OPINION

Land of big demands

Re: "Second-class foreigners", (PostBag, Oct 14).

I first came to Thailand on a business trip in 1996. Since March 1997, Bangkok has been home for a variety of reasons, but the best I could manage was a few days at a time. Work meant endless travel.

Fast forward to today. I've been with my wife for 20 years now, married for 10. In a little over two months time, I will have to withdraw 400,000 baht and park it in a local account for three months to get my visa extension.

I resent that, because in my brokerage account I make in a good day more than the local bank account pays me in a year.

I don't complain about the 90-day reporting, I just posted mine last Wednesday, which meant a special trip out. I'm not sure of the value of reporting the same address I have had since 2007, but if that makes you feel safe from me, I'll do it.

What I do resent is that after all these years, my ability to stay with my wife is dependent on my depositing 400,000 baht in a local bank account.

My wife is a successful career woman, a department head in the local operation of a multinational. She could easily support me, but every year I have to show the money to spend another year with her.

Thais are the most kind and generous people I've met, by and large.

Why do you do this?

Why do you tell my wife, a citizen of your country with all the normal constitutional rights, that she can only be with her husband if he can deposit 400,000 baht in a local bank account?

What happens if I suffer a stroke and lose the ability to support myself? Will I have to leave my wife?

David James Wong said in his Oct 11 letter, "Seeing and believing," that the majority of Thais now living in Los Angeles and San Francisco support Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Be that as it may, it has been my experience that most Thais who move abroad come from Bangkok and the South; those from the northern provinces seem to lack the financial resources to migrate, or quite simply do not have the desire to do so. Sure, Mr Wong mentioned the Thais he spoke to came from a variety of provinces; but my bet is that the majority came from various provinces in the South, and those in the vicinity of Bangkok.

If that is the case, then it is not surprising why he found the results that he did. So, rather than stating that the majority of Thais who live abroad support the general, it is more apt to say that its the majority of overseas Thais from Bangkok and the South support Prayut.

Re: "Hypothetically speaking", (PostBag, Oct 15).

Asserting that the rice-pledging and the 300-baht welfare schemes of two different governments both aimed to alleviate the plight of the poor is true (except that about 20 farmers committed suicide because of the rice scheme).

However, one was riddled with corruption to the extent of billions of baht in losses. May I remind Mr Grant, who does not seem to follow the news very well, that many perpetrators are in jail or face jail time not because the rice scheme but because of the outright corruption. Next time not so simplistic, Robin.

Re: "Parks dept responds to WHC concern over illegal logging", (BP, Oct 14).

The government should build rigid fencing along forest boundaries, with a few gates deployed with guards, to allow some villagers to collect food products. Electric fences with remote monitoring systems may be costly, but this will pay off in the long run as it takes decades to reforest once the trees are gone.

Contact: Bangkok Post Building 136 Na Ranong Road Klong Toey, Bangkok 10110 fax: +02 6164000 Email: postbag@bangkokpost.co.th

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