THAILAND: Questions Aired about ‘Sweet’ Deals for Premier’s Family

By Marwaan Macan-Markar Reprint | | Print |

Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, May 22 2004 (IPS) - She may not be a parliamentarian, but Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s wife was a dominant presence during a bitter debate in the legislature where eight ministers faced no-confidence motions.

During the three-day debate, which ended Friday, the opposition Democrat Party accused cabinet ministers of endorsing deals where Thaksin’s wife, Pojaman Shinawatra, stood to gain personally.

These included the sale of a prime block of land in the Thai capital and the construction of a road in front of a real estate project owned by the premier’s wife.

”I am pleased we’ve walked the people through some of the foul play engineered by the government,” Banyat Bantadtan, leader of the Democrat Party, was quoted as having told Saturday’s ‘Bangkok Post’ newspaper.

The debate had ”shed light on about 60 percent of the alleged irregularities that had been committed by senior officials,” he added.

But Thaksin, a billionaire business tycoon, also used his weekly radio address on Saturday to lash out at the opposition for targeting his family during the debates that scrutinised the performance of his government.

They are seeking to ”destroy my dignity and my family” rather than making a critique of government ministers’ performance, said Thaksin, whose party, Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thai), enjoys a comfortable majority in parliament.

”We have been lenient enough to allow them to have a no-confidence debate against cabinet members so that they could censure the prime minister indirectly,” he was quoted as saying in ‘The Nation’ newspaper.

In defending his wife, Thaksin said that she had ”bought the land transparently and that she did not plan to resell it but to build the family’s new house on the property.”

Opposition parliamentarians, however, think otherwise, charging that she was granted ”special treatment” to gain the plot of land close to a city landmark, the Thailand Cultural Centre.

According to Democrat Party members, Pojaman was the ”only bidder” for the extensive slice of property and the price she paid for it, 772 million baht (19.3 million U.S. dollars), was ”below the market value of the block”.

Thaksin’s family heads the list of cabinet ministers who own properties valued at over one billion baht (25 million U.S. dollars). The land owned by the premier’s family, which includes, among others, properties in Bangkok and the northern city Chiang Mai, is valued at 1.1 billion baht.

Over the years, Thaksin made his money through the successful telecommunications business that he built. Before his party triumphed with an unprecedented majority at the 2001 elections, he handed over control of his financial empire to his family.

However, that has not stopped the parliamentary opposition from raising questions about possible privileges that Thaksin’s Shin Corp has enjoyed since the Thai Rak Thai party came to power.

During the no-confidence debate, the opposition faulted cabinet ministers for allegedly making decisions in the telecommunication sector that were favourable to Shin Corp.

”In 2000, the Shin group of companies had posted total revenues of 42 billion baht with a profit of 8 billion baht. But when Thaksin became prime minister in 2001, those amounts jumped to 94 billion baht and 26 billion baht, respectively,” opposition parliamentarian Satiti Wongnongtoei was quoted as having told parliament.

”It’s noteworthy that the group got richer quickly,” he added.

Another opposition legislator, Alongkorn Polabutra, took to task Deputy Prime Minister Wan Muhamad Noor Mathat for allegedly granting a contract running into billions of baht to a computer company where Thaksin’s family is the major owner.

That company made ”more than seven billion baht in profit but it claimed that it made only 800 million baht,” Alongkorn was quoted in ‘The Nation’ newspaper as saying.

The transport minister was also faulted by opposition parliamentarians for allegedly helping pave the way for a budget airline – Air Asia – to enter the local market. Shin Corp is Air Asia’s major shareholder.

Pro-democracy activists are welcoming the exposures that dominated the three-day debate, saying they offer the public a picture of ”important issues” ahead of the parliamentary elections to be held in less than eight months.

”This debate was a major event, because it is rare that these issues of political accountability and transparency are brought to light in such a manner,” said Surichai Wun’ Gaeo, chairman of the non-governmental Campaign for Popular Democracy.

The government may have lost some ground because the opposition exposed the extent of conflict-of-interest in the government, he explained during an interview. ”There can be consequences at the elections for Thai Rak Thai.” The latest line of criticism comes amidst a litany of other problems that the Thaksin administration has had to endure since January. They include its mishandling of the bird-flu crisis, the escalating violence in the southern provinces and the widespread opposition to the government’s plans to privatise state-owned corporations like the power utility. Thaksin’s popularity has also dipped. One recent poll revealed that 59 percent of those polled approve of his performance, down from the over 80 percent approval he got during a poll in December.

Nevertheless, he has two reasons to feel content with the prevailing political climate. He appears destined to complete his four-year term because of the majority he has in the 500-seat parliament. His TRT party holds 296 seats and he has 39 more seats in his government’s favour from coalition partners.

That will be a milestone, since no prime minister in Thailand’s political history has completed a four-year term due to military coups and motions of no-confidence that have unseated previous prime ministers.

Furthermore, political analysts are not too sanguine about the strengths of the Democrat Party in defeating the financially secure and populist TRT at the next general elections. A lack of an attractive alternative to the TRT juggernaut and internal factional rivalry are two reasons that hamper the opposition party.