Light comment on the Thaksin verdict-CJ Hinke

A(n exceedingly) brief comment on the Thaksin verdict

Rich people don’t deserve much credit or respect. Mostly they’re just puffed up with their own power over others, another Benz, another Rolex, another mia noi. It’s not censorship so we’re not so interested. However, if all this money suddenly belongs to all of us, now that’s worth considering.

It would be unfair to characterise the confiscation of some of our fugitive convict prime minister’ billions as an impartial judgement.

Unfortunately, the courts in Thailand are swayed by the political will of the power elite and, historically, always have been.

With that singular caveat, the Dika Court’s decision seems a fair compromise.

No person, no family, no group needs all those billions. Without a deep discussion of the nature of differences in class, suffice it to say that the rich have always become rich because they have been nurtured in the blood and sweat of the poor and working class.

If we elect businessmen to be bureaucrats, we cannot expect them to change their character. Businessmen are trained to make all the money stick to them and their cronies and that’s exactly what happened to Thaksin. Perhaps Thai voters, fully-informed without censorship, will think about what voting means next time…(sheesh—if there ever is a next election!)…but we won’t hold our breath.

That the court only confiscated those billions, whether stolen or earned, which fell into Thaksin’s pockets after he became a politician is fair. The accrual of wealth as a politician always has the taint of corruption so these funds returning to the public purse will negate any conflict of interest while our PM was serving the public (some might say, on a plate).

What remains to be seen is how Thai government will use those funds. Will the elite waste this money on submarines and fighter jets, bomb detectors and drug wars and prisons?

This enormous amount, equal to the GDP of several countries, might best be used to create a fund for village development and His Majesty’s self-sufficiency with an emphasis on education and health care that Thailand might one day become a real democracy.

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