Thai Military battling to regain public trust after grave missteps

By The Nation

 

 

The Army have been sanitising several locations every night and producing face masks in the daylight.

 

Military hospitals have been turned into field hospitals for civilians as Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha tries to tackle the Covid-19 crisis.

 

In addition, the Military is battling on multiple other fronts; they are making efforts to solve the drought problem, fighting wildfires in the northern region, and the insurgency in the deep South just to regain the trust of the people after some missteps on their side aggravated the coronavirus outbreak.

 

One of the reasons behind Covid-19 spreading like wild fire in the country, damaging public health, the economy, the social structure and livelihoods of numerous people, was a boxing competition organised by a high-ranking Army officer.

 

The Army under the command of General Apirat Kongsompong cannot absolve itself of responsibility even though there are always scapegoats for these kinds of situations.

 

Maj-General Rachit Arunrungsee, chief of the Army Welfare Department and a close associate of Apirat, was transferred and is being investigated by a committee to pin accountability for the boxing competition.

 

However, the image of the Army has not improved and, in fact, their own officers are now being infected with the virus as they live in crowded welfare apartments, with risk of the virus spreading to family members and neighbours.

 

Meanwhile, the Navy faces the same predicament of eroding public trust after proposing to the Cabinet the purchase of another ship to support its submarine project while the economy is going downhill.

 

Even though the Cabinet turned down the proposal, the image of the Navy was seriously tainted in the eyes of the public.

 

Now, they can only hope that the Covid-19 crisis would end soon before the residue of trust that is left fades away.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30385457

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-04-06

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2 hours ago, webfact said:

Thai Military battling to regain public trust

What <deleted> trust ?

Tent city quarantine zone did not help

 

What's  the  difference between the army and govt anyway, the "Welcome Chinese" with  open arms, the army underlings beatings/deaths the army always  have been in charge, would be great if  this is the straw that finally  kicked the apathetic  Thais  into action.

The grunts get to do the heavy lifting whilst the ones that cause the problems at the top continue as per normal. Absurd! ????

Complete rubbish, they have never been trusted.

"Covid-19 spreading like wildfire" since when theres less than 2500 cases reported in the whole of thailand, or are they finally going to admit real numbers and amount of tests carried out to date as well as per day.

Why an increase of hospitals for the virus if everything is fine with such low cases?

Stop lying to cover up more lies.

Oh what a tangled web we weave when first you tell a lie

Would that be the military that ousted and elected government,took over the country by force, ousted opposition by any means possible. Failed to get to grips with a virus that looks like  to overwhelm the health services. Bought useless submarines and other military hardware etc.

Is that the military that think people don't trust them?

1 hour ago, gunderhill said:

What's  the  difference between the army and govt anyway, the "Welcome Chinese" with  open arms, the army underlings beatings/deaths the army always  have been in charge, would be great if  this is the straw that finally  kicked the apathetic  Thais  into action.

Sorry that not going to happen. Sheep.

3 hours ago, Thaiwrath said:

What <deleted> trust ?

If this "Army" could return the money that belongs to the people?
and also if this "Army" could return to its place, so give power back to civilians?

"One of the reasons behind Covid-19 spreading like wild fire in the country,"......I believe that adding ~100 cases daily wouldn't actually mean "spreading like wildfire"....

The military has made a mess of everything so far....we have to wonder just how bad the bungling really has been!

19 hours ago, webfact said:

The Army under the command of General Apirat Kongsompong cannot absolve itself of responsibility even though there are always scapegoats for these kinds of situations.

 

Unfortunately , he is still in Dubai .

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Thai Military battling to regain public trust after grave missteps

It is good to write it; it would be better to put it into practice ..
What is weird is that in real democracies, the people generally have a very good opinion of their army ...

Why is it the opposite in Thailand? 

Why no mention of that other debacle leading to lack of trust: Thais, who arrived at Suvarnabhumi international airport on Friday allowed by senior military officers to return home to avoid state quarantine?

Hopefully the upcoming epic crash for Thailand will get rid of the Junta.

4 hours ago, webfact said:

"the purchase of another ship to support its submarine project while the economy is going downhill."

Well at least they are thinking ahead.....they know they are going to

have a rescue vessel following the Subs about ????

regards Worgeordie

4 hours ago, webfact said:

One of the reasons behind Covid-19 spreading like wild fire in the country, damaging public health, the economy, the social structure and livelihoods of numerous people, was a boxing competition organised by a high-ranking Army officer.

One of very many reasons, and then of course we do not need to point out all the other errors, if we did, the fingers on our hands would be bloody and raw from typing.....but then I may be totally wrong in my view, and maybe just maybe I know nothing about anything......just saying.....

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Thai Military battling to regain public trust after grave missteps

Like a coup?  Like a funny election?  Anytime your morning starts off with the Thai military and the word "trust", you have something to chuckle about all day. 

 

Its government gone wild.  Government by the government for the government.  They are always abusing use of power and then scrambling to make amends.  This is while cha cha pats himself on the back.   

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Thai Military battling to regain public trust

On 27 January, 2020 the people of Thailand were presented with the following:

 

Thailand’s PM assures coronavirus situation is “100% under control”

 

 

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has assured the public that the novel coronavirus situation in Thailand is “100% under control” and that he will personally take charge of overseeing the operations of all related agencies to deal with the virus...

 

A few possibilities:

- the general was instructed to say this.

- the general doesn't know what 100% means.

- the general was wrong

- the general was lying

- the general didn't really say this

- any/all of the above

 

And now...we're wondering about a lack of public trust?

Really?

 

 

Edited April 6, 20206 yr by Hayduke

The nice thing about seizing power with guns is that you don't actually need to gain public trust.

 

 

The ONLY battles the Thai Military fights are those against the Thai People. 

3 hours ago, Farmerkev said:

Oh what a tangled web we weave when first you tell a lie

True, a lie to cover a lie to cover up another lie... trust is something you earn and are not given.

This government is covering up the truth, low infection rate and low death count... doesn't add up when you look around and see what other countries are saying or having to deal with.

Testing in Thailand is minimal so numbers will reflect that, people have been told to self isolate at home... well we all know how that works out, family, friends & neighbours will all get infected, then spread to co-workers etc etc..

All these measures of field hospitals etc etc are out of sync with the numbers that are being reported.

Prayut & Co know the real problems are yet to come.

 

1 minute ago, hotchilli said:

True, a lie to cover a lie to cover up another lie... trust is something you earn and are not given.

This government is covering up the truth, low infection rate and low death count... doesn't add up when you look around and see what other countries are saying or having to deal with.

Testing in Thailand is minimal so numbers will reflect that, people have been told to self isolate at home... well we all know how that works out, family, friends & neighbours will all get infected, then spread to co-workers etc etc..

All these measures of field hospitals etc etc are out of sync with the numbers that are being reported.

Prayut & Co know the real problems are yet to come.

 

Thailand, an Island unto itself, a country under the glass dome which is made of rose colored glass.  FACE, the ability to never admit being wrong, or being the individual to tell someone they are wrong.  Weakness exudes and there are no skills critical for the job, and finally no one discusses any skills they have improved on, nor do they ever try to turn a negative into a positive.

1. Covid is NOT spreading like wildfire. The panic must stop. 100 new infections a day is a mere cheek pimple. 

 

2. The army never had trust. In the past 6 years they have displayed a stunning level of incompetence, total disregard for the common Thai and a disdain for all foreigners, other than their Chinese favorites. Immigration has been borderline abusive. While the virus was raging in Wuhan they were still allowing Chinese and Europeans to enter Thailand and they shut the country to tourism way too late. 

 

And they consistently hired from the bottom of the barrel. Pipat for tourism. Anutin for health minister. Really? They were the best ones available?

 

I guess the real question is, what has this administration done to earn trust?

Edited April 6, 20206 yr by spidermike007

Looks like public trust is eroding in many Thai institutions these days, not only the Army. 

1 hour ago, worgeordie said:

Well at least they are thinking ahead.....they know they are going to

have a rescue vessel following the Subs about ????

regards Worgeordie

Please remove the word "have" replace with the word "need"!

5 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

nor do they ever try to turn a negative into a positive.

T.A.T excluded..

1 minute ago, TPI said:

Please remove the word "have" replace with the word "need"!

Your an English teacher or ,sumit 

regards Worgeordie

3 hours ago, Farmerkev said:

Why an increase of hospitals for the virus if everything is fine with such low cases?

This all costs money to set up. I will leave it at tha,t and you can join the dots and fill in the blanks. ????

they could donate back their derelict aircraft carrier - and copy the falangs how elsewhere converted theirs into Hospital ships

 - and they don't even need to lose face in admitting it can't sail under its own means.

Bring the patients, to it... Besides it is already in an isolated mooring, trying to stay out of disappointed public eye

 

1 hour ago, Assurancetourix said:

It is good to write it; it would be better to put it into practice ..
What is weird is that in real democracies, the people generally have a very good opinion of their army ...

Why is it the opposite in Thailand? 

Because the only "battling" the Thai military is really good at is the "battling" against democracy and its own people?

 

So... do I get 100 points for that answer or what?