As the government undertakes its campaign to promote "Thainess" to potential foreign tourists, it should not forget that there is some undesirable Thainess at home that needs to be looked at.
It is Thainess that has got the fishing industry in trouble with the European Union (EU), which has issued a yellow card. The EU has given the country six months to fix its "illegal, unreported and unregulated" fishing industry. The government is rattled, but the fact is it would never have been put in this position had the flaws been fixed before.
One lengthy paragraph in the EU statement released last Tuesday, entitled "Commission warns Thailand over insufficient action to fight illegal fishing", perfectly reflects this Thainess:
"During earlier missions to Thailand in 2011 and 2012, the European Commission identified weaknesses in the implementation of the IUU regulation. These included an inadequate legal framework to cope with the complexities of the Thai fisheries and trade passing through Thailand as well as poor monitoring, control and surveillance of its fleet and trade of third-country products entering and processed in Thailand with some IUU products consequently ending up on the EU market. A recent observation mission in October 2014 found that the concerns remained."
To sum up, this paragraph is telling us that this country has made no effort to correct the industry's problems over the four years from 2011 to 2014. There have been three bosses during that four-year span: Abhisit Vejjajiva was prime minister from Dec 17, 2008 to Aug 8, 2011; Yingluck Shinawatra took over the reins from then until May last year when they were wrenched from her hands by Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, who remains in power to this day.
The current EU regulation aimed at ending illegal fishing entered into force at the beginning of 2010, a year before the EU sent a delegation to Thailand to witness the reality on the ground — meaning a year that Thailand should have been prepared for change.
This is a time of reconciliation, not a time to point fingers and blame someone else. But still, the past four years have seen the country stick with Thainess by doing nothing to address the worries of the EU. Now Thainess is coming back to haunt us. Thailand has now woken up to reality, but only after a European mission in October last year showed it was not impressed with the way the kingdom is handling the issue.
The Foreign Ministry admits there has been no serious action until recently. Here is what the ministry said last Tuesday: "Although the yellow card does not introduce trade sanctions on European imports of Thai fishery products, it is a source of grave discouragement that the EU chose to ignore the very earnest efforts of the past six months by the government in addressing all issues which once were deemed the causes of IUU fishing." The past six months could go right back to the latest European mission in October.
"Thailand is deeply disappointed at the EU's decision," the ministry adds.
This is not the time to cry over the EU's yellow-flag decision. The government decided to launch a campaign to lobby people in Brussels, but the essence of the problem remains as it still has to show it is against illegal fishing and other practices that harm the environment and human dignity.
The fishing industry is not alone in being a victim of Thainess. The aviation sector has suffered damage too from International Civil Aviation Organisation concerns that have forced the Department of Civil Aviation to get serious about fixing flaws in safety.
The department should have addressed the problem before the country was cornered by the UN-affiliated agency, with the credibility of all Thai airlines now at stake and the prospect of being blacklisted by other countries.
Nobody can be sure there will not be more wake-up calls from outside telling Thailand to resolve problems — certainly while the complacency part of Thainess remains unchanged. This style of Thainess is something that the country should keep to itself rather than showing it to tourists.
Saritdet Marukatat is digital media news editor, Bangkok Post.