• OPINION

  Honour models for democracy

  News, Editorial, Published on 18/12/2022

  » Since the 1998 ouster of the dictator Suharto -- who ruled Indonesia with an iron fist for over three decades -- the world's fourth most populous nation has undergone a series of rapid changes. Once dependent on foreign aid to exercise its basic functions, Indonesia has firmly established itself as a major economic player in the Asia-Pacific region, with the distinction of being the only Southeast Asian economy to be included in the Group of 20.

• OPINION

  Election rules need legal clarity

  News, Editorial, Published on 19/02/2023

  » After parliament's final session ended on Friday, there were calls for the government to dissolve the House earlier than the deadline of March 23. Needless to say, voters want to exercise their rights while parties want to start campaigning.

• OPINION

  Rivers need urgent care

  Oped, Editorial, Published on 08/11/2022

  » Today, Thailand celebrates Loy Krathong, a festival held to honour the mythical goddess Phra Mae Kongkha -- the personification of the kingdom's rivers.

• OPINION

  Time for a flood remedy

  Oped, Editorial, Published on 10/09/2022

  » Fears of a repetition of the 2011 epic flood will haunt city residents in the coming days as heavy rain leads to massive floods in the northern part of the capital and adjacent areas. While the current conditions do not match 2011's huge proportions, the reaction of City Hall does not inspire much hope. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) -- regardless of who is the elected or appointed governor -- has reacted to the flooding in the same manner that it did in past years.

• OPINION

  Reforestation rethink required

  News, Editorial, Published on 24/07/2022

  » The military was given an earful early this month for using invasive alien species in their aerial reforestation mission, and rightly so. The blunder, however, is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Thailand's reforestation policy, which puts dictatorship and money before ecological health. To save the forest, this self-serving mindset must end.

• OPINION

  Crowe's soft power gift

  News, Editorial, Published on 18/10/2021

  » The tweeted pictures and messages about Thailand from Hollywood star Russell Crowe come at the right place and time.

• OPINION

  France's failings a lesson for Thailand

  News, Editorial, Published on 15/11/2020

  » Five years on after the Bataclan massacre, France is once again facing a resurgent Islamist threat. Over the past few months, three separate attacks have rocked the proud secular nation which champions freedom of expression: stabbings near the former office of political satire magazine Charlie Hebdo, the beheading of 47-year-old school teacher Samuel Paty, who showed his students caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, and a knife attack in Nice.

• OPINION

  Admit errors, cure the ills

  News, Editorial, Published on 29/06/2019

  » Unlike China's communist dictatorship, which has delivered rapid and sustained high economic growth since 1979, Thailand's authoritarian rule over the past five years has presided over only slow growth in the economy.

• OPINION

  Poor English is holding Thais back

  Editorial, Published on 03/12/2023

  » The month of December is usually one of reflection and planning, and this is exactly what is on the menu after the annual EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) released its rankings late last month. In case you're wondering, EF EPI ranks countries (where English is not the primary language) on English proficiency, based on results of Education First Standardised English tests.

• OPINION

  Stamping out gun crime

  Oped, Editorial, Published on 05/10/2023

  » The shooting at a luxury department store in the centre of Bangkok on Tuesday has shed light on "blank guns" -- recreational guns that have become popular weapons here. The double homicide that took place in the late afternoon at a jam-packed shopping mall red-flags the dire need for Thailand to revise its feeble gun policy.

1 2 3 Next Last