Showing 1 - 10 of 418
Hun Sen is Cambodia's de facto FM
Oped, Published on 14/06/2024
» Who exactly is in charge of foreign affairs in Cambodia? Judging by the last few months, Hun Sen, the former prime minister turned Senate president, appears to be pulling the strings. At least he's now the main mouthpiece.
Beach woes need blue sky thinking
Editorial, Published on 09/06/2024
» The news in March about a foreigner attacking a Thai woman who was sitting on the stone stairs of his villa, which encroached on Phuket's Yamu public beach, stirred up a national debate about the beach grab issue.
Move Forward case reveals autocracy
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 07/06/2024
» The Constitutional Court's announcement that it will consider the Move Forward Party's (MFP) written defence in its dissolution case on June 12 appears ominous. After several attempts to make its argument that a campaign pledge to amend the lese majeste law against royal insult is not tantamount to "overthrowing Thailand's democratic regime with the King as head of state", the party's time is up. As the biggest election winner in May 2023, the MFP's dissolution is perceived as a foregone conclusion. Such a revelation might risk Thailand being perceived as an autocratic regime based on legal manoeuvres, and power plays that do not derive from voter preferences.
AI can accelerate SDG in Thailand
Oped, Published on 30/05/2024
» We have just passed the halfway point in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Adopted by all UN members in 2015, the agenda laid out 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to mobilise efforts to end poverty, fight inequalities, and tackle climate change.
How green is the energy from our hydro dams?
Oped, Published on 29/05/2024
» Thailand’s National Energy Plan (NEP), a blueprint for the country’s energy strategy from 2023 to 2037, has earned praise for its noble goal of increasing the use of clean, renewable energy. The plan states that by 2050, half of the electricity consumed locally must be clean and renewable energy — solar cells, wind, biomass, small nuclear and hydro dams.
Recipe for school success
News, Editorial, Published on 27/05/2024
» A recent proposal to establish a department of secondary education as a means to improve education quality in Thailand is poorly thought-out.
Election Commission must be proactive
Oped, Editorial, Published on 22/05/2024
» The Senate election process has kicked off with little fanfare. As of Monday, a little over 36,000 people had registered for the race, raising questions about the Election Commission's (EC) chances of achieving its target of getting at least 100,000 people to take part in the process.
Thai Human Rights Council aspirations
Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 17/05/2024
» Thailand's quest for membership of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), Geneva, for the period 2025-2027, is rightly gaining interest among the general public. With a new foreign minister today, it is intriguing to prospect whether there will be more (or less) momentum in the competition towards the winning post -- with elections for the HRC due in New York in October.
The winner-take-all economy is ruining art, too
News, Published on 06/05/2024
» I was on the whole disappointed by this year's Whitney Biennial -- it was hard for me to tell if one video installation was art or an HR training video -- but as an economist, I have to admit the exhibition was successful in at least one respect: It did what art is supposed to do, which is to hold up a mirror to our society and economy. And this year's biennial shows how America's elite institutions are stifling innovation and creativity.
Bank of Thailand needs to communicate
News, Editorial, Published on 29/04/2024
» Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin's decision to meet key figures from Thailand's major commercial banks to discuss the possibility of cutting interest rates last week raised a lot of eyebrows. It was highly unusual for a prime minister to appeal directly to commercial banks to change interest rates, as the nation's financial institutions generally follow the rates prescribed by the Bank of Thailand (BoT).