Protest in peace

We hear of a rally organised at Victory Monument against the Election Commission (EC) over alleged maladministration, which sounds serious. Thai voters would have good grounds to be concerned. But the military regime has taken what some say is over-zealous action against activists (BP, March 30).

Of course, Thailand is not the first or only state where complaints are made against the poll agency. South of the border Malaysians have had to put up with decades of suspicious conduct by their own commission. It got so bad that prior to last year's election the commission re-delineated pro-opposition seats to, in some cases, double the number of electors, in a shrewd effort to secure re-election of the then government.

So how did Malaysian civil society, led by electoral watchdog Bersih, (ironically nicknamed the "yellow shirts"), run their campaign against the government in an environment in which free speech was much more limited than in Thailand? They ran a series of peaceful demonstrations over the past decade, each lasting no more than a few days. They responded to threats, legal suits, and even preventive detention, by maintaining their peaceful tactics and never losing sight of their objectives.

The result? Well, despite the authoritarian laws, including limited media discussion and criticism of the government, the opposition formed a handy coalition with defections from the government to win a resounding victory against the odds. Bersih displayed tactics that I have never seen much of with Thai protesters and activists: peacefulness, reasonableness, professionalism, non-intimidation, and patience, patience and more patience. In fact the former Malaysian government coalition, Barisan Nasional, had been in power for over 60 years. (And for at least 30 years it is probably accurate to say that they ran a corrupt government.)

Democracy is frustratingly slow and at times disappointing, but it also means playing with good spirit, even if this means displaying tactics more honourable than those you oppose. Until more Thais are able to learn this, it seems unlikely that the military will be able to permanently stay in their barracks.

Simon Wood

Double standards

Re: "NCPO pulls out old cards", (Editorial, March 30).

The continuing wonders of Thailand have surely reached startling new heights when students are told they are not allowed to be involved in political activities but at the same time military officers, police and non-state servants can fill parliament, run as PM and select senators. Is this for real?

Lungstib

Who's serving whom?

Re: "Don't push the army", (PostBag, March 30).

Songdej Praditsmanont said democracy can only exist in Thailand if the military is not pushed too far. What kind of democracy is it when the military said to the previous prime minister: either "voluntarily" step down or we'll overthrow you? In real democracies like the US or UK there is no such thing as pushing the military too far because they know their job is to serve a civilian leader, not the other way around.

Eric Bahrt

Uniform madness

I would like to add to the writers who proposed that immigration officials should be trained in customer relations. Thailand must be one of the few countries where its government sees the need for its civil servants to wear a uniform.

Could it be that, in most cases where a uniform is worn, the wearer sees him or herself commanding respect above and superior to the people he or she is dealing with and as such does not see the need for courtesy? Coming from working in a service-based industry we were always taught that respect is earned and the people we are serving are customers. We never saw the need to wear a uniform to emphasise the fact.

Brian Corrigan

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