Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha should focus not only on catching rogue cops, but on preventing such crimes from happening.
For example, I praise PM Prayut for arresting ex-Central Investigation Bureau chief Pongpat, trying him, and jailing him for demanding money for police promotions (among other crimes).
But PM Prayut should also prevent would-be rogues from doing the same by changing the police evaluation and promotion system.
He should, for starters, have key performance indicators that are job-related, clear, public and measurable for all positions.
Evaluation and promotion at the station commander level and above should be done by a board controlled by the community being served.
The fight against corruption will not succeed until we have top-to-bottom reform of police processes as well as cleansing.
Burin Kantabutra
US must step back
Ms Maier-Knapp in her opinion piece on Feb 28 ("Are US-Thai relations losing their warmth?") rightly points out that the US's persistent call for elections in Thailand is irritating Thais.
After 18 attempts it is obvious Thais have concluded that democracy is not an easy or comfortable fit for Thailand.
Although the US would sincerely like to see a working democracy in Thailand, it is not going to happen. At least not easily and not soon.
The US should back off and assume a more understanding position and realise that Thailand is not in the mood for another election-riot-coup cycle.
The US has established good working relations with many non-democratic countries and Thailand should be no exception.
Paul Conley
Drunks and rats
My wife and I live on Soi Yommarat, just off Soi Saladaeng. Saladaeng is a delightful little road that connects Sathorn to Silom.
The area attracts some tourists, but not so many that it has lost its Thai charm. There are little coffee shops, restaurants and an open-air market. Unfortunately, there are also rats and drunks.
The rat problem has existed for years, and the city has tried to alleviate it by putting large garbage cans on the street. Vendors and passersby use them, and they’ve helped; but they haven’t solved the problem.
More garbage accumulates than the cans can hold, and the rats dive in. In one area they’ve become so plentiful that we cross the street to avoid them.
We prefer not to be bitten by a scared rat. More garbage cans might not be practical. Emptying the existing ones more often might solve the problem.
The drunk problem is more recent.
Over the past couple of months, three or four drunks have begun congregating on the soi.
They occupy the sidewalk, forcing pedestrians to walk around them. On one occasion, one took a casual swipe at my wife’s purse. An unaccompanied woman shouldn’t have to deal with this.
Further, it’s reasonable to assume the same thing will eventually happen when a woman has a man in tow. The outcome will depend on how the man reacts to having his wife or girlfriend bothered by a group of drunks. At best, it would be mildly unpleasant; at worst, violent.
I understand the rat problem might be tricky, although other cities seem to have solved it. The drunk problem should be simple to resolve by one cop with a nightstick. Move them on or lock them up. Problem solved.
Thomas Giesen
Stamp out nepotism
Re: "Prayut deems NLA 'nepotism' acceptable", (BP, March 1).
As a well-wisher, I would like to suggest Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha should not take lightly the news that 57 National Legislative Assembly (NLA) members have used public money to hire immediate relatives as assistants.
According to the news, some of these “assistants” are still students. Some are living abroad, and don’t have anything to do with the work assigned to them at the NLA.
Nepotism and corruption are entwined: allow one to exist, the other will be borne and multiply in size and number.
You can’t say “never mind” to the rodents that are starting to live and multiply in the household.
Vint Chavala
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