Wasted drug wars

re: "Anti-alcohol drive 'a success'" (BP, December 28)

Dear editor,
The Thai Health Promotion Foundation is right: the facts, some of which are included in the article, solidly establish alcohol as the most serious drug of addiction causing harm to Thai society, just as it is the most destructive drug elsewhere. It follows that this toxic drug should be the one most harshly treated by the law, which means that the current drug laws regarding marijuana, yaa baa, heroin and the like are not only irrational in their refusal to acknowledge long known facts, but are grossly immoral since any justification for interfering in the personal sale and use by adults of these illegal drugs applies with even greater force to the more harmful alcohol. Heroin users do not commit rape: they nod off. Marijuana does not tend to induce violence, and so on.

But this is not a reason to criminalize alcohol to bring it into line with the other highly popular recreational drugs beloved of so many Thais and other adults, as the tediously regular massive seizures attest. The prohibition approach was tried in the US between 1920 and 1933, a legal move which effectively granted a generous monopoly to mafia scum and their loyal public officials, including the police, the courts and the law makers who all profited mightily through their corruption at the expense of society. We see, with no surprise, exactly the same results of criminalizing personal choices in drugs in the spectacular failure of the wars on drugs that have so greatly enriched mafia scum and corrupt officials for decades now. Meanwhile, these same failed polices waste massive budgetary and human resources whilst contributing nothing of value to society, merely creating greater opportunities for corruption, creating a class of criminals from decent citizens who do not harm others, and not even reducing drug use.

There is no lack of compelling evidence from the before and after experiences of decriminalizing popular drugs. Apart from the well-known case of alcohol prohibition of alcohol in the US, the before and after statistics for states that have decriminalized marijuana are consistent and favourable. Even more compelling is the example of Portugal, where decriminalizing all drugs, even heroin, has greatly reduced the harm, and the actual use, of drugs since it was introduced in 2001, thereby freeing vast resources that could then be usefully spent actually helping society.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on December 28, 2017, under the title "Wasted drug wars" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1386902/anti-alcohol-drive-a-success
  

Moral corruption

re: "Toon and Pai, the tale of our two Jesuses" (Opinion, December 23)

Dear editor,
It was, as always, a joy to read Kong Rithdee's thoughtful opinion piece on the lessons provided by two modern Thai saviours, the selfless Artiwara Kongmalai (Toon Body Slam) and the moral hero Jatupat Boonpatararaksa (Pai Dao Din). As Kong notes, they are Buddhists, but some reflection on their saving graces is appropriate at the season that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. The parallels between Jesus's life and that of Pai are worth exploring a little further for the light they shed on modern Thai society and its fractured politics, parallels which also intersect with the wise teachings of the Buddha.

Christmas is the prelude to the life and death of Jesus, which are what matter more than the accidents of birth. Jesus remains Jesus whether born of a virgin or not: unlikely ancient myths need not be taken literally to serve as powerful narratives that help us make sense of today. The story of Jesus's ministry and death offers insight into modern Thailand. Like Pai, Jesus was born into humble circumstances, his family having to flee the despotic King Herod who would "seek the young child to destroy him" (Matt., 2:13, KJV). As with Pai Dao Din, the traditional leaders of the nation saw their perks and privileges threatened as Jesus's teachings, as much as his acts, showed the nakedness of their hypocrisy, which he publicly denounced (Matt. 23). What did the social  leaders do? They hatched a plan to "to take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him" (Matt. 26:4) in strict accord with the rule of law that had been made up to enable such a ruthless clinging to power by old men.

To be fair, it is certainly possible that "the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people" (ibid.) truly believed themselves good: they were wrong. They may truly have believed that they were protecting valuable traditions: they were wrong. They may have thought they were protecting the national security of the state: they were wrong. They may have believed that acting in accord with the letter of the law made them morally right: they were grievously wrong.

In turning Jesus into a criminal who was executed in strict accord with the law, they but proved the law to be morally corrupt. In using the brute force of the state to silence dissent that threatened traditional perks and privileges of the status quo, they but proved that status quo and its laws to be morally corrupt. In refusing to listen to healthy dissent, they but but proved themselves in love with inherited moral error.

And so it is with the morally exemplary Jatupat Boonpatararaksa, who is also "not without honour, save in his own country" (Matt. 14:57). But the criminal Jatupat has done nothing wrong; he has, on the contrary, set an example of seeking right understanding that comports perfectly with the wise teachings of the Buddha: it is his deluded and deluding oppressors who reject the wisdom of the Buddha in corrupting the rule of law to serve their ends.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on December 25, 2017, under the title "Moral corruption" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1385126/moral-corruption
  

Off to bad start

re: "Political parties' activities limited pending newcomers" (BP, December 19)

Dear editor,
It is a telling irony that even the pretence of a feeble start of a qualified return to democratic practice depends on the unaccountable politician in chief exercising the supremely anti-democratic section 44 of a constitution that is at heart opposed to democracy and the good morals that found it.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on December 22, 2017, under the title "Off to bad start" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1383670/off-to-bad-start
  

Learn from foreigners

re: "If I ruled the world" (Post Bag, December 18)

Dear editor,
Whilst Not blinded by the bling! feels it inappropriate to comment constructively on the Thai nation when merely passing through annually for a spot of pleasure, for those who have chosen to make Thailand their home, often for decades, it is appropriate to care and to comment. Thai law does not allow much more, but helping the subject Thai people to better understand Thai affairs, on which much Thai rule of law often seeks to keep them ignorant, is a positive contribution for non-Thai residents. This healthy expression of care includes pointing out: that the deputy PM general and defence minister's ostentatious sufficiency practices raise very real questions to be answered; that the conclusions of the army investigation into the death of a cadet being mysterious, unaccountable, self-amnestying and insistently dogmatic reflect all too well the traditional Thai military virtues that we see in the currently ruling Thai politicians; and that whilst good women and men can and do come from military backgrounds, the facts that overthrowing a constitution is bad morals, ousting a popular, democratically elected government is bad morals, and violating basic rights to free speech is bad morals, demonstrate that it is inevitably the case that a military political party that respects good morals is a contradiction in terms.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on December 19, 2017, under the title "Learn from foreigners" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1381531/leave-our-trees-alone
  

Prawit's financial wizardry

re: "Champagne corks pop in Prawit home" (BP, December 8) 

Dear editor,

That the selflessly humble Defense Minister and First Deputy PM could parlay his modest official salaries into an 87 million Baht fortune whilst clearly not stinting on life's little pleasures clearly qualifies him as an economic master. He should be rewarded with the extra portfolio of Finance Minister, although some of his army mate colleagues cum politicians offer stiff competition for performing financial miracles seemingly out of nothing.

Meanwhile, his display of conspicuous sufficiency economics is the perfect model of that philosophy as practiced by its loudest advocates. And with every confidence that he will be found innocent of any wrong doing, his already granted amnesty will not be needed.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on December 10, 2017, under the title "Prawit's financial wizardry" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1375799/prawits-financial-wizardry
  

Warped Buddhism

re: "Tell tourists naked truth" (Editorial, December 2)

Dear editor,

Whilst it is true that tourists should "show respect when they travel," it is equally true that the gross over-reaction by hysterical Thai authorities fails to respect common sense and decency, not to mention the teachings of the Buddha. Sadly, this use of Buddhism as a weapon to attack others is a common occurrence in Thailand, where respect for the Buddha's actual teachings is either ignored, as in the daily slaughter of animals to sate a very carnal lust for tasty roasts, or it actually criminalized, as in the harsh censorship laws designed to prevent the right understanding that is an essential part of the Buddha's wisdom.

The two foreigners were rude fools, but it is not obvious that they are the more guilty party in disrespecting Buddhism in Thailand.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on December 4, 2017, under the title "Warped Buddhism" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1371839/a-tilted-playing-field
  

Protect free speech

re: "Drop Thepha charges now" (Editorial, November 30) and "Academics join to bail out anti-coal protesters" (PB, November 30)

Dear editor,
The ungrateful peasants and academics can rudely "insist on people's freedom of expression and peaceful gatherings without weapons guaranteed by the constitution" as much as they like. After more than three years of their rule, we know how much the current Thai politicians unelect care what lowly peasants and meddling academics think. And decades of historical fact show exactly how the Thai army and its allies respond if a current Thai constitution is not to their liking. Naturally, all will be done in strict accord with the new rule of law made up for that purpose.

Meanwhile, one of the reasons that make free speech so essential to any just and rational society that values honesty, truth and informed opinion of worth on any topic or issue is that strong legal protection for free speech is necessary to enable those very values. Absent free speech that can correct the false beliefs, flawed morals and unjust customs of the past, those errors will be perpetuated, which perpetration is precisely the reason for anti-democratic censorship. Unless the PM and his rule of law reform to allow free speech, he cannot rationally claim that any belief on any censored topic is well founded, let alone that it might be true: his own morally flawed rule of law undermines rational faith in the myths it presumes to protect.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on December 1, 2017, under the title "Protect free speech" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1370139/protect-free-speech
  

Good old nepotism

re: "The Isoc solution" (BP, November 26)

Dear editor,
What is so special about ISOC that it deserves to be handed monopolies that will naturally be shrouded in the usual impunity conferring secrecy so inevitably beloved of the corrupt on all things so very profitable, as Mr Dawson points out, "from the low-intensity war to the lucrative drug trade, from human trafficking to dependably profitable gun-running"?

Of course, they are good old mates of the good old PM who thinks a spot of good old brutal discipline up to and including a bit of death a jolly acceptable thing from his own good old days of learning to be one of the good old gang running the nation for their jolly selves. But is that quite good enough to bestow such bountiful blessings?

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on November 28, 2017, under the title "Good old nepotism" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1368227/courtesy-unreturned
  

Censorship blues

re: "Thailand's internet freedom 'in decline'" and "Anti-coup elements in the crosshairs" (BP, November 16)

Dear editor,
Two reports in the Bangkok Post of November 16 unhappily complement each other. In "Anti-coup elements in the crosshairs," Thai authorities boast "that many [with dissenting opinions] have already been detained," solidly confirming the Freedom House report that Thailand's internet freedom of speech has been downgraded to "not free," joining the likes of the repressive Russia, Myanmar and China.

The ruling Thai politicians making up a rule of law to force their agenda on the nation plainly do not want and are not willing to allow that Thai citizens actually understand or even be aware of matters of great importance to the Thai nation, the sole reason for such censorship against free speech being to enforce ignorance on the censored topics so that lawful opinion is untested, unchecked, unsubstantiated, and hence worthless.

Bizarrely, this entails that foreigners and those outside of Thailand have a better chance of understanding what is going down inside Thailand than any captive domestic Thai citizen is lawfully allowed to have under current Thai rule of law. Reasonable, rational people must wonder: Why is this Thai government terrified of Thai citizens having informed opinions of worth on important Thai affairs?

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on November 17, 2017, under the title "Censorship blues" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1362055/censorship-blues
  

Regime blocking democracy

re: "PM's 6 questions 'designed to rile critics'" (BP, November 10)

Dear editor,
Whilst agreeing with most of the writer's well-stated concerns, I'm not sure that it's "the regime's intention to block old power cliques." On the contrary, Prayut overthrew yet another Thai constitution so that his oligarchy against democracy and good morals could protect the old power cliques who were threatened by the rise of wholesomely disruptive new powers such Thaksin and the Thai people. It is the rise of the Thai nation to justice and democratic principle that the regime is intent on blocking as it further corrupts the rule of law to keep itself and those colluding in unjust power whatever the outcome of any promised election that might occur at some time in the future.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on November 12, 2017, under the title "Regime blocking democracy" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1358931/regime-blocking-democracy
  

Can't force respect

re: "China: Disrespecting anthem may bring jail" (BP, November 4)

Dear editor,
China clearly has much to teach the West as well as the East: fallen for a common theme through history, China confuses dissent with disrespect, repeating the common mistake of equating mindless adulation with respect. Like all such anti-democratic laws, the law that criminalizes what is deemed disrespect to it but confirms that the Chinese national anthem cannot attract respect on its own merits or on the merits of what it represents. Similar laws abound throughout the world wherever dictators or despotic oligarchies, including those operating under a sham of democracy, need a false image of social consensus to deceitfully paper over deep dissent from mythic ideologies religious, historical, social or political that reject truth and honesty as virtues. Laws against free speech, however sincerely motivated or genuinely popular, necessarily undermine the worth of the opinions they are needed to protect from reality and from good morals.Whilst perhaps strongly disagreeing, decent people respect dissent.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on November 6, 2017, under the title "Can't force respect" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1355267/cant-force-respect
  

Guilt is 'irrelevant'

re: "Anupong dodges criticism in speed gun fiasco" (BP, October 21)

Dear editor,
As the responsible minister who signed off on the deal, the general's defense is every bit as solid as Yingluck's when found guilty of failing to exercise proper oversight of the rice pledging scheme she was responsible for overseeing and signed off on. When will the equally impartial prosecution of the Interior Minister be forwarded to the court for political office holders?

But we see now how very prescient were the ruling politicians unelected to generously award themselves, immediately after overthrowing the highest rule of law of the Thai nation, a full amnesty for past, present and future acts: guilt is irrelevant, not being subject to any test in the same courts of law that apply to the political players on the "bad" side who have no such amnesty because the outraged voice of the Thai people, democratically heard, rightly prevented such a corruption of justice.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on October 28, 2017, under the title "Guilt is 'irrelevant'" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1350050/proud-to-help-out
  

Facing up to roadmap

re: "Facebook denies PM-Zuckerberg meeting" (BP, October 19)

Dear editor,
It is all another misunderstanding put about by those with bad attitudes to the politicians so selflessly serving the Thai nation these last few years.

According to the road-map based on the reformed calendar for Thailand 4.0, Mr. Mark is arriving as promised on October 37, a couple of days after the elections that will definitely take place no later than November 33 of 2018 according to the reformed Thai calendar 4.0. When so correctly understood, all reforms are coming along exactly as promised by the road-map.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on October 21, 2017, under the title "Facing up to roadmap" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1346554/not-feeling-blessed
  

Not the people's pick

re: "Don't knock the polls" (Postbag, BP, October 8)

Dear editor,
The recent series of letters by Jack Gilead and others arguing whether polls accurately reflect the PM's popularity misses the more important point: however popular he might truly be, even if he has the same truly massive popularity as North Korea's ever smiling dictator, that cannot alter the fact that he remains not a man elected to govern the Thai people by the Thai people according to the will of the Thai people under the good morals of democratic principle.

He is truly popular? Quite possibly! That signifies nothing of worth, certainly nothing equivalent to sound democratic credentials or good morals, neither of which are entailed by doing incredibly well in a popularity contest under a rule of law characterized by censorship and intimidation that has forced respected academics into exile, and that has imprisoned such exemplary Thai citizens as the international award winning Jatupat Boonpatararaksa (Pai Dao Din) in strict accord with the rule of law made up for such purposes.

If popularity in polls were a reliable indicator of moral stature, that would make both Thaksin and Yingluck paragon's of excellence, something that I would have trouble conceding, although they do at least have the virtue of having been elected by the formerly free Thai people to govern the Thai nation, and unlike a popularity poll, that is of some worth deserving respect.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on October 10, 2017, under the title "Not the people's pick" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1339883/not-the-peoples-pick
  

Justice doesn't last

re: "Corrections chief eyes reform" (BP, October 3)

Dear editor,
It is a welcome hint of reform of bad old thinking to see a chief of prisons who acknowledges grave defects of long standing in Thailand's antiquated prison system. When a society imprisons citizens, those citizens do not stop being human beings and must be treated with the respect any human person deserves, which means that society has an obligation to provide decent conditions for those it locks away to protect itself from them.

And as the new chief says, many of those unjustly crowded into Thailand's prisons should never have been sent there in the first place: it only harms them, their families and Thai society to imprison them when other options would be both more moral and effective in reducing harms to society. As the Portuguese and other evidence consistently shows, for example, we know that decriminalizing drug use (all drug use by adults) is a far more effective solution to the harms of drug abuse than is throwing mainly young offenders of poor means into prison for indefensibly long periods at great cost to all concerned, save of course the mafia scum and their loyal officials who are the sole beneficiaries of such a misguided response to very real drug problems.

With such sound reforms in mind, how long can this man of vision last before being shunted out to avoid upsetting the mafia scum and their colluding officials in all areas of the "justice" system?

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on October 5, 2017, under the title "Justice doesn't last" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1336927/religious-business
  

The kids are alright

re: "'Coconut shell' students find their voice" (BP, November 13)

Dear editor,
Congratulations to the brave young minds of Suan Kularb, who show us, yet again, that it is the youth of Thailand who set the example of excellence in honesty, in open-mindedness, in critical thinking and in respect for all such democratic values. In a word, it is Thai youth, high school and university students, who set the moral example from which their benighted elders, stuck in their stifling coconut shells of repressive, willful ignorance, need to learn. Naturally, the bull frogs are croaking loudly at this timely disturbance to their slumbering moral faculties. Let us hope their children will continue to rebel against the bad old ways of their elders, leading even the greenest into the better-lit world beyond their too aged kala.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on November 15, 2017, under the title "The kids are alright" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1360723/fear-and-motivation
  

Sin (taxes) of poor

re: "Crackdown on alcohol, cigarette hoarders" (BP, September 14)

Dear editor,
Whilst the do-gooding excuses for increasing "sin taxes" are admittedly all very communist, that does not make these taxes just. Just because something is unhealthy does not justify the Big Nanny state interfering to control the choices of adults, however foolish those choices might be. In particular, these taxes hit hardest the poorest in society, which does at least comport with the anti-democratic notion so popular with the PDRC and those colluding with them that self-deemed "good" people must control the poor, uneducated peasants who can't be trusted to be responsible. This ugly prejudice is as baseless factually as it is base morally.

It is as acceptable to inflict additional costs on those whose pleasures come in part from cigarettes, alcohol or gambling as it would be to impose similar extra costs on those whose pleasures come from reading classical literature (one of my own favourites) or enjoying the greenery in Lumpini Park. Of course, if people's bad decisions result in self-harm, the state is also under no obligation to bail them out.

The only acceptable level of taxes on anything is to offset, and nothing more, the harm to innocent bystanders, and that is much less than what is already raked in by the current exorbitant "sin taxes" about to be worsened still more to control the personal choices of adults, especially of the poor, who are thus punished for the "sin" of being poor by rule of law made up by self-adulating nannies of conspicuous affluence.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on September 16, 2017, under the title "Sin (taxes) of poor" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1325471/sin-taxes-of-poor
  

United in religion

re: "Regime angers critics over NOB transfer" (BP, September 8)

Dear editor,
How felicitous that the uniquely sensitive religion known as Thai Buddhism has such devoted men in uniform to fight over it, the rich spoils going to the victor. And what crumbs the boys in military and police uniforms leave are there for the aging men in orange uniforms straight out of the feudal era of Thai history to squabble over.

The true miracle is that many Thais continue to profess to follow by default this officially fostered version of Buddhism rather than one that follows the teachings of the Buddha. With so many military and police in charge of its affairs, could the religion whose job it is boost Thai nationalism and the feudal status quo need any other support?

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on September 11, 2017, under the title "United in religion" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1322039/failing-at-buddhism
  

Bowing to bad tradition

re: "Thailand 4.0 not quite as we imagined" (BP, August 8) 

Dear editor,
In her succinct opinion piece, Atiya Achakulwisut correctly notes that prostration in the Chula. Uni. mode is "a newly invented tradition." She might usefully have given a bit more historical background. In 1873, the great Thai king Chulalongkorn, Rama V, in his wise efforts to break with bad old ways of the past, to end bad old traditions and bring in modernizing reforms, explicitly abolished prostration, describing it as "severely oppressive" and unable to "render any benefit to Siam" (Royal Siamese Government Gazette,1873). This begs the obvious question: if the modern lights at Chula. University and elsewhere dictate that students or others prostrate themselves, what are they saying when they seem to directly disagree with the wisdom of the great King Chulalongkorn?

Personally, I think the great Thai king of more than a century ago was wiser and better in tune with good morals than the modern rulers of the university that takes his name. Thankfully, there are bright young citizens such as Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal to help his elders correct their mistaken notions of good morals.

Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on August 11, 2017, under the title "Bowing to bad tradition" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1304175/bowing-to-bad-tradition
  

Debunking Chula

re: "Chula wrong on Netiwit" (BP editorial, September 2)

Dear editor,
In attacking Netiwit, who is one of its brightest, certainly one of its most morally good, students, Chula. University but proves its moral status to be on a par with its standing as an academic institution. It is sad that Thailand has nothing better in what passes for higher education, whether  measured by educational standards as reflected every year in Chula's ranking compared to international institutions or in moral ratings, as proven by this latest assault on good morals.

It appears that Chula. is, like so much of Thai education, intent not on teaching thinking based on healthy questioning of dubious inherited assumptions but on enforcing mindless conformity - that most military of bad moral values.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on September 4, 2017, under the title "Debunking Chula" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1317843/embracing-activists
  

Army doublespeak

re: "Army says escape plot well hatched" (BP, August 30)

Dear editor,
This latest effort is a perfect piece of doublespeaking gobbledegook from the boys in the Thai army: whilst he "admitted that there is still no clue to indicate how she escaped if indeed she fled the country" (if indeed!) the army man in charge of the amazing failure insists that "Her escape had been well prepared and decided in advance." Well, obviously when you are clueless, that must be the explanation.

Do he and his army mates honestly expect anyone to believe such claims rather than to roll around on the floor as sensible people must when faced with such self-inflicted ridicule?

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on September 2, 2017, under the title "Army doublespeak" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1317319/no-questions-here
  

NCPO nonsense

re: "Regime denies Yingluck deal" (BP, August 28)

Dear editor,
Naturally the NCPO denies complicity in Yingluck's stroll from a looming prison sentence, boldly attributing it all to mere incompetence. Could anyone be so naive after three years of evidence as to expect them to say anything else?

The same NCPO also claim that they overthrew the highest law of the nation to protect the rule of law, claim that they tramped it under boot to bring democracy to Thailand, and claim that they have poured a fortune into the pockets of army generals on committees to bring unity and reconciliation whilst eradicating corruption. And of course, they had to give themselves an amnesty claiming that it was because the sensibly withdrawn (in the senate) Pheu Thai amnesty necessitated a coup.

All such claims by the NCPO being equally credible, what room remains to doubt the latest claim?

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on August 30, 2017, under the title "NCPO nonsense" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1315503/bad-smell-at-coal-face
  

Reform must start at home

re: "Prayut wants reform of politics, people's mindset" (BP, August 25)

Dear editor,
The PM general is right that a change in the Thai people's mindset is needed: stop respecting groups who overthrow the rule of law; stop tolerating the bad morals of coups; stop blindly believing the lame excuses of those who have broken promises to serve the civilian government; stop accepting the systemic corruption whitewashed by rule of corrupt law that is reflected in the indefensible super-abundance of army generals and their useless toys; and demand reform of corrupt law made up by bad people to give themselves amnesties among other undeserved perks and privileges.

 Felix Qui

_______________________________

The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on August 27, 2017, under the title "Reform must start at home" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1313679/leave-academics-alone
  

Ugly 'good folk' truth

re: "Time to cut the 'superior' down to size" (BP, August 18)

Dear editor,
Paritta Wangkiat is to be commended for so clearly stating the ugly truth that those who think themselves the "good" rarely have a moral leg to stand on as they kick everyone that gets in the way of their traditional power, perks and impunities. The obvious examples from recent history are Suthep's PDRC mobs, those colluding with or demanding the overthrow of yet another Thai constitution, and their rule of law made up to oppose democracy.

Thankfully Thailand has such morally exemplary heroes as the courageous Jatupat Boonpattararaksa. Pai Dai Din, Chula's Netiwit and a few others inject a much needed breath of healthy air into the moral stagnation that has too long passed as "good" in Thailand. Good people, as opposed to self-adulating "good" people, neither make up nor use the rule of law to imprison or intimidate the truly good people working for a more just, morally stronger and wholesomely secure nation.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on August 19, 2017, under the title "Ugly 'good folk' truth" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1309095/ugly-good-folk-truth
  

Antidote to the poison

re: "Conquering the enemy deep within" (BP, August 11)

Dear editor,
If I might suggest one partial antidote to the poison that Paritta Wangkiat so lucidly exposes in "Conquering the enemy deep within" (BP, August 11), it would help if schools directly invited students to present opposing arguments to received wisdom, customs, traditions and antique morals. This might conveniently be done in social studies, history and other subjects that address Thai history, culture and society. This does not require that students be taught that received wisdom is always false, merely that it might not be so obviously true as some assume or proclaim it to be, that dissenting views do exist which have sound reasons that good people who value honesty and humanity need to answer.

This would be conducive to some healthy, critical review of the bad reasoning, the falsehoods and the ignorance enforced by censorship that feed divisive nationalism on all sides. Open discussion of dissenting controversial ideas is a healthy activity that is an essential part of any decent education. Such a healthy reform would benefit not only education, but would help to inoculate Thai society from the worst excesses of rabid nationalism.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on August 13, 2017, under the title "Antidote to the poison" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1305259/whos-really-losing-face-here
  

Scared of a laugh

re: "Military pulls bail for Pai Dao Din" (BP, July 28)

Dear editor,
So Thailand's international human rights award winner Jatupat Boonpattararaksa (Pai Dao Din) remains in prison "because he did not delete the shared article from his Facebook page, and posted photos that allegedly mocked the authority of the state" (Bangkok Post, July 28).

The thousands of others who shared the article have probably not deleted it either. Nor has Thai rule of law attacking informed opinion given any reason why links to articles whose truth has not been questioned should be deleted, except that under Thai rule of law telling truths about Thai affairs can constitute a serious criminal offense. Good people do not hold truth seeking or speaking to be bad morals, quite the contrary.

As to the absurdly false claim that just rule of law can imprison anyone who "mocked the authority of the state," Harvard University's renowned Steven Pinker perhaps puts it best when he writes that "satire and ridicule, even when puerile and tasteless, are terrifying to autocrats and protected by democracies" (The Boston Globe, "Why free speech is fundamental", 2015, January 27).

By accepting the consequences of his acts, with no hint of running away, Pai Dao Din proves himself a worthy recipient of the  2017 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights as he follows in the morally exemplary tradition of those branded criminals by unjust law as Socrates, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, and the other true patriots in the long line of those who have suffered for the good morals that found democracy,

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on August 1, 2017, under the title "Scared of a laugh" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1297783/up-in-the-air
  

Inconvenient evils

re: "Manas case all too rare" (Editorial, BP, July 21)

Dear editor,
While it is indeed a healthy precedent for a Thai army general to be tried, found guilty, and imprisoned, it is also impossible to believe that this criminal's colleagues and superiors were entirely ignorant of his vile abuses of army power as he and his criminal accomplices in Thai officialdom went about their greed driven business of creating human misery. As the Post suggests, we can only speculate how wide and how high up the evil, or at least knowledge of it, extended. Thankfully, foreigners are not so complacent or willing to turn a blind eye to such evil, but acted to force at least minimal action against the evil that Thai authorities had long ignored.

Nor can it surprise that the good man in the Royal Thai Police who had courageously done the right thing to expose the evil to justice, Pol Maj Gen Paween Pongsirin, was forced into foreign exile: an all too common event when experts dare to speak inconvenient truths about Thai history, Thai society or Thai politics.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on July 22, 2017, under the title "Inconvenient evils" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1291847/inconvenient-evils
  

No smoke without fire

re: "Liu's death triggers frantic Chinese censorship" (BP, July 14) 

Dear editor,
Exactly as in Thailand, thinking Chinese know that their own opaquely unaccountable government is intent on keeping them ignorant of their own nation's society, history and politics. They might not know what ugly dirt is being hidden by the draconian censorship, but they know it's there: its existence proven beyond any doubt by the censorship that would not otherwise exist.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on July 15, 2017, under the title "No smoke without fire" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1287551/army-wont-face-reality
  

PM's wobbly road map

re: "Prayut hints at local polls next year" (BP, July 12)

Dear editor,
Surely everyone agrees fully with the PM when he pronounces, as quoted, that "People are already aware of how every politician behaves." After all, since May 2014, the PM himself has been the prime example of a Thai politician, aided by his set of other self-appointed and generously self-amnestied politicians whose behaviour shows the reality.

The people are also already aware of the worth of all politicians' promises made since May 2014, which are on the same sort of wobbly road map as is the PM's visit to the White House.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on July 13, 2017, under the title "PM's wobbly road map" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1286187/kindness-goes-long-way
  

Buddhism in chains

re: "Monk reform no easy task" (BP Editorial, July 7)

Dear editor,
It is not at all obvious that the religion known as Thai Buddhism has ever been primarily about following the wise spiritual and practical teachings of the Buddha, who would not condone, let alone join, the tool of the Thai state that uses his name under the legal auspices of the NOB and other bodies created by Thai politicians.

The artistic wonders of Sukothai are indeed wonders of Thai culture, but they were created to impress with the power, property and prestige of their builders: hardly Buddhist virtues. The monks brought in to adorn those structures were expected to obediently teach a version of Buddhism that comported with the feudal society of the times.

Little has changed centuries later. Indeed, under Thai law in 2017, such spiritual principles as seeking or aiding right understanding are often serious criminal offenses. Were they to start following the Buddha's sound spiritual teachings, Thai monks would be contradicting not only the unBuddhist "12 Values of Thainess", but would be in grave danger of joining the likes of Jatupat Boonpattararaksa (Pai Dao Din) in prison without bail.

Is having Thai Buddhism overseen by Thai politicians the solution or the problem?

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on July 8, 2017, under the title "Buddhism in chains" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1283287/perils-of-police-reform
  

Lost in censorship

re: "Reform body votes for tight social media censorship" (BP, July 5)

Dear editor,
States, governments, institutions and officials with nothing to hide do not censor. Period. There can be good reasons to hide things, such as sex from children, or troop movements during war; these are not the Thai issues being hidden from the Thai people.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on July 7, 2017, under the title "Lost in censorship" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1282603/make-them-pay-tv
  

Keeping mouths shut

re: "'The Great Dictator' blocked on 'democracy day'" (BP, June 24)

Dear editor,
Thai historian Thongchai Winitchakul is correct when he says that "The revolution of 1932 is not yet finished" (quoted in Bangkok Post, "'The Great Dictator' blocked on 'democracy day'", June 24). An obvious reason for this is the antipathy some feel towards the values that found democracy, which antipathy leads them to repeatedly make up excuses, however lame and false, to tramp democratic evolution into the dirt. Also worth remembering, as the quotation from Sulak Sivaraksa reminds us, is that those making up their wrong excuses for opposing the Thai nation's democratic growth "truly believe they are good people."

But the excuses given cannot justify a coup. Sincere belief cannot make that belief true. The Earth did not move to the centre of the universe because popes and bishops sincerely believed it to be there in accord with Biblical teaching. Nor does a coup become necessary or morally right because those committing it truly believe themselves to be doing something morally right or necessary. It remains wrong and an assault against good morals. These basics from elementary critical thinking explain the desperate need to censor, to suppress free and open discussion, which has characterized Thai society and politics for decades, but even more intensely since May 2014.

There is only ever one primary reason for censorship. Censorship is always, without exception, imposed to enforce ignorance, to prevent a sound knowledge and informed understanding of the topic being censored. This is why the devout Christian popes and bishops made it heresy to question the traditional Geo-centric universe. This is why China makes it a criminal offence for Chinese citizens to learn about Tian An Men. This is why North Korea makes it illegal for citizens to access foreign sources. The intent is to protect false myths, perhaps sincerely believed by the censors (perhaps!) from the revealing light that would expose their nakedness, their falsity, their downright silliness.

The truly bizarre result of the censorship imposed on the captive Thai audience is that foreigners can and often do better know and understand Thai affairs than is legally possible for domestic Thais who must rely on the local media, whose stunning silence last week amply proved yet again that Thais are not permitted to know about, let alone understand or discuss, matters of national importance. The only Thais who can reasonably claim to have a sound understanding of their nation, its society, its history and its government are those who have sought out and considered the views of academics and others held in disdain by the censors, if not actually forced into unjust exile or imprisoned, whether to rebut or concur with those criminalized opinions that are censored to protect the subject domestic citizenry from opinions of solid worth on Thai affairs.

Among other reasons, it is because it values truth, truth seeking and honesty that democracy values free speech. Censorship is beloved of those with contrary values.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on June 26, 2017, under the title "Keeping mouths shut" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1275615/keeping-mouths-shut
  

Trust the don

re: "Prayut dares critics in exile to face music" (BP, June 22)

Dear editor,
Don Corleone could not be a more "reasonable" man as he insists (he probably even believes his own insistences) that he is a good man, a devout follower of religion, a loving father and a patriot serving society: his offers cannot be refused.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on June 23, 2017, under the title "Trust the don" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1274055/queries-for-the-pm
  

PM plays Lamyai game

re: "Lamyai vows more appropriate 'twerks'" (BP, June 14)

Dear editor,
Happiness is not returning as the PM again exposes himself.

Is the performer Lamyai sexually provocative? Of course she is. Much dance in every culture always has been: a primary purpose of dance is, after all, about getting partners for … sex. The solution is incredibly simple: if the PM does not like what obviously appeals to many, he is perfectly free (at least he would be in a democracy) not to look at the performances. He doesn't even need to invoke the awe-full s44 to protect a sensitive conservatism rooted in the bad old ways of the mythic past.

Lamyai's lusty dance movements might not be appropriate in parliament, but then, neither are military movements.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on June 17, 2017, under the title "PM plays Lamyai game" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1270275/fiery-lessons-not-learnt
  

Tempting dishonesty

re: "Factors affecting the decision to act dishonestly" (BP, June 14)

Dear editor,
The results of the research done by the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) confirm what behavioural economics has known for some years: most people, including people who think themselves honest, are in fact easily tempted to dishonesty, but only a little bit. The initial research is perhaps most famously presented in the paper "The Dishonesty of Honest People: A Theory of Self-Concept Maintenance" by Nina Mazir, On Amir and Dan Ariely (2008, Journal of Marketing Research, XLV, 633 - 644). In fact, the TDRI's failure to cite this source sounds suspiciously like an instance of exactly the same sort of dishonesty of basically honest people: the failure to credit a source is plagiarism, a serious crime in academic work.

But academic quibbles aside, the TDRI's research is, nonetheless, a valuable contribution to our understanding of human behaviour, especially as it showss that Thailand is not exceptional. It is safe to assume that all people are prone to dishonesty, that is, corruption, unless the situation they are in is fully transparent and they are accountable. This is why it is no surprise that opaque military governments and other dictatorships are historically far more corrupt and dishonest than even the worst civilian governments in a democracy. As this study by the TDRI confirms, there is no evidence that Thailand is an historical aberration in this regard, nor is there any reason to think that the current set of unaccountable and opaque politicians, already self-amnestied, is an exception to the human norm: the last time I checked, every single one of the ruling Thai politicians were human beings.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on June 16, 2017, under the title "Tempting dishonesty" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1269559/cut-the-car-tax
  

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Reference

• Mazar, N., Amir, O. & Ariely, D. (2008). The Dishonesty of Honest People: A Theory of Self-Concept Maintenance. Journal of Marketing Research, XLV, 633 - 644. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.45.6.633

Moral 'decency'

re: "Social science cut from two Onet exams from next year" (BP, June 6)

Dear editor,
Whilst commending the general aim of reducing a student workload that is of dubious value to a sound education, there are some disturbing notions in the article "Social science cut from two Onet exams from next year" that sound too much like business as usual.

 For example, we see, yet again, senior officials who think themselves ever so clever pontificating about moral decency without a shred of supporting reasoning. We should be told, for example, how the speaker and the teachers under his command "know if students have a correct understanding of moral conduct and good conscience." For example, it they support military coups does that count against the assessment of the students moral decency, as it should in a democracy? If a student praises the moral bravery of Thailand's Gwangju Prize for Human Rights award winner Jatupat Boonpattararaksa, do they get the deserved bonus points for moral awareness conducive to truly patriotic citizenship? And then there are more immediately challenging questions: for example, is it morally right to criminalize a less harmful drug such as yaa baa when the more socially harmful drug alcohol is legal? Is abortion on demand morally right or wrong? Premarital sex? None of these questions, along with many others, have simple answers; to pretend that they do have simple answers demonstrates a simple-minded failure to understand the moral issues involved.

 Before being allowed to indulge their fondness for such talk, perhaps senior Ministry of Education officials could be required to sit a series of exams where they write essays analyzing moral concepts and issues, which essays are expected to display both solid awareness of the history of human societies in addition to sound critical thinking skills on the moral questions posed. It should be needless to point out that the officials must actually write their own essays.

 However, it being contrary to the good morals that found democracy, elected politicians, even those appointed ministers, cannot be so required to demonstrate any such competence as public servants, but citizens and journalists can very reasonably press ministers who want to indulge in such pious talk to explain what they mean by "good morals," in particular what it is that determines whether an act, a law, a custom, a tradition, or an idea does in fact comport with good morals. Too many politicians get away with far too much such talk about "good morals" that is in fact bad morals and poor critical thinking on any of the usual standards of moral judgement, whether consequentialist, rights based, or virtue centred.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on June 8, 2017, under the title "Moral 'decency'" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1264723/moral-decency
  

PDRC protesters deluded

re: "Eight PDRC backers rejoin Democrats" (BP, May 31)

re: "Eight PDRC backers rejoin Democrats" (BP, May 31).

Dear editor,
It is no surprise that the "Hilariously Misnamed" (Time, November 28, 2013) Democrat Party would eagerly take back the eight who defected to more actively collude with the anti-democratic PDRC mobs led by Suthep. Under Abhisit's passively feeble "leadership" seeking to win power by any means, the Democrat Party even sank to colluding with the PDRC  and their other allies against democracy to thwart the election called in February 2014 to allow the Thai people to voice their preference as to how they wanted to be governed.

Democracy evolves by making mistakes and learning from them. No one would be so childish as to think that any democracy anywhere at any time has ever been perfect, but remains morally superior to every alternative. There has often been massive corruption in UK and US politics, but that never justified a coup. There have often been appallingly bad economic decisions made by democratically elected governments everywhere: they never justified a coup against the people. Nations have often been beset by civil disorder, which disorder does not justify a coup against the highest law in those nations. Thailand is no different. Sadly, the Thai people have been repeatedly denied the opportunity to learn from mistakes that help a society evolve as a healthy democracy must. Just when it looked as though progress was being made, when Yingluck's Pheu Thai gave up on their sleazy amnesty bill and then called an election, the rule of law and the good morals that found democracy were again trampled underfoot by those opposed to democracy.

Protests are a healthy element of a democratic and just society, but the PDRC was never sincere in its protests. If they were, they would have stopped after the amnesty bill was halted in response to the outraged voice of protest from the Thai people. The PDRC did no such thing, but continued to push blatantly for a coup to force their selfish agenda on the Thai people.  Let us hope that the gullible PDRC mobs who supported Suthep's immoral agenda against Thailand have learned from their mistakes, that they will not next time so easily be deluded by false excuses, by false promises, and by false ideals.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on June 4, 2017, under the title "PDRC protesters deluded" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1262219/troubled-waters

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Reference

• Campbell, C. (2013, November 8). Thailand’s Democrat Party Is Hilariously Misnamed. Time. Retrieved from http://world.time.com/2013/11/28/thailands-democrat-party-is-hilariously-misnamed/

A 'covfefe' question

re: "Trump hates bad press covfefe. What?" (BP, June 1)

re: "Trump hates bad press covfefe. What?" (BP, June 1).

Dear editor,
But does the US's elected and accountable Trump despise "the constant negative press covfefe" as sincerely as Thailand's unelected and self-amnestied PM of many questions?

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on June 3, 2017, under the title "A 'covfefe' question" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1261787/army-wins-thais-lose
  

Follow Buddha's wisdom

re: "How our education sustains dictatorship" (BP, May 25)

Dear editor,

As always, it was a joy to start the morning with a healthy helping of Sanitsuda Ekachai's concisely written analyses of Thai society. In "How our education sustains dictatorship" (BP, May 25), Sanitsuda outlines clearly how the militarization of Thai education harms not only Thai education, infamously failing for decades, but how the pernicious effects of the centralized command over young minds oozes out to pervade all of Thai society, to the great harm of society, politics and morals. The society-wide malaise does indeed start in the official Thai education hierarchy.

I would like to suggest one part of a solution to this chronic illness: the wisdom of the Buddha as set forth in his Kalama Sutta. In this work, apparently little known by Thai Buddhists, certainly not encouraged reading by Thai Buddhist monks or in Thai schools, the Buddha himself advises the citizens of Kesputta on guidelines for seeking right understanding, for acquiring knowledge of substance, and for working towards opinion of real worth. As the Buddha sagely argues in this short sermon: "It is proper for you, Kalamas, to doubt, to be uncertain; uncertainty has arisen in you about what is doubtful. Come, Kalamas. Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing; nor upon tradition; nor upon rumor; nor upon what is in a scripture; nor upon surmise; nor upon an axiom; nor upon specious reasoning; nor upon a bias toward a notion that has been pondered over; nor upon another's seeming ability; nor upon the consideration, 'The monk is our teacher'" (Kalama Sutta, trans. Soma Thera, 1994).

The Buddha shares the same insight as Socrates, as Plato and of other great thinkers: namely,  that questioning in open discussion is a necessary condition for knowledge. When censorship and repressive authority criminalizes free speech and free association, the aim is always to enforce ignorance of truths that would embarrass the law makers who create such rule of law that is not only anti-democratic in its rejection of the good morals on which democratic principle is founded, but is also unBuddhist, rejecting the Buddha's wise teaching that progress depends on right understanding. Absent understanding that has been solidly tested by having to defend itself, by having to rebut dissenting ideas, by having to acknowledge and answer contradictory evidence, there can be no knowledge or opinion of worth, only myth, fantasy, deceit and bigotry masquerading as authoritative knowledge. These, the Buddha wisely teaches, are not paths to a good life.

But would Thai teachers, not to mention monks in positions of power and other political leaders used to blind, unquestioning conformity to their unsupported claims, allow such radical reform as advised in the Buddha's excellent teachings? Indeed, were the Buddha to arrive in Thailand in 2017, could his critical search for truth, his respect for honesty and his demands for solidly founded understanding not land him in accommodation next to the likes of Jatupat Boonpattaraksa (Pai Dao Din) and the internationally respected academics of Thai history, society and politics forced into exile for seeking to follow the wisdom of the Buddha?

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on May 28, 2017, under the title "Follow Buddha's wisdom" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1257830/follow-buddhas-wisdom
  

Jatupat deserves rights prize

re: "Envoy queries Korea award for Jatupat" (2017, May 10)

Post Bag, The Bangkok Post.

Dear editor,

His recent letter to the human rights award committee suggests that Thailand's ambassador to South Korea fails to understand that the patriotic Jatupat Boonpattararaksa deserves the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights 2017 precisely because of the suffering inflicted on him by Thai law.

Like the long tradition of civil rights activists before him, from Socrates, through Rosa Parks and to Arab bloggers being flogged for blasphemy, every one of Jatupat's (Pai Dao Din's) alleged crimes were the morally right thing to do but are deemed crimes by unjust law. Pai Dao Din selflessly accepts the consequences of having courageously done the right thing to highlight injustices in Thai rule of law, which rule of law, contrary to the ambassador's claim, neither values nor supports the basic democratic principles of freedom of expression, association and assembly. Societies that value and support those basic democratic values do not do what is being done to Jatupat strictly according to the rule of law.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on May 14, 2017, under the title "Jatupat deserves rights prize" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1249254/jatupat-deserves-rights-prize
  

Revamp drug policy

re: Editorial: "Drug reform still pending" (2017, May 10)

Post Bag, The Bangkok Post.

Dear editor,

The efforts of former minister of justice Paiboon Koomchaya to radically reform Thailand's long failing drug laws were a chance for the current government to do something of value that would not only correct a policy that has for decades been proved an expensive abject failure, but which would have seriously hit major sources of corruption fuelled by current drug policy. It appears the current set of military politicians would prefer to keep the lines of corruption open and flowing. Decriminalizing drugs not only hits corruption, it would be a serious blow to the mafia scum now profiting immensely from the drug trade by working with corrupt officials.

Collateral benefits of decriminalization include: massive savings of the financial and human resources now uselessly wasted on the drug war; increased tax revenue, which could be used to provide rehabilitation and education programs; reduced crime since addicts would not need so much to support that habits; improved health outcomes as help could more easily be obtained; and far less crowded prisons as less Thai youth were lumbered with harmful arrest records for nothing more than seeking some pleasure. Nor is there any reason to think that decriminalization would increase drug use: the evidence on this from cases that compare drug use before and after, or after and before, decriminalization consistently show no strong correlation between the legal status of a drug and the prevalence of use. Worth Googling here are the before and after experiences of Prohibition in the US in the early 20th century (a boon to US mafia), the marijuana experiences of Amsterdam and US states, the opium experience of 19th century China, drug use in Portugal since it decriminalized all personal drug use in 2001, and of course, the regular massive seizures and persistent rates of drug use throughout Thai society show that criminalizing the sale and use of yaa baa and other highly popular drugs has not led to any demonstrable reduction in the use of those drugs by Thais.

With only benefits for society, save harm to two groups, it is hard to understand why any set of politicians would oppose decriminalizing drug use. Do corrupt officials and mafia scum really deserve such profitable indulgence from Thai law makers?

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on May 13, 2017, under the title "Revamp drug policy" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1248810/revamp-drug-policy