OPINION

Smog solution

Let's be honest about the air pollution and haze issue. More meetings and discovery panels are doing nothing about the issue itself. While the meetings are held, people are still suffering. Then it will be years before any solutions are implemented.

So how about some practical measures while the officials pontificate and procrastinate? Since most people cannot escape from the air pollution due to the lack of air filtration in homes, why not start a programme that alleviates health effects immediately?

Have the government issue air-filtration units to every citizen so that they can at least sleep breathing clean air!

This would deliver immediate relief while the politicians and business leaders drag their feet. Instead of buying attack helicopters, submarines, tanks, and armoured carriers for imaginary enemies, the money could be allocated to fighting a real and present threat to the safety and well being of the Kingdom. Make the design so that the filters can be "cleaned" instead of replaced to reduce pollution and operating costs. Such a move would also stimulate the economy on all levels from engineering and manufacturing to delivery. Ensure that the entire programme is truly transparent to eliminate most corruption. Even incorporate this into hotels as a way to counter negative tourism complaints over air pollution.

Everybody on every level would benefit from such an initiative with no downsides. Personal health would improve along with economic health.

End of the line

Bravo upon learning that the entire board of SRT have resigned, effective immediately. The board has been made up of fossilised dinosaurs who had absolutely no vision, no idea of improvement of services, and no idea in mind other than to sit on their you know whats waiting to collect their pensions.

Hopefully a new, younger, more dynamic board will replace them. I say "hopefully". I learned never to expect much or hold my breath when there is a corporate change of any kind, or any other change elsewhere as well.

TM30 tribulations

I refer to my PostBag letter of Sept 14 in which I detailed the difficulties of registering a TM30 with my nearest Immigration Office by registered mail.

On my second attempt, after providing an additional six pages of documentation on top of the five originally provided, I today eventually received back receipt of my registration.

This I believe is tantamount to not "reporting" your place or residence, but "proving where you live", which is a totally different ball game.

Attached to the receipt was a hand written post-it note saying that in future I should register online at http://www.immigration.co.th.

Of course, no such website exists, for the correct address is http://www.immigration.go.th., but you wouldn't expect an Immigration officer to know that, would you?

I decided to experiment but the navigation guide to find out where to lodge your TM30 registration is nowhere to be found.

In desperation I started working through the index only to find page after page coming up as "this site not available".

So next time I need to provide a TM30 it will be back to the 11 pages of A4 documents.