LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Statistics and reports on alcohol adverts cause more confusion than clarity
Re: "New study reveals scale of ads' threat", News, October 26.
Having previously suffered some of your "statistical" reports in silence, I feel compelled to comment on Thursday's article about alcohol ads: "People who live close to sites with alcohol ads are 12 times more likely to drink than those who don't. … The study was conducted on 520 Bangkok residents - half of whom were teetotallers. … Some 65 per cent of drinkers were aware of ads for alcoholic beverages compared with just 40 per cent of non-drinkers." The implied argument that alcohol ads cause drinking is far from complete. Even if events A and B are found to statistically coincide, that does not show that A causes B. B could cause A or they could both be caused by another factor. Maybe alcohol manufacturers choose to advertise in areas frequented by drinkers and do not advertise in neighbourhoods populated by teetotallers. So alcohol consumption in certain areas may not be caused by the ads placed there but the placing of the ads may have been planned by looking at drinking habits in those areas. Also, half of Bangkok residents are not teetotallers so this is not a representative study. Was the survey conducted at an Alcoholics' Anonymous meeting? A final shot: "Aware of alcohol advertising" - what does this mean? Your statistics indicate that of 520 residents, 273 were "aware of alcohol ads". So I guess 247 were "unaware"? How can 247 people in all of Bangkok, let alone in a 520-person sample, be unaware of alcohol ads? Have they never seen a beer brand logo? Alcohol ads are a subject worthy of serious discussion. There must be an argument for restrictions on alcohol ads in places frequented by youngsters and there is an inherent lie in unhealthy alcohol products being promoted through sports. There are important questions here. Advertising may influence which brand we drink but how much does it influence the quantity we drink? Which is more effective: positive health education or legal regulation? Good statistical studies should inform this debate but your article obscures the debate by its complete mess of statistical non-sense. It's your responsibility to report statistics in a meaningful way. David H Bangkok ------------------------------------------------------------ Money talks in the war against the corrupt
Re: "Pojaman proves a formidable political 'femme fatale'", Opinion, October 28. What Pojaman did was a cunning spin, cleverly built upon the old adage, "money talks" - loud and clear! This is a guerrilla war, with lots more teeth! Conventional military strategies are of no match and could lose the war, in spite of winning the battle! VT Bangkok ------------------------------------------------------------ Bag lady must not be allowed to do as she pleases
This Pojaman running around town with her money bags is a cunning woman. Why is she allowed to do this? The coup-makers still have time to right this by throwing these people in jail now and seizing their assets. What the heck are they waiting for? The key is reconciliation? Thailand needs reconciliation after Thaksin's divide-and-rule years, but it does not mean reconciliation with the TRT Shin/Damapong clans. Know Nothing Bangkok ------------------------------------------------------------ Waiting to see some action from the coup-makers Well, among all my anti-Toxin Thai friends it seems that many of them are beginning to wonder what the coup was for if the coup-makers are just going to sit back and wait until Pojaman offers them a deal they find acceptable - just to go back where they came from and give her husband his job back. Make sense? Ask some of the former Toxin haters what they think. I have. Coup for What Bangkok ------------------------------------------------------------ Education the only way to defeat corruption As long as "big fish" are allowed to keep swimming and get away scot-free, as in the past, nothing will change in Thailand and corruption will corrupt the entire social strata. Punishment is the only way to teach the public and the guilty that corruption is wrong and evil and that it undermines Thailand and the Rule of Law. Education, starting at kindergarten and teaching the youngest about this evil, should be urgently introduced. This can be done with simple tales and fables. Myrtha Leosawasthiphong Bangkok ------------------------------------------------------------ Thailand should follow South Korea's example
If South Korea can jail two of its former corrupt presidents - Roh and Chun - Thailand too should be able to jail a corrupt and murderous former prime minister. If not, the road to jail for Thaksin Shinawatra will be marked by the targeting of his flagrant human rights abuses in the 2003 anti-drug campaign, in which he prominently directed and authorised the senseless and illegal slaughter of at least 2,500 defenceless villagers. Thaksin Shinawatra micro-managed this campaign, demanding blacklists from underpaid under-trained policemen, then followed that up with merciless demands for weekly body counts. The junta and the interim government should not worry that they will have to prosecute the whole Police Department. Those village policemen were merely underlings following strict orders from the top. Only Thaksin Shinawatra was responsible for the extra-judicial murders of these villagers suspected of yaa baa dealing. That was mass murder and a clear and obvious violation of the Rule of Law. No man should be allowed to perpetrate such heinous crimes without being punished with the whole force of the law - even if that man was once the prime minister of Thailand. Daewoo Bangkok ------------------------------------------------------------ More answers needed on Temasek-Shin deal
Re: "Chirayu defends SCB's role in Shin deal", Business, October 28. Chirayu Isarangkun na Ayutthaya, the chairman of Siam Commercial Bank and head of the Crown Property Bureau, is disingenuous at best when he blithely states that the bank's role in the Temasek-Shin deal was purely to help an indirect partner, Temasek, and further SCB's retail banking reach. Blatantly taking for granted the intelligence of the public, he failed to admit the integral role played by SCB's wholly-owned subsidiary, SCB Securities, who acted as advisor on the deal. Under the leadership of ML Chayotid Kridakorn and his management team, SCBS advised not only on the Temasek-Shin deal but also the prior, cookie-cutter Telenor-Ucom deal, along with the same team of Goldman Sachs and Hunton & Williams, who served as financial and legal advisors, respectively. They would have been directly involved in due diligence, financial and tax structuring, and the crossing of shares when the stakes were initially traded and at the time of the subsequent tender offers. The largest deal in Thailand for a long time, Chirayu must be aware of the substantial advisory fees and huge commissions on the stock trades that were earned. SCBS would have been closely involved in advising on the "chain principle" transactions - a euphemism for nominee? - for all the companies which became the final shareholders in both the Telenor and Temasek holdings in Ucom-TAC and Shin-AIS, respectively, including the now notorious Kularb Kaew. Tellingly, most - if not all - of these companies have their registered address at Thai Wah Tower II on South Sathorn Road. Chirayu wears many hats. I ask him to speak sincerely and with probity, for all our sakes. Chingchok on the Wall Bangkok ------------------------------------------------------------ More than sufficiency on deteriorating Koh Samet Re: "No more slumming on Samet", Explore, October 28. The backpackers' paradise of Koh Samet has been going upmarket with several swanky new resorts, one of which is charging as much as 80,000 baht a night. A few years back I knew and loved the island well as a special place for young travellers. Covered in forest, with its squeaky white sands and resorts of bamboo and thatch, it still had an engaging and unspoiled innocence to it. The island is now despoiled with rubbish despite the National Park collecting huge sums from tourists. But what concerns me most is these massive new developments. My understanding was that although all commercial developments within the Park were essentially illegal, there was an amnesty on existing resorts but an absolute prohibition on any new ones. How exactly have the big money men have been able to buy up and over-develop the national jewel that is Koh Samet. The older resorts were more than sufficient for a thriving tourist industry there, so I also ask myself whether the principles of the new government will now be able to protect the island from further environmental damage. Andrew Hicks Surin ------------------------------------------------------------ Strong baht may deter tourists from Thailand
At what point will the strengthening Thai baht negatively affect tourist visits from Western countries? I can tell you that at an exchange rate of 36.88 I am seriously considering taking my November three-week holiday in the Philippines rather than in Thailand. George York USA
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