Respectful intention?
Re: "Clip scandal grows by day", (Editorial, June 23). The Thai government is hanging by a thread after a leaked call shredded the credibility of 38-year-old Paetongtarn Shinawatra. The respectful term "uncle" is not inappropriate for the elder Hun Sen, the 72-year-old, longest-serving former PM and father of the current leader of Cambodia.
The elder Hun Sen would be held in the same esteem and respect that symbolises the Confucian adage of "older age piety", presumably also applicable to the 99-year-old former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohammad.
Viewed as a demonstration of filial respect for one's elders (even those from other cultures), Ms Paetongtarn is conferring respect for the assumed wisdom that comes with a long life of leadership among her regional partners.
Having recently completed the Fellowship in the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administration, I now strive to become a contextually effective leader who listens better, deploying the most suitable style from a repertoire, to read and respond to the mood of the room.
Perhaps Thailand's youthful PM was trying to maximise her negotiation gain from Thai-Cambodian border tensions by adopting a stance that respected her regional elders rather than being misportrayed as being unduly submissive. It was a masterful adaptation to her audience if that was Ms Paetongtarn's intention.
Joseph Ting
Vetting, not guessing
Re: "PM's rookie moves", (PostBag, June 25).
PM Paetongtarn's controversial phone call to Cambodia's Hun Sen dramatically shows the need for much more thorough vetting of cabinet candidates. Such screening should be public to increase our government's credibility.
For example, does the candidate have sufficient top-level negotiating experience, and with what results? If nominated to be education minister, does he know that "Education is the lighting of a fire, not the filling of a pail" (Plutarch) -- and how will he implement that belief? Will candidates divest or place assets in blind trusts to prevent conflicts of interest?
Now, our screening is basic, resulting in high turnover after unacceptable results. In contrast, for instance, the US Senate conducts committee-specific hearings to decide whether each nomination should advance or not, and the FBI investigates allegations, including criminal history checks, which may include crimes committed overseas.
Give us ministers we can believe in.
Burin Kantabutra
Critique isn't hate
Re: "More deaths near Gaza aid site", (World, June 26).
It makes me mad that whenever someone criticises Israel, they're reminded that Israel is the only Jewish country in the world. So what? Suppose hypothetically Iran were the only Muslim country in the world. Would that mean that you're anti-Muslim if you don't like Iran?
Prejudice isn't only when you don't like somebody because of their race or religion. Prejudice is also when you like someone because of their race or religion. In other words, if you're not prejudiced, you judge people as individual human beings and you neither like nor dislike them because of their ethnic background.
As a Jew, it is insane to suggest that I don't like the Israelis because they're Jewish. I dislike them because of the horrible way they treat the Palestinians. As someone who has spent his life fighting for human rights and animal rights I hate all cruel people and I don't give a damn what their ethnic background is.
Why is that so difficult to understand?
Eric Bahrt
