A recent article in the Bangkok Post has re-ignited the debate about Thailand’s future. Senior officials in the travel and real estate sectors have suggested that rampant corruption and weak law enforcement are threating to create a failed state in which the central government can no longer collect taxes or run services.
But labelling and stereotypes can be misleading. The 2024 Fragile States Index, published by the think tank Fund for Peace, begins its league table with failed states such as Somalia, Syria and Haiti (where the notional government’s writ is largely absent). Myanmar is listed 11th as half the country is no longer in the hands of the ruling junta. Cambodia is number 55, Philippines 64. Laos 71 and Thailand 95. In other words, almost half the countries in the world possess more failed state features than does Thailand.
A key definition of a failed state is that the government cannot exercise control over its own territory. Much is made of the ongoing separatist rebellion in Thailand’s southern provinces, but the same could be said of Northern Ireland and the UK government for much of the last century. Failed state proponents also cite the frequent Thai military coups, forgetting that they are eventually replaced by a civilian government. Few seem to remember that Cambodia experienced a coup in the 1980s and the same family is still in power today.
Thailand’s central problem – and it’s certainly a big one – is not a lack of laws but rather the lack of enforcement. Whole floors of condominium units in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya have been bought up by foreigners to rent out illegally to fellow nationals and pocket the proceeds. It is illegal for foreigners to act as tour operators in Thailand but abuses are rampant, including special courier services at both Bangkok’s principal airports.
Mrs Thaniwan Kulmongkol, president of the Thai Restaurant Association, points out that hundreds of eateries in major cities are running without proper registration or hygiene safeguards. She points to Laos and Cambodia where the restaurant business is mostly in the hands of Chinese migrants who have also taken over much of agricultural sector and casinos. Pattaya has its own problems where the health and safety inspectorate is overwhelmed by the huge expansion of foreign eateries, especially Indian.
Critics also cite the alleged failings of the immigration bureau, suggesting for example that the 60 days visa exempt policy has allowed many foreign criminals to come and go as they wish. This criticism, however, is belied by the fact that previous 30 and 45 days exemptions could be extended for a further month at local immigration. There is nothing new in the policy of extending the choices for foreign tourists to remain in the country.
There is no doubt that Thailand faces an uphill battle in combatting the huge number of illegal call scam centers operating on the borders. Indeed, some have been closed in Myanmar only after unofficial Chinese police arrived, howbeit uninvited. But the argument that Thailand is fast becoming a failed state is beyond the pale. Whoever heard of a failed state which is the second largest economy in the region and the host to almost 40 million international tourists annually? Let’s keep a sense of proportion.
