Opinion

The local authority in Bangkok finally puts up a “no sunbathing” and no wearing of bikinis sign at Sanam Luang on Thursday, a few days after some Thai netizens were outraged at the photos of two scantily clad Caucasian female tourists sunbathing at the lawn in bliss, but oblivious to the backdrop of the Emerald Buddha Temple and the Grand Palace behind.

There are many things I wish to see changed in Thailand in 2024, a sort of forlorn wish, but worth noting three here since it is the beginning of the year.

The government is pushing for a new national agenda: trying to convince and incentivize more Thais to procreate. In the words of Health Department Director General Atchara Nitiapinyasakul warns on Saturday Thais need to have more babies or there will be a shortage of workers and taxpayers six decades from now.

Since time is a continuum, there are issues from 2023 that will continue to be relevant to Thailand in 2024.

Thailand’s hottest “spiritual” phenomena over the past months, or basically of the year 2023, is not led by a Buddhist monk, but an eight-year-old boy known as “Nong Nice” (Little Brother Nice).

A Bangkok school, Pramochwithaya Ramintra School, putting up a banner urging drivers to drive slowly around the site earlier this week in hope of having less PM2.5 kicking back up into the air from the road was indeed a desperate act of individuals handling the hazardous air pollution that both the local and national government have failed to eliminate over the years.

What is more dangerous than being an unaccompanied young Chinese woman and not feeling safe in the Nana nightlife district of Bangkok at 11.30pm? Answer: Doing a video clip to make such a remark and post it on TikTok, only to have Thai immigration police “inviting” you for a talk, declaring you are persona non grata, and blacklisting you.

The Thai office of a global bank invited me for lunch earlier this week to discuss Thai political prospects with a group of 20 Thai and foreign institutional investors on their semi-annual macro trip to the region to get a better sense of the state of Thai economy and politics.

Pheu Thai Party leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who is also Chair of the government’s Soft Power Committee, recently announced the promotion of mu kratha (also spelled as mookata in English) as Thailand’s latest soft power dish.

The Chinese Embassy has committed a diplomatic faux pas in its recent Facebook post in Thai and English last week admonishing a Thai media interview with Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu.