Give Thaksin Credit Where It's Due

[davidm]

The Dear Leader has done wonders for the local extermination industry. First, drug dealers got whacked. Now, it's chickens. As the Government recently declared war on poverty, it's only a matter of time before poor folk are wiped out. Now, if he could just turn his attention to English teachers...

[Guest IT Manager]

I agree Davidm... give due Credit. I give full credit to Sanitsuda Ekachai for todays commentary in The Post.

The public is being kept in the dark

Sanitsuda Ekachai

Not knowing how to cope with the dynamics of the highly popular Thaksin administration, critics have consoled one another by saying that the government would one day trip over itself. The bird flu brought a stumble much sooner than anyone expected.

The government, obviously over-confident in its total control of information, believed it could make the public believe just about anything by repeating it often enough. But as the Thai saying goes, a dead elephant cannot be covered with a single lotus leaf.

Things finally blew up in the government's face. This lethal virus knows no boundaries and respects no marketing antics. Consequently, the government was speechless at losing the public trust and confidence, the keys to its popularity.

The government, now perceived as lacking credibility, will find it hard to sell its policies or defend itself against accusations of conflict of interest because the public are feeling betrayed.

Before the public did not care if what the government said was fact as long as they were not affected directly and the economy remained strong. The bird flu snapped them out of this delusion and helped them realise how information control can be destructive to us all.

Hopefully, the disenchantment will prod the public into demanding more transparency from the government.

Of great concern is the government's increasing tendency to ignore the national constitution and roll out policies that have serious ramifications to society without any public debate.

This is done through the control of TV, the main source of information for the public, to give only positive information and omit criticism.

Parliamentary politics has become mere ritual so we can say we have democracy. The bureaucracy is too fearful to question directives and the press subjects itself to self-censorship to avoid unwelcome interference.

The government has effectively suppressed civil society by systematic campaigns to discredit it, by crackdowns and by lawsuits. This is why a series of government plans to plunder the commonwealth, which will trigger natural resources wars in the near future, have been issued one after another without the public being any the wiser.

The latest of these initiatives was the cabinet decision last week to hand our coastal waters over to big business.

The constitution demands that any policy which directly affects local communities must be subject to public hearings and public approval. Yet this decision to steal communal coastal waters for private and business use was passed without any input from the people directly affected.

Coastal waters benefit all who live along the shoreline. A small boat is all that is needed to fish and support a family. This will no longer be possible. As part of the asset conversion scheme, the ownership of 284,492 rai of coastal waters will be divided this year and given to individuals along with right-to-farm documents which they can use as collateral when seeking a bank loan.

According to the Agriculture Ministry _ which incidentally must be held accountable for the bird flu mismanagement _ the waters will produce seafood on a contract farming basis. It is no secret that agro-industry giants will ultimately benefit from this project.

The plagues which accompany monoculture industries are not the only danger looming. Probably more important is the worsening conflicts on the ground.

Southern fishermen, most of them Muslims, will be even more resentful of Bangkok when their seas are taken away.

This explosive policy, along with many opaque others, would not see the light of day if people had access to information and had a say. Unless we question ritual-only democracy and the tight information control institutionalised by this government, we cannot do much but wait for things to explode again.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

I agree Davidm... give due Credit. I give full credit to Sanitsuda Ekachai for todays commentary in The Post.

The public is being kept in the dark

Sanitsuda Ekachai

Not knowing how to cope with the dynamics of the highly popular Thaksin administration, critics have consoled one another by saying that the government would one day trip over itself. The bird flu brought a stumble much sooner than anyone expected.

The government, obviously over-confident in its total control of information, believed it could make the public believe just about anything by repeating it often enough. But as the Thai saying goes, a dead elephant cannot be covered with a single lotus leaf.

Things finally blew up in the government's face. This lethal virus knows no boundaries and respects no marketing antics. Consequently, the government was speechless at losing the public trust and confidence, the keys to its popularity.

The government, now perceived as lacking credibility, will find it hard to sell its policies or defend itself against accusations of conflict of interest because the public are feeling betrayed.

Before the public did not care if what the government said was fact as long as they were not affected directly and the economy remained strong. The bird flu snapped them out of this delusion and helped them realise how information control can be destructive to us all.

Hopefully, the disenchantment will prod the public into demanding more transparency from the government.

Of great concern is the government's increasing tendency to ignore the national constitution and roll out policies that have serious ramifications to society without any public debate.

This is done through the control of TV, the main source of information for the public, to give only positive information and omit criticism.

Parliamentary politics has become mere ritual so we can say we have democracy. The bureaucracy is too fearful to question directives and the press subjects itself to self-censorship to avoid unwelcome interference.

The government has effectively suppressed civil society by systematic campaigns to discredit it, by crackdowns and by lawsuits. This is why a series of government plans to plunder the commonwealth, which will trigger natural resources wars in the near future, have been issued one after another without the public being any the wiser.

The latest of these initiatives was the cabinet decision last week to hand our coastal waters over to big business.

The constitution demands that any policy which directly affects local communities must be subject to public hearings and public approval. Yet this decision to steal communal coastal waters for private and business use was passed without any input from the people directly affected.

Coastal waters benefit all who live along the shoreline. A small boat is all that is needed to fish and support a family. This will no longer be possible. As part of the asset conversion scheme, the ownership of 284,492 rai of coastal waters will be divided this year and given to individuals along with right-to-farm documents which they can use as collateral when seeking a bank loan.

According to the Agriculture Ministry _ which incidentally must be held accountable for the bird flu mismanagement _ the waters will produce seafood on a contract farming basis. It is no secret that agro-industry giants will ultimately benefit from this project.

The plagues which accompany monoculture industries are not the only danger looming. Probably more important is the worsening conflicts on the ground.

Southern fishermen, most of them Muslims, will be even more resentful of Bangkok when their seas are taken away.

This explosive policy, along with many opaque others, would not see the light of day if people had access to information and had a say. Unless we question ritual-only democracy and the tight information control institutionalised by this government, we cannot do much but wait for things to explode again.

A great article IT. It is true, the public are all members of the Mushroom Club. Kept in the dark and fed bullsh*t.

[dutch]

Thanks IT for sharing this information