COMMENT | Every Labour Day, the speeches come. The gratitude. The garlands. The minister at a podium somewhere, voice thick with feeling, praising the backbone of the nation.

This year, the backbone got an additional gift.

On April 29, three days before Labour Day, in case the timing wasn’t insulting enough, the Finance Ministry ordered RM10 billion in cuts. Essential services slashed by 10 percent. Statutory bodies by 20 percent. Hiring frozen.

The reason? A fuel subsidy crisis triggered by geopolitical storms far beyond our shores. “Nothing to do with us, the government. Terribly sorry. Do carry on.”

Except…

While workers were being told to tighten their belts, Malaysia’s 50 richest billionaires...