As the regime is set to announce its policy achievements today, one thing is clear. If our goal is to fix gross and deep-rooted disparity that is the root cause of political violence, military dictatorship cannot deliver it.
Reform was the catch phrase during the height of the anti-government protests that led to the military takeover in 2014. When corrupt civilian governments persistently failed the country, coup supporters believed the "good men" in green should have to chance to make reform a reality.
They should now know better.
Before the coup, Thailand's disparity was the worst in the region. After the coup, things have not got any better.
Here are some of the figures about the distressing inequality before the 2014 coup.
The richest 10% own more than 80% of land in the country. The remainder possess only one rai or less.
Meanwhile, people who do not own any land make up about 20% of the population. When combined with those who own 10 rai or less, they make up 42% of the entire country.
A liquor tycoon here owns more than 630,000 rai of land alone when millions of farmers are landless or do not have enough land to till.
There's no shortage of statistics that reveal scandalous wealth concentration. For example, the richest 20% of the country possess 69% of the properties in the whole country while the poorest 20% own only 1%.
Meanwhile, 42% of bank deposits come from 0.09% of the total number of bank accounts in the country. In plain language, nearly half of money in the bank is owned by only 35,000 people.
When Thailand's per capita income now stands at about 10,900 baht per month, the combined net worth of Thailand's 50 richest people amounts to 3,355 trillion baht, which is about a quarter of the country's annual GDP.
- See also Special Report: Northern protest demands land reform
In short, disparity remains as scandalous as ever, if not more.
Had things improved, the landless in 18 provinces would not have dared confronting military might by taking to the streets to press for land reform.
The regime may argue it needs time to tackle landlessness. What it really needs is less prejudice against the forest poor.
You see, the forest poor have long been at loggerheads with forest authorities; they lived in the forests before the areas were declared national parks.
They have proposed community land ownership and community land deeds so they can continue living in the forests, help with forest conservation, and prevent land from changing hands.
The land rights movement has proposed a progressive land tax and a land bank for the poor.
Despite fierce resistance from forest authorities, talks were under way under previous governments.
Any advancement in policy negotiations has stopped under this regime.
The forest poor are kicked out by armed personnel, one community after another, even though they were about to receive community land ownership.
Wait while we find some plots of land for you, they were bluntly told. Who dares say no? Meanwhile, the land bank scheme crumbles. No need to discuss the progressive land tax.
Why does equality remain elusive here? Why is our structural injustice so resistant to change and reform?
One answer is officialdom's fierce hold on centralised, top-down power. This is why I believe the military can never fix the inequality problems.
The military is not only part of the centralised bureaucracy that issues orders and exploits local resources without listening to concerns on the ground, but is at the apex of bureaucratic power.
Reform is impossible without decentralisation. Since the mandarins are the main enemy of decentralisation, the military needs to launch bureaucratic reform first and foremost to give decentralisation a chance.
Instead, the military keeps strengthening the bureaucracy. While the country suffers economic stagnancy, government officials continue to receive robust salary increases and welfare support.
Ill-thought out megaprojects from different state agencies also receive prompt military support regardless of environmental and public health costs.
But it is too easy to blame all ills on the military power. Society as a whole is deep in militaristic and authoritarian mindset. The education systems works as a brain-washing machine.
And respect for money and social status comes before equal human dignity.
Until we admit we are part of the problem, reform remains an uphill task.
Sanitsuda Ekachai is editorial pages editor, Bangkok Post.