Postbag: A toast to Thai elections

Postbag

Published: 26 Feb 2013 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

Re: ''Judy vs Porky? A sobering thought'' (BP, Feb 24). It seems like Thailand has a strange fascination with banning the sale of alcohol on special days. No alcohol, no bribes, no partying and no nonsense, Thai elections are a serious business. Just go to the polling booth and cast your ballot and elect your favourite saviour. It is assumed that without alcohol in their system Thai citizens will make a smart choice on the ballot paper. After all, ticking the ballot is a tricky business.

And I am sure voters will have a hard time finding something to drink on the way to the polls? Just go to some mom-and-pop store anywhere and get what you want.

Banners, bribes and booze have become the most important ingredients in politics. In older democracies of the West, people cannot decide on their favourite candidate without a few pints of beer and brawls in the neighbourhood bars. In the West, elections are mostly about winning; they are like any other competitive sport. After the election results are out all sides find their own reasons to get high; winners toast to their triumph and losers drink to their grim performance and prospects. Both sides get drunk to get over the exhausting campaigns.

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BRRMBOB
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Discussion 7 : 26 Feb 2013 at 12.387
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My GF's friend runs one of these sidewalk noodle places. She grosses well over 100k a month. Poor indeed.
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pwj
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Discussion 6 : 26 Feb 2013 at 12.086
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Just a thought on the alochol shut downs on election and religious days.
These restrictions invariably catch most tourists (and some expats) totally by surprise.
So I have never figured out why shops and supermarkets dont put up a warning notice the day before.

How about "If you want to drink alcohol tomorrow buy now as we cannot sell tomorrow".

At least then foreigners would have a choice which they certainly will not on the actual religious/election day. Could it be that this is regarded as a big game and no one really wants foreigners to know until too late?
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bigpicture
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Discussion 5 : 26 Feb 2013 at 11.255
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Banned: Widen the sidewalks to compensate for the impediments that are not supposed to be there in the first place...amazing thinking. A "Thai experience"..I agree, that it is an experience but who is pocketing the payoffs for being able to continue to sell on the sidewalks? Probably to some of the shop owner's themselves but I believe that there is fair amount going somewhere else. Maybe there should be "zones for selling" initiated so I would know specific areas where I must walk in the road along with the motorbikes and taxis looking to get some someplace quickly. Most likely someone would be taking a piece of the "zone" pipe as well.
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egon
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Discussion 4 : 26 Feb 2013 at 10.234
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Yankeleh.Excellent!In a homorous way you point out the lunacy of this policy.
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dao
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Discussion 3 : 26 Feb 2013 at 09.233
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Developing countries have the luxury of playing both sides of the poor card .Corruption flourishes under these conditions .Depending on who is corrupt though it can just be called democracy and swept under the rug .
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banned
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Discussion 2 : 26 Feb 2013 at 06.542
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@Ricardo I agree completely, plus...the vendors are poor in all senses of the word, poor work conditions, poor income, poor education and poor housing for the most part. Vendors on footpaths are part of the Thai experience, perhaps the footpaths could be widened to accommodate more traffic. But we should not be forcing these poor folks away from their very source of income no matter how tiresome it can be threading through them.
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bkkmatt
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Discussion 1 : 26 Feb 2013 at 03.321
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I find the alcohol ban for election days amusing to say the least.
Do the Govt not trust their citizens to stay sober enough to remember who to vote for, or is it just another controlling method?
This ban also happens daily between 2-5 (silly idea again) but only at supermarkets and 7 11's so you go to the little mom and pop shops to buy booze. Like most other things in Thailand if you really want something and you have money you can get anything at anytime.
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Postbag: A toast to Thai elections | Bangkok Post: opinion