Showing 71 - 80 of 106
TJA falls down on job
News, Editorial, Published on 01/02/2018
» The results of the Thai Journalists Association (TJA) probe into a sexual harassment case involving a media personality has invited more questions than it has given answers.
Reshuffle buys time
News, Editorial, Published on 27/11/2017
» Details of the expected cabinet shake-up were released at the very end of the working week. There wasn't even an announcement, just the bare details of the Prayut Chan-o-cha 5 government, carried in the Royal Gazette. The reshuffle includes only a few new faces and departures, although it does reduce the number of military men from 12 to nine.
Don't touch the Mekong
News, Editorial, Published on 09/11/2017
» The battle over the Mekong River has resumed, and it will end badly for one side. Despite continuous government efforts to delay, a decision will have to be made shortly. There are no shortage of supporters for both views, but the battle lines are clear. On one side, the Chinese government wants to blast a Mekong River channel for the largest riverboats of its comprador businesses. On the other, Thai environmentalists and conservationists oppose this.
Outstaying their welcome
News, Editorial, Published on 03/11/2017
» If the general elections take place in November next year as promised by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, his military regime's stay in executive power would have exceeded the four-year tenure of any elected government. By then, the period of four-and-a-half years under the military ruling would already be much longer than needed.
Unearth press case truth
News, Editorial, Published on 19/09/2017
» It is extremely disappointing that one of the country's top investigative journalists has resorted to using one of the country's most repressive laws. He is the recent subject of a malicious whisper campaign alleging serious sexual harassment at the news agency, the best-known arm of the Isra Institute. And instead of letting the truth come out, he has resorted to the criminal defamation law.
Chula wrong on Netiwit
News, Editorial, Published on 02/09/2017
» Given the widespread suppression of human rights and freedom of expression under the current military rule, Thailand’s educational institutions could be playing a role in preserving and nurturing a more open and democratic society.
A chance to fix the NBTC
News, Editorial, Published on 25/07/2017
» The broadcast business has declared an emergency of sorts over the future of the industry's regulators. The terms for executives in charge of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) expire on Oct 6. Realistically, there is not enough time to appoint a new board.
Prejudice in labour law
News, Editorial, Published on 08/07/2017
» Notwithstanding the public outcry over its punitive and oppressive nature, the executive decree on migrant labour management was upgraded into an act on Thursday.
Time to set poll dates
News, Editorial, Published on 28/06/2017
» The country's only election for governor is supposed to take place next year. Bangkok is a special case in national administration. All provinces are governed by appointees from the top echelons of the Ministry of Interior bureaucrats, but the capital has elected its own governor since 1975. That is, until now. The current Bangkok governor is a junta appointee, and the election originally scheduled for 2018 is not yet in sight.
Banks must be accountable
News, Editorial, Published on 17/05/2017
» Last month, the hunt was on for an elderly embezzler who scammed at least 1.4 billion baht from a respectable savings group. When tracked down, Assoc Prof Sawad Saengbangpla, 79, shrugged and admitted that for the past several years he had run the Chulalongkorn University Savings Cooperative for personal gain. He had lured members of the cooperative to invest in his "government lottery cooperative" and transferred about 1.4 billion baht to himself since 2010. He then paid off debts and took long holidays to gamble on Singapore's Sentosa island casino until the scam was discovered. Police told depositors in effect, "too bad", they had lost all their savings.