The Thai Prime Minister's Priorities

[webfact]

The Prime Minister's Priorities

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who is also the leader of the Democrat Party, explicitly ordered the party MPs at the annual seminar held in Phuket this past weekend not to take excuse leave or be late for the upcoming parliamentary session, which reconvenes this week. Abhisit stressed that the next four months will be crucial to the upcoming general election.

However, the current administration's remaining time is not only critical for the Democrat Party, but is even more crucial for the country, which has been battered by political conflict these past four years. Because of this, the prime minister and his Cabinet members should consult each other only on the most important national policies and make announcements to the public about its plan for the country.

Since Abhsit appointed the National Reform Committee and the National Reform Assembly last June, he has not been attempting to push forward any additional economic or development reform. Most of the government' recent measures were only implemented to address the problems at hand.

Abhist should not just sit around, idling for national reform bodies to complete their work. Instead, he should keep track of the government's performance and consult with various groups for new ideas that can be put into practice immediately such as the promotion of the research and development sector and innovations to boost the country's competitive edge or the revenue restructure that could turn Thailand into a commercial center of the region.

Thailand's development has been put on hold due to political conflict. At the same time, its neighboring countries have been leaping ahead. Malaysia has recently announced the New Economic Model 2020 plan for technological development in order to add value to its exports. Meanwhile, Vietnam and Indonesia have just reformed their national education systems and have already lifted itself out of poverty to become mid-income nations.

Abhisit must hurry up to accomplish something, not just look ahead to the next election.

Taken Editorial Section, Krung Thep Turakij Newspaper, Page 2, August 2, 1010.

Translated and Rewritten by Kongkrai Maksrivorawan

Please note that the views expressed in our "Analysis" segment are translated from local newspaper articles and do not reflect the views of the Thai-ASEAN News Network.

-- Tan Network 2010-08-03

[Thai at Heart]

Yesterday, the only news that the government came up with was stopping Thailand getting flooded with foreign beer and cigarettes.

Obviously, he has got his priorities correct from some people's standpoints.

[SamritT]

No 1 priorities should be catching Thaksin, and put him in Thai jail. Anything else does not matter.

[JorakaeNoi]

No 1 priorities should be catching Thaksin, and put him in Thai jail. Anything else does not matter.

I would have thought that the welfare of the Thai people was more important.

[sevenhills]

No 1 priorities should be catching Thaksin, and put him in Thai jail. Anything else does not matter.

In a true democracy, the sitting Prime Minister (rightly or wrongly) is not deposed by a military regime/coup to satisfy the needs of the opposing side.

There are a few members of this present Government that should be in jail as they are also Terrorists.......Remember the Airports my dear.

Seems to be "DOUBLE STANDARDS" here.

[jayboy]

No 1 priorities should be catching Thaksin, and put him in Thai jail. Anything else does not matter.

Doesn't matter perhaps to you or the people think like you.But for most Thais there are higher priorities, not least reconciliation between all parts of society.As for jail time there's a long list of candidates including the criminals who encouraged and launched the last military coup.There's also the question of the more recent murder by the armed forces of unarmed civilians to be considered.Yes jail time would be appropriate for quite a few and I'm not sure Thaksin is the most deserving.

[RedNIvar]

No 1 priorities should be catching Thaksin, and put him in Thai jail. Anything else does not matter.

I would have thought that the welfare of the Thai people was more important.

I think you have the right thinking, Thai people's Welfare among other things should be top priority.

SamritT, does not really care about Thai people's welfare. Her main concern is weather to shop at Paragon or Emporium this evening. She is also concerned about Thaksin's apprehension so that her glass bubble stays intact.

So much for Thai's looking after Thai's.

In my opinion Thaksin should never set foot in Thailand. If he does it is going to be chaos, worse that what we had seen earlier this year. Catching him and bringing him back is a bad idea.

[JorakaeNoi]

I am not against them arresting and imprisoning Thaksin, I just think that it is far from Abhisit's top priority.

[junglist]

No 1 priorities should be catching Thaksin, and put him in Thai jail. Anything else does not matter.

I would have thought that the welfare of the Thai people was more important.

yes that what she just said.

[SamritT]

No 1 priorities should be catching Thaksin, and put him in Thai jail. Anything else does not matter.

In a true democracy, the sitting Prime Minister (rightly or wrongly) is not deposed by a military regime/coup to satisfy the needs of the opposing side.There are a few members of this present Government that should be in jail as they are also Terrorists.......Remember the Airports my dear. Seems to be "DOUBLE STANDARDS" here. <img src='http://static.thaivisa.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

<

In the airport case, they are doing it for the country. It is call Rak Chart (love nation). Just like the recent Chamlong infront of UNESO protest under SOE. No police, DSI, CRES can touch them, if they do it for the country. Law comes second. Watch out for more protest this Saturday at PM office.

[Asa]

No 1 priorities should be catching Thaksin, and put him in Thai jail. Anything else does not matter.

I would have thought that the welfare of the Thai people was more important.

Obsession, indeed! AV's first priority is to resign for letting 91 dead, and still think the number is fewer than expected. He isn't any better than average shameless politicians, to cling on no matter what.

Sorry, and I totally agree with JorakaeNoi, the country always come first.

Edited August 3, 2010 by Asa

[cmsally]

No 1 priorities should be catching Thaksin, and put him in Thai jail. Anything else does not matter.

In a true democracy, the sitting Prime Minister (rightly or wrongly) is not deposed by a military regime/coup to satisfy the needs of the opposing side.There are a few members of this present Government that should be in jail as they are also Terrorists.......Remember the Airports my dear. Seems to be "DOUBLE STANDARDS" here. <img src='http://static.thaivisa.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

<

In the airport case, they are doing it for the country. It is call Rak Chart (love nation). Just like the recent Chamlong infront of UNESO protest under SOE. No police, DSI, CRES can touch them, if they do it for the country. Law comes second. Watch out for more protest this Saturday at PM office.

Amazingly enough, shutting down a major airport, is not normally in the interests of a country. In fact it would normally be classed as akin to terrorism.

And just who decides what is and isn't in the interest of the country, seeing as you have delegated laws to second place?

[jayboy]

No 1 priorities should be catching Thaksin, and put him in Thai jail. Anything else does not matter.

In a true democracy, the sitting Prime Minister (rightly or wrongly) is not deposed by a military regime/coup to satisfy the needs of the opposing side.There are a few members of this present Government that should be in jail as they are also Terrorists.......Remember the Airports my dear. Seems to be "DOUBLE STANDARDS" here. <img src='http://static.thaivisa.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

<

In the airport case, they are doing it for the country. It is call Rak Chart (love nation). Just like the recent Chamlong infront of UNESO protest under SOE. No police, DSI, CRES can touch them, if they do it for the country. Law comes second. Watch out for more protest this Saturday at PM office.

And who decides what is Rak Chart and what is not? Oh it's the Sino-Thai middle class (mostly descendants of Swatow coolies)in hock to the corrupt establishment who decide, again ethnically mostly from ....oh well you get the picture.Now who is left out of this grubby little equation? Oh yes it's the Thai people.Mmm something familiar about all this for those that know their history...a stupid greedy and indifferently educated myopic urban middle class, a corrupt elite etc etc.All grist for the mill.

Edited August 3, 2010 by jayboy

[RedNIvar]

No 1 priorities should be catching Thaksin, and put him in Thai jail. Anything else does not matter.

In a true democracy, the sitting Prime Minister (rightly or wrongly) is not deposed by a military regime/coup to satisfy the needs of the opposing side.There are a few members of this present Government that should be in jail as they are also Terrorists.......Remember the Airports my dear. Seems to be "DOUBLE STANDARDS" here. <img src='http://static.thaivisa.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

<

In the airport case, they are doing it for the country. It is call Rak Chart (love nation). Just like the recent Chamlong infront of UNESO protest under SOE. No police, DSI, CRES can touch them, if they do it for the country. Law comes second. Watch out for more protest this Saturday at PM office.

So shutting down the country main transportation hub, causing billions and billions of Dollars worth of damage is an expression of love for Thailand, huh!

.......incoming message.......

From: Thailand

To: Airport Terrorist

Message: Love me less. Stop loving me so much.

......end message.....

What is this about protest this Saturday? I thought Bangkok is in a state of emergency. So let me get this straight, you expect the Red's to abide by the state of emergency, while you go around and do whatever you want.

End of the day you exploit the law, cause traffic chaos, cause ungodly amount of financial damage, think you can not be touched and claim to do it for the love of the country. Change the word "country" and you sound like Al-Queda.

[simon43]

In the airport case, they are doing it for the country. It is call Rak Chart (love nation). Just like the recent Chamlong infront of UNESO protest under SOE. No police, DSI, CRES can touch them, if they do it for the country. Law comes second. Watch out for more protest this Saturday at PM office

Troll???

If not, this is a prime example of why Thailand will never be on the path to recovery and equality

God/Buddha help Thailand if this is how some Thai people think

Simon

[jayjay0]

No 1 priorities should be catching Thaksin, and put him in Thai jail. Anything else does not matter.

In a true democracy, the sitting Prime Minister (rightly or wrongly) is not deposed by a military regime/coup to satisfy the needs of the opposing side.

There are a few members of this present Government that should be in jail as they are also Terrorists.......Remember the Airports my dear.

Seems to be "DOUBLE STANDARDS" here.

Under normal circumstances I would have to agree with you. BUT when the other side is the whole country it is time to break the rules.

[jayjay0]

No 1 priorities should be catching Thaksin, and put him in Thai jail. Anything else does not matter.

I would have thought that the welfare of the Thai people was more important.

Obsession, indeed! AV's first priority is to resign for letting 91 dead, and still think the number is fewer than expected. He isn't any better than average shameless politicians, to cling on no matter what.

Sorry, and I totally agree with JorakaeNoi, the country always come first.

And your answer was for him to resign after he pardoned Thaksin and returned his money to him. That would have been in the best interests of the Nation. When will you red shirts learn you are not going to run the country. If you had any brains at all you would say we lost now what can we do to help the country.

Of course I am presuming you care about Thailand. I could be wrong if I am fight on.

[SamritT]

Members of the Thailand Patriot Network led by Veera Somkwamkid plan to gather in front of Government House this Saturday, demanding the government explain Cambodia's claim that Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti had signed a document related to Cambodia's management plan for Preah Vihear temple during the World Heritage Committee meeting in Brazil last week.

[hammered]

The upcoming election outcome will depend on disbursement of money. If the government meaning not only the Democrat party disburse it efficiently and well they will have an edge. This is actually not so critical in the case of the Democrats but in the case of their BJT allies who have a fair chance of making inroads into PTP territory if they have the funding. This will work in several ways and is why the upcoming budget vote is critical. That will release funds to spend on all kinds of projects that can be strategically targetted and the companies involved carefully chosen to both please exisitng BJT MPs and canvassers and other potential MPs while the projects can be targetted into areas where they can pick up seats. The clearance of the budget shows the government is in power and also gives the legal clearance needed to get civil sevrants out of neutral gears especially before elections. If the government pull this off they have the edge. If PTP foils them the opposition have the edge.

This is no different from previous elections although the political arena is more heated right now. To win you need to maximise happy voters, pull canvassers that can swing either way into your camp, pick up endorsements of local powerful ones and try to steal a few sitting MPs form your opponents and try to do an advance deal with the no ideology swing parties (which is almost impossible anyway).

Another good indicator of how confident the eh powers that be are will be the military reshuffle. Gen. Prayuth indicates confidence as well as a sword of damocles over PTP. A different candidate equals lack of confidence and indicates willingness to give ground. Last time around the military opinion polls on the upcominmg election were almost spot on and the powers went with the compromise candidate in Gen. Anupong. There havent been any leaks of what the military intellignece polls say will happen in the next election but the choice of supremo may well indicate if they feel PTP are polling as well as last time or are showing weakness.

Edited August 3, 2010 by hammered

[jayjay0]

In the airport case, they are doing it for the country. It is call Rak Chart (love nation). Just like the recent Chamlong infront of UNESO protest under SOE. No police, DSI, CRES can touch them, if they do it for the country. Law comes second. Watch out for more protest this Saturday at PM office

Troll???

If not, this is a prime example of why Thailand will never be on the path to recovery and equality

God/Buddha help Thailand if this is how some Thai people think

Simon

Well yes that is how some people think. Most of them were doing it for the pay check. That is even worse than thinking that way. Imagine selling your country out for a pay check. speaks more to there morals than there brains.

[RKASA]

No 1 priorities should be catching Thaksin, and put him in Thai jail. Anything else does not matter.

In a true democracy, the sitting Prime Minister (rightly or wrongly) is not deposed by a military regime/coup to satisfy the needs of the opposing side.There are a few members of this present Government that should be in jail as they are also Terrorists.......Remember the Airports my dear. Seems to be "DOUBLE STANDARDS" here. <img src='http://static.thaivisa.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

<

In the airport case, they are doing it for the country. It is call Rak Chart (love nation). Just like the recent Chamlong infront of UNESO protest under SOE. No police, DSI, CRES can touch them, if they do it for the country. Law comes second. Watch out for more protest this Saturday at PM office.

No - they were doing it for the Dem's/junta partnership - on cue like all other things they do. scam scam Trashing of the government house because they love Thailand. They love power and control. Thailand and the yellows that follow them are only tools and of little use to them when the job is done..

[Asa]

No 1 priorities should be catching Thaksin, and put him in Thai jail. Anything else does not matter.

I would have thought that the welfare of the Thai people was more important.

Obsession, indeed! AV's first priority is to resign for letting 91 dead, and still think the number is fewer than expected. He isn't any better than average shameless politicians, to cling on no matter what.

Sorry, and I totally agree with JorakaeNoi, the country always come first.

And your answer was for him to resign after he pardoned Thaksin and returned his money to him. That would have been in the best interests of the Nation. When will you red shirts learn you are not going to run the country. If you had any brains at all you would say we lost now what can we do to help the country.

Of course I am presuming you care about Thailand. I could be wrong if I am fight on.

My answer is Thaksin has to solve his own problem, he must find his own way to earn a pardon. Abhisit, on the other hand must be held responsible for allow/ ordering use of war weapons against people causing death to many. His refusal to negotiate after two phony talks with the red shows he has no intention to save lives. And that is simply disgusting.

[march]

His refusal to negotiate after two phony talks with the red shows he has no intention to save lives. And that is simply disgusting.

Phony? They looked real to me. He offered early elections, they refused.

The only thing phony was sincerity on the Red's part in that apparently they weren't interested in early elections at all and that is "simply disgusting."

Edited August 4, 2010 by march

[Siripon]

I would have thought that the welfare of the Thai people was more important.

Obsession, indeed! AV's first priority is to resign for letting 91 dead, and still think the number is fewer than expected. He isn't any better than average shameless politicians, to cling on no matter what.

Sorry, and I totally agree with JorakaeNoi, the country always come first.

And your answer was for him to resign after he pardoned Thaksin and returned his money to him. That would have been in the best interests of the Nation. When will you red shirts learn you are not going to run the country. If you had any brains at all you would say we lost now what can we do to help the country.

Of course I am presuming you care about Thailand. I could be wrong if I am fight on.

My answer is Thaksin has to solve his own problem, he must find his own way to earn a pardon. Abhisit, on the other hand must be held responsible for allow/ ordering use of war weapons against people causing death to many. His refusal to negotiate after two phony talks with the red shows he has no intention to save lives. And that is simply disgusting.

The red shirts walked away from the talks.

The red shirts rejected the offer of an election in november.

The red shirts refused to disperse from Ratchaprasong despite repeated warnings from the government they would reclaim the seized area.

The red deaths were tragic and absolutely preventable if they hadn't been so foolish and believed their leaders who surrendered in comfort.

[bangon04]

"Abhist should not just sit around, idling for national reform bodies to complete their work. Instead, he should keep track of the government's performance and consult with various groups for new ideas that can be put into practice immediately such as the promotion of the research and development sector and innovations to boost the country's competitive edge or the revenue restructure that could turn Thailand into a commercial center of the region."

Missing the point a bit - one of the main purposes for setting up these committees on a regular basis is to provide opportunities for paid work for the privileged members, AND to ensure that the process continues long enough to avoid any actions which may jeopardise the status quo which allows the privileged to thrive. Announcing that Thailand will become a center of the region (also known as a HUB) is easy. Actually doing something about it requires sacrifice of vested interests. It is fortunate that so many Thais seem to have short attention spans, and they forget / forgive so easily.

And I know this is not only happening in Thailand - it is a favourite tactic of most governments (those which bother to consult at all)

Edited August 4, 2010 by bangon04

[jayjay0]

Obsession, indeed! AV's first priority is to resign for letting 91 dead, and still think the number is fewer than expected. He isn't any better than average shameless politicians, to cling on no matter what.

Sorry, and I totally agree with JorakaeNoi, the country always come first.

And your answer was for him to resign after he pardoned Thaksin and returned his money to him. That would have been in the best interests of the Nation. When will you red shirts learn you are not going to run the country. If you had any brains at all you would say we lost now what can we do to help the country.

Of course I am presuming you care about Thailand. I could be wrong if I am fight on.

My answer is Thaksin has to solve his own problem, he must find his own way to earn a pardon. Abhisit, on the other hand must be held responsible for allow/ ordering use of war weapons against people causing death to many. His refusal to negotiate after two phony talks with the red shows he has no intention to save lives. And that is simply disgusting.

fight on

[march]

The red shirts walked away from the talks.

The red shirts rejected the offer of an election in november.

The red shirts refused to disperse from Ratchaprasong despite repeated warnings from the government they would reclaim the seized area.

The red deaths were tragic and absolutely preventable if they hadn't been so foolish and believed their leaders who surrendered in comfort.

Thank you for posting the factual side of events.

It's astounding how many times the reality of occurrences from weeks, months, and even years ago has to be constantly re-stated time after time, thread after thread. It's a shame they are so distracting from more productive discussion in that the past has to be so constantly re-addressed in order to correct a gross misstatement.

I thank you for taking the time to do so with this one.

[Insight]

His refusal to negotiate after two phony talks with the red shows he has no intention to save lives. And that is simply disgusting.

Phony? They looked real to me. He offered early elections, they refused.

The only thing phony was sincerity on the Red's part in that apparently they weren't interested in early elections at all and that is "simply disgusting."

They'd probably still be in that room now listening to Weng harp on if cellphone signals had been blocked...

[BSJ]

I've said it before. What it all boils down to is this: All politician's are only interested in staying politician's. Most politician's , if not politician's, would be used car salesman, insurance salesman or ambulance chasing lawyers.

Now I am saying: That applies to just about every democratic country (wish I could put that another way!) in the world.

So, lets not get to carried away with this announcement about a new hub, I mean initiative!

[chantorn]

Going to war with Cambodia is not in his to do list.