It's time to move Thaksin down the priority list
A brand new international airport with a seemingly major structural flaw. A stalled economy. A rising insurgency. An absolutely crucial yet fragile political reform process. And, of course, an overthrown leader on the loose outside the country giving stinging interviews to foreign media. A simmering turmoil within, and a negative - if not distorted - image in the eyes of the world.
The image that Thailand now has is well-deserved. It is karmic and real retribution for dozens of years of corruption, cheating and lying to both the Thai people and foreigners. And all the right-wing nationalist bullshit that is coming out only proves that Thais never take responsibility for their own actions. It is time Thailand finally grew up. All the current problems should be seen as a wake up call or an intervention.
You have to feel for interim Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont. It has been damned-if-you-do/damned-if-you-don't for him on every single issue that he faces. But something has got to give now, something that not long ago was terribly important.
Surayud is a lovely man but a totally incompetent leader.
He has to let Thaksin Shinawatra go. Yes, the former prime minister remains a political threat, but there is little else Surayud can do apart from bringing back full democracy as soon as possible.
What? Let Thaksin go, yet bring back full democracy? How is it full democracy if Thaksin is not allowed to defend himself or run in the next elections, especially if he hasn't been convicted of any crimes.
The international attacks stemming from Thaksin's campaign have damaged Thailand, but that is the price of the September 19 coup. Locally, he can hurt the new government and the military as much as they allow him to. In other words, Thaksin at this moment poses less of a threat to them than they do to themselves.
What international attacks? And how has what Thaksin said damaged Thailand? The only thing that has damaged Thailand has been the stupidity and incompetence of the present junta and government, who continually blow it day after day, whether it be the airport, the South, or their ludicrous right-wing nationalism.
It's time to revise priorities and move on. The strongest warning that the interim leadership has not been on the right track came on Sunday, when southern insurgents launched their largest set of coordinated attacks since the coup. And, coincidentally, the militants issued their sternest message yet at a time when the country was preoccupied with Surayud's unexpected political gamble. Whether or not it's appropriate to turn Somkid Jatusripitak, a key architect of "Thaksinomics", into the guardian of the sufficiency economy theory shouldn't have been the most important question of the day.
I agree with this. But the Somkid ordeal is a self-inflicted wound.
That is unless, of course, Somkid is part of a "Sammakitham-style" political conspiracy. Ironically, political realignment in the wake of the 1991 coup that toppled the government of Chatichai Choonhavan saw the military junta of that time covertly joining hands with politicians, the Sammakitham party among them, who they had publicly denounced. With backing from those politicians, junta leader Suchinda Kraprayoon became prime minister after a general election in early 1992, setting the stage for the bloody May uprising and more ugly consequences.
This could be a major possibility. I could see the junta aligning with the old factions of the TRT, reformulate Thaksinomics into sufficiency theory, and run Somkid as the head puppet.
But we should worry about this later. At present, Surayud should be given the benefit of the doubt, which means we should assume his only motive was to discredit Thaksinomics and protect the reputation of the sufficiency economy model.
Discredit Thaksinomics with the guy who was the brains behind Thaksinomics? Protect the reputation of the sufficiency model with the guy who doesn't believe in it? Gotta love the Thai logic here.
Yet while Surayud should be spared "conspiracy" accusations, he can't escape other responsibilities. As Thailand's interim leader, he has yet to tell his compatriots what the nation's biggest problem is. And if this is not corrected, it could fail him.
What the fuck does this mean? What is the nation's biggest problem and how can it fail Surayud if you don't tell us what it is?
Thaksin has the right and luxury to play political games, but Surayud doesn't. Hundreds of thousands of Thais - Muslims and Buddhists alike - are living in fear or great confusion about their future. This must overshadow everything including the globetrotting former prime minister. Thais should be more worried by reports that many of the young southern militants comprise the cream of the crop of their societies and are not junkies as initially believed, than Thaksin's purchase of overseas estates or hiring of foreign lobbyists.
More horrible writing. What is Thaksin doing but buying expensive mansions all over the world? Why are Thais living in confusion? Because they are led by greedy and selfish assholes or because they are unwilling to take any responsibility for their lives? Tulsie is right. What is happening to Thailand is more important than what Thaksin says or does. Glad he has finally figured that shit out.
Thaksin is gone. It's the interim leaders fighting themselves now. Critics may be right in saying that an unabated national obsession with the former leader could blur real issues. The Suvarnabhumi Airport fiasco is a case in point. Thaksin's looming shadow has obviously complicated how official probes were carried out, how findings were publicised, and what solutions should be considered.
Thaksin's shadow doesn't have guns, the jails, and the law on its side. And nothing is stopping The Nation from doing its own investigative reports.
More worrisome is how much Thaksin will influence and thus distort political reforms. Already, the possibility of his return to power has dominated debates such as whether Thailand should do away with the party-list system. Thaksin survived one of the country's best constitutions, and this tells us many things, one of them is that a charter designed specifically to prevent his comeback could be the nation's worst.
What does this bullshit mean? Hello. Any copywriters in there? Again, the Thai media is worried about a Thaksin boogey monster a million miles away. And if he isn't convicted of crimes, why shouldn't he come back and run?
Thaksin is no longer "the biggest problem". Let him continue to have the microphone and maybe this problem will take care of itself.
Nothing wrong with Thaksin's mouth taking care of Thaksin. And letting him talk is probably the best thing to do to kill his political career.
There was a need to make sure Thaksin is dead politically, but the interim leaders have gone as far as they can. Having wrestled the country's helm from his hands, they have brought upon themselves far greater tasks and responsibilities than pre-empting his return. Again, the simple trick for Surayud and company is not to become their own enemy, not least because they had vowed to make a difference.
Surayud and company have shown that they are their own worst enemies and Thaksin couldn't do anything to make things worse for them--except maybe point out how incompetent they are, and he'd be right.
The "coup or Thaksin" debate has been a black and white matter on both sides, and 100 Somkids will not change that. Perhaps it's best for the great divide to remain. When people start saying they can't tell the two sides apart, it's time for the interim leaders to pack up and go home.
Tulsathit Taptim
It is not a black and white debate. It is not a Manichean struggle. And Somkid is evidence of that. He is a willing traitor to his former patrons. He is willing to whore whatever principles he had for political power. And, quite frankly, Somkid is the best representative of the Thai people. Also, The Nation's editors have shown how two-faced they are by embracing Somkid, the intellectual force behind Thaksinocracy and Thaksinomices. If The Nation had any intellectual and moral consistency, it would condemn the Somkid appointment just like the PAD has done.
And it is striking to me that a senior editor at The Nation, once again, has decided to talk about Thaksin rather than address more important things, like civil war in the South, a military dictatorship, and General Sonthi's right-wing nationalist campaign against Singapore.
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