Reuters due for thanks
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha should thank Reuters for its investigative reporting, partially quoted by Phuketwan, which exposed the trafficking of Rohingya migrants and won Reuters a Pulitzer prize. Absent their expose, Gen Prayut might not have undertaken his highly commendable actions against this foul trade.
That the Reuters report implicating Thai authorities is likely to be accurate is shown by Gen Prayut’s praiseworthy and unprecedented arrest of a lieutenant-general and other officials for trafficking.
The court cases against Phuketwan seem aimed at killing the messenger who brings an unwanted truth. Gen Prayut should back up his actions against trafficking by ordering the navy to drop its suit immediately, and file a friend-of-the-court brief pointing out the debt that Thailand owes to Phuketwan.
Burin Kantabutra
Lifeguards no solution
Re: “Phangan mulls lifeguards after jellyfish death,” (Online, Aug 2).
Was it a chironex or irukandji? Both are difficult to spot, the latter almost impossible. The former can kill immediately, the latter has a delayed ​but more toxic effect.
Urine is supposed to be more effective than vinegar.
The irukandji is a true box jellyfish and is about the size of a thumbnail.
The chironex is not classified as a box jellyfish and used to be called a sea wasp or blue bottle in Australia and has very long tentacles, the nematocysts of which stay active after it dies.
How can you possibly train lifeguards to see something that is almost invisible in the ocean water? It took Australian marine biologists years to identify the chironex.
Nets are the only deterrent, as they have in Darwin, Australia.
Bernie Hodges
Hypocrisy of cruelties
Louis Theroux (Re “Lion killer is now the hunted prey of social media vigilantes,” BP, July 31) rightly draws attention to the hypocrisy of condemning the cruel killing of Cecil the lion while supporting the needless killing of other animals raised for food.
One hideous farming practice he mentions is the mincing up of millions of live male chicks hatched by the egg industry.
Cecil suffered for 40 hours. The animals incarcerated inside our grim, sunless factory farms endure a lifetime of suffering.
Jenny
Every drop counts
Here in Pattaya last week the water supply to my house was cut off for over two days. Before I realised it, over half of my water tank was gone. Despite frugal measures I had to buy water and a full tank cost me nearly as much as my monthly bill.
Quick, short showers and short washing machine cycles were put in place, with little personal discomfort.
The water thankfully is back on now but I respect and value it much more than before.
It is time for us all to do our bit helping ourselves and the environment.
Water you waiting for? Cut back today!
Khun Frosty
Enforce SIM deadline
Re “NBTC seeks deadline for 16.9M unregistered SIMS,” (BP, Aug 2).
I urge the NBTC to keep to the existing deadline and cut off those unregistered SIM cards after it.
It’s apparent that few Thais listen and respect laws and regulations, while authorities also lack the intention to enforce deadlines. There were many laws and rules that have been delayed despite the deadlines. Sometimes these laws are forgotten by both the public and even the authorities.
RH Suga
Lax rules stall country
The PostBag section will get a flood of letters from non-Thais in response to the request to the NBTC to extend the SIM registration deadline.
Non-Thais will say Thais are never on time or follow schedules and yet suffer no consequences — hence our falling behind our neighbours.
Thailand is a paternalistic society and its people are treated as such with the full support of the leadership.
Singburi Son
Words runneth over
One has learned to accept being inundated with superlatives by your motoring correspondents.
But surely, some sort of red line must have been breached by the phrase “Over 100% of luxury SUV users in Thailand stick to the concrete stuff”? (Life, Aug 3)
Michael Winckless
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