Thai premier tackles critical questions
By Juergen Dauth
SINGAPORE (DPA): Chuan Leekpai took over as Thai premier at the height of last year's financial crisis. The pundits forecast that he would be out in weeks, not months. Yet he has now held power for over a year.
He has been able to build up what, initially, was a weak majority in parliament and now seems to be more firmly in the saddle than ever. Like no other Thai head of government before him, he owes his mandate to popular support.
The Thais accept that he must, in view of the economic crisis, impose additional hardship on them. "They can see that Chuan is working seriously on surmounting the crisis," says Savit Bhotiwihok, a minister in his cabinet. Chuan, he says, has credibility.
Half a dozen governments before his came to grief over corruption and lining their own pockets. Chuan has a reputation for being a Mr Clean, although several of his ministers have been forced to resign in connection with dubious business affairs.
The crisis is still not over, not by any means, but the baht, the Thai currency, has stabilized, stock market quotations are on the increase, inflation is on the decline and capital is starting to move again.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which lent Thailand under Chuan US$17.2 billion to bolster its economy, rates Thailand the first country in crisis-shaken South-East Asia to stand a chance of finding its way out of the crisis.
Chuan's style of leadership has led Thailand into a new era. He has made state institutions more transparent, he has supported civic participation and he has promoted freedom of the media. The military has returned to barracks and largely dispensed with bids to exert political influence.
The new spirit that Chuan would like to see his country embrace starts in Thai schools. Far-reaching reforms in education policy have rejigged both the form and content of learning.
Schools today are supposed to educate people to think and decide for themselves rather than people who merely rehash elitist modes of thought. What counts is not the prearranged answer but the right question, and a critical one.
The Thai press had adopted this approach too. The emphasis is now on journalism that asks critical questions. Non-governmental organizations also pack a punch in Thailand, where they have established themselves more firmly than anywhere else in the region. And they champion their causes with expert knowledge and tactical skill.
"We are the only opposition that Thais take seriously," says Weng Tojirakarn, chairman of the Federation for Democracy. Even Thai politicians, albeit grudgingly in some instances, are starting to take this extra-parliamentary Opposition seriously.
"The people have long done so," says Sulak Sivaraksa, a leading social critic, "because they realize that the parliamentary Opposition is motivated exclusively by the striving for power."
Yet despite positive trends it would be an exaggeration to describe Thailand as a country where conditions are wonderful. Amnesty International feels Thailand still has ground to make good in implementing civil rights and heeding human dignity.
Conditions in Thai prisons are said still to be inhuman. Torture is still allegedly practiced. The police are reported still to see themselves all too often as being above the law.
Chuan Leekpai will need to go to the country in 2000. If he keeps up his reform course he can be sure of serving a second term. But after having concentrated on reforms in the banking and business sector so far, he will need to pay more attention to the countryside.
Chum Sakol, a farmer, hanged himself outside the government building in Bangkok to escape from rural poverty. That cannot have been a recommendation for Chuan's rural policies.