EDITORIAL: Bursting the PM’s bubble

Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha’s televised speech on Monday, to bid farewell to his military government and National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), shows how big a bubble he has been living in these past five years.

It also showed how much more he needs to listen to different voices to get the other side of the story if he really wants his new administration to deliver.

While his speech was lengthy, it bore little substance. It was full of big words that boasted about his regime’s achievements in several areas, even though some of them were justified such as on human trafficking issues. But it largely omitted significant problems in the country and the shortfalls of the previous administration.

He touted his regime’s successes in keeping peace and order while increasing the country’s economic competitiveness and boosting investor confidence.

In fact, there has not been real peace under his watch. His regime declared war on dissidents by dispatching security officials to see them at their homes or workplace to deliver threatening messages for them to steer clear of activism. The NCPO’s legal arm also slapped many of them with criminal charges for largely peaceful political activities. This is not peace and order. It is called suppression.

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On the economy, he was unable to take a slice of courage and admit to the real state of the country’s sagging economy. In the past few years, Thailand has fallen behind other key economies in the region. The country’s GDP growth since 2014 has been much slower than that of Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam.

His speech also focused on success in tackling corruption. True, a number of graft-tainted projects were exposed during his regime. But many people have expressed doubts over the transparency in his administration’s defence spending and other key decisions. Questions have also been asked about National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) probes into alleged corruption involving members of his regime which appear to have let them fend off the allegations.

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Meanwhile, he tried to give the sense of a new start under a democratic regime where his special powers, formerly granted under Section 44 of the interim charter, will no longer be used and where democratic values and the rule of law will be respected. He was not being completely honest.

While Section 44 will go, Gen Prayut has already laid the foundations for other forms of special powers to take root. He has handpicked members of the Senate who have shown that they are more than willing to be his main force in parliament and help him achieve his agenda.

His special powers have also been embedded in several public “independent” organisations, including the NACC, where his lawmakers appointed people to run them.

Certain key functions of the NCPO will also be transferred to the military-led Internal Security Operations Command, making many fear political suppression will be prolonged.

It might not be wrong to say that the prime minister was not delusional. His speech could be just another gambit to distract the public from the many problems his regime has created.

Under a new democratic regime, MPs from the opposition camp will keep him busy dealing and responding to the real problems and needs of the people. That will give him a real picture of what is outside his bubble.