Gen Prem: don’t respect the rich who cheat

By ThaiDay

29 July 2006

Privy Council President Gen Prem Tinsulanonda, pictured, yesterday called on the public not to respect people who have become rich by cheating.

The pointed message was the highlight of a keynote address the respected elder statesman gave before a gathering of Royal Thai Navy (RTN) cadets and past and present senior RTN officers. The title of the address was: “Enhancing Leadership through Virtue, Sufficiency and Sacrifice.”

“It should be noted that our culture is an old culture, but there is something wrong [with it],” Gen Prem said. “Normally, rich people are respected, but whereas it’s okay to respect those who have grown rich through legitimate means, we should not wai [respect] those who have acquired wealth through cheating and corruption.”

Although Gen Prem did not name names, his remark struck a familiar cord and rekindled the all-too-familiar public resentment against the tax-free, 73-billion-baht Shin Corp share sale by the family of caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra earlier this year.

In no uncertain terms, the retired army general added: “Those who have grown rich by cheating do not deserve any praise. On the contrary, poor but virtuous people – be they samlor drivers or taxi drivers – deserve more praise.”

Gen Prem also reiterated another famous remark he made while addressing cadets at the Chulachomklao Military Academy earlier this month that likened soldiers to horses belonging to His Majesty the King and governments that come and go to jockeys.

“I want to emphasize clearly that soldiers belong to the nation and the King. The duty of the government is to look after us in accordance with its policy. The government in this case is just a common reference – it can be any government that comes into office,” he said.

The horses-and-jockeys remark prompted subtle expressions of resentment by some senior Thai Rak Thai party leaders and open criticisms by maverick politician and former Bangkok governor Samak Sundaravej, who is known to be a staunch Thaksin supporter.

Gen Prem also stressed that good superiors should possess virtue and ethics when dealing with their subordinates.

“People who are in positions where they have to deal with others – be they government officials, unit commanders – or any superiors – must have virtue and ethics, because without them, everything in their respective organizations will fail,” he said.

Thai Day

deejay Wrote:Gen Prem: don’t respect the rich who cheat

By ThaiDay

29 July 2006

Privy Council President Gen Prem Tinsulanonda, pictured, yesterday called on the public not to respect people who have become rich by cheating.

The pointed message was the highlight of a keynote address the respected elder statesman gave before a gathering of Royal Thai Navy (RTN) cadets and past and present senior RTN officers. The title of the address was: “Enhancing Leadership through Virtue, Sufficiency and Sacrifice.”

“It should be noted that our culture is an old culture, but there is something wrong [with it],” Gen Prem said. “Normally, rich people are respected, but whereas it’s okay to respect those who have grown rich through legitimate means, we should not wai [respect] those who have acquired wealth through cheating and corruption.”

Although Gen Prem did not name names, his remark struck a familiar cord and rekindled the all-too-familiar public resentment against the tax-free, 73-billion-baht Shin Corp share sale by the family of caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra earlier this year.

In no uncertain terms, the retired army general added: “Those who have grown rich by cheating do not deserve any praise. On the contrary, poor but virtuous people – be they samlor drivers or taxi drivers – deserve more praise.”

Gen Prem also reiterated another famous remark he made while addressing cadets at the Chulachomklao Military Academy earlier this month that likened soldiers to horses belonging to His Majesty the King and governments that come and go to jockeys.

“I want to emphasize clearly that soldiers belong to the nation and the King. The duty of the government is to look after us in accordance with its policy. The government in this case is just a common reference – it can be any government that comes into office,” he said.

The horses-and-jockeys remark prompted subtle expressions of resentment by some senior Thai Rak Thai party leaders and open criticisms by maverick politician and former Bangkok governor Samak Sundaravej, who is known to be a staunch Thaksin supporter.

Gen Prem also stressed that good superiors should possess virtue and ethics when dealing with their subordinates.

“People who are in positions where they have to deal with others – be they government officials, unit commanders – or any superiors – must have virtue and ethics, because without them, everything in their respective organizations will fail,” he said.

Thai Day

bravo

From what I gather and read, Gen Prem is highly respected here in Thailand and it's good that he has made the points that he did

PS> Welcome to TT "Tirak" lol great user name