OPINION

Rescue, not destroy

Being a US military veteran and someone who has participated in Cobra Gold here in 1984, I question the recent purchase of Stryker military vehicles to the tune of US$175 million when there are much greater pressing social needs.

The recent flooding in Isan is a prime example on the need for military spending to be centred on rescue missions and protecting the population.

A fleet of airboats like the ones used in the Everglades would be a much better investment and useful in rescuing people stranded on rooftops.

Purchasing SAR (search and rescue) helicopters and equipment also would be more useful than buying attack helicopters and submarines.

Why does Thailand keep buying military equipment that can only be used against people rather than to help them?

Given the above, I think it might be time to redefine the mission objective of the military here.

In today's modern world of technology, Thailand can never claim the current spending is to "defend" the nation.

If the country cannot afford to buy adequate pumps and invest in flooding mitigation, it truly cannot afford to fight a modern war.

Without nuclear, chemical, biological, and now space technology for militarisation purposes, Thailand will never be able to claim readiness. So why keep pretending?

I lived in Hong Kong for 12 years. When I first arrived I went to immigration to get my ID card as a non-resident. I carried this card and went through immigration border controls through automated gates, never needing a passport, no matter where I had been.

I retired to Thailand 10 years ago and now have a Thai Pink Card, which is a portable version of my yellow book house registration. My Thai wife and I had to jump through many hoops to get this card, which so far is only accepted by the post office when you send a parcel overseas or board a domestic flight.

This card comes with an embedded chip, which holds information about the cardholder. My question is why doesn't the Immigration Bureau use this card to hold information on visa extension for retirement, re-entry permits, 90-day reporting plus access to automated gates at airports (even Australians and New Zealanders can do the latter). A personalised QR code could be given to the homeowner to scan when the retiree returns from visits outside the home, thereby eliminating the need for TM8 and TM30.

Re: "Untrue confessions fatal", (PostBag, Sept 1).

A forceful argument against capital punishment is provided by the executioners themselves. Both the famous UK hangman Albert Pierrepoint and the last Thai machine-gunner Chavoret Jaruboon said executions do not in reality deter crime and are subject to disastrous mistakes in the judicial process. Amen to that.

It is reputed that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha knows all, sees all. If, indeed, this is so, why is this gentleman so silent about the discontent inside his country concerning crude and gross immigration abuse with a form called the TM30?

This "internal" Thai problem seems to have made headlines in most of the world's press.

For a man who constantly expresses his concerns about Thailand's international image, including its tourist standing, the general does nothing, says nothing, sees nothing, hears nothing, a perfect three-monkey character.