OPINION

Let the people speak

Re: "Money to be made, on and off the tables", (Opinion, Jan 11).

I fully agree with this opinion piece. You, dear reader, and I should not meekly accept the corruption that permeates our society. As Khun Vicha Mahakun's panel found out, corruption is so pervasive that it's systemic throughout the police and prosecutors -- it's not a few rotten apples, the whole barrel's rotten.

Rayong, for example, doesn't have just the one uncovered den: Goggle Map lists fully 10 casinos in the province. Also, moving a cop is just a ploy so the media spotlight will move on. There are no public statistics on the results of each investigation of the transferred cop.

What can you do, dear reader? For starters, pressure PM Prayut to release the full report of Khun Vicha Mahakun's panel on the investigation into Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya's disappearance and vigorously implement its recommendations. Also, national top cop Pol Gen Suwat Jangyodsuk should ask cops at all levels what they want to see the RTP become in five years, and turn it into a strategic plan.

But that's like a housing village's chief security guard asking the other guards what they want to do. Rather, he should ask the home owners what they want and accomplish that.

Who owns our beloved country? It's we citizens in the fields, paddies and streets, of course. Ask us, Gen Prayut, through public hearings nationwide, and present your plan to us, through our elected representatives, for review.

"Evil will flourish where good men do nothing", Edmund Burke noted. It will flourish only if you see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil, sir and madam.

Re: "Money to be made, on and off the tables", (Opinion, Jan 11).

What do cockfighting, horse racing, boxing and the lottery in Thailand have in common? The answer is they all have a gambling culture at their roots and, except for the underground lottery, are all legal. On the other hand, casinos are illegal and, like prohibition in the US during the 1930s, they are forced underground, thereby opening them up to corruption and a gangster culture.

It is a well-known fact that anything that is prohibited will eventually find its way underground and will be almost impossible to police. So why is it taking Thailand so long to come to this realisation? Or could it be that the powers that be are already aware of the facts and are reluctant to share with their citizens the profits from a well-regulated casino culture?

Re: "Appeasement got America where it is today", (Opinion, Jan 8).

In Thailand, military coups have been accepted as the last resort. Sadly, in America, we see the rise of a similar trend but with a civilian twist in the form of "Coup Klux Clan". The right-wing fanatical elements in America have found their leader. It is just a matter of time before American politicians engage in the gutter politics prevalent in Third World countries. The new show of a sham democracy has begun. Lady Liberty must have tears in her eyes. Jan 6, 2021, a sad day in American history, indeed.