Thread: Coup 2014 !!!! : Military 'takes control' in Thailand

But why would a falang, already a second or third class citizen, with little in the way of rights or status, apart from the false status that is dependent on ones bank balance, want to put himself in the position of having to wai to, having to negotiate favours from and having to pay bribes to these odious little people in their pathetic bemedalled ruritania uniforms.

Have these falangs no pride, no sense of self worth, thast they can so easily prostitute themselves in order to "get on"

its bad enough as a non working immigrant, having to turn up at immigration three times a year whilst these pen pushing jobsworths lord it over you with their power to allow your application to remain, or to deny your application to remain.

Unless one is a feckless masochist, there is only so much of this bullshit a principled person can take.

Originally Posted by taxexile

apart from the false status that is dependent on ones bank balance

That is not false status.

Originally Posted by taxexile

having to wai to, having to negotiate

You need to do that in every country dealing with bureaucrats.

Get with the program or do graceful exit.

Doing business in Thailand seems to be a very stressful existence and I ask myself why people do it.

My mate has been at it for 20 odd years and has come to despise the Thais because of the problems they have caused him.

Made a shit load of money but cant see the point of living in a country where one does not like the people.

Just sell up and go would be the sensible option, not worth it is it ?

He has no choice- thus it has ever been. It is a 'condition of doing business' in Thailand, and numerous other places too. The reality is, elected PT, appointed Dem, or coupist Military, the corruption machine rolls on much the same- just different jockeys. Business people just deal with it.

He has every choice, he can be just another tiny little weak cog churning away and feeding his masters in return for the scraps that enable him to continue churning or he can decide that corruption is wrong, and refuse to be part of a system that weakens the country.

If people refused to pay, there would be no corruption.

But people are too weak, to greedy and too frightened to fight it. And the bullies that sit at the top of the pile laugh at their spineless underlings whilst enjoying the spoils regularly fed to them along with the superficial grin, the obsequious grovelling wai, and the bottle of johnny walker at new year.

^

Erm, You don't really believe that do you Tax ?

Christ, If they don't get their sling life could be made unbearable for the falang.

Thailand lives on the sling.

Originally Posted by terry57

Doing business in Thailand seems to be a very stressful existence and I ask myself why people do it.

It can be, but many do it for work permit and non imm b visa...

Then, considering Cambodia, now... pros and cons... business environment...

^

Don't get seriously Ill there, good medical is the problem innit.

Well, it looks like some people are taking a stand agasinst corrupt officials demanding money.


From todays bangkok post.

• Senior MOF official in tea money bust



An executive of the state-owned Marketing Organisation for Farmers (MOF) has been arrested in a corruption sting for allegedly extorting 1.5 million baht from a businessman.

The arrest followed a month-long collection of evidence by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), which is stepping up efforts to combat graft.

The move is in line with NCPO chief Prayuth Chan-ocha’s recent pledge to crack down on corruption and conflicts of interest, including any state agency or individual demanding under-the-table payments.

Pongwit Luarchuaychoke, deputy director of MOF, was apprehended at the Nonthaburi Palace hotel in Nonthaburi’s Muang district on Tuesday in a joint operation by NACC and local police officers.

The team swooped on him when he was allegedly collecting one million baht in cash from the owner of Kanuang Panich Limited Partnership.

NACC deputy secretary-general Witthaya Akhompitak said his team had evidence that Mr Pongwit tried to extort 1.5 million baht from the distributor for a contract worth 7.3 million baht for delivering raw food to Chumphon Provincial Prison.

“While we were planning this sting operation, the accused called and threatened the damaged party, demanding money, several times” before the distributor made an appointment to give him one million baht as the first payment of the demanded tea money at the hotel today, Mr Witthaya said.

Mr Witthaya said authorities spent more than a month gathering evidence in the case.

“The suspect holds a high-ranking position in the MOF but has a habit of demanding bribes without fear of arrest, so we must take decisive action,” Mr Witthaya said. The NACC would closely examine Mr Pongwit’s assets and liabilities.

He said the NACC would continue to crack down on corrupt government officials, regardless of their position.

Originally Posted by terry57

^

Don't get seriously Ill there, good medical is the problem innit.

Just one hour 10 min flight from PP to BKK. Have been thinking about things like that.

Erm, You don't really believe that do you Tax ?

The weak and unprincipled will always choose the easy way, the way that takes the least effort. The way that demands no fight, only submission. Its why thailand and its systems are the way they are and the country so lawless and dysfunctional. This can be an attraction for tourists and long stayers, but can make life hell for those without the money or connections to obtain their rights.

It is what separates advanced societies from third world jungles.

Those who should know better but still meekly submit to "the system" are as bad as those on the take. They have no pride, no self esteem, they are happy to play the game so long as they too can achieve some gain.

They refuse to see the damage it does to the society they are living in.

Originally Posted by taxexile

The weak and unprincipled

Originally Posted by taxexile

country so lawless and dysfunctional

Originally Posted by taxexile

separates advanced societies from third world jungles

Originally Posted by taxexile

They have no pride, no self esteem

Damn, my love for Thailand is reignited by your kind

Originally Posted by terry57

Doing business in Thailand seems to be a very stressful existence and I ask myself why people do it.

The stress factor would largely depend on the business that one might pursue and what you can get away with. Social relations and connections are terribly important.

ANU event on Thai coup

On 22 May 2014, General Prayuth Chan-ocha and the military junta he leads, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), instigated the twelfth successful coup in Thailand since the end of the absolute monarchy in June 1932. According to General Prayuth and the NCPO, the coup was carried out in order to reform the country and to return happiness to the people. Yet in the first weeks after the coup, the coup has ushered in Thailand’s most repressive government in nearly forty years, with widespread restrictions on the press, arbitrary summoning and detention, the use of military courts and mass deportations of migrant workers. What are the historical underpinnings of the coup, its implications for the region, and its possible futures?

A series of four short talks by scholars from the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific and the ANU College of Law will address armed force and electoral politics, the constitutional implications of the coup, the attack on dissident thinking, and perspectives of the coup from outside Thailand. The four talks will be presented by Craig Reynolds (CAP), Nicholas Farrelly (CAP), Sarah Bishop (CoL), and Tyrell Haberkorn (CAP). Nick Cheesman (CAP) will serve as moderator and the talks will be followed by an open Q/A discussion.

The event is free and open to the public.

Location: Manning Clark Centre Theatre 2

Date: Friday, 27 June 2014-06-13

Time: 12-2pm

Thailand is quite the Topic du Jour, these days (ANU is the Australian National University, in Canberra).

As long as our glorious leaders stay on track they have my support, even allowing for some of the quainter decrees. Which probably means not too long.

Originally Posted by Exit Strategy

Originally Posted by taxexile

The weak and unprincipled

Originally Posted by taxexile

country so lawless and dysfunctional

Originally Posted by taxexile

separates advanced societies from third world jungles

Originally Posted by taxexile

They have no pride, no self esteem

Damn, my love for Thailand is reignited by your kind

Anybody paying a bribe, whether it is 200b to placate a traffic policeman, 2000b to faciltate a visa extension due to a lack of supporting documents, or 200,000b to reduce an income tax bill is complicit in a system that results in the enrichment of undeserving and sleazy officials all the way down to the employment of sweatshop girls earning 100b a day sewing buttons on shirts or fishermen being treated worse than galley slaves in ancient rome.

Originally Posted by thaimeme

Originally Posted by terry57

Doing business in Thailand seems to be a very stressful existence and I ask myself why people do it.

The stress factor would largely depend on the business that one might pursue and what you can get away with. Social relations and connections are terribly important.

And how many others want a piece of it, especially if it's successful.

Well said, Tax. People who kow tow in the face of bureaucratic demands for corrupt payments are weak and quite spineless. It's no different to bullying and when one succumbs to that you turn yourself into a victim.

One stands up to bullies. I suppose that may seem naive to some but not in my book. I have a spine.

Don't we all "kow tow" to some extent when we live in Thailand?

Can't get anything done without it, and I doubt any of those posting have permanent residency so they're kow towing to someone, even if they're in denial about it. Taking pictures sitting on the bed with their missus or some other equally humiliating loop jumping like a trained poodle.

Originally Posted by FloridaBorn

Can't get anything done without it

I wouldn't have said "anything".

Ok, stand corrected.. Most anything...

Taking pictures sitting on the bed with their missus or some other equally humiliating loop jumping like a trained poodle.

That is complying with the regulations. Paying bribes in order to bypass immigration regulations is something quite different.

Still kow towing, by any other name. Would you have the brass to stand up to that personal intrusion of your privacy that no other civilized country I know of requires for visa purposes? Fortunately for me, not being married to a Thai I never had to, but I'd be pretty pissed off and offended if I did.

I disagree Tax. Show me a regulation that states you have to take a picture of you sitting on the bed with your wife.

Or any other pictures for that matter. Also, why ask others to speak about how good a couple you may be and how you do not beat your wife.

The list is endless and is all kow towing in my book. Big different between this and following obvious regulations.