The perils of strongman syndrome
Last week Asean suffered another blow after the Philippines joined the list of countries under the rule of people who go crazy with power.
With the landslide victory of Rodrigo Duterte, a foul-mouthed fan of death squads, Filipinos face the prospect of a president who will show little tolerance for anything said or done against him.
Mr Duterte has some traits that we in Thailand are familiar with, having lived under a dictatorial regime led by the coup leader Prayut Chan-o-cha since May 2014.
Most notable is an uncontrollable mouth that is likely to say anything. In a country where 90% of the people are Roman Catholic, the presidential palace in Manila will soon be occupied by a man who called. Pope Francis a "son of a whore". Mr Duterte has also threatened to declare a "revolutionary government" if he is not able to get his policies through.
Gen Prayut is no match for Mr Duerte in the outrageousness department, but other aspects of short-tempered, aggressive and obnoxious behaviour are familiar. Gen Prayut frequently threatens his critics especially in the media, though his handlers insist people simply don't understand his sense of humour.
The main difference between the two men is that Mr Duterte was elected and our leader seized power from an elected government that was carrying out, however imperfectly, a mandate from the populace.
Of course, Southeast Asia is hardly a stranger to strongmen. Malaysia remains in the grip of a single party and a leader who has lost most of his legitimacy, yet the system there has kept him on life support.
Cambodia has essentially been a one-man show for three decades, with a parliamentary opposition largely for appearances' sake. However, Hun Sen realises that he could face a stiff fight in the next election and he has shown signs of loosening his iron grip. Singapore, meanwhile, has been all about the Lee family but its influence could soon begin to wane.
Remember when Myanmar was the last pariah state in Asean? Now it is seen as a beacon of hope as it attempts a transition to democracy -- although State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi has made it clear that her word is final.
Indonesia, on the other hand, is flourishing when it comes to representative government, just 18 years after throwing out its dictator. That's why it is sad to see Thailand and Philippines, once the shining stars of the democratic movement, heading south.
History offers countless examples of strongmen who were oblivious to the changing world around them, with dire consequences for their regimes and people. So it is today in parts of Southeast Asia.
Although Mr Duterte has yet to take office and his spokesmen insist he will behave in a "presidential" manner, his preference to be surrounded by yes-men does not bode well. The Philippines may well come to resemble Thailand.
Our prime minister, conditioned by decades in the military to having his every order obeyed unquestioningly, has grown used to listening to praise as he makes the round of public events.
Just last week a leaked agenda for a teachers' conference revealed the depth of our current malaise. Participants were told in detail when to sit and stand for Dear Leader. When he finished his remarks, they were to clap as hard as they could and shout "Prime minister su su!" -- or "fight on". Gen Prayut's people insisted the stage-managing wasn't their idea and that people didn't have to go to such extremes.
The mere fact that people would consider such grovelling simply reinforces in a leader's mind the belief that he can do no wrong. Who would dare tell him otherwise?
But talk to many people who cheered the coup in 2014 and you will find them wondering what they must have been thinking. The sooner the country returns to electoral democracy , the better, they now believe.
It's time that the reality on the ground is made clear to the leadership, because if they don't understand what's really happening they will continue to live in their own la-la land, and that would not be good for anybody, be it in Thailand or the Philippines.
For now, our hope is that Rodrigo Duterte does not walk down the same path of obliviousness that his Thai counterpart has taken. Instead, we hope he looks to more progressive countries where absolute power has been consigned to the history books.