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Society close to breaking point, says Thirayuth

Regional splits 'stronger than ever before'

By Anucha Charoenpo & Pradit Ruangdit

Prominent social critic Thirayuth Boonmi has warned that Thai society is reaching breaking point and that the country is now more divided than at any time in the past. He said national unity is fading with divisions among people of different regions emerging.

The polarisation between grassroots people in rural areas who support former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the middle class who oppose Mr Thaksin is widespread, Mr Thirayuth said in a special lecture on judicial reform at Thammasat University yesterday.

It is the first time he has commented on politics since the People Power party-led coalition took office following the Dec 23 general elections.

The scholar, who teaches sociology and anthropology at Thammasat, said the PPP, which is closely linked to Mr Thaksin, won a landslide victory in the general election largely because people in the North and the Northeast had felt slighted by elite groups and middle-class people in the capital.

Therefore they wanted to make their presence felt by voting for the PPP, which they thought was better able to identify with them, said Mr Thirayuth.

He stressed that this conflict is probably the most serious one Thailand has ever faced and must be sorted out straight away.

Thirayuth: Grassroots are annoyed

''I admit I had underestimated the situation. I never thought that the PPP could ever gain more than 200 seats and could have enough votes to lead a government coalition,'' he said.

''It showed that people in the North and the Northeast appreciate leaders who are close to them more than leaders who are with the middle class,'' said Mr Thirayuth, who added that the bureaucracy has also kept grassroots people at a distance, making them feel they cannot depend upon the bureaucracy to help them.

He went on to say that politics is becoming increasingly corrupt with parties and politicians abusing their power.

Major political mechanisms such as parliament and the election failed to solve the political crisis, he said.

Parliament has become the scene of noisy brawls, he said, referring to the incident between PPP MP Karun Hosakul and Democrat MP Somkiat Pongpaiboon last Wednesday.

The social sector, including academic institutions and the media, meanwhile, are also plagued with opposing views, he said.

More importantly, he noted, the armed forces, technocrats and members of the bureaucracy have proved to be unable to keep up with the times and manage a crisis efficiently.

The country is also in a serious moral decline. Many Thais tend to view corruption as an accepted social norm, he said.

''Thailand may now be only left with the courts of justice. If all concerned parties respect court decisions, any crises in society could be resolved,'' he said.

Mr Thirayuth pointed out that in the past when problems arose, advice would be sought from ''senior'' persons respected by people in society.

But nowadays, those senior persons are very few. Some of them have old-fashioned ideas and are sometimes challenged by leaders of the new generation.

Meanwhile, a new political group under Chaiwat Sinsuwong staged a rally in Lumpini park yesterday. The group, the Assembly of the People, is known for its links with the People's Alliance for Democracy, which held a forum last Friday at Thammasat University.

Mr Chaiwat, the secretary-general of the group, said yesterday he planned to organise more rallies.

''We want the government to hear the people's voices and promote people's participation, which is stipulated in Article 87 of the 2007 constitution. We don't want it to ignore them,'' Mr Chaiwat said on the sidelines of his forum, organised to oppose the government's planned charter amendments. The event was attended by about 500 people from across the country,

He said the Samak Sundaravej government had never asked the people about the planned charter amendments, and instead always boasted about the majority of votes it received in the election.

The government was criticised for its moves to amend Articles 237 and 309 of the charter, which the group said did not benefit the people.

Bangkok Post