Showing 1 - 10 of 13
Art of the graft
News, Alan Dawson, Published on 03/06/2018
» Coup leader Gen (Ret) Prayut Chan-o-cha first mentioned his programme concerning corruption in late May, 2014, not long after seizing power. It was so long ago that there wasn't even a National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). It was still called the National Peace and Order Maintaining Council (NPOMC).
Two hats not good
News, Alan Dawson, Published on 07/10/2018
» When Bangkok got too noisy because of all the criticism about cabinet ministers taking advantage by openly playing politics unfairly, the general prime minister escaped to the North on another scrupulously non-political trip to give away money and be photographed with every local personality and housewife within 20 kilometres.
The Big Issue: Those pesky tourists
News, Alan Dawson, Published on 26/02/2017
» If you need to watch a rant or even start a hot dispute, pick an expatriate, any expat, and say "double pricing".
The big issue: A scandal per day
Alan Dawson, Published on 24/04/2016
» The public learned a bit more about how the system works, and it was not a pretty sight. The lesson of the week was arguably that anyone — literally anyone who can do it, does it. Not only does it but actually takes it as an expected perk.
The big issue: Appearing for the disappeared
Alan Dawson, Published on 27/12/2015
» On March 12, 2004, five policemen pulled Somchai Neelapaijit from his car in Bangkok, and he never was seen in public since. His wife Angkhana has kept the case alive, and authorities have made some attempts to resolve what the prime minister of the day called a “complicated case” involving official violence.
They'll never prove me wrong, says Sereepisut
News, Alan Dawson, Published on 23/11/2015
» A defiant Sereepisut Temeeyaves has dared authorities to prove his charges of high-level military corruption are wrong, but said he will not add to the accusations "for now".
The big issue: The week in terrorism
Alan Dawson, Published on 29/11/2015
» Around the world and around the country, we were all Belgians. Brussels lowered the national terror alert on Friday from “imminent” to “serious and credible”. (Fact check: True. Reality check: Who could make it up?) One day it was “be very afraid” and a mere day later it had dropped to “be afraid”.
The big issue: Blood brothers
Alan Dawson, Published on 06/12/2015
» In 1983, Vietnamese occupation troops in Cambodia crossed into Thailand and sparked fighting that was heavy at times. A battalion from the 2nd Infantry Division under a Thai colonel thought to have high potential for leadership became bogged down, and a second Thai colonel brought up his battalion to relieve the pressure.
The big issue: The first man
Alan Dawson, Published on 27/09/2015
» There are three days left for Somyot Poompunmuang to catch the Erawan Shrine bomber before he is no longer police chief. It would be a terrific, matching bookend to the one he got in his first week on the job, when he solved the Koh Tao murders.
The Big Issue: The Men in Black
Alan Dawson, Published on 29/03/2014
» The most important question in politics is now pretty obvious to everyone. Does Suthep Thaugsuban or Jatuporn Prompan have the bigger one?