OPINION

Ugly 'good folk' truth

Re: "Time to cut the 'superior' down to size", (Opinion, Aug 18).

Paritta Wangkiat is to be commended for so clearly stating the ugly truth that those who think themselves the "good" rarely have a moral leg to stand on as they kick everyone that gets in the way of their traditional power, perks and impunity. The obvious examples from recent history are Suthep Thaugsuban's PDRC mobs, those colluding with or demanding the overthrow of yet another Thai constitution, and their rule of law made up to oppose democracy.

Thankfully Thailand has such morally exemplary heroes as the courageous Jatupat Boonpattararaksa, Chula's Netiwit and a few others inject a much needed breath of healthy air into the moral stagnation that has too long passed as "good" in Thailand. Good people, as opposed to self-adulating "good" people, neither make up nor use the rule of law to imprison or intimidate the truly good people working for a more just, morally stronger and wholesomely secure nation.

In her Aug 18 comment, Khun Paritta Wangkiat opined that "it is important for us to start asking why we think established values or beliefs of the majority should reign supreme over others. It's clear we must urgently examine our society and its structural problems".

If you wish to live in a democratic society then the majority view prevails subject to some protection of minority rights. Is it society that is at fault or our practice of democracy? All too often we see that democracy is just a fig leaf to allow powerful groups (our "superiors") to serve their own ends and interests. The parties in the US, UK or Thailand are just as self serving as Vladimir Putin, or the Communist Party of China. What we should urgently examine is how we can make democracy work better. Our elected "superiors" are part of the problem.

Democracies around the world are failing to deliver because we have lost sight of three things in my view. First that elected members are supposed to be representatives of their constituents first and party members second. Too often they are just party rubber stampers, not much different to delegates to the party congress in China. When was the last time we saw a rebellion against the party whip in Thailand? We must return to electing proper representatives not party hacks.

Second, the politicians chosen either as representatives or members of the executive must be honest and govern with integrity. Nobody believes politicians any more because they lie and mislead so often. This integrity must extend to being realistic about what is affordable and possible when putting forwards policies. Populism is a form of dishonesty because it pretends there are no limits to government largesse and resources. An honest politician has to say no to or at least prioritise the wishes of the people when making policy promises. We need a different quality of politician. But who elects the politicians and falls for their populist promises time and again?

The voters are the essential third part of this story. All sides have conspired to leave voters feeling disconnected from their politicians and the results of their vote. It is nothing to do with coups, but because all of the parties actually have been dishonest in their promises and none have actually followed the principle of government of the people, for the people, by the people when in power.

The core structural change that needs to occur is for voters to take up their responsibility to assess and select representatives and leaders to govern in the interests of the country and all its people, rather than in their own narrow self interest. The media has a vital role to educate and inform the citizenry about this important task and the vital need to perform it thoughtfully and wisely. If we want a different outcome we must make different choices at the forthcoming election regarding both the qualities of our representatives and how they will govern.

Re: "The ABCs of bad transport policy plans", (Opinion, Aug 10).

I have lived in South Korea for the past two years. When I arrived in the country, I was impressed with its clean and efficient public transportation system. Its extensive subway system is world-renowned, but what is less known is its excellent bus system. Should Bangkok wish to adopt the public bus system from South Korea, it should do so according to its actual functions and implementations.

All buses are air-conditioned and installed with comfortable seats. There are also clearly labelled seats designated for the elderly and disabled, which occupy the front half of the bus. At every bus stop there are clear map routes indicating the buses that pass through as well as their destinations, operating time, and frequency.

Crucially, South Korea employs the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) to its buses. At every bus stop, a small screen indicates precisely when your bus will arrive. The real-time information is so accurate that commuters can even see when their bus has left the previous stop! Such reliability may be difficult in Thailand, where traffic is chronically bad.

The colour-coded scheme in South Korea is different from what has been adopted in Bangkok. The colours of the bus (and yes, the paint covers the entire body of the bus!) are not zone-designated as in Bangkok's case, but rather indicates the purpose and function of the bus. Blue indicates a bus that runs regular, middle-range routes, and green for buses that run through smaller neighbourhoods and alleys or to mountainous suburban areas. Neither Korean nor Thai commuters need to know which bus colours operate in which zone of the city (north, south, east, west); hence, Bangkok's latest colour-scheme adaptation entirely misses the mark.

The South Korean government provides guide maps detailing all bus routes in the form of booklets and online both in Korean and English, so locals and tourists can easily access them. Most of the current information available online is in Korean, although I have already seen some genuine efforts to increase English-language access in the relevant applications.

Finally, paying for the bus fare is a breeze, since apart from the pre-paid transportation card option, one can even use their bank debit card to pay for both buses and subway rides! Furthermore, buses run frequently and it is illegal for bus drivers to skip stops. Therefore, two-hour waiting times that have been mentioned among Thai commuters is unheard of here.

Dear BMTA, et al,

It is self evident that the BMTA lacks the basic business sense to manage a change of this magnitude intelligently. Any large business making a sweeping change to its operations knows the effect this may have on its employees and customers so it takes certain steps to insure a smooth transition. These may include intensive training, employee input and often running the old system in tandem with the new during a testing period. This is where the BMTA failed. It could have listed the old route numbers along with the new ones on the bus front for a 30-day period or put the old number on a windshield placard thereby smoothing the way for riders unfamiliar with the new characters. It could have just added the English font to the old bus route, that is, B204, B73 on so on, rather than drop the old numbers completely.

As an expat I am unable to read Thai, yet today I noticed the signage placed at the local bus stops were completely in Thai leaving me totally in the dark as to the route changes on the 73 and 204 routes that I take on a daily basis. There is adequate room on the placard to have put the English stop name beneath the Thai stop making the new sign more "farang friendly".

Additionally, the entire concept of this reforming the bus system is laughable. Forty-year-old smoke belching diesel non-air con buses arriving at a stop three and four at a time and losing 8 baht per rider is not going to change with a coat of paint and a fancy number. Nor will it improve scheduling until dedicated bus lanes, usually the sidewalk lane, are put into use and enforced. At Indra Square and Central World we often have to cross two or three lanes of traffic to reach a bus as the sidewalk lane is blocked by tuk-tuks, taxis and mini vans.

Finally, the PM could use his magical Section 44 to appropriate the 489 brand new buses sitting on a dock somewhere, rotting, while the sight of a broken-down bus or more is a daily occurrence here in the City of Indra.

Maybe cabinet members should have to spend one week travelling by public transportation to see the horror we regular people endure on a daily basis.

The single-line situation at Saphan Taksin BTS station is not the major problem causing overcrowding. It's simply the lack of trains and insufficient carriages per train. This is clearly illustrated on the Sukhumvit line with worse overcrowding both on trains and at many stations where confusion reigns.

The proposed Taksin station expansion will take an estimated two years and cost one billion baht. The station will be closed for that period and our planners are considering the use of shuttle buses to haul thousands of passengers to that area! I'm sure most would prefer admiring river views for a couple of minutes rather than sit in the horrendous Sathon Road traffic for half an hour or so.

Before making a decision the authorities should try adding more trains and carriages to the system. Even the shorter Saphan Taksin station platform could handle five carriages. Also let's wait until several other BTS and MRT extensions which cross the river are operational. These extra lines may well reduce passenger traffic on the Silom Line and make it manageable again. Many tourists may elect to use the MRT Blue Line station at Sanam Chai which is a short walk to Wat Pho and many other attractions.

It is so sad to read every day about the continued disassembling of the great American past. A few statues here, a plaque there, an "offensive" flag, a sign, and so on. Soon the US will be the most politically correct country in the world, like bland against bland, not a distinguishing thing left. Wait, wait. When there is nothing else to disassemble, the Washington and Lincoln monuments will follow. The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia along with the old US Constitution. The American flag will be redesigned … a piece of white cloth with no design, no pattern. Perhaps it will be made of cellophane, clear, invisible. And God help the Statue of Liberty. It's coming folks. Even the Russians did not obliterate the past by removing every statue of Stalin or Lenin. Neither did the Chinese with Mao pictures and statues. American over-reaction, real knee-jerk, will leave history books with no pictures, perhaps also to be rewritten. The US is going the way of the typewriter, the rotary dial phone, and more. Soon America itself will be a thing of the past.

I just trashed my 1946 copy of Disney's Song of the South. Don't wanna be accused of racism. My cleaning lady might find it while dusting off vintage, classic movies.

Someone should remind the military that those living in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.