Comments on: Will rural voters be “confused to death”?

By: Srithanonchai

Srithanonchai — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 03:42:29 +0000

Jeru: P.S. > The government is about to adopt the Thaksin-initiated new bureaucratic system. According to Khun Thippawan, this is supposed to at least make nepotism in personnel administration more visible (So, in the future, I guess, people who buy their positions also have to be qualified, be it as administrators, school directors, associate/full professors, or generals.). However, this will not affect the huge bureaucratic corruption routinely associated with all sorts of procurement at all levels.

By: Srithanonchai

Srithanonchai — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 03:33:41 +0000

Jeru, from my experience, bureaucratic corruption is more serious and widespread than political corruption. However, usually, the blame is put on the politicians–often by those who are themselves corrupt but shielded from public eye. It would be nice if we could trust, for example, that people on the CDA are clean. But…

By: jeru

jeru — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 13:08:46 +0000

Srithanonchai if what you said in #45 is predominantly true, and you seem to express a certain glee that Thai corruption could be already endemic (to give credence to Thaksin’s declaration that ‘corruption is normal’), then it becomes more urgent that elected leaders must be seen as embodying integrity cap-to-toe. And elected leaders and prominent ministers who break their contract with the electorate by their corruption must be seen as being judicially punished without mercy! Otherwise the cycle of corruption will indeed poison the whole Kingdom to a moral rot of unberable stench.

By: Srithanonchai

Srithanonchai — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 05:39:26 +0000

Jeru: Whether or not Thaksin should worry is of no concern to me. Generally speaking, “people of integrity” have little space to stay in Thailand, be it at the national, provincial, or district levels. Or where will integrity lead you to if you happened to be a civil servant in the ministries of interior, public health, education, communication, agriculture…?

By: jeru

jeru — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:31:26 +0000

True enough Srithanonchai . . that without ‘power’ to shield them, either money, tanks or guns, crooks will quickly hang. But men of integrity will have nothing to worry about. Hence, Srithanonchai, should Thaksin Shinawatra worry?

By: Srithanonchai

Srithanonchai — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 13:34:00 +0000

Yes, Jeru. But only those crooks without power, tanks, and guns.

By: jeru

jeru — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 11:09:06 +0000

As Gladiator said: We stay together–we’ll survive; we’ll fight each on his own–we will all die. – Srithanonchai

The aphorism that applies to the Thai Rak Thai party courtiers of Thaksin Shinawatra was: “Stay together and we’ll hang together, or, be separately hanged.” Crooks will sooner or later be hanged, together or separately.

By: Nick Stump

Nick Stump — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 01:55:09 +0000

What a fascinating discussion. I’m an American veteran of the Vietnam War. I spent a lot of time in rural areas in Northeast Thailand. I’ve been following this story for a while now. My, how things have changed in Thailand in 35 years. I’m working here on rural issues and see some of the same problems in Thailand I see in the US.

A recent poll here shows the next US President will be decided by rural voters. Reading about the politics in Thailand make me homesick to see the country again. I’d have to brush up on my Thai again. It’s been a long time.

By: ThaiBloke

ThaiBloke — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 05:04:09 +0000

If he announced before then I stand corrected.

The problem with the stance that the Democrats took was that their policies were indeed “me too,” policies. There was no real depth to the plans other than to say, “An increase in the minimum wage”.
Plus they had a huge credibility problem.

The Democrats need to adopt an ethos to hang their policies upon. Are they fundamentally free market, are they fundamentally pro FDI, are they fundamentally pro income distribution. These may be western descriptions of a political party and may not necessarily be relevant in a Thai context.

However, until a party stands up and really describes what they want to do to move Thailand in a given direction be it pro poor, pro business, pro exports, pro investment, pro income distribution, pro Bangkok, pro rural a character like Taksin can steal their thunder in a second.

The Democrat policy stance considering that it is the oldest party in Thailand is absolutely pathetic. Or is it truly the case that Thai politics is simply about being in power first and policy later?

By: Srithanonchai

Srithanonchai — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 03:49:17 +0000

Patiwat is quite right: It was the combination of promised policies before the election and their speedy implementation afterwards that way outdid all other party outfits in the election of 2005. And the Democrats under Abhisit still have no clue, but may be helped in the November election by the coup period–but only if the remnants of TRT fail to act in a coordinated way. As Gladiator said: We stay together–we’ll survive; we’ll fight each on his own–we will all die.