Thailand's Coup, Singaporean's Money

Your Excellency
Ambassador Thanchitt
Royal Thai Embassy

Your letter to the public in Singapore is re-assuring of continual growth of Thailand as a nation. It is, however, unfortunate that you were required, in your diplomatic capacity, to pen such a letter to be published in Singapore which does not truly respect the tenets of democracy and human rights as enshrined in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.

If democracy is a model to go by in the world for a more stable future then Singapore has to play catch up. While your military forces have taken things into their own hands in an apparent attempt to stop what appears to be high level corruption and restore democracy in place of money politics, Singapore's military has been called upon to quash any opposition that may come into power through legal means at the ballot box.

It brings to mind the recent investments made by Singapore's Temasek Holdings, done with executive powers without consultation to the public, and whither the status of this investment since it apparently involves Singaporean taxpayer money. On behalf of many Singaporeans, I ask that The Royal Kingdom of Thailand's honourable judiciary bear this in mind when deliberating on the legality of the said investments. We have no true democratic rights in Singapore and hence no true control over the expenditure of state funds.

The internal political and ideological differences practiced and allowed for by the citizenry in our countries are stark. Your belief in the rule of law as a tenet of democracy is admirable. I hope Thailand's interim and new Government will not adopt a model of Legalism similar to Singapore's wherein there are no rights but only privileges for the citizens.

Thailand has my best wishes for a speedy recovery from an excellent coup which should be a model of reform for many Asian countries.

Chok Dee.




Perry Tong





The Straits Times

Sep 28, 2006 Thailand remains fully committed to democracy

FOLLOWING the recent political developments in Thailand, I must update your readers on the current situation as they deserve accurate information on what is going on before they decide what to believe.

While the military intervention on September 19 may be perceived as a setback for democracy in Thailand, early indicators seem to suggest that Thailand needed to take this step to propel our democracy forward. Indications are that public support for the intervention has been overwhelming. According to the polls on September 20 by a respectable local independent polling agency, Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, 84 per cent of 2,019 people who took part in the survey support the political change.

Another 75 per cent also believe that it will improve our political situation. Besides, Thailand has remained calm and peaceful throughout. Our capital, Bangkok remains as safe as ever.
Such public support should not, however, be interpreted in any way that our people has turned against democracy. The reality is quite the opposite. The Council for Democratic Reform (CDR) has clearly stated that it would return power to the Thai people at the earliest opportunity.

Concrete actions with participation from various sectors of our society are being taken to accelerate the democratic reform process that could not take place properly under the previous caretaker government. The CDR has firmly stated that it would do its best to ensure the ongoing process of drafting a provisional constitution is completed by next week.

A national legislative assembly will then be formed, which will in turn task a constitution drafting body to elaborate on a new constitution. Also, the head of the CDR has firmly and openly stated that he will, within two weeks, transfer all of the Council's administrative powers to a respectable civilian Prime Minister, who will at once form a government to run the country. This government, along with the Thai people, will have oversight over the drafting of our new constitution.

We expect that free and fair elections based on the new constitution will be held within a year, if not sooner. The Election Commission, which was appointed by the former Senate, has already made concrete preparations. What we ask from all good friends of Thailand is your understanding. Despite the recent intervention, our friends will see that respect for human rights and the rule of law, together with the profound belief in the principles of democracy, remain very close to our hearts.

We remain firmly adhered to the UN Charter and obligations under international treaties and agreements, on the basis of the equality of states. No one should doubt that Thailand would resolutely pursue the path of democratic reform to achieve sustainable progress and stability for its people.


Chalermpol Thanchitt
Ambassador
Royal Thai Embassy