Thai Politics Is Brutal: A Political Veteran Reflects

[webfact]

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

'Thai politics is brutal': A political veteran reflects

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- Former Thai Rak Thai Party executive Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan talks to The Nation about having mixed feelings about returning to politics in the first of a two-part interview.

You look like a person who is serious about everything you do. After the five-year [political ban] has been lifted, does politics still appeal or have any attraction to you?

Asked if I am tempted to have a political role, I would say my attraction to politics has slackened. I have two different feelings about it. As I see some aspects of our country have become worse and the fact that the country will face stiffer competition and may lose some opportunities once the Asean Economic Community starts, this makes me want to do many things. But if going back to work means holding a political post, my desire has slackened tremendously. I have no desire to go back to stand there again. If I can be of any help, I want to be the brain. It is like "been there and done that". I was in charge of four to five ministries since I was in my early 30s. I went through the biggest and toughest issues. This is what I mean about two feelings. If a political condition is that you put in 100 and the result is 20, then it is a slow walk. I still feel this way. I feel that if we do not change our attitude or political structure, our country may move ahead too slowly. I don't know if the current political structure caters to development so I am not too enthusiastic to re-enter politics.

How long have you strongly felt that our political structure needs change?

This isn't the first time I have felt this way. During the 2003 political reform campaign, I took part in rallies along with the civic sector. Only a few politicians joined the campaign. I was summoned and scolded by senior politicians in the government. They said "Do you know they are at the rally to slam politicians and why do you have to rally with them?'' I told them I did that because I felt the same way as the people felt. You work so hard and have to lose all your hard work from a change of government. For instance, I was in charge of traffic over 10 years ago. I buried myself in work. There were no master plans for expressways or skytrains, as such. Different agencies just went their own way in doing the jobs. So I hired educational institutes, Chulalongkorn University and others, to write master plans. When a new government takes over, it always changes master plans. The Office of National Economic Social Development Board can do nothing about it. I thought it was a waste of time. That was the first time I felt change was needed.

What made you feel for the second time that the political structure must be overhauled?

Looking back at the time I faced a five-year political ban, and looking at the Bt30 healthcare scheme, it has been changed from black to white. Today it's all about competing to provide free healthcare, not even Bt30 is charged. There is no such thing as a free and high quality healthcare service. That was not our selling point. When I was health minister, I never offered an idea of "high quality healthcare" - I offered an idea that people take good care of their health. It is a complete change. I think I am bored with these political conditions. That's why I never thought of returning to politics.

Are there other factors that discourage you from politics?

The second reason is that I did not run in the previous election or help Pheu Thai Party in the election campaign. If I am offered a ministerial post and I jump at it all of a sudden, it would look like I took advantage of my colleagues. I understand and realise how hard others work. When reports were rife in early May that, after the political ban is lifted, Sudarat would replace this person [or] that person, [and] my name was linked with many ministries, I began to feel the peer pressure. So, I decided to declare that I have no desire to return to politics. I did not state my first reason about the current political circumstances because I could not explain in length with the press how and if political conditions have changed, that my work would be in vain.

Besides, I have my third reason. Since 2010 I have been overseeing the renovation of Lumpini Hall, which is a high place, as it regards the Lord Buddha. If I had accepted a political post, I would have been looked on as if I had succumbed to political temptation because I have not finished the renovation. Thai politics is brutal. I was afraid that highly regarded place would be affected. Our politics has smeared everything over the past five years including our high institutions. I fear that even religious institutions would be soiled.

Have you lost all your political ambition?

I still have concerns about several issues. I have done many tough jobs, starting at the Transport Ministry, then at the Interior Ministry. At that time traffic problems in Bangkok were given a lot of attention. I battled with the traffic problems till I had a miscarriage. I initiated the master plan for the expressways and the Skytrain [routes]. I brought three mass transit systems into one, which followed the same master plan. In those days, the subways, the Skytrain and ordinary train routes were not linked. I finished that and moved on to the Bt30 healthcare scheme. It was difficult because it was about restructuring the healthcare system. We met with opposition. Then I worked on the outbreak of Sars, which was when the disease was first detected in Thailand, but we actually got the disease from Vietnam. Our country had no knowledge of this disease. So we had to have strictest control to prevent the spread of the disease. We met with opposition from the tourism associations but we wanted to be safe than sorry. Our control met with success because the disease did not spread. Then I had to deal with the spread of bird flu and then the tsunami.

When I worked at the Agriculture Ministry, the policy was to end poverty. I "brainstormed" on restructuring agriculture produce and creating a value chain from production, to research and marketing, which means from upstream to downstream. It is a pity that I could not complete the job. I had only one year. If I had been given two years, I believe we would not need to spend money on rice-pledging, [and] rubber-pledging schemes.

Our country is situated at a strategic location for agriculture, which can make us the world's food source. With climate change destroying food sources, the next superpower won't be countries with oil but food. But we have never seriously reformed agriculture. If we had succeeded at that job at that time, today we would have been in a much stronger position.

We mapped out an agricultural zoning plan, to grow plants that are suited to soil [in certain areas] in accordance with demand and markets. We thought of operating contract farms with neighbours such as Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia to grow energy plants. Looking back, we deeply regret that we lost that opportunity. A few private companies obtained the deal by themselves. Millions of rai that we had hoped to have won contracts [to grow crops on] are now operated by China, Singapore and Malaysia. This is what I mentioned earlier about opportunities lost.

-- The Nation 2012-10-10

[asiawatcher]

The Khunying appears (if you can believe this interview without digging into her past) to be well informed, has some intelligent suggestions (especially regarding the Ministry of Agriculture) but she was with the wrong party. But like Abhisit, she has/had no support. If we could get educated decent politicians and remove the 'looking-after-number-one' attitude into Thai Government, this country could actually move forward again. Respect Khunying.

[farang000999]

sounds smart and honest, no wonder she never made it in politics.

[hellodolly]

It sure sounds like she has no confidence in the current Government.

Indeed with her attitude she would have been a big asset to Abhist.

[MaxLee]

Well, she should be careful of not getting murdered in stealth one day by revealing too much information, because, nobody will dream of punishing the corrupt Feudal Political family clan who get away with murder charges...

[Pi Sek]

Her newspaper interview sounds a bit like a job interview. She's now served her 5-year politics ban. Coincidence?

She's obviously clever, well-qualified, etc, but she's just got too much dirt on her (for me, that is).

[bigbamboo]

Thai politics can be brutal in much the same way as American professional wrestling is.

Sure there are some nasty individuals involved but mostly it's a sham, results are often fixed and most outsiders see it all as a bit of a joke.

Edited October 12, 2012 by bigbamboo

[nurofiend]

sounds smart and honest, no wonder she never made it in politics.

lol, yeah...no wonder,

possibly she wouldn't be as disheartened if she didn't get banned for 5 years in what was clearly an act to wipe out competition for the democrats.

not aimed at you directly but some people need their heads shaken up around here to see some realities.

[Thai at Heart]

Yeah, she's whiter than fresh snow.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/Sudarat-must-go-NGOs-insist-88136.html

[whybother]

sounds smart and honest, no wonder she never made it in politics.

lol, yeah...no wonder,

possibly she wouldn't be as disheartened if she didn't get banned for 5 years in what was clearly an act to wipe out competition for the democrats.

not aimed at you directly but some people need their heads shaken up around here to see some realities.

She was probably pissed off with the MPs that caused the party to be disbanded too.

Sent from my HTC phone.

[whybother]

Yeah, she's whiter than fresh snow.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/Sudarat-must-go-NGOs-insist-88136.html

I wish the nation would date their articles.

Sent from my HTC phone.

[nurofiend]

sounds smart and honest, no wonder she never made it in politics.

lol, yeah...no wonder,

possibly she wouldn't be as disheartened if she didn't get banned for 5 years in what was clearly an act to wipe out competition for the democrats.

not aimed at you directly but some people need their heads shaken up around here to see some realities.

She was probably pissed off with the MPs that caused the party to be disbanded too.

Sent from my HTC phone.

yup she probably was, however i would say it would be more to do with the amending of an article after the fact, just so they could make sure they could wipe them all (most) out.

i know that would make me sick to the core about how the political system works if i were a politician.

but i know people on here find this kind of dirty play acceptable.