- Name: Veera
- Email: veera@Bangkokpost.co.th
By Veera Prateepchaikul
Bangkok Post
To read all comments to this post in the Bangkok Post, click here.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban hit the nail right on the head when he said Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s decision to officially appoint Thaksin Shinawatra an economic adviser to the Cambodian government is an internal Cambodian matter.
Not merely an ordinary prime minister, but one with a self-bestowed highest Royal title as a Somdech something, Hun Sen is an absolute leader who holds absolute power in Cambodia, where government critics are silenced or intimidated.
He can do anything he sees fit in Cambodia and without anyone daring to question his action. So, it shouldn’t be any surprise at all that he decided to make official his decision to appoint his “eternal friend” his economic adviser by virtue of a Royal decree.
Hun Sen might have made the right decision. He just might have seen Thaksin’s potential for solving the problems of poverty in Cambodia. After all, the fugitive ex-premier has repeatedly twittered to his fans in Thailand about how he would pluck the impoverished grassroot Thais out of poverty if he allowed to return home a free man.
This will be a golden opportunity for Thaksin to prove his worth, by helping the poor Cambodians first so that the Cambodian government will not have to beg for international aid each year to keep the country afloat.
We should not take too seriously the prospect of Thaksin jetting in and out of Cambodia in his private jet to do his advisory job and instead cast a more positive light on Hun Sen’s recent action. At least the job will keep Thaksin busy, so he may spend less time twittering to his supporters and undermining the Abhisit government.
But I just can’t stop the thought popping up in my sometimes capricious mind that Hun Sen, after all, might just be kidding.
And here are some of the clues that the whole Thaksin saga is surreal:
According to Cambodian Defence Minister Gen Tea Banh, Hun Sen had no intention to play political games (with the Thai government), but only gave voice to his thoughts, which were driven by his very close relationship with Thaksin. And that the Cambodian government’s statement calling the charges against Thaksin “politically motivated” does not amount to interference in the internal affairs of Thailand.
So, in the same whimsical way of thinking, why not joke back? After all, it is meant as a joke.
How about making Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy and another key opposition figure Mu Sochua personal advisers on foreign affairs to Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, and offer them a refuge in Thailand anytime they feel they are not safe in Cambodia. Now that would be fun.
Mrs Mu told an audience at the University of California in Berkeley in September, after having testified to the US Congress about problems with democracy in Cambodia, that she had no fear of facing jail on her return to Cambodia, “But I fear something else which I can’t tell you – not the bullets, but the (acid attack). That is very common”.
Meanwhile, in Bangkok on Sept 23 Sam Rainsy, speaking to members of the international media, accused Hun Sen of silencing not just journalists but also legislators, civil society representatives and even their lawyers. He also accused the Cambodian government of mismanagement of the economy. In any democracy, such criticisms are quite common and acceptable. But not for Hun Sen’s Cambodia.
Some observers suggested that Hun Sen might not be happy with the Thai government for allowing Sam Rainsy to criticise from Thai soil, and that he might just be getting back at them by naming Thaksin his adviser.
But I am not convinced of this, because Hun Sen didn’t retaliate against the Singaporean government when Sam Rainsy lambasted the Cambodian prime minister when he was in Singapore.
But after all, I am just kidding. The Abhisit government is politically mature and sensitive enough not to do such a silly thing, which would only hurt the good-neighbourly relationship between the Thai and Cambodian peoples.
Bangkok Post
To read all comments to this post in the Bangkok Post, click here.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban hit the nail right on the head when he said Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s decision to officially appoint Thaksin Shinawatra an economic adviser to the Cambodian government is an internal Cambodian matter.
Not merely an ordinary prime minister, but one with a self-bestowed highest Royal title as a Somdech something, Hun Sen is an absolute leader who holds absolute power in Cambodia, where government critics are silenced or intimidated.
He can do anything he sees fit in Cambodia and without anyone daring to question his action. So, it shouldn’t be any surprise at all that he decided to make official his decision to appoint his “eternal friend” his economic adviser by virtue of a Royal decree.
Hun Sen might have made the right decision. He just might have seen Thaksin’s potential for solving the problems of poverty in Cambodia. After all, the fugitive ex-premier has repeatedly twittered to his fans in Thailand about how he would pluck the impoverished grassroot Thais out of poverty if he allowed to return home a free man.
This will be a golden opportunity for Thaksin to prove his worth, by helping the poor Cambodians first so that the Cambodian government will not have to beg for international aid each year to keep the country afloat.
We should not take too seriously the prospect of Thaksin jetting in and out of Cambodia in his private jet to do his advisory job and instead cast a more positive light on Hun Sen’s recent action. At least the job will keep Thaksin busy, so he may spend less time twittering to his supporters and undermining the Abhisit government.
But I just can’t stop the thought popping up in my sometimes capricious mind that Hun Sen, after all, might just be kidding.
And here are some of the clues that the whole Thaksin saga is surreal:
According to Cambodian Defence Minister Gen Tea Banh, Hun Sen had no intention to play political games (with the Thai government), but only gave voice to his thoughts, which were driven by his very close relationship with Thaksin. And that the Cambodian government’s statement calling the charges against Thaksin “politically motivated” does not amount to interference in the internal affairs of Thailand.
So, in the same whimsical way of thinking, why not joke back? After all, it is meant as a joke.
How about making Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy and another key opposition figure Mu Sochua personal advisers on foreign affairs to Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, and offer them a refuge in Thailand anytime they feel they are not safe in Cambodia. Now that would be fun.
Mrs Mu told an audience at the University of California in Berkeley in September, after having testified to the US Congress about problems with democracy in Cambodia, that she had no fear of facing jail on her return to Cambodia, “But I fear something else which I can’t tell you – not the bullets, but the (acid attack). That is very common”.
Meanwhile, in Bangkok on Sept 23 Sam Rainsy, speaking to members of the international media, accused Hun Sen of silencing not just journalists but also legislators, civil society representatives and even their lawyers. He also accused the Cambodian government of mismanagement of the economy. In any democracy, such criticisms are quite common and acceptable. But not for Hun Sen’s Cambodia.
Some observers suggested that Hun Sen might not be happy with the Thai government for allowing Sam Rainsy to criticise from Thai soil, and that he might just be getting back at them by naming Thaksin his adviser.
But I am not convinced of this, because Hun Sen didn’t retaliate against the Singaporean government when Sam Rainsy lambasted the Cambodian prime minister when he was in Singapore.
But after all, I am just kidding. The Abhisit government is politically mature and sensitive enough not to do such a silly thing, which would only hurt the good-neighbourly relationship between the Thai and Cambodian peoples.
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