Anti-foreigner sentiment runs high

[jasmine]

Hi,

 

 

 

I like to think that his speech is to please some people who resent foreigners owning business. If there were less foreign business owners, would there be more business open by the Thais? I think not.

 

 

 

The ?pointing fingers? game, used to be towards Chinese, Indians for their superior business mentality and better money management. Blaming other people for their inadequacies will not solve problems but at this time it may sound good. The Thais should understand that ?being competitive? and having good money management are 2 important factors to succeed no matter what business atmosphere is.

 

 

 

As a born Thai, it is sad to say that most Thais want instant success and process not-so-savy money management strategy. It may help to have money and resource management being taught in Thailand grade school, for most Thais, the money management concept is not taught at home. And I can hear it now that ?if you do not have money, how do you learn to manage it! I don?t feel that ones should spend energy being ?envious? of others, it is better to use all the resources and energy to come up with competitive edge, being business or whatever.

 

 

 

Cheers!

 

 

[Guest]

In reply to:

---

It's not so much protectionism which has hurt them but the inefficient banking system and the mega bureaucracy on all government levels.

---

 

 

 

True, but the link between protectionism and poverty is hard to dispute. Tariff rates average 13.3% in developing countries, as compared to 2.5% in advanced industrialized countries. (See ?Market Access: Advances and Retreats?, presented at a WTO-World Bank Conference on 20-21 September 1999, and available on line at www.itd.org/wb/dc_milpap.htm.) In Thailand the average tariff was around 18%.

 

 

 

Less developed countries are not only plagued with protectionism in the form of high customs duties, but also restrictions on foreign ownership of businesses and foreign labor generally. Such restrictions are pandemic in the less developed world. Thailand is a prime, if unfortunate, example.

 

 

 

These sorts of restrictions permit local businesses ? at the expenses of local consumers ? to get away with offering shoddy services at inflated prices. This is not a Thai vs. foreigner issue. Rather, it is a matter of vested interests that want to remain protected or desire further protection wrapping themselves in the Thai flag to advance their own selfish interests. Although such tactics seem to work particularly well in Thailand, they are not unique Thailand. ?The last refuge of a scoundrel in patriotism.? ?Samuel Johnson .

 

 

 

It can get ludicrous. A few years back there was a massive raid on dive shops employing "illegal" workers. The immigration police official in charge blithely claimed farangs were stealing high paying jobs from Thais. The dive shop owners, including the Thai owned dive shop owners, complained that it was simply impossible to find enough qualified Thais. Diving is an expensive sport, and divers are often high end tourists. The immigration laws, if strictly enforced, would have caused great damage to this money earner.

 

 

 

Anti market policies impede and distort economic growth. If a farang owned businesses doesn?t serve a need or doesn?t do so properly, it won?t generate a profit, and the market will take care of the problem. If it does serve a need, it will create jobs for Thais and attract tourists.

 

 

 

Someone above said that multinationals won?t care about the fees. This is partially correct. Because of a few ill advised comments made before, during, and surprisingly, even after, the last election, Thailand does not have good image in the eyes of the investment community. These sorts of comments, and if implemented, these sorts of measures, further the perception that Thailand is hostile to foreign investors. Thailand does not want to foster this reputation.

 

 

 

Thailand also desparately needs to improve the English skills of its work force if it wants to move up the value chain. To do so, Thailand needs native English speakers. The proposed policy will certainly make it harder to employ foreign teachers. This doesn't help anyone, except perhaps underequalified local English teachers.

 

 

 

Several weeks back there was an article in the Far Eastern Economic Review about the paucity of good engineers in Thailand. In an effort to cater to students with poor English skills, it seems that Thailand had a number of Engineering textbooks translated from English to Thai about fifteen years ago. Since this proved to be a very expensive exercise, they continued to use the same textbooks. I guess not much has changed in the area of engineering over the past fifteen years

 

 

[check_bin_krap]

"Pretty easy if they are doctors, nurses, or other highly skilled profession. And then they can buy as much land as they want to build a house or commercial building."

 

 

 

It seems we are talking about different countries and practises Shygye? Here in Norway (and as far as I know in most European countries) its not that easy.

 

 

 

For a Thai to get employed here he or she has to have some qualifications which are not possible to get locally. Or be married to a Norwegian. Or have permission to work in another country in the Schengen treaty. As far as I know the other countries in that treaty apply the same strict rules.

 

 

 

A visa is not granted automatically to Thai's either. Many are refused on the basis that they don't have any ties keeping them in Thailand. Being young and single is enough to be refused.

 

 

 

Cheers!

[shygye]

In the US it would be very difficult to find a hospital that did not have foreign born doctors or nurses on the staff. Especially in the small towns because most American doctors would rather work in metro areas.

 

 

 

In a high tech company I worked at half the staff were foreign born, mostly from India.

[jingjoh]

I was talking to a vietnamese businessman in Sydney yesterday, and he had come over with the refugees as a young boy. He goes back to Vietnam to visit relatives, the only reason he does. His stories of the way he is treated and the way foriegners are treated borders on the insane. He speaks vietnamese of course, but carries an Australian passport.

 

 

 

His words to me were, 'my country is fuked, full of corruption and greed, and its never going to change. They have no idea about the outside world, they need to spend some time in a western country to see how things are done'

 

 

 

He further stated, 'I would never go back there if I had no relatives there, I have never been so badly treated anywhere else in the world, I take money back there and tourism, and they treat me like a criminal.'

 

 

 

This is a sentiment you will find with many Asians living in Western countries, they see it from our perspective just as much as we do.

 

 

 

Thailand sure likes to make us feel unwelcome sometimes..

[Paillote]

"Pretty easy if they are doctors, nurses, or other highly skilled profession. And then they can buy as much land as they want to build a house or commercial building."

 

 

 

It seems we are talking about different countries and practises Shygye? Here in Norway (and as far as I know in most European countries) its not that easy.

 

************************************************

 

 

 

He was writing about skilled proffesionals, right? Very easy for skilled foreigners to get a work permit in Norway if somebody wants to hire them. If you are not skilled it's a different story though....

 

 

 

And the ones that are accepted get rights to social benefits, can buy a house, can vote after 2 years and after 6 years can apply for citicenship. It's a very different situation.

 

 

 

Paillote

[pattaya127]

Thailand sure likes to make us feel unwelcome sometimes..

 

----------------------------------

 

isn't this unwelcoming met only while hearing about something a politician said, or reading about it? after so many years I still have to be in a situation where i PERSONALLY feel unwelcome, as a sign of xenophobia.

[check_bin_krap]

With reference to Jingjoh's post about a Vietnamese returning to VietNam:

 

 

 

Its a bit unfair to give an example of a former refugee from VietNam going back to his homeland and compare it to Thailand.

 

 

 

VietNam have been a closed country compared to Thailand. Added to that comes the resentment some Vietnamese in VietNam have towards the refugees. It must be mixed feelings going back to his home country and being treated like a stranger by many..

 

 

 

I have heard a similar story of a former refugee given tough treatment by customs when returning. I am sure its not accidental.

 

 

 

Cheers!

[check_bin_krap]

"He was writing about skilled proffesionals, right? Very easy for skilled foreigners to get a work permit in Norway if somebody wants to hire them. If you are not skilled it's a different story though.... "

 

 

 

No, its not that easy. As I stated you must have some skills not possible to get locally...A programmer or a doctor can't just move here if his/her kind are obtainable locally. This has to be proven by the employer.

 

 

 

Cheers!

[gobbledonk]

cbk,

 

 

 

I can only assume that they are given a hard time because they ran away, often to countries which could offer them a better standard of living, while others bore the ful brunt of the Communist 'payback' etc

 

 

 

Some of the current Vietnamese population needs to come Downunder and witness entire families working in home-based sweatshops for the likes of Gap and Sussan, companies who have repeatedly shown that they are willing to exploit workers anywhere, anytime. The refugees certainly were not welcomed with brass bands upon arrival, either, and have been haunted by numerous racist stereotypes ever since. I take my hat off to any Vietnamese migrant who has made good in the 'Lucky Country'.