Michael Setter questions how the Kingdom of Thailand could be called a “people’s state” when the people have no voice and no chance for their presence to be felt.
The official name of most communist countries contains the word “people” and China is no different — the People’s Republic of China. In any communist country, which is basically a dictatorship, people’s rights are extremely limited: No free and fair elections, no public demonstrations, no criticism of the government, no free speech, propaganda through government-controlled media, indoctrination in schools, arbitrary arrest and “attitude adjustment” for those who do not toe the line.
When one considers the junta’s enthusiasm for things Chinese such as trains, submarines and closer military cooperation, one can see why the misnomer “people’s state” has been used.
Chris Boyle
The untouchables
So let me just get this right, 32 police officers are moved to “inactive” posts (garden leave?) for their direct involvement in the horrific human trafficking trade (BP, Sept 22). No mention of their names, ranks, the seriousness of their crimes or of course, the recouping of the countless billions of baht that have been made illegally by those forces paid to protect?
The stalling fiasco over Mr T’s rank stripping still looms large and we are left wondering what someone has got to be found guilty of in Thailand to actually lose the undoubted privilege of a police rank? Is the institutional protection from its own hierarchy in any way connected to the fact that at least some of the golden eggs of corruption will always find their way to the top of the pyramid scheme?
Brother Grimm
A matter of discipline
Bereleh and David James Wong in their Sept 22 letters are both missing an essential point.
These are young naval cadets being trained to become part of the elite of the Thai armed forces. As such they are subject to naval discipline. If they are ordered not to use their mobile telephones and they use them, they are disobeying a lawful command. The punishment they receive is not for using their telephones; it is for disobeying a lawful command. That is a fine distinction that perhaps escapes you.
Theoretically they could be charged under naval disciplinary regulations but I suspect some of them would prefer the summary jurisdiction of a smashed telephone to having a conviction recorded on their naval records.
Bleeding hearts, namby-pambies and civil liberationists can scream until they are blue in the face, but the fact is that in armed forces around the world it is prerequisite that officers and ranks understand that orders are orders.
David Brown
Painting a false picture
I just read another US news media article in which Thailand’s economy was described as the “worst in Asia”.
On the internet, I looked up “Explaining the World through Macroeconomic Analysis” by Reem Heakal.
Heakal writes that: “Macroeconomic analysis broadly focuses on three things: 1) national output measured by gross domestic product (GDP), 2) unemployment and 3) inflation.”
There was no mention of “debt” on the page.
Other summaries online also did not mention it, or they gave debt the “short shrift”.
How can an economy be declared “best” or “worst” without factoring in debt?
Considering Thailand’s debt situation (not great but not terrible), I would call Thailand’s economy “stable” and as having no real obstacles to potential future growth.
Ignoring debt in the overall analysis looks very suspicious to me.
Guy Baker
Broken promises
I just bought some wardrobes at IKEA in Bang Na.
Interesting to learn delivery and installation is conducted by external contractors.
Once the 77,000-baht purchase was made I was told at the home delivery service counter they could not cut skirting boards to make room for the wardrobes, nor could they fit lighting purchased to illuminate the interior of the wardrobes.
Lighting installation was promised by IKEA staff.
Carl Carthy
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