Thailand’s Current Political Situation

By Helen Sneha

Thailand is an exceptionally well-endowed country – its food and hospitality are widely known, and it has ample resources and exports to sustain it economically. Yet many issues of leadership and legitimacy continue to afflict Thailand. The simple question of who deserves to, and gets to, rule the country has yet to be answered. As Associate Professor Thitinan Pongsudhirak put it in our session with him today, it seems that those who win elections cannot rule, while those who rule cannot win elections. Politicians and corruption will always go hand in hand, but there are power players on the scene in Thailand who, while not able to contest electoral seats themselves, are in positions to prevent election winners from governing in every sense of the word. 

A bit of history might be in order to fully understand the implications of ruling and being elected in modern Thailand. Thailand was an absolute monarchy till 1932, until that was overthrown by the military and civilians, who drafted their first constitution. The 80^th anniversary of the day the absolute monarchy was overthrown was last Sunday, June 24^th. 

Post-World-War-II Thailand saw 25 years of military dictatorship, running from 1947 to 1973. Politicians and political parties were not allowed to exist, for the most part, and despite the turmoil in the rest of the region – with the Vietnam War and Burma’s military dictatorship raging – Thailand managed relatively well. In 1973, students overthrew the military dictatorship, which had grown undemocratic, inflexible, and corrupt, and, in a sense, reset the constitutional monarchy. There was then a right-wing military backlash against this in 1976, which led to another year of military dictatorship. It is interesting to note that these years of dictatorship were not as bad as they could have been as the generals did not try to micro-manage the economy and instead hired experts to do it – a lot of Thailand’s ample resources and exports were in fact built up during periods of military dictatorship. 

1997 was a year of serious democratic reforms, with a new constitution that appeared to combine the best elements from Japan, Germany, and the USA towards promoting greater transparency and accountability. When the 2001 elections came about, it appeared that Thaksin Shinawatra had the answers to long-standing unhappiness stemming back to the economic crises of 1997/1998, and by suspending farmer’s debt, and making available micro credit loans and universal healthcare, he won over the rural poor solidly enough to go on to win five subsequent elections by healthy margins. Yet another coup occurred against Thaksin’s government in 2006, despite his being a strong, popular, visionary leader. Judicial coups dissolved his new-formed party in 2008, and disenfranchised Red Shirt protestors took to the streets following two years of military rule in 2009 and 2010. Thaksin’s third-generation party, headed by his sister Yingluck, was then elected in 2011 by a 265/500 majority. 

A question that arose during the session was why Thaksin got re-elected so many times. sThe answer was threefold: first, he was the first to truly connect with the majority of voters in the rural areas – taking advantage of the income disparity meant that his policies could earn him the votes of the North and the NorthEast, nearly half of the population; second, the Democrat Party was not a viable alternative, and third, there was a growing political consciousness even among the rural poor. 

In the big frame of things, as Associate Professor Pongsudhirak phrased it, Thailand is currently in a kind of lockdown. Highly reductionistically, it could be a clash between the traditional and the modernized. As it stands, the military is aware that a coup now would lead to massive Red Shirt protests. Yingluck, meanwhile, as Prime Minister, could not do much in the face of one because the legitimacy of rule is still very much drawn from traditional sources of power. In no way, however, does traditional moral authority have to be opposed to an electoral mandate – there are no black and white distinctions. Being a loyal subject and being an informed citizen do not have to be oppositional.

Thaksin Shinawatra. (Source: Google Image)
 

The 2006 military coup. (Source: Google Image)

Helen Sneha, 20, is a second year Bachelor of Arts student, double-majoring in Writing and International Studies. She is hopelessly interested in tennis, funky rings, dinosaurs, and the human hand.

Thailand’s Sex Industry and the Empower Foundation

By Amanda Sangeetha Thomas

One of the first thoughts that come to mind when someone says Bangkok is, sex industry. It’s true that Bangkok does have a large and eventful night life and sex industry that caters to any and almost every sort of fetish and preference. Since the Vietnam War, Thailand has gained international notoriety among travellers as a sex tourism destination. Selling sex may remain illegal in Thailand but it is also still lives right there in Pat Pong, Bangkok. Where there is a sex industry, there will be sex workers.

Empower Foundation ("Education Means Protection Of Women Engaged in Recreation"), also known as Centre for Sex Workers' Protection or Moolniti Songserm Okard Pooying, is a non-profit organisation in Thailand that supports sex workers by offering free classes in language, health, law, and pre-college education as well as individual counselling. It was founded in 1985 by Chantawipa Apisuk. The organisation also lobbies the government to extend regular labour protections to sex workers and to legalize prostitution. Unlike most Thai organisations operating in this field, Empower takes a neutral stance towards sex work and does not pressure people to leave the trade. Partly because of this, Empower receives little financial support from the Thai government; the bulk of the donations come from abroad.

Many sex workers who work in this industry don’t really have the confidence to achieve any sort of goals except to work to take care of themselves. Empower aims to help these women. With this current age of technology and communication, these women learn how to use the internet to their advantage and equip themselves with information that is vital to their wellbeing and legal status as a citizen of Thailand. At the Empower foundation they teach these girls to speak the English language so it would help them when dealing with their foreign customers. Some of these girls use the computers and free internet that is provided at the centre to chat and keep in touch with some of their valuable ex-customers. 

The government did have talks in 2003 to legalise prostitution and the sex business. By legalising the sex business, the government will stand to gain in economic profit and this will indefinitely boost the country’s economy. Legalisation would give the estimated 300,000 sex workers access to social services, healthcare, and protection from abuse while exposing corruption among the industry's gatekeepers - police, politicians and business owners. Chantawipa Apisuk, who runs Empower says as long as prostitution is illegal, "the mafia will be the employer and ... the employees will be sex slaves".

In 2005 The Rockefeller Foundation agreed to support Empower in becoming Empower University. In many ways, Empower had been a university for many years. In addition to the 30,000 sex workers who have studied with Empower, Empower Foundation has increasingly become recognized as the strongest and most successful organization for sex workers in South East Asia. This recognition has seen Empower sharing skills, information and methodology with an increasing number and variety of groups and individuals nationally, regionally and internationally. Empower hosts visits at least once a week for groups and individuals be they students, journalists, researchers, government officials, women’s organizations or those working for UN bodies. 

Empower has a long history (since 1985) of offering internships and trainings to a diverse range of people. Interns have included people from Trent University, Harvard University, Brown University, AFS Programme Australian Volunteers International and John Hopkins University. 

Amanda Sangeetha Thomas, 21, currently pursuing majoring in Communications and International Studies, suffers from sleep deprivation.

Diary Entry – Day 7

By Bonnie Teh

Photos by Esther Chung, Amanda Sangeetha Thomas, Bonnie Teh

We started the day bright and early. Most of us were going about buying morning snacks from the ever-exciting 7-11 and collecting laundry. The air was abuzz with enthusiasm, as it was the last day for sessions after all. We made our usual way to the BTS Skytrain, getting off at Phrom Pong today. Getting a taxi was such a chore. Most of them were not familiar with the destination we were heading to. We were dismissed by most taxis the minute we told them the location, so we decided to walk in the blistering heat until we could find willing taxi drivers to take us there. The plan worked moderately well I suppose. Some of us walked a little, and some of us, more.

About an hour later, we found ourselves arriving at the Duang Prateep Foundation. I suppose we were somewhat expecting to be in a slum, but the centre was on a main road with no signs of tangible urban poverty. No matter. We were treated to a moving video presentation, and then taken on a tour into - yes, the real slum. Surprisingly, we needed only to turn left off the main road into an alleyway. It was just a complete maze from there on. It was left and right, and right, and right, and left. You’d think that the slum-dwellers were objects of our observation, but I think it was quite the opposite. Naked children stared at us from doorways and mangy dogs clamoured for our attention. It was all very sad, yet enlightening. I suddenly was reminded of how fortunate I am. What were the odds? I could’ve been the one squatting at slums, dreaming of a better tomorrow.

A moment in the slum.

Once we were back to the Duang Prateep Foundation centre, we had some free time and spent some of it interacting with the children there. They were mostly amused by our presence, though some were reserved and kept to their colouring books. I must say that they love being photographed though. They would pose for you, and want to see their picture. It was all very cute. Arman and Nandhini were especially taken by the children and expressed wishes to be parents very soon. I found it rather hilarious, and worrying.

All that baby-talk made us hungry so again we walked in the punishing heat to Chumchuri Square to have a quick lunch. The food was moderately good, but not great. It was reasonable though, to my surprise, since we were at a shopping mall. Powered by food, we again walked under the horrid sun to Chulalongkorn University to explore the political situation of Thailand. I very much liked Professor Thitinan Pongsudhirak who gave the talk in regards to the issue. I found him rather eloquent and passionate, in a mild-mannered yet critical kind of way. Thailand and Malaysia’s political landscape has been quite similar of late, and I think the kind of progress that is in place is very encouraging. Both nations are doing something right.

Professor Thitinan giving a lecture on Thailand's politics

Our second student guide, Jang, joined us after her class today. She is petite and witty. We all took a liking to her. After all that serious discussion, we again took a 20 minutes walk to Pat Pong to visit an NGO called Empower. Pat Pong looked like an ordinary street in the daytime. It was almost strange. The founder was very charismatic and somewhat sarcastic. I liked her and thought her a real soldier for her people. It was just so amazing, to see that much effort channeled into enriching the lives of sex workers. In a nutshell, they provide sex workers with information, character building and skills training. Skills training include language, computer and cooking lessons, etc. The founder also demonstrated to us how a number of show props were used, some of which I found hard to appreciate. We were also given a generous amount of condoms as souvenirs. I thought they were great because the words on the packaging were in Thai. I do not know if any of us had any use for them though.

Wall of words for those learning English at Empower

Bonnie Teh, 23, currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Journalism at Monash University. Has I'm-gonna-take-on-the-world days and no-mood-for-small-talk days.

Thailand’s Urban Poverty: An Overview and The Duang Prateep Foundation

By Seow Choon Hui
Photos by Esther Chung, Amanda Sangeetha Thomas and Bonnie Teh

When it comes to the issue on poverty, many will tend to associate the term with rural underdevelopment and resource scarcity, often in a conventional sense. Nevertheless, in recent years an extensive body of literature has emerged to provide a more concise and well rounded definition, measurement and analysis of poverty. To begin, urban poverty, especially in cities like Bangkok is a multidimensional phenomenon. The urban poor live with many deprivations. Their daily challenges may include:

• limited access to fair employment opportunities and income,
• no legal right of abode, fear of evictions
• inadequate and insecure housing and services
• violent and unhealthy environments
• little or not social protection mechanisms
• limited access to adequate health services and education opportunities.

Despite the fact that Thailand’s economy has improved over the years since the 1997 Financial Crisis, the issue of urban poverty is still rather apparent until today. The financial crisis has had some impact on unemployment and underemployment starting in December 2008, though overall unemployment is still very low. As the economic crisis began, unemployment rates in Thailand increased. In December 2008, the number of unemployed individuals rose by 65 percent year-on-year, resulting in an unemployment rate of 1.4 percent in December and 2.4 percent in January. A survey conducted by the Ministry of Education showed that the crisis also hit new graduates from public and private universities. The share of unemployed new graduates almost doubled from 17.7 percent in 2007 to 30 percent in 2008, which is evidence that labor supply and demand are moving further apart. However, the unemployment rate only tells one part of the story. The number of underemployed workers in fact increased by roughly three percent (180,000) between September 2008 and March 2009. This comes to show that despite the occurrence of globalization that has benefited many parties, there is still an apparent social and economy division in the country. It is when the rich becomes even richer and the poor as well as those who can’t catch up with the rapid societal and economical changes will be left behind.

Internal migration within Thailand has always been happening but at a particular point tracing back to almost 40 years ago, rural area villagers and the working class started to flock to the city of Bangkok in search of a better life and a job that pays relatively more. This is when the problem of urban poverty began to flourish as the ratio of employment opportunities to the population was rather high and following the swift pace of the shifting socioeconomic forces, these individuals then became part of the statistics that delineates urban poverty. One of the two major slums in Bangkok, minutely tucked within the busy district of Klong Thuey, is an example that illustrates the actual circumstances of what urban poverty is like. 

A part of Klong Toey slum

Communities living in unruly condition.

The Klong Toey Slum is one of the oldest and largest slums in Bangkok, having been around for about 50 years. The slum communities are made up of a majority of rural migrants from Northeast Thailand who came to Bangkok in search of job opportunities. They constantly face threats of eviction from the authorities in Thailand because they have no legal right to the land that they occupy. Poverty and health problems are just some of the difficulties faced by the community of the slums.

Sanitation and living conditions not at the most desirable level

Today, the Duang Prateep Foundation (DPF) seeks to help these urban poor, providing education for the slum’s children and organizing various projects to help empower the people and communities. Starting with just a house and a group of slum children, the Prateep sisters’ humble beginnings had grown from just five people working in a small office to having over 100 staff and twenty full-time volunteers, with many part-time helpers. In 1992 the Foundation moved into a new permanent building, Thailand's first comprehensive and resource center for a slum community.

Since education is the main effort of the DPF, the people are exposed to skills and knowledge which can aid them in a long-term period, enabling them to be independent in the future and cultivate a sense of confidence. In the process, the foundation instills a sense of community participation and ensures that communities like these are able to advance forward by helping not just oneself but one another. Pioneering projects by the DPF would encompass:

• Duang Prateep Kindergarten
• Community kindergartens
• Educational sponsorship
• Special education for the hearing-impaired
• Nithan Caravan puppet troupe
• Youth groups
• Tsunami relief program
• Senior Citizen's care
• HIV/Aids awareness program

Perhaps the matters on urban poverty might not be eradicated all at once and poverty in certain parts of the city will still remain, but the DPF has initiated a very valuable effort to the slum community. Alongside the main agenda of the Thai government, DPF as a whole does not only look after the well-being and state of the community but also changes the general public’s current mindset that the poor is the source of society’s ills. There is definitely a much larger picture to that but with DPF’s initiatives, it is believed that the income gaps in Thailand will be gradually bridged and the alleviation of poverty shall be increased in near future. 

Seow Choon Hui, 22, is a Bachelor's degree holder double majoring in psychology and communications. With the semester coming to an end, he is currently stuck between limbo of his last term and the taunting realm of being a fresh graduate.