100 days junta, 100 days happy?

It is becoming a (good) habit to judge a new government after 100 days in office. 100 days after May 22 is exactly August 31 (if I count correctly; I'm better at counting 90 days) and therefore time to take stock of the takeover of power by the military.

The Red Thread

That will be a subjective story in advance. First of all, I live in Bangkok. And although I will not deny that there are also problems outside of Bangkok, the problems in the capital are more diverse, bigger and are also widely reported internationally. The inhabitants of this city also have a different perspective with the (violent) demonstrations of recent months in their heads and sometimes in their backyard.

It makes a difference in the assessment of the CURRENT situation if you had to adapt your daily life for months to the demonstrations of the PDRC and/or red shirts or you live in a village in the Thai countryside where everything was and is peace and quiet, and people took in the situation in Bangkok through the media.

I myself had to postpone some lessons because the majority of the students could not leave the house, were stuck in unexpected traffic jams or joined the demonstrations. I don't think that has happened anywhere else in Thailand.

In addition, I have an opinion and I also express it about what is happening in this country. I have lived and worked here since 2006, pay taxes here and feel like a foreign employee and not a (foreign) guest.

The common threads in my various contributions to this blog since March 2013 are:

1. I am not impressed with the quality, integrity and sincerity of elected administrators and leaders in this country;
2. I am not impressed by the quality and diversity of political parties that lack virtually any vision of the problems of this country and the directions for solutions and are dominated by business empires (who are mainly out for money and profit and need political power to do so );
3. Although this country has a large number of good rules and laws, the enforcement of these laws is far below par, constantly eroded and selective;
4. Clan culture predominates over the general interest almost everywhere. Thinking in terms of the Thai nation, Thai values ​​and Thainess is mainly symbolic. This applies to the singing of a new song by children in primary schools and also to the attention to the correct wearing of uniforms at the universities. As is often the case in Thailand, reality is not what it seems;
5. The differences between rich and poor are synonymous with the differences between power and impotence, between high and low prestige, between dignity and inferiority, between open and closed doors. Or as Pope Francis recently said: 'Inequality is the root of social evil.' (Sometimes I regret getting rid of my red book for students and my red book for soldiers);
6. Political thinking in terms of 'red' and 'yellow' (us and them; Pheu Thai and Democrats) – given the growing middle class in many regions of the country, including the north and south – no longer reflects the pluralistic reality in Thailand .

A first assessment

When I see what the junta has accomplished in 100 days, I have to take off my cap (which I wear every day on my way home from work because of a bald head in combination with the Thai sun) for them. The high score that the Thai population gives the junta in the regularly conducted polls does not mean much to me when you consider that the Thai are used to always getting (and giving) high marks, always passing and never failing an exam ( except for foreign teachers).

What I do see and experience is that the actions of the junta have considerably increased the actual and psychological chance that you will be caught with illegal, unethical and inappropriate behavior in any sense whatsoever. It is of course a travesty that suspects of various (including recent) crimes can be tracked down in 100 days of the junta, while this was not possible in recent years under democratic governments. Was the entire police force fired for this? No.

A (non-exhaustive) summary of what happened from May 22:

• Tracked down and seized a large quantity of weapons;
• Illegal casinos closed and their operators traced (including gambling machines);
• Suspects of illegal logging and sale traced;
• Regulation of moped taxi system in Bangkok, taxi and minivan system;
• A number of loan sharks organizations have been rounded up;
• Set up a system for legalizing workers from neighboring countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar) and monitoring their employers;
• Intensified the approach to hunting wild animals, e.g. elephants;
• The illegal lottery virtually stopped;
• System introduced on maintenance and safety checks on coaches and coach companies and drivers;
• PDRC leaders brought to court;
• Rice farmers paid;
• Inspections set up on the quantity and quality of the stored rice;
• Investigation launched into money flows to the insurgents in the south;
• Investigation started into the financial dealings of politicians of all persuasions;
• Women-friendly train carriages;
• One of the country's largest companies has wound up four companies it had set up in tax havens (including the Cayman Islands);
• Farmers in the south are protesting what they believe is unjustified ownership of land by Suthep's family;
• Tackling illegal construction on the grounds of national parks. In the South, the (unknown) owner could not await the destruction on behalf of the government and demolished the illegally built houses himself;
• Acting in disputes between the population and the operators of companies (e.g. the mine in Loei) and protection of the population;
• Regulation of businesses on and on the beaches;
• Tackling mafia practices;
• The budget of the anti-corruption commission increased by more than 17 percent for next year;
• Visa procedure changed for 'long stay' tourists;
• Transferring civil servants who do not take the rules and the integrity code that has been introduced very seriously (this new code also applies to me as a teacher);
• Tightening rules regarding exam fraud and plagiarism by students and communicating this to the new first-year students;
• Dismissal of four judges (and reprimand of three others) who released some easy suspects on bail.

And all that in 100 days. Of course, the junta does not act on its own. Generals are not trained to lead the country, but to defend against the enemy. Behind the curtains, a large number of advisers stand ready to assist the junta. Yes, technocrats and not elected or approved by the people or parliament. Unfortunately.

Everyone happy?

In my own living environment, this has meant that the two illegally operating casinos 'at home' no longer function, that you can no longer order lottery tickets from the illegal lottery, that my neighbor is now a registered moped taxi driver, that the police no longer condones the practices of acquaintances (for fear of being transferred, demoted or fired) and that police officers are no longer interested in tea money just write a ticket.

The result is that more people than before are inclined to comply with the applicable rules. Initially out of fear of being caught. Certainly. Hopefully later because people realize that this makes society fairer, more transparent and more enjoyable. (After all, global research proves that people in countries with less corruption are happier.)

Is everyone happy with that? No of course. Because evading rules and (paid) frustrating their enforcement was (and probably still is) a 'twilight economy' has emerged in which many people earn their rice directly and indirectly; some a lot of rice, others less, some part-time, others full-time. It is not easy to estimate the size of this 'twilight economy', but it is probably in the billions of baht. The dismantling of this 'twilight economy' does not happen overnight and not without a struggle.

Self-censorship

This blog has already discussed the consequences of the junta's action on freedom of expression. I am absolutely opposed to the (further) restriction of freedom of expression, which was not that great in Thailand (especially compared to what the Dutch and Belgians are used to in their own country).

However, in my opinion it is not the greatest evil in Thai society. Being positively critical of what is happening, coming up with analyses, best practices elsewhere in the world and with alternative solutions to problems is - in my experience - still appreciated.

In my networks and contacts with Thai people, I do what I can to convince them that the path to more democracy is through a dialogue about problems and problem solutions that accommodate multiple, perhaps conflicting views, institutionalized through organizations such as political parties and other social groups. organizations such as cooperatives and trade unions. I can only hope they do something about it.

I am happy with the slow disappearance of self-censorship, of the fear of the 'powerless' to revolt against the improper practices of the 'powerful'. The junta is asked daily to step into the breach for population groups that feel they have been treated unfairly or wrongly. A good thing because people apparently have the idea that something can or will really be done about it and that they don't have to be (so) afraid of personal repercussions ('If you know what I mean').

What now?

I have often argued that improper practices such as corruption, blackmail, bribery or extortion involve the wrong people and/or the wrong processes. Wrong people can be tracked down and brought to justice; in a fair manner as well as the judges do their job in good conscience.

Changing faulty processes is much less easy and certainly more time consuming. That's because some of these processes (such as buying off a ticket by issuing tea money to the police officer on duty; giving bribes in the form of money or luxury goods in business environments) are so ingrained in Thailand that they are seen as 'normal' ('Everyone is doing it') and not as objectionable.

Making new laws and enforcing them will have little success in the long run if the attitude of Thai and Thai organizations does not change. And changing an attitude and internalizing a new form of behavior takes time. Unless a crisis arises that forces change.

The seizure of power on May 22 was, of course, a crisis, in response to another crisis. I still have the documents from a Deutsche Bank seminar from the 80s entitled 'Seien Sie Dankbar für Krisen'.

The message of that seminar was that you should value crises as positive. It gives you the opportunity – after some thought – to do things differently from now on: in your personal and/or professional life. You can also call it 'learning'. The old way didn't work and led to problems. It must therefore be different to avoid a renewed crisis.

Other danger

In addition to this behavioral change, there is another danger lurking. Those who benefit from the (corrupt) situation before the seizure of power cannot simply eat the 'khao pad' off their plate. According to my Thai friends who have links with the American or Chinese security services, the middle management in the police and army in particular are trying to organize themselves.

So far the groups are too fragmented to be powerful. However, if they find each other, a counter-coup is possible. Sources claim that these people have no message for any authority in this country and only think about the full recovery of the 'twilight economy', in their own interest and the interest of their clan. Hopefully it won't come to that.

Chris de Boer

Chris de Boer has been working as a lecturer in marketing and management at Silpakorn University since 2008.