Actually the new and old acts are fundamentally the same. The new act just makes it clear that certain businesses need to be operated by locals.

Currently many foreign investors choose to use a loophole while officials turn a blind eye. The new act would eliminate these loopholes and force government officials to do their job. Surely transparency is what foreigners are always preaching about and there is nothing wrong in closing a loophole in the law.

In my opinion it is not a change in the act that is a problem, it is the fact that foreigners want to change the act itself that is the problem. Everyone knows that the law states that locals must hold 50 per cent of a business before they invest in Thailand and corporations need to support that structure.

If this structure is to be changed, a social-economic study of the long-term benefits for Thailand must be undertaken. It is understandable that everyone needs to protect their own interests. I hope a win-win solution can be found.

TK

Bangkok

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Effects of act on off-shore investment need careful study

Re: " 'We could withdraw our investments' ", Business, January 9.

I fully agree with the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Thailand's (JFCCT) proposal that the government carefully consider the impact of proposed changes to the Foreign Business Act before implementing them. The act is the keystone of our approach to foreign investment, and, as the then-government realised three decades ago when it set up the Stock Exchange of Thailand, we need offshore investment if we are to enjoy sustained economic growth.

It's folly to leap first, see the impact, and then try to fix things.

As it is, Commerce Minister Krirk-krai Jirapaet saw fit to keep the details of his proposal confidential before he submitted it to Cabinet.

What kind of democracy do we have, where far-reaching laws are passed without the people being informed beforehand - let alone being allowed to debate them?

Our leaders, not being elected, should show us that they are capable of putting politics behind them, and place long-term national interests first. Show us that you have vision, and understand what democracy is.

Carefully consider what you are about to commit us to, and let it not be hara-kiri.

Burin Kantabutra

Bangkok

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Criticisms of coup ignore the benefits of chasing out TRT

Monday's edition of The Nation made for some very depressing reading. Among the more disappointing reports and prognostications noted was a headline in which Sombat Boon-ngam and his fellow anti-coup protesters conclude that the coup had achieved nothing ("Coup resolved nothing, just brought on more conflict", News).

This is rubbish of course, because without the intervention of General Sonthi Boonyaratglin the country would still be in the grip of a government considered as corrupt as any that had come before. That is a major achievement!

The majority of people capable of judging such things intellectually recognise that for the first time in many years, the country is being run by a reasonably honest government.

As for the 1997 constitution, it has been jettisoned, which doubtless depresses many people, but it is quite clear that members of the Thai Rak Thai Party made it extremely useful to themselves yet worthless to the nation. The really important thing is that there is a real effort being made now to produce a constitution that will actually be worth the paper it is to be printed on. And this will be another mega achievement.

Are the coup leaders harsh in their treatment of the people? Well, no. In fact many people complain that they have been far too gentle and cautious in their behaviour to date.

And what has Sombat with his fellow protesters done other than squawk their protests? Are they being useful to the nation - or even helpful? Do they really deplore the possible (if unlikely) ending of government corruption - or is that what they would rather have for the sake of preserving the 1997 constitution?

Is it the loss of that kind of corruptible democracy that they protest against? If so, somebody should tell them to wake up and face reality. Better times may be slow in coming - but it looks as if they really are coming.

Henry Ashe

Bangkok

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Surayud's patience the mark of a strong, effective leader

Re: "Surayud needs to act quickly to restore public confidence", Letters, January 9.

Why is everyone so fickle and quick to criticise the government?

I admire Surayud as he has a quality that is important for achieving results and that is patience.

It may take time but it is better to get the best results from patience than failure as a result of a quick fix.

But if you must go ahead and criticise it only shows your ignorance towards the understanding of patience, which is an important quality in any good leader.

Patience is a Virtue

Bangkok

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Writer sickened by 'twisted' letter about Children's Day

Re: "A modest proposal to do away with Children's Day for the moral well-being of the nation", Letters, January 9.

I am thoroughly convinced that it is my fate that every time I open the Letters page in your good newspaper, I will come across some atrocity of a letter written by an expat with a twisted mentality.

The latest is from Paul Bradley who launched a tirade against Children's Day and the children of Thailand in general.

How can a mind be so beer-sodden that it chooses to launch an attack on the most harmless and genuinely appreciated of all civic activities in Thailand - Children's Day? It is only one day per year at that, not the nightly drunken binges that many expats seem to enjoy in this country.

He connected his personal complaints about children to Children's Day. I am surprised the letter passed the editor's attention.

Perhaps the subject matter is of no consequence to anyone, but I found the illogical, groundless accusations quite unacceptable. Tired adults giving up seats for children on the BTS Skytrain indeed! The man hallucinates.

I will state for the record that for every spoiled brat there are tens of thousands who genuinely look forward to and appreciate Children's Day.

It is the one day when they are allowed to visit places of interest that otherwise would not be available to them such as Government House, the courts, and other government organisations of special interest.

Parks, temples, zoos, and museums are made more readily accessible on Children's Day, the one day when they can enjoy harmless and edifying pursuits.

What does that have to do with cheating and corruption?

What brought on all the nonsense?

Sunida Kitiyakara

Bangkok

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Khru Juling's murderers must be brought to justice

Re: "Rest in peace, Kru Juling", News, January 9. I didn't know Juling Pangamoon personally, but if fate had had a different twist, she could have been my stepdaughter. The people who beat her into a coma eight months ago should now be prosecuted for murder.

Ken Albertsen

Chiang Rai

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Poor quality of roads a major factor in traffic fatalities

While I'm not qualified to critique JJ Karwacki's road death statistics ("Comparatively, number of road deaths is not increasing", Letters, January 9) I am sure he would agree that there is no room for complacency over this appalling annual toll in suffering, misery and expense.

Let me ask a brief question and raise a concern that I have not yet seen in print. Is it true that the deaths we see in the figures comprise only bodies found at accident scenes and those victims who die in government hospitals?

I have it on good authority that they never include the number of people, possibly in the hundreds, who die later of their injuries and those who expire in non-government hospitals.

If my journey from Chiang Mai to Bangkok less than a month ago is a guide, then the roads themselves are a hazard we overlook.

Due to the myriad heavy trucks and their effect on the roads, the inside lane from Nakhon Sawan to within 150 kilometres of the capital is so badly rutted that every bus driver I saw spent the entire journey in the overtaking lane to give their passengers a smoother ride.

This caused faster vehicles to overtake on the left and, I am sure, contributed to two of the three very bad accidents I saw en route.

Could the responsible minister please drive back to the capital next time, rather than flying, and see for himself?

If this route is not properly repaired before the rainy season, drivers will spend many kilometres in parallel, water-filled canals with impaired steering control and little chance of efficient braking.

Then watch those statistics!

David Hardcastle

Chiang Mai