Showing 1 - 10 of 156
Climate disasters demand swift action
Oped, Published on 10/12/2025
» Southeast Asia is in crisis. Less than a week after the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) concluded in Brazil, the region is grappling with devastating floods and landslides, underscoring the urgent climate challenges that countries have repeatedly raised on the global stage.
Drowning in red tape
Oped, Editorial, Published on 03/12/2025
» Once a thriving southern trading post, Hat Yai has been swamped not only by muddy water but by the kind of hard, bitter lessons disasters bring.
How China won innovation in lieu of freedom
Oped, Published on 28/11/2025
» A decade ago, China's government unveiled Made in China 2025 -- a bold vision for transforming the country from the world's assembly line into a global innovation leader. The plan was met with considerable scepticism, particularly in the West, where a robust scholarly consensus held that authoritarianism was fundamentally incompatible with innovation. China was light-years behind the global frontier. Barring drastic political change, many observers concluded, China would remain a "copycat nation".
COP30 must be more focused on human welfare
Oped, Bjorn Lomborg, Published on 13/11/2025
» With the United Nations climate summit, COP30, now in full swing in the humid jungle city of Belém, Brazil, Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates has cut through the noise with a blunt truth: these UN climate gatherings must zero in on lifting human lives, rather than fixating solely on slashing emissions or dialling down global temperatures. It's a perspective that's long overdue yet seems so obvious.
Asean's regroup requires deep reforms
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 17/10/2025
» If Asean's 58 years thus far have been about resilience and playing a central organising role in promoting regional security and stability, its next decade will determine whether the Southeast Asian bloc can adapt and remain relevant. After the crises in Myanmar and along the Thai-Cambodian border, Asean's credibility has never been more in doubt. To regain its effectiveness as Southeast Asia's one and only agency, Asean needs to move away from the ritualistic diplomacy of mundane meetings to far-reaching reforms that chart new ways of making things work.
Postal services still lead the way
Oped, Published on 09/10/2025
» World Post Day, observed every year on Oct 9, was proclaimed by the 1969 Universal Postal Congress in Tokyo to mark the anniversary of the founding of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 1874 in Berne. Across 192 UPU member countries, the day is celebrated through the launch of new products, the opening of postal facilities, employee recognition, and community engagement.
SMEs need ecosystems, not donors
Oped, Published on 08/10/2025
» In today's fast-changing economy, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) matter more than in the past.
Making Cambodia pay for border row
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 02/10/2025
» What I am covering today is a sensitive issue that all economic research houses, both government and private, avoid talking about. That is the economic impact of the border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia.
Mekong region's chance to reset
Oped, Published on 12/09/2025
» The 2025 Cambodia–Thailand border clashes did more than just revive old tensions. They have exposed the fault lines of the regional economy in Southeast Asia and the lower Mekong region, built on fragile interdependence.
AI wake-up call
Oped, Postbag, Published on 29/08/2025
» Re: "Recruiters tout opportunities AI offers", (Business, Aug 25) & "Labour and the dynamics of change", (Opinion, July 27).