Thailand, like Perak...the people chosen government is not in power because of 'party hoppers', etc

What is happening in Thailand is similar to what happened in Perak...

The people chose Pakatan Rakyat to govern them in Perak - but then we had some 'party hoppers' - and suddenly Perak is governed by government not of the people's choosing. Likewise, in Thailand the people chosen government was ousted....lastly, when there were 'party hoppers' that gave the majority to the Democrat Party, that had lost the 2007 elections. In essence, what happened in Thailand is similar with what happened in Perak but there was more 'drama' in Thailand..

In Thailand in the 2007 Thai General Elections that was held on 23 December, the People's Power Party (PPP) led by Samak Sundaravej emerged the victor. According to final results, the PPP won 233 seats, the Democrat Party 165 seats and Chart Thai 37 seats. For the Motherland got 24 seats, Ruam Jai Thai Chat Pattana 9, the Neutral Democratic Party 7 and Pracharat 5 seats.

In January 2008, a coalition government was announced bringing together the PPP and the five smallest parties. The Democrat Party became the sole opposition party.Samak Sundaravej became the Prime Minister.

Then it started, and the 'yellow shirts' (which are the rich, upper middle class and 'Bangkok' people, which seem to have the support of the royalty) started to do things with the intention of removing the duly elected PPP coalition government

Samak was finally removed in September after the Constitutional Court found him guilty of being hired and paid by a cooking TV program after he became the prime minister. 

PPP deputy leader Somchai Wongsawat, vice president of PPP and a brother-in-law of Thaksin, was elected by the members of parliament and became the new prime minister. 

This change prompted a further escalation of PAD [People's Alliance for Democracy] ('yellow shirt') protests. The protests led to violent clashes between the police, the PAD, and anti-PAD protesters on October 7 as the government aiming to disperse them from blocking the entrances of the House.

The PAD then step up their protests by seizing the government's temporary offices at Don Muang Airport, and the seizure and closure of Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Then in December the Constitutional Court dissolved the PPP and banned its executive board from political office after finding it guilty of election fraud. Prime minister Somchai automatically ended his rule.

Then, there was the 'party hopping' -  many PPP MPs  defected to the Democrat Party and supported Abhisit Vejjajiva as the new Prime Minister. After days of negotiation, Abhisit Vejjajiva, leader of the Democrat Party, was voted in eventually by the majority of the members of parliament as the new Prime Minister.

PPP members and its supporters, known as the  National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) [the 'red shirts'] then rejected the rise of Abhisit. The UDD is the group consisting of mainly social activists, scholars, and Thaksin supporters which opposes the 2006 coup deposing Thaksin Shinawatra. The 'red shirts' are mostly rural folk, the poor...unlike the 'yellow shirts' who were mainly upper class, and from Bangkok. The 'red shirts' believes that the coup that removed Thaksin, and that ousted the PPP coalition government was supported by powerful persons, the 'elites' or 'nobles'.

The UDD[the 'red shirts'] began their huge protest in April 2009 against the Abhisit government. The Government's House was under siege again and main roads, intersections and entrances to hospitals were blocked in downtown Bangkok.

In mid-March 2010, the 'red shirts' began their demonstrations in Bangkok. What they wanted was fresh elections. As of today (19/5/2010), when the government cracked down on the protesters, around 70 people have died and about 1,700 wounded.

 

It is sad that the Malaysian government, and/or the Pakatan Rakyat seems to be not bothered about what is happening in neighboring Thailand. They seem to be too pre-occupied in wresting total control from the BN government, or re-gaining control of State governments from the Pakatan Rakyat. This 'selfish' behaviour, for want of a better word,  is disturbing for are we not part of the ASEAN community...and the human family.