Showing 1 - 10 of 221
Another wasted year in Thai politics
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 26/12/2025
» As Thailand winds down 2025 with an early election looming on Feb 8, the most consequential issue to watch in the coming year will be whether recent topsy-turvy political patterns of polls, protests, and military and judicial interventions give way to a compromise between the old guard clinging on to vested interests and the new generation clamouring for reform and change.
Fraud fight begins
Oped, Editorial, Published on 06/11/2025
» Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul this week said his administration will get tough on scammers. "Thailand must wage a war against scammers, or risk being isolated by the international community if the country fails to," he said.
Forget the gloom
Oped, Postbag, Published on 03/11/2025
» Re: "Thailand now 'the sick man of Asean'", (Opinion, Oct 30).
Wall Street risks shorting freedom in HK
Oped, Mark L Clifford, Published on 31/10/2025
» In early November, Wall Street's big guns will head to Hong Kong for a global financial summit, dining at the Palace Museum (featuring Chinese imperial works on loan from Beijing) before meeting at the nearby Rosewood Hotel -- one of the city's swankiest. There, the top brass from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and another 100 financial firms will enjoy delicious food and breathtaking views as Hong Kong's leaders pitch them on the profits to be made in the former British colony.
Scams hurt govt's image
Oped, Editorial, Published on 24/10/2025
» Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul's cabinet, which was initially warmly welcomed by the public, is now facing serious confidence issues after two ministers -- Deputy Finance Minister Vorapak Tanyawong and Agriculture Minister Thamanat Prompow -- were named in news reports about Cambodia's scam syndicates and money laundering in Southeast Asia.
Is 'Gun' a loose cannon?
Oped, Editorial, Published on 23/10/2025
» At this moment in time, few people probably don't know who influencer Guntouch "Gun" Pongpaiboonwet is. Over the past few months, he has been on the frontline conducting an eerie campaign on the Thai-Cambodian border in the hope of removing Cambodian encroachers from Nong Chan and Nong Ya Kaeo in Sa Kaeo province.
SET expat problems
Oped, Postbag, Published on 09/10/2025
» Re: "Capital market task force unveils 'quick win' reform", (Business, Oct 7). One still unresolved issue is foreigners/expats at times not getting their freely issued warrants, even those who reside here in permanence and own the so-called NVDR shares.
Southeast Asia amid the US-China rift
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 03/10/2025
» The rivalry between the United States and China has become the defining contest of the 21st century. Barely two decades ago, Washington and Beijing were partners in prosperity. America's support for China's entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001 epitomised the high-water mark of engagement, reflecting the belief that economic integration would lead to greater political cooperation. Today, that partnership has morphed into suspicion and confrontation. Relations between the United States and China have deteriorated so swiftly that many observers now describe them as locked in a "new Cold War". The more pressing question, however, is not whether this analogy holds, but whether confrontation can be managed short of outright conflict.
A moral exemplar
Oped, Postbag, Published on 03/10/2025
» Re: "Legal eagles voice worries over Thaksin's pardon bid", (BP, Oct 1). Whatever naughtinesses he may have been accused of, it cannot be denied that Thaksin Shinawatra continues to prove a moral exemplar to the nation in at least two areas. The first is that he faithfully follows the traditional example of accumulating the greatest possible sufficiency of extreme wealth; the second is that he entertains as unfailingly as Lisa Manoban herself, albeit with his humorous approach to preached legal norms rather than with her doubtless impressive song and dance routines.
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.