Showing 1 - 10 of 113
Temple, state forever tied at the hip
Oped, Published on 12/10/2024
» On Oct 2, the Lower House rejected a bill to liberalise the liquor industry. Such a decision reflects the desire of Thai policymakers and legislators to control and reduce alcohol consumption and related industries. Earlier this year, the bicameral parliament passed the strictest alcohol control act to date -- a complete prohibition of alcoholic advertisements and sponsorships, regardless of whether they are explicit or implicit.
Buddha's path must guide reform of clergy
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 07/06/2018
» The recent crackdown on the Sangha Supreme Council elders is long overdue. Corrupt monks in high places have escaped the law for far too long. But abuse of power will not go away as long as the clergy remains a closed, feudal autocracy under state patronage.
Arrests not enough to reform Thai Sangha
News, Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang, Published on 31/05/2018
» The early morning of May 24 was the morning of the long knives for the Thai Sangha. Commandos stormed Wat Or Noi in Nakhon Pathom to arrest the abbot, then Phra Buddha Isara, a staunch supporter of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). In an unrelated case, five of seven other senior monks accused of embezzlement and money laundering were arrested from three famous temples in Bangkok. The other two remain on the run.
No police apology for monk's violent arrest
News, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 28/05/2018
» Nobody doubts why the Crime Suppression Division police had to make the arrest of Phra Buddha Isara, the abbot of Wat Or Noi in Nakhon Pathom, before dawn of May 24 at his living quarters on the temple grounds.
A land where the law is too easily bought
News, Atiya Achakulwisut, Published on 13/02/2018
» A photo showing fugitive former prime ministers Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra chilling out in Beijing? The alleged poaching of a rare black panther in a wildlife sanctuary by Italian-Thai Development Plc (ITD) president Premchai Karnasuta? The absurdity of a deputy premier insisting on his virtuousness in order to carry on in his job even though he was caught "borrowing" almost 30 million baht worth of luxury watches from his businessman friends without informing the relevant authority?
In police theatre, the joke is on us
News, Ploenpote Atthakor, Published on 27/09/2017
» Those who have lived in Thailand long enough have probably heard of a form of folk theatre known in Thai as likay.
NOB transfer harms govt anti-graft drive
News, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 11/09/2017
» Pol Lt Col Pongporn Pramsaneh has been widely recognised as an honest and straightforward officer in the Department of Special Investigation – a rare breed in the police force. It explains why he was ordered shifted from the DSI's head of the Tax Litigation Office to lead the National Office of Buddhism (NOB) on Feb 25 by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to do an unenviable mission. His task was to clean up the mess concerning the misappropriation of government funds for the renovation of temples and for schools on temple grounds.
Stop the racist monks before it's too late
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 07/09/2017
» Will the ongoing genocide of the Rohingya in Myanmar's Rakhine state stoke tensions between Buddhists and Muslims in the region? Definitely.
A lesson in moderation
Life, Arusa Pisuthipan, Published on 10/07/2017
» When the Lord Buddha gave his first sermon on living life in moderation more than 2,500 years ago, he might not have appreciated the fact that people are greedy these days.
Monk reform no easy task
News, Editorial, Published on 07/07/2017
» If the Prayut Chan-o-cha government has its way, Buddhist monks are to carry smart cards that show their backgrounds -- a move that is designed to enable the authorities to scrutinise those in saffron robes.