It appears to be in the nature of dictators that they often make grand and unrealistic promises.

That would appear to be the case with Myanmar’s dictator Min Aung Hlaing who increasingly seems to be losing touch with reality if we judge him from his official speeches and interactions with the Myanmar junta press.

Min Aung Hlaing appeared to be lost in the clouds last week when he waxed lyrical about a vision of Nay Pyi Taw as the cosmopolitan hub of the Golden Land.

The junta leader envisages Nay Pyi Taw to accommodate over 20 million people benefiting from the imminent construction of a circular railway, bus lanes, an electric tram network, and a subway system. Just where he expects the funding to come from for this vision of the future was not divulged.

As we know, Nay Pyi Taw was constructed under the leadership of the former dictator Than Shwe and it is commonly referred to as a “Ghost Town”.

It is somewhat ironic that Than Shwe is reported to be in hospital, receiving VIP treatment, for what is said to be COVID-19. Only last month, Min Aung Hlaing went on record to say that funding a COVID-19 vaccination drive for all of Myanmar would “bankrupt the nation”.

At this point, dictator Min Aung Hlaing might best serve his nation by putting funding and resources into dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic that reportedly felled Than Shwe and thousands of his citizens.

Given the breakdown in the health service and the threats from the Myanmar security forces, it is hard to obtain a true picture of the dangers posed by COVID-19. But there is a real health threat.

If Min Aung Hlaing wishes to remain aloof from his subjects, then he can continue to promote the fiction of a dream smart city in the clouds.

But if he has a shred of decency he would be arranging for the drugs, oxygen cylinders and other health services needed to help ordinary people in Myanmar survive this troubling pandemic.