Learning from Thailand, a traveller's experience
M. A. Matin | Monday, 25 August 2008
THAILAND means 'freedom land'. It emerged as an independent state in 1932. The 'Kingdom of Thailand' its official name, is a constitutional monarchy. King Bhumibol, the head state is a respected figure. Also called a land of white elephants Thailand has 76 provinces. Hinayana Buddhism is the state religion of Thailand. Buddha images are held sacred. Sacrilegious act, a criminal offence is, punishable by imprisonment, if committed by foreign visitors. Whatever we may commonly know about Thailand, a traveler knows that it is a fantastic land. Nobody can understand Thailand without visiting the country.
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit Thailand to receive training on 'Project Management' at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok, a reputed varsity and training institute in Asia, sponsored by PKSF, an apex funding organisation in the arena of Microcredit in Bangladesh.
Anyway, I gathered splendid experiences by visiting different places in Thailand in spare of time as well as during the training.
On reaching Bangkok, I became overwhelmed with their behaviour and simplicity. Everywhere they are very simple even they conducted the training in a simple manner. There was no colourful function to begin the formal training course. The way they completed the training course is worth following. Needless to say, the training methods, the knowledge of the resource persons as well as the delivery training at AIT was remarkable.
In some matters, Thais are conservative. Generally intimacy between man and woman is prohibited, though both enjoy individual freedom all their life. A majority of the people in Thailand is very pious Buddhists. But, they do not like extremism. They like to rear elephants and use them as prestigious religious mode of transport.
It is a pleasure to witness their cultural heritage. Particularly, the trainees will remember the 'Timpani Show', a traditional cultural show, demonstrated by a group of hermaphrodite. Bt was quite impossible for the spectators to guess the performers' gender. Their body language as well as outstanding artistic performance is difficult to forget.
Thailand earns a lot in foreign exchange from the tourists out of the "Timpani Show and Elephant Circus".
I was astonished to see the way they welcome the tourists to their land. To attract the tourists they nurture a variety of natural gardens. They decorated the hills to create dreamlands. The thrilling scenario refresh a visitor. They have converted all the Buddhist temples at different locations of the country into tourist centres, with access to the tourists, who can also say their prayers. Thailand's biggest temple situated in Bangkok, is surrounded by the historical Thai Palace, wonderful to look at. At the palace a visitor can see Thai history in chronology.
Bangkok, the beautiful capital city, is lined with ornamental and flower trees. Besides its modern traffic signalling system the city dwellers enjoy a noiseless and pollution free city life. Bangkok's 'Mono train' network, operated by the electro magnetic power, provides the city dwellers as well as the tourists a super transportation facility. Travel by mono train is a fascinating experience. The big shopping malls are located either outside the city limits or under the ground. We visited more than seven shopping centres but nowhere there was the scope for bargaining or false trading. Not a single non-motorised vehicle can be seen on the roads except bicycles. There is no hooting in this country.
The Thai government has made countless flyovers to reduce traffic jams. The city corporation has built a 55-km flyover from Bangkok airport to the AIT campus, to facilitate a smooth journey between the two points. The beautiful flyover, a land work of the city has definitely enhanced its looks. Everything runs without a pause providing commuters relief from traffic congestions, noise pollution and road mishaps.
It is said that Bangkok is the most peaceful and pollution free city in Asia. The available medical treatment facilities are appreciated by people of neighbouring countries. The tourists love to describe Bangkok a sleepless city. The unimaginable beauty of Bangkok at night, it is said, keeps one away from bed at night. So, Bangkok is called 'a city for all time'.
The Pathaya, a topmost tourist city, full of mysteries to the strangers, offers enjoyment starting from sea voyage to sunbath on the seashore and nearby island. Its exotic food and fruits are for a tourist at reasonable prices.
The Thais are very industrious. Women are very diligent. Total labour force is 36.9 million, of which 1.5 per cent is unemployed. Women empowerment allow them to work in every sphere of life, indicating a positive syndrome of comprehensive development. Thailand with a total area of 5,14,000 sq. kilometers has a population of 65.49 million. Population growth rate is 0.64 per cent and 94.6 per cent of total population is Buddhist, 4.6 per cent is Muslim and the remaining 0.80 per cent covers the followers of other religions. Literacy rate is 92.6 per cent. The status of annual GDP is 519.4 billion US $ (PPP). The main source of GDP is: agriculture 11 per cent, industry 43.9 per cent, service 44.7 per cent and others 0.4 per cent. Foreign exchange reserve is 87.46 billion US $. Only 10 per cent of the population is under the poverty line.
The main agricultural products include, rice, sugar, casaba (like sweet potato), corn, fruits and rubber. Sugar is produced from casaba. Delicious seasonal fruits of Thailand, especially its green mangoes, sweet tamarind, rambuttam, pineapple and shaddock are foreign exchange earners. Electronic and automobile products of Thailand are important exportables to the global markets. The world famous Bridgestone tyres are made in Thailand. It has a highly developed and export oriented garment industries.
Every Thai understands poverty as "a condition that cannot be easily remedied." For those who never experienced poverty, it is hard to fathom the hardship that come with it. They may dismiss it as laziness or a lack of motivation to work on the part of the afflicted.
But, if the poor had jobs they would not be lazy. They are uneducated because they do not have the money to pay for education, let alone food and shelter. So, why not give them an opportunity to become productive to be self supportive?
Keeping this view in mind, the Thai government has started to mobilise a fund from the savings of the poor in all the provinces through the Government Savings Bank. The Government used it to fund government project while loans were never given to those who needed it.
The present Thai administration now wants to bring the funds back to the backward villages, because without the money these rural areas can not hope to compete in a capitalist environment. In a book ``Mystery of Capital" the key message is "why capitalism triumphs in the west and fails everywhere else." This is the key to survival in a capitalist world. Without proper funds financial management is impossible. That is why developing countries need to borrow so heavily from foreign sources. This double-edged sword, has overlured the developing countries with massive debts. No wonder they are is in high debt and struggling to repay the loans. In the long run, the economic foundations of these countries are affected heavily.
That is why Thailand is trying to pay attention to the economic grass roots of the country.
Thais are working on the project out of their understanding that all is connected, and one part of the country cannot function without the others.
The Thai government has launched several projects out of this realisation. Some of the projects may take only a few years before they yield results, while others may take 5-7 years. The Thai government expects these projects to open to the poor the door to wealth that was so long inaccessible to them. The idea of this project is to collect and inject the funds back to the villages through:
l The village fund project, for a revolving loan programme;
l The People's Bank, so that the poor could repay their debts without high interest; and
l One Tambon (Sub district) one product to generate productivity through group efforts.
The Thai government has introduced a soft credit delivery mechanism for the rural people to reduce poverty.
The short visit to Thailand created the impression that the Thai government, and not the NGOs, is making all development efforts. As the Thai government has taken the responsibility of socio-economic development, there is no scope for NGOs or the private organisations to do it. But in Bangladesh a different scenario is noticeable. Due to government's reluctance or inability the NGOs and the private sector are growing rapidly in Bangladesh. Consequently, a comprehensive development could be far fetched.
The writer is deputy manager (training), Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation
(PKSF), Dhaka
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit Thailand to receive training on 'Project Management' at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok, a reputed varsity and training institute in Asia, sponsored by PKSF, an apex funding organisation in the arena of Microcredit in Bangladesh.
Anyway, I gathered splendid experiences by visiting different places in Thailand in spare of time as well as during the training.
On reaching Bangkok, I became overwhelmed with their behaviour and simplicity. Everywhere they are very simple even they conducted the training in a simple manner. There was no colourful function to begin the formal training course. The way they completed the training course is worth following. Needless to say, the training methods, the knowledge of the resource persons as well as the delivery training at AIT was remarkable.
In some matters, Thais are conservative. Generally intimacy between man and woman is prohibited, though both enjoy individual freedom all their life. A majority of the people in Thailand is very pious Buddhists. But, they do not like extremism. They like to rear elephants and use them as prestigious religious mode of transport.
It is a pleasure to witness their cultural heritage. Particularly, the trainees will remember the 'Timpani Show', a traditional cultural show, demonstrated by a group of hermaphrodite. Bt was quite impossible for the spectators to guess the performers' gender. Their body language as well as outstanding artistic performance is difficult to forget.
Thailand earns a lot in foreign exchange from the tourists out of the "Timpani Show and Elephant Circus".
I was astonished to see the way they welcome the tourists to their land. To attract the tourists they nurture a variety of natural gardens. They decorated the hills to create dreamlands. The thrilling scenario refresh a visitor. They have converted all the Buddhist temples at different locations of the country into tourist centres, with access to the tourists, who can also say their prayers. Thailand's biggest temple situated in Bangkok, is surrounded by the historical Thai Palace, wonderful to look at. At the palace a visitor can see Thai history in chronology.
Bangkok, the beautiful capital city, is lined with ornamental and flower trees. Besides its modern traffic signalling system the city dwellers enjoy a noiseless and pollution free city life. Bangkok's 'Mono train' network, operated by the electro magnetic power, provides the city dwellers as well as the tourists a super transportation facility. Travel by mono train is a fascinating experience. The big shopping malls are located either outside the city limits or under the ground. We visited more than seven shopping centres but nowhere there was the scope for bargaining or false trading. Not a single non-motorised vehicle can be seen on the roads except bicycles. There is no hooting in this country.
The Thai government has made countless flyovers to reduce traffic jams. The city corporation has built a 55-km flyover from Bangkok airport to the AIT campus, to facilitate a smooth journey between the two points. The beautiful flyover, a land work of the city has definitely enhanced its looks. Everything runs without a pause providing commuters relief from traffic congestions, noise pollution and road mishaps.
It is said that Bangkok is the most peaceful and pollution free city in Asia. The available medical treatment facilities are appreciated by people of neighbouring countries. The tourists love to describe Bangkok a sleepless city. The unimaginable beauty of Bangkok at night, it is said, keeps one away from bed at night. So, Bangkok is called 'a city for all time'.
The Pathaya, a topmost tourist city, full of mysteries to the strangers, offers enjoyment starting from sea voyage to sunbath on the seashore and nearby island. Its exotic food and fruits are for a tourist at reasonable prices.
The Thais are very industrious. Women are very diligent. Total labour force is 36.9 million, of which 1.5 per cent is unemployed. Women empowerment allow them to work in every sphere of life, indicating a positive syndrome of comprehensive development. Thailand with a total area of 5,14,000 sq. kilometers has a population of 65.49 million. Population growth rate is 0.64 per cent and 94.6 per cent of total population is Buddhist, 4.6 per cent is Muslim and the remaining 0.80 per cent covers the followers of other religions. Literacy rate is 92.6 per cent. The status of annual GDP is 519.4 billion US $ (PPP). The main source of GDP is: agriculture 11 per cent, industry 43.9 per cent, service 44.7 per cent and others 0.4 per cent. Foreign exchange reserve is 87.46 billion US $. Only 10 per cent of the population is under the poverty line.
The main agricultural products include, rice, sugar, casaba (like sweet potato), corn, fruits and rubber. Sugar is produced from casaba. Delicious seasonal fruits of Thailand, especially its green mangoes, sweet tamarind, rambuttam, pineapple and shaddock are foreign exchange earners. Electronic and automobile products of Thailand are important exportables to the global markets. The world famous Bridgestone tyres are made in Thailand. It has a highly developed and export oriented garment industries.
Every Thai understands poverty as "a condition that cannot be easily remedied." For those who never experienced poverty, it is hard to fathom the hardship that come with it. They may dismiss it as laziness or a lack of motivation to work on the part of the afflicted.
But, if the poor had jobs they would not be lazy. They are uneducated because they do not have the money to pay for education, let alone food and shelter. So, why not give them an opportunity to become productive to be self supportive?
Keeping this view in mind, the Thai government has started to mobilise a fund from the savings of the poor in all the provinces through the Government Savings Bank. The Government used it to fund government project while loans were never given to those who needed it.
The present Thai administration now wants to bring the funds back to the backward villages, because without the money these rural areas can not hope to compete in a capitalist environment. In a book ``Mystery of Capital" the key message is "why capitalism triumphs in the west and fails everywhere else." This is the key to survival in a capitalist world. Without proper funds financial management is impossible. That is why developing countries need to borrow so heavily from foreign sources. This double-edged sword, has overlured the developing countries with massive debts. No wonder they are is in high debt and struggling to repay the loans. In the long run, the economic foundations of these countries are affected heavily.
That is why Thailand is trying to pay attention to the economic grass roots of the country.
Thais are working on the project out of their understanding that all is connected, and one part of the country cannot function without the others.
The Thai government has launched several projects out of this realisation. Some of the projects may take only a few years before they yield results, while others may take 5-7 years. The Thai government expects these projects to open to the poor the door to wealth that was so long inaccessible to them. The idea of this project is to collect and inject the funds back to the villages through:
l The village fund project, for a revolving loan programme;
l The People's Bank, so that the poor could repay their debts without high interest; and
l One Tambon (Sub district) one product to generate productivity through group efforts.
The Thai government has introduced a soft credit delivery mechanism for the rural people to reduce poverty.
The short visit to Thailand created the impression that the Thai government, and not the NGOs, is making all development efforts. As the Thai government has taken the responsibility of socio-economic development, there is no scope for NGOs or the private organisations to do it. But in Bangladesh a different scenario is noticeable. Due to government's reluctance or inability the NGOs and the private sector are growing rapidly in Bangladesh. Consequently, a comprehensive development could be far fetched.
The writer is deputy manager (training), Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation
(PKSF), Dhaka