Opinion
The Thaiger Opinion Columns.
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Sponsored How to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?
Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....
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Bangkok Deputy Governor’s bad case of foot-in-mouth
EDITORIAL Yesterday we reported on the current figures relating to HIV infection in Bangkok. Although the statistics look bad, in isolation, the general trend is of reduced new infections. The 2,000 new infections of HIV in Bangkok over the past year are not significant when compared to the city’s population of (probably) over 10 million. But getting the story completely…
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‘Safety’ mayhem on Phuket’s waters
Editorial by Duncan Worthington Let’s be clear from the off that we’re talking about speedboats, specifically day tour operators who pack in the tourists on an overpowered wooden speedboat and then zip off (at speed) to stop A, B, C and D, with a lunch thrown in along the way. In Phuket’s high season, these overpacked “cattle tours” can be…
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Dissent in Paradise
EDITORIAL The recent silent protest at the country’s most prestigious university in Bangkok, THAT photo of a student in a chokehold from a lecturer and the subsequent publicity, has wider implications than just a sore neck and a university in PR panic. There’s been a lot of media blow-back on the venerated Chulalongkorn University after it was revealed a…
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Letter to Thai Immigration
Congratulations to the Thai Immigration Department for its forward thinking on helping to attract additional tourists by waving visa fees for some countries and halving the visa-on-arrival cost for others. A stroke of genius. I’m not sure how you will inform the citizens of these countries of your cunning plan to lure back the tourists in the wake of the…
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Opinion: Medical Certificates – Who’s Fooling Whom?
PHUKET: As part of its ongoing reforms, the current government should revise or eliminate the Medical Certificate (bai raprawng phaet) as a requirement in so many government application procedures. In the process of renewing his work permit, this editorialist was recently handed a form citing, among numerous other documentary requirements, “a medical certificate certifying that the applicant is free from…
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Opinion: Struggling to preserve natural resources
PHUKET: The recent arrest of a bus driver en route to Phuket with over 1,000 protected marine creatures raises a number of important issues that should be addressed by authorities. First is the issue of Thai law enforcement’s ongoing struggle to preserve what little remains of our natural resources. One week we read that a foreign tourist is behind bars…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Reading maps
PHUKET: The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister…
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Opinion: Implications of the Computer Crimes Act
PHUKET: We can all let out a big sigh of relief now that the new Computer Crimes Act (CCA 2.0) is in effect, protecting us from ‘unsolicited digital advertising’ (aka spam) as well as a host of other annoyances and potential threats. All of the potential implications of CCA 2.0 are far too broad to address in this space, so…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Half English, half Thai
PHUKET: The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister…
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Opinion: Phuket hospital deserves credit, not blame
PHUKET: Recent reports in the British media over the plight of British motorbike crash victim Jacob Tonkin here in Phuket (story here) once again paint the Thai healthcare industry in an unfair light. Although it is common around the globe, the British tabloids are particularly notorious for running sensationalist headlines that pull at the heartstrings, sometimes without much concern for…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Holding the mototaxi lady
PHUKET: The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister…
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Opinion: Tour guides must be fined
PHUKET: The recent fine levied on a tour guide for removing a starfish from the sea in a marine national park has once again drawn international attention to how erratic Thai law enforcement appears to be when it comes to issues involving mass tourism, environmental conservation and foreign guests. The latest uproar in social media came after a Thai tourist…
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Opinion: Jealousy is a powerful motivator
PHUKET: Phuket was in the international news spotlight again last week, this time for the heartbreaking murder of an 11-month-old baby girl, hanged by her own father in Nai Thon (story here). Most readers will already be familiar with the tragically short life of Natalee ‘Biw’ Wongtalay, whose execution went viral after her late father, 21, chose to post it…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Frightened of small animals
PHUKET: The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister…
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Opinion: Gov’s ‘war on dirtiness’ a noble aim
PHUKET: Cleanliness is next to Godliness, as the old saying goes, so it is hard not to agree with new governor Norraphat Plodthong’s stated goal of beautifying Phuket “by our hands”. Gov Norraphat, set for mandatory retirement from the civil service in just a few months’ time, has understandably had to set his priorities in a practical way. When one…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Girls you bring back home
PHUKET: The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Hibernate during Songkran
PHUKET: The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister…
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Opinion: Challenges confronting the new governor
PHUKET: The sudden and unexpected transfer to Bangkok of former Phuket Governor Chokchai Dejamornthan (story here) certainly comes as a surprise to many of us in the local media – and once again begs the question of whether a directly-elected governor might be a better option for the province at some point in the future. It goes without saying that…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Taking Songkran too seriously
PHUKET: The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister…
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Gearing up for the Songkran holidays in Phuket
PHUKET: The recent death of a ‘ghost riding’ Thai motorcyclist along Thepkrasattri Road in Thalang (story here) should serve as a sobering reminder to all motorists of the need to be on full alert during the upcoming Songkran holiday period. As noted in this space numerous times in the past, Phuket seldom experiences the kind of spikes in road accidents,…
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Opinion: What’s next for Laem Singh Beach
PHUKET: The controversy at Laem Singh Beach is just the latest in a long history of beach access disputes in Phuket, but this case raises so many issues that it is difficult to know where to begin the discussion. Taking power almost three years ago, Gen Prayuth and cohorts correctly made Phuket one of their top priorities, imposing measures to…
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Misnitry of Farang Affairs: Enjoy the same advantages
PHUKET: The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister…
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Opinion: Ensuring the success of coral restoration
PHUKET: The success of a coral reef restoration project off Mai Thon Island is encouraging, but also serves as a reminder of the need to protect coral from the huge array of threats it faces from man’s activities. These threats range from global-scale effects, such as global warming, all the way down to the most local phenomena, such as ignorant…
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Opinion: False killer whales come to Phuket
PHUKET: The sighting of false killer whales by a group of lucky marine tourists in Phuket last week should serve as a reminder that despite mankind’s demonstrated ability to shape our environment, there is still a lot going on around us that we understand poorly – or not at all. The ‘aliens among us’ theme has served as a fertile…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Walking to business meetings
PHUKET: The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister…
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Opinion: Need timely decisions on tourist matters
PHUKET: The decision to allow beach beds and umbrellas back on island beaches was inevitable, but it is regrettable that it took so long for reason to prevail, now that the high season for tourism is behind us. Tourists need and expect certain amenities during visits to the island. As pointed out in this space in the past, Phuket beach…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Thais have bad taste
PHUKET: The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister…
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Opinion: Protecting Phuket’s image as a tourist destination
PHUKET: The recent incarceration of a Russian tourist for the heinous crime of feeding breadcrumbs to a fish is just the latest in a long-running series of embarrassments for Thai law enforcement and our tourism industry. The story made international headlines, including such mass media heavyweights as TASS and the UK’s Daily Mail, re-reporting after it was first reported by…
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Opinion: Rethinking the power generation strategy
PHUKET: Recent protests against construction of the proposed coal burning electricity generating plant in Krabi is a classic case of the NIMBY (‘Not In My Back Yard’) phenomenon, and one which is also seriously testing the government’s resolve over the public’s right to protest. It is difficult to believe that the year is 2017 and we are still burning coal,…
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Opinion: Time to clean up Phuket’s beaches
PHUKET: Algal blooms at Patong Beach are an embarrassment that needs to be treated as a high-priority issue by authorities. The root cause of the problem, untreated wastewater, needs to be directly addressed by increased treatment capacity. Growing water hyacinths along the banks of the brackish Klong Pakbang is not going to be the solution. Officials need to carefully review…
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