Former US ambassador to Thailand, Darryl Johnson, is back in Thailand, trading on his former position. He is employed now as a lobbyist for American pharmaceutical companies. Johnson is to urge the Public Health Ministry to prevent Thai pharmaceutical companies from manufacturing medicine that the country imports from the American firms.

The Thai companies are within their international rights to produce the medicine on their own, without licensing from the US, because the medicine is considered life-saving and urgently needed by Thais.

Johnson and the American pharmaceutical companies, however, don't want to lose the business they will give up if Thailand stops importing medicine from the US and manufactures it locally.

Thailand should check to see if Johnson's conduct is in line with US government regulations regarding present and former government employees.

Many foreign service officials believe his conduct is highly inappropriate. Perhaps Johnson thinks that the current American ambassador to Thailand, Ralph Boyce - who lobbied the same ministry for a reduction of the ban on advertising of American alcohol and tobacco products last August - has rewritten the rules of conduct.

Rafer Bass

Bangkok

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Behaviour in football match reflects region's fragile spirit

Re: "Controversial penalty trips Thailand", News, February 1.

It was disgraceful for the Thai side to have walked out on the game like that. The referee was definitely wrong to award a penalty but these things happen in football. Don't you guys watch the English Premier League? Moreover there is still another leg to be played in Bangkok - there is still much more to play for.

Anyway, this reflects the Asean spirit in the region - collaboration has been in place for quite sometime now, but the cooperation and friendliness is only surface deep. This probably explains why cooperation in this region continues to be weak and fragile.

All things Thai

Bangkok

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Thais have another chance to show their winning manners

Thailand did not deserve to lose 2-1 in Singapore yesterday. There were many disgusting things that happened in this game. The referee gave Singapore a controversial penalty, and as a result, Thailand walked off the field for around 15 minutes. They came back afterward to play with bad feelings.

However, we should focus on the next match in Bangkok to win the second leg of the Asean Football Championship and Thai fans should display good manners whether we win or not.

Web Reader

Bangkok

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Thai team embarrassed supporters with tantrums

I am a proud Thailand supporter but was absolutely ashamed by the action of the team in "protesting" the penalty. It was embarrassing for all supporters watching the game and I feel sorry for the Thai children who had to watch their heroes behave like babies. Regardless of whether players agree or disagree with the referee, they have zero right to walk off the field like that. The team was very lucky that the referee was so weak - a better referee would have red-carded half the team for delaying play like that.

This was completely unacceptable and I hope the Asean Football Association takes serious action. We, as supporters, deserve better than that - and the Thailand team should be above such actions. I hope Thailand puts on a professional performance in Bangkok and wins the Cup, but their actions yesterday have tainted their reputations for many.

Hopeful Fan

Bangkok

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Requirement to vote only in one's hometown confusing

Re: "A charter to save us from another Thaksin and another coup", Opinion, February 1.

Two requirements of the Thai government (under the past constitution) seem foreign to me. The first is the requirement for all representatives of the people to hold a bachelor's degree. The second is the need for people living anywhere other than their place of birth to return to the place of their house registration in order to vote.

If Thais abroad can vote by absentee ballot, why can't Thais born in the North or Northeast vote by absentee ballot from Bangkok or Phuket or anywhere else in the country? They must either pay to travel and forego wages or lose some of their rights as citizens. I've read occasional discussion about the first requirement, but never about the second.

Bernard

Chiang Mai

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Putting safety first will save Thailand face in the long run

Re: "Using 2 airports 'a huge hassle'", News, February 1

Let's move it all back to Don Muang as quickly as possible: fix the mess at Suvarnabhumi and then move back. Would it be a loss of face? Yes. Less loss of face than what would result from a fatal accident? No.  

Charles Frith

Bangkok

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Make Thaksin and cronies pay for Suvarnabhumi fiasco

In the first place, Suvarnabhumi Airport should not have been built. Don Muang Airport has served us so well for the past 90 years we should have extended it.

Thaksin was an arrogant man who wanted to prove to the world that he was capable, but in fact he damaged the name of his own motherland. He made all of us Thais the laughingstock of the century. The present government must not waste time and rectify this problem. It must also immediately prosecute Thaksin and his cronies and confiscate their properties and assets to pay for the damage they have done to Thailand. 

P Kulvanich

Bangkok

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Government cannot control wasteful habits of  its citizens

Whether it is an individual's abuse of a credit card for wasteful spending, excessive consumption of addictive substances such as alcohol or tobacco, irresponsible spending on unnecessary luxurious products, they need not depend on restrictive measures imposed by the Thai government to control their freedom of choice. Consider alcohol consumption, for example. The United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation Thailand fifth worldwide when it comes to individual consumption of alcohol.

The number of alcohol drinkers in Thailand is continuously increasing. A study to understand patterns of drinking in Thai men (Assanangkornchai et al, 2000) found that one-third of road accident patients were under the influence of alcohol. Should we still depend on government control mechanisms to guide our own irresponsible behaviour? Do we need any legal body to better direct our "unlawful" intentions? Should we not hold ourselves responsible for our own foolish expenditures?

Petros Rigas

Bangkok

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Op-ed on Iran was 'biased', 'baseless' and 'ill-informed'

Re: "Iran Eyeing Regional Powerbroker Role", Opinion, January 26.

The comments expressed by Kumar Krishnan are based on quite biased and baseless data and it does not seem that the author is well informed about Iran and the history of the Islamic Revolution as it is evident when he refers to the historical name of the "Persian Gulf" as "Gulf".

Documented history shows that ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein claimed southern Iran, Kuwait and some other Arab territories, and it was because of this that he attacked Iran and Kuwait.

The late Ayatollah Khomeini was always a genuine advocator of peace, stability and unity among Muslims all over the world, especially in the Persian Gulf. Ascribing Saddam's crimes to the late Imam Khomeini does not reflect anything other than negligence or wilful distortion of the truth by the author.

Despite many hostile attempts by certain powers to divide the Muslims into rival groups, the Islamic Republic of Iran and all the Muslim countries in the Persian Gulf and Middle East are enjoying friendly relations with each other.

Causing rifts among Muslims is a new plot by certain powers in order to justify their policy of occupation. Following this nasty strategy those powers resort to any illegitimate tool to grow suspicion and difference among the countries in the Persian Gulf and the Islamic world.

Here it is necessary to mention that Iran has never had any territorial claim on any neighbouring country and considers that as destabilising, and at the same time does not allow anybody to make such claims. Raising this kind of issue does not help the author to gain fame and respect.

Iranian access to peaceful nuclear technology is not only a cause of pride for the Iranian people but also the benefit of such landmark progress will flow to the region, bringing prosperity. Above all of this the eminent leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran has issued a Fatwa banning any misuse of nuclear technology, including military use.

Akbar Khodaei

Press Section

Iranian Embassy

Bangkok