Politics Hindering Thai Flood Relief: Experts

[sirchai]

"Nothing is going to improve if the same old people keep getting elected."

A great post ! Our 'new' hospital in the lower north-east, pretty huge for the size of the town is still the same old BS place where people shouldn't go to, having troubles.

The building is new, but the crew is the old one. Nothing has changed so far.....

[sirchai]

Efforts to prepare the capital for looming floodwaters have been plagued by contradictory messages from Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's government

The sense of disunity during the slow-motion catastrophe

Slow motion is an apt description and indicative of the country being "plagued by contradictory messages" during this catastrophe long before the flood waters came close to Bangkok.

The contradictions came exclusively from within Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's government itself, well before it grew to involve local authorities in Bangkok.

.

"Listen to me and only me. I will tell you when to evacuate," Sukhumbhand told the city in mid-October.

Sounds like the good old Baghwan, who became very rich, first in India, then in the States, Oregon......

[noitom]

As one reader noted, it is extraordinarily tiresome - this Thai political and elite privileged class versus the underclass thing. As another noted, you can't run the clock back and reset all the issues. It just is a tiresome exercise in which came first the chicken or the egg, endless political bickering, and childish payback and revenge. Thai governments through the decades have been extraordinarily inept and have been politically manipulated and they themselves heavily guided by corruption, agenda, and self interest. You just need to read Chris Baker's Jungle Book to know how it really works. If there is an answer to reversing Thailand, it certainly is difficult to figure out. The main issue at hand is the management of the flood disaster and the disease, health, and safety aftermath.

The contaminated filthy flood water filled with garbage, rat urine, fecal matter, and decomposed corpses is monumentally expansive in its run over more than one third of the land mass of Thailand and who knows how many millions of this underclass, ignored and neglected for generations by the Bangkok elite minority. Government or no government leadership, the top corporations of Thailand have invested little in preparing and educating their workers on flood safety, evacuation and continuity procedures, and in general nothing to help out over decades. Two days ago one of the Thai newspapers listed a number of companies and what they were doing to "lend a hand." This after numerous letters and posts asking why they hadn't been visible until that story. The Thai English press is no better. It's difficult to find any evidence of diligence in making the public aware of the dangers, risk, safety, and health issues relating to serious filthy, contaminated flood water flowing through clinics, restaurants, supermarkets, homes, autos, buildings, hospitals..etc. Instead, the Thai press was content for the past three weeks in using headlines of an alarmist nature such as "Thonburi Doomed" or "Thais Flee." Never once in the last three or four weeks since closely following the flood crisis, until the day before yesterday, did I see any indication that the Thai English press was calling into question the role of the top twenty Thai companies or even attempting to inform and educate Thai people on the health and safety hazards, of flood waters and how to protect and minimize sickness illness and death resulting from serious diseases such as Cholera, Typhoid, Leptospirosis, Dengue, Malaria, conjunctivitis, and others.

In the same newspaper, the day before yesterday, the newspaper began to discuss in one article, what the top twenty Thai companies have done to "lend a hand" as well as to at least discuss, albeit superficially, some important considerations relating to health, safety, disease, electrocution and other problems. So the purpose of my objective in writing at this point is not to carp about the lack of initiative and action by the top Thai companies and the reprehensible coverage of the flood by the Thai English press, but rather to call attention to the mandate for action and leadership right now to begin dealing with disease and population dislocation. The magnitude and exposure to disease and contamination is an extremely serious issue for Thailand, and will alter the course of Thailand forever, but it is also a serious disaster for the region and neighboring countries as well as travelers to Thailand as these diseases have a propensity to spread very rapidly unless defended professionally. All Thailand's resources need to be turned toward health, safety, and education immediately in a unified disposition and objective and not toward repressing the voice of the underclass or inhibiting their natural instincts to protect their villages at the expense of the sacrosanct Bangkok.

[ginjag]

If you don't think that the situation after the flooding is going to get wore, your in for real ride. It's just the start of another 2011 all over again.

So you are suggesting that while hundreds of thousands/millions of people across the North, Isaan, Central Region and Bangkok suburbs are needing critical help from government that instead there will be a massive uprising for some reason? Now is a time to let government get on with the reconstruction and aftermath stuff whether you like government or not and not a time for political showmanship. If the government fail the aftermath test in the minds of those affected (and most are in areas that voted heavily for this government) they will no doubt be kicked out at the next election.

And lets remember if yo utake a look at where the flood damage is those are areas where this government was heavily backed at the last election so at least the people in those areas are relying on a government they chose and presumably one they trust to sort out the aftermath of Thailand's worst natural disaster since the Tsuanmi.

I live in Issan, and as far as I know there is hardly a drop of water here, so millions in red areas are not affected by floods. Follow the 4 rivers from the north West, down to Nakhorn Sawan....then the main river to Bkk, these areas the floods are affecting. But naturally they have spread out over vast /huge areas because of barriers of dams set up to protect the VIP BKK

Edited October 31, 2011 by ginjag

[jayboy]

Some common sense from a surprising source ,General Prayuth, about declaring a State of Emergency.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Army-chief-cautious-on-emergency-law-30168868.html

[serenitynow]

For sure politics has hindered the relief efforts. The Governments refusal to call it a state of emergency has some what tied the hands of the army to do their utmost. Even with out her consent they have gone on to supply man power.

Can you explain to me what powers the authorities don't already have (and that they now need) that would be available under a state of emergency.In addition how does the absence of a state of emergency tie the hands of the army? What is the army prevented from doing now that it would be able to do if a SOE was declared.

I have now asked these questions several times of those who have argued for the declaration of a SOE.The response has been a long silence.A cynic might think that (a) they have no idea what a SOE involves and why it might be necessary but ( believe it seems on the face of it a good way of attacking the government.

In the meantime in the real world away from cranky foreigners of a right wing disposition with too much time on their hands, the army and the civil authorities are co-operating quite well.

Can't speak for others but I answered you last week.

[serenitynow]

I highly suggest you take a look at "that other newspaper" and the comment of a certain K. Voranai. Given that his research is correct, you might be in for a surprise, if you still believe that the Govenor did a good job.

I read that article and the thing that struck me was that days after the govt took emergency powers many of the flood control channels withinin Bangkok were still well under sea level. If I remember correctly, I think K. Voranai even said some of them were dry.