Dhaka: Born and bred in Myanmar, Phyu Yamin Myat was taught to work hard and be the top of her class. Like other families in the 70s to 90s, her parents laid out a secure life path for her to pursue, which she did, obediently, reported the Channel NewsAsia.

When the time came for young Phyu Yamin Myat to decide what to study in university, she was left with two choices: Medicine or engineering, the top two fields of study in junta-ruled Myanmar where political science was banned from schools.

‘Politics wasn’t related to me because I didn’t need to discuss who was governing the country or who was doing what. All I needed to do was to study and work hard,’ she said.

‘It’s not that I wasn’t interested in politics - I didn’t need to. My mother used to tell me: ‘If you want bigger and better things, you don’t lose your way’.’

Students in military-ruled Myanmar, like Phyu Yamin Myat, were not given much freedom when it comes to education.

Student-led uprisings, particularly the pro-democracy People Power Uprising of 1988 that saw thousands killed, had caused the junta to shut down Yangon University on the banks of the Inya Lake, a historic establishment that served as a centre for political debates and ground zero of several protests against the undemocratic administration.

Following the deadly crackdown on protesters in 1988, institutions and departments inside the complex were soon dispersed and scattered across the city by the Government due to fears of future assemblies. In the aftermath, receiving an education became a difficult experience - something still fresh in the minds of many in Myanmar, including 39-year-old taxi driver Ko Nyein.

‘The education system was broken at that time. When I started learning at Dagon University, there were no chairs or tables. We had to sit on the ground like we do in the temple,’ said the former history student as he slowly drove his cab down memory lane in Yangon University.

He only spent a few months studying at Yangon Univeristy before being sent to Dagon University, north of the city. ‘We had to travel across a lake and on muddy roads to get to the university. The transportation was really bad. There weren’t so many buses back then,’ he added.

‘It was a really bad situation. I got my degree in history, which was totally useless.’

Unlike Ko Nyein, Phyu Yamin Myat chose to pursue medicine. However, her marks did not meet the faculty’s threshold, causing her to opt for a related field, pharmacy.

‘Another whole new world’

It was not until three years into her first job at a pharmaceutical marketing firm that Phyu Yamin Myat’s life took a new turn; she spotted an advertisement of a three-month course in a local newspaper.

‘The subjects were the things I never thought I’d need to learn: Public management, political science, and political leadership,’ she chuckled, recalling her very first impression of the course description given by Myanmar Egress, a non-profit organisation founded in 2006 by a group of overseas-educated Myanmar scholars.

Led by late pro-democracy activist Dr Nay Win Maung, Myanmar Egress advocates the creation of a functioning state through positive change and a collaborative working relationship with the Government as well as related groups.

‘I just felt that there was another whole new world that I didn’t know of. I was so fascinated. It was so new. We discussed governance and public policies.’

The course eventually led  Phyu Yamin Myat to Singapore, where she spent two years completing a master’s degree at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

‘When I told my family of what I would study, the first thing my mum asked was: ‘Is this dangerous?’,’ she said, laughing. She explained that her mother was worried that she would be in danger by edging towards politics.

‘My Myanmar seniors at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy had faced difficulties. Some couldn’t come back to the country. Some had legal measures pressed against them. So, my mother has the right to worry.’

The missing generation

After earning her master’s degree abroad, Phyu Yamin Myat decided to return to her homeland to share what she had learnt with other young people in Myanmar.

Now a public policy advocate specialising in socio-economic development, the former pharmacy student is trying to reach out to more people on the ground, as her country is slowly shifting towards democracy. A general election is set to take place on Nov 8 in what many claim will be the first free and fair vote in 25 years.

Myanmar is changing, Phyu Yamin Myat said, with a rise of young people like herself, who have been exposed to the outside world and wish to make their country a better place.

‘Formerly, we were sheltered away from political debates and all. Now it’s not dangerous anymore. We can talk about parties, leaders, political ideas, and choose freely who we want to vote for. This is the change and this is a good thing,’ she said with a smile.

‘The whole world is missing our generation. There are people who grow up and live for theelves while staying a little far from politics. But there are also a lot of people like me in Myanmar, people who want to make this country better.’

Asked if the upcoming elections would lubricate the country’s transition,  Phyu Yamin Myat replied: ‘If we let this institutional progress towards democracy continue, it will keep escalating. If you let this happen, if you don’t stop it, it’s in our favour.’

‘The world sees us. This is us who want to make this change continue. We’re okay with whoever wants to make the country better, we can follow and will support.’