Pen Ngoeun
Abhisit Vejjajiva’s government and the 60 billion bath spending
Thai flood victims must know the truth
When the leaders of the Democrat Party and the many “invisible hands” above him kept him at the helm of the “opposition” they expected him to make troubles, and at best to sow havoc at each activity and project of the Pheu Thai Party’s government led by Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra. It was a poor decision to put Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva at the helm of the “opposition”. Not for long it turned out to be a horrible political miscalculation by irrational Democrat leaders.
Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva was the head of the Thai previous government and head of the Democrat Party that lost the last national election to Pheu Thai Party. His two years on the job did not offer political strength, any at all for him to brag about. On the contrary they are riddled with social division, revenge against and accusation of a large segment of Thai society with the sole purpose of justifying the September 2006 Coup. Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had become the main course of the Abhisit Vejjajiva’s government’s meal for two years. He had been made criminal for the crime that almost all Thai politicians should have been charged, for conflicts of interests under Thai law.
Abac poll has been long overdue to survey Thai legal experts in one hand and the Thai people on the other to see how many Thai politicians could be charged for crime of conflicts of interests under Thai law. In case I missed this poll, Abac could refresh my memory. Surprisingly, just less than 10 working days after 24 August when Yingluck Shinawatra’s government presented the government policy statement to the full house of parliament and counting up only to 5 September, Abac pollsters did not waste any time in making a survey and found out that “the majority of people identified themselves as non-partisan silent force are not satisfied with the government for being too slow to act in solving problems,” as reported by the Bangkok Post on 4 September 2011. Not even ten working days on the job and already Thai non-partisan silent force expected miracles from the Yingluck Shinawatra’s government, something that seems to be too much too premature and too demanding. Would Abhisit Vejjajiva and the Opposition Democrats bank on this poll? We will see in the coming days.
Since 24 August, Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva and his team of Opposition Democrats had not hit a solid punch on any area of the new government policies, but danced around the issue of Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. They have attempted since the days of the campaign of election to politically assimilate Ms Yingluck to Mr. Thaksin or Mr. Thalsin to Ms. Yingluck without success. Admittingly, Ms. Yingluck has a strong personality of her own. She seemed to be meticulous in tackling the political and national issues, and she seemed to be also very cautious without pretentions to be bravado in her public appearance in this “ingratitude world of politics”. She has the job to make the voters accept her for being Prime Minister and to make all of them, at least the majority of Thai people happy with her government’s achievements.
For once, and it could be the first once among the many others also, the former Prime Minister and Opposition Democrat leader will be exposed by the government on the issue of the money left in the emergency central fund. Pheu Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit said on Sunday that “the previous government had spent nearly 60 billion baht from the central fund, which now had only about 35 billion baht left.” He would on Monday give detailed figures on the money spent from the central fund by the Abhisit government to counter Mr Abhisit's claim that there was sufficient money to help flood victims. When the detailed figures are known by the public, it is likely that questions would be raised and answers should have been given by Mr. Abhisit to explain some items of the 60 billion bath spent by the Abhisit’government. On he other hand the Yingluck’s government will have to prove that it does not allow itself to be bogged down by the situation of the emergency budget to pay for flood relief which is running low and the by the trading of accusations by Mr. Abhisit saying that “the government should stop making excuses to avoid compensating flood-hit farmers at the rate it had promised them.”
Will the former Prime Minister and Opposition Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva be effective in making troubles against and sowing havoc in Ms. Yingluck’s government? Due to the fact that he might have to defend the policies of the previous government where some details are now within the reach of the new government certain revelations can be embarrassing. The choice of Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva as the leader of the opposition was a poor choice. He had to protect his tail that may not be as clean as he thought so far. “Number doesn’t lie”. When the itemization of the 60 billion bath is exposed, who will dance, and at what tune?
(The opinion expressed in this article is the personal opinion of the writer and does not reflect under any shape and form the opinion of PRU)
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