Showing 1 - 10 of 35
How will post-poll Thailand look?
News, Surasak Glahan, Published on 20/08/2018
» Now the Election Commission and the National Council for Peace and Order have promised to hold the general election on Feb 24 next year, should we remain hopeful that the move will eventually lead Thailand to transition into a more democratic state? The answer largely depends on our expectations of the outcome, as well as the form of democracy that we want -- and we can look southeasterly to Cambodia, or westerly to Myanmar to get a rough idea of what Thailand's new beginning may be like.
Billionaire activist holds out hope of new era
News, Surasak Glahan, Published on 05/03/2018
» Canada has 46-year-old Justin Trudeau as prime minister. France has Emmanuel Macron, 40. New Zealand has Jacinda Ardern, 37. What kind of a national leader will Thailand have after the election next year?
Anti-populism law not for greater good
News, Surasak Glahan, Published on 09/05/2018
» Raising one finger during her campaigning to symbolise her party's ballot number ahead of the 2011 election, Yingluck Shinawatra rode a wave of popularity all the way to victory. And now the man who threw her caretaker government out of office in 2014 by force has demonstrated he is not shy of using a similar gimmick.
Virus crisis reveals skeletons in our closet
Oped, Surasak Glahan, Published on 16/04/2020
» It was a desperate call for help. About 100 people gathered at the Finance Ministry on Tuesday and demanded the minister tell them why they were denied the 5,000-baht cash handout the government has granted to informal workers.
Govt must focus on virus, not information
News, Surasak Glahan, Published on 26/03/2020
» It was supposed to be a strong pill prescribed to contain the spread of Covid-19. But the chilling reality is the invocation of the Emergency Decree, which goes into effect from Thursday and will run until the end of April, is regularly misused by the authorities to curb freedom of speech and free flow of information.
Thai-style rule by law lands new blow
Oped, Surasak Glahan, Published on 12/03/2020
» With the Election Commission (EC)’s decision on Tuesday to pursue criminal charges against Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit over a much-disputed media share transfer case, many observers may have stopped questioning how Thailand’s law-enforcement system could have come this far, and started wondering whether the worst of things is yet to come.
Demonisation of FFP looks so familiar
News, Surasak Glahan, Published on 20/01/2020
» As Vietnam has emerged as a Southeast Asian winner of the US-Sino trade war, Thailand's economic downturn is expected to worsen this year.
Hun Sen learns how to fake democracy
News, Surasak Glahan, Published on 14/11/2019
» Cambodia may avoid trade sanctions from the EU and US if its government has learnt the art of faking a return to democracy and rule of law from Thailand, which has done its neighbour a huge favour by barring entry to its exiled opposition leaders.
Tackling Asean's corporate cronyism
News, Surasak Glahan, Published on 03/10/2019
» Many Southeast Asian countries, particularly Thailand and Malaysia, have been breeding grounds for unchecked and unregulated relations between government and big conglomerates, which have kept a handful of crazy rich Asians increasingly wealthy and widened the income gap between them and the rest of the population.
Integrity vital as our system falters
News, Surasak Glahan, Published on 10/10/2019
» In recent months, questionable logic in the justice process involving certain political cases has raised many eyebrows -- as many as were raised by the Election Commission's ruling that helped the first runner-up party form and lead a government after the March election.