Samak Found Guilty By Court, Must Resign

[stub]

There is the letter of the law and the spirit behind the law.

So, according to the letter of the law, he was guilty.

However, can one truly justify terminating a PM over cooking on a TV show, according to the spirit of the law?

Of course. If this is excusable, it is a stepping stone to something worse being excusable. Don't break the law becomes don't break the law too much. Indeed, this could have worked out pretty sweetly for the PPP if the PAD hadn't been protesting recently. In quieter times, Samak would have gotten away with it by painting either the conviction as ridiculous or the need to quit parliament as rediculous, leaving the PPP with public support to either change the constituion, rig the courts, emasculate the courts, or probably all three. Thankfully with the tensions raised by the PAD I expect this tactic won't work.

[wjmark]

so many supposedly 'in the know' foreigners believe that Samak and his circus show are deserving of power because of what can be loosely described as democracy. A complete sham in all respects.

Thank you for this. Democracy should not mean 'lowest common denominator'. Especially where millions of poor uneducated people get bought off for their vote. And especially when bought off by corrupt monsters.

Hitler was elected 'fairly' too.

---

On a different note - is it truly democratic for winners of 51% of the vote to get 100% of the power? Democracy takes many forms. In some countries it is not the 'first past the post' style, but proportional instead. This gives smaller (but still legitimate) parties a voice...

---

And back in the Excited States, Palin says that it is "God's Will" that there be an Alaska pipeline. Don't worry - she will probably be elected too.

Three cheers for democracy - no matter what form it takes, and how ridiculous the outcome.

[SiriusBlack1]

Well, don't the wheels of justice turn quickly in this country. When they want to.

[fiddlehead]

I remember when Taksin came down here to Phuket to cook and serve chicken for the public in Patong. (during the chicken flu scare about 4 years ago)

This was when he was very popular and the people believed in him.

I can't imagine him getting booted for cooking at that time.

[Mosha]

Thaksin, popular, and south. Surely you jest

[midasthailand]

Well if Banharn is the man to replace Samak there will not be too much difference. How many lives has he got?

[Sunny Valentine]

Remember the US gangster Al Capone?

HE finally got done for tax evasion. In the USA.

So whats so funny of this verdict and Thailand? At least he seems to be done, too ....

[RigPig]

I remember when Taksin came down here to Phuket to cook and serve chicken for the public in Patong. (during the chicken flu scare about 4 years ago)

This was when he was very popular and the people believed in him.

I can't imagine him getting booted for cooking at that time.

He is not, as many people seem to only perceive, getting removed for cooking. That just happens to be what he was doing to obtain (lots of) money. That is why he is being removed. Unfortunately (for obvious reasons like what is happening here on this forum) the media chose to give this headline the "Cooking" title instead of "receiving money" title. Thats how people (here and overseas) will see this. If he had cooked without receiving any gratuaty for it this would not be where it is now and would not have even been a headline or issue.

[phutoie2]

"One theory is that this is a ploy to promote Thai food," joked Dr Giles Ungphakorn of Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.

"It's ridiculous," he said. "Basically it's a ploy by anti-government groups to use any crack in the law to weaken the government."

The world's media are having a field day with this, cannot wait for the cartoons!

[sjaak327]

I remember when Taksin came down here to Phuket to cook and serve chicken for the public in Patong. (during the chicken flu scare about 4 years ago)

This was when he was very popular and the people believed in him.

I can't imagine him getting booted for cooking at that time.

He is not, as many people seem to only perceive, getting removed for cooking. That just happens to be what he was doing to obtain (lots of) money. That is why he is being removed. Unfortunately (for obvious reasons like what is happening here on this forum) the media chose to give this headline the "Cooking" title instead of "receiving money" title. Thats how people (here and overseas) will see this. If he had cooked without receiving any gratuaty for it this would not be where it is now and would not have even been a headline or issue.

I' m sure he made millions and millions of baht hosting that cooking show....

Ridiculous no other word for it.

Like I said, you have to hand it to the courts, they have done something in about 24 hours, what the PAD couldn't do in months.

[Crushdepth]

if the opposition tries to get rid of samak on this ground - it's an obvious manipulation of the law.

Why? It's the courts that made the decision not the opposition. The purpose of this law is to prevent the Prime Minister having business activities that could cause a conflict of interest with their office, which is a fairly reasonable principle given the history of Thailand (and which is also applied in most sane countries, and a lot more widely than just the PM!).

Admittedly its a pretty sorry example though. Particularly since his cooking show was probably the only useful thing the bugger has ever done. Time he hired a few competent advisors - or started listening to them, one or the other.

[Plus]

PM doing some cooking on TV once in a while is not a big deal, sure. But he wasn't a guest, he was a host. Image him doing four episodes a month NOW, while his main office, the government house, is occupied by protesters, airport are periodically shut, roads are periodically blocked and so on.

Wouldn't look so innocent, would it?

Even in peaceful times, woudln't it be strange if the PM was obliged to do a weekly side job? Which country leader has any free time for a second job?

Then there's a question of payments

80k a pop - 320k a month - more than his official salary.

Then there's a question of milking his status - how does that affect advertising, for example? How about dispersing favours to his producers?

Then there's a question of the "spirit of the law" - how's doing a cooking show fundamentally different from hosting a stock market analysis desk, for example? Why the PM can work for a cooking company but not for investment company?

>>>>>

Ultimately, it is ridiculous to oust a PM for cooking on TV, but he was a magnet for all kinds of legal trouble. It was ridiculous to have him as a candidate in the first place, and let's not forget his talking to CNN and Al Jazeera reporters - that was beyond ridiculous in its own right.

[stepenwolf1958]

Dont know excatly where this leads, but in the meantime these thais are teaching farang courts how to deal with the law !

When is the last time a PM has been convicted of anything in farangland ?!?

++ ^^

Well, here is the answer about your question...Simply-Prime Ministers in"farangland(s)" NEVER do such a thing(s). Of course, you will not get me wrong,right?

Stay well there mate...

[melbat]

Just reported on the BBC that his party have said 'They Will Re state Him' if he resigns. Can they do this?

[blaze]

I remember when Taksin came down here to Phuket to cook and serve chicken for the public in Patong. (during the chicken flu scare about 4 years ago)

This was when he was very popular and the people believed in him.

I can't imagine him getting booted for cooking at that time.

He is not, as many people seem to only perceive, getting removed for cooking. That just happens to be what he was doing to obtain (lots of) money. That is why he is being removed. Unfortunately (for obvious reasons like what is happening here on this forum) the media chose to give this headline the "Cooking" title instead of "receiving money" title. Thats how people (here and overseas) will see this. If he had cooked without receiving any gratuaty for it this would not be where it is now and would not have even been a headline or issue.

How much money did he receive- in terms only of the shows that he hosted while Prime Minister?

[ubonjoe]

Well if Banharn is the man to replace Samak there will not be too much difference. How many lives has he got?

In an article in the Nation says he does'nt want the job. Thank god.

[Gary A]

A new broom sweeps clean. Here's the next major problem. Where can they find a new broom in the existing good ole boy's network? Unfortunately the poor Thai people are just going to get another corrupt good ole boy.

[bKkRk]

How embarassing for K. Samak and how embarassing for this country. How long has he been doing this show? This is now news all of a sudden? How convenient. This is pathetic on all sides. We shall see if this goes anywhere positive from the political bowels this country is already in. I hope so but am highly skeptical.

[Chris Lawrence]

Someone must have advised him before going on air? Needed to pass the show onto his childern so they get paid?

I do want I want attitude not acepted by the courts.

but then what do I know.......I think they should bring nack Thaksin. Kept the country together longer than many over the last 50 years. People in the country liked him. Knew how to make money and kept the south in check.

[Plus]

It took courts nearly six months to finally get him. Later this month he could be taken away to prison, that's a two year old story.

It's not "sudden" in any way.

He has just run out of legal excuses.

[pammy123]

Absolute BONKERS, a PM being told to step down for hosting a cooking show, another major step backwards for the once land of smiles. The rest of the world may wonder why the courts can prosecute a PM while the athorities take no action against the law breakers (according to the constitution) that are occupying government house ane gathering at many other locations. The world press must be having a real chuckle at this.

The PAD and the like have already cost Thailand Billions of Dollars and respect worldwide, it surely must be time to get of the streets and resolve the this crisis in a Diplomatic and Civilised manner.

[Crushdepth]

ut then what do I know.......I think they should bring nack Thaksin. Kept the country together longer than many over the last 50 years. People in the country liked him. Knew how to make money and kept the south in check.

At least Thaksin was a competent (as opposed to incompetent) greedy selfish bastard. But I hope you are joking about 'keeping the south in check'. Thaksin is the guy that turned a one-small-bomb-every-2-years situation into a full time insurgency.

[ubonjoe]

It took courts nearly six months to finally get him. Later this month he could be taken away to prison, that's a two year old story.

It's not "sudden" in any way.

He has just run out of legal excuses.

To prison for defamation. Most of the world would consider that redicules since it is a civil case not criminal. You might loose some money but not go to jail.

[Maxi101]

This has nothing to do with cooking in itself.

Its just the Thai way of a try to desolve a very, very difficult situation, which paralized the country the last couple of weeks.

Get time to breath and in one month, yet again understood in the Thai way, is a long time frame where many things can happen.

Edited September 9, 2008 by Maxi101

[Crushdepth]

The PAD and the like have already cost Thailand Billions of Dollars and respect worldwide, it surely must be time to get of the streets and resolve the this crisis in a Diplomatic and Civilised manner.

How many billions do you think corrupt Thai politicians cost Thailand on an annual basis? You think Thai politics can be cleaned up without a bit of dissent from concerned members of the public?

[Plus]

It took courts nearly six months to finally get him. Later this month he could be taken away to prison, that's a two year old story.

It's not "sudden" in any way.

He has just run out of legal excuses.

To prison for defamation. Most of the world would consider that redicules since it is a civil case not criminal. You might loose some money but not go to jail.

I'm sure it's a prison sentence - two years without probation. Got any evidence otherwise?

[ubonjoe]

Take a look at the following search results on Yahoo news.

News Stories for Thailand cook(Results 1 - 10 of about 482)

http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news;_...p;fr=&x=wrt

News Stories for Thailand cooking(Results 1 - 10 of about 502)

http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news;_...p;fr=&x=wrt

[Shrednyneas]

Absolute BONKERS, a PM being told to step down for hosting a cooking show, another major step backwards for the once land of smiles. The rest of the world may wonder why the courts can prosecute a PM while the athorities take no action against the law breakers (according to the constitution) that are occupying government house ane gathering at many other locations. The world press must be having a real chuckle at this.

The PAD and the like have already cost Thailand Billions of Dollars and respect worldwide, it surely must be time to get of the streets and resolve the this crisis in a Diplomatic and Civilised manner.

pammy123 absolutely right. Thank you. Still somebody not drunk.

Cheers

[ubonjoe]

It took courts nearly six months to finally get him. Later this month he could be taken away to prison, that's a two year old story.

It's not "sudden" in any way.

He has just run out of legal excuses.

To prison for defamation. Most of the world would consider that redicules since it is a civil case not criminal. You might loose some money but not go to jail.

I'm sure it's a prison sentence - two years without probation. Got any evidence otherwise?

Not disputing the sentence.

If somebody outside Thailand was to see the Headlines PM out for Defamation sentenced to two years in prison, It could be seen the same as todays rulling.

[tezzainoz]

Seems that many forget f things that happened to Farang in the past

I still remember a case where an Englishman I thing bought a restaraunt for his Thai wife, and things started to go really good

That is till one night he was set up and when something was spilt on the floor he got up to lend a hand, just as he started to clean up the mess, he was arrested for working with out a permit

Good enough for the goose !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

at least corrupt politicians can now see..

Its not if but when I will get caught

Keep this up and we will see a fairer Thailand, and maybe a better deal for genuine farangs who want to help Thai people

My business employs 6 Thai's from Issan who otherwise would not have a good income,

and I do not own a bar