Kiss and don't tell

Kiss and don't tell

Re: "BTS kiss backlash" (Opinion, Nov 7). How immature is our society when a couple showing a "public display of affection" prompts the BTS to announce an official hotline to report kissing? Eating and drinking is also prohibited on the BTS, is there a hotline for reporting that? Expressing affection is part of our human nature, but the BTS chairman says "public displays of affection are inappropriate in Thai society".

Chao Phraya river-water hyacinth

It is almost 2015. Is Bangkok a modern, world-class city or not? Perhaps if a little more public affection were shown, we wouldn't experience so much (sexual) violence in Thailand.

The BTS should repair its broken, over-crowded trains before worrying about kissers. And to the few of the 20 million annual passengers who may occasionally witness this horrible act, turn away or get over it.

Jerry Feldman


Alive in the water

I was delighted when our esteemed prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha vowed to eradicate the water hyacinth menace on the Chao Phraya River immediately. This pledge was one of his top priorities, among many other promises.

But myself and my fellow ferry travellers were perplexed to see vast rafts of water hyacinth clogging the waterway every day, and no evidence of any attempt to clear the river of this weed that causes problems for every boat on the river. Is this just a lot of hot air? He may as well be speaking under water.

Wunfer Lefrog


Stuck in their ivory towers

Re: "On the political front, it's curiously quiet" (Opinion, Nov 7).

Thitinan Pongsudhirak decries the military coup for making Thailand look pitiful; Thaksin Shinawatra for underestimating his opponents' wrath when he ordered the amnesty bill to be rammed through Parliament; and the Democrat Party for not being smart enough to compete with Thaksin's political machine in elections.

In my opinion, there's another group that deserves to be blamed too: the academics. Thai academics are good at pinpointing national problems, but are ambiguous and utterly inadequate when it comes to giving advice on how to overcome those problems, based on the knowledge they have. That is another reason why Thailand is stuck where it is.

Vint Chavala


All-American arrogance

PostBag is always one of the first things I read in the paper and although I often disagree with what is being said, it takes a great deal to inspire me to respond to any particular contributor. However, John Arnone's occasional utterings never cease to annoy me, since they usually imply that all things American are always best.

The patently ridiculous "Not in plain English" (PostBag, Nov 8) is a good example of how he perceives other nationalities. Certainly in all countries in Europe, as I suspect in most parts of the world, different regions speak with different accents. Being English myself I know this well. Where I come from in the Midlands the accent is very different to that spoken in London or Liverpool. Do you think we should all be cloned?

Mr Arnone, you say that you have never known anyone not to understand an American, no matter from which part of your country they hail. Let me just say that I must be the exception as I have now given up watching any American TV simply because I can only understand 50% of what is being spoken.

John Wells


Divided we fall

Re: "South doesn't need more gun-slingers" (Opinion, Nov 8).

Life across national borders is always rife with conflict; more so when it involves people of different ethnicity, religions, languages and cultures. The ongoing crises in Palestine, Kashmir, Bangladesh and many other places around the world remind us that a majority cannot force its rule on a minority.

Buddhists might be in the majority, but Thailand is a multi-ethnic and multicultural state. Cities in the South are the victims of weak rule of law. In the past politicians have made many promises to resolve their problems.

To fix governance issues in the deep South, good leaders on both sides must transform existing institutions to cultivate peace and harmony. Until then, we can keep dreaming of that great spectacle in which Buddhists and Muslims will live side-by-side.

Unless leadership changes begin at the very top, nothing will change in the South. Government should promote programmes that involve exchanging roses, not giving guns. We should be inspired by Henry Ford who succinctly put it this way: "Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success."

Kuldeep Nagi


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