Ground game
Re: "BJT win bodes well for conservatives", (BP, Feb 11). Given the tallies of the nationwide party list vote, I don't understand the justification for the following assertions: "BJT's landslide victory reflects a surge of nationalist sentiment" (5.9M votes); the PP suffered from "lingering voter scepticism" and "eroded public confidence" (9.8M votes).
It seems to me this election was won and lost not on nationwide popularity, but rather on the individual constituency candidate contests, for which BJT appears to have produced a much stronger grassroots campaign for the 400 MP seats that were up for grabs.
Jonathan Nash
Banking barrier
Re: "90-day puzzle", (PostBag, Jan 15).
As a long-time resident of Thailand (31 years) and a consultant working with foreigners, I see this as a step in the right direction to encourage visitors to stay longer and encourage foreigners to return several times per year.
But the problems my customers report are not so much getting a visa as getting a bank account. Obviously, many of these new visas do not qualify for opening a bank account. As far as I am informed, this is not a legal problem but a policy of the banks. For example, you can buy a condo with any visa, but you should have a bank account that many banks grant only to people with a one-year visa. Long-term visitors may not have a bank account yet have to exchange cash or withdraw via credit cards, both with a bad exchange rate. Maybe someone can sort this out; it does not seem to be too difficult.
Heiner Pattaya
Map it, please
Re: "New Mekong riverside road due March next year", (BP, Feb 11).
Last September, the Post published my letter: "A picture is worth a thousand words (if there is one!)
Now I am compelled to write again on the absence of a visual map that should have accompanied various articles in the Post.
I wrote: "Why, oh why are Post reporters incapable of including a map with their articles, be they about new roads, floods, border problems or whatever?
Why should readers online have to Google place names to find out where it was all happening? Why should paper readers have to just wait and wonder about it? Look at most foreign newspapers: a new road bridge has been constructed at X -- see the map below; a storm has wreaked havoc in the Y area -- see the map below ... It's not rocket science!
In this digital age, it should be so easy to make reading your articles a bit more informative."
It is patently clear this plea has gone unheeded.
Just two recent examples: on Feb 8, the Post carried an interesting article about the sixth Thai-Lao Bridge -- no map. Today (Feb 11), the Post carries a report on the new Mekong Riverside Road -- once again, no map. Come on, it really isn't difficult to do!
Johnny Thoyts, Korat
