reallifethailand

A focus on Thai politics from a long term farang resident and luk keug's father
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Friday , March 21 , 2008

Samak - The good, the bad and ....errr....

Posted by redandwhitestripes , Reader : 3158 , 20:30:06

So this is Songkarn and what have we done? Well, if your name is Samak Sanderejev and you are Prime Minister of Thailand, you have done quite a lot. The PPP have been a busy bunch since they finally entered office in January (almost a month after they actually won the election) and to the surprise of many, they have actually done some things quite well. Here's my little review of the good, the bad and the ugly from Mr Samak. The Good: 1) The idea of legalising casinos. It's been heavily opposed in some quarters but the reality is that legalisation of gambling is progressive and correct. In a country where people who want to gamble already do so and Jao Phoa already have their casinos up and running, it is only practical to make the business and maybe even take some tax money for good causes. 2) Expedition of mass transport projects. OK, so we all know that there is a direct link between high budget transport construction and financial kickbacks. Still, the City of Angels is desperately crying out for an extended transport network, and the new government seem serious about getting it speeded up, whatever the reasons for the eagerness may be. 3) Refusing to negotiate with terrorist leaders in the deep south. It may well be a face saving measure to mask the fact that intelligence sources cannot trace these people anyway but that is irrelevant. Samak is absolutely correct when he says that the government should not negotiate with people who "kill their own" in the most brutal manner possible. 4) Tax breaks. With the plummeting dollar and rising costs of living adding to an economy that had already been stagnant since the coup, the tax breaks should be the perfect catalyst to get people out spending again. The Bad: 1) Transferring good officers. I've heard people say "Well nobody protested when the junta bought in their own people" which may be true. But the key point here is that Seripisuth Temiyavej and Dr Siriwat Thiptaradon were good at their jobs. It may be normal for a new government to bring in new people, but is it right to let the public suffer when the 'new people' are bought in under false pretences and most likely are not as skilled as their predecessors? 2) Starving the AEC. If anybody was in any doubt who has come out smiling form the struggle between the junta and the PPP, they only had to read today's story stating that the Assets Examination Committee are "requesting public donations". The PP were never going to allow the AEC to continue their work, and they have achieved this by starving them of funds. As such, it is likely that politicians who did something wrong will not be prosecuted. 3) Disrespecting the victims of the 1976 massacre AND the victims of the Burmese Junta. (link removed, some of the photos may have been disturbing). And this, sadly, nullifies any achievements of K. Sanmak. When he told a CNN reporter that "Only one person was killed" and compounded this by expressing sympathy for the Burmese Junta because "They are Buddhists" one can only wonder what was going through his mind. By reinventing history and showing such blatant disregard for the rights of his own people, Samak sends us a reminder that for all the rhetoric and progressive manoeuvres, he is still the same person inside.

So this is Songkarn and what have we done?

Well, if your name is Samak Sanderejev and you are Prime Minister of Thailand, you have done quite a lot. The PPP have been a busy bunch since they finally entered office in January (almost a month after they actually won the election) and to the surprise of many, they have actually done some things quite well. Here's my little review of the good, the bad and the ugly from Mr Samak.

The Good:

1) The idea of legalising casinos. It's been heavily opposed in some quarters but the reality is that legalisation of gambling is progressive and correct. In a country where people who want to gamble already do so and Jao Phoa already have their casinos up and running, it is only practical to make the business and maybe even take some tax money for good causes.

2) Expedition of mass transport projects. OK, so we all know that there is a direct link between high budget transport construction and financial kickbacks. Still, the City of Angels is desperately crying out for an extended transport network, and the new government seem serious about getting it speeded up, whatever the reasons for the eagerness may be.

3) Refusing to negotiate with terrorist leaders in the deep south.
It may well be a face saving measure to mask the fact that intelligence sources cannot trace these people anyway but that is irrelevant. Samak is absolutely correct when he says that the government should not negotiate with people who "kill their own" in the most brutal manner possible.

4) Tax breaks. With the plummeting dollar and rising costs of living adding to an economy that had already been stagnant since the coup, the tax breaks should be the perfect catalyst to get people out spending again.

The Bad:

1) Transferring good officers.
I've heard people say "Well nobody protested when the junta bought in their own people" which may be true. But the key point here is that Seripisuth Temiyavej and Dr Siriwat Thiptaradon were good at their jobs. It may be normal for a new government to bring in new people, but is it right to let the public suffer when the 'new people' are bought in under false pretences and most likely are not as skilled as their predecessors?

2) Starving the AEC.
If anybody was in any doubt who has come out smiling form the struggle between the junta and the PPP, they only had to read today's story stating that the Assets Examination Committee are "requesting public donations". The PP were never going to allow the AEC to continue their work, and they have achieved this by starving them of funds. As such, it is likely that politicians who did something wrong will not be prosecuted.

3) Disrespecting the victims of the 1976 massacre AND the victims of the Burmese Junta. (link removed, some of the photos may have been disturbing).

And this, sadly, nullifies any achievements of K. Sanmak. When he told a CNN reporter that "Only one person was killed" and compounded this by expressing sympathy for the Burmese Junta because "They are Buddhists" one can only wonder what was going through his mind. By reinventing history and showing such blatant disregard for the rights of his own people, Samak sends us a reminder that for all the rhetoric and progressive manoeuvres, he is still the same person inside.

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comment 6
Hermano_Lobo date : 25/03/2008 time : 23.56
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/yurivelasquez

A snippet from the excellent 'Asia Bugle'

"Smacky Smacky has been grabbing air miles as he travelled to most surrounding countries. In Burma he effectively congratulated the junta on sorting out its internal dissidents trying to destabilise that regime. So as they say nothing has changed.
But SS offers hope to Thai workers after his trip to Singapore:
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej vowed Thursday to adjust the take home pay for Thai people after learning from his three-day visit to the island state that Singaporeans earn eight times more than Thais.
"During a tour of the local market, I saw with my own eyes that food prices are three times higher than comparable products in Thailand. But a new university graduate would earn the salary comparable to the pay in the United States, which is eight times more than a Thai university graduate," he said.
and this from Saturday’s Bangkok Post is about the new deputy finance minister:
On fielding a question about the equity of the VAT on the poor, Lt Ranongrak offered an answer that left the ministry press corps stunned.
''I think the VAT is quite fair. It's just the tourists who pay, don't they? Other people don't have any problem,'' she said in all seriousness.
The reality is quite the opposite, of course, as tourists can claim refunds from the 7% VAT upon leaving the country.
Still, Lt Ranongrak expressed confidence that she can accomplish her responsibilities as one of the country's top economic policymakers.
''I am trying to learn about everything that is under my responsibility. As soon as I learned about my appointment, I did a search on the internet to see what the Finance Ministry actually does,'' she said.
Full article
It is good to see the economic well being of this nation is in such good hands!"

comment 5
naive date : 23/03/2008 time : 13.59
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/naive
Narrow and wide by "Naive" point of view. ...................................*v*....................................................................For Thai reader visit http://www.oknation.net/blog/wickedgirl

and the coward!

comment 4
Dalmasian date : 23/03/2008 time : 01.22
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/dalmasian

Please do not remind us again about Samak's ugliness. Everybody and his bothers and sisters know that he looks like Pigsy.

As usual, he keeps on bad mouthing other people during his "Meet the People" telecast this week. Very unbecoming for a country's prime minister. Who does he think he is? A chef or a butcher?

One of the first thing my wife's cousin asked when she arrived from Vancouver the other day for a visit was "Why is it that your new prime minister looks like a butcher? He does not look like a prime minister to me."

Need I say more?

-- Dalmasian

comment 3
Tawan date : 22/03/2008 time : 18.40
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/tawan3

We can add one more item to the good list.
PM Samak canceled the upcoming OTOP event because he felt the event organizers wanted too much 87 million Baht.

comment 2
Lalida date : 22/03/2008 time : 15.37
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/Real

Greg,

Do you feel the silence and understanding why?

comment 1
Lalida date : 21/03/2008 time : 22.13
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/Real

Greg,

I'm not going to say much otherwise I'll be cast as Samak's gig instead of Thaksin, I rather stay with Thaksin

I think it's a fair judgment on this piece of yours

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