Tesco Lotus taking the wrong course of action

Burin Kantabutra is right again. However, I still wonder whether the mom-and-pop shops can be saved from decimation because of this bad publicity to Tesco Lotus' lawsuits against UK and Thai press.

In my view, this is only a sideshow.

It is our belief in capitalism that has caused Tesco Lotus to be so successful worldwide and most notably in Thailand since the country represents a significant portion of its annual profit and highest number of outlets.

In its drive to maximise its profits, it has unwittingly forced changes on the retailing structure in which the dwindling number of the mom-and-pop shops is inevitable.

I venture to guess that this "stoop to conquer", as rightly coined by Burin, would hardly dent its popularity since its existing and prospective customers do care more about their convenience and cost than what the company is doing.

However, I believe that town planning on future locations of hypermarkets should be strictly pursued and put a halt to this incessant expansion.

We all should accept the inevitable and make the best efforts to divert hypermarkets away from town centres. The further away from town the better.

As to those owners of mom-and-pop shops, they are better off in the long run to be realistic now on their chances of survival instead of calling for help.

I would recommend all of them to read Spencer Johnson's 1998 book, "Who Moved My Cheese?", a motivational book with few words, that could put them in the right perspective. Out of two mice, the one with early acceptance of changes survives while the stubborn one blaming the authorities for ignoring his plight dies of hunger.

Songdej Praditsmanont

Bangkok

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SEAPA view of Samak hits the nail on the head

Re: Thai leadership hostile to free press, Letters, May 6.

I agree with the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) that PM Samak is combative, notorious, flippant, crude, rude, threatening and a full host of other adjectives.

Nonetheless, SEAPA seems to forget Newton's third law of motion which states: "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."

In the meantime, the cases of the media vs Samak and the press vs Tesco Lotus remind me of a quip that said: "The universe is infinite, yet limited. Only two things are absolutely infinite, human stupidity and press freedom."

Meechai Burapa

Chiang Mai

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Let's give tyranny by the majority a try

The writer of your Guest Column (The Nation, May 6) spends much time talking about the "tyranny of the majority", which he associates with ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra's rule.

The fact is that Thai people have been subjected to the tyranny by the minority.

 No one can say what the tyranny of the majority might produce, it hasn't yet been given a chance.

However, one can say with certainty that the tyranny of the minority has produced a lopsided society where the minority have almost everything and the majority have almost nothing.

Perhaps the majority should be given a chance to "tyrannise", maybe they would turn out to be less selfish than the minority.

Dom Dunn

Dublin.

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'Exceptional' is the norm and must be catered for

I would like to give the thumbs up to your article: "Just Your Average Exceptional Teen" in the Sunday Express May 4 edition.

The article provided information that portrays these exceptional students as everyday normal kids and does not focus on their exceptional intellectual capabilities.

I am sure that Thailand has many in the younger generation who are considered exceptional but because of either public acceptance issues, or that no one really gives this group a second thought, their existence is often overlooked.

Society must learn to accommodate this group so their exceptional characteristics become the norm. Various educational institutions and research agencies have acknowledged this and have implemented programmes that cater for exceptional students.

For example, the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) and the Research Assistant training program at BIOTEC, have implemented programmes for "gifted" students. These students are given training and assignments that meet their needs. We need to see more articles in the same vein in the media.

Ramjitti Indaraprasirt

Bangkok