Don't Mistake 'boredom' For A Green Light: Thai Editorial

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EDITORIAL
Don't mistake 'boredom' for a green light
The Nation



The public may have lost its appetite for TV debates, but charter change still has the potential to ignite the Kingdom's political powder keg

BANGKOK: -- Nearly 60 per cent of respondents to the latest survey by Abac Poll said they did not follow the recent televised parliamentary debate on the constitutional amendment bill. If the poll provided any surprise at all, it was that 40 per cent did follow the debate. After all, cynicism aside, 40 per cent is a substantial proportion.

The poll confirmed that the Thai public has mostly been turned off by divisive politics, at least for now, and they know that the proposed charter overhaul is a big part of this. But to tell the Yingluck government or the Pheu Thai Party to check out what the people feel and consider a rethink would be an exercise in futility. The controversial charter revamp scheme has got going, and it's unlikely that a low TV rating will put a brake to it.

The good news for the government and Pheu Thai is that the issue of charter "reform" seems to be alienating the public at the moment. It could actually be harder for the advocates of constitutional change if 60 or 70 per cent of people surveyed were closely monitoring the debate. This is not an image-making issue, so as far as the advocates are concerned, the less public attention, the better.

The bad news is, public detachment, or ignorance, or apathy will not last much longer. The mooted amendments deal with some key divisive points of the Thai political crisis. The people were "fed up" and did not watch the parliamentary debate on TV because nothing new was really happening. The crunch time is yet to come, and when it does, "bored" could be the last thing Thais will feel.

A reason why many Thai are not interested in charter rewrite at present is that this is something that does not affect the general public directly. This is not about first homes, more or less taxes or re-arranged welfare programmes. Although the government has insisted that this issue of "restoring justice" is of utmost importance if Thailand is to really move forward, many Thais remain unconvinced. One side of the political polarity suspects that the proposed constitutional changes are in fact aimed at advancing the interests of individuals, not the country as a whole.

While most signs on the political landscape point to the need for extreme caution, those determined to change the 2007 charter seem hell-bent on accomplishing their agenda. Marking the April 10, 2010 political bloodshed, Thaksin Shinawatra phoned in to his supporters with a conspicuous message. "None of my red shirt brothers should have died," he said. "If only the powers-that-be at the time had been kind and really loved justice." And he went on to slam the opponents of the proposed charter revamp and stress the need to restore justice.

It's debatable whether "justice" in Thaksin's context is really what Thailand needs. It's questionable what his methods of achieving "justice" can do for the nation's fragile peace. We have this figure showing a large percentage of Thais are uninterested, but we don't know what will happen if they make a U-turn and become passionately engaged in a new round of ideological showdown.

Nobody should be fooled by the apparent public apathy. Politically speaking, Thailand remains an active volcano, no matter how dormant it looks. Most people are currently turned off, and the Abac poll may have found an exaggerated number of those who aren't. But one presumes at one's own peril that the bored silence is a green light to do whatever you want with the Constitution.

Thaksin was right in saying that no red shirts should have died on April 10, 2010. In fact, nobody should have died. If Thaksin really meant what he said, he should know that if a road is to be paved toward a more just society, it must not be strewn with landmines.


-- The Nation 2013-04-15

[tominbkk]

Don't mistake disgust for boredom.

[Bellweather]

Anytime I see footage of a debate the chamber is full of wide open spaces and those who are there are on their mobiles or chatting amongst themselves. Addressing the Thai Parliament seems to be an exercise in futility and as I understand it an amazing amount of sessions are cancelled because there's no quorum. We can only speculate why so many MPs are absent but i bet it has nothing to do with constituency business

[waza]

Don't mistake a lack of a quorum as boredom.

[tominbkk]

Anytime I see footage of a debate the chamber is full of wide open spaces and those who are there are on their mobiles or chatting amongst themselves. Addressing the Thai Parliament seems to be an exercise in futility and as I understand it an amazing amount of sessions are cancelled because there's no quorum. We can only speculate why so many MPs are absent but i bet it has nothing to do with constituency business

I've actually known or had friends who have family members that are in parliament. What you are saying is spot on...most have other businesses they spend their time on and only go in when they are needed for a vote. Otherwise they could care less what is happening.

[Thai at Heart]

Apathy is great if you don't care.

[jalansanitwong]

I once saw a politican in the chamber looking at a gemstone with a loupe . Maybe he was a jeweler and found the surroundings of parliament more peaceful enabling him to concentrate on the task at hand. Thai parliament is one of the few places in Bangkok where there arent all that many people about creating noise.

[Sayonarax]

Maybe if it was more interesting to watch, more people might actually watch it.

[Robby nz]

Where's that picture of the speaker asleep in his chair?

[Locationthailand]

Judging by the packed parliament pic, the country is in good hands. As for :

"... But to tell the Yingluck government or the Pheu Thai Party to check out what the people feel and consider a rethink would be an exercise in futility."

Says it all. Ignorance of the people being lied to by the arrogance of the governance. To Thailand - you voted for it and you got it. Som Num Na.

[dapsolapsalai]

Maybe if it was more interesting to watch, more people might actually watch it.

unfortunately that is the political process, and most people, all over the world, would rather watch something else, well, less dry shall we say.

[dapsolapsalai]

Judging by the packed parliament pic, the country is in good hands.

Again this is not untypical with other selected photgraphs of parliaments around the world.

[how241]

Anytime I see footage of a debate the chamber is full of wide open spaces and those who are there are on their mobiles or chatting amongst themselves. Addressing the Thai Parliament seems to be an exercise in futility and as I understand it an amazing amount of sessions are cancelled because there's no quorum. We can only speculate why so many MPs are absent but i bet it has nothing to do with constituency business

+1

[Briggsy]

The Thai adjective "beua" which is habitually translated as "bored" actually is closer in meaning to "sick of" or "fed up with" in English. This is I believe what the article is on about.