Govt's record needs scrutiny

Govt's record needs scrutiny

Make no mistake, the Prayut Chan-o-cha government needs the upcoming censure debate more than the opposition does. With dwindling public confidence due to a demonstrated lack of competence, alleged abuse of power and an absence of accountability, this government should use the no-confidence debate to tell the public how it will fix its mismanagement, change its administrative approach and address questions on its ethical standards, among other issues.

Government figures, including the prime minister and a government whip, seemed to be unhappy about the motion's "strongly-worded language" and retrospective scrutiny of Gen Prayut and other five cabinet members, who are the motion's targets, for things they did "in the past".

Such a misguided response is typical of Gen Prayut and some of his colleagues who have constantly hit back at critics and have failed to look at the big picture when handling national affairs.

Of course, the opposition is unlikely to be naive enough to simply take the six ministers to task for their not-so-gracious pasts.

Five of them -- Gen Prayut, his two deputies, Gen Prawit Wongsuwon and Wissanu Krea-ngam, Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda and Foreign Affairs Minister Don Pramudwinai -- were part of the former military government. They cannot expect the public to let them start fresh without being held accountable for their actions taken during the term of the past regime, especially when consequences of those actions still live on.

First of all, Gen Prayut did overturn the 2007 constitution, as mentioned in the censure motion, and let his lawmakers create the current charter that helped him return to power more easily. So it is pointless to exclude these facts from the debate.

The motion's accusations against Gen Prayut for having presided over violations of the rule of law and liberty of the people are also something that the premier has to be held accountable for.

Apart from the coronavirus outbreak, which has re-emphasised the government's flaws in its inter-ministerial coordination and public communications, other problems, ranging from a sluggish economy and PM2.5 dust pollution to drought and floods, are the same old challenges which remain unsolved.

The current administration has handled these issues by either opting to repeat previous approaches which have already proved unsuccessful or waiting for them to reoccur before issuing an ad hoc response.

Along with failing to solve chronic problems, the government cannot boast of policy achievements either, mainly because it has not managed to disburse the fiscal 2020 budget.

The government's ethical standards, with particular focus on the appointment of Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Thamanat Prompow, the sixth censure target, despite his criminal record in Australia, will also take centre stage during the debate.

Many people have become fed up with the government because they have felt the pinch of the worsening economy, borne the brunt of toxic air in their neighbourhoods or suffered from floods and drought. Meanwhile, the government has shown no willingness to take any responsibility for problems on its watch. Gen Prayut himself has constantly blamed the people and told them to help themselves.

With a wafer-thin majority in the Lower House, the government will evidently not be brought down by the censure motion. Whether or not it will survive the court of public opinion is another matter.

Editorial

Bangkok Post editorial column

These editorials represent Bangkok Post thoughts about current issues and situations.

Email : anchaleek@bangkokpost.co.th

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