History will be the judge

The floods appear to be receding, so now we can all begin to start placing blame.

Actually, I don’t care whose fault it was. What I do care about is what to do now.

 

There are three goals:

1. Clean up the mess and get businesses working again;

2. Put in place plans to make sure this never happens again;

3. Figure out how to ensure continued investment in Thailand by foreign entities.

 

Everyone has been pontificating in one way or another about these three goals for the past month. Here is my non-partisan view.

 

1. Clean up the mess and get businesses working again.

 

(a) The Army as well as university students need to be mobilised and sent to the affected areas. 

(b) Local as well as multinational companies should be encouraged to donate money and supplies to aid the clean-up. 

(c) Tax breaks should be offered for new investment. Any company investing new money in infrastructure in the affected areas can apply.

(d) All companies who create new jobs in the affected areas should get a tax holiday.

(e) The government should work with banks to make loan money available to small and medium-sized enterprises.

(f) The government should assist in the loan application process for any SME.

(g) The government should set up a call centre to answer questions on loan programmes.

(h) The government should set up a job databank to match people looking for work with companies needing assistance.

 

2. Put in place plans to make sure this never happens again.

 

(a) A blue-ribbon panel of international experts must be formed immediately and given 90 days to come up with a series of recommendations to ensure non-repetition of this issue. This committee should be chaired by a Thai but the best experts from around the world must participate.

(b) Whatever the committee recommends, Thailand should do more. If the committee recommends 2.5-metre dykes, Thailand should build 3.5-meter ones; if the committee recommends dredging to a depth of 2 metres, then the dredging should be deeper. No expense should be spared in the pursuit of fixing this problem once and for all. These types of floods may not happen again for 50 years, or they may happen again next year.

 

3. Figure out how to ensure continued investment in Thailand by foreign entities.

 

Foreign entities have many other places to invest in besides Thailand, so they must be given incentives to continue investing in the Kingdom.

 

It would be foolish for someone to put new money into the areas just affected by the flooding, and it would be wrong to encourage investment into currently heavily built-up areas such as Rayong and Pattaya. A new industrial zone must be created.

 

One option would be Khon Kaen. There is a major source of inexpensive manpower there, and it would help the country socially if new investment could support factory construction in the Northeast.

 

The key issue is transport. A new highway must be built connecting the area with Bangkok, as well as a high-speed rail. This would promote even more growth to the region, as well as positively affecting a region that has recently become discontented with the support they receive from Bangkok.

 

I am a businessman, not a scientist or politician. The framework outlined above is only a first start. But what I do know is that political arguing and finger-pointing are not what the country needs right now.

 

The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said: “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”

 

Years from now, history will record how Thais reacted to this latest disaster. Did people revert to old ways, lose their commitment, start doubting the country’s leadership? Did political infighting take precedence over the needs of the nation? Did people have their eye on the next election rather than on the suffering of the populace? 

 

Or did the Thai people once again come together as brothers and sisters against a common enemy? Did they defeat that enemy, and did they create a more prosperous land for their children to grow up in?

 

Only the Thai people can decide how history will judge.

 

 

Eric Rosenkranz (www.ethree-asia.com) assists existing companies as well as 

start-ups to develop their long-term strategies and achieve success in their business. Follow his “Creating Success” series in this HI! Managers column every fourth Friday of the month.