16 May 2026 By Mon Lay
MANDALAY, Myanmar — Myanmar’s military junta leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, has drawn widespread domestic criticism after telling citizens they must develop “business vision,” despite critics pointing out that his regime’s policies have driven the national economy into its worst-ever collapse.
Speaking to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME) businessmen in Mandalay on Friday, the junta chief claimed that a strong economic understanding among citizens was essential for national growth, adding that universities are now introducing business courses to meet this need. He also urged entrepreneurs to adopt a basic economic theory: “If products are identical, lower the price; if prices are identical, improve the quality.”
However, local business owners quickly dismissed the general’s advice as completely detached from the daily realities of running a business under junta rule.
“Lowering prices is mathematically impossible right now,” a Mandalay-based manufacturer told MPA under condition of anonymity. “The cost of production is skyrocketing every day due to surging fuel prices, raw material inflation, and electricity shortages that force us to run expensive diesel generators around the clock.”
Min Aung Hlaing also heavily promoted a return to state-backed “cooperatives” to boost rural incomes, claiming developed nations successfully utilize the system.
“A cooperative system only works if the state provides foundational support,” an agricultural MSME owner countered. “With severe inflation driving up farming costs and access to bank loans heavily restricted, simply grouping people together will not magically make a business successful.”
For the average citizen, the junta leader’s focus on high-level economic theories and upcoming school enrollment campaigns feels like a bitter insult. Across urban centers like Mandalay, families are struggling to afford basic food staples amid a deepening currency crisis and pervasive security fears following the military’s forced conscription drive.
“We don’t need a lecture on ‘business vision’ right now; we need stable prices for rice, oil, and salt,” a Mandalay resident said. “Living costs have completely outpaced salaries. For the working class, this is about pure physical survival.”
Parents also expressed dread over the junta’s push for school enrollment starting late May. While the regime aims for a full return to classrooms by June, families report that the prices of basic school supplies—including notebooks, pens, and pencils—have doubled, creating an unsustainable burden for impoverished households.
Political and military analysts note that the general’s speech represents a pattern of “hollow rhetoric” aimed at projecting a facade of administrative control to regional neighbors like ASEAN.
“The regime is completely ignoring the core failures: blackout crises, fuel shortages, and currency instability,” a political analyst stated. “Telling cash-strapped businesses to lower prices or join cooperatives while the state fails to provide electricity or security is an exercise in futility. He is just reading from an old textbook while the country burns.”
