webfact Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 STOPPAGE TIME Big brother overshadows younger sister on her big day By Tulsathit Taptim Yingluck Shinawatra did not look too comfortable, and reading the government policy statement out loud must have been the longest two hours of her life. Abhisit Vejjajiva seemed to have bloomed back to his confident self. Chalerm Yoobamrung continued to provoke, and Chuwit Kamolvisit tried to bounce back from a disastrous start to his parliamentary career by acting serious. All that, however, was not enough to keep the spotlight in Thai politics on the House floor yesterday, where the Pheu Thai government officially declared its policies. At moments like this, you can count on Thaksin Shinawatra to try to steal the show. And he did, seemingly not caring that the one bearing the brunt of his action was his own beloved sister on her big day politically. He had to take the microphone in Japan to rebuke those in Thailand who want him jailed. It didn't matter how the fragile political atmosphere will be affected. Democracy is giving Yingluck a chance. Against all odds, she has become Thailand's first female prime minister. If "injustice" still plagues Thailand, it's been proven not strong enough to block her ascension. Thaksin can either take that as a promising sign for Thai politics, or consider it an opportunity that he must grab with both hands and capitalise on it for himself and himself only. It has never occurred to him that this is as close between him and democracy as they can ever get. Self-pity can mislead people. In Thaksin's case, it gives him the illusion that just because a large number of people love him, his crimes don't count. If Yingluck, who Thaksin claimed had been talking to him lately, is being fed with that, we may as well forget all the pledges about reconciliation. It's true that Yingluck rode Thaksin's bandwagon to power. He remains vastly popular and was a rallying cry for Pheu Thai in the election campaign. The point is, Thaksin should not use that to rewrite what democracy can do. He has been convicted for allowing his ex-wife to make a big business transaction with the state while he was in power. It's so simple an issue but has been complicated beyond recognition. Either he did that, or he did not. No "elite" put a gun to his head and forced him to have Pojaman buy that Ratchadapisek land. The same goes for his ex-wife, who faces an Appeals Court ruling today on her 2008 conviction by the Criminal Court, which sentenced her to three years in jail. Either she was involved in a conspiracy to evade a large sum in taxes or she was not. And while we are at it, the 2001 Constitution Court case on share concealment is the same. Either Thaksin hid his shares under nominees' names and intentionally omitted those shares in his assets reports to the National Counter Corruption Commission or he did not. Thaksin was let off the hook in the share concealment case. On the same day he was acquitted, the Constitution Court found another politician guilty for a similar offence. We have never heard anyone in Thaksin's camp call that a double standard. Thailand's situation can be interpreted in many ways, depending on where you stand. Will democracy survive the elite and the military? Will democracy survive Thaksin? Will a prime minister so not in control as Yingluck survive it all? All the questions have been asked for good reasons, but we should ponder a new one: Will Yingluck survive her brother? Her opponents will not give her a moment's peace. That's true. But also true is that she's capable of surviving her opponents, politically naive as she is. The "unrealistic" election promises will give them ammunition, but they can't blow the government away. Enemies may also dig into her past to find something to attack her with. Again, the past is the past, and the Thai public appears more than willing to let bygones be bygones as far as the new prime minister is concerned. Unless the past is twisted to benefit someone at present, that is. On his sister's big day, Thaksin went on bending the truth about his motherland, accusing everyone of conspiring against him while leaving crucial facts unmentioned. He had never done anything seriously wrong and nothing others had done to him was right. If you don't believe him, check the election results. That's the key message that he sent out from Japan. Thailand's democracy has been a laughing stock. Again, it depends on how we look at it. Either Thai democracy is ridiculous for what it has been doing to Thaksin, or it can't go anywhere because it has been trying hopelessly to accommodate him. As his sister tried to overcome anxiety or nervousness and delivered the policy statement to Parliament before having to have her blood pressure checked, there he was, doing everything that will make her job harder. Best part is, we all know who he will blame if she fails. -- The Nation 2011-08-25 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siampolee Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 And while PM Yingluck said very little in terms of explaining what her main policies are, Thaksin was telling the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan in Tokyo exactly what his sister's government's agenda is going to be. The above quote yet again confirms that the Premiership of Yingluck is nothing than a total travesty . She like his little acolytes are but the pawns of her brother in his game of power chess, the whole family and their acolytes are but pawns to be discarded as and when Thaksin makes a move on the power game board. Checkmate ? Sorry Thaksin has no "mates'' just poor little sacrificial pawns, those pawns include the country and its people and their long term future irrespective of background. Free men and free women or serfs in bondage to the Brother No1 and his family ? It seems as if the lemming voters have so far managed to get as far as the precipice but are not ready to start jumping or being pushed just yet. However time alone will tell, It will indeed be interesting to see if the lemmings turn away from the precipice and perhaps then turn upon their chief stampede master as common sense begins to prevail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patjem Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Not sure whether we should describe the current state of affairs a tragic comedy or comical tragedy.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whybother Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 HER big day?? She reads out a statement, and then disappears for the rest of the time. She's obviously not a leader. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricku Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 (edited) Am I the only one getting tired of hearing about Thaksin ALL the time? Thaksin here, Thaksin there, Thaksin this, Thaksin that.. I swear, even a small article about a kitten stuck in a tree, can also soon be turned into something about Thaksin. It is almost as if the media WANTS to give him loads of attention. Edited August 25, 2011 by ricku Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samurai Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 He has been convicted for allowing his ex-wife to make a big business transaction with the state while he was in power. Yes, that is the big crime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mosha Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Thaksin - What a guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whybother Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 He has been convicted for allowing his ex-wife to make a big business transaction with the state while he was in power. Yes, that is the big crime. No. That's just one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buchholz Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 He has been convicted for allowing his ex-wife to make a big business transaction with the state while he was in power. Yes, that is the big crime. Indeed, cheating the country of a Billion Baht is small potatoes. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorecard Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 He has been convicted for allowing his ex-wife to make a big business transaction with the state while he was in power. Yes, that is the big crime. So what's your point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzMick Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 He has been convicted for allowing his ex-wife to make a big business transaction with the state while he was in power. Yes, that is the big crime. Yep, only a billion baht. But if we stop them stealing the chickenfeed, we might be able to save some REAL money. BTW Al Capone was jailed on tax fraud, something the Shinawatra clan seem very adept at, and getting away with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotbeve Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 He has been convicted for allowing his ex-wife to make a big business transaction with the state while he was in power. Yes, that is the big crime. Indeed, cheating the country of a Billion Baht is small potatoes. . Indeed.... a billion baht is a piece of dust as compared to what the Dems made off with.... to all: clean off your rose-tinted glasses! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samurai Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 (edited) He has been convicted for allowing his ex-wife to make a big business transaction with the state while he was in power. Yes, that is the big crime. So what's your point? Thaksin wasn't convicted for how he handled domestic issues with his spouse. The issue is actually not that the land was bought by her, but that it was sold to her. Thaksin was charged as PM, to abuse his position in the sales process, and not as a husband who allowed his wife to buy it. His wife did nothing "wrong". Edited August 25, 2011 by samurai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorecard Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 He has been convicted for allowing his ex-wife to make a big business transaction with the state while he was in power. Yes, that is the big crime. Indeed, cheating the country of a Billion Baht is small potatoes. . Indeed.... a billion baht is a piece of dust as compared to what the Dems made off with.... to all: clean off your rose-tinted glasses! Please share 'what the dems made off with'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crushdepth Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 He has been convicted for allowing his ex-wife to make a big business transaction with the state while he was in power. Yes, that is the big crime. Indeed, cheating the country of a Billion Baht is small potatoes. . Indeed.... a billion baht is a piece of dust as compared to what the Dems made off with.... to all: clean off your rose-tinted glasses! Open your eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samurai Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 He has been convicted for allowing his ex-wife to make a big business transaction with the state while he was in power. Yes, that is the big crime. Indeed, cheating the country of a Billion Baht is small potatoes. . Indeed.... a billion baht is a piece of dust as compared to what the Dems made off with.... to all: clean off your rose-tinted glasses! Sale to former PM's wife was 'above the appraisal price' The fund sold the land plot located at Rama IX Road to deposed PM Thaksin Shinawatra's wife Pojaman for Bt772 million in 2003, higher than the appraisal price of about Bt700 million. The AEC claims the fund lost money in the deal, because it had bought the land from Erawan Trust Finance and Securities for Bt2 billion in 1995. An FIDF source said the fund had paid such a high price for the land plot so as to strengthen the company, which was facing liquidity problems. It was the cheapest way to keep the company afloat at the time. http://nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/24/politics/politics_30024938.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buchholz Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 (edited) Indeed, cheating the country of a Billion Baht is small potatoes. . Indeed.... a billion baht is a piece of dust as compared to what the Dems made off with sold the land plot located at Rama IX Road to deposed PM Thaksin Shinawatra's wife Pojaman for Bt772 million Real estate developer Supalai has purchased the 33-rai of land in Ratchadapisek for 1.815 Billion Baht. . Edited August 25, 2011 by Buchholz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huanga Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 (edited) Am I the only one getting tired of hearing about Thaksin ALL the time? Thaksin here, Thaksin there, Thaksin this, Thaksin that.. I swear, even a small article about a kitten stuck in a tree, can also soon be turned into something about Thaksin. It is almost as if the media WANTS to give him loads of attention. Just goes to show that the root of all the problems IS THAKSIN! Let Yingluck rule, as Thai "majority" has spoken. But is it possible for Thaksin to remain quiet on the sideline? I DON'T THINK SO! Thaksin had his chance to disappear from the Thai political scene, scar-free, but what did he choose to do instead? Meddle some more, buy some more, twist some more, instigate some more, and maybe even burn some more.... Now why is that some of us are pointing fingers at him for every little things that happen, however meaningless or unrelated to him that they are? Because Thaksin is still stoking fire and craving attention and we are sick of his attention mongering, I assume. From the progression of things, I believe Yingluck will soon be his "clown" not his clone, or the "clown clone" that she is! Edited August 25, 2011 by huanga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlansford Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Am I the only one getting tired of hearing about Thaksin ALL the time? Thaksin here, Thaksin there, Thaksin this, Thaksin that.. I swear, even a small article about a kitten stuck in a tree, can also soon be turned into something about Thaksin. It is almost as if the media WANTS to give him loads of attention. Well, at least the only media you will see on TVF, "The Nation", does talk about him all the time because they (apparently) feel that he is a negative for this government... and since The Nation doesn't like PTP at all, and since they are a biased media outlet with a biased agenda, they will continue this tactic as long as they find it valuable. And as for that poor kitten in the tree, well, you know, if Thaskin had not paid a red shirt to stick it up there, then lit the tree on fire, fired at the police when they tried to save it, all the while that the PAD were busy knitting little yellow sweaters for the kitten and its family, ... of course it is Thaskin's fault and he should be tried and convicted of cat-errorism... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlansford Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Indeed, cheating the country of a Billion Baht is small potatoes. . Indeed.... a billion baht is a piece of dust as compared to what the Dems made off with sold the land plot located at Rama IX Road to deposed PM Thaksin Shinawatra's wife Pojaman for Bt772 million Real estate developer Supalai has purchased the 33-rai of land in Ratchadapisek for 1.815 Billion Baht. . et alors? I've seen Paris property prices more than double in 7 years... Look, I'm not saying this was a rigged deal or not - I have no idea about it. But repeating that the price has gone up an amazing amount and pointing to that as proof of a crime , ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdoom6996 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 This is getting so sick. Nest they will be changing the name of the country to Taksinland. Personally I have been looking at other destinations in Asia for a home base. This is gonna get messy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rixalex Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Look, I'm not saying this was a rigged deal or not - I have no idea about it. But repeating that the price has gone up an amazing amount and pointing to that as proof of a crime , ... It's not proof of crime but it is proof of exactly why people working for the state, especially those in a position to power, shouldn't be able to bid and buy from the state. Called a conflict of interests. A pretty basic "no no", wouldn't you say? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzMick Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Real estate developer Supalai has purchased the 33-rai of land in Ratchadapisek for 1.815 Billion Baht. . et alors? I've seen Paris property prices more than double in 7 years... Look, I'm not saying this was a rigged deal or not - I have no idea about it. But repeating that the price has gone up an amazing amount and pointing to that as proof of a crime , ... Very interesting. But have you seen any Bangkok property prices increase by 135% in the LAST 7 years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlansford Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Real estate developer Supalai has purchased the 33-rai of land in Ratchadapisek for 1.815 Billion Baht. . et alors? I've seen Paris property prices more than double in 7 years... Look, I'm not saying this was a rigged deal or not - I have no idea about it. But repeating that the price has gone up an amazing amount and pointing to that as proof of a crime , ... Very interesting. But have you seen any Bangkok property prices increase by 135% in the LAST 7 years? As Samurai pointed out above, the 772 price paid was above the appraised price of 700 million, and the most recent sales price of 1.8 billion is still well below the price the FIDF paid in 1995 (over 2 billion) - which seems to have been under a Democratic-led government after the next-to-last coup.... Let's face it, this defies any kind of farang-logic ... And it (IMHO) point to the likelihood that this really was just a political conviction - not that Thaskin is an angel, but this could have simply been the easiest way for his opponents to convict him of *something*... Anyway, ... oh yeah, that 1995 Dem government fell due to extreme corruption allegations, like that from this person whose name you probably all recognize Suthep Thaugsuban, Minister of Transport and Communications, whose brokering of illegal land deals caused the fall of the Chuan 1 government, was linked to abuse of funds in setting up a co-operative in his southern province of Surat Thani. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rixalex Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 And it (IMHO) point to the likelihood that this really was just a political conviction - not that Thaskin is an angel, but this could have simply been the easiest way for his opponents to convict him of *something*... Precisely true in saying that it was the easiest of all the cases against him (of which there are many) to get a conviction, as his name was signed on the paper. Pretty much as open and shut as they get. Not sure why all that means he shouldn't have been found guilty, which is what you seem to imply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginjag Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Am I the only one getting tired of hearing about Thaksin ALL the time? Thaksin here, Thaksin there, Thaksin this, Thaksin that.. I swear, even a small article about a kitten stuck in a tree, can also soon be turned into something about Thaksin. It is almost as if the media WANTS to give him loads of attention. Makes you want to puke. Wouldn't be so bad if things were normal and the new government was acting for the nations interest. But a non committal P.M. doesn't help, confidence is on a downturn already. As in previous posts The over exposure of Thaksin is playing into his hands--HE THRIVES ON IT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samurai Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 And it (IMHO) point to the likelihood that this really was just a political conviction - not that Thaskin is an angel, but this could have simply been the easiest way for his opponents to convict him of *something*... Precisely true in saying that it was the easiest of all the cases against him (of which there are many) to get a conviction, as his name was signed on the paper. Pretty much as open and shut as they get. Not sure why all that means he shouldn't have been found guilty, which is what you seem to imply. Did he actually signed any paper on the sale? Easy was it because as PM one is de facto responsible for almost everything what the state does because the PM is the dude on top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buchholz Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Am I the only one getting tired of hearing about Thaksin ALL the time? Thaksin here, Thaksin there, Thaksin this, Thaksin that.. I swear, even a small article about a kitten stuck in a tree, can also soon be turned into something about Thaksin. It is almost as if the media WANTS to give him loads of attention. Well, at least the only media you will see on TVF, "The Nation", does talk about him all the time because they (apparently) feel that he is a negative for this government... and since The Nation doesn't like PTP at all, and since they are a biased media outlet with a biased agenda, they will continue this tactic as long as they find it valuable. Rather than lament endlessly about the news sources, why don't you post news from other sources yourself? You do know you can post news in threads, right? If all the time that people (you're far from being alone) spent whining about The Nation was utilized posting news from other sources, it'd be a much more informative forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buchholz Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 (edited) Indeed, cheating the country of a Billion Baht is small potatoes. sold the land plot located at Rama IX Road to deposed PM Thaksin Shinawatra's wife Pojaman for Bt772 million Real estate developer Supalai has purchased the 33-rai of land in Ratchadapisek for 1.815 Billion Baht. et alors? I've seen Paris property prices more than double in 7 years... Look, I'm not saying this was a rigged deal or not - I have no idea about it. But repeating that the price has gone up an amazing amount and pointing to that as proof of a crime , ... The proof of the crime was produced years ago... when he was convicted. There's several good threads on it, where it is actually on-topic. But good to know Bangkok is Paris. . Edited August 25, 2011 by Buchholz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 What's Thai for gottle of gear? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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