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TIENTIP SUBHANIJ
Last week I had to leave the office early because the anti-government street protest was marching toward Government House. It wasn't the first time that politics had affected me. In fact, I've been affected for the past several weeks due to traffic congestion, not to mention being mentally drawn down by recent political conflict.
I notice that our politics seem to be about defending past actions and criticising each other. Our politics are hardly about promoting what we want. They tend to focus on what went wrong instead of what went right and this somehow releases negative energy into many aspects of our society.
I would like to think that I am a positive person. Still, it is hard to maintain a positive thought, especially when there hasn't been much good news for the past few years.
Since the coup on Sept 19, 2006, there hasn't been a single day without political tension in Thailand. We all recall that after the coup the caretaker government was an economic failure. After Dec 23, 2007, when we managed to hold the general election, criticism and dissatisfaction continued.
The People Power Party (PPP) has since been under a lot of pressure. One thing led to another, starting from the red cards over election fraud by its MPs including Yongyuth Tiyapairat. Then came the constitutional amendment bid aimed at helping the 111 banned Thai Rak Thai executives and deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. And finally, the lese majeste charge against Jakrapob Penkair and the recent accusation of Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama on the Preah Vihear issue.
There has also been the PM's frequent use of provocative language and his many flip-flop statements have exacerbated the situation.
Meanwhile, conflicts and non-co-operation among several core ministers have led to a failure in managing the economy.
It was the constitutional amendment bid that provoked the street demonstration by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) last month. Although the amendment issue has subsided, the street protest continues, and the PAD has now changed its focus to removing the government. It is difficult to predict what the PAD will do next.
It no longer plays by the rules, and its protest seems no longer reasonable. In fact, the PAD campaign does not seem to truly reflect democracy.
The current political conflict is deeply rooted in our society, and it looks like we are stuck in a stalemate again. Perhaps positive thinking might be helpful in getting us through the difficult time more happily.
Being an optimist, however, is easier said than done. Based on a recent Abac survey of nearly 3,000 people on how politics is affecting their day-to-day lives, 78% are bored with politics, 25% are depressed, 20% constrained, 17.8% stressed, and 8.7% annoyed. For the censure debate, almost 50% say it is too early to have the debate. For outlook, almost 40% expect the anti-government demonstrations to have an adverse impact on Thailand.
To remain positive, I resort to reading books on positive thinking and find that it is much more comforting when we try looking at things in a positive way. Theory of positive thinking pioneered by Norman Vincent Peale, the author of the widely read book The Power of Positive Thinking, suggests that there can be no positive thinking without the avoidance of negative thinking. Thinking negatively causes negative things to happen. Positive thinking is a discipline that trains people's mind to change a perceived reality by repeatedly making positive mental statements.
We may start by positively reminding ourselves that Thailand has been through many crises in the past, and we survived. So we should positively expect that things will work out this time.
We should be optimistic that although street protest continues, political conflict has moved focus from the street to the parliament, with general debate by the Senate and the no-confidence debate by the Democrat Party.
Although Government House may look a bit odd with the siege, we should be happy enough that there is no violence.
So far, the protesters have not attempted to stop cabinet meetings or block ministers and civil servants from their offices. Police have shown a lot of patience have used no force against the PAD.
Finally, being as positive as we are, we should not forget to remind ourselves what we really want. The PAD should state their objectives and consider a middle path by allowing more time for the democratically-elected government to prove its in meeting voters' expectations.
The government should also make efficient use of its time in office, especially on what it can do to solve economic problems, and not on constitutional amendments.
Dr Tientip Subhanij holds a PhD in economics from the University of Cambridge, and currently has a career in banking as well as academia. She can be reached at tien201@yahoo.com
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