Since Temasek bought Takshin's telecommunication company things have gone from bad to worse in Thai politics. It bothered people that not only did Takshin get a very good price, by exploiting regulatory loopholes, Takshin was able to profit handsomely from the deal without having to pay tax. Attacks on the deal immediately arose, more along the line of "foreigners controlling facilities of national importance" than the self serving over cleverness. The tactic attempted by Takshin to disarm the critics, calling a snap election, again turned out to be over clever and only led to even greater trouble, with the Hatyai bombing and his absence finally giving the army the chance to take action. His apparently poor relationship with royal advisors must have emboldened the generals.(Some analysts have pointed out a series of actions by Takshin from 2001 onward to remove royalist sympathisers from government post, indicating a wish to change the monarchy to a genuine figurehead role in anticipation of royal succession.)
For many decades Thailand saw coups and civilian governments come and go while business and life carried on more or less normally, though there has not been a coup since 1991 and people began to get used to the idea that prosperity has helped democracy to acquire firm roots in the country. Now "Asian Values" has re-asserted itself, but the coup's economic impact remains unclear. Undoubtedly the short term outlook of the Temasek investment and market value will take a knock and the long term prospects are still to be assessed.
Like the IMF/World Bank meeting still taking place in Suntec City, the Temasek deal is an example of Singapore's public sector entrepreneurs making deals with the world's rich and powerful. However, in Asia and most parts of the world, stability in the status of the rich and powerful is a still-to-be-established commodity. The coup has diminished positive impact of the meeting event for Singapore: delegates would leaving thinking "how long do good conditions last in Asia?"
