OPINION

Drowning in plastic

Re: "Time to tackle plastic", (Editorial, March 2).

It is with great dismay that, after a lull, convenience stores, gasoline stations, coffee shops and bakeries in Thailand are doling out single use plastic bags with gusto.

The whole world is trying to reduce the scourge of plastic but the message is simply not getting through to Thai people or Thai companies. It is unusual to see a Thai person not laden down with plastic bags and foam food containers.

Thailand is covered -- from North to South, East to West -- with garbage, most of it plastic and a lot of that waste still carrying the names of the stores which uncaringly handed it out.

This is Thailand, Thai people can do what they like to their country but plastic is now embedded within the food chain and ultimately, is damaging all life on earth.

Thai plastic waste invariably ends up in the oceans and spreads round the world poisoning life indiscriminately.

Thai people simply don't care.

Re: "3 million infections since 2020", (BP, March 6).

I thought we were supposed to be "Learning to live with Covid-19"? It seems the authorities here are firmly stuck in "prevention" mode.

With Covid-19 already endemic in Thailand, further restricting businesses is pointless, since people are just as likely to catch the thing from friends and family at home, than at a hospitality venue.

Frankly, the TOT should stop wasting their time with promotions until the government allows the hospitality industry to operate fully normally.

I would like to see genuine "learning to live with" initiatives, such as specialist training for healthcare workers, more realistic advice for people who test positive, such as "just stay at home", provision of better treatment drugs and practical measures for public premises where infections occur, preferably that do not involve closing for 14 days!

Lastly, the government and media organisations must wean themselves off the drug of scaremongering.

Your esteemed organ can play its part, by focusing articles on how restrictions continue to blight lives and businesses, thus encouraging their removal, while minimising coverage of infections and deaths.

Re: "Aged society needs new provident fund", (Opinion, March 2).

My wife who is 62 recently discovered that she, as a Thai citizen, had become eligible for a state pension when she reached the age of 60.

Last week she opened a bank account at the Government Savings Bank to receive her monthly payments of 600 baht.

Then she visited her local administrative office to register for her monthly payments. She was advised:

1. That she would not receive any payments for the previous two years as she had not registered with the office to receive her pension in these years.

2. She would not receive any payments for the months of March, April, May, June, July, August and September 2565 (2022) as the money for year "65" had all been disbursed and the "66" allocation would not be received until October 2566 (2022).

The office staff did ask why she had not registered earlier to receive her pension. She replied that she was not aware that she was eligible to receive one.

My wife and I have postulated that her pension payments for 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 have been diverted to the fund to pay for the next submarine!

CONTACT: BANGKOK POST BUILDING