OPINION

What reputation?

Re: "RTP rift probe 'will find truth'", (BP, March 22).

Pol Gen Winai Thongsong, one of three members of a committee appointed by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, said the prime minister was concerned the recriminations between the conflicting parties would tarnish the RTP's "reputation". What reputation? Just read the Bangkok Post today and see how many scandals they are involved in.

Still waiting for WOW

Four years ago, the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo), in one of their rare communications with us, said they were getting a court order to pay us the claims filed against California WOW, a former popular fitness outlet that closed down. Members who had paid in advance sued to get their money back.

The lawsuit came in 2016 after Amlo in January froze 88 million baht of Cawow's assets, accusing its executives of cheating members and siphoning huge amounts of money from the company.

Since our last contact from Amlo four years ago, we have not heard a word from them, let alone received our court-ordered judgment payment. The only response is from their pet bot who responds weeks later saying it is being turned over to an unnamed person who will never do anything.

So, in my opinion, the Office of Attorney General should start an investigation into Amlo and determine where our money is. It is also my opinion that Amlo is guilty of malfeasance since they admitted they were getting an order to pay us money awarded by the court.

The public prosecutor should look into the allegations. And finally, it is my opinion that Amlo not only owes us the judgement amount, but also 7.2% interest calculated in a yearly basis until we get paid.

I wonder if Amlo will respond to this? Probably not.

Ideals on the ground

Re: "It's ideal thinking", (PostBag, March 21).

It's kind of Michael Setter to characterise my world as a "spiritual one". Indeed, secular spirituality is not outlandish but an inherent capability of everyone. The WHO recognises it, in addition to physical, mental and social health, as spiritual health. An example is the UNDP Conscious Food System Alliance (CoFSA) enabling system transformation open to "food spirit". That is, the spirit of sharing and food as a "commons".

Earth Trusteeship is a new concept which aims to transcend historic ownership contradictions that hinder regeneration. The foundation for this governance paradigm is provided by the Earth Charter (The Hague, 2000) as "community of life" which includes all sentient beings. It refers to the Rights of Nature. This is 21st-century law and governance innovation in progress.

A challenging perspective will be added once a UN Special Envoy for Future Generations is appointed, a planned outcome of the UN Summit of the Future to take place in New York in September 2024. This innovation will add new perspective to the category "secular spirituality" and restoration of the local and global environment to tackle climate change.

Future generations are unborn and infinite, so they are not determined by national citizenship, race, seniority or gender. In Thailand, even when they are already born, and peacefully assemble as a political party or manifest as a democratically elected majority, they are wiped from the political landscape.

Revving up change

Re: "Engines of progress", (PostBag, March 16).

Kudos to James Giovanni for his letter regarding noisy motorcycles.

Motorcycles have become the curse of Bangkok and the noisy ones are probably the worst. They destroy the lives of millions, daily.

If the Bangkok governor or the PM had even the slightest interest or concern about the plight of the common man, they could spend just 10 minutes at any major intersection without their security details and hoard of sycophants. Sadly, neither individual is likely to suffer the inconvenience of stepping out of their limo.

By my estimate, about 10% of motorcycles are either designed to or have been modified to emit the maximum amount of noise. Laws are in place to handle this, but are not enforced, despite it being easy money for the authorities.

What we need is heavy fines and long jail sentences along with confiscation and even obliteration of the offending machines. In the meantime, the BMA could take the lead by requiring that only electric motorcycles are permitted in BMA sites and facilities.

They could also regulate motorcycle taxi groups and demand all motorcycles be replaced by by electric motorcycles by the end of the year. For a change, let's see some positive action by authorities that will actually improve people's lives.