Published on November 17, 2005
Ruling on Egat gives hope that wealth may be more equally shared in Thailand
Re: “PM dealt Egat blow”, News, November 16.
I’m glad to hear about the court’s judgement. I hope that there is still justice in this country. Please do not make our rich become the richest in the world because then we would have an even more enormous number of poor people here and more poverty. A Thai Bangkok ------------------------------------ Lessons for both sides in privatisation row Re: “PM dealt Egat blow”, News, November 16. Amidst the fervour of fighting for one’s cause, it’s easy to lose one’s temper and use violence. The anti-Egat privatisation people have a point, for, as Democrat leader Abhisit pointed out, PM Thaksin hasn’t kept his promise to establish the vital independent commission needed to monitor Egat after privatisation. But resorting to force boomerangs, turning the public against one’s cause. Privatisation opponents have the perfect legal right to make their point known – but by the same token, they must fully respect the rights of others. I was saddened to see groups try to block Egat employees from entering their workplace, clashing with the police. When I was a picket, carrying a sign fighting racial discrimination in the US (which included discrimination against Thais), we rigorously followed the law: pickets had to be one to one and a half yards apart, and could not block or even say anything to keep customers out. All was peaceful; we got much favourable publicity, and a single policeman on-site was enough to enforce rule of law. Protest all you want, but respect the rights of others. In the case of Egat privatisation, I fully agree with energy expert Piyasvasti Amaranand, who said that PM Thaksin should use the court-imposed delay to address the concerns raised, eg, the conversion of a public monopoly to a private one, control over the transmission network, pricing for low-income consumers, and establishing a regulator that is independent in fact and not just in name. If PM Thaksin uses the time constructively as above (rather than waiting for the stars to come into alignment), when Egat finally lists, investors will have more confidence, not only in Egat, but in other privatisations waiting in the wings. This time, PM, let’s do it right. Burin Kantabutra Bangkok ------------------------------------ In today’s world, cultures aren’t so ‘native’ anymore Re: “Norway’s case is hardly comparable with Thailand’s”, Letters, November 15. Funk Soul Bruhva asks “Did the Samis obtain their semi-autonomy in Norway by beheading people”. Well, as a matter of fact, in late 1970s and early 1980s, there were severe fights between the Samis and the Norwegian government. Indeed, over the last 150 years there have been a number of clashes between the Samis and the government. If all those incidents ended up in creating semi-autonomy for the Samis I can’t say for sure, but it certainly woke people up to their cause and had lasting affects on politics in Norway. The Samis wish to have power enough to interfere with lawmaking, thus they don’t want laws which don’t reflect the Sami culture just banged on to their heads. We normally call that politics, which all members of a society are entitled to participate in. I suppose you’re referring to some activists in the South that wish to impose shariah law. Well, not all Muslims want shariah laws implemented, at least not fully. Modern Muslims (those I know about, at least) claim that shariah law is somewhat outdated. Even if I disagree with many of the sentences in the Koran as in the Bible, too (I am an agnostic), I still have to respect their view, unless they are forcing their religion on me. The majority of Muslims in the South do not at all accept or approve the insurgents’ so-called war (I call it terrorism), being it beheading people, shooting to kill or whatever else they do to force their opinions on the everyday guy and girl. Mentioning that Islam is an imported Arabised culture is like saying that Buddhism is an imported Ceylonised culture. Following this rather questionable logic, if we condemn and prohibit the “Arabised culture”, we have to condemn and prohibit our Buddhism, too? Just because it came over from Sri Lanka many hundred years ago? We do not live in a vacuum. We live in a world that is constantly changing. Even in the ancient years of Princess Suriyothai, Siam was influenced by tradesmen from both Europe and Arabia. Thus making some become Muslims and others become Christians, and whatever else. My intention in my previous letter (“Norway’s treatment of Samis holds lessons for Thailand”, November 13) was to state the view that I certainly do disapprove that Thailand should follow the Turkish model in solving the problems related to the unrest in the South. As you may know, the Turks have killed hundreds of thousands of Kurds during the last century. I really hope that our PM instead will try to solve the problems in a peaceful manner. The similarity between the Samis in Norway and the Thai Muslims in the South is that the great majority of people in these regions do not want to be separated from the country they are in. The Samis are Norwegians (and Christians), but with their own cultural basis and, now, with their cultural rights fully protected by the laws of Norway. What’s wrong with that? Eivind Trana Bangkok ------------------------------------ Walk a little farther and you’ll pay a lot less for a taxi ride Re: “Cab drivers give arrivals a bad impression of Bangkok”, Letters, November 15. Suraporn Vatanavigkit complains about discourteous treatment and overcharging on the part of queued up taxis at the Mor Chit II bus station. My own experience is: never take a taxi that is standing still, and never take one associated with any transport terminal anywhere in the country. The solution at Mor Chit II is simple. Just walk a tiny bit farther and a slow-moving cab from the street will carry you anywhere at the metered rate and without complaints. I do it all the time. Frank Lombard Bangkok ------------------------------------ Worth it to make sure that cab drivers turn on the meter Re: “Cab drivers give arrivals a bad impression of Bangkok”, Letters, November 15. I understand the frustration of taxi riders coming from Mor Chit II. I believe unless spoken to, the driver should keep quiet throughout the ride. And as the taxi fare goes, I think anything more than what it reads on the meter is a rip off. The meter is there for a reason. Let the meter do its job. When taking a taxi to my home on the outskirts of Bangkok, often taxi drivers don’t want to use the meter. They ask you to pay certain amount, which I know for a fact is much more than what it would have cost, if you paid by the meter. When I arrive in Thailand at Don Muang airport, the first major unpleasant event is the taxi ride. If this is what Bangkok has in mind for attracting tourists, may be it should go back to the taxi system it used 15 years ago that relied on bargaining. At least it’s more interesting. Chul ‘Cho’ Chang Nakhon Pathom ------------------------------------ Criticism of neo-creationists not made too intelligently Re: “Little-rat looking dogs defy notions of intelligent design”, Letters, November 15. Whilst Hans Ulman’s opposition to “intelligent design” being taught in US schools is to be applauded, his knowledge of biology is unfortunately sorely lacking and perhaps betrays the failings of the education system he was schooled in. Duncan Crawford Bangkok ------------------------------------ Suffering from floods, noise and traffic in a forgotten soi Recently I moved to Ramkhamhaeng Soi 2. Even if it rains just a little bit, my street fills with water. The flood often lasts three or four days as the roads are in very bad condition. There are many people and students who live in the apartments in this area. Sometimes the traffic is very heavy, due to big containers being stored in this area. Big and heavy trucks run through the day and night. It would be greatly appreciated if the Bangkok government could look into these issues and do something to help the residents in need here. Robert Bangkok ------------------------------------ Hypocritical for China to lecture on imperfect leaders Re: “Koizumi-Hu meeting ruled out”, News, November 16. The Chinese government’s advice to Japan is that it should learn from Germany’s post-war rejection of Hitler and stop worshipping tyrants. They are referring the annual visit to the Yasukuni shrine by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The Chinese are walking on thin ice. They might wish to be a little more careful with the wording of their protest particularly in invoking Hitler. After all, the other two members of the trio of modern mass-murderer tyrants are Stalin and Mao. One of these individuals is widely worshipped in China even more so than paying annual visits to a shrine. It should also be noted that this individual caused more harm to China than the sum total of harm caused by Japanese aggression. All nations have skeletons in their closets. No useful purpose can be served in using them as a basis for forming foreign policy. Cha-am Jamal Phetchaburi
Post your comment to this story here