Koh Chang

Root of the problem: Thailand’s inability or refusal to adapt

Friday April 17th 2009, 2:16 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized

Source: Bangkok Post by Prof Dr Likhit Dhiravegin

There is a tendency among people to come up with a mono-causal analysis of problems. Country A is poor because of its bad leader, for example. This would mean that all the problems are caused by one man in the power echelon.

Such reductionism not only leads the analysis astray but also reveals simple-mindedness on the part of the “thinking system.” It is highly improbable that a single person could wreak havoc on a country as old as Thailand if the people are well-educated and trained in an educational system which caters to an analytical mind and critical thinking. If the culture helps nurture self-confidence and self-esteem capable of logical thinking and an independent mind not being easily lured by brain-washing propaganda, then no one can lead the people to follow blindly into mishap.

The big question is whether such social organisations as the social status and social relations, the state bureaucracy, religious teachings, educational system and, of more significance, the political system are still capable of performing their functions necessary for the changing times?

Given the lack in many areas, Thai society is marked by weaknesses in both the human and social organisation aspects. The internal social change propelled by globalisation has brought about a new milieu which the society, in many regards, seems unable to handle.

This is probably a weighty factor. The incongruence between social change and the ability to adapt to change can arguably be the significant variable leading to the emergence of one person who astutely and unethically exploited the social weaknesses for self aggrandisement. Wrongdoings were allowed to go on with no one lifting a finger. Abuse of power and violation of the rule of law were rampant, but no single lawyer or state official showed any guts to protest. Those legal technicians – as opposed to lawyers – were silent due to the lack of confidence or righteousness. Some of these legal technicians even helped with the process of plundering national treasures by corrupt politicians through their advice based upon twisted interpretation of the laws.

But then the rectification of the problem called for an extra-constitutional measure by power seizure which, in itself, was against the democratic principle and constitutional means.

Worse, the subsequent proclamations made by the coup party only made the problems more complicated. By passing a retroactive law to hunt down the executives of the political parties which were dissolved through the dubious proclamation and by having the legally questionable constitutional tribunal to pass the verdict, it had started the process of creating an insoluble political predicament and legal complexity.

This was to be further aggravated by the insertion of Article 309 in the new charter, which has an overriding effect upon the charter itself. The said Article is legally hardly tenable because it has the effect of being a constitution over the national charter. Up to this point, all the problems have become a knot impossible to untie.

At a deeper level of analysis, it can be argued that the main problem facing the country now is political legitimacy. The coup of Sept 19, 2006 might be justified by many reasons, but the fact remains that it was against the law and the global trend of promoting democratic government. But that part may be condoned as the public could very well understand the exigency for change before the country was completely ruined by the regime in power.

But the public expected a caretaker government which knew how to exercise state power to lay down the groundwork for a better working democracy after the coup. Instead, that government was marked by incompetence, reluctance, weakness and, worst of all, it gave the impression of indecisiveness and temporariness. The coup party, on the other hand, having the half-trained legal technicians or with ill intention, as advisers, audaciously came up with ill-conceived legal measures which were not germane to internationally accepted legal principles. From then on, the situation had started to go from bad to worse, to the point of no return.

To undo what was incorrectly done was thus difficult. The unfortunate thing was, what had happened had set a bad precedent wherein the adversary could claim the right to act likewise. It is commonly accepted that “two wrongs will not make a right,” but there appeared undeniably a double standard here where one group of people could break the law and get away with it. Or, if they were apprehended, the legal process would be slow. Meanwhile, similar acts on the part of the other group would be branded as against the law. This practice of double standard bodes ill for political legitimacy. The actions of the Red Shirts were thus at times a replica of what the Yellow Shirts had done. The objective was to test whether the same standard of legal process and justice would be taken vis-a-vis the similar acts. Many political incidents of late are cases in point.

This situation has created not only resentment but has developed into a contemptuous attitude toward those in control of state power, including those who were believed to pull the strings behind the scenes. The loss of political legitimacy and moral authority on the part of the system is clear. Worse still is the loss of respect for the respectable individuals and the loss of deference for authority and public office holders.

The overall situation has ended in contentious political confrontation, social cleavage, and ideological conflict of a scale never before experienced in Thai society. The loss of political legitimacy on the part of the individuals, the loss of legitimacy in the system, the feeling of having no fairness in law enforcement, and the contemptuous attitude toward the people in charge, can be argued to be the main causes of the existing political problem.

But the real root cause lies in the fact that the existing cultural setup may be lagging behind the process of social transformation in both the domestic and global scenes. This has unveiled the weaknesses of society which allowed for the rise of one single person to exploit them for his own good. And when it comes to resolving problems, a society marked by weaknesses just does not have the capability to come up with the correct measures.

All the factors at work, including the case of the seizure of the property of the former leader and those of his family members, which are cases in dispute, are arguably just the derivatives rather than the root.

Looking for an answer? Look deeply into the culture and the educational system. Some aspects of our culture are admirable but some leave much to be desired and need to be reformed immediately. Such elements in our culture as the negative side of the patron-client system, superstition, lack of discipline and public responsibility, sycophantic tendency, excessive hedonism, anomic individualism of person vis-a-vis social organisations, etc, should probably be re-examined.

Our educational system needs to be overhauled. Learning by rote, destruction of selfhood or personhood through the process of de-individuation because of the emphasis on conformity, the non-development of self-confidence and self-esteem, etc, bode ill for the creation of a free man with self-respect.

There is indeed an urgent need for a character education. There is need to have an educational system which can come up with well-educated and well-trained human resources for the coming era. This new personality created for the rough terrain of the new era is one with not only knowledge but also morality and ethics and sophistication of an international level.

Root of the problem: Thailand’s inability or refusal to adapt

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