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The dawning of new realities
- By Sanitsuda Ekachai
- Saturday, April 04, 2009
Not too long ago, it was an unspoken rule in Thai politics that if you were ousted from the seat of power, you just stayed low, kept your bitterness to yourself, let the dust settle, and you would soon be allowed to return home to enjoy the riches you had accumulated, minus the political power you ...
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Thaksin goes for broke
- By Veera Preteepchaikul
- Monday, March 23, 2009
Guess what Thaksin Shinawatra had in mind when he decided to go on air Sunday night, donning a red shirt and fingerpointing two privy councilors, two senior judges and an academic for plotting the overthrow of his regime three years ago.In the video-linked address to his supporters in Chiang ...
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University admissions: a tragic mess
- By Sanitsuda Ekachai
- Friday, March 20, 2009
Is this a farce or a tragedy? Whatever the answer, it is our children who must suffer from the maddening university admissions system.No one is happy with the poor judgement of the autocratic Council of University Rectors which designed the system and exercises its power through frequent changes ...
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No end in sight to milk corruption
- By Sanitsuda Ekachai
- Friday, March 13, 2009
No more zoning regulations for the school milk programme. More UHT milk with a longer lifespan for the kids, instead of pasteurised milk which spoils easily.If we believe these new rules will solve the problem of corruption in the school milk programme while absorbing raw fresh milk from the local ...
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Rak Chiang Mai 51: A pride or a disgrace for Chiang Mai?
- By Veera Preteepchaikul
- Tuesday, February 24, 2009
BangkokPost.comby Veera Prateepchaikul Organisers of last Saturday’s Gay Pride parade in Chiang Mai are demanding an apology from the Rak Chiang Mai 51 group for what they described as an uncivilized action by some 30 red-shirt hooligans who broke up the parade with force and ...
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Hope on the hills
- By Sanitsuda Ekachai
- Sunday, February 22, 2009
The Assembly of the Poor is still alive and well. So is its determination to pressure the government into solving land rights problems. That message was loud and clear when hundreds of villagers staged a protest at Government House recntly. The Assembly of the Poor champions different grassroots ...
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Sex in the monastery
- By Sanitsuda Ekachai
- Friday, January 30, 2009
We used to be shocked by sex scandals in the clergy. Given the endless stream of those wrongdoings, we no longer are. Heterosex has also become old news. The rage now is about gay and paedophile monks. The latest scandal involved an abbot in Nakhon Si Thammarat. His lover accused him of being ...
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Thaksin's old broken record
- By Veera Preteepchaikul
- Monday, January 26, 2009
BangkokPost.com Those of you who are fans or no-fans of exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra should have, by now, learned what he had said during his phone-in interview from somewhere abroad with the Dstation of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship on Sunday.As ...
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Denial adds to shame
- By Sanitsuda Ekachai
- Saturday, January 24, 2009
Will someone please tell the army chief and the navy boss to stop making lame excuses? No one believes a word of it. The more they try to defend their horrific act with the Rohingya boat people, the bigger the hole they are digging for themselves. And the greater the harm they are doing to the ...
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Reading between the lines
- By Veera Preteepchaikul
- Monday, January 19, 2009
BangkokPost.comAs a young reporter a few decades ago, I was taught by my editor to try to ``read between the lines'' certain photos that become available when the country is under an unusual situation. On the surface, the pictures may look quite normal but they can contain some hidden messages ...
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Trapped in the pit of patriarchy
- By Sanitsuda Ekachai
- Friday, January 16, 2009
A plan for a co-ed prison. A protest victory for nurses to receive better pay and welfare. Despite the headline news on the fire disasters and the persistent political entanglements, the New Year still has some good news for those who want to see a better deal for women.First, the co-ed prison. ...
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Migrant workers' woes
- By Sanitsuda Ekachai
- Monday, January 12, 2009
The Abhisit government's decision not to register new migrant workers is a mistake that only serves abusive employers and corrupt police.It also shows that the present government's awareness of human rights and understanding of the migrant labour problems is close to zero.Remember the mass ...
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The red shirts and the Law of Karma
- By Veera Preteepchaikul
- Thursday, January 08, 2009
January 8, 2009 The image of two red-shirt leaders, Jatuporn Promphan and Nathawut Saikua, taking cover from missiles hurled against them by their 'rebel' red-shirt supporters at an election campaign rally in the northeastern province of Buri Ramon January 7 would be unthinkable just a ...
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Hope on the ground
- By Sanitsuda Ekachai
- Monday, December 22, 2008
It seems our national politics are back to its nam nao business as usual. What a relief! We may detest our politicians for putting their self interests first before the nation. We may abhor their blatant greed and total lack of ethics. But the nightmare we've just been through should make everyone ...
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Bangkok dangerous
- By Sanitsuda Ekachai
- Saturday, November 22, 2008
This is what all Bangkok governor candidates must do before trying to sell us any of their fancy ideas on improving the Big Mango. Day one: Wear a cast to immobilise one of your legs, use crutches to walk, then go to work or do your errands.Day two: Try to do the same thing in a wheelchair and see ...
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This land is my land
- By Sanitsuda Ekachai
- Saturday, November 15, 2008
Rare indeed is good news from the restive South. Here is one item which represents a glimmer of hope for the seemingly elusive peace. And if the same thing is taking place in other parts of the country, it might help pull us back from the senseless and violent feud over what democracy is or what it ...
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Free education still a pipe dream
- By Sanitsuda Ekachai
- Monday, November 10, 2008
One of our national problems that has been swept under the carpet because of the preoccupation with the current political crisis is our education system.With a high youth literacy rate and a primary school attendance ratio at 98%, you might feel there is nothing to worry about. But sighing with ...
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Don't lose heart
- By Sanitsuda Ekachai
- Friday, October 10, 2008
When the legendary newsman Sanpasiri Viriyasiri tried to broadcast what was happening when the police and militia stormed Thammasat University during the October 6, 1976 massacre, he was immediately fired. Thirty-two years on, we now can watch the state's crackdown right in our living rooms live, ...
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Appearance can be deceptive
- By Veera Preteepchaikul
- Wednesday, October 08, 2008
October 8, 2008 An uneasy lull has returned to the City of Angels after a day of bloodletting on the streets which left two people dead and 443 injured, including four who lost one of their legs or arms from what suspected to be bomb explosions. The only incident today is that hundreds of ...
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The poison in history textbooks
- By Sanitsuda Ekachai
- Friday, October 03, 2008
What makes us proud of our country? At the Education Ministry, our patriotism is judged by how much we can memorise national history in textbooks as sacred fact written in stone. That is why they are extremely worried about the future of patriotism here.Despite the emphasis on rote learning to ...
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A full circle after two years
- By Pichai Chuensuksawadi
- Friday, September 19, 2008
Two years ago today, I was in Australia on a semi-holiday. I had just hopped into bed in my hotel room – preparing for a relaxing evening in front of the television. I was supposed to deliver a lecture about the state of Thai journalism at the University of Queensland’s School of Journalism in ...
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The trap of moral righteousness
- By Sanitsuda Ekachai
- Thursday, September 18, 2008
A mass prayer from the clergy. An appeal for non-violence from reformist monks. An army of cooks and cleaners from a fundamentalist Buddhist sect. Don't say that religion and politics should not mix. This popular misconception is just that, a misconception. The challenge now is how to make our ...
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Mindfulness cure for crisis
- By Sanitsuda Ekachai
- Thursday, September 11, 2008
Take a deep breath. Watch it leave the nostrils. Watch it come back in. Feel the sensation. See the difference. Watch the constant change. Try do it for at least 10 minutes to let the calm set in. Indeed, we need to instil our inner calm more than ever to prevent ourselves from getting carried away ...
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Media and Demagogues
- By Sanitsuda Ekachai
- Thursday, August 28, 2008
How will this end? Will there be blood? If you did not go to sleep with these questions the day the People's Alliance for Democracy plunged the country into political turmoil, then you are blessed with a steely spirit. Or you must be an avid fan of TV Channels 3, 5 and 7.Unperturbed by the real ...
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Will Bangkok face a huge flood from a storm surge?
- By Veera Preteepchaikul
- Monday, August 18, 2008
August 18, 2008 Mr Smith Thammasaroj, the man who first blew the whistle about the potential of a tsunami hitting Thailand, Indonesia and other countries in the Indian ocean which actually took place six years after he had made the doomsday's forecast is back to the limelight with a new ...
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Thaksin's overseas refuge may not be temporary
- By Veera Preteepchaikul
- Monday, August 11, 2008
August 11, 2008 By now it is obvious that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife, Khunying Potjaman, will not return to their home country for a long time and will not stand trial in court on all the cases against them as well as other cases which are yet to reach the court of ...
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Time for extreme restraint from both sides
- By Veera Preteepchaikul
- Sunday, July 20, 2008
As the July 27 election in Cambodia is only a week away, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen appears intent to play the Preah Vihear temple card to the fullest for his political gains despite the high risk of further straining the tense relations with neighbouring Thailand.The Cambodian complaint to ...
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Is rice cartel a pipe dream?
- By Veera Preteepchaikul
- Tuesday, June 10, 2008
June 10, 2008Western critics have always held in contempt the idea of a rice cartel by rice exporting countries. "Impossible!" or "A pipe dream" are some of the standard comments heard each time the idea was raised.Similar comments were heard the other day when Prime ...
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When shepherd boy rules the country
- By Veera Preteepchaikul
- Monday, June 02, 2008
June 2, 2008Our close brush with what could turn out to be a violent confrontation between police and anri-Thaksin protesters as a result of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's loose tongue reminds me of Aesop's fable about the shepherd boy and the wolf.  But in Aesop's fable, the ...
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Learning to tolerate and accept differing views
- By Pichai Chuensuksawadi
- Friday, May 23, 2008
As a kid I loved going to amusement parks - in particular roller coaster rides. There's the anticipation that builds up as you climb on and buckle up in your seat. Then the ride starts, climbing gradually as you reach a high point, then the rush as you zoom down, then up and over and upside down. ...
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Noose is tightening around Jakrapob
- By Veera Preteepchaikul
- Tuesday, May 20, 2008
May 20, 2008Jakrapob Penkair, the bisieged prime minister's office minister, is probably busying himself with translating into Thai language the long speech he gave to the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand last August shortly after he was released on bail from jail for involvement in a violent ...
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Wanted: Balding Provocateur
- By Veera Preteepchaikul
- Tuesday, May 13, 2008
May 13, 2008I nervously looked myself in the mirror the other day as I shoved the hair above my forehead to see if they are retreating or whether I am balding. Which will make myself fit Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's profile of the ai hua theok or the balding man who alleged to be the ...
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Chart Thai should stall charter bid
- By Veera Preteepchaikul
- Tuesday, May 06, 2008
May 6, 2008Â I am not an alarmist. But like you and me, I am very concerned that the ongoing self-serving attempt by the People Power party to amend the current Constitution may unnecessarily bring about undesirable consequences probably worse than those confronted by this country before the ...
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Should we tell our daughters not to trust the world?
- By Sanitsuda Ekachai
- Tuesday, April 29, 2008
As a mother, the news that grabbed my attention over the weekend had nothing to do with the politics that are near the boiling point. It was about a boy gang rape.A nightmare for any parent, the incident involved three boys, aged 8, 11 and 12, raping a 7-year-old girl neighbour.The boys said they ...
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The reinstatement of Duang Yubamrung and more of the same
- By Pichai Chuensuksawadi
- Wednesday, April 23, 2008
One of the best aspects of being a journalist is that you get to meet all sorts of people from all levels, working in various professions. Whether you like them or not, or whether you agree or disagree with what they have to say, I always find it interesting, if not revealing, to find out more about ...
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Time to rethink our rich farm land
- By Veera Preteepchaikul
- Friday, April 11, 2008
We have been blessed and lucky all along. The so-called Golden Peninsula on which this country is located is endowed with plentiful natural resources although vast tracts of forests have been stripped bear of trees by greedy urban land grabbers and landless villagers. Yet, there are still fishes ...
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Who says we never had Bhikkhuni clergy?
- By Sanitsuda Ekachai
- Thursday, April 10, 2008
Like most Thais, I believed that there have never been female monks, or Bhikkhuni, in Thailand. How I was wrong!The person who opened my eyes was Ayya Tathaaloka Bhikkhuni, a Buddhist teacher and abbess of the Dhammadharini Vihara, a temple for female monastics in Fremont, California.As a scholar on ...
