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Published on August 7, 2007

We returned soon after, in late January, 2005, to find and help friends, both Thais and westerners. Sadly, most of them had died. We spent most of the next 18 months doing many things to help. We assisted families in the Bang Niang tsunami camp and the Duang Prateep Orphanage, along with day-to-day tasks in the area. The whole experience was life-changing and rewarding.

Through the support of friends, we were able to achieve many wonderful things. These included rebuilding and repairing several houses, assisting with small businesses, food drops where needed and the purchase of a new Toyota as a taxi business for one family. These projects went well but the house rebuilding carried out mainly by volunteers with a paid Thai engineer had problems caused by the local mafia who wanted a kickback for the job. It was very sad to see parasites wanting to profit from adversity.

The taxi we purchased for a family devastated by the tsunami was to bring tourists to and from Khao Lak, hence boosting the local economy. The trade and operation of this taxi is restricted by the unlawful rules and regulations and demands by the local mafia. Again, parasites affecting a family's future.

There are so many good people in this town who are working and striving for a better Khao Lak and who try very hard to assist their fellow Thais. Sadly, the local mafia impede and restrict these people as well. There are still hundreds of orphans in this region along with many elderly people who have lost their adult children. I wonder what the mafia does for them, apart from restrict their livelihoods?

We return to Khao Lak as often as possible, after working long and hard in Australia (to gain funds to help out) and I resent the mafia benefiting from our efforts. It is time the Thai authorities clamped down on these individuals and opened up the playing field for those hard-working people who want to make a living.

Caring for Khao Lak

Darwin, Australia

 

Showman tries his old tricks on a new audience

Having just organised a party with a concert at Manchester City Football Club to introduce himself as its new boss, Thaksin Shinawatra has made front-page news again. The aim was presumably to teach the sophisticated folk there how the politics of money in the third world is run. His rationale must be simple and universal: nobody refuses a free lunch. He was on target again; quite an achievement for a third-world tycoon in a first-world community.

The question is: where did the money he spent so lavishly in England come from? Thaksin has never been on record as having business interests anywhere in the world except in Thailand. The question whether the money he has in England and elsewhere belongs to the Thai taxpayers is still open. The suspicion that he has spirited the money out of the country illegally still exists. The investigation and prosecution of his involvement in massive corruption are still in process. Thaksin's money trail is too obvious for the current government to neglect.

Chavalit Van

Chiang Mai

 

Reward those who blow the whistle on graft

There is much welcome discussion about transparency in financial reporting of political parties and politicians, eg, the draft constitution mandates that all parliamentarians will have to declare their assets.

Yet, how credible are the figures revealed? Thaksin claims he "honestly forgot" that he'd parked billions in assets with his driver, maid, etc - and got away with it. Also, where does all the money used in vote/party/MP buying come from?

I suggest that all financial figures that must be disclosed by law must be given an unqualified approval by a Securities Exchange Commission-approved auditor. As with listed companies, having such an approval does not guarantee 100 per cent reliability.

However, it'll be a major improvement over what we have now, because the auditor would be putting his personal credibility on the line, and would lose the right to audit any public firm if his SEC approval was withdrawn.

Also, there should be substantial financial incentives for those privy to illegal transactions to blow the whistle, for their acts will help stop politicians from stealing elections and subverting the will of the people.

Thus, I suggest that those found guilty of cooking the books be fined at least triple the amounts concealed, and at least 50 per cent of the penalties be given, tax-free, to the whistle-blower (unless uncovering such crimes was the whistle-blower's job).

Burin Kantabutra

Bangkok

 

Carnivores: cut back to save lives

Re: "Eat less meat, live a lot longer", Letters, August 6.

Eric Bahrt makes a good point when he noted that just 10 per cent of the food that's used to feed livestock would be enough food to end starvation, but I think he meant to say that if Americans were to cut back on their consumption of meat by 10 per cent there would be enough grain saved to feed the world.

Just imagine if we were talking about all the food that is used to feed all the farm animals throughout the world. Probably reducing our consumption of animal products by 1 or 2 per cent would save enough food to end famine.

While meat-eaters accuse vegetarians of only caring about animals they are not willing to make the most modest changes in their diets so that millions of children don't have to starve to death.

Michael Nightingale

Chon Buri

 

Stop the preaching about meat

Re: "Eat less meat, live a lot longer", Letters, August 6.

Eric Bahrt has yet again begun reporting his dazzling claims touting his alternative lifestyle as the only lifestyle for thinking men and women. Now he is purporting that the Seventh-Day Adventists promote vegetarianism, which they do not. This religion, like many, actually "preaches" a healthful diet and abstention from unclean foods and harmful drugs. Since the Adventists and another religion that I'm familiar with, the Latter Day Saints, use the Bible as their guide, eating meat, seafood and dairy products in moderation is not discouraged at all.

Bahrt quotes the work of a Dr William Castelli who, since the early 1960s, had been promoting a healthy diet. In the "famous Framingham Heart Study", finished in 1979, Dr Castelli and other researchers discovered the now well-known link between high cholesterol and heart disease. Dr Castelli is noted for being the first male in his family to live past the age of 45 and attributes his good health to eating a lot of seafood. He is not a vegan.

Dr Neil Barnard was thrown into the fray as touting a vegan diet to live longer. Actually, for the past 17 years Dr Bernard has promoted a vegetarian diet for the millions around the world who have diabetes. For the other six billion of us it's ok to eat healthy foods like meat, fish and diary products but not in excessive amounts.

Mr Bahrt's most questionable information came to us on August 3, in his letter "Health-conscious readers appreciate vegan diet info". We were subjected to another lesson regarding his superior lifestyle while he single-handedly solves world hunger by stating "… Since 10 per cent of the food that is fed to livestock would be enough food to end (world) starvation".

I personally find his solution to health and to the world's starving population simplistic and unreasonable.

David Barkdull

Bangkok

 

Time to open up to multicultural finance

As if we haven't enough on our plate, bankers are busy denying that American sub-prime loans will affect us. Of course, they won't. Thailand has its own way of coping with the ever-increasing number of non-performing Thai debtors. American investors buying into Thai real estate, or flagging companies, do not need to rely on borrowing from Thais. That's why they offer a relief from the bane of creditors here - the can't pay, won't pay rich and poor who play the sub-prime game. Thailand copes with these folk by turning to regular honest payers of any nationality.

The problem is that foreigners and eager Thai collaborators can acquire a huge pile of assets that are not undermined by restrictions on foreign hideaway "partners" or with voting rights that exclude Thais, which the Alien Business Law is after.

Without prime or sub-prime borrowers harassing them, foreigners can establish a legitimate claim to independence. Some Thais may not like this trend to a multicultural society, but it is, after all just how the Great Powers of today started off.

Peter Corbett

Bangkok