Former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa is being investigated by the new government in office for corruption and the siphoning off of millions of dollars during his terms in office, money benefiting his whole family.
The former president’s famous last words: “We are being victimised”. Former Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra posted her famous last words, “Democracy died in Thailand today with the rule of law”, on her Facebook page on Friday.
It is interesting how both Mr Rajapaksa and Ms Yingluck interpret the law. As long as they were the law, and interpreting the law, things were hunky-dory, weren’t they?
Now the shoe is on the other foot, as the proverb goes, and the tune has suddenly changed for both of them. It would be interesting to ask both Ms Yingluck and Mr Rajapaksa for their definitions of the term “corruption”.
I’m sure both would be different, interpreted by their own myopic comprehension.
Yellow Yarmulke
No need for coup
JC Wilcox (PostBag, Jan 24) tells us the coup was necessary to prevent civil war.
But as soon as Suthep Thaugsuban called for the overthrow of the government and the shutdown of Bangkok, the military could have immediately stepped in and put an end to that nonsense before anyone got hurt. That could have been done without a coup.
Since he was a big supporter of Mr Suthep when he brought the country to the brink of civil war, I question Mr Wilcox’s sincerity when he now tells us he’s a big advocate of law and order. It seems Mr Wilcox is only for law and order when “his side” is in power.
Eric Bahrt
Temporary madness
Why are reforms in Thailand always temporary?
Lottery tickets are back to their old prices after a short time, beaches cleared are slowly creeping back to “normal”, if only slightly. Roadside footpaths were cleared in some areas, but street sellers are back. Everything lasts only for a short while.
Why doesn’t anyone sustain the improvements they’ve made instead of implementing new ideas daily? And don’t tell me, “This is Thailand!”
Fantia
Disabled get raw deal
There are many facets to the question of accessibility for the disabled. If a person has a wheelchair, the proposed lift is a good solution. But there needs to be one on each side of the road, and it needs to stop at the ticket floor to allow passengers to reach the platform.
In all the time the BTS has been running, I have only ever seen one person propelling his own wheelchair, and even he was accompanied.
The footpaths are incompatible with wheelchair users. A lot of work needs to be done to enable wheelchair users to get to the station before trying to get them to the trains. Minding the gap and getting on and off the trains is a whole new problem.
Having been temporarily disabled after a leg operation I managed the stairs up to the platform or the steps up to the escalators in some places.
My difficulty was coming down steps, particularly in crowds. The escalators should be available in both directions.
RICHARD BOWLER
Baht strength mystery
I was interested to read David Brown’s query on Saturday regarding the baht remaining strong.
This has been a common source of discussion with expats who can remember getting 42 baht (now 32.5) for US$1 10 years ago and 74 baht (now 49) for £1, to quote some examples. It’s holding its own against the currently strong US dollar.
The suggestion it’s linked to the USD is nonsense as you only have to triangulate USD/baht and a third currency like GBP by looking at the past 10 years.
This shows the baht has grown stronger since about 2006 against most major currencies and remained fairly steady since.
Surely there is an article the Bangkok Post could print. If the explanation by the paper’s financial department was good, it would make a nice change from the current bar room talk!
Bob Heywood
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