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Home » Reader question » Reader question: Why is there so much criticism of Prayut?
Reader question: Why is there so much criticism of Prayut?
Dear readers,
I don't understand why Prayut is often criticized in the comments. I think that guy is doing really well. Since he came to power, things have calmed down in Thailand. Before that, there was even a threat of civil war. I notice everywhere in Thailand that the rules are better observed. There is less scam and more enforcement.
There are complaints about the economic situation, but can Prayut do something about the fact that there is a trade war between the US and China? The world economy is stagnating and Thailand is also suffering from this. Can you hardly charge Prayut.
He is now democratically elected so it seems logical to me to respect the wishes of the people of Thailand. They want Prayut, otherwise he wouldn't have become prime minister.
My Thai wife is also happy with Prayut, although she says: he is the least bad (haha).
So my question is why expats are critical of Prayut? Most do not speak the Thai language and hardly know what is going on. We are also guests here so why criticize our host?
Regards,
RuudC
I don't know for sure either, but I assume that a large part of the negative messages in the expat community stem from terms such as coup d'état and military junta.
I partly share RuudC's opinion. Small steps forward are being made. I can definitely see those steps and that makes me quite happy.
On the other hand, we can just leave the champagne bottles in the fridge because even a government under Mr Prayuth does not have the strength to repair the great damage that has been done to his government in the decades.
It was only months, perhaps even weeks, after the coup that expats began to agitate negatively. What did people actually expect? Naturally, the keyboard warriors from the free West also contributed by sharing their “expertise” in forums…
I say: let us (living in Thailand) be happy that Prayuth is there and not that gang of pickpockets from Pheu Thai. Their objective was, is and remains “give the people rice and games”, in other words, keep them nice and stupid, that makes it easier to govern…
Democratically elected? Did you follow how this “democratic” result was obtained?
You are clearly very pleased with your wife. Keep it like that. Being happy is just as important as health. Still drink a little less of her intoxicating potion, to regain a clear view 🙂
On a side note, my Thai wife voted for FFP in the hope that something would really change for the better in my beloved country. Wishful thinking. However, I had warned her that voting was absolutely pointless this time.
If you leave the magic potion you will hopefully see that the armed forces, now also occupy all (formerly public civilian) institutions for the benefit of ... a very select group of very rich families who shamelessly claim everything and everyone for their own unlimited hunger for even more money and power.
Any sense of norm between public and private interest is more than ever lost.
Dear RuudC, in your question about Prayuth's position, you start from a number of assumptions. The first is that civil war was imminent before the coup. I doubt that. At that time I lived in BKK, entertained myself several times with Thai during the Shutdown, and there was no bloodshed when it was cleared.
Whether there is less scam in Thai society and whether enforcement is better organized: it all depends on someone's perception. Last Monday, Thailandblog warned that fake gold had been put on offer.
No one blames Prayuth for the US-China trade war. He does not have that much influence, nor does anyone claim that Thailand can blame the stagnation of the world economy. It is true that Thailand is just as good from global upswings, so also from downturns. But it is also true that Prayuth's government has no control over all those movements. I invite you to inform yourself more broadly about this. See e.g.:
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1758114/bank-of-thailand-holds-interest-rate-downgrades-growth-outlook
Prayuth also appears unable to regulate the ever-increasing Thai Baht, which will eventually have negative consequences for Thailand's economy.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1758484/kbank-baht-can-go-higher
Bangkok Post is not too much of a quality newspaper, but nevertheless gives an insight into Thailand's socio-economic ins and outs. At least broader than gut feeling.
The manner in which Prayuth became Prime Minister is debatable. Forced and manipulated elections and similar results can hardly be called democratic. But everything necessary has been said about this Thai theme in recent months.
You don't have to be fluent in Thai to form an opinion about what is going on in Thailand. Nor about Prayuth. There is enough information available in other languages to keep you informed.
This also applies to the fact that you are a guest in Thailand. The argument that you should remain silent after all as a guest in this country is a reprehensible one. Precisely because the Netherlands in particular, the country where you grew up and had every opportunity, considers certain norms and values high as a constitutional state. You as a national of NL have experienced nothing but developing in freedom. Then it is not the case that you keep your mouth shut if in Thailand, for example, a concept such as equality is not given any substance. Read about this:
https://www.thailandblog.nl/achtergrond/ongelijkheid-in-thailand-de-gevolgen-en-de-noodzakelijke-verbetering/
you don't want to know that an innocent soldier has been shot in cold blood by the red brigade. I have lived here for 25 years, you can't tell me that blood has never been shed.
The army should have seized power much earlier, then there would be much less damage than still needs to be cleaned up.
democracy is an illusion that the people dance around with bread and circuses they keep them stupid.
Time to abolish politics globally. within this and 20 years, AI will take over. Long live the technology.
First of all, it is a soldier who has come to power through a coup d'état.
He then adjusts the constitution so that there is hardly any opposition or opposition candidates.
In the period between the coup and the elections, special legal rules with military powers & courts applied...
Opposition candidates were systematically severely intimidated & disadvantaged.
The SENATE is also composed of a majority of "like-minded" - mostly (ex-) military - members who were NOT democratically elected.
The current cabinet is Prayut's “Puppets on a string”.
Excessive military expenditure already predicts the true nature of this new cabinet: “To consolidate military power”.
Just because you are a "guest" in Thailand does not mean that you are not allowed to have your opinion... and as far as I am concerned, that opinion is "critical" against any dictatorship, covert or otherwise.
You say it as a joke that Prayut was democratically elected. There was little or nothing democratic about that election. Certainly not to the composition of the government and senate.
Agree. Many Thais are happy that it is quiet in the country and that there is less corruption than before.
It is and remains a junta leader because it is someone who does not respect and bends the democratic election results and election laws. Do you think I would be satisfied with a socialist regime in Belgium? 100% no, but if it is, I will respect it as a Democrat. In Thailand they then commit a “coup”. The superstitious Thais are so scared that they don't dare to vote for them (military), afraid that they will be watched in the voting booths. Just ask around in the villages! As a (former) soldier, he has declared his own capital of 128 million baht and transferred 466 million baht to family members. How could that honest gentleman have amassed this?
An excellent soldier can never be a true democrat.
Let the Thai solve it themselves, as a guest and / or co-family responsible, foreigners currently have no say in that matter.
Legal inequality is still going on in Thailand.
Not only between rich and poor, but also between people who think differently,
who leave for their safety abroad.
At the end of 2018, Kraidej Luelert was murdered.
May 2, 2019 “disappeared” Siam Theerawut and 2 others
Od Sayavong has been missing in Bangkok since August 26 this year.
The institution of Article 44 was not very democratic.
Indeed, there is peace, but also dissatisfaction due to no shelter
problems such as flooding and unemployment.
I am no longer a 'guest' in Thailand and can now say anything.
Sure enough, Prayut prevented a civil war. In 2013-2014, a group of people first demonstrated against an amnesty law and when it was repealed against the incumbent Yingluck government. Elections in February 2014 were boycotted and prevented with a certain violence.
Look, if they attack your house, the best thing is for the army to remove you from your own house and let the attackers take possession of the house. Then there will be peace, tranquility and order again.
That peace must of course be maintained. Troublemakers must be arrested and prosecuted.
The economy has grown rapidly in recent years. All Thais agree on that. I never hear complaints.
Prayut is also very funny. He said that beautiful women in bikinis are in danger of being raped, threatened to execute journalists (just kidding, 5555), threw banana peels at journalists and told rubber farmers to sell their rubber on Mars if the price drops.
He is laughingly praised to the skies in the Thai-language media. He's a sweet man.
Tino, you forgot to mention that all top military personnel are multi-dollar millionaires, which clearly shows that corruption has been banned from the land of smiles. There are no more grabbers happy.
Tino fishes for a free ticket with these propaganda writings. With the Thai national airliner one way towards LoS. A small attentive wiedergutmachung from Lung Tou to “con dee farrang. 🙂
You can certainly laugh with Prayut. That anger is just an act and has humor and often good humor, according to himself. Although journalists should not ask him too many questions…
Compilation jokes 2014-2015:
- https://prachatai.com/english/node/4759
I have come across nice videos with Prayut in the leading role on Thai Facebook groups. Also compilations of his 'played' outbursts of anger. I can't find it quickly on YouTube. Then this one: Tom and Jerry.. uhm.. Prayut:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha8niAjgVAY
Wasn't there a life-size billboard in New York this week along the road near the UN with the text 'Thai government' a Junta in disguise?
I don't think any further explanation is necessary.
Here there is fear among the population to be able to speak freely.
Jan Beute.
I wonder if someone else could do it so much better? a good politician is hard to find and there will always be criticism. and you have supporters and opponents of a certain regime / government…. This is also the case in Belgium and the Netherlands.
If you think Prayut was democratically elected, you most likely did not follow current events prior to the undemocratic elections.
May I remind you that political meetings were banned by Prayut until a few weeks before the elections. May I remind you that during the coup, Prayut changed the laws in his favor and it has become almost impossible to run Thailand democratically without interference from the army.
I could go on and on.
Prayut is a dictator and was not democratically elected. There is plenty of criticism of the current government and it is just a matter of time before the bomb explodes.
Of course he is a good man. Someone who can keep the peace between two population groups that are still sneaky with knives drawn is the best Thailand can use right now. A democracy elected by the people is no guarantee of prosperity and peace. Prater may well remain in power until both sides give up on dividing the country.
It's just a bit of a shame that the military themselves are very much part of the handful of elite clans. Families fighting together for power. The generals are extremely wealthy, that is not included in their civil servant salaries. That struggle continues within the elites, so Prayut has to keep looking back to make sure he doesn't get a stab in the back from other army units (the shift in power from the Queens - back - to King's guard is interesting in this case).
And we have not yet achieved weedergutmachung, and that is not actually the goal. The goal remains that money and power remains with a few families at the top (which continue to fight among themselves about it). No, the military will not make things better for the average Thai. That can only happen from the bottom up. But parties such as Future Forward that are pushing for this are having all kinds of spokes in the wheels from above.
I don't feel that Prayut is pursuing the same as Erdogan. That space isn't there because of To Be Number One and the one who had 2500 people killed, because that's a thing.
The people who say that nothing is happening in other policy areas disqualify themselves for lack of knowledge.
Thailand is indeed doing well. They themselves have brought it to the point where it has become a safe haven for investors. Before investors have confidence in a country, they must have good reasons. The Baht even becomes the target currency of SE Asia.
I don't think they're investors, they're speculators.
As soon as they can park their capital elsewhere at a more favorable interest rate, they will have left en masse. Subsequently, the exchange rate of the Baht plummets.
The points against this government regularly pass by on this blog. Think of:
– The artificial way in which Suthep's Bangkok Shutdown deliberately created constant anxiety even though new elections were approaching, these were then boycotted, the unrest continued to be stirred up with new demands, etc.
— https://www.thailandblog.nl/achtergrond/de-strijd-om-democratie-in-thailand-sinds-premier-thaksin-slot/
– Undemocratic, unfair elections. The new constitution is a monstrosity written to keep Phua Thai out and give the NCPO the necessary benefits: the appointed senators, not cracking down on the Phalang Pracharat party even though they raised money by having tables sponsored by government bodies, the Electoral Council and the Constitutional Court that apply double standards (see approach of Future Forwardd vs Phalang Pracharat).
- https://www.thailandblog.nl/nieuws-uit-thailand/thanathorn-geschorst-mag-het-parlement-niet-betreden/
– The large and increased inequality
— https://www.thailandblog.nl/achtergrond/ongelijkheid-in-thailand-de-gevolgen-en-de-noodzakelijke-verbetering/
– The constant worries about the economy (open the papers)
— https://www.thailandblog.nl/nieuws-uit-thailand/bank-of-thailand-minder-optimistisch-over-exportgroei-en-economie/
– No decrease in corruption
— Bangkok Post January 2019 Corruption on the rise.:
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1619930/corruption-rises-in-thailand-global-watchdog-says
—Annual corruption index: rising trend with dip around the coup:
https://tradingeconomics.com/thailand/corruption-rank
Thanking Prayut is a bit like thanking the mafia for the peace and order they bring so much. The only good thing about the coup and the constant battle between the wealthy Thai clans who gets to grab where is that the equally undemocratic Thaksin is also largely off the field and a genuinely democratic player has emerged in the form of Future Forward. But the families that now hold the power and the money are also fighting this group with all means. Because it is of course not the intention that the bastards really get a finger in the pie. But the Thai know very well that the NCPO clan stinks on all sides despite the attempts to keep up appearances to the outside world.
The best man from Future Foreward is a son of the owner of the Thai Summit Group, the largest car parts manufacturer in Thailand.
You don't become the biggest in this trade by having incorrect boyfriends and every now and then sounds come out that there is also a double agenda here or a new Thaksin in the making or hopefully a way to make the people feel give a little more voice.
I sometimes wonder. Are the people who complain about the current system really waiting for situations like the Arab Spring?
Power always wins over the people and as long as the people, even in the Netherlands, have the feeling that they are not being heard in The Hague, then I wonder what people want to achieve with that criticism in Thailand.
Why are we as guests not allowed to criticize the Thai government? We bring a lot of money into the Thai drawer. Moreover, there are many in the Netherlands who are “guests” and who express their criticism in full and are also well represented in all levels of government. Will you get the chance to be elected to the city council of your hometown or to the Thai parliament? Didn't think so, you can't even buy a piece of land.
Strange reasoning from Pyotr Patong. You are here as a tourist - long or short stay - and stay here with a visa. In no country can a tourist be elected to parliament, not even in the Netherlands. You must have the nationality of the relevant country.
True, Theo, but you also had a Thai citizenship and you could read and write and speak Thai perfectly, don't think that even if it was just a position as village chief you would get the chance to become one.
In contrast, in the USA a Thai lady even made it to senator.
Jan Beute.
Completely agree with you. When the red has disappeared from their heads, One will no longer see the yellow in the other. Helping to keep the peace is better than arguing because you think you know better. I'm going to the UN soon with a board thank you Prayut.
The question is easy to answer.
Criticism of previous PMs came mainly (or exclusively) from political parties of which the PM was not a member, say, for the sake of convenience, from the opposition. These PMs were candidates in elections and made promises to voters.
Prayut is not a member of any political party and did not stand for election in the recent parliamentary elections. He therefore receives criticism from all parties. He also made no promises (he never took part in party leader debates because he was not party leader) so everyone criticizes him when he does something and when he does nothing.
Dear RuudC, you had of course hoped for some balanced reactions, but those seem almost impossible. There are those who do not want to hear a good word about Prayut as if he is personally to blame for having to pay more than Thais for access to natural parks. Others see him as the man who brought peace and helped the economy move forward. However, I will not help you further because I want to limit myself to the human Prayut. Unfortunately, I must confess that I only have a very limited picture of that man. Yet.
First of all, he is clearly not a politician, which is a relief, but on the other hand, he sometimes says and does very stupid things. Furthermore, he does not always have himself under control, which mainly comes to the surface when he is criticized (fortunately that is still possible). Apparently he is not used to criticism, but that was of course unthinkable in the army. After all, that's where he spent most of his life. He also seems to suffer from self-overestimation, but in that respect he must acknowledge his superior in Trump. Sometimes (exceptionally) he even admits that he does not have the proper education to run the country. What I appreciate about him is that he seems to spend a lot of hours running the country and it's not always fun for him. I actually see two possibilities: 1. He sacrifices himself for the country because he doesn't see anyone who can do it better. 2. He is being coerced into remaining Prime Minister (puppet?).
I'm guessing the latter but not sure. Perhaps both things play a role.
What can be added is that Prayut can simply come among the people (supporters?) Without, fortunately, there seems to be heavy surveillance, as is unfortunately the case with Wilders.
How popular is our friend? Prayut gave a non-live live interview via Facebook yesterday. The reactions: 57 thousand angry, 6,1 thousand bursting with laughter, 4,6 thousand videos up, 2,7 thousand hearts and 1,1 thousand crying icons.
That's why this cartoon, last frame Googled Prayut on 'how do I turn off angry faces?':
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1655874281209164&id=1097935803669684
Interview video see:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=508713856615319&id=154553218343826