OPINION

Dynamism needed

I don't look forward to street demonstrations, but it has become apparent that our leaders don't have the mindset necessary to face the challenges that are facing Thailand.

For example, our prime minister has apparently only just discovered Google and Animal Farm and appears to support an army chief who seems to be stuck in the '60s and '70s and is still worried about the "threat of communism".

We have a huge inequality of wealth in this country and even after nearly six years, this premier has done the absolute bare minimum to address that.

Although the education system is well funded, our children's education leaves a lot to be desired, while the military's budget seems to be disproportionately large for peaceful times.

The air in Bangkok is nearly unbreathable, while an environmental disaster with fast-rising sea waters is looming on the horizon, but no one in this government seems to know how to deal with any of it except to spray some liquid in the air.

We are already or soon to become an ageing society, but outside of employing some of the elderly in parliament, the government doesn't seem to have any kind of a plan to deal with this either.

Corruption remains a big problem, and agencies that are supposed to tackle it don't seem to be doing anything, while the government doesn't seem to care.

In short, we have a group of old cronies with a reactionary mindset, hopelessly stuck in the past and who represent only a small group of rich people at a time when we need young, dynamic leaders who represent the majority and who have a progressive mindset and the energy, know-how and solutions to deal with the challenges facing us.

Re: "Post offices up for sale", (BP, Dec 17).

Credit should go to your board's decision in streamlining the Bangkok Post's structure. Though commanding a respectable status as the one and only English-language publication of comprehensive news in Thailand may be difficult, because competition for good content in the digital world is fierce.

Even though the strength of your editorial stance has been unsurpassable and, has on many occasions surprised me on the courage you have shown in lambasting the powers-that-be, the paper may survive commercially.

I therefore wish you well on your new direction in outsourcing the printing side of things, and disposing non-productive assets in order to strengthen your base.

As a news junkie, I would hate to do without a reliable news source like you after the demise of your competitor.

Based on my experience, reducing the role of newsprint is the right step to take, since I have been reading your news via digital platforms for two years now. Also, I've not been jolted from my slumber early in the morning with the sound of your delivery bike.

Re: "Pareena land case plots a legal minefield", (BP, Dec 16).

"There is no double standard. We have the same practice between the rich and the poor under the same law," said Vinaroj Sapsongsuk, Agricultural Land Reform Office's secretary-general.

Therein lies the real challenge. The lawmakers themselves do not understand the true meaning of "double standards".

It does not refer to the law itself. No. Rather, it refers to enforcement of the law: is that (or is it not) the same for rich and poor alike?