Re: “UDD doubts arrested ‘men in black’” (Online, Sept 11). Veerakarn Musikapong and Weng Tojirakarn, core leaders of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), cast doubt on whether the five “men in black” who were arrested are the true culprits or not. The two said that if the suspects were genuine, it is good news. But they suspect this is not the case.
In my opinion, the murders of soldiers in the 2010 riots have been left untouched and unattended for too long by the police. People have been anxious to find out the truth.
A 2010 photo shows a red-shirt supporter in stolen military riot gear during protest clashes. Police have arrested five ‘men in black’ allegedly involved in the deadly violence. APICHART JINAKUL
The culprits behind these killings are most vicious for attempting to escalate the political conflict through murder. The arrests and trial in this case should be the beginning of exposing who controlled those who carried out the attacks.
Vint Chavala
Give coup a chance
Re: “Amnesty International launches anti-coup report” (Online, Sept 11).
I realise Thailand’s human rights record is not perfect, but Amnesty International should look at the broader picture. Would they rather go back to the “human rights” situation prior to May 22 this year with innocent people and children being maimed and killed on the streets of Bangkok on a daily basis?
Give the coup-makers a chance if they are true to their words. In 15 months’ time, the country will have a civilian government. If this will be a good thing, only history will tell.
Brian Stocks
The forgotten Thais
Re: “New crackdown on criticism has ominous overtones” (Opinion, Sept 9).
Achara Ashayagachat depresses me. But I mean that as a compliment. She writes articles about people I call: “The forgotten Thais”. The forgotten Thais are not the pseudo-intellectual elitists who write letters to the English-language press in Thailand telling us how marvellous everything is now.
Rather, these are the people who feel intimidated because of something they may have said, or because of some political activity they were involved in. Some of them have recently been thrown in jail.
I’m not saying these people are innocent or guilty or that the government is wrong. But I am saying I hope these people are being treated fairly. And more importantly I hope they haven’t been totally forgotten.
Eric Bahrt
Thaksin unleashed
Re: “Thaksin to meet up with loyalists in HK” (BP, Sept 9).
Thaksin Shinawatra is rounding up his associates, former MPs, Pheu Thai members and red-shirt activists for a meeting in Hong Kong.
What horrors are in line for Thailand this time? Are relations between China, Hong Kong and Thailand affected by the fact they are letting the fugitive interfere in Thai politics on Hong Kong soil? Where are the protests? And does the runaway really still fly around the world freely on a Thai passport?
A Johnsen
Inequities abound
Years ago, during the Abhisit Vejjajiva administration, I complained that the top 20% of Thais made 55% of the income in Thailand. On Sept 11, 2013, I read that the top 1% in the US earned more than 19% of US household income, and that the top 10% earned a record 48.2% of total US income.
Then I shut up about Thailand, because the US numbers show much greater income inequity. Since 2009, some 95% of US income gains have gone to the top 1%.
Because of the coup, foreign news media are now writing about Thailand, but I have waited a full year for them to write more about the inequity issue in the US — to no avail.
Guy Baker
Dangerous do-gooder
Re: “Teacher tackles the traffic” (BP, Sept 10).
I read with alarm the story of the well-intentioned director of Pratuangthip Wittaya School who directs traffic outside her school.
A number of questions instantly come to mind, including: Is the good lady qualified or authorised to direct traffic? By her own admission, she has never attended any related training course. Why aren’t the local traffic police doing the job? In the event of a collision, who will be responsible for the the damage, injury or worse? I can’t believe this “accident waiting to happen” has the approval of the police or insurance companies.
Do we really want to set a precedent and allow untrained citizens, however sincere, to take responsibility for the serious task of traffic control? This is a job for professionals with legal authority. The widespread praise from TV viewers and social network followers is entirely misplaced and could encourage dangerous copy-cat behaviour.
Arty A Driver
First-class teacher
Re: “Teacher tackles the traffic” (BP, Sept 10).
I really appreciate the school director who volunteers as a traffic officer in front of her school. As school director, she need not to do the task, but is making a great effort to better her local area. If we all did the same, many local areas would be improved.
Sutipunt Bongsununt
The problem isn’t sex
Re: “In Sin City, locals left hoping for a miracle” (Spectrum, Sept 7).
Every city has its problems relating to sex. Prostitution precedes biblical mentions. The real, unreported problems in Pattaya are still unaddressed. The tonnes of raw sewage being pumped into the water, the dead rats, faeces, the garbage floating offshore and washed up onto the beaches are enough to make anyone puke. A friend who owns a boat tells me there is not one pumping station at any of the marinas to pump out human waste from boat septic containers.
An ophthalmologist I recently talked to in Pattaya told me she sees and treats more than 250 cases of eye disease each week, all from the filthy water that people swim in. So Pattaya, if you want to clean up your act, start with the filthy water, the untreated, raw sewage, the lack of boat off-pump facilities, and more.
Clean up the sexpot aspect and you are not even coming near the top of your problems. I wouldn’t swim or go into the water at any Pattaya beach, even wearing a full deep-sea diving kit. Bobby Kennedy once joked that if you fell into New York’s Hudson River you’d die from the pollution before you drowned. The Hudson has been cleaned up. Now Pattaya has the same distinction.
Charcoal Ridgeback
Pay mums a salary
Re: “Thai teenage pregnancy rate rising” (BP, Sept 9).
What’s wrong with promoting families? Why doesn’t government pay women a salary for having a family and taking care of their house and kids? Are families not the base of society? If women are not mature enough to become mothers, then why do they get their periods?
My grandmother got married at the age of 13, my mother at age 14, and I did when I was 17. Having a husband or children was never any obstacle to my becoming a doctor. But I am actually unhappy that I became a doctor and wish I was a housewife instead.
Dr Nury Brillid Guzman Avila
Unfair on textile firms
Re: “Holding off the sunset” (Asia Focus, Sept 8).
The article about textile producers in Thailand is timely and well-researched but I would like to add the following points.
The Board of Investment (BoI) introduced Zone 1, 2 and 3 classifications to spread industrialisation to the provinces. This was good. Minimum wages were lower in zones further from Bangkok. Attracted by this, companies like ours (Lucky Spinning Ltd) invested in provinces away from Bangkok.
The BoI has now withdrawn the zone policy and the minimum wage is 300 baht all over Thailand. We now have the huge disadvantage of high freight costs, since our cotton has to be driven to us from a Bangkok port, then our finished goods have to be freighted back to the port by road. The BoI also insists that we can’t employ foreign labour. This is unfair. The government should consider transport compensation and allow foreign workers to be employed.
Devadas Dhamodaraswamy
President and chief operating officer
Lucky Group
College revamp due
Re: “Skilled workers tool up for AEC entry” (BP, Sept 7).
Vocational colleges must upgrade their curricula to offer higher and specific technical skills training. To do this, college teaching staff and facilities must also improve. Aside from government funding, colleges should ask for support from the private sector in exchange for supplying potential recruits to meet their demands. Student admission standards should be raised, and colleges should no longer be the place for university drop-outs.
The wages and benefits scale for blue collar workers must also be revised. Skilled workers should be positioned on higher pay scales than non-skilled workers. The pay scale for skilled workers should be equivalent to or higher than what is offered to inexperienced white collar workers.
These changes would encourage high school graduates to go to technical colleges and deliver much-needed skilled employees.
R H Suga
Send plastic packing
Re: “It’s in the bag” (Brunch, Sept 7).
Khun Suthon Sukphisit appropriately lamented the demise of traditional cloth shopping bags and banana-leaf food wrappings.
Many decades ago, I was amused to have a single carton of breakfast cereal first wrapped in the firm’s house paper, then tied up in string, with a little finger loop for ease of carrying. That was in the ultra-traditional Fortnum & Mason shop in London (established in 1707). These days they, also, often use plastic bags to pack purchases.
This unwelcome but almost universal change to plastic bags is a global phenomenon.
Vast numbers of plastic bags are readily given out daily here in Thailand. Perhaps the advent of a plastic bag charge, as introduced successfully in Hong Kong several years ago, would help to foster the re-use of plastic bags? It might even encourage more people to bring along their own cloth bags, or traditional hand-woven shopping baskets.
Paul Surtees
Paying to watch ads
Do you remember the good old days when television shows started on time, and satellite TV had no paid commercials? Turning on satellite TV nowadays, you find many programmes starting three to four minutes or more late and there are as many as 10 paid commercials in each commercial break every 15 minutes.
It is bad enough that subscribers who pay expensive fees still have to watch paid commercials on satellite TV. There is a major movement in USA to stop all advertising on satellite television. I hope Thai people can see the logic behind this, and do the same here.
Sir William of Doodadshire