Thailand tidbits

One of my objectives for this blog is commentary. Most of my online time is spent reading it, so I might as well be part of the community. Considering my residence in Thailand earlier this year, I'd like to begin with that.


Thailand's military has long been corrupt. A part of the country's elite since its independence in 1932, the organization has run a patronage system that has long since integrated the private sector with the public. Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra attempted to make himself the head of this clientelist system, and his hubris is certainly one of the factors that led to last year's coup. The military junta, also known as the Council for National Security, published a white paper explaining the reasons for the oust. Personally, I think King Bhuimibol orchestrated the coup with the help of military generals close to him, especially the influential (former general, former prime minister, current head of the Privy Council) Prem Tinsulanonda. As my Thai politics professor in Chiang Mai said, a call from Prem is gold. I doubt the monarch or the military wish to voluntarily give up their hold of Thailand's economy to an upstart telecommunications technocrat.

So this gets me back to corruption, and the spiffy article I found in The Nation (Bangkok's Independent newspaper, not the liberal periodical of US origins):

Police Bill to go Through Despite Officer Opposition

The bill aimed at drastically restructuring the Royal Thai Police will go
through the vetting process and not be withdrawn despite opposition by police
officers, Justice Ministry deputy permanent secretary Kittiphong Kittayarak said
yesterday.

The government published a white paper detailing the areas it wished to reform, mainly increasing the dismal salaries, relieving the police of any duties outside "providing security to Their Majesties the King and Queen," "crime prevention and suppression," and "serving and protecting the public." Apparently the police had also been responsible for graft-friendly duties such as forestry (illegal logging, anyone?), railroads (smuggling!), and highways (smuggling!). The bill will also decentralise the police system, making it harder for individuals to set up an expansive patronage system, although it is doubtful this practice will be fully eradicated. Finally, the bill seeks to set up a National Police Policy Committee, separate from the Royal Thai Police itself, which would oversee complaints filed against them.

I'm impressed this bill is going through, though. I can never be certain whether this is all talk or what, and as far as I know the bill hasn't passed yet. Who knows, maybe after the elections (and when will that be, exactly?) Thailand will finally see some military reform.