Religion & law & politics should ALWAYS be separate issues. Religion is a personal belief system and should accommodate a variety of beliefs, however legal and political systems must be universally applied to all who live in that country.
Well put Jonfernquest! It is so good I could not resist to repeat: “Nowadays, none of the protesters are talking about “landlord-tenant relations” or “reductions in land rents”, in fact the Chiang Mai landlords are probably wearing a red shirt too and police sympathies would often have seemed to be with the red-shirt protesters and their leader extrajudicially-gifted former police colonel Thaksin and the deceased red shirt commander Se Daeng surrounded by his murky grenade launcher armed red guards who made Bangkok so unliveable.” You omitted mention of that extortion-giften Chalerm who could cajole or intimidate witnesses so his trigger happy son could be dismissed by the Thai courts, in that infamous police sergeant killing in a brawl where Chalerm’s son was prominent, for ‘lack of evidence’.
Thailand’s democracy malfunctions surely . . . but now truly malfunctions without check or balance, when the notorious fugitive Thaksin stills calls the shots as puppet master of Yingluck’s government.
I would accept a sincere apology from Thaksin or Yingluck for the corruption/constitutional abuses committed by Thaksin & his gang. That’s what South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak did, with humility and deep remorse, for the corruption scandal committed by his brother and his aides.
South Korea is fully functioning democracy is why. While Thailand, under Yingluck or any Thaksin nominee will perpetually malfunction.
Such a brilliant book and review and important call for more cross-national comparative work. So many interesting contrasts with thecurrent political situation and the book really mines historical sources. The academic journal article that preceded the book certainly gave the impression that Thailand has made a lot of progress since the 1970s not as the title seems to imply that the revolution was “interrupted” to be continued at a future date…. rather redirected and incorporated via amnesty into the present day post-1979 Thai social contract now having reared its head in a fundamentally different “red shirt” form. Nowadays, none of the protesters are talking about “landlord-tenant relations” or “reductions in land rents”, in fact the Chiang Mai landlords are probably wearing a red shirt too and police sympathies would often have seemed to be with the red-shirt protesters and their leader extrajudicially-gifted former police colonel Thaksin and the deceased red shirt commander Se Daeng surrounded by his murky grenade launcher armed red guards who made Bangkok so unliveable. Times have changed. 🙂
“Don’t buy it in the market because if you eat it you will have a stomach ache. Growers sell it to people they don’t know – not to the people who live in the village.”
Wonderful, succinct summary of Vietnamese mentality. One of the reasons why they get decent first-time tourist arrival numbers, but relatively few return visitors.
The way you refer to Laos, re countries trying to have a presence ‘there’, gives the impression you are disparaging about Laos, as though it’s some sort of pawn, which I’m sure is not your intention. In 2009, Vientiane rejected the idea of importing skilled Chinese workers for infrastructure projects in the North. Hardly a feeble, submissive move. All of the surrounding states have significant interests in Laos (Cambodia’s is not quite so economical, understandably), and you would have to be a very senior Lao official to know which country is more influential. If you want to measure influence through economic terms, in 2011 Vietnam became the biggest investor in Laos. The economic benefits of energy deals with Thailand will eventually come to fruition, so that potential must be taken into consideration. The Chinese, Thais and Vietnamese all engage in similar engagement with Vientiane. The US is of course leant on too, with their purported ‘counter-balancing’ strategy re China, being played to Vientiane’s elites advantage. I can understand if your glasses have been tinted red after visiting Boten! However, I don’t like to see unwarranted China-bashing.
I’m amazed there hasn’t been any discussion of this case on New Mandala. It strikes me as, in principle, the most significant development in all the time I’ve been here. If the defense team stick to their guns, it will finally bring the mass of contradictions into public view.
I said ‘in principle’. In practice, I have no doubt that the judges will find a way to avoid the issue, the defense team suddenly change track or be ‘disappeared’ (from the case, if not the world), and the status quo preserved for a little longer.
China dominance inevitable and no big deal? If the way China is throwing its weight around in the South China Sea dispute with Philippines and Vietnam, the methods and manner of China’s dominance of Tibet, I would hardly think the SE Asia countries would want to take a passive and accepting posture towards China dominance.
In addition to Cambodia and Laos, the dire circumstances of the Malaysian treasury has seen Malaysia’s silence on the South China Sea issue – thanks to Chinese loans on large infrastructure projects such as the second Penang bridge. The only other credible counterbalance to China would be Indonesia. Thailand at present under PT would be pro-business and there is no doubt on Thaksin’s China credentials.
Say hello to Chinese dominance. Not that there is anything wrong with that whole idea though.
Srithanonchai: “Jon, will you ever write a systematic article detailing your strong criticism of mainstream SEA studies? Barking alone is somewhat less than satisfactory”
I did in the last article I published. The place to begin is real critical book reviews like the one above, reviews that really criticize rather than pay homage to a friend and colleague, done as a professional favour, which is the norm.. Anonymity and honesty would be critical here and perhaps group authorship, otherwise the pattern of reviewing would just perpetuate the unseen cliques who only cite close friends in their work and this usually means association with an elite academic institution and this often means coming from an elite family that provided the opportunity for an expensive humanities PhD in the first place.
The egalitarian idea of mass global education embodied in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) now being developed in global university consortium of Coursera could change all of that. I would venture to speculate that there is no reason that you Srithanonchai should not have had a chance at a PhD or MA degree from an elite Thai Studies institution where you could have reached your full research potential other than money. In an ideal world it would be research quality, not access to funding, that would determine who got access to PhD education and scholarship opportunities.
Looks to me as though the ‘rulers’ of Lao and Cambodia are just selling out to the Chinese.
Of course if anyone else makes an offer, like the EGAT for the Mekong, they’re willing to sell out to others as well. But the Chinese have been the most forthcoming.
It is indeed possible that my comments on Laos are overly simplistic. Could you take a shot at doing a short summary of where Laos stands in regard to China, Thailand, Vietnam, the U.S. and whoever else seems to be trying to have a presence there? To me China’s influence, position and presence is overwhelming, especially compared with U.S. But maybe I am under-estimating the role of Vietnam and Thailand. In any case, I would be interested in and am open to your own and other opinions.
Secondly, Peter, I think your ideas of Lao foreign relations are a little simplistic, but you make an interesting observation regarding China’s influence in Vietnam and Burma.
What is the benchmark of ‘satisfactory’ democracy in any of these countries?
(a) freedom of expression? all countries will have failed on this score
(b) the prevalence of rule of law and so called political elites not accorded impunity? nearly all countries will also have failed on this score
(c) a predominance of educated, well-informed rights-conscious, rights-assertive electorate? all countries too will have failed on this score
China’s influence in Vietnam is evaporating quickly as you point out, with China’s claims over traditional Vietnam fishing grounds, shoals and small islands all the way around the southern tip of Vietnam to almost the Cambodia border adding fuel to the fire.
But also China’s previously almost unassailable position, influence and almost-colonial/imperialist position in Myanmar has deteriorated precipitously in the last year which must be a huge blow for their plans to extend their infrastructure and economic/military influence from Kunming and southwest China into the Indian Ocean.
So, yes, Laos and Cambodia have become even more important and China’s economic and trade masterplan for the Mekong River system/basin must have become a top priority.
In regard to Cambodia, despite China’s huge level of investment and effort, my opinion is that Hun Sen has no particular brand loyalty and will milk China for however much they are willing to spend by continuing to play them off against the U.S., Vietnam, Thailand, Korea, Japan from whom Hun Sen will also extract maximum largesse. Most Khmers definitely to not see themselves as Chinese and there is a simmering resentment building up throughout Cambodia, especially around some of the mega-real estate projects that China is involved with.
Laos on the other hand does seem to be totally in China’s embrace, at least under the present system of rule. It’s so simple compared to the other SE Asia countries. Just a few extended families, maybe a few hundred people, signed up, paid off and in China’s pocket with the general population so incredibly impoverished, uneducated, spread out and without any meaningful resources that there seems little anyone can do to stop China’s economic onslaught. Huge open pit mines, industrial-scale mono-crop agriculture, large Chinese-only casino towns, un-impeded import of every type of consumer good, uncontrolled entry of Chinese traders and settlers, etc.
1RAR, 28th Commonwealth Infantry Brigade – May 13th 1969
I am searching for information on the activity of the Brigade during the riots but since you have not provided a direct link, I haven’t had much luck. Here is a link I ‘ve found so far (Section-Race Riots): http://www.taylor.id.au/8%20RAR%20Submission.pdf
Thank you
China is back in Cambodia as seen in the recent Cambodian veto of the South China Sea communique within ASEAN. With Vietnam increasingly forging ahead with an ever closer relationship with the US, China needs Cambodia and Laos more than ever by throwing in investment money to outflank Vietnam even though these 2 countries have strong military ties with its eastern neighbour.
This story in the Asian Sentinel provides an in-depth analysis of the recent settlement between the Najib administration and Tajuddin Ramli, one time Mahathir and UMNO poster boy of Malay corporate success on his outstanding debts (more than half a billion ringgit).
The article provides even further evidence that UMNO is indeed beyond redemption and all of Najib’s tough talk of stamping out corruption is just as empty as his political slogan “1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now.”
It also brings into question Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s March 30, 2010, statement that the government “can no longer tolerate practices that support the behavior of rent-seeking and patronage, which have long tarnished the altruistic aims of the New Economic Policy. Inclusiveness, where all Malaysians contribute and benefit from economic growth – must be a fundamental element of any new economic approach.”
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Intolerance, Islam and the Internet in Burma
Religion & law & politics should ALWAYS be separate issues. Religion is a personal belief system and should accommodate a variety of beliefs, however legal and political systems must be universally applied to all who live in that country.
Review of Revolution Interrupted
Well put Jonfernquest! It is so good I could not resist to repeat: “Nowadays, none of the protesters are talking about “landlord-tenant relations” or “reductions in land rents”, in fact the Chiang Mai landlords are probably wearing a red shirt too and police sympathies would often have seemed to be with the red-shirt protesters and their leader extrajudicially-gifted former police colonel Thaksin and the deceased red shirt commander Se Daeng surrounded by his murky grenade launcher armed red guards who made Bangkok so unliveable.” You omitted mention of that extortion-giften Chalerm who could cajole or intimidate witnesses so his trigger happy son could be dismissed by the Thai courts, in that infamous police sergeant killing in a brawl where Chalerm’s son was prominent, for ‘lack of evidence’.
Thailand’s democracy malfunctions surely . . . but now truly malfunctions without check or balance, when the notorious fugitive Thaksin stills calls the shots as puppet master of Yingluck’s government.
I would accept a sincere apology from Thaksin or Yingluck for the corruption/constitutional abuses committed by Thaksin & his gang. That’s what South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak did, with humility and deep remorse, for the corruption scandal committed by his brother and his aides.
South Korea is fully functioning democracy is why. While Thailand, under Yingluck or any Thaksin nominee will perpetually malfunction.
Constitutional court or national advisor?
In response to John Win, ummmm…ummmm….ummmm, I could agree or comment, except that I live in Thailand and have my name showing
Review of Revolution Interrupted
Such a brilliant book and review and important call for more cross-national comparative work. So many interesting contrasts with thecurrent political situation and the book really mines historical sources. The academic journal article that preceded the book certainly gave the impression that Thailand has made a lot of progress since the 1970s not as the title seems to imply that the revolution was “interrupted” to be continued at a future date…. rather redirected and incorporated via amnesty into the present day post-1979 Thai social contract now having reared its head in a fundamentally different “red shirt” form. Nowadays, none of the protesters are talking about “landlord-tenant relations” or “reductions in land rents”, in fact the Chiang Mai landlords are probably wearing a red shirt too and police sympathies would often have seemed to be with the red-shirt protesters and their leader extrajudicially-gifted former police colonel Thaksin and the deceased red shirt commander Se Daeng surrounded by his murky grenade launcher armed red guards who made Bangkok so unliveable. Times have changed. 🙂
Vietnam’s craft villages
“Don’t buy it in the market because if you eat it you will have a stomach ache. Growers sell it to people they don’t know – not to the people who live in the village.”
Wonderful, succinct summary of Vietnamese mentality. One of the reasons why they get decent first-time tourist arrival numbers, but relatively few return visitors.
The strongman strikes again: A chat with Mam Sonando’s lawyer, Sok Sam Oeun
Hi Peter,
The way you refer to Laos, re countries trying to have a presence ‘there’, gives the impression you are disparaging about Laos, as though it’s some sort of pawn, which I’m sure is not your intention. In 2009, Vientiane rejected the idea of importing skilled Chinese workers for infrastructure projects in the North. Hardly a feeble, submissive move. All of the surrounding states have significant interests in Laos (Cambodia’s is not quite so economical, understandably), and you would have to be a very senior Lao official to know which country is more influential. If you want to measure influence through economic terms, in 2011 Vietnam became the biggest investor in Laos. The economic benefits of energy deals with Thailand will eventually come to fruition, so that potential must be taken into consideration. The Chinese, Thais and Vietnamese all engage in similar engagement with Vientiane. The US is of course leant on too, with their purported ‘counter-balancing’ strategy re China, being played to Vientiane’s elites advantage. I can understand if your glasses have been tinted red after visiting Boten! However, I don’t like to see unwarranted China-bashing.
Constitutional court or national advisor?
I don’t know where to put this, so I’ll put it here:
http://thaipoliticalprisoners.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/lese-majeste-evidence-censored-by-court/
I’m amazed there hasn’t been any discussion of this case on New Mandala. It strikes me as, in principle, the most significant development in all the time I’ve been here. If the defense team stick to their guns, it will finally bring the mass of contradictions into public view.
I said ‘in principle’. In practice, I have no doubt that the judges will find a way to avoid the issue, the defense team suddenly change track or be ‘disappeared’ (from the case, if not the world), and the status quo preserved for a little longer.
Still think it’s worthy of discussion, though.
The strongman strikes again: A chat with Mam Sonando’s lawyer, Sok Sam Oeun
China dominance inevitable and no big deal? If the way China is throwing its weight around in the South China Sea dispute with Philippines and Vietnam, the methods and manner of China’s dominance of Tibet, I would hardly think the SE Asia countries would want to take a passive and accepting posture towards China dominance.
The strongman strikes again: A chat with Mam Sonando’s lawyer, Sok Sam Oeun
In addition to Cambodia and Laos, the dire circumstances of the Malaysian treasury has seen Malaysia’s silence on the South China Sea issue – thanks to Chinese loans on large infrastructure projects such as the second Penang bridge. The only other credible counterbalance to China would be Indonesia. Thailand at present under PT would be pro-business and there is no doubt on Thaksin’s China credentials.
Say hello to Chinese dominance. Not that there is anything wrong with that whole idea though.
Review of Land and Loyalty
Srithanonchai: “Jon, will you ever write a systematic article detailing your strong criticism of mainstream SEA studies? Barking alone is somewhat less than satisfactory”
I did in the last article I published. The place to begin is real critical book reviews like the one above, reviews that really criticize rather than pay homage to a friend and colleague, done as a professional favour, which is the norm.. Anonymity and honesty would be critical here and perhaps group authorship, otherwise the pattern of reviewing would just perpetuate the unseen cliques who only cite close friends in their work and this usually means association with an elite academic institution and this often means coming from an elite family that provided the opportunity for an expensive humanities PhD in the first place.
The egalitarian idea of mass global education embodied in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) now being developed in global university consortium of Coursera could change all of that. I would venture to speculate that there is no reason that you Srithanonchai should not have had a chance at a PhD or MA degree from an elite Thai Studies institution where you could have reached your full research potential other than money. In an ideal world it would be research quality, not access to funding, that would determine who got access to PhD education and scholarship opportunities.
The strongman strikes again: A chat with Mam Sonando’s lawyer, Sok Sam Oeun
Looks to me as though the ‘rulers’ of Lao and Cambodia are just selling out to the Chinese.
Of course if anyone else makes an offer, like the EGAT for the Mekong, they’re willing to sell out to others as well. But the Chinese have been the most forthcoming.
I pity the Lao and Cambodian peoples.
The strongman strikes again: A chat with Mam Sonando’s lawyer, Sok Sam Oeun
re: Sabai Sabai
It is indeed possible that my comments on Laos are overly simplistic. Could you take a shot at doing a short summary of where Laos stands in regard to China, Thailand, Vietnam, the U.S. and whoever else seems to be trying to have a presence there? To me China’s influence, position and presence is overwhelming, especially compared with U.S. But maybe I am under-estimating the role of Vietnam and Thailand. In any case, I would be interested in and am open to your own and other opinions.
University rankings from Chula’s perspective
NIDA is a long and sad story of educational commercialization in Thailand…
The strongman strikes again: A chat with Mam Sonando’s lawyer, Sok Sam Oeun
Firstly, thanks Geoff – really great post.
Secondly, Peter, I think your ideas of Lao foreign relations are a little simplistic, but you make an interesting observation regarding China’s influence in Vietnam and Burma.
Malaysia a failed state – The writings are on the wall?
Malaysia in the limelight again.
US283 billion (or about RM893 billion) has been stashed away since 1970, reports Tax Justice Network.
Who are these people with so much of money and how did they get their hands on it?
Democracy in Southeast Asia: A new generation’s take
What is the benchmark of ‘satisfactory’ democracy in any of these countries?
(a) freedom of expression? all countries will have failed on this score
(b) the prevalence of rule of law and so called political elites not accorded impunity? nearly all countries will also have failed on this score
(c) a predominance of educated, well-informed rights-conscious, rights-assertive electorate? all countries too will have failed on this score
The strongman strikes again: A chat with Mam Sonando’s lawyer, Sok Sam Oeun
re: CLee
China’s influence in Vietnam is evaporating quickly as you point out, with China’s claims over traditional Vietnam fishing grounds, shoals and small islands all the way around the southern tip of Vietnam to almost the Cambodia border adding fuel to the fire.
But also China’s previously almost unassailable position, influence and almost-colonial/imperialist position in Myanmar has deteriorated precipitously in the last year which must be a huge blow for their plans to extend their infrastructure and economic/military influence from Kunming and southwest China into the Indian Ocean.
So, yes, Laos and Cambodia have become even more important and China’s economic and trade masterplan for the Mekong River system/basin must have become a top priority.
In regard to Cambodia, despite China’s huge level of investment and effort, my opinion is that Hun Sen has no particular brand loyalty and will milk China for however much they are willing to spend by continuing to play them off against the U.S., Vietnam, Thailand, Korea, Japan from whom Hun Sen will also extract maximum largesse. Most Khmers definitely to not see themselves as Chinese and there is a simmering resentment building up throughout Cambodia, especially around some of the mega-real estate projects that China is involved with.
Laos on the other hand does seem to be totally in China’s embrace, at least under the present system of rule. It’s so simple compared to the other SE Asia countries. Just a few extended families, maybe a few hundred people, signed up, paid off and in China’s pocket with the general population so incredibly impoverished, uneducated, spread out and without any meaningful resources that there seems little anyone can do to stop China’s economic onslaught. Huge open pit mines, industrial-scale mono-crop agriculture, large Chinese-only casino towns, un-impeded import of every type of consumer good, uncontrolled entry of Chinese traders and settlers, etc.
May 13, 1969
Dear Roger,
1RAR, 28th Commonwealth Infantry Brigade – May 13th 1969
I am searching for information on the activity of the Brigade during the riots but since you have not provided a direct link, I haven’t had much luck. Here is a link I ‘ve found so far (Section-Race Riots): http://www.taylor.id.au/8%20RAR%20Submission.pdf
Thank you
The strongman strikes again: A chat with Mam Sonando’s lawyer, Sok Sam Oeun
China is back in Cambodia as seen in the recent Cambodian veto of the South China Sea communique within ASEAN. With Vietnam increasingly forging ahead with an ever closer relationship with the US, China needs Cambodia and Laos more than ever by throwing in investment money to outflank Vietnam even though these 2 countries have strong military ties with its eastern neighbour.
Corruption in Malaysia and Singapore
This story in the Asian Sentinel provides an in-depth analysis of the recent settlement between the Najib administration and Tajuddin Ramli, one time Mahathir and UMNO poster boy of Malay corporate success on his outstanding debts (more than half a billion ringgit).
The article provides even further evidence that UMNO is indeed beyond redemption and all of Najib’s tough talk of stamping out corruption is just as empty as his political slogan “1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now.”