• OPINION

  Military firepower

  News, Alan Dawson, Published on 06/01/2019

  » There are certain people who have stayed quiet for four-plus years who now are emerging with little bravado.

• OPINION

  Still watching

  News, Alan Dawson, Published on 16/12/2018

  » In its infinite benevolence and wisdom and all-around sacrifice, the exclusive men's club known as the National Council for Peace and Order (Junta) gave back some of the stuff they took from us four and a half years ago.

• OPINION

  Independence muted

  News, Alan Dawson, Published on 09/12/2018

  » The famously annoyable general prime minister was annoyed last week. The country's two largest political parties politely RSVP'd his invitation to a prayer meeting but declined because of the raucous nature of the worship.

• OPINION

  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.

• OPINION

  Facts, fake news and media control

  News, Alan Dawson, Published on 02/09/2018

  » While the regular comedy clubs that ban political humour are running as usual, the best line of the week was actually the statement:

• OPINION

  Inching towards legalisation

  News, Alan Dawson, Published on 26/08/2018

  » Getting a sensible new law into the books is an extremely difficult task. But it's lightning compared with getting sensible changes to your great-grandfather's laws still on the books "because that's how we've always done it".

• OPINION

  T-Minus 195

  News, Alan Dawson, Published on 12/08/2018

  » The founder and chairman of Asia's only military kratocracy passed a milestone last Tuesday. Gen (Ret) Prayut has now been in office four years and 82 days, more than half the time of the general he had hoped was his mentor, the leader of the 1980s, Gen Prem Tinsulanonda.

• OPINION

  The strong arm of the law

  News, Alan Dawson, Published on 05/08/2018

  » The most heavily armed military member in Thailand in the most heavily armed unit of the Royal Thai Armed Forces is the head of the Judge Advocate-General (JAG) office of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).

• OPINION

  Punch lines

  News, Alan Dawson, Published on 29/07/2018

  » If the general prime minister has his way -- and it looks like he probably will -- it won't be politics or police or the justice system that he'll finally reform.

• OPINION

  Life without populism

  News, Alan Dawson, Published on 06/05/2018

  » Once upon a time in a land very, very far away with a "government by the people, for the people" there was a plan to fix recalcitrant taxi drivers and make them pick up passengers, politely, and then to reward the drivers with a fare increase. And that plan was carried out in the faraway country, and passengers were happy to reward deserving, hard-working, uncomplaining taxi drivers.

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