We in Malaysia all know what happened in the 1980s when the independence of the judiciary and the power of the Malay rulers were undermined by the administration of the former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad without any viable opposition. That remains an on-going issue in Malaysia until today.

Had the judiciary not been undermined by the 'democratic' process, many undesirable things would not have happened in the 20 years since then and Malaysia will most probably be a much happier country to live in..

In his annual speech in December 1999, Thai King Phumiphon Adunyadaet (and I spell his name the way Thais pronounce it), indicated his opposition to the International Monetary Fund and insider trading by businessmen and politicians which he said would ruin Thailand while they enrich themselves. I also got the impression from his speech that he was opposed to the neo-liberal globalisation agenda of the western powers. His speech was not reported in full in the English language dailies there.

Thaksin miscalculated and forgot that Thailand's institution of the monarchy is very well established and has the backing of the military, civil service and the people. In fact, the monarchy is the only institution which Thais can look towards to for stability and a sense of national identity, and as a check against the excesses of the politicians.

I know that because many of my uncles and cousins on my mother's side were Thai civil servants, served in the Thai judiciary, in Thai state-owned enterprises besides being career officers in the Thai army, the Thai navy. Some still are while some of the third generation, ie, my cousins' children are involved in business.

Thaksin represented the rising capitalist class which tried to challenge the established royalty, nobility and military by manouvering his people into key military and civil service positions such as provincial governors and generals in charge of key army battalions.

At a public seminar organised by the Malaysian Thai Association some years back, one of the panelist was a Thai academic in political science who participated in student demonstrations for democracy in Thailand back in the 1970s and fled to the US after the crackdown. He lamented that while he protested against military involvement in politics back then, after returning from exile years later, he found the country being increasingly ruled by a business elite, pursuing its own interests.

Indeed yes, the Thai military at one time did play a role in business, with its own bank, chain of petrol stations and so on but when their role waned under democracy, the role of the business elite increased to replace them. So democracy wasn't power to the people but power to the capitalists, which is the case in most other countries anyway.

In this game of 'chess', Thaksin lost. Thais can now have all the royal commissions they want to investigate misdeeds and some heads will certainly roll.

As Malaysia degenerates further, both economically and socially, I fear we could suffer a worse fate in the form of rising crime, economic insecurity and possibly racial and religious strife and so on.

That would basically be a hell on earth compared to having tanks and soldiers in the streets but not a drop of blood shed, not a curfew nor a state of emergency declared, no property arbitrarily seized and with citizens going around in a carnival-like atmosphere posing for pictures among the soldiers and tanks.

I was stuck in a midday traffic jam on Jalan Kuching on a Friday. I was trying to get on the roundabout to turn right into Jalan Parlimen but the cars to the roundabout were ignoring the red light and not letting any of us get on. That's the degree of lawlessness Malaysia has descended to today and the situation was only relieved when the traffic police arrived.

My Thai friends visited some years back and they said that while Bangkok has its traffic jams, Malaysian drivers are a more unruly lot. Having ridden in taxis, buses, 'tuk tuks' and on 'motocai rap chang' (on the back seat of unlicenced motorcycle taxis) in Bangkok, I tend to agree with that. It's at times like that when I wish I was in Bangkok, and it certainly isn't 'dangerous' (to paraphrase the Thai movie 'Bangkok Dangerous' .)

Let's hope the new Thai administration deals with corruption severely as an example to others, not only in Thailand but also in the region.

Meanwhile, the Abdullah Ahmad Badawi administration had better reinstate the independence of the judiciary and the power of the Malay rulers as a check and balance against parliament and if it doesn't, there would be good reason for us to wonder why.