Chaos. And that is exactly what we are witnessing in Thailand.

Last week's statement by Sonthi Boonyaratglin, chairman of the Council for National Security (CNS), highlighted his desire to take back the satellite concession from Shin Satellite and spurred a wave of patriotism among Thais still agitated by the takeover of parent company Shin Corp by Singapore's Temasek Holdings.

Sonthi made his case with the implicit note that a satellite is a military weapon that should remain in the hands of Thailand. His statement should have had nothing to do with the government until ICT Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom jumped in to dance to the CNS chairman's tune.

For days, Sitthichai said it was possible to revoke the concession, though he was unclear how. To date, we're not sure if Shin is a foreign company under Thai law. As such, the concession could be taken back only through purchase. Now the economy is not so healthy, the Finance Ministry is scratching its head about the revenue needed for huge investments in mega-projects.

Judging from Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula's reaction to reporters' questions over the past two days, it seems the satellite purchase may not be put on the "things-to-do-list" in 2007,

Sitthichai apparently came to a dead end. And the exit he rushed to is a plan to have the National Statistics Bureau conduct a popular survey on the issue. He mentioned that if the approval rate was less than 75 per cent, the state should not proceed with the concession buy-back.

Now the government is seeking public opinion on whether it should proceed with the plan.

This move may agitate the People's Alliance for Democracy, which failed to grab Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont's attention to their protest against the appointment of Somkid Jatusripitak, former economic chief in the Thaksin era.

Yesterday, they renewed their demands that the government listen to their demands.

They have a reason to be disappointed, as they considered themselves the frontrunners in ousting the Thaksin government which included Somkid. But it is unclear how Surayud will react.

Probably, more polls are needed before the government can make any decision, so as not to agitate any particular party.

This is the era where "harmony" is the most precious thing.

achara_d@nationgroup.com