Koh Chang

Travel, Tourism Vulnerable to Virus Fears

Thursday April 30th 2009, 4:03 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized

Source: Wall Street Journal

Fears over swine flu threatened to knock a vulnerable global economy into deeper turmoil, hammering travel and tourism as nervous consumers and businesses delayed spending plans.

Asian stock markets sank Monday as investors recalled the initial damage from an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, a virus that spread from China to dozens of countries in early 2003. Airlines, already hit hard by the global recession, saw their shares tumble as investors braced for losses from canceled travel plans. Meanwhile, early signs of protectionist measures emerged as China, Russia and other nations halted pork imports from Mexico and some U.S. states.

The virus threat comes as the world tries to dig itself out of a crippling financial crisis. In the U.S. in recent weeks, signs had started to emerge that the economy’s pace of decline was slowing. But a global flu pandemic would likely impede recovery from the recession, especially for emerging economies dependent on trade and tourism.

While the crisis is likely to restrain Mexico’s economy in the short term, the broader global economic impact from swine flu will depend largely on how far the virus spreads, how long it lasts and how many people are affected. Governments have invested billions of dollars in recent years preparing for infectious diseases, and recent global experiences with disease threats offer some hope that the current crisis will pass with limited damage to the overall economy.

Amid worries about avian flu, the Congressional Budget Office in 2006 estimated that a flu pandemic on the scale of the 1918 Spanish flu, which caused more than 50 million deaths, could push U.S. gross domestic product down by about 4.25%. A milder pandemic would reduce GDP by about 1%, the CBO said.

But short-term effects are expected to hit specific industries. For example, 3M Co. said it is racing to meet surging demand for it N95 respiratory masks. A spokeswoman said the masks are on back order, meaning the Minnesota company doesn’t have enough on hand to ship to all the customers who want them.

Airlines, meanwhile have reported only a small number of cancellations, and the World Health Organization released a statement saying it had not issued any warnings to limit travel.

Still, European Union Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou urged Europeans to postpone nonessential travel to Mexico and parts of the U.S., and Russia, Taiwan and Hong Kong said they would quarantine visitors showing symptoms of the virus.

Spooked investors dumped airline shares Monday, fearing a further hit to airline finances. Major U.S. airlines relaxed restrictions for passengers seeking to change existing bookings to or from Mexico.

Travel, Tourism Vulnerable to Virus Fears

Technorati Tags: Travel, Tourism Vulnerable to Virus Fears

Comments Off

Thai Cabinet gives nod for tourism measures

Wednesday April 29th 2009, 5:52 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized

Source: The Nation

The Cabinet yesterday approved three measures to help the embattled tourism sector. They could in total require government funding of Bt15 billion.

Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said the measures were: Bt200 million in insurance coverage for tourists visiting Thailand from May to October; a Bt5-billion loan extension from the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank (SME Bank); and a loan guarantee from the Small Business Credit Guarantee Corp (SBCG) to finance tourism operators’ corporate tax payments.

Tourism Council of Thailand president Kongkrit Hiranyakit said despite the welcome measures, the industry’s outlook was dependent on global conditions, including the economic crisis and the swine-flu outbreak, which has now spread to South Korea.

“The flu is a worrisome factor, though it has not yet reached Thailand. If it hits Thailand, the impact will be huge. In the past 20 years, the tourism industry has contracted twice: during the Sars outbreak, and then [the double hit of] the spread of bird flu and the tsunami,” he said.

Thai-American Tourism Association president Phitsanu Konggunpai said American tourist arrivals in Asia would grow by only 4 per cent this year to 5.8 million visitors, against 8-per-cent growth last year.

The growth rate for Thailand is expected to be 3 per cent to 600,000 people, compared to 5.2 per cent last year.

Phitsanu said the flu outbreak was less worrisome to American tourists than the country’s political conflict.

He said the current impact of the outbreak on Thailand was minimal, due to the lack of direct flights from Mexico. However, many Hong Kong-based airlines fly to Mexico.

As for tax payments, Korn said he expected the borrowing to total about Bt10 billion, which would be fully guaranteed by the SBCG. The loans will charge 4 per cent in annual interest, and the borrowers will be offered a three-month grace period.

Corporate taxes for 2008 are due next month.

The insurance measure will cover about 5 million tourists and assures them of coverage should they be negatively affected by political conflicts. Any tourists visiting the Kingdom during the six-month period and affected by such events will each be entitled to maximum compensation of US$10,000 (Bt355,000).

The measure was approved following a sharp downward revision of the estimate for tourist arrivals |this year, from 14 million to 11 million.

“The measure should ensure no further drop in tourist arrivals. The Finance Ministry will discuss this issue with Thai insurance companies soon,” Korn said.

The Cabinet also approved the SME Bank’s provision of low-interest loans to affected tourism operators. Under the Bt5-billion fund, the loan will attract interest 3 percentage points below the minimum lending rate, or 4 per cent per annum. Each borrower is entitled to no more than Bt5 million.

Deputy Finance Minister Pradit Pataraprasit said after the Cabinet meeting that the loan was part of the smePower project. Borrowers will be offered a one-year grace period.

“Targets are those who operate hotels, tour companies and others closely linked with the sector and which have suffered from a drop in tourist arrivals,” Pradit said.

Loan applications must be submitted by July 31. The SME Bank will decide on each application within 15 days.

Pradit said loan applicants could contact him directly at smepower.tourism@gmail.com should they encounter any problems.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet appointed Interior Minister Chaovarat Chanweerakul as chairman of a committee tasked with solving the debt problems of the National Housing Authority (NHA). The committee must submit a plan within the next two months.

The NHA recorded losses of Bt991 million last year and Bt1.28 billion in 2007. A third consecutive loss would deprive it of a loan guarantee from the Finance Ministry.

The Cabinet also approved a cut in the number of Ua Athorn units to be developed by the NHA, to help cut expenses.

This year, the authority will build 281,556 units instead of the planned 300,504 homes. The units will also have to be built in areas where there is demand.

Thai Cabinet gives nod for tourism measures

Technorati Tags: Thai Cabinet gives nod for tourism measures

0 Comments

Swine flu outbreak predicted to have minimal impact on Thai tourism

Tuesday April 28th 2009, 12:21 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized

Source: Bangkok Post

Tourism operators foresee minimal impacts on their businesses from the outbreak of Mexico’s swine-flu outbreaks, particularly when the country had experiences dealing with bird flu and Sars before, experts say.

Outbreaks of swine flu, first reported in Mexico and then in southern California, have raised fears of a pandemic, particularly from the US and Europe. More than 100 people are suspected to have died from the disease in Mexico, though only 20 deaths have been attributed to the virus so far.

Thailand has no reported cases of swine flu as yet.

The outbreak will have minimal impact on inbound tourism to Thailand as it is currently low season, Thailand Hotels Association (THA) president Prakit Chinamournphong said.

Also, many international tourists delayed their trips to the country because of local political unrest, after last year’s airports seizure and the recent riots in Bangkok.

“Anyway, long-haul tourists from Europe and the US don’t travel during the low season so as long as the disease doesn’t come to Asia, we hope the country’s tourism can gradually recover,” he said. “I believe we can counter this problem because we had experiences handling the bird flu before.”

Tourism Council of Thailand chairman Kongkrit Hiranyakit said the issue is a matter of concern because any regional outbreak would cause the number of international tourist arrivals to sharply decline, as with the cases of bird flu and Sars.

A single case in the region could have a negative impact on Thailand because tourists tend to consider a destination’s risk on a regional basis, he said. This would add to the country’s existing economic and political troubles.

Jennifer Cronin, Dusit Group’s vice-president for sales & marketing, said the hotelier is not overly concerned by the issue, which has yet to affect its performance, because the outbreaks are far from Thailand.

Thai Airways International said yesterday it would apply similar measures as those imposed during the outbreak of Sars in 2003, and bird flu in 2004, to prevent the spread of swine flu through its service.

The measures include checking the health of both inbound and outbound passengers, assuring cleanliness in the cabin and other facilities.

Swine flu outbreak predicted to have minimal impact on Thai tourism

Technorati Tags: Swine flu outbreak predicted to have minimal impact on Thai tourism

Comments Off

Suvarnabhumi airport on alert for visitors from France, Germany, UK and US

Monday April 27th 2009, 5:07 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized

Source: Deutsche Presse Agentur

Suvarnabhumi Airport will tighten its checks on visitors from from France, Tokyo, Frankfurt, London, Chicago, Los Angeles and Texas in an attempt to prevent spread of swine flu in Thailand.

Serirat Prasutanond, general manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport said the airport has not yet found any passengers which have flu symptoms of the swine flu.

He said the visitors to the airport from the said areas were estimated to be about 2,000 to 3,000 per day.

The Thai government on Monday installed thermal scanners at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport as a preventive measure against the spread of swine flu to the kingdom.

The infra-red cameras, used to detect unusual body heat, were one of several measures agreed to by health authorities as a means of preventing the spread of swine flu in the South-East Asian country, where the tourism industry was hard hit by the outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 and bird flu in 2004-05.

“At present, we have not found any cases of swine flu,” Thai Health Minister Vithaya Keowparadis told a press conference.

The Health Ministry has launched an education campaign on swine flu, which has killed at least 20 people in Mexico.

Thailand has a thriving swine livestock industry catering to the domestic market and has begun pork exports.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the cabinet will meet Tuesday to discuss the need for other measures, such as travel warnings to Mexico and the US.

Suvarnabhumi airport on alert for visitors from France, Germany, UK and US

Technorati Tags: Suvarnabhumi airport on alert for visitors from France, Germany, UK and US

0 Comments

Hong Kong cancels its travel warning as Thai PM lifts state of emergency

Friday April 24th 2009, 5:07 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized

Source: The Nation

The Hong Kong government Friday cancelled its travel warning for Bangkok after the Thai prime minister lifted the state of emergency imposed 12 days ago.

A Hong Kong government spokesman said the travel warning was cancelled with immediate effect but said people travelling to the Thai capital should continue to exercise caution.

“As the situation there is still not entirely clear, those who plan to visit the country, particularly Bangkok, should continue to closely monitor developments,” the spokesman said.

In a related development, Prime Minster Abhisit Vejjajiva on Friday lifted the state of emergency he had imposed 12 days ago on Bangkok and five surrounding provinces to quell anti-government protests.

Abhisit announced early Friday at the end of a two-day joint House session that he had decided to lift the state of emergency to show the government’s sincerity in seeking national reconciliation.

“Lifting the state of emergency is one of the measures to find a solution for the country,” Abhisit told the parliamentary session shortly after midnight.

“The government wants reconciliation and to move the country forward,” Abhisit told lawmakers early Friday.

Small groups of a soldiers posted at various sensitive locations throughout the capital had been withdrawn from the streets Friday morning.

Abhisit declared a state of emergency in Bangkok and its neighbouring provinces on April 12 to deal with the protests that instigated widespread violent in Bangkok.

Earlier he imposed the state in Pattaya after the red shirts stormed into the meeting venue of Asian Summit in Pattaya, forcing the government to cancel the summit.

The laws allowed the the army to launch crackdown on the red shirted protesters who were loyal to fugitive ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra.

Hong Kong cancels its travel warning as Thai PM lifts state of emergency

Technorati Tags: Hong Kong cancels its travel warning as Thai PM lifts state of emergency

0 Comments

Economic Impact on Travel & Tourism

Thursday April 23rd 2009, 3:24 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) today revealed the results of its 2009 Economic Impact Research at its annual ITB Berlin press conference in the presence of industry leaders from different sectors of Travel & Tourism – high-level government representatives, and its research partner Oxford Economics.

“This year, the task of assessing Travel & Tourism trends and drawing up forecasts has been more challenging than ever because of all the uncertainties,” Jean-Claude Baumgarten, WTTC President & CEO, announced at the launch.
Two difficult years in prospect…

Given the significant deterioration in Travel & Tourism activity through the second half of 2008 and the bleak macroeconomic forecast for 2009, WTTC’s latest research shows that Travel & Tourism Economy GDP will contract by 3.6% in 2009. And it is expected to remain weak in 2010 with only marginal growth, of less than 0.3%, currently predicted – on what will already be a weak 2009.

“Lower fuel costs will make a difference,” said Baumgarten, “as will lower general inflation, which should reverse part of last year’s squeeze on households’ spending power. But given how widespread and deep the current recession is, it is inevitable that Travel & Tourism will continue to be affected.”

“Indeed, as a relatively cyclical industry, its contribution to world GDP is expected to fall further in the next two years – from 9.6% in 2008 to just over 9% in 2010,” Oxford Economics’ Managing Director, Adrian Cooper, added. “Job losses are likely to be significant, with employment falling by around 10 million over the next two years towards 215 million in 2010, before recovering thereafter.”

A key message from WTTC is that Travel & Tourism is a major contributor to job creation and poverty alleviation – “a fact that policy-makers would do well to recognise and take into account in their short- to medium-term strategies,” said Baumgarten.

Baumgarten stressed, “The industry is not expecting a bail-out. It needs a supportive framework from government to help it weather the current storm. And governments would also do well to recognise Travel & Tourism’s potential to energise the economy once the current crisis eases.”
… with investment and corporate travel predicted to be hit hardest

Travel & Tourism investment and corporate travel are expected to be the hardest hit this year. Real investment spending is forecast to decline by 5% in 2009 and a further 1.25% in 2010.

Residents’ Travel & Tourism spending is likely to be the least affected, but even here a decline of 2.75% is projected for 2009, despite the substitution of domestic for some foreign travel.
Travel & Tourism’s contribution to GDP and jobs will still be positive longer term

“Nevertheless,” said Baumgarten, “looking beyond the current crisis, Travel & Tourism is expected to resume its leading role in driving global growth, creating jobs and alleviating poverty.

“Emerging economies are expected to be the main engines of growth,” Baumgarten added, “generating hundreds of millions of new travellers from among the growing middle classes in countries like China, India and Brazil – boosting international travel, but also creating an increasingly vibrant domestic tourism sector.”

In developed countries, the increasing priority given to leisure activities can be expected to enhance demand for travel to existing and new tourism destinations once consumers regain confidence, while the popularity of short breaks – both domestic and international – will continue to expand in the medium to longer term.

Overall, the Travel & Tourism Economy is forecast to grow by 4% per annum in real terms over the next ten years. By 2019, Travel & Tourism will account for 275 million jobs, representing 8.4% of total employment across the world.

“This means that Travel & Tourism will continue growing in importance as one of the world’s highest priority industries and employers,” Baumgarten said.

Economic Impact on Travel & Tourism

Technorati Tags: Economic Impact on Travel & Tourism

0 Comments

Thailand tourism industry road shows a waste

Wednesday April 22nd 2009, 1:27 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized

Haste is waste, tourism-wise

Source: Bangkok Post

The frantic calls by the tourism industry for the government to launch global “road shows” to woo tourists back in a hurry, after anti-government riots killed two and injured 135 people in Bangkok last week, may be premature and wasteful. PM Abhisit Vejjajiva’s decision to attend the Arabian Travel Mart, a major tourism event in Dubai during May 5-8, in a mission to restore traveller confidence, is also likely to be futile.

Embarking on these sorts of remedial action, though well-intended, are simply too early as the images of red-shirted rioters out on the streets – commandeering buses, setting them alight, pushing them towards security forces, setting tyres on fire – are still fresh in the minds of viewers around the world.

The rioting in Bangkok underscored the ugly scenes in Pattaya the previous week, when supporters of fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra stormed the venue of a summit meeting of Asia-Pacific leaders, forcing the government to unceremoniously call it off. That event alone was bad enough to gravely undermine Thailand’s national reputation. Though those rioters have retreated, confronted with a broader military crackdown, the crisis is far from over. Perceptually, Thailand has sustained serious damage as an exotic and safe tourism destination.

The assassination attempt on People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) core leader Sondhi Limthongkul last Friday has further shown that the political crisis is still very much alive, with no end in sight.

The political turmoil in Thailand has been witnessed by the whole world and foreign travellers are wary of the fact that political extremism can resurface any time to ruin their visit to the kingdom.

The nightmarish thought of being stranded in Thailand after the PAD’s yellow-shirted demonstrators laid siege to Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports from Nov 25 to Dec 4 last year have continued to haunt visitors’ minds.

They are well aware that history may repeat itself since nobody in this country can truly guarantee that the airports would not be seized again by political demonstrators.

The global economic slump is magnifying the effect of the political upheaval because fewer travellers can afford to come to Thailand.

Clearly, it will take a great deal more than soothing words, even with Mr Abhisit’s best rhetoric, to spruce up the country’s tourism image in a short period.

Apichart Sankary, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, was quite correct when he said: “If we can’t create reconciliation in the country, we should not go out to assure foreign travellers. We may be seen as liars if we can’t deliver what we have promised.”

Today, Thailand is intractably divided and the world is left with a lasting impression that the country is heading for a long period of regular turbulence.

Obviously, the key to regaining confidence is to put an end to the political conflict.

Though the Abhisit administration has made tourism recovery a top national priority, the government still needs to do more, not just through words, to assure tourists and foreign investors that stability, law and order have actually been restored before inviting them back.

Would it be more prudent to delay those costly image revival campaigns at least in the near term and concentrate on working out any achievable political resolution and then show the results to the world later? That would add more weight to the campaigns the country will launch and which will become more convincing than some vague statements.

The substantial amount of taxpayers’ money that would go towards these global campaigns should be put to better use elsewhere, perhaps into helping the domestic tourism industry by means of subsidising local hotels, transportation service providers and tour operators to encourage Thais to travel in the country.

Promoting domestic tourism could prove to be a short-term lifesaver for the kingdom’s tourism industry, enabling it to go through this difficult period of transition.

It is also essential that the relief package – including three-month visa fee waivers and reduction of aircraft landing fees that were provided earlier to mitigate the impact from the airport shutdown crisis – be extended.

PM Abhisit should not be compelled to quickly lift the state of emergency in the capital as advocated by some tourism associations, as that could be counter-productive to the effort to keep untoward political movements from aggravating the kingdom’s battered image.

The tourism industry must concede that there is no magical way to attract travellers back in the numbers they’d like to see, so long as political chaos remains.

Boonsong Kositchotethana is Deputy Assignment Editor (Business), Bangkok Post.

Thailand tourism industry road shows a waste

Technorati Tags: Thailand tourism industry road shows a waste

Comments Off

AANA Resort & Spa, Klong Prao Beach

Tuesday April 21st 2009, 2:19 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized

With rates starting at Bt 2100, AANA in Klong Prao Beach, uses a concept of unique and contemporary design, totally in harmony with the environment, and aims to offer with its true to nature ambiance a refreshing, earthy and relaxing experience for the perfect wellbeing.

AANA meaning Elephant in Malayalam, a native Indian language, is located at Klong Prao Beach on the picturesque island of Koh Chang in the Gulf of Siam. Surrounded by lush green tropical mountains, covered with forest, on one side and the river and the sea on the other side, AANA is set amongst the best nature has to offer.

AANA, using a concept of unique and contemporary design, totally in harmony with the environment, aims to offer with its true to nature ambiance a truly refreshing, earthy and relaxing experience for the perfect wellbeing. AANA Resort & Spa has 71 rooms, split in two low-rise building with 42 deluxe rooms facing the riverside pool, the garden and the river, 17 single, round and elevated Villas with own Jacuzzi pool and breathtaking view and 3 low-rise buildings with 6 Grand Deluxe room on the ground floor, each two of them connecting, and 6 Top View rooms on the second and third floor with own Jacuzzi pool and an amazing view towards the private beach of the resort.

All rooms at AANA have either a King size bed or twin beds with light and comfortable duvets. Unique features at AANA are the generously extra large balconies and terraces with day bed and dining table to enjoy great outdoor living and balmy tropical nights.

The Cinnamon
The Cinnamon, AANA’s Restaurant, is located alongside the river and the access point to the private beach, and daily open from 07.00 to 23.00. After starting in the morning with an International and Thai breakfast buffet it will offer for lunch and dinner an a la carte menu with a wide selection of Thai and European dishes with a particular emphasis on healthy and authentic eastern Thai cuisine and a lot of fresh seafood. The extensive wine list of Cinnamon will add to the dining pleasure.

The Hill Bar
The Hill Bar, situated on the top of the Resort next to one of AANA’s swimming pools, is open from 12.00 to 21.00 and serves light meals or snacks during the day. Hill Bar is the best viewpoint on the property, overlooking the whole resort, the river, the mountains and the Gulf of Siam; the perfect spot for an aperitif or a cocktail during sundown and before heading to the restaurant for dinner.

The Beach Bar
The Beach Bar is AANA’s relaxed place on the very own private beach and offers street food, drinks and cocktails from 09.00 to 18.00. Opening hours: 09.00 AM. – 18.00 PM. or until our last guest leaves.

For business mixed with pleasure, AANA Resort is the perfect place for meetings, incentives and theme partys. The facilities match to cater small events of 20 to 30 people right up to large events of around 200 people.

AAR meaning river in Malayalam is situated alongside the banks of Klong Praow river. The facilities include 2 double and 2 single treatment rooms, 4 traditional Thai steam tents and a sala overlooking the river with 3 beds for Thai massage. Each of our exclusive treatments is formulated & enhanced with plant-based ingredients and completely chemicals free. AAR Spa provides relaxing and revitalizing as well as healing treatments.
Body Pampering

Their exclusive range of body treatments combines the purest of natural ingredients with the wonderful effect of aromatherapy to envelope you in a complete state of blissful serenity.

Facials
Be gentle with your skin. Our therapists facial treatments will be especially suited to your type of skin, and all-natural . . . inspired by the bounty of nature. Our facial treatments begin with a holistic evaluation of your skin to ensure we select the package best suited to nurture your complexion. The result: velvety smooth, firm and younger-looking skin.

Massage
AAR’ Spa, massage therapy offers many benefits. In the experienced hands of our therapists, you’ll feel stress and worry melt away as your circulation and sense of well-being receive a boost. With a variety of massage treatments to select from, we will work with you to tailor each treatment to suit your needs – and to deliver an experience of total rejuvenation.

AANA is lucky to be endowed with the best what nature of Koh Chang has to offer. Surrounded by lush green mountains, covered with tropical forest, on one side, and the river and the sea on the other, AANA offers you a breathtaking ambience.

AANA Resort & Spa, Klong Prao Beach

Technorati Tags: AANA Resort & Spa, Klong Prao Beach

0 Comments

Thai government to pump B15bn into tourism

Monday April 20th 2009, 4:16 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized

Source: Bangkok Post

The government will make 15 billion baht in loans available to the struggling tourism sector, Deputy Prime Minister overseeing economic affairs Kobsak Sabhavasu said on Monday.

The announcement follows last week’s decision by the cabinet to put tourism promotion at the top of the national agenda.

He said the assistance was urgently needed as the industry was suffering severely from the effects of continuing political instability.

The government would raise the money overseas.

The main problem was that most businesses in the sector do not have assets to guarantee loans. The government may allow them to open special accounts, he said.

The loan scheme would go to the cabinet for approval at its regular meeting this Tuesday.

The government will also extend its other tourist stimulus measures for three more months.

These include reducing airport charges and taxes relating to tourism businesses, visa requirement exemptions and encouraging foreign businesses to hold seminars in Thailand.

However, the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) forecasts that tourism revenue will fall significantly and foreign investment will also drop in the second quarter of this year because of political instability.

The tourism growth in the second quarter could plummet 30 per cent and foreign invesment may contract by 20 per cent, FTI deputy chairman Thanit Sorat said on Monday.

Initially, the country expected about 14 million foreign tourists this year, but the figure could be only 11 million, he said.

Foreign investors would be more cautious about investing in Thailand because of the nationwide protests by the anti-government United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) and the government’s declaration of a state of emegency in Bangkok and nearby provinces.

The FTI deputy chairman said the government should lift the state of emergency very quickly to restore the country’s image.

Hopefully, more foreign tourists would then come to Thailand as usual in the third quarter, he said.

Thai government to pump B15bn into tourism

Technorati Tags: Thai government to pump B15bn into tourism

0 Comments

Root of the problem: Thailand’s inability or refusal to adapt

Friday April 17th 2009, 2:16 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized

Source: Bangkok Post by Prof Dr Likhit Dhiravegin

There is a tendency among people to come up with a mono-causal analysis of problems. Country A is poor because of its bad leader, for example. This would mean that all the problems are caused by one man in the power echelon.

Such reductionism not only leads the analysis astray but also reveals simple-mindedness on the part of the “thinking system.” It is highly improbable that a single person could wreak havoc on a country as old as Thailand if the people are well-educated and trained in an educational system which caters to an analytical mind and critical thinking. If the culture helps nurture self-confidence and self-esteem capable of logical thinking and an independent mind not being easily lured by brain-washing propaganda, then no one can lead the people to follow blindly into mishap.

The big question is whether such social organisations as the social status and social relations, the state bureaucracy, religious teachings, educational system and, of more significance, the political system are still capable of performing their functions necessary for the changing times?

Given the lack in many areas, Thai society is marked by weaknesses in both the human and social organisation aspects. The internal social change propelled by globalisation has brought about a new milieu which the society, in many regards, seems unable to handle.

This is probably a weighty factor. The incongruence between social change and the ability to adapt to change can arguably be the significant variable leading to the emergence of one person who astutely and unethically exploited the social weaknesses for self aggrandisement. Wrongdoings were allowed to go on with no one lifting a finger. Abuse of power and violation of the rule of law were rampant, but no single lawyer or state official showed any guts to protest. Those legal technicians – as opposed to lawyers – were silent due to the lack of confidence or righteousness. Some of these legal technicians even helped with the process of plundering national treasures by corrupt politicians through their advice based upon twisted interpretation of the laws.

But then the rectification of the problem called for an extra-constitutional measure by power seizure which, in itself, was against the democratic principle and constitutional means.

Worse, the subsequent proclamations made by the coup party only made the problems more complicated. By passing a retroactive law to hunt down the executives of the political parties which were dissolved through the dubious proclamation and by having the legally questionable constitutional tribunal to pass the verdict, it had started the process of creating an insoluble political predicament and legal complexity.

This was to be further aggravated by the insertion of Article 309 in the new charter, which has an overriding effect upon the charter itself. The said Article is legally hardly tenable because it has the effect of being a constitution over the national charter. Up to this point, all the problems have become a knot impossible to untie.

At a deeper level of analysis, it can be argued that the main problem facing the country now is political legitimacy. The coup of Sept 19, 2006 might be justified by many reasons, but the fact remains that it was against the law and the global trend of promoting democratic government. But that part may be condoned as the public could very well understand the exigency for change before the country was completely ruined by the regime in power.

But the public expected a caretaker government which knew how to exercise state power to lay down the groundwork for a better working democracy after the coup. Instead, that government was marked by incompetence, reluctance, weakness and, worst of all, it gave the impression of indecisiveness and temporariness. The coup party, on the other hand, having the half-trained legal technicians or with ill intention, as advisers, audaciously came up with ill-conceived legal measures which were not germane to internationally accepted legal principles. From then on, the situation had started to go from bad to worse, to the point of no return.

To undo what was incorrectly done was thus difficult. The unfortunate thing was, what had happened had set a bad precedent wherein the adversary could claim the right to act likewise. It is commonly accepted that “two wrongs will not make a right,” but there appeared undeniably a double standard here where one group of people could break the law and get away with it. Or, if they were apprehended, the legal process would be slow. Meanwhile, similar acts on the part of the other group would be branded as against the law. This practice of double standard bodes ill for political legitimacy. The actions of the Red Shirts were thus at times a replica of what the Yellow Shirts had done. The objective was to test whether the same standard of legal process and justice would be taken vis-a-vis the similar acts. Many political incidents of late are cases in point.

This situation has created not only resentment but has developed into a contemptuous attitude toward those in control of state power, including those who were believed to pull the strings behind the scenes. The loss of political legitimacy and moral authority on the part of the system is clear. Worse still is the loss of respect for the respectable individuals and the loss of deference for authority and public office holders.

The overall situation has ended in contentious political confrontation, social cleavage, and ideological conflict of a scale never before experienced in Thai society. The loss of political legitimacy on the part of the individuals, the loss of legitimacy in the system, the feeling of having no fairness in law enforcement, and the contemptuous attitude toward the people in charge, can be argued to be the main causes of the existing political problem.

But the real root cause lies in the fact that the existing cultural setup may be lagging behind the process of social transformation in both the domestic and global scenes. This has unveiled the weaknesses of society which allowed for the rise of one single person to exploit them for his own good. And when it comes to resolving problems, a society marked by weaknesses just does not have the capability to come up with the correct measures.

All the factors at work, including the case of the seizure of the property of the former leader and those of his family members, which are cases in dispute, are arguably just the derivatives rather than the root.

Looking for an answer? Look deeply into the culture and the educational system. Some aspects of our culture are admirable but some leave much to be desired and need to be reformed immediately. Such elements in our culture as the negative side of the patron-client system, superstition, lack of discipline and public responsibility, sycophantic tendency, excessive hedonism, anomic individualism of person vis-a-vis social organisations, etc, should probably be re-examined.

Our educational system needs to be overhauled. Learning by rote, destruction of selfhood or personhood through the process of de-individuation because of the emphasis on conformity, the non-development of self-confidence and self-esteem, etc, bode ill for the creation of a free man with self-respect.

There is indeed an urgent need for a character education. There is need to have an educational system which can come up with well-educated and well-trained human resources for the coming era. This new personality created for the rough terrain of the new era is one with not only knowledge but also morality and ethics and sophistication of an international level.

Root of the problem: Thailand’s inability or refusal to adapt

Technorati Tags: Root of the problem: Thailand’s inability or refusal to adapt

Comments Off