Commentary:

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg talked about creating a “sense of purpose” for everyone as a mission for people of his generation. Former US president Barack Obama urged people during a speech at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to stop looking inwards. “In this new world that we live in, we can’t isolate ourselves. We can’t hide behind a wall.”

What did Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha just say? How can a popularly elected government be brought under a form of control and how to steer “democracy” so that it works to a pre-set agenda?

Gen Prayut did not just show extraordinary “vision” by inviting the public to chime in on oxymorons — an elected government is controlled by an election itself while democracy works because it allows people to choose any promises they like, not just anybody’s pre-set agenda.

In a gesture that seems to contradict his government’s digital ambition and its integral spirit of connectedness, the PM told the public to offer their opinions to the Interior Ministry’s very formal Damrongdhama complaint centre.

It’s true the office has a website and online channel where people can register before filing complaints or sending in opinions. Still, it’s not exactly a consumer-friendly channel, not with National Council for Peace and Order announcements and orders plus implementation of the junta’s major policies being posted prominently on its website.

And yes, it does ask you to register with your email. At a time when the police are talking about acquiring tools to spy on what you view online so that they can charge you with some serious crimes, would you feel comfortable giving the government your email account?

But most of all, what the PM is doing with this whole exercise is telling us what democracy should be all about in the most dictatorial fashion possible.

Not only did he make the discussion one-sided, with him being the only one asking questions, but Gen Prayut also took the liberty of framing the argument with his own assumption.

That assumption is that an election will produce a bad government, or one that will not pursue the junta’s agenda, so what can be done to control it?

With such a narrowly focused assumption, what can the PM expect to hear from the public except echos of his own thoughts, and prejudices?

If the PM really wants the people to have its say on the country’s future or to have an opinion on which direction the country should take as stated by government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd, wouldn’t it be more constructive to let them air their views freely?

While most supporters of the junta say they have just one answer to all the questions, which is for Gen Prayut to stay on in power no matter what, those from the more progressive side argue that the premier’s queries are but a pretext to lead the public towards the possibility that the next election will be delayed and for the junta to hang on indefinitely.

No-one will say the prospect of Thailand facing an indefinite poll delay would be good for the country’s international standing or its slow-moving economy. What may be even more worrying, however, is the mounting-missed opportunity cost the country has borne for more than a decade because it cannot find a way to settle this dilemma over democracy.

I mean, Mr Zuckerberg is talking about “big things” including initiating a universal basic income scheme to give people a cushion so that they feel secure enough to pursue new ideas and to feel good enough to care for others.

He urged his generation to find purpose, be it in stopping climate change or ending disease. He talked about each and everyone of us trying to connect with others, build communities and create a sense of purpose greater than ourselves, locally then globally.

“This is the struggle of our time. The forces of freedom, openness and global community against the forces of authoritarianism, isolationism and nationalism. Forces for the flow of knowledge, trade and immigration against those who would slow them down. This is not a battle of nations, it’s a battle of ideas,” he said.

What is worrying is that while many draw inspiration from the Facebook founder’s speech about openness and connectedness, the Thai powers-that-be are trying to shut social media down.

As those who have made progress in the world hail freedom and equality, and have urged everyone to stop being so entrenched in their own ideals, the leadership here remains deeply ensconced in nothing but its own values and agenda.

Atiya Achakulwisut is a columnist, Bangkok Post.