Hundreds of state and administrative officials from across the country were in Bangkok this week to hear Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha outline the government’s “Thai Niyom” scheme for moving the country forward. It is, in essence, an attempt to buy loyalty, a populist notion of the kind favoured by the very regime the generals ousted with the 2014 coup. It will do nothing to improve livelihoods or productivity. Rather than winning hearts and minds and improving livelihoods, its aim appears to be justifying the junta’s continuance in power. It is, sadly, no better than the corrupt and self-serving regime it drove from power nearly four years ago.

Source: The Nation Bangkok February 13, 2018 16:41 UTC