The Bangkok Post
Tuesday June 24, 2008
Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama's favourite song:
There's a hero,
If you look inside your heart,
You don't be afraid of what you are.
(Hero by Mariah Carey.)
His opponents' favourite song:
Every breath you take,
Every move you make,
Every step you take,
I'll be watching you.
(Every Breath You Take by the Police.)
It makes sense why Mr Noppadon and his opponents are singing two different tunes. The minister is humming Mariah Carey's song by himself and wondering why nobody is joining him as a chorus.
Time and again the minister has told the public that he should get credit for the Preah Vihear issue.
Tuesday June 24, 2008
Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama's favourite song:
There's a hero,
If you look inside your heart,
You don't be afraid of what you are.
(Hero by Mariah Carey.)
His opponents' favourite song:
Every breath you take,
Every move you make,
Every step you take,
I'll be watching you.
(Every Breath You Take by the Police.)
It makes sense why Mr Noppadon and his opponents are singing two different tunes. The minister is humming Mariah Carey's song by himself and wondering why nobody is joining him as a chorus.
Time and again the minister has told the public that he should get credit for the Preah Vihear issue.
That's because he, and of course his working staff, have saved Thailand from losing border territory to Cambodia by successfully convincing Phnom Penh to write a new map on the exact boundary of the Hindu temple ruins by excluding the disputed area of 4.6 square kilometres between Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket and the Cambodian province of Preah Vihear.
The new map will be used as part of a proposal to talk the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation into announcing the temple as another World Heritage site.
He is right.
But instead, what he has received is criticism because people suspect a trade-off with Cambodia to benefit former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's future business in the neighbouring country.
The new map will be used as part of a proposal to talk the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation into announcing the temple as another World Heritage site.
He is right.
But instead, what he has received is criticism because people suspect a trade-off with Cambodia to benefit former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's future business in the neighbouring country.
People's Alliance for Democracy coordinator Suriyasai Katasila even claimed that the Preah Vihear issue had roused people he'd never known before into joining the PAD rally last Friday, because they were upset about the way the FM had handled this issue.
Mr Noppadon is qualified to sit at the top in the Foreign Ministry, given his educational background. What he is missing is credibility. Even PM Samak Sundaravej said on Sunday that people might not trust what his minister says.
His having worked as a mouthpiece for Mr Thaksin when the former telecoms tycoon was deposed by the armed forces in September 2006, has made people question everything he does now. The lawyer-turned-politician was picked specifically to run the ministry after the People Power party backed by Mr Thaksin came first in the general election last year. Soon after taking office, the minister scored badly by returning the red passport seized after the coup, to Mr Thaksin.
As a former government leader, Mr Thaksin is eligible to carry that prestigious travel document which gives him better access to other countries. But whether it was appropriate to give his former boss the passport while the latter was still fighting court cases against allegations of corruption, is still open to question.
Then came the controversy over the transfer of then director-general of the Treaties and Legal Affairs Department, Virachai Plasai, to sit by the window last month. The senior ministry official was responsible for translating the documents related to the CTX airport bomb scanner case for the Assets Scrutiny Committee (ASC).
Thus the transfer order by the minister could not be seen as anything but a move with political motives, although Mr Noppadon strongly denied the connection.
Those two issues were enough to underline suspicion among his opponents outside the ministry that Mr Noppadon was ordered to run the country's foreign affairs with particular mission in mind.
The punishment meted out to Mr Virachai has also isolated Mr Noppadon from many officials within the ministry. But they are keeping their unhappiness to themselves.
It's not difficult to imagine what the mood at the ministry is like when the politician and top civil servants look at things from different directions.
Though the minister has tried to redeem his image by embarking on overseas trips to promote the country, bringing along with him TV crews, he is struggling to overcome suspicions from those closely watching him from the outside.
Thus, when it comes down to crucial issues, like the Preah Vihear temple, nobody trusts what he says. Something from his past continues to haunt him.
Saritdet Marukatat is News Editor, Bangkok Post.
Mr Noppadon is qualified to sit at the top in the Foreign Ministry, given his educational background. What he is missing is credibility. Even PM Samak Sundaravej said on Sunday that people might not trust what his minister says.
His having worked as a mouthpiece for Mr Thaksin when the former telecoms tycoon was deposed by the armed forces in September 2006, has made people question everything he does now. The lawyer-turned-politician was picked specifically to run the ministry after the People Power party backed by Mr Thaksin came first in the general election last year. Soon after taking office, the minister scored badly by returning the red passport seized after the coup, to Mr Thaksin.
As a former government leader, Mr Thaksin is eligible to carry that prestigious travel document which gives him better access to other countries. But whether it was appropriate to give his former boss the passport while the latter was still fighting court cases against allegations of corruption, is still open to question.
Then came the controversy over the transfer of then director-general of the Treaties and Legal Affairs Department, Virachai Plasai, to sit by the window last month. The senior ministry official was responsible for translating the documents related to the CTX airport bomb scanner case for the Assets Scrutiny Committee (ASC).
Thus the transfer order by the minister could not be seen as anything but a move with political motives, although Mr Noppadon strongly denied the connection.
Those two issues were enough to underline suspicion among his opponents outside the ministry that Mr Noppadon was ordered to run the country's foreign affairs with particular mission in mind.
The punishment meted out to Mr Virachai has also isolated Mr Noppadon from many officials within the ministry. But they are keeping their unhappiness to themselves.
It's not difficult to imagine what the mood at the ministry is like when the politician and top civil servants look at things from different directions.
Though the minister has tried to redeem his image by embarking on overseas trips to promote the country, bringing along with him TV crews, he is struggling to overcome suspicions from those closely watching him from the outside.
Thus, when it comes down to crucial issues, like the Preah Vihear temple, nobody trusts what he says. Something from his past continues to haunt him.
Saritdet Marukatat is News Editor, Bangkok Post.
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