Alcohol Out Of Favour With Gift Recipients

Alcohol out of favour with gift recipients

BANGKOK: -- Alcohol is the least wanted New Year's gift among Bangkok residents, but the one that they are highly likely to receive, according to a survey published yesterday.

The Bangkok Poll of 1,164 adults living in Bangkok found a wide discrepancy in the types of presents that people said they wanted to get, and the ones they said they were giving to others.

Topping the list of gifts to one's seniors were health tonics such as birds' nest soup and chicken essence, which 53.4 percent of respondents said they planned to give.

Alcohol, nonetheless, made it into the list in fourth place after fruits and One Tambon One Product (OTOP) goods on 4.1 percent.

Asked what they would give people junior to them, 29.8 percent of respondents mentioned cakes and cookies, 17.4 percent said household decorations, and smaller number said fruits and alcohol.

But asked about what they would most like to receive, 27.9 percent of those questioned pointed to household objects, a mere 11.3 percent cited health tonics, 6.5 percent said gold jewellery, 6.3 percent mentioned money and 5.9 percent said Thai fruits.

Even more interesting was the fact that a massive 46.3 percent cited alcohol as the present they would least like to receive, while 12 percent said they had no wish for cakes and cookies.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, while both male and female respondents mentioned alcohol as their very least favoured present, the percentage was far higher among women than among men.

Respondents were also asked what they most wanted from the government in the New Year.

The survey pointed to widespread disgruntlement over recent pay rises for politicians, with 20.6 percent of respondents saying that they most wanted a rise in salaries for ordinary workers in line with those handed out to MPs and senators.

A further 11.6 percent said they wanted action on traffic jams, while only 7.9 percent of respondents said they wanted an end to the southern insurgency.

At 7.8 percent and 7.2 percent respectively, almost equal numbers said they wanted serious action on corruption and an end to the government trying to boost its image in the eyes of voters.

Although the government has pledged to eliminate poverty over the next four years, only 2.4 percent of respondents cited this as their New Year's gift of choice.

--TNA 2004-12-17