THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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Best she stays away for now, Yingluck fans believe

Best she stays away for now, Yingluck fans believe

Yingluck Shinawatra’s supporters seemed split 50:50 on Friday over whether to believe that she was indeed seriously ill as claimed by the court, given the lack of a medical certificate, but many felt it was probably best for her to stay away for now, considering what they considered to be the politically biased legal treatment she has received so far.

For the sake of her own safety, it was wise for the former prime minister not to come to court to hear today’s final ruling in the case against her stemming from her government’s rice-pledging scheme, her local supporters said.
While saying that it may not be safe for her to be prosecuted under the current atmosphere, they also believed Yingluck would eventually come back to play by the rules when ready to do so.
“They wanted to make the judgement on Friday so they could detain Yingluck during the weekend, with her team unable to propose bail,” said a 50-year-old fan from Chon Buri.
“They just wanted to buy time. And if detained, anything could have happened to her during that period,” she added.
The supporter said she considered the charge against Yingluck of alleged negligence in the operation of the rice-pledging scheme, and consequently damaging the national budget, was unfair to the ex-premier. 
“They [her accusers] magically turn stocked, qualified rice into rotten rice,” she said, referring to the ambiguous condition of rice stocked under the Yingluck’s administration’s scheme which, although said to be rotten, had been successfully sold to some extent.
Supiyada Choosap from Kamphaeng Phet and Chantalak Sangkhayothin from Phetchaburi were also among fans of the Pheu Thai Party who came to the Supreme Court early in the morning to wait for Yingluck’s arrival.
Though not getting to meet her as she did not in the end come to court, neither of them regretted their decision to turn up.
“We always love and have faith in Yingluck and will continue to support her. We don’t see the logic in the accusation against her and how she could be [said to be] wrong in that regard,” Supiyada said.
“If the Pheu Thai Party has existed long before [it came to power], I would have been able to receive an education higher than grade 4 in elementary school. My father would also not have passed away early if he could have been cured by the [later Pheu Thai-initiated] universal health care scheme,” Chantalak said.
“If you’re not grass-roots people, you won’t know how Pheu Thai’s policies really helped the poor,” the Phetchaburi resident added.
Early in the afternoon, thousands of supporters of the former PM were still waiting in front of the Government Complex in Chaeng Wattana, where the Supreme Court is located. 
One of them told The Nation that she believed Yingluck would arrive later in the afternoon as she never missed an appointment with the court, nor with the people. 
“The court’s statement saying that Yingluck is sick is only meant to make us back away, but we won’t. We’ll continue to support her even if she eventually doesn’t make it here today,” she said.

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