Morally bankrupt government

re: "Elections, corruption and Thai democracy" (BP, Opinion, February 16)

Dear editor,

Although correct, academic Thitinan Pongsudhirak is generous to a fault when he writes that "the Prayut government is now morally bankrupt." The reality is that nothing has changed; it is only more obvious now that this government that seized their nation from the Thai people has been morally bankrupt since May 2014. The military politicians seized power by overthrowing the central pillar of the Thai nation, the civil constitution that bestows legitimacy on every other Thai institution. These politicians have for near four years now set about their personal agenda of corrupting the rule of law to ensure the persistence of their own self-serving control, contradicting every  pious claim to care for democracy. No. There never was any time when this government was not morally bankrupt.

Thitinan is, in contrast, spot on that "democracy in Thailand requires the strengthening of its democratic institutions that are so shoddy and woeful." This blight has plagued Thai politics and society for decades, correlating strongly with the long repetition of military coups against the nation. Other nations have also suffered corruption and other abuses resulting from "shoddy and woeful" institutions, but given the opportunity, those systemic weaknesses in their democratic institutions could be and were corrected: Thailand has never been allowed that chance to develop. The best effort to date was probably the 1997 constitution, which was ditched by another coup because it displeased the arch-traditionalists of the ruling oligarchy, who were healthily betrayed by their poster boy Thaksin, who thus engender their abiding animus.

Thitinan's opinion piece chimes with the editorial of the same date, "Don't abuse Section 112", in which the Post's editor is also too generous.  The reality is that, abused or not, the existence of section 112 of the Thai criminal code as is is anti-democratic. You cannot have a healthy democracy when such censorship denies a voice and enforces ignorance on matters of national importance. If the constitution allows a law such as 112 to exist in its current form, that shows the constitution itself to be "shoddy and woeful" as Thitinan puts it. Such a flawed constitution fails to protect even the most basic of democratic principles. To so render Thais ignorant on the wide swath of Thai affairs that may not safely be researched, discussed or otherwise known with any confidence by Thais captive to domestic media is to truly be "morally bankrupt."

Well said Thitinan and the Bangkok Post editor.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on February 18, 2018, under the title "Morally bankrupt government" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1413974/sorry-the-hardest-word
  

Regime scorns public

re: "Election buffoonery"  (Postbag, February 14)

Dear editor,

I must thank JC for his illuminating reply to my letter "Apples and Oranges" (Postbag, February 12). JC shows us why democracy, flawed though it be, is preferable to every alternative, certainly to dictatorship that trashes the rule of civil law.

As JC concedes, the current US President seems a poor choice, a "buffoon-in-chief" as I had put it. However, JC's insulting tirade branding the US citizens who elected Trump as buffoons mirrors all to well the mindset of those colluding with Suthep's PDRC mobs clamouring for a coup to overthrow the central pillar of the Thai nation yet again. They spewed out equally offensive insults at the Thai people who had voted first for Thaksin, then his proxies and finally for Pheu Thai. Those self-righteous arrogantly labelled their fellow citizens ignorant fools. At least the word "buffalo" did not appear in JC's letter as he settled for "immature juveniles."

This is not only insulting to that majority of the Thai people, it is false. I disagree with the US people's choice of president, but that does not mean those who voted for him are buffoons. They are not. Nor does the election of deeply flawed Thai politicians show the Thai people to be so ignorant or foolish as JC and the likes of the arrogant PDRC mobs and allies insist, and doubtless believe, as an excuse to deny them a voice in the form both of their government and of their own society.

JC makes another common mistake of those lauding dictatorship when he claims that it is "squabbling" democracy that has caused 19 coups in Thailand. Wrong. On the contrary, it is when democracy looks like taking healthy root that it is overthrown by those who do not want the Thai people to have a fair voice in the affairs that affect them, their lives, and their nation. The Thai nation is the nation of the Thai people, all of them, not merely those who happen to arrogantly assume that they know better than the low classes what is best for everyone.

The usual oligarchy of rich and powerful certainly known how to run things to keep the rich and powerful in riches and power. They know how best to ensure that there is a sufficiency of luxury watches to lend to close friends, along with spiffy leopard rugs for the mansion and a sufficient number of Ferraris in the garage to speed home in after a night of drunken partying. But they neither know nor care about the concerns, the wishes, the preferences, and lives of others, even if occasionally letting a few miserly crumbs drop from their sufficiently laden tables.

JC asks for an alternative to a coup. That is easy: The Thai army could have done its duty to the Thai nation. It could have served the civil government of the Thai nation. It could have protected and upheld the constitution of the Thai nation. It could have ensured, perhaps with a short period of martial law, that the streets were cleared of the mobs determined to "Shut down Bangkok", and it could have ensured that the February 2014 election went smoothly so that the Thai people could chosen a new civil government of their nation. Much good could have been done.

Neatly as it might fit his false characterization of the Thai people as "immature juveniles," the "politicians brute" (my actual phrase) are not teachers bringing order to a noisy classroom. However, an inept education system does ruthlessly suppress critical thinking in accord with the Prime Minister's 12 Values, while harsh censorship does indeed aim to keep the Thai people uninformed on national Thai affairs, as seen in the imprisonment of civil rights activist Jatupat Boonpatararaksa, the patriotic Pai Dao Din. Much as the coupists do indeed strive to turn the Thai people into "immature children" who they can then boss around like Stalin, Mao or Mugabe, all of whom thought they knew better than the citizens what was best for the citizens, they are wrong.

The Thai people, like the American people, are best qualified to decide what is best for the Thai people. It is this basic respect for each and every citizen as equally persons deciding how to live their lives that is the defining characteristic of democracy. Elections are but a tool of democracy. It is this basic respect for his fellow citizens that JC appears to lack. It is this basic respect for their fellow Thai citizens that the coup politicians and their supporters lack. This lack is a deep moral failure.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on February 17, 2018, under the title "Regime scorns public" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1413599/undoing-of-the-web
  

Fiddling figures

re: "Watch-scandal shenanigans sully decent debate" (BP, February 15)

Dear editor,

It is probably healthy that people vent by voting on online polls, but as Paritta explains, the results either way are not to be taken too seriously. 

Unfortunately, people often lie in surveys, a fact known since the 1950s when the residents of Denver reported to surveyors that they: had a library card, gave to charity and voted, in percentages that greatly exceeded the actual statistics for each of those socially desirable traits. Similarly, recent surveys in the US show that 40% of engineers think themselves in the top 5%, that 90% of university professors are sure they do above average work, and that 25% of high school students place themselves in the top 1% at getting along with others. And 2+2=5. For a survey to get honest answers, it needs to be both anonymous and private.  At least the online surveys are getting honest answers from their unrepresentative groups of biased voters, and that honesty is worth something.

The one poll that had some, albeit limited, credibility was suppressed because the results were likely to prove inconvenient, since they would likely have suggested that 85% of the nation or even more think that the Deputy PM general should already have made his farewells.

Meanwhile, the poll that really would show what the Thai people think is being persistently delayed by the greedy politicians clinging to power as time tick-tocks away under the baleful eyes of the Big Brother watchmen.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on February 16, 2018, under the title "Fiddling figures" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1413059/fiddling-figures
  

Happy mafia

re: "Drug gangs use Thailand as transit point to Malaysia" (BP, February 12)

Dear editor,

Another tedious repetition of the a well-worn drugs story. But this repetition does not surprise, it being a long established fact that current drug policy is the deliberate repetition of demonstrated failure; worse, that it worsens drug harms to society.

Only two groups benefit, and that mightily, from this determined adherence to a known failure with disastrous consequences for society: the mafia scum running the highly popular drug industries, and their loyal officials keeping things running smoothly, with the odd showy seizure that clearly does not dent the profits from the monopoly the law makers have so generously bestowed on the mafia and the corrupt decade after decade after decade.

It is hard to see either any sanity or any remotely moral justification for retaining such socially destructive policy when beneficial reform is so easy and would save a fortune. The cynical might think that the law makers don't want upset the happy mafia and corrupt state officials getting rich off the status quo of legally mandated misery. 

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on February 13, 2018, under the title "Happy mafia" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1411519/happy-mafia
  

Apples and oranges

re: "Prayut tells US polls will be on Thai terms" (BP, February 9)

Dear editor,

While both Trump's America First and the PM general's Thai First have in common that they are bad for their respective nations, there is a salient difference: the US people had a voice in determining its current buffoon-in-chief actively undermining his nation's material and moral well-being, unlike the Thai nation who have been denied any such respect by the politicians brute who seized the Thai nation from them and from the rule of civil rule.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on February 12, 2018, under the title "Apples and oranges" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1410847/snouts-in-the-trough
  

Two sides to a coin

re: "Hunting scandal summons ghosts of past" (BP, Opinion, February 7)

Dear editor,

Although I've often disagreed with him, especially when he appeared to be condoning the latest coup against the Thai nation, I have to agree with Veera Prateepchaikul when he reminds us of the "saying that there are always two sides of a human being – one side that is open and can be seen and the other side which is concealed like two sides of a coin." There are, as noted, "always" two sides, so no matter how wonderful someone might appear on the public surface, it must always be acknowledged that the publicly managed persona, however laden with luxury watches, gaudy ribbons or other accolades, is not the full story, being but half the human being. This is another reason why free speech is so essential: the unknown dark side might well be doing far more harm in the shadows than any bright and shiny public side, with only strong legal protection for critical truth seeking and speaking able to afford some measure of confidence that the public mask reflects the full reality.

Also instructive was Veera's thoughtful retelling of a bloody piece of Thai history from 1973 that bears similarities with the recent arrest of a wealthy man of high social standing who carelessly forgot to take a proper collection of luxury watches on his leisure trip to nature to lend to any newest close friends in uniform who might stumble upon him amidst the remains of suicidal animals intent on blackening his good name.

That tale of past sparks leads to a related historical reflection of more recent vintage; namely, that the one good thing about Thaksin was that he betrayed his own cosy clique of traditional ruling oligarchs who had eagerly supported his rise to populist power while they thought him "one of the boys" who would play along. Will the alleged animal hunter and industrial oligarch be protected by his cronies wielding unaccountable power with impunity, or will he be treated to justice, unlike the conspicuously exempted Red Bull heir Vorayuth Yoovidhya, who doubtless also had plenty of nice watches to lend to eager close friends in uniform? If justice threatens, will the Italian-Thai chief keep faith with his cronies in the ruling group or will he do a Thaksin?

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on February 10, 2018, under the title "Two sides to a coin" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1410299/many-gates-no-bars
  

Constitution must stick

re: "'Watch scandal' now and amnesty bill then" (BP, Opinion, February 2)

Dear editor,
It was most welcome to read Thitian's bluntly honest admission this morning that "the military aided and abetted a street-led movement that represented a coalition of interests against the rise, rule and resilience of Yingluck's brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, and his power clique." This reality warrants a little more discussion. In particular, what does it mean to stage a coup?

Since the constitution, as the highest rule of law, is necessarily the ultimate source of  legitimacy for all other, dependent institutions of government for a society, this latest coup in the long line of coups against the evolution of democracy in the Thai nation was an assault on the central pillar of the nation.

When the central pillar of a society's political foundation is repeatedly overthrown to protect the vested interests of those working against it, it is little wonder that democracy has failed to develop healthy civil solutions to civil problems. No nation could thrive under such regular set backs. No one expects any constitution to be perfect or the best for all time, as the more than 30 amendments made to improve even the excellent US Constitution show, but the solution to discovered failures is to allow the people to fix those perceived weaknesses. Nor has the US, the UK or Japan, or any other nation been free of corruption, often on massive scales: such corruption and other abuses have never justified toppling the central pillar of any of these nations any more than it could justify any of the coups against the Thai nation.

Finally, the events leading up to the latest coup effectively showed that democracy was again taking a healthy hold in Thailand. Pheu Thai's amnesty bill was so sleazy both in method and in content that even the UDD, the voice of the Red Shirts, officially came out against it, as I did at the time. The Thai people were right to voice their indignation by protesting. But the events showed that the PDRC leaders and those allying with them against the rule of law that valued democratic principle were not interested in the amnesty bill except as an excuse to again overthrow the central pillar of legitimacy for the Thai nation, the protests not subsiding when it was clear that the amnesty had been roundly defeated but intensifying as the leaders sought to inflict maximum disruption in their campaign to "Shut down Bangkok" so as to force their vested agenda on the entire nation at any cost.

Let us hope that something has been learned in the near four years of regression since then, and that the latest constitution will be amended as sorely needed to bring it into line with the good morals that are at the heart of democracy, and which make democracy morally superior to every alternative, even the most benign of dictatorships, which are inherently an expression of bad morals in their rejection of the ideal that all citizens have an equal right to a voice in the form of their society and its government, however offensive some might find some of those voices.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on February 4, 2018, under the title "Constitution must stick" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1407154/surakiarts-key-role