Career bureaucrats and police in Thailand a law unto themselves?
By Jon Fernquest
Is "educational
reform"
in Thailand really only a career
advancement opportunity for career
bureaucrats ?
(Read article in today's Bangkok Post). Has the Bangkok International Film Festival provided an opportunity for corruption by Tourist Authority of Thailand (TAT) officials? (Read article today).
Do police reshuffles allow police officers who have paid kickbacks to "secure lucrative positions" ? (Read article).
How would high-ranking police officers get the money to pay these kickbacks? Extortion? Pay the bribe or go to jail? This is what seems to have happened in the recent unseemly Suvarnabhumi Airport extortion case that made international headlines (Read BBC article).
The 2007 constitution even has an article that protects non-elected permanent civil servants in government ministries from being controlled by elected government officials. Even if the public wanted the MPs they elected to fight corruption in government ministries, it would be difficult for them to do this, it seems.
Today's article is an editorial in the Thai language newspaper Thai Rath translated into English in the Bangkok Post's regular IN PRINT feature.
(Photo on right above is of elected Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban in front with police chief Police General Patcharawat Wongsuwan behind)
Today's article starts after the vocabulary:
bureaucrats -
government officials
career bureaucrats - government officials who spend their whole lives and career working in a government department
a law unto themselves - they make the rules that they follow (or not, as they please)
reform - improvement
educational reform - improvement in education
career advancement opportunity - a situation or event that allows a person to get a better job or position
Bangkok International Film Festival - a famous film festival in Bangkok with films from around the world that has been held since 2003 (See Wikipedia)
Tourist Authority of Thailand (TAT) - the Thai government agency that promotes tourism in Thailand (See Wikipedia)
police reshuffle - the regular giving of promotions and transfers to police officers
promotion - giving an employee a higher position or job than they already have
transfer - moving an employee to a different part of the organisation to work
kickbacks - money paid illegally to a person who has helped you
lucrative - profitable, can get you a lot of money
lucrative positions - jobs that can get you a lot of money
secure lucrative positions - get profitable jobs
rank - the position or level that an employee has in an organisation
high-ranking police officers - police who have a very high level position
extortion (noun) - illegally getting money from people by threatening them
allegedly - claimed but not proven
unseemly - improper, not suitable
civil servants - permanent government officials, employees of the government for their whole career
Thai Rath ไทยรัฐ - the most widely read Thai language newspaper in Thailand (See Wikipedia)
career bureaucrats - government officials who spend their whole lives and career working in a government department
a law unto themselves - they make the rules that they follow (or not, as they please)
reform - improvement
educational reform - improvement in education
career advancement opportunity - a situation or event that allows a person to get a better job or position
Bangkok International Film Festival - a famous film festival in Bangkok with films from around the world that has been held since 2003 (See Wikipedia)
Tourist Authority of Thailand (TAT) - the Thai government agency that promotes tourism in Thailand (See Wikipedia)
police reshuffle - the regular giving of promotions and transfers to police officers
promotion - giving an employee a higher position or job than they already have
transfer - moving an employee to a different part of the organisation to work
kickbacks - money paid illegally to a person who has helped you
lucrative - profitable, can get you a lot of money
lucrative positions - jobs that can get you a lot of money
secure lucrative positions - get profitable jobs
rank - the position or level that an employee has in an organisation
high-ranking police officers - police who have a very high level position
extortion (noun) - illegally getting money from people by threatening them
allegedly - claimed but not proven
unseemly - improper, not suitable
civil servants - permanent government officials, employees of the government for their whole career
Thai Rath ไทยรัฐ - the most widely read Thai language newspaper in Thailand (See Wikipedia)
Can Abhisit intervene in police reshuffle?
How much politicians can intervene in the appointment and administration of career bureaucrats is in the news again after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was seen to push hard for the temporary removal of the police chief in order to speed up the investigation into the assassination attempt on PAD leader Sondhi Limthongkul, noted a Thai Rath editorial.The action of Mr Abhisit in forcing police chief Patcharawat Wongsuwon to take personal leave from work to expedite the investigation of the attack on Mr Sondhi did not go down well with certain people, including appointed senator Ruengkrai Leekitwattana who submitted a letter to the Election Commission chairman to ask the Constitution Court to rule whether Mr Abhisit had broken the law by interfering in the work of career bureaucrats and should be stripped of his position.
The Puea Thai Party spokesman also threatened to gather signatures from MPs seeking to impeach the prime minister.
The issue came about because of the constitution's Article 266 forbidding MPs and senators, including the prime minister and ministers, from interfering in the work and appointments of career bureaucrats except when the prime minister and ministers are carrying out their duty or to implement a stated policy or to enforce the law.
The issue then is an interpretation of whether Mr Abhisit interfered with the working of the police or if he was trying to speed up the case legitimately, acting as the head of government as entrusted by the law.
The Thai Rath editorial argued that the prime minister is the ex-officio chairman of the Police Commission, which is the ultimate authority in administering the police force so that it conforms with the government's stated policies in parliament. So it is reasonable to say Mr Abhisit is acting within the scope of the law in interfering with the police appointment if he thinks that, in doing so, he will make law enforcement effective.
When there is evidence that the main stumbling block in the police investigation of the Sondhi case is the police chief himself, it is within Mr Abhisit's authority as the Police Commission chairman to ask the police chief to take temporary leave.
The Thai Rath editorial also argued that Mr Abhisit could freeze the police reshuffle list proposed by the police chief as there are rumours of kickbacks being paid to secure lucrative positions.
The prime minister, as head of the government, can do this as he must bear ultimate responsibility in answering to parliament and the people, concluded Thai Rath.
(Source: Bangkok Post, Economic recovery hinges on political stability, KAMOL HENGKIETISAK, 8/08/2009, link)
Vocabulary:
intervene - get involved in a
situation (that you are not normally involved in)
intervene in police reshuffle - get involved with the police promotions and transfers (when normally you are not involved)
appointment - choosing a person for a job
administration - activities in planning, organising, and running an organisation
push hard for - try hard to get
editorial - an article in a newspaper or magazine that gives an opinion
leave - a period of time when you are not working at your job, doing something else (for example, "medical leave" to receive medical treatment)
personal leave, take personal leave from work - taking time off of work for personal reasons
take temporary leave - stop working for a period of time, to do something else
expedite X - make X go faster
expedite the investigation - make the investigation go faster
X did not go down well with Y - Y did not like X
interfering in - getting involved in a situation: 1. that does not involve you, 2. that you are not wanted in
impeach - remove a government official from office
Article 266 of the constitution - the article in the constitution that forbids "MPs and senators, including the prime minister and ministers, from interfering in the work and appointments of career bureaucrats except when the prime minister and ministers are carrying out their duty or to implement a stated policy or to enforce the law."
2007 Constitution of Thailand - the Thai constitution that came into being after the 2006 coup (See Wikipedia)
carrying out their duty - doing the work they have been assigned
implement - do or carry out a plan, make it reality
an interpretation of Y - an opinion or view about what Y means
interfered with the working of the police -
speed up the case legitimately, acting as the head of government as entrusted by the law.
ex-officio chairman -
the ultimate authority -
conforms with - follows the rules and model of
stated policies - that policies that a politician or political party has said they will follow
reasonable - fair, logical, makes sense
effective - works well, gets the job done
make X effective - make X work well, make X get the job done
make law enforcement effective - do things to make laws actually work, punish people who violate laws
the main stumbling block - the main thing that is preventing achievement of goals
authority - official power to order people to do things, to make decisions
within Mr Abhisit's authority - Prime Minister Abhisit has the power to do these things (make orders, make decisions)
freeze the police reshuffle list - stop the police reshuffle list from being used
proposed by the police chief - suggested or put forward as an idea by the police chief
rumours - informal information or news that passes between people, may or may not be true
kickbacks - money paid illegally to a person who has helped you
lucrative - profitable, can get you a lot of money
lucrative positions - jobs that can get you a lot of money
secure lucrative positions - get profitable jobs
rumours of kickbacks being paid to secure lucrative positions - people are claiming that bribes are being paid to get good jobs (but this has not been claim has not been proven or confirmed as news yet)
responsibility - 1. being blamed for something that goes wrong, 2. having to take care of some task as part of your job
hold X responsible for Y - decide that X's actions caused bad event Y
X bears responsibility for Y - X's actions caused bad event Y
X bears ultimate responsibility for Y - X's actions caused bad event Y
ultimate - in the end, finally
intervene in police reshuffle - get involved with the police promotions and transfers (when normally you are not involved)
appointment - choosing a person for a job
administration - activities in planning, organising, and running an organisation
push hard for - try hard to get
editorial - an article in a newspaper or magazine that gives an opinion
leave - a period of time when you are not working at your job, doing something else (for example, "medical leave" to receive medical treatment)
personal leave, take personal leave from work - taking time off of work for personal reasons
take temporary leave - stop working for a period of time, to do something else
expedite X - make X go faster
expedite the investigation - make the investigation go faster
X did not go down well with Y - Y did not like X
interfering in - getting involved in a situation: 1. that does not involve you, 2. that you are not wanted in
impeach - remove a government official from office
Article 266 of the constitution - the article in the constitution that forbids "MPs and senators, including the prime minister and ministers, from interfering in the work and appointments of career bureaucrats except when the prime minister and ministers are carrying out their duty or to implement a stated policy or to enforce the law."
2007 Constitution of Thailand - the Thai constitution that came into being after the 2006 coup (See Wikipedia)
carrying out their duty - doing the work they have been assigned
implement - do or carry out a plan, make it reality
an interpretation of Y - an opinion or view about what Y means
interfered with the working of the police -
speed up the case legitimately, acting as the head of government as entrusted by the law.
ex-officio chairman -
the ultimate authority -
conforms with - follows the rules and model of
stated policies - that policies that a politician or political party has said they will follow
reasonable - fair, logical, makes sense
effective - works well, gets the job done
make X effective - make X work well, make X get the job done
make law enforcement effective - do things to make laws actually work, punish people who violate laws
the main stumbling block - the main thing that is preventing achievement of goals
authority - official power to order people to do things, to make decisions
within Mr Abhisit's authority - Prime Minister Abhisit has the power to do these things (make orders, make decisions)
freeze the police reshuffle list - stop the police reshuffle list from being used
proposed by the police chief - suggested or put forward as an idea by the police chief
rumours - informal information or news that passes between people, may or may not be true
kickbacks - money paid illegally to a person who has helped you
lucrative - profitable, can get you a lot of money
lucrative positions - jobs that can get you a lot of money
secure lucrative positions - get profitable jobs
rumours of kickbacks being paid to secure lucrative positions - people are claiming that bribes are being paid to get good jobs (but this has not been claim has not been proven or confirmed as news yet)
responsibility - 1. being blamed for something that goes wrong, 2. having to take care of some task as part of your job
hold X responsible for Y - decide that X's actions caused bad event Y
X bears responsibility for Y - X's actions caused bad event Y
X bears ultimate responsibility for Y - X's actions caused bad event Y
ultimate - in the end, finally
