Doom missed again
Re: "Forget the gloom", (PostBag, Oct 31) & "Thailand now 'the sick man of Asean'", (Opinion, Oct 30).
I have to agree with the letter in today's PostBag by Ioan Voicu and would like to add the following. For a couple of years already, this same economist has been predicting the Thai economy's utter gloom surely to come, at times even given a time when it might fall into a full-blown recession, if not worse. I remember in early 2024, he firmly predicted global oil prices would surge, but just the opposite happened since.
In the meantime, Thailand holds ultra-high record foreign exchange reserves, along with a continued strong baht currency, which portrays the opposite of an imminent "fall off the cliff" scenario.
Agreed, things are not well with the Thai economy, and it's growing far slower than its potential, but predicting utter gloom, on and on, and worse to come, seems exaggerated. Time will tell, but so far he has been wrong.
Paul A Renaud
Tame the riders
Re: "Delivery app rivals cut fees", (Business, Oct 28).
Driving in Bangkok's hustle and bustle roads is not an easy task, especially when the number of food delivery troopers is growing. And most of them are whizzing their way recklessly through the traffic.
It comes to mind that perhaps food delivery companies can give a big helping hand by educating and training their motorcyclists before handing them jackets bearing their names and batches, whether it be GrabFood, Lineman, or FoodPanda.
The training and seminar should focus on basic traffic rules that motorists should obey and respect. Riding a motorbike irresponsibly, like a butterfly, slicing between cars, swerving through narrow gaps to make U-turns to overtake other vehicles, and riding in the wrong direction in a lane are behaviours often seen and can be corrected with thorough, proper training.
By educating their riders seriously, these delivery companies can improve their company image and let the public know that they care about the safety of road users, too.
And please remind their delivery men to take their gloves off before using the toilet in the gas station, and not forget to wash their hands before putting them back.
Yingwai Suchaovanich
Begging to differ
Re: "Truth in question", (PostBag, Oct 28).
Reading EL Wout's letter, I beg to differ. While there is no doubt that the Palestinians are not blameless in the Gaza conflict, their suffering has been disproportionate. For massacres on Oct 7, 2023, in which a thousand or so Jewish people have been killed and many, including Thais, were held hostage, well over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed to date by the Israeli military, with thousands more maimed or brutalised.
While some videos presented by the Palestinians to the world may be biased, it would not help that people will ask whether hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza have suffered more?
One wonders why more Muslims in the world have not stood up and offered help or refuge to the people of Gaza? Various experts have noted that many Muslim regimes, such as those in Saudi Arabia or Egypt, are authoritarian ones, and are reluctant to help and bring in Palestinians into their countries, for fear that these "democratic" people may upset the established order and lead to the overthrow of such authoritarian regimes.
Paul
