CNI News
4 December 2025
Myanmar, where the social situation has fallen to an extremely low state, needs politicians and businesspeople to cooperate and establish a strong economic system to move the country forward, economic and political analysts say.
Economic analyst U Htay Aung Kyi told CNI News that no country exists without politicians and businesspeople, and what truly matters is how they think. Therefore, politicians and businesspeople must collaborate for national development.
He said:“Honestly speaking, there is no country without politicians and businesspeople. The important thing is their mindset. For example, in South Korea, Park Chung-hee created cronies — but why did the country still develop? In Myanmar, cronies were also created. So why did none of these cronies reach the international level? The way they were nurtured is important.Another thing is that business people look for profit. For national development, you have to look at the entire national economic system. Something may benefit cronies a lot, but if it harms the national economy, it should not be done. If the country collapses, everything collapses — I can guarantee that.In South Korea, Japan, and Singapore, the major transformation was called the ‘democratic transition’. We must understand that. Democracy is about understanding how the national economic system and public administration system work, and how to clearly explain this to the politicians. That is crucial.In reality, we lack genuine experience. We have weaknesses. We don’t have a habit of listening. That is our main problem. Democracy requires thinking for the country’s future, and we need to be able to explain firmly and clearly so that politicians understand.”
grassroots communities
In Myanmar, each time a new government takes office, a new group of cronies tends to emerge. Although no crony has ever completely collapsed due to U.S. sanctions, the public continues to bear the indirect impact of sanctions. Additionally, the country’s financial and economic sectors continue to suffer from second-hand effects and long-term damage.
Sai Htay Aung, Chairman of the Tai Leng (Shanni) Nationalities Development Party (TNDP), told CNI News that in Myanmar, no matter how much politicians claim to love the country, they cannot operate without financial backing.
He said:“In Myanmar, if you want to run a political party, no matter how much you love the country, you cannot do anything without support. Some political parties do have genuine political intentions. But when they need money, they turn to businesspeople. When they do that, the businessperson will not help unless they see personal benefit. If the businessperson supports them, it is with the expectation of profit — and when that happens, the politician becomes tied up by them. In such a situation, the country is the one that fails.”
armed groups and political parties
On January 31, 2023, the political party registration law was enacted in Myanmar. Under this law, any party wanting to register at the Union level must open offices in more than 100 townships, gather 50,000 party members, and pay a 100 million kyat registration fee to the Union Election Commission (UEC).
Furthermore, when parties participate in elections, they also need funding for campaign expenses for their candidates. Because of these conditions, political parties and politicians have come to rely heavily on financial support from business people — which has allowed businesspeople to gain increasing control over political parties.
