Forcing politicians to pick up the tab should make populism less popular

[webfact]

BURNING ISSUE

Forcing politicians to pick up the tab should make populism less popular

Nophakhun Limsamarnphun
The Nation

 

Prayut

 

BANGKOK: -- The Prayut government has set a precedent in seeking massive compensation from elected politicians found guilty of negligence in their duties under the state officials’ civil liability law.

 

Former premier Yingluck Shinawatra is now the highest-profile defendant accused of violating this law, which was enacted in 1996. According to deputy premier Wissanu Krea-ngam, Yingluck ignored written warnings from the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) twice over the implementation of the policy between 2012 and 2014.

In other words, the problem was not the policy itself, but its implementation and supervision.

 

Full story: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Forcing-politicians-to-pick-up-the-tab-should-make-30296352.html

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2016-09-28

[Thechook]

  "ELECTED POLITICIANS" found guilty of negligence in their duties.

 

I guess that exonerates Prayuth and his gang then.

[trogers]

Did she not claimed sole responsibility in Parliament?

[NongKhaiKid]

Let's slip into the Twilight Zone for a moment and imagine elections actually happen and a certain party takes power, do members of the junta ever think about it being payback time as their self-imposed amnesty is overturned ?

Perhaps of course they feel sure their pals in the military will not allow them to have to face any reckoning and the merry-go-round starts all over again.

[taichiplanet]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

the problem was not the policy itself, but its implementation and supervision

about sums up everything in Thailand!

[JAG]

3 minutes ago, NongKhaiKid said:

Let's slip into the Twilight Zone for a moment and imagine elections actually happen and a certain party takes power, do members of the junta ever think about it being payback time as their self-imposed amnesty is overturned ?

Perhaps of course they feel sure their pals in the military will not allow them to have to face any reckoning and the merry-go-round starts all over again.

That is exactly why I very much doubt that there will be any elections, in any meaningful sense.

 

This government will not end as a result of an election...

[NongKhaiKid]

1 hour ago, JAG said:

That is exactly why I very much doubt that there will be any elections, in any meaningful sense.

 

This government will not end as a result of an election...

Here's a thought, the PM sets up his own political party and transfers all his current powers to himself and his new ' civilian ' govt so see, the military aren't running the country.

Elections, well those can be held whenever the country is ready.     

[halloween]

19 minutes ago, NongKhaiKid said:

Here's a thought, the PM sets up his own political party and transfers all his current powers to himself and his new ' civilian ' govt so see, the military aren't running the country.

Elections, well those can be held whenever the country is ready.     

 

Be careful what you wish for...... you might get it. It would seem many Thais are far from dissatisfied with this government.

[mtls2005]

Of course the next PM will not be "elected", nor will he be a "politician". How convenient.

 

So did the NCPO grant themselves lifetime amnesty? Or does it expire at some point in the distant future? Does it extend to family members? Can it be inherited?

[halloween]

4 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

Of course the next PM will not be "elected", nor will he be a "politician". How convenient.

 

So did the NCPO grant themselves lifetime amnesty? Or does it expire at some point in the distant future? Does it extend to family members? Can it be inherited?

Inherited amnesty is an interesting concept. I have only seen symptoms in one case, a young Thai man named Oaf (or something similar) who regularly gets mentioned in criminal investigations but never prosecuted.

[mtls2005]

The pump a lot of money into the education system here, ~ 6% GDP, with less than stellar results based on testing results.

 

I wonder if there will be an attempt to recover money spent on Education owing to mismanagement and malfeasance? From the previous government of course.

[worgeordie]

Populist policies,are only vote buying,using the voters 

own money,the trouble is the voters do not realize that.

regards  worgeordie

[Ulic]

The populist policy is not the issue. It is the prevision on the rice pledging scheme and peoples (politicians)

corrupt actions to benefit themselves. Lack of proper oversight and theft on a massive scale.

[mike324]

2 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

The pump a lot of money into the education system here, ~ 6% GDP, with less than stellar results based on testing results.

 

I wonder if there will be an attempt to recover money spent on Education owing to mismanagement and malfeasance? From the previous government of course.

 

yup, thailand has one of the highest education budgets around the world ...sad fate

[williamgeorgeallen]

give yourself an amnesty and then make everyone else accountable. ying luck will be wishing she gave herself an amnesty before being booted. she will be wishing she got out of thailand shortly if she does not get out soon.

[williamgeorgeallen]

1 minute ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

 

I think that will be true for a great many people, not only Yingluck and not only politicians.

 

Dark days ahead.

have said this before but it is a good idea to be thinking about an exit strategy. a few bombs here and there will be enough to keep delaying elections for a while but that can not last for ever. i dont want to be a negative nancy but good to have contingency plans. that means little things like having your families passports up to date.

[Thechook]

20 minutes ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

Today the military junta have forcibly cancelled an Amnesty International forum on torture and abuse stating the presenters who are all foreign nationals do not have work permits.

 

Apparently the report was damning of the junta and highlights alleged abuse and torture by the Thai military in the South.

 

Amnesty have vowed to release the report anyway.

Where is djjamie when the mesiah needs him

[williamgeorgeallen]

22 minutes ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

 

Writing is on the wall.

 

Visas getting harder to get, work permits harder to get (for legit roles), this is set to continue and get worse.

Economy is slumping, foreign investments at an all time low. Again there will be no foreign investments with a junta in charge.

Nationalism and xenophobia are on the rise. 

Thailand is turning into an Orwellian state with neighbours and friends on social media grassing on each other for lack of patriotism etc.

 

Looks like the halcyon days are well and truly over. 

 

seriously we are heading to becoming another north Korea. was shocked when i read this. http://www.khaosodenglish.com/politics/2016/09/27/thailands-new-online-fad-social-surveillance/

current govt is not going to hand power back without a hell of a fight.

[Squeegee]

It's fascinating to see the extent of their hubris. Long after the rise and fall of the Roman Empire this lot believe in their own amnesties.

 

Once again, they are lucky they were born in South East Asian and not in Europe fifty or more years ago.

 

It means when the time comes to push and shove they will probably be allowed to leave or stay locked up rather than losing their heads and/or being strung up.

[Eric Loh]

Election is a form of populism. The expression of the common people over the corrupt elites. Now I understand why Thailand elites fear election and continously changing the rules and keep moving the goal post. 

[Enoon]

14 hours ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

 

Writing is on the wall.

 

Visas getting harder to get, work permits harder to get (for legit roles), this is set to continue and get worse.

Economy is slumping, foreign investments at an all time low. Again there will be no foreign investments with a junta in charge.

Nationalism and xenophobia are on the rise. 

Thailand is turning into an Orwellian state with neighbours and friends on social media grassing on each other for lack of patriotism etc.

 

Looks like the halcyon days are well and truly over. 

 

 

Or the original Stalinist state.

 

That was the one where everyone "loved" Stalin, and made sure that everyone else knew it.

 

Because it was suicide not to.

[adhd]

maybe the next elected government, should think of reducing the army to 10 percent of what it is now...

 

who did all the coups the last 100 years

 

 

exactly

 

[halloween]

19 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

Election is a form of populism. The expression of the common people over the corrupt elites. Now I understand why Thailand elites fear election and continously changing the rules and keep moving the goal post. 

That's why direct democracy, where every decision is voted on by the great unwashed, doesn't work. The voters will happily vote for 300 public holidays/year, massive pay rises and free cigarettes and alcohol.

Representative democracy, where the voters elect people they trust to make decisions for them, supposedly gives the people what they NEED rather than what they want.

For too long, the voters have been electing criminals willing to offer pie-in-the-sky dreams, and paying for them with state money, because they were not accountable for the losses caused by their populism. Now they are. Get used to it.