Is the Thaksin Era Coming To An End in Thailand?

 A Flying Sporran Comment:

Exports are down. Time and time again the current government and its politicians are being accused of having their fingers in the till. The Amnesty Bill is set to whitewash among others Thaksin Shinawatra, the former premier now living abroad having been convicted of corruption and abuse of power.


Government M.Ps have been told to support the bill or face the consequences.

A massive rice pledging scheme is reportedly riddled with corruption. Massive projects are haemorhaging money.

We have seen it all before. Politicians fleeing the country with ill-gotten gains – and coming back when all is forgiven. Thais, it would appear, have short memories. Besides it seems an accepted practice to have one’s  fingers in the till…almost to the extent it would appear that it would be silly not to.

But today the Bangkok Post even seems to have had enough. In an editorial it states:

“.. blind loyalty, greed, selfishness and arrogance seem to have overtaken the sense of right and wrong that should have prevailed among the powers-that-be in the government and parliament.

Full already

“The only thing that matters for them are the interests of one single individual their political master, Thaksin Shinawatra.

“The clock should be allowed to run its course.

“Sadly, it is being turned back when the country was mired in prolonged street protests against the Thaksin regime.

“It shouldn’t be that way. If there is any sense of self-respect or feeling of responsibility for the good of the nation and the people left among the legislators of the House, they should attempt to save the country from plunging into yet another political crisis which we can ill-afford.”

Of course The Sun would have said it differently AND EARLIER. This is a country of slow reacting under-statement.  I believe the horse has bolted.

Looks like we are back to square one again. Plus ca change. Yawn.

PS – Do NOT press like on Facebook.

THAI THOUGH POLICE TO ARREST PEOPLE WHO PRESS FACEBOOK ‘LIKE’

2 thoughts on “Is the Thaksin Era Coming To An End in Thailand?

  1. I used to have a young Chinese /Thai kid who worked for me for a number of years. His father was a big player in Bangkok and this young guy joined Thai Rak Thai and ended up working very close to Thaksin. I won't reveal his exact position but every Christmas a card would arrive along with a photo of him and Thaksin in a warm embrace.

    I don't know what happened but he became very disillusioned very quickly and left politics. I heard a few nuggets about how much it cost to buy your way into the party and the staggering sums cabinet posts were bought and sold for. Having studied in Australia this kid had seen the basic fairness of the Australian system compared to Thailand.

    Just about every province has a wannabe Thaksin. A politician/godfather/warlord who is usually ethnic Chinese and has a finger in every profitable business in the province. The law cannot touch these people. Kumnan Poh has been convicted of murder, yet has not spend one day in jail. Last year a politician emptied a full clip from his glock pistol into a rival and wasn't even arrested. He refused to hand over his gun for examination and basically told the cops to piss off.

    Who can ever forget the Duang Yubumrung case? A policeman gets shot in a crowded bar. Duang goes on the lam and is stripped of his army rank. He surrenders and returns to be found not guilty. Has his rank restored and is then promoted. Transfers to the police and retains high rank. Works as body guard for his father and teaches shooting at the police academy!

    Then there is Moo Ham the maniac driver getting a suspended sentence, the Red Bull owner's son in his Ferrari refusing to appear in court, the 16 year old girl with no licence who killed a mini-van full of people on the express way. She gets a suspended sentence. The Pojaman Shinawatra tax case, the Santika fire, the fire at Tiger disco on Phuket, etc etc etc etc etc

    Until Thailand develops a legal system where the law is applied equally to all. Nothing will change. Thaksin is merely the product of the system. Never forget he was originally a Policeman!

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