DPA/Yangon

Myanmar’s health and education services were better 65 years ago when the country first achieved independence from Britain, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said yesterday.
“We need to start rebuilding them,” member of parliament Suu Kyi said in a speech marking the 65th anniversary of Myanmar’s independence from Britain, which colonised the South-East Asian nation for more than 100 years. “We are lucky that we have a chance to rebuild. We are never too late for rebuilding.” Myanmar was under military rule from 1962 to 2010, which dragged it down to least developed country status. It has undergone dramatic change over the past two years after President Thein Sein came to power in March 2011 and began to introduce political and economic reforms.
But observers acknowledged that the country has far to go to catch up with the more developed economies of South-East Asia. Myanmar’s annual per capita income is estimated at $800-1,000, and 26% of the population lives on less than $1 per day, according to the World Bank. Only a quarter of Myanmar’s people have access to electricity.