Thisrupt
  • Home
  • Current Affairs
  • Society
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Thisrupt Special
    • Thisrupt History
    • Thisruptor
  • VDO
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Current Affairs
  • Society
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Thisrupt Special
    • Thisrupt History
    • Thisruptor
  • VDO
No Result
View All Result
Thisrupt
No Result
View All Result

The ghost of Thaksin Shinawatra still haunts Thailand’s traditionalists

Voranai VanijakabyVoranai Vanijaka
August 31, 2020
in Society
The ghost of Thaksin Shinawatra still haunts Thailand’s traditionalists
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LINEShare on WhatsAppShare on Reddit

Have a conversation with Thai traditionalists, and this is usually how it goes: 

Ask if they believe in fairness and justice, the reply is yes, of course. Ask if it’s fair and just that the 250 junta-appointed senators have the privilege to elect the junta as the prime minister directly, the answer is no. 

Appeal to them that a nation’s destiny cannot rest on an individual or a small group of people. That instead, the Thai nation’s foundation should be a fair and just system sustainable from generation to generation. 

Reason with them that all 69 million Thais deserve the democratic governance of human rights, transparency, and accountability. After all, this is fair and just. 

Explain to them that in a democratic system, the people have a fighting chance in the voting booth every four years. In between elections, we can protest and make demands. We can perform checks and balances to make sure that the politicians corrupt as little as possible, and work for our benefits as much as possible.

Be honest with them and admit that democracy is a highly flawed system. That often the powerful and greedy abuse and corrupt the system. But also remind the traditionalists that it is the best political system humankind has ever created because it provides the checks and balances on the government. 

Help them to understand that unchecked power corrupts absolutely. 

Cite them the historical facts that the Thai democracy never had time to develop from its infantile stage, because whenever we are unhappy about something, a military coup happens. It is not that democracy doesn’t work, but that we betray democracy and hence betray our fellow citizens’ human rights.   

A lot, but not all, of the traditionalists, would agree in principles with these things. How can anyone not? When we lay the foundations of a discussion on the values of fairness and justice, this can be the only outcome. 

However, follow it up with the question as to why then they believe the protestors are wrong in demanding the fair and just system of democracy. It takes a bit of prodding, but eventually, they would reply, “Well, Thaksin Shinawatra would win.”   

Twenty years on and the ghost of Thaksin still haunts Thailand, and he’s not even dead. 

But the conversation isn’t over yet. Ease their worries that it’s not about Thaksin. The law should charge the former prime minister with the crime against humanity because he authorized the war on drugs that led to the extrajudicial killing of, according to Amnesty International, over 2,000 civilians, without due process of law.

The traditionalists would feel some comfort to know that you are not a fan of Thaksin. 

Follow that up by insisting on the traditionalists that we must learn from the past, but we can’t build the future based on individual personalities. Instead, it is a fair and just system that should be the foundation of Thai society.  

Therefore, let’s have a fair and just system. 

Did Palang Prachahrat Party not win over eight million popular votes in the last election, more so than any other party? Isn’t General Prayut Chan-o-cha so highly popular that fans flock to him wherever he travels in the provinces as if he’s a K-pop star? 

So let’s have a fair contest in a just system, then? Hit delete on the 250 junta-appointed senators.   

They would look left and right, roll their eyes, sigh deeply, and finally say, “Well, I just don’t believe in democracy.” 

With that, they are truly honest because they know that in a fair and just system, the general would lose. Hence, they would lose. 

That is why we have had two military coups in the past 16 years. That is why we have been under military dictatorships twice in the period, for some six years. That is why we had a national election rigged by a constitution designed to cheat. 

Because in the warped mind of the traditionalists, fairness and justice are lovely in theory. In practice, they are only beautiful if the traditionalists win. However, if they lose, they would tear up fairness and justice and use them as toilet paper. They would pull out a gun and force everyone else to submit to their vision of what Thailand should be. 

And yet, they call themselves “good people,” while branding the protestors demanding fairness and justice “nation haters.” 

Dear traditionalists, those protestors never robbed Thailand or applaud the robbery of our country. 

It’s you.

Voranai Vanijaka

Voranai Vanijaka

Voranai Vanijaka is a political and social commentator. He’s the recipient of the 2010 Ayumongkol Sonakul Award for his Sunday column, previously in the Bangkok Post Newspaper. He teaches Political Communication and Global Media Industries at Thammasart University and Public Speaking at Webster University. He’s been published in Australia’s Griffith Review, appeared on BBC and ABC, and is a speaker at various forums around the region. He founded Thisrupt.

Related Posts

Skin Deep: the discrimination of ethnic minorities in Thailand
Business

Skin Deep: the discrimination of dark skin color in Thailand

September 16, 2020
The man who sat during the royal anthem
Business

The man who sat during the royal anthem

September 15, 2020
The People of Isan: Thailand's second class citizens
Business

The People of Isan: Thailand’s second class citizens

September 9, 2020
Next Post
Kingsgate VS Prayut: “the price of stupidity”

Kingsgate VS Prayut: “the price of stupidity”

Sai Charoenpura: the right to protest

Sai Charoenpura: the right to protest

Thailand’s Patronage Culture: “นายสั่งมา” (the boss ordered it)

Thailand’s Patronage Culture: “นายสั่งมา” (the boss ordered it)

Follow Thisrupt

  • 37.6k Fans
  • 18.8k Followers
  • 1.2k Followers
  • 1.4k Subscribers

Highlights

Why Thailand struggles in an identity crisis?

Is Thaksin Shinawatra a champion of human rights?

Why many Thais rejoice at the storming of Capitol Hill

Why Thai police should not enforce the sharia law

Why Winston Churchill should provide free COVID-19 testing for everyone

3 things you should know about Thisrupt in 2021.

Trending

Where is your humanity
VDO

Where is our humanity?

byVoranai Vanijaka
February 18, 2021
0

It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, a king or a beggar, the one thing we...

The Government versus the Opposition: the knockout punch

The Government versus the Opposition: the knockout punch

January 28, 2021
The psychology of why we crawl

The psychology of why we crawl

January 18, 2021
Why Thailand struggles in an identity crisis?

Why Thailand struggles in an identity crisis?

January 14, 2021
Is Thaksin Shinawatra a champion of human rights?

Is Thaksin Shinawatra a champion of human rights?

January 13, 2021
Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram

@Thisruptdotco

Tweets by @Thisruptdotco

Multimedia content platform creating provocative stories to inspire people to stand up and speak out for rights, liberty and equality.


#CheckThePower

Newsletter

© 2020 Thisrupt | Contact

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Current Affairs
  • Society
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Thisrupt Special
    • Thisrupt History
    • Thisruptor
  • VDO

© 2020 Thisrupt | Contact