Thaksin tackles poverty, Abhisit a hundred dreams

LET IT BE

Three books on Thai politics were launched at last week's book fair. All of them, in Thai, are easy to read - and after finishing, preferably all three, - one can get a sense of what to make of the ongoing political conflict and the problems of political leadership in Thailand.

The first book is ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's Tackling Poverty (A Pity It Was Robbed), or Khon Thai Hai Jon (Sia Dai Thook Plon Sia Korn) published by Topatak. The book is supposedly translated from an English version of the same title as Thaksin continues to communicate his ideas to both international and domestic audiences to justify his actions, past and present.

In the book Thaksin summarises the key programmes implemented during his administration which lasted five years (2001-2006) and ended with the coup d'etat of Sept 19, 2006.

From the so-called "Thaksinomics" to the 30-baht universal healthcare programme, the village and urban revolving funds, programmes to assist SMEs, wars on drugs and the mafia, the building of a knowledge-based society and his foreign policy, all of them are in this one small book. Thaksin explains how and why each policy was conceived, with numbers and statistics to back up his claims of success. Throughout, he gives the reader a sense of what it would have been like had he the chance to complete his second term, for a full eight years.

In the last section is a transcript of an interview with Thaksin (which, if I understand correctly, is available only in the Thai version), and a lot more is revealed here. He talks about his planned programme to inject 1 trillion baht over four years into the system at the grassroots level, because to move a pyramid one has to move it from the bottom, not from the top. And here he criticises the impatience of the "elite" who did not understand that eventually everybody would benefit.

The same rhetoric one hears almost daily now through his Twitter is also reflected in the book - of why he had to continue his fight although initially he had thought that "enough is enough". It is because of the continuing injustice he has to endure.

The second book is of a different tone and espouses an opposite point of view: The Same Abhisit in the Prime Minister's Seat, or Abhisit Khon Derm Bon Kao-ee Nayok Rattamontree published by Vote Publishing.

The book is written by Somjit Navakruesoontorn, a reporter from Channel 7 who has been following Mr Abhisit since his early rise as a young politician 17 years ago. It is endorsed by Mr Abhisit, with a note of appreciation from Chuan Leekpai, former Demcrat leader, former prime minister and Mr Abhisit's mentor.

No other journalist is probably more qualified than Ms Somjit to write a book on Mr Abhisit (she has written one earlier, and another on Korn Chatikavanij, the present finance minister). But the book is more of a compilation of news events intertwined with excerpts from Mr Abhisit's speeches and comments, with interesting insights and behind-the-scene anecdotes such as the scary confrontation when the prime minister's motorcade was blocked in Pattaya and later at the Ministry of Interior.

The book tries to portray Mr Abhisit as the same principled, simple and down-to-earth man he always has been, from the way he still makes coffee for his wife every morning, to ideas that he wants to pursue in politics.

The last section of the book is an excerpt from an interview Mr Abhisit gave emphasising his beliefs and political philosophy and what direction the country should take in resolving the ongoing political conflict.

It is probably not fair to directly compare the two books, as the book on Mr Abhisit is not a presentation of ideas like Thaksin's is. In this regard, one will have to pick up an older book, this one written by Mr Abhisit himself (his team compiled his ideas and rearranged them in order): A Hundred Dreams for A New Dawn, or "Roy Fun Wan Fah Mai" published by Khor Khid Duay Khon in July 2007. The book was launched before the election of 2005 and was designed to present Mr Abhisit's ideas to "change" Thailand. It is thus a campaign book of sorts, in which Mr Abhisit discusses issues on the quality of life, education and public health.

Mr Abhisit is a good communicator and his words flow smoothly. Reading both books, one can feel Mr Abhisit's good intentions and his unwavering stand on principles. What they lack, however, especially when compared with Thaksin's presentation, are concrete examples and ideas, which again underline a weakness in Mr Abhisit regarding experience and management style. Thaksin is a hands-on manager, happy to be a man of action, while Mr Abhisit delegates and leaves matters in the hands of his ministers and bureaucrats. Thaksin's words reflect his "been there, done that, let's move ahead" attitude, while Mr Abhisit's, as the title of his book suggests, are "dreams" although admittedly they are hopeful ones.

In his book, Thaksin talks about leadership. A leader has to be a good chef. Just knowing the recipe is not enough because it is the personal touch that makes the difference.

Only time will tell whether Mr Abhisit will get the hang of it and become a great chef himself, or will he fade away in history as just another ordinary cook.

The third and last title is Wassana Nanuam's Secrets, Deception, Camouflage, or Lub Luang Prang Chabab Mahakarp by Post Books, a subsidiary of Post Publishing which owns this newspaper. Ms Wassana is a reporter and columnist at the Bangkok Post. She has years of experience in reporting on the Thai military, thus has an insight into military thinking and its political manoeuvrings - an essential tool in understanding Thai politics.

Another type of insight she has recently gained is into the role of black magic and superstition in the country's politics. Her new book, a continuation on the same theme from the last one, discusses the way belief in the "dark arts" influences the thinking of many politicians and military leadership.

For instance, Ms Wassana tells stories about how ceremonies were held by his political enemies to put a curse on Thaksin when he was still prime minister. On the opposite side, counter-ceremonies were conducted to "undo" the curse, most of them after the coup by pro-Thaksin groups. Some had Thaksin's approval, others did not.

I had a chance to talk to Ms Wassana on the matter and she told me that the reason many people have turned to this illogical path is because the conflicts have become so intense in the last few years that those who are involved would do anything to break the apparent dead-end. Ms Wassana's book shows that this superstitious phenomenon has grown to the point of being credulous to some and ridiculous to others.

According to astrologers, come November and change will be in the air.

So grab those 3+1 books over the weekend if you have a chance. Read them, and perhaps you might be able to predict which way the wind will blow.

Suranand Vejjajiva served in the Thaksin Shinawatra cabinet and is now a political analyst.