LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Voting was not only a duty but also the only way to get Thaksin out
Re: "A 'no' vote could end up being a vote for Thaksin", Letters, April 1.
Greg Lowe's conclusion was incorrect and harmful to Thai voters just a day before the voting. Or was the letter supposed to be an April Fool's joke? If you cast a "no" vote on the ballot paper, besides being a good citizen under the Constitution you could also have kept Thaksin from being prime minister again, if that was your wish. His public statement that he would not take the post if his party commanded less than half of the votes cast was truly a commitment, no way out. If you stayed at home, he has more chance of getting the required half because the pie of votes cast will be lopsided in favour of the Thai Rak Thai, with fewer anti-Thaksin "no" votes. This is something the opposition parties and People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) have made a bad job of. Instead of using the opportunity to legally keep Thaksin out and play within the rule of law, they preferred to use emotion to stop the election and sack Thaksin even during his caretaker period. They simply let a big fish out of their net; they should have focused on drumming up the population to vote "no". The choice was simple: either one of the candidates and his party, or a "no" vote. Staying at home was not a respectable choice, neither was it unfavourable to Thaksin as suggested by Lowe. That 50-per-cent mark would be irrelevant only if all 500 seats are filled so that a prime minister can be selected and a government formed. The chance of filling 500 seats can be said with certainty to be non-existent. There have been so many disqualifications that a few seats will certainly remain vacant. Songdej Praditsmanont Bangkok ----------------------------------------------------- Pinij's reaction to TDRI's assessment was foolish
Re: Public Health Minister Pinij Charusombat's statement on Friday that "I have ordered the ministry to stop hiring the TDRI to evaluate the Bt30 healthcare scheme. There will never, ever be a contract renewal as long as I am minister here." What kind of a fool orders an evaluation and expects to hear only good news? Should the report be one of glowing praise written to please a moronic minister rather than tell the truth? The Thailand Development Research Institute did what it was hired to do: impartially evaluate the Bt30 healthcare scheme. Yet it was penalised for doing its job. This man does not deserve to be a minister if he's unwilling to take the facts and try to do something productive with them. When will these politicians learn? The truth will always come out sooner or later. Stunned Bangkok ----------------------------------------------------- British men are in the same situation as Thai women
Re: "Foreign Spouses do not receive equal treatment" (Letters, April 1), Michael Weldon might like to know that the favouritism extended to Thai men over Thai women is shown to them by some foreign powers too. In 1983, Margaret Thatcher changed British law such that should a Thai man father a child with a British woman, his child automatically becomes a British citizen, regardless of the child's place of birth. In the case where a Thai woman gives birth to a child fathered by a British man, however, the child does not receive automatic British citizenship unless the birth occurs in mainland Britain. That puts us in the rather bizarre situation where a Thai man can have a child in Thailand who becomes automatically British, but a British man cannot. I suspect the explanation for this odd phenomenon may also account for the situation described by Weldon. Margaret Thatcher changed the law precisely because of the number of British men marauding abroad indiscriminately having children with non-British women. Thatcher feared that a new generation of foreign-born immigrants would grow up to demand a piece of the pie of post-Thatcherite Britain. Conversely, we can infer the Thai government is equally fearful that the large number of marauding foreigners marrying Thai women may try to claim residency. Of course, in most cases, these foreign males bring a great deal of economic benefit to the country and are likely to raise well-educated, socially and economically beneficial Thai offspring. Alas, the nationalism inherent in Thai politics, coupled with the civil service's renowned dislike of either common sense or long-term planning, cannot be counted on to have taken any of this into consideration. Foreign Father Bangkok ----------------------------------------------------- Chiang Mai attack was shameful for Thailand
Chiang Mai is known the world over as Thailand's northern capital where people are friendly and nature is charming. It's also the hometown of caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. While the political temperature in Bangkok has been so unbearable that the PM rarely goes to work at his besieged Government House, he seeks refuge in Chiang Mai surrounded by supporters. No matter how much money he spent making merit and "donating to charity" in his party stronghold, the incident at the Chiang Mai University campus on Thursday undid all the "good deeds" he had done for the people of Chiang Mai. Thai Rak Thai supporters assaulted Democrat Party executives and barred them from addressing the crowd even though the police were notified well ahead of time that troublemakers were awaiting the arrival of the Democrats at the airport. It's shameful that a brutal incident like the TV reporter being beaten by a gang was broadcast in and outside Thailand. More shameful is Thaksin's statement that he wishes this incident to be the last one. At the time of writing this letter, a motorcade from Bangkok has been blocked from reaching Hua Hin town by so-called Hua Hin municipal residents wearing Thai Rak Thai Party T-shirts. I fear that there could be tit-for-tat when Thaksin ventures south beyond Hua Hin, but what concerns me more is the grim outlook for our tourism. Chamnong Watanagase Bangkok ----------------------------------------------------- Buddhist precepts should be practised rather than taught
Our beloved leader Thaksin Shinawatra is our very own expert on the philosophy of Buddhism. Constantly demonstrating his knowledge of the field through the use of Pali words (though not always making sense in context), he has once more enlightened the nation with one of the Lord Buddha's greatest teachings: to let go, for everything is impermanent. During an encounter with reporters at Government House, the premier expressed deep concern over the current political situation and encouraged protesters to accept the outcome of the April 2 election and ploi wang or "let go" of the past. However, his own hands are gripping so tightly to the prime minister's chair that even he is finding it difficult to pry his fingers away. Madura Watanagase Bangkok ----------------------------------------------------- Start with the young when weeding out corruption
The call to remove corruption from all levels of society, however great it may sound, is nearly impossible. Removing corruption from different age levels is more manageable. Corruption seeps into young minds from an early age, through the actions and words of their parents and other elders. Mothers, fathers, uncles and teachers contribute little by little to the decay of an innocent mind. Children see things a lot better than adults think they do. Adults are not aware that things that they do have a huge effect on a child, because they think, "He's only a child. He doesn't know anything". Driving selfishly. Cutting queues. Slipping banknotes underneath one's driving licence. Donations to schools. Gifts for teachers. Visiting the deans of schools. Dinners with top government officials. Paid vacations to resorts that are normally too expensive for the family to afford. Expensive gifts from people not even met. All of these seem to go unnoticed. Or so adults think. But a child's eyes are much sharper than its parents give them credit for. A child sees things for what they are. We adults have to reap what we have sown. Let's not plant corruption in our children's minds. Chul "Cho" Chang Nakhon Pathom ----------------------------------------------------- Great job, but website's English is not up to the mark
I am a frequent visitor to The Nation website, particularly during the current political uncertainty in Thailand, and hold a high opinion of your editorials etc. However, I must raise the issue of the standard of English on your website, which is at best poorly translated. Clearly this is done by someone whose mother tongue is something other than English. As an English-language paper, I feel the English used in your publication should be nothing short of perfect, thus projecting a professional image for your company. Songphon Kueawitha Oxford, England ----------------------------------------------------- Wanted: Philanthropist to save the elephants
Why do the people of Bangkok and the law enforcers tolerate and ignore the cruel exploitation of elephants in the central business district? It seems that people have no feelings for these animals. Perhaps it's time to provide a safe haven for these animals. Maybe some of PM Thaksin's profits could fund a reserve for abused and exploited elephants, or do they not matter? Stuart Darwin, Australia
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