The writer of this article seems to have completely ignored that fact that despite Thailand’s claims of being a democratic country, this “charming” PM of ours did not attain his position through democratic means, but as a result of a coup d’etat. Hang on, but didn’t he say that “he would accept the result and reconsider his own political career.” General elections? His party lost! And then boycotted an election. And then lost again! That is what’s considered “accepting results”, is it? Oh, and “pro-poor” and “pro-farmer”, is he? I seem to have a mild case of déj├а vu.
And he is “set to shape Thailand at a historic juncture?” If so, we are in serious (even more than we already are) trouble!
Perhaps it is also worth noting that many, perhaps most, of the booksellers stocked copies of Fah Diew Kan, and some of the stalls selling VCDs and DVDs included lectures and seminars by insightful NM commenter Somsak Jeamteerasakul. Wikileaks was namechecked on some t-shirts, and on others a cartoon red ant tugged at a gem-wearing blue whale — the latter meant to appeal to children, I guess 😉
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by noname, New Mandala. New Mandala said: Red Sky at Night – UDD at Democracy Monument: At Democracy Monument on 20 February 2011, tens of thousands of UD… http://bit.ly/gdqmIg […]
Thailand seriously expects any democracy (non-sham division) will extradite anyone convicted in absentia? There’s some serious self-delusion at play here…
“…..market leader SKS Microfinance, which staged a highly successful initial public share offer three months ago, said it was reducing its interest rate in Andhra Pradesh to 24.55 percent from 26.69 percent as a “voluntary” action.”
That would seem to indicate that the Indian government-authorised MFI situation is more akin to – though clearly even more usurious – the “informal” moneylenders (aka “loan sharks”) operating undercover in Thailand.
“Read more about India’s major crisis in Microlending at: “
I wonder if Vichai N did “read more” – given that the rest of the article is behind WSJ’s paywall. He might have asked himself (as I do) just what relevance an article about the particular circumstances of competing commercial micro-loan schemes in one state in India (Andhra Pradesh) has to the very different Thai village fund situation – even allowing that there’s potential for that state’s for-profit micro-finance woes to spread to others in India….. (though see the post from Ian Kris about this – page 2 in the Comments section of the WSJ article).
This village fund is a legal entity and operates like any bank. It does not lack assets. There are nothing strange about the commercial bank loan.
Microfinance has been successful when it is done right, but when you hand 1 million Baht without preparing the ground with proper training, its success will depend completely on the quality of the people managing the funds.
This does not necessarily mean that Thaksin’s Village Fund Program was bad policy. Recall the situation of Thailand in 2001. Thailand was still recovering from the 1997 crisis. There was a global slowdown due to the dot-com bust, and Thailand is dependent on export. The World bank was projecting a meager 2% growth in GDP. Poor people was expected to bear the brunt of the fall.
The Thai government needed to launch an economic stimulus package to revitalize the economy. It had to be temporary, generate multiplier effects, and be pro-poor. Seen in this light the program looks a bit better.
@ Karl Burnside#11,
Perhaps I can shed some light on what Edward Moulton meant. Recently a Mahidol University graduate in Engineering inquired what it would take for him to be accepted into a graduate program at MIT, and he was informed that there was nothing he could do, based on his undergraduate degree, that would qualify him for acceptance. All of the top tier universities in Thailand, with only a few exceptional programs here and there, are shortchanging those Thai students with the highest potential for world class excellence by providing them mediocre training.
According to the “Webometrics Ranking of World Universities,” a product of the Cybermetrics Lab, a research group belonging to the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientр╣Нficas (CSIC), the largest public research body in Spain–Chulalongkorn University is ranked 418th in the world, below the University of Alabama Birmingham and Kassel University in Germany, but slightly above Queensland University of Technology and Southern Methodist University. http://www.webometrics.info/top12000.asp?offset=400
They use quantitative methods such as data mining techniques to evaluate “indicators that allow us to measure the scientific activity on the Web.”
Frankly, I would not be surprised if Chula doesn’t continue to fall further down the list in the coming years because its technological and scientific productivity continues to lag behind the remainder of the world, most of Asia, and indeed, even Prince of Songkhla University, which is ranked 324th!
Yes, yes. Microlending and small scale finance is not perfect. It has had many well-publicized problems lately. However, as I noted, your statement:
“… usually village/rural loans/funds are prone to gross abuse and mismanagement.”
Is simply not true.
And as we have seen in the example of up to 90% of the funds being captured by bureaucrats and politicians prior to distribution in the case of the flood relief funds, government directed programs are also often prone to gross abuse and mismanagement.
You have not made any effort or any progress in providing a case that direct support for the poor is less effective or more corrupt than indirect support channeled through government agencies.
Very many thanks to Ajarn Somsak for this disturbing news of the nighttime arrest of Surachai Sae Daen — one more source of news can be found here: http://www.prachatai.com/journal/2011/02/33231
Does anyone know the procedural rules around arresting without a prior summoning warrant? Does the Criminal Procedure Code stipulate specific conditions in which this is possible, or is this discretionary?
Of course , besides being a social club-finishing school for the dumb rich, CU has bright students with high potential BUT the higher learning they receive, like other Thai universities, will be not learning how to think critically as global citizens, but rather becoming Thai, conformist, gaining a credential which has little value internationally
No need to apologise. I am sure Elizabeth will be very understanding!
Moreover, anybody who has read David Streckfuss’ Truth on Trial will know that there appear to be (large numbers of) other lese majeste cases (see p. 195) that end up receiving no attention whatsoever. Streckfuss illustrates the remarkable spike in lese majeste cases since 2005.
We are always open to publishing details on those matters, if anyone has them to hand.
Chula U was 180th in said ranking, University of Cambridge and Harvard U was first and second. Australian National University was highly ranked at 20th.
John Mallot (a former US ambassador to Malaysia) argues that Najib is pandering to Muslim Malay supremacists:
In my Wall Street Journal op-ed, I said that Najib and his government are doing and saying these things to shore up their political base in the Malay community. And I stand by my opinion.
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Long arm of Thailand’s Computer Crimes Act
Does anyone have a reference to original pamphlet from the MICT?
Abhisit at history’s juncture
The writer of this article seems to have completely ignored that fact that despite Thailand’s claims of being a democratic country, this “charming” PM of ours did not attain his position through democratic means, but as a result of a coup d’etat. Hang on, but didn’t he say that “he would accept the result and reconsider his own political career.” General elections? His party lost! And then boycotted an election. And then lost again! That is what’s considered “accepting results”, is it? Oh, and “pro-poor” and “pro-farmer”, is he? I seem to have a mild case of déj├а vu.
And he is “set to shape Thailand at a historic juncture?” If so, we are in serious (even more than we already are) trouble!
Red Sky at Night – UDD at Democracy Monument
Perhaps it is also worth noting that many, perhaps most, of the booksellers stocked copies of Fah Diew Kan, and some of the stalls selling VCDs and DVDs included lectures and seminars by insightful NM commenter Somsak Jeamteerasakul. Wikileaks was namechecked on some t-shirts, and on others a cartoon red ant tugged at a gem-wearing blue whale — the latter meant to appeal to children, I guess 😉
The Great Constitutional Monarch
This review is highly worthy of translation for this blog.
Abhisit at history’s juncture
Has Abhisit been appointed Crown Prince or something?!
Red Sky at Night – UDD at Democracy Monument
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by noname, New Mandala. New Mandala said: Red Sky at Night – UDD at Democracy Monument: At Democracy Monument on 20 February 2011, tens of thousands of UD… http://bit.ly/gdqmIg […]
Long arm of Thailand’s Computer Crimes Act
Thailand seriously expects any democracy (non-sham division) will extradite anyone convicted in absentia? There’s some serious self-delusion at play here…
Long arm of Thailand’s Computer Crimes Act
Let them try to extradite someone for such a ridiculous offense and see how far their “long arm” really reaches.
Preparing the vote-buying bogeyman
Apologies – forgot to include reference to a rather revealing AFP report about the peculiarities of the Andhra Pradesh/Indian situation: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h5nKHhqf7bD1bx7lYmuuuc61_VEg
It includes this startling element:
“…..market leader SKS Microfinance, which staged a highly successful initial public share offer three months ago, said it was reducing its interest rate in Andhra Pradesh to 24.55 percent from 26.69 percent as a “voluntary” action.”
That would seem to indicate that the Indian government-authorised MFI situation is more akin to – though clearly even more usurious – the “informal” moneylenders (aka “loan sharks”) operating undercover in Thailand.
Preparing the vote-buying bogeyman
Re #51
“Read more about India’s major crisis in Microlending at: “
I wonder if Vichai N did “read more” – given that the rest of the article is behind WSJ’s paywall. He might have asked himself (as I do) just what relevance an article about the particular circumstances of competing commercial micro-loan schemes in one state in India (Andhra Pradesh) has to the very different Thai village fund situation – even allowing that there’s potential for that state’s for-profit micro-finance woes to spread to others in India….. (though see the post from Ian Kris about this – page 2 in the Comments section of the WSJ article).
For an informative response to the whole WSJ article see http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elisabeth-rhyne/on-microfinance-whos-to-b_b_777911.html
For more specifics on the Indian MFI situation, I recommend reading the article at http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2771&Itemid=425
Long arm of Thailand’s Computer Crimes Act
This is utter megalomania upon stilts! Why does such a strong unshakeable institution need such a fascist defense?
Preparing the vote-buying bogeyman
Leah – 49
This village fund is a legal entity and operates like any bank. It does not lack assets. There are nothing strange about the commercial bank loan.
Microfinance has been successful when it is done right, but when you hand 1 million Baht without preparing the ground with proper training, its success will depend completely on the quality of the people managing the funds.
This does not necessarily mean that Thaksin’s Village Fund Program was bad policy. Recall the situation of Thailand in 2001. Thailand was still recovering from the 1997 crisis. There was a global slowdown due to the dot-com bust, and Thailand is dependent on export. The World bank was projecting a meager 2% growth in GDP. Poor people was expected to bear the brunt of the fall.
The Thai government needed to launch an economic stimulus package to revitalize the economy. It had to be temporary, generate multiplier effects, and be pro-poor. Seen in this light the program looks a bit better.
University rankings from Chula’s perspective
@ Karl Burnside#11,
Perhaps I can shed some light on what Edward Moulton meant. Recently a Mahidol University graduate in Engineering inquired what it would take for him to be accepted into a graduate program at MIT, and he was informed that there was nothing he could do, based on his undergraduate degree, that would qualify him for acceptance. All of the top tier universities in Thailand, with only a few exceptional programs here and there, are shortchanging those Thai students with the highest potential for world class excellence by providing them mediocre training.
University rankings from Chula’s perspective
According to the “Webometrics Ranking of World Universities,” a product of the Cybermetrics Lab, a research group belonging to the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientр╣Нficas (CSIC), the largest public research body in Spain–Chulalongkorn University is ranked 418th in the world, below the University of Alabama Birmingham and Kassel University in Germany, but slightly above Queensland University of Technology and Southern Methodist University.
http://www.webometrics.info/top12000.asp?offset=400
They use quantitative methods such as data mining techniques to evaluate “indicators that allow us to measure the scientific activity on the Web.”
Frankly, I would not be surprised if Chula doesn’t continue to fall further down the list in the coming years because its technological and scientific productivity continues to lag behind the remainder of the world, most of Asia, and indeed, even Prince of Songkhla University, which is ranked 324th!
Preparing the vote-buying bogeyman
Vichai,
Yes, yes. Microlending and small scale finance is not perfect. It has had many well-publicized problems lately. However, as I noted, your statement:
“… usually village/rural loans/funds are prone to gross abuse and mismanagement.”
Is simply not true.
And as we have seen in the example of up to 90% of the funds being captured by bureaucrats and politicians prior to distribution in the case of the flood relief funds, government directed programs are also often prone to gross abuse and mismanagement.
You have not made any effort or any progress in providing a case that direct support for the poor is less effective or more corrupt than indirect support channeled through government agencies.
Justice on Trial: Darunee Charnchoengsilpakul and the Thai Constitutional Court
Very many thanks to Ajarn Somsak for this disturbing news of the nighttime arrest of Surachai Sae Daen — one more source of news can be found here:
http://www.prachatai.com/journal/2011/02/33231
Does anyone know the procedural rules around arresting without a prior summoning warrant? Does the Criminal Procedure Code stipulate specific conditions in which this is possible, or is this discretionary?
University rankings from Chula’s perspective
Of course , besides being a social club-finishing school for the dumb rich, CU has bright students with high potential BUT the higher learning they receive, like other Thai universities, will be not learning how to think critically as global citizens, but rather becoming Thai, conformist, gaining a credential which has little value internationally
Justice on Trial: Darunee Charnchoengsilpakul and the Thai Constitutional Court
Ajarn Somsak,
No need to apologise. I am sure Elizabeth will be very understanding!
Moreover, anybody who has read David Streckfuss’ Truth on Trial will know that there appear to be (large numbers of) other lese majeste cases (see p. 195) that end up receiving no attention whatsoever. Streckfuss illustrates the remarkable spike in lese majeste cases since 2005.
We are always open to publishing details on those matters, if anyone has them to hand.
Best wishes to all,
Nich
University rankings from Chula’s perspective
Maybe this could help: QS World University Rankings Results 2010
http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings
Chula U was 180th in said ranking, University of Cambridge and Harvard U was first and second. Australian National University was highly ranked at 20th.
Najib hailed as a great reformer by Greg Sheridan
John Mallot (a former US ambassador to Malaysia) argues that Najib is pandering to Muslim Malay supremacists: