Unrest in Malaysia, Thailand

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By Simon Roughneen

SINGAPORE

Malaysia and Thailand are two of Southeast Asia's most prosperous middle-income states, whose relatively stable recent histories contrast with volatile neighbors such as Indonesia, Philippines or Burma.

Of late, however, the two resource-rich tourist havens are stuck in debilitating, if sometimes farcical, political standoffs.

Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej was dismissed from office Sept. 9 and replaced by Somchai Wongsawat amid weeks-long opposition protests in Bangkok. In Malaysia, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi faces revolt from within his ruling party.

Although the Thai and Malaysian crises differ, both feature "political instability, elite conflict, and a turning away by leaders from policymaking needs," said Bridget Welsh, assistant professor of Southeast Asian Studies at Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies.

In Thailand, protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) have occupied government buildings since Aug. 26, with a state of emergency declared in Bangkok after clashes with government supporters.

PAD, however, has not attained the same level of public support that protests against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra received in 2006, which prompted a military coup and ouster of Mr. Thaksin.

Mr. Thaksin and his wife, who face corruption charges, have fled to Britain, claiming they will not receive a fair trial at home.

PAD is led by media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul, a royalist who has reportedly called for 70 percent of members of parliament to be appointed, saying "democracy is still a Western export."

Mr. Samak was removed on Sept. 9 - not by the army, or parliamentary opposition, but by the newly assertive Thai judiciary, which ruled his role as a TV chef amounted to a conflict of interest with his executive duties.