Dictator apologist

Re: "PM blasts Thaksin's charter rewrite proposal", (BP, Dec 14).

Suthep Thaugsuban's deceitful piece of unreason, that "The constitution received 16.8 million votes in its favour [in] the referendum, so everyone must respect the people's decision", is fully consistent with the reaction of the self-elected current prime minister to a former prime minister -- and now convicted felon -- Thaksin Shinawatra, who has criticised Section 272 of the legal code, saying it effectively turns the Senate into a tool to hold on to power, which amounts to legalised corruption. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has been loyally served by the anti-democratic People's Democratic Reform Committee since 2010, according to Suthep's own admission in June of 2014, when he boasted that they began colluding that early to overthrow the 2007 constitution.

Naturally, dictators do not want amendments to the constitution made up at their behest to further their own agenda untrammelled by democratic values. It's a sad thing when even the likes of Thaksin can teach good governance to the ruling politicians gloriously self-amnestied. But it cannot come as much of a surprise that the likes of Suthep and other apologists for dictatorship repeat the falsehood that an election automatically confers democratic merit.

Felix Qui
What goes around...

Re: "Blind loyalty", (BP, Dec 14).

Khun Songdej mused: "Because of blind loyalty, I wonder how many in Thailand have fallen like Michael Cohen."

I don't know how many in Thailand have fallen like Michael Cohen; but, I'm sure "many" will fall like Cohen if Gen Prayut doesn't come back as PM after the election.

A man who desires revenge should dig two graves.

Somsak Pola
Gazing at Gucci

"As mall hype mounts, some question pace", (Business, Dec 14) contains an interesting comment. "Thai consumers think that going to a mall is part of their lifestyle and the place where they enjoy the social and experiential aspects of shopping."

Only part of this is true. Thais do indeed enjoy going to malls, but it is not so much to shop, as to just go for the air conditioning on hot days, and to just sit around, hang out and socialise. If Thais were to shop during every mall visit, the country would be full of paupers and malls would be empty. Many Thais have salaries of between 7,000 baht to 10,000 baht a month. After rent, necessary and miscellaneous expenses, how much is there left to spend in multi-million baht shopping malls on Gucci, Louis Vuitton or Rolex?

Jack Gilead
To Pell and back

The Australian Victorian Supreme Court has issued a suppression order on the publication of the outcome of the trial of an internationally well-known personality on serious crimes, of which the jury unanimously found him guilty.

The suppression order includes prohibition on publication of the name of the convicted person and the crimes for which he has been found guilty.

But that suppression order does not apply to Thailand, yet the Bangkok Post has not published a word about this case, which is of international concern and interest.

Why the Pell not?

David Brown
Prayut rocks!

Somsak Pola was right when he made a tongue-in-cheek remark in a Dec 14 letter titled, "Electoral smoke screen". I'd put General Prayut's name on every ballot, and I would probably be happy with the result, like many others. It is only a matter of time before Thailand returns to a culture of squabbling, name calling, political assassinations, defamation of character, you know, the whole shtick. We have not seen this for the past four years, (well, much less, anyway). It would be comforting to see the present trend continue, with the present government, for the next four or more years. The only thing the present PM seems to avoid is much-needed immigration reform, but then, non-Thais have no say in the matter, and Thais don't really care as they are not effected. So again, status quo.

Charcoal Ridgeback
Welfare leeches

Re: "Fake paupers exploiting state welfare cards", (BP, Dec 12).

The use of ATMs, which save manpower and time, makes it hard to identify fake paupers. The authorities should apply a different method of identification. And I hope there will be a probe dating to the application procedures for the assistance scheme.

RH Suga
Buffalo dung the best

Re: "Loans won't help", (PostBag, Dec 14).

Regarding mining fertiliser, farmers should go back to good old-fashioned buffalo dung. There is an abundance of that fertiliser, still organic, still the best.

Vasserbuflox
Can't dump Trump

Re: "No to impeachment", (PostBag, Dec 12).

Even if Trump is defeated by a superkid Democratic opponent in 2020, don't assume this particular sociopath is down and out. He will likely argue the polls were fixed by a combination of the "deep state" and fake news. A call to his supporters to erect barricades and march on Washington would surely be heeded by the devoted legions. Are martial law and civil war a real possibility? In recent polls, a third of the electorate claim to believe so. Genies are notoriously difficult to stuff back into their lamps.

Barry Kenyon
Love or hate him

Vint Chavala says in his Dec 12 letter, "It looks like US President Donald Trump is facing an uphill task in making his presidency relevant." I beg to differ. his presidency could not be more relevant to the issues of the day, and this is demonstrated by the extraordinary level of news coverage and the equity markets' response to his every move.

As far as impeachment is concerned, this is a topic the Democrats use to distract from Trump's relevancy, not a genuine possibility, as anyone familiar with the US government knows.

I do agree with Mr Vint on one thing: the democrats should concentrate their efforts on locating a relevant candidate for the 2020 election as the current opposition they provide is not serving the American people well.

Michael Setter
Killer bends

While on holiday from England, for the last week my wife and I have been driving from Bangkok to Northern Thailand and back and have been appalled by the U-turns permitted on dual carriageways [divided highways], a practice unknown in Europe.

Having nearly driven into the back of an articulated lorry after dark that was undertaking such a manoeuvre with virtually no rear lights, I wonder how many injuries and deaths are caused by this. On returning to Bangkok, I observed that most of the gaps in the central reservation have been closed off. I would urge that this practice to be followed countrywide.

David Shamash
Driving me nuts

Why can't the authorities do something about the taxis and tuk tuks touting for passengers in front of Big C in Ratcheprasong Road? They cause traffic snarls and charge customers three or four times the normal fare. The law has to fix this ugly daily occurrence.

Patrick
Brexit unicorns

Unfortunately, Fireman Sam and Moto Guzzi Bob in their Dec 14 letters on Brexit have overlooked a critical challenge about the Irish border post-Brexit. A Free Trade Agreement alone will not deliver the frictionless border that the EU demands to protect the Belfast Agreement and the UK seemed to think was very simple. An FTA would deal with the customs duty, but being out of the Customs Union still has significant challenges. It would require customs declarations for every commercial shipment, a physical infrastructure to sample check freight, the ability to pay duty on products that don't qualify for the FTA and documentary checks on a host of non-tariff barriers such as import licensing. These checks would become more stringent if the UK signs FTAs that lower current EU product standards, particularly on agricultural products.

It's not the politicians preventing this being resolved. Unfortunately we need to wait for the unicorns to grow up and be trained as there are no current technology solutions that will give a frictionless border. In the meantime, the Withdrawal Agreement allows the Irish border to be as frictionless as it is today. It is a political question how long the Withdrawal Agreement and any backstop continues, and who can decide when it ends. But the solution is not only an FTA.

Paul Sumner
United Brits

With disunity in the United Kingdom -- I use the word "United" loosely -- over the Brexit issue, does the quote "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those others that have been tried" ring true? Is it not refreshing to see the British public exercising their right to free speech on this and any issue? The final outcome will not be to everyone's liking, but at least the public have had their say in which direction their country should take.

Ron Martin
Old-age paper hogs

I was looking forward for reading the two English-language newspapers during my coming train trip, but both papers were sold out in Hua Hin right after noon. So I went to a cafe for a coffee and a quick read of the papers I knew they keep there. No papers to see at the stand, so I went around. No papers to see there, either, before I spotted an old guy with the two papers on the second floor. I was in a kind of warlike mood and said, "Excuse me but could I have one of the papers as you can read only one at a time." Obviously unwillingly, he fumbled about folding one of the papers and gave it to me. I gave him a little lesson about selfishness and the cafe's service with the two papers there for all to enjoy. He replied and obviously meant I should thank him for his generosity.

In situations where sharing is the issue, humans show their real face. So if you had any thoughts about newspaper readers or older people as being more noble or cultivated than others, forget about it. Many just snatch the two papers as the most natural thing, and often don't even bring them back for others to enjoy. Once I saw a guy sliding one of the papers into his bag to secure both papers without being disturbed by people like me. And the egoists usually get their way, because most people are shy or not "brave" enough to encounter selfish people in situations where you are supposed to share.

A Johnsen
Hotel home no more

Word does get to San Francisco quickly. I am told than an iconic hotel on Soi Ngam Dupli in the Sathon district of Bangkok, a haven of comfort and gemütlichkeit (geniality) for generations, has once again raised its room rates.

The hotel is family owned, the owners millionaires many times over. A deceased guest who lived in the hotel for six years left a million British pounds to the hotel as a bequest in his will. The money was used to tart up the interior and exterior, yet left a lot to be desired due to the disastrous plumbing. The family name Ma means "horse" in Chinese, the associated colour being yellow. So horses and yellow paint were added to the décor. The result, I am told, is a cheap tinsel-like effect, an attempt at "respectability" that took away the charm of the original and made it somewhat akin to a clinic.

This is a pity. The hotel has been a home from home for many of its guests who are pensioners but are now looking at alternative places to stay. The hotel does not need that much money. Greed is the name of the game, and given a few lifetimes the owners will never spend what they now have. They should remember that, in the end, the grim reaper cannot be bought off or stalled, as many former guests have proven.

David James Wong
 

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