“UNDERSHAFT [with a touch of brutality] The government of your
country! _I_ am the government of your country: I, and Lazarus.
Do you suppose that you and half a dozen amateurs like you,
sitting in a row in that foolish gabble shop, can govern
Undershaft and Lazarus? No, my friend: you will do what pays US.
You will make war when it suits us, and keep peace when it
doesn’t. You will find out that trade requires certain measures
when we have decided on those measures. When I want anything to
keep my dividends up, you will discover that my want is a
national need. When other people want something to keep my
dividends down, you will call out the police and military. And in
return you shall have the support and applause of my newspapers,
and the delight of imagining that you are a great statesman.
Government of your country! Be off with you, my boy, and play
with your caucuses and leading articles and historic parties and
great leaders and burning questions and the rest of your toys.
_I_ am going back to my counting house to pay the piper and call
the tune.”
It is sad indeed, for both government and nation, that far too many Malays of power and influence (none would be preferable) have looked for the quick fix, the convenient scapegoat and the ready supply of foreign money to bolster an identity that is transparently fractured. In the days of Conrad, it was the ‘noble’ Arab trader from abroad, loaded with wisdom from the Holy Book and the Prophet and a voracious libido calmed by local women; today, it is pride in autographed photos with Leonardo Di Caprio, the “new” Bomoh of Malay Bollywood, lavish apartments from LA to Sydney, frequent trips to the land of the Prophet, not so much for purification with Zam-Zam water, as laundered money. I agree with Clive, but what has changed is that, while the old Daulat was (at worst) silly, boastful and mostly inconsequential, today, it is repugnant, totally unethical and a complete betrayal of even the slightest compact between Malaysians (not just Malays) and their leaders. At least circumambulating the Kaaba in Mecca has a religious purpose, Malay elites going round and round and round is merely a repulsive sight for very sore eyes.
On the ground developments in Thailand are now happening very rapidly, in the wake of Prayut’s referendum, which saw a massive “NO” vote from Isaarn – in reality : a vote to secede. The secessionist movement is NOW DEMANDING that Prayut IMMEDIATELY withdraw ALL THAI TROOPS OUT OF ISAARN. If Prayut does not – the secessionist movement has the option of forcing them out, by Pattani tactics and calling on the water-melon Isaarn soldiers, and their Lao PDR phi-nong to help. Paul Chambers has said – in the wake of the referendum – that next year, 2017, “may be the year of living dangerously in Thailand”. Chambers is wrong, by six months.
I wish this all made sense but I am amazed that Party does not serve to advance future careers as usual in Perda positions. The only government is not Jakarta anymore. Jokowi needs party officers that serve the needs of Perda Officers.
The Thais have spoken and whether or not they have exercised poor judgment by overwhelmingly voting YES, only time will tell. In the meantime, Thaksin should hunker for a long very long exile abroad, probably he’ll die in exile.
How does anyone, other than the military, actually know that the referendum was not fiddled? NO monitors allowed and No one overseeing the actual count.
People are just to trusting of the Thai military who have a great tradition of murders, corruption (allegedly) and cospiring to overthrow govts.
That’s the theory anyway. In reality Western journalists are now just state and corporate apparatchiks. To find any news outside the approved narrative requires a serious research project.
For example, in Paris it was agreed to prevent global warming reaching +1.5C by the end of the century but it has already reached +1.3C. Turn on the TV and all you get is Margaret’s new recipe for strawberry flan.
Heaven forbid that Myanmar’s nascent media will become like the zombie that is Western mainstream media. Aside from not reporting on the impending environmental apocalypse, the false narrative that is most obvious is the so-called Rohingya.
It serves Western interests to bring oil producing strategic Myanmar into the fold by including it in the Global War on Terror. Start a fire with terrorist groups organized and funded by Western intelligence using a Saudi Arabian proxy. Then appear as the indispensable fireman.
The other factor is that Bangladesh is underdeveloped and overpopulated. Millions of economic migrants attempt to cross into neighbouring countries every year. For this reason India is building a 3400km barrier fence along its border with Bangladesh. Myanmar has no such luxury so Northern Rakhine state is overflowing with illegal immigrants.
That’s all there is to it…there is no ‘Face of Buddhist Terror’. Everything else is just deceit and propaganda. Even a cursory examination of this fabricated narrative will reveal that it is coming apart at the seams. Europe is fracturing under the pressure of mass migration, and the ‘free world’ and the ‘free press’ are departing over the horizon.
So the best thing to do is to furiously downtick this comment and get back to your strawberry flan.
Thanks to those responding to my comments. 1) John Smith – “the notion that Isaan, Lanna or any other Tai speaking Buddhist region will secede from Thailand is simply not credible”
Why ? These have been independent kingdoms in the past. Certainly reading Martin Stuart-Fox’s books on Laos, one gains the impression Lao national identity – as distinct from “Thai” – extends strongly into Isaarn. This certainly fits with my own personal experience.
2) hilarious Michael Wilson – “the civil war that never comes”. They usually have a long gestation. As for bar stool experts, etc., I’ve been visiting and living in Thailand since 1963. But you are right about the difficulties of getting hard, irrefutable evidence, as is the much-to-be-admired 3) David Camroux, of whom I’m a fan. My reply : in the face of such immense difficulties, we have to apply that somewhat scarce commodity (as Handley notes) in Thai politics : i.e. strict logic to the sparse, censored evidence we DO HAVE. Is it LOGICAL that Isaarn has voted to effectively disenfranchise itself ? Isaarn has CLEARLY voted with its’ feet (high abenteeism), or outright rejection. Short of the highly unlikely event of Isaarn being directly asked whether it wants to stay within “Thailand” (or, rather Prayut’s version of it), this referendum can be both turned on its’ head, and over-turned : Lao Isaarn has voted for divorce.
There’s an important difference between Rini and the other entrenched interests, which is that Rini’s role for Jokowi is specifically as a fundraiser for 2019. This is important for Jokowi so that he can maintain some flexibility with respect to PDI-P, but given the role Rini’s brother and friends will play it makes it impossible for her to credibly govern the country’s state-owned assets.
The author’s pertinent remarks about Rini point to a question I have often thought about and would like to know the answer to, namely what did she get from the Chinese in return for the Jakarta-Bandung fast train project. She could not have come away from her visit to China personally empty-handed.
Granted that Anies Baswedan has little wealth or political weight, it is still unclear why he had to lose the education portfolio, unless Jokowi only wants loyal donors or toadies in all his cabinet posts. One is tempted to conclude that Jokowi, who did not himself benefit from a broad-based education, has no idea what education contributes to economic development.
Whatever rent-seeking opportunities he may find in his new coordinating ministry, it must have been extremely unpleasant for Luhut to be demoted and to see another TNI retiree not only senior to him in rank but also of a malodorous reputation take his former, more prestigious position. ‘Apparently surprised’ probably doesn’t fully capture Luhut’s reaction.
Hi Max, lots of interesting comments here. Thanks for the heads up on the Kadin debate, which I missed completely. That said, why would that be the debate in which JKW actually “reveals” himself. If anything, he’s been an incredible shapeshifter able to articulate common interests to different strategic alliances. Your remark that JKW’s hr policies were a figment of civil society’s imagination or a projection is not true, although certainly he manipulated them for the purposes of election. I don’t agree that he doesn’t have a position on development and it’s a matter for debate whether he’s interested in business for business’ sake (and which business, business for whom?) or in order to achieve certain social outcomes, but, really these debates point to a more interesting observation: which is the way JKW’s political interests, beyond consolidating and maintaining power, are so difficult to narrow down.
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How the press can power Myanmar’s democracy
“UNDERSHAFT [with a touch of brutality] The government of your
country! _I_ am the government of your country: I, and Lazarus.
Do you suppose that you and half a dozen amateurs like you,
sitting in a row in that foolish gabble shop, can govern
Undershaft and Lazarus? No, my friend: you will do what pays US.
You will make war when it suits us, and keep peace when it
doesn’t. You will find out that trade requires certain measures
when we have decided on those measures. When I want anything to
keep my dividends up, you will discover that my want is a
national need. When other people want something to keep my
dividends down, you will call out the police and military. And in
return you shall have the support and applause of my newspapers,
and the delight of imagining that you are a great statesman.
Government of your country! Be off with you, my boy, and play
with your caucuses and leading articles and historic parties and
great leaders and burning questions and the rest of your toys.
_I_ am going back to my counting house to pay the piper and call
the tune.”
“Major Barbara” Bernard shaw 1905
Cashing in
Will the next step be a party of his very own as predicted by Vedi Hadiz a few months ago?
‘Deep’ Malay cultural psychology
It is sad indeed, for both government and nation, that far too many Malays of power and influence (none would be preferable) have looked for the quick fix, the convenient scapegoat and the ready supply of foreign money to bolster an identity that is transparently fractured. In the days of Conrad, it was the ‘noble’ Arab trader from abroad, loaded with wisdom from the Holy Book and the Prophet and a voracious libido calmed by local women; today, it is pride in autographed photos with Leonardo Di Caprio, the “new” Bomoh of Malay Bollywood, lavish apartments from LA to Sydney, frequent trips to the land of the Prophet, not so much for purification with Zam-Zam water, as laundered money. I agree with Clive, but what has changed is that, while the old Daulat was (at worst) silly, boastful and mostly inconsequential, today, it is repugnant, totally unethical and a complete betrayal of even the slightest compact between Malaysians (not just Malays) and their leaders. At least circumambulating the Kaaba in Mecca has a religious purpose, Malay elites going round and round and round is merely a repulsive sight for very sore eyes.
A vicious cycle of coups and constitutions
Are you back to that silly ‘Isaarn-secede’ battle cry Chris Beale? What a bore you are getting to be Chris . . .
A vicious cycle of coups and constitutions
On the ground developments in Thailand are now happening very rapidly, in the wake of Prayut’s referendum, which saw a massive “NO” vote from Isaarn – in reality : a vote to secede. The secessionist movement is NOW DEMANDING that Prayut IMMEDIATELY withdraw ALL THAI TROOPS OUT OF ISAARN. If Prayut does not – the secessionist movement has the option of forcing them out, by Pattani tactics and calling on the water-melon Isaarn soldiers, and their Lao PDR phi-nong to help. Paul Chambers has said – in the wake of the referendum – that next year, 2017, “may be the year of living dangerously in Thailand”. Chambers is wrong, by six months.
Dim prospects for Thailand’s democracy
I remember in the 1980s or before there were so many military coups in Thailand.
Cashing in
I wish this all made sense but I am amazed that Party does not serve to advance future careers as usual in Perda positions. The only government is not Jakarta anymore. Jokowi needs party officers that serve the needs of Perda Officers.
Semoga berkembang dengan baik
How the press can power Myanmar’s democracy
“That’s the theory anyway. In reality Western journalists are now just state and corporate apparatchiks. “
Cashing in
Agreed. But where’s Jusuf Kalla, the one who was personally asked by Megawati to ‘monitor’ (control) Jokowi?
Dim prospects for Thailand’s democracy
Other highly important political players will be pronounced dead, before Thaksin, Vichai N.
Dim prospects for Thailand’s democracy
The Thais have spoken and whether or not they have exercised poor judgment by overwhelmingly voting YES, only time will tell. In the meantime, Thaksin should hunker for a long very long exile abroad, probably he’ll die in exile.
Thailand’s referendum roadblock
How does anyone, other than the military, actually know that the referendum was not fiddled? NO monitors allowed and No one overseeing the actual count.
People are just to trusting of the Thai military who have a great tradition of murders, corruption (allegedly) and cospiring to overthrow govts.
How the press can power Myanmar’s democracy
That’s the theory anyway. In reality Western journalists are now just state and corporate apparatchiks. To find any news outside the approved narrative requires a serious research project.
For example, in Paris it was agreed to prevent global warming reaching +1.5C by the end of the century but it has already reached +1.3C. Turn on the TV and all you get is Margaret’s new recipe for strawberry flan.
Heaven forbid that Myanmar’s nascent media will become like the zombie that is Western mainstream media. Aside from not reporting on the impending environmental apocalypse, the false narrative that is most obvious is the so-called Rohingya.
It serves Western interests to bring oil producing strategic Myanmar into the fold by including it in the Global War on Terror. Start a fire with terrorist groups organized and funded by Western intelligence using a Saudi Arabian proxy. Then appear as the indispensable fireman.
The other factor is that Bangladesh is underdeveloped and overpopulated. Millions of economic migrants attempt to cross into neighbouring countries every year. For this reason India is building a 3400km barrier fence along its border with Bangladesh. Myanmar has no such luxury so Northern Rakhine state is overflowing with illegal immigrants.
That’s all there is to it…there is no ‘Face of Buddhist Terror’. Everything else is just deceit and propaganda. Even a cursory examination of this fabricated narrative will reveal that it is coming apart at the seams. Europe is fracturing under the pressure of mass migration, and the ‘free world’ and the ‘free press’ are departing over the horizon.
So the best thing to do is to furiously downtick this comment and get back to your strawberry flan.
Thailand’s referendum roadblock
Thanks to those responding to my comments. 1) John Smith – “the notion that Isaan, Lanna or any other Tai speaking Buddhist region will secede from Thailand is simply not credible”
Why ? These have been independent kingdoms in the past. Certainly reading Martin Stuart-Fox’s books on Laos, one gains the impression Lao national identity – as distinct from “Thai” – extends strongly into Isaarn. This certainly fits with my own personal experience.
2) hilarious Michael Wilson – “the civil war that never comes”. They usually have a long gestation. As for bar stool experts, etc., I’ve been visiting and living in Thailand since 1963. But you are right about the difficulties of getting hard, irrefutable evidence, as is the much-to-be-admired 3) David Camroux, of whom I’m a fan. My reply : in the face of such immense difficulties, we have to apply that somewhat scarce commodity (as Handley notes) in Thai politics : i.e. strict logic to the sparse, censored evidence we DO HAVE. Is it LOGICAL that Isaarn has voted to effectively disenfranchise itself ? Isaarn has CLEARLY voted with its’ feet (high abenteeism), or outright rejection. Short of the highly unlikely event of Isaarn being directly asked whether it wants to stay within “Thailand” (or, rather Prayut’s version of it), this referendum can be both turned on its’ head, and over-turned : Lao Isaarn has voted for divorce.
Cashing in
There’s an important difference between Rini and the other entrenched interests, which is that Rini’s role for Jokowi is specifically as a fundraiser for 2019. This is important for Jokowi so that he can maintain some flexibility with respect to PDI-P, but given the role Rini’s brother and friends will play it makes it impossible for her to credibly govern the country’s state-owned assets.
Cashing in
An excellent piece as a follow-up to the one by Jacqui.
Regards,
Dharmawan Ronodipuro
[email protected]
[email protected]
Cashing in
The author’s pertinent remarks about Rini point to a question I have often thought about and would like to know the answer to, namely what did she get from the Chinese in return for the Jakarta-Bandung fast train project. She could not have come away from her visit to China personally empty-handed.
Granted that Anies Baswedan has little wealth or political weight, it is still unclear why he had to lose the education portfolio, unless Jokowi only wants loyal donors or toadies in all his cabinet posts. One is tempted to conclude that Jokowi, who did not himself benefit from a broad-based education, has no idea what education contributes to economic development.
Whatever rent-seeking opportunities he may find in his new coordinating ministry, it must have been extremely unpleasant for Luhut to be demoted and to see another TNI retiree not only senior to him in rank but also of a malodorous reputation take his former, more prestigious position. ‘Apparently surprised’ probably doesn’t fully capture Luhut’s reaction.
The middle class president
Hi Max, lots of interesting comments here. Thanks for the heads up on the Kadin debate, which I missed completely. That said, why would that be the debate in which JKW actually “reveals” himself. If anything, he’s been an incredible shapeshifter able to articulate common interests to different strategic alliances. Your remark that JKW’s hr policies were a figment of civil society’s imagination or a projection is not true, although certainly he manipulated them for the purposes of election. I don’t agree that he doesn’t have a position on development and it’s a matter for debate whether he’s interested in business for business’ sake (and which business, business for whom?) or in order to achieve certain social outcomes, but, really these debates point to a more interesting observation: which is the way JKW’s political interests, beyond consolidating and maintaining power, are so difficult to narrow down.
Cashing in
Great article Tom. Really enjoyed it!
Elections without democracy in Southeast Asia
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