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Published on March 31, 2008

 To our shock and horror, the answers he gave to simple questions we asked were unrecognisable as pertaining to any aspect of economics we were aware of.

Effective human-resource improvement via the Thai educational system will require a long gestation period. Unfortunately, Thailand has not taken the opportunity to attract the good-quality human resources that are readily found in the available global pool.

By "good-quality human resources", I do not mean expats who barely possess sufficient capital to qualify for entry and residency,  but rather foreigners who will contribute to enriching the nation's culture, society and economy. They may not be wealthy but will have the qualities to earn an honest living and live amiably within society.

Under the present criteria, we have expats who are openly rude towards and contemptuous of their Thai colleagues to the extent of being simply obnoxious. Some display anti-social behaviour bordering on paranoia, so that one wonders why they would want to obtain approval to reside in the country - or any country besides their homeland.

On the other hand, there are foreigners who have Thai spouses, officially registered, as well as offspring attending Thai schools. They have been in the country more than 15 years, displaying good behaviour, but still are not officially residents, so that they are required to exit the country continually to renew their visas, which when neglected renders them illegal and subject to official harassment.

The point is the nation needs good human resources, and it is time that good and proper criteria were established, with appropriate systematic screening processes and monitoring procedures to identify long-term/permanent-resident foreigners who will enrich Thailand's human resources, not only economically, but also culturally and socially for posterity.

As an adviser to governments, I have brought up the issue, but it was considered a non-vote-getting one. Also, it may be construed as unpatriotic by some extreme segments of the population.

So it may be well to remember that Thailand owes a lot to its former rulers who had the foresight to incorporate able and capable expats into government service and the larger society.

ANUCHA CHINTAKANOND

ANUCHA CHINTAKANOND is a working-group member of the National Economic and Social Advisory Council and has served as a government and parliamentary adviser on many occasions.

The Nation