Beware the boss
Re: "Senators coy over PM pick vote", (BP, May 13).
History could repeat itself for the election when the party with the largest number of elected MPs cannot form the government.
The only difference could be that this time the party with the highest number of MP seats might not be the Pheu Thai Party, but instead the Move Forward Paty backed by Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit.
It is alarming that of the many young supporters of the Move Forward Party who vote for the party because of dissatisfaction with the Prayuth government, only a few are aware of the background of Mr Thanathorn, who still wields enormous influence within the party.
Notwithstanding his support for the student movement and protests to undermine the monarchy in the name of democracy, Mr Thanathorn went as far as openly supporting the Taiwan independence and the illegal riots in Hong Kong from 2019-2020.
Imagine a new Thai government that openly challenges Beijing by supporting Taiwan independence. Would that put the economy and security in jeopardy?
In such circumstances, the 250 senators may have all the reason not to support the Move Forward Party to form a government, and they could compromise and vote for an outsider as prime minister, with the support of Pheu Thai and the Bhumjaithai Party, the likely first and second runner up in this lacklustre election.
Yingwai Suchaovanich
The gibber is coming
Re: 'Masks still the best bet,' (BP, May 14th, 2023).
I read Diane Archer's scathing review of my recent, honest, "on the ground" reporting of America's [and much of the world's] growing abandonment of face-masking, as well as a general decline of interest in Covid vaccinations & booster shots.
I feel the writer took me somewhat out of context, and I also think that she is clearly unaware of the CDC's declining stature in America due to its poor management of both the Covid crisis and opioid crisis.
Foremost, I was not "trashing" anything, but rather sincerely reporting that much of the world is moving on now. Thailand certainly can continue its masking & outdated Covid policies, at least as long as the nation is willing to pay the price.
For Ms Archer's information, that price will soon be that the world won't understand a single spoken English word which today's Thai students say.
If the next Thai workforce can only speak poorly pronounced gibberish through paper masks, the price will be that businesses will simply have to invest somewhere else. Myanmar, Laos, etc, will have negated that problem as they already have abandoned masks.
Jason A Jellison
Off the shelves
I am going back to Brazil tomorrow. Yesterday, I went to look for books about The Queen and The King. I could not find one. I went to Asia Books and Kinokuniya.
How are we going to tell our children, our grandchildren about them? They did so much for Thai people and for the country. At least I found a book about His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great.
Cyro Sá
