Blog

Dr. Julie Han
Sayama Julie Han (T61) was among the first batch of female engineering graduates. Her contemporaries include
- Sayama Daw Tin Tin Ohn (Amy Thwin, T61)
- Daw Yin Yin Kyi (T61)
- Ms. Pauline Reynolds (ChE61)
- Daw Khin Than Nwe (Margaret Than Maung, T62).
Sayama completed her Doctorate in the US.

Sayama served as the Vice President of Theravada Buddhist Association of America (TBSA) and headed the fund raising for the first Dhammananda Vihara in Daly City, Northern California.

She passed away several years ago. She has a daughter.

Saya U Htin Paw (EE 58, Past President of TBSA) donated to the new Dhammananda Vihara in Half Moon Bay in memory of Sayama Julie.

SPZP-2000

Sayama attended SPZP-2000. She stayed with her elder sister Polly Han.

The following is what she wrote for SPZP-2000.

Here is a brief description of my years after leaving RIT.

I spent 6 years at Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina,
getting a M.S. degree in Textile Chemistry and Ph. D. in Materials Science.

The companies that I worked for in chronological order are:
Burlington Industries, CIBA-GEIGY, Sears Roebuck, Levi-Strauss, Raychem Corp, Tacan Corp, Johnson Matthey Inc, Xytronyx Corporation.

At present I am working as a sales manager for an optoelectronic company IPITEK, which is a division of Tacan Corp. Since 1980 I left the field of textile engineering and have been working in opto-electronic field.

Look forward to seeing you at the Reunion.
Best regards.
Julie
May 10, 2025
U Min Wun (3)
Saya U Min Wun and Saya Dr. Aung Gyi
- Saya U Min Wun matriculated from Taung Dwin Gyi in 1949.
- His close friends called him “Kyit In”.
- His brothers include Dr. Kyi Soe and Dr. Aung Win (BDS).
- His early sayas include U Mu, father of Daw Khin Maw Maw (spouse of Dr. Tun Aung Gyaw (EC69)).
- Saya U Min Wun, Saya Dr. Aung Gyi and Saya U Maung Maung Than were the first group of engineering students to benefit from the “Twinning Program” to attend prestigious universities in the USA.
- Saya U Min Wun did his BS at MIT and his MS (specializing in Photogrammetry) at Cornell University.
- Upon their return to Burma, Saya joined Civil Engineering Department as Assistant Lecturer and was promoted a year later to Lecturer.
- Saya retired as Professor and Head of Civil Engineering and relocated to the USA.
- Per request of his former students, Saya worked at CalTran (California Transportation) until he reached 80.
- In our 2nd BE in 1964, Saya taught “Surveying”. He used the “reverse” seating plan (starting with Roll Number One from the back row to the highest roll numbers in the front row. He enforced a strict attendance policy. Some students joking said, “Min Win yin Nga htwet”. “
- Saya was one of the early readers of “RIT Alumni International Newsletter”. He wrote several articles for the Newsletter.
- Saya is healthy. He practices Vipassana meditation. But his spouse who has a medical problem requested Saya not to go on long trips (e.g. PZPs in Myanmar). His former students sent Garawa money to saya via those traveling to Southern California.
Contributions
- Advisor, Myanmar Pyeikkadein Ah Kyan Pay Ah Phwe
- Supplement to the Kyaik Hti Yo Project (The original original photo essay was done by Saya Dr. Koung Nyunt (A67, GBNF)).
- Bagan Restoration
- History of RIT Civil Engineering Department (The article appeared on the CD supplement of HMEE-2012 book)
- Interview by Aung Zay Internet TV (based in Southern California)
May 10, 2025
U Thant
Brief Bio
- He had excellent communication skills (reading, writing, speaking).
- He won essay and translation contests.
- His mother requested him to study only for two years at the University of Rangoon and then return home and work.
- He became a Saya at the Pantanaw National School.
  For accreditation requirements of the school, he requested help from U Nu (who was a Principal)
- Later, U Nu (leader of AFPFL and Prime Minister) asked U Thant to help the party and the government in various capacities.
- U Thant succeeded Mr. James Barrington (ICS, RUBC Gold) as the Permanent Secretary of the Burmese Delegation to the United Nations.
  The post would later be called “Myanmar Ambassador to the United Nations”.
UNSG (United Nations Secretary General)
- Daj Hammerjold, the second United Nations Secretary General (UNSG) perished in an air crash during a UN mission.
- In trying to find a successor to Hammerjold, the two super powers USA and USSR could not agree.
- USSR refused to accept USA’s candidate.
- USA refused to accept USSR’s proposal of Troika (a three member committee from each of the Three Blocs).
- They agreed to have U Thant (who hailed from Burma, a co-founder of the Non-Aligned Movement) as the Interim UNSG.
- The General Assembly later ratified him as the third UNSG.
- U Thant became the first Asian UNSG.
- U Thant retired after serving two terms as UNSG.
Post retirement
- After retirement, U Thant started writing his memoirs but was interrupted by failing health.
- His younger brother U Thaung was by his side in the final days, and helped bring U Thant’s body home.
- The higher authorities were told explicitly or implicitly not to pay respect to U Thant’s body.
- The Deputy Minister who paid respect to U Thant was dismissed effective immediately.
- Most people expected a decent ceremony (if not a State Funeral befitting the Head of the World Organization), but they learned that U Thant’s body was to be placed at the Kyandaw Cemetery.
- This led students to take U Thant’s body to the Main Campus and and make it a temporary (may be final) resting place for U Thant.
- Details can be read in the book by Htein Win (Dat Pone).
- There were three dissenting votes by the student representatives for the higher authorities’ proposal to have U Thant buried in the Mausoleum (in Cantonment Park), and they lost by 8-3 margin.
- The dark moments resulted in students being jailed or debarred, and some having to wait more months for their graduation ceremony.
  A few never had a chance to graduate.
- One participant had already distributed invitation for the wedding, but ended with the loss of his freedom for a few years and his love.
Book
- Htein Win Sar Pay published a book about the “U Thant Ah Yay Ah Khin”.
- The book contains rare photos (most of them recovered from an archive overseas).
  Many photos (that were in Burma) were destroyed “out of fear” for harassment / punishment.
- Met Ko Htain Win at the 5th ILF (Irrawaddy Literary Festival) in Mandalay in November, 2019.
  He was promoting another book 8-8-88.
U Khin Maung Zaw (EC76) wrote :

The sad thing I discovered at my last visit to Myanmar in Nov/Dec 2018 was that the tomb of U Thant has been closed and in disrepair. The entrance was padlocked, the compound was unkempt.

Ko Tin Maung Thant
- Ko Tin Maung Thant (“Ah Pho Gyi”, U Thant’s son) was my sister’s classmate at the Private Primary Boundary Road School (PPBRS).
- He left the school to join his father (then Permanent Secretary of the Burmese Delegation to the United Nations).
- Sadly, he passed away unexpectedly during his visit to Burma in 1962.
- His funeral service was grander than that of Commodore Than Pe (Minister of Health and Education), the first member of the 17-man Revolutionary Council to pass away.
Centennial Birthday

At the Centennial Birthday Celebration for U Thant held a few years back in the San Francisco Bay Area a few years back, I was a guest speaker.
May 10, 2025
Daw Marie Hla Taw
- Early Burmese female equestrian
- Helped Bogyoke Aung San escape capture by hiding him in her car
Daw Marie Hla Taw
May 10, 2025
Senior Administrators

ICS U Tin Tut

According to Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint, his Bagyi (father’s elder brother) U Tin Tut was the first Burmese ICS (by invitation). U Tin Tut has four daughters. The youngest Daw Mya Saw Shin (Molly) is a lawyer and author. ICS examinations were held in UK and India.

ICS U Sein Tin

ICS U Sein Tin (Theikpan Maung Wa) co-founded Khit San Sar Pay with Saya U Thein Han (Zawgyi) and Saya U Wun (Minthuwun).

HE U Htin Kyaw (Dalaban) and Daw Htar Cho posted photos and writings (e.g adoption of Burmese terms by RU in 1930) of their father Saya Minthuwun.

ICS James Barrington

ICS James Barrington (RUBC Gold) served as Permanent Representative (equivalent to Ambassador) of the Burmese Delegation to the United Nations. He was succeeded by U Thant, who went on to become the Third UNSG and the first Asian UNSG.

Sithu U Tin

RUBC was founded in 1923 by Law Professor Sir Arthur Eggar. He pledged a third of his salary for operating RUBC. He was elected Life President. His successors include Commodore Than Pe, U Tun Thoung and Sithu U Tin.

Dr. Nyunt Tin, elder son of U Tin, stood First in Burma in the Matriculation of 1952 from St. Paul’s High School. U Han Tin, younger son, is RUBC Captain and Gold. He also became an Administrator and/or President of YUBC.

ICS U Ohn Maung

ICS U Ohn Maung (father of Saya U Tin Maung Thein, Ko Francis and Dr. Min Min) is an Arzani. He passed away on July 19, 1947 along with Bogyoke Aung San and six ministers in the meeting room.

U Tin Ohn

According to Dr. Tin Wa, his father U Tin Ohn (MA, BL) was in the Secretariat on July 19, 1947. He was a former tutor of Bogyoke Aung San. His boss (a minister) survived the shooting with a slight injury and requested U Tin Ohn to stay in the Secretariat.

Ko Tin Wa was interviewed recently by BBC about that day.

After Burma gained Independence, U Tin Ohn became the Secretary of Kachin State.

ICS U Shwe Mra

ICS U Shwe Mra was Chief Secretary of an early Burmese Government. According to his daughter Mra Hnin Si, U Shwe Mra provided the environment (e.g Pole Vault) for his children to become University and/or Burma Selected. Six brothers (out of the Ten Siblings) are Scholar Athletes.

I last met Ko Tun Mra at the RUBC/YUBC Annual Regatta in December 2019. He won medals in 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay at the University and National Championship. He won a Gold for the relay (anchored by Burma Champion Ko Soe Aung) at the 2nd SEAP Games held in Rangoon in December 1961. Ko Kyaw Mra (GBNF) won Silver, and later became National Coach. Ko Tun Mra and Ko Kyaw Mra won the Rag Regatta, but were Senior Novice Runner Up at the Monsoon Regatta. They were awarded RUBC Full Green.

Ko Soe Mra won Gold for Pole Vault at two SEAP Games. Ko Win Mra gave up competitive Pole Vault at the advice of doctors. He is a guitarist, vocalist and a diplomat (Myanmar Ambassador to UN, Chair of Myanmar Human Rights Commission). Ko Maung Maung Mra won Silver for Pole Vault at SEAP. Dr. Aung Mra followed his elder brothers as Pole Vault Champion.

May 10, 2025
Saya U Wun (Minthuwun)
- He is a scholar and a distinguished poet.
  His mentor is Saya U Pe Maung Tin, who successfully proposed to Rangoon University to establish the Burmese Department.
- He studied at RU and Oxford University.
- He headed the Translation Department, Rangoon University.
- He served as Professor of Burmese, Rangoon University and as Visiting Professor, Osaka University, Japan.
- He founded “Khit San Sar Pay” with Saya Zaw Gyi (U Thein Han) and Theikpan Maung Wa (ICS U Sein Tin).
  At one gathering, Sayagyi U Pe Maung Tin introduced the trio as “my three bright students, who are more talented than me.”
- His friends include Saya Dr. Hla Pe, Professor at SOAS University of London and U Tet Tut, who persuaded the British Museum to return artifacts to Burma for display at the National Archives.
- He is a Laureate Poet.
  Many aspiring poets learned from his poems (“Pyinma Ngoak Toe”, …) and books such as “Su Tu Pyu”.
  His literary friends led by “K” (BBS U Khin Zaw) and Tet Toe translated and published his poems and his classic short story “Bagyi Aung Nyar De”.
- He is a linguist and a lexicographer. His passion was to compile a comprehensive Burmese dictionary. Due to resource constraints, he could only partially complete his pet project.
- At the invitation of “Chit Mann Nwe” (Professor Harada, Osaka University), he taught and researched at Osaka University with Professor Harada and his team. His works include the Japanese – Burmese Dictionary and several research papers.
- Professor Harada never forgot his roots and used “Mann” (Mandalay) in his pen name. He won a literary prize in Japan for translating “Thway” into Japanese.
- He has two sons U Nyan Soe & U Htin Kyaw and a daughter Daw Htar Cho.
U Htin Kyaw
- He named his younger son as Htin Kyaw / Peter Wun / Maung Po / Dalaban. U Htin Kyaw wrote with the pen name “Dalaban”. He represented the Institute of Economics in Swimming, Water Polo and Rowing. He also played Tennis. He worked at the Institute of Economics, UCC, HIC and FERD. He helped run Daw Khin Kyi Foundation. He is a former President of Myanmar.
May 10, 2025
RU 16
Photo taken at the Diamond Jubilee

[Sayama Daw May Saw Lwin] :
- All under one roof then, on Campus at No 4, Short Road; even though the four of us were involved in four institutes of higher learning.
- My two sons were still students [at RIT/YIT/YTU and IM(1)] and I was pleasantly occupied teaching at the Dept of Chemistry at RU while their father was at the IFL [Institute of Foreign Languages], later to become the University of Foreign Languages.
Myoma, Dance and Music
- [Nyunt Nyunt Tin] : I was in the 7th standard at Myoma National High School (Rangoon) and participated Kabyaluk dance. The team of 400 high school girl students danced Kabyaluk at the opening ceremony. Never forget ,ever.
- [Nyunt Nyunt Tin] : Daw May Than taught us basic Burmese Classicle songs at Myoma National High School like ” Thidar..thidar.. mya-tharr…, kyarr..kyarr… ngaa..paa”. I was 2nd standard at Myoma National High School at that time. We continued to learn until 4th standard.
Censorship
- Readers of the RASU Annual Magazine for 1975 -76 came up with several hidden messages (probably much more than intended by the artist.
- [In July 1963] There were several pamphlets and protests (denouncing the Adhamma Acts) especially on 7th July 1962 (in which several students were killed) and again on 8th July 1962 (when the RU Students Union was demolished).
- In late 1963, most schools except the Faculty of Medicine and the Faulty of Engineering were closed.
- A new Education system — with the use of controversial Intelligence Level Aggregate (ILA) for direct admission to the Universities and Institues — was implemented in November 1964.
- The censorship intensified in the later years.
- My articles had to be approved by three Chief Editors of the newspapers (two Burmese and one English).
  There were four Burmese and two English newspapers; so, there were two groups of three Chief Editors to review and self-censor the articles.
- My poem for the Sar So Daw Nay was accepted by the Assistant Editor in charge of the Supplement. She showed me the preview (block ready to be printed). The higher authorities refused to give the green light since my poem referenced Ananda Thuriya’s epic work “Dhammata”.
Centennial
- At the centennial celebrations of some universities, the alumni and staff were asked to nominate events and people to be honored as the 100 items associated with the school.
- The members could propose a list of items about their alma mater.
- I was a Speaker for the Centennial Celebration of UNSG U Thant (held in the San Francisco Bay Area).
- Mi Mi Win (Junior Win, daughter of Saya Dr. Khin Maung Win) compiled two books (one in English and one in Burmese) for the Centennial Celebration of her grand parents U Khin Maung Latt and Daw Khin Myo Chit.
- Sayama Daw Thida suggested Dr. Nyi Thet Lwin (Group Admin) to publish a book for the forthcoming Centennial Celebrations in 2020.
Philosophy
- Philosophy means love of wisdom.
- Ph.D stands for Doctorate in Philosophy in a specialized field.
- M.Phil stands for Master of Philosophy
- U Win Myint (UCC) was a High School Lu Ye Chun from Myeik (Mergui). He was caught off guard when he was forced to major in Philosophy by the new Education System using the controversial ILA system. On the other hand, some who matriculated with Arts subjects were admitted to the Institutes (e.g. RIT).
Mathematicians
- Some mathematicians served as Pyinnya Mingyi.
- Some wrote Mathematics textbooks for middle and high schools.
Value of Currency
- [In the 1960s] The scholarship and stipend holders received 75 kyats a month (60 kyats after paying the school fees).
- Those who stayed at hostels had to pay about 57 kyats a month.
- One kyat could get long bus rides, decent food, snacks, drinks, comics, and cartoons (to name a few).
Early Principals, Rectors and Registrars
- U Pe Maung Tin was the first native Principal of Rangoon College.
- Dr. Htin Aung also served as Principal.
- Dr. Htin Aung was the first native Rector.
  Other early Rectors include Dr. Hla Myint, U Kar, Dr. Tha Hla and Dr. Maung Maung Kha.
- The early Registrars include Saya U Htin Si, Saya U Yu Khin and Sayama Daw Sein Sein.
Books
- Shwe Ku May Hnin gave me an autographed copy of her book “Nga Doh Khit Ka Tekkatho“.
- Saya U Moe Aung (Tekkatho Moe War) gave me autographed copy of his books (one on Kabayars and one on articles). I translated some of them.
Sayas in charge of Sports
- During my visits, Saya U Ba Toke shared his memories, and also gave me an autographed copy of the book written by Saya Dr. Khin Maung Swe (Maung Thin Char).
  He was active in his 80s, but his health declined after turning 90.
  He was born in December 1920 and is a Phwa Bet Taw of Rangoon University and the first RU Student strike.
  He was an excellent soccer player.
  Saya was in charge in RU Sports (including soccer).
  Saya led the Burma team to Tokyo Olympics in 1964.
- Dr. Hla Thwin was Professor of Psychology.
  Son : Mya Thwin (Phillip, EP75).
- Dr. Maung Shein was Lecturer of Economics before becoming Deputy Minister.
  Saya also worked for World Bank.
- U Yu Khin was in charge of the RU athletes that represented Burma in the 2nd SEAP Games in December 1961.
  After retirement from RU, he chose to work on the design and implementation of Institute of Foreign Languages (IFL). He declined higher paying jobs to work overseas.
Campus
- Some are blessed to be born or brought up on the campus.
- Some are honored to call the campus their home.
- I only had the chance to visit the houses of some sayas.
RIT Grand Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwes
- They were held in USA in 2000, Singapore in 2002, 2007 and 2010, Yangon in 2004, 2012 and 2016.
- I am honored to be an organizer for SPZP-2000 and to be a coordinator for other SPZPs.
Saya Kha and Saya U Ba Kyi
- [Alvin Oke Soe Kha] : I experienced first hand when Uncle U Ba Kyi sang ”ႏွစ္ ေယာက္ ထဲ ေန ျခင္တယ္” and my father Dr. Maung Maung Kha accompanied uncle on violin.
- There were fund raisers to hold Centennial celebrations for Saya Kha. Saya U Oo Khin Maung and Sayama Daw Thida were volunteer organizers along with several others.
U Thet Lwin
- Maung Ngwe Hlinne is the pen name of Saya U Thet Lwin, who taught Burmese at the Institute of Economics and later transferred to RIT as Registrar.
  He composed “Mya Kyun Nyo Nyo“.
- [Saya Dr. Soe Win] : My father Saya Sein was U Thet Lwin‘s Burmese teacher at St. Paul’s High School.
H.E. U Than Aung
- Saya U Than Aung (father of Ko Dwe, Alphonso and Charlie) taught Burmese in at St. Paul’s.
- Served as Minister of Education in the AFPFL government.
- Requested his former SPHS student C. Ping Lee (EE saya, Faculty of Engineering) to head the Technical Education and Vocational Training Department.
RUBC
- In 1923, Rangoon University Boat Club (RUBC) was founded by Sir Arthur Eggar (Professor of Law), who pledged a third of his salary for the operation of the Club.
- U Nyo (Philanthropist) sponsored RUBC Club as part of his donations to the RU Estate.
- The 40th Anniversary was celebrated in 1963 with a souvenir program containing the history of RUBC, list of Captains and EC members, list of RUBC Golds (compiled by Sithu U Tin, U Po Zon and U Tin Htoon). The photo of the Anniversary Dinner appears in another post.
- There were other celebrations such as 50th, 60th, …
- For the 90th Anniversary, there were two publications. The souvenir program displayed in the post, and a reprint of the Autobiography of Sir Arthur Eggar.
Multi-sports Athlete
- In the early days, University students excel at academic and sports.
- Dr. Harry Saing represented Burma in Rowing, Hockey and Cricket and represented the Faculty of Medicine in Track and Field, and Football. He is Past Captain and Gold of RUBC, and is two time Champion of ARAE (Amateur Rowing Association of the East).
- He and Saya Dr. Pe Nyun (Past Secretary and Gold of RUBC) operated Ma Nan Soe and Ma Nan San (the first set of conjoined twins) at the Rangoon Children Hospital.
- Dr. Harry served as Professor of Pediatric Surgery at the Hong Kong University. He also served as Patron of the Hong Kong Rowing and Sailing Club, which hosted FEARA (Far East Amateur Rowing Association) Regattas. According to Ko Htaik San (Henry Kao), Dr. Harry provided physical and moral support to the RUBC crews competing at FEARA regattas.
- Sadly, he is GBNF (Gone But Not Forgotten). I wrote about his in the Souvenir Magazine.
- Per his wishes, his ashes were scattered into the waters near his second favorite Rowing Club (after his favorite RUBC).
Grandpa’s footsteps

[Sayama Daw May Saw Lwin] :
- I think you would be happy (but not surprised ) to learn that our granddaughter Ei Lwin, Dr. Nyi Thet Lwin’s daughter achieved [the highest possible] grade 9 in all of the nine subjects that she sat in the recent, 2019, GCSE [General Certificate for Secondary Examination] exams.
- Following grandpa’s footsteps almost sixty years later!
Tun Naung
- Tekkatho Tun Naung would often play with the mandolin on his back.
- He was selected Tekkatho Lu Ye Chun from Dental College in the Summer of 1965.
- He is a co-founder of Stereo Khit.
Some Outstanding athletes
- U Than Win
  Captain of the RU Soccer team
  Later Director of Sports and Physical Education (SPED)
- U Chan Tha
  Captain of the Prome Hall Soccer team
  University and Burma Selected in Soccer
  Past Captain and Gold of RUBC
- Collegian Nay Win, Kenneth Shein, Tun Kyi and Dr. Tint Lwin played soccer for RU First Eleven under coach Saya Nyein.
  Played at BAA (Aung San Stadium) for the First Division League and Knock-out.
- [Per Than Htut Aung] ; RU Eleven was victorious for three consecutive years in the mid 30s.
- Saya Joe Ba Maung taught English at RIT before transferring to Burma Railways. Saya was Burma Tennis Champion in Singles and Doubles (with Than Lwin). Saya also won the Mixed Doubles with Sayama Daw Ruby Kha (spouse of Saya Kha).
- Several Burma Selected and University Selected became Sports Officers.
- The RASU Sports Officer U Ba Maung is a football selection.
University Prizes
- The program for RU Convocation in 1958 lists about 30 University Prizes (including the Matthew Hunter Gold Medal).
Matriculation and Tekkatho
- In the early days, less than 10 percent passed the Matriculation examination. It was an honor to prefix one’s name with Tekkatho or University.
- Khin Nyo wrote : absolutely right. i think in 1957 only 2% Passed and the total is 20000 . Even dancer Amar Sein was conferred with the title Thekkatho Amar Sein by the Rector Dr. Tha Hla.
Dr. Htin Aung

U Ba Maung

Saya Kha Hall

U Nu and U Chan Tha at RUBC
May 10, 2025
RU 12
Saya U Khin Zaw (Chemistry)
- His writings are interesting, entertaining, nostalgic and informative.
- Had the “Zawana Nyan” to gain good impression from Sayama Dr. Than Than Nyein and scored a Distinction (albeit with the help of a Lab Technician).
- Recounted some episodes related to the infamous 7th July including the “Three Minute Silence” in memory of the fallen students.
- Listed the sayas and sayamas (complete with their degrees). Saya Dr. Tin Win (Alan) requested him to update the list.
- Wrote about Saya U Nyunt Win’s lecture and his sleepy friends response “Nhyat nei shware htoke mei”. Most students wondered if Saya got angry. In the next lecture, the students were surprised to see Sayagyi U Aung Khin. Sayagyi asked who mentioned “Nhyat” in the previous lecture. Saya U Khin Zaw’s friend stood up (perhaps expecting Sayagyi to scold him). Instead, Sayagyi said, “Saya U Nyunt Win did not felt angry. He is here today to say farewell before going to Canada for further studies.”
- Remembers the name of his volleyball playing partners. He said that RU was a place of harmony. Students come from different places, and they profess different religions, but they are close, friendly and free of bias.
Note : There are several sayas named U Khin Zaw.
- U Khin Zaw (“K”) was the first Chief Librarian of Rangoon University Central Library and the Founder / Director of Myanmar Ah Than (Burma Broadcasting Service). His spouse Daw Than Hnit was a news anchor and published several radio programs.
  He wrote a book “My Life Time in Burma”. For the reprint, the title was had to be changed to “My Life Time in Myanmar”. Ko Wint Khin Zaw (A79) mailed me a copy of his father’s book.
- Saya U Khin Zaw taught Mathematics at RU and Workers’ College. He was one of our Mathematics Teachers (along with Mr. Choudhury and Daw Khin Ma Ma) in our I.Sc.(A).
- Dr. Khin Zaw retired as Rector of the Institute of Education.
  He competed in the Pin Weight division in Boxing.
- Dr. Khin Zaw (Geology) moved to Australia.
Khin Maung Oo
- Studied Geology and also wrote Kabyars (with the pen name Maung Yin Naing).
- In 1970, he published two Kabyar collections : one on Shwe YaDu (Golden Jubilee of RU) and one with his friend Soe Myint (Soe Moe Oo),
- 1000 copies of the second book (with a sales price of 50 pyas each) was sold out.
- The authors made a sizable profit, but more important they received good reviews by U Ohn Pe (Tet Toe) in the Working People’s Daily (on August 13, 1970) and U Win Tin in the Hanthawaddy (on August 31, 1970).
- Chit Oo Nyo would also reference the “Three Line Kabyar” (misquoted as “Two Line Kabyar”) in one of his Literary Talks.
There are several alumni named Khin Maung Oo / Khin Maung U.
- Dr. Khin Maung U (SPHS63) stood First in Burma in the Matriculation of 1963. He worked for IM, BMRI/DMR. He retired from FDA. He was a Gawpaka, Translator and Interpreter for a monastery in Maryland, USA.
- U Khin Maung Oo (Ivan Lee, M69) is a Golden Sponsor for SPZPs, the RIT 69er HCF (Health Care Fund) and the Annual RIT-UCC Gathering in New Jersey, USA.
  He is a Patron / Advisor of MASTA (Myanmar Alumni of Science and Technology Association).
- U Khin Maung Oo (Master Mariner)
  Taught at Simalaik and Malaysia.
  Moved to USA
- U Khin Maung Oo (M69, Rakkhine, New York, USA)
- U Khin Maung Oo (EC66, North Carolina, USA)
Newspapers and Magazines
- In the early days, there were many newspapers, several news agencies and reporters.
- Nation U Law Yone, Guardian U Sein Win, UPI U Ba Than, Oway U Nyo Mya, Bama Khit & later Mogyo U Ohn Khin, Ludu U Hla and Daw Ah Mar are some of the journalists and/or publishers.
- After 1962, there were only six newspapers : four in Burmese and two in English. They had to print news supplied by News Agency Burma (NAB), which collected news from the news agencies and selectively translated them.
- There was a silver lining. Working People’s Daily (WPD) and Guardian had interesting columns and Supplements.
- U Khin Maung Latt served as the first Chief Editor of WPD. His successors include U Than Saw and U Ko Lay.
- U Ko Ko (Charles, father of U Ko Lay (RUBC Gold, Chief Editor of WPD) wrote the “Motley” column.
- WPD had a Sunday Supplement and special issues (e.g. for Thadinkyut, Sar So Daw Nay). It featured Translation of Modern Burmese Writings (e.g. Short Stories, Poems). I received fifty Kyats for translating “Nge Thay Loe” (short story by U Thu Kha). U Thu Kha was given fifty kyats.
- Daw Khin Swe Hla (Editor at WPD) wanted to encourage fledgling writers. She earlier founded the “Dawlay’s Circle” at Guardian and held Essay Contests for young writers. The winners included Dr. Hla Yee Yee (MEHS61), Dr. Winsome Ba Thike (MEHS61) and her sister Dr, Katherine Ba Thike, Errol Than Tun (Uzin Bobby Myo Tun, A69), LRC Trutwein and Dr. Tin Maung Aung. The subsequent “Dawlays” include Mr. Tim Marshall and Mr. P. Aung Khin (Paul). Hazel Kyaw Zaw has posted her writing in the Guardian’s Campus Section in 1972.
- U Soe Myint transferred from WPD to Guardian as Chief Editor. He is the eldest son of U Thein Maung (Htin Lin) and the son-in-law of U Than Saw.
- My poem “Men on the Moon” honoring the Apollo 11 astronauts was published in the Guardian in July 1969. Ashin Ananda gave a copy of my poem to Mr. Hall (USIS), who forwarded to NASA. Mr Hall also put me on the USIS mailing list. I received “Lin Yaung Chi” and translations of selected books. I became a free lance writer. I received fifteen Kyats for writing poems, articles, translation of poems in WPD, Guardian and Forward Magazine.
- The later magazines (Pan, Veda) offered 25 – 50 Kyats.
- A few years ago, I became a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM).
Sayagyi U Ba Toke and Dr. Khin Maung Swe

Dr. Khin Maung Swe (Tekkatho Maung Thin Char) wrote a book about his mentor Sayagyi U Ba Toke. The book was published by RU Thin Char Mi Thar Su.
Dr. Khin Maung Swe passed away on June 7, 2020.
May 10, 2025
RU 19
U Thant Ah Yay Ah Khinn
- U Thant succeeded Daj Hammarskjold as the United Nations Secretary General (UNSG) and served for two terms.
- After retirement, he was writing memoirs when his health failed.
- His body was brought back to Burma, but no high ranking personnel except a Deputy Minister was present at the Mingalardon air port.
  The Deputy Minister was dismissed.
- The disrespect for Burma’s Son resulted in “U Thant Ah Yay Ah Khinn”.
- Related posts
  U Thant (Burma’s son)
  Book by Htein Win (with photos and articles)
U Thant
May 10, 2025
U Win Pe (Mya Zin)

*** ဦးဝင်းဖေ (1927 -2021)

** ငယ်မည်

Richard Po Ohn

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** မိသားစု

ဖခင် — ဦးဘိုးအုန်း (တရားသူကြီး)

ဇနီး — ဆရာမ ဒေါ်ခင်မြလှိုင်

သား — ဦးသက်ဝင်း

သမီး — ဒေါ်ဇင်ဇင်

—

** ပညာရေး

English Literature (Hons) ရန်ကုန်တက္ကသိုလ်

Master of Public Administration (Harvard)

တက္ကသိုလ်ဝင်တန်း — Highest marks in Burma

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** လုပ်ငန်း အတွေ့ အကြုံ

ညွှန်ချုပ် National Archives

ညွှန်ချုပ် National Planning

မြန်မာစာအဖွဲ့ဝင်

Bilingual Author

Translator

Literary Critic

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** ကလောင် တချို့

မြဇင် — ဇနီး နဲ့ သမီး ကို ဂုဏ်ပြု

ကဗျာ့နရီ နှင့် နိမိတ်ပုံ

Win Pe

Epsilon

Po Yaza

Zagadaungzar

** Awards

အမျိုးသားစာပေ တသက်တာ Lifetime Achievement

ဝဏ္ဏကျော်ထင်

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** ဓာတ်ပုံ တချို့

ဦးဝင်းဖေ နဲ့ ဒေါ်ခင်မြလှိုင်

စာအုပ် — မြဇင်

စာအုပ် — မြဇင်၊ တက်တိုး

တလပြည့် ဆွမ်းအလှူ

Feedback

Aung Myaing wrote :

One of the precious Myanmar intellectuals.

May 10, 2025