Naypyidaw was transformed into a beacon of national civilization.

Far from being burned. The hasty development actually made Naypyidaw not built like an ideal city. Public facilities are all limited. Many of the people of Myanmar refuse to move. As a result, Naypyidaw became a quiet and quiet city.

The plan to move the nation's capital is not an easy thing. The Myanmar government has felt it. The behavior of the military junta that is paranoid in power will soon collapse into a cause. The military junta considers Yangoon no longer worthy of being the center of power.

Nothing can be built again in Yangoon from government facilities to the military. Even Yangoon is easily attacked by enemies from all over if there is a war. If there is no attack from the enemy, then Yangoon is feared to be defeated when there is a large-scale mass action.

The narrative made General Than Shwe conon, on the advice of his spiritual adviser - take a stand. The leader of the Military Junta approved the construction of a new capital 400 kilometers from Yangoon.

The development began in the 2000s. The government used services up to 80 thousand workers to build the ideal capital city. All kinds of heavy downstream equipment to build a new city. The Myanmar government built five parts of the new city, namely Oathara Thiri, Dekkina Thiri, Poppha Thiri, Zapu Thiri, and Zeyar Thiri.

Development activities are not allowed to leak to the public. Anyone who records will be given a prison term. Construction also summarized half of it a few years later. The power of attorney then officially transferred the center of government from Yangoon to the new capital city on November 6, 2005.

Later, General Than Shwe just named the city Naypyidaw (Singgasa Raja) on March 27, 2016. One day that coincided with Myanmar Armed Forces Day. The government began slowly bringing in civil servants to live in Naypyidaw.

The move was even lured by a fairly large salary increase. However, there is an expensive price to pay. They have to be willing to live far from the family who in fact still live in Yangoon. All because of adequate facilities such as educational centers and incomplete daily needs in Naypyidaw.

Many news spread about the State Civil Apparatus (ASN) and their families who were dissatisfied by being forced to leave Yangoon and live in Naypyidaw. They accuse the junta of ignoring the whole country by moving the capital roughly. The transfer is considered to only make the already bad economic situation worse.

The big cost is disbursed for Naypyidaw construction which is expected to accommodate one million people. The cost is expected to cost as much as 4-5 billion US dollars. A sizeable amount amidst the annual income of its people is only 280 US dollars per person," said Daniel Goma in the book Burma Or Myanmar? The Struggle for National Identity (2010).

General Than Shwe hopes Naypyidaw can transform into a comfortable city. The government has also provided several zones. These include settlements, business areas, military, hotels, recreation, to the international zone.

Empunya kuasa sampai menyediakan tanah untuk pembangunan gedung embassi hingga organisasi internasional. Pembangunan itu di atas paper dianggap menyembutkan narasi sebagai kota ideal. Nyatnya, harapan tinggal harapan.

Instead of being able to bring in investors, Naypyidaw is actually not attractive to local ASN. Lack of public facilities is the reason. Naypyidaw is considered unable to provide educational, health, and commercial facilities.

Those who only want a big salary want to come to Naypyidaw. Then, the salary was spent and used in Yangoon. This condition makes Naypyidaw like a quiet city. The hiruk-pikuk like the capital city of the country will not be obtained in Naypyidaw.

Anyone who has just been to the city will feel very deep loneliness. This limitation has been revealed by several leaders of friendly countries who have come to Naypyidaw. Sometimes not a few people also call Naypyidaw the failed state capital.

The six years after Myanmar inaugurated Naypyidaw (said nay-pee-daw) as the new capital, the city remains quiet and often lifeless. In fact, Naypyidaw is like an expensive monument to the military rulers who are no longer in power, since the junta handed over power in March to the country's first government. Civilian rule in nearly 50 years.

Various efforts have been made to make the city more friendly to the community. In Naypyidaw there is even an entertainment park dedicated to raising a patriotic spirit and a large fountain where ASN can witness a swift flow of water accompanied by Western pop songs with Burma lyrics. However, almost every night, Naypyidaw's enveloped silence, "is written in a report on The New York Times page entitled Surrounded by Portrait, a Lifeless Capital Stands Aloof (2011).