Showing 61-70 of 89 results
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A year of living dangerously in Thailand
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 05/01/2018
» They were supposed to be in power for the royal transition but they have stayed too long and now want to win an unavoidable election.
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Cambodia leads regional authoritarianism
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 22/09/2017
» The warm hug on Sept 7 between Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Thai counterpart, Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, said it all. Authoritarian rule is ascendant in Southeast Asia. It now poses an existential challenge to human rights and democratisation all over the region. And Cambodia is leading Southeast Asia's authoritarian ways, followed not far behind by neighbours, such as Thailand.
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A way out after two trials in two decades
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 25/08/2017
» Once again, Thailand is gripped by another high-profile court trial in yet another round of political brinkmanship. The much anticipated verdict today on Yingluck Shinawatra's handling of the rice-pledging scheme while in office is reminiscent of her eldest brother Thaksin Shinawatra's assets concealment case 16 years ago. In fact, Thailand's political landscape so far in the 21st century can now be book-ended by these two politicised cases that are likely to end up with different outcomes while going in the same direction. In turn, the Yingluck verdict can serve as another reminder of what Thailand needs to do to move on from its two-decade political malaise underpinned by half a dozen elections, violent street protests, and two military coups.
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Migrant workers policy yet another flop
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 07/07/2017
» Assessed from just about any angle, it is difficult not to see Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's recent policy announcements on migrant workers as a series of self-inflicted flops. While damage control is the government's immediate concern, Thailand's longer-term priorities require an overhaul of its manpower strategies and a broader change in the Thai mindset on migrant workers from neighbouring countries.
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Thailand's challenges, lessons from '97 crisis
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 30/06/2017
» It is hard to believe today but Thailand appeared on the verge of economic doom 20 years ago. The culmination of financial sector convulsions, compounded by a currency crisis and reinforced by corruption and cronyism, induced a forced devaluation of the baht on July 2, 1997. Back then, the Thai economy was in dire straits but politics looked promising. It is the opposite today, as macroeconomic conditions have become sound but the political system has reverted to a military dictatorship with doubtful prospects for popular rule.
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Is the Thai-Chinese railway a raw deal?
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 23/06/2017
» Despite repeated assurances to the contrary from the government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, the planned Thai-Chinese high-speed rail continues to attract scepticism. The government's explanation does not add up. Instead, it exposes the weaknesses and ill-effects of using unchecked power under Section 44 of the coup-sanctioned interim constitution, which is somehow allowed under the 2017 charter. In the longer term, the Thai-Chinese railway may end up being a raw deal for Thailand, and many Thais may not look back favourably toward China for it.
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The submarine deal that won't go away
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 12/05/2017
» Despite widespread public opposition, the Thai navy inked a 13.5-billion-baht contract last week for the first of what will be three Chinese submarines in an 11-year deal worth 36 billion baht. Myriad criticisms have been expressed in as many media platforms by both experts and observers alike. Yet there are four broader implications which argue against the submarine deal and warrant a mention on record.
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Thailand's murky, muddled road ahead
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 31/03/2017
» In a new era of transformative technologies and tectonic geopolitical shifts, standing still is tantamount to falling behind. This is what Thailand is doing. Its recent news flow indicates the country is mired in a regressive holding pattern.
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Combatting corruption starts at the top
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 03/02/2017
» There is something fundamentally similar and entwined about the need to tackle Thailand's endemic corruption and the imperative to reform its education. Education reforms and corruption eradication appear to be the two highest policy and social priorities over the decades but they have made little headway. In view of recent international assessments, Thai education has fallen even farther behind compared to recent years. Similarly, according to Thailand's declining ranking in international indexes such as that of Transparency International, the scourge of corruption in this country has deepened.
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Thailand's law of graft and government longevity
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 23/09/2016
» After a surprisingly successful referendum on its preferred draft constitution, the military government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha appears on course for relatively smooth sailing for the next 15 months or so in the run-up to the next poll. The only two potential show stoppers on the government's path are the royal transition and self-inflicted abuse of power. The former is a process that is difficult for Thais to fathom after a 70-year reign that has turned Thailand from a backwater village to a modern nation. The latter, however, is all too familiar.
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