Business people are ready to help set up a special committee to reform all parts of the country inclusively in a bid to seek a long-term solution to the deep conflicts among Thais.
Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul (fifth from left), chairwoman of Toshiba Thailand, shows support for the anti-government protesters from the balcony of her office on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road yesterday. PATTARACHAI PREECHAPANICH
Seven private organisations meeting on Monday led by the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC) agreed that parliament's dissolution is the best way to tackle the immediate crisis and avoid violence.
"We applaud the Yingluck Shinawatra government for taking a bold decision, but this is only a short-term solution and conflicts are ready to emerge," said TCC chairman Issara Vongkusolkij, who is also the newly appointed chairman of the Board of Trade.
"Not only political reforms should be done. We should seek a consensus in reshaping economic and social structures as well as the graft problem. This should be done at the same time inclusively."
Mr Issara said comprehensive reform is crucial because the conflict is not only about differences in political beliefs but is also rooted in all parts of society.
Initially, the private sector would invite politicians from the key parties to join the special working group, with other representatives from all sectors also joining the group.
Federation of Thai Capital Market Organisations chairman Paiboon Nalinthrangkurn said the Stock Exchange of Thailand and foreign investors are reluctant to react positively towards the dissolution because the political conflict has not ended.
"The dissolution leads to a clearer picture but it cannot end the problem, which is different from other dissolutions in the past," said Mr Paiboon.
Reform of all sectors including politics, society and the economy is needed to restore the confidence of people and foreign investors in the long term. Hopefully, it would also improve investors' sentiment during the 60-day period before a new election.
"Even though we need more time for reform, it would be a starting point leading to political and economic stability. It would also be a positive sign to build up foreign investors' confidence for the long run," Mr Paiboon said.
Vichai Assarasakorn, vice-chairman of the TCC, said social reform is essential as disparities among people are the root cause of the conflict and increasing corruption.
"Politicians have taken advantage of the inequality of people to benefit themselves without shame. We need to take time to clean the mess," said Mr Vichai.
Twatchai Yongkittikul, general secretary of the Thai Bankers' Association, said the private sector acknowledges that political conflicts are truly deep, so it should pay more attention to social and political factors and not only focus on the economy.
Reform in all sectors would genuinely strengthen and stabilise Thailand's economic growth in the long term.
Piyaman Tejapaibul, president of the Tourism Council of Thailand, said 33 countries have kept their travel advisories for visiting Thailand at Level 2 but have not raised them to Level 5 as feared.
If the political conflict avoids violence and a clearer situation emerges after the dissolution of parliament, it would help to improve foreign tourists' confidence about coming to Thailand.
However, new bookings for both air tickets and hotels for next year are still heading down.
Yuthachai Soonthronrattanavate, president of the Association of Domestic Travel (ADT), said the situation is cooling down but should be closely monitored as tension could heat up any time.
"We also need to wait for the new government to name the new minister of tourism and sports," he said.
The ADT said anti-government protests since Nov 1 have caused a decrease in inbound tourism of 15% but outbound travel has not been affected.