Deconstructing Thepchai Yong: More Hypocrisy Concerning Party Dissolution Judgment

Judges must make no compromises on 'Judgement Day'

Thepchai Yong

The Nation

His Majesty the King's televised remarks to judges of the Supreme Administrative Court last week essentially drove home the political fragility that the country faces.


A political fragility that has been self-inflicted.

Not since the verdict was pending in the assets concealment case against then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has the country been in such a state of political suspense.

How convenient that he pretends that a coup never happened.

It shouldn't come as any surprise if some overly concerned families are beginning to stock up on food or if panicky investors are offloading shares in their portfolios ahead of the so-called "Judgement Day" tomorrow. For these people, signs of trouble are too obvious to ignore.

This is unjustified hysteria that the lazy Thai media loves to cook up.

Despite all the assurances from the government and the military to the contrary, the spectre of street violence hanging over the ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal on the fate of the Thai Rak Thai and Democrat parties cannot be underestimated. Intelligence reports have all pointed to the possibility of coordinated agitation by Thaksin's supporters, who want nothing short of a total vindication for the former prime minister and his party.

What evidence is there for this? The Nation hasn't done any investigative reports demonstrating that there is coordinated effort by Thaksin supporters to cause violence on the day of the verdict. What would violence accomplish anyway? It won't change the verdict. The threat of violence won't change the verdict.

Thaksin may be in exile thousands of miles away, but there is no denying what the political machine he left behind is capable of doing at the snap of his fingers. Thaksin definitely has not been funnelling in huge amounts of money to remnants of his Thai Rak Thai Party and its grassroots network for charitable purposes. The former leader has too much at stake both in terms of his wealth and his political survival to watch events unfold from afar without trying to interfere.

Since last September, Thaksin could have done a lot of behind the scenes damage, and he didn't, so why start now?


The Nation has not done one investigative report linking Thaksin to any political agitator groups since the coup.


All The Nation does is speculate. Seriously, The Nation has no right to call itself a newspaper, because it really is in the speculation and conspiracy theory business. Frighteningly enough, The Nation doesn't even bother to gather any evidence in defense of it speculations and conspiracies.


These editors/columnists are incompetent and poorly trained. And they are doing a disservice to Thailand's political development because of it.

Thaksin made it clear in his recent interview with a community radio station with avowed loyalty to the former prime minister that he was not going to give up without a fight.

When did Thaksin say he was going to fight? Did I miss something?

Of course, despite all the bitter feelings he generated under his five-year authoritarian rule, the businessman-turned-politician had no regrets to offer. It's no surprise then that he chooses to see all the charges of abuse of power and conflicts of interest made against him and his family as nothing more than political retribution. And he has fervently urged his supporters back home to see it that way too.

Any idiot with half a brain cell firing off in his head knows that the current charges against Thaksin have been cooked up only to justify that Thaksin is a criminal after the fact. Thepchai is a liar. He knows very well that this is about the criminalization of politics.


If these investigations were only about Thaksin's crimes, why is the AEC being led by Thaksin's sworn enemies? Why weren't professional prosecutors with no political axes to grind allowed to investigate all the dirty dealings during Thaksin's tenure? And why have the investigations only singled out Thaksin, as if he was the one and only person who was in charge and running the country during the last six years? How come the AEC isn't investigating the "unusual wealth" of all the cabinet ministers and Thai Rak Thai politicians since 2001?

While the potential of political backlash shouldn't in any way influence the verdict of the nine judges on the Constitution Tribunal, His Majesty has, nevertheless, reminded the panel to be mindful of its consequences. There is a general consensus that whatever ruling is handed down by the Constitution Tribunal, it will have a far-reaching impact on this country's political future.

If nothing happens except the parties getting a slap on the wrist, how will that impact on the country's future?


The worst-case scenario is that both the Democrat and Thai Rak Thai parties are dissolved and all party executives banned from politics for five years in accordance with Decree No 27 introduced by the Council for National Security (CNS) in the aftermath of the September 19 coup. Not only would the whole lot of political veterans who were instrumental in shaping Thailand's politics for the past several years be denied any political role, but it would also set the stage for potential street violence.


Again, where is the evidence for this? If there was no street violence over the coup, why would anyone risk their lives for the Democrats or Thai Rak Thai? I mean, to me, the notion is really idiotic. Seriously, are there Thais out there who would hurt other Thais in the name of defending Chaturon and Abhisit?

It's an open secret that some generals in the CNS are praying for exactly that to happen. In one stroke, they would be able to get rid of Thaksin and his Thai Rak Thai Party once and for all and at the same time assure the military a dominant role in the subsequent political realignment. In other words, political fragmentation would allow the military to hold sway over future politics.

The Nation really sucks. It is horrible. If Thepchai knows that there are generals who want to see Thais killed in the cause of their own political expediency, then he should expose them. Any general who wants to see Thais dead is a disgrace to his profession. A soldier's duty is to defend the lives of Thai people, not sacrifice them for their own political gain.


If this so-called "open secret" is nothing but a figment of Thepchai's imagination, then he should be ashamed of himself.


In any event, Thepchai should be publishing the facts if they are true instead of speaking in cryptic terms.

There have been talks lately about a possible compromise whereby selective punishment would be meted out to the leaders of the two parties. Only those directly implicated would be targeted. While a handful of party executives (most likely the party's leaders, secretaries-general and a few others) would be banned from politics, those who survive could immediately found and register new parties for the promised election.

Actually, this doesn't look like a compromise. It looks like a reasonable punishment. Why should everybody in the party suffer because the top executives were corrupt?

Though this proposed compromise would be less painful and shocking than a wholesale purge of the two parties, there is no guarantee that it would end the ongoing agitation efforts by Thaksin supporters.

In other words, Thepchai is saying that Thai Rak Thai should be singled out for punishment because anybody who is related to Thaksin in any way, shape or form should have their political rights stripped away from them.

There is also a big question mark as to whether the Constitution Tribunal can be selective in its judgement and whether its ruling should be influenced by political considerations.

Despite all the threats of violence and the unpalatable political consequences, there is the rule of law that needs to be upheld. His Majesty's caution that whatever the ruling there would be damaging fallout shouldn't in any way be interpreted as a hint toward compromise. His emphasis on "correctness" should also not be lost on anyone.

Thepchai doesn't care about the "rule of law." He has demonstrated his concern for the law when he backed and benefited from an illegal coup.

More often than not, Thailand has seen the rule of law bent to accommodate political expediency.

Thepchai backed an illegal coup to accommodate his own political and professional expediency.

We have tended to tackle problems or deal with crises the "Thai way" and have lost the opportunity to set legal or political benchmarks that would help us become better prepared for new challenges.

I am tired of Thais justifying the horrible outcomes in Thai politics as if there was a racial component to it. There is no such thing as a "Thai way." Just because some Thai politicians are corrupt doesn't mean all Thais are corrupt. Just because some Thais take the easy way out doesn't mean all Thais take the easy way out. There are many good Thai people out there who are incorruptible and would never think of ripping off the country or breaking the law.


Unfortunately, many of the big shots in our country think they can do whatever they want. They don't care about the law. These people are the ones poisoning our country.


What drives me nuts about these hypocrites at The Nation is that they think the law should be selectively applied to Thaksin and to its political enemies. The Nation certainly doesn't believe the law should be applied to the generals, its political patrons.

The nine judges of the Constitution Tribunal have Thailand's political future in their hands. And this definitely is no time for political expediency or compromise. Whatever their verdict is, it must be based on facts. At this very crucial political junction, we have no other choice but to the let the rule of law prevail.

What the f does Thepchai know about the facts? Thepchai hasn't written one fact in this entire column.

Further, what evidence has The Nation published that supports and defends the positions of Thai Rak Thai and the Democrat Party?

In other words, The Nation hasn't done one investigative report concerning the party dissolution case.