Prayut’s moment of truth arrives

[snoop1130]

Prayut’s moment of truth arrives

 

 

The prime minister can be forgiven if he assumes that his previous problems were “political”, albeit ones that had more to do with ideology and power play than genuine well-being of the people. He will be disastrously wrong, however, if he makes the same assumption about the current trouble.

 

COVID-19 is very good at separating real problems from “less-real” ones. It has done so with many countries and is doing so with Thailand. In the process, the government’s biggest weaknesses have been exposed, a situation that opinion polls and even the administration’s supporters agree cannot be handled or diverted by rhetoric. In short, Prayut will have to bite the bullet.

 

Corrupted immigration authorities and illegal gambling houses have combined to allow the coronavirus to wreak havoc in Thailand again. Although this does not mean that stricter measures on foreign labour and widespread gambling would have made the country 100 per cent safe from the second wave, there is no denying that the government’s weakest spots had made the door much wider open.

 

Full Story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/prayuts-moment-of-truth-arrives/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2021-01-20

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

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[petermik]

"moment of truth" does it exist in anything related to the Government here

[Crossy]

I'm sorry, using the words "Prayut" and "truth" in the same sentence does not compute!!

 

Not even when it means "day of reckoning!"

[Artisi]

19 minutes ago, Crossy said:

I'm sorry, using the words "Prayut" and "truth" in the same sentence does not compute!!

 

Not even when it means "day of reckoning!"

Well, I believe there are no illegal gambling places in Thailand, and all officials only have the interests of Thailand in heart - so what does our super dupper PM have to worry about? 

Edited January 20, 2021 by Artisi

[mfd101]

The problem with 'truth' is of course not confined to the PM or his government, or even to the whole phalanx of feudals & authoritarians who run & own the country.

 

Thai culture generally has a problem with concepts of truth (precision, accuracy ... ) preferring the ease of complexity, approximation and - above all - appearances. Hierarchical societies are founded on status, and status loves appearances.

[Thaiwrath]

as a former coup leader, he did not deserve to be the prime minister after an election.

As he changed the rules, and let himself act with impunity from the law, his intentions were there for all to see.

Time to go.

[colinneil]

Stop with headlines like the above, just trying to drink my coffee.... Prayuts moment of truth, truth and Prayut sadly did not go together.

Prayut could not tell the truth even if his life depended on it.

[PatOngo]

12 hours ago, Artisi said:

so what does our super dupper PM have to worry about? 

The truth!

[PatOngo]

14 minutes ago, Thaiwrath said:

as a former coup leader, he did not deserve to be the prime minister after an election.

As he changed the rules, and let himself act with impunity from the law, his intentions were there for all to see.

Time to go.

 

They are the protectors of the trough, they won't go anywhere in a hurry! Maybe a coup would unseat them! Who has the firepower wins!

 

 

Edited January 20, 2021 by PatOngo

[impulse]

14 minutes ago, PatOngo said:

They are the protectors of the trough, they won't go anywhere in a hurry! Maybe a coup would unseat them! Who has the firepower wins!

 

Sure, they can toss him out.  With a coup or an election.  But that just puts a different face on the real power.

 

And they'll get what they want from the elected or coup leaders with their silver or lead incentive program.  Play the game, we'll make you rich.  Don't play the game and you'll be gunned down in your driveway, disqualified for office, or even tossed in prison.

 

The only thing that really changes is a mad dash at the trough for the slush money when the public face changes.  And it's substantial.   It can make officials rich.  But it's really a diversion.

 

The real money that could actually make a difference in Thai development?  It's spoken for, generations in advance.

 

Edited January 21, 2021 by impulse

[ThailandRyan]

Oh Snoop, you went there, and Thank you for a view of everything Thailand, and the root of all the issues obviously being the man himself. Corruption is rampant and the Thai people are thought of lastly in order for the pockets of the elite and top folks to fill their pockets without a care for those below.  Reminding more and more of Iraq with Hussein, or even the overlords China.  Maybe even Libya and Kaddafi, many other comparisons come to mine including the failed country from whence I came from.  Sad really.  Unless he can see the forest through the tree's it will never change here unfortunately.  He does need to step down and accept that he has failed the people, maybe not the elite or himself, but the people of Thailand have suffered and will continue to do so with he and his Government at the helm.....

Edited January 21, 2021 by ThailandRyan

[hotchilli]

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Corrupted immigration authorities and illegal gambling houses have combined to allow the coronavirus to wreak havoc in Thailand again.

Something that he pledged he would wipe-out after the election... dereliction of duty?

[Jimbo2014]

Corruption, Draconian Laws, Lack of Democracy, Rampant pollution and environmental degradation, Increasing cost of living.... How can the cause fix the problem?

[Artisi]

2 hours ago, PatOngo said:

 

They are the protectors of the trough, they won't go anywhere in a hurry! Maybe a coup would unseat them! Who has the firepower wins!

 

 

And the nod from up high, that's unless it's a real coup as in "Do can hear the people sing........" 

Edited January 21, 2021 by Artisi

[Pilotman]

16 hours ago, Crossy said:

I'm sorry, using the words "Prayut" and "truth" in the same sentence does not compute!!

 

Not even when it means "day of reckoning!"

I Iike him.  He compares well with many in the western world, 

[Glaswegian2]

1 hour ago, Pilotman said:

I Iike him.  He compares well with many in the western world, 

 

It is right to distrust a comment which is immediately followed by a reason appearing to justify the opinion. It is odd though, it rather seems that many other leaders of the western world try to avoid him when possible - he's a bit of a pariah on the international stage - still, he's a democrat. He must be, he keeps saying so. Doubtless he's another one whom all Thais love; if he says it, it must be true.

Edited January 21, 2021 by Glaswegian2

[Pilotman]

2 minutes ago, Glaswegian2 said:

 

It is right to distrust a comment which is immediately followed by a reason appearing to justify the opinion. It is odd though, it rather seems that many other leaders of the western world try to avoid him when possible - he's a bit of a pariah on the international stage - still, he's a democrat. He must be, he keeps saying so. Doubtless he's another one whom all Thais love; if he says it, it must be true.

there is no absolute format for a good 'politician' if such a person ever exists.  One can only compare and contrast when one is not a citizen of the country in question.  As far as I can see, he does okay, on Covid, better than okay,  and there are no better alternatives around that could do a better job.

[Mr Meeseeks]

1 hour ago, Pilotman said:

I Iike him.  He compares well with many in the western world, 

He has a horrendous track record on the following:

Transparency

Corruption

Human rights

Economy

 

By what metric are you measuring his success? COVID? Fair enough, he was good with the floods too under Yingluck before he stabbed her in the back. 

 

There are plenty of candidates that could do a better job, however they are all facing spurious, politically motivated charges to keep them from being elected or given a chance to prove themselves.

[spidermike007]

He and his utterly hapless and stunningly incompetent army have failed us once again, and he needs to admit the failure, apologize to the nation, and fall on his sword, metaphorically, by handing in his resignation, in utter humiliation. 
 
A speech to the nation. "I am so sorry. I could have stopped this from happening. Same goes for my health minister. We are both handing in our resignation, starting tomorrow. We really dropped the ball, and failed. It is the right thing to do. I now realize both myself and Anutin have been way over our heads, this entire time. We take responsibility. Forgive us, if u can, but we will never forgive ourselves for failing you, the people of Thailand. This all happened due to sheer stupidity and stunning greed. We are two sorry. 

 

Thailand is really going into a world of hurt now. Tourism will not recover for years and domestic tourism just died. Millions of jobs lost. And the truly astonishing aspect of this, that few seem to be discussing, is that this could have been at least partly avoided, had Prayuth and Anutin, two stunningly incompetence men, taken action early, and decisively. Instead, the whole country is made to suffer the consequences of inaction, of not locking down ground zero, Samut Sakorn (just a relatively small section of the province, actually) the first day of the second outbreak. It is beyond comprehension. It should have been locked down like a maximum security penitentiary. Cordoned off. Nobody comes in or out. And can anyone guess why it wasn't? It is one of the largest seafood distribution centers in Thailand, and it would have meant the loss of a small fortune, for some. So, it came down to sacrificing a large fortune, and the nations economy, for a relatively small out of money, coming from those seafood sales. Nothing else makes sense. No other explanation means anything, or comes close to breaking down why this action as not decisively taken. Sure, the main market was closed. But, people were allowed to travel freely, and become super spreaders. Just incredibly dumb policy and a nearly unforgivable lack of action. 

I would love to do a poll, and ask how many of us and how many Thais, thought the army would use this latest outbreak to their advantage? To flex their feeble muscles, even more? To put down the return of the promised protests? To contain the masses?
 
How about if we turn this around on them. I don't know about you, but I am quite angry right now. They allowed this to happen, after all. This could have been so easily prevented. So, what the ex-pat community, and the Thai people should be asking is:

1. How can you demonstrate to us, that you are up for the task of leadership?
2. What are you doing to prove that you can and will protect us?
3. Instead of contact tracing us, how about we trace you, and make sure you are doing your job? How about you report to us daily, and let us know how you are handling and containing this epidemic that happened on your watch? Stop talking, and start working, and doing your jobs.
4. Why did you not prevent this? How did you allow these corrupt officials to let infected people in? Why is nobody in a position of power being arrested? Why aren't heads rolling?
5. Why are you not making the vaccines more of a priority? Why isn't the army sacrificing some of its huge budget for the people? 
6. What are you planning on offering the people in the way of assistance, so they can survive this disaster you helped create?
7. Can you demonstrate to us why you think Anutin, who has no background whatsoever in the filed of health, is up for the task of tackling this emergency?
8. And why are you shutting down so many businesses, yet you allowed ground zero to remain open to people coming and going since this latest outbreak happened, only closing the province down yesterday? Why such bad decisions, and such extreme incompetence? How do you justify that? How do you explain that? Thousands of cases emanated from Samut province. You knew that would happen. 
9. How about a compulsory level of competence and experience, for all future administration appointments to key positions?
10. Why have you been so hard on foreigners, making it so incredibly difficult to fly in, yet so lax on the borders?
11. Why should we allow you to remain in power? What have you done lately to deserve that power? 

And how about tourism, both international and domestic. What brilliant plans have you come up with lately? In addition to the 40,000 expats and business people who returned, how many tourists have signed onto your ridiculous quarantine program? Total? 4,000? Maybe? Any program requiring quarantine is destined to fail. Testing and vaccines. That is the answer. 

[NoshowJones]

55 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

He and his utterly hapless and stunningly incompetent army have failed us once again, and he needs to admit the failure, apologize to the nation, and fall on his sword, metaphorically, by handing in his resignation, in utter humiliation. 
 
A speech to the nation. "I am so sorry. I could have stopped this from happening. Same goes for my health minister. We are both handing in our resignation, starting tomorrow. We really dropped the ball, and failed. It is the right thing to do. I now realize both myself and Anutin have been way over our heads, this entire time. We take responsibility. Forgive us, if u can, but we will never forgive ourselves for failing you, the people of Thailand. This all happened due to sheer stupidity and stunning greed. We are two sorry. 

 

Thailand is really going into a world of hurt now. Tourism will not recover for years and domestic tourism just died. Millions of jobs lost. And the truly astonishing aspect of this, that few seem to be discussing, is that this could have been at least partly avoided, had Prayuth and Anutin, two stunningly incompetence men, taken action early, and decisively. Instead, the whole country is made to suffer the consequences of inaction, of not locking down ground zero, Samut Sakorn (just a relatively small section of the province, actually) the first day of the second outbreak. It is beyond comprehension. It should have been locked down like a maximum security penitentiary. Cordoned off. Nobody comes in or out. And can anyone guess why it wasn't? It is one of the largest seafood distribution centers in Thailand, and it would have meant the loss of a small fortune, for some. So, it came down to sacrificing a large fortune, and the nations economy, for a relatively small out of money, coming from those seafood sales. Nothing else makes sense. No other explanation means anything, or comes close to breaking down why this action as not decisively taken. Sure, the main market was closed. But, people were allowed to travel freely, and become super spreaders. Just incredibly dumb policy and a nearly unforgivable lack of action. 

I would love to do a poll, and ask how many of us and how many Thais, thought the army would use this latest outbreak to their advantage? To flex their feeble muscles, even more? To put down the return of the promised protests? To contain the masses?
 
How about if we turn this around on them. I don't know about you, but I am quite angry right now. They allowed this to happen, after all. This could have been so easily prevented. So, what the ex-pat community, and the Thai people should be asking is:

1. How can you demonstrate to us, that you are up for the task of leadership?
2. What are you doing to prove that you can and will protect us?
3. Instead of contact tracing us, how about we trace you, and make sure you are doing your job? How about you report to us daily, and let us know how you are handling and containing this epidemic that happened on your watch? Stop talking, and start working, and doing your jobs.
4. Why did you not prevent this? How did you allow these corrupt officials to let infected people in? Why is nobody in a position of power being arrested? Why aren't heads rolling?
5. Why are you not making the vaccines more of a priority? Why isn't the army sacrificing some of its huge budget for the people? 
6. What are you planning on offering the people in the way of assistance, so they can survive this disaster you helped create?
7. Can you demonstrate to us why you think Anutin, who has no background whatsoever in the filed of health, is up for the task of tackling this emergency?
8. And why are you shutting down so many businesses, yet you allowed ground zero to remain open to people coming and going since this latest outbreak happened, only closing the province down yesterday? Why such bad decisions, and such extreme incompetence? How do you justify that? How do you explain that? Thousands of cases emanated from Samut province. You knew that would happen. 
9. How about a compulsory level of competence and experience, for all future administration appointments to key positions?
10. Why have you been so hard on foreigners, making it so incredibly difficult to fly in, yet so lax on the borders?
11. Why should we allow you to remain in power? What have you done lately to deserve that power? 

And how about tourism, both international and domestic. What brilliant plans have you come up with lately? In addition to the 40,000 expats and business people who returned, how many tourists have signed onto your ridiculous quarantine program? Total? 4,000? Maybe? Any program requiring quarantine is destined to fail. Testing and vaccines. That is the answer. 

Great post, I really enjoyed reading it, but #11? Is there anything, anything at all in this country which can be done to unseat him? I don't think so except maybe if it was a group of  Generals, but even so we would be no better of as these Military Academy educated people know nothing about running a country, as is proved time and time again, and we would just get another Unelected "PM".

[Dagfinnur Traustason]

20 hours ago, Crossy said:

I'm sorry, using the words "Prayut" and "truth" in the same sentence does not compute!!

Really, so true! I am amazed that both the keybord and Internet allowed that combination.

[Glaswegian2]

2 hours ago, possum1931 said:

Great post, I really enjoyed reading it, but #11? Is there anything, anything at all in this country which can be done to unseat him? I don't think so except maybe if it was a group of  Generals, but even so we would be no better of as these Military Academy educated people know nothing about running a country, as is proved time and time again, and we would just get another Unelected "PM".

 

The only thing that Prayuth is skilled in (and it's a relative term), is appearances, and let's be honest, there aren't that many sigma3-or-better intellects in Thailand; if you told them that a cow is a pig, many would believe you.

 

So the government continues to attend mainly to appearances, knowing that they'll likely get away with it if they say that all Thais love Mr Prayuth. If it worked once, it'll likely work twice eh? Appearances 10: Reality 2 (or less).

 

[overt2016]

9 hours ago, Thaiwrath said:

as a former coup leader, he did not deserve to be the prime minister after an election.

As he changed the rules, and let himself act with impunity from the law, his intentions were there for all to see.

Time to go.

The time to go was when he failed to carry out ANY of his promises. 

ie: did he solve the overpricing of lottery tickets?

[n00dle]

Poorly written, poorly edited, and im not exactly sure what its trying to acheive

[fakser]

Once again we see the grumpy choir of foreigners spitting in the well that we all drink from.

Again I ask myself why all those miserable ex patriates, who suffer so badly in this country, don't pack their belongings and return to their precious homeland.  

[Artisi]

5 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

He and his utterly hapless and stunningly incompetent army have failed us once again, and he needs to admit the failure, apologize to the nation, and fall on his sword, metaphorically, by handing in his resignation, in utter humiliation. 
 
A speech to the nation. "I am so sorry. I could have stopped this from happening. Same goes for my health minister. We are both handing in our resignation, starting tomorrow. We really dropped the ball, and failed. It is the right thing to do. I now realize both myself and Anutin have been way over our heads, this entire time. We take responsibility. Forgive us, if u can, but we will never forgive ourselves for failing you, the people of Thailand. This all happened due to sheer stupidity and stunning greed. We are two sorry. 

 

Thailand is really going into a world of hurt now. Tourism will not recover for years and domestic tourism just died. Millions of jobs lost. And the truly astonishing aspect of this, that few seem to be discussing, is that this could have been at least partly avoided, had Prayuth and Anutin, two stunningly incompetence men, taken action early, and decisively. Instead, the whole country is made to suffer the consequences of inaction, of not locking down ground zero, Samut Sakorn (just a relatively small section of the province, actually) the first day of the second outbreak. It is beyond comprehension. It should have been locked down like a maximum security penitentiary. Cordoned off. Nobody comes in or out. And can anyone guess why it wasn't? It is one of the largest seafood distribution centers in Thailand, and it would have meant the loss of a small fortune, for some. So, it came down to sacrificing a large fortune, and the nations economy, for a relatively small out of money, coming from those seafood sales. Nothing else makes sense. No other explanation means anything, or comes close to breaking down why this action as not decisively taken. Sure, the main market was closed. But, people were allowed to travel freely, and become super spreaders. Just incredibly dumb policy and a nearly unforgivable lack of action. 

I would love to do a poll, and ask how many of us and how many Thais, thought the army would use this latest outbreak to their advantage? To flex their feeble muscles, even more? To put down the return of the promised protests? To contain the masses?
 
How about if we turn this around on them. I don't know about you, but I am quite angry right now. They allowed this to happen, after all. This could have been so easily prevented. So, what the ex-pat community, and the Thai people should be asking is:

1. How can you demonstrate to us, that you are up for the task of leadership?
2. What are you doing to prove that you can and will protect us?
3. Instead of contact tracing us, how about we trace you, and make sure you are doing your job? How about you report to us daily, and let us know how you are handling and containing this epidemic that happened on your watch? Stop talking, and start working, and doing your jobs.
4. Why did you not prevent this? How did you allow these corrupt officials to let infected people in? Why is nobody in a position of power being arrested? Why aren't heads rolling?
5. Why are you not making the vaccines more of a priority? Why isn't the army sacrificing some of its huge budget for the people? 
6. What are you planning on offering the people in the way of assistance, so they can survive this disaster you helped create?
7. Can you demonstrate to us why you think Anutin, who has no background whatsoever in the filed of health, is up for the task of tackling this emergency?
8. And why are you shutting down so many businesses, yet you allowed ground zero to remain open to people coming and going since this latest outbreak happened, only closing the province down yesterday? Why such bad decisions, and such extreme incompetence? How do you justify that? How do you explain that? Thousands of cases emanated from Samut province. You knew that would happen. 
9. How about a compulsory level of competence and experience, for all future administration appointments to key positions?
10. Why have you been so hard on foreigners, making it so incredibly difficult to fly in, yet so lax on the borders?
11. Why should we allow you to remain in power? What have you done lately to deserve that power? 

And how about tourism, both international and domestic. What brilliant plans have you come up with lately? In addition to the 40,000 expats and business people who returned, how many tourists have signed onto your ridiculous quarantine program? Total? 4,000? Maybe? Any program requiring quarantine is destined to fail. Testing and vaccines. That is the answer. 

Well put,  but can just imagine the PM and his lackies immediately losing what English reading and comprehension skills they posses after about the second line - - "we no understand". 

[metisdead]

Some troll posts have been removed. 

[Mr Meeseeks]

48 minutes ago, fakser said:

Once again we see the grumpy choir of foreigners spitting in the well that we all drink from.

Again I ask myself why all those miserable ex patriates, who suffer so badly in this country, don't pack their belongings and return to their precious homeland.  

The water in the well is putrid and fetid mate, some of us would actually like to help the Thais get some clean, fresh water for a change.

 

By the looks of things more and more Thais are coming round to our way of thinking too.

[Artisi]

3 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

The water in the well is putrid and fetid mate, some of us would actually like to help the Thais get some clean, fresh water for a change.

 

By the looks of things more and more Thais are coming round to our way of thinking too.

The day will come, when is the question. 

[ThailandRyan]

53 minutes ago, fakser said:

Once again we see the grumpy choir of foreigners spitting in the well that we all drink from.

Again I ask myself why all those miserable ex patriates, who suffer so badly in this country, don't pack their belongings and return to their precious homeland.  

Your lost in a sea of rose colored glasses if you believe what you believe sir.  The water is tainted because of the Government and the well as you said is blocked off for the normal people to use without a submarine to go below.  This government has wasted billions on unnecessary items to ensure they obtained the graft they wanted to fill their pockets with.  Far from Grumpy. Just stating facts.