True reform is determined by US

There are things that are the sole responsibility of the National Council for Peace and Order, the interim Parliament, the interim Cabinet and yet-to-be-named charter drafters. 

They must take care of the national budget, key preparations for the Asean Economic Community and legal amendments on issues such as labour migration, insurgency in the deep South and crime fighting, to name just a few.

And there are things that Thais can do immediately apart from complaining about the “lack of action” on reform or the “slow progress” since the coup in May. Genuine reform is anything but a top-down affair, and if we think everything is up to General Prayuth Chan-ocha and the military figures he brought to the interim Cabinet and soon his Cabinet, we are dead wrong.

Actually, there are things that can be done regardless of the speed of General Prayuth’s “reform”. Thais are easy-going people, and while this characteristic made us a bunch of nice global citizens, it contributed to many bad traits. 

Lax conscience and discipline are among the major drawbacks. On a small scale they cause us to drive under the influence of alcohol or make a u-turn where it is illegal. On a larger scale it makes the police go soft on people they know or land officials feel it is okay to receive a few gifts from those doing the transactions. It does not need to be said what this lack of conscience and ethics has done to us on the national scale.

We can’t do anything to stop politicians from putting relatives, friends or family members into key customs, tax or energy posts, at least for now. But we can stop bribing the police. We can end the tradition of “tea money” that has enriched prestigious schools at the expense of equal education opportunities. We can obey the traffic laws even when nobody is watching.

Reform is not just something that will change our lives. Reform is something that we need to implement to lay a groundwork for future generations. We can choose to make police and school briberies common in the youngsters’ eyes, or we can choose to let them know that such acts are unconditionally unacceptable. After all, they are Thailand’s future police, politicians, judges and school administrators.

Prayuth’s “reform” will be something on paper at best, and it will largely affect how Thais elect their MPs or prime minister, or how the powers that be should behave to prevent the crisis of the past few years from happening again. Punishment, investigation or inquiry spelled out under the “national reform” will be complex and, more likely than not, those targeted by the measures will find ways to get around them. What we can do is start our own reform. If what’s morally or ethically wrong is ingrained in us and our children, the rest should take care of itself.

The national reform is important, but we must not give it so much importance that we overlook our own power to effect peaceful, immediate changes. Reform, in its truest sense, is not finding fault in others and writing down what they should do. That is nothing more than laying down rules which are bound to be changed when the “others” have power in their hand.

Genuine reform is mostly about changing ourselves. It should be easy. But then again, maybe that’s why true reform is so elusive in Thailand. We, however, are at that stage when we cannot put it off any longer.