A Very Long Road Ahead To Abhisit's 'Quality Society'

[webfact]

EDITORIAL

A very long road ahead to Abhisit's 'quality society'

By The Nation

From youth deliquency to land reform, there is an endless list of problems to tackle before we are anywhere near reaching this ideal

For as long as commuters on the Bang Na-Trat highway to Chonburi can remember, ugly street fights between students from local technical colleges have been a common occurrence.

A youth from one institution says something smart to another from a rival school and hell breaks loose. A vicious cycle of tit-for-tat attacks then ensues, often resulting in injuries to innocent bystanders or passengers on public transport vehicles. Sometimes there seems no end in sight to these skirmishes. Semester breaks bring a period of calm, but the vicious cycle starts over again when schools reopen. There never seem to be any police officers around to give the public some sort of assurance that their well-being is being looked after.

Such scenes are not exclusive to the people going up and down the Bang Na-Trat highway, however. These fights happen almost everywhere in Bangkok and other cities, not just in the areas where technical college and high-school students gather.

Welcome to Thailand, where the government is hoping to create a "quality society" that is built on security, quality of life and justice.

It sounds like an honourable thing to aim for, but when we take into consideration the fact that ordinary citizens sometimes cannot go about their daily business without fearing for their lives, talk of a just and compassionate society is just a pipe dream.

Nevertheless, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's statement about the need to bring a better quality of life to all citizens should be welcome. If anything, acknowledging such problems as youth delinquency is a good start. But words alone are never enough. The prime minister is going to have to deliver on this. Every commuter who uses city buses will be looking for change, indeed.

When Abhisit singled out young people in this equation, he was talking about education - perhaps the most important part of their lives, as it is supposed to provide the foundation for them to become constructive citizens.

Under the government's education reform plan, the prime minister has vowed to provide basic education to 1.7 million underprivileged children, or 10 per cent of the total number of children. This figure includes half of all disabled children who have never had a chance to enrol in the formal education system. They will be allowed to study with normal students at one school per province.

Two thirds of the 46,000 students who have dropped out of school and been deprived of their chance to re-enter the formal education system because of their poor academic performance will be given alternative education as an option to develop their occupational skills. The fact that the private sector will be invited to take part in this initiative is also a good thing. Certainly the business community could do more in giving something back to society. Many firms like to boast about how caring and socially responsible they are, but much more could be done in this area. Let's hope that in 2011 we see more big companies put their money where their mouths are. The proposed business tax incentive that the government is talking about, if it comes through, could make it easier for many firms to do the right thing in this regard.

One of the major problems facing the 14,000 small schools across the country is low standards and results. The government has to do more in improving the management of these schools and address the problem of teacher quality and shortages. Start by making the profession more attractive - by offering potential teachers greater incentives. The aim here is to draw better-qualified people to our schools.

Workers outside the formal employment system who cannot access low-cost capital often fall prey to greedy capitalists. Some of these workers include motorbike taxi and cabdrivers, small traders and day labourers. Also, let's not forget the farmers who never seem to be able to get out of debt while the middlemen get richer and richer.

On the issue of law enforcement and justice, let's face it: The police force is not exactly a source of comfort for the public. Something has to be done about the quality of professionalism among our law enforcement officers.

There is indeed a long list of woes that Abhisit will have to attend to if he is serious about a "quality society". All are equally important if we are to move on towards becoming a more caring and compassionate society that provides a better quality of life for its people.

-- The Nation 2011-01-15

[asiawatcher]

"... Two thirds of the 46,000 students who have dropped out of school and been deprived of their chance to re-enter the formal education system because of their poor academic performance will be given alternative education as an option to develop their occupational skills"

Why not open up apprenticeships and formal education for trades? Quality of work in Thailand often reflects on-the-job training thus poor. It would keep the kids off the streets and give them a future.

On the question of a rocky road for the PM - so what? - at least he started which is more than can be said than the hollow monetary promises by his predecessors.

[newermonkey]

As long as the Thai police force remains a bad joke to the countries citizens & visitors nothing will change as far as anarchy on the streets and general lawlessness.

Without first gaining real respect not much can be achieved.

In fact if the general populous was to mimic the day to day actions of the police farce we would see: everyone always going through red traffic lights, all motorcyclists would use the pavement most of the time, Shootings in bars would become common place, Mafia style gangs would be extorting money and threatening everyone, People would stop people in thair cars and motorcycles to extort money.

In fact if we were to all follow the police's moral example this place would be the worst hell on the planet.

:bah:

[nong38]

Its a long road alright but you have to start somewhere and it will take time but at least The PM is pointing in the right direction, whether others want to follow and think of the good of Thailand or what is good for themselves is another story, cross that bridge and it will be a big leap forward for Thailand.

[swerver]

As long as the Thai police force remains a bad joke to the countries citizens & visitors nothing will change as far as anarchy on the streets and general lawlessness.

Without first gaining real respect not much can be achieved.

In fact if the general populous was to mimic the day to day actions of the police farce we would see: everyone always going through red traffic lights, all motorcyclists would use the pavement most of the time, Shootings in bars would become common place, Mafia style gangs would be extorting money and threatening everyone, People would stop people in thair cars and motorcycles to extort money.

In fact if we were to all follow the police's moral example this place would be the worst hell on the planet.

:bah:

Moral Standard

People have a moral standard that is inside them. It is built into them. People (in this case Thai) people do not have that moral standard within them. If there is nothing external stopping them, they just do whatever they want for themselves, regardless of right or wrong.

[yellow1red1]

It is reported and statistics 90% of Thais are Buddhist a religion of peace, not greedy, happy for others, help the downtrodden. The other 10% are the politicians, military, police, pimps.

[Skywalker69]

Its a long road alright but you have to start somewhere and it will take time but at least The PM is pointing in the right direction, whether others want to follow and think of the good of Thailand or what is good for themselves is another story, cross that bridge and it will be a big leap forward for Thailand.

"Even the longest journey start with one step"