We need to be honest about our failings

The first two arrests were about the possession of protected animals. The third arrest, this past weekend, was because of a lewd sex show. What’s the connection? 

Rihanna, the international pop star who visited Thailand last month, left the country’s law-enforcement agencies red-faced after her racy “tweet” about what she had witnessed during a visit to an entertainment venue in Phuket. The singer has 32 million followers on the networking site. She also took a picture of herself with a slow loris, a protected primate, while watching a sex show.

Two people have been arrested for possession of the protected animal. And last weekend the authorities arrested a bar owner in connection with the lewd show that Rihanna mentioned in her tweet. He faces charges of obscenity.

Local district chief Weera Kerdsirimongkon was quoted by The Associated Press as saying the arrest was part of a crackdown on such shows. “Authorities found out about this bar the morning after Rihanna tweeted about it, but we were not able to catch them violating the law until Saturday night,” Weera said. “We had been waiting for them, and finally caught them red-handed.”

The bar owner could face a month in prison and a fine of up to Bt60,000, according to the district chief.

Do the district chief and law-enforcement agencies deserve a pat on the back? 

For those who are unfamiliar with Thailand’s seemingly contradictory social-political setting, it would appear that the rapid response from the country’s finest was a job well done. But for the local people, as well for expats who have been here long enough, officials were merely covering their own backs. 

It is unfortunate that this social-legal predicament has to rest on the shoulders of a district chief and the Phuket police. 

This is about much more than local officials not doing their jobs until a renowned foreign celebrity causes a stir or makes an issue out of something in Thailand. It’s more about our ability to come to terms with what is normal or acceptable in our society. 

Part of our inability to come to terms with issues that are so obvious, such as the sex industry and the appalling treatment of endangered animals, has to do with the fact that we are indifferent to sensitive and controversial issues until we are forced to look deep inside ourselves. We don’t like to talk about these things – from prostitution to the trade in and exploitation of wild and endangered animals – because it makes us uncomfortable. 

Our lawmakers make such things illegal while our law-enforcement agencies and society turn a blind eye to them. Then, when a well-known person puts these issues in the spotlight, for whatever reason – as when Lady Gaga joked about buying a fake wristwatch in Thailand – many of us either get bent out of shape or refuse to stray from our comfort zone.

Is it so hard to admit that the world’s oldest profession and lewd sex shows are thriving in Thailand? Or that we sell counterfeit goods and trade in endangered species? 

If we could be more honest, we can debate these issues in a more meaningful way, and formulate concrete solutions to things such as corruption, extortion by the authorities and labour rights for sex workers.