A notable new entry on New Mandala points to the latest World Bank report on Thailand. In this announcement, the Bank upgrades Thailand’s economy from lower middle income to upper middle income, which is defined by average incomes of $3976 to $12275.
The fact that Thailand’s economy has grown strongly for nearly a decade and poverty has been reduced, as New Mandala notes, clearly helps to account for the growing political awareness of the rural population, which has resulted in continued support for the various populist, pro-Thaksin parties. But it is also simply amazing that, despite the political meltdown of the past five years, and the bloody standoff in Bangkok last spring, Thailand has maintained its economic momentum. In fact, despite last year’s violence, Thailand’s economy grew by over seven percent in 2010.
This resiliency is testament to the country’s ongoing strengths, even in the face of political chaos: A business-friendly tax regime, hospitality and services beloved by foreigners, a low-wage platform for manufacturing, and generally pro-investment governments. Thailand, in other words, has a reputation (based in some reality) that helps it glide through even the worst of its political problems.
However that reputation has also allowed successive Thai governments to avoid hard economic decisions, most notably about how to upgrade the country’s workforce. Thailand’s educational system is horrific, and this lack of quality education is preventing the country’s economy from rising up the value-added ladder. Eventually, it will have to do so, as even low wages and a business-friendly environment will not be enough of a competitive edge. Yet neither Thaksin nor successive Democrat governments took serious steps to address Thailand’s skill deficit. New Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra also does not seem to understand the depth of Thailand’s educational deficit, and how this deficit – even more than its political strife – could put an end to Thailand’s long run of economic good luck. Yingluck has appointed Worawat Ua-apinyakul as education minister in her new cabinet, an MP who has neither the credentials nor the national respect to lead a meaningful overhaul of Thailand’s education system or of the ministry itself.
CT “*cries* No!!! I support CP as the next King. Look forward to have Princess Srirasmi as the next Queen. She is so beautiful I cannot wait for Thailand to have her as its Queen ^^”
Typical. All anyone is concerned about is beauty. Skin deep appearances. No one really cares about the problems facing the country or what could be done to solve them. And let’s start at the top. A decent leader like the present King would do wonders for the image of the Kingdom. A playboy is only going to send it further down the tubes.
The Wall Street Journal has an interesting Q&A with Dr. Asri, one of the more progressive Muslim scholars in Malaysia.
A: In Malaysia at the moment there aren’t many conservative Muslims – but they are in important government positions. While progressive groups have contributed a lot of significant reforms over the years, they are marginalized by conservative groups who control the institutions of religion in government and ensure that only their school of thought is given an opportunity. The government is probably concerned that members of the progressive movement will criticize things they see. Perhaps there is a tendency of certain parties to maintain elements of racism and extreme religious fanaticism to protect their political interests.
Australian citizens in Thailand are subject to Thai law, no matter how unfair those laws may be by what some consider Western standards.
I believe that Mr. Nicolaides was arrested to serve as a salutary example that would deter other farang writers in Thailand from publishing negative comments about the royal family. If that was their aim, they succeeded. I know quite a few journalists in Thailand, and the punishment meted out to Mr. Nicolaides has made them all very wary indeed. If you want to criticize the royal family, do a Handley and do it while safely outside Thailand, with no intention of ever returning. Otherwise the topic is off limits.
Harry’s original sentence was six years. There were those in the Thai legal system who wanted him to serve every single day. He was granted a royal pardon, well before he would normally have been considered eligible for one, primarily because of the representations made on his behalf by Australian diplomats, representations that were most unlikely to have been successful if the diplomat in question was giving progress reports and a running commentary to any curious busybody. They deserve some recognition.
If anyone wants to contact a prisoner, their details are taken and the decision is left to the prisoner. Not all of them are anxious to receive visitors from journalists or the curious. Believe it or not, there really are privacy provisions and they really are rigorously applied. That’s not stonewalling, that’s common sense.
Under Thai law it’s a pre-condition for the granting of a pardon in such cases that the miscreant/victim (delete the description you disagree with) publicly expresses contrition, apologises, begs forgiveness, promises never to do it again, and expresses gratitude for the king’s benevolence. You might not like it, but that is how things are done in Thailand, and the situation is not going to change under the Yingluck “na kha” government.
@ Frank.
Hi Frank, your point about some people wishing to have help with their travel plans is a valid point.
The problem is the charging for the Dhamma.
In Thailand(I cannot speak for other countries) it is accepted that people who stay in temples to practice meditation and/or study the Dhamma do so on a donation only basis.
As one of the monks at the temple in question, I am pleased that the charging for this scheme was stopped. ( I was not at this temple when the charge was in place, and therefore did not benefit in any way from it).
Although the monk for a month name still exists, it is actually now a tour of the region, with home stays etc, and if people wish to come to the temple for a brief period of time they may do so. However we have made it clear that no charge should be made for those who wish to stay here.
People can also come for the temple stay only, in which case all they need to do is contact us and we will then answer any questions they may have on how to get here, etc.
With Metta, Phra Greg Chuntawongso.
Thai Select is somewhat a symbol of authentication from Thai government that this restaurant serves authentic Thai food.
Thai officials, when they go overseas, would visit various Thai restaurants to ‘try’ the food. They will not tell the owners who they are ie they act as if they are just another ‘normal’ customer.
If they then think the standard of the food is authentic that it warrants the certificate, they will make recommendations. However, the owner will not know about this until they have been informed by the Thai authorities that their restaurant “has received this certificate”.
So to answer your question, Thai Select it is not a franchise. Nonetheless, it is a certificate issued by Thais (who know the authentic taste of Thai food) which would make people know that this restaurant serves Thai cuisine of a considerably high and authentic standard.
“Monk for a Month” sounds funny, but there are those of us who want to travel alone to Thailand to experience wat life and Thai culture while studying the Dhamma. And, this seems to be an excellent opportunity before leaping – face first – into a forest or urban monastery environment. I’m not one to get off the plane and show up at a monastery, anyway.
Personally, $800 for a person to stay a month, or even a couple of weeks, sounds far more than generous by western standards. I get that for more serious or dedicated practitioners the donation thing is essential, but I can also imagine the backpacking loons that would be delighted to stick around a temple and eat the food for nothing. It happens, and that can seriously disrupt any placid environment.
The very positive testimonials for Fang Valley’s retreats seem to speak for themselves.
Disc 1. I have to agree. No comment on the levels of income disparity which are amongst some of the severest in South East Asia. The only reference to’ regional growth’ and that it is ‘better understood today’. Yet in Thailand what is understood and what is actually put in place are entirely different things. Those in power both politically and economically know what needs to be done to create sustainable growth its just they are not willing to do it as it means they would have to SHARE the enormous wealth they make off the backs of lower class Thais. Business in Thailand is a family affair where those that have the power to enact change refuse to do so as they fear the loss of their highly lucrative ‘patronage status’.
While your analysis of Malaysia’s paralysis in institutional reforms seems reasonable and sound, it however misses out on a more fundamental underlying reasons as to why a nation can eventually crumble and collapse even if its competitive advantage or competency level is successfully achieved. We ponder on what Gandhi said:
“The things that will destroy us are: politics without principle; pleasure without conscience; wealth without work; knowledge without character; business without morality; science without humanity; and worship without sacrifice.”
In our rush to become a higher income nation, the human face and universal values are somehow drowned in a sea of politics, economic figures, social indicators, and moral decay. In short, we have become a materialistic animal in a material world.
Is that what institutional reforms are all about? I wonder.
On the point of foreigners trying to help compatriots caught up in this cruel law, when Harry was in jail here I went to the Australian Embassy to enquire what was being done by them to help the lad. I was stonewalled with the response “Privacy provisions do not permit us to discuss any individual case” or words to that effect.
What should I have done given that response? Do we need a website which lists every prisoner and his current status, place of torture – that’s how Harry described it, how to visit etc so we can be of more assistance?
What’s more Andrew, without somebody in the Australian system having the guts to leak details of their secret dealings why should any credance be given to any thoughts of what might have happened in “behind the scenes representations” . Just look at the fuss and bother Thailand caused over their attempt to steal Preah Vihear. Perhaps it is time they were given similarly harsh treatment over this important civil rights issue?
But then Black Kettle Australia over its treatment of refugees may find it hard to call any Pot Black?
If there is to be justice, then investigations should be held into the rather larger number of people killed under the administration-before-last under extra-judicial circumstances, ie. the Tak Bai massacre, the war on drugs and you know the rest.
Otherwise its just more political flaktivism. And frankly, an insult to the concept of “reconciliation”.
The point is it can go both ways, nationality hardly got anything to do with expertise. I didn’t calmed that Farang knows it all, hardly, I’m just saying some knows better than Thais (which is certainly not too far fetch).
the royals, other elites and the military generals in Thailand are striving to maintain their grip on power in Thailand
being able to act with impunity in their greed for wealth and power these people have long lied, cheated and killed to preserve their position
it is time for the majority of the Thai people to take control of the essential institutions of society and reduce the power and influence of these evil people.
Its interesting that the world bank report claims Thailand is business friendly. I guess that is in the context of Myanmar, Vietnam, China and Cambodia, in this region yes Thailand has some advantages, but at the end of the day, you can not really invest in Thailand and control a business unless you have a export oriented factory , OR you give majority to local “investment” community, and indulge in the nominee shareholder game (US excluded).
The driver of economic growth has not been those local protected commercial elite, but in the massive foreign investment in factories on the eastern seaboard, central provinces surrounding Bangkok. And this has been where the Thai low income classes have found good paying jobs, where process worker, becomes a supervisor, becomes assitant manager, becomes manager, then director, and that is how a middle class has expanded. Its also where the Greek and US jobs have gone.
Yet a good portion of the privileged elite look down on this growing class as unskilled and or uneducated. Or begrudge rising incomes, even though they will spend all of it in Thailand.
Think of the opportunities if the Thai givernment freed up the services sector, Bangkok would become the regional hub for all sorts of service industries. But then the local protected elite would lose out, while salaries and opportunities for working Thai increased.
My post in #28 was meant to say that the Aussies did not come to protest on the street when Harry Nicolaides was jailed. I never meant to talk about the Australian Embassy.
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Thailand’s economic success
From the Council on Foregin Relations:
Crown Prince’s family update?
CT “*cries* No!!! I support CP as the next King. Look forward to have Princess Srirasmi as the next Queen. She is so beautiful I cannot wait for Thailand to have her as its Queen ^^”
Typical. All anyone is concerned about is beauty. Skin deep appearances. No one really cares about the problems facing the country or what could be done to solve them. And let’s start at the top. A decent leader like the present King would do wonders for the image of the Kingdom. A playboy is only going to send it further down the tubes.
Betting on Najib!
The Wall Street Journal has an interesting Q&A with Dr. Asri, one of the more progressive Muslim scholars in Malaysia.
FACT’s plea for Joe Gordon
Australian citizens in Thailand are subject to Thai law, no matter how unfair those laws may be by what some consider Western standards.
I believe that Mr. Nicolaides was arrested to serve as a salutary example that would deter other farang writers in Thailand from publishing negative comments about the royal family. If that was their aim, they succeeded. I know quite a few journalists in Thailand, and the punishment meted out to Mr. Nicolaides has made them all very wary indeed. If you want to criticize the royal family, do a Handley and do it while safely outside Thailand, with no intention of ever returning. Otherwise the topic is off limits.
Harry’s original sentence was six years. There were those in the Thai legal system who wanted him to serve every single day. He was granted a royal pardon, well before he would normally have been considered eligible for one, primarily because of the representations made on his behalf by Australian diplomats, representations that were most unlikely to have been successful if the diplomat in question was giving progress reports and a running commentary to any curious busybody. They deserve some recognition.
If anyone wants to contact a prisoner, their details are taken and the decision is left to the prisoner. Not all of them are anxious to receive visitors from journalists or the curious. Believe it or not, there really are privacy provisions and they really are rigorously applied. That’s not stonewalling, that’s common sense.
Under Thai law it’s a pre-condition for the granting of a pardon in such cases that the miscreant/victim (delete the description you disagree with) publicly expresses contrition, apologises, begs forgiveness, promises never to do it again, and expresses gratitude for the king’s benevolence. You might not like it, but that is how things are done in Thailand, and the situation is not going to change under the Yingluck “na kha” government.
Mixing religion and commerce: The Monk for a Month Program in Fang, Chiang Mai
@ Frank.
Hi Frank, your point about some people wishing to have help with their travel plans is a valid point.
The problem is the charging for the Dhamma.
In Thailand(I cannot speak for other countries) it is accepted that people who stay in temples to practice meditation and/or study the Dhamma do so on a donation only basis.
As one of the monks at the temple in question, I am pleased that the charging for this scheme was stopped. ( I was not at this temple when the charge was in place, and therefore did not benefit in any way from it).
Although the monk for a month name still exists, it is actually now a tour of the region, with home stays etc, and if people wish to come to the temple for a brief period of time they may do so. However we have made it clear that no charge should be made for those who wish to stay here.
People can also come for the temple stay only, in which case all they need to do is contact us and we will then answer any questions they may have on how to get here, etc.
With Metta, Phra Greg Chuntawongso.
Thai food: Universally delicious?
@Paul,
Thai Select is somewhat a symbol of authentication from Thai government that this restaurant serves authentic Thai food.
Thai officials, when they go overseas, would visit various Thai restaurants to ‘try’ the food. They will not tell the owners who they are ie they act as if they are just another ‘normal’ customer.
If they then think the standard of the food is authentic that it warrants the certificate, they will make recommendations. However, the owner will not know about this until they have been informed by the Thai authorities that their restaurant “has received this certificate”.
So to answer your question, Thai Select it is not a franchise. Nonetheless, it is a certificate issued by Thais (who know the authentic taste of Thai food) which would make people know that this restaurant serves Thai cuisine of a considerably high and authentic standard.
Mixing religion and commerce: The Monk for a Month Program in Fang, Chiang Mai
“Monk for a Month” sounds funny, but there are those of us who want to travel alone to Thailand to experience wat life and Thai culture while studying the Dhamma. And, this seems to be an excellent opportunity before leaping – face first – into a forest or urban monastery environment. I’m not one to get off the plane and show up at a monastery, anyway.
Personally, $800 for a person to stay a month, or even a couple of weeks, sounds far more than generous by western standards. I get that for more serious or dedicated practitioners the donation thing is essential, but I can also imagine the backpacking loons that would be delighted to stick around a temple and eat the food for nothing. It happens, and that can seriously disrupt any placid environment.
The very positive testimonials for Fang Valley’s retreats seem to speak for themselves.
Thailand’s economic success
Disc 1. I have to agree. No comment on the levels of income disparity which are amongst some of the severest in South East Asia. The only reference to’ regional growth’ and that it is ‘better understood today’. Yet in Thailand what is understood and what is actually put in place are entirely different things. Those in power both politically and economically know what needs to be done to create sustainable growth its just they are not willing to do it as it means they would have to SHARE the enormous wealth they make off the backs of lower class Thais. Business in Thailand is a family affair where those that have the power to enact change refuse to do so as they fear the loss of their highly lucrative ‘patronage status’.
Malaysia – a simple institutional analysis
While your analysis of Malaysia’s paralysis in institutional reforms seems reasonable and sound, it however misses out on a more fundamental underlying reasons as to why a nation can eventually crumble and collapse even if its competitive advantage or competency level is successfully achieved. We ponder on what Gandhi said:
“The things that will destroy us are: politics without principle; pleasure without conscience; wealth without work; knowledge without character; business without morality; science without humanity; and worship without sacrifice.”
In our rush to become a higher income nation, the human face and universal values are somehow drowned in a sea of politics, economic figures, social indicators, and moral decay. In short, we have become a materialistic animal in a material world.
Is that what institutional reforms are all about? I wonder.
Thai food: Universally delicious?
Does the phrase, “Thai select” refer to a restaurant chain?
FACT’s plea for Joe Gordon
AW@53: Can you be clearer? Do you mean that members of the Australian government convinced Harry to plead guilty? Or something else?
FACT’s plea for Joe Gordon
On the point of foreigners trying to help compatriots caught up in this cruel law, when Harry was in jail here I went to the Australian Embassy to enquire what was being done by them to help the lad. I was stonewalled with the response “Privacy provisions do not permit us to discuss any individual case” or words to that effect.
What should I have done given that response? Do we need a website which lists every prisoner and his current status, place of torture – that’s how Harry described it, how to visit etc so we can be of more assistance?
What’s more Andrew, without somebody in the Australian system having the guts to leak details of their secret dealings why should any credance be given to any thoughts of what might have happened in “behind the scenes representations” . Just look at the fuss and bother Thailand caused over their attempt to steal Preah Vihear. Perhaps it is time they were given similarly harsh treatment over this important civil rights issue?
But then Black Kettle Australia over its treatment of refugees may find it hard to call any Pot Black?
Just, fair, accountable!
If there is to be justice, then investigations should be held into the rather larger number of people killed under the administration-before-last under extra-judicial circumstances, ie. the Tak Bai massacre, the war on drugs and you know the rest.
Otherwise its just more political flaktivism. And frankly, an insult to the concept of “reconciliation”.
Surapong Jayanama down under
Jesse – 41
The point is it can go both ways, nationality hardly got anything to do with expertise. I didn’t calmed that Farang knows it all, hardly, I’m just saying some knows better than Thais (which is certainly not too far fetch).
FACT’s plea for Joe Gordon
I think that behind the scenes representations by members of the Australian government may have played some role in Harry’s release.
Just, fair, accountable!
the royals, other elites and the military generals in Thailand are striving to maintain their grip on power in Thailand
being able to act with impunity in their greed for wealth and power these people have long lied, cheated and killed to preserve their position
it is time for the majority of the Thai people to take control of the essential institutions of society and reduce the power and influence of these evil people.
FACT’s plea for Joe Gordon
Seh Fah.
It wasn’t “back room” negotiations that freed Harry.
It was the simple fact he admitted his “guilt” and begged for forgiveness.
Joe, Somyot, Da Torpedo etc etc have refused to do that.
That’s why they are unlikely to be freed.
Najib still an asset?
Greg is a brave M’sian.Speaks his mind & is no hypocrite.
Thailand: an upper-middle income economy
Its interesting that the world bank report claims Thailand is business friendly. I guess that is in the context of Myanmar, Vietnam, China and Cambodia, in this region yes Thailand has some advantages, but at the end of the day, you can not really invest in Thailand and control a business unless you have a export oriented factory , OR you give majority to local “investment” community, and indulge in the nominee shareholder game (US excluded).
The driver of economic growth has not been those local protected commercial elite, but in the massive foreign investment in factories on the eastern seaboard, central provinces surrounding Bangkok. And this has been where the Thai low income classes have found good paying jobs, where process worker, becomes a supervisor, becomes assitant manager, becomes manager, then director, and that is how a middle class has expanded. Its also where the Greek and US jobs have gone.
Yet a good portion of the privileged elite look down on this growing class as unskilled and or uneducated. Or begrudge rising incomes, even though they will spend all of it in Thailand.
Think of the opportunities if the Thai givernment freed up the services sector, Bangkok would become the regional hub for all sorts of service industries. But then the local protected elite would lose out, while salaries and opportunities for working Thai increased.
FACT’s plea for Joe Gordon
@Khun Seh Fah,
My post in #28 was meant to say that the Aussies did not come to protest on the street when Harry Nicolaides was jailed. I never meant to talk about the Australian Embassy.