After the debacle we have witnessed in the last few weeks with "experienced" politicians pushing for ministerial positions, going back on their previous promises to voters and looking for power incommensurate with their electoral results, the Future Forward Party's problem with a "young and boisterous" member seems rather minuscule.
Furthermore, the following apology could maybe set a precedent in a place where apologies are as rare as hens' teeth.
Lungstib
The mysteries of life
There are three mysteries in my life and here they are:
How did the universe begin? Why did Obama win the Nobel Peace Prize? Why did PM Prayut Chan-o-cha recommend reading Animal Farm instead of a well-known Aesop's fable, which would be more succinct and to the point?
I will go to the crematorium and never know.
Somsak Pola
Samut Prakan
Graft unstoppable
Samanea Saman is right in his letter, "Uncover cover-ups!", (PostBag, June 4). While cover-ups and corruption go almost hand in hand, Khun Samanea is missing the main point. No one really seems to care, except the chosen few. Cover-ups start at the very top and filter down to the most humble. Sure, there is talk about disliking cover-ups, but in truth, most people profit from them all, either financially or to avoid prosecution. Doing away with both cover-ups and corruption makes great political rhetoric, but in reality, it is all talk, and will be all talk, nothing more. It's back to the old cliché. All foam, no substance.
449900
Baht up, expats out
Not only does the rising value of the baht hurt Thailand's exports it also damages its tourism industry and reduces the buying power of its expat community. Retirees living here on fixed incomes are now required to find additional income to transfer from their home countries to maintain their minimum income visa status and at the same time afford an ever-increasing rise in the cost of living.
There is however one redeeming factor in what seems to be this never-ending rise in the strength of the baht and that is if it becomes necessary to repatriate Immigration's 800,000-baht visa-extension requirement lodged in Thai banks it will have increased in value both from the interest accrued and the difference it will realise when it is converted back to the retirees local currency. When I retired to Thailand, I needed to deposit £12,500, which when converted to baht bought me 800,000 baht. Today that same £12,500 has increased in value, before interest is added, to £20,000.
As the cost of living in Thailand and the price of selling the baht as opposed to buying becomes more attractive, how long before the banks start to see a decline in their expat accounts and how long before retirees who were thinking of Thailand as their new home start to look for alternatives?
Brian Corrigan
Insular tourists
Every country relies on tourism money as a vital part of their GDP. Yes, the strong baht has influenced Chinese tourism. The number of Chinese coming to Thailand is impressive. But, as they don't spend independently, they come on packages, stay at 3-star hotels and their daily routine from meals to events is strictly controlled.
Local merchants and venues are cut out. In Pattaya, unless you make a deal with the Chinese tour operator, they will just pass you by. Numbers can have many meanings. But the local merchants or real estate agents who rely on tourism "dollars", if you haven't noticed, are finding hard to survive.
Ron Fleitman
CONTACT: BANGKOK POST BUILDING
136 Na Ranong Road Klong Toey, Bangkok 10110
Fax: +02 6164000 email: postbag@bangkokpost.co.th
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