THAI TALK
BAD HABITS that keep us underdeveloped
Suthichai Yoon

BANGKOK: -- Somebody posted a message on Facebook the other day, suggesting that Thailand is lagging behind other countries because of "bad habits" that serve to keep Thailand "underdeveloped".

He listed eight "Thai habits" that he considered to be the main obstacles to turning Thailand into a developed country. At the top of the list is the prevalent patronage system, which dictates that junior people must always obey seniors and elders. It doesn't matter who you are or what you do. If you want to get ahead in your career, you will always have to kowtow to the person above you.

I raised this issue with a friend to find out whether he considered the patronage system a problem or not. He immediately shot back, saying that whoever had posted the message was either very naive or utterly ignorant of the nature of Thai society.

"What he calls a patronage system is in fact the traditional networking culture in Thai society. What's wrong with that? Thailand wouldn't have come so far without the close ties among family members, relatives, friends and, yes, patrons."

He vehemently argued that what critics call "patronage" is in fact "mutual support" that has pulled Thailand out of one crisis after another.

I walked across the road to ask a man on the street. He didn't even wait for me to finish the question.

"Thai people are addicted to the patronage system. That's the source of all our problems. Patronage means corruption. Patronage means inequality. Patronage means you can't make progress without good connections. Patronage means it's not your ability that counts; it's who you know, not how good you are. No doubt, we have been thrown into this mess."

I was too scared to ask the third person I met. He might have thought I was trying to antagonise him. So, I asked him about the second "habit" the Facebook poster identified as a negative thing for national progress.

"Do you believe that Thailand lags behind some other countries because of our fun-loving nature?" I asked.

He looked at me as if I had asked him why he had beaten his wife. He stared at me, trying to make sure I was serious about the question.

Then, he said: "Fun? What fun are you talking about? Do we still have fun as a nation? Everybody hates everybody else. No, we are not a fun-loving people anymore. We are a nation of haters."

I put on a smile. But he refused to reciprocate. Before walking away, he looked me in the eyes and declared: "Are you trying to make me hate you?"

I didn't manage to converse with him long enough to tell him that I was only trying to find out why Thais aren't being nice to one another anymore.

As for the other bad habits listed on the Facebook post, I was afraid to continue with my personal public opinion survey. I wasn't ready to be hit over the head by people angry at being told the truth about their daily behaviour that is contributing to national decline.

What if I told you that Thais are lazy and afraid of change, and that we are never punctual? What if I told you that Thailand can never hope to climb to the top if we continue to spend more than we can afford, and that we tend to rely on others to do things for us instead of trying to work things out ourselves?

This list of eight national bad habits hasn't attracted much attention so far on Facebook. But I hope someone will post another message to extol the 10 national good habits that will override the eight bad ones - those good things that we Thais do every day that will one day make us a superpower.

Don't ask me, though, what those good habits are. I am racking my brain trying to come up with even a first few good habits we can really be proud of.

-- The Nation 2013-10-03

Corruption and complacency.

Mai bpen arai.....

Are Thais finally having a good look at themselves? I hope so. The mai pen rai attitude is for lazy losers.

Are Thais finally having a good look at themselves? I hope so. The mai pen rai attitude is for lazy losers.

I doubt it.

nice to see that at least 1 thai is asking some big questions , hopfully it will "catch on" and they may free themselves from their little bubble before hell freezes over ,............WELCOME !

Good habits. Thais are always above board in their personal and business dealings. Their word is their bond. Charitable giving by the Thai rich is massive and publicly known. Thais take so much responsibility for their actions and behavior it makes others feel inferior. Thais never expect anything special or to be treated differently. Thai respect for law and rules of the road is amazing. Thais work very diligently , always deliver on promise, and know and understand the concept of achievement. Thais respect others in every endeavor especially the poor and foreign persons. Thais are extremely knowledgable and well read. Thais hold personal character and morality in very high esteem and would never sell out.

Bad behavior and unprofessional ethics start from the top

Good habits. Thais are always above board in their personal and business dealings. Their word is their bond. Charitable giving by the Thai rich is massive and publicly known. Thais take so much responsibility for their actions and behavior it makes others feel inferior. Thais never expect anything special or to be treated differently. Thai respect for law and rules of the road is amazing. Thais work very diligently , always deliver on promise, and know and understand the concept of achievement. Thais respect others in every endeavor especially the poor and foreign persons. Thais are extremely knowledgable and well read. Thais hold personal character and morality in very high esteem and would never sell out.

Well done. I wish I could agree with any of it.

Good article.

Feudalism, sakdina (power over fields, misused and misplaced kreng jai (no exact translation, but ranges from consideration of others, an unwillingness to confront an issue or blind deference to those senior to you) and fear of the powerful all underpin most of Thai society, the 'culture' here and people's behaviour and attitudes.

It's called Thainess

sent from my hippo phone

One word, Somchai....

Good habits. Thais are always above board in their personal and business dealings. Their word is their bond. Charitable giving by the Thai rich is massive and publicly known. Thais take so much responsibility for their actions and behavior it makes others feel inferior. Thais never expect anything special or to be treated differently. Thai respect for law and rules of the road is amazing. Thais work very diligently , always deliver on promise, and know and understand the concept of achievement. Thais respect others in every endeavor especially the poor and foreign persons. Thais are extremely knowledgable and well read. Thais hold personal character and morality in very high esteem and would never sell out.

I'm surprised that everyone outside the Thai bubble doesn't realise the benefits. Particularly like the 'Thailand wouldn't have come so far........'. Do Thais really believe they have arrived??

Complete aside. 17 year-old step-daughter had heard of Siam as a country but didn't know its current name.

Presumably the first man the author quoted is a somebody or at least a would be somebody who considers he has " a place in society " so everything runs properly for him and his likes.

The man in the street knows what really happens but is expected to " know his place ".

Guess who brought in this type of behavior I the first place??? Immigrants from the ancestry China, and the Japanese followed with their fanatic automobile industry production...

Each one of those ethnic tribes immigrating to Thailand slowly and backstabbing oropaganda brainwashed the Thai people's attitude that all of a sudden, possessions are the norm.

Think about it, this nation is ruled by an evil mafia of Chibese Thai ancestors, and most cars in Thailand are Japanese cars... So who rules the economy in Thailand???

Guess who brought in this type of behavior I the first place??? Immigrants from the ancestry China, and the Japanese followed with their fanatic automobile industry production...

Each one of those ethnic tribes immigrating to Thailand slowly and backstabbing oropaganda brainwashed the Thai people's attitude that all of a sudden, possessions are the norm.

Think about it, this nation is ruled by an evil mafia of Chibese Thai ancestors, and most cars in Thailand are Japanese cars... So who rules the economy in Thailand???

All very true!

Good habits. Thais are always above board in their personal and business dealings. Their word is their bond. Charitable giving by the Thai rich is massive and publicly known. Thais take so much responsibility for their actions and behavior it makes others feel inferior. Thais never expect anything special or to be treated differently. Thai respect for law and rules of the road is amazing. Thais work very diligently , always deliver on promise, and know and understand the concept of achievement. Thais respect others in every endeavor especially the poor and foreign persons. Thais are extremely knowledgable and well read. Thais hold personal character and morality in very high esteem and would never sell out.

Love it!

Major reason; they were never colonized and kicked up the ass. It's cute in a way and makes em somewhat unique, though also utterly nonsensical and cringeworthy at times.

It says a lot that he was afraid to confront people with these ideas. Maybe another bad habit that is holding them back is "inability to deal with criticism."

Guess who brought in this type of behavior I the first place??? Immigrants from the ancestry China, and the Japanese followed with their fanatic automobile industry production...

Each one of those ethnic tribes immigrating to Thailand slowly and backstabbing oropaganda brainwashed the Thai people's attitude that all of a sudden, possessions are the norm.

Think about it, this nation is ruled by an evil mafia of Chibese Thai ancestors, and most cars in Thailand are Japanese cars... So who rules the economy in Thailand???

KT?

Yeah...all very nice and so on...but what are they REALLY willing to do about it?

...oh...mai pen rai...

Good habits. Thais are always above board in their personal and business dealings. Their word is their bond. Charitable giving by the Thai rich is massive and publicly known. Thais take so much responsibility for their actions and behavior it makes others feel inferior. Thais never expect anything special or to be treated differently. Thai respect for law and rules of the road is amazing. Thais work very diligently , always deliver on promise, and know and understand the concept of achievement. Thais respect others in every endeavor especially the poor and foreign persons. Thais are extremely knowledgable and well read. Thais hold personal character and morality in very high esteem and would never sell out.

Love it!

Major reason; they were never colonized and kicked up the ass. It's cute in a way and makes em somewhat unique, though also utterly nonsensical and cringeworthy at times.

(Thinking out loud)

Are we perhaps being unfair by assuming that different countries should aspire to be better.

There are many Thai features which are unique to Thailand. Are they to be removed to allow Thailand to join the modern world.

Thailand is brain-washed, so doesn't have the capacity for independent thought. They don't need to change because they feel being Thai is enough.

Being (unwelcome but spending) guests, should we be thinking about how Thailand can be better? Thailand is Thailand, perhaps we are trying to change something which ought not to be changed.

As I say, just rambling thoughts which challenge my own personal thoughts that Thailand needs to change for the benefit of Thais.

Good habits. Thais are always above board in their personal and business dealings. Their word is their bond. Charitable giving by the Thai rich is massive and publicly known. Thais take so much responsibility for their actions and behavior it makes others feel inferior. Thais never expect anything special or to be treated differently. Thai respect for law and rules of the road is amazing. Thais work very diligently , always deliver on promise, and know and understand the concept of achievement. Thais respect others in every endeavor especially the poor and foreign persons. Thais are extremely knowledgable and well read. Thais hold personal character and morality in very high esteem and would never sell out.

Well done. I wish I could agree with any of it.

+ 10 !

You read what the Man said......'The list hasn't attracted much attention on Facebook as yet'..... it won't because Thai's like things the way they are and will read it and delete rather than comment with anything positive. It's not a subject they would even bring up in conversation with friends or family as they are generally brainwashed 'into the system' from when they are very small children.

There is much for Thais to be proud of - the ability to take pleasure in the present moment, the grace and charm in personal relationships, the consideration shown for others, the extraordinary ability to pay attention to detail, the love of nature. the refrshing lack of agonising about personal issues.

We know what the problems are and to an extent they are structural, sometimes even the flip side of the attractive aspects.But it's always worth reminding oneself why one lives here.

Why should they change or do anything about it?

Seems to me most expats living in Thailand want to change the Thais and Thailand to be more like people and country they left behind, the same country and people they continually complain about...

Thais in general aren't stupid, they are just viciously mislead and punished down upon and propaganda brainwashed to believe that they are... Stop that propaganda now!!!!

It is not that a patronage system is inherently evil; it is that it competes for the very same space as a meritocracy. Thus any society where patronage is the dominant social structure will have placed loyalty and obedience to the patrons, the holders of power, above moral standards, adherence to the law, decency, hard work and ability. Thus these positive qualities I have listed are diminished within society.

Thailand! a superpower! are u dreaming or what?

All comments above relate to the Thai mentality alone? Have you never been in other Asian countries? This is not typically Thai, but

typically Asian.

Good habits. Thais are always above board in their personal and business dealings. Their word is their bond. Charitable giving by the Thai rich is massive and publicly known. Thais take so much responsibility for their actions and behavior it makes others feel inferior. Thais never expect anything special or to be treated differently. Thai respect for law and rules of the road is amazing. Thais work very diligently , always deliver on promise, and know and understand the concept of achievement. Thais respect others in every endeavor especially the poor and foreign persons. Thais are extremely knowledgable and well read. Thais hold personal character and morality in very high esteem and would never sell out.

Yep - I heard about that particular Thai some years ago but I understand he moved abroad to a country where his attributes were more likely to be commonplace......................

Good habits. Thais are always above board in their personal and business dealings. Their word is their bond. Charitable giving by the Thai rich is massive and publicly known. Thais take so much responsibility for their actions and behavior it makes others feel inferior. Thais never expect anything special or to be treated differently. Thai respect for law and rules of the road is amazing. Thais work very diligently , always deliver on promise, and know and understand the concept of achievement. Thais respect others in every endeavor especially the poor and foreign persons. Thais are extremely knowledgable and well read. Thais hold personal character and morality in very high esteem and would never sell out.

Outstanding, . . . .. as long as you are not being serious.

I acknowledge the habit of using the hose in the hong naam as being one of Thailands best habits and that cleanliness of this kind is always appreciated by those of us making regular inspections.