Police Chief Can't Be Axed Without Proper Reason : Thai Democrats

[tlansford]

They have won the election and will do what they want.

Nice to see that NEPOTISM is STILL very much alive and well here in Thailand !!.

hmmm, even the jaundiced Nation managed to quote Yingluck as saying,

Meanwhile, new Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra dismissed the speculation. "I heard nothing about it and I've not done anything relating to the police yet," she said.

She added that if the current police chief was able to work under the new government's policies, he would not be transferred.

so where's the basis for the accusation of Nepotism? I don't see it guys...

[wolf5370]

They have won the election and will do what they want.

Nice to see that NEPOTISM is STILL very much alive and well here in Thailand !!.

hmmm, even the jaundiced Nation managed to quote Yingluck as saying,

Meanwhile, new Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra dismissed the speculation. "I heard nothing about it and I've not done anything relating to the police yet," she said.

She added that if the current police chief was able to work under the new government's policies, he would not be transferred.

so where's the basis for the accusation of Nepotism? I don't see it guys...

She also said she had no interest in politics or running for office!

[Crushdepth]

The police chief is not a relative of the Shinawatra family so he has to go to make room for one that is. Entirely valid and reasonable decision.

If you look at the way Thai families do business it is an acceptable decision to have a family member in a trusted position. In business here the alpha son will be head of the company while his father still pulls the strings in the back ground. Another son or daughter will be head of a department, one will be the accountant etc etc. This just happens to be the government but Thaksin is renowned for running the country like a business

You can run a private business any way you want. In government, appointing relatives to official positions is anathema and pretty much destroys the whole check and balance system. Which is the whole idea, of course.

[Ricardo]

Balance is important !

Nepotism is wrong, whether it's Abhisit or Yingluck or Somchai or Thaksin in charge, people should speak-out against it, wherever it is found, just like corruption. The cleansing light-of-day is in too-short supply in Thailand !

But what about Gen Patcharawat? Stay or go?. And why?

Not sure where you're trying to go with this ?

Since he's not related to former-PM Abhisit (as far as I know), then it can't have been nepotism by the PM, that would be for-example a PM trying to appoint a family-member as top-man in the military, or to a post in the Cabinet, or indeed to the rumours of the new PM considering appointing a family-member to replace the police chief, which this thread is discussing.

Just to help clarify thoughts why nepotism is wrong, I myself see at least a couple of reasons :-

- the first being that it's highly-unlikely that a particular family-member of the PM happens-to-be the very-best candidate, so it deliberately puts someone less-good into an important job, which harms the nation's interests.

- the second is that the family-member is likely to owe more-than-normal loyalty to the PM, which helps establish a ruling-group, rather-than a properly-formed elected-government. Thus it harms the perception or reality of democracy.

So nepotism may tend to lead to situations like the Phillipines or Indonesia, in the recent past, or even to Burma & North-Korea. I hope we're all agreed that we don't wish to see something like that happen here.

I'm not fully-familiar with the details of the case you're asking about, but would question whether former-PM Somchai had removed him for good cause, or because of his family-connections ? In the latter case, then his swift reappointment (note not first-appointment) under the next government might be viewed as swiftly correcting a 'wrong', even if it were done as a political-favour by the new PM. Correcting political-wrongs seems currently to be very-much in-favour.

Political-favours, while not nepotism by the PM, might be requested for nepotistic reasons by his brother, and be criticised for that, although (as I already pointed-out) this was a reappointment aot a fresh appointment. And hopefully the police-chief was originally appointed (under a previous government) for competence rather-than influence ? We can hope !

As to why it wasn't criticised more-strongly, by posters at-the-time, perhaps they were focused more upon other events, like the result of the E.C's court-case against the PTP & the subsequent forming of a new coalition ?

So to come back to this case, is he being considered for replacement because he's incompetent, I've not seen any suggestion of that, and PM-Yingluck says she's happy for him to stay on, as long as he can work with the new government. Seems fair enough !. Or is it because someone wants to replace him, with a Shinawatra-family member & hence the suggestion of possible nepotism, PM-Yingluck says that "I've not done anything related to the police yet", do you believe her ? No doubt we'll see shortly !

Edited August 10, 2011 by Ricardo

[webfact]

National police chief unconcerned if removed

BANGKOK, 10 August 2011 (NNT) – National Police Chief Police General Wichean Potephosree has voiced no concern if he will be dismissed from taking the helm of the national police after the Pheu Thai Party has taken a full control over the national administration.

Police General Wichean stated that he is always ready to follow orders made by his commanders; therefore, all police officers must be ready to follow policies of all governments as well as maintain law and order to ensure equality and fairness of people in the society.

The national police chief however noted that if a reshuffle is made, it must be done for greater efficiency.

Earlier it was reported that Deputy National Police Chief Police General Priewpan Damapong who has close ties with the Shinawatra family would be appointed new national police chief to replace Police General Wichean.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra herself recently dismissed the rumour, promising that she would not intervene in the operation of any organisations and said that Police General Wichean still performed well in his post.

-- NNT 2011-08-10

[Gonsalviz]

They have won the election and will do what they want.

Even if it means rushing to put place-men or well-connected family-members into non-elected jobs ? Isn't there a word, beginning with "n", for acting like that ? Looks just like an 'administrative coup' to me !

Hi Ricardo

I wonder where all these seekers of justice ... and battlers against "n" were ---- when Abhisit and Suthep did precicley that which you now so boldly condemn??

Do you remember that after the bloody clash between protestors and police during October 2008 outside Parliament House when the NHRC recommended that the then Police Chief-- the man in overall command -- should be charged with murder... that the then PM (PPP-- Somchai Wongsawat) immediately stood him down from his post?

When the Democrats assumed Government soon after..... one of the new PMs first actions was to reinstate the disgraced Police Chief.

(Police Chief Gen Patcharawat Wongsuwan denied that his reinstatement had anything to do with his elder brother, Pravit, now being Defence minister.)

And it would have been far too much to ask any of these warriors to have questioned the Democrats actions when shortly after they issued orders to transfer 73 other high-level police officers to inactive posts.

Ricardo..........Just trying add a little balance to this ......

Thialand will never go anywhere if it uses previous corruption to justify future corruption, or previous nepotism to justify future nepotism. As evey ruling political party in this country has, at some point, been corrupt (or at least been accuses of corruption) then this would be a carteblanche free pass - because "the oppostion" did it!

It's about time people here (Thais as they are the voting populous and the MPs) looked at addressing issues of the day and moving away from the all-encompassing endemic corruption that exists now.

And just how does corruption apply to Thailand's government and not to any western country's government. Is it only because it is more blatant in Thailand?