Thailand Politics
Is Time Up for Thailand’s Junta after Watchgate Scandal
Thai PM Prayuth Chan-ocha creatively evaded questions by bringing out a life-sized cardboard cut-out of himself, and telling reporters to “ask this guy” if they had “any questions on politics. – Photo Reuters
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BANGKOK – No surprises here – for the third time since the Thai military led by General Prayuth Chan-ocha took power in a 2014 coup, a planned general election to restore democracy has been postponed.
Thai political observers say they had anticipated the fresh delay – a time-buying tactic for Prayuth to galvanise more public support to retain power post-election – but the snowballing scandal surrounding a collection of luxury watches belonging to his deputy, General Prawit Wongsuwon, could seriously scuttle those ambitions.
Since December, Prawit has come under intense public scrutiny after an internet sleuth calling himself “CSI-LA” started highlighting photos of the defence minister wearing opulent time pieces that were in all likelihood too expensive for a career soldier to own.
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan raise his hand to shade the sun wearing a luxury watch and diamond ring during ceremony Government house. Photo Krit Phromsakla Na Sakolnakorn
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Other social media users soon joined in and uncovered Prawit had been spotted in public wearing some 25 luxury watches, worth a collective US$1.2 million.
Social media users poured scorn on Prawit’s excuse that he had borrowed the watches from friends – and in a departure from the climate of chilled dissent under junta rule, civil society activists and politicians have begun lobbing near-daily public criticism at Prayuth for his inaction.
The junta leader and prime minister on Tuesday said the wristwatch scandal was a “personal matter” and dismissed calls to suspend Prawit while anti-graft investigators looked into the case.
The rising public outcry, buttressed by open grumblings among some of the Bangkok elite who backed the 2014 coup, shows that the watch scandal is a lightning rod for wider discontent over the extended junta rule, analysts say.
A survey conducted by official agencies and released this month showed the junta’s popularity was at its lowest since the bloodless power grab four years ago.
There had been a degree of elite acquiescence with military rule because of concerns over national stability ahead of what was then a looming royal succession, but now the junta is “paying the price for overstaying as public scrutiny mounts”, said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.
And Duncan McCargo, a British scholar of Thai politics who teaches at the University of Leeds, said “there’s a growing appetite to have the elections and see what transpires, even among those who were initially very sympathetic to the 2014 coup”.
While there was some support for the 2014 coup in the beginning, the public opinion has been turning. Photo Reuters
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The coup d’etat, Thailand’s 12th successful military intervention since 1932 and which was masterminded by Prawit, Prayuth and fellow ex-general Anupong Paojinda, was staged at a time when the country’s politics was embroiled by sharp divisions between the royalist military establishment and supporters of the exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who remains hugely popular in rural areas.
His sister Yingluck Shinawatra was leading a puppet government when the coup took place.
“The fact is, all Thai governments began to wear out their welcome after a while,” McCargo said.
The junta “has had a pretty easy run the past three and a half years, but General Prayuth’s mantras about the need to prevent conflict and chaos from recurring are no longer really persuasive,” he said.
Will Gen. Prayuth Sack Big Brother?
With the scandal showing no sign of abating, one big question is whether Prayuth will cut loose Prawit to save his own political chances before the polls.
There is some speculation that Prayuth plans to stay in power by making use of new rules that allow the victorious party in the election to appoint a non-elected prime minister.
But such a move is under jeopardy because he is likely to become too toxic for any political party to co-opt as a result of the scandal surrounding Prawit.
Prime Minister Prayuth (centre) with Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon (left) and Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda (right) – both his former classmates – are now trying to win an unavoidable election. – Photo Bangkok Post
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Still, a sacking of Prawit is unlikely, according to US-based Thai political analyst Kevin Hewison.
Prayuth, Prawit and Anupong all served as military officers in the same unit on the country’s eastern frontier, and Prawit played the role of “big brother” to the other two when they lived in the same house. Since the coup, the trio have installed their loyalists across the bureaucracy.
Because Prayuth and Anupong “owe their big brother Prawit a lot”, removing him would be “really very difficult” said Hewison, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Hewison said, however, that Prayuth’s use of the term “personal matter” to describe the watch scandal may have been a hint that “it is Prawit who must decide to go”.
Prawit has said he will only quit if the anti-graft agency uncovers any wrongdoing.
The legislature’s decision to push back the vote buys Prayuth another year to mull this problem.
The National Legislative Assembly ruled to postpone the start date of an election law – to be enacted in September – by three months, which means elections cannot be held until next February at the earliest.
The election law is one of four new “organic laws” that need to be enacted for holding the general election, after the country’s previous democratic constitution was scrapped.
Thitinan said the junta was employing a “dual-track strategy” of “delaying elections as long as possible and manipulating the political landscape to the hilt in the interim in order to return to post-election government”.
However, that may prove to be a foolhardy tactic.
If there are more delays “the more the agitation for an election will grow and the less chance the junta has of controlling the outcome”, Hewison said.
And McCargo, the Britain-based expert, said “in Thailand when the political mood changes, it can change very fast. A week or two can make a huge difference.
Bhavan Jaipragas is Asia Correspondent for the South China Morning Post, based in Hong Kong. He covers the domestic politics and foreign policy of Southeast Asia’s major economies including Malaysia and Singapore.
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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of this publication.
(CTN News) – Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin continues to make local and international visits to try to solve problems and promote Thailand, but he has failed to impress most voters, according to a Nida poll. The poll also revealed the declining popularity of Pheu Thai Party leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra and the rise of the Move Forward Party.
According to a poll released on Sunday, only 12.85% of people supported the prime minister, down from 17.75% in the previous survey. The daughter of convicted former Prime Minister Thaksin, currently on parole, saw her popularity drop from 6% to 4.85%.
The National Institute of Development Administration conducts a quarterly survey of the public’s preferred political leaders. The last survey was released at the end of March.
According to the survey, supporters of the prime minister described Mr Srettha as a resolute decision-maker determined to address their problems. Ms Paetongtarn was complimented for her vision, leadership, knowledge, and grasp of the country’s difficulties.
This weekend, the prime minister will be in the northeast region listening to citizens’ concerns. The journey occurred only a few days after he had visited northern provinces earlier in the week.
Despite criticism, he has reduced his abroad trips, citing the need to showcase Thailand to investors and traders.
Pita Limjaroenrat, the chief advisor of the Move Forward Party, remained the top candidate for prime minister with 45.50% of the vote, up slightly from 42.75% in the previous quarter’s poll.
Pirapan Salirathavibhaga was the huge winner. The leader of the United Thai National Party saw his popularity nearly quadruple from 3.55% to 6.85%.
The sampled voters stated they appreciated Mr Pita’s political beliefs and thought he had broad knowledge. They praised Mr Pirapan’s credibility, claiming he was clean and honest.
Two other probable prime minister candidates were Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan of the Thai Sang Thai Party and Anutin Chanvirakul, leader of Bhumjaithai. However, they were less popular than others.
About 20% of voters still did not believe any candidate was qualified to lead the country, which is the same percentage as in the last survey.
Move Forward Party was the most popular party with 49.20%, up slightly from three months ago, while Pheu Thai fell around five percentage points to 16.85% from 22.10%.
The poll, issued on Sunday, surveyed 2,000 ineligible voters between June 14 and June 18.
More in: Move Forward Party
Thailand Politics
Move Forward Party MP Jirat Thongsuwan Appeals Suspended Jail Sentence for Defamation
(CTN News) – Jirat Thongsuwan, a Move Forward Party MP, says he would appeal his one-year suspended jail sentence for defaming a former senior defense ministry official concerning the state’s procurement of bogus bomb detectors.
The Criminal Court also fined Mr Jirat 100,000 baht for falsely accusing ACM Tharet Punsri, a former Air Force chief-of-staff who later became the ministry’s deputy permanent secretary, of being the chairman and shareholder of a company that supplied the military with the infamous GT200 bomb detectors.
The Chachoengsao MP claimed a July 20, 2022, no-confidence vote against cabinet ministers in Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha’s government. ACM Tharet was not a cabinet member.
Jirat Thongsuwan also identified ACM Tharet as a key figure in the 2006 coup headed by then-army chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, which overthrew Thaksin Shinawatra.
ACM Tharet told the court that Jirat Thongsuwan’s charges were false and harmed his reputation. He denied involvement with the bomb detection company and said he was not the company’s senior chairman or shareholder.
In addition to the suspended jail term and fine, the court ordered Jirat Thongsuwan to pay $ 500,000 baht in damages to ACM Tharet and publish an apology in three newspapers for five days.
Jirat Thongsuwan later announced on his X account that he had challenged the verdict with the hashtag “An injustice is infuriating”.
The MP has also been accused of dodging required military conscription. He admitted to the accusation on May 8.
A British business promoted the GT200 as a “remote substance detector” and sold it in several countries. Between 2004 and 2009, fourteen Thai government organizations, most of which were military, were projected to spend 1.4 billion baht on the units.
Concerns about the GT200 and related gadgets arose after the National Science and Technology Development Agency discovered they lacked electronic components.
The devices were later revealed to be “divining rods”.
Thailand Politics
Thaksin Shinawatra Files 100 Million Baht Defamation Lawsuit Against Warong Dechgitvigrom
(CTN News) – Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister, has launched a defamation action against Warong Dechgitvigrom, the head of the Thai Pakdee Party, accusing him of paying a bribe to be released on bail in a lese majeste case.
Thaksin’s attorney, Winyat Chartmontree, filed a lawsuit against Warong, seeking 100 million baht in damages.
Warong, a long-time Thaksin Shinawatra critic, gave a public statement and posted on social media, saying that 2 billion baht was paid to judicial officials in exchange for release on bail in the lese majeste case.
Thaksin Shinawatra Granted Release on 500,000 Baht Bond
Thaksin was granted release on a 500,000 baht bond last week and told not to leave the country without court authorization after pleading innocent to charges of defaming King Rama IX in a 2015 interview with South Korean media.
Winyat stated that, while Warong did not identify Thaksin Shinawatra by name in his speech or post, he did include a hashtag with Thaksin’s name as well as the date Thaksin must appear in court, allowing readers to connect Thaksin to the allegations.
Winyat further stated that he was investigating the fact that Warong mentioned the specific aircraft and automobiles utilized by Thaksin Shinawatra to violate the Personal Data Protection Act.
“I have requested Mr Warong to provide proof as to where he received the data. “If it turns out that it came from state officials, there will be legal consequences,” he warned.
The Criminal Court has scheduled the case’s preliminary hearing for September 30.
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