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Drastic acts to defend rights
Sunday Star 1/5/2005 THAI TAKES BY FOO YEE PING

THAI consumers, going by a number of well-publicised cases recently, seem more than ready for combat to defend their rights.

Their manner of airing their grievances is quite creative, albeit rather drastic sometimes.

Whichever way you look at it, Malaysian consumers have yet to beat their Thai counterparts in making their voice heard.

Just last week, a Bangkok homeowner caught the attention of the media and, more importantly, the authorities, when she painted her whole house black to “mourn” the way she had been duped into buying a property that was earmarked for demolition.

“Tell the prime minister to come and take this house. I’ll give it to him,” she reportedly said.

The district authorities maintained that the house was sited on public land where a roundabout was supposed to be constructed.

But the owner, Rattana Sajathep, stood her ground. Having fought the demolition order for 11 years, she decided to paint the house black a fortnight ago and accused the authorities of being insensitive to victims like her.

She also claimed that the housing developer and certain officials, through the issuance of dubious land titles, were part of a scam to mislead house buyers.

Her story went to the press, and the district office director subsequently explained that he was the seventh person to deal with the case, which began a decade ago.

He apparently conceded that there was a scam that involved several city officials.

Now, Bangkok governor Apirak Kosayodhin has directed a search for a new house for Rattana. He also gave his word that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration would foot the bill.

Rattana’s way of resorting to giving her house a new coat of paint is pretty mild compared to the action taken by a number of motorists.

Exasperated with the multiple defects found in their car, they decided to bash up their vehicles.

It all started four months ago when a woman, using all her might, took a sledgehammer to her two-month-old Honda in protest against the car-maker who, she claimed, had been indifferent to her complaints.

Besides smashing the windscreen, Duenpen Silaket, 28, also destroyed the bonnet of the Bt1.3mil car, which was covered with a notice stating “Let us mourn for Honda.”

Her very public act on a major Bangkok road was witnessed by scores of people. She was even slightly injured by the shattered windscreen.

“At first I was not so worried about the squeaking noise from the engine, or the fact that the car would automatically steer left. But the problems got worse, and I was repeatedly unable to start my engine,” she said.

Honda Automobile Thailand Co Ltd issued an apology and arranged to talk with her. Duenpen’s brazen protest spawned a number of copycat acts.

One man, for instance, poured petrol on his Nissan Cefiro and set it on fire to protest what he alleged were inadequate safety features. These bold acts have led to great discussions among Thais.

Surely such aggressive behaviour is un-Thai? Wouldn’t this dent Thailand’s ambition to become the Detroit of the East?

An Indonesian colleague remarked, tongue in cheek: “Why don’t they just give their car to me?” But as a number of people have noted, times are changing and most consumers are no longer willing to sit still and be quiet if they think they have been wronged.

When a forum for unhappy consumers was held at Thammasat University last Sunday, 1,000 people turned up. This was double the original target of the organiser.

Their grievances would ring a bell with Malaysians – poor finishing in newly-built homes, housing developers demanding extra charges, and so forth. For the companies involved, surely such cases are a black eye to them.
 

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