Popular Post Just1Voice Posted May 4, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted May 4, 2014 Some of you so called "educated" people crack me up. I say I saw a 20+ bus convoy on the highway leaving CNX and going towards Lampang, and you start "doing math" about how many people per bus, with wise a$$ remarks. And you automatically place me in the "Red Shirt Sheepl" category. Fact - I said I saw a 20+ bus convoy. Nothing more, nothing less. There may have been more that left earlier, there may have been some that left later, I don't know. But you "Sutheptas" want to take that and twist it 7 ways from Sunday. Fact - I am NOT a Red Shirt, Sheeple or otherwise. I agree with some of the farmer's grievances, but also know they have been totally screwed by PTP, and feel sorry for them. My wife , and most of her friends are Red Shirts, but NOT Thaksin supporters. Can you wrap your heads around that? Or are you so brain washed, or brain dead, that you automatically assume that every Red Shirt prays to Thaksin every night? You might try reading a post from someone for what it actually says, instead of your warped interpretation of what you want it to say. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post taff33 Posted May 4, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted May 4, 2014 If these IGNORANT UNEDUCATED people who profess to be the doyens of a village, think they will force change let THAILAND reap what it sows and let the country again vote for the PTP. Let the people get what they think they are voting for. Let the country run a mock an go down the gurgler. Let their THAINESS attitudes of "we are always right" and "don't tell us what to do", sort their issues and when tourists don't come because they have found better destinations and when we as the foreigners bringing in most of their exchange reserves leave, let them all go back to climbing coconut palms. Lets face it, it is ok but there are MANY options just across all the borders now. Don't let the door slap you on the ar- e on the way out.Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Mango Bob Posted May 4, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted May 4, 2014 <script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script> If these IGNORANT UNEDUCATED people who profess to be the doyens of a village, think they will force change let THAILAND reap what it sows and let the country again vote for the PTP. Let the people get what they think they are voting for. Let the country run a mock an go down the gurgler. Let their THAINESS attitudes of "we are always right" and "don't tell us what to do", sort their issues and when tourists don't come because they have found better destinations and when we as the foreigners bringing in most of their exchange reserves leave, let them all go back to climbing coconut palms. Lets face it, it is ok but there are MANY options just across all the borders now. The border is open so go for it. They don't need people like you here with your uneducated states about people who work hard to provide rice for Suthep masses. Your kind of attitude is not needed here. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post geriatrickid Posted May 4, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted May 4, 2014 Given the VERY strong relationship that exists between the Interior ministry and the "village headmen" I would not be surprised to see a good turnout. If the occupation has impacted on the operation of the department then I could understand why the "headmen" are p-ssed off. If you have never thought about the relationship then this would be a good time to do so You could also think about why the PTP is opposed to breaking this arrangement down by handing over certain function to the provinces. Fair enough. However, I shudder to consider the impact it would have on containing corruption. In the zone of corruption (Phuket-Surat Thani-Krabi-Nahkon Si Thammarat) the format acts as a block to even greater corruption. There is too close a relationship between various entities in Surat Thani and Phuket. The large influence of tourism and the monies it generates fuels rampant corruption. I wish I had a constructive solution to the problem, but the situation is so bad, I believe the only thing that would help would be a receivership type of governing with all government, police and judiciary officials sacked. Now the South is the zone of corruption? Yes it is. Corruption is found where the largest amounts of disposable wealth are located. The tourism industry provides billions of baht in the key tourism geographic zones. Pattaya is one place, but it is small compared to Phuket/Krabi/Koh Samui. The opportunities are significantly higher when real estate development, and the service sector is as large as it is in this area. Chiang Mai has its corruption too, but it is harder to make the large amounts from crime when there isn't an entertainment scene as there is in Phuket. Small bars and hotels provide an excellent environment for protection rackets and special operating fees as well as money laundering. For example, there aren't any beaches in Chiang Mai so there are no jet ski scams with the involvement of the local police. Chiang Mai is more compact than Phuket so taxi/tuk tuk cartels can flourish as they do on Phuket. Koh Samui is dependent upon the tourism sector and as a result, the criminal activity that accompanies such a business sector is more pronounced. If Udon Thani was the tourism hub of Thailand, the corruption would be much worse than it is now. Because of its geography it's easier to be corrupt in the southern tourist zones. Where is the hub of human trafficking? Around the Phuket and Nahkon Si Thammarat region. If Surin was an easier place to smuggle people into Malaysia, the problem would be there, but it isn't. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post geriatrickid Posted May 4, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted May 4, 2014 Anyone seen the villagers all watching red shirt tv on their free satellite boxes? Its the worse case of brainwashing i have ever seen. Which comes back to the old argument: how can the minority, educated, thinking for themselves, middle class ever win an election against the brainwashed red shirt masses in the villages? You should only be allowed to vote if you can think for yourself and make an impartial judgement on who is best to vote for? Actually, I think the worst case of "brainwashing" was during the last constitution implementation. The military dictatorship forbid any campaigning against the new constitution and directed the military controlled media outlets to aggressively promote the new constitution. Non military controlled media outlets were not allowed to run any programming against the new constitution. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby nz Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 So the village elite ammart are coming to town led by the elite president of the Chon Buri Association of Kamnan and Village Heads with the whole thing organized by an elite ammart caretaker cabinet minister. He said he would also lead local leaders to protest against a proposal to elect all provincial governors, which may result in positions of kamnan and village heads being scrapped. We certainly must never have the provincial governors elected by the people rather than appointed by the government for if they were elected then there could well be people in the job who wouldn't follow Govt orders and that would be anti-democratic. Why may it lead to kamnan being scrapped ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricardo Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 2 weeks ago, I was at the Chiangmai immigration to get thai passports for my family and this is the 3rd time that we went there. There were about 300+ people in the queue since 4am and we had no chance of getting it done. The inconvenience of the people who drove all the way from Lampang & Lampun is understandable, so those who are still blocking government offices in BKK should allow the civil service administration to work. Are in Chiang Mai passports issued at the immigration ? My own family always get their Thai-passports issued at the government-office centre, near the prison on the main ChiangMai-MaeRim road, about 3 km north of the Superhighway. Why anyone might go to Immigration, South of town near the airport, who deal with non-Thai passports, "to get thai passports" beats me ! Queues at Immigration can indeed be bad, the number of foreigners in the Chiang Mai area has risen greatly over the past decade, and we're told that recent requests to Bangkok for a bigger office have been turned-down, nothing to do with any short-term protests ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animatic Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Arrest the lot of them and the coming election will have a much different outcome. Remove the grass roots village control mechanism from Thaksin's political machine and the possibility of a fairer election might become brighter. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubl Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 You guys need to know you can't detract from or deflect that these local leaders who are coming to the imperial capital are effective and are a significant force, and that this fact scares you guys very much. They are the local grassroots leaders and that frightens you. If these people would be what goes for 'representing' the local grassroot leaders I would indeed be frightened. For Thailand that is as the local leaders tend to be just a continuation of those who were in control before, either for their family or as overseer for the local lord. Show me where or when I said anything about "these people" being as you say, "representative" of anyone or anything. You introduced the word "representative" and you put the word in quote marks in your post. They comprise a number of local or very local leaders. Whether the group en route to the imperial capital are representative of the class as a whole, I never tried to say or suggest. That's your concoction. Come on now rubl, fess up on this one! Excuses, indeed my mistake. You didn't say these people 'represent' the grassroot leaders, worse, you said these people ARE the local grassroot leaders. The rest of my comment still stands. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post antimedia Posted May 4, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted May 4, 2014 the biggest laugh in all this is that as red village headmen they are only in their position as headmen throught threat of violence from other reds and corrupt practices. Your being ridiculous. Most headmen (phuu yai baan) are elected democratically in the villages. They tend to be better educated adults relative to the general population. They usually come from long standing respected families in the village. They tend to be men who spent more than the minimum three months as a monk. Yes, there are some corrupt ones out there. And yes, most take a percentage of any land transaction. But for the most part they are elected because they are perceived as being able to look out for the needs of the villagers and to facilitate the local's needs at both the Amphoe and, increasingly more so, at the local sub-district (OPT) offices. And up north of course they are "reds" because politcally, even their opponents in a headman elections are also "reds". The one thing you conveniently or naively declined to mention, is this is Red Democracy though and through. All headpersons as many are women and generally the number two gets the job when a position becomes vacant, they are indeed elected by the people but that's where it ends. They then hold the position until retirement age and cannot be removed from the position by the villagers. During election time and especially over the last months of this crisis they continually brain wash the uneducated locals via the speaker system in every village. This speaker can be and is regularly overridden by the sub-district office (Tambon). The headperson relies on funding from their Amphoe, so will do anything to appease the sitting member. As you can see it is well and truly in their interest to keep this mob in power in fear of change bringing in term elections. Also to further note, they are illegally campaigning on behalf of PT with government funds while they are in caretaker mode. So all you red raggers out there, explain to me how the system is fair and elections can be clean. Of course they intimidate the opposition when they attempt to campaign in the villages, remove or damage any non red political election signs and pay for people to remove banners and replace them with red candidates. Why do I know all this? I live smack bang in the middle of a pro red administrated village. If this is the Democracy you moronic red apologists want with another hastily delivered election, give me anything else, including Suthep's vision. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just1Voice Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 2 weeks ago, I was at the Chiangmai immigration to get thai passports for my family and this is the 3rd time that we went there. There were about 300+ people in the queue since 4am and we had no chance of getting it done. The inconvenience of the people who drove all the way from Lampang & Lampun is understandable, so those who are still blocking government offices in BKK should allow the civil service administration to work. Are in Chiang Mai passports issued at the immigration ? My own family always get their Thai-passports issued at the government-office centre, near the prison on the main ChiangMai-MaeRim road, about 3 km north of the Superhighway. Why anyone might go to Immigration, South of town near the airport, who deal with non-Thai passports, "to get thai passports" beats me ! Queues at Immigration can indeed be bad, the number of foreigners in the Chiang Mai area has risen greatly over the past decade, and we're told that recent requests to Bangkok for a bigger office have been turned-down, nothing to do with any short-term protests ! While I agree with your post in general, you are incorrect about one thing. They HAVE been approved for a new, bigger office near the main Government Office in Mae Rim, and have hired at least 13 new employees, and will be moving to the new office before the end of the year. I find that most of the people complaining about CNX Immigration are "newbies" who have moved here within the past year, and have zero idea of what it was like 5 years ago, and don't realize that CMN Immigration officials are some of the friendliest, and most helpful people you will find in ANY immigration office in Thailand. While they have been stuck in the same small office, with the same number of employees, their work load has tripled, if not more, over the past five years, and they sill treat people with smiles and friendly attitudes. My suggestion to those who complain about the Immigration office here is .... MOVE, cause you're a perpetual cry baby to start with. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casualbiker Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Some of you so called "educated" people crack me up. I say I saw a 20+ bus convoy on the highway leaving CNX and going towards Lampang, and you start "doing math" about how many people per bus, with wise remarks. And you automatically place me in the "Red Shirt Sheepl" category. Fact - I said I saw a 20+ bus convoy. Nothing more, nothing less. There may have been more that left earlier, there may have been some that left later, I don't know. But you "Sutheptas" want to take that and twist it 7 ways from Sunday. Fact - I am NOT a Red Shirt, Sheeple or otherwise. I agree with some of the farmer's grievances, but also know they have been totally screwed by PTP, and feel sorry for them. My wife , and most of her friends are Red Shirts, but NOT Thaksin supporters. Can you wrap your heads around that? Or are you so brain washed, or brain dead, that you automatically assume that every Red Shirt prays to Thaksin every night? You might try reading a post from someone for what it actually says, instead of your warped interpretation of what you want it to say. You post reference Red shirts (UDD) is EXACTLY why the non Thaksin affiliated grassroots (NON UDD) Thai people should create their own political party. Sent from my XT1032 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lite Beer Posted May 4, 2014 Author Share Posted May 4, 2014 Sub-district chiefs and village headmen gather in front of Interior Ministry BANGKOK, 4 May 2014 (NNT) - Sub-district chiefs and village headmen from many provinces on Sunday morning converged on the Ministry of Interior where anti-government protesters used to occupy. Only their representatives were allowed to enter the vacated ministry.The sub-district chiefs and village headmen arrived at the ministry early in the morning to reclaim it from the protesters of the State Enterprises Workers’ Relations Confederation and the People’s Democratic Reform Committee who had occupied the ministry for five months. Although the protesters had left since Saturday night, security officers stationed there strictly prohibited the sub-district chiefs and village headmen as well as any other groups to enter the ministry.Director-General of the Department of Provincial Administration Siriphong Hantrakul asked the sub-district chiefs and village headmen to back away from the barriers of police and military officers in front of the ministry and later allowed 80 representatives of them to enter the premises.Meanwhile, Interior Ministry Jaruphong Ruengsuwan assured the sub-district chiefs and village headmen that the protesters had already left the ministry since 9 PM on Saturday and that police and military officers would remain to safeguard the place. -- NNT 2014-05-04 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby nz Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 All arranged by the caretaker interior minister who wants his office back and more than likely paid for out of the interior ministry budget And all these elite big fish from the small puddles get uniforms it would seem. Probably get new medal ribbons for this. Bravery in the face of BKK traffic. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mango Bob Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 <script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script> All arranged by the caretaker interior minister who wants his office back and more than likely paid for out of the interior ministry budget And all these elite big fish from the small puddles get uniforms it would seem. Probably get new medal ribbons for this. Bravery in the face of BKK traffic. Where your proof or is this just more BS from you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antimedia Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 So the protesters are leaving the Interior Ministry. Smart move. They know the people are feed up with there blocking the public from doing business with the government. There numbers are getting smaller and they will need all they can get for the big one. Now the guards outnumber the protesters. Now I wonder how many of you farangs supports of Suthep will come out in force on D-Day or will you sit behind your computer cheering him on. Do you have a bad or selective memory or just empty space. Suthep is quoted as saying some time back that he would and will not place the protestors in a position of danger, that he rather they disperse. Unfortunately he cannot do anything about the violence against protesters at night by gutless, cowardly reds due to the red mafia policeforce refusing to assist.The most logical tactic now would be for Suthep and his group to pack up and head home and wait for the verdicts, Without the PDRC and the anti government protesters, who are the reds going to blame or set up as the aggressors when either or both of the verdicts go against Yingluck. Let them attempt to start trouble and the Army is on hand to step in. Suthep should take heed of Napoleon's quote; Never Interfere With an Enemy While He’s in the Process of Destroying Himself. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatsujin Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Let me get this straight . . . this group of protestors have arrived to protest against the other group of protestors who are no longer there? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoopyDoo Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Suthep will simply put them back with reinforcements. The police duped them by saying 80,000 were on their way to spill blood.. There were 200 and you can see it on TV right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Deerhunter Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Well, there must be something to it, as All Powerful Suthep has ordered all PDRC to abandon the Interior Ministry offices they have been occupying for the past few months, and return to Lampini Park, fearing "confrontation" with the village kamnan's. But how can that be, since Suthep represents "all the people". Oh wait, I forgot, these are from north of BKK city limits, so that means they are people, only buffaloes. He must be making room for them. You know 80.000 Kamnan in a bus isn't something to joke with . you don't know who are in the bus....the "self defense" red shirts, hired karen mercenaries? Hired street gangs on Ya Baa? I doubt the real Kamnans will come for fight.... We still don't know who are the cave men of the PDRC, but it's safe to say it's known who out in the colonies got on the motor coaches and who will get off them once they arrive at the imperial capital - local and very local leaders, that's who. You have evidence to the contrary or just the wild speculation of a PDRC imagination working overtime and which is staring into a blank rectangular box. The question pretty much answers itself. You guys need to know you can't detract from or deflect that these local leaders who are coming to the imperial capital are effective and are a significant force, and that this fact scares you guys very much. They are the local grassroots leaders and that frightens you. Perhaps they are local Rice-grass roots leaders coming to ask for last year's crop money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Deerhunter Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 (edited) So the protesters are leaving the Interior Ministry. Smart move. They know the people are feed up with there blocking the public from doing business with the government. There numbers are getting smaller and they will need all they can get for the big one. Now the guards outnumber the protesters. Now I wonder how many of you farangs supports of Suthep will come out in force on D-Day or will you sit behind your computer cheering him on. So, Bob, you will presumably be rallying with the THAI ROUGE on Monday too? Be careful where you put your feet. Their protest sites do not look as tidy as the PDRC ones. Edited May 4, 2014 by The Deerhunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueNoseCodger Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 There's only a few hundred there and they can clear Sutheps protestors, yet the army with 10,000 troops in Bangkok can't. Prayuth, get your act together! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeycountry Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 (edited) Haven't read the article, but cannot think of a single civilised country that has "village headmen". I can think of quite a few sub-saharan countries that do though. Thailand also compares better with those countries on an evolutionary scale. If you lived here and showed even the slightest interest in the culture you would realise just how ignorant you come across as. I don't know where you live, so can't say if I live "here", but the part of Thailand I live in does not seem to use village headmen much if at all. Instead it has governors and mayors, and uses a variety of government offices to take care of various matters between the public and the government.Do you have shamans, medicine men and fortune tellers where you live too? Anyway, it may be "culture" when a guy in a village realise he is slightly smarter than the average village idiot, and thereby manage to convince everyone that not only should they give him x percent of all the action, but they should also wai him when doing so, but it is not a good thing, hence I oppose and ridicule it. Not to mention that he gets paid to "convince" the village idiots who to vote for, but that is a separate matter already discussed elsewhere. If village headmen were such a good thing, then how come every single culture and society in the world that has them is a century or two behind everyone else? Honour killings and forced marriage is also a big part of certain cultures, yet I neither accept nor respect such practises, and reserve the right to oppose and ridicule such "culture" at all times. Edited May 4, 2014 by monkeycountry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Publicus Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 you don't know who are in the bus....the "self defense" red shirts, hired karen mercenaries? Hired street gangs on Ya Baa? I doubt the real Kamnans will come for fight.... We still don't know who are the cave men of the PDRC, but it's safe to say it's known who out in the colonies got on the motor coaches and who will get off them once they arrive at the imperial capital - local and very local leaders, that's who. You have evidence to the contrary or just the wild speculation of a PDRC imagination working overtime and which is staring into a blank rectangular box. The question pretty much answers itself. You guys need to know you can't detract from or deflect that these local leaders who are coming to the imperial capital are effective and are a significant force, and that this fact scares you guys very much. They are the local grassroots leaders and that frightens you. Perhaps they are local Rice-grass roots leaders coming to ask for last year's crop money. You're a day late and a dollar short in the matter of the rice farmers who came to the imperial capital from the lower North / upper central as I addressed this in an earlier post to this thread. The rice farmers that you referenced, who had come from the colonies for a few days to make their point then returned home, those folk, right?. The rice farmers were not going to allow Suthep or the ammart to exploit them in the campaign to overthrow the government. The rice farmers disappointed the whole lot of you when they made their point, went home directly and to stay home. The purpose and intent of the farmers was to protest and demonstrate normally, not to become the duped tool of the feudalist forces or to be exploited in a seizure of power by the Bangkok ammart. The 'urban villagers' of the broad arc of the Thai North, from Myanmar to Laos to Cambodia, are politically aware and knowledgeable, and their political maturity is a vital development the elites of the imperial capital have missed completely. So your guys Suthep and the cave man PDRC got busted on that one. Now come a gathering of their local leaders to bust your guys further and again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangrel Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 (edited) you automatically assume that every Red Shirt prays to Thaksin every night?I doubt posters believe that every red shirt prays to thaksin, but in your rant against extreme views, it'd be good to ratchet down the hyperbole.As for red shirts and thaksin, they are inextricably linked. If there are red shirts that are supposedly not pro-thaksin, then they need to denounce him and remove him from their explicit association. He is the overwhelmingly dominant image. Until such time as that changes, and perhaps unfortunately for the few purported anti thaksin red shirts, thaksin equates to red shirts and vice versa. . Edited May 4, 2014 by gangrel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangrel Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Given the VERY strong relationship that exists between the Interior ministry and the "village headmen" I would not be surprised to see a good turnout. If the occupation has impacted on the operation of the department then I could understand why the "headmen" are p-ssed off. If you have never thought about the relationship then this would be a good time to do so You could also think about why the PTP is opposed to breaking this arrangement down by handing over certain function to the provinces. Fair enough. However, I shudder to consider the impact it would have on containing corruption. In the zone of corruption (Phuket-Surat Thani-Krabi-Nahkon Si Thammarat) the format acts as a block to even greater corruption. There is too close a relationship between various entities in Surat Thani and Phuket. The large influence of tourism and the monies it generates fuels rampant corruption. I wish I had a constructive solution to the problem, but the situation is so bad, I believe the only thing that would help would be a receivership type of governing with all government, police and judiciary officials sacked. Now the South is the zone of corruption? Yes it is. Corruption is found where the largest amounts of disposable wealth are located. The tourism industry provides billions of baht in the key tourism geographic zones. Pattaya is one place, but it is small compared to Phuket/Krabi/Koh Samui. Nonsense speculation without a shred of definitive corroboration or statistical validation that only reveals the poster's extremely limited exposure to areas outside tourism areas of Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangrel Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Sub-district chiefs and village headmen gather in front of Interior Ministry ] Looks a few shy of 80,000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morch Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 <script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script> If these IGNORANT UNEDUCATED people who profess to be the doyens of a village, think they will force change let THAILAND reap what it sows and let the country again vote for the PTP. Let the people get what they think they are voting for. Let the country run a mock an go down the gurgler. Let their THAINESS attitudes of "we are always right" and "don't tell us what to do", sort their issues and when tourists don't come because they have found better destinations and when we as the foreigners bringing in most of their exchange reserves leave, let them all go back to climbing coconut palms. Lets face it, it is ok but there are MANY options just across all the borders now. The border is open so go for it. They don't need people like you here with your uneducated states about people who work hard to provide rice for Suthep masses. Your kind of attitude is not needed here. Suthep got masses on his side now? Didn't realize the proverbial six grannies on wheelchairs eat that much rice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morch Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Given the VERY strong relationship that exists between the Interior ministry and the "village headmen" I would not be surprised to see a good turnout. If the occupation has impacted on the operation of the department then I could understand why the "headmen" are p-ssed off. If you have never thought about the relationship then this would be a good time to do so You could also think about why the PTP is opposed to breaking this arrangement down by handing over certain function to the provinces. Fair enough. However, I shudder to consider the impact it would have on containing corruption. In the zone of corruption (Phuket-Surat Thani-Krabi-Nahkon Si Thammarat) the format acts as a block to even greater corruption. There is too close a relationship between various entities in Surat Thani and Phuket. The large influence of tourism and the monies it generates fuels rampant corruption. I wish I had a constructive solution to the problem, but the situation is so bad, I believe the only thing that would help would be a receivership type of governing with all government, police and judiciary officials sacked. Now the South is the zone of corruption? Yes it is. Corruption is found where the largest amounts of disposable wealth are located. The tourism industry provides billions of baht in the key tourism geographic zones. Pattaya is one place, but it is small compared to Phuket/Krabi/Koh Samui. The opportunities are significantly higher when real estate development, and the service sector is as large as it is in this area. Chiang Mai has its corruption too, but it is harder to make the large amounts from crime when there isn't an entertainment scene as there is in Phuket. Small bars and hotels provide an excellent environment for protection rackets and special operating fees as well as money laundering. For example, there aren't any beaches in Chiang Mai so there are no jet ski scams with the involvement of the local police. Chiang Mai is more compact than Phuket so taxi/tuk tuk cartels can flourish as they do on Phuket. Koh Samui is dependent upon the tourism sector and as a result, the criminal activity that accompanies such a business sector is more pronounced. If Udon Thani was the tourism hub of Thailand, the corruption would be much worse than it is now. Because of its geography it's easier to be corrupt in the southern tourist zones. Where is the hub of human trafficking? Around the Phuket and Nahkon Si Thammarat region. If Surin was an easier place to smuggle people into Malaysia, the problem would be there, but it isn't. With all due respect to jet ski scams, taxi/tuk tuk mafias, bar protection rackets, I still think there's more corruption money in real estate, government contracts (seem to recall you mentioning ministry of public health and big pharma lately?), finance, inside trading, infrastructure mega projects, concessions, drugs and the like. Might be more visible in the South, though, as you say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morch Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 There's only a few hundred there and they can clear Sutheps protestors, yet the army with 10,000 troops in Bangkok can't. Prayuth, get your act together! The Army was not charged with clearing the protestors. No act to get together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outsider Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 A few things in Thailand are useless, did not contribute any good to the people, is against the law and a crime, Khun Pooyaibaan. What are you doing about them, oh wise one? You just got a call from Dubai didn't ya, you sneaky little red soot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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