Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Recent Past
The Crisis & the People's Constitution
Bangkok approached the new millennium riding a tide of events that set new ways of gov-
erning and living in the capital. The most defining moment occurred in July 1997 when -
after several months of warning signs that nearly everyone in Thailand and the internation-
al community ignored - the Thai currency fell into a deflationary tailspin and the national
economy screeched to a virtual halt. Bangkok, which rode at the forefront of the 1980s
double-digit economic boom, suffered more than elsewhere in the country in terms of job
losses and massive income erosion.
Two months after the crash, the Thai parliament voted in a new constitution that guaran-
teed - at least on paper - more human and civil rights than had ever been granted in Thail-
and previously. The so-called 'people's constitution' fostered great hope in a population
left emotionally battered by the 1997 economic crisis.
Thaksin Shinawatra: CEO Prime Minister
In January 2001, billionaire former police colonel Thaksin Shinawatra became prime min-
ister after winning a landslide victory in nationwide elections - the first in Thailand under
the strict guidelines established in the 1997 constitution. Thaksin's new party, called Thai
Rak Thai (TRT; Thais Love Thailand), swept into power on a populist agenda that seemed
at odds with the man's enormous wealth and influence.
The sixth-richest ruler in the world as of late 2003, Thaksin owned the country's only
private TV station through his family-owned Shin Corporation, the country's largest tele-
communications company. Shin Corporation also owned Asia's first privately owned satel-
lite company, Shin Satellite, and a large stake in Thai AirAsia, a subsidiary of the
Malaysia-based airline AirAsia.
Despite numerous controversies, during the February 2005 general elections Thaksin be-
came the first Thai leader in history to be re-elected to a consecutive second term.
However, time was running short for Thaksin and his party. The final straw came in
January 2006, when Thaksin announced that his family had sold off its controlling interest
in Shin Corporation to a Singaporean investment firm. Since deals made through the Stock
Exchange of Thailand (SET) were exempt from capital-gains tax, Thaksin's family paid no
tax on the US$1.9 billion sale, which enraged Bangkok's middle class.
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