The military dictatorship is not just seeking to rig its “election” but also Thailand’s political future. One major element of this latter rigging is the illegitimate constitution and associated laws and agencies. Another element is the so-called strategic plan that is a political straightjacket for any future government for two decades.
The junta-appointed assembly has recently resolved to establish a “committee to vet the junta’s proposed 20-year strategic plans.” Exactly what this might mean when the National Legislative Assembly is a puppet that always – always – supports the dictatorship is anyone’s guess. Our guess is that it is about providing the junta’s political straightjacket with fake legitimacy.
The NLA now has a “38-member committee to look into the details of the plans…”.
For the junta, as its legal remora Wissanu Krea-ngam told the assembled marionettes that:
having binding 20-year plans is appropriate for Thai society, as a new generation of Thai children will be born and grow up nurtured under future government policies that reflect the present junta’s plans.
He believes that is a good and noble idea, reflecting the warped political “vision” that emerges in those associated with dictatorships.
Wissanu added that “various national strategic plans … [have] room for adjustment … every five years.” By this he means that a junta-appointed “national strategic planning committee can inform the parliament and adjust the plan accordingly.”
In other words, future governments will remain under the control of a junta plan and a junta committee. Wissanu proudly declared that “the bill … would ensure that future governments cannot endorse policies that contravene the plans.”
The “national plans cover six areas devised by committees entirely appointed by the junta: national security [no fiddling with the military]; national competitiveness; human resources development; social equality; the environment and quality of life.” Most of those things might sound reasonable but all are defined by unelected puppet committees writing junta-defined and approved “plans” that seek to:
… turn Thailand into a develop country within 20 years; stress peace and order at all levels of society; reinforce loyalty to the nation, state and the monarchy; and change Thai attitudes to be more disciplined, ethical and honest.
The proposals intend, as one marionette explained it, to make “Thais … able and good…”. This stresses the anti-democratic notion of moral persons.
According to another report, the puppet NLA is going through the motions for the media and to suggest “legitimacy” but, in reality:
[u]nder law, the chamber has 30 days to decide on the plan after receiving it from the Cabinet. Unlike normal legislation that requires three readings during which the NLA could make changes, the Assembly cannot alter the strategy and can only either approve or drop it.
It is an sham assembly, providing sham legitimacy for a junta that is rigging Thailand’s political future.
Political Prisoners in Thailand 