Prayuth must not forget what Thais want

[rubl]

Can't help but think elections, referendums and freedom of speech could help him a little bit here

Can't help but think that those who dislike the NCPO might be unpleasantly surprised.

Don't lose your head over this, Robespierre

[gemini81]

They want facebook, instagram, sleep, sex and white whisky. Remember the priorities here!!

[ttthailand]

I lived up country for years and although everyone seemed to respect people with money they would make comments about how these people got their money and that most were corrupt. They loved it when someone in a high position or had big money was knocked down a few levels. I guess partly because they were jealous.

If the junta continues their fight against corruption and normal working class Thais see these big wigs getting busted and prosecuted they will all get on the bandwagon.

Once the ball is rolling it will be difficult to stop. A year down the road elections can then be held and perhaps an honest man or woman will continue with the will of the people....

Dreaming perhaps but we are on the right path for once....

[lvr181]

Can't help but think elections, referendums and freedom of speech could help him a little bit here

That will happen in due course but in the meantime take the opportunity to learn and be come educated in order to make BETTER choices in future.

Well yes, I really do think that it might be the case, if we have an election pretty soon, and if Abhisit and the Democrats were to not run, then, the junta are likely to get more votes than Thaksin.

Remember, you don't need a majority (more than 50%) of votes cast, you just need to get more votes than who ever came second. And freedom of speech, it's important, and a load of Thaksinites and a load of people supporting the junta, these people going on about how great their team is, nobody thinks this is damaging.

As for "That will happen in due course but in the meantime take the opportunity to learn and be come educated in order to make BETTER choices in future", well, surely, most people in most countries do feel "we want our freedom and right to choose NOW, we're not in favour of the system giving us the freedom of choice in about five or ten years time, because THEY want to spend five/ten years trying to educate us to make the right choice, because THEY reckon that we might be making the wrong choice if we do it pretty soon".

How would it have looked in South Africa, back in the 90s, if they had of said, "we're not going to have a vote pretty soon, we will have it in ten years time, that gives you lot time to learn more, that way, you will be voting for the good and correct ideas, and not ideas that damage our country".

Is the timetable for 5 or 10 years before free elections?

I know many Thai who are NOT unhappy with Prayuth, so long as he is making an effort to get rid of or make negligible the rampant corruption that Thai society has had to operate with.

[tonbridgebrit]

Can't help but think elections, referendums and freedom of speech could help him a little bit here

That will happen in due course but in the meantime take the opportunity to learn and be come educated in order to make BETTER choices in future.

Well yes, I really do think that it might be the case, if we have an election pretty soon, and if Abhisit and the Democrats were to not run, then, the junta are likely to get more votes than Thaksin.

Remember, you don't need a majority (more than 50%) of votes cast, you just need to get more votes than who ever came second. And freedom of speech, it's important, and a load of Thaksinites and a load of people supporting the junta, these people going on about how great their team is, nobody thinks this is damaging.

As for "That will happen in due course but in the meantime take the opportunity to learn and be come educated in order to make BETTER choices in future", well, surely, most people in most countries do feel "we want our freedom and right to choose NOW, we're not in favour of the system giving us the freedom of choice in about five or ten years time, because THEY want to spend five/ten years trying to educate us to make the right choice, because THEY reckon that we might be making the wrong choice if we do it pretty soon".

How would it have looked in South Africa, back in the 90s, if they had of said, "we're not going to have a vote pretty soon, we will have it in ten years time, that gives you lot time to learn more, that way, you will be voting for the good and correct ideas, and not ideas that damage our country".

Is the timetable for 5 or 10 years before free elections?

I know many Thai who are NOT unhappy with Prayuth, so long as he is making an effort to get rid of or make negligible the rampant corruption that Thai society has had to operate with.

Well, yes, let's have a vote, and once the vote has been done, then, then the junta can say "we are not a junta, we are democratically elected".

And once that happens, Thailand will be back in America and Europe's good books. And then, Thailand can play of the "West" with China, Thailand can go back to getting benefits from both West and East !

[Thanet]

Can't help but think elections, referendums and freedom of speech could help him a little bit here

Can't help but think that those who dislike the NCPO might be unpleasantly surprised.

Don't lose your head over this, Robespierre

You are absolutely right that the NCPO will try to make its detractors feel unpleasantly surprised. Any news that would make us feel pleasantly surprised will be censored out.

Keep watching the Friday Prayers.

[rubl]

Can't help but think elections, referendums and freedom of speech could help him a little bit here

Can't help but think that those who dislike the NCPO might be unpleasantly surprised.

Don't lose your head over this, Robespierre

You are absolutely right that the NCPO will try to make its detractors feel unpleasantly surprised. Any news that would make us feel pleasantly surprised will be censored out.

Keep watching the Friday Prayers.

The NCPO tries whatever is in its power to help Thai be happy, so "Any news that would make us feel pleasantly surprised" will certainly NOT be censored out. Maybe we are talking cross-purposes here

[mikemac]

Can't help but think elections, referendums and freedom of speech could help him a little bit here

That will happen in due course but in the meantime take the opportunity to learn and be come educated in order to make BETTER choices in future.

Well yes, I really do think that it might be the case, if we have an election pretty soon, and if Abhisit and the Democrats were to not run, then, the junta are likely to get more votes than Thaksin.

Remember, you don't need a majority (more than 50%) of votes cast, you just need to get more votes than who ever came second. And freedom of speech, it's important, and a load of Thaksinites and a load of people supporting the junta, these people going on about how great their team is, nobody thinks this is damaging.

As for "That will happen in due course but in the meantime take the opportunity to learn and be come educated in order to make BETTER choices in future", well, surely, most people in most countries do feel "we want our freedom and right to choose NOW, we're not in favour of the system giving us the freedom of choice in about five or ten years time, because THEY want to spend five/ten years trying to educate us to make the right choice, because THEY reckon that we might be making the wrong choice if we do it pretty soon".

How would it have looked in South Africa, back in the 90s, if they had of said, "we're not going to have a vote pretty soon, we will have it in ten years time, that gives you lot time to learn more, that way, you will be voting for the good and correct ideas, and not ideas that damage our country".

What the country needs are Shin regime - free elections, ie. elections in which no party is controlled by the Duke of Dubai, nobody in the party has been tainted by this evil regime, and definitely no members of that criminal organization are members of that party.

Have a look at the Shinawatra family rap sheet, their long and sorrowful criminal history and you will see why they should not be allowed to get involved in Thai politics.

A disgraceful family who are supported by red shirted paid criminals, sleazy Thai opportunists, and dimwitted farangs, most of whom are either paid to support them or just lowlife trolls.

[tbthailand]

Can't help but think elections, referendums and freedom of speech could help him a little bit here

he recently said people should just stop talking about elections and democracy. He didn't understand why they do that. His words, not mine.

[chotthee]

The Thai people wants General Prayuth to be Thailand Prime Minister forever and ever.

This is true. Go check his poll rating.

[KevinB]

Not at all sure in which country some of the posters live in - all though, if you do live in Thailand you appear to be very disconnected from what is happening in many parts of the country. Or maybe you don't ask what is going on in your neighbourhood or on your little island. Just near the service station where I fill up in Bangkok there used to be an "informal settlement" of sorts between the wall of a factory and the side road of the main highway out of town. I noticed a month ago that a front-end loader had come along and smashed it down. I asked who had done it and was told the Army had authorised it because in was illegal - I dug a bit further and found that previously person "responsible" for the houses had a relative in the local area council but now the factory owner had paid someone in the Military command responsible for the area to clear "the eye-sore away". What do you think the recent demos at the boarder were about? - the day traders were complaining that the "daily charge" paid that to local officials were sudden increased by the new military men in charge in the area. In the "old days" there were streams of people heading to District and Provincial offices with brown envelopes now they head for the Regimental Barracks.

Many posters all assume that officials under the Taksin regimes (and do remember they had quite a long tenure in office despite the 2006 coup and the Democrat Party led parliamentary putsch) were all devilish demons ripping all the folk off and that all the new military men are now as fresh as driven snow. They are not!!!! - they are just good ole ordinary Thais with families and relatives needing the occasional bit of help (mainly money) with a problem (if there a single farang living here who hasn't experienced that from their gfs, in-laws, extended family or work colleagues then I'll be amazed). So what the Thais really want an end to - petty corruption is not the Generals to give because even if you'd like to believe he is a scrupulously honest man who won't make a baht out of this exercise - he is not in every Regimental Headquarters or that out lying military post that has just become the new Control point of that little bit of the rural economy.

Centralised and Autocratic control won't end corruption because the minions do the stealing. Many posters would like to see Yingluk fully blamed for the rice scam but the real folk involved were junior officials, warehouse owners, rice traders, simple security guards and people reading the scales on the weighbridge. Military rule won't end this - privates will collect envelopes for their sergeants and captains will collect for their generals. I can just see the new Military person appointed as a Board member of a State Corporation turning down a pre-paid night out on the town in Seoul or a direct "gift" from a Korean Construction Company that has just been awarded a big Government Contract.

Wake up some of you - a new Boss doesn't change a country - corruption didn't start with the Shiniwhats. Who do you think turned a blind eye to illegal logging back in the 70s (when most the forest damage was done) and who do you think watched and benefitted from the Golden Triangle in its hay day????

[lvr181]

Not at all sure in which country some of the posters live in - all though, if you do live in Thailand you appear to be very disconnected from what is happening in many parts of the country. Or maybe you don't ask what is going on in your neighbourhood or on your little island. Just near the service station where I fill up in Bangkok there used to be an "informal settlement" of sorts between the wall of a factory and the side road of the main highway out of town. I noticed a month ago that a front-end loader had come along and smashed it down. I asked who had done it and was told the Army had authorised it because in was illegal - I dug a bit further and found that previously person "responsible" for the houses had a relative in the local area council but now the factory owner had paid someone in the Military command responsible for the area to clear "the eye-sore away". What do you think the recent demos at the boarder were about? - the day traders were complaining that the "daily charge" paid that to local officials were sudden increased by the new military men in charge in the area. In the "old days" there were streams of people heading to District and Provincial offices with brown envelopes now they head for the Regimental Barracks.

Many posters all assume that officials under the Taksin regimes (and do remember they had quite a long tenure in office despite the 2006 coup and the Democrat Party led parliamentary putsch) were all devilish demons ripping all the folk off and that all the new military men are now as fresh as driven snow. They are not!!!! - they are just good ole ordinary Thais with families and relatives needing the occasional bit of help (mainly money) with a problem (if there a single farang living here who hasn't experienced that from their gfs, in-laws, extended family or work colleagues then I'll be amazed). So what the Thais really want an end to - petty corruption is not the Generals to give because even if you'd like to believe he is a scrupulously honest man who won't make a baht out of this exercise - he is not in every Regimental Headquarters or that out lying military post that has just become the new Control point of that little bit of the rural economy.

Centralised and Autocratic control won't end corruption because the minions do the stealing. Many posters would like to see Yingluk fully blamed for the rice scam but the real folk involved were junior officials, warehouse owners, rice traders, simple security guards and people reading the scales on the weighbridge. Military rule won't end this - privates will collect envelopes for their sergeants and captains will collect for their generals. I can just see the new Military person appointed as a Board member of a State Corporation turning down a pre-paid night out on the town in Seoul or a direct "gift" from a Korean Construction Company that has just been awarded a big Government Contract.

Wake up some of you - a new Boss doesn't change a country - corruption didn't start with the Shiniwhats. Who do you think turned a blind eye to illegal logging back in the 70s (when most the forest damage was done) and who do you think watched and benefitted from the Golden Triangle in its hay day????

Wow! That's putting it right out there. Will be interesting to read the replies.