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When a member of the clan goes wayward, the rest of the family should not sit idle. This is what Asean's leaders have to come to terms with when it comes to the Feb 1 coup in Myanmar that overthrew the democratically-elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, who still remains under arrest.
Millions and millions of protesters swarmed onto the streets throughout Myanmar earlier this week in an overwhelming rejection of the military's seizure of power. Despite dire threats and warnings from the country's coup leader, the army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, marchers thronged the thoroughfares even in small towns to demonstrate their deep support for democracy and their rejection of the coup.
During a recent conversation as to why Myanmar people are so much more active in their protests against military rule than the Thais, I was forced to think harder about the apathy shown here in Thailand by the average citizen.
Millions and millions of protesters swarmed onto the streets throughout Myanmar earlier this week in an overwhelming rejection of the military's seizure of power. Despite dire threats and warnings from the country's coup leader, the army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, marchers thronged the thoroughfares even in small towns to demonstrate their deep support for democracy and their rejection of the coup.
When a member of the clan goes wayward, the rest of the family should not sit idle. This is what Asean's leaders have to come to terms with when it comes to the Feb 1 coup in Myanmar that overthrew the democratically-elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, who still remains under arrest.
Among the many pain points of living in Bangkok, the struggle with poorly designed, shabbily made pavements must be ranked among the worst. Numerous complaints have been made in this regard.
The second wave of Covid-19 in Thailand has proved to be challenging to our economic team. Previously, the government has introduced several relief measures to curb the economic impacts from the pandemic including (1) Monetary policy when BoT cut the policy interest rate and (2) Fiscal policies which are about taxs break and government expenditure stimulus programmes e.g. "The 50-50 co-payment scheme". Despite the relief programme, the Thai economy hasn't yet recovered and even slowed down now those schemes are over.
The issue of bail is critically important for Thailand and is especially relevant to the gap between the rich and the poor. It is also emblematic of the chasm between power derived from the coup d'etat and the aspirations of a democratic and just society.
Violence is looming at Kaeng Krachan National Park. Despite the government's promises to indigenous forest dwellers to pull out armed personnel from the park, new fears and uncertainties have emerged, along with fresh signs of an imminent crackdown by forest officials.
It's not funny when people die of the cold, but there was some innocent amusement to be had from the indignation of Texans unable to boil their drinking water during the Big Freeze because the power was still out. Things like that are not supposed to happen in a modern, developed country like the United States of America. How dare they?
With the new audio chat application Clubhouse in town, who will still want to read a newspaper? A few hands may be raised. A few hundred or even a few thousand probably.
On Feb 15, a historic milestone was achieved when Their Majesties the King and Queen visited the Australian Embassy -- the first time in the annals of Thailand's external relations that a monarch had visited a foreign mission. Their Majesties were there to view a documentary prepared by the Australian Embassy commemorating the King's time in Australia. Indeed, Thai-Australian relations have come a long way.
It is common to see uniformed riders delivering food around Bangkok. People have also become accustomed to using ride-hailing apps instead of traditional taxis. Following the coronavirus outbreak, the demand for ride-hailing plunged during the lockdowns, before rising again as social restrictions were eased. On the other hand, demand for food delivery services continued to surge as more people dined at home. Queues outside restaurants, that were once crammed with customers, have been replaced by large groups of colourful platform delivery couriers.
