Published on May 30, 2005
Telecoms questionnaire lived up to the expectations of the parties involved
Comment and some criticism have been made in relation to the questionnaire for the telecom-sector public consultation, in particular in connection with the choice of language and the relatively short time frame given to complete the questionnaire. Despite such comments, the questionnaire proved useful, and provided for constructive feedback from many operators.
Traditionally, the telecom sector has been distinguished by the unique characteristics of the state and its state-owned enterprises. There are few laws guiding the Thai telecom sector. The CAT and TOT were the main authorities to implement and regulate telecommunication activities. Today this is no longer the case. The role of government and the private sector have blurred in the past five years. The recent enactment of the National Telecommunication Commission Act (NTC Act) and the Telecom Business Act have reformed many of the functions of the government. Given this transitional period, it is essential that the NTC consider, in addition to factors in Thailand, examples of overseas regulatory systems that have undergone a similar liberalisation process. Thus, many of the sources for the recommendations of the consultation paper came in the English language. Telecommunications is a developed global industry already rich with an established and technical vocabulary. We should take advantage of this resource so that fair comparisons can be made between the Thai regime and other international counterparts. In addition, we received abundant feedback from many operators, both in the Thai language and in English. We were extremely grateful for such feedback in either language. Thus, the use of English did not prove to be a barrier for people to provide thoughtful comments. Furthermore, the public consultation was aimed at reaching a broader audience than only the Thai community. Since these recommendations are in part based on foreign models, we wanted to include the comments of foreign companies and investors. For the above reasons, the public consultation paper is in English. Second, it appears that time was not a prohibitive factor, given that we received extensive comments and feedback from all of the major players. The objective of the public-consultation questionnaire was crucial to ensuring that accountability mechanisms are retained and implemented in accordance with the law. Additionally, the consultants gave equal consideration to comments that arrived after the deadline. We trust that having reflected on the full background as to why the English language was chosen for this particular questionnaire and its timing, that readers will rest assured that this was a carefully considered decision made for the best of reasons and in no way was intended to, or will result in, any individual or company being unable to make representations to the NTC on this matter, in either the Thai or the English language. Wisit Kanjanopas, Baker & McKenzie Bangkok ------------------------------ Farangs have it pretty easy in Thailand I’m a Thai living overseas and I’m very disappointed to read all the complaining letters in The Nation from farangs who are unhappy about their lives in Thailand. Some of the most popular issues seem to be visas, tax, discrimination and language. These people need a reality check. All countries have difficult immigration requirements: try getting a tourist visa to enter Australia. If you are a Thai and don’t have lots of money in the bank or good business connections, you’re treated as a potential over-stayer, prostitute or drug dealer. As for taxes, I’m sure these complainers would prefer to pay tax in Thailand at half the rate of most Western countries. As for discrimination, that also exists everywhere. Every Thai who has lived overseas can give you plenty of examples. By contrast, Thais are very tolerant toward foreigners living in their country. As for language, I’d like to see these farangs learn Thai to the high standard we have to learn English to survive in the West. If we don’t want to wash dishes in a restaurant or work in dirty factory conditions, we have to have more than just survival knowledge of English to get good jobs. By contrast, many of the farangs in Thailand speak little or no Thai. One of your correspondents even boasted about how he spoke with taxi drivers on his way to Sukhumvit! Just imagine the reaction here in Australia if newspapers were full of letters from Thais boasting about their kitchen English or complaining about life here in general. Put yourselves in our shoes and see how it feels. Sudsanguan Australia ------------------------------ Abuse of prisoners a threat to civilisation The American Civil Liberties Union has obtained documents from the FBI showing that there have been complaints from detainees about the desecration of the Koran by US military personnel and interrogators at Guantanamo since early 2002. Irene Kahn, secretary-general of Amnesty International, has been quoted as saying that the Guantanamo detention facility is the “gulag of our times” and she has also criticised the Bush administration for failing to undertake a full and independent inquiry into the maltreatment of Abu Ghraib detainees. Newsweek was forced to retract its accusations concerning recent desecration of the Koran at Guantanamo and the Wall Street Journal has called Amnesty International’s stance on this issue one of pro-al-Qaeda propagandists. In addition, US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has uncovered evidence that indicates that the abuse is not at all isolated, but – due to the way that the nature of the maltreatment goes so very deeply into the psyche of Arab and Muslim culture – is probably part of a coordinated policy. As a result, it has been suggested by right-wing media watchdogs that he be tried for treason. Over recent decades, there has been an ever-narrowing scope for “debate” in the mainstream media in so-called free societies, although self-censorship has always been a factor employed by journalists who fear the loss of their reputations. Since the events of September 11, 2001, debate has become almost undetectable, particularly in the US, the champion of “democratic” ideals. The Bush administration has silenced all dissenting voices within its entourage and almost anyone who takes a non-government line is labelled a terrorist sympathiser or leftist. This is not the way to conduct a democracy, this is the way to “The Dark Side” – if I may borrow from an (unnervingly relevant) icon of contemporary culture. There are certain debates being allowed, however. In Australia, a debate rages between law professors at a well-established university on whether the torture of detainees is now acceptable and to what extremes this torture should be allowed in order to extract information. In addition, Alberto Gonzales has started a lively debate amongst chief lawmakers in the US concerning what exactly constitutes “torture”. After the horrors of WWII, the Geneva Convention was brought about to try to abolish the mistreatment of prisoners and to bring justice to the perpetrators of torture. Although it simply won’t do to [compare] what has been going on under the supervision of US military personnel [with the atrocities committed during WWII], it is plain to see from the pictures that have been released that [torture] is what is indeed happening. There exists no proof that many of the detainees held at US facilities have anything at all to do with terrorist organisations and yet they are denied basic rights covered by the Geneva Convention due to very spurious legal manipulations of the rule of law. If this is allowed to continue, then everyone who has sat quietly trying to put these things out of their minds will be held responsible for the kind of “civil” society that will inevitably result a few years further down the line, which will affect us all. It has often been said that evil prospers only because good people do nothing. James Martin Bangkok ------------------------------ Thai wake-boarders deserve more coverage Thailand has three out of the six qualifiers for the wake-board semifinals, and you don’t mention them. Thailand’s No-1 wake-boarder was premiered on ESPN’s website for weeks, and there was nothing from the Thai media. Here’s one good address: http://www.asianxgames.com/xgames/koreax/koreaxgame_newsdetail_1506056.html Lota, Bunyalo Jumruang, Thai Wakeboard Association Bangkok ------------------------------ Best not to fiddle with the national anthem Re: “Govt wants a national anthem for every occasion”, News, May 25. In my opinion, this is ridiculous. Why would you want more than one version of the national anthem? I can understand changing it to make it more appealing to younger people, but changing the lyrics to make it easier to remember is just stupid. If you’re going to have two different versions of the anthem, with different lyrics, you might as well split up Thailand and have two different countries. And by the way, I am Thai. Kevin Kostikun Bangkok ------------------------------ Not all hope is lost for the legislature I breathe with relief that there are among Thailand’s MP’s honest people who are not afraid to stand proud for the truth. Shouting at people is not truth, nor is threatening people. Honesty is truth, a full examination of suspicions is truth, jailing graft seekers and payers is truth. Daithai Bangkok
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