Reference: Jakarta scurrying to fix ad blunders, Bangkok Post, December 20, 2007

Indonesia does not have a monopoly on odd English. All over Asia there appears to be some confusion when it comes to the word "battery". Does the "a" come first or the "e", or are they both "e" or perhaps both "a"? Is there one "t" or two, and is the last consonant "r" as in "arroy" or "l" as in "alloy"? One can find odd prose in any issue of the Bangkok Post. For example, on page B4 (Orient Thai to start flights to Kathmandu, Bangkok Post, December 20, 2007), we read that "Thailand will use the maximum number of flight frequencies allocated to Thai airlines" and on the same page (International aviation groups criticise AoT, Bangkok Post, December 20, 2007) we find "Airlines are up in arms about plans by Airports of Thailand to raise user fees". The headline about a single Indonesian blunder says "Jakarta scurrying to fix blunders". In the editorial on page 12 (EC must carry on with its work, Bangkok Post, December 20, 2007) we read that the Election Commission must have the courage to "punish wrongdoers by issuing them with red cards".

Cha-am Jamal
Thailand