OPINION

Barrier idea sinks

Re: "Seawall plan raises ire", (BP, Oct 2). The article mentions the idea of constructing a tidal barrier at the outlet of the Chao Phraya River to save Bangkok from flooding.

This idea was studied in the "Chao Phraya Flood Management Review" carried out in 1996 at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Bangkok on behalf of the World Bank.

The conclusion was that during major river floods from upstream such a tidal barrier would have no benefit in relieving flood conditions in the city.

The construction of a tidal barrier was not recommended.

Gandhi's wisdom

Re: "Intense fighting in south Lebanon" & "Conflict drives thousands towards famine", (World, Oct 2).

As Oct 2 marks the annual International Day of Non-Violence, the United Nations encourages the world to observe through the celebration of nonviolence.

Sadly, so much violence is perpetrated by disquieted souls and belligerent spirits.

Almost every continent is rocked by violence, death, and killing.

While peace efforts and negotiations for what they are worth yield very little desirable results, we might take this opportunity to step back from our atavistic attitudes and war tendencies and reflect on what Mahatma Gandhi said of non-violence: "The force of non-violence is infinitely more wonderful and subtle than the material force of nature, like electricity."

Perhaps we might draw some inspiration from this wise saying to cajole world leaders to embrace non-violence, and encourage our societies and social orders to promote non-violence with new and added vigour.

How to beat poverty

Re: "Plan won't end poverty", (BP, Sept 30).

To fulfill her noble pledge to end poverty within the remaining three years of her term, Ung-Ing should:

(a) Fight corruption by sending ex-graft buster Vicha Mahakun's recommendations on reforming the police and public prosecutor's office to Parliament for updating and implementation. She can easily do this today; all she needs is guts.

(b) Sustainably boost income by following Lao Tze's wisdom: "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."

We cannot teach how to fish when almost two-thirds (64.7%) of Thais can barely understand short texts to solve simple problems like following medical instructions and three-quarters of them (74.1%) cannot perform simple tasks, like finding the correct price of a product at an online shopping site.

So, if the remaining recipients of the 10,000 baht handout spend on goods/services that achieve that goal, like high-yield rice seeds, mechanization, or technical training, give them an extra 10%. This should be done today.

(c) Completely revise our education and training system to implement Lao Tze's above guidelines as applied to problem-solving.

This would include teacher training, tutoring, enhancing curriculum and resources, engaging parents and communities, and focusing on early childhood education, as the World Bank recommended.

Ung-ing, give us acts, not words.