Kittiratts 'White Lies' Did Not Get Yinglucks Okay

[webfact]

Kittiratt's 'white lies' did not get Yingluck's okay

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday defended Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong for his admission that he sometimes had to lie about the national economy to boost confidence.

The premier said she had faith in Kittiratt, who is also deputy prime minister in charge of the government's economic team, and believed he had good intentions toward the country despite his remark last week.

However, she denied that she allowed Kittirat's "white lies" about economic figures.

"There has been no such order. Who would order him to do that? All the numbers were real," Yingluck said.

And when asked if she had allowed the foreign minister to lie on certain issues, she said: "There was no such thing".

Last Thursday, Kittiratt admitted that sometimes he had to exaggerate about the country's economic growth even though the government had been fully aware since early this year that the global economic slowdown was likely to affect Thailand.

"But [the government] |must aim high in order to create confidence," he said. "The finance minister needs to |lie sometimes to create good feelings. The world knows this as a 'white lie'. As leader of |the government's economic team, I'm allowed to tell white lies. The goal is to create confidence, which in turn benefits the country's economy as a whole," he said.

His move came after the National Economic and Social Development Board, the state planning agency, revised its forecast for export growth down to 7.3 per cent this year due to a slump in the global economy compared to the government's earlier projection of a 15-per-cent increase.

Yingluck yesterday blamed the weak export growth on "uncertainties in the European market", adding that her government had now revised its export growth target to between 8 and 9 per cent.

When asked yesterday if she would call on Kittiratt to take responsibility for his remark, the prime minister responded playfully: "Don't publish his news."

-- The Nation 2012-08-28

[endure]

[Thai at Heart]

"Were" real numbers or "are", real numbers?

[Ricardo]

The Finance Minister says he sometimes tells 'white lies'.

The new-to-politics Prime Minister says "All the numbers were real".

So which one knows what they're talking about ?

[Mosha]

Plausible Deniability : A condition in which a subject can safely and believeably deny knowledge of any particular truth that may exist because the subject is deliberately made unaware of said truth so as to benefit or shield the subject from any responsibility associated through the knowledge of such truth.

[saltandpepper]

Who cares about her Okay or not Okay? She has no say anyway. An Okay would not be given from Thailand, but from Dubai, via her mouth, not her brain.

[metisdead]

A post with a copy and paste of a Bangkok Post article has been removed as per forum rule 31.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?app=forums&module=extras&section=boardrules

[Roadman]

The Finance Minister says he sometimes tells 'white lies'.

The new-to-politics Prime Minister says "All the numbers were real".

So which one knows what they're talking about ?

The numbers would be real to Yingluck cause the guys told her so. Jeez...blind leading the blind.

[RogueExpat]

Off course she had no knowledge of what her finance minister was up to...........

[tomross46]

Politicians all over the world lie. A good example is the USA. " I did not have sex with that wonan, Monica Lowinski ", " I will close Guantanamo ", " If I am elected president my administration will be transparent " " I will not allow lobiest to add pork to the budget "

[smedly]

well there you have it - I think it's safe to assume (as I always did) that official figures coming from any and all government departments cannot be relied upon - very foolish if they think telling lies is a good thing - it simply means that nothing this government says can be trusted, if a corporation did this it's executives would be jailed

It also means that if things were to improve (unlikely) and they tell the truth nobody will believe them.

Foolhardy at best

[Morch]

Yingluck yesterday blamed the weak export growth on "uncertainties in the European market", adding that her government had now revised its export growth target to between 8 and 9 per cent.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/568093-pm-yingluck-eurozone-debt-crisis-will-not-affect-thailand/

The Prime Minister has assured the country that the Eurozone debt crisis will not have any serious impact on local economy

the prime minister responded playfully: "oops?"

[webfact]

PM: Nobody tells Kittiratt to tell white lies

BANGKOK, 28 August 2012 (NNT) – The Premier has insisted that no one has ordered Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong to lie about the export expansion figure; believing Mr Kittiratt did it with good intention for the country.

As many people have been taking Mr Kittiratt to task for telling a white lie about the export projection figure and asked him to take responsibility, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra indicated that everyone has good intentions for the country, including the Finance Minister. Mr Kittiratt earlier admitted that he had lied that the export expansion this year was estimated at 15%

During the senate meeting on Monday, some senators said that Mr Kittiratt’s action has lowered Thailand’s credibility and caused damage to the economy. The senators also asked him to resign or at lease apologize to the public. They may also consider impeaching the minister under Article 270.

-- NNT 2012-08-28

[noitom]

She has faith in him, but said don't publish his news.

[Baerboxer]

We all know politicians lie. There was a time when being caught ment removal to the back benches or resignation. Now it's accepted behaviour.

Yingluck would not know if someone was lying or not. She has no idea of the realities of government. But, enjoys the overseas shopping trips and nice dinners.

[bigbamboo]

Thai politics is beyond parody!

[billd766]

I have just bought a whitewash brush and am willing to donate it to the government.

Nah, forget it. There isn't one big enough for what they need.

[MILT]

Wouldn't "white lies" lead to a weaken economy?

[whybother]

Kittiratt's 'white lies' did not get Yingluck's okay

... but she's OK'd them now.

[Thai at Heart]

What a wonderful moment of farce we have got ourselves into.

She didn't order him to lie, but presumably she should have known what the real numbers were. If she didn't know what the real numbers are, she can't do her job to run the country, if she did know what the real numbers were, but she didn't notice that he told the public different numbers then she is incompetent.

I didn't tell him to lie, but I didn't know he was lying! Incompetent

I didn't tell him to lie, but I did know he was lying! Dishonest

I did tell him to lie, but I didn't know he was lying! incompetent, and he was a very good liar

I did tell him to lie, but I knew he was lying! Incompetent, duplicitous, and dodgy.

[indyuk]

At times politicians around the world 'ad lib' and create embarrassment for the peers and their leader. It's a hoot! Not a catastrophe, however Khun Kittiratt pleas don't make a habit of it.

Export forecasts are targets. For smaller economies accurate export forecasts are almost impossible when world markets are in flux and beginning to spiral down. So one takes a shot at the forecast based on an extrapolation of the best historical facts available tempered with the world market status.The Thai government have no control over what the rest of the world is doing. Even one crack of the USA's sanctions whip degrades the the economic forecasts of many.

One can expect a severe blast of disappointing news from world markets during the coming months. I do hope that Thailand can avoid the negative impact of the worst of this bad news that is yet to surface.

[Thai at Heart]

At times politicians around the world 'ad lib' and create embarrassment for the peers and their leader. It's a hoot! Not a catastrophe, however Khun Kittiratt pleas don't make a habit of it.

Export forecasts are targets. For smaller economies accurate export forecasts are almost impossible when world markets are in flux and beginning to spiral down. So one takes a shot at the forecast based on an extrapolation of the best historical facts available tempered with the world market status.The Thai government have no control over what the rest of the world is doing. Even one crack of the USA's sanctions whip degrades the the economic forecasts of many.

One can expect a severe blast of disappointing news from world markets during the coming months. I do hope that Thailand can avoid the negative impact of the worst of this bad news that is yet to surface.

Of course there is going to be disappointing news. China has just undertaken another round of massive domestic stimulus.

So why run around blaring out that 15% export growth is possible when all economic indicators suggest it is going to be virtually impossible to achieve it, then once this is acknowledged, make a plan to stop the entire economy tanking.

[SICHONSTEVE]

The Finance Minister says he sometimes tells 'white lies'.

The new-to-politics Prime Minister says "All the numbers were real".

So which one knows what they're talking about ?

None of them do!!

He is an utter berk and she should not be prime minister of Thailand!!!!

You simply cannot invent numbers like this in economic and financial forecasts and predictions as it affects decision making for industry and the like - easy, sack him for doing it (and seemingly being proud of the fact) and sack her for making light of it and joking about it!!

Edited August 28, 2012 by SICHONSTEVE

[rubl]

The premier said she had faith in Kittiratt, who is also deputy prime minister in charge of the government's economic team, and believed he had good intentions toward the country despite his remark last week.

However, she denied that she allowed Kittirat's "white lies" about economic figures.

"There has been no such order. Who would order him to do that? All the numbers were real," Yingluck said.

And when asked if she had allowed the foreign minister to lie on certain issues, she said: "There was no such thing.

Last Thursday, Kittiratt admitted that sometimes he had to exaggerate about the country's economic growth even though the government had been fully aware since early this year that the global economic slowdown was likely to affect Thailand.

. have faith in Kittiratt and believe he had good intentions

. PM denied allowed Kittirat's "white lies"

. who would order him to do that (i.e. tell white lies)?

. there was no such thing (???? no order or no lies ????)

. the government had been fully aware [sic]

As for the last, being aware that is, probably only those who bothered to read the reports or the newspapers