Listen To What The People Say, Thaksin

[george]

Listen to what the people say, Thaksin

BANGKOK: -- Judging from the latest Nation poll, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra should think carefully before planning to come home.

The Nation website asked almost 1,400 people when he should return to Thailand.

Sixty-three per cent said "never", while about 20 per cent went for "now". The rest were slightly kinder, and said it would be okay for him to return after martial law is lifted. Maybe these people have something interesting planned.

--The Nation 2006-10-20

[britmaveric]

Well obviously taken in BKK, expect opposite in CM.

[bkkandrew]

Listen to what the people say, Thaksin

BANGKOK: -- Judging from the latest Nation poll, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra should think carefully before planning to come home.

The Nation website asked almost 1,400 people when he should return to Thailand.

Sixty-three per cent said "never", while about 20 per cent went for "now". The rest were slightly kinder, and said it would be okay for him to return after martial law is lifted. Maybe these people have something interesting planned.

--The Nation 2006-10-20

My only cautionary point about this statistic is how few Isaan households have Internet access and therefore can subscribe to such a poll..

[mikeybee]

so who now's where he is now....? the truth if enbody now's

[cclub75]

It's a pitty from Nation...

1400 voters on their website...

And such grandiloquence ("Listen to what the people say, Thaksin"), I mean it's pathetic.

[lukamar]

My only cautionary point about this statistic is how few Isaan households have Internet access and therefore can subscribe to such a poll..

And how many in Issan read and write English or would bother with the views of the Nation in the first place. This poll was conducted in a very small microcosm of English speakers and is about as accurate nationwide as tossing a coin and reporting on the result.

[Neeranam]

QUOTE(bkkandrew @ 2006-10-20 02:58:14)

My only cautionary point about this statistic is how few Isaan households have Internet access and therefore can subscribe to such a poll..

And how many in Issan read and write English or would bother with the views of the Nation in the first place. This poll was conducted in a very small microcosm of English speakers and is about as accurate nationwide as tossing a coin and reporting on the result

I think you'd be surprised with the number with internet - English speakers, I agree.

Isaan is not all rice farmers anymore.

[sriracha john]

Just about any poll conducted by any organization on any topic and conducted anywhere in Thailand isn't worth the paper it's printed on... whether it's the pro-Thaksin babbling polls conducted pre-office-throwing-out or post-office-throwing-out polls.

Edited October 19, 2006 by sriracha john

[isaanbrit]

QUOTE(bkkandrew @ 2006-10-20 02:58:14)

My only cautionary point about this statistic is how few Isaan households have Internet access and therefore can subscribe to such a poll..

And how many in Issan read and write English or would bother with the views of the Nation in the first place. This poll was conducted in a very small microcosm of English speakers and is about as accurate nationwide as tossing a coin and reporting on the result

I think you'd be surprised with the number with internet - English speakers, I agree.

Isaan is not all rice farmers anymore.

True that - Question; how do we know that this survey was conduted by the English part of the nation, doesn't the Nation have a Thai publication too ???

[Meerkat]

Just about any poll conducted by any organization on any topic and conducted anywhere in Thailand isn't worth the paper it's printed on... whether it's the pro-Thaksin babbling polls conducted pre-office-throwing-out or post-office-throwing-out polls.

Excellent point, and I'll expand upon it:

Just about any poll conducted by any organization on any topic and conducted anywhere in the World isn't worth the paper it's printed on.

You can get any answer you want from a poll depending on who you ask, and how you phrase the questions.

[Pattaya_Fox]

Just the figures that the new government would like to see published.....I wonder how many farmers were involved in the poll?

[Old Man River]

My only cautionary point about this statistic is how few Isaan households have Internet access and therefore can subscribe to such a poll..

And how many in Issan read and write English or would bother with the views of the Nation in the first place. This poll was conducted in a very small microcosm of English speakers and is about as accurate nationwide as tossing a coin and reporting on the result.

Luk, you're upcountry. What is the mood like? I was somewhat surprised that immediately following the coup the polls taken showed an overwhelming support for the coup, even those upcountry. Today, it was put in the newspaper that sales of the 212 page comic book depicting Dr.Thaksin as a hero of the people, were flat. Of course, after only two days, it is a bit premature to draw conclusions. In addition, The Nation poll has holes, as we know.

While we will probably continue to disagree, given our different frames of reference, I am interested to know how the CNS's efforts for national reconciliation are going upcountry. Any comments?

[wolf5370]

so who know's where he is now....? the truth if anybody know's

Yep, he's in Kensington, London. Don't think its a secret.

[plachon]

If the poll was conducted in an unbiased way across a fair cross-section of the population and asked the question "Would you like to see Thaksin return to Thailand?", I would imagine that the majority would say "lao daer" (i.e. it depends). However, Isaan and northern villagers if pressed, would no doubt want a speedy return of their hero, whilst ordinary southerners and Bangkokians would mostly say he should wait a long, long time before coming back and I'm not sure about the affiliations of Central villagers these days. Do they support the Banharn and Sanoh-led pollies who are generally glad to see the back of Thaksin, or do they see Mr T in a good light? Middle class everywhere, with a few exceptions like TRT stalwarts and a few karachagan, would like the ex-PM to be scarce until there's a new elected govt. installed, but there may be a tiny minority who think that he should come back quickly, be arrested and tried in court for his crimes. But they are tiny in numbers..............

[sriracha john]

Look!.... Up In The Sky!..... It's A Bird!!.... It's A Plane!!!....

IT'S THAKSIN MAN!!!

Thaksin Man back to beat poverty

New comic portrays former PM as hero of the poor, but sales fall flat

Like it or not, a comic book with ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra as a hero for the poor is hitting bookshelves across the country.

In the 212-page comic, "Thaksin's Life", ends with the clear hope that the former premier will return one day to resume his unfinished mission - to help the poor.

The book is sold for Bt150. Some 5,000 copies have been printed, but sales to date have been rather flat.

"It has been on sale for days, but its response is not so good," comic-book author Posatorn Butranan said.

Posatorn said she wrote the book because of her admiration for Thaksin. She also hoped against hope that pro-Thaksin people would buy her book.

A cartoonist helped turned Posatorn's stories into the comic book.

"Thaksin's Life" comic book chronicles the life of 57-year-old Thaksin, a tycoon-turned-politician, until his dramatic fall from power in the bloodless coup on September 19. Currently, Thaksin is living in self-imposed exile in London.

"Thaksin's mission to help the poor people is not over," a grandfather tells his grandson in the book.

"I believe this hero for the poor will not leave the poor behind. I believe he will come back," the old man says when the young boy asks if Thaksin would ever come back as prime minister again.

One of the nine chapters tells how Thaksin, one of Thailand's richest men, lifted poor farmers out of poverty by injecting money into the rural economy with a government loan scheme.

Thaksin was well liked in the North and Northeast thanks to populist policies such as the health scheme that allows every Thai to receive medical treatment for just Bt30 per visit.

"For the rich people, my populist policies mean very little, but for the poor, they mean a lot," Thaksin says in the comic book.

During Thaksin's five-year rule the annual income of farmers, who account for roughly 60 per cent of Thailand's 64 million population, jumped more than 60 per cent to Bt52,320 on average.

But in contrast to his solid support in rural Thailand, Bangkok was the scene of months of mass anti-Thaksin protests earlier this year over alleged corruption and abuse of power - controversies that eventually led to last month's coup.

The Nation

[asd]

Thaksin could return to Thailand but may face trial.

[britmaveric]

Thaksin could return to Thailand but may face trial.

Wishful thinking.

[Unknown]

Wishful thinking.

Right, he'll come back sooner or later and a trial is sure something that will never happen...

[sriracha john]

The April elections nullified...

Thaksin resigning...

Just two examples this year of "wishful thinking" that would "never happen"....

but yet they did.

[isaanbrit]

During Thaksin's five-year rule the annual income of farmers, who account for roughly 60 per cent of Thailand's 64 million population, jumped more than 60 per cent to Bt52,320 on average.

Who can argue with that? He increased 60% of the country's wealth by 60% - is that not a FACT???

I do agree that Taksin's time as PM has definitely come to an end, and it's a shame he didnt step down sonner but we cannot forget that - HE DID DO GOOD FOR THAILAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everyone's major complaint is that he ran the country like a business - well what the hel_l is running a country like??? You have to have a good understanding of finances, human resources, public relations, even marketing (trade with other countries) Taksin can do all of these things. I just hope that the next guy (after Suruyad) can too. Its all very well having a PM that isnt corrupt if he doesnt have a diddly squat clue how to run a country.

[kmart]

Thaksin could come back tomorrow and people would prostrate themselves on the floor to him. A lot of the locals would wai the devil himself if he climbed out of a black Mercedes.

The Nation is a typical, smug "Bangkok-centric" edifice that kids itself and its readers that they live in a uniformly-developed country, as opposed to a cosmopolitan capital city only.

[sriracha john]

During Thaksin's five-year rule the annual income of farmers, who account for roughly 60 per cent of Thailand's 64 million population, jumped more than 60 per cent to Bt52,320 on average.

Who can argue with that? He increased 60% of the country's wealth by 60% - is that not a FACT???

I do agree that Taksin's time as PM has definitely come to an end, and it's a shame he didnt step down sonner but we cannot forget that - HE DID DO GOOD FOR THAILAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As is commonly done in Thailand, however, is the omission of the other side of the coin. How much bigger are farmer's debt than previously? It's one step forward (increased income) and two steps back (increased debt).

It's very akin to the former administration's focus on exports. They proudly and loudly proclaimed an 18% increase in exports one month... and then the next day, revealed (with much less publicity and fanfare) that imports had increased 32%. End result: a trade deficit in the billions.

For ANY developing country like Thailand to have ANY trade deficit is just absurd.

While I tacitly agree that Thaksin "did do good for Thailand"... he did FAR more harm than good.

Edited October 21, 2006 by sriracha john

[lukamar]

Luk, you're upcountry. What is the mood like? I was somewhat surprised that immediately following the coup the polls taken showed an overwhelming support for the coup, even those upcountry. Today, it was put in the newspaper that sales of the 212 page comic book depicting Dr.Thaksin as a hero of the people, were flat. Of course, after only two days, it is a bit premature to draw conclusions. In addition, The Nation poll has holes, as we know.

While we will probably continue to disagree, given our different frames of reference, I am interested to know how the CNS's efforts for national reconciliation are going upcountry. Any comments?

OMRiver.... It's very hard to get a real grasp on what people are thinking and doing at least the ones I've talked to in Chiang Rai and Phayao. It's a bit like a card game where everyone (Thai) is holding their cards close to their chest and you sort of have to guess what their next move will be. I know my father-in-laws politics well and what he says in public is not close to what he's thinking or doing and he's probably a good example. There is a pro TRT and Pro Thaksin bent in those 2 areas and not many who are pro Junta no matter what people will tell you to your face.

From the way the Junta is trying to woo the north and north-easterners you get the distinct feeling that the junta does not feel they have much control of the area and that if Thaksin just arrived back on the scene they would have absolutely none. A lot of northern people look at Thaksin as having "covered the back of their Buddha with gold leaf" and it may take generations to change their mind.

As for the comic sales who knows. I remember reading the price somewhere and i thought it was a bit high, the sum 150Bt rings a bell. If you are a farmer making about 4000Bt a month do you buy a comic book, put food on the table or buy a new school uniform, I know what I would spend my money on.

It took Thaksin years to build up his network and make the people feel like he was one of them and it's going to take longer than a year, if ever, for a Bangkok boy, no matter how non-corruptible, to pull it off.

[sriracha john]

The cover of the comically ridiculous comic book:

[isaanbrit]

As is commonly done in Thailand, however, is the omission of the other side of the coin. How much bigger are farmer's debt than previously? It's one step forward (increased income) and two steps back (increased debt).

It's very akin to the former administration's focus on exports. They proudly and loudly proclaimed an 18% increase in exports one month... and then the next day, revealed (with much less publicity and fanfare) that imports had increased 32%. End result: a trade deficit in the billions.

For ANY developing country like Thailand to have ANY trade deficit is just absurd.

While I tacitly agree that Thaksin "did do good for Thailand"... he did FAR more harm than good.

Yeah - but people being in Debt has proven to be a good thing for the economics of the country. While I despise debt, I am not and never will be in any debt (because houses in Thailand are so relatively cheap), developed countries all thrive on people being in debt. Therefore you cannot say that it is a bad thing for a countires population to be in debt. If Thailand wants to develop (which seems to be what they want) then it is ridiculous to think that thai people shoudnt have to live with debt just as we do back in the UK!!! Debt = development

[sriracha john]

A reader in Bangkok displays inside pages of a comic book titled "Thaksin's Life" which chronicles the life of ousted Thai Premier Thaksin Shinawatra, a self-made billionaire-turned-politician-turned-blood-sucking-leech, until his dramatic fall from power in the 19 September 2006 bloodless coup.

(AFP)

Looks like from the picture on the right, he's drumming up that old lie again about how "poor" he was growing up.

Heck, I know sales of this book are almost abysmal as Thai Elite cards... perhaps I'll help out and get one of these comics for its comedic value.

Edited October 24, 2006 by sriracha john

[sriracha john]

Just perused through a copy of this joke book while browsing through the store... It's great for a laugh.

With apologies to the author of this fictional account passed off as the supposed truth, I decided not to buy it.

Edited October 26, 2006 by sriracha john

[Old Man River]

As is commonly done in Thailand, however, is the omission of the other side of the coin. How much bigger are farmer's debt than previously? It's one step forward (increased income) and two steps back (increased debt).

It's very akin to the former administration's focus on exports. They proudly and loudly proclaimed an 18% increase in exports one month... and then the next day, revealed (with much less publicity and fanfare) that imports had increased 32%. End result: a trade deficit in the billions.

For ANY developing country like Thailand to have ANY trade deficit is just absurd.

While I tacitly agree that Thaksin "did do good for Thailand"... he did FAR more harm than good.

Yeah - but people being in Debt has proven to be a good thing for the economics of the country. While I despise debt, I am not and never will be in any debt (because houses in Thailand are so relatively cheap), developed countries all thrive on people being in debt. Therefore you cannot say that it is a bad thing for a countires population to be in debt. If Thailand wants to develop (which seems to be what they want) then it is ridiculous to think that thai people shoudnt have to live with debt just as we do back in the UK!!! Debt = development

Actually, it is not debt per se, but rather consumer spending that spurs development. While borrowing normally means increased consumer spending, borrowing beyond one's capacity to repay greatly increases risk for the economy. Countries like the UK control the amount of debt consumers can take on by strict underwriting standards. In Thailand, these were relaxed by the previous government so the country could continue to show strong growth. Much of the debt increase has come from unsecured credit cards, with the proceeds used to buy mobile phones and either put down payments on or lease motorcycles. The BOT is worried that if income upcountry is adversely affected (floods, drops in tourism etc), it could lead to widespread defaults.

[Briggsy]

Just about any poll conducted by any organization on any topic and conducted anywhere in Thailand isn't worth the paper it's printed on... whether it's the pro-Thaksin babbling polls conducted pre-office-throwing-out or post-office-throwing-out polls.

[]

Right, he'll come back sooner or later and a trial is sure something that will never happen...

Spot on, the pair of you.

[kmart]

The comic book is about right. Does it come with crayons supplied?