Showing 1 - 10 of 60
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.
Parties silent on temple corruption
Editorial, Published on 18/01/2026
» The monk scandals that shocked Thailand in 2025 are not the result of moral lapses among clerics. They are the outcome of decades of governance failure. Addressing them requires political solutions. As the country prepares to form a new government in the coming months, there is hope for policy, not religious excuses.
No landmine compromises
News, Editorial, Published on 06/12/2025
» On the face of it, the Thai-Cambodian border situation has been quiet, though far from stable, as both countries prepare for a war of words at a United Nations forum in Geneva.
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.
Is 'Gun' a loose cannon?
Oped, Editorial, Published on 23/10/2025
» At this moment in time, few people probably don't know who influencer Guntouch "Gun" Pongpaiboonwet is. Over the past few months, he has been on the frontline conducting an eerie campaign on the Thai-Cambodian border in the hope of removing Cambodian encroachers from Nong Chan and Nong Ya Kaeo in Sa Kaeo province.
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.
Patients lost in temple scandal
Editorial, Published on 14/09/2025
» For the patients at Wat Phra Bat Namphu, the scandal around its former abbot has revived an old fear: being abandoned all over again.
From camps to jobs
Oped, Editorial, Published on 03/09/2025
» The Pheu Thai cabinet will soon be a thing of the past. Yet, it should be remembered for its decision last Tuesday to approve a labour policy that allows refugees and displaced persons living in nine camps along the Thai-Myanmar border to work.
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.
Hospice funds scandal takes toll
Editorial, Published on 17/08/2025
» In the 1990s, when Aids meant abandonment and death, Wat Phrabat Nam Phu in Lop Buri opened its gates to the sick and dying. Abbot Phra Alongkot Tikkapanyo gave them food, shelter, and care. It was a noble mission in fearful times.