Disquiet in the City of (fallen) Angels as government calls in the psychos 11th May 1997 Join the APMF email list Monthly updates on new content Back to News Menu Asia Pacific Management Forum Orient Pacific Century

Months of bad economic news, government instability and incompetence, and a currency devaluation has finally hit the average Thai-in-the-street where it is most obvious... in the hip pocket.. Last Tuesday's raft of IMF advised austerity measures including the suspension of 42 cash strapped finance firms, left many much poorer overnight and sparked a run on sounder financial institutions. A 3 percent hike in VAT added further to the disquiet. Veteran friends of the Rat who have lived through many coups in their lifetime report activity that has preceded military coups before. There is increased policy presence around the Victory monument, Prime Minister Chavalit's audience with King Bhumibol Adulyadej and many temporary residents of Bangkok flying (or more correctly..busing) South, North, East and West. In further evidence that psychotherapy and other more traditional arts are starting to displace religion as the opiate of the people as it has in Western countries, Deputy Public Health Sorahart Klinprathum urged Thai's to releive stress from economic problems by consulting psychiatrists rather than staging street protests and Sorahart called on fortune tellers to cheer up depressed Thais. But there is a small glimmer of hope on the horizon. Parliament is due to start debate on a new constitution which promises to put an end to the money politics and patronage which has characterised Thai politics for years, protected by a booming economy that buffered the wrong doers from over enthusiastic public scrutiny. But now it is a different story... The new middle class, who owes its existence from the ten years of feast and repayed it by overspending with gay abandon, may now be shocked enough out of their complacency to demand, despite the enormity of the task, that government becomes more accountable to the people rather than a grubby stack of Baht passed under the table. Even more difficult is that business, as in many other Asian countries, is not adverse in pocketing the odd grubby Baht themselves. What business person working seriously in South-East Asia can honestly claim that he or she has never encouraged the practice themself by at least handing over favours in a desperate effort to get something going. There may be some, but very few.... So change may indeed, have to "start at home". ...And incremental rather than immediate change is the very best a realist can hope for... There is some hope that a more practical solution to Thailand's poor performing governments will be forthcoming than a previous senior minister's decision several years back to ban elephants from Bangkok's streets as a way of alleviating traffic jams. We can only hope that a peaceful solution to change is the outcome. That can only come about by people getting involved and more concerned with the vagaries of Thai politics than seeking solace in psychotherapists and fortune tellers.. ....and muttering a "Mai Pen Rai" under their breath as they go off to buy their lucky number coupons.

© Orient Pacific Century and MCB University Press 1997
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