Published on November 11, 2005
Thailand’s finest university deserves its newly confirmed high international standing
Re: “Chula among world’s best: poll”, News, November 3.
Congratulations are in order for Chulalongkorn University (CU), the oldest institution of higher learning in the country, for having ranked 121st on a list of the world’s top 200 universities published in the Higher Education Supplement of Britain’s The Times newspaper. Within Southeast Asia, CU comes third. It is ranked the 35th best university in the Asia-Pacific region. While others are clamouring for mediocrity, CU has committed itself, since its inception 88 years ago, to providing quality education. CU graduates are highly sought after by reputable local companies as well as foreign employers. By making it onto such a list, CU has set a new precedent and exemplifies that a Thai university is capable of acquiring such a stellar reputation. This sends a strong message to other state-supported universities to wake up and change course. The majority of them seem to be universities in law, but not in spirit. No wonder the energetic education minister, Chaturon Chaisang, in his message for reform, called for them urgently to take active roles in identifying problems and working out their solutions (“55% of secondary schools fail grade”, News, November 5). Once again, many thanks to CU for its strong and exemplary leaders, dedicated faculty, hard-working staff, talented student body and supportive alumni for a job well-done. This is welcome news, particularly in light of the many recent embarrassing news items concerning Thailand and international rankings, such our slip in media freedom in Reporters without Borders’ fourth annual World Press Freedom Index and in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index. Surapon Vatanavigkit Bangkok ---------------------------------- Cronyism and corruption doing great harm to society Having followed the airport scandal and the auditor-general story, it is apparent that Thailand suffers from ongoing corruption and failed ethics within its political culture. One would have hoped that after the turmoil of the 1990s in Thailand resulting from corruption and graft in the merry-go-round of Thai political and economic failure that it would have been possible to move onward to better and higher standards and practices in governance and oversight. Sadly, it appears that after only several years under the 1997 Constitution, Thailand is unable to shake off patterns of graft, cronyism and corruption. The failure to resolve the auditor-general conflict, the failure to enforce laws protecting national forests and reserves from exploitation and the airport graft saga all point to a lack of resolve to improve Thailand’s political culture and create a culture of government accountability. This failure will likely have deep and adverse affects on the future of Thailand. One can only conclude the current prime minister displays a curious indifference to combating or curbing corruption. So who then is benefiting from it or promoting it? Corruption has a corrosive effect on the conduct of the Thai government and allocation of public budgets. The integrity of a dedicated auditor-general is needed more than ever. The Thai people suffer the most from this dereliction and subversion. Shame on all those with such an obvious lack of integrity and uprightness who are perverting the system for personal gain or condoning such misbehaviour in others. History will reveal in time those who have once more taken Thailand into the swamps of dishonesty, avarice and corruption and been stealing from the Thai people. Not a Casual Observer of Thailand Bangkok ---------------------------------- Fuller explanations required about ‘CIA jail’ allegations The Thai people deserve to be told the full story in regard to this disturbing situation. 1. Did the Thai government allow the US to operate a prison here at any time in the past five years? 2. Were people ever held here in Thailand for the US government? 3. If the answer to 1 or 2 is “Yes”, where were the people held? Were they charged with a crime? Were they held in accordance with international treaties to which Thailand is a signatory? 4. Why would such a use of Thai soil be kept secret from the citizens of Thailand? 5. Is there now any such furtive facility in Thailand? It would be dishonest and hypocritical of the US to engage in such behaviour designed solely to subvert US law. If the US government and military are so keen to extol their laws as suitable for everyone else, why would they so keen to break them themselves? This issue raises a lot of questions. How many answers will be forthcoming? Peter F Bangkok ---------------------------------- Samui’s finest should crack down on lousy drivers Re: “Don’t always assume that police aid and abet scams”, Letters, November 8. It was encouraging to read Don Childs’ account of professionalism on the part of the Koh Samui police. I have lived on the island a long time, and hope to see a reversal in the trend towards complete mayhem on the roads. I have also lived in Chiang Mai, Phuket and Ranong and have spent many hours in taxis in Bangkok. Nowhere else but on Samui have I seen such complete disregard for (or ignorance of) traffic safety and laws by motorists. I suppose 20 years ago when the island was a sleepy outback, this didn’t matter so much. However it is expected that this year for the first time, Samui will pass the 1-million mark in tourist arrivals. Moreover, the number of residents is growing by the day. Speeding is rampant and most dangerously now done by drivers of trucks loaded with tonnes of construction materials. There is also a lot of driving on the wrong side of the road. Many people, especially young males on motorbikes, don’t seem to know how to make a right turn without straying right, while passing on the left at high speeds. On Phuket, they cracked down on helmetless drivers long ago, with excellent results. It’s now rare to see a bareheaded motorcyclist in Phuket town. When will we do the same on Samui? This year, with the advent of rainy season and the inevitable flooding that brings, when gridlock sets in on the main beach road, I have begun to see motorcyclists competing with pedestrians for space on the sidewalks, Bangkok style. About a year ago I had the opportunity to ask a high-ranking police officer here why so many children could be seen driving motorbikes on the island’s thoroughfares (yet another alarming aspect of the problem), and he said, “We stop them when we see them, but we don’t have enough staff to police the roads.” Please give Koh Samui’s police the support, personnel, vehicles and training they need to help protect our residents and the increasing number of people who visit the island. A Samui Resident Surat Thani ---------------------------------- Protestors in France need to learn about French culture Re: “Bombs in deep South wreck cars, wound 5”, News, November 9. Extremists in the South of Thailand blowing up cars and buildings and murdering people; militants in London exploding bombs and killing and wounding scores of innocents; North Africans on the rampage in France; extremists arrested in Australia for plotting a huge-scale terrorist attack; insurgents killing Iraqi police, women and children; and recently, Muslim youths on the rampage in Indonesia killing tourists and decapitating Christian girls. I was living in Paris some years back, when self-proclaimed radical Islamists bombed public places for no reason, killing and wounding scores of people. I often hear people argue that Muslims want their “rights”. Thus, they commit terrorist acts. But I wonder: do insurgents in Iraq propose to give the Iraqis their rights by bringing back the Baathists or setting up a fascistic state that deprives everyone of their most basic rights? On the issue of the ongoing violence in France, that country is an enlightened state that offers immigrants democracy, free education through university age, free medical care, subsidised housing, unemployment schemes and much more. The system may not be perfect, but it is largely better than living mired in poverty in a North African country. People have to take responsibility for themselves, not blame others. That large numbers of Muslims in France, Canada and elsewhere have succeeded by embracing Western values, democracy, tolerance and hard work proves the point and that it can be done. This is a true choice that they have made: to integrate themselves peacefully by using democratic life to their advantage; or choose to isolate themselves by following the wrong ideology that turns them into victims of fear, prejudice, hatred or even military campaigns. Their fate is in their own hands. A 2004 Pew survey shows that Osama bin Laden was viewed positively by large percentages in Pakistan (65 per cent), Jordan (55 per cent) and Morocco (45 per cent). That terrorism is the belief system and actions of a few misguided souls seems to be wrong; it is actually becoming a mainstream tendency. I saw on French television that many young North Africans in France have become seduced by the message of al-Qaeda. Resultantly, the average non-Muslim now views other Muslims with greater distrust and prejudice. This seems unfair, but I am only explaining the cause and effect. What Muslims need now is a Martin Luther King Jr. Where is the Muslim Gandhi? Where is the Muslim Dalai Lama? Would it be possible for a great leader preaching non-violence to spring from Islamic culture, or is a culture that promotes revenge, and justifies dying and killing in the name of religion along with hatred of non-Muslims, less likely to create a needed messenger of peace? TW Babcock Bangkok
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