Time for Prayut to relinquish absolute power

[webfact]

EDITORIAL

Time for Prayut to relinquish absolute power

By The Nation

 

Autocratic rule has outlasted its welcome as we head towards election a return to democratic norms
 

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has never been aware of the damage his special powers are doing to the principle of rule of law.

 

Exercising those powers, granted him by Article 44 of the provisional constitution, also violated the spirit of reform as well as the norms and traditions of governance – most notably the system of checks and balances.

 

The junta chief has wielded his autocratic override freely, almost as if he were addicted to the power it confers. Described as efficient and iconic, Article 44 is the tool invoked by the junta – or National Council for Peace and Order, as it is officially known – to place legislative, administrative and judicial powers directly in the hands of General Prayut.  

 

Legally speaking, Article 44 belongs to the interim charter and so should have been defunct as soon as the new charter came into force. But the junta prolonged its life with a passage in the 2017 Constitution granting the NCPO head the same status and powers until the next government is in place.

 

Prayut has made a slew of orders under his special powers, enforcing government reshuffles, establishing ad hoc bodies for various matters, and even stripping the police rank of Thaksin Shinawatra, the junta’s No 1 enemy.

 

Bureaucrats and academics have hailed Article 44 as a magic bullet for every problem, pleading with Prayut to pull the trigger every time procedural norms block their duties.

 

Speeding up the snail’s pace of bureaucracy is a commendable goal, but the temptation to fire at will has been too much for Prayut. Decisions on whether to exercise special powers under the new constitution are mostly down to Prayut and his deputy in legal affairs Wissanu Krea-ngam. Sometimes they come out of the blue, sometimes the NCPO brainstorms to shape the orders ahead of the weekly Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. 

 

The orders have also created problems for the junta-led administration. A controversy in the Labour Ministry surfaced last week when Prayut exercised his special power to demote the Employment Department director-general Varanon Peetiwan after claims he had made slow progress on the migrant workers register. The demotion had repercussions, as the Labour Minister, General Sirichai Distakul, and three others in his team made surprise resignations to show solidarity with Varanon.

 

Rather than looking into possible failures in the normal procedure, Prayut a day later exercised his special powers to set up a committee to bypass the Labour Ministry and get the job done. But of course this is no guarantee the register of migrant workers will be completed any more quickly. It will also leave a potentially damaging legacy in the bureaucracy. The migrant workers will be here long after Prayut’s administration has stepped down. What will the Labour Ministry do when faced with similar problems under a normal government?

 

The one-man-show style of governing serves the country ill at a time of reform in preparation for a return to democracy and normal elected government.

 

The use of such power also undermines the spirit of the new supreme law, whose Article 77 stipulates that new legislation must be aired at hearings attended by all related parties and must to be accessible to the public. This has the potential to balance the power of Article 44, but Article 77 has never been used in this way under the junta regime.

 

If the junta chief is serious about ongoing reform, he must lay aside his absolute powers in favour of normal procedures and systems to resolve problems on the road to democracy. We have supposedly about a year before an election to form a new government. Now is the time for the prime minister to return Thailand’s governance, with its checks and balances, back to some semblance of normality. Otherwise, rather than leaving a positive legacy, his coup and reforms will place Thailand even deeper in jeopardy.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/opinion/30331000

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-11-07

[greenchair]

Ho hum ??

[Samui Bodoh]

Kudos to the Nation for another good editorial. If this keeps up, I might just develop some respect for the paper.

 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Now is the time for the prime minister to return Thailand’s governance, with its checks and balances, back to some semblance of normality. Otherwise, rather than leaving a positive legacy, his coup and reforms will place Thailand even deeper in jeopardy.

 

I think the time to return to 'normality' has passed. The new constitution has damaged the concept of "Checks and Balances" to one where only "Checks" remain. If one were to peruse the sections regarding the 'independent' agencies, you'll see that while they have great powers to hold a government accountable, there is little to no accountability for their own actions. And the NACC, the organization tasked with ensuring honest politics, has the fewest 'checks and balances' of all.

 

Future governments won't be able to do much, and if they try to do something slightly 'out of the box', they'll be prosecuted. 

 

Enjoy the stagnation Thailand, that is your future.

 

So much for 'reform'.

 

Edited November 6, 2017 by Samui Bodoh

[yellowboat]

Wish we could say it has been fun, but the party is over. 

[brewsterbudgen]

I think it's highly significant that The Nation is speaking out so frankly, particularly in its use of the word "junta".

 

Sent from my SM-G930F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

 

[Eric Loh]

21 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

I think it's highly significant that The Nation is speaking out so frankly, particularly in its use of the word "junta".

 

Sent from my SM-G930F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

 

Highly significant. Not Prime Minister but junta chief. That is politically correct. It is also politically correct to say that he stage a coup and not some idiosyncratic attempt by our local junta supporters to say otherwise.  

[nausea]

Yes, kudos to the Nation for publishing something that challenges people to engage in some form of critical thinking.

 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

back to some semblance of normality.

A telling phrase.

 

1 minute ago, brewsterbudgen said:

I think it's highly significant that The Nation is speaking out so frankly, particularly in its use of the word "junta".

I don't pretend to know what you mean by this mysterious comment but, for me, it's reflective of a seachange in the attitude of the middle-class perhaps. Contrary to the perception that the country is run by tiny elites, I've always thought the urban middle-class is where the real power lays. Certainly, my readings on the historical 1932 change, and the background to the events of 1973 and 1976, or, indeed, more recent events, lead to this conclusion.

[YouYouYou]

May Prayut reign for ever over the people for it is he that keeps the rabble factions at bay and peace and happy smiling people are abound. More article 44 is good for the masses I say. Given the alternatives aka another Shinawaster family member, really what can Thai people expect to achieve?

[steven100]

1 hour ago, yellowboat said:

Wish we could say it has been fun, but the party is over. 

rubbish ....

[MaxLee]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Autocratic rule has outlasted its welcome as we head towards election a return to democratic norms

What elections?????    

Edited November 7, 2017 by MaxLee

[Samui Bodoh]

29 minutes ago, nausea said:

Yes, kudos to the Nation for publishing something that challenges people to engage in some form of critical thinking.

 

A telling phrase.

 

I don't pretend to know what you mean by this mysterious comment but, for me, it's reflective of a seachange in the attitude of the middle-class perhaps. Contrary to the perception that the country is run by tiny elites, I've always thought the urban middle-class is where the real power lays. Certainly, my readings on the historical 1932 change, and the background to the events of 1973 and 1976, or, indeed, more recent events, lead to this conclusion.

 

I think you make a good point; it is a truism in political science/political history that 'the countryside proposes and the capital disposes' of governments. And that is often the case here in Thailand.

 

The more recent events did demonstrate some truth of that; it was the Bangkok middle-class (along with Suthep's 'rent-a-mob') who were partly behind the overthrow of the previous government. I don't have enough familiarity with '73 or '76 to make an intelligent comment, but I'll take your word until someone comes along and changes my mind.

 

Assuming that the above is true, what does that mean going forward? I think it is very telling that Thailand has been unable to achieve high-level economic growth in the last 3-4 years, and I attribute that to the Bangkok middle-class (among other factors) not having confidence in the Junta. I would say that the recent, very slight uptick is due to a sense that the Junta is coming to an end, or at least a sense that it cannot continue much longer.

 

I think that, as the editorial posited, it is time for an end to absolute power. I suspect that the current folk in charge will not last long once the absoluteness is lifted; they simply do not govern well.

 

The nasty part is going to be cleaning up the mess left behind by the military; that is going to be a herculean endeavor. It is sad that Thailand is going to have to spend so much time cleaning up behind itself before it can really move forward, but such is life with coups.

 

Edited November 7, 2017 by Samui Bodoh

[steven100]

who wrote this rubbish ....  oh '    it's the Nation .... that figures.

Well sorry to rain on your parade Nation ....  but it seems the General is here to stay ..... 

 

 

 

[Denim]

Autocratic rule has outlasted its welcome

 

So says the Nation , the ' newspaper ' that welcomed it as a solution to democracy not working the way they wanted.

 

Well tough luck suckers. You've made Prayuths bed now you'll have to get used to sleeping on the floor where you and people like you belong.

[connda]

As long as the US doesn't label him a 'dictator' he's good as gold.  As long as his tenure is convenient for US foreign policy in the region, don't expect anyone of rock the boat.  And if elections do happen, don't be surprised if the current PM is elected as the new PM.  Hey!  Freedom and democracy in action! 

[Denim]

10 minutes ago, MaxLee said:

What elections?????  

The rigged election that will see a new military political party come to power democratically in a not so surprising bid to stay on power.

 

[Dave67]

He's finished and so is his Junta. The article itself being allowed to be published speaks volumes about what is going to happen

[Dave67]

No one wants a power vacuum that could lead to unrest but he is now playing the game of still being in control when clearly he isn't 

[steven100]

A poll in June showed that 53 percent of Thais would like Prayuth to serve another term.

As Thailand’s economic growth slowly gathers momentum, other countries in Southeast Asia and dissent is strongly repressed, surveys show that Prayuth’s backers welcome the stability since the coup.

Whether that calm survives electioneering is another question after over a decade of turmoil between colour-coded factions that Prayuth said he sought to end with his coup.

So from the Broader community it appears that the Junta are here for now at least.

“Prayuth’s military government isn’t perfect, but they took care of problems like unrest. It wouldn’t be so strange if he stays on for another four years,” Suchart Chantharachotikul, from the military school said.

 

[Eric Loh]

17 minutes ago, Denim said:

Well tough luck suckers. You've made Prayuths bed now you'll have to get used to sleeping on the floor where you and people like you belong.

The Nation even forced Pravit Rojanaphruk who had been a prominent critic of the military junta to resign. They are the cheer leaders of the PDRC. But seem they found their nuts or perhaps they sense the changing tide and now decide to play to the growing sentiment of the population turning against the junta. It is business they are protecting not ethics. 

[steven100]

1 minute ago, Dave67 said:

No one wants a power vacuum that could lead to unrest but he is now playing the game of still being in control when clearly he isn't 

strongly disagree ....  show me where he is not in control. His support has only increased over the past 6 months.

[yellowboat]

33 minutes ago, steven100 said:

rubbish ....

Really ? What is wrong Steven ?  Don't trust your fellow Thai to vote in a good candidate ?  Too bad.  If Thailand is going to grow, become a hub, and keep up with its neighbors, it will need better governance. 

[Dave67]

7 minutes ago, steven100 said:

A poll in June showed that 53 percent of Thais would like Prayuth to serve another term.

As Thailand’s economic growth slowly gathers momentum, other countries in Southeast Asia and dissent is strongly repressed, surveys show that Prayuth’s backers welcome the stability since the coup.

Whether that calm survives electioneering is another question after over a decade of turmoil between colour-coded factions that Prayuth said he sought to end with his coup.

So from the Broader community it appears that the Junta are here for now at least.

“Prayuth’s military government isn’t perfect, but they took care of problems like unrest. It wouldn’t be so strange if he stays on for another four years,” Suchart Chantharachotikul, from the military school said.

 

Thats Number 5 juntaist in my ignore bin, I'll let them all out when all goes tits

[steven100]

7 minutes ago, yellowboat said:

Really ? What is wrong Steven ?  Don't trust your fellow Thai to vote in a good candidate ?  Too bad.  If Thailand is going to grow, become a hub, and keep up with its neighbors, it will need better governance. 

I bet you that the Junta will be here at least another 4 years if not longer.

Edited November 7, 2017 by steven100

[steven100]

The Nation wrote the article ......     what does that tell you .. ?

......     

[Becker]

1 hour ago, YouYouYou said:

May Prayut reign for ever over the people for it is he that keeps the rabble factions at bay and peace and happy smiling people are abound. More article 44 is good for the masses I say. Given the alternatives aka another Shinawaster family member, really what can Thai people expect to achieve?

Hey steven, have you set up another account with TVF so that you can expand your sycophantic ramblings?

[MaxLee]

46 minutes ago, Denim said:

The rigged election that will see a new military political party come to power democratically in a not so surprising bid to stay on power.

 

WRONG,..... the elections, that will never ever dever be.....

[robblok]

4 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

Kudos to the Nation for another good editorial. If this keeps up, I might just develop some respect for the paper.

 

 

I think the time to return to 'normality' has passed. The new constitution has damaged the concept of "Checks and Balances" to one where only "Checks" remain. If one were to peruse the sections regarding the 'independent' agencies, you'll see that while they have great powers to hold a government accountable, there is little to no accountability for their own actions. And the NACC, the organization tasked with ensuring honest politics, has the fewest 'checks and balances' of all.

 

Future governments won't be able to do much, and if they try to do something slightly 'out of the box', they'll be prosecuted. 

 

Enjoy the stagnation Thailand, that is your future.

 

So much for 'reform'.

 

For sure it was the middle class i was there too friends of mine (Thai) who are certainly not elite just middle class got tired of YL spending all the money on the rice scheme and the amnesty of her criminal brother. I understand that, they are the ones paying all the taxes and don't see much back of it and because they are not a majority have a hard time to do anything about it.

 

Its like being a farang and being invited to diner made to pay for it without having a say in what is eaten too. So I understand their grievances. 

 

I hope there are MANY checks that keep the new government honest. Any steps taken against corruption are to be applauded. The junta however did not take too many steps against their own corruption (one of their largest failures in my eyes as I am anti corruption).

 

But setting up special courts to deal with corruption is great... trying to speed up the judicial process is great too as its far to slow here. 

 

The junta did a lot of do as i say instead of do as I do. But still it made great changes and corruption will be harder for the next government. Too bad it can't eliminate it completely, it might not even make much of a dent but its better than doing nothing. 

[Becker]

46 minutes ago, steven100 said:

A poll in June showed that 53 percent of Thais would like Prayuth to serve another term.

 

What "term" are you talking about my little trollish friend? Junta leaders don't have terms. They take power illegally and relinquish it only when they themselves chose so or they are overthrown.

That's why it's generally considered a very bad idea to have a junta rule a country and that's why it's very rare these days...except in Thailand.

[Cadbury]

19 minutes ago, steven100 said:

strongly disagree ....  show me where he is not in control. His support has only increased over the past 6 months.

Of course is in control of everything. His Article 44 does that for him. Likewise his insecurity dictates he needs immunity from the consequences of everything he controls. His precious Article 44 ensures that also. 

Prayut has cunningly maneuvered himself into being a one man government. Thus eliminating any pretence at junta style democracy even within his own ministerial team. Democracy is an anathema to him. He is nothing more than a temperamental bully boy who loves the petty glory adorned on him by misguided people such as yourself. 

[jayboy]

12 minutes ago, robblok said:

For sure it was the middle class i was there too friends of mine (Thai) who are certainly not elite just middle class got tired of YL spending all the money on the rice scheme and the amnesty of her criminal brother. I understand that, they are the ones paying all the taxes and don't see much back of it and because they are not a majority have a hard time to do anything about it.

 

Its like being a farang and being invited to diner made to pay for it without having a say in what is eaten too. So I understand their grievances. 

 

I hope there are MANY checks that keep the new government honest. Any steps taken against corruption are to be applauded. The junta however did not take too many steps against their own corruption (one of their largest failures in my eyes as I am anti corruption).

 

But setting up special courts to deal with corruption is great... trying to speed up the judicial process is great too as its far to slow here. 

 

The junta did a lot of do as i say instead of do as I do. But still it made great changes and corruption will be harder for the next government. Too bad it can't eliminate it completely, it might not even make much of a dent but its better than doing nothing. 

Your middle class friends are deluded.There is a massive skew of Thailand state expenditure towards the urban middle class across the board - health facilities, education, infrastructure - at the expense of the majority.Any attempt to redress this is called "populism" and partly explains the insane rage against politicians who consider the interests of all Thais not just the better off.It also explains the weird alliance between the urban middle class and the democracy hating old elites.The bleating of the Sino Thai middle class about their taxes being spent on the undeserving poor is therefore both dishonest and hypocritical.It's not as though the middle class are punctilious tax payers anyway except those who by virtue of PAYE have no choice.More often than not anyway they are classic tax evaders hiding assets and income.