Suggestions on How to Reform the Political System in Thailand
In Khun Yoon's blog dated July 20, 208 "Samak Launchs 'Talk Back" on Channel 11 toCounter ASTV" I wrote the following in response t a comment by Khun Plaadip. I would like to repeat them here so others will have a chance to read what I wrote.


I am not an expert in government affairs nor am I a past or present government official of any country, but I would like to offer my ideas as something to think about and to comment and expand upon by all the blog participants here. At one point or another we have all probably aired our complaints about how bad and ho corrupt Thai government officials are. Perhaps it is time for us to put our head together and proposed something here for the powers that be to consider. If we can put together a good proposal maybe The Nation can publish it in their printed version of the newspaper so as to gain a larger audience and attraction.

In my response to Mr. Plaadip I said “please do not feel offended or get mad. We all have good intentions here. Sometimes we say things half jokingly to spice up life a little, but there is meaning in our words. Remember the saying, ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.’ " I continued my comments as follows:






QUOTE

In my humble opinion, no one among all the political parties right now is truly qualified to be PM. What I mean by that is no one that I can think of has the leadership ability and the charisma to ensure that a clean, honest and hard-working government can be formed to tackle the many problems facing the country today.

We should blame this situation to the political system that exists in the country today. The way political parties are organized and financed today and the existing civil service practices force politicians and government servants to be corrupt. Politics and government service have become magnets for the crooked and cunning individuals who see having a position in government as a ticket to accumulate vast wealth through illegal means. There are many well-educated, good and hard-working individuals in the private sector who will not touch politics with a 10-foot pole.

In order to start tackling the corruption problem in the country one should really take a good look at the civil service commission and truly reform the system. One should look at the political system and stop the proliferation of multiple small political parties who really have no objectives other than to become parasites of bigger parties once elections are conducted. In a relatively small country like Thailand, two to three major political parties with clear intentions, objectives and mottos should be the maximum allowable.

Financing of political parties should not come from a few wealthy individuals but instead should come from open and transparent private and/or public donations with no strings attached, and/or reasonable budget allocations by the government itself.

To ensure that corruption is suppressed at all levels, look to Hong Kong and Singapore for role models. Both of these "city states," if you can call them that, have also gone through periods of rampant corruptions in the civil service under British rule, but they have overcome those difficult periods and are now the two most open and least corrupt territories in Asia today. Thais must swallow their pride and start emulating the good practices that others have evolved. There is no need and no time to re-invent the wheel

While the country is going through these transitions, what it needs is a good and honest provisional government set up by a non-elected, professional, well-recognized individual known for his experience, honestly, integrity, and good judgments who must be vetted and royally appointed to a term of no less than 4 to 6 years, maybe longer. He must be given a free hand to form a government comprising of people like him who are professional, well-experienced, honest and hard working and who are determined to get things done quickly, completely, on-time and within budgets that are not bloated with bribes and corruption, They must have the will and power to instill honesty at all levels of the civil service. The law must be on their side to effectively punish any individuals, regardless of background and family ties, if they are found to be dishonest and corrupt, both in the public and private sectors.






We are not talking about stifling democracy here. We are not talking about back-tracking on the road to democracy here. After all, the country is not really ready for full democracy, so we might as well learn how to be a democratic society step-by-step, not through a giant leap forward only to fall flat on our face. We are talking about being realistic and pragmatic. We are talking about not giving the crooks and charlatans the opportunity to twist and abuse the system in the name of democracy so as to achieve their own selfish objectives.






It is very important that government servants must be rewarded with attractive remuneration packages that are commensurate with their responsibility and performance and that will deter them from even thinking of being corrupt. Government service should be thought of as an honorable and attractive career by young, bright, educated and smart citizens who possess the necessary education, qualifications and experience to ensure that they are able to meet the challenges of the jobs and contribute to the welfare of the people and development of the country. People who think that they can buy their way into becoming government officials so that they can profit from their positions and reap their “just rewards” should be screened out of the system through severe penalties with long imprisonment for convicted individuals.

Of course, these are not the only things that need to be done. There are a myriad of challenges that need to be overcome in the education and manpower development, public health and healthcare, economic and industrial development, agricultural and agro-industrial development, infrastructure, defense and other areas. I am not going to deal with these for now.






All of these ideas may seem like pipe dream today. But if the powers that be truly love this country and want it to change for the better, they better wake up now and do something about it. I am not joking here. Thailand today is regressing while most of its neighbors are progressing fast and furious. This country is being left behind and may soon "turn to dust" if it does not do something to save itself from disintegrating into pieces. Somebody said in this blog "One must be BLIND not to see the truth." How true it is when applied in this context.

UNQUOTE






I would really appreciate any feedback from all of our intelligent bloggers who cares for the country and the people of Thailand.

Minister of Science and Technology presides over the Opening Ceremony of Thailand Pavilion at BIO 20
Friday, 27 June 2008
17 June 2008, Mr.Wutipong Chaisang, Minister of Science and Technology presides over the Opening Ceremony of Thailand Pavilion at BIO 2008 San Diego The National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Board of Investment (BOI), Thailand Center of Excellence for Life Sciences (TCELS), Ministry of Public Health (MOPH), Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) jointly organized Thailand Pavilion at BIO 2008 San Diego, 17-20 June 2008. This year the theme of the Thailand Pavilion is “Thailand Medical Hub of the World”. BIOTEC and eight private biotechnology companies were part of the exhibitors in the Pavilion. Thailand’s participation is aimed to entice investment and collaboration in bio-business sector. BIO 2008 were participated by more than 2,200 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations from 70 countries and about 20,000 people attending, including high-level executives from the genetic engineering and biotechnology field all over the world.
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