Srettha: Protecting rights is a year-round challenge

Former PM says LGBTQ+ people don’t want special rights, just equal rights

Thailand needs to keep supporting the spirit behind Pride Month to ensure LGBTQ+ rights are protected and people are treated equally, said former prime minister Srettha Thavisin.

He made the remarks on Wednesday at the Bangkok Post forum held under the theme “Pride in Action: Together Now, Together Always” to celebrate Pride Month, at Lido Connect in Siam Square.

Citing the Marriage Equality Act enacted on Jan 23, Mr Srettha said more efforts must be made to ensure LGBTQ+ people are protected under the law and are treated with dignity.

Mr Srettha has been a strong advocate for LGBTQ+ rights in his business and political career. He played an active role in pressing for the Marriage Equality Bill to become the law of the land.

He said LGBTQ+ people are not seeking any special rights; rather, they just want to enjoy the same benefits as other members of society.

Thailand has been celebrating June as Pride Month for the past four or five years, and is considered a highly tolerant country when it comes to people’s sexual preferences.

Mr Srettha said promoting LGBTQ+ rights should be a constant practice, not just something that people focus on for one month of the year.

He said society should embrace people as they are, rather than just “tolerate” those with different sexual identities and preferences.

“It is kind of odd to me why we need to celebrate ‘Pride Month’ when the advocacy should be an everyday practice, because LGBTQ+ individuals are not asking for special or superior rights,” he told the audience.

“They are just asking for equal rights, and that is the idea I started to think about around 10 years ago, and I realised it is common sense that they should have equal rights, and equal rights must be practised everywhere, not just seen as a concept we come to celebrate for only one month in a year.”

Overcoming obstacles

Mr Srettha recalled facing a number of obstacles during the passing of the Marriage Equality Act, including from MPs of various religious faiths in different political parties.

But even though their religious backgrounds made them unable to support the legislation, many decided to abstain, he noted, which enabled the bill to be passed unanimously during its Lower House reading.

However, he described the Marriage Equality Act as merely the first step towards true equality.

Thailand still needs to work on many more laws, such as the Gender Recognition Bill, which allows people to choose their title according to their preferred gender.

This is especially pertinent for transgender people, he said, who still face discrimination, for example, during the immigration process.

Mr Srettha said some people are trying to obstruct this bill from being passed. Some complain it could be used by teenagers to avoid compulsory military conscription.

Mr Srettha said such issues should be addressed through the legislative process and this should not be used as an excuse to deny the law from being passed.

Equal opportunity lending

Prior to the enactment of the Marriage Equality Act, he said his property firm, Sansiri Plc, worked with Siam Commercial Bank in allowing joint loans for same-sex couples so they could buy homes together. This set a new milestone in terms of granting co-loans for same-sex couples, he noted.

After the bill passed, many businesses started to follow this practice in ensuring equal financial rights for LGBTQ+ couples, Mr Srettha added.

That being said, he noted that he was stunned to learn gay couples would still fare worse on the scoring system related to how such loans are dispensed.

“There is still some discrimination. Even though the law forbids that, in practice, people need to really understand the concept of equality,” he said.

He also cited other legislation, such as the bill to decriminalise sex work, which the current administration under Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has highlighted as a priority to make Thailand inclusive and safe for all.

Mr Srettha said other areas of concern that still require some work include inclusive healthcare for transgender people, such as hormonal therapy. He said the government may consider including such therapy under its universal healthcare programme.

“Although it may be expensive, we have to consider it is necessary,” he said.

He said the workplace should also be a safe space for all and that channels for reporting discrimination against LGBTQ+ people must be available.

“If I’m not contradicting myself, that’s the reason why we still need Pride Month. So people can be aware of and understand [about equal rights]. We need to keep the expression of embracing diversity like this.”