HlaMin

Category: Publication

  • Super Organizer

    Super Organizer

    by Hla Min

    Update : July 2025

    U Win Thein (M67)

    Highlights

    U Win Thein
    • 1967 Mechanical Engineering ဘွဲ့ရ
    • စစ်တောင်းစက္ကူစက် Sittaung Paper Mill
    • PPIC
    • ရသာချို (ကိုယ်ပိုင်ကုမ္ပဏီ) Ya Tha Cho (Private company)!
    • ဒု ဥက္ကဌ ၊ VP, RIT Mechanical Engineering Association
    • Founder စက်မှုသတင်းစဉ် Set Hmu Thadin Zin
    • Co-founder Mechanical Engineering Magazine မဂ္ဂဇင်း
    • Organizer, Ah Nu Pyinnya Ah Thinn အနုပညာအသင်း
    U Win Thein 1

    Memories

    • During our RIT days, he was a super energetic organizer and a prime mover. As a member of the Gold Flake Cigarette Family, he inherited business acumen and organization skills.
    • Co-founded “Set Hmu Thadizin Zin စက်မှုသတင်းစဉ်”. Typing and drawing on stencil paper were not easy, but he spent time crafting the stencils into the revered weekly Thadinzin.
    • Vice President, RIT Mechanical Engg Association. Co-founded Magazine for the Association.
    • Suggested to name the main gate as “U Lu Paw Gate ဦးလူပေါ ဂိတ်” after the famous cartoon character from “Burma Star”.
    • Organized mini-festivals for freshers and junior students.
    • Graduated in 1967 with Mechanical Engineering
    • Worked for Sittaung Paper Mill and PCIC.
    • Founded “Ya Tha Cho”.
    • Did not live long enough to see SPZPs, SDYF, RITAA, HMEE & Shwe YaDu.

    Remembering U Win Thein

    The following remembered his contributions well.

    • U Tin Maung Aye (M69) : Member of RIT Ah Nu Pyinnya Troupe, Member of RIT Annual Magazine & Co-worker at PCIC. He gave us two photos of U Win Thein (one at RIT, one at PCIC)
    • U Aung Min (M69) : Chair of 69er Health Care Fund & Organizer for the Class of 69
    • U Thein Swe (EP69, GBNF) :
      3rd BE Luyechun & Organizer of EE69er Gatherings
    • U Maung Maung Kyi (Dip Ing, Wales, GBNF) : Co-worker at Sittaung Paper Mill & PCIC
    • Sayama Daw Tin Tin Myint (Emma, ChE70, Singapore) : Co-founder of Dana Sri Lanka,
      Minthamee, Organizer of Singapore Pon Chan Chan Group
    • U Wynn Htain Oo (M72) : Super Fund raiser for RIT-related activities including SPZPs, YTU Library Modernization Project; Patron of RITAA
    • U Win Thein Zaw (Wai Lu) wrote : နာမည်ချင်းတူ၍သိခြင်း။ ကျောင်းသားချင်း Tuition ပေးခြင်း။ စစ်တောင်းစက္ကူစက်အုပ်စုဖြစ်ခြင်း။ မန္တလေးကုန်စည်ဒိုင်သို့ဆရာဦးလင်းနှင့်ရောက်လာခြင်း။ နေမကောင်းစဉ်ရန်ကုန်အိမ်တွင်တွေ့လိုက်ရခြင်းများကိုသတိရလျက်ပါကိုဝင်းသိန်းရေ

    Updates

    • Mechanical Newsletters for 1968-69 to 1973-74 were scanned and archived in a CD by U Kyaw Thein and Daw Than Than Mu (1974 batch)
    CD of Newsletters

    Posts

    • Magazines
    • Mechanical Engineering
    • Newsletters
    • RIT Ah Nu Pyinnya Ah Thinn
    • Set Hmu Thadin Zin
  • Saw Lin (C71)

    Saw Lin (C71)

    by Hla Min

    Update : July 2025

    2012

    March

    • Visited Yangon to meet with some organizers of SPZP-2012 (to be held in December, 2012).
    • U Saw Lin hosted a dinner at Feel Restaurant.
    Dinner

    Attendees

    • U Ohn Khine (M70)
    • Saya U Aung (C70)
    • U Khin Maung Myint & Rosie Mai Khin Nyunt (both ChE71)
    • Gift — RIT Cartoons
    RIT Cartoons

    December

    • Gave me a ride to attend SPZP Preparation meeting
    • Hosted a light dinner on the way back. Mentioned that he had dietary restrictions due to his medical condition
    • He wore multiple hats at SPZP-2012

    Brief Bio

    RIT

    • Past Secretary, RIT Civil Engineering Association
    • Graduated with Civil Engineering in 1971

    Experience

    • MD ကြေးနီစီမံကိန်း
    • MES EC
    • Publisher of MES Technical Publications

    SPZP-2012

    • Several roles
    • Chief Editor, Commemorative Swel Daw Yeik Magazine
    • Reprinted limited copies for 23 RIT Annual Magazines
    • Chair of Logistics, Security & Entertainment Committees
    U Saw Lin
    • Had medical treatment — Transplant and Visits to ICU
    • Passed away in July 2014.
    • Khamee Khamet of U Win Thein Zaw (Min69).

    Memories

    • With Saya Dr. San Hla Aung
    With Saya Dr. San Hla Aung
    • With Saya U Moe Aung
    With Saya Moe
    • Civil Engg Gathering
    Civil Gathering
    • Past Secretaries of RIT Civil Engg Association — Ko Ko Gyi, Saw Lin, Myo Khin, Hla Myint Thein
    Civil Engg Secretaries

    Posts

    • Cartoons & Cartoonists
    • Civil Engineering
    • RIT Annual Magazine
    • SPZP-2012
    • Swel Daw Yeik Magazine
  • Aw Taik Moh (C54)

    Aw Taik Moh (C54)

    by Hla Min & Aw Taik Moh

    Update : July 2025

    RUESU Magazine

    Brief Bio

    • Wrote the article “BOC College Student” for RIT Alumni International Newsletter
    • Business Manager for the publication of Rangoon University Engineering Students’ Union Annual Magazine in 1952-53.
    • Graduated in 1954 with Civil Engineering
    • MS from MIT as a recipient of the “Twinning Program” proposed by Saya U Ba Hli
    • Attended SPZP-2000 held in San Francisco. He requested to be seated with Sayagyis.

    Letter in 2012

    My dear Ko Aung Gyi:

    I tried to e-mail you several times in the past few months but they didn’t get through. I was wondering where have you been and how were you doing.

    By the way, as I am unable to attend the great Reunion myself, I have two important proposals for you to consider and, if you thought appropriate, present to the Reunion Organizing Committee:

    (1) That at the start of the reunion the whole body of attendees should pay respects to Sayagyi U Ba Hli and Dr. Murray P. Horwood from MIT who were instrumental in getting scholarships and admissions for Burmese graduates and students to MIT, Harvard (San Tun Aung and Nelson Chin graduated from there), Cornell (Kyit In [Min Wun] and Kyaw Win), Michigan State, Ann Arbor & East Lansing, Lehigh, even UCLA (my R.U. College of Engineering classmate graduate Ohn Ghine went there) etc. As you know, Dr. Horwood headed the team of professors from MIT to RU Eng. College back in the 1950’s – – that’s how it got started for the Burmese boys like myself to come to the U.S. for further studies.

    (2) I believe that this similar kind of arrangement with MIT or other institutions could and should be made with the Myanmar govt and RIT now for Myanmar to catch up with the world. If you have a chance to meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, please tell her about this proposal. Education and higher education, esp. technical and medical, is extremely important for Myanmar students and graduates and for the country, and no one should overlook this.

    Thank you very much for your time and consideration of the above.

    My best wishes for a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year to you and your family and all our Sayas, colleagues and friends at the Reunion, in Myanmar and overseas. Please take a lot of pictures at the reunion for me!

    Aw Taik Moh

    1954 B.Sc. Civil Engineering, R.U. Eng. College

    M.C.P.(City Planning) M.I.T. 1957

    P.S. Since I attended the last reunion in San Francisco many years ago the RIT Committee lost contact with me, otherwise I would have contributed something to the “Book” they are now publishing about the history of the university (which I heard of from Dr. Chris Lee). I want to let you and the Committee know that I have an original copy of the R.U. Engineering Students’ Union Magazine, published in 1953 – in both Burmese and English – for which I was a Business Manager when I was a 3rd year engineering student. It has the photos of Sayagyi U Ba Hli and the entire faculty and Dr. Horwood and all the students.

    Updates

    • RUESU published six Annual Magazines
    • Saya U Moe Aung was Editor of the magazine for 1960 – 61

    Posts

    • BOC College Graduate
    • Magazines
    • RUESU
    • SPZP
    • U Ba Hli
  • Poem — To the Fallen Warrior

    Poem — To the Fallen Warrior

    by Hla Min

    Update : July 2025

    Poem ကဗျာ

    • Poem to honor Sarsodaws (စာဆိုတော်များ Writers) who struggled for Burma’s Independence
    • Published in Forward Magazine.
    • Bohmu Ba Thaw was Chief Editor. U Sein Hla was Editor.
    • Received Fifteen Kyats.

    Taw Hlan Yay

    (တော်လှန်ရေးနေ့)

    • Celebrated on March 27.
    • Later renamed as Armed Forces Day (to downplay the participation from all walks of life).

    Independence Day

    (လွတ်လပ်ရေးနေ့)

    • Celebrated on January 4.
    • It is not clear why 4:20 AM was chosen to replace the Union Jack with the Union Flag.

    Updates

    • Maung, Ko & U are prefixes for Burmese names.

    Posts

    • Holidays
    • Magazines
    • Poetry
    • Publications
    • Rhyme
  • Highlights (1961 – 65)

    Highlights (1961 – 65)

    by Hla Min

    Update : July 2025

    1961

    Female Engineers

    • Mi Mi Lay (Tex)
    • Julie Han (Tex)
    • Yin Yin Kyi (Tex)
    • Pauline Reynolds (ChE)
    • Tin Tin Ohn / Amy (Tex)

    Burma Institute of Technology

    U Yone Mo
    U Sein Hla

    In the 1961 – 62 Academic Year, the Faculty of Engineering of Rangoon University moved to the Gyogone Campus.

    It was named Burma Institute of Technology (BIT).

    Sayas & Sayamas

    U Yone Mo served as Dean.

    U Sein Hla served as Registrar.

    Newly minted sayas & sayamas include U Aung Soe (C), U Maung Maung Win (M), Daw Tin Tin Ohn (T) & Daw Julie Han

    Matriculation & HSF

    In 1961, the last Matric & High School Final exam took place. Those who pass the exam could attend the University.

    In 1962, there were separate exams for Matric & HSF. Those who pass HSF had to take the Matric exam in order to attend the University.

    2nd SEAP Games

    RU athletes in 2nd SEAP Games
    • In December 1961, Burma hosted the 2nd South East Asian Peninsular Games.
    • Burma placed First (according to the Tally of Medals) in the Games. Burma was dominant in Track & Field, Swimming & Diving (to name a few).
    • About 20 students Rangoon University represented Burma in the Games. Several won Gold Medals : Tun Mra (4 x 100 meters relay), Soe Mra (Pole Vault), Kyaw Han (Volleyball), Richard Yu Khin (Yachting).
    • Ko Richard (GBNF) provided the group photo. He also wrote about the swimming training with Ko Tin Maung Ni under a Japanese coach.
    • Met Ko Tun Mra, Ko Khin Maung Latt & Ko Tin Myint (GBNF) at the RUBC/YUBC Annual Regatta in December 2019. Ko Tun Mra mentioned that he, Ko Kyaw Mra (GBNF), Ko Soe Mra & Ko Tun Naung represented Burma in the first SEAP Games held in Bangkok in 1959.

    1962

    Coup d’etat

    • On March 2, 1962, a 17-member Revolutionary Council staged a Coup d’etat. Sao Shwe Thaik’s son was killed.
    • Mahn Win Maung (President), U Nu (Prime Minister), U Myint Thein (Chief Justice), several high ranking officers & Sawbwas were imprisoned.
    • U Myint Thein was among the first to be detained and the last to be released. He was given only a part day off to attend the last journey of his spouse Daw Phwa Hmi (pioneer Burmese female barrister).
    • Sama Duwa Sinwa Naung had been selected to succeed Mahn Win Maung as the President, but the Coup ended the democratic parliamentary system.
    Sama Duwa Sin Wa Naung

    HSF Exam

    • The HSF exam results for Rangoon Division was annulled claiming a leakage of exam questions.
    • The students had to retake the HSF exam in August, 1962.

    Dark Days in July

    • There were two Dark Days.
    • Student protesters faced indiscriminate shooting on July 7, 1962. The newspapers & Myanmar Ah Than said that there were 17 victims.
    • Ko Aung Khin who was killed by a stray bullet on his way back from RUBC to his home in Windermere Road was listed as the 17th casualty.
    • On July 8, 1962, the revered RU Student Union Building was demolished.

    1963

    Matric Exam

    SPHS63 Scholarship Winners
    • Most exams were held in March. However, the Matric exam in 1963 was held in May.
    • St. Paul’s High School had five students in the Top Five, seven in the Top Ten, and ten in the Top Twenty.

    Anniversary of 7th July

    • In July 1963, the first Anniversary of 7th July 1962 was celebrated with posters, pamphlets & magazines.
    • Some time later, the higher authorities announced the closure of most schools except the Faculty of Medicine & the Faculty of Engineering.

    Rangoon University Boat Club

    Dinner to celebrate the RUBC 40th Anniversary
    • Annual Regatta was canceled citing security reasons.
    • Sithu U Tin (President) decided not to cancel the Dinner commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Founding of RUBC by Sit Arthur Eggar (Law Professor).

    1964

    Scholarship for USSR & East Bloc

    • Soviet Union and East Bloc nations offered scholarships for undergraduates & graduates.
    • Some classmates (who were concerned about how long the schools will close) applied & were accepted.
    • Maung Maung Kyi studied Chemical Engineering (specializing in Pulp & Paper) at Dresden University, GDR.

    New Education System

    Shwe YaDu
    • Enacted in November 1964
    • The reorganization saw former Faculties as independent Institutes with their own Rector and Registrar. The remaining faculties of Rangoon University became Rangoon Arts & Science University (RASU).
    • Under the new Education system, BIT became Rangoon Institute of Technology (RIT). It had autonomy. U Yone Mo served as Rector. U Soe Thein (former student leader) served as Registrar.
    • Matriculates were admitted to the fresher classes at the Universities & Institutes using Intelligence Level Aggregate (ILA).
    • The marks for each subject were converted to an ILA score (1 – 20). Those who have a balanced score can have a higher ILA than someone who has high marks in most subjects but a low score in one subject.
    • There were name changes to the degrees offered, e.g B.E instead of B.Sc.(Engg)
    • Majors were introduced.
    • LL.B was offered.

    Luyechun

    • The program was initiated in the Summer of 1964.
    • Outstanding students from middle school and high school was chosen as Luyechun. They were sent to the Ngapali Luyechun Camp.
    • Oke Soe Kha (MEHS), Win Aung (TTC) and Ma Pwint Than (Loikaw) were some High School Luyechuns.

    1965

    Nationalization

    • On April 1, 1965 private schools were nationalized.
    • St. Paul’s High School (SPHS) became No. 6 Botathaung State High School.
    • Methodist English High School (MEHS) became No. 1 Dagon State High School.

    Luyechun Camps

    Inlay Luyechun
    • The Luyechun program was extended to students of Universities & Institutes in the summer of 1965.
    • I was selected as RIT Luyechun along with Ko Sein Shwe, Ma Khin Than Myint Tin, and Ko Zaw Min. We were sent to the newly opened Inlay Khaung Daing Camp was added.
    • The Rangoon Combined Camp was the meeting point for those from Ngapali Camp and Inlay Camp.

    Updates

    • There were more changes in the Education System.
    • Some were name changes : RIT to YIT & YTU
    • There were more closures to Schools.
    • There were more Coup d’etat — in 1988 & 2021
    • Burma hosted 5th SEAP Games in 1969.
    • The Luyechun Program ended in 1988.

    Posts

    • Calendar
    • Education Systems
    • Exams
    • Luyechun
    • Memories of a 69er
    • Rangoon University
    • SEAP Games
  • Men on the Moon

    Men on the Moon

    by Hla Min

    Update : July 2025

    July 1969

    • NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) successfully sent Apollo-11 to land men on the moon and bring them safely back to the earth (as envisioned by JFK).

    Apollo 11

    • Neil Armstrong — Civilian Commander; First man on the moon
    • Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin — Lunar Module Pilot; Second man on the moon
    • Michael Collins — Command Module Pilot

    My Poem

    • The poem honoring the Apollo 11 Mission was published in the Guardian newspaper.
    • A copy of the poem was given to Mr. Hall (USIS), who forwarded it to NASA and the astronauts.

    Updates

    • Neil Armstrong became a University Professor
    • For some time, Buzz Aldrin was depressed for not being the first to set foot on the Moon. He later competed in “Dancing with the Stars”.
    • Michael Collins reply to interviewers : “The mission needed three astronauts. I am 1/3 of the success.” He wrote a book.
    • Apollo 13 had a technical problem. The saga was recounted in a book and a movie.
    • Apollo 17 had a Scientist Astronaut.
    • A mini-history was published based on the interviews with Astronauts.
    Mini-history

    Posts

    • Anniversaries & Celebrations
    • July
    • My Writings
    • Poetry
    • Space race
  • SunLun

    SunLun

    by Hla Min

    Updated : July 2025

    Resources

    The following is a collection of resources for Sunlun Vipassana Meditation.

    Website

    http://www.sunlun-meditation.net/

    Sunlun Sayadaws

    Myingyan Sunlun Gu Kyaung Sayadaw U Kavi (ဆရာတော်ဦးကဝိ)

    U Kavi
    • Biography and dhamma talks
    Myingyan SunLun

    First KabaAye Sunlun Gu Kyaung Sayadaw U Vinaya (ဆရာတော်ဦးဝိနယ)

    U Vinaya
    • Early devotees of Sayadaw include U Khin Maung Latt, Daw Khin Myo Chit, U Thein Nyunt and U Win Pe
    • Wrote a book “The Yogi & Vipassana (Buddhist Meditation : The Sunlun Way)”
    • Passed away in his late 90s
    Book by U Vinaya

    “The Yogi and Vipassana”
    BUDDHIST MEDITATION : THE SUNLUN WAY
    Author : Sunlun Shin Vinaya
    Publisher : Sunlun Buddhist Meditation Center
    7 1/2 Mile, Prome Road, KabaAye P.O., Rangoon

    CONTENTS
    The Yogi and Vipassana (Page 1 – 18)
    The Sunlun Way of Mindfulness (Page 19 – 33)
    Explanatory Notes for Beginners and Those Proceeding Along the Sunlun Way of Vipassana (Page 34 – 50)

    KabaAye Sunlun Gu Kyaung Sayadaw U Wara

    (ဆရာတော်ဦးဝရ)

    U Wara
    • U Win Paing won Golf trophies (some with his younger brother U Kyaw Paing).
    • Meditated at KabaAye Sunlun.
    • He gave away his Golf Set. Entered monkhood after the Final exam for Chemical Engineering in 1970.
    • Served as Taik Oke Sayadaw of Kaba Aye Sunlun Gu Kyaung for nearly four decades.
    • Succeeded Sayadaw U Vinaya as Chief Resident Monk.
    • Passed away on August 26, 2021
    • Siblings : Dr. Myo Paing (Medical Research & Malaria), U Soe Paing (RIT EE, UCC co-founder, UN), U Kyaw Paing (Lawyer, Entrepreneur, Champion Golfer)
    U Wara
    Obituary
    Four Paing Brothers

    Vipassana Retreats

    • KabaAye Sunlun Gu Kyaung
    • Kyauk Pa Daung
    • Hong Kong

    Dr. Khin Maung Win

    • Son of U Khin Maung Latt & Daw Khin Myo Chit
    • Retired Professor of Mathematics
    • Published “Notes on Vipassana meditation”

    UCC

    Yahan Khan

    • In the 1970s, the staff and students of Universities’ Computer Center hosted “Donlaba Yahan Khan” for Thingyan at selected monasteries.
    • The initial venue was KabaAye Sunlun Gu Kyaung.
    UCC Yahan Khan 1
    UCC Yahan Khan 2

    Updates

    • Sayadaws — U Kavi, U Vinaya & U Wara — have passed away.
    • Several devotees — U Khin Maung Latt, Daw Khin Myo Chit, Dr. Khin Maung Win, U Thein Nyunt, Tekkatho Shwe Yee Win, U Soe Myint, U Win Pe — are GBNF.
  • Tekkatho

    Tekkatho

    by Hla Min

    Updated : July 2025

    Matric

    • Less than 10% passed the Matric exam in the early days.
    • A few (e.g U Ba Khin who stood First in Burma) chose to work instead of attending RU.
    • It was an honor to prefix one’s name with Tekkatho တက္ကသိုလ် or University.
    • Khin Nyo wrote: Absolutely right. I think in 1957 only 2% Passed and the total is 20000.
      Even dancer AmarSein was conferred with the title Thekkatho Amar Sein by the Rector Dr Tha Hla.

    Tekaktho Moe War (U Moe Aung)

    U Moe Aung

    Student Days

    • Matriculated from St. John’s Dio.
    • EC, RU Kalaung Ah Thin
    RU Association
    • Editor, RUESU Annual Magazine for 1960 – 61
    RUESU Magazine

    RIT Days

    • Electrical Engineering Saya at RIT
    EE Sayas
    U Moe Aung & U Sein Maung
    • Chief Editor, RIT Annual Magazine
    • Editor, Hlyat Sit Sar Saung
    • Co-leader, Swel Daw Yeik Troupe (Ah Nyeint, Htee Yein, Ta Bin Daing Ah Ka) at RU Golden Jubilee in 1970

    Singapore Days

    • Worked in Singapore
    • Chair, SPZP-2002 & SPZP-2010 (in Singapore)
    • Editor / Publisher, Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung for SPZP-2002, SPZP-2007 & SPZP-2010
    • Organizer, Alumni Activities (e.g Thingyan)

    Post Retirement

    • Moved back to Myanmar
    • Taught refresher courses (e.g. Electrical Saftey) at Electrical Inspectorate
    • Kept mind alert by writing poems & articles in weekly publications
    • Patron, SDYF; Composed & performed SDY Song
    • Entertainment for SPZP-2012 & SPZP-2016

    Publications

    • Distinguished Writer, Poet, Editor & Publisher
    • Editor, RUESU Annual Magazine
    • Chief Editor, RIT Annual Magazine for more than a decade
    • Chief Editor, Hlyat Sit Sar Saung
    • Chief Editor, Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung for SPZP-2002, SPZP-2007 & SPZP-2010 in Singapore
    • Chief Editor, Swel Daw Yeik Magazine for Shwe YaDu in 2014 & SPZP-2016 in Yangon
    • Kabyars — solo; with RIT poets; with former EC members of RU Kalaung Ah Thinn
    Book 1
    Book 2
    Book 3
    Book 4
    • Books — Collection of articles; Collection of poem
  • ASSK

    ASSK

    by Hla Min

    Updated : July 2025

    Memories

    MEHS

    MEHS

    With cousin — Ma Nge

    With Ma Nge

    Shin Pyu of two sons

    Shin Pyu

    Tributes

    By Tin Moe

    Tin Moe
    Tribute

    By Minthu Wun

    Minthu Wun

    By Hanthawaddy U Win Tin

    U Win Tin

    80th Birthday

    • Campaign by Kim (Htain Lin)
    • Electronic Greeting Cards
    • Celebrations world wide
    • See Groups & News on Internet
  • Neikban

    Neikban

    by Hla Min

    Updated : June 2025

    Neikban Zaw

    Neikban နိဗ္ဗာန်

    • Burmese term for Nibanna (in Pali) and Nirvana (in Sanscrit).
    • Translated as “Liberation” or “Enlightenment”.
    • Some associations for Dhamma activities are known as “Neikban Zaw Ah Phwe”.
      The volunteers for Dhamma activities often call themselves “Neikban Zaw”.

    Neikban Zaw

    • Pen name of my beloved spouse.
    • She wrote articles for Dhammananda Newsletter.

    Articles

    • A Question and an Answer
    Article by Neikban Zaw
    • Ko Seik Kyan Mar Yay : Physical and Mental Health
    • Doctor turned Patient
    • Wut Hmar Ah Myair Nga Yair Ah Pa
    Article by Neikban Zaw

    Posts

    • Dhammanda Vihara
    • Newsletters
    • Publications
    • TBSA