OPINION

Thai Pass worries

Re: "Antigen tests plan for visitors", (BP, Nov 26).

I am happy to see that the government has decided to introduce ATK testing for people entering Thailand from Dec 16 onwards.

My concern is: Will the Thailand Pass be updated to reflect this for travellers who are caught in the middle? I myself will be making a trip overseas leaving Dec 6 and will return to Bangkok on Dec 24. For peace of mind, I want to apply for may Thailand Pass in good time as it takes seven working days to process. But I am concerned that if I apply too early the system will still ask me for a hotel reservation as now exists. A thorough clarification by the government would put a lot of minds (my own included) at rest and indeed an investigation by the Bangkok Post would be more than welcome.

I hope (in this time of IT simplicity) that the Thailand Pass will be updated to allow for returnees on different dates, and the powers that be are working on that now.

Re: "Frenchman faces deportation for Facebook post", (BP, Nov 28).

In my own personal opinion, Mr Marchal although having a Thai wife and having lived in Thailand for 18 years, should not have involved himself with Thai politics.

No matter what, he is still an outsider or alien in this country. Unless maybe he already has Thai citizenship and he can protest and argue like a Thai.

Re: "Prayut: Amnesty International to be investigated", (BP, Nov 26).

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha's appeasement of some unknown percentage of the Thai people is perhaps more telling than the PM and his fans would like it to be. The given reason for the official investigation of Amnesty International is that its acts are alleged to have "undermined [Thai] national security". But this must raise profound, and profoundly worrying, questions about the Thai nation as it exists.

If those calling on the prime minister to oust Amnesty International are correct in their allegation that free speech and respect for the human rights of Thais must be suppressed as matters of national security, what does that say about the Thailand that Prayut and his like have wrought over past decades? Is that really the sort of nation of which any substantial number of Thais can be proud?

And then there is the damage such a course of action must inflict on the international reputation of Thailand.

It is debatable whether Santa will have anything nice for Thai policy-makers as he eschews naughty elements. Moreover, he is also likely to shun immigration red-tape and Covid paperwork, although he should be classed as a VIP. One fondly imagines that he enjoys a beer or two (a nip too?) during his journeys and deplores endless milk and cookies (must be gluten-free). However, on his brief visit here a beer is out of the question unless he visits a supermarket where he will be baffled when greeted by lots of pretty ladies wearing modified versions of his hat (copyright ignored) as well as face masks. Further, he will have to time his purchases correctly to observe the law.