Mon business owners and parents experience discrimination when using the Mon language

June 11, 2022

HURFOM: Mon businesspersons who have named their companies or factories using the Mon language are experiencing prolonged delays when they seek services from government departments.

Mon businesspersons have told HURFOM that they have had to bribe government officials to get things like business registrations processed.

“I’ve named my factory using the Mon language and they (government officials) say the registration can’t be done using a Mon name. I do not want to change the factory name, I made attempts at least three times but nothing has changed. However, after bribing the officials with 3 million Kyat, I’ve got my registration with the Mon name,” said a Mon businessperson.

Most Mon businesspersons have named their companies using the Mon language but some government departments are delaying the registration process and offer unreasonable rationales.

“As Mon monks advised me, I’ve named my company in the Mon language. The problem started when I went to apply for the registration. They (government officials) gave many reasons as to why the registration could not be done. But after giving (a certain amount of) money, I got the registration. If Mon words are included in our company’s name, they make things difficult for you,” said an owner of a construction company in Mudon Township.

Mon parents have also found it difficult when registering Mon names for their children. Mon parents have cited many arguments they have had to get birth certificates of their children who have Mon names.

“As we’ve named our child in the Mon language, the private clinic refused to give a birth certificate. We are Mon, so we named our child in the Mon language. I asked them if the government has a law to ban Mon names. After a big argument, the clinic had agreed to give birth certificates using our Mon name,” said a mother from Mudon Township.

Written by Modinator · Filed Under News