Let's give the govt |some needed time

Let’s give the government needed time.

The primary responsibility of General Prayut as the coup leader and his military-backed government is to eradicate Thaksin’s disastrous system once and for all. Thaksin’s devious and corrupt network of influence right across the political and social spectrum, the electorate, bureaucracy, business, police and military establishment, media and academia has become deep rooted through his long reign in power.

Prayut has a daunting task. He is fully accountable for failure to dismantle it. He should be given the opportunity, in good faith, to carry it out based on whatever timeframe he deems necessary. Like Thaksin before him, Prayut is being closely watched.

As for political reform, we need to come up with something that best suits us. Like our varied Asian neighbours, we are a people with a long established culture, tradition and way of life. We have centuries of political development, heritage and systems to draw upon. It would be mindless to simply equate democracy with the Western-style electoral process.

We need to be mindful of foreign interests chaperoning us, jeopardising our own self-interest and sovereignty.

Equally important is to ensure that whatever political system we come up with, we have strong institutions and an oversight mechanism to promote accountability and ensure no abuse of power.

Prapa Smutkojon