Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha needs to understand that this luxury watch scandal is a serious issue. This so-called “private matter” of his deputy will weigh heavily on his credibility as long as he stays on as Thailand’s prime minister -- and will never stops unless and until this apparently inappropriate behavioural problem is corrected.
Chavalit Wannawijitr
Re: “Read it and weep”, (PostBag, Jan 21). It might interest Lungstib to know, if he hasn’t known it already, that the Janissaries were created by the Ottoman Empire in response to the problems of nepotism. The solution was ingenious, audacious and totally unexpected. First of all the recruits were slaves. Why anyone would recruit slaves to be the bodyguards of the Sultan is a mystery.
Secondly, they were slaves taken in war. So the enemies were supposed to protect the Sultan. That made even less sense. Finally the slaves were young.
You could not make this up. But it worked. For almost 500 years the Janissaries were the elite troops of the Ottoman Empire. The Catholic Church had problems with nepotism, too. The solution was the banning all priests from marrying. Clever, that.
The question for Thailand is: How serious are we about the problems of nepotism? It is not that we are incapable of doing anythingabout it, the prosecutions of the Shinawatra clan showed that we could, but we seem to be selective.
Kemadist Chiaracharuwat
I find it amazing that Gen Prawit Wongsuwon, still an embarrassment to himself and this government, has not resigned. I realise it is unfair to judge a man’s life by an old man’s foolishness with jewellery and watches, but you brought this one on yourself, Gen Prawit. Resign now and let Gen Prayut Chano-cha get on with more important business.
A Reader
Time is running out for Gen Prawit Wongsuwon.
Maybe he knows where the PM’s skeletons are buried and that’s why he hasn’t been thrown under the bus.
MR P
As someone who has long lost faith in Thai institutions, I cannot but concur with Somsak Pola’s prediction that Suthep Thaugsuban and gang will get off scot-free for their actions during the “Bangkok Shutdown” (PostBag, Jan 26). I watched their insurrection in Bangkok with bated breath four years ago and what shocked me the most was the unbridled lawlessness of their actions.
For the attorney-general to now take action after all this time seems to be a facesaving move to show that the rule of law actually does prevail in Thailand.
George Redelinghuys
Re: “Give us the facts”, (PostBag, Jan 26). While I do agree with Robert Horn in principle, it would be virtually impossible to check all vegetables grown hydroponically, or in the soil, for pesticides. Produce must be checked in large wholesale markets. The incoming and outgoing produce each day is astronomical -- mind boggling. There is one market (of many) that comes to mind and is worth a visit: Talat Thai in Pathum Thani. I, like many other fruit farmers, spray my trees regularly during the early stages of blossoming.
But, unlike most, I don’t spray the fruits prior to picking. There is no way of knowing about the pesticides in your fruits or veggies, whether you buy them from upcountry roadside drive-by stands (where one assumes the produce is fresher and better) or in supermarkets.
My advice is to soak everything you buy in a water-vinegar solution for half an hour before consumption. This is quite effective in removing pesticides from the skins. It is also interesting to note there is no evidence that hydroponic veggies are any healthier or better than soil-grown veggies, except of course, being more expensive. Best bet, stick to that which is ground grown.
Jack Gilead
I see in the media reports that there has been another multi-billion-baht seizure of drugs in the Northeast. If big-time drug dealers are able to absorb losses like this, then this must be a hundreds of billions of baht industry here. No wonder the prisons are full of small-time drug dealers and users.
This is where the serious money is for someone with minimal skills and knowledge and if I were one of these people, I would be out there trying to make money selling drugs too.
A Taxpayer
Re: “Wildlife travels an easier road”, (BP, Jan 26). The highway department should seek financial support from wildlife protection agencies as well as international organisations for this project. We understand the need to preserve wildlife animals but human safety is a priority.
RH Suga
This is definitely not another first. The police have issued arrest warrants for the owners of the now shut down Victoria’s Secret Massage parlour (BP, Jan 26). However, like most other police operations, the announcement was broadcast well in advance of the requests for arrest warrants, giving them enough time to transfer their money outside Thailand and simply vanish. There is a pattern.
The Dhammakaya monk, the rich brat in the fatal hit-and-run case, Yingluck and many others are enjoying a good life in other countries with enough wealth to buy their freedom and citizenship.
Yeah!
I cannot defend my party clown president but the system works. America is not a democracy but a republic. “I pledge allegiance to the flag and to the Republic for which it stands...” A true democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.
New York City has more people than most states. Which means the will of the people would mean the will of the cities. And make Alaska, the Dakotas and half of the West unrepresented. Makes for a lot of angry cowboys. They could ride into town and apply true democracy by lynching someone.
An expat
Re: “PTT kicks off cancer drug development”, (Business, Jan 24). In this report, you invoke the term “Scurve industries”. Even with the benefit of an economics background, I am not certain what this term means -- and I cannot imagine most other readers are faring much better. Yet this term seems to be creeping into the paper on a daily basis as well.
Quite simply, if you want expats (not to mention the throngs of English-speaking tourists that shuffle through the kingdom each year) to enjoy a comprehensive -- not to mention comprehensible! -- read, I would encourage you to pare away the impenetrable jargon and continue that never-ending quest for, as Hemingway put it, that “one true sentence”.
Maxwell Brock
Yesterday I became an offender and I did it by simply behaving just like any ordinary citizen living in my village. We had our “adopted’ daughter home from deaf school for the holidays which means repeat drives to Chiang Mai. She fell ill with chickenpox causing me worry and extra trips to school and doctors. The car needed repairs, my computer needed replacing, my wife needed help lifting big stems of bananas due to a bad back. I fretted over the expenses of a bad month. In other words, I got totally caught up in the normal aspects of life.
And therein lies my problem because I am not a normal citizen. I belong to that special club of long-term “temporary stayers on extended visas” and just like any serious criminal need to report to immigration every 90 days. I had forgotten, and for my attention to life instead of official details, will now have to pay a fine of 2,000 baht. Once more my mind is concentrated on the petty, vindictive officialdom and the rules which we non-immigrants have to bear.
Lungstib
I have been married to a Thai wife for 17 years. I usually spend from 80-90 days in the kingdom twice a year, at Christmas and in the middle of the year. I just send my passport to the Royal Thai Embassy in London on a Monday and by Thursday it is back with a visa stamp which I can extend in Thailand once I have been here a month.
Alternatively, I could take it across to the consulate in Glasgow and get the visa on the spot, but that is, quite frankly, more inconvenient.
KEITH CASTEL
I vacation in Thailand every year and enter on a Thai spouse multiple entry visa valid for one year issued in London. Immigration allows me only 90 days’ stay at a time for reasons nobody can explain. Now that I am 85 years old (and still don’t understand the purpose of the 90-day rule) I would very much appreciate a waiver for the elderly from, say, 80 years onward.
The idea of exiting Thailand for no better reason than to obtain a fresh 90-day visa upon return is a major physical obstacle for the elderly because transiting two airports in one day is a major stressful experience plus a physical effort with or without a wheelchair.
Ernest
Re: “Raw deals for foreigners”, (PostBag, Jan 25). For once, I agree with Kuldeep Nagi. Immigration reform is indeed light years away.
We read about scrutiny for the Royal Thai Police, the army, politicians, but never about the Immigration Bureau. This is a police force within a police force within the state. There has never seemed to be standardisation.
The rules seem to change with different offices, and the immigration officers possess an undefined arrogance, conveying an attitude of “I dare you to argue with me”. Many local immigration offices are overstaffed with officers sauntering in, in T-shirts, carrying groceries at the start of working days.
Yes, there are good experiences I’m sure, but for most people dealing with the Immigration Bureau, a trivial event can become a nightmare. Not only does the Immigration Bureau need to be totally overhauled. Its staffers need to attend attitude-adjustment courses.
DAVID JAMES WONG
I read a letter last week about a woman called Edith Clampton and the disappearance of her husband.
About 17 years ago, a bloke called Eric Clampton turned up in our little area who was very quiet about his past despite his tinny (booze) problem. He set up a little shop for repairing old/broken guitars and didgeridoos (strange that his name comes close to that of a famous musician) but was considered a good mate by those who knew him. Anyway, shortly after the letter was published, he shut up shop and hasn’t been seen since.
Robin
Re: “NLA backs 90-day delay in poll law”, (BP, Jan 26). Once again I see the word “organic” used in a sentence concerning future elections: “Third readings of the controversial organic bill.” According to Merriam-Webster, organic means.
(1) : of, relating to, or derived from living organisms organic evolution
(2) : of, relating to, yielding, or involving the use of food produced with the use of feed or fertiliser of plant or animal origin without employment of chemically formulated fertilisers, growth stimulants, antibiotics, or pesticidesorganic farming ...organic produce ...
Are politicians trying to convince us they are living organisms?
The Old Guy with the Umbrella, Chiang Mai
26 Jan 2018
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