Myanmar Trivia: For politicians & Non-politicians

by mohingamatters

We all love internet quizzes and half-ass IQ tests, don’t we? We must because that’s how we helped build BuzzFeed to become nearly one billion dollar company today. Drooling over similar potential fortune and wealth, we at Mohinga Matters come up with some interesting questions/ problems for our readers who are bored enough to click the link and read the article in their first day back to work after a long holiday.


Our beloved city, Yangon is full of garbage, no question about it. Reports say that average resident produces 0.4 kilograms of rubbish each day in the city and with nearly 8 million metropolitan populations, that’s 3,200 tons of trash every F day. So, if the city is short of Municipal workers, trash bins, garbage trucks and above all, if the city is lacking people who will efficiently manage all of them while global waste growth is expected to increase 70 percent by 2050, which do you think could be faster, easier and more deserving to get cleaned out of the city before things get out of control: the litter or the litterer that’s every freaking person in Yangon?


Let’s say you are an important person who is on a business trip to Myanmar representing a multinational corporation. You are full of hope, filled with positivity and eager to meet local companies as well as government officials to discuss possibilities of potential collaborations and business deals. If everything goes smoothly, you believe it will not only impress the bosses back home but it will also help this beautiful country grow economically as it is destined to be.

  1. The first person you are supposed to meet emails you 10 minutes before the meeting that he will not make it and he is sending three persons who can fill in for him; yet during the meeting, those three persons do not know why you are here or why they are there. 
  2. During another meeting, the CEO is seemingly very busy and has only 15 minutes for you so he speaks all the way and doesn’t let you say a word to save time.
  3. During the next one, the MD lets you speak all the way and even though he seems like he’s listening, he doesn’t respond at all.
  4. The Chairman from another company seems nice and friendly; however, his email address is asiatigerlover69@gmail.com.
  5. During the meeting with government official, sorry there is no meeting with government official because it gets postponed twice and cancelled eventually but they are sorry for any convenience and willing to meet you two days after you fly back to your country.

How much bonus do you think you will get when you report about this trip to the bosses back home?


Here is a power problem for you.

Average household in Myanmar pays 0.02 USD to 0.03 USD per unit for electricity consumption while Vietnam charges 0.09 USD per unit, Indonesia 0.11, Thailand 0.12 and Singapore 0.16. Myanmar Government plans to increase electricity price yet public demands power stability beforehand that the situation has turned into an annoying loop. Thus, in order to provide better electricity to pubic, the authorities have been trying everything they can at their power other than charging people for more money on power consumption, other than selling less energy sources to China and other than investing all the energy revenue from China for stable electricity. Meanwhile, public has also been demanding stable electricity by showing supports in every ways other than collaborating to pay higher electricity price and other than not cheating on already subsidized electricity price. So, until what year do you think Myanmar will still top the list on countries with the most house fire by candle lights?


Myanmar has reportedly over 100 ethnics and several of those have their own languages and dialects. Most people can speak Burmese aka Myanmar which is the major language in the country and respective ethnic languages are also used in ethnic states and regions where Burmese is less known. It’s essential to know one’s roots and cultures thus new generations including majority and minority ethnic groups are encouraged to learn not only their own languages but also other dialects. So, which of the following languages will be most spoken by people in bars, pubs and restaurants of Myanmar in 2025?

  1. British English
  2. American English
  3. Burmese English
  4. Chinese
  5. Burmese with foreign accent

This last one is a general problem. Generally in Myanmar, people in cars with steering wheels on the right hands drive on the right sides of the roads. Car drivers generally don’t stop for zebra crossings. Street walkers generally don’t use zebra crossings. People generally drink whisky with coca cola. People generally stay with parents until they really really have to move out. People generally get to work late. People generally leave work early. People are generally 5’5”. People are generally generous. People generally have more than one mobile sim cards. People generally don’t put phones on silent mode during meetings. People generally add random people on Facebook. People generally add random people on Linkedin. People generally don’t ask a lot of questions in persons. People generally believe in religions. People generally believe in ghosts. People generally believe in the idea of afterlife. People generally believe in a cycle of death and rebirth. So, how many afterlives or rebirths do you think it will take Myanmar people to be eventually and “generally not shy”? 

Inspired by a New Yorker Article

References

  • 2012 survey conducted by the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC)
  • mmtimes.com
  • worldbank.org
  • energy-indonesia.com

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