Showing 1 - 10 of 15
Thailand's central bank dependence
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 23/02/2024
» To proponents of central bank independence, the ongoing friction between Prime Minister and Finance Minister Srettha Thavisin and Bank of Thailand Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput appears straightforward. The prime minister is putting unwarranted and unfair pressure on the central bank governor to spur the economy by loosening monetary policy and cutting interest rates. Yet, on closer scrutiny, the entrenched politicisation of central banking in Thailand may suggest otherwise. There is more than meets the eye in the politics of interest rate cuts.
US rejoins Unesco: pay at door
Oped, JOHN J METZLER, Published on 13/07/2023
» Unesco is one of those United Nations agencies that most people feel pretty comfortable with.
Slippery stuff
Oped, Postbag, Published on 22/06/2023
» Re: “Yok as a political pawn”, (Editorial, June 19).
Picasso's 'Guernica' still relevant today
Oped, David McCarthy, Published on 29/04/2023
» This month marks the anniversary of one of the many atrocities of the last century carried out in the cause of nationalism. On Monday, April 26, 1937, less than a year after dissident Spanish generals launched a coup d'état against a democratically elected coalition government, German and Italian airplanes bombed Gernika, in the Basque Country of Spain.
Referee agencies and old political tricks
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 31/03/2023
» Almost three decades ago, Thai politics reached a critical threshold when public demands resulted in the establishment of a clutch of independent agencies to ensure the transparency and accountability of the political system and the stability and effectiveness of government.
Long way to go to end of Covid deaths, freedom
Oped, Joseph E Stiglitz, Published on 09/09/2021
» The upsurge of Covid-19 cases, hospitalisations, and deaths in the United States serves as a bitter reminder that the pandemic is not over. The global economy will not return to normal until the disease is under control everywhere.
Infection exodus?
Oped, Postbag, Published on 03/07/2021
» Re: "Doctors arrive in capital amid surge in cases", (BP, July 2).
Rooted in feudalism
Oped, Postbag, Published on 23/01/2021
» I must say Prof Thitinan Pongsudhirak ("What the 'Pimrypie' sensation foretells", Opinion, Jan 22) correctly exposes the flaws of Thai hierarchical society (Opinion, Jan 22). In spite of the superhighways, BTS, malls, majestic wats and palaces, Thailand remains rooted in its feudal past. It is the same in a few other countries surrounding Thailand.
What the 'Pimrypie' sensation foretells
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 22/01/2021
» While it became a storm in a teacup, the recent phenomenon involving YouTuber and online retailer Pimradaporn "Pimrypie" Benjawattanapat yields longer-term implications and meanings. Pimrypie's charity drive for Children's Day that provided solar panels and electricity to underprivileged kids in a far-flung village of Omkoi district 300 kilometres from Chiang Mai spoke volumes about the structure and shortcomings of Thailand's paternalist state and what needs to be done to tackle it.
Compromise is the answer
Oped, Editorial, Published on 03/11/2020
» As political strife between the anti-establishment and right-wing royalist groups drags on amid concerns over a deadlock, some elements, including both politicians and academics, are beginning to believe that a referendum may be the only way out of this crisis.