Citizens are the child of the bill
The amounts are incomparable, but the victims are the same: the taxpayer. It may bleed for the blunder of the Yingluck government to get the rice mortgage system up and running when it takes office.
Because what has that led to? A debt of at least 800 billion baht, a loss of the world's top rice exporting position to India and Vietnam, rice exporters who were left behind because the government bought up all the rice and suicides of rice farmers when payments stopped.
The current government has now decided to issue long-term bonds to finance the 800 billion baht debt. She chooses a method that was also chosen in 1997 when banks threatened to collapse due to the financial crisis. The total losses then reached the gigantic amount of 1,4 trillion baht. Now 17 years later, the debt is still being paid off.
The same scenario threatens with the mortgage system for rice. Once again, the taxpayer may pay for the costs for years to come. In other words: may pay for the political blunder of the previous government and the Pheu Thai party that embraced the mortgage system.
I take the above analysis from the editorial of Bangkok Post from Thursday. The reason is the intention of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) to hold Prime Minister Yingluck liable via a different route. At the time, Yingluck chaired the National Rice Policy Committee and, despite numerous warnings, failed to put a stop to corruption in the system and rising costs.
However, the Public Prosecution Service is delaying the case and a joint panel of the Public Prosecution Service and NACC failed to resolve the matter. So the NACC now wants to go to the Political Office Holders section of the Supreme Court to have Yingluck convicted of negligence.
The newspaper once again points out that central to the case is Yingluck's role as chairman, not corruption itself. “This is not an act of revenge or political persecution, as some members of Pheu Thai claim and fool their supporters. This is a matter of political accountability.'
(Source: Bangkok Post, October 23, 2014)
Unfortunately, few Thai read the newspaper and will therefore docilely rely on sounds from the Pheu Thai movement, so revenge and / or political persecution.
@ Bacchus You probably mean elite newspapers like Bangkok Post, The Nation and Matichon because I see newspapers like Thai Rath and Daily News lying around and being read everywhere. Bangkok Post can comment all she wants. The authorities need not lose sleep over it.
Well, that's what you get when a government enters the rice trade!! Not only no knowledge of politics, but also no understanding of rice trade.
Still waiting for the consequences of another lure at the time: buying a new car tax-free...... There is also a lot of potential pain.
At least the previous government stood up for the poor population. This government is taking away 45% of their income. And they don't take anything from the elite. They also introduce property taxes. What is peanuts for the elite, but additional income loss for most poor farmers. The previous government did many things right. They were well on their way to taking it away from the elite. Too bad they didn't get the chance. This government takes over almost everything from the previous government. But have no knowledge of innovation and infrastructure. The country still relies on foreign companies and they copy everything. Fortunately for Thailand, companies are investing here. But household debts are rising so sharply. As a result, the country will fall into recession within a few years. Because the competition from surrounding countries increases very strongly
You're right. Dick! Despite living in an in-laws family of reasonably well-educated people in leadership positions in education and finance, I see that the Bangkok Post is not widely read here. I think the Thai have little interest in REAL news. Murder and Manslaughter is doing well and in addition, the pages, comparable to the Dutch Prive, are sorted out. Situation in the Middle East, Afghanistan, shooting in Canada, all far from my bed show. The world of the average Thai is small, let alone the barely educated Thai! They also think I'm a strange fellow, because I consume a small dozen newspapers every day on an empty stomach. In my opinion, news in Thailand is not news if it doesn't directly affect you.
Dear Bacchus, you are absolutely right. Insofar as the very large poor part of the population has no money to spend on a newspaper. You get the news via TV anyway, so why spend money on a piece of paper? But that doesn't mean people aren't interested in reading a newspaper. You can only spend money once and then the choice is quickly made if you have mouths to feed. Moreover, a very large part of the population does not or insufficiently master the English language, so that the Bangkok Post is not a source of news for them, apart from the fact that the Bangkok Post is considerably more expensive than newspapers published in a Thai language.
The bottom line is that most Thais live by the day. People do not realize that if a government scatters money, it must be paid back at some point. This is the case in the Netherlands, Thailand and the rest of the world (with the exception of the Arab oil states of course). People do not realize that in countries where there is a lot of corruption (such as Thailand), "politicians" try to achieve and consolidate their power by throwing financial gifts and that those gifts are always a cigar from their own box. Rightly so, such “politicians” must be held accountable.
Dear Dick;
Lately I have noticed more often that “The best newspaper in the country Bangkok Post” highlights certain things one-sidedly! I therefore fully agree with Monte's reaction because Yingluck was very involved with rural poverty as Taksin was before. As always, it's easy to peddle, but as things are going now Thailand will probably end up in an even bigger "dip", not to mention declining tourism.
Gr:William…
@ willem scheveningen I advise you to read the biography 'Thaksin' by Pasuk Phongpaichit and Chris Baker, then you will get a more balanced picture of Thaksin's policy. Furthermore: the core of the comments from Bangkok Post is: Yingluck must be accountable. That is quite normal in politics. Consider, for example, the passport affair in the Netherlands.
I strongly support principles such as 'the polluter pays, the negligent pays the damage'. I therefore have no qualms about Mrs Yingluck being prosecuted for negligence, in addition to the political ramifications of her government. As one should have done with the occupiers of the airports a few years ago, the siege of shopping malls and the occupation of major intersections in Bangkok.
In fact, if Ms. Yingluck is found guilty, she must repay that 800 million baht to the state, not the taxpayer. If my dog causes an accident by suddenly crossing the soi and dies in the process, surely I don't say that I don't pay for the damage because I've already suffered enough due to the death of my dog?
I would like to know what the ultimate monetary damage was that Thailand suffered from that airport occupation as an equal case…? Extended to the damage suffered by third parties .because airport slots are not exactly cheap things for non-use ...?
And when will those responsible ever be brought to justice? Since that was several years before the Yingluk case ……, or is it measured with 2 sizes and weight….. not possible, hey .. never in Thailand and especially not now….
Why do I regularly remember that saying; “whose bread one eats whose word one speaks” ?
http://www.voanews.com/content/a-13-2009-01-12-voa11-68822187/413588.html
The Central Bank of Thailand estimated the damage a year after the occupation of the airports at about 8,5 billion US dollars, about 250 billion baht. Thai airways alone estimated the damage at 500 million baht per day.
The organizers of this occupation, the yellow shirts, were charged after the coup of May 22, 2014. It is now up to the court.
No, dear Chris, the leaders of the yellow shirts, including Chamlong and Sondhi, and others were charged with the occupation of the airports back in and before April 2013. It has nothing to do with the coup, OK? See the link:
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Another-pair-of-yellow-shirts-indicted-over-2008-s-30204907.html
Moderator: Please limit yourself to Thailand.