OPINION

Samsen safety plea

Re: "Sinkhole repair to take 2 weeks: MRTA", (BP, Sept 26).

As a concerned resident in the Samsen area who lives very close to what will be the Bank of Thailand Station south of Vachira Hospital Station, can the government or the contractors offer any assurances that the same thing won't happen here?

Weed hurts tourism

Re: "Tourist numbers tumble as Asian markets decline", (BP, Sept 25).

I thank one or two of your contributors for pointing out that I made a mathematical error in my recent letter regarding Thailand's crashing tourism. However, having just read the Post's excellent article on the accelerating mass exodus of tourists who are, in fact, fleeing Thailand (maybe for good), I'd say my math was less in error, just premature.

Regarding Vietnam's "21.7%" increase in foreign tourists this year, I did a little Google search about cannabis in Vietnam. The answer was, and I quote, "Cannabis for medical or recreational use is illegal in Vietnam. Additionally, the country has no medical marijuana laws in place and treats all components of the marijuana plant as a narcotic substance on the same level as cocaine or heroin."

How funny, families apparently prefer to travel to places where they don't have to push their toddler's stroller through clouds of stinky weed; who would have thought such a thing?

Oh yeah, that's right, I thought it and I told you all so.

Calling out bias

Re: "Trump leads Kirk memorial tribute." (World, Sept 22).

Your propagandistic article on the funeral of Charlie Kirk, again, confuses opinion and fact.

According to the article, Kirk "was a vitriolic critic of transgender people, Muslims and others". However, Kirk was soft-spoken and convincing and never vitriolic. His opposition concerned the transgendering of children by chemical means, an irreversible process which can have far-reaching, detrimental consequences. And he opposed jihad, not Muslims as such. Could the Post make an effort and refrain from confusing facts with opinions?

Harvesting change

Re: "Experts urge focus on short-term gains," (BP, Sept 22).

Shifting the proven and popular Khon La Krueng programme to focus on boosting productivity rather than mere consumption can empower PM Anutin Charnvirakul to kill two birds with one stone. The first "bird" is that Mr Anutin has only 4-6 months to show tangible results, while the second "bird" is that our root economic problems demand long-run solutions. For instance, we farm as our forefathers did, so our rice yields are only half those of our Vietnamese competitors. Our average farmer is aged 59, past his peak earning/learning years, and only one in five people has a M6 education. We need a solution that delivers tangible results in both the short and long terms.

Enter the Khon La Krueng programme to the rescue. Proactively managed, it could empower farmers to buy high-yield seeds, walk-behind tillers, and harvesters, etc., that would immediately save labour and increase productivity. Another option would be to utilise cooperatives guided by agricultural extension specialists to pool members' Khon La Krueng allocations and invest in larger machinery, water management systems, and other resources that yield benefits.