Jury still out on another year of turmoil

Every year has its significance and 2014 will go down in Thai history as one to remember one way or other. Politically speaking, some may call this year another setback because of the military coup in May. Others may be more reluctant to brand the coup as the cause of all things evil in the country. Anyway, a remarkable year is drawing to a close and now is a time for reflection. Written history, after all, cannot be trusted 100 per cent.

The year has given us some hope. Our athletes performed well at the Asian Games and street tensions and violence took a break. Social media outlets have proven more powerful and agile than ever. And if someone has taken a good look, Thai children’s exposure to cyberspace has led to a flourishing of creativity unseen before and that can only be good for national education.

The flaws are abundant, too. The economy, pummelled by years of political power struggles, is barely growing. That does not bode well for the country’s preparations for the Asean Economic Community. Social media have proved to be a knife that can cut both ways. More provocateurs, manipulators and simple pranksters lurk online than ever before. Politically, while street tensions have subsided, “reform” that can bring about true and long-lasting peace is nowhere to be seen. 

On freedom, again, it’s up to where one stands politically. Some will say life is still the same since the coup except that some popular TV programmes need to cut regularly to what the coup-makers want us to see. Others will say only those on the military’s side are unaffected. Freedom of expression that forms the basis of democracy is at best lopsided or at worst non-existent in Thailand, they say.

2014 was the year the word “reform” was uttered like never before. From anti-government protesters to their opposite numbers to social media users, ideas for reform have poured out, some clashing with others. Ideologically, the year picked up where 2013 left off, just as 2013 followed 2012’s lead and so on. Thailand remains a deeply divided nation where politics is concerned.

Yingluck Shinawatra’s impeachment saga, the unfinished reform business of the military junta and the increasing political role of social networks mean 2015 will give Thais more of the same. It’s easy to say there were lessons to be learned, but the truth is that the divided Thai people are still learning different lessons. Simply put, words like “reform” and “reconciliation” should continue to dominate 2015 but whether we will see real light at the end of the tunnel remains highly doubtful.

But Thai youths and sportsmen will continue to reap the benefits of globalisation. The economy may remain tied to the political course, but our economic “auto-pilot” can come to the rescue again. Thai businesses have proved resilient and able to shake off political upheaval without much difficulty and that strength may have to be summoned again in 2015.

As things stand, 2014 can hardly be called a steppingstone forward. But it can’t be called a “back to square one” year either. The year’s historic depiction remains wide open. It’s what we do as a nation in 2015 that counts. As they say, the end will justify the means. A description of 2014 is impossible without Thais’ acts in 2015, collective or otherwise.