Published on October 25, 2005
Famed Thai smile feels a bit false in the current climate of political calamities
Re: “Thais have lots to smile about already”, Opinion, October 22.
Veenarat Laohapakakul, your editorial was right on! Where else can you go in the world and see so many happy people? Thai people are naturally happy when they see their buying power diminished every day as the government squanders the savings of the Kingdom on ill-thought schemes designed to reward the corrupt politicians and land developers who will be smiling all the way to the bank. The proposed new City of Light and Noise (Nakhon Suvarnabhumi) is another example of greed and corruption. The farmers of the area who hopefully will make good money selling their swampland will be smiling as they rush off to buy new trucks and mobile phones. The government can’t even get Bangkok in order and now they want to build a new city, all the while hampering the good intentions of Governor Apirak Kosayodhin. The PM is always smiling it seems, no matter what the problem of the day. Southern unrest? It’s a joke. No auditor-general ? She’s a joke! The mass transit “system” with all the colours of the rainbow? It’s a joke! Smile. The displaced Thais affected by the tsunami are all smiling as they now live kilometres away from their traditional areas and their lands having been handed over to corrupt men in power. The people of Phuket must be smiling at the thought of the billions of baht that will flow into their pockets when that lovely island welcomes the massive “Casino Royale and Cruise Ship Facility”. When you’re smilin’... keep on smilin’ The whole world smiles with you And when you’re laughin’ ... keep on laughin’ Cos’ the whole world’s laughing at you! (Apologies to Louis Armstrong). Now, we read that Presid..., er, Prime Minister Thaksin has told the governor of Bangkok that the Skytrain extension to Thon Buri is not going to be built! So there! Another concrete monument to government stupidity and total lack of planning? What is it with these people? Perhaps we should get rid of the lot of them and put some intelligent women in charge of this country and maybe then things would get finished efficiently, honestly and transparently. There is obviously something seriously wrong. Yes, there’s no need to spend money on telling the world that Thais are happy and smiling. The rest of the world can see after reading the newspapers that Thailand is one big joke. Maybe we can become the smiling hub of Asia. There’s a thought. If it weren’t so serious it would be funny. Ratcatcher Thon Buri -------------------------- Meeting of the ‘great recalcitrant’ leaders? Re: “Meeting of the like-minded”, Dom Dunn, October 23. I can recall a major political storm a few years back when a certain PM of another country referred to Dr Mahathir Mohamad as a recalcitrant. Impending meeting of “great recalcitrants”? Jack Doolan Bangkok US economy speaks on behalf of its educational system Re: “Lack of US linguists reflects lowered education standards”, Letters, October 23. Tom writes that Americans have become lazy. I wonder which Americans that would be. The US unemployment rate is about 5 per cent. Many working Americans have part-time jobs as well. The planet’s largest economy is run by lazy folks? Long lines of people wishing and hoping for the chance to join the American labour force can be seen outside US embassies around the world. Tom must know that there are in fact hundreds of educational systems in the US, some excellent, some good and some marginal. Parents interested in their kids’ education send them to the best schools they can afford. Just like parents the world over. Too bad Tom doesn’t want to address maths and science. But then he’d be hard-pressed to explain how it is that Americans continue to come up with so many lifesaving medicines and other hi-tech products. As for geography, I wish American teachers spent more time teaching the subject. However, I attended public schools in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and I manage to find my way around Southeast Asia. Steve Snyder Nong Khai -------------------------- No scientific backing behind Kyoto Protocol innuendo Re: “Scientists ponder rising sea levels”, News, October 19. The West Atlantic Ice Sheet (WAIS) in Antarctica is melting and large chunks of it are breaking off into the ocean, but this event is not necessarily alarming nor can it be related in any way to global warming or CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels. The latter events are recent, going back only a few decades, while the melting of the WAIS is a process that has been going on for thousands of years. Also, if the melting of the WAIS was due to a global event, then one would imagine that the East Atlantic Ice Sheet of Antarctica would also be affected, but that is not the case. If the entire WAIS melted, it would raise sea levels by six metres and cause an inundation of biblical proportions, but at 0.6 millimetres per year – that would take 10,000 years and the next ice age would likely occur long before. Your article does not appear to be motivated by objective scientific inquiry, but rather by a single-minded zeal to sell the Kyoto Protocol. Cha-am Jamal Phetchaburi -------------------------- At least Thaksin has the courage to take responsibility Re: “Who says it’s impossible? Just call the PM”, Opinion, October 20. Politics is dirty. One politician may be dirtier or cleaner than another, but corrupt they have been for centuries and will always be, no matter in democracies, communist systems or dictatorships. I believe in the Thai expression, “Better to have a politician who eats and builds rather than a politician who only eats”. PM Thaksin Shinawatra has said he will “take all the responsibility”. That’s good enough for me. Siri Angkasuwan Bangkok -------------------------- Scouts with blinkers covering their eyes Re: “It’s now or never if we want to save our planet”, Letters, October 23. Dr Charles Frederickson seems to have forgotten that the Thai Scout motto is not “Be prepared” but “It is better to die than to lie”. As scouting is compulsory in Thai schools, I wonder if this accounts for Thais’ lack of preparedness not only to face the facts but also the future. Roger Aslin Surin -------------------------- The PM should get out of the kitchen So Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has filed a multimillion-dollar libel suit because he was accused of being “power hungry”. What a wimp. Apparently Thaksin can’t take the kind of heat that’s imposed every day on leaders in real democracies, such as the United States and Europe. No one would blink, or even notice, if Bush or any European leader were so innocuously labelled. If Thaksin can’t handle the heat perhaps he should get out of the kitchen. On the other hand, truth is an absolute defence to libel, at least in the US and Europe. Perhaps the accusation against Thaksin should be amended to “power hungry wimp”. David Rich Phoenix, Arizona -------------------------- Who does the writer have in mind as a replacement? Re: “A tempting solution for the southern crisis”, Opinion, October 23. Sopon Onkgara suggests replacing Mr Thaksin with “somebody with clean hands, credibility, competence and good intentions”. Pray tell, Mr Sopon, do you have anybody in mind? It’s all too easy to sit in a safe cosy office and criticise. I believe you would probably sing a different tune if you had to live and work in the South. Than perhaps we could have some constructive pearls of wisdom from your overworked computer? Ch Chan Bangkok -------------------------- Good-news premier is putting us all at risk Re: “Thaksin accused of misleading the public”, News, October 23. Despite being convinced that your Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra learnt a lesson from the tsunami disaster, I am not very surprised to read that the Thai people once more are being fed misleading information. Ten months ago, Thai meteorologists were so frightened by the PM’s supposed reaction that they dared not warn the tens of thousands of tourists and inhabitants along the west coast about the very real danger of monstrous waves from the Andaman quake. Now the public is being deceived once more on a very delicate issue at a moment when every citizen is needed to defuse the H5N1 crisis. How can the Thai people and all the foreign tourists ever trust Mr Thaksin? A prime minister who wants only good news is putting the nation and all its guests at risk. Bo Gunnarsson Hong Kong
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