and I am still waiting for the money for my house dammaged during the floods ..... I wonder why they want to give away Ipad or Iphone to those who dont need ....and can afford to buy themselve ... what will be next time ? free Mercedes Benz , Free house ? use this money for traffic regulation , road safety etc ...

I'd say use the money for education, but of course educated people don't vote for them.

Next week the special is Bentley Continental Speed for all Senators and please dont mention the floods or the fall in GDP, they wont understand the question.

<p> connda  your words to describe the gov-people are too nice. This is sick, as are the Thais who condone it. But a vast amount of Thais dare not to speak about it, or they believe they will be punnished, this is true, you ask a Thai what he/she thinks about a bad government err. They get lockjaw. this shows up the 48% of Thais who voted them in. The elected government are corrupt to the extreme, for them that are not, and not be against the move automatically makes them corrupt.

I am prepared to give Yingluck a chance, but if she allows this, my faith in her will be shot to pieces !

Can't they get the same tablets for MP's as for the school kids?

Yeh ! but will they have the brains to learn how to use them ?

I used to think the the saying "like a bull in a china closet" described some of the individuals we watched destroy everything they touched. This colalition government is seemly well on its way to giving a whole new/larger concept to this expression.

Another new low in a govenerment employees entitlement, I sudder to think what they will have achieved in a full year at the helm.

Being an IPad 2 owner myself I can fully understand why they all need them.

Please tell me Stoney...............i have'nt got the slightest idea why ?

Come-on fellas -- jump on the gravy-train at the taxpayer's expense. Why stop at iPads and iPhones -- Why not cars, home stereo systems, TVs, laptop computers -- you know, everything you need to be an effective MP.

By the way, this isn't unique to Thailand. Politicians world-wide are parasites who feed off of society. Nowadays they don't even try to cover it up -- they simply do it in the open. What a slap to the face of the general population. There is absolutely no shame to these creeps.

Why stop at iPads and iPhones -- Why not cars, home stereo systems, TVs, laptop computers -- you know, everything you need to be an effective MP.

...because they will tell you- been there, done that and even got the T-shirt! These are humble gimmicks if you have a stach of hundreds of million in cash in your bedroom officially certified as "natural wealth"

Come on, there must be at least one person who thinks this a really great idea and is willing to defend it!

GK will be along shortly.

Who or what is a GK?

GK is a poster who is a government apologist. He must be on holidays.

He might have been kicked out for pro gvt postings

For a nation of people obsessed with 'face' they sure know how to make themselves look like morally bankrupt egomaniacs.

I for one will never touch an Apple product; they are hardly selective of their users - I guess everyone will see this as an endorsement of their (cheap Chinese) products, who next - a massive sale to the Syrian government? The level of greed and corruption in this country is similar - only here the docile, servile population would never think of standing up for themselves.

Does anyone actually respect a politician in Thailand? They just give them a THAI smile and wait for their election bribe.

Old Sailor, If you seriously think that is possible, you should best refer it to the moderators. If it was a joke. 55555

I'm sorry their math is not adding up at ALL...

I'm sorry their math is not adding up at ALL...

This why they need iPads

For a nation of people obsessed with 'face' they sure know how to make themselves look like morally bankrupt egomaniacs.

I for one will never touch an Apple product; they are hardly selective of their users - I guess everyone will see this as an endorsement of their (cheap Chinese) products, who next - a massive sale to the Syrian government? The level of greed and corruption in this country is similar - only here the docile, servile population would never think of standing up for themselves.

Does anyone actually respect a politician in Thailand apart from giving them a 'THAI' smile whilst waiting for their election bribe.

Of course the kids will get what ever unorganized Android stuff they can finagle on the cheap,

But the Parlimentarians will get the top shelf stuff, and someone will rake in 20% to do it.

Same ass different day.

I'm sorry their math is not adding up at ALL...

I'm sorry their math is not adding up at ALL...

This why they need iPads

Curiously a remarkably similar scam... sorry, scheme.... has recently been proposed in the UK parliament where another group of greedy politicians are also trying to wangle a nice freebie.

Now I know why it is so important to establish FREE WIFI on the Motorways and Tollways. A lot more millions to establish that.

and by the way, there are only 650 members of the Assembly, so who are the other 50 for?

I expect the 50M Baht not only covers the cost to buy the iPads/iPhones, but the monthly/yearly service plans which probably provide unlimited data usage, unlimited calling, unlimited SMSing, and for the PTP members a special App that provides a toll free voice/video connection to Dubai.

Hmmmmm.... so the 'provide schoolchildren with quality computer tablets' plan somehow morphs into the 'provide MPs with quality computer tablets' plan. How.... surprising and atypical.

I think it's give the kids a functional tablet, the MPs get super quality tablets and phones.

Not surprising and typical of governments around the world.

I'm sure the extra 10 million was for base 3G service for both. Extra phone charges will come from some government budget somewhere.. Flood relief?

What every cabinet of millionaire needs, freebies to help keep in contact with the convicted criminal and fugitive from justice

I simply guess an i for an i = a tooth for a tooth.

Or for the government i + i =3

I wonder if a Hong Kong company, with plenty of standing 'H's, will remember this scam?

Like I said last week, they think we are all dumb nuts, or tw*ts, including the Thai populus that is.

Another poor show from the woman Jesus is in love with!

-mel.

Putting the procurement process and costing aside, lets consider the actual devices and how they will be used. Not sure how often any of you have seen Thais above the age of 50 using such devices but I can tell you from personal experience. They may buy such devices here but more often than not they pass them to their kids. There is a level of technology avoidance and so, this master plan of empowering the powers that be with these gadgets no matter if they are cheap, expensive or even free its still a total waste of effort.

Its around $400 for an Ipad 2 here in the States. It just dropped because Ipad 3 is due out next week. Now if the government buys a lot full of Ipad 2, that will really be shady. Regardless, the buying power of the Thai Government should make Apple structured the deal differently.

An excellent way to hand the inner workings of the Thai government to every competent intelligence agency on the planet.

Just what Thailand needs, more douches on the ipad.

A bit expensive

700 x Iphones at approx 26,000 is under 20,000,000 baht, and Ipads are not that expensive

so where is the rest of the money going?

Approx 26K? I doubt it the price you state would include, import taxes, sales tax and VAT The government would pay 1/2 or less of that.

An excellent way to hand the inner workings of the Thai government to every competent intelligence agency on the planet.

No need for wikileaks they will probably be chating to each other on facebook

It's so sad that MPs obviously don't make enough money that we tax payers have to pay them.

Actually, they're all rich, but not from salaries. Like top brass cops and military and heads of hospitals and universities, they get the lion's share of their money by other (less respectable) means. A couple months ago, a 'permanent secretary' got caught with millions of baht stuffed in boxes in his house. He's just the unlucky sucker we know about. I bet if any of his buddies were keeping their millions in cardboard boxes sitting around their houses - that they've now found better places to hide their lucre.

Be nice.... it was back in november - he was just confused by the term "Big Bags"

A bit expensive

700 x Iphones at approx 26,000 is under 20,000,000 baht, and Ipads are not that expensive

so where is the rest of the money going?

Approx 26K? I doubt it the price you state would include, import taxes, sales tax and VAT The government would pay 1/2 or less of that.

Well.... BMA has to pay the import duty on the firetrucks to customs.... (sometimes it is badly organised around here)

What a suprise that all are suprized!!

nothing new to the world of politics(maffia)