Forbes Magazine named Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra the 29th most powerful woman in the world in 2024 earlier this week. Her father, ex-convict-cum-former-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, widely regarded as the real PM, is even more powerful. Apparently they are not powerful enough compared to the Thai army, which is supposedly under he Defence Minister Phumtam Wechayachai, who’s also a trusted aide of Thaksin.
This week saw PM Paetongatarn quickly and unequivocally reject a proposed amendment to the Defence Ministry Act after a Pheu Thai Partylist MP Prayut Siripanich made the proposal public. One of the key amendments include transferring the authority to appoint generals, particularly those in charge of troops, from that of the Army Chief to the Cabinet, and banning the use of military properties and force in case of a coup attempt. Basically, MP Prayut (not to be confused with former coup leader Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, wants more legal measures introduced to lessen the chance of yet another military coup.)
PM Paetongtarn, who is the official leader of the ruling Pheu Thai Party, held a press conference and offered the [rogue] Thai armed forces an assurance that her government has absolutely no intention to “interfere” with the armed forces. (Next to her stood Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, a powerful politician who nearly single-handedly decriminalised marjuana for medical use, and leader of Bhumjaithai Party, looking apologetic. Anutin earlier surreally said his party is against the anti-coup bill.)
It was a farce that the civilian head of government has to openly admit it can’t control one of its ministries – the Defence Ministry. It’s also proof that Thailand is not yet a full democracy. Call it partial democratic, semi-democratic, or what you will, the fact remains that the armed forces, particularly the army, remains a state within a state and exists in a sort of delicate and unspoken power-sharing agreement with any civilian government. Basically, the golden rule is that you let the army do pretty much or whatever they want, do not try to interfere with how they run their affairs, and perhaps the PM will complete his or her term without being ousted in a military coup.
Soon after that, PM Paetongtarn’s much more powerful father, Thaksin, denied he was behind MP Prayut’s attempt to curb the power of the army generals. Thaksin must have known the risk, after all, he was ousted in a coup in 2006 while he was attending UNGA in NYC, and the government of her younger sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, was ousted in yet another coup in 2014.
MP Prayut was probably testing the waters – and it’s choppy, if not very rough. So it’s best to retreat, even if Prayut insists he will revise the proposed amendment and resubmit it to parliament.
Such an ambitious task is best left to the main opposition People’s Party to attempt and although the PP’s version of the will certainly be rejected by all other major parties, including fellow opposition Phalang Pracharath Party, which is led by no less than former deputy coup leader Gen Prawit Wongsuwan, it will be another opportunity for the public to learn the naked truth about the army.
In the end, MP Prayut, who is either a Pheu Thai loose cannon or who quietly acted on behalf of the party, has managed to make visible to the public the naked and rogue power of the Thai army.
In the end, it’s up to both the people and the rank and file soldiers to change in order to ensure civilian supremacy over the military could finally be established. No laws, or no amendments, no constitution, no matter how well-intended and good, can prevent yet another coup from occuring in Thailand.
Change and an end to military coup will come when Thais, particularly the older generations of Thai citizens, who are more than willing to accept army putsch as, excuse the pun, “acceptable”, will either change their attitude or die. Rank and file soldiers will have to learn to think by themselves not to blindly obey the order of their commanders when it’s clear that it’s unconstitutional. You can write whatever you like on the papers but in the end, it’s what’s in the minds and hearts of the people and ordinary soldiers that matters.
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