Thread: Bill Gates sparks outrage after accusing Thailand's residents of 'illegally stealing'

Bill Gates used his blog, which highlights energy poverty around the world, to claim that residents of Thailand 'steal' electricity, which has not been well received. (gates notes.com)

Microsoft's Bill Gates isn't usually one to kick up controversy, but he has sparked outrage among residents of Thailand after claiming they 'illegally tap' into the national power grid to effectively steal electricity.

In a post on the Microsoft founder's blog, GatesNotes, he posted an image of a tangle of wires hanging from a telegraph pole and wrote: "Due to faulty infrastructure, many urban areas suffer from frequent blackouts and power cuts, and the electrical grid often doesn't serve the people who need it most.

I've visited many cities filled with tangled wires such as those in this photo from Thailand, where people have illegally tapped into the grid on their own to get the power they need – at great personal risk."

It's a sight common to anyone who's visited the South-East Asian country, but is it an act of power theft? The statement has caused locals to angrily react to the billionaire's claims and hit back online. Users are quick to point out that the image Gates uses are wires that do not carry power and are no more than telecommunication lines for telephone and TV.

They also objected to the power theft claims, and they didn't hold back from telling him on Facebook:

Philly Philli - Mr. Gates as you may realized by now that anything you said in public will have a lot of impact to many people. As a Thai citizen, I totally agree with you tha...

Ratchanon Panmas - This is NOT electrical wire. It's telephone wire.

Further comments include Thai residents saying they "strongly disagree" with the claims and that illegally tapping into power was "extremely rare".

Despite the outcry, the blog post was actually intended to highlight how parts of the world has scant access to essential amenities such as power, with Gates publishing on Facebook with the title Living with Energy Poverty. He continued: "If you can't get reliable electricity, it's hard to make the most of your life. But I've also seen how people can be innovative and resourceful even in the toughest circumstances." But those 'resourceful' comments seem to have hit a nerve.

The post has received hundreds of comments on Facebook, with a number of users criticising the philanthropist for accusing the Thai people of stealing power from the grid. They explain the sight of messy of cables is common as Thailand has not invested in underground, out-of-sight installation found in other cities around the world. However there are a large number of comments praising Gates for bringing to light the struggles some countries face when accessing basic necessities such as electricity, which many people in the Western world take for granted.

Bill Gates sparks outrage after accusing Thailand's residents of 'illegally stealing' electricity

Bill is right
'illegally stealing'
must be stopped
so the rich can continue legally stealing unhindered

Bill Gates:

Has employees work 50-60 hours per week at Microsoft for five full years and has them still classified at "temps" working for cash and they have to do their own taxes.

So they sue him and win.


Gates advocates unlimited H1-B visas.

During the Great Recession he layed off workers - fair enough - but he replaced them with foreigners to do the exact same job for much cheaper.


He's done lots of philanthropy. Sometimes I wonder if it's to promote his image as a 'good guy.'

^ Good f*ck him, anyone running Windows 7 Pirate has nothing to feel guilty about, after all we're just impoverished people who steal.

He's probably running a grow-op in his basement from his neighbour's power pole...5 blocks away...

Stealing electricity from the national grid, that's been happening in South Africa for over 50 years, plenty of videos of wannabe sparkies connecting wires being roasted.
Of course Bill wouldn't call that theft, because he is saving Black Africa.

There has to be at least one live wire in that clusterfuck up there...All phonelines, indeed...

The Thais sure cry when the shite is "exposed"...

Remember Lady Gaga and the fake watches?...

Heh...

Thais, they don't like it up 'em, but they love pirated software, thieving buggers

Bill Gates sparks outrage by speaking the truth. Reminds me of when the HK govt provoked outrage by having the temerity to state that many clothing exports badged 'made in HK' were actually made in China.

Power tapping isn't that uncommon, I saw it several times in moo baan or in rural areas, I don't know how they do it but I suppose it's not that difficult or dangerous to link in during the not-that-uncommon (too) power outages...

Real or exaggerated, the power tapping claim doesn't change the fact that the wiring (phone or power) in Thailand is actually a mess...

Have yachts tellin the have nots. bloody cheek of it.

Originally Posted by VocalNeal

We don't need power as buying Windows is daylight robbery.

Bill Gates:

Has employees work 50-60 hours per week at Microsoft for five full years and has them still classified at "temps" working for cash and they have to do their own taxes.

So they sue him and win.

Most engineering companies used to be like that in UK in the '80's. By choice. Employees were self employed so could claim car and fuel to get to work etc. Buy a nearly new used car at auction run it for a while claiming it fon taxes then sell it for what you paid for it, etc,etc. So I was told!

Microsoft workers got the wrong tax advice.

I think (iircc) that the same tax bennies applied.

But in the US if you're working full-time and overtime and classified as a "temp" you get fucked.

Thai government to tackle overhead wire problem after controversial Bill Gates post


The chaotic overhead wiring in Bangkok. Pic: furphotos / Flickr

IT took billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates’ recent comments about the jumble of messy overhead cables commonly seen in Thai cities to finally get the government to do something about them.

Officials have announced a 51.7-billion-baht (US$1.5 million) program to put 127 kilometers of overhead power lines and cables underground, removing the eyesore that residents have complained about for years.

The plan’s first phase, which is expected to be completed in 2020, will group together all existing power, telecommunications, and broadcasting cables into a single platform below ground on 39 roads in Bangkok, Samut Prakan, and Nonthaburi, reported the Bangkok Post.

On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA), TOT Plc., the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, and the Royal Thai Police signed a memorandum of understanding to carry out the project.

The current practice in Thailand is for telecommunications and broadcasting companies to rent cement poles from the MEA and the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA), and then add wires as new subscribers sign up for their services.

Over the years, the accumulation of telecommunications wires, cables, and optical fiber lines, together with the electricity authority’s power lines, has caused some concrete poles to collapse, unable to support the excessive load of utility wires.

Some poles have even been knocked down in traffic accidents, cutting off power and utilities for entire blocks of buildings.

Upon hearing news of the plan to remove the unsightly wiring, however, some residents voiced their skepticism, as the project has faced numerous delays due to lack of funding.


Pic: Bill Gates / Facebook

On Friday, Gates posted a photo album to his public Facebook page showing examples of energy poverty around the world – one of the many issues he is currently advocating for.

He caused a bit of an uproar, though, when he mistook the chaotic mess of overhead cables in a Thai city for hazardous electricity wires, sharing the photo above with the caption:

LIVE WIRES

Due to faulty infrastructure, many urban areas suffer from frequent blackouts and power cuts, and the electrical grid often doesn’t serve the people who need it most.

I’ve visited many cities filled with tangled wires such as those in this photo from Thailand, where people have illegally tapped into the grid on their own to get the power they need — at great personal risk.

Netizens quickly corrected Gates, commenting that the cables he was referring to were likely cables for phone lines, cable TV, and internet.

Some were also miffed that he was suggesting that the practice of power stealing was common in Thailand, which they informed him wasn’t the case.

Following the outcry, Gates took down the offending photo.

https://asiancorrespondent.com/2016/...re-bill-gates/

^yeah sure

They could hide all the wiring under the bicycle paths, yes.

Not sure it's a good move to bury wires in Thailand, and more specificaly in Bangkok because the city is sinking and flooded every year (not the episodic flood which is drained in 1 hour delay...)

So Bill Gates ''sparks'' outrage...hmmm

(pardon the hilarious pun)