There are many things I wish to see changed in Thailand in 2024, a sort of forlorn wish, but worth noting three here since it is the beginning of the year.
1. The Toxic Political Fandom Culture
In Thai politics, soon after you open your mouth to opine, others will almost readily pigeonhole you as either a redshirt pro-government person, an orange shirt fan club of the opposition Move Forward Party man (or woman) or a good-old yellow shirt royalist (or ultra-royalist) conservative coup supporter.
You cannot be a bit of this and that hue. The simplistic and dichotomic yearning of many Thai political addicts is just for people to resist such complexity – and accordingly you will be branded as either one of them or the other. It is so toxic over the past few years that many redshirt Pheu Thai government supporters will praise PM Srettha Thavisin and the Shinawatra family ad infinitum and that they basically can do no wrong.
Or even if some wrongs were committed, it is okay. Similarly, the orange shirt MFP supporters are so enamored by people like Pita Limcharoenrat to the point where one wonders if they are paid propagandists. By the way, most are not paid. They are just willing fans. Somehow, what is lost along the way was the notion of citizens who will take to account all politicians and other public figures rather than subjecting and diminishing themselves into a mere member of a political fandom.
Perhaps I am expecting too much, it is more emotionally and intellectually convenient to just be a member of these color-coded political groups than insisting as a citizen, one should be independent and judiciously exercise one’s thought when it comes to appraising and relating oneself to these politicians and public figures.
2. Paying More Attention To Safety Culture
Thailand is ‘a leader’ when it comes to road related accidents and deaths. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) as of mid-December last year (2023), 18,218 people were killed on the roads in Thailand. That was about 50 or so people killed daily. It is not just driving under the influence of alcohol that is the problem, it is also reckless driving, passengers not wearing seatbelts, people not using pedestrian overpasses where possible and available, drivers not driving while being sleepy and more.
Why is the new government not declaring the issue a man-made national calamity to be seriously and comprehensively tackled is beyond my understanding as by the end of today, another 50 or so people would needlessly die on the streets. If that figure is halved, it would be markedly beneficial for Thailand as for every single person killed, or seriously injured, it is not just a tragedy to the person and his or her immediate family members but the society as a collective too.
How about making obtaining a driver license much more rigorous, particularly for public transport drivers? In the final analysis, people just do not think such road accidents, particularly fatal ones, will happen to them.
3. Be More Rational and Less Irrational
Supernatural beliefs abound and are still a big thing in Thailand for a substantial percentage of its population. These people believe some monks, or even strange or physically impaired animals including frogs and toads or trees can reveal the lucky lottery number and make them rich pronto.
Buddhist amulets of all sorts, supposedly will protect you, make you lucky, rich or super attractive to the opposite sex. It seems many of us pinned our hope for a better life on someone else, if not something else, to the detriment of their own spirit of self-reliance. The quicker this changes, the better for them and for Thailand in general.
