FREE TCDC. FREE THAI.

Duangrit Bunnag

Now you may have all heard of TCDC, Thailand Creative & Design Center.  The place that were created by Thai people for Thai people and is about to be closed down by, so called, Thai people, though its operation cost is lower than a cleaning cost for the public toilets in Paris.

You may also have heard that the place is a composition of 15,000 design books library and 2,000 square meter exhibition, working in concert to make all younger and professional to fall into the passion of design and keep stimulate.

The only agent in the world created to make its member become more creative.

You may already think this is a good idea. 

Unfortunately, somebody did not agree so.

They are doing everything, as opposite to being creative, to lessen the profile of this agency: re-structure or re-locating, for example.  They are all the executive board of OKMD, the mother organisation of TCDC.

TCDC is made to make Thai society become more creative.  Creative is good for several things: Economy, management, business and also design.  Design is a foundation to all manufacturing.  There will be no industrial product at all without an effort to design it in the first place.  A better design delivers a better product.  Thus, result a better business and better economics.  TCDC is making creative citizen for all those particular reasons.

Is it good to have a creative citizen? Of cause, it is, unless you are the military government or absolute dictator who wants to rule the society with the iron fist.  Creative citizen will be bad for you because they can rationalise and anticipate your action.   They do not allow you to have run the country smoothly with an absolute power and control.

Creative citizen is not good for dictatorship because, somehow, they think.

Creative staff is also not good for an unimaginative boss because they will outrun him eventually.

Creative student can also be such a trouble for an unimaginative teacher.  Because there will be no way the teacher can teach him to be more creative.

So, running an agency to make people being more creative is undoubtedly difficult.  They have to be run with a people of highest capacity:  The people who are the cream of the crop otherwise, there will be no chance to deliver its purpose.  Finding these people is difficult but having them working with agency seems to be almost impossible.  These cream of the crops normally, always already, having a highest salary in every organisation.  Positive attitude is as difficult to find as their capacity.  Lesser minds are not to run a mere sophisticated institution.  Or are they?

The question to conversation now is whether OKMD is now running with lesser mentality than its sub-organisation.  What is the vision of OKMD is now becoming vague.  The ability of the organisation is now limited to the vision of its board.  Unlike the original management that established a tangible promise to our children of the future, the major conversation of this board is all about how to run this organisation cheaply.

Isn’t it a necessary that all the board member need to know what they were supposed to do before they got their job and got paid by our tax money?  Why are we all paying someone who doesn’t know what to do with one of the most profound organisation that responsible for the citizen informal education?  Structurally speaking, they did come in through a major consensus of a democratised system. They are simply a people with lesser capacity that did not come from people.  And they are making a big mistake on our tax money.  And they just simply do not listen.

It would not be a surprise to hear such a story from another governing system beyond a monarchy democratic system as one written in the Constitution of Thailand. It will be easier for anyone who rule a society of idiots who always keep their mouths shut.  But we are Thai people.  Thai people who are bound to be creative.  Thai people who love peace but will not afraid to fight for their free will under the constitution and laws.

I strongly urge OKMD and TCDC to be freed from the inadequate board members.  Free TCDC for a better creative society.  Free TCDC for Thai people.  We speak because we are also Thai people.  And we are not afraid to campaign for our freedom.  That is the word Thai is meant. Free TCDC.  Free Thai.