Showing 1 - 8 of 8
Parliament's costly legacy
News, Editorial, Published on 07/05/2025
» Many years ago, national artist Theeraphol Niyom was one of the architects who helped design the current parliament building, Sappaya-Sapasathan, which is situated on the Chao Phraya River, On one occasion, he told the media that the parliament's blueprint was drawn to inspire elected members and senators to do good things and fear bad deeds.
Slum cluster was avoidable
Oped, Editorial, Published on 04/05/2021
» After the experiences of the Samut Sakhon and Thong Lor outbreaks, there was a clear expectation that state authorities would now be better prepared to prevent clusters of infections getting out of hand. Yet, the emerging Klong Toey cluster proves the opposite to be the case.
Spend crisis fund wisely
News, Editorial, Published on 04/05/2020
» In an attempt to keep the economy alive, the government has come up with a plan to spend 400 billion baht by June to boost the economy at the grassroots level.
Double-faced drugs policy
News, Editorial, Published on 20/11/2018
» The government has become somewhat schizophrenic about its policies on banned drugs. It has sent mixed signals about the path to legalising medical marijuana. Providing a programme leading to the needed reform of law on illicit drugs is even less clear. In just the past few weeks, senior officials and ministers have indicated, rather, that they expect to renew and redoubled the "war on drugs" policies that have failed so badly.
New feast for graft gremlin
News, Editorial, Published on 07/04/2018
» Starting this month, residents of more than 83,000 villages and communities nationwide, including in Bangkok, have been brainstorming development projects for which they will seek financial support under the government's Thai Niyom Yangyuen, or sustainable Thai-ism, programme.
New parties, same swamp
News, Editorial, Published on 03/03/2018
» The emergence of "new" political parties this week brought neither hope nor excitement to the country's deeply divided and troubled political landscape. Most new parties are just old wine in different bottles, offering tastes of political agendas that veer between the toxic and the mundane. They are the same choices that Thailand has had for decades. The country is crying out for political young blood with fresh mandates.
Kra phoenix rises again
News, Editorial, Published on 13/02/2018
» The government has brought the Kra Canal proposal back to life. To be precise, it has ordered a study on a project it has officially renamed as Klong Thai. The new name is presumably a minor celebration of the new eternal Thai-ness campaign, Thai Niyom Yangyuen. A study may be in order, but all it can do is update the literally hundreds of studies, papers, recommendations and proposals of the past 341 years.
Governing top down
News, Editorial, Published on 31/01/2018
» Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha first uttered the phrase regarding "Thai-ness" less than three weeks ago. In that short period of time, his programme called Thai Niyom has not just come into being. Now the Thai-ness project is already fully organised, completely staffed and apparently working, down to the village level. It even has acquired an adjective and now is "sustainable Thai-ness" or Thai Niyom Yangyuen. For these reasons, critics already are attacking it as yet another facet of the military's plan for an indefinite stay in power.