Apichai Sunchindah
An independent development specialist
Apichai Sunchindah is an independent development specialist.
Thailand must boost Asec presence
During the commemoration of Asean Day earlier last month at the newly inaugurated Asean Secretariat (Asec) building in Jakarta, Indonesia, a poster displaying eye-popping statistics of the organisation's current staff composition shows that there are only four Thais working there. This figure is minuscule compared to those from the other four founding members states of Asean, and even latecomer Vietnam.
Mekong dilemmas need political will to resolve
Last year, we were saddened by the hazards related to dam failures in the Mekong River basin after one of the saddle dams on the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy hydro-electric project in Laos collapsed and the large amounts of impounded water then gushed downstream, causing massive inundation and damage to property, crops, livestock, lost livelihoods and some human casualties. The cause of the dam disaster has been attributed to sub-standard construction and unusually high rainfall.
Smarten up, Bangkok!
Vehicles are a major contributor of air pollution in Bangkok metropolis and thus are a problem that needs to be addressed wholeheartedly and aggressively.
Wakeup call
The collapse of the Xe Pian Xe Namnoy dam in Laos is a timely reminder of the potentially hazardous factors associated with the failure of storage dams.
Chula turns 100
Chulalongkorn University turns 100 Sunday, and is currently abuzz with centenary exhibitions - a school refusing to face today's rapid, dynamic changes.
The meaning of Brexit
The question now is whether a Brexit-type crisis could occur in Asean, and that will depend on whether Asean learns from the EU's errors.
