OPINION

Justice sadly lacking

Re: "Unity chances fading fast", (Editorial, July 26).

I fully agree with the editor that one of the starkest problems the PM faces is in tackling the apparent lack of justice in prosecutions. There is no doubt the country is losing its faith in the rule of law. In several public sectors, the everyday actions of field-level agents -- policemen, judges and state bureaucrats -- are increasingly beyond the control of the government. Rule of law in Thailand is weak because of the stranglehold of the military and police, and a high tolerance for non-working models of governance, such as military-led regimes. Military regimes are incapable of cultivating unity in diversity. The military mindset is about uniformity, not unity.

In some ways, Thailand is on the way to becoming a "flailing state" -- a category of nations where its people are at the receiving end. A flailing state is a country in which the head, that is the elite institutions at the national level, remains sound and functional but which is no longer reliably connected via nerves to its own limbs. This may become a significant threat to the country's economic growth. The current government's blank slating of unity and reforms on the pretext of punishing politicians harms the overall process of developing unity and democracy.

Re: "Prosecuting a country's 'CEO' a risky move", (Opinion, July 28).

Regardless of what political camp you pitch your tent in, Surasak Glahan's warnings about the dangers of criminally prosecuting government policy makers for mismanagement should be taken seriously. If we prosecute all the politicians who have ever initiated bad policies, I doubt we would have any remaining outside prisons. Stupidity is not a crime, in and of itself. If politicians have personally siphoned money from their administration's initiatives, they should definitely be prosecuted. But, if they simply implement misguided or incompetent policies, they should be removed from office through impeachment or the ballot box.

Surasak Glahan is concerned that the prosecution of former PM Yingluck Shinawatra for her role in the allegedly corrupt rice-pledging scheme is "risky". There are, of course, two linked but separate cases involving Ms Yingluck. The first is a malfeasance case being made against her, and the second is an executive order to seize her assets to compensate for alleged damages. Mr Surasak appears to object to both.

Indeed, Mr Surasak seems to view the damages from the rice-pledging scheme as being normal and reasonable through your statement that "losses were part of the risks normally associated with the implementation of such a subsidy programme". There have been other columns in your newspapers that have raised the question as to whether potential losses from future government programmes such as the high-speed train or the budgets used to subsidise rubber farmers would also fall foul of this same malfeasance law.

I believe that were the courts to rule against Ms Yingluck for malfeasance, it will not do so because she implemented a clearly flawed programme -- the likes of which no other government had done before, not even her brother, former PM Thaksin Shinawatra. I would expect that the courts would focus instead on the accusation that she did not act on the very obvious corruption and abuses that were taking place as a result of weaknesses of the programme. I hope that the courts, were they to rule against her, would cite the series of warnings from the likes of the NACC among many others, and the fact that they were all ignored.

The fundamental question for our society is, therefore, should leaders ever be held accountable given, let us assume, overwhelming evidence of negligence or intentional malfeasance? It may be risky to prosecute, but I also believe it is doubly risky not to.

I am, however, extremely uncomfortable with the issue of asset seizures because I do not believe that an executive order is appropriate due to potential for political abuse. Were culprits to be found guilty, I believe any asset seizures from politicians should be made only through orders of the courts.

We live in risky times, and the fight against corruption is critical for our country's future. Equally important is that justice is fair and seen to be fair. This does not mean we should shy away from "risky" prosecutions, but at the very least those making them should be judges in courts of law who, in making their decisions, consider no other factors other than the law itself.

Re: "Navy captain, wife 'abused recruits' used as personal labour", (Online, July 28).

This is an appeal to PM Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha and the Thai public to wake up and consider this RTN case seriously.

The reason: "Conscripts", according to the law, are drafted "to serve the nation", not individual "generals" at their homes or otherwise. As the Thai public is aware, the Royal Thai Armed Forces have assigned "conscripts" as "servants" in the homes of both active and retired generals.

This practice is a clear violation of existing laws and regulations, not to mention the abuse of Thai tax payers and budget. It's also a shame and an insult to human rights.

(PS: My neighbour, a retired army general of 15 years, still employs two army conscripts at his house.)

Re: "Navy captain, wife 'abused recruits' used as personal labour", (Online, July 28). Well, I learned something new from this story, namely that the real name of the restaurant is Ton Thang Rak.

My friends and I have been going there for years, and not knowing its real name I dubbed it "Sailors' Thai" after a famous Thai restaurant in my hometown of Sydney and because it was obvious that the waiters were sailors. Now all my Thai and farang friends alike refer to it (Ton Thang Rak) as Sailors' Thai when we are discussing options of where to have dinner.

I see the Bank of Thailand has restricted banks from charging more than 18% interest on credit cards, down from 20% (Business, July 28). That seems to me barely any relief to people who have to use these things, so it isn't any wonder there is such a large amount of household debt in this country.

It seems to me that if the Bank of Thailand really wanted to provide consumers some relief, they would cap interest rates at 10%. As far as I can tell, banks make money no matter how much interest they charge.

As a frequent visitor over the past 10 years to the "beautiful" island of Samet, I have a suggestion: Minimise (kill) the amount of roaming dogs and then force people to carry licences that prove a dog that is brought to the island belongs to them and is therefore under their responsibility. This should be checked regularly if any stray dogs are caught roaming again and the same procedure should be executed. It was just a matter of time until a friend of ours was bitten by a dog quite seriously a week ago and their holiday was spent in a hospital. We are just happy it wasn't one of the kids that got bitten, then we probably would be looking at a tragedy.

Also noticed in this National Park is the amount of dog muck sprayed around everywhere, but hey, it could actually be a tourist attraction if promoted right.

Re: "Sky Walk' to link Purple, Light Green lines", (BP, July 26).

Have the people in charge of mass transit in Bangkok, especially those involved with the Purple Line, had a common sense bypass? Does no one plan things to the end and consider all possibilities before committing to huge infrastructure projects? Lines should have viable interchanges if you hope to move the public around your city efficiently.

Re: "City makes Bang Sue district a 'safe speed zone'", (BP, July 26).

Another useless proposed plan for Thai drivers. It's a proven fact it just won't work. Besides Thai drivers lacking common sense they are also very selfish when they get behind the wheel.

Bravo to GMT for "Service off the rails", (PostBag, July 27). His comments about the SRT trying to provide 21st century service reminds me of the story that appeared a few years ago about the Saudi princes who built palaces in the desert with solid gold toilets, but lacked plumbing and water.

The SRT is speeding into oblivion without any thought out planning in its myopic vision to give us what we do not need or want -- Chinese-built high-speed rail. Some present SRT services cannot compete with the old-style travel of cart and buffalo.

Re: "Aim for the sky", (PostBag, July 26).

I'd beg to differ with RH Suga about the raised SRT tracks being the cheapest way to provide service without cutting a community in half. Those raised tracks are not only an eyesore but take up excessive space with the ugly pylons a blot on the environment. The easiest way is to build around the community instead of cutting it in half.

Barring that, just build rails on islands as is done in other parts of the world.

Once the SRT and the ministry in charge make up their minds, nothing will deter them, least of all the public, communities which will be destroyed, and those who will be inconvenienced. After all, none of these agencies give a damn about people as evidenced by their past and present actions.

Re: "Better safe than sorry", (Life, July 26).

Jane Brody notes that mammograms may be harming more women than they help. The reason for this is that they lead to many false positives which in turn lead to dangerous biopsies.

Also, women are often tortured with chemotherapy (which in itself can cause cancer) to "treat" non-life threatening tumours, which would not have been discovered if not for the mammograms.

In the past when I made those points in PostBag, I was practically called a murderer of women. Yet the mainstream media is now confirming what I've been saying about mammograms for years.

Kasem Nimmonrat, the former Pheu Thai Party MP and former vice-president of the Chiang Mai Provincial Administration Organisation, is being charged by the National Anti-Corruption Commission with the crime of amassing unusual wealth (BP, July 28).

It always amazes me when I hear this criminal charge because it would seem there are countless individuals running around in plain sight who should be indicted for the same crime.

One need look no further than the current military government for many prominent examples.

In reality justice is administered as a selective tool targeting those who represent political and economic threats to the powerful elite in this country.

Yingluck Shinawatra and "Pai Dao Din" are the latest in a long line of individuals victimised by an unfairly applied and sometimes archaic body of laws.

Rule of law does mean dictatorship by law. Section 44, lese majeste, and "unusual wealth", need to be employed and enforced fairly.

This is a happy, good news story about a letter to my elderly mother in the UK I want to share in the PostBag forum. I arrived here six years ago, and so I was all too aware that mail would arrive in the UK after posting after one to two months, if it arrived at all. So I sent the letter six weeks before her 90th birthday.

I am pleased to say the letter to my mother was delivered within a week of posting in Phuket, and that she is impressed as much as I am.

So let's all say cheers and a big chaiyo to Thailand Post!