It is a tragedy that the Democrats Party (of Thailand) is pushing the country back to the dark ages where freedom of expression is prohibited, and tries to bring back draconian laws.
The summary of the news in a local daily Matichon said that on 1 October 2008, Mr. Peerapan Saleerattawipak, a Democrat party MP based in Bangkok and the President of the sub-committee prohibiting lese majeste (insulting the monarchy), is proposing a draft law amending the Computer Crime Act (2007) as the law is not very clear.
However, what he added was that those who have committed the lese majeste “crime”, the penalty of 13-15 years imprisonment according to the Criminal law is not enough. In the past, lese majeste law could not be enforced.
In this new draft, the officials of the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology can file complaint directly without the approval from the Minister. If the officials do not do so, they could be charged for misconduct.
The people who hears of the violation can also file the complaint to the police as well. The sub-committee also proposed to increase the penalty to 3-20 imprisonment and fine of 300,000-800,000 baht (US$9000-24200).
This will be proposed to the Parliamentary committee on 2 October and the Parliament later on.
Lese majeste has been used to attack political enemies by different groups including governments and opposition parties.
Recently, it has been used to attack human rights defenders who are critical of the government or of political groups.
And it appears that this Democrat MP wants to bring the repression to another level, which is on the internet.
Earlier, the assistant Secretary General of the party proposed to the Ministry of ICT to shut down 29 websites, 2 of them are independent and non-partisan online news website, Fah Diew Gan and Prachatai.
There you are my people, Amazing Thailand for you.
ENTER THE FREE SPEECH ZONE 3 HERE
*SUSAN LOONE's Blog* 
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mulut tempayan itu boleh tutup punyaa..!mulut itu orang mana boleh tutup ma..!no matter what the truth will prevail.
I think malyasia too is no better
I do not quite follow the politics in Thailand but it’s just as good as Malaysia. The now PM, is a crony of Thaksin who amassed billions of sweet heart-deals. Thakin is a con-man. In fact he played the game so well making billions and give a smidgen to the poor. That’s why he was so revered by the lower class.
The lese majeste “crime”, the penalty of 13-15 years imprisonment is just crazy.
To tell you the truth,I never liked Thailand.The only thing it is famous for is, its brothels and prostitution. It’s a land of wickedness in this region.If we follow standards of olden times,’fire and brimstone’ would have come down from heaven and destroyed it but now the morality standard of the entire world is so low that even people from neighboring countries and the entire world come there looking for this legalised but abominable ‘fun’. There is a deception today that all that is legalised by the government is approved by God. But,when the day of reckoning comes, they will know that they had believed in a lie all this while. For God has no part with sin.
If ever the authorities should punish, they should punish themselves for bringing shame and embarrassment to this region.We say God is in this land,I don’t think so.God has no part in their evil. This is totally the evil ways of corrupt men in power. Child prostitution is deplorable and cruel.They would blame poverty to justify their evil acts. Who is responsible for bringing that poverty.Yes, the government that rules each country. It has to do with their corrupt leaders.I am hoping for God’s justice to come soon on that land too.
It will surely come if they don’t repent as a nation now.
Wow, “fire and brimstone”, “hoping for God’s justice to come soon on that land”. Such “strong” words.
Funny how some people think that they are of a higher moral and spiritual standard than the Thais, when he/she is calling for “death” to befall an entire nation because of the supposed wrong doings of its leaders.
“…..For God has no part with sin…..”
Yes indeed God has no part in sin. We do.
Child prostitution and any prostitution are exploitation of less fortunate people.
But we can’t blame just the entire Thai nation.
The rest of the world cannot look down on the Thais. if we do, we are looking down on ourselves.
For the Thais are what they are (as per your description) because the rest of the world are what they are (just looking and waiting or even participating).
so if there is ’fire and brimstone’ , it will rain on us as it rains on the Thais at the same time.
Note that word ‘repent’. True repentance from one’s heart, not turning to it ever again, will turn a merciful God’s wrath away from any nation or individual.History has proven this point.
I have this book- “The Patpong Sister” -about sex-life in Thailand, mostly focusing on Bangkok and Patpong written by a Jewish American lass, Cleo Odzer. Very good guidance for those who like red-light district, other sex itinerary and tips on cheap sex.
For me, having visited Bangkok years back, I just reveled watching Tiger-Shows but never indulged in sex. Oh yes, my gf was with me at that time.
Sorry to digress Susan. 🙂
Susan,
Your article serves bn interests very well. Did azalina ask you to do it ???
Culture of fear (17:35:25), wickedness was never defined by sexual promiscuity alone and definitely not confined to that. There’re so much that is wickedness in Malusia itself like with the inhumanity of detention camps and ISA arrests. Not forgetting the severe penalising of those intrepid ones who drew attention to the same. Remember Irene Fernandez?
The exploitation of human beings is wickedness and there are more iniquities than just sexuality involved. The refusal to accept its existence so as to pretend otherwise, affirms the wanton cruelty of any governance sold on image vanity and political persecution against whistle blowers. Where’s justice and the caring-ness that Dr Ng Yen Yen babbles invertedly about?
As for sexuality, we have, eg., bohsia and things like imported prostitutions as well, things which are little focused on by the self agended MSM. Pockets of such and drug abuse are little made known to the wider public this way but known to those on the ground who happened to come across ’em by chance. Here, we beat drums about apparent prudishness and become hypocrites for appearance sake.
Therefore it’s very narrow minded to assert with that archaic prudishness wrt to prostitution. It simply becomes inane. Even the said Biblical Sodom and Gomorrah was not really destroyed because of perverted sexuality alone but because of a far wider range of unspeakable iniquities which are lesser known. This is self-evident to the well read/studied.
WitsO,
What stirred me to say those words above was the blame the Thai government was shiffting on the ICT world instead of themselves for the deplorable state Thailand is in.
Many commentors above agreed unanimously, when an outsider thinks of Thailand,he will ony recall this unhealthy attraction, like Cleo Odzer said,Qoute: Hunk 20:37:30. Is this recognition healthy for a nation? No. Foreigners don’t blame the ICT but the moral decay of Thai society.
You asked what about Malaysia? What do foreigners remember Malaysia for?
Never really thought about it yet, we must ask them.
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First ,to begin with, Malaysia is just as bad if not worse.
Malaysia only hope now is a the next GE when the present government can be replaced with someone sincere at heart and does not bluff (hard to expect that from a politician to have). Anyway not with someone like AI who is a big bluff ! So let him and all his bluffs be examples of the kind of man Malaysians do not need.
He has not renounced (despite umpteen calls) his call for all the Chinese to go back to China (just like the Mamak Ahmad did) when he was the DPM and above all he had never done anything tangible for the non Bumis as DPM when he had every chance to do so, as his then fellow Minister came out to claim so, in recent time, to say so what a racist he was. History will show not only he did not do anything for the non Bumis but he was right behind UMNO in the making of anti non Bumi policy. His has ever come out to explain why reflecting his true colour.
He knows to win the support of the non Bumis he can only claim he will be colour blind if and when he becomes the P.M. that is only his claim to win the support of the non Bumi for now.
He knows this is music to the non Bumi ears after sooooo many years of BN or shall I say UM(mamak)NO rule.
Along I said AI, the con artist, has only tried to mislead the people with false promises and false hopes. First it was 16/9 (it is now 2/10) When he could not deliver, he then came up with the list, as his next excuse, which he claimed to have, he has never not got the list and will never will have.
If there were 31 M.P.s supporting him why did the need to send 4 ‘dogs’ to Taiwan (for a holiday)to try and persuade the 31 M.Ps. again and why did he has to wait so long to reveal it ? And to justify his claim he came up with the excuses of calling for a parliament meeting which he knew very well all along that will it never happen but to give the excuse he has the support.
The P.M. announced there never was a letter sent to him by DI, anyway it never was the kind of letter he claimed to have sent. As a member of parliament himself he knows very well the parliament is at present in recess and that the P.M. in his sound mind ,will never agree to his request and again using that to be his excuse. Nevertheless he still asked, at his supporters expense, and has nothing to loose he thinks. It only shows what a bluff he is.
He was and still is playing with the peoples’ hope of a chance to have a new government what a bluff.
Then his next excuse was to claim he had sent a sent a letter to the King for a meeting to appoint him as the next P.M. Records will show there never was such a letter and the letter is nothing but again only his illusion !
When will the people wake up ? All AI wants is to be invited back to lead the corrupted UMNO (and becomes the next P.M.) then it will be too late for the hopefuls to realise what a person he is and live to regret.
When you start to compare notes
You’ll soon know how you’ll vote
Since you don’t ever study by rote
You’ll know what to finally dote
(C) Samuel Goh Kim Eng – 031008
http://MotivationInMotion.blogspot.com
Fri. 3rd Oct. 2008.