Value of a constitution is surely self-evident

Written by changthai11 on Monday, October 6th, 2008

Post Bag

In his letter ”Stop writing charters” (Bangkok Post, Oct 4), Khun Visoot Phongsathorn expresses a preference for Thailand not having a written constitution, mentioning as examples the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Israel.

I beg to differ.

Of the three countries mentioned, the United Kingdom is probably the closest one to not having a written (formal) constitution. Israel has a set of ”basic laws” that have been given ”constitutional ascendancy”. Similarly, New Zealand has a multiple-document constitution (”constitution acts”) consisting of several acts of the UK and the New Zealand parliaments. Thus, both Israel and New Zealand have a written constitution. Furthermore, Israel is right now preparing to adopt a single constitutional document.

Writing a constitution is, in my view, the only way to set democratic, transparent and convenient governance rules, especially when the draft constitution is publicly debated and adopted by the people through referendum.

Otherwise, essential matters of governance are left either to customs vaguely expressed and understood, or to various laws adopted by the legislative bodies with sometimes scarce consultation of the people, or to the judiciary _ arguably as regrettable since, under what I think is a correct understanding of the principle of separation of powers, such matters should never be decided by that branch of government.

Even when the constitution is trampled on by those in power, it will serve a good and useful purpose: to highlight what should have been done and, perhaps mainly, what has not been done; and in that way alert the people to the advisability of making changes in government. Obviously, the writing of a new constitution provides the ideal frame work for a fully-informed and fruitful public debate on governance.

As to the relevance of having one single constitutional document instead of a variety of constitutional sources, it is, I believe, self-evident.

JACQUES ROMAN

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A case for blood tests before marriage

Can anyone tell me why the Health Ministry has not introduced compulsory pre-marital blood testing certificates? It must be 25 years since the terrible HIV-Aids virus was first identified in Thailand.

And why does the government not allow low-cost health testing companies like Gribbles to set up in Thailand? Neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore introduced this measure many years ago, largely to protect vulnerable and innocent youth.

My sister-in-law today lies dead in a temple, less than two years after marriage and infection _ a young, sweet, innocent, blameless girl struck down by this most terrible of viruses. Because of the stigma and lack of public education in Thailand about this vicious disease, the husband kept the truth of his sickness from her for more than a year, thus allowing the virus to rapidly spread and develop into Aids. She finally succumbed to pneumonia, heart attack and a liver destroyed by antiretroviral therapy.

I urge the government to act quickly to introduce pre-marital blood testing certificates and allow low-cost private blood testing labs to set up in the kingdom. Shame on you for not having achieved this in over two decades. Shame on you for the continued deaths of many of Thailand’s best and brightest youth.

To parents, I say, please make sure you get your children’s partners tested for HIV, hepatitis and TB.

JAMAIL H

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Alcohol ban is only a part of the answer

The minister of health thinks that banning the sale of alcohol on certain days will assist in reducing the number of roads deaths. Sorry for him.

Does he not realise that there are two main contributing factors in the road death count that have no relationship to alcohol?

First, the attitude of Thai drivers towards each other is one of total contempt. No driver in this country shows consideration to fellow road users. There is no such thing as lane discipline, turn indicators are used as a confirmation that ”I have made the move”, not as an indication of an intention to move; motorcyclists believe they own the road, wing mirrors are used to check hair and make-up, irrespective of gender; and red traffic lights are decorative street art.

Second, the police have absolutely no intention of conducting any disciplinary measures that will not increase the income that they can personally collect from bribes. Pulling motorcyclists up for not wearing a helmet is a frequent revenue driver, but it is easily nullified by riders undertaking sudden unannounced U-turns irrespective of whether they cause traffic mayhem or not. Offering banknotes by those few who are unlucky enough to be caught will miraculously make the problem disappear. Speeding fines are another great source of funds. I was recently pulled over for apparently speeding near Khon Khaen, but when I demanded to see the radar gun and the readout I was told that 300 baht would be OK, and when I handed it over and said ”this is bribery, let’s go to the police station” I was instantly told to drive away and my ”fine” was refunded.

If the sale of alcohol is banned on certain days the public will simply stock up prior to the day. This will give them ample opportunity to get drunk on even more days, and when they run out of booze they will soon find someone to sell it to them anyway. Anti-alcohol zealots tried this kind of ban in the USA, it was called Prohibition and led to a huge increase in criminal gang revenue from illegal trading. Remember Al Capone?

This proposed ban on selling alcohol on certain days will be yet another great way for ”powerful people” to make even more money from bribery. Silly me, I forgot the reason why government ministers make decisions; it is not for the public good but to assist their backers with new revenue streams. Ah yes, another cultural difference.

IAN BROMLEY

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A licence for all occasions

Re: ”Rental Runaround over Thai Licence” ( Letters, Oct 5). I was impressed by Roy Harris’ aplomb in setting off to Australia where he planned to rent cars, armed only with a Thai driving licence. It is more of a surprise that his Thai licence was accepted by one car rental firm than that the other firms rejected it. Is Mr Harris so worldly unwise that he has never heard of an international driving licence?

In Thailand, these can be obtained in minutes from the helpful staff at the appropriate government office near Morchit skytrain station on production of a Thai driving licence, a passport and two passport-sized photographs in exchange for a small fee. They are valid for one year.

It will probably surprise Mr Harris to learn that it is illegal for short-term visitors to Thailand to drive in the kingdom without an international driving licence issued in their home country. No matter that Thai is not one of the languages included in the international permit and that Thai traffic police can sometimes be seen pretending to read them upside down. That is the law.

GEORGE MORGAN

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