OPINION

Unnecessary directive

Re: "Army, cops pressed to nab hacker", & "AWOL hacker sparks outcry", (BP, April 11& 12).

I fully agree with Deputy Pheu Thai Party leader Sutin Klungsang that the procedure of arresting soldiers for whom warrants have been issued is unnecessarily complicated; there should be no need to get their commander's permission first.

This Prime Minister's Office regulation was to prevent clashes between the police and soldiers, as the latter are permitted to carry arms. But Gen Jira Komutpong, former chief of the Judge Advocate-General's Department, reports that the Criminal Procedure Code allows police to arrest military suspects without their commanders' permission. Gen Jira notes: "Right now, police don't have any excuse not to arrest soldiers who commit offences outside their barracks." Dhurakij Pundit University Law Dean Jade Donavanik also noted that if military suspects are not on active duty, cops don't need their commanders' permission before arresting the suspects.

Also, the military seems not to know where its soldiers are. For example, the RTA's been looking for a soldier who claimed to have the personal data of 55 million Thais and demands a ransom for it. A warrant's out for the man, yet the RTA hasn't been able to deliver him for over a week now; was he tipped off by soldiers?

The PM's Office regulation on arresting soldiers serves no useful purpose. Except in dangerous areas, like in our restive South or borders, there's no need for the military to carry arms out of their bases -- so there's no danger of police–soldier firefights. All are equal under the rule of law; there's no need for a court-martial in addition to a civilian court.

Rescind the PM Office's regulation on the matter, allow soldiers to go armed outside of their bases only in areas under martial law and treat all equally under the law.

Re: "Hazy on the details", (Editorial, April 10).

The Bangkok Post editorial is spot on in raising doubt that the recent virtual meeting among the leaders of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos will lead to any tangible reduction of haze and air pollution. The editorial correctly pointed out that the proposed joint effort to combat transnational haze lacks clear accountability and enforcement mechanisms.

In fact, the loose agreement of the three countries is nothing more than an anaemic copy of the infamous and flaccid Asean Transboundary Haze Agreement signed by all Southeast Asian countries in 2002. That supposedly legally binding agreement also completely lacks teeth for enforcing actions by the member countries.

In theory, the 2002 agreement provides a useful framework for regional cooperation in addressing transboundary haze. In reality, the signatory countries have figuratively sat on their hands for two decades with few serious actions to combat the underlying issues contributing to the haze.

The fallback "actions" of virtually all the Asean countries have been to form committees, spray a bit of water now and then and wait for wind and rain to clear away the haze. Such obfuscation has become less and less tolerable, however, as the severity of the haze has intensified each of the past years. As we're now heading into another El Niño cycle of hotter and drier weather, we can expect things to get much worse before they get better.

Re: "Challenges in tackling PM2.5 crisis", (Opinion, April 12).

Personally, I am very happy that the Post has been devoting so much ink reporting the PM2.5 debacle that continues to envelop the northern provinces. The above-referenced TDRI opinion piece offers a well-conceived analysis and constructive policy recommendations for long-term solutions; but what about right now? Instead of calling the fire department, scholars are sitting around and discussing the nuances of construction and architectural design while the house is burning. In four columns of erudite text, there is not one suggestion to alleviate the current emergency. The authors obviously cannot see and cannot breathe the Chiang Mai air from their ivory tower.

Re: "Challenges in tackling PM2.5 crisis", (Opinion, April 12).

Three years ago, we moved from Bangkok to Koh Samui because of the suffocating air pollution. We usually have a wonderful sea view of Koh Phangan and most days can see individual houses. However, in the last month, there have been many days when the pollution is so bad that we cannot even see the island.

This is not only a serious threat to health but also to the economy. Thailand having the worse pollution in the world has featured on CNN, BBC and other international media outlets. Chiang Mai is recording many hotel cancellations.

The pollution issue hits Thailand every year, but I have yet to detect any governmental action.

Some simple actions could be taken quickly.

If the sale of all polluting vehicles is banned after 2030, sales and manufacturers will start to migrate to electric and hydrogen vehicles well before that deadline.

All existing vehicles over three years old should be subjected to an annual emissions test at a government facility and banned from the roads until they pass. Buses, etc should not be exempt. Landowners should be made responsible and punished for fires on their land, and where they have tenants, landlords will be responsible for making them comply.

Education and subsidies should be given to villages to help them communally own machinery to till the agricultural stubble into the soil rather than burn it and maybe switch to other crops. This is a better use of funds than high-speed trains, submarines, superhighways and other capital projects.

I do not think it is an easy problem to solve. It will incur pain, but what is the alternative to taking action?

Re: "Best passports for travellers to hold in 2023", (BP, Jan 11).

Of course, this topic relates to the sovereignty of each country. But why does the government not make more visa-free arrangements worldwide?

The Thai passport is ranked at a mere 68th place, and only around 78 countries can be travelled to visa-free, naturally including nine Asean states and 15 beautiful island states in the (South) Pacific. Why does the government not focus on outbound Thai travel as well and make it easier for Thai citizens to become more global citizens in an easier fashion?

Just some thoughts.

Re: "Sign of the times", (PostBag, April 11).

Again Eric Bahrt misses the point. What I and many others object to is not his beliefs per se but his lack of balance.

We see that commercial meat production can be a ghastly business but also understand that there are still many communities around the world where a small number of cattle, sheep, pigs and goats provide the principal source of protein. One can argue endlessly about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, but preferably in the context of the underlying historical and religious causes and what the UN and USA could and should be doing. Repetition of outrage is both boring and non-constructive.

Equally, having thrown in his lot with the anti-vax camp, mostly it appears because of an existing loathing for the medical profession, Mr Bahrt remains locked in denial that Covid-19 was anything other than a hoax. One can understand his frustration that so many PostBag contributors, including me, routinely pulled apart the dangerous falsehoods he was regurgitating from malignant anti-vax sources, but to deny that he is conceited whilst frequently claiming never to have been proven wrong in many years of letter writing is a bit of a stretch.

Re: "On the naughty Stephff", (Life, April 7) & "UTN leader vows to drive out 'nation haters'", (BP, April 8).

Thank you, Dave Kendall for the review of Farang Affairs 2 by Stephff, aka Stephane Peray. As a long-time fan, Stephff's healthy poking of fun at farangs is rich humour, but the political satire skewering sacred Thai cows is way better. It always brightens the day to see his latest on Prachatai or wherever.

If the latest fulminations of the self-esteeming bigwigs of the United Thai Nation (UTN) Party's leader who vows to drive out "nation haters" grossly misrepresenting what it is to be a Thai patriot are anything to go by, those who colluded in or cheered on the latest coup have a mindset solidly back before 50 BC, apparently having learnt nothing of worth even from the Buddha, whose "Kalama Sutta" they presumably want cast into the flames.

But I'm sure that Stephff can do the UTN authoritarians more justice than me. I look forward to his take on them.