Beyond East and West

Beyond East and West

Many are familiar with the line, ''East is East and West is West'', which David James Wong quotes in his letter (PostBag, Thursday) on Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's invitation to non-Easterners Kofi Annan, Tony Blair and others to join the prime minister's unity forum. But I wonder if he has bothered to read the whole of Rudyard Kipling's ballad, or even finish reading the stanza that he quotes from?

The complete stanza is: ''Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet, 'till Earth and sky stand presently at God's great judgment seat/But there is neither East nor West, border, nor breed, nor birth, when two strong men stand face to face, tho' they come from the ends of the Earth.''

The full quote gives a totally different - and opposite - meaning to the opening line which Mr Wong quotes. It is also remarkable, coming from a 19th/early 20th century member of the British Raj. I think Thailand should be looking for as many ''strong men'' (and women) as possible to help solve its problems, regardless of their ethnicity, religion or cultural background.

David Brown
Rayong


EDUCATORS WEARING BLINDERS

Regarding the Bangkok Post story yesterday, ''KU staff say exam blinker hat idea came from students'', once again we see an attempt by university staff to shift the blame. The cheaters are being asked to come up with their grand ideas to curb cheating? It is like asking thieves to come up with their ideas to stop stealing or asking Thai police to come with their ideas to curb corruption in their ranks.

It is well known that in many educational institutions, students cannot go to the bathroom during the exams, and a student cannot leave the exam room until the exam is over even if he or she is already finished.

It is sad but true that students in many schools and universities are treated like thieves.

There are many ways to curb cheating in the exams. The students could be made to sit in a bigger hall with a sufficient distance between the seats.

If needed, more than one exam supervisor could be employed. Temporary cameras could be used during the exams for monitoring. Above all, alternate methods of evaluation should be explored.

Kuldeep Nagi


SAVE MONEY AND KEEP PM AT HOME

The Democrat Party has rightly pointed out that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's trips abroad are quite costly, and paid for by the national treasury. The PM seems to be flirting with mostly third world countries where she lavishly entertains and is lavishly entertained.

One wonders what these visits achieve aside from the debts these visits leave on national treasuries. The difference is, their countries can afford it. The money would be better spent paying off the Pheu Thai Party's outrageous rice scheme debts.

Thai Ridgeback


COMMIT TO FORUM RECOMMENDATIONS

Many doubt the usefulness of the government's upcoming reconciliation forum because they doubt the sincerity of the key players. I share their doubts, and suggest that the adage, ''Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me'' applies. Recall that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Thailand was established by Abhisit Vejjajiva and supported by the current prime minister.

A Centre for Strategic and International Studies report notes that, among other things, ''The TRCT recommended that the Yingluck government reconsider the increasingly harsh punishments dealt out for offenders of Thailand's lese majeste law and that the law eventually be amended.''

The TRCT also recommended that the government not push forward with efforts to rewrite the constitution and emphasised the need for public participation in any efforts to redraft that charter. Yet the government is bulldozing ahead with rewriting the constitution, and refusing to exclude the brother of the PM from any amnesty bills to allay widespread doubts.

And not only has the government not made any attempt to amend the lese majeste law, the House speaker has refused to allow the issue to even be debated.

Thais have already been fooled once on reconciliation by Ms Yingluck. To make the forum more useful, I would suggest that PM Yingluck be a key participant and that she commit to responding to the forum's specific recommendations. Furthermore, within two months a follow-up forum should be held at which each recommendation is accepted, rejected or modified. If a given proposal is accepted or modified, the government should commit to presenting a specific action plan to bring it about.

Burin Kantabutra


LEGAL SYSTEM BLINDED BY CASH

It was refreshing to read the editorial in the Bangkok Post on Thursday on the mysterious death of Akeyuth Anchabutra, since these things are usually quickly brushed under the carpet. This case is a sobering reminder of the deep, systemic corruption that is choking Thai society.

It would almost be reassuring to believe the police overlooked the evidence highlighted in the Post editorial due to simple incompetence or laziness, just as it would be pleasant to consider that the granting of bail to an obvious flight risk in the shape of an Iranian passport forger was due to simple oversight.

Unfortunately however, an altogether more disturbing explanation presents itself: Anyone with enough money and the right connections can get away with anything, even murder.

Nigel Woodward


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