Showing 91 - 100 of 416
Airing grievances
Oped, Postbag, Published on 29/04/2020
» Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand director Chula Sukmanop has decided to ban incoming flights until May 31. Unless he is an epidemiologist, the director is not qualified to make such decisions. It appears this government is immune to the needs of Thai citizens.
Workers should have say in restart talks
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 20/04/2020
» When Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha announced during the government's Friday television programme that he would seek advice from top 20 Thai billionaires on how to overcome the economic crisis resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, the nation's jaw dropped.
Coronavirus blues and clues in Thailand
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 17/04/2020
» It is unanimous that the novel coronavirus, also known as Covid-19, is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. A common refrain everywhere in the world is "I have never seen anything like it". Its immediate consequences and longer-term transformational repercussions will be felt for years to come. Covid-19 challenges individuals, societies and state institutions to their very core. For Thailand, re-emerging from this devastating pandemic will be tough and tricky, with trade-offs and hard choices.
'Terminal' fears as Thais left in limbo abroad
Oped, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 15/04/2020
» On my last day of self-quarantine, a nurse from a public health centre in my neighbourhood called me, checking if I had any symptoms or signs of Covid-19. She was nice, trying to collect all the necessary information to make sure I am free of the virus. Afterwards, the centre will issue me a certificate saying that I've completed the home-quarantine and can resume my normal life.
Staying clean in a post-virus travelling world
Oped, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 09/04/2020
» The Covid-19 pandemic has shocked the thriving aviation industry and forced it into hibernation. But Thailand's aviation authority is using this rare hiatus to develop airport facilities in preparation for the post-Covid-19 world.
Rash edicts spur chaos at airport
News, Editorial, Published on 05/04/2020
» The chaos at Suvarnabhumi Airport on the night of April 3 could have been avoided had the authorities integrated their work to contain the spread of Covid-19. In addition, the legal framework being counted upon is archaic and irrelevant in the face of this rapidly changing pandemic.
Absurd disease controls show govt is clueless
Oped, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 03/04/2020
» As I checked in for my trip home at Brussels airport last Sunday, I wondered if it would be a once-in-a-lifetime flight. A THAI employee had told me I might end up being the only passenger on the Bangkok-bound plane that afternoon.
Help Thais come home
Oped, Editorial, Published on 31/03/2020
» As the tough war against the coronavirus gets under way, the Prayut Chan-o-cha government is facing growing calls to review flight check-in directives that make it difficult for Thais abroad wishing to come home. And it should listen seriously to the voices of those in trouble.
Govt must focus on virus, not information
News, Surasak Glahan, Published on 26/03/2020
» It was supposed to be a strong pill prescribed to contain the spread of Covid-19. But the chilling reality is the invocation of the Emergency Decree, which goes into effect from Thursday and will run until the end of April, is regularly misused by the authorities to curb freedom of speech and free flow of information.
2011 flood lessons go unheeded
Oped, Danny Marks, Published on 25/03/2020
» Almost 10 years ago, the Thai government faced another huge crisis and unnatural disaster: the 2011 floods which killed over 800 and caused over US$45 billion (1.5 trillion baht) in damage. The damage and losses would have been significantly lower if the Yingluck Shinawatra government had responded more effectively. While the responses needed to the coronavirus certainly differ from a mega-flood, there are numerous lessons that the current Prayut Chan-o-cha government can learn from the mistakes made during the floods and thus how to best handle a crisis. But have they?