From golf course to park: the debate on Thupatemi

Back in August following the PM's policy address to Parliament, Chetawan Thuaprakhon, Member of Parliament for Pathum Thani from the People’s Party and Vice Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Military Affairs Committee, suggested utilising excess military land for public benefit, noting that between them, Thailand’s armed forces own 57 golf courses covering 20,871 rai of prime land.

Chetawan cited in particular the Thupatemi golf course, or Dhupatemiya as it is sometimes transliterated, covering over 625 rai in Lam Luk Ka District, Pathum Thani, which falls under his jurisdiction, which he believes should be repurposed for public use as it lies in the heart of the city. The land is valued at 16.4 million baht per rai, with the total value exceeding 10.25 billion baht.

Currently, the golf course only generates 11 million baht in profit, leading Chetawan to suggest that the Cabinet should pass a resolution to return this state land to the Treasury Department for public use, such as a park, or allow local administrative organisations to apply for its use.

Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit Thoopkrachang, president of the Pathum Thani Provincial Administrative Organization (PAO), for example, had expressed interest in using the land to build a health promotion hospital, he noted.

Last Thursday (October 17), the House of Representatives deliberated on Chetawan’s enquiry, which had been pending for nearly two months.

Chetawan raised two key questions to the government:

Does the government plan to have the Air Force return this land to the Treasury Department, Ministry of Finance, or local administrative organizations for further management? And, secondly, does the government plan to repurpose the Thupatemi Golf Course land for other uses, such as a public park?

Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, assigned by the Prime Minister to address the matter, explained that a special parliamentary committee, chaired by Jirayu Huangsap, is currently discussing the transfer of military-owned businesses to other agencies or relocation to more suitable areas. Three generals are in talks to explore potential uses for these lands.

Phumtham emphasised that the solution must consider the interests of the public, but the issue cannot be resolved immediately as the land in question involves national security, including commercial aircraft defence systems and VIP security.

Chetawan pointed out that the military had previously stated it would comply with a government resolution if ordered, because it was confident that the government might hesitate to issue such an order.

There are several key reasons why the military insists on keeping its golf courses, among them: they serve as exercise facilities for military personnel; they are used to host VVIPs; they help control service prices in private golf courses; and they are considered a matter of national security and serve as welfare benefits for lower-ranking soldiers and their families.

Chetawan noted that if the Thupatemi were converted into a public park, it could benefit the majority of people in Pathum Thani, as well as those in adjacent districts like Lak Si, Don Mueang, and Sai Mai in Bangkok, potentially serving over 500,000 people. Public access for exercise could improve public health and lead to significant savings in healthcare costs. Converting the course into green space would increase the total green area by 1 million square metres and could reduce overall mortality rates by up to 11%, including a 16% decrease in deaths from heart disease due to improved access to exercise areas.

Thus, the question remains for the military: why are the 57 golf courses across the country considered so essential, rather than returning some of the land to the state for broader public use? This would shift the benefit from a small number of generals to the general public, regardless of age, gender, or physical ability.

Of the 57 military-owned golf courses, the Navy operates 4 covering 2,354 rai, the Air Force 13 on 4,047 rai, and the Army a massive 40 courses, occupying 14,470 rai of land.