Will the Crackdown Go On??

[Guest]

With apologies to Lord Toad, I am going to post this as a new thread since I think a better question is: "Will the Crackdown Go On??" A post headed “Why the clampdown will go on” is also probably too depressing for most viewers. I hope Khun Sanuk does not object.

There is more evidence of dissent within the governing party, Thai Rak Thai, over the crackdown. In a front page article, The Nation reports “Thai Rak Thai chief adviser Snoh Thienthong believes enough is enough and plans to defuse Interior Minister Purachai Piumsombun's single-minded crusade for a "new social order" amid mounting discontent about his clampdown on late-night businesses.” www.nationmultimedia.com Snoh seems to be taking a soft, face saving approach, by saying that he believes the Interior Minister is acting with the best of intentions. He seems be allowing the Interior Minister an avenue for a graceful retreat.

Of particular interest to viewers here, The Nation article includes this comment from Khun Snoh: “Nightspots catering to foreign tourists should be exempted from closing early.”

Khun Shon sounds like a level headed guy, and his comments make sense. If the real goal is to end drug use, under age drinking, drunk driving and accidents caused by drunk driving, a crackdown on nightspots catering to foreign tourist will certainly not further that goal. Most tourists take taxis. It is a brave tourist indeed who rents a car in Bangkok. Taxi drivers recognize this, and both the Bangkok Post (second page) and the Nation feature pictures of taxi drivers protesting against the crack down.

The Bangkok Post contains a front page article about researchers who back the crack down. They make a good argument about the link between late night drinking and drunk driving accidents, but this argument only goes so far. The state is not a parent, and it may justify a crackdown against underage drinkers, but when applied to adults the argument becomes particularly dubious. And it certainly does not justify a crackdown against foreign nightspots.

The academics and experts supporting the Interior Minister get silly when they start talking about how a crackdown will help eliminate sexual promiscuity among teenagers. One supporter, a Khun Amornwit, argues that the Interior Minister should do more than “just enforcing closing times.” Reporting that he conducted a “survey and found that young people also used University lodgings and shopping malls as hangouts”, he suggests that a crackdown on shopping malls and dorms should be next on the Interior Minister’s list. The looney right has hitched its horse to Khun Purachai's bandwagon.

In terms of where this is going, one of the key questions now is how strong is Snoh’s faction in Thai Rak Thai? A front page article reports that elements within Thai Rak Thai, including Thaksin’s own sister, resent the influence exercised by Khun Sohn (spelled “Sanoh” in the Bangkok Post.) Complicating matters further, the article reports that the Interior Minister is a target of the same group of “young turks” that have criticized Khun Sohn. Since the young turks are also attacking the Interior Minister, this probably has little to do with the nightlife crackdown (Thaksin's sister is stong in the tourist sector, owning several hotels, including at least one upscale place in Koh Samui), but if Khun Snoh is ousted from the inner circle for other reasons, his ability to inject a bit of common sense into this matter will be impaired.

One thing that has always struck me about Thai Rak Thai is that it brings together a number of disparate groups with very different agendas. For example, Thai Rak Thai has attracted both Thailand’s cultural conservatives (Khun Purachai) and business interests that are more interested in protecting vested interests than Thai cultural interests. As the Thai economy continues its downward tailspin, the tension between these different groups is likely to become evident as different groups splinter off. My money is on the money – pure self-economic self interest will trump moral self-righteousness. It always does.

[ September 01, 2001: Message edited by: Robbie Fowler ]