Parliament is a circus

Postbag

Published: 3 Jun 2012 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

The incident last week in which opposition MPs hurled objects and abuse at House Speaker Somsak Kiatsuranon during a House session was a disgrace to the country.

Thailand's so-called oldest political institution, the Democrat Party, has shown itself as just a bunch of rambunctious political players with no clear discipline and direction. Abhisit Vejjajiva, the party leader, should reconsider his role after what happened.

The ruling Pheu Thai Party is no better. What it is doing is helping turn Thailand into a twisted democracy. It has shown its intention not only to amend some chapters in the constitution but to rewrite it as well without consulting concerned groups in the country outside its support base.

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whatajoke
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Discussion 11 : 05 Jun 2012 at 08.0811
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No matter how slick Yingluck may sound in an interview, dig a little into the background and any educated Aussie viewer would realise what a farce our PM is, a bit like their own first female PM - came to the job in highly controversial circumstances not necessarily through popular achievement.
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Ian Wensor
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Discussion 10 : 04 Jun 2012 at 16.2010
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Parliament certainly is a circus with Yingluck the ring master giving the audience a preview of hell with her ineptitude and covertly working behind the scenes to bring Thaksin back.
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howell
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Discussion 9 : 03 Jun 2012 at 19.349
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@David Brown. Multi-millionaire Yingluck Shinawatra is charming and quite rightly points out that wealth distribution is a major problem in Thailand but then the BS kicked in and she makes it sound like Thaksin/PTP have solved Thailand's obscene income gap in a few months. Reality is a 300 baht minimum wage in a few provinces where many employers cannot get people to work for that.
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koolbreez
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Discussion 8 : 03 Jun 2012 at 17.058
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She clearly will not put the country above what her brother wants. That is shameful, and contrary to what else she preaches about putting the country first. With her one person is more important than the whole country in bringing reconciliation.
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Ian Wensor
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Discussion 7 : 03 Jun 2012 at 16.337
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David Brown Rayong Forum opinion.. Ask any Aussie who's lived in Thailand or returned from a holiday here and you'll soon find they don't share your views ... particularly after the regrettable but necessary fiasco in Parliament last Wednesday.
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jshep
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Discussion 6 : 03 Jun 2012 at 14.416
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Well said James Gleason. You express exactly what I thought last Sunday....and it's second-raters like Mr Brule who are taking over the world.
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Ozman_Bkk
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Discussion 5 : 03 Jun 2012 at 08.495
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Is it just me or has the behaviour of pollies everywhere plunged to new depths. The throwing of papers in the Thai parliament seems mild to some of the scenes shown elsewhere and the stories being written.

But there is little doubt that the scenes in the Thai parliament last week are disgraceful and certainly don't show the pollies in a very good light at all.
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kena
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Discussion 4 : 03 Jun 2012 at 08.464
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Parliament members are people, not automatons, so passion sometimes comes to the fore. Passion is justified, when one sees blatant cheating and harm done to Thai judicial system. I commend them for expressing their disgust at PT's attempt to whitewash law-breaking activities.
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rontorr
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Discussion 3 : 03 Jun 2012 at 08.463
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David Brown, I watched that video link, and must say that I wholeheartedly agree with what you are saying.

banned, I agree
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rebel4ever
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Discussion 2 : 03 Jun 2012 at 08.342
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Job Discrimination Rampant. John Stewart is absolutely right. It caught my eyes years ago. But once you finally get a job not being Thai, then the discriminating hurdles are not over yet. You can't buy one millimeter of land. At seaside resorts you pay around THB 10,000 more per square meter for a condo than Thai do (to compensate and attract more Thai buyers). You are not accepted for the first car buy government discount scheme. You are faced with double standard prizing at natural parks and entertainment areas. I can go on and on... Briefly; You pay income tax, but are not allowed to benefit... I still wonder, with so many expats here, why there is no pressure group to discuss and negotiate our rights... Infected by too much: Mai Phen Rai, I suppose...
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