Dear Friends of Thailand, I write this letter to explain why millions of people take to streets to demand reforms before the next election. The current “people’s uprising” in Thailand has not only been regarded by the international community as a political phenomenon but it has also been naively branded as an attempt to abolish democracy. People with limited in-depth understanding of Thailand’s political history and shallow political science knowledge help fuel this rhetoric by sarcastically and continuously questioning how people dare to try to overthrow the legitimate “elected” government. When the people demand “reform before election”, many cried out that this would be the downfall of the democratic values. This line of thought has many flaws, as follows; Democracy is literally defined as “rule by the people”. Democratic systems are formulated and refined to, first and foremost, respect the will of the people, to facilitate good governance with transparency and accountability so that national interest and the wellbeing of the citizens come before self-interest. Modern day democracy comprises many elements such as duties and rights of the citizen, equality before law, and respect for the rule of law. Conceptually, election is only one element, among many others, of democracy. This is why it is surprising how preoccupied some are with election that they have turned the blind eyes to the elective yet totally corrupted government which abuses its executive power and violates the Constitution. It is important to point out that election is merely a mean to select and form a democratic government but NOT the goal of democracy in itself as usually misrepresented. As for Thailand, the elected Yingluck Shinawatra’s Government has undeniable legitimacy to come into office. However, their legitimacy to stay in office is no longer justified when found to be one of the most corrupted governments in the history of Thailand and is still controlled by Thaksin Shinnawatra. Recently on 16 January, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) pressed charge against former Minister of Commerce and several accomplices on the corruption in the rice mortgage scheme, which has caused huge loss to the fiscal position and the plight of farmers. The NACC will also investigate on Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra for her failure to try to stop the damage done to the country by the scheme. Yet Yingluck has never taken responsibility for any of her failures and continues her rhetoric that she is elected, hence has the mandate from the people to govern. Far from abolishing election altogether, the people demand a legal and political reform before the next election so that the election is FREE and FAIR and that the next government is truly democratic in its accountability and free from corruption. So, why does Thailand need reform before the next election? The answer is clear - it is because there is an urgent need to safeguard the country from being further exploited by corrupted government, self-interested governmental policies, nepotism and favouritism, and most important of all – elective dictatorship. In other words, to rid the country of “Thaksinocracy” - the epitome of all things “UNDEMOCRATIC”. In order to do so, reforms are needed to: * Develop effective mechanism to effectively prevent election frauds as vote buying and vote rigging is a widespread practice in Thailand, yet tacitly tolerated. The current government, through favouritism, nepotism and bribing, controls authorities involved in carrying out election process, be them the police, governors, local administrators. They even controlled the Election Commission, which should be unbiased and independent. Measures are needed to increase severity of penalties for election fraud cases to deter politicians and officers from committing the crime. * Have campaign policies scrutinised for feasibility and long-termed effects so that populist schemes are banned as a form of indirect vote-buying. This is to ensure that Thailand will not have a repetition of Thaksin/Yingluck’s corrupted rice mortgage scheme, farmers credit card and village revolving funds; which targets grass root people, tax subsidy for first-timed car buyers targeting the middle class, promised reduction of fuel prices - all of which destroy fundament of economic principles and cause long term damage to Thailand’s fiscal position. The sole purpose of these irresponsible polices is to gain votes. Some are also formulated to enable systematic corruption at all levels. * Expedite corruption cases against politicians, increase penalties and lift limitation for corruption cases for deterrence. * Strengthen the rule of law and educate the public of their rights and duties as citizens with genuine understanding of democratic values. This is so that they can keep themselves informed about governmental affairs and actively participate in politics as rightful stakeholders. * Strengthen accountable and transparent parliamentary system so that there will not be another elective authoritarian government like in the “Thaksinocratic era” ever again. If history has taught us something, it is that democratic elections do not always result in democratic governments. Let us not forget that the infamous Adolf Hitler came to power through democratic election. The striking similarities between the Nazi regime and the Thaksin/Yingluck regime are not to be overlooked – both governments use propaganda, violence and intimidation against opposition, populist policies are used to gather support, governmentally-backed militia group are formed, social segregation are encouraged and freedom of the press are suppressed. If history has taught us another thing, it is that ignorance is not what Thailand and the world can afford. Giving the current political situation in Thailand, rushing into election right now would be nothing but being procedurally correct while entangling the country further into the web of social incohesion fueled by political disputes. What Thailand needs is time to reset and political reform that genuinely strengthens democracy so that our next government would truly govern with the wellbeing of the people and prosperity of the nation in mind.
Posted on: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 00:02:20 +0000
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