Showing 1 - 10 of 31
Thaksin chapter closes, another opens
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 19/09/2025
» In yet another dramatic twist in Thai politics, erstwhile anti-establishment political juggernaut and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra accepted a one-year jail sentence and began serving his time behind bars on Sept 9. After his return from a 15-year self-imposed exile in August 2023 and a concomitant royal pardon that reduced his eight-year imprisonment on corruption convictions to just one year, Thaksin cited his gravely ill health and spent the time comfortably at the Police General Hospital before being released on parole. The Supreme Court's ruling that his get-out-of-jail health card was invalid means Thaksin's renewed imprisonment and its aftermath are likely to reshape and realign Thailand's political landscape ahead of the next election, due by mid-2027.
Overcrowded prisons need reforming
News, Khemmapat Trisadikoon & Chutima Suttiprapa, Published on 10/04/2024
» Extreme overcrowding in Thai prisons forces inmates to endure deplorable conditions, stripping away their dignity and humanity. It's a humanitarian crisis that demands immediate action.
Time to address juvenile crimes
Oped, Tulapawn Achananuparp, Published on 06/02/2024
» Thailand has witnessed an alarming number of violent crimes committed by children under 15. The most recent murder of a 13-year-old who was stabbed in the neck by a 14-year-old classmate after a school assembly and the murder of Buaphan Tansu by a youth gang in Sa Kaeo leave most perpetrators unsentenced criminally due to their age (under 15) even if the court finds them guilty of the crime. These tragic incidents and lack of criminal sentencing for the offenders have sparked a public outcry echoing through the streets and halls of justice for change.
Myanmar faces increasing uncertainty
Oped, Larry Jagan, Published on 01/02/2024
» Today marks the third anniversary of the military coup led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing that ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Over the last three years the Tatmadaw -- as the armed forces are known, has plummeted the country into ever-increasing violence and despair.
Not how I recall it
Oped, Postbag, Published on 16/01/2024
» Re: "Call to end alcohol ban", (BP, Jan 15). Is history being rewritten? 1972? In happier and somewhat simpler times, I was drinking or purchasing beer cheerfully during the afternoon back in the early 1980s and subsequently anywhere in Thailand.
Expats fear tax
Oped, Postbag, Published on 13/10/2023
» Re: "Tax plan turnoff", (PostBag, Oct 7) and "A tale of liquidity and (too much) debt", (Opinion, Oct 5).
Poll outcome invites shared wisdom
News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 22/05/2023
» That was the week that was, beginning on May 14, 2023, Thailand's monumental and momentous national election day. The results of the election were historically in favour of democratic change, with the Move Forward Party (MFP) gaining the most seats in the Lower House. It is leading a coalition of parties, aspiring to form the next government and winning over 310 seats in total, despite shenanigans from arch-conservatives.
Telling it like it is
Oped, Postbag, Published on 28/01/2023
» Re: "Thailand's political charade exposed," (Opinion, Jan 27).
There's always something worth a laugh
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 11/12/2022
» Recently I watched on television the 1992 film Chaplin, starring Robert Downey Jr as the great English comic actor, best known in Thailand simply as Charlie. It brought back happy memories of the mid-1970s when a series of the Chaplin movies were re-released in Thailand and proved a huge hit. The Thai public loved Charlie.
Grim logic
Oped, Postbag, Published on 12/11/2022
» Re: "Financial injustice" and "What a cop out", (PostBag, Nov 11).