Burin Kantabutra is fond of citing mottoes and quotations. I mean no disrespect, but doing this habitually can become boring. Impeachment and a vote of no confidence are only measures within the framework of democracy that is inside his imagination. He forgets that in parliamentary systems the world over, Thailand included, prime ministers have resigned over mistakes, pressures, intra-party struggles and many other reasons.

Burin does not have to worry about Thailand post-Thaksin. He is not even close to being indispensable. A leader will emerge. Remember Anand Panyarachun after Chatichai Choonhavan? He came out of nowhere to provide capable leadership after Chatichai was robbed of his post in a silly coup d’etat. Remember Kukrit Pramoj? He was a writer and newspaper editor before forming the Social Action Party. After Thaksin, Thai Rak Thai will disintegrate in a month. If you ask Thai Rak Thai members to explain their party’s ideology, they will stutter and stumble hopelessly. You know all too well the adhesive holding them together, and if you do not know the reason for the Thai Rak Thai landslide, ask Thai Rak Thai canvassers around the country.

You are fond of quoting, “The people get the government they deserve”, but you are blind to its true meaning. People can change, and they can rise up to change their government. It is their birthright.

Netirat Intira

Bangkok

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Rumours of an out-of-court settlement are groundless

Re: “Shin in the dock in its own lawsuits”, Editorial, February 12.

Lots of thanks for your good editorial. The Campaign for Popular Media Reform and myself want to see an honest verdict on March 15, too.

Don’t worry at all; we have never demanded that they withdraw the lawsuits since deciding to go to trial last year, with all the great effort we have made and all the support from around the world. And we won’t ask them to do that, for sure.

Everything we have done has always been open to public scrutiny. We have never ever met them behind the scenes. Particularly myself; I have never talked to them outside of the courtroom. I know, we know, and they know. That’s a woman’s promise.

Truth and liberty must prevail, and we won’t betray our own faith.

Supinya Klangnarong

Campaign for Popular Media Reform

Bangkok

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Singapore set to govern Thailand like it does itself

Now that the Singaporean government owns Shin Corp, watch it apply itself to the court case against Supinya Klangnarong and instigate new ones against any others who dare oppose one-party rule in Thailand, just as it does in Singapore.

Associated Press recently carried a story on the fate of a Singaporean politician who dared oppose the Singaporean autocrats: “Singapore Opposition Leader Declared Bankrupt”.

Thaksin has turned Thai politics over to the “benevolent” dictatorship of the Chinese diaspora headquartered in Singapore.

John Francis Lee

Chiang Rai

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Referendum on changing charter is a ludicrous idea

Re: “PM may put Constitution to the people”, February 12.

I have never heard of a referendum changing a constitution. What change? Which article(s)? What are you talking about? There must be a reference to a specific issue, to prepare a public debate on it. Are we supposed to discuss everything about it? This move either shows a complete lack of understanding of democratic procedures and the amateurish way this government is running and ruining a democratic state or is another typical piece of that chicanery the ruling party is good at. This latest display of how to corrupt and manipulate democratic principles and procedures is driving me to get in line to sign for the removal of this disgraceful prime minister from his post.

Rujaya Abhakorn

Bangkok

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Some repeat visitors come here 12 times every year

The “real” tourist market is small when compared with the permanent resident “tourist” market. A long-term Thai visa is so difficult to acquire that many expats just make “the run” every month. Nearly half of all tourist visas are issued to permanent residents. Permanent in name only, that is. Just send a reporter on one of the well-advertised bus runs to the border and have them count expats and “temporary tourists”.

Michael Weldon

Udon Thai

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Problem of bad taxi drivers is indeed serious in Bangkok

Re: “Taxi ordeal followed by tuk-tuk nightmare”, Letters, February 13.

The letter from A Concerned Thai Resident prompts me to add a few words to his or her description of the shabby treatment many (most?) foreigners are subjected to in Bangkok by unscrupulous, unpleasant and often reckless taxi and tuk-tuk drivers. What are the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and Thai Tourism Authority doing to rectify this outrageous situation? Don’t they hear or see anything?

Why not launch a courtesy campaign to teach these people the basics in decent human behaviour and also, by the same token, have them take some driving lessons and teach them the geography of Bangkok? (So many of them are at a loss finding their way around.) Don’t the municipal and tourist authorities realise that these guys give a bad image to the travellers? They are the first Thais dealt with outside the airport. Or does the fact that some big shot courts them by organising lotteries and distributing cash to them place them out of the reach of the law? It is a real shame.

I, for one, never fail to warn my friends and colleagues coming to Bangkok to be on their guard when taking a cab; brace themselves (no seat-belts in the backs of taxis), because speed limits are no obstacle; check that the driver turns the meter on and get out immediately if he refuses to do so; and make sure to carry small change, to avoid being short-changed.

Of course, you occasionally meet a nice and honest driver, but these are the exceptions that prove the rule. As for the police, tourist or not, I wouldn’t bet 10 satang on them (although again, there are exceptions). Bangkok, you still have a long, long way to go before hoping ever to become a hub a la Singapore, and no amount of pretentious commercial centres or six- or even seven-star hotels is going to change that as long as nothing is done to improve services at street level.

Hadrianus

Bangkok

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Thailand is not blameless in regard to Malaysia’s HIV rate

Re: “Malaysians need to look inward to explain HIV rate”, Letters, February 11.

The letter referring to the proposed compulsory HIV testing for Malaysian couples who plan to marry is correct in indicting Malaysia for showing “its flair for discrimination and irresponsibility”. It is also fair to criticise the Kelantan state chief for citing that one reason for the spread of HIV is that “local men travel outside the state to have sexual encounters and then return to their wives”. To blame outsiders and not deal with the problem is being irresponsible. But how does one deal with a situation in which a Muslim state works to repress the sex trade, and a more democratic state virtually encourages the trade and all foreigners who wish to use it? The Thai sex trade is well known, and the southern sex trade, from Hat Yai to the Malaysian border, is very well known, especially to Malaysians.

Letter writer Panuwatana Ittigusumaln correctly states that the national HIV rate is falling in Thailand; but this still leaves around 600,000 infected Thais and 14,000 new infections per year. Furthermore, the reduction is not uniform throughout the country; in fact, it is still rising in many places outside of northern Thailand. Most of the women in the sex trade in the South are from the North and Northeast, and many have undoubtedly been exposed to the risk of contracting HIV. It is also fair to blame the Malaysian men who come across the border – from their “overly restrictive or oppressive [state] ... to take comfort in Thailand”.

However, what about the “lasciviousness” of Thai men who have been able to create a huge sex industry that beckons all and sundry? Burma has a serious Aids epidemic, in part due to tens of thousands of its women working in the sex trade in Thailand. Yunnan in China, Laos and Cambodia have all been affected by the HIV/Aids epidemic in Thailand that is fuelled by the unfettered sex trade.

Foreign Observer

Pathum Thani

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Lots of oil all around us, but we just can’t use it for energy

I keep seeing references to the “oil shortage”. But Thailand is awash with oil. Both the cities and the countryside are drowning in oil. The only trouble is it is in the form of plastic bags, cups, bottles and other debris. Plastic is derived from oil but treated as a renewable resource like scrap paper. Everywhere you look, there is discarded plastic: along the streets, in vacant lots, along the highways, along village roads, behind shops and houses or around markets. Thailand is becoming paved with discarded plastic bags.

Everything we buy is put into plastic bags, sometimes bags into bags. When we go to the supermarket, our food ends up in easily a dozen bags. Some bags have only one item. We need to use far fewer bags and find ways to recycle them. Even landfills (as opposed to littering) are not the answer. Plastic is oil, and oil is non-renewable. The price of oil has risen dramatically, making bags more expensive, too. We can’t afford to waste them anymore, and the environment is choking to death on them.

Terry E Miller

Nonthaburi

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