OPINION

Locals should take charge

Re: "Army rejects calls to lift far South emergency law", (BP, Nov 8).

I fully agree with Prachachat Party leader Wan Muhamad Nor Matha, who said the responsibility for tightening security in the South should be handed to local authorities rather than the military. The army are rightfully called the fence of the country, because their role is to fight external aggressors, for example, if Malaysia invaded Thai soil. The RTA's expertise should be in conventional warfare.

But in the South, it's a fight for the hearts and minds of the populace, not for territory; there's no invasion. Such a struggle is not the RTA's to fight. Rather, it's a matter for the police and local authorities to handle, aided by the military if and as called upon. In all cases, the locals should be in charge. The police and local authorities should be recruited from those who know the language, religion, and culture of those whom they're seeking to woo, for reasons which should be obvious. To give this duty to the army would be to fit a square peg into a round hole, and a waste of resources.

Thailand losing out

Re: "Condo group seeks action to hike ownership transfers", (BP, Nov 9).

I am surprised to see that there is no mention of bad investment and immigration policies affecting the condo market in Bangkok and other locations. Foreigners are not necessarily looking for ROI, but are more interested in other benefits, such as long-term hassle-free visas and other fringe benefits. Why would any foreigner invest in property in Thailand when they are asked to report to the immigration office every 90 days and fill in TM-30 forms and other piles of papers? Unless foreign investment is closely tied to immigration policies, Thailand will be at the losing end.

Religion of politics

Re: "Any pure believers?" (PostBag, Nov 9).

David James Wong misunderstands a fundamental truth about religions. They are a subset of ideologies. As such, they share the common defects of ideologies, which are, at heart, divorced from reality, spirituality, and the pursuit of good morals. Religions, like any other ideology, reject truth-seeking, critical review of inherited moral precepts, and transparency exactly like communism, fascism, Stalinism, Maoism and many other overtly political ideologies.

In fact, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha adheres to the ideology of Thai Buddhism every bit as much as Xi Jinping follows his officially established communist ideology. The Thai prime minister practices the teachings of the local ideology, which preaches, for example, that it's okay to kill, or to order paid servants to kill animals and even humans with the proper dispensation, to lie your heart out about plotting a coup, to censor the peaceful expression of honest opinion and research to prevent correct understanding of national affairs, and so on. This all comports strictly with the ideological underpinnings of the traditional Thai state and its loyal religion.

The popes of the Roman Catholic version, among other Christian ideologies, have ever been equally in love with similarly un-Christ-like abuses as they cavort in over-the-top embroidery in the gaudy palaces of Rome well-stocked with young alter boys and Swiss guards to keep out nosy investigators who threaten to bring the teachings of Christ into their gilded halls of conservative tradition backed by despotic rule of law and rigorously entrenched social norms.

It is no accident that Galileo was condemned to prison by the popes, that various Christian sects still condemn Darwin, or that the Vatican State remains to this day a secretive sovereign state untrammelled by democratic norms.

And then there is the well-known set of variations on the Islamic ideology loyally serving the secular interests of a range of entrenched political hierarchies around the world.

Silly restrictions

The 7am Mcot morning news reported a news story about the Teach for Thailand organisation, which hopes to bring education equality to every child across the country. I'm a retired teacher, a licensed speech therapist as well as a qualified language instructor. I live in the boonies.

There are no Westerners, and there never have been any around here. There is a little government school about 500 metres from my house. How I'd love to volunteer my time a few hours a week. I would so much love to interact with the younger generation and give the kids in my area the benefit of my experience. I've been asked by a few teachers from time to time. It is truly a pity for the kids who are missing out on a golden opportunity, and a pity for the Ministry of Education and the Immigration Bureau that they have such unfounded and silly restrictions.