BOT's ground shrinking with PPP partisanship

To me, from his "six measures, six months" initiative, it's clear that Prime Minister Samak plans to either call elections or be out of office in six months. Why else would he reduce fuel costs when the world is trying to conserve energy? Why subsidise bus fares only for Bangkok's poor, who might vote for the People Power Party [PPP], but not for the poor in Isaan or the South, whose minds are already made up? So, Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee's goal, in my view, is that which will get the People Power Party the most votes over the next two quarters: a very near-term objective.

On the other hand, like any other central bank, the Bank of Thailand's goals are - and must be - apolitical, and long term. If the bank's long-term objectives have been thoroughly thought through, hashed out, and accepted by we the people, then it is the short-term policies that must give way.

As Voltaire noted, "It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong", and BOT Governor Tarisa Watanagase hasn't yet earned the baramee that, say, Dr Puey Ungpakorn had.

What the government should do is to have Finance Minister Surapong debate the matter in Parliament with the Democrat's shadow finance minister Korn Chatikavanij, who's spent most of his working life in the capital market. Such a debate on a critical issue will help educate we the people immensely, and help us rally behind whichever policy is adopted. Prime Minister Samak, do you dare allow such a debate?

Burin Kantabutra

Bangkok

Thailand needs more than a constitutional afterthought

Re: "Majority does not support charter amendment", Letters, August 7.

Not only does it take time to write a good constitution, but Thailand has had an embarrassingly large number of them.

I do not suggest that Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej writes a new one himself.

In the meantime he might as well pick and choose from the multiplicity of Thai constitutions of the past.

 As for Songdej Praditsmanont's suggestion that the idea of "it's not done" is enough to deter greedy politicians in Britain; of course it is not. Most developed countries, including Britain, have seen the need for legislation to curb the excesses of politicians, assets-disclosure and potential conflicts of interest, for example.

There may be no written constitution in Britain but the courts rely upon "constitutional conventions", the distilled wisdom of British judges, following common-law principles, over hundreds of years. When there is no body of common law to draw upon, a written constitution is seen by many countries as the best option. When the form of government is changed fundamentally, as happened in Thailand with the revolution of 1932, legal precedents, which undoubtedly exist in this country, instantly become irrelevant.

Once a country has adopted the principle of constitutional government, the constitution is the font of all laws. If the constitution does not carry universal respect then the laws arising from it cannot. How can the present edition carry any respect given the haste with which it was cobbled together and the people who oversaw its cobbling?

Thailand needs and must get a constitution that is understood and accepted by everyone, and that is not something that can be created in seven days. It must be securely entrenched, as well.

George Cuppaidge

Kanchanaburi

Booze tax unlikely to send tourists running

Re: "New taxes will deter tourists visiting Thailand", Letters, August 7.

Whenever there is a proposal for duty increases on alcoholic drinks, there will always be cries of reduced visitors and tourists from foreigners.

I have followed this trend since my younger days watching the taxes being raised many times and have never seen or heard of Thailand being bypassed significantly because of the increases. The ill-effects to the tourists and visitors are only temporary for them, just like I have to bear the rising cost of hotel accommodation in Paris, London and Tokyo because of value-added tax increases - but I still love to visit these places.

I am a daily drinker of wine and beer, except during Lent, and likely to suffer from this rising fiscal imposition longer than a visitor. But as a good citizen, I accept this responsibility readily since it is a correct way of tax collection and a good way for curing our social ills.

Songdej Praditsmanont

Bangkok