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| Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra attends the Asean Summit in Bali on November 18. |
A natural disaster is an immense challenge for any leader. For Thailand, it involves expediting the bureaucracy to get timely relief to the people, moving and managing relief funds, planning and executing a large-scale recovery effort and balancing national and provincial-level politics.
The coordinating of logistics alone, in order to manage the crisis, is overwhelming.
The flood has brought our government's weaknesses to light. It has shown us the coordination loopholes that exist between different government departments that hamper their ability to work together. It has revealed the ugly side of some of our politicians.
It has shown us that we do not have adequate capability to rapidly respond to large-scale disaster. We didn't have a good plan on the books. And even if we did, our execution has been borderline poor at best.
And what did our prime minister do? She took a promising first step, by putting all her other prime ministerial duties on hold and placing flood relief efforts at the top of her priority list.
She solicited advisers for relief plans and ideas. She inspected the damage and reassured people that their government was working hard to relieve the situation.
She has talked with flood victims and actively monitored the crisis. She has put other work on hold and made relief for the Thai people her first priority.
In dealing with the flood, our prime minister has been forced to work with many handicaps.
First, she doesn't have the necessary leadership experience to handle the flood because her resume{aac} is almost exclusively in business.
How often does the CEO of a company plan and execute disaster relief? Most would certainly prepare for the potential impact of a natural disaster on their business, but very few would care beyond that.
Second, our lady prime minister's leadership style might not be well-suited to the situation. A flood is best managed with military-style leadership and centralised decision-making, with decentralised execution.
In a situation with widespread disarray of the infrastructure, precision guidance is vital for reorganization.
The prime minister's matronly style and her aristocratic charm hardly fit the bill. It's nice that she is handing out relief bags one at a time in perfect hair and make-up.
It shows that she cares and it makes great evening news. But wouldn't a prime minister with executive powers be better off figuring out how to hand out thousands of bags instead?
If a natural disaster is like a storm at sea, then the prime minister is like a ship's captain who needs to grab hold of the wheel and steer. A captain doesn't get on deck and start emptying out one bucket of water at a time; that's the job of the deck hands.
Third, our prime minister has little education or experience in emergency management. The last time Thailand endured this level of flooding was how many years ago?
And Yingluck has been in politics for how long? The math adds up to about zero. Our premier has very capable and experienced advisers and experts. But when experts and advisers disagree with one another, will she be able to make the right decision?
Now that the water in some areas has receded, the blame game is in full bloom. Most often, it's the person at the top who becomes society's No. 1 accused. But it's hardly fair to hold the prime minister responsible for every aspect of the flood relief mismanagement.
In adversity, people will do whatever they perceive as necessary to survive and to secure their livelihood. Sometimes this involved theft, coercion, and even acts of violence.
Our prime minister is not responsible for the immoral conduct of every man and woman affected by the flood that evil is our own making.
However, our premier is responsible for the execution of the relief system everything from the distribution of relief bags, movement of goods and supply to flood-hit areas, controlling the price of food and supplies, restoring sanitation and reopening roads and railways. The test is not over, and there is still work for her to do.
We know that our prime minister excels at meetings and engagements, shaking hands with dignitaries and charming everyone with her sincerity. All of us were smitten by her demeanour, her glamour and her charisma.
And if it were not for the flood, she would be at these meetings and engagements _ getting them all smitten by deadly kindness. Instead, fate has given her an opportunity to rise up against adversity and truly make a difference for her people.
Perhaps it's time we saw the gallant side of our lovely prime minister. After all, she is a mother, the disciplinarian of the household.
This disaster is a chance for her to add toughness to her elegant rapport. We have been ripped to shreds by this disaster. We are tired of the same old song of promise and reassurance.
What we desperately need is strength. We need someone upfront who will unite us. Someone who will be the hope of better days ahead.
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