Radical change is needed to unlock Thailand's potential

[webfact]

Radical change is needed to unlock country’s potential 
By WICHIT CHAITRONG
THE NATION

 

Take a clue of development direction from a villager house under fallen tree for two months without helping hand from authorities.

 

BANGKOK: -- DELIVERING his keynote speech at the conference on implementation of the 12th National Economic and Social Development Plan on Monday, Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha was furious about the inactivity of authorities over the plight of a villager whose house was hit by a fallen tree.

 

He said he did not understand why the village headman, district head and the governor of Kalasin province failed to help the victim for such a long time. 

 

The story began in late April when a Siamese Rosewood fell on the house of a villager. The house owner did not dare remove the tree from his house because it might violate a conservation law protecting the endangered tree species.

 

So the family moved to stay at a relative’s house and asked the relevant authorities to remove the tree from their house roof. However, no action was taken until late June – only after local media had picked up on the unusual story.

 

Prayut raised this issue at the conference because he apparently wanted to stress the point that all people – especially those who have authority – have to closely co-operate to allow the country to become more prosperous over the next 20 years.

 

The 12th plan, which is part of the government’s 20-year strategy, has 10 pillars which the National Economic and Social Development Board believe can help the economy grow by 5 per cent annually and narrow the income inequality gap. Many people have questioned such an ambitious goal.

 

One of key strategies is to develop regional economies by creating provincial groups to which the government will allocate financial resources and other supporting measures in order to promote specific industries, services and agriculture in those cluster areas.

 

For example, the development of a group of provinces close to Nakhon Ratchasima, and in the southern part of the North East, would focus on tourism, renewable energy and agribusiness. 

 

The largest part of the budget would still channel from government agencies in the provinces, with smaller amounts of funding sent directly to villagers and local governments to co-ordinate the task. 

 

At best, the outcome is expected to be an incremental improvement as usual. It will fall short of advancing the country due to constraints on those institutions under close control of the central government.

 

It has long been said that the central government is too big to resolve local issues in a timely fashion, because of red tape.

 

Meanwhile, local governments – the so-called tambon administrative organisations – are too small to address issues due to their limited financial resources and manpower.

 

Current reforms under the junta government have not yet demonstrated how substantial reform should be achieved in terms of power decentralisation.

 

At the same time, the fight for decentralisation has weakened compared with a political movement during the Prem Tinsulanonda administration (1980-88), when academics and students started to call for elected governors in all provinces or at least in key areas. 

 

Among the original members of Asean, Thailand has a weak local government system. This is especially the case compared with Malaysia, where its past colonial ruler Britain laid the foundations of the political system. Malaysia now has done better than Thailand in both economic and democratic development. 

 

Therefore, against of backdrop of the current centralised political system, Thailand is unlikely to efficiently spread economic development at the provincial level across the country. 

 

The peculiar story of the tree that fell on the house has demonstrated that Thailand is stuck. It cannot move forward since it is trapped in a web of obsolete laws and outdated institutions. In plain language, our obsolete system makes us look stupid. We need a radical change in our system in order to unlock the potential of the country and its people. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/EconomyAndTourism/30319897

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-07-05

 

[NCC1701A]

good luck to anyone trying to change Thailand:

 

 

Edited July 4, 2017 by NCC1701A

[BigBadGeordie]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

 

The peculiar story of the tree that fell on the house has demonstrated that Thailand is stuck. It cannot move forward since it is trapped in a web of obsolete laws and outdated institutions. In plain language, our obsolete system makes us look stupid. We need a radical change in our system in order to unlock the potential of the country and its people. 

One of the best decriptions of the Kingdom I have ever read.

[whatawonderfulday]

50 minutes ago, BigBadGeordie said:

One of the best decriptions of the Kingdom I have ever read.

Yes a good description indeed but it was also missing the vital factor that corruption is engrained also at the very highest levels of Thai society.  Until that is curtailed nothing much else will change

[Dobredin Ghusputin]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Radical change is needed to unlock country’s potential 

 

Used to be 100 baht, these days it's gone up to 500 baht.

 

[freebyrd]

I heard this 30 years ago, 20 years ago, 10 years ago and if I live long enough I may hear it in 2027, 2037.........

[Eric Loh]

I would say that the discontinuity of elected government and the truncated tenure of all but one government by coups would mean that any elected government policies to lay good institutional foundation have been severely challenged and the economic potential unfulfilled. A minority of Thais are holding back the the changes needed to unlock Thailand potential. 

[sharecropper]

Let's face it, only invasion or revolution could change the sorry mess the country finds itself in.

[maxpower]

7 minutes ago, sharecropper said:

Let's face it, only invasion or revolution could change the sorry mess the country finds itself in.

[soalbundy]

That's what happens when nobody wanted to colonize you, it was a mess then and it hasn't changed

[colinneil]

Thailand has vast potential, but it will remain the same as always.

The elite is this country are so corrupt, and it works its way down.

Now even lowly government pen pushers demand bribes, until that is stopped ( WHICH IT NEVER WILL)

Thailands vast potential will remain untapped/ unused.

[Ceruhe]

I'd already see a massive improvement if people could lift their feet while walking, if they could learn and execute that, I'll up their rating in my book already.

 

Yes, the bar is quite low.

[Chris Lawrence]

They need to do away with their caste system. They need education; then become politically motivated.

 

And the political chain of command remains in a mess. No one trusts no one.

[zyphodb]

1 hour ago, Eric Loh said:

I would say that the discontinuity of elected government and the truncated tenure of all but one government by coups would mean that any elected government policies to lay good institutional foundation have been severely challenged and the economic potential unfulfilled. A minority of Thais are holding back the the changes needed to unlock Thailand potential. 

True,

  but while that minority hold all the money & influence nothing will change, I won't hold my breath waiting for them to give it up.....

[Grusa]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

In plain language, our obsolete system makes us look stupid. We need a radical change in our system in order to unlock the potential of the country and its people. 

Should read "In plain language, our obsolete and corrupt system deliberately makes us stupid. We need a radical change in our system to redirect the flow of money, unlock the intelligence of the people and realise the potential of the country."

[Juan B Tong]

Please do not be fooled by the appearance of a modern society.

The material world that Thailand exists is the same as in the West or anywhere. Because we observe a modern world, we expect a modern society.

 

The actual cultural world in Thailand is not modern. Beneath these modern appertinances is a feudal Asian society.

 

A police constable slappping a kid is just an Asian lord slapping a peasant.  A mother selling her daughter was not unusual in pre 1900 Thailand.  Slavery did not end in Thailand until 1915. But although it ended by royal decree it didn't really end in the Thai mind.  Ministers escaping justice by fleeing the kingdom has never changed.  Rich merchants with influence not being held to task and justice is nothing new. Prostitution begging, cheating, on and on.  It is just a continuation of feudalism.

 

Thailand is a democracy by royal decree.  That's great.  But do not make the mistake of thinking of Thai style democracy is the same as Western democracy.  Western democracy arose out of the will of the people.  The people decided how the government would be organized and be operated in western countries.

 

Thailand is a democracy, but in reality is is a feudal society that wears the cloak of democracy.  This cloak is frequently taken off and we sometimes see the feudal garb beneath.

 

Just saying...

 

 

 

 

[petermik]

7 hours ago, Grusa said:

Should read "In plain language, our obsolete and corrupt system deliberately makes us stupid. We need a radical change in our system to redirect the flow of money, unlock the intelligence of the people and realise the potential of the country."

You farang,s understand nothing about Thailand...........our culture is far superior to the rest of the world therefore you cannot teach us anything

[HocusPocus67]

3 hours ago, BigBadGeordie said:

One of the best decriptions of the Kingdom I have ever read.

The culture needs to be changed. That requires the education system to be changed. That requires professionals  who are not corrupt and that actually know what they're doing to be in charge. That requires the education system to change... etc etc around and around and around we go.

 

Better to burn it all down, claim the insurance and start again. Probably quicker too.

[HocusPocus67]

8 minutes ago, Juan B Tong said:

Please do not be fooled by the appearance of a modern society.

The material world that Thailand exists is the same as in the West or anywhere. Because we observe a modern world, we expect a modern society.

 

The actual cultural world in Thailand is not modern. Beneath these modern appertinances is a feudal Asian society.

 

A police constable slappping a kid is just an Asian lord slapping a peasant.  A mother selling her daughter was not unusual in pre 1900 Thailand.  Slavery did not end in Thailand until 1915. But although it ended by royal decree it didn't really end in the Thai mind.  Ministers escaping justice by fleeing the kingdom has never changed.  Rich merchants with influence not being held to task and justice is nothing new. Prostitution begging, cheating, on and on.  It is just a continuation of feudalism.

 

Thailand is a democracy by royal decree.  That's great.  But do not make the mistake of thinking of Thai style democracy is the same as Western democracy.  Western democracy arose out of the will of the people.  The people decided how the government would be organized and be operated in western countries.

 

Thailand is a democracy, but in reality is is a feudal society that wears the cloak of democracy.  This cloak is frequently taken off and we sometimes see the feudal garb beneath.

 

Just saying...

 

 

 

 

All that seems reasonable...

[HocusPocus67]

I think I'll have a beer while I'm waiting...

 

Oh. No ice. No matter, hell will freeze over before it happens anyway, so - voila! lots of ice.

[InMyShadow]

Let's face it, only invasion or revolution could change the sorry mess the country finds itself in.

Kind of ironic that expats prefer this sorry mess over their own shiny 1st world countries

[Lupatria]

1 hour ago, sharecropper said:

Let's face it, only invasion or revolution could change the sorry mess the country finds itself in.

[Eric Loh]

22 minutes ago, InMyShadow said:

Kind of ironic that expats prefer this sorry mess over their own shiny 1st world countries

When I came here, the country was growing at 6-7% GDP and will soon become a Tiger economy after Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea. Then the coup came and since then it was a sorry mess and the dream of being a Tiger economy fade away. 

[maxpower]

26 minutes ago, InMyShadow said:

Kind of ironic that expats prefer this sorry mess over their own shiny 1st world countries

Jokes aside, I wouldn't want to work and live anywhere else at this moment in time. Place is a constant buzz for me.

[trainman34014]

Should read   ''Radical Change is Needed ''   Period !

[Baerboxer]

4 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

I would say that the discontinuity of elected government and the truncated tenure of all but one government by coups would mean that any elected government policies to lay good institutional foundation have been severely challenged and the economic potential unfulfilled. A minority of Thais are holding back the the changes needed to unlock Thailand potential. 

 

And which governments do you believe had policies to lay good institutional foundations and make radical changes for the benefit of all the people Eric?

[Baerboxer]

1 hour ago, Eric Loh said:

When I came here, the country was growing at 6-7% GDP and will soon become a Tiger economy after Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea. Then the coup came and since then it was a sorry mess and the dream of being a Tiger economy fade away. 

 

Yeah right. And how was any of that "tricking" down to the poor Eric?

 

Had the coup not happened, the rice scheme would still have been running. still without any audited accounts, still with contradictory figures being issued by various ministries, still riddled with fraud and mismanagement and probably still having meetings without the Chair bothering to attend. And the same bunch would've got their hands on a 2.2 trillion baht loan, which they intended to keep off the books, away from parliamentary scrutiny and spent without accountability.

 

You really think that was the radical change to unlock Thailand's potential?

 

[Smarter Than You]

26 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Yeah right. And how was any of that "tricking" down to the poor Eric?

The fact that million and millions of poor worship Thaksin and Yingluck and continue to vote for them every opportunity they get answers this question.

 

Quote

 

Had the coup not happened, the rice scheme would still have been running. still without any audited accounts, still with contradictory figures being issued by various ministries, still riddled with fraud and mismanagement and probably still having meetings without the Chair bothering to attend. And the same bunch would've got their hands on a 2.2 trillion baht loan, which they intended to keep off the books, away from parliamentary scrutiny and spent without accountability.

Had the coup not happened there would have been an election and the winning party would have formed government and implemented the policies the voters had just given them a mandate to implement.

 

I'm sure the Chinese are very happy it was a bunch of Generals and not PTP sitting opposite them during contract negotiations for the railways.

 

Quote

 

You really think that was the radical change to unlock Thailand's potential?

 

You really think this coup is going to produce anything different than the last dozen coups?

Edited July 5, 2017 by Smarter Than You

[clockman]

4 hours ago, soalbundy said:

That's what happens when nobody wanted to colonize you, it was a mess then and it hasn't changed

But they are so proud of not being colonized. You speak to any Thai. Brainwashed from birth!

[clockman]

2 hours ago, HocusPocus67 said:

All that seems reasonable...

All so true. Come back in 50 years time. Thais will be working for the Burmese!