The Phuket's Going To hel_l Crowd

[steelepulse]

That's some nasty looking crap there in Karon.  Just how did they get a permit to build there? Surely the development will be higher than 12 meters and not be set back as per the law in regards to the median high tide line and building heights.

[logbags]

##LOL, I am currently writing on an article for a german speaking newspaper about Phuket and searched the TV-Forum for a thread whis someone posted here regarding the income tax from tourist rooms.

This is an extremely important question you raise. This is especially relevant as you have so called 5 star resorts and villas being built around 2 star infrastructure. There is some attempt from various sources to promote Phuket as a millionaires playground with yachts and other assorted rich mans activities on offer. I am awaiting a polo field to be built sooner or later. I see this as a bit of a joke given the current infrastructure. Places like Cherng Talay and Bang Tao are being plundered by developers but the roads and utilities have changed little in the last 20 years.

Over at places like the Laguna we can see just how well the private sector can do things with manicured gardens and clean and tidy roads. In places where the government has authority things are usually a shambles with little being spent on upkeep and maintanence. This poses a question of just where the massive revenue Phuket raises goes. Through VAT and taxes paid by local businesses and Hotels Phuket is said to be the highest revenue source in Thailand after Bangkok.

We know a massive amount of tax payers money finds its way into private pockets in Phuket and this is done in a multitude of ways. Things like the one way system in Patong were said to be instigated by the owners of Jung Ceylon purely so all traffic must pass their shopping centre. The back road behind Jung Ceylon has only started to be done since Jung Ceylon opened so things only really get done when somebody of power stands to profit.

Many local people tell me about these things but they are powerless to do anything and it gets back to the patriarchal system and the concept of "phuu yai" and "Kreng jai" People will often give deference, fear and pay respect to wealthy people simply because they are wealthy and assumed to have power. Nobody ever asks how they became rich and even if that person is known to be a crook, they will still get respect publically.

Thailand must make their leaders more accountable public spending. Most Thais of lower status feel totally powerless to do anything about the often mentioned problems this forum brings up. They know their leaders are crooks, the know the police are corrupt, they know public money is stolen and used to fund private business. There is no system is place to stop the corruption and the Thaksin regime has divided the country so badly it may take years and years before any sort of judicial independence occurs. Just about every provincial contract for roads or development is given to a family or crony company close to the leaders. The tender price is usually ramped to a ridiculous price so the officials can all take their cut. The company then grafts more by using sub standard cheaper materials and we wonder why a road just falls apart in a few months.

The link between the public and private sector was revealed to me very clearly during a sauna in Nakhon Sri Thammarart recently. I met a high ranking judge. He was ethnic Chinese and he told me about his family and its interests in Patong as we were discussing Phuket. He told me what his sister and his family owned and let's just say it was a list of some of Patongs most famous nite spots. The very places that open when all other places are closed, the very places where the Police stand guard outside as unofficial security guards.

So we have a person who overseas the law firmly invested at arms length in areas totally inappropriate for a judge to be associated with. One of these places always has Police in uniform drinking out the back at a private table. This is just small time compared to the big resorts and villa developments. In most Western countries civil servants cannot use their position to do private business. It is considered a conflict of interest and is just not tolerated widely. In Thailand it is not only normal but totally accepted a person of power will use their power corruptly to enrich themselves.

While this system is place nothing cannot change and this is why I never advise people to invest in Thailand unless backed by trustworthy locals or Thai family. The only small time farangs I have seen survive in Phuket businesses are the ones with Thai in-laws who are locals. I don't care how tight a persons legal contracts are, if you are forced to leave the country or set up with a legal problem against a powerful local you will end up losing as the law seldom sides with a foreigner. I have known farangs who had a gun put to their head and told to be on the next plane home. They had to leave everything they owned.

I remember I had a legal problem in Phuket that was taking years to solve. I spoke with a Thai guy who was a retired army commander. I said how would you solve this and he made his hand into the shape of a gun and said "got muu" which means taking the law in your own hands. You see this all the time in the paper where a so called local influential businessman is gunned down. Local influential businessman or official usually means crook or gangster. What they are saying really is "local crook gets what he deserves"

The majority of Thai people are just people trying to get on with life and make a living. They are let down by their leaders and "phuu yai" who are often just a bunch of self serving crooks. It is almost impossible for an honest person to survive in a system that is so corrupt. If one takes bribes there is a sense of inner guilt in some people, they know they are just making the problems worse. To be honest often leads to career melt down and being viewed as a person who cannot be trusted by workmates. This is a very hard thing for people to overcome. You see in Bangkok the filthy games and moves used against people in the ASC and NCCC. Being a whistle blower or trying to be accountable can get you killed in Thailand, so who is going to stand up and tell the truth??

[huggybear]

"##LOL, I am currently writing on an article for a german speaking newspaper about Phuket and searched the TV-Forum for a thread whis someone posted here regarding the income tax from tourist rooms."

Wow, I hope for the sake of your article you're more concise and get to your point. Or....I guess you get paid by the word?

[LivinginKata]

That's some nasty looking crap there in Karon. Just how did they get a permit to build there? Surely the development will be higher than 12 meters and not be set back as per the law in regards to the median high tide line and building heights.

Easy to get any building permit ..... just depends how much tea money you want to pay. Starts about 60,000 baht for a simple building and goes up to 1 million for some multi floor high rise.

[steelepulse]

Only a mil?  Thought it would have been more than that for something like this. The catch is though when a new or bor tor comes in, then they go and collect their tea money also, unless you want to end up like those condos high above Kata and Kata Noi.

[LivinginKata]

Only a mil? Thought it would have been more than that for something like this. The catch is though when a new or bor tor comes in, then they go and collect their tea money also, unless you want to end up like those condos high above Kata and Kata Noi.

Yes, I have first hand information about the new orbortor or tesiban planning officer coming around making 'problems'. At least the orbortors are being phased out, and tesibans taking over authority of the rural area. Have to say the orbortors were by far the most corrupt. But hey, that all part of doing business in Thailand and we have done very well thank you in our small business. Now I know lots of reader will say that we are justing feeding the system, but I think why cut of your nose to spite your face. You just can't beat the system.

[Gonsalviz]

Well, when I first came to Phuket in 1978, there was one hotel at Patong, none other than the Patong Beach Hotel and a 125 Baht a night flop house that looked like construction worker housing.

Of course I stayed there. Who needs hot water.

There were no resorts, anywhere. Phuket Town had the On On Hotel. You could rent a scooter and find your very own isolated beach.

Although, I liked it then..... Wait I still like it then. Development has gone way over board. They are now knocking down beach cliffs to build more resorts. Just like everywhere, the ecology and the head can only take so much.

I had for a long time wanted to retire in Phuket. Now I'll take my chances out in the jungle and visit the beaches, hospitals,and very little else, when I want. And wait for the maddening crowd to come bother me out there. Maybe in 20-30 years.

Besides, the local people are much nicer than the ones around the resort areas.