With the last of the seven great monuments of famous kings raised on platforms at Ratchapakdi Park in Prachuap Khiri Khan, a celebration of the places where these towering figures in Thai history now stand is in order.
However, like most major state-sponsored projects, there is no escaping allegations of substandard inspection of the statues that have been cast, nor of a conflict of interest.
The army is building a large park named Ratchapakdi in Hua Hin to honour past Thai monarchs. It is located on 222 rai in an army compound near Klai Kangwon Palace.
The 700-million-baht park will also function as a venue for important ceremonies, a tourist attraction and an educational source on Thai history.
Erected in the compound are statues of seven former kings: King Ramkhamhaeng the Great, King Naresuan the Great, King Narai the Great, King Taksin the Great, King Buddha Yodfa Chulalok the Great, King Mongkut and King Chulalongkorn.
The park will also function as a venue for civic occasions. A 91-rai area is designated for important ceremonies, a museum and an exhibition centre under the statues which will highlight the lives, achievements and contributions of all the former monarchs.
The project was made possible with contributions from large conglomerates as well as public donations.
To cast each bronze statue as tall as a three-storey building, numerous experts were roped in. The Fine Arts Department started by sculpting small statues of the seven kings as prototypes of the bronze images. The creation of the prototypes and the casting process fell under the supervision of a joint panel of officials from the department and the military.
The panel inspected every crucial step of the work, right down to the piecing together of the statue parts at the park. The project was envisaged many years ago but failed to make any progress.
After the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) seized power from the Yingluck Shinawatra government, the project leaped off the drawing board with foundries in the provinces winning bids to construct the statues.
Now the statues have taken put in place, artists from six foundries in Nakhon Pathom, Lop Buri, Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani and Bangkok, where the statues were cast, will decorate the 13.9-metre-tall and six-metre-wide images. A source close to the project said some contractors faced allegations of not operating their own foundries or that some of the individuals who cast the statues were members of the quality inspection team.
The inspection standards are also being called into question as certain statues given a seal of approval appeared to be rushed jobs, according to the source.
One statue had to be sent back to the foundry for repair since there were several flaws that required fixing. The contractors have signed an agreement that they will provide a post-installation service in case the statues need repairs in the next five years.
A religious ceremony for the statues led by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will be held on Aug 19.
The statue of King Chulalongkorn, which came from a foundry in Bangkok, was the last to be erected in the new park.
Prayut policy draws flak
The special economic zones (SEZs), a brainchild of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, became a hot topic over the past week after the country’s economic czar, Deputy Prime Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula, said he disagreed with the idea.
Pridiyathorn: Chiang Khong will be spoiled
MR Pridiyathorn, better known by his nickname Mom Oui, wrote a letter to Niwat Roykaew, a school principal and local community leader in a village in Chiang Rai province, voicing his support for Mr Niwat’s critique of the SEZs that would transform the serene and unspoiled town of Chiang Khong into an industrial and commercial centre.
“I do not agree with the special economic zone policy, but it is a policy that the National Council for Peace and Order announced before this government was formed. After the government was set up, it had to be carried over,” he said in the letter to Mr Niwat shared on social media.
“Apparently, investors are not too keen on putting their money into such special economic zones, because it is not natural, especially in Chiang Khong. It should not be designated as an industrial zone because it has the potential to be developed as a hub for tourism and trade,” said MR Pridiyathorn.
Gen Prayut, chairman of the NCPO, has given the policy a strong push by offering generous incentives to investors in the hope it will enhance links between Thailand and other Asean countries and increase Thailand’s competitiveness.
This year the government has announced that SEZs will be established in 10 border provinces — Tak, Mukdahan, Sa Kaeo, Trat and Songkhla in the first phase, and Chiang Rai, Nongkhai, Nakohn Panom, Kanchanaburi and Narathiwat in the second.
However, with poorly defined strategies, SEZs are unlikely to increase Thailand’s competitiveness, even with generous incentives, private economists say.
“Ironically, the zones will not be able to solve the problem of managing migrant workers in Thailand as long as national migrant worker policies are unclear and law enforcement is weak,” Saowaruj Rattanakhamfu, a research fellow at the Thailand Development Research Institute, wrote in an article in the Bangkok Post on July 8.
Downplaying criticism of his pet initiative, the junta chief told the Bangkok Post the SEZ policy offers a lot of benefits to the country and the people.
“The SEZ policy troubles no one. We have designated proper zones, announced privileges for investors ... We promote local ventures. Those who already have businesses in the area and want to expand are eligible for privileges like those who will be investing in the SEZ,” Gen Prayut said, declining to respond to Mom Oui’s remarks.
Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwon, who chairs the NCPO’s strategy implementation panel, told the Bangkok Post that land speculation in those areas where SEZs are designated would be “normal”, and that the SEZ policy will accelerate overall development of border towns.
Trials and tribulation
It has been almost seven long years since ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his former wife Khunying Potjaman na Pombejra went their separate ways.
Potjaman: The woman behind the man
Thaksin married Khunying Potjaman in 1976 and they divorced at the Thai consulate in Hong Kong on Nov 14, 2008. The divorce took place less than a month after the Supreme Court sentenced Thaksin to two years in jail over the Ratchadiphisek land deal case.
The divorce was widely thought to be politically motivated to protect Khunying Potjaman from the legal fallout of any future trials against him.
However, as the years passed, what was believed to be a “political divorce” seemed to be a real one. Even Thaksin did not see it coming.
“I never thought she would do this to me. She has not shown up to see me for as long as seven years,” a source close to Thaksin quoted him as saying during a meeting with the former premier in Dubai where he has been living in self-imposed exile.
Much of Thaksin’s political success can be credited to Khunying Potjaman, also known as Khunying Or. Those who understand her role as Thaksin’s former wife are quick to leap to her defence.
“To be fair, you have to understand that under the current circumstances, Khunying Or does not feel any more comfortable living in Bangkok than you [Thaksin] do [abroad],” said another source close to Khunying Potjaman.
On Aug 24, 2011, the Appeal Court overturned a lower court ruling against Khunying Potjaman, clearing her of all charges relating to a tax evasion scandal.
Khunying Potjaman was found guilty on July 31, 2008 by the Criminal Court of conspiring to evade taxes worth 546 million baht in her transfer of shares worth 738 million baht to her stepbrother Bannapot Damapong.
The transfer of shares in Shinawatra Computer and Communications, now Shin Corp, took place on Nov 7, 1997. It was subject to an anti-graft investigation, but the probe never came to public attention until the now-defunct Assets Scrutiny Committee decided to pursue charges.
The Criminal Court handed down a three-year jail term to Khunying Potjaman and Mr Bannapot for conspiracy to evade taxes and giving false statements to authorities. Her close aide, Kanchanapa Honghern, was also found guilty and given a two-year prison term.
In its review, the Appeal Court said that there was no substantial evidence to prove that Khunying Potjaman and Ms Kanchanapa had assisted Mr Bannapot in evading taxes.
It acquitted Khunying Potjaman and her aide of the charges, citing the benefit of the doubt.
But, the Appeal Court upheld a guilty verdict against Mr Bannapot for tax evasion. It reduced the jail term from three years to two years and fined him 100,000 baht.
State prosecutors later decided not to appeal the case to the Supreme Court.
A source says Khuying Potjaman may have to worry about her ex-husband once again as Thaksin is among the defendants facing another court case involving 11.58 billion baht in loans from Krung Thai Bank (KTB).
The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions will deliver its ruling on the case on Aug 26.
The Office of the Attorney-General has filed malfeasance charges against Thaksin and 26 others.
They have been accused of violating Section 157 of the Criminal Code — which concerns dereliction of duty of state officials — as well as the Commercial Banks Act, the Securities and Exchange Act and the Public Companies Act.
The indictment alleges that KTB approved large loans to affiliates of Krisda Mahanakorn even though the property developer was at the time classified as a non-performing debtor of the bank.
Under the debt rehabilitation agreement, Krisda Mahanakorn was not eligible to receive any more loans.
The bank eventually approved loans to the firm’s affiliates, including 500 million baht to RK Professional and 9.9 billion baht to Golden Technology Industrial Park.
It also extended a 1.18-billion-baht loan to finance the sale of convertible preferred shares between Krisda Mahanakorn and Grand Computer Communication. All transactions took place while Thaksin was prime minister.
