Showing 31 - 40 of 80
No signs of regret for jobs poorly done
News, Surasak Glahan, Published on 12/07/2018
» As one deputy leader, who runs the government, has given an unconvincing and feeble defence about him taking a nap at work, another deputy, who runs the Royal Thai Police, has pursued a retaliatory lawsuit against a lawyer who dared to bring up a case of his office's incompetency which wrongly sent her client to jail.
World Cup is fun, mystery killings are not
News, Surasak Glahan, Published on 18/06/2018
» Similar to the World Cup in Russia, the justice system in Thailand has never run short of spectators holding their breath hoping for a just and fair play. Like a football match, they pick their team.
Hun Sen, NCPO sing the same tune
News, Surasak Glahan, Published on 21/05/2018
» A string of legislative attacks by Cambodia's ruling regime against its critics and the opposition party since last year have baffled me, not only for their senselessness and brutality, but for the similarity they share with political tactics invented here in Thailand.
Put an end to conscription for good of all
News, Surasak Glahan, Published on 23/04/2018
» Last week, I believe it must have been heartbreaking for many Thais who watched a video clip of a young man weeping and almost fainting upon learning he was drafted to serve in the army for two years via the annual conscription round. Yet, I also believe that many of them would oppose any proposal to abolish military conscription, a phenomenon that has long existed by default.
Anti-populism law not for greater good
News, Surasak Glahan, Published on 09/05/2018
» Raising one finger during her campaigning to symbolise her party's ballot number ahead of the 2011 election, Yingluck Shinawatra rode a wave of popularity all the way to victory. And now the man who threw her caretaker government out of office in 2014 by force has demonstrated he is not shy of using a similar gimmick.
'Stupid' locals label mocks Thai-ism aims
News, Surasak Glahan, Published on 19/03/2018
» How do you feel if the state says it wants to hear about your plight in order to offer you help, but still holds a view that you are too "stupid" to think for yourself and continues to strictly forbid you from expressing your grievances unless it approves of the platform where you have your say?
Billionaire activist holds out hope of new era
News, Surasak Glahan, Published on 05/03/2018
» Canada has 46-year-old Justin Trudeau as prime minister. France has Emmanuel Macron, 40. New Zealand has Jacinda Ardern, 37. What kind of a national leader will Thailand have after the election next year?
An academic shift right will hurt society
News, Surasak Glahan, Published on 31/01/2018
» Part of me wishes the military government had been behind the recent ban on the publication of the results of a poll by the National Institute of Development Administration (Nida). Such state intimidation is not a good thing. But at least it's better than the reality -- self-censorship imposed by Nida's president or, put it another way, his preferred choice to not let public opinion influence an ongoing probe against one of the regime's top men.
Let's hear it for the year's real heroes
News, Surasak Glahan, Published on 25/12/2017
» With the constant chilly breeze in the evening and nice temperatures during the day, the cold spell this year has been more generous to Bangkokians than the increasingly suppressive political climate (We have been through many rounds of political turmoil for years, but had rarely experienced this kind of pleasant winter.)
Rights claims fall flat amid cadet scandal
News, Surasak Glahan, Published on 27/11/2017
» Actions did speak much louder than words last week. The government on Tuesday announced its new national human rights agenda for government agencies. It didn't generate any news buzz. Over the following days, the government's top brass publicly endorsed the military's culture of corporal punishment, which allegedly involves rights violations, in the wake of the death of a military cadet. Their endorsement generated national news.