Opinion
The Thaiger Opinion Columns
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Sponsored 5 ways retirees in Thailand lose money (and how to stop it)
Retiring in Thailand can be affordable and enjoyable, but many retirees lose money due to common mistakes. High living costs, scams, and unexpected expenses can quickly drain savings. There are five ways that retirees in Thailand can lose money and...
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Phuket Opinion: Changing for a Safer Phuket
PHUKET: While wishing ‘Safer Phuket’ (story here) the best of luck in its difficult mission to raise marine-safety standards in local waters to international levels, it is clear that the new NGO’s success will depend on its ability to change a deeply-entrenched “culture of carelessness” that pervades locally, both on land and at sea. This will be no small challenge.…
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Phuket Opinion: Tackling power woes needs input from all
Natthaporn Kochsiripong, 34, is the Electricity Supply Assistant Manager at the Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA). A Bangkok native, Mr Natthaporn has a degree in engineering from Thammasat University and a master’s degree in management from Ramkhamhaeng University. Here, he talks about the electrical issues facing Phuket. PHUKET: Phuket has become an island that never sleeps. This has caused a…
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Phuket Opinion: Click to care
PHUKET: Sharing a link on Facebook may save a whale or a starving child in Africa, but if the number of clicks truly count, then what headlines people look at highlight where our genuine interests are – and it’s shameful. The statistics available through Google Analytics, shown clearly on the Phuket Gazette Forum, are depressing, and I know I am…
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Phuket Opinion: Purchasing votes to run the island
Kittipong Thiengkunakrit, 57, has been the Director of the Phuket Election Commission for three years. He has a science degree from Prince of Songkhla University, an advanced diploma from the University of Paris and a master’s degree in public administration from the National Institute of Development Administration. Mr Kittipong is a lecturer on how to run elections, election law and…
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Phuket Opinion: Being connected helps save lives
PHUKET: We offer our sincerest condolences to the families of the many victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan that hit the Philippines last week, and commend the multiple relief efforts still underway here in Phuket to help residents on the islands of Samar and Leyte, the most badly affected areas. Among those who deserve praise are some familiar names, such as…
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Phuket Opinion: Who deserves a consul?
PHUKET: I read recently that the South Africans may open a consulate on Phuket (story here), and my first thought was, South Africans? They need a consulate? Apparently about 80,000 come here per year. It’s not that I think they don’t deserve a consulate, let them have one, by all means. But there’s another group of foreigners who live here…
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Phuket Opinion: Preserving the essence of Phuket
General Manager of Business and Network Development at DaimlerChrysler (Thailand) Co Ltd, Pannate Rangsinturat, 36, is a Phuket native. She graduated from Chulalongkorn University with a degree in international relations and has earned a master’s degree in European studies from Cambridge University. Here she talks about the changes she sees when she returns to Phuket and how they can be…
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Phuket Opinion: Level ground
PHUKET: It is astounding to be in a place where so many “haves” and “have-nots” co-exist in such close proximity. We live on an island where trucks packed with rain-soaked illegal migrant workers are such a common sight that many of us have grown impervious to their suffering as we wait and hope for the traffic light ahead to turn…
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Phuket Opinion: The high price of protests
PHUKET: Local outcry over the amnesty bill recently passed by the House is understandable, but there should be concern about establishing the island as a regional center for political protests. The protest last Sunday at Sanamchai, the large open field opposite Phuket Provincial Hall, was relatively peaceful given the huge number of people who took part (story here). Many came…
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Phuket Opinion: It’s everyone’s job to improve cyclists’ safety
Danny Ruangkanch, 54, is a Narathiwat native. He graduated from the California College of the Arts 29 years ago, and spent 10 years working abroad before coming back to Thailand. He came to Phuket 15 years ago and works as a freelance artist and Moderator of Thaimtb.com. He joined the Phuket Bicycle Club in 2000. Here he talks about how…
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Phuket Opinion: The meter of madness
PHUKET: After landing at Phuket Airport on October 7, I passed all the scam businesses and made my way to the metered taxi stand.I’ve used it for years and know that despite the word “metered” in the name, the price is fixed, about 550 baht to Patong. But with the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) visits, it’s a new era.…
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Phuket Opinion: Slicing up Thailand’s cash cow
PHUKET: Reports of government plans to raise both arrival and departure taxes on foreign tourists reflect an almost complete lack of cohesion on tourism policy by government officials, and fly in the face of previous pronouncements that Thailand stands at the ready to become the “tourism hub” of the Asean region.The proposed increases, a 100-baht hike in airport departure tax…
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