It's time to get past Thaksin and focus on things THAT MATTER

Whatever name you choose to call it, the fact of the matter is the country is in the economic doldrums, and the majority of Thais are feeling it in the pocket. 

It would not be fair to place the blame squarely on the shoulders of the current government’s economic team. As a country, we do not exist in isolation, and few economic issues are controllable or predictable. We cannot stop the euro from depreciating, thus making our exports more expensive. We cannot stop China from churning out cheaper and in many cases better-quality basic goods for the world market. We cannot make it rain more, to prevent severe drought from withering the livelihoods of our farmers, making them poorer, more hopeless and angrier. We cannot make taxpayers, individual and corporate, want to pay their dues. They have seen their tax money being unscrupulously squandered in public subsidy schemes that failed to help the intended sectors and people. We have no way to recover the stolen goods, or punish all the thieves involved. The latter know well how to cover their trails and buy loyalty.

Economically, it is fair to say that Thailand is collectively in a pessimistic mood. It’s only a matter of time before the depressed outlook sets in over every major aspect of national affairs. 

The time seems ripe to rip a page from Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign strategy and declare, “It’s the economy, Stupid.” The bottom line for measuring the success or failure of any government comes down to one thing – its effectiveness in improving the livelihoods of its citizens.

It is always the lowest rung of the economic ladder that is hit hardest in difficult times, and financial destitution can lead to political instability. People who have no obvious hope, no discernible exit from hardship, tend to harden and become defiantly ungovernable. If there is no way to offer them immediate relief, they should at least be given hope that something is being done to better their condition, so that they can reap the fruits at a later date.

One root cause of the country’s economic woes is the widespread systemic and systematic public corruption. In our open society, it is not possible for the government to impeach everybody involved, and our leadership cannot impose the death penalty against corrupt officials, as do certain other countries. Instead, like the bloodless abolition of slavery by King Rama V, the obliteration of corruption may take an entire generation. But it must start today. A new set of values should be inculcated, that would reject the practice of kickbacks and gradually make corruption unpopular and reprehensible. A day should not pass without citizens being made aware of the hidden impact corruption has on their lives and those of their children. People should learn to associate bribes with condemnation and shame, and to take responsibility for stopping the practice whenever they encounter it.

We cannot regulate morality, but we can invigorate it by education, leadership and setting examples that send a clear and concise message that looting of public money will not be tolerated. 

Reform is a big concept, yet the task it involves is even bigger and hugely onerous. This current government, being an SPV – a Special Purpose Vehicle, with a limited shelf life – cannot be expected to launch the reform battle on every front. It must confine its energies to the ones that truly matter. It can lay the foundation for paradigm shifts that will take the country in a new and better direction. Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore and Margaret Thatcher of Britain are two examples of how leadership with vision and strategy can change the course of a country for the better.

Just as it is not fair to blame Thaksin Shinawatra for Thailand’s every woe, it is not reasonable to expect the current government to right all the wrongs that have accumulated over time. We should realise there is no such thing as a panacea, and that life is no fairy tale. As for “democracy”, those who shallowly equate it with a general election will get their wish very soon. But whether the country then escapes the jaws of the political trap to become a more stable and bona fide democratic nation with a regained sense of purpose and moral compass depends on the foundations being laid down by this government. 

But building those foundations is easier said than done. The prime minister’s heart and head are in the right place, but the legs and the arms have not been cooperating too well. Vision and strategy are necessary conditions for achieving success, but hardly sufficient for it. Moving the country forward on a firmer footing is a tall order, both for our leadership and for the Thai people. For the country to break out of its vicious cycle of political instability, we have to let go of the ghost of one particular man, in the same vein that post-war Japan let go of the carnage wreaked by nuclear bombs and found a new and prosperous path. The Japanese rolled up their sleeves and got down to the business of rebuilding their nation and shaping their future, and never once looked back.

That’s also the way our energy and time can be better spent.