Samak , good for Thailand or a gangster.

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nevets
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Samak , good for Thailand or a gangster.

Post by nevets »

Is this man some one that can help Thailand and Thai politics or is he another gangster only out for him self. Have your say.
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buksida
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Post by buksida »

Read your history, especially the student killings in 76 - he was directly involved.

The man has switched his alliance between opposing parties a number of times and is now only motivated by Thaksin's money.

Theres only one way that this can go in my opinion.
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nevets
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Post by nevets »

These are my thoughts also , but it may stimulate debate to here others
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STEVE G
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Post by STEVE G »

It seems that the basic reason that he is in this position is due to the fact that he has the clout to oppose the privy council chairman and alleged coup backer Prem Tinsulanonda.
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Sabai Jai
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Post by Sabai Jai »

I think he was formerly Bangkok Governor? and distinguished himself by the usual procurment scandal...Fire engines and boats as I recall.

Not sure if you should judge people by appearance (if at all come to that) but i can't help feeling he should have 'Crook' written across his forhead

SJ
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sandman67
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Post by sandman67 »

File under

M for Murderer

S for Smarmy

T for Tw*t and cross index under Turncoat

B for bigoted

and cross index the whole lot under C for Corrupt and ..... that word we dont use on this board

Management summary: You couldn't have chosen a worse man for the job.
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Post by Takiap »

Welllllllll....................only time will tell I suppose. My opinion is that he is far too old for the job as are many of the ministers. Don't take this the wrong way, but I think a younger man should have the job. Why not leave politics to the younger people. It seems a common problem in many countries.

Just as a matter of interest, does anybody know what his stance is on westerners?
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Post by HuaHinR »

I think, Takiap, that like all politicians he'll not want to bite the hand that helps so much to feed the country: tourism. My guess is he distains westerners but will suck up to them to boost tourism.

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Post by Korkenzieher »

Samak may be far from ideal, but in the eyes of the world (and that means investment, capital inflow etc.) he is *way* better than a military dictatorship.

So I would say that by default, he has to be good for Thailand. And I assume we all agree that he won't jump too high unless Thaksin tells him to.
Last edited by Korkenzieher on Fri Apr 04, 2008 8:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Jockey
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Post by Jockey »

Al Capone or Military Dictator? Hmmmm?
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Post by Korkenzieher »

Fair comment Jockey, but I suspect that a lot of tourists didn't come this year because of the putsch (the previous year, the holidays would already have been booked by the time the September coup took place), and a lot of inward investment didn't come, either directly as a result or because of the subsequent handling of the economy by the 'technocrats' installed by the generals. A return to a (flaky sort of) democracy should ease peoples concerns about travelling or investing, and on that basis it has to be better for Thailand.
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Sabai Jai
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Post by Sabai Jai »

I think the small drop in tourist arrivals (It's more a change in type of tourist) has little to do with the political situation, most of them are just not aware or interested in what's going on.

As for foreign investment, it's a different story they are usually looking for stability.

I can't see that Samak is good news by any stretch of the imagination

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The understudy
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Post by The understudy »

Hi there Y"all
Just diigged up this piece of opinion froms today Bamgkokpost Online Edition!

Credibility chasm


Prime Minister Samak is behind the times and cannot keep up with the realities of the ever-changing world. His mindset and attitude belong in the older, more tradition-bound version of Thailand which no longer exists.


By Atiya Achakulwisut
Editorial Pages Editor


It was not clear as day but nonetheless a telltale sign. A few months ago, I had that first glimpse of a moment of truth about PM Samak Sundaravej that would not be confirmed until today.


It was when the Cabinet marked the official start of its work by declaring its policy platform to the House of Representatives and having it thoroughly debated.


The first day of the policy debate, however, was eclipsed by a more debatable topic - Prime Minister Samak had just told the world through CNN and repeated it again on Al Jazeera, that only one person was killed during the massacre on October 6, 1976. The assertion was obviously not true. Any photo could prove the gruesome facts of the event. October 6 was not called a massacre for nothing, after all.


On that day, opposition and Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva took the opportunity to challenge the PM to explain to the House why he presented history in a less than truthful way? Did he try to meddle with the media by closing down newspapers after the Oct 6 tragedy?


The Prime Minister rose to defend himself against the opposition leader's challenge. He denied everything, naturally. The way he framed his negation, however, provided me with that first glint of truth about PM Samak. It was not a pretty sight. Indeed, it was a flash of dismay - still tiny and uncertain at that time - that would only grow into a firmly held opinion later on.


PM Samak has no qualities to be a good leader. Not in times of peace. Not in times of conflict, like now. He is just not fit to lead, period. Why do I say that? How much truth could I have gleaned from the PM's rather short answer that day? Enough, I would say.


I didn't care so much about the PM's distorting the truth even further by saying that he only told it to CNN as he had seen it. And he could not care less if the truth were otherwise. I expected him to spin it one way or another. And if he was not "intellectually curious" enough to find out what "actually" went on in the world and was content to accept that the world was only as small and narrow as his own eyesight and perception, that was his problem.


What I found revealing was how the PM spent most of his speech blasting the opposition leader for suffering the insolence of youth in making an inquiry into an event that occurred when he was only a child and in daring to question him, who was much older and now a phuyai in the seat of power. Obviously not wanting to have to deign to answer Mr Abhisit's questions, the 72-year-old PM reproached: "These days, it is probably considered chic and cool for kids to show disrespect towards elders, to openly question their wisdom and action."


That somehow summarised how PM Samak's logic works and that's about all he cares - conformity to the phuyai-ruled and phuyai-knows-best norms.


PM Samak has the kind of mindset and attitude that belongs in the past, in the older, more tradition-bound version of Thailand which no longer exists. Today, merit is becoming as important, or even more so, than seniority. You get by in your job not because you are old enough, but because you are proven to be good at it. PM Samak won't get this. He will find the notion unbearably arrogant.


The single fact that PM Samak is behind the times and cannot keep up with the realities of the ever-changing world of today, has manifest itself in the many failures, mistakes and gaffes that he has managed to make during a relatively short time: Praising the Burmese junta as good Buddhists; the many insults to members of the press corps and the tendency to blame them for whatever goes wrong; freelancing as host of commercial TV cooking shows while the country's more pressing problems remain unsolved; the out-of-place and irresponsible remark about two banks being in trouble which caused a small run on one bank... The embarrassing list is long and sure to grow even longer.


The latest incident - Saturday's threat to break and smash the PAD-led protest that day - is but another confirmation that PM Samak is operating from a different world and in a much more backward time than you or I.

Thought: This article speaks out what many people had in their Minds for a long Time including me. Samak is defnately not the best for Thailand by any means
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buksida
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Post by buksida »

As I've stated many times and, without generalizing too much, this is why the students, business people, and those that want progression voted against him and those stuck in poverty, with no where to turn and little interest beyond tomorrow voted for the 72 year old dinosaur.
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
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Post by hogus »

In my eyes the question is, who can make things better more?

Even another military coup can't improve the political situation, right?
(We saw it already in the past)
So long the Thais in the north and northeast are thinking it's worth to vote for these "dinosaurs" nothing will change.
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