Paperwork overload
Re: "Drowning in red tape", (Editorial, Dec 3).
"In short," writes the Bangkok Post in its editorial, "the time for paper requirements and copies of official documents should have passed." That sounds too wonderful.
My own experience of several decades is that Immigration want copies of pretty much the same documents, the full centimetre or so each and every year, the same documents they have been seeing for the last few decades, save that I've replaced my passport a few times, and my work permit has been updated.
But surely my Thai work permit is an Thai government document? As are my tax filings? And my condo documents?
In fact, don't my Thai tax filings also substantiate my employment with a respectable Thai employer whose relationship with me is also fully documented digitally? Isn't my Thai tax ID number enough to actually check a lot of that?
Felix Qui
Risky Russian deals
Re: "Witkoff and Kushner meet Putin in Moscow", (World, Dec 3).
Whilst I am appalled with the two unqualified negotiators, special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, meeting Vladimir Putin, hoping for an impossible peace deal, I would not be surprised at all that two businessmen and golf enthusiasts are both most keen to invest their cash in Russia.
Since almost nobody who invests in Russia ever gets their money back, let alone makes a profit (See BP, which recently abandoned £22 billion, around 930.6 billion baht, of assets), I sincerely hope they both invest many, many billions into Putin's scams with his phoney promises.
It would be a harsh lesson for them, but perhaps they would realise exactly what Ukraine and everyone else is up against, and they may even take off the rose-coloured spectacles for once.
The number of naive politicians in the current US administration is worrying.
It would be best for them to ask experts at the Pentagon and their intelligence service for guidance instead of relying on the US enemy, Putin, for advice, as they seem to, as their gross misunderstanding of Russian motives is the root of all our problems here in Europe.
Sally Wilton
Slow growth trap
RE: "Thailand now the sick man of Asean", (Opinion, Oct 30).
Thailand's economy is not doing well at all right now, according to columnist Chartchai Parasuk.
It has basically the lowest rate of GDP growth of all Asean nations, and the people are burdened by high levels of debt.
The best way for Thailand to achieve a standard of living similar to Malaysia or Singapore would be for the government to develop a knowledge system based on STEM (science, math, etc), he notes.
Well, good luck on that!
Even Mr Chartchai admits that this would take at least 20 years to achieve, since this would entail the revamping of the whole arts-based Thai education.
Paul
