Soonuk. When criticizing someone else for being an ajarn who is claimed to be mistaken, get the facts right. No one with even a Wikipedia knowledge of Australia and Britain could claim: “PM Abhisit came to power in exactly the same way that Gordon Brown
come to power in the UK and in some ways similar to the way Julia Gillard came to power in Australia…”.
Oops, sorry, I forgot that the regime itself makes these false comparisons for their own political purposes.
It is not so difficult to understand how the archaic ‘patronage system’ has corrupted much of Thailand’s social and economic life. Thailand’s democracy is just a mask under which those with power and influence operate within a ‘clique’ mentality. This mentality is widely accepted even envied by those who do not possess the influence or blood connections to be in the corrupt loop.
In many parts of Asia this is how business is done. Powerful people who have amassed huge wealth illicitly in countries like Thailand protect themselves by association to those that govern and protect the country. In many cases family members have infiltrated these very institutions enabling their corrupt activities to thrive with impunity. These people are not ‘royalty’ yet due to their wealth, power and influence assume protection through an association that doesn’t really exist. Social inequity and the double standards that flourish as a result of this ‘feudal mentality’ can only be addressed when there is real debate on how society has evolved in the kingdom. Opening this debate will be a huge task in itself because as the the Thai author Pira Sudham states in his book ‘Force of Karma ” “It is not only the pursuit of knowledge but also the process of reasoning and thinking and opinion forming to rebuild a mind that has being maimed during the formative years by an age-old education system so as to become a thinking person.You and I have been subjected to authoritative teaching and rote learning meant to induce obedience, subservience and mindlessness. We are supposed to become unthinking, silent and submissive so as to be governable, exploitable and harmless. We are not supposed to have inquiring minds and critical thinking, to be opinionated, forthright and opposing the authorities in any way”
I think this quote says it all.
Julia Gillard and Gordon Brown were shafted by their OWN parties, a perfectly legitimate tactic as long as its followed up quickly with a general election. Both the Australian and British Labour (or Labor, in the case of Australia) parties did so – with mixed results. All fair and square. In contrast, Thailand is still waiting for an election to legitimise the current government’s coup d’etat of a DIFFERENT political party. They don’t appear to be in a hurry.
[…] bail to Darunee Charnchoensilpak, despite the annulling of her sentence, Elizabeth Fitzgerald at New Mandala highlights the looming constitutional crisis in Thailand. Fitzgerald points out that when the […]
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Grafik Maniak, New Mandala. New Mandala said: Abhisit at history’s juncture: Groomed to lead from an early age, [Prime Minister] Abhisit [Vejjajiva] looks set… http://bit.ly/gNg3oI […]
This is a very interesting article. But I fail to see how knowing the physical birth process reduces suffering now or in the future.
The only way this would make sense is if Gotama was trying to dissolve the human race. Which, of course, would end human suffering. But is the termination of reproduction really what Buddhism is all about?
It does make a lot of sense for the fund to pay more interest for longer term deposits, but that should also reduce the requirements for keeping cash on hand.
You also have to make some adjustment for defaults and acknowledge that there is a government subsidy that lowers cost of funds and permits this level of profitability.
I’m not sure if village funds are a good business. If they are, maybe that means the subsidy is too high.
But I do think it is good policy and would appear to be an effective way to use state resources to improve quality of life for villagers.
I just found this paper on the Thai village funds, which looks useful, but I haven’t read it yet.
An Ajarn seems to be terribly confused. Somewhat of a worry if he is
in fact a teacher.
PM Abhisit came to power in exactly the same way that Gordon Brown
come to power in the UK and in some ways similar to the way Julia Gillard
came to power in Australia (however that was probably dirtier politics than was seen here)
An Ajarn needs to realise that this is not America as much as he would like it to be
and the PM is not directly elected by the the populace, but through a vote in the house by
(shall I say it?) the **elected** MPs.
An Ajan seems to also be confusing past and present tenses, again a worry for a teacher.
The PM has stated that he will accept the result of a general election, but how can he accept
the result of an election that has not **yet** been held?
Perhaps An Ajarn believes that there should be no election and his hero, the tyrant Taksin
be simply reinstated?
PM Abhisit and the Democrats may not be perfect, but please open your eyes and have a look at the alternatives!
Do you really want the likes of Chalerm/Chavalit/Banharn/Sanoh running things with or without
their thugmaster Taksin?
Oh, I forgot, they really do have the interests of the poor farmers at heart don’t they.
Actually the interest rate is 1% on saving accounts, and 5% is for fixed deposits.
So…their income on lending is about 1.4 million. Expenses on borrowing roughly 300,000. Expenses for salaries, office rent, and electricity about 600,000. That will leave them with an annual profit of about 500,000. Not a bad business.
My original comment on the loan came before you corrrected the error on the amount of loans outstanding. The fund’s borrowing looks less unusual in the context of Bt8mn loans outstanding than it did in the context of Bt5mn.
That being said, it is clear that this is not a typical commercial loan. The prime lending rate in Thailand was 6% when I last checked in December. (You can get an updated figure here by scrolling down to Lending Interest Rate, http://data.worldbank.org/indicator, although it crashed my computer today). A Bt12mn fund is not borrowing at over 100 basis points below prime with out a guarantee.
A government guarantee may not be that strange, but I didn’t claim it was. I just observed tht it must exist and now repeat that observation.
It is unusual for a bank (or credit fund of any sort) to have 30% of it’s assets in cash, although the numbers appear to work in this case because they are borrowing at a subsidized rate and lending at high rates. If the cash on hand is to cover withdrawals, I would guess that demand for cash is seasonal and that you visited at a time in which they expected high levels of withdrawals. Either that or they are trying to increase loans outstanding. Otherwise it is highly inefficient.
No one borrows to pay salaries and expenses, as that is essentially eating the seed corn (or rice in this case). Expenses are paid from income.
If this fund is borrowing somewhere in the range of Bt 11mn at near 5% and lending Bt8mn at 18% (average of 12% and 24%), it should show income of around Bt860,000. This should (has to be) sufficient to pay all expenses.
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Abhisit at history’s juncture
Soonuk. When criticizing someone else for being an ajarn who is claimed to be mistaken, get the facts right. No one with even a Wikipedia knowledge of Australia and Britain could claim: “PM Abhisit came to power in exactly the same way that Gordon Brown
come to power in the UK and in some ways similar to the way Julia Gillard came to power in Australia…”.
Oops, sorry, I forgot that the regime itself makes these false comparisons for their own political purposes.
Abhisit’s ongoing campaign against free speech
It is not so difficult to understand how the archaic ‘patronage system’ has corrupted much of Thailand’s social and economic life. Thailand’s democracy is just a mask under which those with power and influence operate within a ‘clique’ mentality. This mentality is widely accepted even envied by those who do not possess the influence or blood connections to be in the corrupt loop.
In many parts of Asia this is how business is done. Powerful people who have amassed huge wealth illicitly in countries like Thailand protect themselves by association to those that govern and protect the country. In many cases family members have infiltrated these very institutions enabling their corrupt activities to thrive with impunity. These people are not ‘royalty’ yet due to their wealth, power and influence assume protection through an association that doesn’t really exist. Social inequity and the double standards that flourish as a result of this ‘feudal mentality’ can only be addressed when there is real debate on how society has evolved in the kingdom. Opening this debate will be a huge task in itself because as the the Thai author Pira Sudham states in his book ‘Force of Karma ” “It is not only the pursuit of knowledge but also the process of reasoning and thinking and opinion forming to rebuild a mind that has being maimed during the formative years by an age-old education system so as to become a thinking person.You and I have been subjected to authoritative teaching and rote learning meant to induce obedience, subservience and mindlessness. We are supposed to become unthinking, silent and submissive so as to be governable, exploitable and harmless. We are not supposed to have inquiring minds and critical thinking, to be opinionated, forthright and opposing the authorities in any way”
I think this quote says it all.
University rankings from Chula’s perspective
chris beale- 17
Not necessary, Mahidol Medical School actually has a much better medical facility than Chula and Lard Kra Bang boast best engineer faculty in SEA.
Abhisit at history’s juncture
Soonuk Dum – 4
We have no alternative because your lovely junta made the law so that everyone that is not from the Democrat Party all got banned.
Abhisit at history’s juncture
Soonuk Dum (3)
Julia Gillard and Gordon Brown were shafted by their OWN parties, a perfectly legitimate tactic as long as its followed up quickly with a general election. Both the Australian and British Labour (or Labor, in the case of Australia) parties did so – with mixed results. All fair and square. In contrast, Thailand is still waiting for an election to legitimise the current government’s coup d’etat of a DIFFERENT political party. They don’t appear to be in a hurry.
Abhisit’s ongoing campaign against free speech
[…] Also at New Mandala, Jim Taylor has a post on Surachai’s arrest and his attitude to the state’s use of lese […]
Justice on Trial: Darunee Charnchoengsilpakul and the Thai Constitutional Court
[…] bail to Darunee Charnchoensilpak, despite the annulling of her sentence, Elizabeth Fitzgerald at New Mandala highlights the looming constitutional crisis in Thailand. Fitzgerald points out that when the […]
Abhisit at history’s juncture
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Grafik Maniak, New Mandala. New Mandala said: Abhisit at history’s juncture: Groomed to lead from an early age, [Prime Minister] Abhisit [Vejjajiva] looks set… http://bit.ly/gNg3oI […]
Unpopular facts about one of Buddhist philosophy’s most popular doctrines
This is a very interesting article. But I fail to see how knowing the physical birth process reduces suffering now or in the future.
The only way this would make sense is if Gotama was trying to dissolve the human race. Which, of course, would end human suffering. But is the termination of reproduction really what Buddhism is all about?
Preparing the vote-buying bogeyman
It does make a lot of sense for the fund to pay more interest for longer term deposits, but that should also reduce the requirements for keeping cash on hand.
You also have to make some adjustment for defaults and acknowledge that there is a government subsidy that lowers cost of funds and permits this level of profitability.
I’m not sure if village funds are a good business. If they are, maybe that means the subsidy is too high.
But I do think it is good policy and would appear to be an effective way to use state resources to improve quality of life for villagers.
I just found this paper on the Thai village funds, which looks useful, but I haven’t read it yet.
http://www.wiwi.uni-hannover.de/Forschung/Diskussionspapiere/dp-417.pdf
Long arm of Thailand’s Computer Crimes Act
Is this an attempt to intimidate New Mandala ?
University rankings from Chula’s perspective
Tarrin#12 – yes : good points.
But the resources (mostly) are better at Chula than anywhere else.
Long arm of Thailand’s Computer Crimes Act
Tried both links, & got an “Oops! Did you mean: http://www.┬нmict.┬нgo.┬нth” message…
Red Sky at Night – UDD at Democracy Monument
Sailors’ delight!
Abhisit at history’s juncture
“Only distance can measure a horse.” – Old Chinese proverb
For Thailand’s 27th Prime Minister, р╕вр╕▒р╕Зр╣Ар╕гр╣Зр╕зр╣Др╕Ыр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Ир╕░р╕кр╕гр╕╕р╕Ы
(BWTSDNA)
Abhisit at history’s juncture
An Ajarn seems to be terribly confused. Somewhat of a worry if he is
in fact a teacher.
PM Abhisit came to power in exactly the same way that Gordon Brown
come to power in the UK and in some ways similar to the way Julia Gillard
came to power in Australia (however that was probably dirtier politics than was seen here)
An Ajarn needs to realise that this is not America as much as he would like it to be
and the PM is not directly elected by the the populace, but through a vote in the house by
(shall I say it?) the **elected** MPs.
An Ajan seems to also be confusing past and present tenses, again a worry for a teacher.
The PM has stated that he will accept the result of a general election, but how can he accept
the result of an election that has not **yet** been held?
Perhaps An Ajarn believes that there should be no election and his hero, the tyrant Taksin
be simply reinstated?
PM Abhisit and the Democrats may not be perfect, but please open your eyes and have a look at the alternatives!
Do you really want the likes of Chalerm/Chavalit/Banharn/Sanoh running things with or without
their thugmaster Taksin?
Oh, I forgot, they really do have the interests of the poor farmers at heart don’t they.
Preparing the vote-buying bogeyman
Leah – 56
Actually the interest rate is 1% on saving accounts, and 5% is for fixed deposits.
So…their income on lending is about 1.4 million. Expenses on borrowing roughly 300,000. Expenses for salaries, office rent, and electricity about 600,000. That will leave them with an annual profit of about 500,000. Not a bad business.
Red Sky at Night – UDD at Democracy Monument
There’s a set of more good pics of the rally at https://www.schoenes-thailand.de/leser-beitraege/7518-die-udd-machte-mobil
(The accompanying report is also good – but only if you read German)
Many more high-quality pics as a slideshow at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ratchaprasong2/sets/72157625967710083/show/ and in the usual page format at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ratchaprasong2/
Red Sky at Night – UDD at Democracy Monument
thanks for sharing the rally experiences
I wonder how many kids are trying to identify the characters from their favourite cartoon shows?
how many parents will tell them to “wait until Thailand grows up” so they can discover the real meaning?
Preparing the vote-buying bogeyman
Christoffer,
My original comment on the loan came before you corrrected the error on the amount of loans outstanding. The fund’s borrowing looks less unusual in the context of Bt8mn loans outstanding than it did in the context of Bt5mn.
That being said, it is clear that this is not a typical commercial loan. The prime lending rate in Thailand was 6% when I last checked in December. (You can get an updated figure here by scrolling down to Lending Interest Rate, http://data.worldbank.org/indicator, although it crashed my computer today). A Bt12mn fund is not borrowing at over 100 basis points below prime with out a guarantee.
A government guarantee may not be that strange, but I didn’t claim it was. I just observed tht it must exist and now repeat that observation.
It is unusual for a bank (or credit fund of any sort) to have 30% of it’s assets in cash, although the numbers appear to work in this case because they are borrowing at a subsidized rate and lending at high rates. If the cash on hand is to cover withdrawals, I would guess that demand for cash is seasonal and that you visited at a time in which they expected high levels of withdrawals. Either that or they are trying to increase loans outstanding. Otherwise it is highly inefficient.
No one borrows to pay salaries and expenses, as that is essentially eating the seed corn (or rice in this case). Expenses are paid from income.
If this fund is borrowing somewhere in the range of Bt 11mn at near 5% and lending Bt8mn at 18% (average of 12% and 24%), it should show income of around Bt860,000. This should (has to be) sufficient to pay all expenses.