OPINION

Blighted regime

Re: "Card holders can now use any hospital", (BP, Jan 3). Minister Anutin Charnvirakul's characterisation of his ministry's new policy of allowing cardholders to access any hospital as a "New Year's gift" to cardholders is illustrative of one of Thai society's most toxically dysfunctional structural elements: namely the largely unchallenged acceptance in Thailand that a major role of government in a democratic polity should be to dole out largesse to its citizen-supplicants.

This intellectually lazy acceptance, which can be nicely summed up by the American expression "put the hay down where the goats can get it", is a major underpinning of the feudal, patron-client mindset of Thai society -- from top to bottom -- and although it seems that the idea of spinning government policies as New Year's gifts has sprung-up relatively recently, its routine unquestioning repetition by media and news outlets has facilitated its entrenchment in the social psyche.

So now a militaristic authoritarian regime can spin itself as benefactor, deserving of gratitude. Meanwhile the incompetent and often corrupt politicians and bureaucrats excuse themselves as having "done their best" and therefore beyond being held to account.

Such is the state of this blighted administration and its predecessors which have undermined all attempts at true democratic development for decades.

Re: "Large-size fries back on the menu", (Business, Dec 31).

This article gives us a new standard to measure the economic status of any nation. No longer will economists have to analyse reams of data to figure out where a nation stands in the world economy. All they'll have to do is visit their nearest McDonald's outlet and examine the size of its french fries.

"Show me the size of your fries." It would make a great motto for economists.

Re: "Media mind games", (PostBag, Dec 30).

Eric Bahrt has exhorted readers to study a report published by the European Journal of Epidemiology in September 2021, headlined "Increases in Covid-19 are unrelated to levels of vaccinations". Those who accept his invitation will discover that on Dec 24, the European Journal of Epidemiology published two critical responses to the report. One response, by three academics at Canada's Wilfrid Laurier University, described the report as being "incomplete in several ways, presented without caveats and clarifications crucial for readers to consider when critically evaluating this type of analysis". The response continues: "Clarity in research is especially important during a time of heightened misuse/misinterpretation of statistics regarding vaccination efficacy and effectiveness, when incomplete and/or misinterpreted information may be co-opted for purposes other than authors' intentions, potentially leading to further vaccine hesitancy within individuals and/or communities, hindering public health efforts to lower infection rates."

For quite some time the footpath along Phetchaburi Road has been torn up, supposedly to be re-done. Beside the fact that there has been nearly no progress visible since damaging the pathway several months ago, it seems all the parking bays along this stretch of Phetchaburi Road are being destroyed.

Why is this? These parking bays are important, for taxis, delivery cars, sometimes to park cars with a technical problem or BMA repair vehicles like the MEA. If these bays are taken away it will only increase traffic jams, as a whole lane is then being needlessly obstructed. So why? Is somebody making some underhand profit from doing less than necessary work? Is somebody sleeping instead of controlling the construction sites? I doubt traffic obstruction was the original purpose. And I'm sure, people living or driving along this stretch want to keep these parking bays.