Dress inappropriately or dance provocatively and face Songkran arrest, warns PM

[MZurf]

Jail for voicing different opinions, jail for dancing provocatively, jail for owning a red rice bowl, jail for selling overpriced lottery tickets. I must say this "PM" has some rather progressive solutions to Thailand's most pressing problems!

Yes, he has discovered that urging does not work. Time to bring out the big stick...

And you applaud this?

[gyrosman]

Does that include all of the girls/ladyboys dancing in every TV show selling a sexy imagine, or he watches TV for the commericals.

[geriatrickid]

Drinking in excess leading to car crashes, deaths, and injuries, fights, the intentional throwing of water laced with chili, caustic chemicals, urine and feces at people, especially foreigners, will once again get a pass as it is part of the local culture and is what Songkran is all about, right?

..........note to self: Put my orange mankini back in storage......

Oh drat.

where are all his farang worshippers who hailed him as the Messiah and preached how much he would do for them? The guy is loopy and dangerous.

Out of country. It is easier to be a supporter when you don't see the reality.

Western culture like half-naked lady boys, Walking Street, Pattaya...

Pattaya is an ongoing entity that services a specific niche of foreign and domestic sex tourists. This is the place to go if you are a sexual deviant, a pedophile, a social misfit, a criminal on the run or some other nefarious type. If it weren't for the homophobic arabs, Iranians, and Indians who come for the lady boys, there would be no market. there are just so many Europeans around to support them.

In any case why is it ok for men to walk around shirtless, but a guy with inflated mammaries is deemed obscene? What about those fat guys with the fat boobs? Should they be compelled to wear bras?

UGH ! That little man again! is there no end to his inane drivel

Wanna bet? He's the gift that will keep on giving.

[bobthomas]

This man is the wettest of the wet towels (and he looks like one too!). And has no idea what he's talking about. The girls in the pic are scantily dressed, yes. But, inappropriately? Why don't you take a walk down cowboy, nana, and some other Thai haunts? Some of the girls there are not just inappropriately dressed, they have literally no clothes on! And not just on Songkran, but on almost all nights throughout the year. Arrest the lot of them, why don't you? And the bar owners. And the westerners who frequent these places. By the way, some of the 'luktung' singers and dancers are doing a swell job dressing 'inappropriately' and dancing 'provocatively' on their own, without the need for any influences. It has nothing to do with the west. If you are so against 'western influence', then set an example of not following it and for a start, stop wearing suits. Sheesh... really can't see how such an unhappy man can 'bring happiness' to the populace.

Formal Logic? If any one thing is found on a dark street or alley, this thing should be allowed throughout the entire country?

by that reasoning, if a murder happens in the Ghetto in Mumbai, murder should be allowed everywhere.

b

[khun custard]

It started in CM over a month ago with the banning of those transparent plastic shorts during Songkran (as if anyone other than 'entertainers" or a car show model would wear em')

It then progressed to suggestions that water misting (window cleaning) squirters would be the only acceptable device as pressure guns are banned and now a code on dress and dance styles which are really not that offensive.

Seems fun has left the building for those revel in this once a year, few hours of frivolity.

Should not the REAL CHALLENGE for the authorities during the Songkran break the Jai Dee management of allocated days and areas for the splash battles to occur, minimizing abuse of alcohol and carnage on the roads??

All work and no play makes Somchai a dull boy

Edited April 6, 2016 by khun custard

[Khun Paul]

We have TAT wanting more tourists and we have the PM, doing his best to screw up any thoughts of a happy time at the annual lets get wet and enjoy ourselves. I agree with the drink driving but add the other 364 days as a no-no as well please impound all vehicles of drunks for a period of at least 28 days.

As for enjoyment with respect PM put your words in your pipe and smoke them .

[quandow]

When is this guy's tenure up?

[trogers]

Jail for voicing different opinions, jail for dancing provocatively, jail for owning a red rice bowl, jail for selling overpriced lottery tickets. I must say this "PM" has some rather progressive solutions to Thailand's most pressing problems!

Yes, he has discovered that urging does not work. Time to bring out the big stick...

And you applaud this?

Sure! Freedom can only be granted with discipline and respect of rules of law, or else we would be back into the era of Sodom and Gomorrah...

Progress or retardation?

[NeverSure]

^^^ The elections will be in May.

[MZurf]

Jail for voicing different opinions, jail for dancing provocatively, jail for owning a red rice bowl, jail for selling overpriced lottery tickets. I must say this "PM" has some rather progressive solutions to Thailand's most pressing problems!

Yes, he has discovered that urging does not work. Time to bring out the big stick...

And you applaud this?

Sure! Freedom can only be granted with discipline and respect of rules of law, or else we would be back into the era of Sodom and Gomorrah...

Progress or retardation?

So the "PM" can only magnanimously grants freedoms to those who respect his laws - the laws he implemented when he broke the most severe laws of the country by instigating a coup??

Sorry, I can't take you seriously.

[Yann55]

Well to be fair, it was the west that invented the water gun that ruined Songkran wasn't it? But to be honest, Songkran has lost its meaning. I would take a stray guess, Songkran is probably somewhat like Christmas in the west. Just imagine if Christmas turned into Mardi Gras....

It already has.

[muzmurray]

Why would we accept an religious festival to be a decadent bachelor party with drunks and unappropriated behavior

and why hate it if someone wants to restore its value's to the original...

The majority of the Thai people i know, want it as a calm religious event...

I think most of the posters here have never experienced a real songkran...

To be fair, it is a New year festival that celebrates "The festival is the time to remind the people that they need to recognise and respect what their parents have done for them throughout their life. The festival also encourages the people to pay a visit to old neighbours and strengthen relationships with them. ", so not really a religious festival at all. Maybe you are the one who has never experienced a "real" Songkran ?

[Lingba]

ha ha ha ha ha

[Tanlic]

And where is he going to get a prison the size of Hawaii to put all the girls who wiggle their bums?

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

[MockingJay]

^^^ The elections will be in May.

Elections????

VIP buses will be parked next to the "election booths" on standby for free rides to the nearest AAC (attitude adjustment camp) then, right???

Oh, now I see - you didn't put a year... 2048 it is then, or was it 2084???

Edited April 6, 2016 by MockingJay

[sawadee1947]

yeah, hijab for everybody covering your body from top to toes. In addition with dark shades it's looking perfect.

[RapidMethod]

I'd much rather the PM devote all his efforts to the really important problems besetting Thailand:

1. Unacceptably high death toll and injuries on the roads (and vehicle maintenance in general)
2. Slavery and people trafficking
3. Police incompetence and corruption wherever it exists, underfunding and undertraining, and corruption and organized crime in general
4. Wealthy people getting away with murder or manslaughter caused by gross negligence
5. The economy, inward investment, encouraging foreign know-how and development
6. Education
7. The environment
8. Democracy and good governance

Worrying about a bit of sexy skin here and there or people behaving outrageously or obscenely (but harmlessly) is a huge distraction and a waste of mental energy.

[wabothai]

He's certainly enjoying himself these days,

Returning Happiness to the People Junta Style and taking every chance to put the boot into foreigners.

He'd better be careful, I may let my "western cultural values" ghost out of my bottle.

[laolover88]

Is it still illegal to drive without a shirt or underpants? Used to be.. Clearly BIB should apply full force of the law.

[mrrizzla]

Seriously? This place gets more like Nazi Germany,Communist China,Communist Russia and Eastern Germany,as it was.

Bringing happiness back to the people,ha! "you can be as happy as you want,as long as it isn't western style happiness"

What he wants is Siam style happiness. The serfs obeying and fawning over the elite and never questioning them. Not like this pesky internet generation!

[MockingJay]

Songkran, Thailand 2016:

[muzmurray]

the PM's quote refers to the behaviour of thai's not farang.

That's the point. Thais have become farangs, leaving their cultural heritage and the proper observance of cultural values far far behind. What follows is a loss of Societal cohesion in which all the malaise we escaped from in the west will be conveniently available right here in Thailand, devoid of the charm and innocence the country had been previously known for.

u b

"The OECD [1] defines social cohesion as follows: A cohesive society works towards the well-being of all its members, fights exclusion and marginalisation, creates a sense of belonging, promotes trust, and offers its members the opportunity of upward mobility."

Fights exclusion? Tell that to some of the persecuted tribes here

Upward mobility? Tell that to the parents whose children can't go to the "good" universities because the Headman's child is going instead.

Promotes trust? Tell that to everyone who has had to pay a bribe or tea-money.

[slipperylobster]

aw...

just a little bit sexy....please!

I am not going to go out and get blasted with filthy water if there is nothing to see.

No beer, no sexy girls....well, it's back to the farm then. Sheep and goats.....baaaaaaaaaaaah

[NongKhaiKid]

yeah, hijab for everybody covering your body from top to toes. In addition with dark shades it's looking perfect.

The danger would be in being mistaken for someone trying to illegally enter Europe.

[jesimps]

Well to be fair, it was the west that invented the water gun that ruined Songkran wasn't it? But to be honest, Songkran has lost its meaning. I would take a stray guess, Songkran is probably somewhat like Christmas in the west. Just imagine if Christmas turned into Mardi Gras....

It wasn't the west that invented oil drums filled with dirty great blocks of ice on the back of pick-up trucks. Nor the squirting water bowsers etc. The Thais need no encouragement to start kicking the aris out of something, ask the current junta.

[wabothai]

The prissy general reminds me of the film La cage aux folles (birds of a feather) where Charrier, the father of the bride to be, airs his concerns about

the promiscuous world. In the end he has to flee dressed as a ladyboy.

[neilyboy]

The PM would be better off spending his time fixing the road deaths by making vehicles road worthy, having drivers more skilled before getting a licence , educating thai people to not litter Thailand ,they throw rubbish ever were in the streets water ways with no care what soever.Fix footpaths for handicapped people to use footpaths are for walking not parking on or selling food,attention to so many dogs wandering the streets.

[ChrisKC]

Being scantily clad and dancing "provocatively" at an especially appropriate time is fun, harmless and doesn't kill anyone.

Four months (already) unnecessary Government bureaucratic delay killed 4 people and injured many others at a railway level crossing at the weekend.

[silent]

Western culture like half-naked lady boys, Walking Street, Pattaya...

Could that not really be part of the animosity? Who better to blame?.

[Snig27]

Lest we forget this is the same dolt that blamed Western women in bikinis for anything that might happen to them

Great! Another ethnocentric clueless comment

It's about cognitive paradigms and cause and effect. But fear not- you can begin right this minute by simply giving millions of people in Thailand the education and experience found after living in the west for a number of years so they can change their paradigm. That's a lot of airplane tickets! Are you sure you can afford it?

b

And that's an awfully racially superior statement from yourself. How fine it must be for you to walk the streets of this nation knowing that you are more mentally and socially sophisticated than people born in this country. That superiority must be a hell of a burden to carry day to day. Are you sure you can cope?