Narinjara News, May 6, 2025 

A prominent Rakhine senior politician and former lower house representative (MP) Saya U Hla Saw, also known as the poet Maung Khine Aung, has died. 

He passed away at 11:20 pm on May 5 while receiving treatment for throat cancer in a hospital. 

At the time of his passing, he was 72 years old. 

Saya U Hla Saw was removed from school for two years in 1969 due to his involvement in student activism. In 1975, a military court sentenced him to 9 years in prison due to his political activism in Yangon Institute of Technology (called RIT in those days). Following his imprisonment, he was sentenced to 14 years in jail by a military tribunal during the 1988 revolt. 

He was a member of the Arakan League for Democracy (ALD) during the 1990s. 

After the military government deemed the ALD an unlawful party and disbanded it, he lived his life as a private tutor. 

During the 2010 political transition in Myanmar, he established the Rakhine National Development Party (RNDP) and held the position of general secretary. Nevertheless, he did not run in the election and primarily oversaw the RNDP. 

In 2013, he was the key figure when the Rakhine National Development Party (RNDP) and the ALD party merged into one entity called the Arakan National Party (ANP). 

He played a crucial role in the Rakhine National Conference (Kyaukphyu) that took place in April 2014. 

In the second general election of 2015, he was chosen as the Pyithu Hluttaw representative for Mrauk-U Township by the Arakan National Party (ANP). 

He has authored multiple books, including one of poetry. 

He was born on May 27, 1953, to his father, U Aung Hla Zan, and his mother, Daw San Tha Phyu, making him the eldest son. He is survived by his spouse, Daw Anwet Chey, and their two daughters, Cho Nyan Wai and Soung Hnin Wai.