OPINION

No need for SEC

Re: "Pay heed to fears of SEC", (Editorial, Oct 8).

They already have the Southern Industrial Estate about 30km west of central Songkhla and it's virtually abandoned, with only two or three factories operational. Lots of land for sale if there were any demand. No law enforcement and an abundance of land in the South mean factories can open and operate nearly anywhere; they don't need to pay extra for industrial estate land.

Pailin Chuchottaworn has urged the government to fully reopen Thailand to prevent it collapsing. Congratulations to Mr Pailin for having the courage to state the obvious (BP, Oct 6).

The government has not informed us accurately just how deeply its unnecessary Covid policies have driven the nation into economic recession. Poverty equals death for the poor. Lost opportunities, malnutrition, unemployment, infant mortality, the list goes on and on. What has been gained by the lockdown in all its various forms? Nothing, because the population has not acquired widespread immunity. Therefore we will inevitably witness a rapid rise in cases in the coming winter months. If there had been adequate testing we would now be seeing the upward trend already.

There are high-risk and low-risk countries, in terms of catching the virus. Thailand is not proposing to import whole countries, but simply to allow in tourists who are not infected. This is the key point that some officials can't grasp. It does not matter where the visitor comes from, so long as he or she does not have the virus. If the visitor is tested before departure as virus-free and is repeatedly tested over 14 days' quarantine before being released into the country, it matters not one jot how high-risk is the country whence they came.

Thousands of expats are waiting to return to the country they'd made their home. These people contribute hugely to the Thai economy. Apart from the economics of this, there is an astounding lack of humanity in allowing tourists in before people who were living here and have been separated from their friends and their possessions for many months. Equally puzzling are the lists published each day of people who have arrived in Thailand and tested positive. They have been from Russia, the UAE, Pakistan, USA, India, Tajikistan and more. Some are Thais returning home but others are not. How on earth did they do this under the current restrictions? Maybe it is easier to get a Certificate of Entry in Russia or Tajikistan than it is in England.

So here is how to boost the economy in one stroke: Simplify the paperwork involved and allow tourists/returnees from anywhere so long as they undergo the testing and quarantine at their own expense. This is no risk to Thais and there are thousands, myself being one, who are waiting and willing to do this.

On Koh Samui the noise of diggers clearing the natural forest is very common. With the lack of tourists, however, the reason is usually not for building development but to plant coconut trees. Why? To avoid the new land tax!