Deputy Pm Want Public To Inform Him About Suvarnabhumi Airport Mess

[george]

Suthep urges public to inform him of alleged illegal activities at Suvarnabhumi airport

BANGKOK: -- Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban Friday urged the public to provide him information about alleged illegal activities at the Suvarnahbumi International Airport.

Suthep said the information would assist his campaign to clean up the mess at the airport, which is the gateway to Thailand.

On Wednesday, the Cabinet assigned Suthep to head an operation to fight against illegal activities and dark influence at the airport.

Suthep said he would soon conduct a meeting of all government agencies concerned and would listen to opinions of business operators at the airport.

-- The Nation 2009-08-07

[Scott]

It would have been a lot easier to stop it in the beginning than to fix it at this point.

I smell a crackdown and then everything back to normal.

[caf]

Suthep urges public to inform him of alleged illegal activities at Suvarnabhumi airport

BANGKOK: -- Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban Friday urged the public to provide him information about alleged illegal activities at the Suvarnahbumi International Airport.

Suthep said the information would assist his campaign to clean up the mess at the airport, which is the gateway to Thailand.

On Wednesday, the Cabinet assigned Suthep to head an operation to fight against illegal activities and dark influence at the airport.

Suthep said he would soon conduct a meeting of all government agencies concerned and would listen to opinions of business operators at the airport.

-- The Nation 2009-08-07

Is he really not aware? He needs the public to tell him?

Has he read the travel advisories? He has been briefed on the UK minister's visit? He has not read the police reports on the Ingram case for example?

Just words I think. Business as usual soon.

[Ferwert]

On the surface, this appears to be a justifiable action and focus. Too bad it is being reported on though. Not sure why the public is encouraged to be involved.

This sort of thing would best be done, by just doing it, not talking about it and certainly not involving the public. But I speak with no knowledge about the problems, so perhaps this is the best way.

My point is, Thailand doesn't need its' airport in the news....Again.

[Dendan]

For a start:

- Get the taxi situation legalized, just copy Singapore if you can't figure it out yourself.

- Stop the thefts from luggage. How, with thievery being a national sport...?

- Stop security staff from confiscating all kinds of stuff, which is not on the dangerous materials list at the checkpoints. They do that with

a miserable smile and show around their trophies to their accomplices as soon as the passenger is proceeding to the gate. A friend of mine

had his expensive mobil stolen from his travel bag in the confusion these guys created at the checkpoint checking several items at a time

and making a major story holding on to 3 units of canned salmon.

- How about a nice smile arriving & leaving the country by officials. I arrive in AustraliaI am greeted with a genuine smile and "Welcome to

wonderful Australia!"

Nothing will ever change...Arrogance & Ignorance are close friends!

[Scott]

This sort of knee jerk reaction never works. So they report all the stuff to this Deputy PM and when he leaves they report it to whom?

The country needs to be ruled by laws, not politicians.

The laws need to be enforced......Oh sorry, I forgot where I am!

[chuang]

Suthep urges public to inform him of alleged illegal activities at Suvarnabhumi airport

BANGKOK: -- Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban Friday urged the public to provide him information about alleged illegal activities at the Suvarnahbumi International Airport.

Anybody has his e-mail address.......

[robbiecia]

Alrighty then.............and he is going to actually reply to emails?

[Thailand]

Incredible that he has to be told- might also want to consider a short period of closure of swampy for a yellow party- had a minor knock on effect.

[spongeman]

Incredible that he has to be told- might also want to consider a short period of closure of swampy for a yellow party- had a minor knock on effect.

You have hit the nail on the head there my friend.

Duty free in Bangkok is too expensive anyway, never have any interest in shopping there.

Surely one should feel the opposite ?

Edited August 7, 2009 by spongeman

[Chunkton]

On the surface, this appears to be a justifiable action and focus. Too bad it is being reported on though. Not sure why the public is encouraged to be involved.

This sort of thing would best be done, by just doing it, not talking about it and certainly not involving the public. But I speak with no knowledge about the problems, so perhaps this is the best way.

My point is, Thailand doesn't need its' airport in the news....Again.

Ah, I believe the term is sound bite.

Lesson time: There is no intention to do anything whatsoever , it is about getting a few paragraphs in the newspaper or a story on TV. To be seen to be doing something whereas you have no intention of doing anything at all, it is Politics 101 internationally.

The International Airport has been a festering cancerous sore here for decades, as such it should be obvious that there is no desire from anybody to fix it, you can assemble your own list of why nots, it shouldn't be too hard.

Having faith in politicians acting for the public good is like believing a whore telling you that you are a handsome man when you are pushing 60. In fact the two professions are very similar, just different on scale. Politicians can scr*w much more people and not just the ones asking for it.

[invex]

Incredible, one more time, but this is Thailand....

Suvarnabhumi is probably the most corrupt, unsafe and dangerous airport in the world. While you have to wait a few hours and, if one wants to open eyes and ears, stunning things establish just in front of you. You see money changing hands to officials quiet often. Look at the illegal taxis how they pay the airport staff. You see people going everywhere with no or copied / faked badges etc etc....... At least 50% of the "looking as staff" people will never be allowed at western airports. Those things started at the airport-opening and continue all this time. Per day hundreds of victems, myself included.

And the minister doesn't know... hahaahahahaahaha

[dale8]

Hello, I am shocked that the Deputy Pm did not know about any illegal activities or scams going on at Swampy. They need to give the government officials better advisers or train his physician to remove his head from his rectum. Cheers.

[brahmburgers]

On the surface, this appears to be a justifiable action and focus. Too bad it is being reported on though. Not sure why the public is encouraged to be involved. This sort of thing would best be done, by just doing it, not talking about it and certainly not involving the public.

I think it's a good decision. It appears to me he's soliciting first hand experiences of troubles at Suwanboom. There are probably many people out there (mostly Thai) who are shy/embarassed about coming out at the time of their problem. Big reason, it's time consuming and tiring to make a formal complaint when you're either just about to leave or just arriving in Thailand. I once reported a stolen motorbike at a cop station, and it took all of 3.5 hours to formally file the report. The man typing, was using one finger (not two), and it took him about a minute per word.

Hello, I am shocked that the Deputy Pm did not know about any illegal activities or scams going on at Swampy. They need to give the government officials better advisers....

Who says the Deputy PM didn't know a lot already? That's a dumb assumption. He's been hearing of serious problems, and now he's putting out the word for others to come forth. Commendable action for a public servant.

I wouldn't be surprised if they're also reading T.Visa, no kidding.

[geaussie]

For a start:

- Get the taxi situation legalized, just copy Singapore if you can't figure it out yourself.

- Stop the thefts from luggage. How, with thievery being a national sport...?

- Stop security staff from confiscating all kinds of stuff, which is not on the dangerous materials list at the checkpoints. They do that with

a miserable smile and show around their trophies to their accomplices as soon as the passenger is proceeding to the gate. A friend of mine

had his expensive mobil stolen from his travel bag in the confusion these guys created at the checkpoint checking several items at a time

and making a major story holding on to 3 units of canned salmon.

- How about a nice smile arriving & leaving the country by officials. I arrive in AustraliaI am greeted with a genuine smile and "Welcome to

wonderful Australia!"

Nothing will ever change...Arrogance & Ignorance are close friends!

[geaussie]

For a start:

- Get the taxi situation legalized, just copy Singapore if you can't figure it out yourself.

- Stop the thefts from luggage. How, with thievery being a national sport...?

- Stop security staff from confiscating all kinds of stuff, which is not on the dangerous materials list at the checkpoints. They do that with

a miserable smile and show around their trophies to their accomplices as soon as the passenger is proceeding to the gate. A friend of mine

had his expensive mobil stolen from his travel bag in the confusion these guys created at the checkpoint checking several items at a time

and making a major story holding on to 3 units of canned salmon.

- How about a nice smile arriving & leaving the country by officials. I arrive in AustraliaI am greeted with a genuine smile and "Welcome to

wonderful Australia!"

Nothing will ever change...Arrogance & Ignorance are close friends!

Please tell me where in Australia have you received this sort of welcome,so I can plan to arrive there in the future.My experience especially in Sydney is that you are met by rude ignorant people.

[Gary A]

The best that can be hoped for is to knock off the high spots that have been noticed by the press. It's a difficult situation when the entire system in corrupt from top to bottom.

[slapout]

At first glance such a request for public input would indicate a head in a.. knowledge, but when you consider the input by people directly involved on the airport side, translation/reporting via Thai news media, and the normal cover up seen frequently here, GIVE the man credit. As some mentioned, give the public a e mail address, a few secret shoppers/travelers and he should get a good overview from the opposition very quickly. The first step is to get first hand info and this procedure is a start, which is a hel_l of a lot more than has happened in the past.

[Thai at Heart]

Since they have done away with the immigration cards which I am sure they have assiduously stored, why don't they simply give every visitor a complaint/recommendation card which can be returned by post?

It may take a while to get through the 5mn complaints in the first month, but at least they could do something with the info as opposed to asking "How much do you earn?" on the tourist arrival cards.

If that is too much get hold of 500 Thai Airways gold card holders who are regular flyers and get them to complete surveys.

But then, that would probably give them too much proper information which might actually lead to them having to do something about the crappy airport.

[Ricardo]

Perhaps he might care to ask the consultative-committee, of airlines who operate into Swampy, they might know just a little about some of the scams and problems ?

[Artisi]

Maybe ask the yellow shirts to come back - there weren't any scams at the airport during this period.

[Soutpeel]

I wouldn't be surprised if they're also reading T.Visa, no kidding.

Well if this is the case suggest then they read the Suvarnabhumi forum then, as this will give them the flavour of what travellers perceptions are...

[redscouse]

For a start:

- Get the taxi situation legalized, just copy Singapore if you can't figure it out yourself.

- Stop the thefts from luggage. How, with thievery being a national sport...?

- Stop security staff from confiscating all kinds of stuff, which is not on the dangerous materials list at the checkpoints. They do that with

a miserable smile and show around their trophies to their accomplices as soon as the passenger is proceeding to the gate. A friend of mine

had his expensive mobil stolen from his travel bag in the confusion these guys created at the checkpoint checking several items at a time

and making a major story holding on to 3 units of canned salmon.

- How about a nice smile arriving & leaving the country by officials. I arrive in AustraliaI am greeted with a genuine smile and "Welcome to

wonderful Australia!"

Nothing will ever change...Arrogance & Ignorance are close friends!

Please tell me where in Australia have you received this sort of welcome,so I can plan to arrive there in the future.My experience especially in Sydney is that you are met by rude ignorant people.

I have only been once, landed in Sydney and the guy at immigration was like a breath of fresh air compared to the miserable tw@ts at swampy. Never once in 4 years of regular flying into swampy have I met a pleasant immigration official despite me being pleasant to them

[Hawaiian]

Australia! Friendly greetings on arrival? An older couple (in their late 70") were interrogated for 6 hours upon suspicion of drug

smuggling. Of course they missed their connecting flight. They are personal friends of mine in Hawaii. Both speak with a "British" accent as they grew up in Kenya, immigrated to Canada and then Hawaii. And both trace their ancestry to England.

Go figure.

[MJo]

Australia! Friendly greetings on arrival? An older couple (in their late 70") were interrogated for 6 hours upon suspicion of drug

smuggling. Of course they missed their connecting flight. They are personal friends of mine in Hawaii. Both speak with a "British" accent as they grew up in Kenya, immigrated to Canada and then Hawaii. And both trace their ancestry to England.

Go figure.

So what's your point, people used to live in Kenya don't do drugs ?

Anyways back to topic, i really hope they do something about it but it would not be the first time that this is only going to be few words in papers and nothing else.

[redscouse]

Australia! Friendly greetings on arrival? An older couple (in their late 70") were interrogated for 6 hours upon suspicion of drug

smuggling. Of course they missed their connecting flight. They are personal friends of mine in Hawaii. Both speak with a "British" accent as they grew up in Kenya, immigrated to Canada and then Hawaii. And both trace their ancestry to England.

Go figure.

When you say interrogated do you mean they were strapped to chairs and whipped, or do you mean they were questioned under caution about suspected drug smuggling. sensationalism at its bet there my friend. maybe they should just ignore suspicions, also <deleted> does a british accent have to do with anything or tracing their ancestry back to england have to do with anything, I guess the immigration or customs should have guessed this and since they are connected to the UK just let them pass and ignore the suspicions.

What was the suspicion, was it prescription drugs by any chance

[stumonster]

The problems at the Airport start at the top - which of course is the military

the original article is critiqued here - http://thailandjumpedtheshark.blogspot.com...h-finacial.html

Bangkok Post

AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK

The board of Airports of Thailand has rejected its management's proposal to shorten the Suvarnabhumi airport security service contract with the Loxley-ICTS consortium, to avoid legal troubles. AOT board chairman Gen Saprang Kalayanamitr said after a board meeting yesterday that the board could not approve the management's proposal to halve the consortium's service contract to five years in response to its substandard security service, as the consortium has made it clear it disagreed with the plan.

The board did not want a legal dispute as the consortium had acquired the contract legally, he said.

Gen Saprang denied the board was protecting the contractor. He said the board was aware of the investment burden taken on by the consortium and would see to justice for both sides.

But he insisted the security service provided by the consortium was still poor and needed to be improved.

Chirmsak Pinthong, spokesman for the AOT board, said the consortium fielded 1,200 guards a day, which was short of the 2,000 stated in the contract.

Their service consisted of two shifts, each consisting of 600 guards who must work as long as 12 hours a day.

The board suspects that this arrangement, instead of three eight-hour shifts, may affect service quality.

The board believed that if the consortium was not able to improve its service in line with the contracted standards, the AOT management should terminate the contract instead of shortening it, Mr Chirmsak said.

etc , etc

[Soutpeel]

I have only been once, landed in Sydney and the guy at immigration was like a breath of fresh air compared to the miserable tw@ts at swampy. Never once in 4 years of regular flying into swampy have I met a pleasant immigration official despite me being pleasant to them

Scouse,

Based on my personal experience, think its pretty safe to say, all immigration officals, at all airports in world I have been through are miserable tw*ts...most notably in the US and not far behind the UK.

But I do agree, Swampy officals, generally look like they have sucked a lemon just before they start dealing with you, but there are the odd exceptions..

Remember one time in the immgration line on the way out, a gang of Russian tourists where giving the Immigration girl the verbal because they hadnt filled in the departure card and she asked them to get out the line, and in the end I told them to get the f*kc out the line and fill the card in.

Immigration girl thanked me, and I though no more about it....Coming back in the following week, same girl was working the incoming line on a Thai counter, seen me at the back of the queue in the Farang line and called me thorugh the Thai line and once again thanked me for what I had done the previous week...

My point telling you this...Even Immigration officials are human too...

[KevinBloodyWilson]

Many of you guys are missing the fundamental point about Thai politics and Thai politicians. It is this.

Do say is sufficient, no need to do.

In 6 months, having said it is sufficient to be able to claim there was a major clampdown in the list of other fictitious government achievements... where else can you say 15 years free education and then claim credit for it only 6 months later, without having done or changed a thing.

In Thailand it is all smoke and mirrors, wherever you look. Take the Saudi gems thing... nearly 20 years to issue an arrest warrant for some foreigner named 'Abu Ali" (the equivalent of John Smith by the way). And in the meantime, a certain prominent person is rumoured to have been wearing the stolen 'blue diamond' openly for all to see.

The art of the Thai is to set out to create an impression of doing something whilst steadfastly doing nothing of the kind, and always in the hope that the people listening are even more stupid than the Thais, which on the balance of probabilities, is unlikely.

It is all a part of the charm of living in Thailand, non-stop entertainment (though of course they neither mean to be entertaining nor even know they are providing entertainment for thousands). Watching them taking themselves so seriously is half the fun.

Kev

Edited August 8, 2009 by KevinBloodyWilson

[ausiekid]

For a start:

- Get the taxi situation legalized, just copy Singapore if you can't figure it out yourself.

- Stop the thefts from luggage. How, with thievery being a national sport...?

- Stop security staff from confiscating all kinds of stuff, which is not on the dangerous materials list at the checkpoints. They do that with

a miserable smile and show around their trophies to their accomplices as soon as the passenger is proceeding to the gate. A friend of mine

had his expensive mobil stolen from his travel bag in the confusion these guys created at the checkpoint checking several items at a time

and making a major story holding on to 3 units of canned salmon.

- How about a nice smile arriving & leaving the country by officials. I arrive in AustraliaI am greeted with a genuine smile and "Welcome to

wonderful Australia!"

Nothing will ever change...Arrogance & Ignorance are close friends!

Please tell me where in Australia have you received this sort of welcome,so I can plan to arrive there in the future.My experience especially in Sydney is that you are met by rude ignorant people.