Food production is subordinated to the profit interests of a tiny layer of wealthy landlords and ruling elites while the working class and rural poor are left to suffer.
Far from defending democratic and social rights, the opposition People’s Party, which postures as progressive, is making every effort to divert growing discontent into the dead-end of parliamentary politics.
Over the past month, France, Australia, Japan, Canada, New Zealand—following Washington’s lead—have each staged war games or concluded alliances with Manila targeting China.
As the largest producer of vehicles in South East Asia, tens if not hundreds of thousands of jobs in Thailand are potentially on the chopping block.
It is preparation for military warfare, not simply trade warfare, that underlies the US pressure campaign.
As with every major disaster, the effects expose the incompatibility of human life with the profit system based on exploitation and national rivalry.
Pheu Thai is attempting to manage its tenuous alliance with pro-military and monarchist parties, though there is no guarantee against further political upheavals.
Neither Pheu Thai nor the People’s Party have any intention of defending the democratic and social rights of workers, peasants and youth who have supported them believing they were alternatives to the military.
Workers already face precarious employment and low wages as the capitalist class seeks to extract greater profits.
Li’s visit, one leg of a regional tour, was aimed at cultivating the Malaysian government’s support as a counterweight to US diplomatic and military encirclement as part of preparations for war against China.
The complicated process to choose a new parliamentary upper house is designed to entrench the interests of traditional layers of the Thai ruling elite.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to the US this week marks a major step in Washington’s consolidation of alliances throughout the Indo-Pacific and its accelerating preparations for war with China.
While paying lip service to the need for “guardrails” and “dialogue,” the Australian government sought to line up the southeast Asian nations against China.
The fall in the ringgit, growing national debt, and the rising cost of living are all having a serious impact on the stability of Malaysia’s ruling coalition.
While the government denies any involvement in the decision, the partial pardon is a cynical attempt by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to maintain the support of UMNO for his fragile ruling coalition.
None of the three capitalist politicians has the slightest intention of addressing the social crisis facing workers and the poor. Whoever is elected will seek to boost business profits at the expense of working people.
Last month’s ruling lays bare the anti-democratic character of the Thai state apparatus, which is not prepared to countenance a public discussion about any reform of the monarchy.
The Malaysian government is working to foist the current debt crisis onto the shoulders of the working class and the most economically vulnerable in society.
Migrant workers constitute a significant and heavily exploited section of the Malaysian working class who are often enticed to the country with promises of jobs that never materialise.
Workplace accidents in Thailand have long been the norm, demonstrating that no section of the country’s ruling elite intends to address safety in any industry sector.
