PM urges all Thais to make Thailand worth visiting

[khunano]

and I would suggest he implement some sort of environmental plan before the whole place becomes a plastic garbage dump. I live here and am absolutely appalled at what I see across the whole country. Visitors come to see "amazing Thailand" not polluted oceans and waterways fillled piles and piles of plastic and trash. Clean it up while your tourists are still coming and maybe they'll come back again.

and give them their beach chairs back!!

[MILT]

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Maybe someone needs to take his own advice and shoot himself with that Russian gun, That would go along way to turning around the country. Or could use my Colt. Article 45.

Some express their opinions with blinders on and confusion...Maybe!

[Ricardo]

Perhaps the General might assist in this, by instructing Immigration to give 90-days on-arrival, instead of just 30-days ?

And then by including Re-Entry Permits with Extension-of-Stay, so that if you're allowed to stay for longer, then that automatically includes the right to come and go within the extension-period ?

Just two small changes, which would make Thailand a more-friendly country, and easier to visit for longer !

[No Apologist]

It's amazing on TVF, how many actually believe that Thailand's biggest problems are 'jet-ski scammers', ATM fees, how much a beer cost at this place compared to that place....whatever the smallest, dumbest thing that bothered them (and only them) personally, 'that's' Thailand biggest problem in their minds.

When i see those comments all the time, I always think either 'tourist', 'completely unaware of realities' or 'sociopath'. Same thing, in a way.

[Fullstop]

The needle on the Thailand bullsh!t meter has been quivering in the red zone for quite a while. I thinks she;s gonna blow!

[bangon04]

In related news, the PM then urged all foreigners to make it worth it for Thais to tolerate your visits to the magic kingdom. The way to achieve this is to spend much more money and to accept whatever you are told, regardless how inane it is....Don't try to understand Thainess, just accept it.

[SuwadeeS]

Thats impossible, because of their habbit of cheating on foreigners.

Maybe Mr. "PM" should first release a new law to stop the 2 price politic of parks, entertainment places etc.

That would be a start.

Everything else is hot air.

[No Apologist]

Dear Mr. Prime Minister, Thailand is already worth visiting! And it saddens me to see all the negative responses here. If you don't think it's worth being here, why in the world don't you go somewhere else? Perhaps most just complain endlessly because it's not cool to just go with the flow. I adore everything about Thailand and there is no place on this planet that I would rather be. But I'm just one woman who is filled with gratitude for the chance to live in paradise.

So please, Mr. Prime Minister, remember why you took over the government last year. You believed you could make things better for Thais and visitors. It is worth it to come to Thailand, and your passion for this country is why so many Thais love what you are doing. And to those who can only see problems, have you stepped up to make things better yet?

I love Thailand, deeply, and have lived here for years. I've spent those years studying Thai culture, its history, the symbolism and traditions of Thai Buddhism, and classical Thai arts. I love Thailand.

And, I find your post to be insultingly out of touch with reality. Deeply insulting towards millions of Thai people, for starters.

What you're describe is a tourists fantasy.

Edited April 18, 2015 by No Apologist

[mikiea]

They killed the golden goose, along time ago.! Greed and corruption.

pm looks a little tired , section 44 seems to be pulling him down, if not needed, trash it. :-)

[wabothai]

Elena, I admire your optimism, keep going girl !

[mikiea]

Thats impossible, because of their habbit of cheating on foreigners.

Maybe Mr. "PM" should first release a new law to stop the 2 price politic of parks, entertainment places etc.

That would be a start.

Everything else is hot air.

yes the chinese had a 2 price system, it was the law, now the only people they try to cheat is each other, go figure. and for most of them there is no budda in their lives. so it seems the chinese have passed the thais in "class" . oop's :-)

[tonray]

Poor exchange rates, Bus crashes, year on year jet-ski scammers, Police frisking, BMA imposing fines for petty actions, ATM fees on all tourist's cards..how many Thai-people, & how many years before even these few issues are addressed & corrected..?? TiT!

Poor exchange rates are due to the failure of your home country's economies...better do something about that first before bashing your hosts.

[joejai]

Everyone can start with Songkran - which used to be fun and still is, but becoming more and more dangerous. Thanks to some &lt;deleted&gt; farangs who have changed the dynamics of the festival for the worse, I'm afraid. When did this turn into an aggressive battle? If Thailand wants make the country worth visiting, start with outlawing throwing buckets of water at the faces of motor bike drivers while their driving, or any moving vehicle for that mater This is dangerous beyond belief and is getting worse each year. This aggression was never the intention of the Songkran Festival. I urge law makers to review this ongoing problem and consider banning this part of the festivities.

[tonray]

Just goes to show you just how much Thailand is going to have to rely on tourism, in the not so distant future, as a main bread winner. And there a people in Thailand that will go to any length to establish that at any price..

For the last 20 years Thai administrations have crapped all over the Western expat community, as well as Western tourists (and I'm not talking about the bar fly's). They were quality visitors, and they built/initiated the Thai tourist industry from the very early 80's. Now that most of the Americans, Brits, Australians etc, have gone home, and not too happy coming back (why if you have the likes of Vietnam developing ?), TAT is panicking. The PM is making statements about enticing them back. Guess he is thinking "they were not so bad after all !"

The Russian experiment failed. Blind Freddie could see that coming, and now we have the Chinese and their absolutely appalling habits. Habits that fly in the face of everyday Thai people.

I just hope that cheap and nasty does not win the day.

More utter nonsense....

[Srikcir]

"no country could build a better society through the exploitation of the rights and freedoms of others."

North Korea is No. 1 but Prayut is trying.

[wabothai]

They will.

AFTER THE GENERAL HAS FOUND HIS WAY BACK TO THE BARACKS.

[No Apologist]

Thats impossible, because of their habbit of cheating on foreigners.

Maybe Mr. "PM" should first release a new law to stop the 2 price politic of parks, entertainment places etc.

That would be a start.

Everything else is hot air.

Yeah, what's more important than you paying a few extra baht somewhere? I don't know...maybe, massive problems with slavery and human trafficking? Not as important as the price you pay for entertainment, I realize.

[Fullstop]

Everyone can start with Songkran - which used to be fun and still is, but becoming more and more dangerous. Thanks to some <deleted> farangs

Don't know how long you have lived here or what provinces you have visited... but I can assure you that farangs are a minority in the madness ... NATIONWIDE....Not just the farang ghettos you perhaps are acquainted with.

[Fullstop]

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Thats impossible, because of their habbit of cheating on foreigners.

Maybe Mr. "PM" should first release a new law to stop the 2 price politic of parks, entertainment places etc.

That would be a start.

Everything else is hot air.

Yeah, what's more important than you paying a few extra baht somewhere? I don't know...maybe, massive problems with slavery and human trafficking? Not as important as the price you pay for entertainment, I realize.

MASSIVE? MASSIVE? problems?

Good one.. Drama queens are always good for a laugh!

[No Apologist]

Everyone can start with Songkran - which used to be fun and still is, but becoming more and more dangerous. Thanks to some <deleted> farangs who have changed the dynamics of the festival for the worse, I'm afraid. When did this turn into an aggressive battle? If Thailand wants make the country worth visiting, start with outlawing throwing buckets of water at the faces of motor bike drivers while their driving, or any moving vehicle for that mater This is dangerous beyond belief and is getting worse each year. This aggression was never the intention of the Songkran Festival. I urge law makers to review this ongoing problem and consider banning this part of the festivities.

Yeah, Songkran out of hand somewhere...that's the big problem.

Or, you know...human trafficking! No freedom of speech. Overwhelming economic oppression and a complete lack of education? Endless martial law now?

Seriously, none of those things even entered your mind while talking about "Thailand's problems"?

[Stray]

" . . . stressed that it was important that all citizens were aware of their role and mobilized their efforts to do their duty to the best of their ability."

Has this bloke been reading my old high school report cards?

Hope he has better luck with a whole nation than my teachers had with me.

To anyone that bothered to read/research this part of his speech, did he give any examples of what he required of people or was it just another expulsion of hot air and rheroric?

[mancub]

How ironic that he's addressing and urging all Thais....when the vast majority switch their TV's off when he appears !

[quandow]

hu·bris
'(h)yo?obr?s/
noun: hubris
excessive pride or self-confidence.
synonyms: arrogance, conceit, haughtiness, hauteur, pride, self-importance, egotism, pomposity, superciliousness, superiority.

The ultimate root problem in Thailand from the VERY VERY top on down. Nuff said.

[Lovekorat]

Yep, I can just hear all the potential foreign tourists just saying, " oh the General says we should go to Thailand, we must go or he will throw his toys out of the pram again and blame the state of the economy and anything else he can think of on us"

Has this bloke got the faintest idea of-

1, how to gain respect

2. How to concentrate on the important things....here's a clue for just a starter... corrup.ion ( fill in the blank)

3. How to stop blaming everyone else

4. How to be honest with the people he claims he represents ( not that he does because many would vote against him from what I hear and despite his concocted surveys.)

No, he can do what he likes and has even created a situation where whatever he does he can never be prosecuted.

Isn't that amnesty?

Isn't that one of the things that kicked this off in the first place?

If he really thinks that everyone will fall into line just because he says so he is living in dreamland.

Doesn't this country, wonderful as it could be, need a 'real' leader that will sort it all out, not red not yellow, just a leader.

But that will probably never happen because as soon as the gravy train of illicit income is tackled, someone will ride out of the sunset again 'to save the country' and put a stop to that denial of profit for those that benefit. And the ones who come will be the ones with most to lose. And off we go again.

I am not anti-Thai, or even anti-general. Most Thai people are great, and this is a lovely place but he really needs to sort himself out before he can sort the rest out.

But you know, I am sitting here thinking aren't all governments the same?

Lying to their people, the vast majority feathering their own nest thank you very much. Wallowing in their power.

I don't trust any of them.

[No Apologist]

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Thats impossible, because of their habbit of cheating on foreigners.

Maybe Mr. "PM" should first release a new law to stop the 2 price politic of parks, entertainment places etc.

That would be a start.

Everything else is hot air.

Yeah, what's more important than you paying a few extra baht somewhere? I don't know...maybe, massive problems with slavery and human trafficking? Not as important as the price you pay for entertainment, I realize.

MASSIVE? MASSIVE? problems?

Good one.. Drama queens are always good for a laugh!

They are massive problems in Thailand, yes. A person like yourself thinking it's a joke, or that it's nothing compared to how much you pay for your (ahem...) 'entertainment', actually says a lot about you; and nothing admirable. Does human trafficking and slavery really make you laugh? I'm embarrassed of you.

Edited April 18, 2015 by No Apologist

[Suffinator]

He reiterated that no country could build a better society through the exploitation of the rights and freedoms of others.

Now there's a statement but how does his view on a military coup fit in with this philosophy? By its very nature the stranglehold the Junta currently has on the rights and freedoms is contrary to his statement.

Gen. Prayut also called on the public not to worry about Section 44, saying the law was actually intended to enable authorities to suppress illegal activities more effectively.

And who decides what the laws are, an non-elected PM? Certainly the level of crime in Thailand, particularly corruption, needs to be dealt with but surely laws and punishment should be provided for by what the people demand; that is through elected representatives.

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha has called on all Thais to help make their country worth knowing and visiting.

Does this include the rampant and illegal prostitution or will the PM be finally tackling this area? If so what effect would this have on tourism if Thailand was not longer referred to or seen as the whore house of South East Asia?

Clearly Thailand has its problems but it appears Prayut is attempting to take it all on at once and wasting his efforts with almost zero results. The first port of call should be corruption. Lay bear your own financial assets and how you achieved such wealth. If all is above board then the trust of the people would have been earned and you can then start a campaign of zero tolerance for corruption.

It's fine to ask the people to help make their country what it truly could be but when those in power, legitimately or not, won't take the necessary steps to make all things transparent then I'm afraid Prayut, along with all the other coup leaders and elected government officials over the years will fail and Thailand will continue to slip further into the abyss.

It's time Prayut started looking seriously at the criticism and instead of taking it to heart actually do something constructive with it. Again until he and others currently running the country are willing to accept transparency then it'll only get worse.

[Shiver]

I have a suspicion that this guy actually believes what he's saying. I wish I could believe in it too, but I don't have a higher power to dump my responsibilities on.

[No Apologist]

He reiterated that no country could build a better society through the exploitation of the rights and freedoms of others.

Now there's a statement but how does his view on a military coup fit in with this philosophy? By its very nature the stranglehold the Junta currently has on the rights and freedoms is contrary to his statement.

Gen. Prayut also called on the public not to worry about Section 44, saying the law was actually intended to enable authorities to suppress illegal activities more effectively.

And who decides what the laws are, an non-elected PM? Certainly the level of crime in Thailand, particularly corruption, needs to be dealt with but surely laws and punishment should be provided for by what the people demand; that is through elected representatives.

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha has called on all Thais to help make their country worth knowing and visiting.

Does this include the rampant and illegal prostitution or will the PM be finally tackling this area? If so what effect would this have on tourism if Thailand was not longer referred to or seen as the whore house of South East Asia?

Clearly Thailand has its problems but it appears Prayut is attempting to take it all on at once and wasting his efforts with almost zero results. The first port of call should be corruption. Lay bear your own financial assets and how you achieved such wealth. If all is above board then the trust of the people would have been earned and you can then start a campaign of zero tolerance for corruption.

It's fine to ask the people to help make their country what it truly could be but when those in power, legitimately or not, won't take the necessary steps to make all things transparent then I'm afraid Prayut, along with all the other coup leaders and elected government officials over the years will fail and Thailand will continue to slip further into the abyss.

It's time Prayut started looking seriously at the criticism and instead of taking it to heart actually do something constructive with it. Again until he and others currently running the country are willing to accept transparency then it'll only get worse.

Well spoken, as always.

[DLock]

I read that Press Release 3 times, and I still don't really understand what Prayut wants people to do.

He wants all Thais to make Thailand worth visiting. How?

He wants all sectors to strengthen society? What does that mean and how?

He said "To build a peaceful society, Gen. Prayut stressed that it was important that all citizens were aware of their role and mobilized their efforts to do their duty to the best of their ability" - what is their role and what efforts do they mobilize to the best of their ability?

I hear words, but they make no sense.

[Tonawatchee]

Aside from calling for help from Tinkerbell, tourists would sigh with relief if Thais would just comply with the traffic rules.