Showing 1 - 10 of 12
Patronage at work
Oped, Editorial, Published on 29/09/2025
» The appointment of Pol Capt Atitaya Benjapak, better known as "Captain Cat" as deputy district chief officer in Si Sa Ket has sparked an uproar, not only because of her meteoric rise through the civil service but also because of what her case reveals about the chronic flaws in the bureaucratic system.
An Asean free from 'wars on drugs'
Oped, Gloria Lai, Published on 19/09/2025
» Asean governments recently met in Singapore for a regional meeting about drugs, where the host nation urged renewed commitment to a "drug-free region". The problem isn't simply the recycling of an outdated mantra first declared in 1998, nor the fact that the region's drug markets have only expanded since then, but that this approach ignores how government policies themselves shape those markets -- and the devastating harms that follow.
Cops on the brink
Oped, Editorial, Published on 27/03/2024
» A report about a female police officer suffering from depression induced by boot camp-style work training is a red flag suggesting officers may be in need of professional help despite how tough they might seem.
RTP recruiting needs scrutiny
Oped, Editorial, Published on 13/06/2023
» The Royal Thai Police (RTP) never run short of controversy. The latest scandal concerns the swift rise of a former beauty pageant contestant, who went from a police lance corporal to a police captain in less than two years.
Soldiers are not servants
Oped, Editorial, Published on 06/05/2023
» The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has done the country and the Thai armed forces a great service in recommending that the military brings to an end the use of conscripts as personal employees of higher-ranking officers within 90 days. Rights commissioners made a loud and clear official statement last week that the practice is a human rights violation.
Senate drops the ball
Oped, Editorial, Published on 02/09/2022
» The image of the Senate has been cast in a bad light with news that two senators will be summoned by a Lower House committee to explain their involvement with a police corporal who won jobs at the Royal Thai Police and the Internal Security Operations Command's (Isoc) Region 4, allegedly through nepotism.
Calling Thai domestic abuse to account
Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 04/08/2022
» Developing societies (including Thailand) have enjoyed the presence of extended families, in contrast with the smaller unit of nuclear families. This broader coverage, encompassing not only the parents and children but also grandparents and other dependants, has offered a social safety net to support family members. Yet, that extended unit has now been disintegrating for some time, compounded by the stress due to Covid-19. What then are the areas needing more attention to tackle the changing scenario?
Arrogant govt will lead us all to damnation
Oped, Atiya Achakulwisut, Published on 30/03/2021
» It is just a "damn you", another incident that will probably be attributed to a major government figure showing how "friendly" he is with the press.
Teachers need to learn child rights
Oped, Thunhavich Thitiratsakul, Published on 09/12/2020
» Hitting a preschooler on the head. Pushing a toddler down on the floor. Shoving a black plastic bag over a child's head -- a technique security personnel use to torture terrorists. This was how a group of teachers at a famous private school "disciplined" kindergarteners.
Thai education reform is top priority
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 09/10/2020
» Of the myriad reforms that have been demanded by the ongoing student-led protests, Thailand's deficient and outdated education system is second to none. Education reform has become a self-contained and separate agenda for change. Thai students across the country, particularly in high schools, have been awakened and angry at the fact that they have been kept in the dark and cloistered in a state-imposed mind bubble for so long. Unless it is answered, this awakening and anger is likely to galvanise more protests and point to broader changes that have been pent up for decades.