Showing 1 - 10 of 14
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.
New charter unlikely under Pheu Thai
Oped, Chairith Yonpiam, Published on 05/10/2024
» Despite the Bhumjaithai Party (BJT) leader's staunch denial that the party has anything to do with the Senate's decision to retain the double majority requirement for a referendum on a new constitution, it is an open secret that the second-largest member in the government coalition stands to benefit significantly from a charter rewrite.
New government is new wine in old bottle
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 13/09/2024
» On the face of it, the new government under Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra appears to be a generational shift and gender breakthrough. Ms Paetongtarn is the youngest prime minister ever at 38 and only the second female government leader after her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra in 2011-14. The Paetongtarn cabinet features a record eight women among 36 with more ministers in their 30s-50s and fewer above 60. Yet on closer scrutiny, the new and younger faces are largely family legacies and proxies, surrounded by old-style politicians, while the new government's policy directions sound dated not well-suited for the times ahead.
PM takes page from Thaksin's playbook
News, Chairith Yonpiam, Published on 06/05/2024
» The cabinet reshuffle may trigger speculation about cracks in the Pheu Thai Party, owing to the departure of prominent figures like Public Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara. The shift indicates that ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra is taking the reins of the party.
Enforce the law
Oped, Postbag, Published on 27/10/2023
» Re: "Mayor resigns after arrest over extortion", (BP, Oct 26).
Graft central
Oped, Postbag, Published on 11/10/2023
» Re: "Chada says crackdown gathers pace", (BP, Oct 10).
Thai soft power, or a soft sales job?
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 31/01/2023
» Last week Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-cha issued a new soft power policy to promote Thai culture as part of efforts to attract international visitors. Upon close scrutiny, what the government is trying to do is actually raise revenue. In a nutshell, it is a sales pitch, nothing more.
Facing up to dope changes
Oped, Editorial, Published on 17/09/2022
» Delays to the second reading of the cannabis and hemp bill are just disheartening. Instead of giving the bill a chance, MPs, most of them from the Democrat and Pheu Thai parties, on Tuesday voted to suspend debate at the second reading. The bill now goes back to the committee that has already spent three months revising the bill, for another round of changes.
Savers need protection
News, Editorial, Published on 14/04/2022
» The latest embezzlement case to hit the headlines regarding a savings cooperative is just the tip of a financial-wrongdoing iceberg.
Review blood donation criteria
Oped, Anne Somanas, Published on 18/03/2022
» The concerning case of Swiss expat Theo Zwahlen points to a need for Thailand to seriously reevaluate the logic behind its blood donation criteria.