POSTBAG

The company one keeps

Re: "Enough is definitely not enough" (Bangkok Post, Jan 26). Mr Thaksin did do some good things for the country, but by surrounding himself with a lot of tainted people from the old political establishment, even if some of them eventually fell away, it soon became apparent that though he had some good ideas he wasn't much different than most of them - out to make as many baht as he could, but maybe faster than most of them.

A lot of people wanted Mr Thaksin to succeed in creating a more egalitarian society, and maybe if he had surrounded himself with more people like Mr Purachai, he might have had a chance. But when Mr Purachai turned away and Mr Thaksin started relying more and more on people like Newin Chidchob and Gen Thammarak for help and advice, he was doomed and remains doomed to this day.

OBSERVER

Worse than before

So UBC has been rebranded "trueVisions" and the channels moved around to make room for "world-class broadcasts". So exactly how has that been experienced by subscribers? Firstly, all broadcast services were interrupted for five hours if they were lucky, or for significantly longer if they weren't. Next, the customer service line was completely overwhelmed, leading to busy signals most of the time and hour-long waits for "the next available technician" for the rest.

By the third day someone at trueVisions had a plan: Remind people via recorded message that problem-solving instructions are available on page 75 of their monthly magazine (actually it's page 74). What? The problem they're solving isn't the problem you're having? Tough luck!

TRUEVISION CUSTOMER SERVICE OXYMORON

The saga continues

UBC (trueVisions?) is once more an existing entity. It has returned from Outer Space but seems it had to jettison some cargo on re-entry. They now tell us the number scrambling means we can no longer get BBC Prime, our daily dose of British culture, as we live in a condominium. In a technical age when the Chinese can throw darts at objects in space, surely trueVisions has the technology to beam a TV signal more or less anywhere they want in Bangkok? Why can't they do that for condos?

Perhaps we need an alternative supplier. Will that ever happen?

DUNCAN NIVEN

No reception Since

Tuesday Jan 23, when UBC upgraded the system I have been unable to receive BBC Prime, MGM, Star World and a number of other channels. Duncan Niven (Postbag, Jan 25) said that he had tried to contact UBC over this problem and could not get through.

After hours of trying, I did get through (to an answering machine). I was asked to wait but after 15 minutes on my mobile phone, I gave up. This was Tuesday afternoon. Having abandoned all hope of telephone contact, I sent an e-mail detailing the problem. It is over 48 hours now, and I still haven't received a reply.

If there was any competition, I would change at once.

FRED SIBBERT

Samut Prakan

Rape law must be reformed

I was very struck by Sanitsuda Ekachai's article (Commentary, Jan 25) in which she criticises the draft amendment to the law on rape proposed by the Justice Ministry, as it does not remove the anomaly that a husband cannot be convicted of raping his wife.

Although a general consent to sexual relations is implicit in marriage, most civilised countries do not now exclude the possibility of a conviction for rape merely because the offender is married to his victim.

The writer stridently argues that the cultural violence of patriarchy in Thailand maintains the status of women as subservient and inferior to men and it is indeed disturbing that recent surveys show that behind the smile, the perceived level of happiness of Thai women is only about half that of men.

Rape is a highly emotive subject and it is of symbolic importance for the law to refuse to sanction such violence within marriage and to make marital rape an offence.

However, it is well recognised that bringing successful rape prosecutions is extremely difficult because of the difficulty of proving both the requisite lack of consent and actual penetration. This could make prosecutions of marital rape extremely rare and so it is essential that a properly reformed law also includes the offence of aggravated sexual assault with penalties as severe as those for rape itself.

Without such an offence being available, wives may not in fact be adequately protected from the violence of their husbands, as the possibility of a successful rape conviction, though a useful deterrent, may be relatively rare.

ANDREW HICKS

Childish general

Is it just me or is this "diplomatic spat" between Thailand and Singapore getting extremely childish?

Whatever ounce of respect I had for Gen Sonthi has all but evaporated after he made statements suggesting that calls that we make go through Singapore, and that he would be reverting back to walkie-talkies.

I suggest he do just that, and return to his barracks where he belongs, not in politics and most definitely not in a position to further worsen diplomatic ties with such an important neighbour.

I assume that calls I make using DTAC go through Norway as well? Gen Sonthi wouldn't want the Norwegians spying on us now, does he?

I'm not even going to bother commenting on that rogue former PM of ours doing his globe trotting and making statements. Correct me if I am wrong, but would it even be proper for the Singaporean government to not allow CNN to interview Thaksin? CNN is not a Singaporean channel, is it?

WORRIED THAI STUDENT OVERSEAS

General News
Bangkok Post
Saturday January 27, 2007