| Cum Grano Salis | by Max / thaisouth.com |
How to increase the tourist revenues of 50 billion baht |
While it is good and wise to apply the law in a fair, equal way, and we must rejoice in finally having a government with the guts to do so, it would be also good and wise to act with a pinch of salt (cum grano salis), a minimum of common sense.
Sadly common sense is something lacking in Thai politics and especially in Thai politicians.
While it is good and wise to apply the law in a fair, equal way, if we find the law is not good and wise we should amend it or modify it, and transform it in a good, wise and useful law.
The law imposing all entertainment venues to close at 2 AM doesn't make much sense in the Tourist Paradise of Asia, but it is not such a terrible inconvenience as well. It would be nice to be able to stay in a pub and drink beer until 3 or 4 in the morning, but we can survive if we can't.
The authorities, central and local, are now "zoning", deciding which area is to be considered "entertainment area" and which area should not. In doing so they are not showing, it seems, so much common sense.
One sad example of the effects of this "zoning", came to my attention a few days ago:
The "Secret Garden" in Koh Samui is now in a "residential area" and it will not be allowed any longer live music (not even until 2 AM).
The "Secret Garden" is an institution in Koh Samui, performing live concerts every Sunday from more than 10 years. Live concerts with good music. Live concerts that are now famous worldwide, with hundreds of people participating every Sunday night.
A good live concert is not just entertainment. A good live concert is not just music or just people getting together or just another way to make money. A good live concert is CULTURE.
On an island already so much suffering from tourist "development", where you can walk for many kilometers along the Chaweng Beach road and never see the sea, where you can hardly find a restaurant worth eating and most of the services offered (beginning from the ferry) are hardly worth the money they ask for them, the concerts at the Secret Garden will be badly missed.
Let's apply the law; let's apply all the laws of the land to all the people in an equal way. This is fair and good and reasonable. But when the law is already lacking common sense, amending it to be even worse, mining the foundations of the tourist industry and eroding one of the main sources of revenue for the country, doesn't seem to me very bright.
Let's apply the law; let's apply all the laws of the land to all the people in an equal way, including the murderer (and draft dodging) sons of some famous Thai political contortionist.
submitted by Max / thaisouth.com
· 22-03-2002 |
| In
case you want to respond to this article, please use The Guestbook. |
| <-- back
to NEWS listing |
CHECK EMAIL 
THAILAND
