Opinion

The latest wave of anti-junta protests may have come too late for some as nearly four years have passed since the 2014 coup.

Beyond whether you are for Israel or Palestine in the latest war, some Thai-Malay Muslims see the latest conflict in the middle east through a different prism. Soon after Hamas’ inhumane attack against Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel’s counterattack, a Thai Malay-Muslim Facebook friend said he feels as if Palestine is Pattani and Thailand is Israel.

Rocker-turned-philanthropic fund raiser Toon Bodyslam will finally arrive in Bangkok on foot tomorrow, Sunday, after a month of running.

One good thing about diplomatic receptions, besides nice drinks and canapes, is the bringing of unlike-minded invitees together. Nevertheless, you are not forced to...

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.

Short of physically blocking and shutting down all the major international airports in Thailand or overthrowing the government, there is nothing that will stop the influx of Chinese tourists back to Thailand starting today. Those who fear that Chinese tourist re-spread coronavirus will have no choice but to take better care of themselves, wear masks, get a booster shot, and avoid crowded tourist venues, hoping for the best for Thailand in the weeks and months ahead.

One visible change in the aftermath of the Siam Paragon luxury shopping mall shooting by the 14-year-old gunman in Bangkok which led to two deaths and injured five, two serious, is the reintroduction of bag search for customers entering shopping malls and other semi-public venues. It is an inconvenience for sure, but will (like other things Thai) most likely be quietly phased out within months and life is then “back to normal” and it is “business as usual” (Thais just cannot let a lone gunman slow down their shopping experience).

The pro-election anti-junta protest marking the fourth anniversary of the coup appears doomed from the beginning.

Inadvertently, absolute power under Article 44 of the provisional junta constitution has become controversial again after it was used against Wat Dhammakaya.

The pledge by the main opposition Pheu Thai Party to raise the minimum wage from around 350 baht per day to 600 baht within five years, or by 2027, if elected to run the next government, has raised a lot of eyebrows and ignited a fierce debate as to whether it is appropriate or even realistic and whether it will do more harm than good to the Thai economy or not.