Section 3 | RULES OF THE GAME In addition to abiding concerns over cybersecurity, well-connected military, government, and business interests undoubtedly view liberalization of the ICT sector as an opportunity to further enrich themselves and their families. This is nothing new—an example from 2004 involved kickbacks in the tens of millions paid by Chinese telecom company ZTE as part of a $150 million loan to MPT.197 Among growth sectors in Myanmar today, telecom is one of the most coveted, estimated by analysts to be worth billions of dollars—and some very visible corruption scandals in 2013 were clearly removing obstacles to rent-seekers behind the scenes. In an interview, following the 2013 corruption scandal at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, a Myanmar expert at Macquarie University in Sydney described Minister Thein Tun’s resignation in the wake of the scandal as a “net positive” for telecom reform, since Tun was regarded by Myanmar watchers as an opponent of cheaper SIM cards (at the time, still in excess of $150) and “a logjam generally in the process of reform” in the sector.198 Following his ouster, the bidding process for mobile network providers was the first large public tender outside the natural-resources sector to include foreign companies and was “widely praised by consultants and participating companies as ‘world class.’”199 The 2012 local and 2015 parliamentary elections ushered in new political cadres, although many, including Prime Minister Shwe Mann, merely fill different positions, and their appointees and staff are likely to uphold patronage networks based upon old loyalties. In addition, while it is important to acknowledge that the military still has constitutional and extralegal control of the economic and security environment, it is also crucial to understand that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD retains many of the traits that enabled it to function successfully as essentially an underground movement until 2011, including reliance on personal loyalties over competence or merit, and a vertical decision-making structure in which secrecy is paramount. Larry Jagan, “Politics of Corruption in Myanmar,” Asia Times, April 15, 2013 Shibani Mahtani, “Telecom Officials Face Corruption Probe in Myanmar,” Wall Street Journal, January 24, 2013. 199 Gwen Robinson, “Myanmar Telco Auction: The Good and the Bad,” Financial Times, June 28, 2013. 197 198 Ending the Gender Digital Divide in Myanmar: A Problem-Driven Political Economy Assessment | 59