OPINION

Put support to good use

Heartiest congratulations to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on National Statistical Office poll results showing that 99% of Thais are “satisfied” with his government’s overall performance. I’ve never seen such overwhelming results outside of North Korea.

​Since we are so solidly behind him, virtually nobody would believe or act on any opposition to the junta — giving it the perfect opportunity to allow opinions other than its own, provided ​such views are expressed peacefully, with accountability, and with political tolerance.

With such freedom, universities would be able to moderate learned discussion on issues of the day, and we would not see oddities like the students who wished to peacefully visit Rajabhakti Park being detained — while those who sought to attack them remaining free. Foreign pressure to follow democratic practices would also decrease.

Let’s put our rock-solid support of PM Prayut to good use.

Burin Kantabutra

The incredible increase of the minimum wage in Thailand (to 300 baht a day nationwide) that was introduced a few years ago has made Thaksin Shinawatra and his sister Yingluck the darlings of most Thai voters. However, the harmful effects of such reckless government policy were, to say the least, horrific beyond belief.

The higher wage has not only made Thai workers happy; it has also caused labourers in neighbouring countries to become even more wide-eyed. Pay for one day of work in Thailand would mean an equivalent of three, or even four, days of hard work in their countries.

Hence, migrant labourers from countries such as Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and even Vietnam flocked to Thailand in massive numbers to look for jobs. Most of these migrants are happy to be paid just 250 baht a day, or even less.

There is no need to explain further how the slave-labour situation and the mass murders of Muslim Rohingya migrants have happened in Thailand during the past few years.

Vint Chavala

Jews, Christians and Muslims all worship the same god: the God of Abraham; the Living and the Sustainer.

Christians originally did not believe in the divinity of Jesus. They believed, just like Muslims do, that Jesus was a prophet. Remember the story about the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus? They were the early Christians who followed Jesus correctly and they were persecuted. The same story is found in the Koran. Today’s Christianity was developed by Paul and not Christ himself.

Sad but true is the fact that Muslims today also do not follow the Koran correctly. They follow beside the Koran man-made Hadiths and mix them with God’s words, and thus have moulded the religion of Muhammad into a new form, much different from the original. All the correct religions from the prophets of God such as Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad propagated the worshipping of the one true God without any form of idol worship, be they Jesus or Muhammad or Mary or Ali or whoever.

Take out all the humans from the religious equations and you will see God alone without any blemish.

Mahamas Kromas

First we learn of a Santa Claus tax-break for holiday shopping sprees and in the very next breath the middle and upper classes are asked to get out and vote to prevent politicians pandering to the poor with populist policies (BP, Dec 24). Almost simultaneously the results of an investigation are announced that would prove a certain police officer seeking asylum did not receive death threats as he had previously claimed.

It would seem the current regime imagines the public to be the walking dead and the only thing that can revive us is a series of bad jokes.

Michael Setter

Re: "Govt revokes licence of fatal bus driver", (BP, Dec 24). There were many fatal bus accidents similar to this mishap but I seldom heard of bus operators losing their licences. Was this an about-face decision by the Land Transport Department because it involved Malaysian Chinese passengers and would make a big international news item?

RH Suga

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