HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Collapsed building

Racist greedy baht bus drivers

Buyer beware

Online survey

Mud baths are good for you

Collapsed building

Editor;
Would you buy a condo from these people? Second floor collapsed about mid-day Sunday 15th May and was cleared in record time ... less city hall building inspectors saw it Monday morning, I guess! Where? Hanuman corner, Jomtien.
MS

Racist greedy baht bus drivers

Editor;
Why Michael Round cheapened his message by 5 baht is beyond me. I cannot vouch for the death figures he gave as figures often lie and liars often figure. What amazes me is that he doesn’t understand the basic foundation of the baht bus fare discussion. It isn’t that we falang cannot afford to overpay the racist greedy baht bus drivers; it is that it action is racist and greedy.

Let’s go back in time to mid-twentieth century America when “Colored” people had separate water fountains, separate toilets and let us not forget, they sat at the back of the bus. The front of the bus was for whites only. Colored people couldn’t sit at the same lunch counter to eat. Now let’s skip back to present time Thailand, Pattaya to be precise where we have a fare for colored people (Thais) and for the white people (falangs).

The issue is Thai racism. If Mr. Round and all the other overpaying supporters of Thai Racism wish to not only perpetuate, but condone such behavior that is on them. Shame on all of you. As a man of conscience, I cannot idly stand by and watch racism in its most blatant form continue in Thailand. It not only goes against Thai principles; it is contrary to humanity. I realize this is the tip of the Thai iceberg, but this is where we falangs can make a difference.

Educate both participants farang and Thai to the truth of Thailand; it is your duty as a moral being. Refuse to subsidize racism. Choose the harder right Mr. Round, instead of the easier wrong.
Howard Bloom
Havertown, Pennsylvania

Buyer beware

Editor,
‘Condo owner’ (Mailbag April 29th) should have looked into condominium living before committing himself. Letters to this column are testament to fact that condo tyranny is rife, and it is essential for prospective purchasers to ensure that properly appointed management is in place.

Thailand’s Condominium Act requires a meeting of a development’s apartment owners (referred to as the joint or co-owners) be held annually (AGM), and where they elect a committee to supervise management. An exciting manager may be removed by majority vote of the co-owners. The Act also requires the management rules (called the ‘Objective’) to be lodged at the Land Office (Pattaya branch just off Third Road), and from where a copy may be obtained. Even a properly elected condo committee may be reluctant to supply a translated copy of a condo’s rules, as their power is then reduced. If a co-owner is unable to persuade others to share in the cost of translating the Objective, it is worth the cost to do it themselves. Being able to cite a law or rule adds considerable weight to a complaint and helps preclude abuse. Information regarding co-owners’ rights and common management infractions is available on the .com website of an established Pattaya condominium.

A principle consideration in condo purchase is maintenance and fees charged for this. The rate is set when a development is registered as a condominium, and for it to be changed requires consent of 75% of the co-owners. However, unscrupulous committees may circumvent or even ignore this law, which occurred at a central condo where I have an apartment. The committee chairman (farang) ignored my complaint of fees being charged illegally and removed my notices advising other co-owners of the abuse, so I used the poster hung from my balcony to label him a fraud. His response was to issue a libel action in the Pattaya Court (claiming damages of B500,000) but which he discontinued when, in court, I refused retract the accusation on the basis it was ‘fair comment’.

As community funds were used to finance his personal claim, his failed attempt at financial intimation cost the people whose rights he was elected to represent but intended to cheat some B80,000. The whole thing was distorted in a report to co-owners and other committee members did nothing. He steps down at AGMs but immediately assumes the Action Chair and rules any comment or question he doesn’t like as out of order. Attendees being of mixed nationality and already confused by language barriers, blatant untruths ensure the proceeding is stage-managed. Evidencing control freak mentality, the person concerned recently admonished the particular condo’s Thai legal advisor for divulging rules to a co-owner. For this he did get a verbal spanking but managed to retain his position. Some co-owners recognize the abuses but prefer to sell up and move on or, incredibly, look the other way.

Moral of the story is that resort to litigation is often necessary anywhere in the world, but ‘Condo owner’ may find that many of his fellow co-owners do not have the will or grit to stand up to be counted. With condos it is as with everything else a case of buyer beware!
T. Crossley

Online survey

Dear Editor,
I am an academic at the University of New South Wales in Australia doing a major study on Westerners now living in or who have lived in Thailand. The study will look at characteristics of the Western resident population, reasons for moving to Thailand, experiences in Thailand, and what factors make for a successful stay. Any Westerner who has lived in or who currently lives in Thailand for at least a year is invited to complete an anonymous on-line survey form. It will take only about 10 minutes to fill out.

The link is: http://education. arts.unsw.edu.au/farang survey.htm
Many thanks,
Robert Howard

Mud baths are good for you

Editor;
Anyone else getting mud, and water the colour of Pepsi, out of their taps after a rainfall? Seems the dams are now so low that a small amount of rain and the resulting run off is enough to stir up the water producing black water in our taps. Anyone know if this mud shower is good for my skin?
Karen Fleming

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