When Yingluck speaks to the National Legislative Assembly this week, its members should seek to administer justice − not vengeance. In a court of justice, each side makes its case, and is subject to cross-examination, aiding discovery of the truth upon which to decide justly.
This discovery did not happen last time because the NLA did not let her representatives speak on her behalf, each side playing games and ignoring the national interests.
For example, had she said the rice-pledging plan was to benefit farmers, NLA members might have asked why it excluded the poorest of the poor, who consumed all the rice they grew — with the rich farmers who had the biggest harvests being the biggest beneficiaries.
Had she said that any government which did not have the courage to implement policies deemed beneficial to the grassroots people, even at a cost to the taxpayer, would do more harm to the country, NLA members might have asked her, if that were true, why the government did not just offer double or triple the market value of the rice.
Had she said the 600 billion baht or so estimated loss from the plan was just the imagination of an accounting committee, members might have brought forth credible evidence by inspection teams — which hopefully included both Pheu Thai representatives and the media — as to the deteriorated quality of rice stocks and hollowed-out piles of rice sacks.
Such a cross-examination, and her replies, would have helped members, and equally importantly, her grassroots supporters and her opponents, see the true benefits and costs of the programme. This would have enabled them to follow Lord Buddha’s advice: “Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it ... believe nothing just because a belief is generally held ... believe nothing just because someone else believes it ... believe only what you yourself test and judge to be true” and decide according to the evidence, not their pre-existing opinions.
Burin Kantabutra
Degrees 'worthless'
There is a school advertising heavily in the Bangkok area using deceptive ranking and accreditation claims to attract students to a mediocre diploma mill issuing degrees that are proving worthless in the marketplace.
The school claims to offer a tier one-ranked and world-class American degree. They are neither tier-one nor do they offer anything like a quality American degree that is respected anywhere in the world.
Their MBA programme is a sham with no legitimate PhD holders on the faculty and no publications coming out of its faculty.
They have only master's graduates teaching master's candidates. How can an MBA programme with no PhDs on the faculty be considered legitimate?
They are claiming names on their faculty who don’t work there and haven’t worked there for quite some time, if ever. Ask to speak to the PhDs on their graduate faculty if you can find any.
Any faculty or staff member who raises the slightest objection or question about fraud, deception, or the mismanagement of funds is fired immediately without reason or recourse.
Two close friends of mine hold MBAs from this university.
Both steadfastly refuse to put their MBAs on their resumes because they say doing so creates a negative impression.
The home campus in the USA was stripped of its prestigious AACSB accreditation and national ranking, mostly because of what is taking place in its overseas affiliates.
The affiliate in Thailand never has had and probably never will have any level of prestigious accreditation.
In the past six months the affiliated campus in the USA has sent three investigative committees to Thailand to deal with complaints and lawsuits against their Thailand campus.
The committee members are wined and dined by the people they were sent to investigate and then return home painting a rosy picture that doesn’t exist.
Why would officials on the home campus be so concerned that they would send three investigative committees to the Thailand campus in six months? And are they being whitewashed?
Dr C
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