Thailand's Oldest Party Announces New Policy Platform

[george]

Thailand's oldest party announces new policy platform

BANGKOK: -- Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva pledged Saturday to push forward several major party policies under a ''People Come First'' platform.

During the annual party caucus, Mr. Abhisit pledged to help restore democratic rule by endorsing the newly-drafted constitution and urging eligible voters to go to the polls which his Democrat Party will contest. The military, which had staged last year's coup to oust former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, are bound to return to their barracks after democratic rule has returned to the country, the Democrat leader said.

Mr. Abhisit said he did not believe the private sector should necessarily take care of the poor, but said the national economy will not improve unless the people's economy and well-being have been restored in the first place.

In addition, Mr. Abhisit vowed to push for economic recovery so that the poor earn higher income, especially the farmers who have been feeding the world with their farm products and food.

Rural, poverty-stricken areas throughout the country should top government priorities for economic restoration projects, he said. The impoverished people should be entitled to optimum benefits from varied, cost-effective investment schemes while irrigation projects should be developed to cover wider farmland in remote areas than today and industries and service businesses should be strengthened.

Thailand's high logistics costs involving the transport of goods should be substantially reduced, he said. For instance, goods from the northeastern and southern regions of the country should have direct access to export markets, such as an Andaman Sea port for the South and a double railroad system for the Northeast.

The Democrat leader said he will push for human resources and educational development projects and see to it that people in all parts of the country, especially those in the southernmost provinces, stop from harming one another and begin to co-exist in peace.

The general election is expected to be held in December this year.

--TNA 2007-07-21

[LaoPo]

George, maybe merge those two threads?

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=131908

LaoPo

[jbowman1993]

My wife and I got invited to go to the gala fund raiser last saturday. There were well over 10,000 people there (BITEC), and it was a good chance to meet and greet the Bangkok movers and shakers. We were guests at the ThaiBev table, and all the big Democrats came over to meet us. I got my picture taken with Apirak and Apisit. (ThaiBev sponsored the Thailand Philharmonic's perforamance at the event, and my boss got some tickets to the event as a courtesy, which is how a lowly college professor got in amongst the big dogs, lol)

I was very impressed with the way Abhisit carried himself that evening. He gave an hour long speech from memory, with no cue cards, telepromter, etc. It was empassioned and straightforward, and I left feeling that he would be a quality guy to be entrusted with the next premiership. I didn't hear the whole speech (since my understanding is only about 15%, at this point), but my wife translated for me the main points. She was also impresssed by a few statements he made concerning government involvement in the economy. He stated that the government shouldn't interfere so much with the Thai economy, but instead, should let private businesses work without a lot of complicated interference from different ministries. Again, that is not word for word, but was what my wife mentioned as being the general idea.

He finished off the speech by alluding to Thaksin, without naming him. Pledging to serve honestly, without using the office for personal gain. That would certainly be a pleasant change from most of the politicians here. I'd like to see him get the chance. I think he would be good for the country. (and the expat community as an extension)

Edited July 23, 2007 by jbowman1993

[grtaylor]

My wife and I got invited to go to the gala fund raiser last saturday. There were well over 10,000 people there (BITEC), and it was a good chance to meet and greet the Bangkok movers and shakers. We were guests at the ThaiBev table, and all the big Democrats came over to meet us. I got my picture taken with Apirak and Apisit. (ThaiBev sponsored the Thailand Philharmonic's perforamance at the event, and my boss got some tickets to the event as a courtesy, which is how a lowly college professor got in amongst the big dogs, lol)

I was very impressed with the way Abhisit carried himself that evening. He gave an hour long speech from memory, with no cue cards, telepromter, etc. It was empassioned and straightforward, and I left feeling that he would be a quality guy to be entrusted with the next premiership. I didn't hear the whole speech (since my understanding is only about 15%, at this point), but my wife translated for me the main points. She was also impresssed by a few statements he made concerning government involvement in the economy. He stated that the government shouldn't interfere so much with the Thai economy, but instead, should let private businesses work without a lot of complicated interference from different ministries. Again, that is not word for word, but was what my wife mentioned as being the general idea.

He finished off the speech by alluding to Thaksin, without naming him. Pledging to serve honestly, without using the office for personal gain. That would certainly be a pleasant change from most of the politicians here. I'd like to see him get the chance. I think he would be good for the country. (and the expat community as an extension)

It has always seemed to me that the Democrat Party is the only party which is a 'real' political party in the western democratic sense, i.e. it has policies!!! All the others seem to be fan clubs for the rich and famous (and usually corrupt!).

G

[pansted00]

My wife and I got invited to go to the gala fund raiser last saturday. There were well over 10,000 people there (BITEC), and it was a good chance to meet and greet the Bangkok movers and shakers. We were guests at the ThaiBev table, and all the big Democrats came over to meet us. I got my picture taken with Apirak and Apisit. (ThaiBev sponsored the Thailand Philharmonic's perforamance at the event, and my boss got some tickets to the event as a courtesy, which is how a lowly college professor got in amongst the big dogs, lol)

I was very impressed with the way Abhisit carried himself that evening. He gave an hour long speech from memory, with no cue cards, telepromter, etc. It was empassioned and straightforward, and I left feeling that he would be a quality guy to be entrusted with the next premiership. I didn't hear the whole speech (since my understanding is only about 15%, at this point), but my wife translated for me the main points. She was also impresssed by a few statements he made concerning government involvement in the economy. He stated that the government shouldn't interfere so much with the Thai economy, but instead, should let private businesses work without a lot of complicated interference from different ministries. Again, that is not word for word, but was what my wife mentioned as being the general idea.

He finished off the speech by alluding to Thaksin, without naming him. Pledging to serve honestly, without using the office for personal gain. That would certainly be a pleasant change from most of the politicians here. I'd like to see him get the chance. I think he would be good for the country. (and the expat community as an extension)

It has always seemed to me that the Democrat Party is the only party which is a 'real' political party in the western democratic sense, i.e. it has policies!!! All the others seem to be fan clubs for the rich and famous (and usually corrupt!).

G

Don't be fooled.They are just as corrupt as the others.

They are all part of a clique taking turns at milking the country.

Words , words and words...

[Johpa]

Don't be fooled.They are just as corrupt as the others.

They are all part of a clique taking turns at milking the country.

Words , words and words...

Exactly! It is only a matter of which clique within the old boys network shall get the largest slice of the pie. Thaksin simply did not want to play the game according to the rules and did not want to share. It is one thing to throw a few crumbs to the rural poor and endure being called a "populist" ( and earn the wrath of Sonthi Limthongkul) but when you start throwing crumbs to those who feel a bigger slice is in order, well then you get a coup. The Democratic Party under kingmaker Pichai Ratakul milked the country no less efficiently than did the TRT under Thaksin.

[Plus]

The Democratic Party under kingmaker Pichai Ratakul milked the country no less efficiently than did the TRT under Thaksin.

Nonsense, the scale is incomparable. And besides it was over twenty years ago, two generations have passed in politics since.

>>>>>

Every party must make arrangements to repay its donors and supporters, many of whom have less then noble aspirations for "helping out". Thaksin, however, made plundering the country his main policy - he completely lost the goal - working for the country, and turned the whole thing working only for himself.

That was the difference, also the fact that he was too greedy to share and didn't play by the rules make him stand out of the usual crowd.

[Tony Clifton]

My wife and I got invited to go to the gala fund raiser last saturday. There were well over 10,000 people there (BITEC), and it was a good chance to meet and greet the Bangkok movers and shakers. We were guests at the ThaiBev table, and all the big Democrats came over to meet us. I got my picture taken with Apirak and Apisit. (ThaiBev sponsored the Thailand Philharmonic's perforamance at the event, and my boss got some tickets to the event as a courtesy, which is how a lowly college professor got in amongst the big dogs, lol)

I was very impressed with the way Abhisit carried himself that evening. He gave an hour long speech from memory, with no cue cards, telepromter, etc. It was empassioned and straightforward, and I left feeling that he would be a quality guy to be entrusted with the next premiership. I didn't hear the whole speech (since my understanding is only about 15%, at this point), but my wife translated for me the main points. She was also impresssed by a few statements he made concerning government involvement in the economy. He stated that the government shouldn't interfere so much with the Thai economy, but instead, should let private businesses work without a lot of complicated interference from different ministries. Again, that is not word for word, but was what my wife mentioned as being the general idea.

He finished off the speech by alluding to Thaksin, without naming him. Pledging to serve honestly, without using the office for personal gain. That would certainly be a pleasant change from most of the politicians here. I'd like to see him get the chance. I think he would be good for the country. (and the expat community as an extension)

Another great performance of Abhisit, without notes or speech, was in parliament (2006 I believe), his grilling of... my favorite, Mr. CTX Suryia. An hour long verbal torture where all Suryia had to offer was a few drops of sweat, that dumb smile of his along with answers totally unrelated to Abhisit's questions.

[Johpa]

The Democratic Party under kingmaker Pichai Ratakul milked the country no less efficiently than did the TRT under Thaksin.

Nonsense, the scale is incomparable. And besides it was over twenty years ago, two generations have passed in politics since.

I'd argue that the scale is the same, the difference is that Thaksin began to monopolize the spoils and take it all for himself. The scale of his personnel wealth relative to the other players, placing him a quantum leap above the others is what changed. Other than that, nothing in Thai politics has changed much over the decades.

[Payboy]

''People Come First''

isnt that supposed to be the platform of every political party in any civilised democratic government?

thailands oldest political party have just realised it have they? give them another 50 years and they may even invent good governance

[Old Man River]

The Democratic Party under kingmaker Pichai Ratakul milked the country no less efficiently than did the TRT under Thaksin.

Kingmaker? I know Bichai would have a good laugh over that comment.

[Plus]

He was Democrat Party leader at the time - in the eighties.

I'd argue that the scale is the same, the difference is that Thaksin began to monopolize the spoils and take it all for himself. The scale of his personnel wealth relative to the other players, placing him a quantum leap above the others is what changed. Other than that, nothing in Thai politics has changed much over the decades.

Well, that's one sign that Thaskin's corruption was unprecedented. Who do you mean by others, btw. If you compare him to other businessmen he was better than the average, but I agree he was a quantum leap over old-fashioned "bureaucrats living off ten percent" corripion. He was the first one to realise that in order to steal really big he needed to be THE government, not bribe the officials - that's peanuts.

In what ways do you think the scale was the same? The usual ten-twenty percent charge?

[Old Man River]

He was Democrat Party leader at the time - in the eighties.

I have known him since then. I am still perplexed by the kingmaker comment someone else made.

[Old Man River]

My wife and I got invited to go to the gala fund raiser last saturday. There were well over 10,000 people there (BITEC), and it was a good chance to meet and greet the Bangkok movers and shakers. We were guests at the ThaiBev table, and all the big Democrats came over to meet us. I got my picture taken with Apirak and Apisit. (ThaiBev sponsored the Thailand Philharmonic's perforamance at the event, and my boss got some tickets to the event as a courtesy, which is how a lowly college professor got in amongst the big dogs, lol)

I was very impressed with the way Abhisit carried himself that evening. He gave an hour long speech from memory, with no cue cards, telepromter, etc. It was empassioned and straightforward, and I left feeling that he would be a quality guy to be entrusted with the next premiership. I didn't hear the whole speech (since my understanding is only about 15%, at this point), but my wife translated for me the main points. She was also impresssed by a few statements he made concerning government involvement in the economy. He stated that the government shouldn't interfere so much with the Thai economy, but instead, should let private businesses work without a lot of complicated interference from different ministries. Again, that is not word for word, but was what my wife mentioned as being the general idea.

He finished off the speech by alluding to Thaksin, without naming him. Pledging to serve honestly, without using the office for personal gain. That would certainly be a pleasant change from most of the politicians here. I'd like to see him get the chance. I think he would be good for the country. (and the expat community as an extension)

After being soundly beaten by the TRT at the polls a few years ago the Demo's realized that they needed to change. They elevated some of their younger members, with Abhisit at the forefront. I fully agree that Abhisit and his team would be good for this country. Hopefully, they are given this chance.

[wintermute]

Yeah whatever, i'll believe they can bring real progress to Thailand when I see it. If anything a party that proclaims itself to be "Thailand's oldest" is probably part of the same institution that has always been around ie. they are only interested in keeping the status quo intact. Which means the poor people will get more populist token policies while the entrenched upper class sweep in the accolades and vast wealth.

Same Same but..different!

Oh, and Thaksin's major downfall was his ego. There are other individuals like him sweeping in billions of baht but they are smart enough to give the correct kickbacks to their political/institutional godfathers. Thaksin is like the greedy mafia don who decides to pocket everything from the other crime families and they finally got pissed and wacked him (booted him in this case.)

[Old Man River]

Yeah whatever, i'll believe they can bring real progress to Thailand when I see it. If anything a party that proclaims itself to be "Thailand's oldest" is probably part of the same institution that has always been around ie. they are only interested in keeping the status quo intact.

Yeah whatever, but if they aren't given the chance, you won't be able to believe it when you see it.

Note, the Demo's didn't proclaim that they were the oldest, that came from TNA. The Demos view now as now. Now, they want the opportunity to lead the country back to financial health, again. A vibrant economy is good for all concerned.

[Hampstead]

Do you work for the democratic party press junkit?

Or do you just believe everything you read by politicians whose only concern is how to allign their own cash reserves in one of the most corrupt 3rd world countries on the planet

Edited July 27, 2007 by Hampstead

[hammered]

The Demos are often described as the best of a bad bunch. Certainly in Abhisit and more intriguingly Korn they do have more modern thinkers. If given the chance who knows how they will perform. Firstly, they were going through a period of change and reinvention when th coup came and were not expecting an opportunity for some time. That they did not complete the process could handicap them if they come out on top. Also if in power they will be beholden to very old style coalition partners as wel as the remaining old style politicos in their own party. Finally the fact that Abhisit is an unknown quantity may not help the Dems in forming a coalition even if they are the largest party. The military may well favour a more known quantity as well as aparty that the military feel happier with althoug te quietly mooted idea of Sonthi being made defence minister in the next government may give the Dems room for manouveur here.

[Hampstead]

Sure Abhisit and Korn are great new young faces of the democrats hiding the old guard in the background with their old thai style of corruptive politics

In fact to see abhisit not arrested in his part of the fire truck scandal(he was the one who closed the deal by signing the contracts ie collecting his rewards and the lost money which was left over from the last bkk gov. of which 1.5 bn baht cannot be accounted for) is just another reason why the democrats may win the next election

I wonder if in this country of cancerous corruption at its core whether this was all pre-planned for the last couple of years for the democrats to gain the advantage?

[hammered]

Sure Abhisit and Korn are great new young faces of the democrats hiding the old guard in the background with their old thai style of corruptive politics

In fact to see abhisit not arrested in his part of the fire truck scandal(he was the one who closed the deal by signing the contracts ie collecting his rewards and the lost money which was left over from the last bkk gov. of which 1.5 bn baht cannot be accounted for) is just another reason why the democrats may win the next election

I wonder if in this country of cancerous corruption at its core whether this was all pre-planned for the last couple of years for the democrats to gain the advantage?

I would check up on the details of who signed the contracts and who signed the letter of credit(?) over the firetruck deal. I dont think you'll find Abhisit had anything to do with it.

[Plus]

It was Apirak, not Abhisit, Hampstead. Completely different person in a completely different position. Get at least that right before telling us that we don't know anything about Thailand.

And Apirak had to open the letter of credit under pressure from TRT minister, and he recieved legal advice that if he didn't open in, he'd be sued by Austrians.

There's no unaccounted money as nothing has been paid yet, to my knowledge.

[ColPyat]

I still miss any specifics. How are the Democrats thinking of reaching their goals? Any specific policies, programs?

These are the same lame empty promises we have heard since years, and the reason people voted for TRT in the first place.

I don't see any protest against dismantling even the positive steps TRT has introduced, such as the beginning of an universal healthcare scheme in Thailand. Again, people here are dying because they cannot afford essential life saving medicine. What about the talk about raising farmer's income, but no protest against the scrapping of rice subsidies by the present military government.

What has changed with the Democrats other than fronting new nice faces?

[hammered]

I still miss any specifics. How are the Democrats thinking of reaching their goals? Any specific policies, programs?

These are the same lame empty promises we have heard since years, and the reason people voted for TRT in the first place.

I don't see any protest against dismantling even the positive steps TRT has introduced, such as the beginning of an universal healthcare scheme in Thailand. Again, people here are dying because they cannot afford essential life saving medicine. What about the talk about raising farmer's income, but no protest against the scrapping of rice subsidies by the present military government.

What has changed with the Democrats other than fronting new nice faces?

Hi Colpyat

My personal feeling is that the coup caught the Dems half reformed and hence potentially split between old and new. Now they need to put out a policy platform and chalenge for power before they expected that leaves them stuck to general policies all can agree on rather than a platform of newer ideas that may have been possible a few years down the line. They have gained both pros (a chance at power earlier than expected) and cons (no chance to complete the restructuring and modernisation) from the coup.

Having said all that they are probably better than the old godfather parties like Chart Thai, and the political opportunist parties like Matchima as they may try to be nice although I seriously doubt they will be able to do much. Another thought is that the nature of coalition politics makes it hard to make specific policy promises as inevitably to form the coalition deals have to be done beween several parties who may not like a specific pomise you have made. This encourages generalizations. The TRT project was not designed for coalition government but for overall control. Now with the new charter coalition government will be a reality for some time. Quite messy really. Time will tell.

On the universal health care package there will be problems. It has been introduced. It is now in a financial mess. People expect it but someone has to pay. TRT got away with some short term viable schemes that had long term flaws in them. Politically this has been great for the TRT, however whoever has to reform this and make it financially viable while still free faces a horrible task. Where will the money come from? Would anyone just let it wither and die? Certainly the current government have left this to whoeevr comes next. Maybe winning the next election may not be the best thing.

[Hampstead]

It was Apirak, not Abhisit, Hampstead. Completely different person in a completely different position. Get at least that right before telling us that we don't know anything about Thailand.

And Apirak had to open the letter of credit under pressure from TRT minister, and he recieved legal advice that if he didn't open in, he'd be sued by Austrians.

There's no unaccounted money as nothing has been paid yet, to my knowledge.

You are another one who believes what you read from these lips of corrupt media and politicians in thailand

Yes i mean Apirak not Abhisit, my mistake earlier.

Apirak was the one who closed the deal as the Bangkok gov., he signed the deal off and allowed the funds to to be used and if you really think that the excuse of under pressure was an honest excuse so not to indict the man, then maube you are too entranched in ist world guilty untill proven legal sytems compared to a third wold corrupt country where gov. contracts are just another way to allign politicians wallets.

[Plus]

Coalition government means that Democrats, even if they form the core, will have to sacrifice some portfolios to coalition partners whose policies and priorities might be different.

The power to formulate and implement policies will be shifted back to bureaucrats. Politicians won't be able to boss them around like Thaksin did and they'd have to compromise, or stick to lawmaking.

Bureaucrats will also act like a double check on whatever plans politicians will come up with - with a scheme is financially unfeasable it won't go forward just because the minister of the day wants his name in the headlines.

[Hampstead]

Sure Abhisit and Korn are great new young faces of the democrats hiding the old guard in the background with their old thai style of corruptive politics

In fact to see abhisit not arrested in his part of the fire truck scandal(he was the one who closed the deal by signing the contracts ie collecting his rewards and the lost money which was left over from the last bkk gov. of which 1.5 bn baht cannot be accounted for) is just another reason why the democrats may win the next election

I wonder if in this country of cancerous corruption at its core whether this was all pre-planned for the last couple of years for the democrats to gain the advantage?

I would check up on the details of who signed the contracts and who signed the letter of credit(?) over the firetruck deal. I dont think you'll find Abhisit had anything to do with it.

you are right to note my earlier post.

Apiark not abhisit signed the contract

All pin up young boy faces of the new democrats

After all the democratic bkk governor was voted in for his boyish charms and clean way of living against corruption

[hammered]

It was Apirak, not Abhisit, Hampstead. Completely different person in a completely different position. Get at least that right before telling us that we don't know anything about Thailand.

And Apirak had to open the letter of credit under pressure from TRT minister, and he recieved legal advice that if he didn't open in, he'd be sued by Austrians.

There's no unaccounted money as nothing has been paid yet, to my knowledge.

You are another one who believes what you read from these lips of corrupt media and politicians in thailand

Yes i mean Apirak not Abhisit, my mistake earlier.

Apirak was the one who closed the deal as the Bangkok gov., he signed the deal off and allowed the funds to to be used and if you really think that the excuse of under pressure was an honest excuse so not to indict the man, then maube you are too entranched in ist world guilty untill proven legal sytems compared to a third wold corrupt country where gov. contracts are just another way to allign politicians wallets.

I think it has been widely reported as to who actually signed the contract with Steyr and when. I dont actualy think this is even disputed. You may want to check that out. Whether Apirak had to sign the letter of credit to honour a previously signed contract or not is something currently being looked at I understand.

[Hampstead]

It was Apirak, not Abhisit, Hampstead. Completely different person in a completely different position. Get at least that right before telling us that we don't know anything about Thailand.

And Apirak had to open the letter of credit under pressure from TRT minister, and he recieved legal advice that if he didn't open in, he'd be sued by Austrians.

There's no unaccounted money as nothing has been paid yet, to my knowledge.

You are another one who believes what you read from these lips of corrupt media and politicians in thailand

Yes i mean Apirak not Abhisit, my mistake earlier.

Apirak was the one who closed the deal as the Bangkok gov., he signed the deal off and allowed the funds to to be used and if you really think that the excuse of under pressure was an honest excuse so not to indict the man, then maube you are too entranched in ist world guilty untill proven legal sytems compared to a third wold corrupt country where gov. contracts are just another way to allign politicians wallets.

I think it has been widely reported as to who actually signed the contract with Steyr and when. I dont actualy think this is even disputed. You may want to check that out. Whether Apirak had to sign the letter of credit to honour a previously signed contract or not is something currently being looked at I understand.

The present bkk gov. signed the contracts on the deal. He is not being indicted due to farcical excuses like he was under pressure or he just signed it because it was already in motion by the last bkk gov. This man signed off on the contracts and as not been charged. And yet they only charge the last bkk gov.

A letter of credit on a previous contract is still signing off a contract for the purchase of those services. He wasnt the first guy to put his signature to the deal but he was the last

he has still to be charged and may never be charged, just another day in thai politics

[Tony Clifton]

One could say that opening the said letter of credit was the first step in busting open this scam.

[Hampstead]

And signing the letter of credit could be seen as alligning his own pockets in this scam