Eric Loh

13 minutes ago, Just1Voice said:

FFP is more of a threat to the junta than Phea Thai. The are young, educated, and don't buy into the old crap. My wife, at 60 years of age, and all of her friends, voted FFP.  My daughter, in her final semester of law school at Mae Fah Luang, said she, and every one she knows, voted FFP. FFP is the biggest threat to the military dinosaurs since Thaksin. 

Youth activists have lead some of the famous movement that have make dramatic changes and shaken many establishments. 

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/03/youth-activism-young-protesters-historic-movements/

10 minutes ago, Cadbury said:

The men in power you refer to are the likes of General Apirat whose daddy was General Sunthorn the head of government from 1991 to 1992 after a coup against a former coup leader.

It seems General Apirat is genetically designed to become the next coup leader and unelected PM to replace the incumbent PM Prayut.

After his recent ugly rant against democracy and the Future Forward party in particular it seems only a matter of time before he takes control. Compared to the relatively harmless PM Prayut this will likely be a frightening prospect for Thailand.  

 

His loyalty to that someone make him even more dangerous. Likely more ruthless and unwavering in his manner to maintain status quo for that someone. 

38 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

If the EC decide to award the win to the Pro Junta party & keep Prayut in power then expect all sorts of revenge attacks to start around the country.

Many anti-Prayut people will not sit idly by & be dictated to by a rigged election!

Just a small correction "Many anti-Prayut young people will not sit idly & be dictated by a rigged election". I would say like deja vu 1992. 

31 minutes ago, sjaak327 said:

There is really only one thing left to do. The constitutional Court needs to declare the elections null and void.

Sent from my SM-J730F using Tapatalk
 

They only do that with elected government that the establishment don’t like.

20 minutes ago, bannork said:

Pheua Thai have tried to paint the election in those terms, describing themselves as pro-democracy.

The owner isn't but he could be described as more democratic than Uncle Tu. It's all relative.

 

The academics were already labeling this election as pro-democracy against pro-military even before official campaigning started. The media were reporting almost daily between these 2 election sides. Just one for your consumption below.

  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/22/thailands-first-election-in-eight-years-not-free-or-fair-say-democracy-activists

The narrative that it was PTP that coined that was only propagated by Thaksin haters as it was just so convenient to blame all to him. Nothing is relative between one who stand for election and one who seized power and rigged the rules in order to steal an election; period.

And the bit about Thaksin's involvement is rich. EC has been trying to find evidence to link Thaksin's influence in order to dissolve the party but unable to find anything but yet we have posters here that will swear that he was involved. 

16 minutes ago, SheungWan said:

Its good to see the Thaksinistas back with their "Its Not About Thaksin" mantra. Nostalgia Time. Odd move though by Thaksin to try and rope in an inappropriate person to run for PM although it didn't work out too well. Surely Thaksin hasn't run out of siblings and other relatives? 

Then you got to credit the first posting to try divert and confuse by bringing Thaksin into the conversation when all media described this election as pro-democracy against pro-military fight. 

Just now, candide said:

Whatever the true number of killed people, there should be an extensive investigation about this event. It will never happen.

I see similarity with Thaksin war on drugs resulting in deaths and Ahbisit/Suthep killings of the red shirts. investigations were completed but none implicated. Thailand remain trapped in the shadows of despair.  

26 minutes ago, WeekendRaider said:

this is no PR stunt.  for many people, and especially today it sure seems to me, the idea that their important leaders share their feelings on stuff is very important to them.  it's not for me and some of us, but for many it is.  and the leader doesn't have to actually do anything and what they say doesn't even have to make any sense.  and it works!  so it's good.     

Not so much for Prayut as he has no accountability to the people. See, he don't even need the people's mandate to be PM. He don't have to do or say anything smart to be leader of the country. 

1 hour ago, VocalNeal said:

Never been to Indonesia then?

 

Why is it that Thailand seems to attract chicken littles. Is it because TV gives people a forum to complain? 

 

On the Telegraph Map Thailand fares no worse than Indonesia.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/maps-and-graphics/most-polluted-countries/

 

Here we are 474th way behind Jakarta and Bandung.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-polluted_cities_by_particulate_matter_concentration

 

 

Is it because we stay here and not Indonesia. 

1 hour ago, pornprong said:

Or perhaps the man is not as big a fool as he appears to be.

The events of 1992 may be vividly on his mind.

Having mounted the tiger, he now faces the all too certain eventuality of facing a most difficult dismount.

I give him the discredit for rekindling the students 1992 spirit. Lost for 2 decades but now awakened to challenge the junta's authoritarianism ambition. If he dismount, he will probably step on a land mine. Either way, it wouldn't be pretty.    

1 hour ago, Roadman said:

It depends would you consider as improvement. If you considered public safety and security and peacefulness then that has been a major improvement under the Junta's control without Thaksins thugs under Chalerms direction murdering and bombing innocent citizens and creating war zones on the streets of Bangkok. Economy is certainly up for debate but under the likes of thieves like the Shinawatra's the billions getting siphoned off into their personnel accounts and their stoogies fat pockets might get close back to covering the Junta's take and incompetence. 

 

Hyperbolical at its best. 

2 hours ago, marinediscoking said:

The photos I saw yesterday when this was happening looked more like in the thousands, not hundreds. 

That’s what I saw too plus the 800k plus in the petition to impeach the EC. Kind of misplaced definition of a ‘nothing burger’. Maybe it’s the bifocal or cataract. 

8 minutes ago, RobertH said:

Well, Reuters reported that there were about 100 people at the protest. That is still tiny. If it grows into the thousands then maybe it may signal the start of something. As of now, this is basically a nothing burger, as they say.

That nothing burger of about 100 protestors were match by about 100 security personnel deployed. A rather heavy does of intimidation has worked last 5 years and still used. 

12 minutes ago, RobertH said:

It did. It's the election and how it was administered that is causing civil unrest.

So it didn’t. Semantic don’t count. 

Better to split the party with the younger sensible politicians and call them the New Democratic Party. Leave the old extreme rightist dinosaurs  behind. 

3 hours ago, phantomfiddler said:

In my opinion Abhisit is the straightest and best educated politician in Thailand,and I hope he does not completely throw in the towel. Many were disappointed however that when in power he did not pass any Farang friendly laws, as did one of his predecessors, the best ever Khun Anand Panyarachun ????

His electorate abandoned him and left his party in tattered. Apparently his straightness facade and education that kept him aloft count for nothing by his own supporters. 

As for Khun Anand, his only blemish was he was a non elected PM but credit him for keep the military at bay who tried to influence the government in order to gain financial benefits and in the drafting committee for the 1997 "Peoples' Constitution". 

19 minutes ago, seajae said:

ptp complaining about vote buying, what a joke, they must think they are the only ones allowed to do it. Doubt we will ever see free and fair elections in Thailand without all the rigging, vote buying etc, to well entrenched in how the operate

You shouldn’t be complaining too. Previous elections were done and dusted and results make official in the royal gazette. All bias investigation were completed and cards issued by previous EC. Now this election is neither free and fair and the cheating and frauds were brought out with evidences to the EC. You know the election is heavily rigged but you chose to divert. 

18 hours ago, bannork said:

It seems The Democrats lost support to Future Forward (younger voters) and to Palang Pracharat ( older, more conservative voters).

Regarding the former, unless Future Forward implodes I can't see how The Democrats can win back support. Everything about the party oozes stuffiness and conformity, they do have some excellent politicians, intelligent people with experience, but they're simply not daring enough to offer an exciting future to the young.

Regarding the latter, they've just lost a whole lot of votes and seats to Palang Pracharat and they're thinking of joining them to form a government? That will just add to the strength of PPRT as they wheel out more populist policies to keep the grassroots satisfied and seal their role as the nation's chief defender against Thaksin's parties, leaving The Democrats as a bridesmaid at their own wedding.

 

Does seem a no brainer answer to the party’s woes. They have been make irrelevant and redundant by FFP’s strong message against the military and their staunch supporters sold out their loyalty to a lying cheating party who made enticing promises and they fell for it. 

The party leaders have lots to be blamed for the party decline and they carry too much political baggages to make any decision for the party. They should all resign in shame.

The party better off non aligned and have a fresh executives to plan their future. In fact, partnering the anti junta coalition will be a possible benefit for their future. Their caveat being no PTP leaders should be PM.