60% Of Bangkok Youth Admit Having Insufficient Information On Aec

[lizardtongue]

POLL: Who thinks that any citizens of ASEAN nations will be able to freely work in other ASEAN countries?

They will be free to work in Thailand after they have paid the appropriately extortionate tea money to whom it may concern.

And of course they will be given the same rates of pay and medical coverage afforded to their Thai counterparts ?

[lizardtongue]

On a related response, almost half of those surveyed at 49 per cent said they believed Thai youngsters can compete with teenagers in other ASEAN countries ......

what? In Thai Language skills?

So a Thai man completing University could go up against a Singaporean/Malaysian finishing the same subjects taken in a Singapore/Malaysian University? Difficult one eh? let me think for a.......nope no need too

I am not saying that the females would fair any better! I was thinking about the ratio of Thai men to Thai females in Uni its gotta be something like 95% to 5% in favor of the females?

[JoeLing]

I swear to God, when my 5 year old got in the car a few days ago on the school run, we were all talking and she suddenly just said 'Mummy do you know the names of the countries in ASEAN'? My wife looked like she was about to be run over and a big cheesy grin came over my face. 'Go on then Mummy says I', She got as far as 5 countries before coming to a halt, when the 5 year old chips in and reels off all 10 one after the other with no pauses. Love her school, love her teacher, and I was speechless. Not all the schools and teachers are crap.

Well funny enough, I witnessed this girl (maybe 9 -10 years old) telling her grandad off for trowing trash/rubbish out of the train window. She was actually very enthusiastig telling her grandad about pollution and finally she mentioned how grandad keeps the garden nice at home and her garden is all of Thailand. And best of all, it did work.

Suppose, there is hope in Thailand .....

[JoeLing]

Does it matter at this stage what the "youth" know? I would guess that 95% of older people (that's 18+) have no information and no idea about the AEC. That would probably include non-Thais.

Right. I have a vague idea, but I can't really find any concrete facts.

At this point in time, the idea in my head is that it is some form of free trade agreement and a few different professions have the ability to work in other ASEAN countries.

OK - I admit. I don't realy have a clue either.

I'm farang so even if I would know, I wouldn't understand.

I only assume it's "same same but different" to the EFTA

[IsaanUSA]

Does it matter at this stage what the "youth" know? I would guess that 95% of older people (that's 18+) have no information and no idea about the AEC. That would probably include non-Thais.

Right. I have a vague idea, but I can't really find any concrete facts.

At this point in time, the idea in my head is that it is some form of free trade agreement and a few different professions have the ability to work in other ASEAN countries.

OK - I admit. I don't realy have a clue either.

I'm farang so even if I would know, I wouldn't understand.

I only assume it's "same same but different" to the EFTA

Actually, this has a lot of useful information, but it is a long read.

http://www.aseansec.org/publications/AEC%20Scorecard.pdf'>http://www.aseansec.org/publications/AEC%20Scorecard.pdf

http://www.aseansec.org/

[osiboy]

I am 100% convinced the Thais will find a way to not implement the ASEAN agreements in 2015, reasoning along the line 'it would be unfair to force these agreements onto Thailand because we are not prepared well enough, which would put us at a disadvantage'. Mark my words.

They're certainly doing their best not to change the appropriate laws to cover the agreements. Even some of the agreements that should be in action now, don't have the law changes required to make them work.

i have to disagree with you both here... i think it will suit the greedy rich/elite of thailand to make bigger profits as i'm sure burmese,viets,loations , indonesians , phillies and cambodians will be in demand here as they will work for less money than thais , and the so called "educated " thais that need/want to work will be able to go to singapore/malaysia or just stay in thailand in the higher positions,.....much the same as has happened in the U.K with the poles,estonians,latvians,bulgarians etc, putting the "average joe" brit on the scrap heap b'cos they will work for £7 an hour for a job i was paid £14 ph 10 yrs ago ...........same same,....the rich get richer the world over and we are powerless to change it , voting in the opposition changes nothing, they are all in it for themselves only it will be worse in asean as there are none or very few unions which is what we all need more than ever at this moment of selfishness around the globe , so few have so much and dodge paying taxes in the so called rich countries of the west whilst another 40,000 old people will die this winter because of greedy energy companies that we were all told would supply cheaper energy due to the "competition " of privatisation .....what a load of bo**ox !.......same goes for trains,hospitals,water,buses,airport tax,etc...........yea yea goin off topic i kno but <deleted>.......viva revolution !!

[osiboy]

On a related response, almost half of those surveyed at 49 per cent said they believed Thai youngsters can compete with teenagers in other ASEAN countries ......

what? In Thai Language skills?

So a Thai man completing University could go up against a Singaporean/Malaysian finishing the same subjects taken in a Singapore/Malaysian University? Difficult one eh? let me think for a.......nope no need too

I am not saying that the females would fair any better! I was thinking about the ratio of Thai men to Thai females in Uni its gotta be something like 95% to 5% in favor of the females?

is it ?......wow,.........i had no idea ..jing !

[Skywalker69]

I swear to God, when my 5 year old got in the car a few days ago on the school run, we were all talking and she suddenly just said 'Mummy do you know the names of the countries in ASEAN'? My wife looked like she was about to be run over and a big cheesy grin came over my face. 'Go on then Mummy says I', She got as far as 5 countries before coming to a halt, when the 5 year old chips in and reels off all 10 one after the other with no pauses. Love her school, love her teacher, and I was speechless. Not all the schools and teachers are crap.

Great kid!

[LuckyLew]

They should send information out by smart phone . facebook and whats app

[whybother]

How well do you understand the AEC?(ASEAN Economic Community) We have listed 3 of the most common misunderstanding of the AEC.

1) A major one is that controls on movements of people will not change much at all. Many people think that all ASEAN citizens will be able to work freely in other ASEAN countries. This is not the case and only people in certain occupations will have greater mobility to work within other ASEAN countries.

2) Many people assume that a company in one ASEAN country will be able to own 100% of a company in another ASEAN nation. This is only the case if the current laws of a country permit this (eg Thailand’s BOI promotion scheme, or Singapore’s Company Act). The ASEAN AEC agreements still allow each government to place limitations on Foreign Equity Limits.

3) Another misconception is that the AEC starts in 2015, when in fact it has already started in many areas, and 2015 is actually the end date by which all changes should be implemented.

http://www.facebook.com/coverageltd

[whybother]

I am 100% convinced the Thais will find a way to not implement the ASEAN agreements in 2015, reasoning along the line 'it would be unfair to force these agreements onto Thailand because we are not prepared well enough, which would put us at a disadvantage'. Mark my words.

They're certainly doing their best not to change the appropriate laws to cover the agreements. Even some of the agreements that should be in action now, don't have the law changes required to make them work.

i have to disagree with you both here... i think it will suit the greedy rich/elite of thailand to make bigger profits as i'm sure burmese,viets,loations , indonesians , phillies and cambodians will be in demand here as they will work for less money than thais , and the so called "educated " thais that need/want to work will be able to go to singapore/malaysia or just stay in thailand in the higher positions,.....much the same as has happened in the U.K with the poles,estonians,latvians,bulgarians etc, putting the "average joe" brit on the scrap heap b'cos they will work for £7 an hour for a job i was paid £14 ph 10 yrs ago ...........same same,....the rich get richer the world over and we are powerless to change it , voting in the opposition changes nothing, they are all in it for themselves only it will be worse in asean as there are none or very few unions which is what we all need more than ever at this moment of selfishness around the globe , so few have so much and dodge paying taxes in the so called rich countries of the west whilst another 40,000 old people will die this winter because of greedy energy companies that we were all told would supply cheaper energy due to the "competition " of privatisation .....what a load of bo**ox !.......same goes for trains,hospitals,water,buses,airport tax,etc...........yea yea goin off topic i kno but <deleted>.......viva revolution !!

I don't know why you're disagreeing with me. It's fact.

Laws haven't been changed for agreements currently in place, and they're moving very slowly to enact laws which will cover agreements that are to come in to force in 2015.

[geriatrickid]

At least the youth seem smart enough to know they are being deliberately kept 'uneducated'. Thais speak Thai, and Germans, Italian, French, Swedes, Russians et al, and most other nations speak English apart from native English speakers. The world does business in English, nowhere in the world apart from Thailand is business done in Thai. Or is it that the 'establishment' are afraid to teach a universal language and Thai's find out really what is going on in their country?

You are not entirely correct. The language of choice is governed by the market. When westerners wish to close a big deal in Brazil, they make sure they speak the local language, same for Indonesia., same for latin America, and same for China. If you think that the Italian and French business community readily conduct their business in english, you are mistaken. English language skills are poor in these two countries. The reality is that they have no need. Try speaking english in a Portugal or Russia and see how far it gets you. Even in Japan and Korea, it can be difficult to conduct business in english. There is an assumption that everyone speaks English around the world and it is just not true.Yes, english is a 2nd language for many Europeans and Asians, but the trend is towards other languages.

[geriatrickid]

I am 100% convinced the Thais will find a way to not implement the ASEAN agreements in 2015, reasoning along the line 'it would be unfair to force these agreements onto Thailand because we are not prepared well enough, which would put us at a disadvantage'. Mark my words.

They're certainly doing their best not to change the appropriate laws to cover the agreements. Even some of the agreements that should be in action now, don't have the law changes required to make them work.

i have to disagree with you both here... i think it will suit the greedy rich/elite of thailand to make bigger profits as i'm sure burmese,viets,loations , indonesians , phillies and cambodians will be in demand here as they will work for less money than thais , and the so called "educated " thais that need/want to work will be able to go to singapore/malaysia or just stay in thailand in the higher positions,.....much the same as has happened in the U.K with the poles,estonians,latvians,bulgarians etc, putting the "average joe" brit on the scrap heap b'cos they will work for £7 an hour for a job i was paid £14 ph 10 yrs ago ...........same same,....the rich get richer the world over and we are powerless to change it , voting in the opposition changes nothing, they are all in it for themselves only it will be worse in asean as there are none or very few unions which is what we all need more than ever at this moment of selfishness around the globe , so few have so much and dodge paying taxes in the so called rich countries of the west whilst another 40,000 old people will die this winter because of greedy energy companies that we were all told would supply cheaper energy due to the "competition " of privatisation .....what a load of bo**ox !.......same goes for trains,hospitals,water,buses,airport tax,etc...........yea yea goin off topic i kno but <deleted>.......viva revolution !!

Have you considered that the reduced wages reflect the worth of the labour input and that the reduced costs help make goods and services affordable? I like the claim about 40,00 old people dying this winter. Perhaps it is due to such factors of, I dunno, maybe old age and chronic disease? What did old people do 100 years ago? Maybe they wore a sweater.

[timjonespserve]

POLL: Who thinks that any citizens of ASEAN nations will be able to freely work in other ASEAN countries?

I believe that's true come 2015. But i'm not sure if all have agreed, i've heard there are some disputes between details but the open borders start 2015 ? correct ?

[bunjijohn]

Teach everyone Phassa Isaan, 5 or 6 grunts in various tones and you have mastered the language that most Thais speak in Thailand! However, they have to remember to be munching their Som Tam and Pa-La at the same time as picking their noses and scratching their A***s. Cannot get those tones mixed up, ASEAN would collapse.

[whybother]

POLL: Who thinks that any citizens of ASEAN nations will be able to freely work in other ASEAN countries?

I believe that's true come 2015. But i'm not sure if all have agreed, i've heard there are some disputes between details but the open borders start 2015 ? correct ?

Incorrect. Only specific occupations will be allowed to freely work in other countries.

[JoeLing]

...... Thais speak Thai, and Germans, Italian, French, Swedes, Russians et al, and most other nations speak English apart from native English speakers.

Nothing at all against your posting, just a bit puzzled.

If everyone speaks english apart from the native english speakers,

what do english native speakers speak? Russian?

[JoeLing]

Teach everyone Phassa Isaan, 5 or 6 grunts in various tones and you have mastered the language that most Thais speak in Thailand! However, they have to remember to be munching their Som Tam and Pa-La at the same time as picking their noses and scratching their A***s. Cannot get those tones mixed up, ASEAN would collapse.

Don't forget the frog sounds, Hmmm Ahhh - Hmmm Ahhhhh - Ahhhh

BTW, picking nose and scratching A***s is definately Burmese,

Thai's are more advanced, they scratch their D***s too.

[alanferdi]

On a related response, almost half of those surveyed at 49 per cent said they believed Thai youngsters can compete with teenagers in other ASEAN countries ......

what? In Thai Language skills?

Perhaps they were thinking in terms of doing make up and simply hanging out stressless. To make a statement they need to have the same background and be competitive in pro-active thinking. Not simply go silent and stare in ignorance or walk away when the pressure is put on them.

[Thai at Heart]

POLL: Who thinks that any citizens of ASEAN nations will be able to freely work in other ASEAN countries?

I believe that's true come 2015. But i'm not sure if all have agreed, i've heard there are some disputes between details but the open borders start 2015 ? correct ?

Incorrect. Only specific occupations will be allowed to freely work in other countries.

And Thai companies will continue to import below minimum wage workers from neighbouring countries. All in all, its just going to get worse for Thai low and middle employees. Although, I was surprised the other day to see the government advertising recruitment for workers to go to Korea. Hadn't heard about that type of thing for several years.

So, cheap cheap employees from Cambodia displace more expensive workers from Thailand, who go to Korea, and high level companies will be free to hire pretty much who they want Asean wide. Not looking too bright for the average Thai in that situation is it.

[Westaurel]

Thailand has a big delay about language skills ! The most of people cannot speak English or think they can while they can speak only Hello How are you. Happy ? LOL

In comparison with the Philippines where "everybody" can speak English ! It's

[Suradit69]

If my wife is any example, Thais are not aware they are part of ASEAN. "Thailand is joining ASEAN in 2015".

That's strange because "youth" in America thoroughly understand NAFTA and British youth are experts when it comes to the European community.

British youngsters are more ignorant about and have lower expectations of the EU than others of the same age in every other member state, according to a poll published today.

Eurobarometer, the European commission's polling arm, shows that Britons in the 15-24 age group are not well informed about their rights to:

• move permanently to any EU country

• work in any EU country

• access health care and social welfare

• study anywhere in the EU.

Nearly a quarter of the Britons polled were unable to say what being a citizen of the EU meant.

Thailand has a big delay about language skills ! The most of people cannot speak English or think they can while they can speak only Hello How are you. Happy ? LOL

In comparison with the Philippines where "everybody" can speak English ! It's

"The most of people cannot speak English ..."

I'm sure they're all envious of your expertise.

[phantomfiddler]

If it does indeed happen, the thais are not going to know what hit them ! They have been caccooned for so long, thinking they are the only ones who have rights or ability in this country, and all of a sudden there will be hordes of job seekers, far more highly qualified, far more capable in languages and general intellect, and eager to work for less money. The thais have been ripping off the farang tourists for so long they don,t want to work, and it will be very interesting to see the sparks fly. The level of stupidity of the average thai can be only marvelled at, grown people who cannot tell where America is on a map, or even Thailand ! who think that just being thai in Thailand puts them on a level far loftier than any visiting farang. Bring it on

[Narratio]

I do not believe Thai's a stupid. They lack a decent education system and have a culture in which 'class' and 'status' count for more than intelligence and hard work and which prefers to cover up and obfuscate rather than inform, but that doesn't equal stupid. Remember the 'Hercules' graphic card, first high definition display card for the IBM PC back in the early 80's? That was created by a Thai student. Although I do agree that the level of institutional insularity is amazing, higher in many ways than that of the Japanese or possibly Koreans.

As to English usage. I agree you should always try to understand the language of your target country, especially for business deal. But English is the universal fall back plan B. As soon as you get people from 3 different languages involved, then English is your only real option. (Says the guy sitting on the banks of the Caspian surrounded by Indian, Filipino, Rumanian, Russian, Kazakh and Thai engineers). Any form of long term mutual cooperation requires a common language. Once it was French, now due to various wars and economic decisions English is it. Give it 100 years and it may be Chinese...

[metisdead]

A post containing a link to Bangkok Post has been removed as per forum rules as well as the replies to that post.

[theajarn]

I think more than 60% of Thais have insufficient information on ANYTHING happening, much less in their own Godforsaken country~!!!

[Tanaka]

I talked to numerous young Thais. None of them has ever heard of the AEC and certainly doesn't have any information whatsoever. Some answered: new mobile phone?

Well 90% of my current MBA students (here in Thailand, English program, their spoken and written English capability is fine but 99% of the students have never been outside of Thailand), cannot answer any detailed questions about AEC, neither can most of them list the members of ASEAN, some say 'who cares', some others say 'it's all unfair to Thailand'.

Two young men in my class (one has a managerial position in a UK multinational in Thailand and was offered a development position in China but refused because not enough people speak English in the China operation - in fact I am at a loss as to how he's got this far), insist that everybody in all the ASEAN member countries should be forced to learn Thai, and especially Singaporeans.

Hence I have made their course project (in terms of the International Business semester) a total expose of AEC. Next issue - about 40% of the students have requested that I change the course project because 'it's boring'.

You should really give them a satisfactory project. Like mentioning the names of people participating in most Thai soap operas. That would give them a thrill.

[otherstuff1957]

I do some part-time work for an advertising company. We are expanding into Vietnam and Indonesia and are looking seriously at Myanmar. Needless to say I am busier than ever, proofreading contracts, deciphering emails from Indonesia, etc.

The directors of this company know that the AEC is coming and they view it as an opportunity. I had to set up English classes for all employees and any new hires (aside from the odd truck driver) will have to speak and read English.

The change is coming and Thais with adequate English skills will be greatly in demand.

[KireB]

So 40% has more than enough information on AEC? Wow!

[Payboy]

So 40% has more than enough information on AEC? Wow!

No, 40% didn't admit anything.