It’s a tightrope for Thanathorn … and everyone

By Tulsathit Taptim 
The Nation

 

 

Attempting to disqualify a fast-rising star from political office for a minor oversight, or through fault-finding or even straightforward persecution, is an outrage. The same star landing in legal trouble because of a falsified document is another matter entirely.
 

Which is why the evolution of the shares saga involving Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit is crucial to him, to his attempts to form a post-election government and to Thailand as a whole. He and his supporters will be hoping for the first scenario, or a lenient ruling by election authorities that will confirm his status as a member of Parliament, and dreading the second one, which would badly complicate matters and downgrade his off-the-chart political rating.

 

Thanathorn’s fate is finely balanced between two poles. On one side we have a high-profile victim being targeted because of an election landslide, unorthodox political ideology and a position to drive that ideology forward. On the other is a label that makes him “no different from the others”, someone ready to do whatever it takes, even if it’s illegal, to get what he wants.

 

The controversy is being magnified by media scrutiny, with the spotlight fixed firmly on the character of both Thanathorn and that of his accusers. The latter have been branded nitpickers and worse, but doubts have also grown about a document Thanathorn has cited in his defence.

 

The Future Forward leader was initially accused of registering for the election while still holding shares in a media company, an action prohibited by the Constitution and penalised with disqualification. In response, he wielded the now-contentious document, which showed that he transferred his shares to his mother weeks before the registration period. That document has been intensely scrutinised, along with the share-holding structure of the V-Luck Media Company and the revolving-door situation of shareholders.

 

Thanathorn was right in saying that what V-Luck Media did after he had transferred his shares did not concern him. What he himself did, however, was undoubtedly critical. Initially, the focus was on whether the “transfer” took effect on the day the document was signed by him, his mother, and witnesses (January 8 ) or on the day the authorities were informed. But then more questions emerged, elevating the document’s significance even further.

 

Was Thanathorn in fact in Buri Ram, as claimed, on the day the document was “signed”? He said he received a cheque from his mother for the transferred shares, so when did he cash or deposit the cheque? He insists that his wife also transferred her shares to his mother, so how did she pay her? Is there evidence of a cheque and where it ended up? Simply put, is the share transfer document genuine?

 

Those questions and more are still hanging in the air. So far Thanathorn has only responded to the Buri Ram query, though his “That’s your misunderstanding” reply to reporters came without elaboration. He deserves the benefit of the doubt, but that doubt merits further investigation.

 

The saga takes on added moral and ethical significance when considered from the general public’s viewpoint. To make it more difficult, Thanathorn is facing separate charges stemming from his political beliefs. These legal charges may hide a political motive, so it’s imperative that they are treated separately from the shares controversy, for everyone’s sake.

 

If Thai history teaches us anything, it is to tread carefully in such matters. One of our darkest days materialised long before the polarising fever brought on by a 24-hour news cycle and the social media. The October 6, 1976 massacre took place when the mainstream media consisted of just a handful of newspapers and TV stations. 

 

The jury is still out on Thanathorn, so it’s best for everyone to stay put. Are his critics wrong? Or is he? Or are both? Should he fight fire with fire? Can two wrongs make a right? The questions have been made more difficult with his party’s stunning election success, but the poll triumph should not cloud anybody’s judgement here.

 

Thanathorn was presumably referring to political persecution when he told supporters at the weekend that they were not fighting for him, but against legal injustice as a whole. That assumption had better be right, since the share issue is certainly not political. It’s purely legal. Most important of all, it concerns the man’s character.

 

Most politicians will try to rally the public to their side when facing serious accusations, but there are times when one needs to fight alone to defend his or her dignity. The public, meanwhile, have the right to fight for justice. But, again, there are times when they should simply wait and see.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/opinion//30367446

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-04-10

It's a no win situation for him. Go to Dubai for a few years.

The junta have to be rid of him and the FFP to stay in power indefinitely,way too much of a challenge for them so they will be more than twisting arms to be be rid of the "Thorn" in their side.

I have found that there is only one way to comment on Khun Tulsathit's columns;

 

Snort panel dog hero or plausible render? Gourd sere when lost doesn't link moat lithesome. Kin sweet house forgot yonder could was? Kinder lope rent sag x-ray carbuncle repair. Mine rip fob zero? never they sweat limber goad find join mere.

 

Turnip! Turnip! Turnip! Nose pander herb forwent ginkgo? Aloof!!!

 

I don't know what else to say.

 

 

I used to like Mr. Taptim for his fairly balanced pieces. But now the junta seems to have gotten to him too.

 

It's sad and disgusting to see Taptim attempt to blow up a technicality - the date a check was cashed, really? - which he knows as well as every thinking Thai is utterly irrelevant to Thanathorn's credibility as a leader or the validity of his policies, into a rope with which to hang the man.

 

It's a long tradition for wealthy Thai politicians of every political stripe to perform some form of "divestment" maneuver with the help of their family and a posse of accountants and lawyers. Nobody expects a rich man or woman to actually pauperize themselves to get to elected office; it's what they do after that matters.

 

Mr. Taptim don't debase yourself further by serving the junta's cause. If you do not have the courage to speak the truth, at least have that to stay silent.

Edited April 9, 20197 yr by Bang Bang

34 minutes ago, webfact said:

What he himself did, however, was undoubtedly critical

he is thai and a thai politician, focus should be on what and how he could change this place for the better; every single thai politician has a colored past and will fill their pockets, we want someone who along the way will make positive change

Just watched "Woman walks ahead"; Thanathorn is Sitting Bull.

25 minutes ago, Samui Bodoh said:

I have found that there is only one way to comment on Khun Tulsathit's columns;

 

Snort panel dog hero or plausible render? Gourd sere when lost doesn't link moat lithesome. Kin sweet house forgot yonder could was? Kinder lope rent sag x-ray carbuncle repair. Mine rip fob zero? never they sweat limber goad find join mere.

 

Turnip! Turnip! Turnip! Nose pander herb forwent ginkgo? Aloof!!!

 

I don't know what else to say.

 

 

"Turnip!Turnip!Turnip!Nose pander herb forwent ginko?"

 

Now don't you be quoting Esperanto at me..????

 

This guy probably went to the best International School that Thailand has to offer.

Charges of sedition, illegal assembly and aiding a suspect, for what in almost every country in the world would be normal legal political dissent, is just plain wrong. Appearing in a military court is the sort of action taken only by the most lawless of banana republics. 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

The saga takes on added moral and ethical significance when considered from the general public’s viewpoint.

Correct, but I suspect I would be arguing opposite to the writer. The moral and ethical significance is just how Thailand reached this position whereby strategies and rules created solely for the reason of silencing criticism and stopping dissent have ever become law. The recently produced laws are an affront to any decent and civilised society and need removing as soon as possible.

1 hour ago, Samui Bodoh said:

I have found that there is only one way to comment on Khun Tulsathit's columns;

 

Snort panel dog hero or plausible render? Gourd sere when lost doesn't link moat lithesome. Kin sweet house forgot yonder could was? Kinder lope rent sag x-ray carbuncle repair. Mine rip fob zero? never they sweat limber goad find join mere.

 

Turnip! Turnip! Turnip! Nose pander herb forwent ginkgo? Aloof!!!

 

I don't know what else to say.

 

 

Yes, Saumui: this 'journalist's' articles bring the art of puerile and childish writing to a whole new level!

Pretty much echoing what is happening now with BJ, you get too big too quick and some people noses will get out of Joints, if your perceived to be threat to someone/s there will always be something that will stop you and you'd be lucky not to end in jail...

1 hour ago, Samui Bodoh said:

I have found that there is only one way to comment on Khun Tulsathit's columns;

 

Snort panel dog hero or plausible render? Gourd sere when lost doesn't link moat lithesome. Kin sweet house forgot yonder could was? Kinder lope rent sag x-ray carbuncle repair. Mine rip fob zero? never they sweat limber goad find join mere.

 

Turnip! Turnip! Turnip! Nose pander herb forwent ginkgo? Aloof!!!

 

I don't know what else to say.

 

 

are you on any medication ? cannot make any sense what you wrote...

In the meantime according to my Mrs a general "cant remember his name" was defending his purchase of a 280m baht home in Europe by stating he saved up for it from his salary all to familiar as generals keep popping up on MSN rich lists ????

The usual red herring thrown by Tulsathit to deflect the bigger issue of sustained effort of the establishment and military to use crony agencies and non independent judiciary to get rid of their political enemies in the last decade. 

3 hours ago, justin case said:

are you on any medication ? cannot make any sense what you wrote...

I think that is the Ops idea, in what is otherwise a confusing situation!

Reminds the older socks in the Land of Samak who got shafted for his remuneration of a few Baht in a cooking show. 

It always depends, it seems!