'Yes, Sir' All Round At Thaksin's Cabinet Session

[george]

'Yes, Sir' all round at Thaksin's Cabinet session

BANGKOK - For six hours on Tuesday, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra lectured, preached, criticised and rebuked Thai politicians during a historic telecast of the weekly Cabinet session, dubbed 'Thaksin's Classroom'.

Heads nodded in agreement with whatever he said and his dry humour never failed to draw flattering laughter.

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The session should have been called 'Thaksin's Classroom' because the Cabinet room seemed a little like a school where the students lacked the guts to argue with the teacher.

One minister was asked to cut short a complimentary introduction for another ministry. 'You're wasting time,' said a stern Mr Thaksin.

Defence Minister Thamarak Isarangura should have known better than to refer to 'weak power on the part of the state' while reporting on the situation in the violence-plagued south.

'No, state power isn't weak. Only state officials are who don't work pro-actively,' Mr Thaksin interrupted.

Academics monitoring the telecast said if the atmosphere of the meeting was representative of what goes on during closed-door sessions, then the Thai government is closer to authoritarianism than most people think.

'The telecast confirms that Thailand is being run in a corporate style, with the CEO calling every shot and opposing views are quickly brushed aside,' said academic Sombat Thamrongthanyawong of the National Institute for Development Administration.

Mr Pitaya Wongkul of the Campaign for Media Reform said this government made the best use of technology and image-making strategies to wow people.

-- The Nation/Asia News Network 2004-01-15