Bid to take attention off scandal: papers

Published on August 04, 2005 - The media yesterday reacted with disappointment to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s large-scale shake-up of the Cabinet on Tuesday.

Former transport minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit, who was appointed a deputy prime minister and industry minister, and former Air Force chief ACM Kongsak Wantana, who is to assume the seat of interior minister, dominated the front pages of yesterday’s local newspapers.

The Thai Post headline gave a very clear picture of the reshuffle: “Thaksin diverts public attention from the corruption scandal, promoting Suriya to double portfolios.”

Its editorial said the people had not gained anything from the reshuffle as Thaksin had allocated Cabinet seats to factions in the Thai Rak Thai party. Not only does Thaksin not care about the Thai people, who are the owners of Thailand, but he has also ignored the public’s need for quality people to work for them. The Cabinet reshuffle was made according to the financiers and factions in his party.

Promoting Suriya was an example of Thaksin’s leadership, as people expected him to use his absolute power after the election to eliminate corruption. But Suriya, a powerful party financier, survived despite his alleged involvement in a graft scandal over airport scanners, the paper said.

An editorial in Krungthep Turakij said Thaksin’s intention with his biggest ever reshuffle was to divert public attention from Suriya and the airport scandal. Thaksin wanted to save Suriya from being a target, but by changing only his post. Thaksin dares not kick Suriya out of the Cabinet or leave him only as deputy prime minister since Suriya is his party’s secretary-general.

Thai Rath’s headline labelled the reshuffle “Cabinet of Thaksin’s clans”, quoting an opposition member. It pointed to ACM Kongsak, Air Force chief turned interior minister, noting that he is the husband of Khunying Pojaman’s private secretary.

Its analysis said that though Thaksin had changed many positions, it was simply old wine in new bottles. Earlier he had repeatedly said he would appoint people with outstanding records, but the four new faces in the new cabinet are not really new or outstanding, especially, Kongsak, who has achieved nothing of note in his career but was appointed interior minister.

Matichon had a different point of view from the others, both in its headline and its analysis. It said the result of the reshuffle affected Suriya’s Wang Nam Yom faction. The movement of both Suriya and Somsak Thepsuthin, who was moved from the Tourism and Sports Ministry to the Labour Ministry, was the “extrajudicial killing” of their faction. Thaksin downgraded them in the same way he treated Snoh Thienthong, leader of Wang Nam Yen faction in the party.

From the international media’s point of view, the Financial Times said the Cabinet reshuffle was “an effort to buy time”. It said Thaksin wanted to bolster his popularity, eroded by corruption scandals and economic and social woes.

It noted that while many portfolios have changed hands, most of the key figures are old-time Thaksin loyalists long active in the administration, apparently reflecting the premier’s difficulty in recruiting capable fresh faces for bigger roles.

Jintana Panyaarvudh
The Nation