OPINION

Critical questioning

Re: "Anchilee did more than break old stereotypes," (Opinion, Dec 14).

Thank you Atiya Achakulwisut for the reminder that merely being a traditional belief or standard can never make any habit, custom, attitude, or law reasonable, fit for society, or just. What older generations might have accepted without question for no better reason than they did not in fact question its propriety should not reign absent reason and good morals over the living generation who can critically question the received wisdom of past ages, as the Buddha in his Kalama Sutta so wisely counsels.

Re: "Jaran joins jail-term outcry," (BP, Dec 14).

I fully support former Constitutional Court judge Jaran Pukditanakul in opposing jail sentence reductions for those guilty of corruption. Such cuts tell the venal: "Be corrupt! Even if caught, your sentence can be reduced!"

PM Prayut's rightfully placed fighting corruption on the national agenda -- but then has continually kicked own goals by making inmates guilty of graft eligible for sentence reductions four times in under 17 months (from August 2020 to now). His welcome words must be backed by decisive action.

Re: "Thais urged to trust in democracy," (BP, Dec 11).

I acknowledge that parliament president Chuan Leekpai is a venerable and respected figure on the Thai political stage.

But I was taken back by his urging Thais not to be disheartened by the current state of Thai politics, but "to have confidence in the democratic system".

What particular "democratic system" was he referring to, for wherever you look there is no "democratic system" in Thailand at the moment?

Re: "TAT calls for more tourism stimulus," (Business, Dec 14).

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is clearly an organisation that isn't working out for Thailand. They throw billions of taxpayers' money out of the window with their frivolous campaigns that don't work, constantly release fanciful predictions and don't seem to have their finger on the tourist pulse. If they really wanted more tourists, all they need to do is open the borders and ease entry restrictions. Thailand Pass should be scrapped as it clearly pushes potential arrivals away to more friendly destinations. As for mandatory insurance, let people decide between insurance and self-insurance so as not to exclude the elderly. And don't even get me started about the red tape and treatment of long-stay expats.

Re: "Pearl Harbor and the risk of surprise attacks," (Opinion, Dec 9).

The title of Bret Stephens write-up is wrong, it was not a surprise attack, it was a surprise to the American people.

President Roosevelt and a group of four or five men around him knew well in advance about this sneaky attack because American intelligence personnel on Hawaii had broken the Japanese code.

John Toland's book: Infamy: Pearl Harbor and its Aftermath, published in March 1982, reveals most of the behind curtains secrets. Stephens surely knows these facts as the writer par excellence of the world-renowned New York Times. It is mischievous if not dishonest to mislead his readership.