"Thai Rak Thai Party MP Somsak Thepsuthin said his party's MPs would not accept any court ruling, which may be made to nullify the election."

Is Somsak living in another world or on another planet? He is in effect saying Thai Rak Thai is above the law and 100 per cent above any court ruling in Thailand.

I have never witnessed such arrogance in a government official in my 61 years of life. It is no wonder there are protests against the establishment and that we have no faith in Thai Rak Thai.

We are all subject to the rulings of the courts of this country, including Somsak, no matter how rich he is or we are or who our family may be or how close we are to the "main man".

So please tell us all, Somsak, what will your reaction be if the courts rule to nullify the elections? Will you tell the highest court in Thailand you and Thai Rak Thai are not subject to their ruling, but the courts are subject to you instead?

It is totally unbelievable a person who has such a high position of responsibility in the government would make such a ludicrous statement as this. You have my sympathy, Somsak, because surely in your opinion, you have elevated yourself above your true value!

Amazed

Kalasin

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Now is the time for Thais to demand decent leadership

Do we Thais deserve an honest and open government? Do we ever demand transparency? Do we demand accountability? What are we really all about? Don't we realise we have to fight for all of the above?

I am not talking about taking up arms, but more the way Mahatma Gandhi taught the world, by passive resistance and boycotts, as this is more our Buddhist way and, as Gandhi showed, a very effective way.

We have demonstrated, we have ousted a - by allegation - corrupt government, but we have not changed anything in reality, because we have not brought anyone to account in court for their corruption and mismanagement and deliberate lies.

The corrupt entities we ousted are laughing all the way to their respective offshore banks.

They who betrayed us and enriched themselves are at present the winners, and by allowing them again to get the better of us, we have again set a precedent for the next lot to come in and do the same, unless we stop them by passive resistance.

I will never advocate violence, as this would hurt our nation further, but there are lots of ways to show our discontent and non-acceptance for the next lot stepping into government.

At any sign of corruption or graft, let us put forward a vote of no confidence as a whole nation. Their mandate is to manage our nation to the best of their ability and to the benefit of the Thai people, of which they - the government - are the public servants.

We Thais have to start to fight for our rights and quality of life, like so many other nations have had too.

We must demand an end to graft and corruption at all levels of public service. We must demand our nation to be cleaned up.

We must demand greater equality for the different levels of our society and rewards for what we, the Thais, accomplish, not just for a few with their respective hands in the cash register.

We must demand that all of our future generations are protected and have a future, not only a few selected ones.

We must weed out the exploitation - sexual and otherwise - of our children within the well-known vice industry. We do not want to be known as a tourist sex destination any longer. We owe it to our most vulnerable to stop this evil exploitation of our children. There are thousands of young children exploited around our nation in this vile sex trade, with very often awareness by and the participation of law-enforcement personnel, as I have stated in previous letters.

If we Thais can't protect our own children, then we are a lost nation.

We must fight the organised crime that remains so prevalent within our Thai society and demand a government that will seriously undertake this fight. We Thais must fight for a better quality of life for all. We have some media outlets, such as The Nation, with the integrity to assist us in this fight for a better future, so let us demand together an honest and strong government this next time round and together as a people keep them honest by letting them know: "No more!"

I am willing, are you?

I love my country.

Noppadon

Bangkok

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Website blockage could be a matter of browser settings

Re: "Are we living in Thailand or the world of George Orwell's '1984'?", Letters, April 30.

I wonder what Kusuma Snitwongse's problem was. If there is still a problem accessing the two websites mentioned in the letter, I suggest checking the browser language settings and/or changing the ISP.

Out of curiosity, I tried the two websites mentioned in the letter. I managed to get into both of them. However, one thing I did notice was that they were both in French. I know that should not make any difference, but it could be your ISP is using one of those "cyberpatrol" or "netnanny" programmes and has included in the list of forbidden words a word that is quite harmless in French but has some other overtones in English; eg, "risque" has sexual overtones in English that I do not believe it has in French.

Nevertheless, I agree with the principle of Kusuma's letter. There should not be some Big Brother censoring which sites adults go to. I can understand monitoring who visits certain types of sites in order to attempt to prevent certain criminal activities such as paedophilia, but not otherwise.

Gareth Clayton

Bangkok

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Disparity in local incomes is a shameful cause for scandal

On Labour Day this past Monday, I was reflecting on Thailand's grossly iniquitous income distribution. Personally, I am happy to own a mere bicycle and fortunate to need only that.

Not so fortunate is my friend from Thon Buri, an abandoned mother with two young children at school. Noi works as a full-time cleaner at a government university for a private contractor who, according to her, pays a flat hourly rate with no other benefits. She earns only about Bt3,000 per month as one of the "working poor" underclass here in Thailand.

Meanwhile, although I was earning Bt30,000 per month, or about 10 times her income, working as a full-time temporary employee for a local agency that was providing English language tuition, there is probably at least one director of that same government university where Noi and I were working who receives a monthly salary perhaps five or 10 times bigger than mine - plus benefits.

How people can remain cold and indifferent to facts like this and consider themselves compassionate or even civilised persons is beyond my understanding.

If people have no rice then let them eat cake, mon cher MP?

Frank Lee

Nonthaburi

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The grass is always greener on this side of the world

I can't help but smile at the recent letters from expats (Brits in particular) pining for the good life in their distant homeland.

Having just returned from an enforced two-month sojourn in the UK, I can inform them Old Blighty is creaking at the seams. They have just had their usual six-month winter, the coldest in 40 years, and it really shows on the faces of the population.

The country has been overcome by a sense of political correctness that makes it difficult for any law-abiding, able-bodied, employed heterosexual person to go about their daily life easily without harassment or restriction.

Added to this, there appears to be a complete disintegration of public services, with the streets covered in garbage and graffiti. The lethargic attitude of government workers would not be out of place in the old Eastern Bloc.

The travel system, it is no better than overpriced cattle transportation, shifting the masses in rattling, dirty old containers called tubes, buses or trains.

So, if this is what these expats are missing, along with tripe like "Coronation Street", I suggest they take an expensive trip back there to see how green the grass really is.

R Richards

Bangkok

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Visit beautiful Phang Nga and help the local economy

Many regard Phuket's more sedate and serene sister province, Phang Nga, as Thailand's most enticingly beautiful, eco-friendly province, featuring tropical rain forests, mangrove swamps, hot springs, seven-level waterfalls, outlying coral islands and a 239-kilometre-long coastline. The sandy Khao Lak beaches are all free of debris and the crystal-clear waters more pristine than ever.

After the devastating tsunami, only four of more than 100 Khao Lak hotels and resorts remained able to function and accommodate guests. Now, more than 15 rebuilt properties are open for business, with more than double that number expected by October to once again welcome guests with gracious, southern hospitality.

Unemployment remains the No-1 problem. The tourism industry is at a standstill. Khao Lak restaurant owners and shopkeepers are hurting for lack of business. Taxi and songtaew drivers are forced to supplement their measly incomes with whatever odd jobs they can find.

One father of two had been helping his wife vend noodles, but without customers even that venture has bottomed out.

There's something for everyone in Phang Nga - from homestays to cheap guest-houses to reasonably priced hotels to exclusive service spa resorts. For a hassle-free in-harmony-with-nature getaway, please consider supporting the local economy by spending your next holiday in this safe and secure escapist retreat.

Dr Chanchai Prasertson

Bangkok