Academics warn of more problems to come

General News - Tuesday December 11, 2007

Academics warn of more problems to come.

SIRIKUL BUNNAG AMPA SANTIMATANEEDOL

Academics foresaw hardships for the country after the Dec 23 election yesterday and said the Thai people would have to help themselves as not only politics but also the economy would be inhospitable. At a forum held by the Thai Journalists Association in Bangkok, Somchai Preechasilpakul, the dean of Chiang Mai University's law faculty, said more problems awaited Thai society.

He thinks the nation will be administered either by a government of ''sinners'' who represent the old power clique and have grassroots' support, or a government of ''angels'' who receive support from the middle class, government officials and small- and medium-sized political parties that are prohibited from backing the old power clique.

He said no matter which side runs the nation, the new government will be under considerable influence from government officials and the military. It will not have freedom to issue new policies that will benefit the nation.

Mr Somchai said the new constitution and laws passed during the tenure of the interim government, which was set up by the coup makers, gave excessive authority to government officials and the military, making them stronger than the new government.

''The 2007 constitution brings Thailand back to the period of half-democracy as experienced under the 1978 constitution. Despite a new government, Thai politics will still experience heavy pressures and society will remain divided. This proves the [Sept 19, 2006] coup did not help,'' said the dean.

Chulalongkorn University's historian and lecturer Suthachai Yimprasert said the coup had not only failed to get rid of the influence of deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, but also increased his popularity among the people.

The government, appointed by the coup makers, had failed to work and capitalists who were facing economic problems would support the return of the old power clique, he said.

In a separate political discussion at Thammasat University, academic Likhit Dhiravekin warned of the continuation of serious problems, including separatism in the far South, divisions in society, grassroots poverty, Thailand's negative image in the international community and conflicts between the old power clique and the new one connected to the coup makers.

''The ability of the new government to solve these problems could lead to a new political order and salvage the nation from its downfall,'' he said, though he doubted that would happen.

Former finance minister M.R. Pridiyathorn Devakula said the economy this year was export-dependent while other sectors had failed and investment was frozen. Although the private sector had proposed investment projects worth over 160 billion baht, the current government had not approved them. He faulted the state for having no investment vision.

M.R. Pridiyathorn predicted that the economic recession would worsen next year because a reduction in the purchasing power of Americans would affect Thailand's exports.

He suggested that Thai people help themselves and the government stimulate investments and help the private sector cut costs.

By : Bangkok Post