OPINION

Tainted by graft

Re: "Govt gears up for local elections", (BP, June 10).

I read that the government "is likely to reinstate several more local leaders put on suspension pending corruption probes".

According to statistics, Thailand has an adult population of about 50 million. While we must believe people are innocent until proven guilty, surely there are enough eligible candidates who could stand for election without including those tainted by or under investigation for corruption? Little wonder, therefore, that Thailand, sadly, languishes in a high position in the corruption league.

I recently flew from Bangkok to Dhaka on Thai Airways and during the flight I was offered a chicken meal which came with a halal sticker on it.

I requested an ordinary non-halal chicken meal but was told that there were none on the plane because most of the passengers were Muslim.

It was the same story on the way back to Bangkok about two weeks later. In their eagerness to cater to Muslims, it would appear that Thai Airways have forgotten about their non-Muslim passengers.

How can it be that Thai Airways (the flag carrier airline of Thailand which is 93% Buddhist, that is, non-Muslim) can operate a flight out of the capital city of Thailand and discriminate against the majority of their countrymen?

It is admirable that the airline caters to their Muslim passengers, but they do so at the expense of their non-Muslim passengers.

I was not the only Westerner or Thai non-Muslim aboard. Even though we were in the minority on the flight it would have been nice as paying passengers if the airline catered to us as well.

Trump apologist Richard Rees in his June 11 letter notes that former president Barack Obama left America in deep debt. Why doesn't he mention that the debt has gone up by over a trillion dollars since Mr Trump became president? And America had the worst deficit in history when Ronald Reagan was president.

Why is it that debts and deficits are only terrible things when the Democrats are in office?

Today President Donald Trump cured cancer, mental illness, birth defects, HIV, hunger and created world peace. Hmm; well okay, maybe a touch of hyperbole there, but more than a handshake, Mr Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have transcended decades of do-nothing chattering about coming together and finally putting hostilities to rest.

Let the so-called pundits and negative finger wavers have their day and slam Mr Trump, but the world knows better seeing this entire drama unfold on the World stage in Singapore. Long live Mr Trump.

Re: "The fox and the hounds", (PostBag, June 10).

Traditionally, black voters have been overwhelming in their support for the Democrats but there are more black Republicans than ever today. The reason: Donald Trump's economic policies have reduced black unemployment to all-time lows. Unfortunately CNN and the rest of mainstream media tend to downplay the facts and focus on promulgating "hate Trump" propaganda, which then triggers easily duped media junkies to shout in anger "Read all about it".

The mainstream media are well aware that anger clouds judgement; it is the left's only successful strategy amid a complete absence of innovative policy agenda.

Roger Crutchley in his June 10 Postscript column repeats the hoary myth that the Pattaya police were responsible for the arrest of 30 elderly bridge players in 2015 (not 2016).

In fact the raid was conducted by a civilian licensing officer and army troopers who insisted we were locked up for most of the night. No charges were ever brought by the police and our passports and bail cash were returned in days.

The mistake made by the district officer was to invite the local media to an arrest in which roulette wheels and gambling chips were disappointingly lacking. This turned a simple mistake into a world event. Still, we are all entitled to be famous for 15 minutes.

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