OPINION

No need to go global

Re: "Global Britain will be a key partner for Thailand 4.0", (Opinion, Jan 27).

Would the visit of Alok Sharma to the land of 4.0 have anything to do with the recently released report concerning the Rolls-Royce T800 scandal? Or is it another example of Theresa May's frantic plan to send envoys scampering to all corners of the globe in order to mitigate the effects of Brexit?

I'm sure that we can expect a similar fawning approach during her meeting with The Great Trump.

As for all the repeated allusions to "Global Britain", by definition Britain is already global, as are all the land and water masses that constitute our planet.

Re: "Learning the Singapore way", (BP, Jan 19).

The article emphasises Singapore's success in enhancing its education system and climbing to the top of global education rankings with its serious and continuous commitment and efforts. In addition to a focus on learning English that students need to have fluent skills, the country also gives importance to mathematics, which is the foundation for studying science and technology entirely fundamental to the country's development.

No one wants to see Thai students getting the O-Net mean score in mathematics of just around one-fourth of the full score before they enter higher education and graduate as the labour force to drive the country's economy.

Singapore's approach to maths learning may be the best practice for Thailand to improve our students' performance. Applying it to Thai students appropriately can make maths learning easier to understand.

Re: "Bribe probe hits snag as info dries up", (BP, Jan 27).

I suspect that graft busters are reluctant to expose this issue, which may upset Thai government agencies and state enterprises. This is Thailand.

If they have real faith to perform their duties, they should urge the government to use its diplomatic channels and power to find out the facts from concerned agencies of the UK and the US.

Re: "Farmers take stock", (PostBag, Jan 25).

Peter Fairless asks why farmers all over Thailand never took up and created their own cooperatives. A true story follows.

Back in the mid-1960s, our US Peace Corps group landed in Thailand to work in community development -- some in agriculture and livestock, some in construction, etc. My fellow volunteer in a Northeast province bordering Korat became involved in setting up what I believe was Thailand's first farmers' rice cooperative.

Of course, this did not make local Chinese rice millers happy. But he persevered and actually had government support, and things seemed to be proceeding along well. But what happened? Apparently, a Thai official in the cooperative took off with the cooperative's money and was never heard from again.

As I recall, the government immediately withdrew its support pending return of the money, and the cooperative fell apart.

It failed from corruption, greed, selfishness and disregard for civil welfare and opportunity -- in short, an inherent part of Thainess. Given the intrinsic Thai characteristic of seizing any opportunity for personal benefit with little regard to negative impacts on others, any cooperative effort is to be met with internal and external challenges -- a cultural phenomenon.

Donald Trump is in a powerful political position, but he is not all-powerful. I've called him The Divider, which he is, but in a warped way, he is also The Uniter.

He is uniting people in the US and worldwide against him and his harmful policies. He is also inspiring people to recharge their efforts towards doing good. One example is California. If California was a country, it would be the sixth-largest economic power in the world. Governor Jerry Brown recently declared that California will continue to pursue strict environmental standards despite Mr Trump's efforts to weaken environmental guidelines.

Recent numbers show that many more jobs (existing and created) are in the alternative energy sector than in traditional energy such as coal, oil and gas. More specifically, US solar power employed twice as many people last year than generating electricity through fossil fuels. In 2016, 300,000 new jobs were solar-related. Wind energy in the US saw a 32% increase in jobs and now employs 100,000 people.

If Mr Trump's boast were to come true ("I will be the greatest jobs president ever"), he would do well to look to solar, wind and other clean renewables.

Open the bonnets on a fossil fuel-driven vehicle and one that's battery-driven. One will have black oil stains all around, the other won't. One will be belching toxic fumes, the other won't. Guess which is dirtier?