OPINION

OAG evades the issue

Re: "OAG says City Hall must do more to ensure building safety", (BP, April 6).

The report by the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) on the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's (BMA) enforcement of building and fire safety laws reveals little we didn't already know. Of course there is massive non-compliance and an overall lack of enforcement. This is how City Hall functions.

When city officials responsible for investigating building code violations are transferred, documents go missing or remain incomplete. Of course they do. This is how graft works.

Attention is drawn to the Public Works Department. And so it should be, as this is the bubbling cauldron of the entire BMA, the witches' brew of corruption and dirty brown envelopes.

The OAG contends the BMA needs new databases for the effective enforcement of building and fire safety codes. This is a major evasion of the real issue (criminality) and the biggest guarantee that nothing is ever going to change.

Re: "Trump pushes Beijing to lead on climate", (BP, April 7).

What a difference a couple of years and changing government administrations make. Only a few years back, China was the "bad boy" of the world with respect to climate change, insisting on its "rights" to pollute in the name of development and thumbing its figurative nose at global efforts to reign in carbon emissions.

Fast-forward to the juxtaposition of 2017, with US President Donald Trump hell-bent on leading America back to a 19th century economy of coal-fired pollution and China emerging as the world's leader in developing and installing clean renewable wind and solar energy.

We are definitely seeing a new world order emerging.

Re: "Sad state of city buses holds back economy", (Opinion, April 6).

A very timely article. I just returned from Penang, Malaysia, where I rode on local buses several times. The buses were all identical, all air-conditioned, all looked very new, all ran smoothly, and all were very comfortable.

I have a suggestion for the current Thai government. They should possibly reconsider their purchase of three submarines for about 35 billion baht. They should consider redirecting this money to the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority. If the cost of a good air-conditioned bus is around 5 million baht, these funds would purchase about 7,000 vehicles. Purchase one make of bus so that the fleet would be standardised. Maintenance costs would plummet, with only one make of bus to maintain spare parts for.

They would replace the present hodgepodge of many makes and styles of buses being used, some very old.

Instead of stroking the egos of a handful of generals, this would stroke the egos of millions of Bangkok residents, who could then be truly proud of a world-class bus service to complement this otherwise world-class city. The bus situation is a total disgrace to this wonderful city.

Where there are extrajudicial killings such as the one of young Lahu activist Chaiyapoom Pasae, there is an obvious inference that the law doesn't matter and that each individual must find his own law.

For suspects to be killed without benefit of a court trial is demonstrating the inability of a government to control its law enforcement personnel. Where there is government, there is law, with courts, and the opportunity for suspects and victims to face each other and tell their stories.

Executions of this type create more resistance and increase problems with citizens in a downward spiral into anarchy.

Re: "'Boy' Takonkiet ends spat with cabbie", (BP, April 3).

Due to too many bad taxi drivers in town, monitoring and arresting them seems to be unworkable for authorities. Why not increase the fines to as much as twice the existing ones and award half the fine to the person who reported violations to authorities?

Since the number of taxi users with smartphones is far more than the number of taxi drivers, all divers will be exposed to public eyes at all time.

This will save authorities' time and discourage drivers from bad behaviour. There may be some people who volunteer to become taxi watchers as a second job.

What happened in Kansas in the United States recently should be an example for Thailand.

After having been appointed school principal for only three weeks, Amy Robertson had to resign from the Pittsburg High School after the school's students -- through the student newspaper Booster Redux -- cast doubt on her credentials and suitability.

Booster Redux found out that a private school in Dubai, where Ms Robertson had been principal, had its licence suspended in 2013 by the United Arab Emirates government after years of "unsatisfactory" ratings.

The newspaper also found that Corllins University, where Ms Robertson received her degrees, has no physical address and has not been accredited by the US Department of Education. The university is accused of being a diploma mill.

When Ms Robertson could not present satisfactory answers during a conference call with the students, she resigned.

Hence, the Thai government should give encouragement to students, as in the US, to help get rid of unqualified and substandard teachers and school principals in our country.

Ahhh, tanks from China. Cheap, cheaper, cheapest. A friend wanted to save money recently, so he bought one of those Tata cars. During the first week he hit a speed bump in his soi and ... the engine just dropped out to the ground.