The ongoing poor governance under PM Paetongtarn continues to push both herself and us toward ruin. For an administration to operate efficiently, equitably, and with transparency while prioritizing the welfare of the public, she needs to emphasize: (1) The Rule of Law — laws must be unambiguous, just, and uniformly enforced to guarantee responsibility and fairness. However, for example, instead of making former anti-corruption official Vicha Mahakun’s report on overhauling the police force and public prosecutors’ offices accessible to the public, she has kept it hidden, not to mention acting upon it.
(2.) Transparency — Government choices, policies, and activities must be accessible to examination, ensuring the public has informational access. However, former convict Thaksin Shinawatra spent several months “incarcerated” in an opulent hospital room, raising significant questions about his actual health condition. Despite this controversy, the administration did not permit medical professionals deemed acceptable by both sides to monitor his treatment without compromising his privacy.
3. Accountability — Leaders and officials should be responsible to the public and oversight bodies that monitor their conduct. However, in 2005, during an incident in Tak Bai, 78 detainees who were bound together died from asphyxiation or being crushed while under Royal Thai Army supervision. No one has faced accountability for this tragedy at Tak Bai; the current prime minister’s party, Pheu Thai, allowed the commanding general at the time to leave the country before legal action could be taken, as the statute of limitations ran out.
4. Participation — There should be chances for citizens to participate in decision-making processes. However, when 120 prominent Thai economists, including former Bank of Thailand governors, publicly rejected the rationale behind the Prime Minister’s plan to distribute B10,000 to millions of Thais, the government chose not to engage in discussion about it.
5. Responsiveness — Government organizations ought to cater effectively to the requirements of every citizen. However, 65% of Thai individuals between the ages of 15 and 65 find it difficult to understand basic directions on medication packaging, yet the administration has not implemented comprehensive educational reforms.
6. Equity and Inclusiveness — The government has consistently fallen short in addressing the requirements of our fellow southerners who face ongoing political instability. Without a comprehensive strategy, we prolong our state of emergency for an additional three months each time—renewing this measure an astounding 79 occasions thus far.
7. Efficacy and Productivity — According to the World Population Review, our educational system was placed at 107th globally due to inadequate teacher quality. The teaching methodology continues to emphasize memorization over critical thinking.
8. Consensus-Oriented — Policies should be based on broad agreement among stakeholders, balancing different interests. PM Paetongtarn repeatedly sought to bend the central bank to her will — even saying that its independence was “an obstacle” to solving economic problems.
Prime Minister, grant us excellent governance.
Burin Kantabutra
Rational reform unlikely
Re: “visa blunder,” (Mailbag, March 22).
While I concur with many points made by Sarah Palin in her piece “visa folly,” the proposed strategy to address illegal behavior through law enforcement rather than visa policies isn’t feasible for Thailand’s ineffective government due to its limited oversight over the also inefficient Royal Thai Police.
Additionally, the suggestion of adding a “10,000 to 15,000 baht infrastructure services fee for each yearly visa renewal” does not hold up because expatriates already contribute through a 7% VAT on purchases and services (potentially increasing to 10% in September). Moreover, most expats regularly inject money into the economy, functioning akin to unofficial foreign direct investment.
The administration may opt to invest in sophisticated digital screening for incoming visitors from nations with high incidences of fraud and criminal behavior. As an illustration, despite being perceived as Thailand’s ally by some uninformed individuals, China possesses extensive individual records on all its citizens. This information could potentially be analyzed through artificial intelligence systems and integrated into the Thai visa application procedure via biometric identifiers such as fingerprints and face recognition technology. Additionally, various other databases hold valuable resources that can enhance this process similarly effectively.
The sole challenge in enacting sensible reforms nationally is persuading the Thai government to prioritize the welfare of the Thai people.
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