Showing 1 - 10 of 103
Spending plans?
Oped, Postbag, Published on 27/04/2024
» Re: "Prawit declares B87m in assets", (BP, April 25).
Myanmar revolts against dictatorship
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 02/02/2024
» When Myanmar's military coup took place three years ago, few thought it would turn out this way. Never has a military in Southeast Asia staged a successful coup and then failed to consolidate power afterwards. Yet this is precisely what's happening in Myanmar. A fierce and determined coalition of resistance forces is in the process of prevailing over Myanmar's battle-hardened army.
On why Thailand is politically unstable
Oped, Peerasit Kamnuansilpa, Published on 15/11/2023
» Since the 1932 revolution -- triggered by a coup by progressive elites that replaced the absolute monarchy with a constitutional monarchy -- Thailand's politics have been marked by persistent conflict and instability.
Pita and the 'Myth of Sisyphus'
Oped, Kong Rithdee, Published on 15/07/2023
» 'The Gods had condemned Sisyphus to ceaselessly rolling a rock to the top of a mountain, whence the stone would fall back of its own weight."
A 'revolution' in politics
Oped, Editorial, Published on 24/06/2023
» Today marks one of the most significant days in Thai political history. In 1932, a group of young Khana Ratsadorn elites who were educated abroad took a bold step towards democracy on June 24, launching a revolution that transformed the country from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy.
Will post-2023 culture shock see progressives thrive?
Oped, Published on 10/06/2023
» Move Forward, an off-shoot of the now-defunct Future Forward Party, signifies a wind of change, a new direction for the country. Unlike other parties, the MFP's ambition is broader and aims to change the country not only politically but culturally too. The party has allied itself with young people with a desire for a more responsive democratic process.
Enough burning
News, Postbag, Published on 16/04/2023
» Re: "Waste plants cause stink", (BP, April 2).
How did China surpass Thailand?
Oped, Published on 22/12/2022
» Thailand revolutionised its political and administrative systems in 1932, well before China, which did not start until 1949. The shared drive for this revolution was the economic hardship of the populace. Both Thailand and China were poor nations. Their economy stagnated and was under the control of the privileged groups, the elite rulers in the case of Thailand, and the bourgeois in China. People in the countryside were left with economic plight and suffering. Initially, Thailand had taken a leap toward reform by changing into a constitutional monarchy following a coup led by Khana Ratsadon (the People's Party), supported by young military personnel and Thai students who graduated overseas, to spur economic development and improve the economic well-being of the public.
When art gets stifled
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 21/11/2022
» 'Art is short, a case is long," read a banner. Students apparently hijacked the well-known motto "art is long, life is short" by Prof Silpa Bhirasri, the father of Thai modern art, in protest of Chiang Mai University's legal action against its own lecturers and a student who "trespassed" on the art centre to exhibit works, some of which might challenge those in power, last year. It is a case in point for stifling democracy in Thai art.
Nationalism is not the answer to land woes
Oped, Thana Boonlert, Published on 04/11/2022
» Resistance to the controversial foreign land ownership bill is giving rise to the term khai chat -- used to denounce traitors who sell the motherland -- being used in political discourse. Whether a person is a government critic or supporter, he or she believes their ancestors fought very hard to protect our land and it should not be given away to foreigners.