What is 'Thai-ness'?
Why is the use of the word "citizenship" frowned upon in Thailand?
Why are foreigners, except for the bag-carrying tourists who bring their money and numbers, looked upon as interlopers, never to be totally accepted and denied the rights of ordinary Thai citizens? Don't they also contribute to the system? What is this thing called "Thai-ness"? What is wrong with the three boys from the cave being given Thai citizenship? More and more questions looking for answers.
Lest we forget, most of the great civilisations of the world were formed by so-called outsiders contributing their knowledge and expertise.
Brian Corrigan
Secret misconceptions
Re: "Suu Kyi must free journos", (Editorial, July 16).
Concerning this story and the detention of journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, there appears to be a misconception about the UK's Official Secrets Act.
I, personally, am subject to this law, having signed it when I took an interim job, after graduation, as a clerk with the UK Department of Social Security.
This act is designed to prevent government employees from disclosing their work information to unauthorised personnel. In my case, I was prohibited from revealing any details about social security recipients. If one doesn't sign the consent, and it is mandatory to physically sign it, then you weren't employed. This law applies to all UK government employees and, as such, was in force in the British colonies, some of which may well still have the statute on their books, for government employees only. I would doubt very much if any of Myanmar's civil servants have even seen such a document, let alone signed it.
In the case of the accused journalists, it is alleged that they were passed official documents by police officers, ie government employees. Thus, the recipients cannot have been in contravention of the Official Secrets Act (unless they had signed it when employed by a government agency -- as the stipulation is lifelong). The police officers, however, would have been culpable had they signed the act, which is unlikely.
Thus, the Myanmar government needs to dismiss the case and either rescind or implement the act correctly as it was intended, to safeguard both the government and people's sensitive information.
Bernie Hodges
Boys owe a debt
I am upset reading all the things these boys should get after their cave rescue. Trips to the World Cup, to Qatar, Manchester, Thai citizenship, free education, university degrees, a PhD.
Society does not owe these boys anything. Society gave them a second life. The rescuers, foreigners and Thais combined, risked their lives several times to get the boys out. One even gave his life to save them. Those are the heroes.
These boys should be reminded once in a while that from now on they owe their very existence to society in general, and particularly to all those who were directly involved in their rescue operation.
Harry Ghoos
Pay teachers more
The issue of Thai teachers defaulting on loans is not about people trying to cheat. It is simple economics that teachers are not paid enough! The soft loans were a gesture from the government that it recognised the wage disparity but was not willing to pay more. How can you expect a group to repay loans when they do not make enough to live well in society?
The easy way to solve this issue would be to put teachers on the same pay scale as military officers. This would include the associated benefits like housing, health insurance and retirement. The system is already in place, so no hassles making such a transition.
Darius Hober
Fishing for funds
Re: "B3bn fishing boat splurge", (BP, July 17).
Why would the govt spend such a large amount of taxpayers' money when Section 44 can be enacted? Won't that save the public money and solve the problem?
MR P
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