OPINION

Famous last words

Re: "Army opens probe into soldier's death", (BP, April 3).

Army spokesman Col Winthai Suvaree is quoted as saying, "Please have confidence. If it is concluded that any officer did this, he will face legal and disciplinary action to the full extent." This should go down in the book of Famous Last Words, along with the police prosecutor who said he "will try to see" whether the Red Bull heir could be tried.

Notice Col Winthai's "if" and the police prosecutor's "will try". Oh, I'm sure the army will indeed look into the death of the soldier, blame it on the dead boy, and cover up to protect its own. The sad thing about it all is that Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, who has tried to win the people's respect and trust by telling everyone how honest and transparent he is and that he will work to end corruption and ensure justice for all, has been silent in both cases. A pity. But then, he too will work to protect his own.

My 8.30pm TV news on Sunday evening reported that some metered taxi drivers have tried to rape lady passengers, or verbally abused and kicked passengers out in the middle of their trips.

The best way to prevent such problems is to call Uber or Grab, because they know which driver is taking a specific passenger -- so drivers know if they behave obnoxiously, the police can easily arrest them. When Uber or Grab tells a prospective client that a driver can serve her, they show the rating other passengers have given that specific driver and drivers seek to maintain high ratings.

Even though you can also use Grab by hailing them on the roadside, you should call a Grab taxi only through their app, otherwise the company will not be able to link you to their cab.

Re: "Let's hear it for cabs", (PostBag, March 31).

I side with John Falconer in giving positive recognition to Bangkok taxi drivers. I've had my share of scrapes and disagreements with difficult drivers over the years, but overall I've found Bangkok taxi drivers to be polite, competent and honest.

There is certainly room for improvement and I welcome the entry of Uber and Grab to the market, which will surely push traditional taxis to be more professional to compete. But, relative to their counterparts in many other major cities of the world, Thai taxi drivers are models of good behaviour.

On top of that, taxi fares in Bangkok are among the lowest in the world.

Re: "5G licence auction faces delay due to technicalities", (BP, April 3).

The headline didn't surprise me at all, as there are not yet any specifications for 5G.

An internet search told me the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance says that, "5G should be rolled out by 2020". Perhaps this is the real "technicality".

Re: "Lessons from the past", (PostBag, April 3).

Jason A Jellison's letter is way off. First, he is assuming that all retirees are "elderly" and over the hill. Wrong. Thailand issues retirement visas to any qualified seekers at 55 years old. The average age for teacher retirement in North America and elsewhere is 65. As for keeping up with technology, many retires can probably match or outdo Mr Jellison and leave him in the dust.

However, let's concentrate on academic rather than technical subjects, which seems Mr Jellison's contention. Teaching academic subjects has hardly undergone much change these past 50 or more years. What has changed is mostly the environment, from stone built universities to air-conditioned classrooms and dress codes. As for experience, he might live another 50 years before he could match me year for year.

I'd advise our exuberant, youthful, know-it-all foreign students to remember the old expression, "Youth is wasted on the young".