Brace yourselves for the flood of foreigners

Thailand and Asia are not yet ready for Asean integration but are being led down the same path by the same group of people that created the current fiasco at the European Union. Thailand in particular has the most to lose when Asean arrives in 2015, since nobody in Thai politics has so far raised the serious questions that need to be addressed before signing up.

Let’s take one example of what is likely to happen after 2015. All people living in Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Laos, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines (among others) will have the right to border-free travel and the right to work and live in Thailand. This potential mass influx of people will destroy Thai culture and the Thai way of life.

Look what happened to the UK when Eastern Europe was admitted to the European Union: Despite government claims that only 15,000 Polish people would be moving to the UK, the actual number is over 1 million and still growing! The UK government is powerless to stop this mass migration because it is part of the European Union (Europe’s equivalent to Asean) and bound by the treaty.

Thailand is by far the most attractive destination within Asean, and there will be a mass migration of poor people from other Asean countries into Thailand – which, after the Asean treaty is signed, Thai authorities will be powerless to stop.

Michael Meakus

Bangkok