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mous is really talking rubbish and ignoring facts. The Thai economy and stock market went up more than Thaksin’s family wealth (stocks) during his tenure. How does one explain that, if Thaksin is the only one benefitting?

mous, when did Snoh make this comment? Is it recorded? Corruption on the scale you indicate would surely have provoked widespread comment, certainly after the coup. Also it must surely have had a severe impact on the perceptions index, yet TPI indicates that perceived corruption declined significantly during Thaksin’s years and has taken off again since the coup.

To Sceptic and Neptunian – I suggest you go back to Bangkok Pundit’s “FORCES OF DARKNESS” article and comments/exchange.

http://bangkokpundit.blogspot.com/2006/10/forces-of-darkness.html

Very educational.

If 30% was the norm back during Thaksin’s regime, then what is the rate now for the current government? ;)

@mous:
Could you provide a link to Sanoh’s statement? His name has a plethora of different spellings so he’s very hard to google.
Also, it’s the first time I hear it was “common knowledge” that Thaksin and his wife charged 30% on government contracts. Do you have any evidence? After all, this would be welcome “news” for the present government, so I find it strange that we havent’ heard anything, not even on ASTV/Manager.

Where have u been all this time Sceptic?

But here are some references that could clear up the ignorance on your mind:

http://bangkokpundit.blogspot.com/2006/10/forces-of-darkness.html

http://www.politicalfriendster.com/showConnection.php?id1=3190&id2=3912

Or you could google “Snoh Thientong and Potjaman” and you’ll get more information you require.

It is base on Sondhi bias, similar that he may need something out from the government ..if not political benefits ..it is about “Sondhi Ego” Lots of his supporter had fade away from him.
Sondhi may need something to pull him up from his own crisis. And asking special grant from the government which is also against the law and order of the country..
The revenge we may say.

BP concedes that “corruption was more centralized under Thaksin because power was centralized under Thaksin.” That point was stressed by Snoh T.(deputy leader during Thaksin’s regime) revelation that the Thaksin-Potjaman duo was heading a mafia-like regime demanding 30% cut from businessmen for every juicy government project. Corruption this scale, being cirected and bleeded dry by the top man himself is unparalleled in scale and outrageous!

Sondhi is merely saying that he and his fellow PAD has manage to put in a place a more corrupt government.

Why? They didn’t share the pie with Sondhi?

mous – where did you get the 30% from? and how much are they charging now?

The Thai economy and the stock market going up is irrelevant to the scale of the Thaksin regime’s corruption. I never said Thaksin-Potjaman duo were the only beneficiary of their corruption, but if Neptunian suspects so . . .

Sondhi of course now does has some issues with the Democrats as he previously had with Taksin, but as I have previously blogged things seem back to normal again, in that the complete unrestrained and unapologetic corruption is back in full swing.

More fool the Thais that actually wanted to believe removing Taksin would cure generations of corruption, generations that came from… the Democrats. And more embarrassing at least to me, the foreigner fools knowing no history but seeing Abbhisit’s UK educated face and believing the same.

Because, everybody knows that HE is dangerous. HE talks too much. They tried to get rid of him once and now they are quite sure that they will try not to do that again.

Agreed with Sceptic and Neptunian. Thaksin was worth 20 billion before he became PM and made himself rich another 50 billions when he sold his stocks ro Temasek. imho, that was peanuts compared to Abhisit’s 800 billions bahts budget. How much percentages do you think Abhisit and his cronies are going to make? Does the 30% rate still apply?

The 30% Potjaman-Thaksin cut on every juicy government project was a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ minimum demand, and frequently, the cut could be prohibitively higher. And this was ‘common knowledge’ among the Thai business community at that time.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Corruption in Thailand is like a tree. If you lop off a single branch it will sprout many more. The only way to stop corruption, or at least tone it down, is to teach the roots that feed it that it is wrong and support that action with very strict and enforced laws and court rulings.

If you can teach children that recycling is the right thing to do, you can teach children that paying the traffic cop or land office or whatever is also wrong. You have to cut whole tree down and plant a new one.

This is unlikely to happen as there is no consorted effort to teach children right or wrong, no laws with any teeth, a judicial system the is often no better than those it has standing in the docket and too many getting rich from it.

And as for Sondhi, he probably has greased a few hands, not necessarily with cash. He is, in the end, a businessman who has managed to stay out of jail where you and I would be sitting in a cell.

Sondhi, having led the charge of the PAD/Yellow light brigade against the “corrupt” Thaksin, and having worked diligently to help install the present Thailand government in its seat of power, seems to take no responsibility whatsoever for the fact that it is he and his followers who have helped bring about this increased level of corruption.

……ah, Sondhi, the ex-Thaksin fan/follower who got angry when Thaksin refused to fund one of his boondoggles and turned against him, who has wallowed his whole life in bad debt and financial scams, what an inspiring and charismatic leader he’s turned out to be…………