Legitimacy now lies in shambles

[limbo]

Legitimacy now lies in shambles

Published on February 03, 2006 The Nation

 

The richest man in the Kingdom simply does not have the moral fibre to lead us. In 2001 it was tears and an emotional, ?Please forgive my honest mistake? plea. A billion baht worth of shares in his servants? accounts as well as in an obscure company called Ample Rich Investments, insisted Thaksin Shinawatra, was meant to facilitate his business dealings.

 

He begged us to believe that, as dubious as it looked, the ?hidden stocks? were not evidence of unusual business practices, and that it was stupid of him to fail to report their existence when declaring his assets. With 11 million votes and eight Constitution Court judges on his side, he was let off the hook. The pro-reform among us gritted our teeth and compromised the principles ? just for him.

 

Five years on, those shares have played a big part in how his family managed to sell Shin Corporation at more than three times its 2001 values without having to pay any tax. The same old questions have been asked, but there are no tears this time. Only a sneering, ?You see this much money and you envy me, don?t you??

 

Thaksin was given a big break and he blew it. The salt in our wounds is not from his daily insults poured on legitimate questions about the Temasek deal, but the painful deja vu of how the law of the land is being twisted, bent and even mocked to defend the indefensible acts of our leader. Instead of rectifying his ?honest mistake?, he has used the great escape of 2001 to reveal more of his true nature, and contemptuously so.

 

No laws may have been really broken, and hard evidence of corruption may not yet have been found. But the Shin Corp deal is damning proof that Thaksin?s character is found wanting when it comes to the issues of moral authority and is rather mired in selfishness, greed and vested

 

interests.

 

The uproar among various social sectors including university lecturers does not stem from jealousy, but fears that attempts to legalise or legitimise the deal will bankrupt our nation morally. Business companies dodging the laws for maximum profits is one thing, the prime minister getting away with Bt73 billion tax-free in the murkiest of manners is quite another.

 

The worst part is that this is not going to be the end of it. The enormous fortune of his family will have to be further invested and it could involve, directly or indirectly, new state concessions. There will be new questions about taxes and shares. New nominees may be needed. Thaksin will continue to be irritated by the issue of conflict of interests, something the whole country thinks is so glaring, but he is too blind to see. All this will be at the expense of political transparency and good governance.

 

He is supposed to be the upholder of the spirit of the Constitution and the law. Instead, he has become the worst example of how one can reap so much benefit from a country and give back so little thanks to abuse of state power and the clever exploitation of legal loopholes. A corruption-infested country clamouring for moral leadership needs anything but this. The tumultuous end to the long saga of the Shin Corp deal means Thaksin doesn?t fit even our most modest expectations that accompanied the reluctant decision to give him a chance in 2001.

 

A major rally is being planned tomorrow and our nation has found herself at a dangerous crossroads once again. Whereas we pray there will be no violence, Thaksin should stop to ponder how things have come to this point. He has so much money to spend, so why not spend it in a manner that both sides ? he and society ? are happy? His money has bought him political power, but the truth is ? whether he greets this with tears or contempt ? the way he has accumulated it is costing him his legitimacy to rule.