Showing 1 - 10 of 28
Regime cyber walls risk freezing Thailand's progress
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 06/10/2015
» The single internet gateway fiasco has unmasked what the military regime envisages as the kind of society Thailand should be. A single path towards "happiness", a single roadmap to Thai-style democracy, a single mindset for "Thainess", governed by a single internet gateway to ensure only the "right" information is consumed by society.
Prayut's stance at UN must stand the test of logic
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 21/09/2015
» As a Thai citizen I would like to wish Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his delegation good luck on his imminent visit to the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York.
We need a British governance model, not North Korean
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 09/09/2015
» Last week I was honoured to have been invited to speak at The Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT), along with distinguished panelists like Khun Burin Kantabutra and ML Nattakorn Devakula. It was an evening of insightful discussion on the uncertain future Thailand faces, especially in light of the new constitution, which was evidently stillborn on Sunday.
Charter to deal us a crippling blow
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 01/09/2015
» After scanning through what might be Thailand's 20th constitution in more than 80 years, I have to say, in my view it is a nasty piece of work. Imagine the most conniving characters in all of fiction, like Cruella de Vil, Fagin, Lex Luther and Hamlet, got together and decided to write a new constitution for Thailand. This draft would easily be something they could have come up with.
Thailand urgently needs to tackle development traps
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 28/07/2015
» About two weeks ago while having supper with my family, my wife received a phone call from former prime minister Anand Panyarachun. So far, so good. But when my wife turned the phone over to me and said, "Khun Anand wants a quick chat with you", my instincts told me I had written something irritating and was about to be lectured by a former prime minster. However, my concerns quickly dissipated, because to my surprise I had just earned a different kind of lecture: an invitation to the Amartya Sen lecture series which was held last Tuesday at the Intercontinental Hotel in Bangkok. Phew! Dodged another bullet.
Thailand on global trial
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 15/07/2015
» As a direct result of the military coup in 2014, all international observers have their eyes on Thailand. We are in the spotlight, but not in a good way. Instead of proudly taking our place on the world stage with dignity and honour, Thailand finds itself on trial by the international community.
Let's face it, the chickens are coming home to roost
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 25/06/2015
» No single Thai administration is capable of solving the country's most chronic and deeply embedded problems. Any administration that says it can is talking absolute tosh and insulting the nation's cumulative intelligence.
Thailand needs an informed citizenry
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 11/06/2015
» The concept of citizenship is fundamental to the principles of democratic governance. The two go hand in hand. The democratic state can basically be reduced down to the citizen, and citizens can only exist under the auspices of a democratic state. Without delving into political theory, it is this "social contract" which defines the relationship between a citizen and the state.
The constitutional merry-go-round revolves once again
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 23/05/2015
» So finally we’re going to have a referendum on this draft constitution. Hooray! This makes it 20 constitutions since 1932. That’s one constitution every four years on average if you do the maths. Therefore, it will come as no surprise to foreign observers that Thais have very little emotional investment in this document, because it’s more than likely we’ll be rewriting, redrafting, rewinding and reinventing another constitution in a few years time. Thailand has become a serial murderer of constitutions and the more constitutions we put to death, the less meaning each one has.
Time to redefine Thainess for 21st-century success
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 16/05/2015
» When the government seeks to promote Thainess, what exactly do they mean? I guess every nation has their particular traits, but what are our national traits? And are they traits which we would want to advertise or encourage?