Covid plus lack of democracy ‘spells disaster’ for Thailand

[Denim]

15 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

 

And if those "idiots", in your opinion, had not protested against the plan to grant Thaksin total absolution, past, present and future, the Shins would still be in power, with the big boss back at the helm, a crippling 2.2 trillion baht "loan" which the Shins wanted to spend at their discretion.

 

The Shin clan would be well on the way to creating the sort of "democracy" Cambodia enjoys under the ruthless autocrat Hun Sen.

 

Lesser of two evils - very debatable!

 

Wrong. If you cast your mind back the protests started to stop the government granting an amnesty to everyone including Thaksin. The protests did not originally start with a view to overthrowing the elected government.

 

However , once the original anti amnesty protests gathered momentum Suthep and the military saw their opportunity and hi jacked the protests for their own agenda. Many people manning the barricades to the north of the government buildings were annoyed at this usurpation of leadership by Suthep ( with support from Prayuth behind the scenes ) since his objectives to overthrow the elected government were not part of their own programme. 

 

Suthep himself stated that he and the military had been planning a coup behind the scenes before the protests started but they quickly saw that they would not get a better chance.

 

How many times did pro yellow supporters complain that Phua Thai did not have the support of the overwhelming majority of the Thai voters. How many times did I read on TV threads that the democrats were just a stones throw behind Phua Thai and that they could close the gap at the next election. But no. Too risky. Why chance yet another defeat at the polls when you can engineer yet another coup only this time make it stick. Grab power, write a new constitution , grant yourself  an amnesty , ( oh the irony ) rig the ' elections ' , disqualify any new threatening parties that come along on trumped up charges and make things even less transparent then they were. As for money wasted, well lets not start on military expenditure and nepotism or we'll be here all night.

 

Thaksin ...the lesser of two evils .............absolutely. No contest , not even close.

[phantomfiddler]

7 hours ago, soihok said:

I enjoyed reading that, so true it made me feel sad.
Shame for the country in general (pun intended).

Shame for general in the country, good one, also an anagram of sorts ! Given the incredibly benign statistics in this country it would have been so easy to return to normality and not cause such terrible hardship to the Thai working population. It appears to me that perhaps the politicians in control are all acolytes or actually afraid to disagree with decisions made by a general who obviously cares not one bit for his subjects ????

[worgeordie]

8 hours ago, rooster59 said:

an expert said today (May 22).

That must mean it's true.......

regards worgeordie

[Pilotman]

This post has run its course for me, but it has been (is) one of the most interesting and balanced debates I have read on TVF.  Nobody seems to have got too upset, or rudely rubbished others.  I wish all the debates were this interesting. Thanks all. 

[yuyiinthesky]

17 minutes ago, Ketyo said:

The Chinese spokesman last week mocked the USA and said that if China had 90,000 deaths the Chinese would riot and kick the government out, demanding a change to the entire system of government there. He was right.

Riot? In the CCP controlled China of today? I don't think so.

[Vigilante]

6 hours ago, lovinglife said:

If only Professor Anusorn were PM. Wise words. 

If Perfesser Anusorn was PM, Thailand would probably be bankrupt.

This being said, Thailand needs some kind of safety net for the poor...even if it is just food coupons.

Edited May 23, 2020 by Vigilante

[tlock]

23 minutes ago, Ketyo said:

The Chinese spokesman last week mocked the USA and said that if China had 90,000 deaths the Chinese would riot and kick the government out, demanding a change to the entire system of government there. He was right.

 

This sounds interesting- do you have a link?  Not disputing the veracity, just interested to see what he said.

 

I certainly think it's possible that different government styles are better/worse fits for different cultures.  I consider myself brainwashed that freedom and democracy are fundamental values, but I acknowledge that I had that drilled into me since youth by my public education system.

 

I could be wrong- but I suspect that the majority of Thais that agree with the professor were likely educated in the West.

 

[sambum]

At last some words of sense from a Thai with a bit of foresight and intelligence.

 

After I read the post, I felt like saying "Bravo" - in fact, I will - "BRAVO!"

[Surasak]

7 hours ago, Pilotman said:

If you want an example of democratic power gone off the rails, just look at the UK.  That place is a mad house of over bearing Police, incompetent Central Bankers, Civil Servants  and politicians, with too much time on their hands, not a clue what is going on and with too much power to abuse.  In comparison, Thailand is a beacon of stability and common sense. I am just glad I was here in LOS during this social media driven, monumentally economically damaging fiasco

Unfortunately, none of us know the full and whole picture. Most of the problems surrounding the Covid 19 in the UK, just happened at an unfortunate time when the Captain was not at the helm. Its easy to point the finger and make accusations, but without full knowledge???? The argument was to follow the science, and even some of the scientist couldn't agree. Only one minister among the cabinet is a qualified scientist, and again, unfortunately she was a lone voice crying in the wilderness. Which begs the question, in both the UK and Thailand, do we have the right people running the country at a time of crisis? I won't name names, but one minister in particular stands out as most definitely unqualified for the position held. And that applies to both countries.  

[KarenBravo]

57 minutes ago, Isaan sailor said:

Let's make a deal.  You can keep your non-democratic government--just get the damned Baht back to its 10-year average.

Errm.....it already is. 10 year average compared to the dollar is 32.324943.

Not really much of a difference today.

[Surasak]

4 hours ago, DaveE13 said:

That photo is like a line up of new exhibits at the natural history museum !

.

I understand the museum part but are you sure its Natural History?

[malibukid]

1 hour ago, KarenBravo said:

Are you American? Socialism does not equate to communism.

 

Have a look at some countries that have a highly educated workforce, have some of the highest standard of living indexes in the world (consistently) are democracies and are socialist.

Of course, I'm talking about the four Scandinavian countries.

look how far Bernie Sanders got. sad

[Antifreeze]

9 hours ago, rooster59 said:

and employ people who are knowledgeable, capable, honest and diligent to govern.

Great piece. But a big challenge. 

[mancub]

7 hours ago, Pilotman said:

If you want an example of democratic power gone off the rails, just look at the UK.  That place is a mad house of over bearing Police, incompetent Central Bankers, Civil Servants  and politicians, with too much time on their hands, not a clue what is going on and with too much power to abuse.  In comparison, Thailand is a beacon of stability and common sense. I am just glad I was here in LOS during this social media driven, monumentally economically damaging fiasco

Or are you just glad to be here in LOS with no financial worries ? 

[Burma Bill]

7 hours ago, Pilotman said:

If you want an example of democratic power gone off the rails, just look at the UK.  That place is a mad house of over bearing Police, incompetent Central Bankers, Civil Servants  and politicians, with too much time on their hands, not a clue what is going on and with too much power to abuse.  In comparison, Thailand is a beacon of stability and common sense. I am just glad I was here in LOS during this social media driven, monumentally economically damaging fiasco

In my opinion, Thailand is a "mirror image". As for a beacon of stability and commonsense in relation to Thailand - never!!

[malibukid]

1 hour ago, KarenBravo said:

You are calling the Scandinavian countries inefficient? The citizens are clearly willing to pay high taxes to ensure a social safety net and to stop wealth inequality getting out of hand.

 

Witness the difference where US citizens that have lost their jobs are eventually going to run out of money, even though the government has spent more than  three trillion dollars (how very socialist of them) on them.

The Scandinavians in contrast don't have that fear, nor do they fear the cost of health emergencies that can wipe-out a life-times worth of savings.

Santa Monica is looking like a refugee camp these days, thousands homeless

[Keesters]

8 hours ago, Tarteso said:

Since 1932 Thailand has had 25 generals election, 20 constitutions, 19 coups d’etat,  

the last one in 2014. Maths speaks for itself...

Democracy is not something Thailand can handle. They're better off being told what to do than thinking for themselves. 

[Keesters]

41 minutes ago, Denim said:

 

Wrong. If you cast your mind back the protests started to stop the government granting an amnesty to everyone including Thaksin. The protests did not originally start with a view to overthrowing the elected government.

 

However , once the original anti amnesty protests gathered momentum Suthep and the military saw their opportunity and hi jacked the protests for their own agenda. Many people manning the barricades to the north of the government buildings were annoyed at this usurpation of leadership by Suthep ( with support from Prayuth behind the scenes ) since his objectives to overthrow the elected government were not part of their own programme. 

 

Suthep himself stated that he and the military had been planning a coup behind the scenes before the protests started but they quickly saw that they would not get a better chance.

 

How many times did pro yellow supporters complain that Phua Thai did not have the support of the overwhelming majority of the Thai voters. How many times did I read on TV threads that the democrats were just a stones throw behind Phua Thai and that they could close the gap at the next election. But no. Too risky. Why chance yet another defeat at the polls when you can engineer yet another coup only this time make it stick. Grab power, write a new constitution , grant yourself  an amnesty , ( oh the irony ) rig the ' elections ' , disqualify any new threatening parties that come along on trumped up charges and make things even less transparent then they were. As for money wasted, well lets not start on military expenditure and nepotism or we'll be here all night.

 

Thaksin ...the lesser of two evils .............absolutely. No contest , not even close.

Taksin is a crook only in it for what he can get out of it. Any supporter of his must be of the same ilk. 

[Expat Tom]

Gee! A couple of months back I said the same thing but made an unfortunate choice of words to describe a sitiation wherein the leader of a coup dended ends up being the head of the government 6 years on. For that unfortuante choice of words, I was benned from commenting on this website for 10 days and given a dermitt...whatever that means. 

 

I am glad that a Thai person of stature made the same comments without using any forbidden words. There are many highly intelligent people in Thailand. While teaching at a major university in Bangkok a few years back, I met many of them. 

 

Maybe there is hope for this beautiful country and its lovely people. 

[kcpattaya]

The Powers have their own agenda and using the Virus as a front.
Only the powers know what their end-goal is. Even if it means throwing people into financial ruin.

[Greg O]

Spaceballs...

[Pancho]

I have a headache. And I’m glad I chose to stay. The US dollar is being reset to gold. Chit chat of by by to the fed reserve. It’s going to get more difficult. Thai people will force change.  

[1duckyboy]

Corvid-19 Emergency Powers and Article 44 same, same.

[GalaxyMan]

Give me a break. Thailand has been a disaster ever since 2014 when Prayut decided to destroy the rule of law and rip up the Constitution. The virus is only going to magnify his incredible incompetence and the Thai people are the ones who will be paying the price. Very sad. ????

Edited May 23, 2020 by GalaxyMan

[hotchilli]

On 5/23/2020 at 6:30 AM, rooster59 said:

Speaking on the anniversary of the 2014 coup, Assist Prof Anusorn Tamajai, director of the Economic and Business Research Centre at the Institute of Economics, Rangsit University, said there had been no concrete evidence of reforms in the country over the past six years.

 

On 5/23/2020 at 6:30 AM, rooster59 said:

To solve the crisis, all sides – government and opposition, progressives and conservatives, authoritarian and pro-democracy – must put the people’s suffering first and stop using their hardship as a tool to gain political power, said Anusorn

 

On 5/23/2020 at 6:30 AM, rooster59 said:

he added, and employ people who are knowledgeable, capable, honest and diligent to govern.

 

On 5/23/2020 at 6:30 AM, rooster59 said:

Governance should also be more open to opinions from opposition voices on resolving the economic crisis, while authorities should not seek to centralise power via a coup or other means as this would add a political crisis to the list of national difficulties and lead to national catastrophe.

All very good points... unfortunately the master has a different outlook.

[connda]

9 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Prof Anusorn, who is also a pro-democracy campaigner, said the government should use the current crisis to reform the nation and restore harmony as the 2017 Constitution has no clear context or mechanism to shape Thailand into a developed democratic country.

I think in the present climate, world-wide, even the so-called Pro-Democracy crowd are actually Pro-Dictatorship as long as they get one of the chairs when when the music stops in this game of Musical Virus Lockdowns.  Democracy.  <laughs>.  Look around the world right now and see how "Democracy" has worked out.  Sweden, Belarus, and a few other - but that's about it.  All the other "Democracies?"  They ain't.

[Nanaplaza666]

Well spoken words and in my eyes some kind of a solution if it ever happens . But to celabrate something that didn't bring any change in 6 years is a bit over the top i think . 

[Jimbo53]

7 hours ago, BritManToo said:

COVID has shown 'lack of democracy' in almost every country.

Why pick on Thailand?

Ermmm..Wouĺd it be because it is about Thailand on THAÌVISA ???.

[dallen52]

9 hours ago, smedly said:

great piece and hits the nail right bang center on the head 

And that's where several of them need to be hit.

Smack bang in the middle of the head.

But then again. 

No sense no feeling. 

[Srikcir]

Over a five-year period following the military coup, the Prayut government spent a trillion baht on the military. Can the same be said for national health & welfare programs and improvement in social inequality?

In 2018 and 2019 Thailand was the most unequal country in ASEAN and among the top worst performers in the world. And that was allegedly after Thailand economic growth had recovered to the 2012 level.

If Thailand couldn't advance social inequality in the best of times (as the government would view its performance), what can it do in the worse of times?