Eric Loh

Really started with US September job creation misses big expectation about 6 days ago. Stock market rally as the sentiment for rate increase this year doused by this poor data. Currency took the cue and most currencies appreciated including the Baht. However the biggest gainers were the Malaysian Ringgit and Indonesia Rupiah with more in-flow of stock investments and better commodity prices. The US dollar strength slow down benefited commodities and most commodity exporting countries saw much strengthening of their local currencies.

Ultimately it will happen if the country is not returned to a democracy. This government/oligarchy/dictatorship has been given time to sort out various problem but if it takes the long term option there will be opposition and more than just civil unrest.

How can we return to democracy when there was no democracy here to start with?

If you mean that there is democracy to start with because the repeated coups always truncated democracy, I agree with you.

THAMMASAT IS ALSO A THREAT TO HUMAN RIGHTS

Most of the crooked lawyers I know graduated there. Their "Old Boy' network is above the law.

If you are cheated in a Thai court, (regular occurrence), what can you do?

Hire another lawyer and get cheated some more?

Go to the Lawyers Council ? Waste of time, it's part of the "Legal Mafia"

I know one lawyer who was struck off over 20 years ago, and still runs a busy law office in Bangplee, still cheating and abusing people.

Thailand urgently needs an independent body, with teeth, to regulate and clean up the deplorable Justice System.

This is the best possible legacy that General Prayuth can give the people

News topic about commemorating students slaughtered by the army. This idiot turns it into plugging general too.

Well done.

WHO'S THE IDIOT?

Who's plugging the general? I merely pointed out that some Thammasat graduates have a VERY negative effect on this country, and made a positive suggestion for improvement.

Most people on this forum have much more to fear from a corrupt Justice System which can legally harass you, steal your assets, and even wrongfully imprison you. The current government seems harmless by comparison!

Concur with you that we have a corrupt justice system that has not change with the current government. We are still being harassed and wrongfully imprisoned.

NOT JUST ONE,,,,,,TWO MASSACRES, by the Thai Army, killing unarmed civilians.

The first massacre was on October 14th 1973, and there were even more victims than October 6th 1976.

1992?

2010?

And nobody punished! 39 years later, Has anything changed?

Nothing really change and the ultra rightist groups are still around and all those that work for them are still unpunishable.

How about doing something on your own back yard like the yearly smog in Chiangmai.

Growing number of educated middle income Bangkok citizens getting annoyed with the junta. Their support base is fast dwindling. Bad news for Suthep and the Dem Party.

Criminal court dropping the lawsuit was expected and she said that. Smart that she able to highlight the irregularities of the court without being charge for contempt. Brilliant defiance which will see her as strong by her supporters.

Now that we get the serious stuff like securing a photo-op with Obama out of the way, can the junta pay bit more attention to the petty stuff like the economy. This kind of self gratification like the happiness poll is getting silly and makes the junta more like a mickey mouse club.

If ever the situation turns chaotic, it will not be the NE farmers but spark either by the students activists or within the military. The students will grow bolder and the junta is caught in a catch 22 situation. Tough action will result in a middle class uprising and soft action will embolden the students. Within the military, there are much discontent especially the senior officers that will pass over in promotion in favour of a certain faction. I think it is boiling for a long time and a certain officer death may be targeted for this reason in 2010.

Guess the only comedian left is the PM himself.

What losses?

Oh, right. He could not travel to see his paymaster and pick up his cheque.

Only a simpleton could believe this.

Only a simpleton would not see WhizBang's comment was sarcasm, dipped in satire, & rolled in black humor.

(but...............many a true word spoken in jest)

Amazing you can see all that. Pretty straightforward to me and is juvenile.

At what cost when 40% of the population are non citizens. I know it's the policy of the government to have a population of 6M to enhance the domestic economy and lessen the dependent on export. However the negatives is now outweighing the positives. The locals are not a happy lot. Credit to the government, they now slow down the number of immigrants and job seekers and that brought them a massive boast in recent election. They need to do more.

We shouldn't underestimate the intelligence of the Thai people to make their decision at the ballot box. Twice the voters made their voices heard and voted out the Dem government under Chuan due to massive corruption of the Sor Phor Kor scandal and policies that prospered their crony companies and friends. Thaksin can be voted out if we allow democracy to mature and the people realized the power they hold.

It'll all come to a head one day and I am convinced Yingluck will be treated far more kindly by history than the current installed PM. The rice scheme was poorly managed but well intended and now the subsidies have stopped and the farmers, once AGAIN, will suffer and does the Junta care? we know the answer to THAT.

OK, first of all, whatever happens to Thaksin/Yingluck is entirely of their own making. Those that are still blinded by the red propaganda will continue to believe they are a self-sacrificing family who put the interests of the "poor" over their own, when in reality nothing they do is for any reason other than to enrich themselves and their cronies.

Secondly, the rice scheme was a scam from day one, it was NOT well intended, as only the middle/top level rice farmers were eligible, the poorest who actually needed the help couldn't participate. The people who made shitloads of money from this were the people that owned the fields (they put up the rent, A LOT), the rice millers (owned by, you can guess), and the transportation and storage companies (again, you can guess who they are owned by).

The Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), a private non-profit foundation that researches public policy, analyzed the rice pledging scheme in 2012 and identified several disadvantages. (Advantages and Disadvantages of Rice Pledging Scheme[in Thai] TDRI (Sept. 2012).) For example, it found that the farmers who would receive the most benefit from the scheme would be high to moderate-income farmers (around 1.185 million households), because they are capable of cultivating considerable amounts of rice for the purpose of selling their product to the government. (Id.) In contrast, low-income farmers possess only the ability to cultivate rice for consumption by their own households. Thus, they would not have enough rice to enter into the rice pledging scheme. (Id.) Furthermore, THAI PBS found that only 8% of farmers would benefit from this scheme. (1 Year: Problems of Rice Pledging Scheme of Yingluck Administration, supra.)

I don't disagree with you but tell me which governments in the past have not done things to benefit themselves and their cronies and I will also include military governments. They are all the same and Thaksin parties are no different from any of the past governments. Ultimately the people will see through their corruptions and will make their feelings felt at the ballot box. Military intervention and harsh laws stripped them of their rights and rights to question corruption of the military.

Thaksin for all his imperfections have done things that people resonated which allow him to be the first PM to serve a full term and re-elected for another term. His parties have won all election and that's a recognition and acknowledgement of his policies. Even Prayuth is flip flopping to agree with most of Thaksin policies. Come next election, it looks like another Thaksin party will be elected again. The rice scheme was a poor policy but will be just that lousy policy against a broad range of policies that has benefitted the Thais.

They thought loans were gifts, probably what the PTP told them. Now they have to pay back they blame the current government. Instead of changing their ways they are constantly asking for handouts. This is how they are bought by the PTP, and the reason they are angry now. They are not being bribed to vote this time.

They should be helped to change crops, not paying over market price and doing the same stupid thing over and over again. Farming rice does not work but they keep doing it. They say Thailand has a low unemployment rate, let these guys work plenty of immigrants doing work so why can't these guys do the same jobs ?

Sounds almost the same as those living of welfare in my own country, always wanting more and help but not working while others do work.

" Farming rice does not work..."

Huh? Thailand is the world's second largest rice exporter and farming rice does not work?? Even if market prices are depressed right now it doesn't mean they will remain so forever. Farming rice will never make the actual farmers rich but it's put bread on the table (pun intended) for centuries. Besides, it's a winning situation for the junta. Keeping the rural population suitably poor, uneducated and indoctrinated is a way to ensure the continued domination of the old elite.

Of course, if they get too poor then the lid might come off despite dancing girls in camo shorts, reciting Uncle Too's principles, marching and flag waving.

No, Vietnam and other countries are doing it cheaper as the Thais, and the farmers are getting poorer all the time needing handouts all the time. So its obvious the small scale farming does not work they need to change crops or occupation. (and should receive help doing that) instead of the constant handout that binds them to the PTP.

".... instead of the constant handout that binds them to the PTP."

Well, don't worry. Uncle Too is in the process of opening the money bag, although (Buddha forbid) it's not in any way populist policies.

Whereas when Yingluck opened the money bag, it was empty. All gone, and no one would tell her where it went.

But don't worry, the Shin family fortune grew a massive 450% during the PTP years in power, unlike many farmers whose debts increased dramatically.

The rich exploiting the poor - the Shins could write the definitive book on it.

BB, don't get carry away with your dislike for the Shin. Empty seem much exaggerated. Revenue collection even for a bad 2014 year was 2T + enough to finance 90% of the budget. Then there is still a cash hoard of 178 B USD in foreign reserve. And the Shin and many wealthy families wealth growth are much due to the bullish stock market You think farmers invest in the stock market?

What a complete load of BS : who writes these articles ?.

The 'generous subsidies' had already run out of money before the last government left office because the scheme was unsustainable and rife with corruption. They had already 'borrowed' from other budgets. Farmers were not being paid and had taken out loans because they were planting as many crops each years as they could to take advantage. Suicides of those unable to pay them back were on the increase long before the coup.

If those 'mega loans' had been taken out off-budget, they would have been siphoned away on vote buying schemes like this leaving the tax-payer with a 50 year burden and little to show for it.

It has nothing to do with the red-shirt threats of revolt. They think they lost their free lunch and they want it back. We won't see any spontaneous protests from these people : only free parties on organised coaches. Contrast that with the protesters against the amnesty bill who turned out on a matter of decency and principle even though they knew they might get murdered on the streets without any police protection.

In case this joke of a journalist didn't realise, the whole world has been suffering economic hardship for more than 6 years now.

Oh John, here you go again. Sometimes I think you're just trolling like djjamie.

"Contrast that with the protesters against the amnesty bill who turned out on a matter of decency and principle even though they knew they might get murdered on the streets without any police protection."

Decency and principle, John? Led by the decent and principled robber rubber baron? If you think that Suthep is decent and principled then you are so far out there that even some of your fellow junta lovers will shy away from you!

Silly me and I thought it was the police that need protection against the PDRC decent and principle mob.

So the Bangkok congestion is not due to the previous government first car rebate policy.

Will see who will run short of patience. A toss between support for democratization and angry disgruntled farmers.

pray.jpgteodoro_obiang_nguema.jpg

They say you are judged by the company you keep.

http://gtspirit.com/2011/09/29/11-supercars-of-teodoro-obiang-nguema-mbasogo-seized-by-french-police/

Ngu-and-mug.jpg

Good company too both being military man and become the the country top guy through coup. Just hope that President Teodoro didn't give Prayuth any silly idea on how to stay in power for last 30 years.

No I expect Teodoro kept Prayuth amused and in awe with his supercar stories. You think Prayuth is rich?

Doubt he will be in awe with his " not too shabby" car stable including a Mercedes S600L and BMW 740Li Series Sedan. He is not rich but very rich.

pray.jpgteodoro_obiang_nguema.jpg

They say you are judged by the company you keep.

http://gtspirit.com/2011/09/29/11-supercars-of-teodoro-obiang-nguema-mbasogo-seized-by-french-police/

Ngu-and-mug.jpg

Good company too both being military man and become the the country top guy through coup. Just hope that President Teodoro didn't give Prayuth any silly idea on how to stay in power for last 30 years.

Shouldn't Prayuth be talking and seeking better bilateral cooperation with the richer nations rather than poorer nations like Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, Antigua and Barbuda. Really a big let down for Thais for their PM ignored by the leaders of the richer nations. A world of difference when Yingluck visit USA and was warmly greeted by Obama and Hillary.

What was he charged with in 2010 and 2014? And if it was bomb-making, why is he still running around making bombs?

Also, didn't the RTP state quite categorically in the early weeks that no Thai would ever be involved in anything like this? Has this been retracted or simply forgotten about?

I think he was on bail or something

And the odds are that the last government paid it for him.

Halloween, read more and don't agree blindly just because of your prejudice. The man Odd never had arrest warrant and was never was convicted by accounts of the DSI. Sure the RTP said he was arrested and prosecuted. Then the funny part that they have no identification record of him and not even an ID. The RTP is making up silly assumption daily and you milking all this up.

If "malfeasance and negligent behavior" were applied in cases against all politicians, the halls of power all over Thailand would look like the rapture had taken them all to heaven.....

That's the problem when malfeasance and negligent behavior apply to only one side of the political divide. Similarly cronyism and nepotism are seen inappropriate only by one side. We see it much rapture on one side; can't you?

I thought Prayut said that foreigners don't understand Thailand and warned the foreigners not to cause trouble. Why the need to inform Ban? Paper tiger?