OPINION

Devil in the details

Re: "Banking plan needs rethink", (Editorial, Nov 30).

It was good to see this article was written using a common-sense approach to what is potentially a security issue waiting to happen.

While I have no qualms with my fingerprints being used to verify my identity, the activity of operating, storing online and security are issues sadly lacking in Thailand right now. The article stating that the successful bidder won due to offering the lowest price, rather than having the best and most secure system, says a lot about the attitude here to security.

Apart from the ludicrous policy that this will be a "voluntary" system, therefore allowing criminals to carry on regardless, it is not clear if the data will be encrypted and just who will have access to it.

We only have to look back a couple of months to the reports about immigration data containing names and personal details being posted online for anyone to see.

Generally this is a good idea, but is definitely lacking in the all-important details.

Parenting fail

Re: "Children told not to drive motorbikes", (BP, Nov 30).

The article contains the horrifying (but unsurprising) statistic that around 2,000 Thai children are killed in road accidents every year, some 20,000 are seriously injured and 9,000 become disabled. This equates to 110 deaths and serious injuries of children every single day of every year!

Children do not have the money to buy motorbikes. Therefore, the blame must lie with the irresponsible parents, not to mention the failure by the authorities to stop the children from driving them. In most places one can see up to four or five kids on a motorbike merrily driving past traffic police who neither seem to care or are too busy collecting money from other road users who might actually be carrying cash.

The campaign which seeks to curb teen road deaths should be aimed at the parents to not allow children to have access to motorbikes and severely punish those that fail to do so. Another step might be to confiscate motorbikes whose operators are either too young or cannot safely meet other legal requirements. Unless and until this happens, the carnage will continue unabated.

Re: "Failure of the system", (PostBag, Nov 30).

Kuldeep Nagi was spot on to suggest that English should be in "wider use in popular media and society".

Why are we so poor in the language? The answer lies in Thais being too nationalistic and so proud of the fact that we have never been "colonised". It is reflected among civil servants and teachers whose command of the language is minimal but the issue is clouded by exaggerated displays of patriotism.

Second, most Thais still have not grasped that English gives proficient speakers more information than those relying exclusively on Thai media. We need to cultivate a more global mindset of realising a bigger world of information and wealth of knowledge in English.

Third, the mindset that English proficiency can be achieved exclusively through classrooms is misplaced. The Ministry of Education's "Train the Trainer" idea to iimprove Thai teachers' calibre is bound to fail because there is no environment to encourage English communication after class.

Finally, to improve our proficiency, the ministry should learn from their mistakes in the 1960s. In the 1950s, Assumption Commercial College ("ACC") used exclusively English-language textbooks, employing foreign teachers, having students recite English poems and prohibiting students from speaking Thai within its walls. It was forced by the ministry to tow the patriotic line and adopt a 100% Thai curriculum in the 1960s.

The fortunate students during that early decade went on to enjoy life within two cultures, never having to fear the English language unduly. Many became ministers, successful businessmen, lawyers and journalists.

Bless the soul of the ACC's founder, Reverend Brother Rogatien, and no thanks to the then Education Ministry. Allowing international schools now helps but is somewhat late in achieving the desired result.