TRT is the end near...?

[pattaya127]

Tough talk, JJ, of course they'll never listen!

 

I have never been able to put one and one together with thailand as a new rushing tiger. Certainly outside of BKK.

 

My guess is that they will go on as they did, then, eternally on the brink of the next step that would put them squarely in the concert of nations to reckon with.

 

Whatever happens, they are too much in the habit of staring at their own navel (it can be cute, though) to see any reason to question their next or real place in the world.

 

Plus, the abysmal state of affairs in cambo, Myanmar and laos (Malaysia?, what Malaysia?) will always make them look good. In the kingdom of the blinds, the one-eyed are kings.

[Mentors]

 

THE NATION from today

Published on Jul 13 , 2005

 

.The Thai Rak Thai party turns seven today. Although the party will celebrate its electoral successes and its growing membership, which now exceeds 12 million, not everybody will be celebrating the party's ascension.

 

Seven years after joining Thaksin Shinawatra to found the idealistic "people's party", Thirapat Serirangsan has become severely critical of the party and his former friend.

 

The following are excerpts of an interview with Thirapat, one of the party's 23 founding members, published on Sunday in the Thai-language newspaper Thai Post. He reveals why the party's "name" and "launch date" mattered so much to Thaksin, and what kind of person he believes Thaksin really is.

 

 

Thai Post: How did the founding members agree on the party's name "Thai Rak Thai"?

 

Thirapat: Thaksin wanted to show that he was a democratic leader. He asked all of us to suggest names to represent the party. His wife, Pojaman, nominated "Thai Rak Thai". Then we voted in a closed session, and the majority went for Pojaman's choice.

 

Despite his wife's idea winning our hearts, Thaksin wanted to emphasise that he was a man of democracy, so he then selected a few of the nominated names and asked the public which they preferred. I knew he was just doing this to complete the show. Ultimately, the party would be using this name anyway.

 

When it came to the registration to legalise the party, we discussed the best date for the launch. Thaksin said he preferred July 14, 1998.

 

I argued that the date was the national day of France - the day that led to the end of the French absolute monarchy. Thaksin told me he would reconsider the matter. A week later, he came back and insisted that July 14 was best for us.

 

 

Did a fortune-teller suggest the date?

 

Thaksin didn't tell me if he consulted such a person. He just said it was a good day. But it could be as you suggest.

 

 

After a few years of advising Thaksin, how do you perceive his personality?

 

He is a mixture of two personalities - loyal and changeable.

 

Thaksin is widely known to be loyal to those who've helped him. For example, when I told him I would quit because I couldn't accept the influx of unpopular factions into the party, Thaksin asked me to pick one of his offers, in case I changed my mind.

 

Thaksin asked me how much debt I was handling. He said he would manage it for me. Another option was that I run for a House seat, which would mean I would rank within the top 100 of the party-list. The other option was that I told him which key position I wanted. He said I would get it if he became prime minister after the election in 2001.

 

Thaksin has another side. He is changeable. I remember, after a meeting with Thaksin and two of his advisers over my proposal to form a foundation - a think-tank to support the party's policy platform - he agreed to grant Bt20 million to make it possible.

 

Shortly after the meeting, one of the advisers told me to put the proposal forward immediately, before Thaksin changed his mind. I realised then that he had a changeable personality. The foundation never came about.

 

Soon afterwards, he proved his changeable nature when he joined the Cabinet of General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh as deputy prime minister, despite the fact that we were forming a new party. I wasn't happy with it because he went back on our agreement.

 

 

Thirapat left the Thai Rak Thai shortly before the 2001 election. He is currently a political scientist at Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University.

[Guest]

I generally agree that Thailand is facing serious problems. I think that development in India and China could benefit Thailand, but for that to happen, Thailand needs to get its act together.

 

I am also starting to see troubling signs of a nationalistic backlash. I lived here through the 97' crisis, and I remember how many blamed foreignors for Thailand's economic woes. George Soros became a poster boy for the foreignors who purportedly engineered a crash of Thailand's economy. Some here still actually believe that George Soros, the IMF and other foreign interets really caused the crisis - never mind cronyism.

 

Of course, by blaming outsiders you can avoid the painful structural changes that are required to make the economy more competitive. For example, to make its economy more competitive, Thailand needs to open up its economy to foreign competition (eliminate the Alien Business law, allow foreign ownership of property, allow foreignors to own banks and telecoms), but that also exposes vested interests in protected industries here from unwanted competition, making these very necessary measures politically difficult, if not impossible.

 

And against this back drop, I am again hearing, as I heard in a July eight years ago, grumbling about foreignors having too much influence in Thailand. I heard it today at a conference on the financial industry and in a taxi on the way home from work. For good or bad, the next six months will be interesting.

[pattaya127]

grumbling about foreignors having too much influence in Thailand.

-----------------------------------

Thank God they did, we can see what happened to their neighbours when foreigners are kept at bay from investing and bringing know-how.

Thailand wants to have the cake and eat it too. Not expecting a boycott of Carrefour anyitme soon.... ::

[Mentors]

from THE NATION today:

 

Foreign diplomats yesterday expressed concern over the government?s decision to issue an emergency decree last week giving itself absolute power to contain the violence in the deep South.

 

Representatives of 58 embassies and international organisations questioned the implications of the decree during a briefing at the Foreign Ministry.

The one-and-a-half-hour session was organised by the ministry to clarify the controversial decree.

 

Many ambassadors used the occasion to ask questions about the increased government powers, said diplomatic sources who attended the briefing.

The ministry rushed to call the briefing after the decree came into force on Sunday amid criticism from civic groups that the law gave too much power to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who can order the detention of suspects without charge during states of emergency.

 

The diplomats asked how the law would affect freedom of expression and the basic rights of the people as it allows Thaksin to censor news and block media circulation.

Krit Garnjana-Goonchorn, the ministry?s permanent secretary, told the diplomats that the decree was issued in line with the Constitution, the sources said.

 

The diplomats also queried article 17 of the decree, which would grant ?immunity? to officials in accordance with the laws and disciplines in cases where they cause injury to citizens or damage to property during states of emergency. ?The answers to many of the questions were not quiet clear,? said one diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The diplomats also asked why the government bypassed the role of the Parliament by issuing the executive decree instead of through an act of legislation.

 

Krit said the decree would be put before the Parliament next month. The government was forced to make the move in the wake of a series of explosions in Yala province last week, he said.

Western diplomats posed most of the questions, while their Asian and Arabic counterparts remained silent, an Asean diplomat said.

 

Meanwhile, a government delegation has travelled to Geneva this week to present a report and answer questions from the UN Human Rights Committee