OPINION

Raise the Thai game

Re: "Making Thai passports more powerful", (Opinion, Jan 15).

As the author posited, Thailand is ranked 64th compared to Singapore's second for the world's most powerful passports based on the latest Henley Passport Index. A better ranking means its citizens enjoy visa-free access to more countries, with fewer restrictions. While citizens of developed nations like the US and UK can travel to Thailand without a visa, the reverse doesn't hold for Thais travelling to North America, Western Europe and Australia.

The author rightly asks "What can be done to boost the power of Thai passports?" My answer: Make Thailand and Thais more powerful. How? Increase their GDP per capita. Make Thais richer so there is less incentive for them to be "robin-hoods" (overstaying their visas and working illegally overseas). This is achieved by giving them equal access to education, training, and jobs locally. Many Thai women ply the oldest trade -- prostitution -- overseas to save up enough money to help their families back home. Better educated and wealthier, however, they would choose other professions, thereby reducing human trafficking crimes.

The same goes for Thais illegally working in restaurants or construction sites abroad. And with fewer Thai visa-overstays, only then will we be in a better position to negotiate for visa-free reciprocity. With increased income, Thais will also spend more in other economies as travellers.

Just as we want quality tourists visiting and working in Thailand, so, too, do other nations when accepting Thais to their respective countries. They want us to respect and abide by their immigration and local laws just as we demand no less from them here. It works both ways.

The bottom line: Want Thai passports to be more powerful? We've got to be in the international game of raising our country's standard of living and rule of law.

Re: "Making Thai passports more powerful", (Opinion, Jan 15).

Forget about Singapore or Malaysia. They might have played their Commonwealth cards to gain an advantage over our passport. How about Timor-Leste, the youngest country in the region? Their citizens are able to travel visa-free to 82 countries, compared with our 71, according to the Henley Passport Index in 2016. Yes, it's pathetic and I agree that we should stop our generosity by allowing visa-free entry to so many countries unless there is reciprocity.

When thinking about the volte-face by Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha in declaring himself a politician, as reported in the Jan 8 edition, I have concluded that this is, in fact, simply a matter of expediency.

He really has no option, as can be understood through Churchill's 1937 comment: "Dictators ride to and fro upon tigers from which they dare not dismount."

Re: "DSI denies brothel crackdown was political", (BP, Jan 18).

Not only Victoria's Secret, but I believe other parlours are connected with local police officers. There is a demand for sex; hence human trafficking arises. If Thailand wants to eliminate it, they must regulate the sex industry.

It now comes to public attention that a food vendor at the Neon Market in Pathumwan charged a Thai customer 150 baht for pad kra pao moo krob, instead of 35-50 baht because she thought the customer was a Chinese tourist.

The vendor said it was her practice to charge non-Thais more. I'm curious how the prime minister will react to this. It has by now I'm sure come to his attention as it has gone viral around the world, especially the tourist world. The vendor indeed does deserve a high fine and a jail term because this is nothing more than theft. She should be made a glaring example of how the government punishes those who rip off not only tourists but those suspected of being non-Thais, like us white folks.

Re: "Halt shameful demolition", (Editorial, Jan 17).

If a Chinese-Thai can change old warehouses into a good historic Bangkok site, why can't the Thai bureaucrats not make a historic landmark of this much older fort? Tourists would love it, an oasis in hectic Bangkok.

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