Showing 11 - 20 of 20
Decentralise, or Pracharath bound to fail
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 23/09/2015
» When Thaksin Shinawatra was looking for innovative policies to launch his Thai Rak Thai Party, he looked for inspiration from activists leading social movements and was not disappointed. Universal health care and village funds became his landmark policy successes that subsequent governments could only try to outdo by pouring in more money to expand the programmes further.
Democracy? Don't hold your breath
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 15/07/2015
» As long as our culture is deeply rooted in militarism and racism, don't expect a smooth ride towards democracy. I've come to this conclusion after trying to understand why a large number of educated middle-class people still support military dictatorship or why the so-called pro-democracy groups refuse to question Thaksin's authoritarianism.
Immigrants hold the key to our success
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 26/11/2014
» Ongto, 11, speaks fluent Thai and Burmese. His classmate Thanapol speaks fluent Thai and Khmer. These boys and some 300,000 migrant children could be our most valuable assets, given our country's aim to boost its economic presence in the region. But our deep-rooted ethnic prejudices suggest this is not to be.
Bridge saga shows public still left out
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 10/09/2014
» When the country's longest wooden bridge in Kanchanaburi's Sangkhla Buri district collapsed last year from torrential rains, the locals who had built the bridge wanted to fix it themselves. No, said the governor.
Mae Jaem dam suicide threat must be heard
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 02/10/2013
» The name Mae Jaem evokes a romantic Shangri-La like image in many Thais' minds.
Water scheme imperils coastal way of life
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 26/06/2013
» For centuries, the rich alluvian plain nurtured by the Ta Chin River has made Nakhon Pathom one of the country's richest agricultural zones.
Mining threat comes back to haunt us
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 29/05/2013
» At first I could not believe my eyes. We were driving along a rugged dirt road in a protected forest in Kanchanaburi. Then, all of a sudden, a vast barren landscape covered with a thick white mass sprang up in the midst of green tropical forest.
'New' top-down policies ignore plight of poor
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 08/05/2013
» Twenty-five years on, Sompong Wiangjand's fight to decommission the Pak Moon Dam _ destroyer of the Moon River ecosystem and the livelihoods of thousands of families _ is far from over.
Flood schemes ignoring vital local expertise
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 22/03/2012
» While everyone seems to agree with government plans to dredge rivers and canals as well as the need to obtain massive water retention areas to prevent a new round of mega flooding, Panya Tokthong is one person who is not convinced.
Govt to build big dam on seismic fault
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 16/02/2012
» Building a big dam on an active earthquake fault. Isn't that plain crazy?