Thaksin To Revitalise War On Drugs

[Plus]

Yes, they do worry about drugs very much, especially because the economy is getting into problems.

Is there any opinion poll to show that drugs is one of people's main concerns? It's completely out of the blue for me. Have BP and TN completely missed it?

[jdinasia]

No one around here seems to be worried about drugs or random violence etc ... just economy/politics<a very few>/The upcoming celebrations 9and how the economy and political thing reflects on HM)

[ColPyat]

Yes, they do worry about drugs very much, especially because the economy is getting into problems.

Is there any opinion poll to show that drugs is one of people's main concerns? It's completely out of the blue for me. Have BP and TN completely missed it?

Bangkok Post and the Nation do not exactly speak for, or reflect the majority of the Thai population. Neither are the two papers exactly strong on local news either.

Both papers are made for Expats and educated Thais primarily. There is a huge discrepancy between those sectors of Thai society, and their experience of Thailand, and the majority of the Thais that are unable to read English, and have a very limited knowledge of the outside world, and economical principles.

There are many developments in this country that go almost unreported by any media outlet, for which there are rarely any reliable statistics or opinion polls available. I would love to be able to back up my points by supporting researches, unfortunately i simply cannot.

It is a mystery to me why there is so little research available on those lesser known aspects on contemporary Thai society even though Thai studies are a well represented subject matter. The only explanation i have got once from an anthropologist was that many researchers, Thai and foreign, fall into a strange trap of Thai selfperception that has very little to do with Thai realities.

It may come out of the blue to you, but, if you would like to know more, don't take just my word, but speak directly with people directly involved in those sectors of Thai society, and learn how to filter out and compare their statements and experiences by also getting yourself involved to a certain degree. Don't just be content with what is reported to you by the papers.

My experience of Thailand may sound extreme to many here, but unless you simply neglect me as a troll as some choose to do, you should maybe start making some steps in the real world in order find out yourself if there is some truth to what i state here. The risk there is though that your whole conception of Thailand might change radically.

Practical steps would be hanging out with coppers on the beat, accompany them, find contact with youth gangs and spend time with them, spend considerable time in the slums (about 30% of Bangkok's population lives in slums), listen to radio stations such as INN, get yourself the red colored wireless for which you don't need a license.

And that is just the beginning. The far more time consuming, but necessary part is going and research village structures and migration patterns. Because this is where more than 60% of the Thai population lives.

[jdinasia]

OMG ... I didn't just read that .....

(self edited ... rising to the bait is just stupid)

Yes follow Colpyats advice and ignore the Thai Press the English language press and all of your own experiences in Thailand!

Edited May 22, 2006 by jdinasia

[ColPyat]

OMG ... I didn't just read that .....

Yes ... move to Samut Prakarn ... hang out with machete wielding street gangs ... ignore the population of BKK ... don't talk to your neighbors but instead talk to cops. Don't read the papers (Thai or English Language) but listen to ... hel_l listen to whomever

Are you drunk?

[ColPyat]

OMG ... I didn't just read that .....

(self edited ... rising to the bait is just stupid)

Yes follow Colpyats advice and ignore the Thai Press the English language press and all of your own experiences in Thailand!

If you want to keep the thread as civil as it has been until now, please do a bit more self editing.

Your responses are absolutely uncalled for, and unnecessarly aggrevate the discussion.

[stumonster]

JDinasia

how many of the females of your aquaintance will confidently get into a taxi of an evening on their own in bangkok?

In the last month a female I know who was with her child , embarked in a taxi on Chang Wattana road to go to Wat Hua lampong at 6 pm in the evening found herself at the recieving end of the taxi drivers pistol being relieved of her valuables.

You may believe this is not a common occurance , But I think there are a lot more robberies than you are aware of. Bangkok is a violent city and it is becoming more so as thailands economy continues to contract.

[tettyan]

Is there any opinion poll to show that drugs is one of people's main concerns? It's completely out of the blue for me. Have BP and TN completely missed it?

I recall that The Nation published a series of Suan Dusit and ABAC polls before the 2005 election on Thaksin's policies. Most people have always credited Thaksin with the economic recovery from 1997 (rightly or wrongly), so what struck me was that economic policies were not the top policies. Rather, the most popular policies, each with over 80% approval ratings, were Purachai's "social order" campaign and the war on drugs. When I have time, I will try to dig up some of those articles and post them here.

Bangkok Post and the Nation do not exactly speak for, or reflect the majority of the Thai population. Neither are the two papers exactly strong on local news either.

Both papers are made for Expats and educated Thais primarily. There is a huge discrepancy between those sectors of Thai society, and their experience of Thailand, and the majority of the Thais that are unable to read English, and have a very limited knowledge of the outside world, and economical principles.

There are many developments in this country that go almost unreported by any media outlet, for which there are rarely any reliable statistics or opinion polls available. I would love to be able to back up my points by supporting researches, unfortunately i simply cannot.

It is a mystery to me why there is so little research available on those lesser known aspects on contemporary Thai society even though Thai studies are a well represented subject matter. The only explanation i have got once from an anthropologist was that many researchers, Thai and foreign, fall into a strange trap of Thai selfperception that has very little to do with Thai realities.

It may come out of the blue to you, but, if you would like to know more, don't take just my word, but speak directly with people directly involved in those sectors of Thai society, and learn how to filter out and compare their statements and experiences by also getting yourself involved to a certain degree. Don't just be content with what is reported to you by the papers.

My experience of Thailand may sound extreme to many here, but unless you simply neglect me as a troll as some choose to do, you should maybe start making some steps in the real world in order find out yourself if there is some truth to what i state here. The risk there is though that your whole conception of Thailand might change radically.

Practical steps would be hanging out with coppers on the beat, accompany them, find contact with youth gangs and spend time with them, spend considerable time in the slums (about 30% of Bangkok's population lives in slums), listen to radio stations such as INN, get yourself the red colored wireless for which you don't need a license.

And that is just the beginning. The far more time consuming, but necessary part is going and research village structures and migration patterns. Because this is where more than 60% of the Thai population lives.

I admit I don't really get much of a chance to escape the comfortable little bubble upper-middle class Thais have created for themselves and see much of the "real" Thailand. That's one reason I follow this board so I can learn from those of you who have had such experiences. Anyway I had a few questions. The 30% of BKKers who live in slums... is this 30% of Bangkok's registered population or de facto population. Because I recall that only 5.6 million Thais are registered as Bangkok residents, while another 2 million who live and work here most of the year are actually registered upcountry.

As for your comments on the media, the Thai media is unabashedly Bangkok-centric. Only one daily newspaper is published outside of Bangkok (in Chiang Mai). Newspapers generally don't put too much of an effort to report what's going on on the provinces - many of them don't even have proper upcountry news bureaus, but instead rely on networks of poorly paid freelancers. But this isn't very surprising, because the publishers and news editors know who their audience is - the majority of newspapers circulated in Thailand are sold in the Bangkok area. Which makes it frustrating for someone like me who would like to know more about what's happening on the ground - but can't always make it out there in person.

Edited May 22, 2006 by tettyan

[jdinasia]

Colpyat ... you are right!

Your statement here "My experience of Thailand may sound extreme to many here, but unless you simply neglect me as a troll as some choose to do, you should maybe start making some steps in the real world in order find out yourself if there is some truth to what i state here. The risk there is though that your whole conception of Thailand might change radically."

You are right it sounds extreme to many and unbeleivable to many as well. Telling people to go hang out in S.P. with ,by your own description, machete and gun wielding street gangs is rediculous.

Worse than rediculous is the simple fact that you disregard the experiences of all the other people that live here and don't live with street gangs or hide targetted drug suspects in their homes etc etc

Your experiences are not more valid than that of others (and in terms of BKK may be less so since you keep talking about another province). People are going to disagree with your claims ... civil people, smart people, experienced people. Are they all to be ignored because you claim something that no one else experiences?

Between the posters that disagree with you there are cummulatively way more years of experience in Thailand ... and of life ... but you would have it that only YOUR experience is valid and that for any other person's experience to be valid then they must do as you claim to have done. That is just rubbish.

"

Edited May 22, 2006 by jdinasia

[jdinasia]

JDinasia

how many of the females of your aquaintance will confidently get into a taxi of an evening on their own in bangkok?

In the last month a female I know who was with her child , embarked in a taxi on Chang Wattana road to go to Wat Hua lampong at 6 pm in the evening found herself at the recieving end of the taxi drivers pistol being relieved of her valuables.

You may believe this is not a common occurance , But I think there are a lot more robberies than you are aware of. Bangkok is a violent city and it is becoming more so as thailands economy continues to contract.

I don't know any that WON'T get in a taxi in the evening alone. Granted though ... all the women I know do usually travel in pairs

[ColPyat]

As for your comments on the media, the Thai media is unabashedly Bangkok-centric.

I believe it was 30% of Bangkok's actual population including nonregisterd people. Obviously it was only as rough an estimate as you can get under those circumstances.

The freelance newspaper correspondents in the provinces make generally not more than 10 000 baht a month from their profession, and have to bear the costs of transport and material themselves too, neither can they keep the copyright of their articles and photos. In addition to this they are working under very dangerous conditions, every story they file they have to be careful not to upset certain status quos in their areas between the considerable vested interests of influental people and groups of power. Not exactly ideal conditions for unbiased quality journalism.

[ColPyat]

You are right it sounds extreme to many and unbeleivable to many as well. Telling people to go hang out in S.P. with ,by your own description, machete and gun wielding street gangs is rediculous.

Worse than rediculous is the simple fact that you disregard the experiences of all the other people that live here and don't live with street gangs or hide targetted drug suspects in their homes etc etc

Stop arguing in that impertinent tone with me, please. A minimum amount of manners and politeness goes a lot further.

I do not disregard any personal experience, but the lack of an experience does not make that an experience itself - it still is a lack of experience. Just because you, and many others have never made the experinces i have made (and appearantly a few other have as well, if you read the many threads about violent crimes here on the board) does not invalidate my experiences.

Are you familiar with the saying "ignorance is a bliss' ?

Edited May 22, 2006 by ColPyat

[stumonster]

I don't know any that WON'T get in a taxi in the evening alone. Granted though ... all the women I know do usually travel in pairs

ok - ask them if they would get into a taxi alone in the evening and if not , why not.

you make a lot of posts here proclaiming your knowlege of Thai and Thailand , but most of them seem to be at odds with my experience and I am not sure why that is.

[jdinasia]

what?

sorry ... but cumulative YEARS of living here without running into machete wielding motorcycle gangs or feeling nervous threatened ... or seeing ANYTHING more violent aimed at a farang OR Thai than a beating for being disrespectful to the Monarchy are experiences ...

It's not lack of experience ... it is experience ... Lack of experiences are certainly there in my life ... they are not a void however .. they are filled with OTHER experiences ... That is years of experiences that show Thailand to be relatively safe.

Anyways ... the thread isn't about an iminent civil war ... or gangs in S.P. with or without machetes and guns ...

It is about Thaksin's newest war on Drugs .... which is a non-starter from the beginning ... scroll back and you'll see that even with the "impertinent tone" you used you agreed with me... "as much as it pains me to agree with jdinasia" <and please refer to that post when you discuss my tone >

Edited May 22, 2006 by jdinasia

[Thaising]

I was told cambodian used the ganja as cooking ingredient to make it tasty. After the meal, it makes them feel like moonwalking.

The Thais did that as well (still sometimes do).

Ganja was more a herb than an intoxicant here.

Still, in my wife's village, most of the old people do enjoy their bongs, it helps them against many of the usual ailments, from pains to old age depressions.

That is true, small quantity do cure some illnesses if not misuse.

[ColPyat]

what?

sorry ... but cumulative YEARS of living here without running into machete wielding motorcycle gangs or feeling nervous threatened ... or seeing ANYTHING more violent aimed at a farang OR Thai than a beating for being disrespectful to the Monarchy are experiences ...

It's not lack of experience ... it is experience ... Lack of experiences are certainly there in my life ... they are not a void however .. they are filled with OTHER experiences ... That is years of experiences that show Thailand to be relatively safe.

Anyways ... the thread isn't about an iminent civil war ... or gangs in S.P. with or without machetes and guns ...

It is about Thaksin's newest war on Drugs .... which is a non-starter from the beginning ... scroll back and you'll see that even with the "impertinent tone" you used you agreed with me... "as much as it pains me to agree with jdinasia" <and please refer to that post when you discuss my tone >

Cumulative years of living in an ivory tower still are cumulative years in an ivory tower.

Are you just retinent because i pointed out the correlation between drugs, the drug war and the social decline of large social groups in Thailand including the usuall effects such as violence and nihilism, or are you really unaware of Thailand's social problems? Could that be so because these conflicts do not penetrate your chosen ivory tower where nothing untowards can happen?

Don't get me wrong - everybody has the right to chose his refuge, just please don't make the mistake of projecting from your refuge to the whole of society.

If you take offense at my remark "as much as it pains me..." then maybe you should have a good look at your signiture about humor again, and have a deep thought about maybe deleting that line.

[ColPyat]

That is true, small quantity do cure some illnesses if not misuse.

There is a huge difference between use, and abuse of drugs.

I am of the opinion that keeping certain substances illegal only furthers the incidents of abuse as unbiased reasearch and education is hardly possible in such a forbidding climate.

[jdinasia]

again with the same baiting ... that anyone who has experiences that are different must be living in "ivory towers" or "ignorant" ... so much baiting all the time

ho well ...

[elkangorito]

Stepping back in time (briefly), for many years Australia was selling Heroine based products as household elixers. All of this stopped in 1953 (or thereabouts) due to pressure from the USA.

4 years ago & in Australia, my best friend's grandson (the kid was 18 then) confided in me & told me that he was addicted to heroine. He told me that his family had rejected his 'different' approach to life (nothing to do with drugs...he simply didn't like their idea of how ones life should be lived) since he was about 10. His family was & still is religious & he simply had a 'different' outlook on life compared to the other members of his family. My best friend (his grandfather) is now 76.

This young fella asked me if I thought that his grandfather should know of his situation. I asked him if he wanted his grandfather to know & he said, "Yes", because he didn't have anyone else to turn to in his family.

With the grandson's permission, I presented my best friend (the 76 yearold) with this info. He was totally shocked & disgusted. He also said that he did not wish to ever speak to his grandson again. I asked why & the answer was, "he is a drug addict".

This is typical of how 'uninformed & ignorant people' think.

After some coaxing, I got my best friend (the 76 yearold) to do a search on Heroine on the internet. What was found clearly indicated the history of the existence of heroine through both the legal & illegal years. He discovered that due to these types of drugs becoming illegal, the 'black market' took complete control & added many other chemicals to heroine, to increase profits. Such added chemicals are what do the most damage to individuals. On the other hand, when these types of drugs were legal, they were easily available in their purer forms, which DID NOT do anywhere near as much damage as the 'illegal' versions. Also, back in the 'legal days', the government was able to easily control the level of use of these types of drugs.

I have just described a reality of todays world compared to that of before the moral 'inquisition' on drugs. Humans generally gravitate toward a 'drug culture'...all over the world. This has been going on for a very very very long time. Ergo, it will not be stopped. It is a fact of life.

Only 'point scoring' politicians & moral control freaks insist on this fruitless & inane 'war on drugs'.

I feel that the only real solution to this imaginary drug problem, is to legalise all 'drugs' & allow people to with their bodies, what they wish.

Why would somebody who doesn't even know me (a politician), want to stop me from harming myself? Answer: MONEY & political power!!! These liars generally couldn't give a toss for my life. They just want more 'working' slaves to pay more taxes.

A 'war on drugs' is essentially a 'war on humans who wish to ingest chemicals of their own choice, for their own reasons'. A totally inane war.

[cdnvic]

You are right it sounds extreme to many and unbeleivable to many as well. Telling people to go hang out in S.P. with ,by your own description, machete and gun wielding street gangs is rediculous.

Worse than rediculous is the simple fact that you disregard the experiences of all the other people that live here and don't live with street gangs or hide targetted drug suspects in their homes etc etc

Stop arguing in that impertinent tone with me, please. A minimum amount of manners and politeness goes a lot further.

I do not disregard any personal experience, but the lack of an experience does not make that an experience itself - it still is a lack of experience. Just because you, and many others have never made the experinces i have made (and appearantly a few other have as well, if you read the many threads about violent crimes here on the board) does not invalidate my experiences.

Are you familiar with the saying "ignorance is a bliss' ?

I am getting sick to death of you guys arguing like children. Put each other on ignore, or I'm sending you both off for a week.

cv

[sriracha john]

Yes, they do worry about drugs very much, especially because the economy is getting into problems.

Is there any opinion poll to show that drugs is one of people's main concerns? It's completely out of the blue for me. Have BP and TN completely missed it?

Since no one has directly answered your question, I will. The answer to your polling inquiry is no.

There were a couple of women who approached Thaksin when he decided to finally return to work and voiced their concern. Apparently, that's enough to mobilize this Nation's rapidly dwindling resources and start up Drug War V.

Put aside the concerns of millions of Thais such as the burgeoning trade deficits, soaring gas prices, increasing unemployment, rising inflation, teachers being murdered in the South, or even today's 3% loss in SET, these 2 women asked for help, and Shazam!, the Nation will expend all it can to accomplish that goal..... for the FIFTH time.

Edited May 22, 2006 by sriracha john

[tettyan]

Yes, they do worry about drugs very much, especially because the economy is getting into problems.

Is there any opinion poll to show that drugs is one of people's main concerns? It's completely out of the blue for me. Have BP and TN completely missed it?

Since no one has directly answered your question, I will. The answer to your polling inquiry is no.

There were a couple of women who approached Thaksin when he decided to finally return to work and voiced their concern. Apparently, that's enough to mobilize this Nation's rapidly dwindling resources and start up Drug War V.

Put aside the concerns of millions of Thais such as the burgeoning trade deficits, soaring gas prices, increasing unemployment, rising inflation, and even today's 3% loss in SET, these 2 women asked for help, and Shazam!, the Nation will expend all it can to accomplish that goal..... for the FIFTH time.

From today's BP - a translated editorial from Thailand's best-selling "quality" daily. Yes, unlike the BP or TN, a paper that's actually read by at least some ordinary Thais. You can bet the stuff discussed in this piece concerns the everyday voter very much.

Youngsters must be shown correct path

Bangkok Post, May 22, 2006

Matichon editorial: What's wrong with our youngsters these days?

The latest Abac poll by Assumption University said the number of young drug addicts had gone up by more than 700% in Bangkok and its vicinity in the past year. This was due to laxity on the part of law enforcement officials and inconsistent campaigns against narcotic drugs.

Meanwhile, the permanent secretary of the Public Health Ministry revealed that Thailand is the world's fifth biggest consumer of alcohol, with annual consumption worth 125 billion baht.

Based on the above revelations, more and more young Thais are turning to drugs and drink. If the trend is not reversed, the country's future will be at risk.

Five years ago, national polls showed there were 15.3 million Thais over 15 years of age who consumed alcohol. Of these regular drinkers, 2.3 million were female.

This problem may be attributed in part to our political system and political parties, which have always strived to increase economic growth without paying much attention to the morality in our society. People have become addicted to consumerism and ignored moral values.

More than 90% of Thais are Buddhist, but many of us do not follow the Five Precepts of Buddhism, one which forbids alcohol consumption. But it is not too late. Schools and colleges must take the lead in instilling moral values in their students. If young people grow up with a strong moral foundation, they will not be easily led down the wrong path.

Networks of parents may be set up to help the schools campaign against vice, particularly drinking and drug use.

More importantly, law enforcement officials must perform their duties righteously and not serve as the tools of influential people who engage in the drug trade. Government officials who engage in illegal activities must face the harshest punishment under the law.

Government officials who do not act against lawless elements are themselves supporting these criminals who are hurting the young.

[tettyan]

As promised, here is the results of opinion polls conducted on the "war on drugs". The first piece here is about a poll conducted one month into the first war.

WAR ON DRUGS: Strong support for crackdown

Published on Feb 24, 2003

The Nation - Suan Dusit Poll finds 90% back move despite fear of being killed

Despite widespread fears that the government's anti-drug crusade will lay them open to being framed and killed by either police or the drug mafia, more than 90 per cent of |nearly 10,000 people surveyed said they totally supported the campaign.

The survey was carried out by Suan Dusit Poll between February 15 and yesterday on 8,674 people, representing 846 communities nationwide, who were asked their opinions of the government's toughest ever measure against drug-traders.

About 40 per cent of respondents said they thought police had become more serious about drug suppression since the government announced its crackdown.

About 27 per cent speculated that the number of drug-traders and drug-users had decreased as a consequence and that both were more wary. Some said it was harder to find drugs these days and the price was much higher.

Five in 10 said they still dared not tip off police. Since the government started the anti-drug crusade at the beginning of this month, at least 800 people have been killed, mostly, it is believed, to shield masterminds.

Opposition leader Chuan Leekpai yesterday criticised the government's violent crackdown on drug suspects, saying that killing was the work for gunmen, and not for the police.

The Democrat leader was speaking on the Chuan Online Internet programme broadcast on the Democrat Party website

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Wan Muhamad Noor Matha |said yesterday that he believed |the world community had |a good understanding of the government's war on drugs.

Some countries even warned their nationals against smugg-ling drugs into Thailand, the minister said.

The National Human Rights Commission is to investigate in depth 22 complaints by people who say they have been falsely accused and put on the police drug-trade blacklist.

The commission will forward the complaints to the Interior Ministry and call for a review of blacklisting procedures.

-------------------

No probe needed to move suspect police

Police officers who are alleged to be involved in the illicit drugs trade now face the prospect of being immediately transferred to an inactive post, a police spokesman said yesterday.

National Police Chief General Sant Sarutanond has decided that transfer orders can be issued without waiting for the results of an investigation, said the spokesman, Maj-General Pongsapat Pongcharoen.

"This way, officers who behave suspiciously will be punished immediately," he said.

Previously, police officers were transferred only after an investigation into their alleged misconduct had been completed and the charge against them proved.

This process often took time, arousing suspicion that police were trying to protect fellow officers.

Pongsapat said top policeman Sant had also given police commissioners and commanders the power to immediately transfer subordinates.

The police spokesman added that commissioners could transfer officers up to superintendent-level while commanders could transfer officers from inspector-level down.

Sant himself will approve transfer orders for officers above superintendent level, Pongsapat said.

He said 209 officers, most of them in Bangkok and adjacent provinces, were on the government's blacklist of alleged drug traffickers.

So far no police generals have been implicated in drug trafficking, he noted.

===================

===================

This next piece was about a poll conducted after the 2005 election.

One-party govt preferred: poll

Published on February 9, 2005

The Nation - Most people surveyed after Sunday’s general election want Thai Rak Thai to form a one-party government.

A Suan Dusit poll found that almost 62 per cent of the 1,569 respondents said they believed a one-party administration would be more stable than a coalition government.

More than 38 per cent of those surveyed said they wanted TRT to form a coalition government with the Chat Thai Party to ensure there would be a second opinion in the running of the country.

A separate survey conducted by Assumption University’s Abac Poll found 45 per cent of respondents said TRT should form a single-party administration, compared to 31 per cent who said it should not. The remainder gave no comments on the matter.

While the first group agreed that a one-party government would be more efficient, the other group preferred a balance of power between coalition parties, according to results of the Abac Poll, which surveyed 5,724 eligible voters in 25 provinces.

Unofficial results yesterday showed TRT had won more than 370 out of 500 House seats.

Over 52 per cent of respondents said they agreed with Democrat Party leader Banyat Bantadtan’s decision to step down following the party’s crushing election defeat, the Suan Dusit survey has found.

The Abac Poll found that more than 89 per cent of respondents want free education from kindergarten to university and 80 per cent want the new government to continue its “War on Drugs”.

When asked what was the most urgent problem for the government to address, 81 per cent said corruption, followed by the insurgency in the South (81 per cent) and high commodity prices (79 per cent).

Edited May 22, 2006 by tettyan

[stumonster]

Matichon editorial: What's wrong with our youngsters these days?

The latest Abac poll by Assumption University said the number of young drug addicts had gone up by more than 700% in Bangkok and its vicinity in the past year. This was due to laxity on the part of law enforcement officials and inconsistent campaigns against narcotic drugs.

couldn't have anything to do with a rapidly dimming vision for their future - if you wish youngsters to stay away from hard drugs they need a reason better than that you are going to shoot them.

as always access to education is the key.

[OlRedEyes]

Yes, they do worry about drugs very much, especially because the economy is getting into problems.

Is there any opinion poll to show that drugs is one of people's main concerns? It's completely out of the blue for me. Have BP and TN completely missed it?

Since no one has directly answered your question, I will. The answer to your polling inquiry is no.

There were a couple of women who approached Thaksin when he decided to finally return to work and voiced their concern. Apparently, that's enough to mobilize this Nation's rapidly dwindling resources and start up Drug War V.

Put aside the concerns of millions of Thais such as the burgeoning trade deficits, soaring gas prices, increasing unemployment, rising inflation, and even today's 3% loss in SET, these 2 women asked for help, and Shazam!, the Nation will expend all it can to accomplish that goal..... for the FIFTH time.

From today's BP - a translated editorial from Thailand's best-selling "quality" daily. Yes, unlike the BP or TN, a paper that's actually read by at least some ordinary Thais. You can bet the stuff discussed in this piece concerns the everyday voter very much.

Youngsters must be shown correct path

Bangkok Post, May 22, 2006

Matichon editorial: What's wrong with our youngsters these days?

The latest Abac poll by Assumption University said the number of young drug addicts had gone up by more than 700% in Bangkok and its vicinity in the past year. This was due to laxity on the part of law enforcement officials and inconsistent campaigns against narcotic drugs.

Meanwhile, the permanent secretary of the Public Health Ministry revealed that Thailand is the world's fifth biggest consumer of alcohol, with annual consumption worth 125 billion baht.

Based on the above revelations, more and more young Thais are turning to drugs and drink. If the trend is not reversed, the country's future will be at risk.

Five years ago, national polls showed there were 15.3 million Thais over 15 years of age who consumed alcohol. Of these regular drinkers, 2.3 million were female.

This problem may be attributed in part to our political system and political parties, which have always strived to increase economic growth without paying much attention to the morality in our society. People have become addicted to consumerism and ignored moral values.

More than 90% of Thais are Buddhist, but many of us do not follow the Five Precepts of Buddhism, one which forbids alcohol consumption. But it is not too late. Schools and colleges must take the lead in instilling moral values in their students. If young people grow up with a strong moral foundation, they will not be easily led down the wrong path.

Networks of parents may be set up to help the schools campaign against vice, particularly drinking and drug use.

More importantly, law enforcement officials must perform their duties righteously and not serve as the tools of influential people who engage in the drug trade. Government officials who engage in illegal activities must face the harshest punishment under the law.

Government officials who do not act against lawless elements are themselves supporting these criminals who are hurting the young.

Good luck to them. Personally I think the problem is the fact that Thai society and culture is too slow to evolve in the face of globalisation. If a culture does not evolve and adapt to changing times (in this case very fast-changing) the cracks will soon appear. The young will be torn between the 'old' culture and a desire for modernity. The old culture doesn't show them the way forward in a new world, so they enter uncharted waters with no experience. Not a recipe for stability.

[ColPyat]

Good luck to them. Personally I think the problem is the fact that Thai society and culture is too slow to evolve in the face of globalisation. If a culture does not evolve and adapt to changing times (in this case very fast-changing) the cracks will soon appear. The young will be torn between the 'old' culture and a desire for modernity. The old culture doesn't show them the way forward in a new world, so they enter uncharted waters with no experience. Not a recipe for stability.

Globalisation is the right term.

The only problem i see here is that the way how the globalisation is performed is leaving a large sector of humanity all over the world behind.

I wonder how Thai society can possibly change at the speed that is necessary while more than 50% of the polulation is directly depending on a for these producers largely unprofitable agro-economy, with such huge gaps between rich and poor. And especially now, where the population is so polarised along regional and socio-economical borders.

The political trouble right now is another indicator of the inability of Thailand as a whole to adapt to what is demanded in order to be a player in globalisation and not just its victim. It reflects the vast gaps between urban based middle classes that have to some extend managed to globalise themselves (even though there still are certain nationalist-protectionist issues left), and the rural poor that are stuck in poverty.

The massive drug problem here in Thailand is only the most visable effect of larger issues that most of the population here has not the education or the information to properly understand.

The drugwar is a futile attempt to stop those negative effects of these developments, by a government that has no solution to the larger issues.

And i fear that presently there is no government in sight here that can introduce the necessary fundamental changes.

[opothai]

i believe thailand can learn from the devastating effects drugs have had on other countries and societies,

and if they learn any thing at all it will be 'nip it in the bud' before it grows out of control.

we will never know the true cost of a drug epidemic in any countrey but we can hazzard a guess that it is phenominal.

the cost of care, the cost of drug related crime,and loss of the nations most prized asset the young workers and the future of the country.

that said thailand is riddled with coruption and the big players are and will be protected, so for all the good will they have in eradicating drugs i fear they are fighting an uphill battle that will not be won until they jail a very high up influetial person.

[sriracha john]

Yes, they do worry about drugs very much, especially because the economy is getting into problems.

Is there any opinion poll to show that drugs is one of people's main concerns? It's completely out of the blue for me. Have BP and TN completely missed it?

Since no one has directly answered your question, I will. The answer to your polling inquiry is no.

When asked what was the most urgent problem for the government to address, 81 per cent said corruption, followed by the insurgency in the South (81 per cent) and high commodity prices (79 per cent).

So I guess the answer is still no.

It is interesting that even in the poll done over a year ago that the drug issue didn't make it to even the top 3 concerns for people.

If a more recent poll was conducted, I would imagine the results would likely be the same as they were from the above poll in early 2005.

[ilyushin]

Might not be as easy to round the drug dealers up this time. They aren't just gonna wait around for a hit squads like before. Possible gangland style executions and stuff that spills into the streets.

Got to be a better way to net these dealers. There's no control over who is killed and why.

Just not enough blood on his hands! All Thais rather he ( DT ) does it so he is cursed with bad karma.

[Plus]

Here's another poll

Abac poll says economy tops political concerns

Published on May 8, 2006

For most Bangkok residents, the country's economic problems present more of a problem than the political crisis, a survey has found.

Almost 69 per cent of those surveyed said they believed the economic problems were "critical" while slightly over 41 per cent of the respondents viewed the political problems in the same light, according to the findings of a public opinion poll released by Assumption University yesterday.

Noppadon Kannika, director of the university's Abac Poll Research Centre, said yesterday that economic problems generally had a more negative impact on people than political problems did. Economic problems could lead to worry, stress and personal conflict, he explained.

Over 42 per cent of the respondents said they had no confidence that a new government would be able to ease the economic problems while 14 per cent said they were confident. The remaining 43 per cent gave no comment.

The survey was conducted on 1,588 people aged 18 and over in Bangkok and the surrounding provinces between Thursday and Saturday.

Every three in four of the respondents said the main causes of concern were higher prices of basic commodities and more expensive petrol, according to the Abac Poll.

Eighty-two per cent of those surveyed said the higher oil prices had an impact on their retail behaviour, while slightly over 12 per cent said the more expensive oil had no effect on their decision to buy things.

More than 47 per cent said they were dissatisfied with how the government was dealing with the oil prices while 21.4 per cent said they were happy. The remainder gave no comment on the matter.

A total of 66.4 per cent of those surveyed said they agreed with the idea of a campaign to encourage the public to use bicycles to travel to work and school as a way to tackle the problem of expensive oil, and 19 per cent disagreed with the idea.

Almost 80 per cent voiced support of the proposal to build more bike lanes to facilitate travel by bicycles, compared to less than 10 per cent who disagreed.

More than half of those surveyed said they would opt for a bicycle as their main means of transport if there were more bike lanes, and more than 30 per cent said they would not go to work or school by bike.

>>>>>>>>>

Nothing about drugs.

Colpyat, TN and BP might not cover lots of stories or aspect of Thai life, but they regulary post opinion poll results.

I think Thaksin knew what he was doing when he declared yet another war on drugs as TRT heavily relies on its in-house opinion polls. He probably got the list of things people want the government to do and chose drugs over fuel prices or inflation.