“Oh, front page of the international media, I’ve missed you all for so long” was the feeling that came across me as I sat down to write this piece.
Yes, Thailand is in the news again and for the wrong reasons. Endless political strife is making the country the laughing stock of the region. Some are calling it “the new Philippines of Asean” – no disrespect to our Filipino friends who are enjoying a long-awaited improvement in the fortunes of their once-hapless country.
After a relatively calm period of peace, if not prosperity, over the past two and a half years, hopes are fading now that the Pheu Thai government has rammed through the most controversial piece of legislation since it took office in July 2011.
The passage of the blanket amnesty during the wee hours of last Friday (4.25am to be precise) is bound to propel political sentiment to new heights, with the return of street protests and headlines in the global media once again.
Street theatre may sound like fun to some but it seems the Pheu Thai government is testing the limits by pushing though a bill that is bitterly opposed by the opposition, other groups opposed to Pheu Thai’s exiled leader Thaksin Shinawatra, and even many red shirt activists who normally support the party,.
We could spend hours discussing the political, ethical and legal pros and cons of the amnesty bill. But the point I want to make is that once again, Thailand stands to lose out because it can’t solve its problems at home. Apart from a further erosion of investor confidence, we are likely to see a slump in the key tourism industry, which has been on a major rebound.
Yes, one may say that Thailand is good at rebounding after crises, as has been evident from the various crises that the country has witnessed over the past seven years, but one should not forget that there was once a powerful Asean economy that was thriving until its political crisis dysfunction led it to be called the “sick man of Asean” – yes, that was the Philippines.
We could fall in the same trap.
This would be a sad achievement for a country that has been the darling of foreign investors, expatriates and even illegal immigrants for years.
During a recent trip to Kuala Lumpur where financial chiefs from across the world were gathered, I was struck by the comment of one leading global banker who said, “No matter what happens, Thailand tends to be able to attract foreign direct investment.”
I couldn’t disagree. It is very true though as Thailand is one of the few countries in this part of the world that has managed to remain immune to foreign investors’ wrath, except maybe in the equity markets.
Apart from this, Thailand is also rated as one of the best places for expatriates to live. The annual HSBC Expat Explorer survey ranked Thailand first, ahead of Bahrain, China, the Cayman Islands and Australia. Singapore was in sixth spot, Malaysia 20th and Hong Kong 25th. It’s no surprise that Thailand is home to about 140,000 illegal immigrants from the G7 developed countries that comprise the United States, Canada, Great Britain Japan, Germany, France and Italy. That’s more than from developing nations in Asia and Africa, according to Somsak Phurisisak, the tourism and sports minister.
Mr Somsak said there were close to 25,000 Americans, 30,000 French and 20,000-plus Britons living in Thailand illegally on tourist visas. Perhaps we can take a certain pride that our country is so desirable; it’s better than reading about Thais leaving and never returning.
Our small country is also witnessing a sharp increase in the number of tourists, and the rate of tourists returning for their second or third trips is very high.
All these things tell us that Thailand today is a very different country than it used to be, and far more cosmopolitan than most people perceive it to be.
The good position that Thailand enjoys due to its location, people, food and cost of living apart from a good healthcare system, indicates that this country has a lot of potential, if only the system allows it to flourish and people do not damage it though their acts of recklessness.
The government has managed to make good on the promise it made to the people during the election campaign that it would pass the amnesty bill. If there is opposition to the bill, it should be expressed in a way that does not turn the country’s good standing upside down.
In any democracy protests are allowed and are healthy, but protesters should know what their limits are and what could damage the country’s fundamentals.