Thais should ask themselves: ‘Is this what we are as a nation?’

In many ways, Biden’s words are perhaps as pertinent to Thais at this juncture as to his folks at home – the so-called Shining City on the Hill.

He described Donald Trump as a man who seeks to sow division in America for his own gain.

Haven’t we got not just one, but many Trumps in our midst here in Thailand?

With the date of the referendum merely a week away and questions on the draft constitution still loom large on voters’ minds, political instigators engage in a gamut of vicious tricks to create havoc and raise the level of discord. Whether or not they know exactly what they are doing remains questionable. How can well-known crooks, crackpots and fibbers set up “Cheat-Buster Centers” when they themselves have been known to practise it?

There are over 30 human rights non-profit advocacy groups located in Thailand. They and their work for various reasons have been dragged in and exploited for specific internal political purposes — to tear apart the government and the draft constitution. Fact-finding and impartiality does not seem to be the foremost priority. Article 61 of the draft charter prohibits only false representation of the draft, not opposition to it. But that fact did not stop a voice, purportedly from the United Nations, in protesting against the arrest of a local politician for disseminating false information about the draft constitution. Some observers said the worse those groups paint the picture of human rights in Thailand, the more support they would attract for the organisation.

Nobody stopped to ask why when former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva announced his personal opposition to the draft charter on Wednesday, he was not arrested. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha even said in response that it was Abhisit’s prerogative and he’s entitled to his opinion.

Why?

It’s because as a man true to his principle, Abhisit clearly and fairly laid out the reasons for his objection. His arguments were sound and his premises did not rest on hearsay. Unlike most people who have been talking about the new constitution, he did study the draft. He did everything legally as it is his nature.

Time will prove him right or wrong, but at least he spoke his conscience and he fought fair.

For all the yays and nays, this draft constitution is far from being perfect, as if perfection can at all be achieved with any piece of legislation. But it was written with two key objectives: It seeks to put Thailand on the path of political reform by minimising the widespread abuse of money politics where money wins elections, and to prevent political cronyism as evidenced in the husband and wife parliament before the coup. It also attempts to move Thailand forward in a sustainable manner through ambitious structural reforms that would be carried out over the next 20 years.

Since 1932, Thailand has had 20 constitutions, roughly one every four years. Each constitution was preceded by a military coup. That shows some inherent and deep-rooted political instability. The draft constitution tries to change that. 

Should this draft charter be given a chance to prove itself? The answer may be found in the words of Winston Churchill about democracy. He said democracy was the worst form of governance except for all those other forms that had been tried before from time to time. This draft charter was written to find a new political path for Thailand. No one is pretending or is delusional enough to say that it is perfect. But the country deserves a break, a chance not to have the kind of wholesale frauds committed by the politicians in government after government, as we had to suffer for several decades.

Prime Minister Prayut is known to say what he means and mean what he says; he is honest about his intention. He has worked hard to stay true to his road map, he is genuine. He has faced harsh criticisms both at home and abroad, but he marches on with grit. For him, the words of the 26th president of the United States – Theodore Roosevelt – apply: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasm, great devotion; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

In order for Thailand to move beyond the rut we have fallen into, we Thais have to do some soul-searching. This is our country and we are one people. Over the last few years, hatred has triumphed, divisions engulfed us, decency, honesty, honour, and truth fled us. How long ago that we have forgotten that we have a choice to take a high road by realising that if we work together we could overcome our broken pieces? We have become a bickering bunch of citizens that could not stop tearing each other into pieces. Not only that, some try to invite hands from abroad to beat us so that certain groups would gain an upper hand, just like we did before the fall of Ayuthaya.

We live in an increasingly complicated and unknown world. If we do not hang together, do we want to hang separately? Is this, as a nation, what we want to be?