RANGOON, Burma – President Thein Sein has appointed an opposition lawmaker to his cabinet, a first for his reformist government, AFP reported Wednesday (February 6th), citing state-run media.

Tin Shwe, an MP in the upper house from the National Democratic Force (NDF), will serve as deputy minister of hotels and tourism. He will have to step down from Parliament to take the cabinet post, leaving the NDF with five lawmakers spread across both houses of Parliament in Nay Pyi Taw.

"There was no negotiation with the party and we didn't know about it in advance," NDF chairman Khin Maung Swe told AFP, adding the party supported the move.