Thaksin Expresses Wish To Return To Thailand Without Seeking Any Position

[whybother]

Most Farangs on this forum knock Thaksin but he gave them 30 Baht Health Care, they will kisses his ask.

I love Thais but most Farangs are cheap Poor Fools

Didn't someone make the "30 Baht Health Care" free?

[GentlemanJim]

Most Farangs on this forum knock Thaksin but he gave them 30 Baht Health Care, they will kisses his ask.

I love Thais but most Farangs are cheap Poor Fools

No. Chuan Lek Pai of the Democrat party gave Thailand the 30 baht health care scheme and Thaksin continued to implement it when he became PM. It was a concept that even lek Pai said would need further evaluation but was implemented as a populist policy (soooo PTP, sooooo Shinawatra) without due consideration (Thaksin stole the idea), and as a result is leading to the bankruptcy of the Thai health service. I love Thais, but some Farangs are cheap uneducated fools!

[smutcakes]

Btw...what happened about his illegally issued thai passport?

Good question - he is not traveling on his Thai passport . . . does he even have the right to seek residence in Thailand as Thais cannot be dual nationals? Hmm . . .

Having said that, even if the amnesty is granted or all political crimes to be whitewashed, not all his crimes are of the politically-minded type, or are they saying that criminal matters will also be expunged?

Makes you wonder why they did not raise this between 2006-2010, I am taking a long shot here, but maybe many of the people involved in those instances are still in ranking positions in the army and police, and openly supported the policy.

[jonclark]

There probably is an element of truth about him not wanting to be PM or have any 'official' political position. And why should he?

It's fairly obvious he 'leads' the party (and thereby sets the country's direction and tone) as they (his minions aka PTP) kowtow to him and do his bidding.

Why burden himself with the 'rules and regulations' such as asset deceleration, running in elections, subjecting himself parliamentary debates and scrutiny etc. that politicians are required to follow. Far better to run the country without the inconvenience of being an MP / PM and let some other poor schmuck do the leg work.

Genius (but highly undemocratic), I think you'll agree.

[smutcakes]

There probably is an element of truth about him not wanting to be PM or have any 'official' political position. And why should he?

It's fairly obvious he 'leads' the party (and thereby sets the country's direction and tone) as they (his minions aka PTP) kowtow to him and do his bidding.

Why burden himself with the 'rules and regulations' such as asset deceleration, running in elections, subjecting himself parliamentary debates and scrutiny etc. that politicians are required to follow. Far better to run the country without the inconvenience of being an MP / PM and let some other poor schmuck do the leg work.

Genius (but highly undemocratic), I think you'll agree.

I think you will find in most countries it is the poor schmucks behind the scenes who do the work and the president/prime ministers are the face of it. I very much doubt G. W. Bush was doing his own policy, although looking at certain things i may be wrong there!

[GentlemanJim]

There probably is an element of truth about him not wanting to be PM or have any 'official' political position. And why should he?

It's fairly obvious he 'leads' the party (and thereby sets the country's direction and tone) as they (his minions aka PTP) kowtow to him and do his bidding.

Why burden himself with the 'rules and regulations' such as asset deceleration, running in elections, subjecting himself parliamentary debates and scrutiny etc. that politicians are required to follow. Far better to run the country without the inconvenience of being an MP / PM and let some other poor schmuck do the leg work.

Genius (but highly undemocratic), I think you'll agree.

I think there is absolute truth that he does not want to be PM...................he is pre-positioning to become President!

[jaidam]

The thing that really must stick in his craw is he is the only hi so to ever get convicted to jail time! i expect many politicians don't want him to come back and go to prison as it would set a much needed precedent of know one being to big to break the law and do time!

Others have been convicted. They usually get released on bail to appeal. Justice if VEEERRRY slow in Thailand.

Your correct of course. Could Thaksin not appeal now? and come back? Surely in the Thai legal system there is some way he could appeal from where he is, delayed due to some strange circumstance etc Could they give him some type of Government position, and then come back when parliament is in session and he would have immunity for a period of time.

He had a set period of time to appeal after the verdict. I don't think he had to be here to appeal. He didn't appeal in the specified time frame, so now it's too late.

Statute of limitations is 10 years I think for most crimes, so that may be another way he could get off scott free from all the pending charges? Most of his crimes occurred at least decade ago.

More chance he will be arrested overseas for insider trading before he returns home. When he trades currencies,commodities, or stocks on regulated overseas exchanges with full knowledge of what a sovereign country will be doing with it's financial mechanisms, he is playing a dangerous game. Regardless of nominees or proxies.

[clockman]

Justice, is a distant bell. Rarely heard in Thailand!

[whybother]

Btw...what happened about his illegally issued thai passport?

Good question - he is not traveling on his Thai passport . . . does he even have the right to seek residence in Thailand as Thais cannot be dual nationals? Hmm . . .

Having said that, even if the amnesty is granted or all political crimes to be whitewashed, not all his crimes are of the politically-minded type, or are they saying that criminal matters will also be expunged?

Makes you wonder why they did not raise this between 2006-2010, I am taking a long shot here, but maybe many of the people involved in those instances are still in ranking positions in the army and police, and openly supported the policy.

There are many outstanding charges where the court cases can't be started without Thaksin's presence. Which is probably the main reason that he won't come back without the amnesty in place. Edited May 1, 2013 by whybother

[whybother]

Statute of limitations is 10 years I think for most crimes, so that may be another way he could get off scott free from all the pending charges? Most of his crimes occurred at least decade ago.

More chance he will be arrested overseas for insider trading before he returns home. When he trades currencies,commodities, or stocks on regulated overseas exchanges with full knowledge of what a sovereign country will be doing with it's financial mechanisms, he is playing a dangerous game. Regardless of nominees or proxies.

The statute of limitations wouldn't apply to a conviction that he has absconded from.

[Pi Sek]

Most Farangs on this forum knock Thaksin but he gave them 30 Baht Health Care, they will kisses his ask.

I love Thais but most Farangs are cheap Poor Fools

No. Chuan Lek Pai of the Democrat party gave Thailand the 30 baht health care scheme and Thaksin continued to implement it when he became PM. It was a concept that even lek Pai said would need further evaluation but was implemented as a populist policy (soooo PTP, sooooo Shinawatra) without due consideration (Thaksin stole the idea), and as a result is leading to the bankruptcy of the Thai health service. I love Thais, but some Farangs are cheap uneducated fools!

The 30 Baht healthcare scheme was proposed to Chuan Leekpai's Democrat-led government by a doctor. It was rejected as the scheme was not sustainable and would cripple the healthcare system.

Thaksin Shinawatra's Thai Rak Thai government decided to push it through and deal the issues when they came up. After a few years, the public health system was facing difficulties because it cost more than 30 Baht to administer the collection of 30 Baht... so it was losing money. No fix was ever put in place and the national healthcare system continued to take unnecessary money out of the coffers and away from other projects.

Abhisit Vejjachiva's Democrat-led government decided to make the scheme free so that they did not have to administer the collection of any fee.

[smutcakes]

Btw...what happened about his illegally issued thai passport?

Good question - he is not traveling on his Thai passport . . . does he even have the right to seek residence in Thailand as Thais cannot be dual nationals? Hmm . . .

Having said that, even if the amnesty is granted or all political crimes to be whitewashed, not all his crimes are of the politically-minded type, or are they saying that criminal matters will also be expunged?

Makes you wonder why they did not raise this between 2006-2010, I am taking a long shot here, but maybe many of the people involved in those instances are still in ranking positions in the army and police, and openly supported the policy.

There are many outstanding charges where the court cases can't be started without Thaksin's presence. Which is probably the main reason that he won't come back without the amnesty in place.

I really don't understand this, you and I both know that most convictions of people in powerful positions in Thailand never come to anything, so why would this put him off?

[hansgruber]

Give him amnesty that starts from the coup 2006 then arrest him for the extra judicial killings that took place before then

Exim bank scandal is another and the list goes on.

[ricku]

Let's look past our wishful thinking for 10 seconds.

How many of you believe that he will actually be sent to jail if he returns to Thailand?

[ricku]

Let's look past our wishful thinking for 10 seconds!

How many of you believes that Thaksin will actually be sent to jail if he returns to Thailand? I think many of you have no idea how much he is idolized by a large majority of the thai people, including the government. There are millions who would go absolutely bonkers if Thaksin is sent to jail.

I am not trying to defend the guy. Just delivering the facts.

Edited May 1, 2013 by ricku

[whybother]

Give him amnesty that starts from the coup 2006 then arrest him for the extra judicial killings that took place before then

Exim bank scandal is another and the list goes on.

All of his charges relate to things that happened before the coup. The only thing that the coup leaders did was get them investigated, which was never going to happen under Thaksin's leadership.

[smutcakes]

Give him amnesty that starts from the coup 2006 then arrest him for the extra judicial killings that took place before then

Exim bank scandal is another and the list goes on.

I agree, but it will never happen as to many standing people in the army/police/ politicians/ media were in agreement assisted in carrying out his policy who are still in positions of power, not to mention the general public sentiment was not negative to it.

[rixalex]

Let's look past our wishful thinking for 10 seconds!

How many of you believes that Thaksin will actually be sent to jail if he returns to Thailand? I think many of you have no idea how much he is idolized by a large majority of the thai people. There are millions who would go absolutely bonkers if Thaksin is sent to jail.

Seems to be loved and hated in fairly equal measure.

[whybother]

I really don't understand this, you and I both know that most convictions of people in powerful positions in Thailand never come to anything, so why would this put him off?

Maybe because of how obviously guilty he is.

[Pi Sek]

Let's look past our wishful thinking for 10 seconds.

How many of you believe that he will actually be sent to jail if he returns to Thailand? I think many of you have no idea how much he is idolized by a large majority of the thai people, including the government. There are millions who would go absolutely bonkers if Thaksin is sent to jail.

I am not trying to defend the guy. Just delivering the facts.

That's what every political action since Songkran has been focussing on! It's a chicken and egg situation. A blanket amnesty won't happen until Thaksin admits his guilt and serves some penance; Thaksin won't admit to/answer for any of his wrongdoings until a blanket amnesty has happened.

I think the powers that be are waiting for him to die of his prostate cancer, he is waiting for his proxies to force through a change that the powers that be won't allow. So I think there's a stronger chance he'll never come back than many people think. Which just exacerbates the problem.

edit to add the bit from your second post -

Millions would go bonkers if Thaksin comes back with impunity, too. I'm not so sure you're aware of how polarised the country is on this. "A large majority" (what's that, 75%, 51%?) DON'T support him... probably a quarter of the country idolises him as much as you suggest. However, there's no doubt he's the 2nd most popular Thai man around - but he's also the 1st most hated.

Edited May 1, 2013 by Pi Sek

[smutcakes]

I really don't understand this, you and I both know that most convictions of people in powerful positions in Thailand never come to anything, so why would this put him off?

Maybe because of how obviously guilty he is.

I think we both know this is not true, just look at the cases of other political persons/wealthy persons and their families on murder charges.

[whybother]

I really don't understand this, you and I both know that most convictions of people in powerful positions in Thailand never come to anything, so why would this put him off?

Maybe because of how obviously guilty he is.

I think we both know this is not true, just look at the cases of other political persons/wealthy persons and their families on murder charges.

Many of the really guilty ones do a runner until "things can be sorted out" (ie Chalerm's son). Other's just appeal and appeal and appeal, and justice is so slow here, they'll often die before there is a conclusion to the case.

I don't know why Thaksin didn't hang around to fight the cases. It could be because he's a coward.

[smutcakes]

I really don't understand this, you and I both know that most convictions of people in powerful positions in Thailand never come to anything, so why would this put him off?

Maybe because of how obviously guilty he is.

I think we both know this is not true, just look at the cases of other political persons/wealthy persons and their families on murder charges.

Many of the really guilty ones do a runner until "things can be sorted out" (ie Chalerm's son). Other's just appeal and appeal and appeal, and justice is so slow here, they'll often die before there is a conclusion to the case.

I don't know why Thaksin didn't hang around to fight the cases. It could be because he's a coward.

Yes, possibly, or it could be that other powers are at play which he cannot influence which would make it political.

[MAJIC]

Btw...what happened about his illegally issued thai passport?

Good question - he is not traveling on his Thai passport . . . does he even have the right to seek residence in Thailand as Thais cannot be dual nationals? Hmm . . .

Having said that, even if the amnesty is granted or all political crimes to be whitewashed, not all his crimes are of the politically-minded type, or are they saying that criminal matters will also be expunged?

Who said Thais can't be dual Nationals? Abhisit and his family is, amongst many other Thais!

[whybother]

Btw...what happened about his illegally issued thai passport?

Good question - he is not traveling on his Thai passport . . . does he even have the right to seek residence in Thailand as Thais cannot be dual nationals? Hmm . . .

Having said that, even if the amnesty is granted or all political crimes to be whitewashed, not all his crimes are of the politically-minded type, or are they saying that criminal matters will also be expunged?

Who said Thais can't be dual Nationals? Abhisit and his family is, amongst many other Thais!

I don't think Abhisit's family have dual nationality. Abhisit has British citizenship through birth, but doesn't have a British passport.

[whybother]

Yes, possibly, or it could be that other powers are at play which he cannot influence which would make it political.

Just because he can't influence them doesn't make it political.

[MAJIC]

Btw...what happened about his illegally issued thai passport?

Good question - he is not traveling on his Thai passport . . . does he even have the right to seek residence in Thailand as Thais cannot be dual nationals? Hmm . . .

Having said that, even if the amnesty is granted or all political crimes to be whitewashed, not all his crimes are of the politically-minded type, or are they saying that criminal matters will also be expunged?

Who said Thais can't be dual Nationals? Abhisit and his family is, amongst many other Thais!

I don't think Abhisit's family have dual nationality. Abhisit has British citizenship through birth, but doesn't have a British passport.

British Citizenship comes first,and then the Citizen has a right to a British Passport,its just a formality,and a right to the new Citizen.

[waza]

At least this article was good for a laugh

[Thai at Heart]

There are many who liken the "cult" behind this guy to a certain short Austrian artist with a funny moustache. However, this kind of populist cult is better paralleled to the "Peronist" style of popular policies that look good for a few moments and keep everyone busy while really the country is going to rack and ruin through the plunder being wrought through corruption, incompetence and outright thievery. Peron could do no wrong and while his wife beguiled the masses with her appeal he and his cronies ruined their countries entire economic base. There are still Peronist cult followers even now, 60+ years later, as will there always be apologists and sympathises for Thuggy and his clan. King John's Magna Carta (the world's first constitution giving rights to ordinary people) and the war of the feudal barons is another good example, John threw it out with the Popes blessing, and what ensued was a long list of wars and instability, that happened over 800 years ago but it seems like us humans just like to repeat the same thing over and over again.

Shhhhh, everyone knows that everything in Thailand is so unique that no farangs could possibly understand.

Lol

[waza]

Thaksin has a reputation of being truthful and transparent ...........

and lies on CNN

Edited May 1, 2013 by waza