Real reform can't begin without tackling old ailments

General Prayut Chan-o-cha, the prime minister and head of the all-powerful National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), has admitted in public that since the coup last May, only 30 per cent of the country’s problems have been addressed (no, not solved), and 70 per cent of the nation’s pending issues are still out there in the wilderness.

In another address, he was even more blunt: “We haven’t got anywhere so far with the country’s problems.”

In other words, he was suggesting that despite the absolute power he wields, he was still at his wits’ end to get things done in a country where efficiency and accountability are not usually associated with work ethics.

Where do you start to “reset” Thailand? Dr Suvit Maesinsi, chairman of a special commission on designing a new vision for the country, sums up three main issues that will decide whether reform is possible at all: Social conflicts, inequality and corruption.

“The country’s reform agenda would be meaningless unless we can address these three main issues,” he said.

To overcome these main obstacles, the national reform agenda will have to boost efficiency in managing the public sector and to shake up state enterprises and national budgeting. At the same time, the agricultural sector has to be revamped to achieve food and energy security.

Other analysts point to three other specific areas that have weakened Thailand’s position both domestically and internationally.

First, the country’s competitiveness has declined due to rising production costs. Second, the shortage of skilled labour is getting acute, resulting in the inability to upgrade productivity through the application of new technology. Third, the quality of the country’s infrastructure is low – so much so that it can’t accommodate new technology.

These three obstacles explain why Thailand’s exports have not grown for two consecutive years. 2015 may prove to be the third year in a row that this worrying trend raises serious concerns. Vietnam has overtaken Thailand in the export of electronic products and Indonesia is challenging Thailand’s position as the “Detroit of Asia”.

Bureaucracy has become a threat rather than a contributing factor in national development. A recent survey of businessmen concluded that 80 per cent of the problems affecting their activities are one way or another related to the corrupt and inefficient bureaucracy. That major weakness has become one of the most serious factors undermining the country’s economy.

The other major issue is the lack of free and fair competition in the country’s economy. That has resulted in an economy that is dominated by a patronage system instead of competition that is measured by efficiency and merits.

It’s a dark joke but nonetheless quite apt to say that in order to succeed “know-who” has become more important that “know-how” in Thai society today. Innovation is not a priority if connection counts more than performance.

Worst of all, national policies and market mechanisms aren’t based on building a more transparent and visionary future for the country but rather based on pursuing the narrow interests of cliques that happen to be in power through a “quasi-democratic” electoral system.

Unless all these deep-rooted issues are tackled in a serious manner with an action plan and a clear roadmap, the ongoing reform exercise and the vigorous constitution drafting process would be futile. The next election will only put the country back on the old merry-go-round and the vicious cycle will resume yet again.