Thaksin-era populism back

THE WEEK THAT WAS

Thaksin-era populism back as Samak takes power

Ministers of the Samak Cabinet began their first day in office by announcing a mixed bag of policies that largely reflect the economic populism of the defunct Thai Rak Thai party.

Published on February 10, 2008

The populist policies include debt-suspension for farmers, village funds and other financial handouts, tax breaks for low-income earners and investing in nine routes of the mass-transit projects in Bangkok.

Other quick-fix programmes include low-cost computers, student loans and scholarships for poor students upcountry.

Surapong Suebwonglee, the new finance minister, vowed to revive most of the populist policies of Thai Rak Thai by promoting grass-roots consumption and announcing mega-project investments.

He not only aimed to restore foreign investors' confidence in Thailand but will also try to boost high economic growth and consumption. Commerce Minister Mingkwan Sangsuwan promised to revise the price adjustment system of goods. He would like to tackle the rising cost of living faced by grass-roots people caused by growing costs of production.

He also aimed to promote agricultural goods, expand new export markets for Thailand and work on trade negotiations.

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has put more distance between himself and Thaksin Shinawatra, who is preparing to return to fight criminal charges.

In an interview with Government House reporters, Samak said Thaksin had phoned to congratulate him after the royal endorsement of his premiership.

Asked how he would deal with the strong public perception that he is Thaksin's nominee, Samak said: "Thaksin has called it quits politically. He will stand in court for trial on charges against him, and he wants to live in Thailand.

"So he will have to come back, but I personally do not know when he will return. That's not my business. More importantly, I'm Mr Samak, not Mr Thaksin."

During his campaign for Thaksin's allies in the People Power Party for the election, Samak publicly admitted he was a proxy for Thaksin, who has been barred from active politics by the Constitution Tribunal for five years.

Further cracks have begun to appear in the relationship between Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and Thaksin Shinawatra, as Samak wants to have a bigger say in forming the Cabinet and hang on to his premiership over the next two to three years.

According to sources familiar with the development, Samak is now causing trouble for Thaksin because he wants to have his own way in running the government.

Shortly after his appointment as prime minister, Samak decided to reshuffle the list of Cabinet members presented to him by all six coalition partners.

He found several of the candidates to be unacceptable.

His interference in the formation of the Cabinet resulted in the removal of Chai Chidchob and Srimuang Charoensiri from the list of candidates for portfolios in the Office of the Prime Minister and Energy Ministry respectively. Chai is the father of Newin Chidchob from Buri Ram.

Academics have warned that the outgoing government's resolution to stop officials from using foreign e-mail providers may be unconstitutional.

A letter dated January 7 issued by the Secretariat of the Cabinet informed all provincial governors that the Cabinet had made the resolution in December for government officials to stop using private, and especially foreign, e-mail providers to communicate official matters within one year.

Officials who are directors or in higher positions must stop using foreign e-mail providers within three months. The letter stated the resolution was made in order to "protect official information".

Dr Sriprapha Petcha-ramesree of Mahidol University's Human Rights Studies Programme said she was afraid the Cabinet resolution would contradict the rights and freedom principals written in the Constitution.

Furthermore, e-mail systems provided by the government's offices are not reliable and have limited capacity, she said.

Dr Thaweesak Koananta-kool, former director of the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre, said the Cabinet resolution only applied to official matters, not private communication.

A panel has been set up by the Public Health Ministry to assess how plans to make Thailand a regional medical hub will effect the healthcare system - because many top medical specialists have jumped to the private sector in recent years.

The trend is particularly worrying because medical schools have reportedly lost some of their most valuable teachers to private medical facilities.

"If top medical experts really leave medical schools, grave damage is inflicted on the country's healthcare system. The government spends a lot of time and money to produce a capable medical expert," Dr Thinnakorn Noree said.

Thinnakorn heads the Human Resources for Health Research and Development Office.

In 2003, the government led by Thaksin Shinawatra launched a project to turn Thailand into a regional medical hub.

Thinnakorn said: "On the one hand, the project attracts about Bt50 billion each year for the country. But on the other hand, the Public Health Ministry and state authorities are worried about human resources available to them [given doctors shifting to the private sector]."

A leading political action group warned that the apparent "puppet" status of the Samak government would be its undoing and predicted the administration could soon come under pressure from four sectors of society.

The Campaign for Popular Democracy called the Cabinet of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej a "puppet Cabinet" due to alleged connections between several prospective ministers and more superior elements who are not entitled to hold legitimate official posts.

CPD secretary-general Suriyasai Katasila said most Cabinet members would be nominees of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is facing charges for alleged corruption, or leaders of factions from the dissolved Thai Rak Thai Party who have been banned from politics for five years.


The Nation