Thai editorial: Farmers' plight adds to post-election gloom

[webfact]

EDITORIAL
Farmers' plight adds to post-election gloom
The Nation

Politicisation of rice growers' suffering makes it much harder for Pheu Thai to admit its mistakes and makes its opponents more determined to prove the pledge policy wrong

BANGKOK: -- Nearly a week has passed since the election and the usual "safe-house meetings" to form a coalition government have still not taken place. Neither have we had the traditional reports on horse-trading, or speculation about who will be finance minister or House speaker. Pheu Thai, the only major party to contest last Sunday's poll, has shown no signs of a celebratory mood. Rather, the political suspense has only deepened and Thailand seems to be rolling relentlessly towards another flash point.

We were spared deadly violence on February 2, but, cynically speaking, Pheu Thai would probably have gained from widespread disturbances. The embattled ruling camp was counting on a groundswell of "pro-election" sentiment - a slap in the face for its opponents. That did not happen.

With the total number of votes, "No" votes and voters who boycotted the poll confirming a crisis of confidence in the party, obstruction of balloting on a massive scale might have been a useful excuse. As it turns out, Pheu Thai has found itself in a worse situation.

The election results will be vigorously challenged. With poll numbers being leaked all over the place - including "victory" claims by senior government figures like Chalerm Yoobamrung - additional elections to "fix" the incomplete ballot on February 2 will face legitimacy questions. The announcement of a state of emergency, meanwhile, raises two questions. First, was the caretaker government empowered to declare the emergency when a general election was just days away? And, following on from that question, could the February 2 election really free, fair and transparent amid a state of emergency?

Then there's the issue of whether a new government can be formed when it's likely there won't be enough MPs elected to convene a new Parliament. Adding to Pheu Thai's woes are the many MPs and senators still bracing for the legal consequences of voting for the doomed amnesty and charter-amendment bills. If, somehow, Pheu Thai miraculously manages to form a new government, the storms ahead will look even more daunting.

But something must be done soon regarding the plight of Thai farmers, who have been held hostage to the political impasse. The government has not paid the majority of farmers who participated in the highly controversial rice-price-pledging scheme. That needs immediate remedy. Hardly less urgent is the need for politicians to decide on longer-term support for our rice-growers, traditionally the "backbone" of the nation.

What should we do with the rice scheme? Pheu Thai has refused to admit that it's a bad initiative. The failure to pay farmers has been blamed on the political turmoil, which led to the House being dissolved and the government being demoted to "caretaker" status and unable to spend state funds. Meanwhile the ruling party blames politicisation of the rice project for torpedoing overseas government-to-government sales of stockpiled rice.

The road ahead might look bleak, but that must not stop everyone concerned from coming together to find a way out for the farmers, both in the short and longer terms. First, though, Pheu Thai must admit that the programme has undercut the competitiveness of Thai farmers, spawned corruption and damaged fiscal planning. Meanwhile, anti-government protesters must de-politicise the issue and focus instead on actions that will ease the farmers' plight.

Farmers' suffering has become intertwined with the political crisis. This is bad for all of us, but it's disastrous for them. Politicisation of their plight makes it much harder for Pheu Thai to admit its mistakes and makes its opponents more determined to prove the policy wrong, even at the expense of focusing on immediate rescue measures. The warring parties must think long and hard about this sector of the population, who are apparently paying the price for being the group that all politicians want to help.


-- The Nation 2014-02-08

[TVGerry]

Pheu Thai admit to making a mistake? Why do that when it's their habit to just blame someone else? In this case, the protestors and Suthep even though they ran out of money to pay the farmers months before the protests started. And these idiots still intend on carrying on this rice scheme scam.

[retsdon]

When the government of a nation gives an undertaking to its citizens who then make financial decisions based on that undertaking, then the undertaking needs to be honored. The rice farmers are not at fault here. Before anyone calls them stupid, they're no different to UK farmers who would sell barley or wheat straight into EU intervention silos. They simply did what what was asked of them. Perhaps it might be an idea for Suthep and the Dems, if they're so concerned about the farmer's welfare, to quit threatening banks that might extend the necessary loans to get these farmers paid off. And it might be an equally good idea for Yingluck's government to agree to bi-partisan supervision of the payments to farmers so as to provide transparency and thus reassure opponents who will have justifiable misgivings of fraud and graft.

And what needs to be born in mind here is that even though the money is paid from central government, it' won't just disappear into thin air. The bulk of the money will find its way back into the economy in the form of machinery and fertilizer purchases, purchases from local shops, etc, etc. It might even get spent on some of Abhisit's CP products! So it's not a loss to the nation- more an economic stimulus.

Just for once, it would be really, really, encouraging to see Thai politicians putting the public interest above that of their own. There's no doubt that PTP has exploited their support, but Suthep's childish grandstanding (his little march to raise a few million baht when he knows full well that billions are needed) is equally nauseating. A little display of adult behaviour from the supposed 'leaders' of the country would be a refreshing change.

Edited February 8, 2014 by retsdon

[NongKhaiKid]

A friend of mine said that his in laws and their neighbours in the rice farming business were bad mouthing the government something rotten but still voted for them or at least that's what they say in front of an audience.

[ramrod711]

I think it's time to alternate whistle blowing with chants of Where's the money. I showed my wife the article in Forbes about Thaksin rejoining the ranks of the worlds wealthiest, and how his government had sent him 30 billion baht. She said, "i don't think so", she simply can't believe it. Why isn't this article all over the Thai press? Even if it were most Thais outside of Bangkok wouldn't know, there are no impartial tv stations and in my village, no newspapers to buy, only the red radio blasting their hate message.

[retsdon]

I think it's time to alternate whistle blowing with chants of Where's the money. I showed my wife the article in Forbes about Thaksin rejoining the ranks of the worlds wealthiest, and how his government had sent him 30 billion baht. She said, "i don't think so", she simply can't believe it. Why isn't this article all over the Thai press? Even if it were most Thais outside of Bangkok wouldn't know, there are no impartial tv stations and in my village, no newspapers to buy, only the red radio blasting their hate message.

Why isn't this article all over the Thai press?

Quite. Why isn't it all over the the Thai media altogether. It's not, because the Dems are utterly useless. As the main opposition party it's their JOB to make political capital of stuff like this. And if they did their job properly, everyone who owned a TV would know the story no matter where they lived in Thailand. So what are they doing instead? They're derailing the constitution, boycotting elections they should be winning, and throwing their weight behind a bombastic charlatan whose idea of political discourse is to blow a whistle in somebody's face and stop them going about their daily business.

The Thai Democrat Party have to be about the most feckless political organization on the face of the planet.

[spirit47]

The author shame to put his name under this...

[djjamie]

The author shame to put his name under this...

Why? Are you another one refusing to admit that it's a bad initiative?

[mightyatom]

When the government of a nation gives an undertaking to its citizens who then make financial decisions based on that undertaking, then the undertaking needs to be honored. The rice farmers are not at fault here. Before anyone calls them stupid, they're no different to UK farmers who would sell barley or wheat straight into EU intervention silos. They simply did what what was asked of them. Perhaps it might be an idea for Suthep and the Dems, if they're so concerned about the farmer's welfare, to quit threatening banks that might extend the necessary loans to get these farmers paid off. And it might be an equally good idea for Yingluck's government to agree to bi-partisan supervision of the payments to farmers so as to provide transparency and thus reassure opponents who will have justifiable misgivings of fraud and graft.

And what needs to be born in mind here is that even though the money is paid from central government, it' won't just disappear into thin air. The bulk of the money will find its way back into the economy in the form of machinery and fertilizer purchases, purchases from local shops, etc, etc. It might even get spent on some of Abhisit's CP products! So it's not a loss to the nation- more an economic stimulus.

Just for once, it would be really, really, encouraging to see Thai politicians putting the public interest above that of their own. There's no doubt that PTP has exploited their support, but Suthep's childish grandstanding (his little march to raise a few million baht when he knows full well that billions are needed) is equally nauseating. A little display of adult behaviour from the supposed 'leaders' of the country would be a refreshing change.

The biggest thing your post falls down on, is that it is leaning towards be biased against Suthep.

You distorted the facts when you said that Suthep threatened the banks.

He didn't, he said the borrowing was 100% illegal and he wanted to pressure the banks to think twice because there involvement in this could (and would) realistically put millions of depositor's funds at risk, once the money had changed hands and the courts stepped in. This would cause a major run on banks that were bailing out the government, and that would spark a major collapse of a lot of Thai banks with millions of depositor's accounts wiped out and lost. Their bank books would be worth no more than the rice pledging vouchers held by the farmers.

The government would not be in a position to bail out the banks like the affluent west was able to... they collapse here, they stay collapsed.

These were his actual warnings, and he also highlighted that this was also the thinking of the unions, employees and even the bank directors and more importantly the depositors.

All you lot who are saying Suthep's fault.... blah blah blah. Have it completely wrong. Suthep has got it completely right.

#Sorry farmers, but you only have yourself to blame, if it is too good to be true, it probably is, and if it has Thaksin's stamp of approval on it, then you can pretty much assume it will be rotten to the core.

Edited February 8, 2014 by mightyatom

[Scamper]

Excellent article. Indeed, the administration finds itself in a quagmire, and I don't think that reality has really sunk in. They are likely in a state of shock, and they likely also truly do not know what to do. The reflexes they exercise tend to be vestiges of the power they once had.