Ever wonder why Thailand can't do anything about its taxis? Or overpriced lotteries? Or illegal motorcycle racing? Why do cab drivers continue to reject customers, even dump them mid-way through a journey whenever they feel like it? Why can't the authorities tackle the problems?
Truth be told, taxis and other nuisances are not the biggest challenges this country has to face. Still, complaints keep bubbling up and no solutions are in sight.
As every day woes continue, they may be a reminder of a general state of ineptness enveloping society.
Atiya Achakulwisut is a columnist, Bangkok Post.
We are as hapless about taxis as we are about other problems, large and small. From national issues such as the ongoing political conflict and graft, to smaller snags like careless parking, it seems nothing can be done about them.
Without a strategic solution, or hope that things will get better, citizens caught in the mess can only fend for themselves as they try to survive another day.
Symptoms of a failing state are becoming more evident each day. Think about car drivers who fail to give way to ambulances, which keeps happening despite attempts to shame them through social media. Or motorcycle racing on roads, which seems to become even more daring and well-organised after crackdowns. Or the Chiang Mai judiciary that insisted on pressing for a luxury housing and office project at the foot of Doi Suthep even though the government had it halted as social opposition grew in the province and beyond.
How about personal identity and data protection? In the face of frequent banking scams and a recent leak of data, including scanned ID cards of more than 10,000 customers at True Move H, we Thais still have no personal data protection law, which is still pending cabinet approval.
This is despite the government's dream of turning Thailand into a digital hub. It's even more ironic to see that among a myriad of crucial laws that need to be issued or updated, the latest enactment is one to standardise pla ra, or fermented fish. Is something rotting to demand such haste?
Looking at an increasing number of apparently insoluble issues one may eventually get a glimpse of why Thailand is in a state of stagnation, politically, economically and intellectually. The Economist recently stated Thailand is on the path to become the next Japan regarding its ageing population, slow growth and very low interest rates.
We are what we settle for, it has been said. And Thailand, or more precisely its current leadership, has settled far too much into preserving elitism and the status quo. So much so that it is running out of a momentum to move forward.
A society that prizes control over creativity, and conformity over innovation, usually has no choice but to suppress everything to build a perception of peace and order.
Stillness may make it easy to govern but it is a great source of inertia. It's thus no surprise that a society like that would find itself looking back to its past, glorifying it and holding on to it as a paragon of a perfect society.
A society like that would often revert to flexible social norms and traditions instead of legal mechanisms to solve disputes. That is how double standards or a lack of standards altogether come along. We used to bargain with taxi drivers about prices. We may have adopted a meter system now but exceptions may be made when it makes things more convenient, so goes one argument.
The same is true with other debacles that sees no end. Street food stalls offer a convenient and inexpensive food choice for urban dwellers, but how about the right of pedestrians to footpaths? Public fury against the alleged poaching of a black leopard inside a wildlife sanctuary or the Doi Suthep housing project that caused a scar on the otherwise pristine forest shows how much people care about the environment. Are public sentiments proportionate to state budgets and policies pertaining to the issue?
A society that has been forced to stand still for the sake of political stability usually ends up hapless, unable to reinvent itself to keep up with an ever-changing world. It will find that the old toolkit -- a 20-year national development plan, oligarchic control or return to traditions -- is inadequate to tackle modern-day demands and problems. It will find that progress in itself requires dismantling of the status quo, not clinging on to it. It will find itself having to settle for less as it fails to satisfy any interest groups, old or new.
Still wonder why we are stuck with the taxi problems and absolutely no progress on national reforms after four years under a military dictatorship?