Tarrin #65 – excellent post.
Thank you very much for explaining the intricacies of Thaksin’s taxi scheme, especially for us farang, who I think have found it very difficult to follow exactly what was going on with this issue – and neither Bangkok Post nor Nation were great help.
There was a good point raised in a question to Chris Baker about six months ago, at the FCCT, on this issue. But nobody answered it as well as you have.
I did notice an improvement in Bangkok taxis under Thaksin – but on the downside, there was more of them : so traffic congestion got worse, or stayed the same.
Thanks for explaining very well. It appears the taxi system in Thailand is a reverse to what is happening in Sydney.
Same sort of system based on the Taxi cooperatives was used in Sydney till the day they commercialized the Taxi plates. Before most driver owned the Taxi plate and car through their cooperatives.
Now mafia and the banks own most of the plates and a taxi plate costs more than almost half a million bucks in Sydney. And so the drivers are forced to rent the plate and car at very high rent. A 12 hours night shift in Friday night could cost more than $200 now.
The result is almost no Australians drive cabs and only the hard-pressed recent migrants and foreign students drive taxis in Sydney as the driver’s earnings are so low to survive here.
Good on Thaksin Shinawat for his good deeds in helping the poor Thai cabbies.
Hla Oo – 64
It was called the “Ua Ar Thorn Taxi” project and I think many taxi work shops are following similar idea.
So a bit of background story as usual, if you live in Thailand some 10 years ago they will see that a lot of Taxi in Bkk were dominated by the Yellow-Green stripe one (aka the private owner) not until later, during Thaksin to be exact, that we are seeing more and more pink, red-blue, red, and blue taxi, well this is directly resulted from the project.
Anyway, the problem why it was so expensive before was because there are many mafia in the taxi ring before, since if you want to be a taxi there are so many cost associating to it, first you got to have permit then you have to have the taxi driving license, the insurance for your car and the most important thing is, you got to have a car. To add salt to the injury, the ministry of transportation had this very shady procedure in registered the taxi car which could takes weeks to complete.
So as you know, most NE people are too poor to have enough money to invest in any of that, so instead they go to the taxi mafia to ask for loan and car to drive so thing get worst from there.
So what Thaksin did was to set up a co-op fund, the money was initially given by the government in term of low cost loan (I believe it was around 3-4%) the money was use under supervision of the taxi drivers’ group representative to set up work shop so that the maintenance could be centralize (thus reduce cost). The car rental was divided into 2 shift, noon and night, so that the car can be use by 2 people instead of 1 to maximize profit (because you can have a car generated to the workshop around 700-800 baht per day sharing by 2 drivers at the cost of 300-400 each) people who which to buy a taxi could get the car at a very cheap price (I think less than 200,000 which they can ask loan from the fund) then pay the rest in form of daily renter. Furthermore, the insurance is now being issue in large numbers under the work shop name (instead for a single car), so this reduced cost further.
Thaksin also revamp the ministry of transportation so now it took less than a day to get the permit, license, and the condition assurance check with only fraction of the cost it used to be, so this made the ex-taxi mafia easily converted their illegal lending activity into a legitimated one (thus reduce the mafia money and other illegal operation). That is why they are now afford to rent a taxi at half the price of what they paid before. The system has been used successfully in Taiwan, so Thaksin flew in about 5-6 representative of the taxi committee and about 2-3 people from the ministry of transportation to observe and copy the model from the Taiwanese.
I hope this answer you question Hla-Oo
Furthermore, I hope that the people that hated Thaksin should be more understanding to why the taxi driver love Thaksin so much, its not because Thaksin pays them money (oh well maybe indirectly) but he really turn taxi to be a feasible career choice for many poor people. Oh and I heard that someone is trying to stead the lime light and claim that the project was his idea all along (I cant the the name of the person because of the LM law but you all know who he is)
Here is another victim from this inhumane law. Thailand is the only country on earth with a Lese Majeste law which shut people from speaking the truth. For god sake, 50 years for speaking against something. Come on, some homicide case get only 10-15 years in jail. Is insulting someone more severe than killing a fellow human? I cannot believe this nonsense.
However, I don’t want to sound insulting but it appears that you are the product of a Thai university education. Is that correct? The reason I write that is because your diatribe is full of grammatical and spelling mistakes. In fact, your declaration of invective against the Red Shirt propagandists remains me of the incoherence and inability of many of my Thai students to write and to express themselves properly in English. I then have to notify them that they will fail my course but once they hand over to me a white envelope with 2,000 baht inside I make sure that they get at least a C (first letter in the word corruption). (Note: If a student seeks to get a B – for bourgeoisie – he/she must pay a minimum of 3,000 baht while a student looking to be awarded an A – for amart – must give 4,000 baht or more. I love this country!)
Look, if you want to support The Cause (PAD/Yellow Shirts/Amart) then do us a favor and tone down the ranting and the raving. You are giving the Yellow Shirts a bad name with your non-intellectual discourse. As a fan of the PAD and Mr. Clean I and many other civilized elites are mobilizing ourselves to protect the integrity of the Institution (i.e. the military-bureaucratic complex) against our enemies, the Red Shirt masses. Remember that they outnumber us considerably, have plenty of backing/presence in the Bangkok metropolitan area, and engage in superstitious black magic rituals. Will you join with us to stop Thai citizens from voicing their dissenting opinions in public and challenging the enlightened oligarchy? But first you must prove your worth.
So, here’s an assignment in which you can earn some bonus points. I would like you to investigate and report on the glorious resurrection of the Yellow Shirts and on any POSITIVE developments pertaining to the New Politics Party. After you have compiled your findings in essay format please share it with the NM community. I know for a fact that we would be more than interested in reading your scholarly work. But do not copy, cut and paste. I am familiar with the tendency of Thai university students to engage in this sort of activity when the topic to be studied is difficult.
I must say that both Hua Hin Dave and Val are absolutely correct in their pronouncements. I for one believe that their long-term residence in Thailand definitely certify them as expert and objective observers of the political scene.
I know that both Hua Hin Dave and Val would agree with me that it is preferable that Thailand be governed by an educated and civilized elite than country bumpkins from the North or the Northeast. What do they know about politics and the complexities of democracy in the first place? Government is serious business and elections must be conducted by people who are intelligent and knowledgeable. People with a prathom-level education cannot be trusted to make informed decisions. Indeed, I have suggested to a close friend of mine who happens to be a well-known PAD figure that Thailand should have a literacy test to determine who can vote. He has passed on my proposal for consideration to the senior leadership of the New Politics Party.
I know that both Hua Hin Dave and Val would agree with me that the people’s power movement (Yellow Shirts) that galvanized all of Thailand, challenged bravely the autocratic regime of Thaksin Shinawatra and single-handedly overthrew a despotic dictatorship of criminals, allowed the country to take a giant leap forward in establishing true amart democracy. We owe the PAD so much. The Yellow Shirts adhered to non-violent tactics but Thaksin’s puppets with no provocation from the PAD protesters whatsoever used extreme violence against unarmed civilians. The Yellow Shirts merely exercised their constitutionally-mandated rights in conducting a sit-in both at Government House and at Don Muang/Suvarnabhumi airports but they were branded as enemies of the state by a government with no popular mandate. Nobody can call into question the integrity and patriotism demonstrated by the PAD during those moments of crisis. As opposed to the Red Shirts, the Yellow Shirts were not bankrolled by a criminal, instead all of their funding came from donations from ordinary Thais. (I reject any spurious accusations that labour union members were obligated to contribute a percentage of their salaries to The Cause. It was completely voluntary not mandatory.)
I know that both Hua Hin Dave and Val would agree with me that there is nothing contradictory about a democracy being guided and protected by the military. Look, I have visited the Union of Myanmar numerous times and it is a well-administered country. Its military leaders have done a fabulous job of providing security and stability. And foreigners interested in exploiting the country’s resources are welcome to do business there. Thailand should learn from its western neighbour. Plus, the coup which ousted Thaksin from power was the genuine expression of the silent majority, in other words, democracy in action!
I know that both Hua Hin Dave and Val would agree with me that the administration of PM Abhisit Vejjajiva is a shining example of incorruptibility, rule of law, transparency, accountability, civic consciousness and good governance. That being said, I challenge anyone to produce documented proof of any corruption, ill-gotten wealth, backroom deals or law-breaking by anyone in the prime minister’s cabinet, the Democrat Party or member of the current standing coalition and to present it to the NM for eventual publication. PM Abhisit is an able head of government who understands the imperative to work in close partnership with the military and bureaucratic elite. Ever since he assumed the reins of power and authority in December 2008 (through constitutional means not through money politics, mind you) the violence in the Far South has almost disappeared, the judicial system has become independent once more, the economy has been maintained on an even keel (contrary to the opinions expressed by many Thai “observers”, the stimulus packages put together by the Abhisit administration is NOT internationally financed), and the interests of the Thai people have been served with no personal enrichment taking place at all. Amazing Thailand!
I know that both Hua Hin Dave and Val would agree with me that the Red Shirts are a dangerous mob and should be dealt a lesson by the State. Why are there so many people supporting a non-democratic group that represents only a dark past and a criminal who gained political office through fraud, deception and vote-buying? It needs to be declared that Thaksin violated the spirit of the 1997 Constitution and so it had to be trashed. Remember it was only a piece of paper with words on it. Indeed, the charter was not representative of the respectable law-abiding masses but the 2007 Constitution is and was passed with a thunderous majority, much to the chagrin of Thaksin and his hoodlums. Do not be fooled! The Red Shirt whores are simply a rent-a-crowd that have no legitimate reason for their campaign of civil unrest. Their presence in my beloved Bangkok is both an inconvenience and a nuisance to us white-collar professionals and privileged expats. I am tired of seeing more poor people on the streets of the City of Angels who urinate and defecate in public, openly consume large quantities of alcohol and methamphetamine (how does one explain their endurance in the blazing heat and humidity?), eat plants and insects just like a herd of water buffalo, and engage in sexual deviancy. Why don’t these pathetic sharecroppers go back to their rice fields and once more become obedient and productive economic units?
For your information, it is accepted as fact that peasants do not possess the same intellect as members of the bourgeoisie. Ask anyone (Hua Hin Dave and Val) who has spent time in Isaan and they will tell you that the people of this part of the Kingdom are uncouth, gullible, backward, licentious, and woefully ignorant of politics. Should they be permitted to exercise their “rights” and participate in the political process? I think the answer is quite obvious, don’t you? Show them a 1,000 baht note and they salivate at the mouth! We should look up to Khun Abhisit; he is a model citizen for everyone in Thailand to follow (I really like his designer suits. Out of curiosity, does anybody know who his tailor is?)
By the way, I have a nice bungalow in Hua Hin and every time I spend a weekend there I feel relaxed. While overlooking the Gulf of Siam from my balcony with a cup of aromatic espresso, I think to myself, “This should be Thailand’s future. Everybody knows their place, especially the Thais; everybody is friendly, especially the Thais; and everybody is satisfied, especially the Thais. In short, Happiness actualized.” I am far from worries.
Oops, I better stop here. Commercials are over and my favorite drama is back on. I told my Isaan maid that she can join the family in watching TV but she will have to sit on the floor.
How can I forget that other snippet of horror story concocted on NM? That’s why I reckon you have an agenda starting from U Thant’s funeral, another ‘eyewitness’ account of yours. Granted violence is a part of human nature, but how you’ve carried on about, and continue to do so, the violent nature of the Burmese as a race serves a purpose – to apportion at least equal blame on the people and the junta.
You quoted a colonialist historian to support you theory, and expect us to give credence to that. Well done.
A couple of days ago I left a comment on the SBS site asking about the blocking; no sign of that question or an answer to it, but today the video played via my TOT ADSL – in Thailand.
Tarrin #60 don’t feel obligated to respond to Duangjai #57 as I believe it’s just
a silly troll allowed through by the site administrators in a not so subtle attempt
to inflame the paranoia of the latent communist sympathizers lurking on the mailing list of NM.
Either that or it is really George Jetson in disguise offering an example of a fair,
dispassionate and sorta interesting report of the Yellow view point.
Is that you George?
We know you are trying to make a point but by using all capitals letter its very hard to read.
Anyway, I advised you to go and read some “non-fiction” history about Thailand first, think carefully about what was really going on with the country and what happened in the last 75 years or so. (The King Never Smile, might be a good start but I have to admitted that there are several unproven rumors in the book so take it with a grain of salt)
Anyway, I’m not red, but I have to admitted that there are some element of the red movement that fit to my ideology (to have true democracy), now since I do sincerely want you to stop being a blind troll I will answers your question to simulated how I believed almost all of the red will answers.
YOU WANT “THAKSIN” TO RULE OUR COUNTRY BUT WHAT HAVE HE DONE TO OUR COUNTRY TO MAKE IT BETTER??
One would be to pay back the IMF debt, thus release us from the monetary control of the IMF.
Second would be the social reorganization, the club now has to be close at 2 am and no underage allows (which I think its a really good policy)
Third would be the serious narcotic suppression, some people might think too many jurisdiction execution cases, I my opinion, its more involve with inter-fighting between the drugs lords rather than the police.
Forth would be Suvannaphummi is finally finish (god it took 40 years!)
Fifth would be his universal health care, 30 baht project
Sixth would be the “1 million baht per village” project
Seventh would be the low cost “Ua Ar Thorn House” project
Eight would be the Taxi reorganization program, before the driver has to pay almost 800-1000 baht to rent a taxi, now trough imitation the system from Taiwan the cost was reduced to around 300 a day, that’s the main reason why the taxi love Thaksin so much.
Ninth would be the “floor price” guarantee for rice farmer, it superior to other government “guarantee price” in a way that it leave very little room for corruption and it is more effective in dispersing the money to the farmers
Tenth would be the OTOP project, which I think if the later government really drive this project, we would be something similar to Japan, how unfortunate.
Eleventh would be he literally destroy the “rubber mafia”, if you notice, before (in 2000 price) rubber price was about 13 baht a kilogram after Thaksin took over the office for about 4-5 months, the rubber price shoot up to 40 baht.
Twelfth would be he increase a lot of sufficiency in the government agency, now it only took 15 min get the ID (usually took 3 hours) and only about 30-45 min for passport. The most improvement would be the ministry of transportation where it only takes about 3 hours (including reviewing) to get a driving license, (before it takes a week)
There are much more, if you really go up country you will actually hear more stories, the reason you might not hear much about these policies was because you are having a comfortable life in BKK, which I dont really blame you since most of the projects aims for the poor. (I cant even find one project that benefit the middle-upper class, maybe the Suvannaphummi?)
Anyhow, some people might want to raise some concern with the project, I’m more than willing to discuss those concern but please do it in a civilize manner than state your point, I dont want to fight with a ranter.
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Bangkok or bust, Part 1
Tarrin #65 – excellent post.
Thank you very much for explaining the intricacies of Thaksin’s taxi scheme, especially for us farang, who I think have found it very difficult to follow exactly what was going on with this issue – and neither Bangkok Post nor Nation were great help.
There was a good point raised in a question to Chris Baker about six months ago, at the FCCT, on this issue. But nobody answered it as well as you have.
I did notice an improvement in Bangkok taxis under Thaksin – but on the downside, there was more of them : so traffic congestion got worse, or stayed the same.
Bangkok or bust, Part 1
Tarrin,
Thanks for explaining very well. It appears the taxi system in Thailand is a reverse to what is happening in Sydney.
Same sort of system based on the Taxi cooperatives was used in Sydney till the day they commercialized the Taxi plates. Before most driver owned the Taxi plate and car through their cooperatives.
Now mafia and the banks own most of the plates and a taxi plate costs more than almost half a million bucks in Sydney. And so the drivers are forced to rent the plate and car at very high rent. A 12 hours night shift in Friday night could cost more than $200 now.
The result is almost no Australians drive cabs and only the hard-pressed recent migrants and foreign students drive taxis in Sydney as the driver’s earnings are so low to survive here.
Good on Thaksin Shinawat for his good deeds in helping the poor Thai cabbies.
Chiranuch behind bars
The powers-that-be are building their own guillotine with this law.
“…due to the sensitive nature…”
Watching it as I type in Hua Hin via CAT.
“…due to the sensitive nature…”
The video can be seen in Japan as well.
Bangkok or bust, Part 1
Tarrin… thank you, I appreciate the insight into the taxi process
I like Thaksins direct approach in bringing in the Taiwanese to help set it up… he doesnt have the “not invented here” problem
Anecdote on aristocracy
That’s good sign, isn’it?
Oranuch on sufficiency economy
For those who can read Thai http://www.bangkokbiznews.com/2006/special/bizNes/Porphant/Porphant%20.pdf
Bangkok or bust, Part 1
Hla Oo – 64
It was called the “Ua Ar Thorn Taxi” project and I think many taxi work shops are following similar idea.
So a bit of background story as usual, if you live in Thailand some 10 years ago they will see that a lot of Taxi in Bkk were dominated by the Yellow-Green stripe one (aka the private owner) not until later, during Thaksin to be exact, that we are seeing more and more pink, red-blue, red, and blue taxi, well this is directly resulted from the project.
Anyway, the problem why it was so expensive before was because there are many mafia in the taxi ring before, since if you want to be a taxi there are so many cost associating to it, first you got to have permit then you have to have the taxi driving license, the insurance for your car and the most important thing is, you got to have a car. To add salt to the injury, the ministry of transportation had this very shady procedure in registered the taxi car which could takes weeks to complete.
So as you know, most NE people are too poor to have enough money to invest in any of that, so instead they go to the taxi mafia to ask for loan and car to drive so thing get worst from there.
So what Thaksin did was to set up a co-op fund, the money was initially given by the government in term of low cost loan (I believe it was around 3-4%) the money was use under supervision of the taxi drivers’ group representative to set up work shop so that the maintenance could be centralize (thus reduce cost). The car rental was divided into 2 shift, noon and night, so that the car can be use by 2 people instead of 1 to maximize profit (because you can have a car generated to the workshop around 700-800 baht per day sharing by 2 drivers at the cost of 300-400 each) people who which to buy a taxi could get the car at a very cheap price (I think less than 200,000 which they can ask loan from the fund) then pay the rest in form of daily renter. Furthermore, the insurance is now being issue in large numbers under the work shop name (instead for a single car), so this reduced cost further.
Thaksin also revamp the ministry of transportation so now it took less than a day to get the permit, license, and the condition assurance check with only fraction of the cost it used to be, so this made the ex-taxi mafia easily converted their illegal lending activity into a legitimated one (thus reduce the mafia money and other illegal operation). That is why they are now afford to rent a taxi at half the price of what they paid before. The system has been used successfully in Taiwan, so Thaksin flew in about 5-6 representative of the taxi committee and about 2-3 people from the ministry of transportation to observe and copy the model from the Taiwanese.
I hope this answer you question Hla-Oo
Furthermore, I hope that the people that hated Thaksin should be more understanding to why the taxi driver love Thaksin so much, its not because Thaksin pays them money (oh well maybe indirectly) but he really turn taxi to be a feasible career choice for many poor people. Oh and I heard that someone is trying to stead the lime light and claim that the project was his idea all along (I cant the the name of the person because of the LM law but you all know who he is)
Chiranuch behind bars
Here is another victim from this inhumane law. Thailand is the only country on earth with a Lese Majeste law which shut people from speaking the truth. For god sake, 50 years for speaking against something. Come on, some homicide case get only 10-15 years in jail. Is insulting someone more severe than killing a fellow human? I cannot believe this nonsense.
Chiranuch behind bars
If I’m her, I would start finding my way out of this god forsaken country.
Chiranuch behind bars
Absolutely disgusting!
Bangkok or bust, Part 1
Tarrin,
Can you please elaborate that Taxi Reorganization Program in Bangkok. I am very interested as I am also in the taxi business.
From 800 baht down to 300 baht per day rental seems quite a radical reduction. And how did Taksin do it?
From the archive: Table XVI from Ingram (1971)
March 31, 2010
Prachatai webmaster charged
Lese majeste charge!
Bangkok or bust, Part 1
Khun Duangjai, I admire your passion.
However, I don’t want to sound insulting but it appears that you are the product of a Thai university education. Is that correct? The reason I write that is because your diatribe is full of grammatical and spelling mistakes. In fact, your declaration of invective against the Red Shirt propagandists remains me of the incoherence and inability of many of my Thai students to write and to express themselves properly in English. I then have to notify them that they will fail my course but once they hand over to me a white envelope with 2,000 baht inside I make sure that they get at least a C (first letter in the word corruption). (Note: If a student seeks to get a B – for bourgeoisie – he/she must pay a minimum of 3,000 baht while a student looking to be awarded an A – for amart – must give 4,000 baht or more. I love this country!)
Look, if you want to support The Cause (PAD/Yellow Shirts/Amart) then do us a favor and tone down the ranting and the raving. You are giving the Yellow Shirts a bad name with your non-intellectual discourse. As a fan of the PAD and Mr. Clean I and many other civilized elites are mobilizing ourselves to protect the integrity of the Institution (i.e. the military-bureaucratic complex) against our enemies, the Red Shirt masses. Remember that they outnumber us considerably, have plenty of backing/presence in the Bangkok metropolitan area, and engage in superstitious black magic rituals. Will you join with us to stop Thai citizens from voicing their dissenting opinions in public and challenging the enlightened oligarchy? But first you must prove your worth.
So, here’s an assignment in which you can earn some bonus points. I would like you to investigate and report on the glorious resurrection of the Yellow Shirts and on any POSITIVE developments pertaining to the New Politics Party. After you have compiled your findings in essay format please share it with the NM community. I know for a fact that we would be more than interested in reading your scholarly work. But do not copy, cut and paste. I am familiar with the tendency of Thai university students to engage in this sort of activity when the topic to be studied is difficult.
Grazie.
Abhisit’s talk in Oxford: From the inside
I must say that both Hua Hin Dave and Val are absolutely correct in their pronouncements. I for one believe that their long-term residence in Thailand definitely certify them as expert and objective observers of the political scene.
I know that both Hua Hin Dave and Val would agree with me that it is preferable that Thailand be governed by an educated and civilized elite than country bumpkins from the North or the Northeast. What do they know about politics and the complexities of democracy in the first place? Government is serious business and elections must be conducted by people who are intelligent and knowledgeable. People with a prathom-level education cannot be trusted to make informed decisions. Indeed, I have suggested to a close friend of mine who happens to be a well-known PAD figure that Thailand should have a literacy test to determine who can vote. He has passed on my proposal for consideration to the senior leadership of the New Politics Party.
I know that both Hua Hin Dave and Val would agree with me that the people’s power movement (Yellow Shirts) that galvanized all of Thailand, challenged bravely the autocratic regime of Thaksin Shinawatra and single-handedly overthrew a despotic dictatorship of criminals, allowed the country to take a giant leap forward in establishing true amart democracy. We owe the PAD so much. The Yellow Shirts adhered to non-violent tactics but Thaksin’s puppets with no provocation from the PAD protesters whatsoever used extreme violence against unarmed civilians. The Yellow Shirts merely exercised their constitutionally-mandated rights in conducting a sit-in both at Government House and at Don Muang/Suvarnabhumi airports but they were branded as enemies of the state by a government with no popular mandate. Nobody can call into question the integrity and patriotism demonstrated by the PAD during those moments of crisis. As opposed to the Red Shirts, the Yellow Shirts were not bankrolled by a criminal, instead all of their funding came from donations from ordinary Thais. (I reject any spurious accusations that labour union members were obligated to contribute a percentage of their salaries to The Cause. It was completely voluntary not mandatory.)
I know that both Hua Hin Dave and Val would agree with me that there is nothing contradictory about a democracy being guided and protected by the military. Look, I have visited the Union of Myanmar numerous times and it is a well-administered country. Its military leaders have done a fabulous job of providing security and stability. And foreigners interested in exploiting the country’s resources are welcome to do business there. Thailand should learn from its western neighbour. Plus, the coup which ousted Thaksin from power was the genuine expression of the silent majority, in other words, democracy in action!
I know that both Hua Hin Dave and Val would agree with me that the administration of PM Abhisit Vejjajiva is a shining example of incorruptibility, rule of law, transparency, accountability, civic consciousness and good governance. That being said, I challenge anyone to produce documented proof of any corruption, ill-gotten wealth, backroom deals or law-breaking by anyone in the prime minister’s cabinet, the Democrat Party or member of the current standing coalition and to present it to the NM for eventual publication. PM Abhisit is an able head of government who understands the imperative to work in close partnership with the military and bureaucratic elite. Ever since he assumed the reins of power and authority in December 2008 (through constitutional means not through money politics, mind you) the violence in the Far South has almost disappeared, the judicial system has become independent once more, the economy has been maintained on an even keel (contrary to the opinions expressed by many Thai “observers”, the stimulus packages put together by the Abhisit administration is NOT internationally financed), and the interests of the Thai people have been served with no personal enrichment taking place at all. Amazing Thailand!
I know that both Hua Hin Dave and Val would agree with me that the Red Shirts are a dangerous mob and should be dealt a lesson by the State. Why are there so many people supporting a non-democratic group that represents only a dark past and a criminal who gained political office through fraud, deception and vote-buying? It needs to be declared that Thaksin violated the spirit of the 1997 Constitution and so it had to be trashed. Remember it was only a piece of paper with words on it. Indeed, the charter was not representative of the respectable law-abiding masses but the 2007 Constitution is and was passed with a thunderous majority, much to the chagrin of Thaksin and his hoodlums. Do not be fooled! The Red Shirt whores are simply a rent-a-crowd that have no legitimate reason for their campaign of civil unrest. Their presence in my beloved Bangkok is both an inconvenience and a nuisance to us white-collar professionals and privileged expats. I am tired of seeing more poor people on the streets of the City of Angels who urinate and defecate in public, openly consume large quantities of alcohol and methamphetamine (how does one explain their endurance in the blazing heat and humidity?), eat plants and insects just like a herd of water buffalo, and engage in sexual deviancy. Why don’t these pathetic sharecroppers go back to their rice fields and once more become obedient and productive economic units?
For your information, it is accepted as fact that peasants do not possess the same intellect as members of the bourgeoisie. Ask anyone (Hua Hin Dave and Val) who has spent time in Isaan and they will tell you that the people of this part of the Kingdom are uncouth, gullible, backward, licentious, and woefully ignorant of politics. Should they be permitted to exercise their “rights” and participate in the political process? I think the answer is quite obvious, don’t you? Show them a 1,000 baht note and they salivate at the mouth! We should look up to Khun Abhisit; he is a model citizen for everyone in Thailand to follow (I really like his designer suits. Out of curiosity, does anybody know who his tailor is?)
By the way, I have a nice bungalow in Hua Hin and every time I spend a weekend there I feel relaxed. While overlooking the Gulf of Siam from my balcony with a cup of aromatic espresso, I think to myself, “This should be Thailand’s future. Everybody knows their place, especially the Thais; everybody is friendly, especially the Thais; and everybody is satisfied, especially the Thais. In short, Happiness actualized.” I am far from worries.
Oops, I better stop here. Commercials are over and my favorite drama is back on. I told my Isaan maid that she can join the family in watching TV but she will have to sit on the floor.
Bangkok or bust, Part 1
Hla Oo,
How can I forget that other snippet of horror story concocted on NM? That’s why I reckon you have an agenda starting from U Thant’s funeral, another ‘eyewitness’ account of yours. Granted violence is a part of human nature, but how you’ve carried on about, and continue to do so, the violent nature of the Burmese as a race serves a purpose – to apportion at least equal blame on the people and the junta.
You quoted a colonialist historian to support you theory, and expect us to give credence to that. Well done.
“…due to the sensitive nature…”
A couple of days ago I left a comment on the SBS site asking about the blocking; no sign of that question or an answer to it, but today the video played via my TOT ADSL – in Thailand.
And no – I’m not claiming “cause and effect” 🙂
Bangkok or bust, Part 1
Tarrin #60 don’t feel obligated to respond to Duangjai #57 as I believe it’s just
a silly troll allowed through by the site administrators in a not so subtle attempt
to inflame the paranoia of the latent communist sympathizers lurking on the mailing list of NM.
Either that or it is really George Jetson in disguise offering an example of a fair,
dispassionate and sorta interesting report of the Yellow view point.
Is that you George?
Bangkok or bust, Part 1
Duangjai – 57
We know you are trying to make a point but by using all capitals letter its very hard to read.
Anyway, I advised you to go and read some “non-fiction” history about Thailand first, think carefully about what was really going on with the country and what happened in the last 75 years or so. (The King Never Smile, might be a good start but I have to admitted that there are several unproven rumors in the book so take it with a grain of salt)
Anyway, I’m not red, but I have to admitted that there are some element of the red movement that fit to my ideology (to have true democracy), now since I do sincerely want you to stop being a blind troll I will answers your question to simulated how I believed almost all of the red will answers.
YOU WANT “THAKSIN” TO RULE OUR COUNTRY BUT WHAT HAVE HE DONE TO OUR COUNTRY TO MAKE IT BETTER??
One would be to pay back the IMF debt, thus release us from the monetary control of the IMF.
Second would be the social reorganization, the club now has to be close at 2 am and no underage allows (which I think its a really good policy)
Third would be the serious narcotic suppression, some people might think too many jurisdiction execution cases, I my opinion, its more involve with inter-fighting between the drugs lords rather than the police.
Forth would be Suvannaphummi is finally finish (god it took 40 years!)
Fifth would be his universal health care, 30 baht project
Sixth would be the “1 million baht per village” project
Seventh would be the low cost “Ua Ar Thorn House” project
Eight would be the Taxi reorganization program, before the driver has to pay almost 800-1000 baht to rent a taxi, now trough imitation the system from Taiwan the cost was reduced to around 300 a day, that’s the main reason why the taxi love Thaksin so much.
Ninth would be the “floor price” guarantee for rice farmer, it superior to other government “guarantee price” in a way that it leave very little room for corruption and it is more effective in dispersing the money to the farmers
Tenth would be the OTOP project, which I think if the later government really drive this project, we would be something similar to Japan, how unfortunate.
Eleventh would be he literally destroy the “rubber mafia”, if you notice, before (in 2000 price) rubber price was about 13 baht a kilogram after Thaksin took over the office for about 4-5 months, the rubber price shoot up to 40 baht.
Twelfth would be he increase a lot of sufficiency in the government agency, now it only took 15 min get the ID (usually took 3 hours) and only about 30-45 min for passport. The most improvement would be the ministry of transportation where it only takes about 3 hours (including reviewing) to get a driving license, (before it takes a week)
There are much more, if you really go up country you will actually hear more stories, the reason you might not hear much about these policies was because you are having a comfortable life in BKK, which I dont really blame you since most of the projects aims for the poor. (I cant even find one project that benefit the middle-upper class, maybe the Suvannaphummi?)
Anyhow, some people might want to raise some concern with the project, I’m more than willing to discuss those concern but please do it in a civilize manner than state your point, I dont want to fight with a ranter.