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Published on October 23, 2007

The gradual abolition of slavery freed all Thais without bloodshed. Government railroads were built to connect Bangkok with remote areas in all directions, tremendously facilitating trade and travel.

Postal and telegraph services were made available for the first time even in remote areas. Under the Interior Ministry, a new system for local administration in the provinces was introduced. Other works were created for the agriculture, education and public health ministries. Modern education started to take shape to spread knowledge to all classes of citizens. The concept of Western law was introduced to bring better justice to the people. Electricity-generating plants were built, providing energy not just for lighting but also for the production of cement and clean water. Tax revenue and expenditures quadrupled between the 1892-1893 fiscal year and 1908-1909, indicating remarkable economic expansion.

These achievements, and others, accomplished within his reign greatly improved the lives of the people in and outside Bangkok. It may be hard to appreciate how much more convenient these advancements have made life in Thailand. Credit is also due to many other people, foreign and Thai, who implemented these projects with great difficulty to produce great results. These were the mega-projects of their time.

October 23 is a holiday not just so we can take a day off, but also to reflect on how much King Chulalongkorn contributed to Siam, and to ask ourselves what we can do to ensure that in the future all Thais can live better lives.

Prichar

Bangkok

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Sincere politicians should hop on Bangkok's buses

We keep moaning about Bangkok's traffic, but few of us do anything about it - including our politicians. One reason is that nobody wants to make the hard decisions, and the politicians don't suffer from their lack of inaction - or benefit from alleviating this problem. Thus we still compensate bus drivers in ways that encourage them to race; we don't integrate bus, rail, air and boat systems, and we don't implement the politically hard ideas that work, like quotas on cars.

So, I propose that every Monday morning and Friday evening, all government department heads, deputy permanent secretaries, permanent secretaries, Cabinet members, and members of the National Legislative Assembly take public transportation to work, with no special drop-offs or pickups. In other words, join the hoi polloi, just for two trips per week. And for good measure, let's throw in all air trips. The only exceptions will be the prime minister and two deputy prime ministers, for national security.

Outrageous? Sure. But give me something more effective, dear reader - like you and me joining our leaders on the bus.

Burin Kantabutra

Bangkok

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Junta's appeal to Suu Kyi just another stall tactic

Re: "Burma media calls on 'Aunty Suu' to make concessions", News, October 21.

An open letter that appeared in The New Light of Myanmar, which is a mouthpiece of the Burmese junta states, "No dialogue can achieve success without sacrifices and concessions".

It added further that Aung San Suu Kyi should understand the nature of giving up something for achieving something else that is 10 times more valuable and beneficial.

Generally, it would seem that the junta is turning a new leaf and is now ready for compromise. But the recent brutal crackdown on the monk-led uprising, where the death toll was somewhere near 200 and thousands more were left in custody, makes it hard to believe that it is really sincere.

When the open letter urges Aung San Suu Kyi to engage in some give-and-take, one wonders whether it came from a rational-thinking human being. It is like an extremely wealthy man asking a beggar to be thrifty or a bully asking his victim to be kind and reasonable to him.

The junta's arresting and releasing of politicians, and its loosening and tightening the restrictions on the movements of political parties are part of a "one step forward, two steps backward" strategy. They are stalling tactics and the regime is in no way interested in any democratic change. After such a merciless crackdown recently, it is now evident that the military will not accept anything less than the total control or monopoly of political power.

SWS

London

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English-learning debate not of vital importance

Re:" Students have neither the desire nor opportunity to use English outside of class" Letters, October 22.

Thailand like most nations has multiple education problems to be addressed. Among these is assuring that all students have school placements, as well as finding a way to provide the environment, teachers and curriculum that encourage students not only to stay in school, but also instil in them an appreciation for lifelong learning once they leave school. This is the obligation and responsibility of the Education Ministry and especially parents.

Despite the amazing popularity in letters over the years and recently of discussions regarding the teaching of English language in Thai schools and all that entails, I contend that in the "big picture" of Thai education, English-language learning is not of primary importance.

If the Education Ministry wants a foreign-language requirement for graduation, then I suggest that the ministry make it an elective subject with a reasonable number of required hours to satisfy, not 12 years of what for most is a "chore".

Most students don't have a flair for other languages, but if they do why not also give them the opportunity to learn Mandarin, Japanese, Lao, or even Yawi? Being able to make a choice goes a long way in increasing students' desire to learn and use another language.

Few can argue the benefits of being able to successfully communicate in English. Few can dispute the importance for Thai students to have the best learning environment and creative teachers.

The recent correspondence on English-language instruction has been of some interest, nevertheless with so much else going on, I am surprised, as always, at just who the audience might be driving such popularity.

However, I do find it rather disheartening when participants of such discourse use it as opportunity to flay the opinion of one or question the scholarship of the other. Bickering with one another may be fun but it also limits the interest and intent of any discussion.

Not being able to speak in the English language is not the end of the world.

Mr Bill

Bangkok

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Political troubles pile up like the weekly trash

Your Sunday front page had a certain bizarre humour, containing, as it did, a report on a number of politicians. Immediately beneath the report and practically underlining it was the heading "Garbage a mounting problem" and a further subheading, "Growing garbage in Thailand". Yes indeed! It is curious how scum usually manages to rise to the top and never more easily than in the Thai political scene.

Isn't it tragic that so many voters, especially in the Northeast, seem to not realise that a candidate prepared to buy their vote is as crooked and as corrupt as can be - a determination that can be made even before he is elected? For most people, there is the certain knowledge that a willingness to buy votes guarantees that, upon election, the buyer will do his level best to help rob the nation blind.

Reinforcing my jaundiced opinion was the very serious and depressing article in the same edition written by Sopon Onkgara ("Thai politics will surely remain in the gutter), a wholly admirable columnist who seems to be never afraid to tell it the way it is.

The shameful failure of the current prime minister to act decisively to stop this crooked abuse once and for all will condemn him and his government's place in history to not much more than a miserable footnote.

Henry Ashe

Bangkok

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