Showing 1 - 10 of 14
Real action or CSR stunt?
News, Editorial, Published on 14/08/2024
» The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's initiative to launch a pilot "low-emission zone" (LEZ) project in five districts sounds literally like a breath of fresh air for Bangkok residents who have suffered from high levels of air pollution for too long.
Thai-Cambodian ties enter a new era
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 30/01/2024
» Exactly 37 days before Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet was due to fly to Bangkok on Feb 7 for a one-day official visit, Cambodia extended Thai border pass access to Siem Reap, where Angkor Wat is located. This was an act of goodwill as the proposal has been on the table for discussions since Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin's visit to Phnom Penh in September -- his first official foreign destination after being elected Thai leader.
Irrational sentence
News, Postbag, Published on 21/02/2020
» "A former abbot of Wat Sa Ket (Golden Mount) was sentenced to a suspended jail term of 36 months and fined 27,000 baht for embezzlement of 69.7 million baht in temple funds", read your online report concerning the politely termed "malfeasance" of a senior monk and a bunch of criminals from the National Office of Buddhism.
Pitfalls on the path toward enlightenment
Life, Patcharawalai Sanyanusin, Published on 18/06/2018
» Money is a tantalising thing, coveted by many. But worldly goods can pose a threat to those who are called to a higher order. The seven ex-monks from three famous Bangkok temples who were in the media limelight over the weeks are no exception.
Blitz on monk graft hits right note
News, Anucha Charoenpo, Published on 03/06/2018
» The arrest late last month of five former senior monks in Bangkok who were charged with temple fund embezzlement and money laundering has triggered strong public perceptions that the problem of corruption remains widespread in Thailand. To deal with it, all stakeholders need to work on addressing the issue.
Arrests not enough to reform Thai Sangha
News, Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang, Published on 31/05/2018
» The early morning of May 24 was the morning of the long knives for the Thai Sangha. Commandos stormed Wat Or Noi in Nakhon Pathom to arrest the abbot, then Phra Buddha Isara, a staunch supporter of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). In an unrelated case, five of seven other senior monks accused of embezzlement and money laundering were arrested from three famous temples in Bangkok. The other two remain on the run.
The temple of doom
News, Editorial, Published on 09/05/2016
» It is impossible to know what got into the minds of those behind the construction of the scale model of Preah Vihear. The chosen site alone seems an obvious jibe at Cambodia. The mini-version of Cambodia's second most loved ancient site went up in secret. It was unveiled in the media including the front page of this newspaper on April 25, then within hours was closed to the public. Last week the order came to tear it down, setting an apparent record for the shortest-lived "tourist attraction" in Thai history.
Of monks, money and (the need for proper) monitoring
News, Nopporn Wong-Anan, Published on 28/01/2016
» Like water and oil, as the old Thai adage goes, monks and money are not supposed to mix.
Clergy scores a hat-trick of scandals
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 21/01/2015
» This week, three news items left no room for doubt about the state of our Buddhist clergy; it is beyond resuscitation.
Money, monks just don't mix
News, Published on 27/09/2013
» Three months after the Nen Kham scandal erupted, the former jet-setting monk from Si Sa Ket is still a free man. Now defrocked and living life on the run, the fugitive Wirapol Sukphol, formerly Luang Pu Nen Kham of Wat Pah Khantidham is accused of fraud and abuse of temple donations that could amount to billions of baht. The Nen Kham temple corruption, however, is just the tip of the iceberg. A study by the National Institute of Development Administration (Nida) revealed Thailand's 37,075 temples receive about 100-120 billion baht in donations every year. The abbots have sole legal power to use the temple money as they see fit. Most temples do not have proper accounting systems. Nor are they subjected to outside monitoring and auditing.