Showing 1 - 10 of 57
Real barriers to temple reform
Editorial, Published on 01/02/2026
» After a year of temple scandals, Thailand's top monks have promised a great clean-up. The orders sound bold. The question is whether a feudal system built on censorship, obedience and patronage can truly reform itself.
Stock Exchange of Thailand casts aside taboos
Oped, Editorial, Published on 12/01/2026
» The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) is on the cusp of a progressive reform that could inject much-needed vitality into our capital market.
Power with no sensitivity
Oped, Editorial, Published on 26/12/2025
» The border may be contested, but the message sent by bulldozing a Hindu god was unmistakable -- and damaging.
Reporting matters in war
Oped, Editorial, Published on 12/12/2025
» As border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia intensify, social media is flooded with xenophobic slurs and calls for annihilation. Unfortunately, much of the Thai media echoes the sentiment, failing the public when responsible reporting is most needed.
PC Plod visits female monks
Oped, Editorial, Published on 30/11/2025
» Barely a week after the Anutin government issued its new ministerial regulations to "protect" Buddhism, police last week showed up at a Bhikkhuni monastery in Songkhla.
Alcohol plans baffle industry
Editorial, Published on 21/09/2025
» The revised alcohol control law, while keeping strict restrictions on alcohol sales intact, is creating confusion among citizens and business operators -- particularly those in the advertising sector.
Donors must still beware
Oped, Editorial, Published on 21/08/2025
» The Revenue Department's decision to require Buddhist temples to adopt an e-donation system, beginning in January, is a welcome development -- if long overdue.
Crunch time for Phumtham
Oped, Editorial, Published on 15/07/2025
» New interior minister, and current acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, is a man who can make tough decisions. His recent record includes the decision to return Uyghurs to China early this year, as demanded by Beijing. Last month, he approved a long-delayed, controversial submarine procurement from China -- a call that even junta leader-cum-prime minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha shied away from.
Bad monks erode trust
News, Editorial, Published on 19/05/2025
» The recent scandal involving a former abbot of the renowned Wat Rai Khing, accused of embezzling over 300 million baht to fund an online gambling addiction, is deeply disturbing but not surprising. It will not be the last blow to public faith in the Thai Sangha unless meaningful and fundamental reform is made.
Violence tests peace hopes
Oped, Editorial, Published on 08/05/2025
» The escalating violence in the restive South in recent weeks is abominable. The random killings of almost a dozen people, mostly civilians, have seen the office of Chularajmontri -- the highest-ranking Thai Muslim cleric, who generally stays neutral -- joining condemnation of such acts.