cheekyboy Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 OUTSIDE THE BOX EVEN FOR A NATION OF THIEVES, IT'S NEVER TOO LATE By: Sawai Boonma Published: 9/07/2009 at 12:00 AM Newspaper section: Business Last week, an Abac Poll of 1,228 households in 17 provinces across Thailand found that 84.5% of respondents regarded cheating as a normal business practice and 51.2% said corruption by government officials was acceptable as long as it improved their living conditions. Similar surveys conducted over the past few years reached essentially the same conclusions regardless of respondents' geographical regions. Such findings clearly point out that Thailand is a nation made up largely of thieves who will cheat at every opportunity. With such a mindset, no further explanation should be needed as to why Thailand has not been able to attain the level of development achieved by other Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea despite having relatively more natural resources. If we raise this issue with fellow Thais, a lot of them would quickly point out that corruption also exists in those countries. They are right. Corruption does indeed exist in those countries and, for that matter, in all countries. But the difference lies in the degree; in more advanced countries corruption is not so high as to stifle development. A few weeks ago, a former president of South Korea was driven by shame to commit suicide after rumours circulated that he was involved in corruption while in office. In the case of Thailand, a former prime minister apparently feels no shame even after being convicted of corruption. Moreover, a large number of Thais have joined a political movement to clear him, including the current drive to prepare a petition with at least one million signatures to obtain a royal pardon. Bad as the readiness to cheat may be, it is but one of four Thai characteristics that have been labelled detrimental to development, according to a former prime minister who echoed opinions expressed by some foreigners who know Thais well. The others are laziness, ostentatiousness and jealousy. Many Thais who hear this for the first time may be offended. But they should not be, as evidence can be found everywhere. Government lottery tickets are sold out regularly at premium prices because a lot of Thais wish to attain a high income level without working for it. Young Thai women marry retired foreigners whose pensions provide a road to an easy life. These phenomena may not be laziness as commonly understood but are laziness nonetheless. continued at http://www.bangkokpost.com/print/19913/even-for-a-nation-of-thieves-it-s-never-too-late Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 I'd like to see them break down that poll by educational level. All the university educated Thais I know are very unhappy with the corruption and quite embarrassed by it. But they constitute a small minority of the population. May be just coincidental that they vote overwhelming Democrat, whilst the lesser educated and poor folks like Thaksin or Newin. (But I doubt it!) p.s. As to the lottery tickets, it is amazing to watch the crowds trying to snap them up the day before the drawing. I've bought a few tickets over the years just for the hell of it, but I realize my odds of winning anything are about the same as my chances of being hit by a meteor. Some Thais must spend a fair amount of their income on lottery tickets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pasathai1 Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 "Some Thais must spend a fair amount of their income on lottery tickets.' known as a tax on stupid people Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted July 12, 2009 Report Share Posted July 12, 2009 Yeah ..the odds are huge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted July 12, 2009 Report Share Posted July 12, 2009 Thais happy with fiddling and corruption ...and this is news??? WTF... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Munchmaster Posted July 12, 2009 Report Share Posted July 12, 2009 I like fiddling but not corruption. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted July 12, 2009 Report Share Posted July 12, 2009 How about some corrupt fiddling? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faustian Posted July 12, 2009 Report Share Posted July 12, 2009 Or even fiddling the corrupt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted July 12, 2009 Report Share Posted July 12, 2009 Thais happy with fiddling and corruption ...and this is news??? WTF... I guess it depends upon who you hang out with. The whole yellow shirt movement was really against corruption. That's the *main issue* of the educated, taxpaying &/or urban "regular Joes" in the mix anyway. Yes, they got into bed with some wackos (Sondhi, et al), but they knew unless they did, no one would hear their thoughts (need money to make a noise, and all that). That's the real reason for the hatred of Wacky Tacky and his minions. Of course, Abhisit joining with Newin kinds fucks any victory all up, on the corruption front anyway. But Abhisit had no choice if he wanted to lead and has done a fair job (IMHO) of marginalizing Newin and his cronies. Cheers, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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