OPINION

Over-charged utilities

Prices for solar-generated electricity provided by commercial firms are falling dramatically. A Mexican solar power company just won a bid to produce electricity for a wholesale cost of US$17.70 (580 baht) per megawatt hour. The next two lowest bids were by Saudi Arabian and Italian firms.

Compare that to the price for electricity in Thailand. For the end-user, electricity costs around $132 per megawatt hour. Granted, that's comparing wholesale with retail numbers, but it still should be sobering for the old men who control electricity output/distribution in Thailand.

At the very least, electricity brokers in Thailand should seriously consider how to lower costs, for themselves and for consumers. The future is upon us. Burning fossil fuels such as lignite (to generate electricity) is outmoded thinking. Not only is lignite dirty, but it will prove to be more costly than clean renewable energy.

Re: "Anti-alcohol drive 'a success'", (BP, Dec 28).

The Thai Health Promotion Foundation is right: The facts, some of which are included in the article, solidly establish alcohol as the most serious addictive drug harming society, just as it is the most destructive elsewhere.

It follows that this toxic drug should be the one most harshly treated by the law, which means that the current drug laws regarding marijuana, ya ba, heroin and the like are not only irrational in their refusal to acknowledge long-known facts, but are grossly immoral since any justification for interfering in the personal sale and use by adults of these illegal drugs applies with even greater force to the more harmful alcohol. Heroin users do not commit rape: they nod off. Marijuana does not tend to induce violence, and so on.

But this is not a reason to criminalise alcohol to bring it into line with the other highly popular recreational drugs beloved of so many Thais and other adults, as the tediously regular massive seizures attest. The prohibition approach was tried in the US between 1920 and 1933, a legal move which effectively granted a generous monopoly to mafia scum and their loyal public officials, including the police, the courts and the lawmakers who all profited mightily through their corruption at the expense of society.

We see, with no surprise, exactly the same results of criminalising personal choices in drugs in the spectacular failure of the wars on drugs that have so greatly enriched mafia scum and corrupt officials for decades now. Meanwhile, these same failed policies waste massive budgetary and human resources whilst contributing nothing of value to society, merely creating greater opportunities for corruption, creating a class of criminals from decent citizens who do not harm others, and not even reducing drug use.

There is no lack of compelling evidence from the before-and-after experiences of decriminalising popular drugs. Apart from the well-known case of alcohol prohibition in the US, the before-and-after statistics for states that have decriminalised marijuana are consistent and favourable. Even more compelling is the example of Portugal, where decriminalising all drugs, even heroin, has greatly reduced the harm, and the actual use, of drugs since it was introduced in 2001, thereby freeing vast resources that could then be usefully spent actually helping society.

Re: "High-speed rail line loses va-va-voom", (BP, Dec 27).

So, the speed of the much vaunted "high-speed" train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai will now be reduced from 300kph to 200kph, or perhaps 180kph, and the fares will be increased from 1,000 baht to 1,200 baht. This train seems to be going in the wrong direction!

How fortunate that The Flying Scotsman, an old-fashioned steam locomotive, can still be seen (and experienced) roaring through the countryside between Edinburgh and London. The revived express train is a joy and a pleasure to all who ride it. A friend had the good fortune to travel on both this and Japan's Shinkansen bullet train. While both are wonderful means of transportation, in his estimation, The Flying Scotsman has no comparison for pure exhilaration.

Too bad old-fashioned steam locomotives cannot pull trains through Thailand once again. They could simply be coupled to their train coaches at some point outside the big cities. Many critics call attention to the impracticality of the old-fashioned steam locomotive trains, but the practicality is that they are cheaper to run and maintain, attract a ridership that all could afford, and still provide viable rail transport.

The high-speed train line linking the capital and Chiang Mai sounds wonderful at the moment, but is Thailand really ready for it all? And can it afford it?

The biggest winner will of course be the Chinese, who will see an easy land link between Thailand and Beijing. And we know where that is going to lead.

Re: "Public enemy No.1: Extreme poverty", (Opinion, Dec 29).

In Thailand the already large income gap is still widening. Why doesn't the government levy an inheritance tax on rich families? In Japan, 55% of asset value is levied. Also, property taxes on commercial buildings and condominiums depend on their market value, especially in urban areas.

The circulation of capital is a fundamental necessity in modern societies. These revenues should be utilised to improve education in rural areas and for underprivileged families. Only education can bring about poverty eradication, a policy Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said the government aims to achieve next year. The way in which revenues are distributed is also the key to solving this poverty problem.

Anchalee Kongrut pointed out that equal access to resources and opportunities has not been realised. This is absolutely true.

Re: "Shameful milksops", (PostBag, Dec 28).

I would like to 100% concur with David Brown. I am also totally ashamed of my native Australia in regards to their connection with the Myanmar military.

But they are not alone in their lack of condemnation of Myanmar, which David correctly describes as the worst humanitarian crisis of the 21st century. Sadly though, until the United Nations gets some teeth, nothing will change. This organisation needs an immediate overhaul to protect all inhabitants of this sad planet. Then they could act to once-and-for-all stop the road butchers in Thailand as no one else seems interested in doing so.

I was just reading about the seven-car pile-up, which was blamed on the wet weather and the darkness. It rained all day in Chiang Mai on Wednesday. From the moment, I left the house at 6:30am till I returned at 6.30pm, I noticed that over 90% of the cars did not use their headlights. It was wet and still fairly dark. There is no Thai mindset when it comes to safety.

Turning on one's lights not only lets you see the road and others better (especially the 30% of motorcycle drivers with no working tail lights ) it also lets others see you. Imagine that concept!

Someone may not turn in front of you too quickly if your lights are on. It's a precautionary safety move. I also noticed that none of the roads in the North are striped with reflective paint. At night time this is very dangerous.

Accidents and road fatalities will continue to be a daily occurrence here in the world's No.1 country for road carnage. My suggestion is that by raising traffic fines to a minimum of 2,000 baht per infraction, fatalities and accidents would be cut by 50% in the first three months.

Thailand has nothing to lose by implementing strict traffic enforcement. And with a computerised ticket system now in place, corruption will be a thing of the past fairly soon.

Re: "Don't blame big bikes", (PostBag, Dec 26).

The real question is: Are there any laws concerning excessive noise (from any source) in Thailand? If there are, they are not enforced, that's for sure.

Kim Johansen's suggestion, "Lighting the way", (PostBag, Dec 27), that drivers should use lights during the daytime is, unfortunately, pointless as a huge percentage of Thai drivers do not use their lights even at night.

Thailand's prisons are bursting at the seams so the tags reported in "Electronic bracelets to be used on drink-drivers next year", (BP, Dec 25), could indeed be better used for minor offences as RH Suga points out in "Ban drink drivers", (PostBag, Dec 27).

One-year minimum imprisonment for drink drivers involved in an accident and up to 10 years for repeat offenders and long-term disqualification from driving is a must for anyone caught over the limit.

All of the reforms though are dependent on one thing: Until Thailand gets an effective and uncorrupted police force, nothing will change regardless of which government is in power and however many laws they pass.

Re: "PM's support ebbing, says Prem", (BP, Dec 29).

Artiwara Kongmalai, aka Toon Bodyslam, the 38-year-old member of the Bodyslam rock band, truly deserves to be named Thailand's Person of the Year 2017 for his arduous cross-country charity run that covered 2,215km in 55 days.

All recent polls showed he was the most inspiring force in the eyes of the Thai public: Toon's popularity even eclipses that of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha by a large margin.

His popularity among Thais surely stems, at least in part, from his politically neutral stance both in terms of what he says and what he does. Moreover, Toon aligns with the words of former US president John F Kennedy in his inauguration speech on Jan 20, 1961: "Ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country".

The United States is run by a businessman, now Liberia has just elected a former football player as its president. What's next? At this point I'd suggest Artiwara Kongmalai or Toon Bodyslam as the most popular person in Thailand. I'm sure that with the right advisers, he could run this country quite well. Screw the politicians.

Re: "Govt wants Toon to be 'exercise envoy'", (BP, Dec 28).

I see the Public Health Ministry thinks Toon showed us the value of exercise and wants him to serve as an "exercise ambassador".

I was amazed when I read that because the message I got from Toon's run was that the health system is badly underfunded and he was willing to exhaust himself physically to try to help fund it.

Re: "Unwelcoming Pakistan", (PostBag, Dec 16).

Martin R's criticism regarding having his visa application processed to visit Pakistan includes a few inaccuracies. Clearly, he failed to provide a fair account of his interaction with the embassy.

We feel obliged to note that embassies of all countries follow a laid-down set of rules and procedures to have visas granted. Applications that do not fulfil these requirements are determined accordingly. Yet in order to facilitate this, officials contacted Mr Martin and suggested he visit the embassy and meet with our staff to clarify the matter.

Instead, he chose to write to the Post which then ran his story without confirming its veracity.

Pakistan is well-known for its hospitality. We welcome all bona fide visitors. It is their respect and good will, not their dollars, that we seek.

Editor's note: Martin R in his Dec 23 letter retracted his earlier comment, adding he was invited to meet embassy officials who were helpful and hospitable in expediting his visa application.

Re: "Out with it, Trump", (PostBag, Dec 29).

Samanea Saman seems more interested in President Donald Trump's tax returns than most Americans. It's coming up to the New Year. Go out and enjoy, stop being concerned about Mr Trump and his taxes. Who really cares? Try watching the original version of Charles Dickens's, The Christmas Carol for starters.