Gov Plans To Give Phuket To Singapore

[Beachedwhale]

Phuket Post is a well respected news source so this must be true.

Actually I have heard that it was an unfortunate translation mistake again ... the story was actually supposed to be referring to Singapores investments in Thailand after the coup and was supposed to read "Singapore get F_____D" but the phonetic translation came out as "Singapore get Phuket"

This is from a totally reliable source ... I heard it from an Aussie who missed out on being stranded in Singapore with free accomodation etc as he went on a cheaper airline direct to Bangkok...

[Sing_Sling]

Phuket would actually become a real functioning hub of some sort within a very short space of time and all the slack-arsed expats would have to leave . . .

More room for Singapore PRs . . .

Imagine a part of Thailand actually functioning properly . . .

[britmaveric]

Sterile Phuket??? Sondhi is mental.

[Beachedwhale]

Imagine a part of Thailand actually functioning properly . . .

And I suppose the definition of "functioning properly" is like the way the Singapore democratic elections work, with the majority of seats going uncontested and the opposition leader having to flee the country as all of his assets are being seized becasue he made a small insinuation about the integrity of a member of the democratically elected ruling party.

All I can say is, things function differently here in Asia and especially in Thailand ... which is why I chose to live here rather than somewhere else, I don't need to look at things through a TV channel, I can just look out the window and see a totally new world ...

[yoshiwara]

...ever since Bugis nightlife was closed down, Singapore have been looking for an offshore substitute and Phuket fills the bill exactly....

[Sing_Sling]

Imagine a part of Thailand actually functioning properly . . .

And I suppose the definition of "functioning properly" is like the way the Singapore democratic elections work, with the majority of seats going uncontested and the opposition leader having to flee the country as all of his assets are being seized becasue he made a small insinuation about the integrity of a member of the democratically elected ruling party.

All I can say is, things function differently here in Asia and especially in Thailand ... which is why I chose to live here rather than somewhere else, I don't need to look at things through a TV channel, I can just look out the window and see a totally new world ...

Umm, which opposition leader are ypou talking about? Chee has been staging a demo outside the IMF meetings all week . . . Chee declared bankuptcy to keep his assets and his sister has some of his as well. Is democracy here even close to perfect? Nope, never said it was, but at least the ruling elite are not enriching themselves on the back of the average citizen.

And should you really want to compare democratic elections here and in Thailand you will find they are not that dis-similar except the politicians actually work in their constituencies here and do the right thing by the people without getting kickbacks.

Thai democracy - you must be blind - have you not noticed there is a coup going on in Thailand and your 'elected' leader is in exile along with many ministers and cronies. Excellent example.

It would be fun debating with you, but it is like taking candy from a baby as you seem to base your assertions on second-hand and unsubstantiated information.

Things functioning differently in Asia? So, you have swallowed all the crap that is dealt to you about why things are the way they are? That's rather cute, really.

'Sorry, you have to pay more because you are farang. Sorry, no credit card for you because you are farang. Loan for a farang? Sorry, sir. ? Your wife divorced you and now you have no rights to your home, land, children? Things work differently here in Thailand'

'Oh, that's how it works here? Not to worry, here you go, old chap. Ah, I love the Orient . . . everything works differently here'

Have you been to Japan? Korea? HK? That's Asia as well.

I look forward to your reply.

[sbk]

Actually, singsling, it is a well known fact that opposition members get sued for libel and defamation after every election.

From the US State dept site on Singapore

The threat of civil libel or slander suits, which government leaders have often used against political opponents and critics and consistently won, had a stifling effect on the full expression of political opinion and disadvantaged the political opposition (see section 2.a.). Large judgments in libel suits can lead to bankruptcy, and, under the law, bankrupt persons are ineligible to sit in Parliament. The law also provides for criminal defamation offenses.

So, it sounds like the Opposition leader has just made himself ineligible to sit in Parliament. Odd thing for a politician to do.

Anyway, this issue is now moot since Mr Thaksin won't be selling Phuket anymore, will he

[Sing_Sling]

Absolutely, SBK - I would be the last to say that Singapore elections are fair and just. We even had bets on how long it would take this year for anyone in the opposition to get sued for libel, therefore shutting him up and making him ineligible.

Comments that are simply ridiculous, however, deserve to be countered and Beachedwhale is obviously misinformed about reality, prefering to delve into the bag of half-truths and inaccuracies to make a point.

I can probably say that I've been a visitor to Thailand longer than anyone else here, starting on my first day on earth - though I'm not a Thai, and i do love the country as it's people, but to call Thailand anything resembling functionality and clean is simply silly.

[Beachedwhale]

Comments that are simply ridiculous, however, deserve to be countered and Beachedwhale is obviously misinformed about reality, prefering to delve into the bag of half-truths and inaccuracies to make a point.

Please clarify where you believe I made a half-truth and innacuracy.

I lived in Singapore for 7 years including during 2 democratic elections. I actually like Singapore for many reasons but the one thing that finally got to me was the election process. However I do agree that Singapore has not necessarily done badly out of the process in general as there is relatively low level of unemployment, low level of poverty, low crime, etc etc. The government oficials have got wealthy but there has been a much more even spread of wealth in Singapore which is why there is generally not much dissent from the people. This is obviously different to Thailand over the last year or so. Both are democracies, but certainly do not function the same - and whether they are functioning properly depends on the individuals perspective.

Sorry, no credit card for you because you are farang. Loan for a farang? Sorry, sir. ? Your wife divorced you and now you have no rights to your home, land, children? Things work differently here in Thailand'

I am a farang, I have a credit card in Thailand, I have an overdraft and business loan, I have a vehicle on hire purchase ... I have been divorced from a Thai lady while living in Thailand and have custody of my children and my house and my business... things are different but if you "follow the rules" things can be achieved OK... seems to be functioning fine for me (oh sorry, I forgot that using the word "fine" might have differnet connotations in Singapore Lah)

[Sing_Sling]

That's fine . . .

I'm sure that you have all the things that I mentioned and gained them all without much difficulty, but this is not the same for many others.

I have a business in Thailand as well, credit card and the rest, but I have heard from so many others that this is not the case for them.

I think I mentioned that elections here are a farce as well and that it is brilliant how two constituencies have remained in opposition hands.

Having said this, there is no way that the subversive, and not, method of garnering votes in Thailand can be equated to a democratic method of electing a government.

Thailand is many things, but none of those is being a democracy.

Hmm, Phuket not for sale anymore? How much for Koh Samui?

(Ill-informed about Chee, Beachedwhale)

[ding]

Sounds like a pretty good idea to me.

LOL

Come now. Maybe Hat Yai...

[suiging]

Not sure about LOS, but the Hong Kong press has reported this morning how behind the scenes the Philippine Government has declared the whole of Borakay a National Park and told owners/ investers that they will have to bid for their own property back in a National auction !!!!

Hope you enjoyed your time on Samui.

Joking apart, a very worrying decision for the Region.

Edited September 21, 2006 by suiging

[Beachedwhale]

(Ill-informed about Chee, Beachedwhale)

I was not talking about Chee .. I was talking about Mr Jeyaretnam...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Benjamin_Jeyaretnam

[Beachedwhale]

(Ill-informed about Chee, Beachedwhale)

I was not talking about Chee .. I was talking about Mr Jeyaretnam...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Benjamin_Jeyaretnam

and Mr Tang ...

Tang Liang Hong

[Sing_Sling]

There's more to it than meets the eye, and I wouldn't really use Wiki as a reference, nor is Jeyaretnam the best example of an upstanding citizen.

Point being that democracy is not practised in Thailand nor Singapore.

[Beachedwhale]

There's more to it than meets the eye, and I wouldn't really use Wiki as a reference, nor is Jeyaretnam the best example of an upstanding citizen.

Point being that democracy is not practised in Thailand nor Singapore.

Agree

lets move on...

cheers

[Sing_Sling]

Consider us moved, beachedwhale!

(I feel like I'm insulting you by calling you by your moniker)

[permanent_disorder]

what would we do without sondhi?

[sriracha john]

what would we do without sondhi?

we wouldn't have 2 year old threads bumped, but good to know the search function works well.

[Moonrakers]

I've had too much beer, am I really reading this.

What if he is right.

I think I should go to sleep now.

[geriatrickid]

Sonti is dangerous sick man.

Why? Is he infected with HN51?

Perhaps worse. Might be a new strain of Ebola hemorrhagic fever, Crappolathai, PAD strain. Instead of blood oozing from the eyes and other orifices, it has typically Thai symptoms where it's feces. Apparently, the first symptom is verbal diarrhea along with progressive insanity.

Seems to be very infectious as those that come in contact immediately suffer from delusions and an inability to grasp reality. My understanding is that the locals seem to think that the illness can be controlled by wearing yellow shirts and singing songs, Unfortunately, mass madness soon takes hold and the crowds descend into zombie like acts of violence, where they wish to eat the hearts from dark skinned workers. Apparently, as they descend into madness, they perceive the hearts of the dark skinned workers to be very tasty, as hard work for low wages, increases stress hormones adding flavour to the flesh.

So anyways, how long until the Sondhi- PAD fans in TV join the chorus of claiming a conspiracy? Must be true, since Sondhi never tells tall tales and the Singapore government prides itself on efficiency, law & order and Phuket is the poster boy for that, right? maybe Singapore could benefit from the Phuket approach to development planning, infrastructure management, public health, integrity and general cleanliness.

Edited September 13, 2008 by geriatrickid

[Insight]

what would we do without sondhi?

we wouldn't have 2 year old threads bumped, but good to know the search function works well.

Think Sondhi was also harping on about the govt at the time attempting to give a Thai island away to Cambodia. As we all know, an utterly outlandish accusation at the time that hasn't materialized to date in any way, shape or form.

Hang on...

[sriracha john]

Before this 2 year old thread gets legs.... Post #16 explains all that needs to be explained.

[Arandora]

At least we would be able to fly direct from Manchester to Phuket with Singapore Airlines.

[permanent_disorder]

Think Sondhi was also harping on about the govt at the time attempting to give a Thai island away to Cambodia. As we all know, an utterly outlandish accusation at the time that hasn't materialized to date in any way, shape or form.

Hang on...

just another case how nuts the Comedy Troupe Sondhi & the PAD Cult is. same like the accusation that the samak govt helps cambodia that Khmer wizards usings mysterious black-magic spells to weaken thailand.

Thai media reports said that the mysterious black-magic spells by Khmer wizards would not only protect the temple but also weaken Thailand. Some astrologers urged locals to wear yellow yesterday to deflect the spells.... Things got worse when Thai protesters stormed into the complex in a bid to blame Samak Sundaravej's Cabinet for the loss of sovereignty over land in Preah Vihear's vicinity.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/08/02...cs_30079581.php

The anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) leaders last night led thousands of their supporters in a rival ritual to protect the country and block any ill-effects from the Cambodian one. Many Thais believe some Cambodians have expertise in black magic.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/020808_News/02Aug2008_news01.php

same as the phuket-singapore deal, you expect something like that from The Onion or Weekly World News, but that is just the nomal daily propaganda of the PAD cult.

[steveromagnino]

Since most of the coast line has been sold several times and way more than 50% of the properties sold are to foreigners (ask any developer, usually around 90% foreign owned) and many of the foreigners use shell companies etc to get ownership to bypass Thai law, he isn't strictly wrong to say much of Phuket is being sold to foreigners (a large chunk of it by PPP/TRT MP families incidentally).

However, it is strictly rhetoric and I cannot see there is any conspiracy.

One exception would be the island marina of mobile phone millionaire Gulu Lalvani, a personal friend of Thaksin; for a person that is not allowed to own land, to be able to own an entire island and destroy most of it to create a super yacht marina as well as personally seeing the marine tax reduced to 0% so that he could fill his existing marina built in what appears to be a mangrove reserve it would seem that at least some of the actual proof is already there.

It is well known that TRT politicians already own or control large elements of Koh Chang and Koh Samet both at one time or another marked as casino islands; however again this is not some foreign wicked enterprise, this is purely Thai Rak Kwai stuff. Anyone working in property development is quite aware of the various studies done for both locations; again leveraging state owned land also with some mysterious zoning changes converting from forest to saleable land.

[Chang_paarp]

I was going to ask for some of what Sondhi had taken,it would be an interesting experience, then I noticed the date of the thread and I realised that whatever it was, was probably well past its use by date, a little like Sondhi I suppose.

[animatic]

Think Sondhi was also harping on about the govt at the time attempting to give a Thai island away to Cambodia. As we all know, an utterly outlandish accusation at the time that hasn't materialized to date in any way, shape or form.

Hang on...

just another case how nuts the Comedy Troupe Sondhi & the PAD Cult is. same like the accusation that the samak govt helps cambodia that Khmer wizards usings mysterious black-magic spells to weaken thailand.

Thai media reports said that the mysterious black-magic spells by Khmer wizards would not only protect the temple but also weaken Thailand. Some astrologers urged locals to wear yellow yesterday to deflect the spells.... Things got worse when Thai protesters stormed into the complex in a bid to blame Samak Sundaravej's Cabinet for the loss of sovereignty over land in Preah Vihear's vicinity.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/08/02...cs_30079581.php

The anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) leaders last night led thousands of their supporters in a rival ritual to protect the country and block any ill-effects from the Cambodian one. Many Thais believe some Cambodians have expertise in black magic.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/020808_News/02Aug2008_news01.php

same as the phuket-singapore deal, you expect something like that from The Onion or Weekly World News, but that is just the nomal daily propaganda of the PAD cult.

Not hardly just PAD on this one.

There are more than a few that do believe this stuff here.

Hence top government people publicly going to fortune tellers and astrologers and the like.

It works with a large segement of the population as good PR, look we're one of YOU!

Supersition is a long term disorder in thailand, we could hope it isn't a permanent one;

Not in our lifetimes I'll wager.

As to giving away an island, highly unlikely,

allowing long term control of buildings on it is another matter entirely,

pretty much SOP No one drops 60 billion in investments if they are worried about

not running the buildings for profit.

Rhetoric only. From both sides I'll add.

Edited September 14, 2008 by animatic

[Los78]

what would we do without sondhi?

Sondhi and Colonal Saunders forgot to take their medicine today. They are over due for physchological evaluation....

[hammered]

what would we do without sondhi?

Sondhi and Colonal Saunders forgot to take their medicine today. They are over due for physchological evaluation....

While they at times come over as figures of ridicule it should never bve forgotten that they have well hidden and not so well hidden allies who are not at all comical and have immense power. That Samak is no longer with us but the PAD leaders still remain entrenched at GH is testement to this.