The Perpetuation of Parliamentary Rituals in Myanmar

Parliaments come from somewhere. They often boast colourful rituals and ceremonies, which tend to reflect ancient political struggles and a wide variety of cultural legacies. Their architecture, chamber layout and internal rules also inform us about the historical distribution of power in a society, and the maintenance or contestation of social hierarchies and political traditions. How parliamentary institutions are (re)created and take shape, in particular after the end of authoritarian rule, and what does it tell us about political and democratic processes, is the focus of the recent studies of Dr Renaud EGRETEAU, Associate Professor at CityU’s Department of Asian and International Studies.

Myanmar (formerly Burma), a former British colony in Southeast Asia long ruled by its armed forces, offers a compelling case for the study of legislative institution-building in times of democratic transition. Its national parliament reconvened in January 2011 after five decades without recourse to a freely elected assembly. Three rounds of general elections held in 2010, 2015 and most recently in November 2020, have consolidated a parliamentary institution at the core of a democratic system.

In an article published in the Journal of Legislative Studies, Egreteau has examined the significance of two parliamentary rituals reintroduced in Myanmar’s new legislature. The aim was to probe into their meaning and understand why, and how, the country’s elites have chosen to perpetuate, and even re-appropriate, two highly symbolic ceremonies that are a remnant of Myanmar’s British colonial past: the oath taken by legislators and the mace-bearing spectacle marking the opening of a legislative session. The study is based on document analysis and archival research into constitutional texts and rules of parliamentary procedures, and is supplemented with interviews of legislative officials carried out in Naypyitaw, Myanmar’s capital.

Its findings suggest a continuing dominance of ethnic Bamar, Buddhist elites who have embedded–consciously or not–their own values, behavioural norms, histories and hierarchies into Myanmar’s post-authoritarian public institutions. Legislative oaths, regarded with semi-religious dread in such a Buddhist-dominated society, have ensured discipline and deference. The majesty of the Westminster inspired mace-bearing ceremony has on its side conferred hegemonic powers and king-like status on parliamentary leaders. This research therefore highlights how the performance of such rituals has contributed to the shaping, and reinforcement, of hidden rituals of social control and existing power distribution in one of the core institutions of post-junta Myanmar.