Banks profit most
Re: "BoT touts further monetary easing", (Business, Aug 14).
All Thai banks have a minimum lending rate of 6-6.5%. Investment rates for savings accounts are 1-2.2%, a difference of 4-4.5%. Thailand's banks announced a 5.8% increase in profits.
The Post article on the younger generation not investing for retirement suggests a 30-year investment at a 7.5% return. Where can they invest to get this rate of return?
Household debt in Thailand is at record highs. Other Asean countries have a difference of 2-3% between the lending rate and the deposit savings rate, half that of Thailand.
Banks announce a reduction in loans to low-income earners to reduce non-performing loans. The establishment continues to be profitable at the expense of the majority of Thais on low incomes. Government short-term low-interest rate loans are not the long-term answer and are only for popular political gain.
John Rounce
War logic fails
Re: "US eyes Cambodia", (PostBag, Aug 12) & "Effort to contain China in Southeast Asia", (PostBag, Aug 8).
ML Saksiri Kridakorn struggles mightily to find a logical foundation to support his myopic pro-China anti-US geopolitical point of view. He further states about the recent military conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, "The real beneficiary and culprit is the US via the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM)." Yet try as he may, not one piece of evidence is presented to support his contention.
Reuters reported that it was the "July 26 call by Trump to the leaders of both Thailand and Cambodia that broke the deadlock in efforts to end some of the heaviest fighting between the neighbours in recent history." The resultant ceasefire was negotiated on July 28.
We are asked to believe the US is so clever as to start a war between Cambodia and Thailand, only to have President Trump (a rather busy man) spend his time ending it.
Michael Setter
Grade rage rises
Re: "Probe sought into pupil attack on teacher", (BP, July 13).
Thailand's Education Minister, Narumon Pinyosinwat, has ordered a probe by the Office of Education of Private Commission (Opec) into the shocking incident in which a Grade 11 secondary student at a private school in Uthai Thani started to hit a Thai teacher on the head and body just over the fact that the teacher refused to give him a perfect score on a test.
The parents apologised to the school for the incident, but the school decided to suspend their son, and he subsequently decided to drop out of the school.
Here's my take on the situation. We now live in an age of grade inflation. Parents are dishing out a lot of money to get their kids educated. And you know what? They are not satisfied with anything less than an "A" score for their children.
So under such pressure, students are doing whatever is necessary to get high grades. Thus, I think the M5 student from Uthai Thani was under pressure from his parents to get the highest scores possible in school, and simply caved in under such pressure, hitting the teacher in question, since anything less than an A was considered unacceptable by his mother and father.
Even though the parents apologised to the teacher, no real mention was made of what punishment they gave to their son in the news. So, the problems occurring at schools now are just as much the fault of overbearing parents as they are of the students themselves, I believe.
Paul
