OPINION

Flood response fix

Re: "New sub-committees 'to boost readiness'", (BP, Dec 5) and "Disaster struck as preparation fell short", (Opinion, Dec 3).

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul should implement TDRI's recommendations to quickly strengthen the nation's ability to manage and mitigate disasters. In the South, for example, he should:

(a) Give provincial governors true "super-CEO" authority to coordinate all local agencies. Disasters emerge locally and require rapid, provincial-level decisions. Yet Mr Anutin's proposed five sub-committees are all Bangkok-based and add to the red tape already created by 48 agencies in 13 ministries with overlapping water-management roles. Worse, his five sub-committees have no clear overall leader.

(b) Upgrade warning systems. Nearly half the equipment is non-functional. Fix it and integrate topography and land-use data into forecasts -- because the present 33% accuracy for next-day forecasts is worse than flipping a coin.

(c) Partner with local universities for risk modelling and data analysis. Strengthen Hat Yai's Disaster Research Center, for example, through planning with the Office of National Water Resources and the Irrigation Department, and expand public education and drills. Then replicate the Hat Yai DRC model in other regions.

(d) Regulate flood-prone land use. Enforce zoning limits, remove vulnerable structures with fair compensation, and prioritise prevention over reactive dam-building.

(e) Create professional river-basin management units with clear mandates to reduce overlapping, part-time committees.

Mr Anutin, you've already signalled plans to dissolve Parliament soon. Please act quickly.

Through the fog

Re: "Paperwork overload" and "Slow growth trap", (PostBag, Dec 4).

Regular scribe Felix Qui again laments the bureaucracy encountered at immigration, where we are still asked for multiple copies of the same documents each year when renewing visas or work permits.

With the digital age upon us, he asks why. Felix surely knows how things work here -- logic is the first casualty. I've been here nearly a quarter of a century, and I can count the number of smooth renewals I've had on the fingers of one hand -- or perhaps one finger.

Meanwhile, in his letter "Slow growth trap", Paul quite rightly notes Thailand's sluggish growth and suggests the education system shift more toward STEM subjects -- the ones that actually matter. I remember my Thai son sitting through some very curious school subjects, many of which seemed unlikely to prove useful in the real world. Science and technology are, and good maths is essential for maintaining a healthy bank balance.

Hope for Phuket

Re: "Hurdles for sustainable tourism in Phuket", (BP, Nov 26).

Thank you for the article. Tourism is rarely sustainable, despite all the banners and cheerful speeches as industry players exchange bouquets. Holidaymakers take long showers. They generate trash, human waste and detergent runoff. How would they know anything about Phuket's limited trash incineration and water-treatment capacity? Even basic garbage collection is a challenge and often leaves a lingering smell.

This coming high season will bring the worst traffic yet, as the post-Covid building boom has created record numbers of villas and micro-flats for visitors. The province hasn't built a new road in more than 20 years. Phuket has virtually no public transport. Even the excellent Smart Bus lacks support from the thousands of businesses along its north–south beach route.

Bhummikitti Ruktaengam, president of the Sustainable Tourism Development Foundation, suggests residents move their registration to Phuket. He has identified a core problem: almost no one working in Phuket owns a home here, and many can barely afford rent. As a result, local government is accountable mainly to families rooted here since the days when Phuket produced cashews, coconuts and rubber.

The notable exception is Phuket Town, where the younger generation -- the same people who helped deliver the Sandbox -- have revitalised the city and made it increasingly appealing. Crucially, they have given tourists something many popular beach areas still lack: pedestrian access.