Four years after coup, Thais tire of corruption and democratic delays

By Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Panarat Thepgumpanat

 

People protest against Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha in Bangkok, Thailand May 5, 2018. Picture taken May 5, 2018. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - When Thailand's army took power in a bloodless coup four years ago, it promised to bring happiness back to the "Land of Smiles" and return the country to democratic rule within two years.

 

The military said the coup was needed to stop further violence after months of street protests and to stamp out corruption which had plagued Thailand for decades.

 

But as the coup's fourth anniversary approaches on May 22, the ruling junta, or National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), is facing a public perception crisis, according to international and domestic polls which say corruption is as endemic as ever.

 

The government has also repeatedly delayed the general election, with the latest date set for February 2019.

Some analysts say the date could be pushed back again.

 

When it first came to power, the NCPO vowed to tackle everything from so-called 'taxi mafias' to the illicit logging of forests.

 

Its military-backed parliament has passed 298 laws since 2014 and the junta has issued more than 500 orders, according to the National Legislative Assembly, making "huge changes to the legal system," said Yingcheep Atchanont, a programme manager at iLaw, a Thai legal monitoring group.

 

But in recent months the military government itself has been the subject of a protest in the northern city of Chiang Mai against the building of a government luxury housing project on forested land, the largest gathering since the junta took over.

 

It is also being investigated by the country's anti-graft agency over a suspected misappropriation of around 129 million baht ($4 million) from a state fund for the poor.

 

"They announced they came into power to fix corruption and over the past four years have proved that they can't," said Yingcheep.

 

Transparency International's 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index gave Thailand a score of 37 out of 100, slightly lower than in 2014 when the military took over.

 

But others think the military has done what it set out to do.

 

Mana Nimitmongkol, secretary-general of the Anti-Corruption Organization of Thailand, an independent body which monitors state corruption, told Reuters the military government has "done more to battle corruption than any other government in Thai history".

 

PUBLIC DISCONTENT

However, delays to the general election have fueled a resurgence in anti-government street protests that have taken place intermittently since the start of the year.

 

Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, a former election commissioner, said an upcoming parliamentary decision on whether to adopt one of four bills that need to be in place for the vote to happen could be delayed.

 

"The earliest we could see an election is March 2019, the latest would be June 2019," Somchai told Reuters.

 

Deputy Prime Minister Prachin Chanthong told Reuters the junta means to make good on its promises.

 

"We want to see this country peaceful and united and have a better standard of living and higher income for everyone ... but it takes time," said Prachin.

 

Although the junta has repeatedly promised to "return happiness to the Thai people", disgruntled Thais say they have run out of patience.

 

Recent protests have mostly been led by young activists, but others have been spearheaded by groups representing farmers and the urban poor.

 

"The junta came in, shut the people out, did everything their way. So we can't say we're happy," Prayong Doklamyai, a coordinator for People's Movement for Just Society (P-Move), told Reuters.

 

Decharut Sukkhumnoed, an agricultural economist and lecturer at Bangkok's Kasetsart University, said the agricultural sector, which accounts for around 8 percent of the economy, has been particularly hard-hit by the junta's policies, which have prioritised other sectors.

 

Since 2014, rice and rubber farmers' groups have threatened to stage protests, demanding the government improve farmers' livelihoods.

 

The junta has since promised with billions of dollars in loans to help stabilize agricultural prices and offered cash handouts – leading critics to say it has employed tactics akin to the populist policies of the government it ousted.

 

According to the National Statistics Office, the bottom 45 percent of Thai population with the lowest income earned less per capita in 2017 than in 2015.

 

While Thailand saw its GDP growth rise from 1 percent in 2014 to 3.9 percent in 2017, the agricultural sector saw negative GDP growth for ten quarters straight from 2014 to 2016, due to a decline in global commodity prices and weather woes, before recovering to a 6.2 percent growth in 2017.

 

Still, analysts say popular dissatisfaction is unlikely to dislodge the junta. Leaders of the main, red-shirted opposition group told Reuters this month they were weary of more bloodshed if they take to the streets.

 

"The military still has the situation under control," said Yutthaporn Isarachai, a political scientist at Sukhothai Thammathirat University.

 

($1 = 32.0700 baht)

 

(Additional reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Aukkarapon Niyomyat; Editing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Lincoln Feast.)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-05-17

"The military still has the situation under control," said Yutthaporn Isarachai, a political scientist at Sukhothai Thammathirat University."

 

Well they do have the guns which is a great help.

Thailand had few good men as PM, honest men, non manipulative, non ex army, people who really has the good of the nation at heart but they didn't last long, they were too nice, too timid, TOO HONEST for the greedy croock to make money of so they didn't last, so in that respect, don't complain, if an ex army general get himself crowned as an emergency PM and than get stuck there and doesn't want to leave because of a law he invented to cement himself into his position, clearly there's something wrong with the constitution of the country...   

Edited May 16, 20188 yr by ezzra

11 minutes ago, webfact said:

it promised to bring happiness back to the "Land of Smiles"

LOS was just a marketing ploy by TAT; an immigration official ,not long ago, at an immigration office told an entering tourist that 'the land of smiles doesn't exist anymore'; guess she was the acting foreign minister for that day

5 minutes ago, Thailand said:

"The military still has the situation under control," said Yutthaporn Isarachai, a political scientist at Sukhothai Thammathirat University."

 

Well they do have the guns which is a great help.

 

When the time comes, and it will, the people will walk right through those guns.. Then we will see just how committed, to the trough, these generals are !!!

Thailand had few good men as PM, honest men, non manipulative, non ex army, people who really has the good of the nation at heart but they didn't last long, they were too nice, too timid, TOO HONEST for the greedy croock to make money of so they didn't last, so in that respect, don't complain, if an ex army general get himself crowned as an emergency PM and than get stuck there and doesn't want to leave because of a law he invented to cement himself into his position, clearly there's something wrong with the constitution of the country...   

The Constitution is meaningless. The last two coups (at least) have been used by the military and their sponsors/masters as an opportunity to write a new one which fixes things to allow them to retain control. They failed in 2006, it remains to be seen if this latest one works. If it doesn't achieve that, they will simply engineer an excuse, overthrow the government, and dig the constitution drafting team out of cryogenic storage and start again.

Sent from my KENNY using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

15 minutes ago, webfact said:

stamp out corruption which had plagued Thailand for decades.

I do believe,  there is still some room for improvement 

The ruling junta have been an absolute and utter abomination. Everything they have touched has turned to shit, and their ham fisted attempts to appear as if they are fighting corruption can not stand up to any honest scrutiny whatsoever.

The authoritarian approach to many things (example street food, peaceful assembly etc) has made the country lose much of its sparkle, it is sad because people who were doing alright before the junta came in are now doing it extremely tough through no fault of their own.

 

Any more election delays will get many many more people on the streets, I don't think the junta can help itself from putting more delays in.. It will get uglier before it gets better

"The junta came in, shut the people out, did everything their way. So we can't say we're happy," Prayong Doklamyai, a coordinator for People's Movement for Just Society (P-Move), told Reuters.

The Thai people took part in the reform process. The junta didn't shut people out. There was also a referendum on the constitution.

So now, according to the article, there is already talk of an 'election' delay until June 2019.

 

And then there will be some glorious national festival (all happy pomp and circumstance) to delay things further - and possibly a very sad national event, to delay things for nearly another year.

 

The junta ain't going anywhere soon.

 

Edited May 16, 20188 yr by Eligius

18 minutes ago, Eligius said:

So now, according to the article, there is already talk of an 'election' delay until June 2019.

 

And then there will be some glorious festival to delay things further - and possibly a very sad national event, to delay things for nearly another year.

 

The junta ain't going anywhere soon.

 

"The junta ain't going anywhere soon."

 

No...and its attempts to superficially transform itself into some sort of "democratic" party do not really seem to be working either.

 

Expect more delays.

Edited May 17, 20188 yr by Odysseus123

39 minutes ago, webfact said:

According to the National Statistics Office, the bottom 45 percent of Thai population with the lowest income earned less per capita in 2017 than in 2015.

And that says it all...

 

Screw the poor, suck up to the rich. If anyone ever asks why the 'Reds' do well in elections, tell them this statistic.

 

If Thailand's rulers actually cared for ALL of Thailand's citizens, this country could be a paradise on earth. Instead, it is a cycle of coups, reformations, more coups, etc.

 

The worst part is that it is so unnecessary...

 

The junta has promised to return happiness to the people.

Well if they are serious about that, get the hell out of the trough.

4 minutes ago, Samui Bodoh said:

And that says it all...

 

Screw the poor, suck up to the rich. If anyone ever asks why the 'Reds' do well in elections, tell them this statistic.

 

If Thailand's rulers actually cared for ALL of Thailand's citizens, this country could be a paradise on earth. Instead, it is a cycle of coups, reformations, more coups, etc.

 

The worst part is that it is so unnecessary...

 

Wonderfully said, Samui Bodoh. Yes, it is heartbreaking - to see so many essentially good and nice people having all the potential squashed out of them, year in, year out, by successive 'top-down' governments and (even worse) draconian military juntas.

 

It is very, very sad - and (as you say) all totally unnecessary. 

 

Justice cries out for her due ...

 

Edited May 17, 20188 yr by Eligius

 

At least the junta have managed to silence the majority of their own supporters on this forum

The vast majority on this forum said in 2014 that there just wasn't enough clay in the military to mold anything  substantial. And there isn't. It was a wasted four years preceded by more wasted years.  Vietnam and other countries moved forward at a China like pace.   Given what the military has done to control Thailand in the future, Thailand will continue to be the graveyard of ambition. 

Seems unfair to blame the junta for endemic corruption in a country where most people have their snouts in some trough or another.

Personally I think the junta has done a good job, with many improvements in law and order. There is still a hell of a long way to go though.

1 minute ago, KittenKong said:

Seems unfair to blame the junta for endemic corruption in a country where most people have their snouts in some trough or another.

The excuse the Junta gave for taking over, was to stop the corruption.

Epic fail!

A troll post and reply have been removed from this thread.

This tune popped up on my brain screen

Well, hello there
My it's been a long, long time
How am I doin'?
Oh, I guess that I'm doin' fine
It's been so long now but it seems now
That it was only yesterday
Gee, ain't it funny how time slips away

And this is why you have regular elections. If a government keeps making promises it's not meeting, you can vote them out. And if a government comes in and it's terrible, at least they were voted in! 

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

 clearly there's something wrong with the constitution of the country...   

Which one? there were 20 since 1934...

 

IMHO is more a hardware issue than a software issue.

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Thais tire of corruption and democratic delays

Social change always begins with outsiders who sense what is necessary.

Unfortunately I can't see any of them outside some universities. Not at hawker stalls or shopping malls.

What they really do the Junta government in the last 4 years? Nothing I will say, the corruption is higher than ever before, the peoples have less money than before, the "Taxi mafia" is still on work and do worse than before, the floating after a big rain is in Bangkok and anywhere else in Thailand not better than before, the criminals like Red Bull killer, the Shinawatra clan, and many others are still enjoying the life in overseas, the road carnage is worse than before, and, and, and...I think this government will take much more time to "try" to find a solution.

Thai people want army go.

Army have guns.

Do what?

The corruption that has been created even effects tourists and expats and foreign investors.. 

 One big one is what they have been doing with the baht exchange. the rich families of Thailand are controlling and using their country currency exchange rate to aid them  in getting richer. For the last 4 years they have been able to get foreign currencies cheap and build their net worth. The rich families wealth has grown at the cost to tourist,expats,foreign investors and locals.because of currency exchange values.Talk about a dynasty. Take care of themselves and their families at the cost of a whole nation Greed at its best.

Chevy Chase demonstrates the Thai current political situation :

 

The PM/General has been quite I think he is waiting for the book of rules "How To Deal With Protesters" before his next move

7 minutes ago, tracker1 said:

The PM/General has been quite I think he is waiting for the book of rules "How To Deal With Protesters" before his next move

i don't think the PM makes any decisions on how to deal with anything. i was always under the impression that the main boss is prawit and prayut is just the face man. i think prawit is the one with all the connections to the top and the one giving the orders

2 hours ago, colinneil said:

The junta has promised to return happiness to the people.

Well if they are serious about that, get the hell out of the trough.

"done more to battle corruption than any other government in Thai history".

har har hardy har har

 

The thought of getting off the "gravy train" plus risking exposure to shenanigans must be very difficult.