OPINION

No news is bad news

Re: "Prayut threatens media outlets with strict cyber law", (BP, Nov 22).

It is reported that the Computer Crime Act will be seriously enforced against online media outlets, especially those spreading hatred and fake news.

But why is fake news spread so fast? It is because news provided by the government is usually not clear enough. Sometimes, the government's reports on issues of concern for many people, such as floods, were very brief with a statement like: "It is under control".

Actually, people want to get deeper information on what exactly has happened. When people do not get enough information, then they start to assume or seek information elsewhere that they believe could be real fact. After that, they spread the news on social media, but most of the time it is not true.

Walking along Ploenchit Road the other evening I saw a young obese woman! Sadly, obesity is a growing trend with debilitating results. Check out your fellow passengers on the BTS or customers in a shopping mall. Very few will not be overweight to some degree or display poor posture. Even some school kids look morbidly obese.

Twenty years ago, except for a few Chinese who considered a big belly a sign of wealth, one would rarely see obese Thai people in this country. I ascribe this worrying condition to the arrival of fast food outlets plying their unhealthy junk and widespread addiction to computers followed by pads and smart phones. These gadgets are turning Thai youth, and many older folk, into lethargic zombies rapidly losing all social skills.

Longevity has probably reached its apogee with the present generation of elders. Civilisation as we know it may be changed irrevocably.

Will it be left to people unexposed to this high-tech, fast-paced destructive lifestyle, such as isolated tribes in central Borneo, the Amazon jungle, or the Yorkshire Moors to save the human race?

I was astounded to read the quote attributed to the national police chief, (BP, Nov 23), that the mysterious death of military preparatory school cadet Pakapong Tanyakan was "normal at this type of academy".

If this is true, then surely an immediate investigation should be held and urgent action taken so that deaths of young army cadets should never happen again.

Lots of news about GDP on the increase along with lots of news on how to combat income disparity, the gap between the rich and poor in Thailand. But sorry, no mention of increasing the minimum wage which, in my opinion would go along way in closing the gap.

Just how do the vast majority of Thais live on 300 baht a day without having to put themselves in debt is beyond me. A fair day's work is worth a fair day's pay. Make the fat cats pay it, I say. The days of cheap labour should be brought to an end.

Anukan in a letter, "Transport nightmares", (PostBag, Nov 23), is not far off. These were probably the same Nazi transportation wagons, just refurbished. They probably came from the same place.

The MRT, looking to save money and cram more passengers into each coach finds it more expedient and cheaper than the alternative, to provide comfortable transportation by buying more coaches.

"Transport nightmares" letter writer, Anukan, is being a tad dramatic in mentioning the train wagons used by the Nazis in World War II and the MRT's decision to remove seats from some train carriages.

Many of the unfortunates transported by the Nazis were on a one-way journey to starvation, torture and death in train carriages that had no air-conditioning or lighting or proper ventilation. In fact many people suffocated to death on those trains. These unfortunates were also ordered at gunpoint to board the trains and endured journeys lasting many hours over hundreds of miles.

There really is no comparison.

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