2011 - Some Personal Thoughts

Originally published at Siam Voices on December 31, 2011 2011 is history and looking back on Thailand this past year, it has been yet another eventful year that brought some answers, but many more questions to the wide-spread problems that continues to plague the country in many aspects. However, 2011 brought many chances and changes, shed light on issues and topics left in the dark before, voices echoed by many and opinions uttered by a few, whether you agree with them or not.

This is a (definitely incomplete) list of these stories that happened in 2011...

Lèse majesté sees December surge

Let's start off with the most recent topic that has unfortunately brought Thailand into the world headlines for all the wrong reasons again and that is none other than the problematic issue of lèse majesté that is gripping freedom of speech. The whole month of December was filled with stories about high-profile cases and countless victims of this draconian law, the discussion to amend it and the (irrational) defenders of this law and the institution that is meant to be protected by it.

The recent surge of lèse majesté began in late November with the dubious sentence against Ampon "Uncle SMS" Tangnoppakul, despite doubtful evidence. The 62-year old grandfather is now being jailed for 20 years, five years for each alleged SMS sent. On December 8 the Thai-born US citizen was  sentenced to two and a half years prison for posting translated parts of a banned biography on the King. On December 15 'Da Torpedo', despite winning an appeal resulting in a restart of her trial, was punished to 15 years prison for alleged remarks made in 2008. These are just a few cases that happened in November and December compared to the countless other (partly ongoing or pending) cases over the past 12 months.

But the surge was also accompanied with growing and publicly displayed concern by the European Union, the United Nations and the United States Embassy in Bangkok over the increasing blatant usage of the lèse majesté law, only with the latter to be flooded with irrational, angry hate speeches and also the venue for a protest by royalists in mid-December (and also in a nearly instant iconic display of royal foolishness, the protesters are wearing Guy Fawkes masks, most likely inspired by the #Occupy-movement, but totally oblivious to its historical roots). It was not the first time this year that this issue got attention from the international community, as seen in October.

The government of prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra was elected into office last July (see below), and while she would have liked to see some change on the application of the law, not to the law itself though, the new ICT minister has vowed to exploit this to the fullest. He was only to be topped by deputy prime minister Chalerm Yubamrung a few months later, who went into full combat mode and declared war on lèse majesté web content with a THB400m ($12,6m) strong war chest, right after a meeting with the military's top brasses. The hopes of many supporters of the Pheu Thai Party, especially the red shirts, are at latest by now fully gone, as this government already has a tainted record on this issue.

But there was also an important protest by opponents of lèse majesté - the "Fearlessness Walk" shows that this issue can no longer be ignored and the consequences of its enforcement are doing exactly the opposite of what it is supposed to do. It is drawing attention to the ambiguous nature of Article 112 of the criminal code (as well as the Computer Crimes Act), it is drawing attention to the signs of changing times and those who refuse to see them, and ultimately it will draw more opposition - we will (unfortunately) hear more about this issue in 2012!

(Non-)Culture: Baring the unbearable and monopolizing "Thai"-ness

While we're on the subject on being subjected to the anachronistic ideas of a few, there were several stories in 2011 in the realms of culture that were disconcerting, to say the least. It wasn't so much the incidents themselves rather the reactions by those self-proclaimed cultural heralds of everything "Thai"-ness - a phrase I've been using too often in each of those stories: three girls dancing topless on Songkran, the then-culture minister calls for a crackdown on them as if they have attacked everything "Thai"-ness stands for. A few months later the same culture minister suddenly notices that infidels foreigners are getting Buddhist tattoos and calls for a ban (and back paddles after some considerable uproar). Shortly after his ministry senselessly attempts to crack down on a senseless internet meme because it's "inappropriate" and "not constructive". Later this year a rather curious guide for parents was published on their website. And finally a singer's rather raunchy video gets a ton of hits online and a sanctimonious scolding on national TV.

See a pattern here? The selective outcry borders on ridiculousness and fuels Thailand’s National Knee-Jerk Outrage Machine (“กลไกสร้างปฏิกิริยาอย่างไร้ความยั้งคิดแห่งประเทศไทย”, trademark pending), claims to uphold the only valid definition of "Thai"-ness, that isn't even fully spelled out yet, while they have not noticed that the world beyond their minds has moved on and come up with new and different definitions of what else Thailand could be. The problem is that these cultural heralds, by political office or class, claim monopoly on this. Everyone below their wage level is not entitled to even think about it. And if something doesn't fit their point of view, as guest contributor Kaewmala put it brilliantly, "Only taboo when it's inconvenient!"

The 2011 General Elections

Will he or will he not? In the end, Abhisit Vejjajiva did dissolve parliament and paved the way for early elections in May and also set off quite a short campaign season, which not only saw a few strange election posters and illustrious characters running for office, but it also saw the emergence of Yingluck Shinawatra as the lucky draw for PM candidate of the opposition Pheu Thai Party. After much skyping to Dubai discussion within the party, the sister of Thaksin was chosen to run and it turned out to be the best pick.

The Democrat Party were banking heavily on negative campaigning (a precursor to the upcoming, inevitable Thaksin-phobia in 2012), which reached its climax in the last days with their rally at Rajaprasong, the same venue where the red shirts protested a year ago. In this event, then-deputy prime minister Suthep Thuangsuban claimed to give the "full truth" on what really happened during the violent crackdown of May 19, 2010. What followed were hours of fear-mongering in case of a Pheu Thai win and an incident that almost caused a major misunderstanding:

The big screens flanking the stage on the left and the right are bearing a gruesome view. Footage of at times badly injured people from last year’s rally are being shown when suddenly at the sight of blood people started cheering – as it turns out, not for the brutally killed victims of the anti-governments protests of 2010, but for a woman with an Abhisit cut-out mask waving to the crowd behind her.

"Thailand’s Democrat Party rally: Reclaiming (the truth about) Rajaprasong", Siam Voices, June 24, 2011

The last days of the campaign were spent outside of Bangkok, for example Pheu Thai in Nakhon Ratchasima before the big day. On Sunday, July 3, election day of course meant a full-day-marathon for a journalist. Not only did it mean covering as many polling stations around town as humanly possible, not only to crunch the numbers of exit polls (which turned out to be total BS!), but also of course running the live-blog at Siam Voices. In the end, it went very quickly: Abhisit conceded, Yingluck smiled and at a lunch meeting later there was already a new five-party coalition.

The worst floods in decades: a deluge of irrationality

790.

This is the current death toll of the what has been described as the "worst floods in decades". Floods are an annual occurrence in Thailand during the rainy season. When the water was sweeping through Chiang Mai already back in late September, this natural disaster was somehow going to be different. But it took some considerable time, despite the unprecedented damage it has created in Ayutthaya to the ancient temples and the vital industrial parks, until the capital was drowned in fear of what was to come.

It was curious to observe that those who were least likely to be affected (read: central Bangkok) were losing their nerves the most. Back in November I attempted to explore one possible reason:

One of the real reasons why the people of the city react the way they did though is this: After a military coup, countless violent political protests and sieges of airports, government buildings and public roads, this city has a sense of anxiety not unlike New York after the 9/11 terrorist attacks: a sense of being constantly under siege by something or somebody that separates Bangkok from the rest of the country even more. An incident at Klong Sam Wa Sluice Gate (we reported) is a perfect example of the conflict between inside and outside Bangkok in miniature form.

"The Thai floods and the geographics of perception – Part 2: Certain fear of uncertainty", Siam Voices, November 23, 2011

On an anecdotal note I remember people around me hoarding bottled water, moving their belongings upstairs and barricading their houses waist-high - while I can understand these precautions, I was astonished to say the least when I started to read social media updates that accuse the government so much so to the point of deliberately drowning the people of Bangkok and other outlandish conspiracy theories, including the now ubiquitous "blame it on foreign media"-card.

There's no doubt that this natural disaster has not only shown the worst in people, but also it's helpful and charitable side (not only towards humans exclusively). During my work reporting from the floods for foreign news crews (hence there weren't many posts on Siam Voices), I admired the apparent resilience and defiance I saw from many victims of the floods - some of which are now struggling with rebuilding their lost existence. And a lot of clean-up will be needed to be done, both literally as well as politically, in order to prevent such a disaster from happening again!

What else happened in 2011? (in no particular order)

- Then-prime minister Abhisit urging then-president of Egypt Honsi Mubarak to respect the will of the people - while being totally oblivious that he exactly did not do that a year ago because, well, "They ran into the bullets" themselves!

- Half a dozen Thais walking through the border region with Cambodia and surprised that they're being arrested, in an arbitrary way to dispute the border demarcations between the two countries. This ongoing conflict, largely fueled by the ever-shrinking PAD, sparked into a brief armed battle. Two of the strollers are still sitting in a Cambodian prison.

- The one-year-anniversary of the crackdown of May 19 and my personal thoughts on this.

- The somehow strangely toned-down five-year-anniversary of the 2006 coup.

- Army chef General Prayuth Chan-ocha going completely berserk at the press.

- The fact that Thailand got its first female prime minister and the (un)surprisingly muted reactions by Thailand's feminists.

- The saga of the impounded Thai plane on German ground, the curious case study on how Thai media reported it, the juristic mud-slinging, and how this mess was eventually solved. Which brings us to...

- The German government allowing Thaksin back into Germany, after heavy campaigning by a bunch of conservative German MPs. Still boggles my mind...!

- And while we're on topic, we are saying good-bye to a regular contributor of outrageous quotes - no one has been so focused to do a different job than written his business card than Thaksin-hunter and former foreign minister in disguise Kasit Piromya!

I'd like to thank my colleagues at Siam Voices for building a diverse and opinionated collective, our editor who keeps everything in check and YOU, the readers! THANK YOU for the support, feedback, criticism, links and retweets!

Here's to an eventful, exciting 2012 that brings us news, changes, developments to discuss for all the right reasons! Happy New Year!

Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist based in Hamburg, Germany again (*sigh*). He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith and now also on his public Facebook page here.

Tongue-Thai’ed! Part IX: The 'Cib that Frabs' - Dems target PM Yingluck's gaffes

Originally published at Siam Voices on October 5, 2011 “Tongue-Thai’ed!” encapsulates the most baffling, amusing, confusing, outrageous and appalling quotes from Thai politicians and other public figures – in short: everything we hear that makes us go “Huh?!”. Check out all past entries here.

Last Sunday the Twitter account of prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra was 'hacked' - or rather somebody knows the password already or has guessed it correctly, which isn't necessarily 'hacking'.

There is a German saying that goes, "Who has the damage, doesn't need to provide for the ridicule". And to add injury to insult,  Miss Chitpas Bhirombhakdi, the daughter of the executive vice-president of Singha Corporation, thus often-referred to as the “Singha-heiress” and now deputy spokeswoman for the now opposition Democrat Party (read about her debut here), has tweeted on Monday morning:

สื่อของ ยิ่งลักษณ์ นับวันจะถูกบีบให้เหลือน้อยลง สัมภาษณ์สดก็ไม่ได้ ออกทีวีก็ไม่เป็น ออกวิทยุก็พูดผิด ทวิตเตอร์ก็ถูกปิด ทีมงานเหนื่อย!

Yingluck's media outlets are dwindling by the days - she doesn't give live interviews, doesn 't do TV, mixes things up on [her] radio [show], now [her] Twitter [account] got closed! Her staff's exhausted!

Tweet by @TANTchitpas on October 3, 2011 at 08:41:48 , translation by me

This is the latest in a string of mocks and roasts against Yingluck and her government ever since the Democrat Party was booted out. Here's just a selection of attacks by the Democrat Party. Astonishingly and strangely enough, in a The Nation article on Yingluck's Twitter mishaps the editors somehow sneaked in a whole paragraph with something that has nothing to do with the actual story:

Yingluck also came under criticism from Democrat spokesman Chavanont Intarakolmalyasut for mispronouncing ya faek (vetiver grass) as ya praek (pesty grass). "Even when the prime minister was reading a script, she read it wrong," he said.

She should apologise for her slip-up during her weekly radio address, he said, adding that he did not think it would be funny if 15.7 million Pheu Thai supporters decided to grow weeds instead of vetiver grass for flood prevention.

Democrat MP Watchara Phetthong said Yingluck had made too many gaffes lately. Her misleading remarks about the Navy's submarine procurement request came just last week, followed by the inability to distinguish between the grass to prevent soil erosion and the weed, he said.

"Hacker of PM's twitter account 'identified'", The Nation, October 4, 2011

Before that several Democrat MPs have called the either Yingluck or her government a "puppet PM", being "obessed with helping Thaksin" and one even her a "ninja" - all that only just happened last September!

But the cake takes the aforementioned Watchara Petchthong who said this after Yingluck's radio slip-up:

"ผมถือได้ว่ารัฐบาลชุดนี้หลอกลวงพี่น้องประชาชน น่าจะเรียกได้ว่าเป็นรัฐบาล “แปตอหลู” และผมยืนยันว่าจะเรียกรัฐบาลว่าอย่างนี้ (...)"

"I say that this government has fooled the people, so you can say this government is a "cib that frabs" and I insist to [continue] call this government [like this] (...)"

"ส.ส.ปชป.ให้ฉายา'แปตอหลู' จี้นายกฯขอโทษพูดผิด", Thai Rath, October 2, 2011

Now, in order to understand what Watchara has called this government, we have to explain what "cib that frabs" or in original "แปตอหลู" (pronounced bae-dtoh-loo) actually means: If you want say something indirectly in Thai, people like to swap out letters that results in total gibberish. But if you put it into the right order, you would get "ปูตอแหล" (pronounced "pou-dtoh-lae"). ปู ("Pou") is Yingluck's nickname, while "ตอแหล" ("dtoh-lae") means to lie or to fib, though this word is only used for women. All in all then we would get the "crab that fibs" - which is a rather convoluted way to say that this government is lying.

While it is important that an opposition keeps the government in check and gives a nudge here and there when the occasion arises, it is interesting, if not revealing, to see how they criticize and for what and also what they actually say.

Just because we have a new government, it doesn’t mean they all suddenly stop saying stupid things. If you come across any verbosities that you think might fit in here send us an email at siamvoices [at] gmail.com or tweet us @siamvoices.

Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist currently based in Bangkok, Thailand. He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith and now also on his public Facebook page here.

Tongue-Thai’ed! Part VIII - Tea Money left to learn: Minister touts transparent bribes for schools

Originally published at Siam Voices on September 13, 2011 “Tongue-Thai’ed!” encapsulates the most baffling, amusing, confusing, outrageous and appalling quotes from Thai politicians and other public figures – in short: everything we hear that makes us go “Huh?!”. Check out all past entries here.

Education is one of the many problems hindering Thailand from being competitive compared to its regional neighbors, often due to anachronistic attitudes towards teaching (for example foreign languages). While Prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra said in a press conference in July that the Thai education system has to change in order to support "life-long learning", the new government has not made any far-reaching proposals yet other than handing out free tablet PCs to school children (more on that in a future blog post).

One of the issues plaguing Thai parents is to get their children into better schools. And normally, when there are no good schools in the district they're living, they of course would try for one somewhere else more prestigious - in many cases parents are willing to pay bribes in order to send their children there.

The new education minister Woravat Auapinyakul wants to tackle this problem head-on, but not in the way many would have thought...

นายวรวัจน์ เอื้ออภิญญกุล รมว.ศึกษาธิการ เปิดเผยกรณีมีแนวคิดเปิดช่องคนรวยจ่ายแป๊ะเจี๊ยะเข้าโรงเรียนดัง ว่า (...) ต้องยอมรับว่ามีการจ่ายแป๊ะเจี๊ยะกันอยู่ ตนอยากจะเอาสิ่งที่อยู่ใต้ดินมาอยู่บนดิน (...) ต้องไม่กระทบสิทธิคนอื่น

Woravat Auapinyakul, Minister of Education, has hinted at the idea to pave the way for rich people to pay 'additional fees' for the attendance to prestigious schools, saying (...) that "we have to accept that there are some 'hidden payments' being made. Thus, I want to bring out what's hidden below to the surface (...) It must not affect the rights of others"

(...) สิ่งที่ทำแบบหลบๆซ่อนๆ มีการฝากกันเพื่อให้เข้าเรียนในโรงเรียน แต่ไปเข้ากระเป๋าคนบางคน ต่อไปต้องรายงานและชี้ให้ศธ.รู้ใครอยากจะรับก็รับได้แต่ต้องบอก (...) ตนไม่อยากให้มองว่าเป็นเรื่องการแลกที่นั่งเรียนอย่างเดียว

"Money paid for a school entry has been done in secret [in the past], but that [money] sometimes goes into someone's pockets. From now on, they have to report [such payments] to the Ministry of Education - whoever wants to receive can do that, but they have to report. (...) I don't want the people to think that this is just [an issue of] exchanging money for a school seat!"

"รมว.ศึกษาดัน“แป๊ะเจี๊ยะ”ขึ้นบนโต๊ะ", Daily News, September 12, 2011, translation by me

Woravat suggests that this money should be used to in order to improve the school and this initiative should provide more transparency where actually that money goes into. While never directly uttered by the minister, the use of the word "แป๊ะเจี๊ยะ" in that article is noticeable, which actually means "tea money" (as in bribe). So, in an effort to prevent the payment of bribes in order for parents to send their children to prestigious school, Woravat basically endorses the payment of bribes (as long as it is 'transparent') and thus also supports the idea of competitiveness among schools and parents instead of trying to raise the quality standards of all schools onto the same level.

But hey, if there's enough money left to burn, then there's enough money left to learn - except for those who don't!

h/t to a reader for the link

Just because we have a new government, it doesn't mean they all suddenly stop saying stupid things. If you come across any verbosities that you think might fit in here send us an email at siamvoices [at] gmail.com or tweet us @siamvoices.

Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist currently based in Bangkok, Thailand. He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith and now also on his public Facebook page here.

Tongue-Thai'ed! Part VI: Wifebeating campaign poster edition?!

Originally published at Siam Voices on June 1, 2011 "Tongue-Thai'ed!" encapsulates the most baffling, amusing, confusing, outrageous and appalling quotes from Thai politicians and other public figures - in short: everything we hear that makes us go "Huh?!". Check out all past entries here.

The campaign season offers many curious incidents and sightings that only appear during the run-up to the elections, political campaign posters are one of them. Usually, they display the constituency candidate, the list number, the name of the party and a more or less witty and memorable slogan. Sometimes, the parties go the extra mile and somehow (deliberately or not) stick out from crowd - whether for the desired effect or not is another story. This year it's no exception and some posters are drawing eyes and raised eyebrows for various reasons.

On Wednesday, Bangkok-based journalist Patrick Winn from the Global Post has tweeted this poster:

It's a poster for the Bhumjai Thai Party, the largest coalition partner of the most recent government and considered to be a potential kingmaker for the next one. The slogan is "เลี้ยงเมีย ต้องตบ" which can be translated to "To take care of your wife, you have to beat" - beat what? Your wife, as Patrick suggested? Is this a reiteration of the proverb "เลี้ยงเมีย ด้วยเข่า" ("To take care of your wife, you got to knee her!") to get the folksy vote? Are they endorsing domestic abuse? What do they want to say? Are we lost in translation somewhere?

The answer is tucked away right under the number and above the name of the party. It says: "'สู้แล้วรวย' สร้างศูนย์ฝึกนักกีฬาอาชีพ" ("'Fight to become rich' [We will] build sport centers for professional athletes). So, they're not saying you should beat your wife but beat (or strike) the tennis ball to get it rolling to personal welfare! (Read James Goyder's post on Bhumjai Thai's godfather Newin and his ventures in local football here)

This is also a move to counter rival coalition partner Chart Pattana Puea Pandin Party's sport centric policies, who recruited a number of former sport stars running as candidates. One of them is former tennis star - or rather he was supposed to be, because he now not on the party list since he didn't vote in the last local elections in 2008 and thus not eligible (source in Thai here)!

Meanwhile, Bangkok Pundit has blogged about another note-worthy election poster:

This is Sophon Damnui also running for the Chart Pattana Puea Pandin Party in Bangkok's constituency number 5. To answer Bangkok Pundit's question why they choose this motive and the panda, one has to look at all the clues: Bangkok's 5th is Dusit, where also Dusit Zoo ist located. Mr Sophon is also the director of the Zoological Park Organization, which overlooks all zoos in the country. And guess who that panda is? Yes, this is Thailand's new national mascot, Lin Ping. And Mr Sophon also credits himself that this cuddly panda can stay in Thailand a little bit longer before the Chinese want him back.

So, the message is clear: "Vote me and Lin Ping will stay" or something like that - and besides, who can resist such cute cuddly thing...? (Author's note: This animal has created a bigger and more annoying hype in Thailand than Knut the polar bear ever did in Germany!)

A lot of stupid things will be said and a lot of strange posters will appear during the election campaign in the coming months. If you come across any verbosities that you think might fit in here send us an email at siamvoices [at] gmail.com or tweet us @siamvoices.

Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist still based in Hamburg, Germany. He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith.

Tongue-Thai’ed! Part V: Shooting for sympathy

Originally published at Siam Voices on May 30, 2011

"Tongue-Thai'ed!" encapsulates the most baffling, amusing, confusing, outrageous and appalling quotes from Thai politicians and other public figures - in short: everything we hear that makes us go "Huh?!". Check out all past entries here.

One of the most discussed issues ever since prime minister Abhisit called for elections was the fear of potential violence against MP candidates and other local politicians in the run-up to the polls on July 3. And right after the announcement earlier this May a Pheu Thai MP in Samut Prakan has been injured in a shooting, marking the first of a series of violent incidents in the following weeks targeting MPs and canvassers, with one of them killed. While many of these shootings have reportedly local reasons (e.g. local rivalry, personal quarrels), the timing is no doubt casting a shadow over the elections. Unsurprisingly, the number of MP candidates requesting police protection has risen to 123 as of Monday.

In a statement today, deputy prime minister Suthep Thaugsuban has commented on the security situation in his usual fashion:

"ทั้งนี้ ในส่วนของพรรคประชาธิปัตย์ที่ต้องคุ้มกันมากเป็นพิเศษก็มีตนและนายกรัฐมนตรี แต่ก็ต้องระวัง เนื่องจากขณะนี้บางพรรคบางพวกกำลังสร้างสถานการณ์ให้คนเอาปืนไปยิงรถผู้สมัครของตัวเอง เอาระเบิดปิงปอง ประทัดยักษ์ไปโยน และโยนความผิดให้พรรคการเมืองอื่นหรือพรรคคู่แข่ง (...)"

"Of the Democrat Party me and the prime minister are those who need special protection. But we have to be careful, because some parties and some persons are deliberately creating a situation [or scenario] by shooting their own cars or throwing bombs and blaming other parties or their rivals (...)"

"สุเทพ แฉ มีพรรคการเมืองยิงผู้สมัครสส.ตัวเอง", M-Thai News, May 30, 2011

Of course, this comes from the same man who displayed his logic by saying that the red shirt protesters died by "running into the bullets".

h/t to a reader

A lot of stupid things will be said during the election campaign in the coming months. If you come across any verbosities that you think might fit in here send us a email at siamvoices [at] gmail.com or tweet us @siamvoices.

Tongue-Thai'ed! Part IV: Korbsak and the red menace

Originally published at Siam Voices on May 24, 2011 "Tongue-Thai'ed!" is the new segment on Siam Voices, where we encapsulate the most baffling, amusing, confusing, outrageous and appalling quotes from Thai politicians and other public figures - in short: everything we hear that makes us go "Huh?!". Check out all past entries here.

Korbsak Sabhavasu, former secretary-general of the PM, now main campaign strategist for Democrat Party has recently tweeted this:

RT @ThanongK: RT @korbsak: We have survived the end of the world. >U mean July 3rd?>depends on who win, the reds or Thailand

Tweet by Korbsak Sabhavasu (@korbsak) on May 23, 2011 - 00:55:17

Alright, a lot of things to untwine in these 140 characters: First, was the original tweet by Korbsak referring to the failed doomsday prediction by an American Christian radio host. Second, was the reply by our most beloved 'columnist'/twitter preacher Thanong Khanthong, who asked if the actual doomsday would occur on July 3, the date of the Thai elections.

And last, the verbal coup de tête, comes from Korbsak again who hints that doomsday "depends on who win, the reds or Thailand?" Apparently, he thinks that Thailand will descend into a biblical chaos if the opposition Pheu Thai Party wins and the red shirts take over the Kingdom, because (in his view it looks like) they stand for everything that is not this country and will turn it upside down!

That begs the question though: What is Thailand? And what is Thailand for Korbsak?

UPDATE

Al Jazeera's Wayne Hay has at the Democrat Party HQ today and also asked Korbsak about that tweet. The response: He's just having a joke! Erm, yes...just a joke...!

A lot of stupid things will be said during the election campaign in the coming months. If you come across any verbosities that you think might fit in here send us an email at siamvoices [at] gmail.com or tweet us @siamvoices.

Tongue-Thai’ed! Part III: O brother, where art thou?

Originally published at Siam Voices on May 17, 2011 "Tongue-Thai'ed!" is the new segment on Siam Voices, where we encapsulate the most baffling, amusing, confusing, outrageous and appalling quotes from Thai politicians and other public figures - in short: everything we hear that makes us go "Huh?!". Check out all past entries here.

The election campaign has now really begun this week with the opposition Puea Thai Party finally putting Yingluck Shinawatra forward as PM candidate. Of course, we all know that she is the younger sister of one Thaksin and that this fact alone will certainly irk many voters.

More unsurprising is what Thaksin said during an exclusive interview with Post Today:

“ผมบอกเลยว่าไม่ใช่นอมินี แต่เรียกได้เลยว่าเป็นโคลนนิงของทักษิณเลย ผมโคลนนิงการบริหารให้ตั้งแต่เรียนจบใหม่ๆ สไตล์การทำงานเหมือนผม รับการบริหารจากผมได้ดีที่สุด อีกข้อสำคัญหนึ่งก็คือ การที่คุณยิ่งลักษณ์ซึ่งเป็นน้องสาวผม มานั่งเก้าอี้หัวหน้าพรรค สถานะนั้นสามารถตัดสินใจแทนผมได้เลย เยส ออ โน นี่พูดแทนผมได้เลย”

"I say straightaway that [Yingluck] is not a nominee, but you can say that she is a clone of Thaksin. I have cloned my [way of] leadership [to her] ever since graduation. [Her] style of work is the same as mine. [She] got all my best administration [skills]. Another important point is, since Yingluck is my younger sister and she is head of the party, she can decide for me. 'Yes or no,' she can do that for me."

"ทักษิณบอกยิ่งลักษณ์คือโคลนนิงของผม", Post Today, May 17, 2011 (translation by me)

Clearly, the opponents (both lawmakers and the press) will bite on this bait and point out that this alone is enough not to vote her (as our favorite Suthep already did). But it would a mistake to rail just on that, because having a Shinawatra running for office is exactly why the Puea Thai Party is poised to gain many votes. Attacking her just for being a Thaksin proxy (or worse, digging up her private life) might prove ineffective.

People who hate Thaksin won't vote for Puea Thai anyway and voters who still think highly of him will give their vote to his sister - there's nothing to change about that. What's crucial now is whether she can win over the undecided voters. We'll have to wait for the campaign trail to see if Yingluck can stand on her own. She still has enough opportunities to prove herself as a politician and not only as Thaksin's sister.

(You might ask why this is still filed under "Tongue-Thai'ed" - well, it's the well-known bluntness and bravado of Thaksin's quote that in my view still deserves a spot here. And I can't just put up yet another Suthep quote!)

A lot of stupid things will be said during the election campaign in the coming months. If you come across any verbosities that you think might fit in here send us a email at siamvoices [at] gmail.com or tweet us @siamvoices.

Tongue-Thai'ed! Part II: Suthep, HRW and who killed JFK?

Originally published at Siam Voices on May 4, 2011 "Tongue-Thai'ed!" is the new segment on Siam Voices, where we encapsulate the most baffling, amusing, confusing, outrageous and appalling quotes from Thai politicians and other public figures - in short: everything we hear that makes us go "Huh?!". Check our first entry here.

Some backstory before we dive into the quote: I initially had the idea for this segment earlier this year and started to collect a few verbosities here and there. But after two months or so I noticed that one person has trumped everyone else in quantity and 'quality' - deputy prime minister Suthep Thaungsuban. He has said so many stupid things (like "Protesters died because they ran into bullets") during a short amount of time that creating such a segment would ultimately turn this into a segment almost exclusive about him. But since we got this train rolling now, it'd be unfair (and half as much fun) to leave him out! Now, onto the fresh new quote...

Human Rights Watch released their report about the bloody crackdown of the red shirt protests last year on Tuesday, depicting a very detailed account of what happened and finds fault at both government forces and anti-government protesters. Having said that, it didn't took long for anybody to pan the report as a partisan, unbalanced piece of propaganda (without having actually read that).

Enter: Suthep....

Suthep scorns Human Rights Watch, slams "Thai soldiers killed red shirts", tells to take care of America first

In an interview at Government House, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaungsuban has voiced disappointment after the international human rights organizations Human Rights Watch has reported that Thai soldiers have caused the death of civilians during the red shirt protests, where 91 people have died. He said that after he saw the news he felt sad because he thinks such an organization should be neutral and not be inclined to take sides [...] before they say anything and damage the public image of Thailand, [thus they] should have checked their facts properly first. [Suthep laments] where that organization was during the government of Thaksin Shinawatra, when they killed 3,000 people ["War on Drugs"] but hasn't heard a thing from them.

"That organization should better look into their own country first before, [...] [like] John F. Kennedy's assassination, nothing is still clear about that. Thus all sides are still working and searching for facts, such as the independent [Truth and Reconciliation] Commission of Mr. Kanit na Nakorn [...] we should listen more to them rather than some foreigners. The commission, that the government has set up, has just worked for 10 months and continues to do so [...]"

""สุเทพ" ฉุนฮิวแมนไรท์ วอทช์ ซัด "ทหารไทย" ฆ่าเสื้อแดง ย้อนให้กลับไปดูแลอเมริกาให้ดีเสียก่อน", Matichon, May 4, 2011 (translation and emphasis by me)

I didn't expect him to have actually read the report, but this quote is still astonishingly ignorant. First off, the report criticizes both. Second, Human Rights Watch has actually covered the War on Drugs. Third, the organization was founded in 1978, 15 years after the Kennedy assassination. And last, Suthep still doesn't respect foreigners!

If you come across any verbosities that you think might fit in here send us a email at siamvoices [at] gmail.com or tweet us @siamvoices.

Tongue-Thai’ed! Part I: Nouveau dismiss

Originally published at Siam Voices on May 2, 2011 Welcome to a new segment on Siam Voices where we (for now semi-regularly) encapsulate the most baffling, amusing, confusing, outrageous, appalling quotes from Thai politicians and other public figures - in short: everything we hear that makes us go "Huh?!". We have previously highlighted some noteworthy Thai verbal outings of all kinds, such as the eye-brow-raising, contradictory, ill-considered or just simply outrageous - but now you'll find them all in this segment.

Let's start off with somebody very familiar to observers of Thai politics and somebody who has never been shy to voice his opinion, no matter the circumstances. Thailand's commander-in-chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha commented on the most recent raids on pro-democracy community radio stations (see posts by Bangkok Pundit and Andrew Spooner), specifically comparing this to the clampdown on websites allegedly deemed lèse majesté:

“ปิดยูอาแอลไมได้ปิดเว็บ เพราะยูอาแอลมีคนคุมอยู่ ถ้าเขาคุมไม่ดีเขาก็จะมีความผิดด้วย เราจะไปปิดเว็บไซต์เลยไม่ได้บางทีมันมาจากต่างประเทศ มันต้องไปปิดต่างประเทศและอาจจะโดนต่างประเทศฟ้องอีก เพราะต่างประเทส [sic!] ไม่เข้าใจกฎหมายบ้านเรา กำหมายเรา [sic!] คือกฎหมายเราและประเทศไทยก็คือประเทศไทย ผมไม่เข้า(ใจ)ว่าหลายๆคนอยากจะให้ประเทศไทยเป็นเหมือนประเทศอื่น มีเสรีทุกเรื่อง แล้วถามว่ามันจะอยู่กันยังไงผมไม่รู้ ขนาดแบบนี้ยังอยู่กันไม่ได้เลย ” พล.อ.ประยุทธ์ กล่าว

"We have only blocked the URL, not the internet because the URL is controlled [read: in possession of somebody]. If he or she doesn't control it very well, then it is his or her fault! We cannot shut down the[ir] websites, [because] some of them are in other countries. [When] shut down foreign websites, the foreign countries will protest, because the foreign countries don't understand our laws! Our laws are our laws and Thailand is Thailand. I don't understand why so many people want Thailand to be like other countries - to have freedom in everything - how can we live? I don't know... I can't live even like it is now!" said Gen. Prayuth

"'ประยุทธ์'แจงปิดวิทยุชุมชนหมิ่นยันทำตามกฎหมาย", Krungthep Turakij, April 29, 2011 (translation and emphasis by me)

Well, of course foreign countries don't understand our laws, sometimes we ourselves don't get them either, hence why some of them are being used very arbitrarily. We don't know for certain which countries Prayuth is referring to, maybe he misunderstood that people were telling him that Thailand is actually becoming like one other country. And freedom can be very scary if you can't control it, isn't it?

Today's second quote comes from Thai finance minister Korn Chatikavanij, who wrote this on his Facbook page after he, like so many people, has watched the British royal wedding:

"ได้เห็นความยิ่งใหญ่ของพิธีของราชวงศ์อังกฤษแล้ว อดคิดไม่ได้ว่า คนฝรั่งเศสที่ดูอยู่จะเสียดายไหมว่าตนไม่มีสถาบันกษัตริย์อีกแล้ว"

"After having watched the greatness of the festivities of the British monarchy, I can't stop thinking if the French are feeling sad that they a monarchy anymore?"

Thai finance minister Korn Chatikavanij on his Facebook page, April 30, 2011 (translation and emphasis by me)

Yes, that's really something to ponder on. Over 2,000 people (and very likely not many French) though have already made up their mind and 'liked' it and also the almost 300 comments are largely in favor of Korn's musing. Maybe should have read the papers for an answer...

If you come across any verbosities that you think might fit in here send us a email at siamvoices [at] gmail.com or tweet us @siamvoices.