OPINION

SEC is on a roll

Re: “Anti-graft actions speak louder than words at SEC”, (Opinion, March 18).

I join Nopporn Wong-Anan in commending the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for imposing a fine on top executives and shareholders of five listed companies for insider trading earlier this week.

In December, the SEC also imposed a heavy fine on four top executives of CP All Plc, one of Thailand’s biggest convenience store giants, for the same share-manipulating offence.

It is good to see a state regulating body such as the SEC give a performance that transcends the Ministry of Finance’s, and even the government’s, expectations.

Let’s hope some big and bad elements do not try to block the SEC‘s attempt to create a level playing field for Thailand’s financial markets.

All Thais should rally behind the SEC to carry out this considerable but worthwhile undertaking.

Vint Chavala

How many times do the Chicken Littles have to be wrong before we ignore their doom and gloom prophecies? (A growing concern, PostBag, March 18).

Way back in 1798 Thomas Malthus predicted a bleak future of war and epidemic disease unless human population growth was seriously checked. In 1970, biologist Paul Ehrlich predicted that the 1980s would see mass starvation with 100-200 million deaths annually due to famine. Now Kip Keino worries that too many people will lead to a future of mass poisonings and natural disasters. None of these predictions have or will come to pass. If the carrying capacity of the earth is only 700 million people, how is it possible for India to export $7.1 billion worth of rice annually?       

Humans are not the liability that Mr Keino implies that they are. As economist Julian Simon noted, “the most important benefit of population size and growth is the increase it brings to the stock of useful knowledge. Minds matter economically as much as, or more than, hands or mouths”.

We don’t need to worry about runaway population growth; every additional birth adds to the pool of human ingenuity from which we all benefit. 

Jeff Gepner

Let’s imagine that the junta’s plans for an unelected Senate were as follows: There will be no elected members but a mixture of nominated and hereditary people who will receive 300,000 baht a month just for turning up. Although, the Senate won’t be able to veto most of the legislation passed by the Lower House, members will be able to delay laws for up to a year and will be empowered to stop absolutely any attempt to extend a parliament’s period in office. Senate members will be able to become government ministers and the prime minister will be able to appoint as many party hacks as he feels appropriate.

One imagines there would be a tremendous outcry.  Yet the above situation describes precisely the current composition and powers of “democratic” Britain’s Upper House, known as the House of Lords.

Incidentally and worldwide, only North Korea’s 687 members of the Supreme People’s Assembly surpass Britain’s current total of 816 of the overcrowded Lords.

Barry Kenyon

Although most of the commentary in Thailand seems strongly against the suggestion that an appointed upper house be part of the future governing structure, I’d just like to make an observation.

In the United Kingdom, sometimes referred to as having “the mother of parliaments”, the upper house has always been, and remains to this day, largely appointed.

Although sometimes controversial, the appointed structure has mostly been regarded as a good thing, serving to moderate and limit the more ardent and partisan actions of the elected commons.

This was revealed, once again, this week, in what some think was a sensible move, by the appointed house.

The ruling Conservative Party, seeking to take aggressive advantage of their dominance in the commons, sought to ram through a law breaking the historic financing arrangements between the unions, and the Labour Party, a move that would likely greatly weaken the already demoralised and possibly hopeless party of the left.

Although many Tories, myself included, might have liked to see this move, the wiser heads in the lords convincingly voted this move down, as it might have been unwise in a democracy, for the dominant elected party, to exert undue influence in its hunger to destroy and eliminate opposition to its future rule.

This reminds me of another party in a dominant position, trying to force through legislation that might have been very negative for long-term democracy in Thailand.

An appointed upper house isn’t always an entirely bad idea, and can indeed offer sensible moderating influences that are arguably beneficial to a society in the bigger picture.

Nick Marshall

Re: “Police generals on villains list”, (BP, March 12).

I’m sorry, but I had to laugh when I got to the bit which stated “where there is insufficient evidence against them to prosecute (they) will be required to sign pledges to end their nefarious activities”.

After having seriously abused their power and committed a crime, possibly of great magnitude, will a corrupt police general really agree to sign such an agreement admitting his involvement and agree to end all illegal activities?

More to the point, if they do, will the promise be even worth the paper it’s written on? Given the circumstances, I seriously doubt it.

Martin R

The list of 6,000 individuals of “dark influence” targeted for investigation and prosecution is a commendable beginning to the regime’s fight against crime.

There is also another more insidious group of criminals roaming freely, the vast majority of whom have yet to be placed on a list.

We could call them persons of “white influence”. They have squeaky clean images, often polished by costly defamation litigation against their detractors.

They serve with attendant status and prestige, often at very high levels, as government officials, in the police and military, and in other prominent organisations and foundations.

These people have one thing in common, “unusual wealth”.

It is extremely rare for them to be prosecuted. Most investigations are initiated because the person in question has angered others of his kind or risked disturbing the status quo.

Every Thai can confirm there is very little chance of prosecuting these people. One need not wonder why.

Mr M

As I understand it from the Bangkok Post’s reporting on the issue, many of the people of the Mahakan Fort community have no clear land titles because the land was awarded to their ancestors by the monarchy a long time ago.

Perhaps they should consider filing lese majeste cases against anyone from the BMA who tries to dispossess them of their land.

George Rothschild

Re: “City to limit Songkran water-splashing”, (BP, March 15).

This is a good idea. To enforce the rule, the BMA should ask the NCPO to deploy soldiers at every corner of the city.

Don’t just publicise the plan. The BMA needs to enforce the restrictions to show they mean business.

RH SugaLamphun

I have just watched a very short dash-cam video of the most awful kind that came to my attention through your newspaper. It is probably the most obvious case of vehicular homicide (murder by motorcar) I have ever seen. The Thai police and justice system will now be very carefully watched and judged by its performance on bringing justice to the victims.

Lungstib

Recently, I’m seeing more and more “sarcastic” letters in the PostBag.

I hope the editors will not publish them anymore — the letters are not offering any insights, just stating the obvious.

Although I don’t always agree with some of those letters, at least they offer some insights and/or solutions.

Jay

Re: “Police charge Benz driver, defend ‘alcohol test failure”, (BP, March 17).

Another rich, drunk driver was responsible for two deaths in Ayutthaya. As usual, the drunk’s rich daddy came to the rescue. He offered, “compensation” to the victim’s families.

This is the usual way in Thailand where the scions of the rich and famous get away with traffic deaths, and, worse, they go unpunished.

This demonstrates to the rest of the world that in Thailand that it’s okay to kill while driving drunk, as long as daddy can bail you out.

Those rich, spoiled kids of Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries should vacation in Thailand instead of California.

Imagine a rich daddy trying to buy his son out of jail in the USA.

Thais have justice, but a two-tiered system: one for the rich, one for the poor. And as Stanley Halloway sang in My Fair Lady, “It’s the rich what gets the gravy, it’s the poor what gets the blame”. You get the gist.

David James Wong

Re: “Easier terms for foreign skills urged”, (Business, March 16).

It is certainly heartening to hear that the Thai Chamber of Commerce Chairman, Isara Vongkusolkij, will be proposing to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha revisions to the current immigration policy and other regulations governing work permits, permanent residence permits (PR) and real estate ownership.

May I make a few humble suggestions for simple changes that would make Thailand more attractive for highly skilled foreign experts to live and work:

- Introduce longer non-immigrant extensions of stay after a thorough background check for both professionals and their families.

The extension of stay could be for one year in the first instance, after which three-year extensions could be issued provided they maintain their original status and criteria for stay.

The same would also apply to work permits.

For permanent residence permits:

 - Eliminate the antiquated blue Certificate of Residence Book and replace this with a smart ID card for PR’s that can be used within Thailand and when going through immigration.

 - Eliminate the non-quota immigrant visa (re-entry permit) stamped in the passport and put all relevant data on the smart ID card.

 - Eliminate the requirement for PR holders to have a work permit for employment. PR is valid for life and is therefore “permanent” so PR holders should be permitted to seek employment and be employed without restrictions.

- Introduce an automatic process for permanent residents to gain Thai citizenship by naturalisation after a period of five years of permanent residency.

PR Observer

Re: “Protect our heritage”, (PostBag, March 18).

I absolutely agree with Scottie’s letter. The possible proposed cultural vandalism of Hemingway’s to make way for a hotel is opportunistic greed to cash in on revenue-generating tourism.

A line has to be drawn somewhere to protect sites of particular aesthetic and historical interest.

Dr Frank

While I understand your cartoonist “Yoot” depicting Myanmar’s new president, Htin Kyaw, as a puppet on a string being manipulated by the dark shadowy figure of Aung San Suu Kyi, I do think that it demonstrates a lack of sympathy for the situation (BP, March 16).

Htin Kyaw is a lifelong friend and confidant of Ms Suu Kyi, and I am sure that he would like nothing more than that she be president in his place.

Unfortunately because of a draconian law passed by the previous military junta specifically aimed at stopping the Lady from ever becoming president, Htin Kyaw has reluctantly stepped in as her “clone”, to borrow a term from a certain former Thai prime minister.

There is nothing shadowy or underhanded about this arrangement, which has been overtly and clearly stated before he was elected.

David BrownRayong

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