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Published on September 23, 2007

Bob Kimmins started off citing the new laws regarding dependants of retirees, but somehow ended up talking about foreign investments, dual pricing, etc. It was a well-written article and there is a lot of truth to it, but it does not truly address why the mistakes in Thai immigration are occurring.

I honestly believe that what Thailand wanted to do was encourage retired people to bring their money and stay here. As Bob pointed out, the plan worked well for a while, but then things started going awry. To say a bad element began to arrive is to put it mildly.

They keep changing the rules and they just don't seem to be able to get it right, but then again, who ever has got it right?

I have read letters from foreigners stating that the immigration policies for England and the United States, (pre-9/11) were and are far superior to Thailand's. Yet, when Thais ask foreigners why they came to Thailand, one of the first things they will say is that their own country has been besieged by foreigners who have slowly changed their way of life and are wiping out their culture.

Couple that with the invasion of Western music and dance from television and the movies, and you have a lot of frightened Thais. And they should be frightened. They see their kids listening to screeching rock and roll and pelvis-thrusting to hip hop and rap and that is enough to scare the hell out of anyone.

The sad part of this entire scenario is that it is going to get to a point where the people they were trying to attract are going to give up because it is going to get too expensive to live here. Evidently, Thais are starting to think that if they make it expensive, they will filter out the riff-raff. They forget that the reason retirees wanted to live here was because it was economical to do so.

If they would just focus on the age issue, as opposed to economics, they would eventually find the right formula. This is not to say that everyone under the age of 50 is riff-raff, but the truth is that by the time most people pass the age of 50, they have outgrown most of their more troublesome traits. About the worst thing you will see from them is an occasional drunk staggering home. Peacefully.

I could go on with this, but the point is that if the Thais were to try to restrict younger migrants from settling here and began to really scrutinise the movies and television shown here, they might start getting back to being Thai.

In closing, I really have to ask Bob. What percentage of retired people in Thailand have dependants?

John Arnone

Yasothon

Steam locomotives underused in rail system

Re: "Get loose on the moose", Explore, September 22.

I was impressed by the initiative in New York State that has led to the restoration of a beautiful rural railway line to boost tourism and especially to serve canoeists on the nearby Moose River.

What better than a quiet, physically invigorating canoe trip - with a relaxed return journey on a comfortable train hauled by a preserved steam locomotive?

The only problem is that horribly modern diesel engines are being used, despite steam railways being one of the world's biggest enthusiasms. Along with fishing!

So, Tourism Authority of Thailand, can you please start talking to State Railway of Thailand and get your act together? Thailand has several immaculate steam locomotives in working order, yet we only see one each year, at very short notice, doing a steam hauled service from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi on the occasion of His Majesty the King's birthday.

Let's overtake America and put on regular steam specials from the capital to Kanchanaburi, Hua Hin and of course Chiang Mai, linked with boating, fishing, rock climbing etc!

Yes, I know these handsome beasts are thirsty, but have you noticed how often rail lines run close to rivers?

David Hardcastle

Chiang Mai

Columnist ignored coup government's successes

Re: "One year after September 19: bad casting", Opinion, September 17.

Disappointingly, Kavi Chongkittavorn once again went all the way to pass sweeping, emotionally charged judgements about the government. Everyone is entitled to his or her own views, but one would have expected the writer to present them in an objective and well thought-out manner, based on hard facts. Instead, he regrettably berated the government and resorted to polemics built on personal feelings.

The writer failed to recognise that foreign governments, despite their initial reaction to what took place on September 19, have since come to understand Thailand's situation, and to support our efforts. Had the government, especially the Foreign Ministry, failed to restore confidence as Kavi claims, would he have met with such positive comments from President Bush as he reported ("Bush happy Thailand holding poll" News, September 20)?

Another example is the South. Malaysia and the Organisation of Islamic Conferences (OIC) have adopted an amicable attitude of understanding and have offered to cooperate with us to improve the situation in the South.

This is not the forum to engage in a dialogue with Kavi on what has been achieved by both the prime minister and the foreign minister over the past year. We only have to look at Thailand's continued active participation and contribution regionally and internationally to realise that actions speak louder than words. Kavi and Don Pathan ("Foreign doubts about the coup not dispelled", News, September 18) seem to focus more on the past than on what they should be concentrating on, namely, the future.

The fact is that Thailand and many countries sympathetic to our cause are now looking forward to the general election on December 23, for which the government and the independent Election Commission are busy preparing. The media's role will be crucial in this regard. If we are to be honest with ourselves, it can only be said that Thailand is moving forward towards parliamentary democracy, steadily and surely. Indeed, this is what the people want and what the government has been working towards this past year.

Piriya Khempon

Acting director-general

Information Department

Foreign Affairs Ministry

Bangkok

Iranians and Israelis did not cooperate after crash

The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran would like to inform readers of this newspaper about the most recent developments and viewpoints and policies of the Iranian government and accordingly the embassy itself.

In this regard HE Mohsen Pak Aeen, ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in an interview has ruled out any contact between Iranians and Israelis in Phuket airport.

His statements were published in the Iranian media:

Iran's Ambassador to Thailand, Pak Aeen, has denied the allegations that Iranian and Israeli teams had cooperated to identify the Thai plane crash's victims.

Mohsen Pak Aeen said that the Iranian team received help from Thai experts, Iranian and Thai travel agencies and Iranian nationals living in Thailand to identify the crash victims.

Pak Aeen added there was no contact between the Iranian consulate in Phuket and Israeli nationals.

A total of 88 people, of whom 55 were foreigners, died when the MD-82 aircraft, operated by budget carrier One-Two-Go, crashed while landing on the southern resort island of Phuket last Sunday. The passenger jet was carrying 123 passengers and seven crewmembers.

Pak Aeen said on Wednesday that 18 Iranian nationals were killed and six others were injured in the crash.

Associated Press news agency claimed on Tuesday that Iranian and Israeli officials "put aside political animosity" to work together in southern Thailand and the Israeli forensic team was helping Iranians identify the victims of the crash.

Please be informed accordingly.

A Khodaei

Spokesman of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Bangkok