Sanpawat Kantabutra paints a very negative picture of the behaviour of government university staff. My own experience contrasts sharply with his picture. Yes, I have taken extra teaching jobs above salaried position, but I was told quite clearly that I could only do a limited amount of that during normal working hours outside my own university. It certainly was not a free-for-all as Sanpawat implies. What was anomolous was that extras inside the university did not count and evening and weekend work elsewhere was not included. Anomolous because it takes time to prepare lectures whether they are taught on, say, a Tuesday afternoon or a Thursday evening. But we might stop and ask why lecturers need to do all that extra work to keep down their level of debt.

Another point where my experience differs is availability. As an example, last semester I was teaching two of my standard workload classes on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, because it was what the students wanted, not to suit my convenience. They were originally scheduled at other times.

My experience has also been that remuneration for contract teaching is far lower at private universities than at government ones.

There may well be good reason for taking universities out of the standard public service system; after all, there are certain skills associated with an academic career which are different from those of a bureaucrat. However, it hinges on how it is done in terms of levels of government funding and continuing control over student numbers. To what extent should tertiary education be treated as a marketable commercial service available only to the highest bidder? The ultimate manifestation of that is the spam-mail sites that offer undergraduate and post-graduate degrees within weeks without spending time in the classroom or having to take any exams. I would be interested in the survey Sanpawat refers to. How did they measure "productivity"? If I teach a class of 200 students in a single group, am I being more productive than if I do more personalised teaching to a group of 10 students where I can encourage participation in the class?

Another important factor when considering autonomy is the employment conditions of lecturers. Would they continue to have continuity of employment with the pension, healthcare and low-interest loan benefits they currently have, or would they be on short-term contracts subject to the whims of their university's internal politics and having to take on heavy workloads for fear of losing their jobs if they do not?

The whole issue is complicated, with many factors to be taken into account.

Gareth Clayton

Bangkok

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There are honest people in government and civil service

What an interesting concept of "democracy". The left is unhappy that their self-described "People's Revolution" did not result in their taking power. On the right we have military and police, advanced on class alone with no thought to merit, plotting to restore an individual who feels more comfortable in a "People's Republic" than in a democracy.

As in my own country, in Thailand there are those who believe the electorate is too stupid to be entrusted with naming those who will wield power. Thus they scream and yell about legitimacy and plan demonstrations to kick all except some convoluted examples of "people's representatives" from power. As those who had to live under socialism/communism found, it was just another elite group seeking power.

What is the real problem these groups, including the media, have with the present government? They serve only king and country. This is not acceptable to those with their own personal and political agendas they wish to impose on others. It is tough to intimidate those who only have honour and integrity as a lodestar.

As to personal wealth, you will not see multiple law suits filed by members of this government when questioned about money. You can take that position if your sheets are clean. We have former civil servants writing essays on the wealth revealed by present members of the government. They then go on to say they only were able to save a few million baht on civil service pay. If they saved even a million on that pay, they should be investigated.

Most in government today did not come from poor backgrounds, nor marry into poverty. They chose to serve as a point of honour and not to become rich. Sorry Charlie, the mob was just as much a reason for the Army to move as Thaksin was.

Major Mark A Smith (US Army, Ret.) 

Bangkok

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One should never trust the pot that calls the kettle 'black'

Re: "Honour promise, Clinton tells CNS", News, December 3.

Again we have the ex-president of the USA telling other people to honour promises, yet he has never done that himself. He took wedding vows to be faithful to his wife, and he was not. Then he lied to the world when he said he had never had sex with that woman, Monica Lewinsky. How can he be trusted?

The report states: "The coup leaders, who ousted twice-elected prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra on September 19, have promised to hold elections by October 2007." But the second Thaksin election "victory" was nullified because of corruption. So was it an honest election?

Tom

Bangkok

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A bold move to protect anti-corruption whistleblowers

Chai yo for PM's Office Minister Khunying Dhipavadee Meksawan, who's reforming the infrastructure and processes under her control/influence to fight graft. She's forming a civic network to warn state agencies about corruption, protecting whistleblowers, and having agencies identify areas of greatest risk of graft in their projects. Such initiatives are most welcome, and by focusing on the underlying processes, she's helping ensure that her reforms will be long-lasting, for as the saying goes: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

I would suggest that whistleblowers be given 50 per cent of the graft they uncover, tax-free. Also, having identified areas at risk, agencies should put those reports on the Web, along with telling what anti-graft measures they've taken and how effective those steps have been. PM Surayud should apply what Khunying Dhipavadee has done to all ministries, not just hers.

Keep it up, Dhipavadee. We need more public servants like you.

Burin Kantabutra

Bangkok

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Flawed survey misses the real point of relationships

Re: "Don't blame Isaan wives; women are all the same", Opinion, December 2.

In a way, women are all the same the world over, but do you want a soul partner or just a woman?

Finding a soul-partner is as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack. Forget about the nationality. Relationships in theory should be 50-50. Each person should accommodate their partner as best they can. Of course in reality it never works like that. It probably lasts only 18 months.

Veena, you did not mention if the Thai wives of French and Italian men loved their cooking instead of the dreadful junk food you report. It has been said that accountants know the price of everything and the value of nowt. Is the research at Khon Kaen University a new version of this old adage?

Yuri Velasquez

Bangkok.

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Authorities living in denial over southern insurgency

Re: "Public confidence in police would lead to cooperation", Letters, November 29.

I think Burin Kantabutra, as well as most other educated Thais, are living in denial about what is occurring in the South of Thailand. Burin always displays a tendency toward being idealistic and naive, but in this case it is just downright denial.

People keep urging the government to "earn the locals trust". Earn who's trust? Who exactly are the dissenters? Have they ever identified themselves? Have they ever come forward and laid out their grievances or demands? Thailand might as well accept that what is going on in the South is not going to go away, no matter what it does. The southern Muslims want their provinces back and it's that simple. They don't want to be Thai, they don't want to live amongst Buddhists, they don't want to speak Thai and they want their own laws.

They do not articulate their demands because they know that the Thai government will not grant them, so they go on killing non-Muslims in an effort to drive them into leaving those provinces. After they have accomplished that, they probably feel that they can rule through default. You can all apologise and speculate until you are blue in the face, but the reality is that no one is going to negotiate anything with anyone. Thailand's only choices in this situation are clear. Either give them the provinces or send every tank and soldier you have down there to protect innocent Buddhists.

As for some of the stupid moves made by the Thai military and police in the South, it should be remembered that when you illegally demonstrate, you are leaving yourself open to errors in judgement by frustrated authorities. I am not trying to defend the actions of the authorities. I am just trying to remind everyone that if there was no illegal act, there couldn't have been any stupid reaction.

The Thai government, as well as every government in the world had better wake up soon and understand that situations such as this have nothing to do with history or language differences. They have to do with the fact that any time a religious or ethnic minority becomes a majority in a given area, they are going to want changes made to suit their lifestyle and beliefs. The stronger those beliefs, the tougher the demands are going to be.

This situation has been repeated in other countries and will be repeated in yet more. It is my belief that the line should be held and these people should be informed that the laws of the country are the laws of the country. Live with them or get out. But, then again, I am not a Buddhist living in one of the three southern provinces right now. My heart goes out to them. Their rights seem to have been forgotten as we spend our time apologising to those who would change the laws of the country they live in and murder those that disagree with them.

John Arnone

Yasothon