Thailand: More required of PM Thaksin

Thailand: More required of PM Thaksin

BANGKOK: On Sunday, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra made an
impassioned plea to the media to stop portraying him as a lame-
duck leader so that he could attend the Fortune Global Forum 2001
in Hong Kong from today to Thursday as someone who appeared to be
in charge, who could credibly represent Thailand at such an
important international business meeting.

That seems an odd thing for a politician to do, especially one
who only a few brief months ago was swept into the highest
political office on the back of overwhelming popular support.
That public support, whether well-placed or not, had been
accurately reflected by the media and contributed to the
landslide victory of Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai Party, paving the
way for Thaksin's rise to power.

It is therefore ludicrous for Thaksin and his Thai Rak Thai
Party to be suggesting that there is now a conspiracy among the
opposition and some media organizations to bring down his
government through a systematic negative campaign.

He said that people in the country should concentrate on
helping his government map out and implement a grand strategy to
bring Thailand out of the economic stagnation and proceed on
track to a sustainable recovery.

Thaksin has become increasingly agitated by the public
attention and media scrutiny resulting from the continuing
Constitution Court proceedings against him for allegedly
concealing billions of baht in shares and filing false asset
statements while deputy prime minister more than three years ago.

If the National Counter Corruption Commission's verdict
against Thaksin is upheld by the Constitution Court, he will be
barred from public office for five years. Given new, compelling
evidence that has emerged during the Court proceedings so far, it
is all but impossible for the public not to be debating the issue
of leadership and personal integrity.

As a country with a high degree of media freedom, the mass
media are supposed not only to reflect but also to take active
part in the public debate.

This issue is of monumental importance to Thailand, therefore
it is disturbing to witness Thaksin's apparent confusion when he
has on several occasions equated his political survival to the
national interest. By any standard, such a claim can only be
interpreted as extreme arrogance, if not self-delusion.

He has begged the mass media not to attack him on "small
issues", by which he means his apparent underhand efforts to
evade the anti-graft agency's detection of a vast portion of his
assets and for being less than truthful in declaring his assets.

This is tantamount to urging the mass media not to do the job
they are supposed to do by turning a blind eye to the most
important issues of the day. By making public his hitherto well-
concealed attitude toward the mass media, particularly the free
media over which he has no control, Thaksin is indicating that he
lacks one very important qualification of a good politician: the
open-mindedness or ability to absorb fair criticism.

Much more will be required of Thaksin, including personal
integrity, a sense of conviction and the ability to deliver on
promises if his ambition is to become a workable political
leader.

Thaksin and his spin-doctors have been promoting him as a non-
political politician, who has all the material wealth and
business acumen to match, whose only goal in life is to make a
positive contribution to the betterment of the Thai people. His
enormous wealth is supposed to be a guarantee that he has no need
or inclination to cheat, while his business prowess can be put at
the service of the Thai public.

They will by now be realizing that his success as chief
executive of a hugely successful business empire does not readily
transfer well to an attempt to govern a country. Thaksin must
begin to deliver on his promises to stay marketable as a
politician at home and abroad.

Regarding the Hong Kong trip that Thaksin seems to have
attached so much importance to; the question is not whether the
forum is important enough for Thailand's credibility in the
international community.

The question is whether Thaksin is big enough as a leader to
be speaking for Thailand.

-- The Nation/Asia News Network