REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE
Is Thailand ready for Asean Economic Community?
Kavi Chongkittavorn

BANGKOK: -- Much has been said about the AEC (Asean Economic Community) and its far-reaching implications for Thailand. During the past two years, the country has been the most active within Asean as far as the AEC campaign is concerned. As much as 8 billion baht in various forms were spent to "raise awareness and preparedness of Thailand and the Thai people for the AEC."

The emphasis has always been largely concentrated on the economic-related activities even though there are two additional pillars concerning political/security and social/cultural which are equally important.

During the peak of AEC campaign, literally all government agencies - in Bangkok and provincial areas especially the ones bordering neighboring Asean members - received special budget to organize seminars or events on the AEC and its imminent arrival. Ministry of Education, Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Culture and Social Development received the bulk of funding. Even Ministry of Defense was given over 200 million baht as part of the preparation for the AEC.

On top of it, at least 100,000 key district and provincial officials attended seminars on the AEC and related Asean issues during 2011-2012 period. It must be noted here that at district and provincial levels, officials and agencies based the North and Northeast are biggest beneficiaries whenever the AEC campaign was involved, judging from publicities along roadsides' bill oards and cutouts.

Some remote primary schools even set up Asean-related show-cases such as libraries of various sizes as well as information board on Asean members' histories, flags and other cultural aspects albeit other schooling facilities are still lacking. Students memorize Asean slogans, Asean countries. Metropolitan Waterworks Authority advertises proudly its drinking water as clean and safe to welcome AEC. A huge temple in Banglamung District, Chonburi, was not coy in stating that the current renovation is part of the journey towards AEC.

Indeed, the government was quite satisfied with the campaign's outcome as it was able to embed the AEC concept in the public minds. In recent months, the campaign has somewhat died down due to increased political tension and budget constraints.

Culling from media reports and official reactions on the AEC 2015 deadline, the general public still do not have a proper understanding of the AEC and its implications. Most of the views were focused on perceived fear, especially fear of losing job, marketplace and influx of migrant workers. They feel the country is not all that ready and would be losers because the country is not well prepared. The ability to communicate in English has repeatedly been cited as the most important instrument to compete with other Asean members on the AEC.

That explains why Ministry of Education was allocated over 500 million baht to improve the English proficiency among the students, especially those attending vocational schools. Government officials are also urged to hone English language skills. But the vocational students are the focus group because of the importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) played in promoting business activities in Asean. Nearly over 90 per cent of new business investment in the grouping is related to SMEs.

SMEs entrepreneurs from Singapore and Malaysia are models for the Thais especially on the operation of franchised business and English proficiency. Big Thai companies have no such problem as they are well funded and staffed to take on overseas operation. Unfortunately, none of them have embraced and approached Asean as an entity with its distinctive norms and wisdoms. Malaysia's Air Asia and CIMB Bank are unique in this sense.

To be fair, Thailand has done better in fulfilling action plans related to two AEC strategies - equitable economic development and integration with the global economy. In its latest report to the Asean leaders last year, Thailand gave the score of fulfilling AEC measures at nearly 86 per cent, higher than the Asean average of around 80 per cent.

Upon a close scrutiny, one could easily see potholes in Thailand's commitment to the AEC under the single market and production base strategy, especially in the areas of service and direct investment. For example, Thailand has to do more to promote the 70 per cent foreign equity ownership in the service and 51 per cent in the logistic sectors, to name but a few. Other Asean members also have similar problems in coping with the sensitive behind the border measures. But the ongoing political turbulence in Thailand has made its full implementations more difficult.

Sad but true, the political/security and socio/cultural pillars have not received attention they deserved. In comparison with other core Asean members, Thailand has done pretty well on all areas except in areas of conflict prevention and social justice related issues. Indeed without continued progress on these fronts, the AEC sustainability will be greatly affected. As such, the much heralded Asean Community (AC) will remain an inspiration.


-- The Nation 2014-01-13

thailand might not be ready, but i am, maybe soon i can get staff that actually want to work

Without even reading the article my answer is HELL NO. I've be stating for a very long time that Thailand lags behind other Asean countries in so many ways. Maybe entry into Asean Economic Community will finally wake someone, hopefully in power, up and implement changes.

I wonder how many members of the up coming AEC are asking exactly the same question ?

We know that Thais have an air of superiority over many of their neighbours but it's certainly misplaced these days and they have no right to feel they will be a leading light in the community unless the unthinkable happens and they actual get their politics and general attitude sorted out.

Short answer is NO.

We already work with a wide range of overseas partners and vendors, both from Asean and elsewhere, and have done so for many years. In general, those staff who are responsible for projects etc. where English skills are required are very experienced and capable of doing business.

That said, there are still many in the company whose English skills are lacking to say the least.

As for the rest of Thailand, who knows?

Lol! Thailand ready for AEC! Lol! Worst still their delusions of making Thailand the HQ or HUB for the AEC! Lol! Majority Thais cannot speak English! Majority Thais are Xenophobic! They treat Burmese, Laotians, Cambodians and Vietnamese badly and look down on them. Vietnamese, Burmese and Cambodian prisoners and workers in Thailand are abused and treated badly and yet most of these f@##$! organisations like the UN, Amnesty International and other so called NGOs do nothing to inform the rest of the world about Thailand's behaviour.

The Thai Politicans are all a joke! Only corrupted and cheating money for their families and croynies. The so called Thai Hisos are the worst bunch I ever seen in my life, they cannot even be compared to the feet of the Hisos in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia or Indonesia who are truly humble yet rich and are very philanthropical unlike the thai hisos who even demand monies to attend events!

Oh Please, I have to stop.......its making me laugh hilariously! lol!

Yes, Thialand can be the hub within the AEC community for the most available and cheapest but rubbish quality sex trade! Its all that they are famous for!

2000 schools without electricity!!!!! No

Geez, all seven of you above pretty much said it all. Nothing to add now except, ABSOLUTELY HELL NO!

Thailand is at the Bottom of being ready for ASEAN

No legal papers in English

No customs papers in English

No Legal system in English

No Business/commerce information in English

Right at the Bottom of this Asean thing.

14 years of English teaching program in Thailand and no one speaks English any where.

Poor Thailand

They will be nothing more than a ball and chain on ASEAN until they can get their house in order and prove that they are stable.

Thailand will be "the HUB off being left behind" when the AEC rolls around

WIth teachers not being able to teach kids in English, (even though they are English teachers) teaching grammar first and not conversation and or speaking skills. No. Where is the Nation coming from on this one? Hello, I was asked to complete an English exam for English Teachers that held their Master's degree and then mark them for a University in Thailand. Out of the 52 applicants who were applying for 7 teaching positions, not one passed. When I was confronted by the Dean on this matter, she asked me to pass 7 of the closest applicants to fill the positions. I said no and walked out the door. Rajamangala University hmmm.

Future Thai graduates must meet international standards, and to recognize their responsibilities as members of an ASEAN Community. As Thailand has no English language legal textbooks, and nearly all business information, and ALL legal regulations and acts are only available in Thai, this now hinders and restricts foreign corporations from trying to conduct business in the lucrative Thailand market. It also means that corresponding with many Thai firms is extremely problematic. Another problem, which now exists, is that many teachers in Thailand are not aware of the coming changes. "Many of teachers' do not have even basic knowledge about ASEAN, especially those who work in the provinces. However, in reality, the ASEAN Community relies on the normal people of the countries, how they understand, interpret, and carry out the various policies agreed by their leaders. With only two years left, Thailand needs to equip its government officials with the language skills and knowledge about other countries in South-east Asia in preparation for the change.

"The ASEAN Community will bring about interactions in the bureaucracy at all levels. It is inevitable; that the lack of English language skills could put Thailand at a severe disadvantage in any future negotiations and benefits that the community will offer

Thailand is at the Bottom of being ready for ASEAN

No legal papers in English

No customs papers in English

No Legal system in English

No Business/commerce information in English

Right at the Bottom of this Asean thing.

14 years of English teaching program in Thailand and no one speaks English any where.

Poor Thailand

Resistance to AEC and non-proficiency in English will not be seen much in the private sector nor among the public at large.

The sector that is lagging far behind and be the millstone to progress is the civil service, and their arrogance.

You don't think the current yellow-shirt shenanigans might have something to do with the pending AEC deadline? The Thai "old money" cannot be too keen on increased competition and more openness in granting of contracts, etc.

All the above is true, unless you look at it from the point of view of big business. Just like in the USA and other countries, the government no longer cares about the general population and is doing what is best for big business. In that sense, Thai businesses want access to other markets and their labor.

"The civil service, and their arrogance" Spot on These people hold Thailand back for sure.

Future Thai graduates must meet international standards, and to recognize their responsibilities as members of an ASEAN Community. As Thailand has no English language legal textbooks, and nearly all business information, and ALL legal regulations and acts are only available in Thai, this now hinders and restricts foreign corporations from trying to conduct business in the lucrative Thailand market. It also means that corresponding with many Thai firms is extremely problematic. Another problem, which now exists, is that many teachers in Thailand are not aware of the coming changes. "Many of teachers' do not have even basic knowledge about ASEAN, especially those who work in the provinces. However, in reality, the ASEAN Community relies on the normal people of the countries, how they understand, interpret, and carry out the various policies agreed by their leaders. With only two years left, Thailand needs to equip its government officials with the language skills and knowledge about other countries in South-east Asia in preparation for the change.

"The ASEAN Community will bring about interactions in the bureaucracy at all levels. It is inevitable; that the lack of English language skills could put Thailand at a severe disadvantage in any future negotiations and benefits that the community will offer

Addressing your statement: "Future Thai graduates must meet international standards..."

I was asked to test a group of M6 students in IELTS testing for preparation for actual testing. These students were the smartest of the smartest and I am not being sarcastic.

Out of these 58 students, 1 student got a 48%, 5 students got a 30%, and the remainder could not even get a 18% score. I scored these test very liberally. If I counted the mis-spelling, which you do in IELTS testing, all students wouldn't be able to get 8%.

Factual

I think this topic is beaten to death. It will come up again and again and responses all the same. Everyone here knows that Thailand is behind the curve and it won't change. Actually, they aren't even on the curve.

Are they ready to bring their beers in at a realistic price?

No. Next?

All the above is true, unless you look at it from the point of view of big business. Just like in the USA and other countries, the government no longer cares about the general population and is doing what is best for big business. In that sense, Thai businesses want access to other markets and their labor.

Let me finish your thought:

In that sense, Thai businesses want access to other markets and their labor, while protecting their own market and businesses.

Wasn't one of the Thailand's requirements for ASEAN was that all ASEAN countries make Thai the official business language because that's pretty much all they speak in the Little Thai Universe.

Without even reading the article my answer is HELL NO. I've be stating for a very long time that Thailand lags behind other Asean countries in so many ways. Maybe entry into Asean Economic Community will finally wake someone, hopefully in power, up and implement changes.

Lags behind Lao, Cambodia, Myanmar? Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam?

I would say behind Malaysia and if you count it, Singapore Thailand is one of the strongest countries in the Asean.

"....the North and Northeast are biggest beneficiaries whenever the AEC campaign was involved...."

Business as usual.

this can only come from "The Nation" at a time like this!

When I read the headline I thought it was a joke from "Not the Nation" - hahaha is Thailand ready ....hahaha

Really? So far up to 8 billion Baht has been spent raising awarness/preparedness? 250 million dollars?????? Damn

I am not sure what to say. I know there are lots of problems all throughout Thai society.....but who is going to fix them? Maybe someone will emerge to pull everyone together in the future....maybe!

Maybe,if everything is on Thailand's terms !,and the

rest of ASEAN bow to Thailand's will,or Thailand will

throw the dummy from the cot and refuse to play.

regards Worgeordie