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The South Seas Communist Party

The South Seas Communist Party

At the 1926 Guomindang/Chinese Communist Party convention in Canton, delegates from across Southeast Asia planned an Overseas Chinese Communist Division. Its dual mission was to unify the Chinese diaspora in the “Nanyang” (South Seas – Southeast Asia) and spread the revolution among the local peoples. They embraced a hybrid model: their overseas branches functioned as both Chinese diaspora associations and a modern transborder political party.

Buddhism with Lao Socialist Characteristics

Buddhism with Lao Socialist Characteristics

During and following the revolution (culminating in the overthrow of the monarchy in 1975), Buddhism, as the deeply rooted cultural and spiritual fabric of Lao society, was not suppressed but sublated, simultaneously preserved, elevated, and transformed to serve the project of building socialism. The relationship between the Sangha (the community of monks) and the State is a dynamic interplay of ideology and practice, forming a distinct model of “State Socialist Buddhism”.

Might May Rule the Moment, but Right Prevails Forever

Might May Rule the Moment, but Right Prevails Forever

8.7 million colonial subjects died during the World Anti-Fascist War – ten times the Anglo-American death toll. Of these 3.4 million people were killed in the Dutch East Indies, 1.5 million in Indochina , and 345 thousand in Burma.

Gaza, Our Complicity & The Ukrainian Nuisance

Gaza, Our Complicity & The Ukrainian Nuisance

From the corn fields of Phrae to the streets of Jakarta, a stark dissonance defines our political reality. Our governments, including Thailand’s, perform a delicate dance: issuing cautious statements on Palestine while their material actions remain firmly anchored to...

Economy of Solidarity – How Socialism Rebuilt Cambodia After Genocide

Economy of Solidarity – How Socialism Rebuilt Cambodia After Genocide

The reality of Cambodian socialism was brutal, but it was made brutal by the forces of reaction sponsored by The West and its allies. For all its flaws, real Cambodian socialism did exist, if not in the halls of ministries of Phnom Penh, it existed in its purest form through the economy of solidarity. What else other than communism or socialism can we call a communal and social construction project alongside the revolutionary will to discard the previous system?

The Orange People

The Orange People

Som are the new Salim. How the self-described progressive movement in Thailand fell into the same political space as the reactionaries of old.

Why I Obsessively Study the Russian Revolution

Why I Obsessively Study the Russian Revolution

Anyone who knows me knows I am obsessed with the Russian Revolution, I could talk about it labouriously for hours on end. My interest has been mostly confined to this very specific period from the 1917 February Revolution through to the death of Lenin in 1924 – don’t ask me about Stalinisation, the purge or De-Stalnisation (watch The Death of Stalin (2017) instead). I have invested an absolutely stupid amount of time and money into reading about this fascinating bit of Russian and Soviet history. Every October since 2017.

Post-Colonial Medicine and Biopolitical Warfare

Post-Colonial Medicine and Biopolitical Warfare

Across the globe Western medicine is ubiquitous, it is the gatekeeper of medicine, stamping all that sits outside of its narrow realm as quackery. Despite its self-acknowledged limitations, Western medicine simultaneously sees itself as a hard science, like mathematics, while adhering to a tight epistemological dogma, like religion. Critics are labelled quacks and any alternative practices are considered to do more harm than help. Western medicine is an applied social construct, a complex interplay of social practices, riddled with institutionalised powers, bound by rigid histories and discourses that go beyond mere clinical interventions, rigidities that encompass broader issues of care, morality, power, identity and pain. 

Coups, Violence and Coups – A Deep History of Deep State Governance in Thailand

Coups, Violence and Coups – A Deep History of Deep State Governance in Thailand

LONG READ – Seismologists often shy away from predictions, likewise here, what the next earthquake will bring is near impossible to foresee. Not to disavow us of any agency, but when standing back and witnessing the scale and depth of these reactionary formations it can be daunting to imagine anything else. The Red Shirts imagined something else, as did the peasants of the Farmers Federation and the Communist Party. What’s important is to recognise this near-invisible yet ubiquitous power of reactionary violence, so as to brace ourselves for the inevitable. 

The Failures of Youth Politics – Short

The Failures of Youth Politics – Short

Youth movements have a clear sell-by-date. They can only last for but a few years before they need to be sublimated into a different kind of politics, be that the armchair politics of the NGO class, or full scale revolutionary insurgencies. This results in a cycle of Youth movements, which continually get recycled back into the NGO and parliamentary systems.

The Class Consciousness of the Bus Station – Short

The Class Consciousness of the Bus Station – Short

Everyone who takes the bus has these memories in some way or another, all at more or less the same bus station, be it in Chiang Rai or Songkhla, Ubon or Singburi. It’s strange to think that someone hundreds of kilometres across the country, who’s never been to the same bus station as you, will share nearly exactly those same memories. This is a shared anchored memory of some kind of another. Maybe we could call it a consciousness.

The Big and Small L Left & The Death Thai Class Politics

The Big and Small L Left & The Death Thai Class Politics

There is a very tangible divide between the working class and those who consider themselves to be the Left. Class politics is the synthesis of these two L/lefts, the large L and small l, a synthesis to the point where there is no possible distinction between them, whereas a divide between the two forms the absence of working-class politics. In Thailand, this divide is nothing short of a chasm. 

The Great Corn Conspiracy – Long Read

The Great Corn Conspiracy – Long Read

Every year, for 2-3 months, the entire Northern region of Thailand, Laos and Burma, suffocate under smoke. This annual climate apocalypse is a relatively new phenomenon, beginning around 20-30 years ago and seemingly increasing in intensity. The cause, in our opinion, is a conspiracy, a product of decades-long interplay between state and capital, the birthing of mass agribusiness, monopolisation of markets, of coups, of massacres in the streets and of networks of dark finance and patronage.

The Indonesian democracy may change once Prabowo is president — but we need to look at the bigger picture

The Indonesian democracy may change once Prabowo is president — but we need to look at the bigger picture

The electoral victory of the ex-general-turned-cuddly-populist Prabowo Subianto on 20 March marks the continuation of illiberal democracy in Indonesia. However, the moral panic that followed the announcement of his presidency may be exaggerated, writes Iqra Anugrah, who argues for a more nuanced analysis of Indonesia’s current and future political trajectory. The dangers for democracy posed by Prabowo’s impending rule is just a symptom of the larger problem of oligarchic rule in the Global South.

Introduction to Class-Based Feminism

Introduction to Class-Based Feminism

A Marxist analysis of labour allows us to see how all workers are exploited by the bourgeoisie. However, labour (work) comes in many different forms, both paid and unpaid. For example, while a cleaner in an office is typically paid a salary, a woman cleaning her...

The Labour of Love

The Labour of Love

The search for love, dating, is often described as a marketplace, another market where commodities are bought, sold and traded. Love, then, becomes just another commodity to be fetishised. How can we find love under the capitalist patriarchal system and more importantly how can that love ever be reciprocal?

Kafka & Mass Politics at Chang Wattana – Short Read

Kafka & Mass Politics at Chang Wattana – Short Read

The modern Muang system pervades 21st-century Thailand. The bureaucratic imperial castle of Chang Wattana oversees its regional Muangs in the provinces. The gates to the palace of paperwork are guarded by disinterested receptionists sipping from their Amazon ice coffee cups. They form the same system that prevents farmers from owning their land and prevents the ascension of democratically elected governments. The secretaries themselves, like Kafka’s bureaucrats, hold no actual power, you can not get angry at them, just frustrated at the system that lurks behind them.

REPRESSION AND CONFRONTATION (Malaysia) by Paul Petitjean

REPRESSION AND CONFRONTATION (Malaysia) by Paul Petitjean

In International Press Correspondence, No. 37, 6 November 1975 (Source: Marxists Internet Archive). With an editorial foreword by Anas Nor'Azim of Jentayu. Malaysian farmers and students rose in protest against rising food costs and a sluggish economy in 1974....

Pangkor Treaty of 1874

Pangkor Treaty of 1874

Historians have often attributed the treaty as a crucial turning point, which paved the way for the expansion of British imperialism into the Malay Peninsular (Tanah Melayu), yet awareness of the treaty, along with its consequences, remains muted within the public consciousness. In this brief introduction, we shall look into the circumstances that led to the signing of the treaty, the motives and content of the treaty itself, along with its consequences for British expansion in the region and subsequent effects on political developments in the Peninsular.

Jentayu Editorial Note #1: Starting Anew

Jentayu Editorial Note #1: Starting Anew

Jentayu is (re)launching at an important juncture in Malaysian history. The recent Anwar unity government, while attempting to project stability, has left many disenchanted with politics. The administration is also just pulling out of the economic hardship as a result...

The Death Of Class Politics – Move Forward

The Death Of Class Politics – Move Forward

Move Forward Party’s success in the election is a disaster for class-based politics in Thailand. They have achieved precisely what the capitalist elite have dreamed of for decades; to push Thailand away from the class-conscious politics of the 2000s/2010s, and towards a politics of aesthetics. Finally, Thailand has a respectable party for the middle class, one capable of defeating the red shirts.

To Stop Smog Pollution: Empower the Farmers

To Stop Smog Pollution: Empower the Farmers

During the past two decades, the north of Thailand has been turned into a corn factory farm, pouring toxic smog into the sky. Government, business and environmental groups offer few solutions. The only way to free us from this poison cloud is to empower farmers, to give them more autonomy and bargaining power against monopolies in the agricultural industry. 

The Invisible People

The Invisible People

You consume invisible labour but the labour you sell is invisible too. We are detached and alienated from both our production and consumption. How can we begin to see labour through the haze of obfuscation? Who grew my rice? Who killed my chicken? Who made my clothes?

Periphery, Core & Reconciliation

Periphery, Core & Reconciliation

Here, we sit on the event horizon between core and periphery, if there is anywhere it can be reconciled, surely it must be here. Not just Thailand, but other regions that fall into the same global economic bracket of the middle-income trap. Can there be any interaction between the periphery and the core?

A Call For Spiritual Leftism

A Call For Spiritual Leftism

Spirituality provided us answers to these questions on suffering, which in a sense eased it. We are still suffering, the grounds on which we lay our pain are largely claimed by science and doctrinal organised religion– more often than not organised around the capital and capitalist state. Scientists tell us our bodies are sick, or our minds are mentally ill. While the monks tell us to devote ourselves to doctrine. Indeed, scientists follow a (supposedly secular) doctrine of their own.  

A Short History of LAWAN – Malaysia

A Short History of LAWAN – Malaysia

The Lawan (to fight or oppose) Protests will be remembered by many in Malaysia as a critical voice of dissent during this tumultuous period of our history. Its capacity to mobilise and execute so many actions in such a short period of time is certainly remarkable. More so, is the engagement and participation that was engendered from outside activist circles. Its demobilisation and possible demise should also be understood from the perspective of wider failures within progressive and left movements. 

Book Review: Palm Oil: The Grease of Empire by Max Haiven

Book Review: Palm Oil: The Grease of Empire by Max Haiven

Source: New Mandala (Leiden University Library) Audi Ali Palm Oil: The Grease of Empire. Max Haiven. Pluto Press. 2022. On 7 September 1981, the Malaysia state-owned investment company, Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), orchestrated a rapid purchase of shares of...

UBI The Highest Stage of Imperialism

UBI The Highest Stage of Imperialism

The concept of Universal Basic Income was designed by global north economists for global north economies and cannot be applied to the global south. The principles of UBI mean that it pays people in the global north to consume while workers in the global south continue to suffer to produce the north’s commodities. 

A Blurred History of Insurgency – Patani

A Blurred History of Insurgency – Patani

We spoke to Noor Netusha Nusaybah, a Malaysian Patani historian, about how today’s insurgency is connected and shaped by its post-WWII roots, which are often shrouded in misunderstandings, conflicting or competing narratives and secrecy. 

In Remembrance of Kru Krong Chandavong

In Remembrance of Kru Krong Chandavong

May is our month of memory. Beginning with International Workers’ Day, it marches past several anniversaries—the gunning down of Jit Phumisak on the 5th, the Rajprasong crackdown on Red Shirt protesters in mid-May, the 2014 coup on the 22th—only to end with the anniversary of the execution of schoolteacher-turned-politician Krong Chandavong in 1961 on the orders of Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat. Here, a poetic ode to Chandavong is translated on the anniversary of his death.

ความแปลกแยก Alienation [TH/EN]

ความแปลกแยก Alienation [TH/EN]

มาร์กซ์กล่าวไว้ว่าแรงงานทั้งปวงล้วนแปลกแยก (Alienated) นั่นเป็นสาเหตุว่าทำไมคุณถึงรู้สึกหดหู่ตลอดเวลา และ นั่นไม่ใช่ความผิดของคุณ จะว่าเป็นโชคร้ายก็ได้นะ แต่คุณต้องเป็นคนหนึ่งที่แก้ไขมัน We have to become aware of our alienation, gain alienation consciousness, so as to fight it with solidarity and comradeship. Caring for others, for no other reason than we would hope someone else cares for us.

Thaksin

Thaksin

Thaksin Shinawatra defined Thai politics for a generation and forever reshaped it. Somehow, this elite capitalist billionaire became the unquestioned champion for a destitute peasantry. Thaksin’s politics defied left-right categorisations, creating an economic miracle, lifting millions out of poverty while further developing the very same mechanisms of capital that had placed them in said destitution.

No Sweat

No Sweat

In the late ’90s, the horrors of sweatshops became a focal point of concern in the global North. However, in the past two decades, they’ve faded from public attention. We spoke to No Sweat, a campaign to abolish sweatshops, about labour organising, campaigning, consumer culture and approaches to tackling the global North-South wealth divide. 

Aed Carabao: Made in Thailand

Aed Carabao: Made in Thailand

In 2017, English football fans were left bemused when the English Football League Cup was rebranded as the Carabao cup.  A cursory Google led fans to an energy drink, seldom seen in UK shelves, and an ageing Thai rock band.

Proletarian Revolution In The Global North Is Impossible

Proletarian Revolution In The Global North Is Impossible

There is virtually no material production in the north, only service capital— debt and foreign holdings. The material existence of the northern proletariat is dependent on global south labour and continued material extraction. This raises the question of whether successful proletarian revolutions in the north are even remotely plausible.

Buddhism, Marxism & Opium: Monk Folk-Saharat

Buddhism, Marxism & Opium: Monk Folk-Saharat

Folk Saharat, a novice monk of over 10 years, spoke to Din Deng about his religious faith as it relates to his Marxist beliefs. When we spoke to him, he was living underground in Bangkok after being charged with royal defamation. 

Was Thailand Colonised?

Was Thailand Colonised?

Thailand often joins a small list of ‘third world’ or ‘global south’ countries, along with Ethiopia and Afghanistan, that escaped the horrors of European colonisation. However, as with the aforementioned states, the claim is somewhat dubious. In reality, Siam was ‘all but’ colonised starting in the late 19th century and well into the 20th century.

Tatmadaw Returns – A Reflection

Tatmadaw Returns – A Reflection

Writer and political scientist Myo Min, examines the institutional characteristics of the Tatmadaw, exploring their self-appointed role as the parental guardians of the nation and how this led to the February coup in Burma.

The Real Face of Thai Feudalism Today TLDR – Part 2

The Real Face of Thai Feudalism Today TLDR – Part 2

In this second article, we will outline the different periods in Tai history, beginning in the ‘primitive communism era’ and concluding in the formation of the Saktina state, examining how they developed through Jit’s understanding of historical materialism.

Economic Development, Who is It For?

Economic Development, Who is It For?

Reflecting on poverty, inequality and the purpose of economic development in Malaysia Source: Fahmi Reza The past month has had economic headlines dominating media coverage, with the tabling of the 12th Malaysia Plan and the release of the Pandora Papers. The former...

Music For Life – Revisited

Music For Life – Revisited

Ties between many of the original and most influential radical folk artists and their anti-capitalist beginnings seem to have frayed long ago. In an exercise of separating art from artist, leftists today must analyze the troubling messages espoused by many of these artists during the tumultuous political period from 2008-2014.

Insurgency In Yangon – Interview

Insurgency In Yangon – Interview

We spoke to Myo Min, an ethnic Rohingya, Din Deng contributor, activist and Yangon resident about the current situation in the former capital city on the eve of war. In the past few months an underground insurgency has grown in the city and life for it’s residents has become increasingly dangerous, although many are determined to aid the movement against the military junta.

Thalugaz Interview

Thalugaz Interview

For the past few weeks, there have been constant violent protests in the Din Daeng neighbourhood of Bangkok. Din Daeng is an extremely deprived area of the capital, particularly after strict lockdowns in the latest wave of the Covid pandemic were implemented with virtually no economic assistance. Since mid-august, predominantly young people have been fighting the police with improvised weapons like fireworks, small homemade bombs, slingshots and Molotov cocktails.

#KisahLawan – #Lawan Stories Vol. 1

#KisahLawan – #Lawan Stories Vol. 1

The #KisahLawan project is keen to document the stories and experiences of #Lawan protesters, be they first-timers or veterans. This oral history project serves to be a record and source of inspiration for would-be protesters, future historians and all who will carry...

Are protests in Thailand a colour revolution? No

Are protests in Thailand a colour revolution? No

Every time I find a new leftist media outlet I always type Thailand in the search bar to see if there’s been any coverage. More often than not, there’s nothing, but on the rare occasion that Thailand does appear, it’s typically an article denouncing the Thai protest movement at large as a ‘colour revolution’. Often this claim is made with little to no explanation as to what a ‘colour revolution’ is in the opinion of the writers.

The Real Face of Thai Feudalism Today TLDR – Part I

The Real Face of Thai Feudalism Today TLDR – Part I

The purpose of the book was to expose how the plight of the rural Thai peasant in the 1950’s was a vestige rooted in the old feudal system, laying bare its horrors and its exploitative framework. Jit wrote this book as an antagonistic rebuttal against the revisionist history of the ruling classes taught to most Thai’s at the time (and still today), which typically depicts a utopian agrarian past, rather than the brutal exploitative reality. 

No One Cares – Workers Camps – Interview

No One Cares – Workers Camps – Interview

No One Cares – Bangkok is a horizontally organised volunteer group made up of around 20 people. No One Cares was recently formed during the second lockdown in Thailand. They provide emergency food and medical aid to temporary worker camps in Bangkok, which have been sealed shut since the imposition of the latest lockdown. We spoke with Dion, an activist and coordinator for the group.

Covid & Riders Union Protests – FreeYouth Interview

Covid & Riders Union Protests – FreeYouth Interview

Din Deng spoke to Baimai, a lead organiser from the FreeYouth protest group, which was one of the main forces behind the nationwide protests on July 18th. We talked about how the recent Covid outbreak has affected protesting and the new presence of workers unions in the democracy movement. 

Pai & Nice / UNME & DaoDin Interview – Part 2

Pai & Nice / UNME & DaoDin Interview – Part 2

We spoke to two senior Isaan activists, both graduates of the Dao Din student group. Pai from UNME of Anarchy and Nice from Dao Din about their beliefs, influences, tactics and the character of Isaan. We previously interviewed another Dao Din activist for some background information on the group. 

Why A Labour Movement is Essential to Malaysia’s Democracy?

Why A Labour Movement is Essential to Malaysia’s Democracy?

Jeremy Lim Malaysia’s democracy is incomplete, much of our civil liberties are fragile and often at the mercy of a powerful state and corporations that have gone unchallenged since our independence. Malaysian economic and political elites respond to the growing...

We Need More, Not Less Politics

We Need More, Not Less Politics

Audi Ali Our society is characterized by two sentiments. First, noting the inequality that was made manifest by the conduct of the state and its apparatus recently, we are enraged. The guise of formal and legalistic notion of “equality” enshrined in the constitution...

Dao Din – Interview – Part 1

Dao Din – Interview – Part 1

An interview with a member of the Dao Din protest group, a radical youth led organisation, based out of the Isaan region in Thailand. Dao Din have been an instrumental player in the Thai democracy movement.

Euro-Fascism with Thai Characteristics

Euro-Fascism with Thai Characteristics

In the 1930s, Thailand began a project of mass homogeneity based on western Euro-Fascism. This project was refined by the monarchy in the 1950s, leading to a reactionary consensus lasting a half-century. However, many elements in the recent protest movement, so far, fail to recognise their own deep-seated Euro-fascist tendencies when challenging the contemporary Thai state.

The Uprising & The Rohingya

The Uprising & The Rohingya

An examination of the implications of the mass uprising and Civil Disobedience Movement in Burma/Myanmar on the much maligned Rohingya people (many of whom are joining the campaign against the military government, standing in solidarity with the protesters).

Being Karenni

Being Karenni

A poetic insight to the struggle of the Karenni people, who for decades have been oppressed by the Burmese State.

February Revolution Burma & The Road Forward

February Revolution Burma & The Road Forward

A protest organiser in Burma reflects on the current crisis following the February 1st coup. Examining the road that led there, the state of Burma’s “Military Bureaucratic Capitalist System” and the future of the movement.

Royalist Realism & Lèse-Majesté

Royalist Realism & Lèse-Majesté

The Lèse-Majesté law, also known as Article 112 in Thailand, forbids any criticism of the monarchy in the kingdom under punishment of imprisonment. Even those far removed from the machinations of Thai politics are vaguely aware of this law. In an era where basic freedom of speech is held as sacrosanct, this law is globally recognised as being bizarre and archaic, and hardly used for anything other than protecting an already seemingly beloved institution.

รัฐประหารในพม่า (Burma coup)

รัฐประหารในพม่า (Burma coup)

So the million dollar question regarding the coup is: Why now? That’s what’s confusing so many Burma watchers.

คำถามโลกแตกเกี่ยวกับการรัฐประหารครั้งนี้ก็คือ ทำไมเป็นตอนนี้?  คำถามนี้กวนใจผู้ติดตามสถานการณ์ในพม่าตอนนี้อย่างยิ่ง

Haji Sulong – Patani’s Reformer, Martyr and Father

Haji Sulong – Patani’s Reformer, Martyr and Father

The name Haji Sulong is little known in Thailand proper, despite being considered a hero and the founding father of the modern separatist movement in Thailand’s deep south ‘Patani’ region. Little is known outside the region about the conflict that erupted following his death, showing just how localised a civil war can be. This nescience is embodied in Haji Sulong, a man who lived an extraordinary life, was wildly influential and yet almost totally unknown to Thai society at large. 

Please Proletarianise the Protests

Please Proletarianise the Protests

Since the involvement of select labour unions, I have begun to see potential in the protests happening in Thailand today. However, the protests need to rapidly take on a working-class character, they need to be brought to consider economic injustice, and they need to involve the people who live on the edge of Thai society if they are to be successful. 

In Search of Praxis #3: Parliamentary Socialism and State Power

In Search of Praxis #3: Parliamentary Socialism and State Power

The limits of state power and winning it within bourgeois democracy, and an accounting of the obstacles to parliamentary socialist aims in Malaysia. (Image Source: Radical Readers of Lambeth) Jeremy Lim Having laid out the two common types of socialist parties to...

Can we #Pause a ‘Moving Train’?

Can we #Pause a ‘Moving Train’?

Howard Zinn once claimed that “you can’t be neutral on a moving train”. Today, amidst a global ‘new norm’ of unemployment, poverty, plague and political turmoil, we analyse if we can hit pause on said moving train instead.

Rohingya Lives Matter As Well – Healthcare in the Rohingya Camps

Rohingya Lives Matter As Well – Healthcare in the Rohingya Camps

An insight into many of the difficulties faced by the Rohingya people in the IDP camps in Burma, how despite the work of international charities the government healthcare workers and the localised racism holds back any real future in which the most vulnerable people in Burma can have some kind of dignified life.

In Search of Praxis #1: Revolution Thwarted

In Search of Praxis #1: Revolution Thwarted

An assessment of the possibility and desirability of revolution as a strategy for the Malaysian Left. Jeremy Lim The revolutionary route is one that has been considered by most socialists to the left of social democracy. The revolutions of 1848, the Paris Commune, the...

In Search of Praxis Introduction: What Can the Left Do in Malaysia?

In Search of Praxis Introduction: What Can the Left Do in Malaysia?

Jeremy Lim To paraphrase a saying by a host of Chapo Trap House: nothing changes but everything gets worse and worse. In this instance, he is referring to the American situation in which the socialist Left is largely defeated — though currently it may be on a possible...

The Exit Ramp Off The Highway To Climate Catastrophe

The Exit Ramp Off The Highway To Climate Catastrophe

As our society is speeding towards climate catastrophe, we must radically re-examine our relationship with and conception of the natural and material world, which is currently based on the hierarchies of our inter-human relationships: A blueprint for avoiding ecological collapse and radically improving the lives of humankind. 

Freelance & The Protestant Work Ethic

Freelance & The Protestant Work Ethic

The 2015 film Freelance (English title Heart Attack) directed by Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit is an extremely rare example of Marxist Thai cinema. Knowingly or not the film explores a number of Marxist critiques of capitalism and The Protestant Work Ethnic. 

2020: Remedying Thailand’s Democracy 

2020: Remedying Thailand’s Democracy 

Examining how further action, a more holistic approach and a deeper understanding and appreciation of Thailand’s previous challenges to the state could aide the burgeoning protest movement within the kingdom, written by Samaideng Tungdin.

#MalaysiaYangMuda: Yap Sau Bin

#MalaysiaYangMuda: Yap Sau Bin

Editorial #MalaysiaYangMuda is a weekly series of short interviews with our friends and movers of politics, arts, and culture who continuously make Malaysia and its people livelier. This week, together with as our thirteenth guest is Sau Bin Yap - an artist, curator...

Solidarity with Kaboedin, Halt the Om Koi Coal Mine!

Solidarity with Kaboedin, Halt the Om Koi Coal Mine!

In the hills of Chiang Mai province a battle is being fought between locals and the government over a proposed coal mine, which will devastate the local community. We explore the issue and the response, examining  the state of activism within Thailand. 

Luang Pee Jazz 5G, A Critique

Luang Pee Jazz 5G, A Critique

For the purpose of this critique I will be primarily deconstructing the sequel (Luang Pee Jazz 5G), as the first installment is almost too chaotic in it’s narrative to attempt to decode, and in truth I did not fully understand the plot. We must also consider, throughout this analysis, Marx’s view on religion…

A Glimpse of Refugee’s Life: A Conversation with Hasnah Hussin

A Glimpse of Refugee’s Life: A Conversation with Hasnah Hussin

Editorial There was a casual remark made by a friend of ours that Malaysia is not only a multi-racial country but also a multi-racist country where we 'enjoy' being racist towards each other of different races and ethnics.  What an apt observation! In relation to...

Thai Imperialism and Colonisation

Thai Imperialism and Colonisation

An examination of Thailand’s internal ‘auto-imperialism’, how the state works to capture populations on the fringes of the kingdom and put them to use for the nation’s imperial core. Exploring the roots, history and present-day effects of Thai ‘auto-imperialism’.

State Racism in Thailand: Capitalism, China, and Ultranationalism

State Racism in Thailand: Capitalism, China, and Ultranationalism

If in the United States, the police are shown to uphold systemic racism, what are some sources and examples of systemic racism in Thailand? Here Capitalism leads to the exploitation of migrant workers, the State alters attitudes towards Chinese people due to National Agenda changes, and the country’s history of Fascism…

Jit Phumisak, a Eulogy

Jit Phumisak, a Eulogy

Jit Phumisak became the first to truly expose Thai history, to lay it bare for what it really was, and inspire a radical attempt to restructure the kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Che Guevara of Thailand, Jit’s legacy as a folk hero of the working class lives on today.

Interview with Dhinesha Karthigesu 

Interview with Dhinesha Karthigesu 

Editorial

How have members of the live art, theatre and poetry scene been surviving during the MCO?
What is it like to be a muse without an audience?
What reliefs have been available and what are the challenges faced in presenting their craft as budding artists amid the current political and economic climate?

We delve into the perspective of budding talent, Dhinesha Karthigesu to find out more…

The WESTERN Way

Bhairava Sivam

‘Xenocentrism’ is the love and adoption of other cultures instead of one’s own. ‘Colonised mentality’ is the internalized attitude of ethnic or cultural inferiority felt by people as a result of colonization, resulting in the belief that the cultural values of the coloniser are inherently superior to one’s own. Many people often fall into the trap of believing ideas such as environmentalism, elections, gender equality and human rights are western inventions due to their “progressive culture”, civic consciousness and “evolved” thinking.

Music For Life – A New Generation Rises

Music For Life – A New Generation Rises

The soft guitar and haunting vocals ring out: “He died in the outskirts of a jungle. His red blood spilled all over Isaan soil. It’s red colour will last forever. He died worthless, but his name lives on. People asked about him, craving to know more about Jit Phumisak. A philosopher and author who lit the candle for common people.”
How leftist Thai folk radicalised a generation and continues to inspire today.

Nationalism & Anti-Statehood In Thailand

Nationalism & Anti-Statehood In Thailand

Ceaseless doses of daily nationalism serve one purpose, to enforce the Thai identity and link it to the state, to make being Thai part of the Thai national state. This grand plan, however, did not come out of nowhere. It is, in fact, a direct response and attack on the long history of anti statehood found inside of Thailand’s borders.  

The Real Radical Cultural Force In Thai Society

The Real Radical Cultural Force In Thai Society

Gabriel Ernst HAVE YOU EVER seen a YoungBong (YB) or Juu4E music video? If you’re reading this, probably not. These low-budget yet extremely popular videos consist of heavily tattooed members of the Thai underclass messing around to hip hop/trap music shot in $10 a...

Changing The (Old) Ideology and Culture of Malaysian Politics

Bernard Wooley There is a deep well of rage inside of me. Rage about how I as an individual have been treated in philosophy; rage about how others I know have been treated; and rage about the conditions that I’m sure affect many women and minorities in philosophy, and...

You’re Not Suffering Enough for My Pity

Jason Wong Years ago in school, our teachers taught us to take pity, to be kind, to have mercy. They taught us to share, to give the benefit of the doubt, to be fair. But they were mumbling under their breath about this or that adult thing that we didn't understand...

Of Indiana Jones and Carcosa Seri Negara

Vick So I came home from a one-of-a-kind "silent protest cum street theatre tour de KL" (#millennials), peeled my shirt off my back (global warming is REAL, Trump!) and sunk into my couch and decided to indulge in some 'stupification' to unhinge myself from the...

One Two Jaga, and Our Inhumanity

One Two Jaga, and Our Inhumanity

Fadiah Nadwa Fikri My phone was ringing. An unknown number was screaming for attention on a quiet sunny afternoon. I was back in my hometown. It must have been a public holiday. Curious as to who the caller was, I picked up the phone. “Hello, mbak. Saya F. Masih ingat...

Don’t Kiss the Hand that Beats You

Fadiah Nadwa Fikri Artikel versi Bahasa Melayu boleh didapati di sini. Upon his release from prison, former opposition leader and prime minister in waiting Anwar Ibrahim shared his thoughts on his winding political journey and went on to say something that was...

The Duty to Resist

Fadiah Nadwa Fikri It was late at night and I remember being drawn to the TV. The world news was occupying the slot. I saw tens of thousands of people flooding the streets of London protesting the Afghanistan war. 2001 was the year. I was 18 years old. The sight of...