ความคิดเห็นที่ 1
อันนี้ของคุณปลื้ม
Left, right... marching with the time
ML Nattakorn Devakula & Rosana Tositrakul
Rosana Tositrakul, are you kidding me?
BY ML Nattakorn Devakula
I would normally like to think higher of my capital city, the place I've come to believe holds the highest ratio of educated/informed voters to politically indifferent individuals. That ratio may not necessarily be so high any more, judging from the recent senatorial election results.
Aside from being a place where there is believed to be a whole lot of "smart" politically-aware voters, maybe Bangkok's real values are similar to those of Venezuela, North Korea, Cuba, Bolivia, and other leftist states out in the world.
Here's the fact of the case. Social activist and claimed representative of consumers Rosana Tositrakul won 743,397 votes, or 49.78% of the tally, in the first senatorial election under the new constitution. Being that only one person can represent the capital, the selection became more significant than ever because the elected Bangkok senator would effectively be the city's sole representative in the all-powerful Upper House.
This is exactly why the results that we received from the election are so sad. Anusorn Tammajai symbolically represented the investment class and values associated with free-market economics, while Nitipong Hornak symbolically represented the arts and entertainment community. At the same time, Manit Wittayatem - as a former judge - represented the class of experienced officials which, in this case, is from the legal sector. There were a whole host of others who stood out in terms of background and accomplishments. Instead, we now get someone who can be expected to block pro-investment/pro-business laws, cause disturbances to the otherwise smooth process of much-needed constitutional amendments, and last but not least, be a nagging noise to rational people who work for a living, to those who are part of the real economy trying to bring about economic growth to this country.
Rosana almost single-handedly brought the downfall of PTT Public Company Limited, one of Thailand's most successful business conglomerates ever, which has become the pride and joy of the country's investment community. Her role in the nullification of the planned stock market listing of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand clearly shows how she stands in the way of development and economics.
As unforgivable as these past two actions are, there is more where that came from. Implicitly, leading a crusade in the name of consumers - who are represented by organisations without even having the opportunity to play a role in the policy-making of these organisations - led to Rosana's very fame today. It brought her name to the forefront of those who sacrificed personal time for the sake of the public - when, in fact, much of her popularity was earned on the back of investors and judges having to deal with petty burdensome cases relating to miscellaneous consumer claims, the very thing that paved the way for her political success. Nothing is sicker. Don't sue me; I know that's something you'd already planned to do.
Looking back at the senatorial elections prior to the coup, Rosana also won 118,332 votes which made her the 4th largest vote-getter in Bangkok. Believe it or not, she was behind only Nitipoom Naovarat, Samak Sundaravej and Klanarong Chantik. The more I think about all these results, the more I begin to contemplate the real potential of how "left" we are moving as a society. Rosana should not represent a city that understands the values of the free market and capitalism. She should not represent a city that is attempting to become one of the thriving investment hubs of Asia. If there was a city she could represent, I was thinking Pyongyang or Caracas. Or maybe Havana, where she can join the new batch of Raulistas. Or even better, Sucre or La Paz, where she can wear similar native outfits to dance around with Evo Morales.
At the end of the day, however, I still hold higher hopes for Bangkok, for when the next election - whichever it is - comes around, the "smart" voters and the real silent-yet-informed majority will pick someone more in favour of growth and progression, rather than decline and stagnation.
Higher hopes translate into the selection of someone who understands that being a left-wing NGO seeking to redistribute income by bringing down the economic cornerstones of capitalism will never bring actual benefits to consumers. This past Sunday's results show that there is much room for improvement when it comes to the mindset of city voters.
M L Nattakorn Devakula is a news analyst
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