Once is not enough

Is this another step in political reconciliation between Gen Prem Tinsulanonda and former premier Thaksin Shinawatra?

Both sides seem bent on portraying an image of being friendly to each other. Deep down, nobody is quite sure what's really happening.

Privy Council President Gen Prem has agreed to "preside over" the party Friday evening hosted by Premier Yingluck Shinawatra to express thanks to all who played in part in helping Flood Relief Operation Centre (FROC) to help the flood victims.

Deputy Premier Kittirat na Ranong was said to have been the link man in this case. He went to see Gen Prem to ask him to be present at the function.

Gen Prem agreed, according to one of his aides, because it's an activity that will benefit the whole country.

The red-shirt leaders, who had until recently declared Gen Prem one of their arch enemies,have not made any official comment on this move.

One Thai columnist suggested that the picture of Gen Prem and Yingluck warming up to each other (they met recently for the first time during a function to commemorate Army Day)is more or less similar to the scene of Burmese President Thein Sein shaking hands with Aung San Suu Kyi!

What were the top brass doing in this temple?

What are the top brass, present and past,doing at this temple?

According to Matichon Weekly which ran the picture on its latest cover, the military officers were supposed to be attending a religious ceremony to mark the launching of the casting of a huge Buddha image, 108 metres tall and 32 metres wide, at the cost of Bt1,800 million at Wat Or-Noi, Amphoe Kampaengsan of Nakhon Pathom province under the famous abbot, Luang Pu Buddha Issara. The event took place on Jan 27.

The most striking part of the picture was the presence of so many leading army generals: the current army chief, Gen Prayudh Chan-O-cha; his immediate predecessor Gen Anupong Paochind, former Defence Minister Gen Pravit Wongsuwan; former Supreme Commander Gen Somthat Uttanant.

The ceremony became "talk of the town," according to Matichon, because their being together might spark speculation of some sort that could "scare the faint-hearted."

Besides, Matichon Weekly adds, Luang Pu Buddha Issra also has many other prominent followers, one of whom has just made public his call for the military to stage a coup.

I don't necessarily agree that they top brass were gathering there for a political purpose. But then, with Thai society living under a cloud of deep suspicion, any move by any group could be construed as a "plot" against somebody else.

And such a huge "gathering of the big guys in uniform" inevitably raised suspicion of both political and superstitious rumours.

If the flood hits again, don't blame the 'gurus'

First, there was a rumour that Dr Sumet Tantivejjakul was so frustrated with the Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management (SCWRM) that he wanted to call it quits.
Then Premier Yingluck Shinawatra, who chairs the much-heralded committee that was set up to prevent recurrence of the devastating flood late last year, denied the report, saying that the well-known technocrat serving as adviser to the panel was staying on to help with this highly crucial mission.
Dr Sumet himself has sort of denied the story, saying that he is still advising the committee. “I haven’t attended some of the meetings because I am busy with other things.”
That’s not a straight denial, of course. But it doesn’t speak well for a committee that has been touted to be the country’s highest body to put the big flood behind us, once and for all.
Rumblings from the committee, however, have refused to go away. Most of the unofficial whispers from the committee members are mostly negative.
Then came Smith Thammasaroj, one of the “water gurus” on the committee, who pulled no punches in his public remarks over how messy it has been working with the group.
He made no secret of his belief that if things continue this way, the country will inevitably face another round of serious flooding by the middle of the year. Why? Things have at best been messy.
Smith said the committee had not come up with any concrete plan. “We don’t know where the floodways would be and how we can prevent the overflow of water into the east, west and through Bangkok,” he said.
Smith also complained that the Bt350,000m budget for the whole scheme was approved “within seconds” of the discussion – and there was hardly any input from the technocrats who had been asked to join because of their supposed expertise.
“Therefore, I believe we will face a flood the magnitude of which would be more or less like the big one last year in May or June. While the Bumiphol Dam is about 90% filled with water, we still haven’t started to clear up canals and waterways in Bangok,” the former Weather Bureau chief complained.
Has he quit? Like Dr Sumet, Smith issues a semi-denial. “I am staying on and I hope the politicians will listen more to technocrats like us,” he said.
As if to rub salt into the wound, another member of the committee, former Irrigation Direction General Pramote Maiklad, in a separate forum the following day, made a similar point: The public gets to hear lots of talk about what is being done but, as an insider, he revealed that neither the master plan nor related action plans have been laid down with any clear details so far.
His concern is that for short-term solutions, almost nothing has been learned from last year’s major inundation.
“If we get the same amount of water this year, we will be flooded just like last year. That’s because none of the embankments that were destroyed last time have been repaired to be ready to fight the next flood. A very good example is the Bangchomsri Water Gate which was built along the path that blocks the natural water flow. If water rises again, it will collapse again,” Promote said.
The 24-member committee apparently isn’t working the way it is supposed to. But the huge budget has been approved in support of “the Big Picture” with no detailed action plans to ensure that the money is well spent.
The paradox is that this is a panel that comprises all the country’s top water experts who are complaining that the politicians don’t seem too interested in listening to suggestions from them. Add to that the inevitable “clash of egos” among the “experts,” and you have the recipe for a disaster waiting to happen.
If the Big One revisits us this year and the country drowns once again, you know it’s not because we don’t have a sufficient number of “gurus” or that we haven’t gained enough knowledge from the catastrophic flood last year.
It’s because our political leadership can’t convince our creative minds that they are really up to the task

Opposing spokespersons laugh together

They are not supposed to be too friendly with each other. Ms Mallika Boonmeetrakul is the opposition Democrat Party's deputy spokesperson. Prompong Nopparit is the ruling Pheu Thai Party's spokesman. They have both been engaged in ferocious exchange of angry words on any number of issues that split the government from the opposition.

But yesterday, they met at the Department of Special Investigations (DSI) undertaking the same mission: to push authorities to speed up work on websites that contain contents that affect the monarchy under Article 112 of the Criminal Code.

For once, they were on the same side.

Conversations with Thailand's 'prime suspect' by Tom Plate

Thaksin's oil search continues

Thaksin Shinawatra is on the move again. He tells the Bangkok Post this morning that he is in Lebanon to "pave the way" for PTT Exploration and Production Plc to bid for a concession to explore oil blocks.

The Post said a source in PTT said the management was unaware of Thaksin's move -- and that it had not received an invitation to join the bidding from Lebanese authorities.

In a telephone interview with the Post, the former premier said he expected to meet with Lebanese prime minister Nijib Mikati.

He said the Lebanese government would favour deals with oil companies from Asia as it is not on good terms with the US.

He believes PTTEP, a subsidiary of PTT Plc, would be part of a consortium to win the bid.

Thaksin was recently also in Cambodia -- just as Thai Foreign Minister Surapong Vichakchaikul was talking about joint ventures to explore for oil in the overlapping areas in the Gulf of Thailand. He was last week in Luang Prabang of Laos. Nothing to do with oil exploration, obviously. He was seen in pictures making merits at temples.

Seksan, Thirayuth try to keep a distance from Nitirat Group

The two leading activists of the 1973 student uprising, Seksan Prasertkul and Thirayuth Boonmee, have emerged to more or less dissociate themselves from the Nitirat Group, especially on the lese majeste law amendments.

Seksan's name was on the list of supporters of the 112 amendment spearheaded by the Nitirat Group. He said in a statement yesterday that he had agreed to let his name used in that context at the request of a respected senior person. "I also saw the proposed change as part of a general legal reform with a humanist touch. Besides, the important point was that the proposals were to protect the country's major institutions," he wrote.

Seksan said he was in no way a key member of the movement. "I considered it an expression of opinion. Society will decide whether to take it up ornot. Besides, I had no idea of pursuing it as a political move. I feel tired from the country's conflicts and would like to spend my senior years in solitude," he said.

Seksan insisted that he was in no way related to the Nitirat Group and has nothing to do with the other proposals enunciated by the group.

"I was briefed on the 112 amendment by a group of senior scholars who were not part of Nitirat Group and was approached on this particular issue only," he wrote.

Thirayuth, meanwhile, came out in public on the same day to suggest that the proposed 112 amendment could worsen the conflict in Thai society. He warned that neither side should claim exclusive loyalty to the monarch. All sides, he said, should shed their bias to reach reconciliation.

It was clear that Thirayuth, who said he had not offered any political opinion in the past two years because of ill health, wanted to avoid being seen to associate himself with the Nitirat Group as well.