Corruption is at the root of this crisis

Khun Sumet Jumsai has a good point in his letter. In my childhood growing up in Songpinong, Supanburi, every year we moved upstairs in the rainy season and moved downstairs afterwards. So it was normal for us who lived in the flood zones to live with nature, not fight it. Today’s situation is quite different, more people move to the big city to make ends meet, corruption is acceptable in our society, nepotism is the trend in the government, self-centredness and selfishness are shown everywhere, the moral high ground is hard to find. 

All of this contributes to poor planning or no planning at all from those that have resources. The pristine forests were neglected and trees were felled year after year, resorts were built in national parks. In Bangkok, the klongs look like sewers, smelly and full of plastic bags and trash. Who knows how often they are dredged? On the other hand, there is no continuity in our government because it changes so often.

It is sad to see that most top government officials spend large sums of money travelling to developed countries to widen their vision and horizons, and to bring home [ideas] to implement to improve our livelihoods. I am afraid the opposite is true – that they are opportunists out for themselves instead of the people and country they represent. 

When Mother Nature strikes, it is chaos, as we witness today. We are not ready! We have a lot of good and knowledgeable people; unfortunately, they are placed on the wrong job assignments as nepotism continues in this administration. What democracy and free speech are we Thais thinking of? The current government tries to change the law and let the police chief have full power to suppress the media. If this law passes, it will send us backward many decades. I would rather live under military rule!

Surasak Piputtana

Bangkok