Re: "Time for new chapter in tackling poverty," (Opinion, June 14).
I found the article by Wichit Chantanusornsiri very interesting and depressing. It appears that the colossal sum of money paid to help the poor over the last decade has only made the administrators of this money rich. I hope the government is able to recover some of this money and jail the cruel people who would steal from the poor.
I was also depressed to read that according to a survey, 40% of farming households are living on 32,000 baht a year. What do these people eat? Grass, tree bark, leaves and insects? I know people who pay more than that a year to keep a dog here in Bangkok.
It is incredible and shameful that in a country where we can buy multi-billion baht submarines which we will probably never use and where a deputy prime minister can wear a different multi-million baht watch every day, that there are so many people who are basically living no better than a dog.
A Reader
Getting together
Re: "Three parties want to rewrite charter", (BP, June 15)
Knowing very well that even after an election the military can bump out any new government, why is changing the charter the first priority? The leader representing the Future Forward Party, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, and Chaturon Chaisang, a senior member of the Pheu Thai Party, should rather work on a common platform similar to what we witnessed in Malaysia to form a strong united government.
People want to see real reforms targeting education and elimination of corruption from the civil services, police and military ranks. The civil services, especially, the departments of immigration, labour and human resources need a complete overhaul. A new united government with a clear vision for enhancing economic development and democratic values in society should be the first priority, not riding on another paper tiger called a "charter".
For this to happen, the traditional pillars of power -- the elite, the military and their patrons -- have to be dismantled or refurbished. Writing a new charter will not be enough to shake these old rusty pillars. It will need a very strong and united government supported by the whole country. Will that ever happen in Thailand? I doubt it. There is something Thai politicians can learn the current events in Malaysia: United We Stand, Divided We Fall.
Kuldeep Nagi
A mix of colour
Khun Tunyathon Koonprasert's June 16 letter, "Let 'colourism' fade", is refreshing, delightful, and intelligent. It reminded me of a time when I was taught that anyone with a "cafe au lait" colour (for lack of a better term), was indeed fortunate because it showed that these people could spend time outdoors being healthy, and did not have to work.
The "white" complexion people were, by contrast, sickly looking because they were confined to indoor labour. While both concepts are not accurate, the Thai hang-up about whiteness seems to fracture much of Thai society into a sort of class system. A friend used whitening creams for years, only to wind up with a pock-marked face. The rest of his body was a different colour and he now needs to undergo surgical peeling, sanding, and other processes, to try to reverse the damage. It's after all this does he acknowledge the foolishness of it all and regrets what he did just for the sake of "whiteness".
Ohpchoi
Me and mini-me
Re: "The ideology behind China's global master plan," (Opinion, June 16).
Hal Brands uses his bias mind to traduce that "China's expanding global military presence is posing new threats to US interests and the whole world" -- "The US has long sought to make the world safe for democracy" and "Autocracy-promotion thus becomes an ever-larger part of Chinese foreign policy".
But in the real world, the US is a country which gained land by ransacking the best part of North America continent from local tribes. It then did the same with Hawaii, Midway, Wake, Guam, and even forced the inhabitants of the Marshall Island to move to use their land for testing an Atomic bomb. China never did any of this.
Moreover, the US sent B-52 bombers loaded with tonnes of bombs to attack Vietnam and used agent orange to poison the Vietnamese (to win battles but still lose the war) over half a century ago. The US government also supported the Philippines' tyrant dictator Ferdinand Marcos and still supports the absolute monarchy of Saudi Arabia which attacks and slays Yemenis.
Don't use your illusion to traduce others, no system is perfect. The great Deng Xiaoping said: "A cat, no matter its colour, is a good cat if it can catch mice". And the Chinese have proved with this with great economic and technological achievements which nearly surpass progress seen in almost all democratic countries.
Prasan Stianrapapongs
Uniform mania
Why is Thailand so obsessed with uniforms? It begins with educational institutions, where teachers are required to wear differing uniforms depending on the occasion and day. We have dress uniforms, scout uniforms, sports uniforms, culture day uniforms, etc. It is no wonder that the populace is then conditioned to wear different clothing at the slightest change in political manoeuvrings. A crisis point has been reached, as over the years, different shirts of yellow, red, black, white purple, etc, have been worn with fervour and the problem is they are running out of colours.
The army has also joined in on the fun and although Thailand has been conspicuous in avoiding conflicts, they still seem to award medals and ribbons which we see festooned on the jackets of fearless leaders. The police also surprisingly sport a few of these ribbons most likely received annually for their determination in fining motorcyclists for trivial offences. Thailand certainly has an identity crisis and it would be great if we focused our attention on substance rather than style.
Rod Grierson
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