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Published on October 15, 2007

The quality of new graduates is not up to expectations. We usually blame someone or groups of people.

But if we think carefully, there are more than 60 million people in this country and many institutions, both public and private, with specific responsibilities of their own. When things go wrong, we are quick not to blame ourselves. Even with good government policy, we would still need business leaders who can give us new products and services at affordable prices for economic prosperity.

Even with Alan Greenspan at the Fed, without innovative companies like GE, Boeing, Microsoft etc, the US economy would not have performed as well as it has. We also need educational institutions to produce engineers capable of inventing new products, and managers capable of running and turning around businesses.

The capital market should let good companies in and keep bad ones out. Law-enforcement authorities must apply the law effectively and evenly. Parliament should pass laws for the national interest. Citizens not only have to abide by the laws, but also actively help bring criminal to justice. Political parties should go all the way to give us best candidates. Parents can help bring up children to be responsible citizens. To narrow the gap between the rich and the poor, we need responsible taxpayers. Philanthropists can also help. Past philanthropists played an important role in building numerous schools, hospitals, temples and roads, mostly for the benefit of the poor.

If individuals and institutions take proper responsibility, as they should, we would not have to worry about the future of the country.

Prichar

Bangkok

Burmese junta repeating early acts of Khmer Rouge

The world may be a bit relieved to see that the situation in Burma has calmed down following a violent crackdown on recent pro-democracy protests. But it may be just the beginning of the worst nightmare ever to engulf this authoritarian country.

 As various democracy-loving nations have started to bombard the Burmese regime with condemnations and economic sanctions, the Burmese authoritarian leaders may choose a more horrifying option by following the mistakes of the Khmer Rouge regime.

In many ways, the Burmese regime is already turning Burma into a country like Cambodia under Democratic Kampuchea.

First, like the Khmer Rouge movement that renamed Cambodia "Kampuchea", the Burmese military junta changed the country's name from Burma to "Myanmar".

Second, the Burmese rulers may ignore the world's calls for its return to the democratic path and, as happened in Cambodia with the Khmer Rouge, Burma's would then become an isolated nation with China as the main military and economic ally.

Third, as in the case of the Khmer Rouge, the Burmese military junta has become overwhelmingly paranoid about its people and has killed and imprisoned hundreds of people suspected as its dissidents.

Fourth, the Burmese military regime has imposed heavy restrictions on both civil and political rights and freedoms, as the Khmer Rouge had done.

It's been too long for the Burmese people to live in fear under the Burmese generals who have already ruled Burma illegally for 45 years.

It's now time for the world to help liberate the Burmese people from military dictatorship before Burma completely becomes like Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge.

Moeun Chhean Nariddh

Phnom Penh

World remains passive while horrors continue

On October 12, Win Shwe, a member of the Burmese pro-democracy National League for Democracy, died during interrogation. He was 42. He was cremated at the detention centre in Sagaing. No funeral. No remains. No chance for the family to bury him or honour him or grieve over him. The government refused to let the family see the body saying that he had already been cremated.

The evil of this junta knows no bounds. They are brutally torturing people to death as the world sits by talking about sanctions and writing impotent statements at the United Nations. The murder goes on. The torture goes on. The terrorising of the people goes on, and no one lifts a finger. President Bush is so afraid of offending China he has his wife talk about Burma for him. Burma is off CNN now, and the world is shifting its focus to something else.

Since 1962 the pattern has remained the same. When it comes to Burma, who cares? Maybe I wouldn't care either if I had not seen the sweetness and kindness of the victimised Burmese people, if I had not seen the disappointment in their eyes when once more no one came to their defence in the bloody streets of Rangoon.

William Babcock

American missionary to Burma

Beaufort, North Carolina

Boycotting Olympics may be the only option left

Re: "Olympic boycott would achieve little or nothing", Letters, October 13.

Is there any government, organisation or individual willing to take any action against the genocide in Burma?

Apparently not. It has been reported that Thailand will take no action against the junta for its merciless and bloody crackdown on democracy protests. Surayud cites he "lacks the moral authority" to do so. If so, then how did he manage to invoke moral authority when it came to sending members of the interim government to London to negotiate for the extradition of Thaksin. Morals, pah!

Threatening to boycott or disrupt the Olympics is possibly the only course of action the world has left. I recognise the loss of face would be a huge embarrassment to the Chinese people but good job too; the bigger the loss of face, the better. I couldn't give a damn about China's minor economic interests when it is tacitly empowering the perpetrators of genocide.

Or maybe we should all just forget it? If the world cannot find a way to do anything about it, why should we bother ourselves? And don't forget, we as individuals don't have the moral authority to comment; we're far too busy copping out by cracking down on retrieving the ill-gotten gains of our competitors, where moral authority is only too real.

James Groveway

Bangkok

Use whatever tactics work to pressure China

Re: "Positive consultation, not threats, key to persuading China to act on Burma", Letters, October 14.

Michael Clowes believes that it is more effective to hail the Chinese as a world leader if they can convince the Burmese junta to give power back to their people than to threaten a boycott of the Olympics in China. (There is no such a thing as "gentle murmuring about the boycott" - a threat is a threat, no matter how low the voice is). This brought to mind Deng Xiaoping's belief that it doesn't matter whether the cat is black or white so long as it can catch mice. I opine that both avenues and any further forms of persuasion we can come up with should be used to the limit to convince China of its untenable position in not helping us to get rid of this bullied junta.

It does not matter which tactic influences China to act in a selfless manner as a world leader. It is like the famous adage that was attributed to Lord Leverhulme, founder of Lever Brothers, "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. The trouble is I don't know which half". So rain on China to wake them up to their senses! We should not care which tactic is the effective one in influencing them to do the right thing.

Songdej Praditsmanont

Bangkok

'Miracles' of acupuncture unproven in clinical trials

Re: "Modern medicines, traditional treatments", Style, October 14.

Laura Louie's "minor miracles" for some of her HIV/Aids patients achieved with acupuncture might well be attributed to the simple fact that these patients received more attention than others.

As recently shown by a German team of the University of Regensburg who investigated conventional therapy versus acupuncture and sham acupuncture for back pain, after six months of treatment 47.6 per cent of those on true acupuncture and 44.2 per cent of those on sham acupuncture had improved health. The trial failed to find any differences at all between genuine and sham acupuncture and the ritual seems to be what matters.

As much as one wants to believe in traditional medicine, it requires proper clinical trials before being branded miraculous. However, Louie's work shows that when people are getting proper health support, in the form of complementary treatments such as massage or psychological support, their lives improve.

Dr Roger Tatoud

Bangkok