Yingluck Evasive On Queries About Thaksin

[webfact]

NEW GOVERNMENT

Yingluck evasive on queries about Thaksin

By PIYANART SRIVALO

THE NATION

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday managed to dodge key political questions, particularly ones concerning her elder brother Thaksin, but barely just.

The second day in office was not so smooth for Thailand's first female prime minister, as reporters' criticism forced her to change a plan to hold a government news conference at her party HQ while tough questions about Thaksin poured in from left and right.

After the Cabinet meeting that prioritised, among others, charter amendment as must-do state policies, reporters were told that Yingluck would hold a news conference on the meeting at the Pheu Thai headquarters.

Government House news hounds cried foul, saying government issues must be separated from party issues. Government officials finally acquiesced, but the agreed change of plan meant reporters had to wait for her for 40 minutes.

An uncomfortable Yingluck finished the news conference quickly, as reporters were not as interested in policy matters as they were in the Thaksin issue. The real bombardment came when Yingluck left the Government House and emerged from her car at Pheu Thai headquarters.

She faced a barrage of questions on Thaksin's planned visit to Japan, which reportedly granted him a visa at the request of her government. Yingluck appeared uneasy and did not give any clear answer. The prime minister nearly had to push her way through the army of reporters to enter the Pheu Thai building. Later in the day, the same Thaksin questions came back to haunt her, although this time it was a one-on-one live interview by TV 3 anchor Sorrayuth Suthassanachinda. On Thaksin and Japan, Yingluck kept saying she knew nothing about the visa, and that the issue was being handled by Thai authorities.

"I let them do their jobs and am never involved," she said. On the interviewer's remark that Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul was fast becoming the most controversial member of her Cabinet, Yingluck said: "I'd like the public not to look at his face or his past."

She insisted Thaksin was invited by Japan's private sector before she took power and the visa was granted based on the judgement of Japanese authorities. When asked if she was ever concerned the issue would return to her as head of the government, Yingluck said her job was helping everybody and not her brother.

-- The Nation 2011-08-17

[Colin Yai]

As the days and weeks go on into this administration Yingluck could well become even more evasive when the questions come from all directions as to just when and how she is going to "deliver" on her many grandiose election promises, it is becoming more apparent she is not in total control of her brief as PM, and as its still very "early days" yet I can envisage many more embarrassing questions being thrown at her like confetti at a wedding, and in closeing I hardly think that the press are bothered about her FM's past but what he is getting up to right now in the present,LOL.

Edited August 16, 2011 by Colin Yai

[bristolgeoff]

time will tell if the fugtive takism has something over the sister and welcome back to thailand story

[Soutpeel]

I am quite suprised she didnt burst into tears, and tell the reporters they would would have to wait for the answers, as she need to ask her brother first

[siampolee]

No doubt she hasn't rehearsed her lines well enough yet to be able to speak as Brother No1. tells her.

How sad to see a nation bought for peanuts to further benefit the megalomania of one man and his family.

I fear there are indeed dark storm clouds on the horizon and already the storm cones are hoisted.

[moe666]

So far so good Thailand on the way to becoming 4th world thanks to Thaksin and family

[endure]

What is so sad is that the vast majority of bright energetic talented Thai people who aren't part of the hiso world will continue to be sacrificed to the painted faced hiso bitches who strut and preen and contribute nothing. What the hisos don't realise is that if they unleashed the 'lower classes' everyone would get richer.

[Ricardo]

"I let them do their jobs and am never involved"

But she is supposed to be PM, how can she not get involved, in the running of the country ?

"I'd like the public not to look at his face or his past"

But PM-Yingluck picked him, or says she did, either way she can't just wriggle out of her FM's embarrassing actions by wishing them away, like this.

Time for Thailand's new PM to start doing her job !

[webfact]

Thaksin should let his sister at least start working

Follow this link:

[scorecard]

As the days and weeks go on into this administration Yingluck could well become even more evasive when the questions come from all directions as to just when and how she is going to "deliver" on her many grandiose election promises, it is becoming more apparent she is not in total control of her brief as PM, and as its still very "early days" yet I can envisage many more embarrassing questions being thrown at her like confetti at a wedding, and in closeing I hardly think that the press are bothered about her FM's past but what he is getting up to right now in the present,LOL.

Like it or not the past history and controversies this guy has been tangled in will and should influence the questions they ask about him.

If you know that the person you are interviewing for a job has a serious bad / controversial previous work history, would you just forget it and give him/her the job?

Edited August 17, 2011 by scorecard

[Lite Beer]

A number of Off Topic Bickering Posts have been deleted.

[Crushdepth]

She "knew nothing about the visa"? Honesty and integrity are obviously important to her.

[Who, me ?]

She "knew nothing about the visa"? Honesty and integrity are obviously important to her.

My feeling is that more and more, she knows nothing about anything....How could she know anyway, as she is only here on behalf of someone else?

[Sojourner]

How many of you folks actually voted (or were even qualified to vote ) in the last election?

Huh? Why is that a relevant question on an EXPAT forum?

It's as relevant as expat Englanders pissing and moaning about the 'Immigrant problem' in the country that they left 10 years ago.

If you don't have the vote your opinion is <deleted>.

Unfortunately we do feel the effects of government changes. Populist programs, as Yingluck has promised, will bring even higher inflation. I know this will hit my pocketbook. Minimum wage increases, guaranteed salary for college grads, raising the guaranteed price for rice to the sellers (I didn't say farmers) to a level higher than the world market price are just a couple of examples. I never heard either party come up with a program(s) that will enhance future investment by foreign investors and bring money and jobs to Thailand.

Edited August 17, 2011 by Sojourner

[samurai]

She has probably better things to do than answer question to some silly rumours about Thaksin.

[scorecard]

She has probably better things to do than answer question to some silly rumours about Thaksin.

Come on samurai, you can do better than that, can't you?

[samurai]

She has probably better things to do than answer question to some silly rumours about Thaksin.

Come on samurai, you can do better than that, can't you?

Its the media and the Antithaksinistas that are Thaksin obsessed.

And Japan gave Thaksin a visa, not Yingluck.

Next question.

[Who, me ?]

She has probably better things to do than answer question to some silly rumours about Thaksin.

Silly rumours..... Yes of course....

Seems that red supporters are also at lost about their heroes' actions, non actions, reactions, etc..... Must be terrible to realize that all their heroes were only talking bullsh*t during the campaign...

[hammered]

Sure the media should report on this, but they should also get the perspective right and report on and prioritse the many issues that concern ordinary people a lot more than the travels or return of one man which only the higher echelons really fixate over. Right now people are concerned about rising food prices and what government will do, floods and what government will do, poor education (and ways round the free part) and what government will do, farming-poverty links and what government will do, wages that have become worth a fraction of what they used to be worth and what government will do, drug problems and what government will do.

The PTP have policies on all these and intend to enact them within a year a we hear and many of these policies are controversial to some degree or another, but they all address issues that concern people more than Thaksin. Maybe the media should start actually addressing what concerns/affects people rather than fixating on what affects few and indeed maybe their reproting on what the man was up to would be taken more seriously by ordinary people if reported as part of the news rather than as a seeming obsession.

Im sure PTP are doing things to help Thaksi, after all they are his party and the people knew this when electing them. However, they are also starting to do a lot of things that are more about running the country and the media would serve it better by using its reporters to look at what matters to the majority more.

[gemini81]

She "knew nothing about the visa"? Honesty and integrity are obviously important to her.

My feeling is that more and more, she knows nothing about anything....How could she know anyway, as she is only here on behalf of someone else?

If she doesn't, then she is incompetent, a poor leader not doing one's job, and needs replaced ASAP.

[samurai]

She "knew nothing about the visa"? Honesty and integrity are obviously important to her.

My feeling is that more and more, she knows nothing about anything....How could she know anyway, as she is only here on behalf of someone else?

If she doesn't, then she is incompetent, a poor leader not doing one's job, and needs replaced ASAP.

Q: What is the job of a Thai PM when the Japanese authorities gave a Montenegrin citizen a Visa?

A: Not the business of a Thai PM.

Next question. (No need to ask if someone has Prostate cancer)

[Crushdepth]

She "knew nothing about the visa"? Honesty and integrity are obviously important to her.

My feeling is that more and more, she knows nothing about anything....How could she know anyway, as she is only here on behalf of someone else?

If she doesn't, then she is incompetent, a poor leader not doing one's job, and needs replaced ASAP.

Q: What is the job of a Thai PM when the Japanese authorities gave a Montenegrin citizen a Visa?

A: Not the business of a Thai PM.

Next question. (No need to ask if someone has Prostate cancer)

The Japanese government has stated that the Thai government made a special request. So lose the misdirection, it's pathetic.

Edited August 17, 2011 by Crushdepth

[landofthefree]

She "knew nothing about the visa"? Honesty and integrity are obviously important to her.

My feeling is that more and more, she knows nothing about anything....How could she know anyway, as she is only here on behalf of someone else?

If she doesn't, then she is incompetent, a poor leader not doing one's job, and needs replaced ASAP.

Interesting opinion but you are not Thai and the Thai people clearly want Pheu Thai Yingluck and Thaksin. Why do you assume that you know better? Do you have plans to colonize the country? If not shut up and let the Thais sort it out for themselves. personally I would rather have Pheu Thai Yingluck and Thaksin over the obnoxious, self serving, cheating elite of Abhisit and his cronies and I seem to be in tune with most thai people but as I said I am not Thai so my (and your) opinions arent worth didley squat.

[hammered]

She "knew nothing about the visa"? Honesty and integrity are obviously important to her.

My feeling is that more and more, she knows nothing about anything....How could she know anyway, as she is only here on behalf of someone else?

If she doesn't, then she is incompetent, a poor leader not doing one's job, and needs replaced ASAP.

A PM is a figurehead and doesnt need to really know a lot. They need to be able to get a team to work together and to be able to connect with the people and get messages over. The way she entered politics and won the election a month or so later would indicate she connects with people and gets messages over already. The last Pm couldnt match either of those. He also had problems getting everyone to sing from the same sheet with certain ministers and allies frequently being at odds and also not exactly adhering to guidelines. Guess we wont mention the police chief selection problems either or seeing the bureaucracy shoot a major government policy down. It remains to be seen whether Yingluck will perform better in this way and also whether she maintains her high ability in connection with people and getting message over, but no doubt the Thai people will judge her at a later date based on those as well as overall government performance as they judged Abhisit and his team.

Although it is intersting to talk about Thai politics and even try to guess what may happen or why something happened, at the end of the day for us on here it is all academic really as we dont have a vote and it isnt our country and the people do seem to have a mind of their own in making decisions that doesnt always fit with what media, government or powerful people want.

[Ricardo]

Perhaps at her next press-conference PM-Yingluck might, rather than evading reporters' questions, simply hold up two fingers instead of one ?

Or ask her brother for the lend of that silly little bat, with a cross on it, as her need appears to be greater than his ?

[Jingthing]

If I were Thai I would be embarrassed about my leader; the way I felt under W Bush.

[samurai]

If I were Thai I would be embarrassed about my leader; the way I felt under W Bush.

[DLock]

She "knew nothing about the visa"? Honesty and integrity are obviously important to her.

My feeling is that more and more, she knows nothing about anything....How could she know anyway, as she is only here on behalf of someone else?

If she doesn't, then she is incompetent, a poor leader not doing one's job, and needs replaced ASAP.

Q: What is the job of a Thai PM when the Japanese authorities gave a Montenegrin citizen a Visa?

A: Not the business of a Thai PM.

Next question. (No need to ask if someone has Prostate cancer)

Your question would have more credibility if it said...

Q What is the job of a Thai PM when the Japanese authorities gave an convicted fugitive that has pending arrest warrants in Thailand a Visa?

A The Thai PM should contact the Japanese Government and explore any extradition option.

However, if I change the question to reflect the reality....

Q What is the job of a Thai PM when the Japanese authorities gave her Brother, an convicted fugitive that has pending arrest warrants in Thailand a Visa?

the answer would be very different.

Do you understand the words "conflict of interest?"

[samurai]

Your question would have more credibility if it said...

Q What is the job of a Thai PM when the Japanese authorities gave an convicted fugitive that has pending arrest warrants in Thailand a Visa?

A The Thai PM should contact the Japanese Government and explore any extradition option.

However, if I change the question to reflect the reality....

Q What is the job of a Thai PM when the Japanese authorities gave her Brother, an convicted fugitive that has pending arrest warrants in Thailand a Visa?

the answer would be very different.

Do you understand the words "conflict of interest?"

Q: What is that Thai arrest warrant worth on the international level? Will foreign authorities accept it?

A: Not sure. But the previous government who was totally eager to get Thaksin actually never tried it that way. They don't even made a translation of it, according to Abhisit.

Guess why?

Diplomats are no Aspergers or hotheaded blockheads. No one want big diplomatic conflicts.

Extradition requests are stress. Specially in the case Thaksin and with all that circumstances surrounding it.

Thaksin wants travel to Japan. Japan ask Thailand if that is a problem. Thailand says will will make no stress.

Everyone is happy. No one is hurt.

[Jingthing]

Maybe the rule of law is hurt? If the government now really wanted to play fair, and treat all citizens the same, they would be seeking extradition of Thaksin just the same as the Abhisit government. He has pending charges to face in Thailand. Why the special treatment, as if I have to ask?