Opinion writing
The best known opinion column in the Bangkok Post is its editorial entitled Post Opinion. It is here the editors (or guest editors) are free to comment about local or international issues. And it is here that you will find some of the liveliest language in the newspaper. Editorial writers are not shy and when they believe something is wrong they will say so in very strong words indeed.
Catching the main idea—in
two minutes or less!
Good readers know how to get the main idea from Post Opinion very
quickly, probably within one minute. They use different methods,
but the most common is probably something like this one: (1) Read
the headline (2) Read the first paragraph (3) Read the last one
or two paragraphs (4) Form a theory of what the main idea is (5)
Test your theory by quickly skimming the beginnings of the remaining
paragraphs. Let’s try this with an editorial that appeared in the
Bangkok Post on November 29, 1995. First let’s look at the headline,
the first paragraph and the last two paragraphs:
If Surakiart goes, so should all the rest
So, we are told, Finance Minister Surakiart Sathirathai could be
the first cabinet member to face the axe. We are also told, but
from other sources, that the assumption could be too hasty. Even
if Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa is willing to replace Dr Surakiart,
finding someone trusted by both Mr Banharn and the public will not
be easy, especially since that someone will have to face the kind
of antagonistic attention that Dr Surakiart has faced.
By comparison, Dr Surakiart looks like a good
minister. Or put it another way, if he goes, so should all the rest.
Already, we should have a good idea of what the editorial is about. We can surely expect some harsh criticism of cabinet ministers other than Finance Minister Dr Surakiart Sathirathai. Clearly they must be far worse than he is and if he is forced to resign, they should also resign. Let’s test our theory by skimming the beginnings of the remaining paragraphs:
- Whatever happens, whenever it happens, the torrent of criticism directed at the former Chulalongkorn University law dean is unfair.
- Dr Surakiart's one really serious error was when he agreed to be finance minister.
- He can be criticised for being too weak in trying to stamp out inflation.
- But he cannot be blamed for the slump in the stock market.
- The only mistake Dr Surakiart took with regard to the stock market was....
- In all other respects, Dr Surakiart has been as good as we could expect....Not so the rest of the Cabinet..
- In economic policy, for example, just take a look at Commerce Minister Chucheep Harnsawat.
- Take a look also at Montri Pongpanich...
- Look outside economics. Sanoh Thienthong...
- And then there's Thaksin Shinawatra....And
there's the former warrior for democracy, Defence Minister Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh....
From this brief overview we can be quite confident that the five ministers mentioned apart from Dr Surakiart will come under some very strong criticism indeed.
The language of Post Opinion
The language of news stories must be neutral. Opinions are often
expressed in news stories, but they come from the people quoted,
not from the writer. In fact, you should not be able to determine
the writer's opinion in a news story.
Editorials are almost completely different. The writer’s job is
to give an opinion. This is done in a number of ways—through adjectives
and adverbs, through sarcasm and satire, and through very direct
criticism or praise. That is one reason editorials can be fun to
read. To give you a taste of a typical Bangkok Post editorial, below
is the full November 29 Post Opinion that we introduced above. Notice
that we have included pictures of the ministers mentioned in the
editorial and we have also given you the option of looking up some
of the key words.
Before we begin, however, some readers may be surprised at how critical the editorial is of the present government. The Thai press (especially the print media) is quite free, so it is not unusual for newspapers to criticise the government quite severely. It is also important to note that the Bangkok Post does not support any political party or coalition. It was critical of the previous government as well.
If Surakiart goes, so should all the rest
So, we are told, Finance Minister Surakiart Sathirathai could be the first cabinet member to face the axe. We are also told, but from other sources, that the assumption could be too hasty. Even if Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa is willing to replace Dr Surakiart, finding someone trusted by both Mr Banharn and the public will not be easy, especially since that someone will have to face the kind of antagonistic attention that Dr Surakiart has faced.Whatever happens, whenever it happens, the torrent of criticism directed at the former Chulalongkorn University law dean is unfair. Dr Surakiart has not really made many mistakes. The spotlight should be on other ministers who could do the country far more damage. He can be criticised for being too weak in trying to stamp out inflation. Many economists have done so. But he is backed by the Bank of Thailand and it is still too early to judge conclusively who is right.
But he cannot be blamed for the slump in the stock market. Any lack of confidence has to be blamed on the entire Banharn government whose members came to power with such a negative image that restoring confidence is bound to be an uphill struggle. Instead of trying to do that, many ministers have pressed ahead with controversial actions that might just impress their constituents, but not the nation as a whole.
The only mistake Dr Surakiart took with regard to the stock market was to allow himself to be panicked into providing a rescue package. Some stock speculators might be pleased; taxpayers in general should be worried about the package's implied message that the government will always take the risk out of gambling on stocks.
In all other respects, Dr Surakiart has been as good as we could expect from any finance minister. Not so the rest of the Cabinet, and that is why the media's focus on Dr Surakiart is not only unfair to him, but also to the country.
In economic policy, for example, just take a look at Commerce Minister Chucheep Harnsawat. In one breath he embraces the cause of free trade in the name of tackling inequalities, and he pledges not to allow the bureaucracy to hinder business.
In another he orders the precise opposite: he throttles tapioca exports through the unjustifiable practice of allocating quotas, costing an estimated billions of baht in export earnings, and depriving the country’s poorest farmers of a large chunk of hard-found income. No one picks up the issue because millions of farmers struggling in poverty in remote areas cannot command the same media attention as one stock investor who shot himself in the middle of Bangkok. Mr Chucheep is not even obliged to give a coherent explanation, and so he rambles on about Philippine rice farmers and rubber prices as if that had anything to do with tapioca.
Take a look also at Montri Pongpanich whose main enthusiasm at the Agriculture Ministry is to invent new ways for the ministry to buy and sell fertiliser and seeds, build dams and dig waterways, preferably at “top speed” and beyond public scrutiny—just as he did in a previous incarnation with the Hopewell elevated road and rail project. Are the stock speculators interested? Only if one of the favoured companies is listed.
Look outside economics. Sanoh Thienthong has done nothing at the Public Health Ministry to justify his claim to the Interior portfolio. Far from showing that he has the welfare of the public at heart, Mr Sanoh has merely succeeded in antagonising doctors all over the country. And then there's Deputy Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra whose preferred solution to traffic problems is to offer policemen quasi-bribes from his own ample pocket. And there's the former warrior for democracy, Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, who now finds free speech inconvenient. And so on.
By comparison, Dr Surakiart looks like a good minister. Or put it another way, if he goes, so should all the rest.
