Do a popularity poll all throughout Thailand, make sure every single registered Thai is in it, and I am almost certain that Thaksin will come out as "popular". Run an election with Thaksin in the hot seat of probable Prime Minister if his party wins, and I am almost certain he will lead the kingdom of Siam under the Constitutional Monarchy of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
A once successful billionaire who decided to "retire" from business and hand his holding interests to his family members led by his wife, Khunying Potjaman. Thaksin joined politics with Thai Rak Thai and won two landslide victories. If I am not mistaken, he created history on that part.
Assuming Khunying Potjaman is merely a proxy for Thaksin Shinawatra in business transactions and interests, then the Rachadaphisek land deal scandal is certainly not her fault. The Court sentenced her to 3 years jail recently. She was said to have won the land bid at one third of the appraised value, with "help" from Thaksin.
Also, the Attorney General Chamber is piling up lawsuits against Thaksin. They include the Thai Exim Bank loan to Burma, legalisation of underground lottery, tax changes to benefit the then Shinawatra family owned Shin Corp, and others. To be honest, I have not read enough on these lawsuits and the full details. However, allow me to comment on the legalisation of underground lottery and changes in tax regimes.
Now, sex trade was once banned in Thailand but now legalised. The spread of sex trade is so great there that it seems almost impossible to eradicate. Money that changes hand there are not accounted for in the Government statistics, thus creating a measure of growth, income and employment that is no where near the true measure. Also, the Government loses a great amount of probable taxation revenue if sex trade is not legalised.
No. I am not saying that I support sex trade and neither am I against it. There are two sides of me, an ethical man and an Economist. So to come up with a stand from my part will mean that I need to split myself into two.
Anyway, we always say freedom is the foundation for human rights. Many in Thailand enter the sex trade to earn more money (men and women), to have a job, and I am sure some of them did it voluntarily and involuntarily. We can also think that there exists syndicates that provide sex workers to the industry there.
Because of these reasons, the Thai Government had to legalise sex trade. By doing so, they can monitor the companies that provide such services, the welfare of sex workers, earn Government taxation revenue from both the sex workers and the companies and also increase awareness about sex education.
These can include the health of sex workers, the education to the young (perhaps) to avoid sex trade, to educate the public on sex education, to curb STDs among the people, and to ensure that everything in the economy is accounted for.
Yes. The same goes with the legalisation of underground lottery. Basic economics will tell you that GDP can be calculated from the Income Approach, Production Approach or Expenditure Approach.
Either way, the "black market" is never accounted for. You can imagine how much money is circulated in the "black market" of underground lottery and previously the sex trade. For the record, gamblers in Malaysia know clearly that underground lottery in Malaysia is a huge business.
I wonder if the Malaysian Government will look into either a crackdown or a legalisation of underground lottery.
Over to tax regimes, I certainly do not know why Thaksin's Shin Corp is the only one who benefits from the changes in tax regimes. Did the taxation law specifically mentioned the word Shin Corp in between the lines?
I doubt the Parliament of Thailand and not even his supporters in Thai Rak Thai would have loved it and what more to say approved it. Moreover, if tax regimes are changed, it will benefit all the companies in the same bracket as Shin Corp. So, I voice my suspicion on this lawsuit.
One can only wonder what is happening in Thailand and the truth behind the curtains, just like in Malaysia. A country where the junta is so powerful that it can overthrow democracy is certainly not very credible, what more to say about the Attorney General's chamber.
Do not forget that the military Government removed Thaksin from power while he was in Thailand, and they handled the Government their way with many changes in Government departments and staff as well as passing a legislation that protects themselves when the election was coming up.
I guess they knew the Thais are unhappy with them and wants Thaksin's policies back. And so it came true, where the Thais voted for the People Power Party that is said to be heavily influenced and tied to Thaksin Shinawatra.
Analysts are beginning to look forward to a Thailand without Thaksin, politically, and many said that the economy will have a clearer path than before. Is that true? A day later after the many analytical comments from brokers, Economists and investors, Thailand is beginning a taskforce to extradite Thaksin and Potjaman from London under the Siam - Great Britain Extradition Treaty signed in 1911.
From hero to zero, and that is how Thaksin is treated. All these came right from the start of the military Government that threw Thaksin out of office, till now. Not only his reputation is being stained but also his assets are beginning to bid good bye to Thaksin. His 76 billion baht assets will be confiscated by the Thai Government, pending a Court judgement. That will be approximately USD 2.2 billion.
As far as I remember, Thaksin and the Shinawatra family was worth USD 1 billion at least when he was Premier. So, personally I do not see the justification in seizing all assets, assuming that the Prosecutors have concrete evidence that Thaksin abused power and accumulated wealth for the Shinawatra family.
Nevertheless, whatever happens, I wish Mr Thaksin Shinawatra, Khunying Potjaman, and the Shinawatra family all the best in the future of their freedom, political career and businesses. I support no criminal or offenders of the law. However, my support stays with Thaksin's contributions to the Thais, his policies that care for all income groups of Thailand with greater distributional weights to the poor, his vision for Thailand and of course his leadership.
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