Showing 1 - 10 of 11
Honest monks hung out to dry
Editorial, Published on 28/09/2025
» A series of monk scandals and temple corruption cases in recent months has prompted the Ecclesiastical Council to order all temples to make their accounts transparent. But good intentions are not enough. Without systemic support, the order may prove hollow.
Unholy identity crisis
Oped, Editorial, Published on 27/08/2025
» Allegations against Phra Alongkot -- the former abbot of the famous Wat Phrabat Namphu in Lop Buri -- have not only revealed a crisis of faith in Thai Buddhism, but have brought the issues of identity theft and impersonation to the forefront.
Reform clergy with your wallet
Editorial, Published on 03/08/2025
» The recent sex scandal involving high-ranking monks has shaken public faith to the core. But the responses from the clergy, the state, and the public all miss the point. This crisis in Thai Buddhism is not about monks and sex -- it's about monks and money. Address the problem incorrectly, and the sex scandals and temple corruption will never end.
Clergy in need of control, not reform
Editorial, Published on 20/07/2025
» After a long silence during Thailand's biggest sex scandal in the clergy, the Ecclesiastical Council and the National Office of Buddhism (NOB) have finally spoken out. Their big idea? A new law to imprison the offending monks and women involved in the scandal.
Reform temples, or lose public faith
Editorial, Published on 08/06/2025
» Temple corruption no longer raises eyebrows. The Wat Rai Khing scandal is just bigger, louder, and harder to ignore. It demands serious reform before public faith erodes further.
Protect migrant kids
Oped, Editorial, Published on 30/03/2024
» A temple raid in Lop Buri has sparked concern over forced deportations after a group of 19 stateless children enrolled in a monkhood ordination programme were ejected from their class and transferred to the border province of Chiang Rai.
Conscription needs to go
Oped, Editorial, Published on 12/04/2023
» The Thai military is facing increasing pressure to change its conscription system to a voluntary one.
Shaman goes too far
Oped, Editorial, Published on 20/05/2022
» A campaign by a social media influencer to chase indecent monks out of Buddhism has turned ugly as he wrongly targeted a senior monk in the northeastern province of Yasothon.
Cops must be role models
Oped, Editorial, Published on 26/01/2022
» The tragic death of Dr Waraluck Supawatjariyakul, an ophthalmologist at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Medicine, who was hit on a zebra crossing by a cop on a speeding big bike, has left the public with many questions.
Rights record needs scrutiny
News, Editorial, Published on 07/12/2021
» Next Wednesday, Thailand will commemorate its 75th year of engagement with the United Nations. There are a number of reasons for the country, which was the organisation's 55th member, to be proud, particularly the army's contribution to peace keeping, health care and humanitarian missions. However, the present celebration comes at a less than favourable time amid the news that Thai authorities deported four Cambodian activists in the past month.