Opinion

Dear Cambodian neighbors, It saddened me to learn that over the past week, some Thais and Cambodians on social media heightened the level of toxic and degrading verbal and written attacks against one another as a result of the repatriation of “The Golden Boy” bronze statue from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City after many decades.

The untimely death of lese majeste detainee Netiporn “Bung Thaluwang” Sanehsangkhom, 28, on Tuesday would not have taken place in a genuinely free and democratic society.

For the Srettha Thavisin’s government, which vows to promote Thai goods and Thai soft power abroad, the past week was a major setback, if not a disaster.

A French friend in Bangkok posted a few days ago that he was thankful for the man who invented the air conditioning machine (There is a debate whether in fact it was the American man by the family name of Carrier or not but would not get into that here).

A recent proposal by Defense Minister Suthin Klangsaeng to amend the Defense Act and enable the sitting Prime Minister, with the consent of the Cabinet, to suspend any generals believed to be attempting to mount a military coup, is a reminder that the specter of another military is not distant but rather a real concern.

On Saturday, Chiang Mai City was listed as the most air-polluted major city on Earth for the second straight day, according to IQAir app. Some say it was part of the “seasonal” unhealthy air inevitably facing residents and visitors over the past few months.

The stature of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin was further undermined this week by the “rumor” of an imminent Cabinet reshuffle next week spreading from his own Pheu Thai Party sources, only to see Srettha denying yesterday that a reshuffle will take place in the coming days.

The heated clash of views on whether it is appropriate for Chulalongkorn University students to carry the university’s emblem, known as Phra Kiew coronet and a symbol bestowed to the university by King Rama VI in memory of his then late father, Rama V or King Chulalongkorn, on the roof of a golf cart during the parade of the Chula-Thammasat Varsity Football Match on March 31 is emblematic of the deep persistence debate about the appropriate place and role of the monarchy in the 21th century.

The passing of the Same-Sex Marriage Bill by the parliament earlier this week on March 27 was a historic day for not just LGBTQI people but Thailand, and hopefully the region, as the kingdom became the first nation in Southeast Asia to recognize equal marriage rights for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders, queers, intersex, and those questioning their gender or sexual orientation.

Earlier this week, Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse, estranged son of HM the King, who grew up in the United States, told the AFP he wants to return to Thailand permanently after living there for 27 years.