Democracy provides the best method of dealing with conflicts that humans have ever come up with, and the electoral process is an important component of it. Hence, the widely accepted definition of democracy treats free and fair elections as a key component. The sentence “voting is a political right of all citizens, no one can […]
Pravit Rojanaphruk Sixty prominent academics, intellectuals and activists across the political divide came together for the first time yesterday to create a network against violence or military coup, as well as to support fair elections and reform. Their press conference yesterday at Thammasat University comes just a couple of days before the anti-government People’s Democratic […]
Thai politics is once again at a dead end. The Democrat Party decided to boycott the upcoming Feb 2 general election. The anti-government People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) vowed to stop it at all costs. With the Bangkok shutdown operation set to begin next week, tensions could spiral into violence. Though the government said it […]
Rejects call for executive decree; Election Commission to draw lots for party election numbers tomorrow The government yesterday turned down a suggestion by seven private-sector organisations for it to issue an executive decree to allow a political-reform council to be set up – but it looks likely to form such a body itself. Meanwhile, the […]
Contents Kittipong Rueanthip, Jirawat Panpiemras, and Nonarit Bisonyabut Thailand’s Economic Growth after 1992: Was that Growth Pro-poor? Somkiat Tangkitvanich, Saowaruj Rattanakhamfu, Sunthorn Tunmuntong, and Ploy Thammapiranon Thailand in the AEC: Myths, Realities, Opportunities, and Challenges
Thailand should allow free trade in the energy, telecommunications and financial sectors to drive competition and lower costs for business operators, says the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI). TDRI president Somkiat Tangkitvanich said while the government has promoted the healthcare and tourism industries,it has not prioritised non-tradeable service sectors. “This is because allowing free trade […]
The revival of street protests against the government shows signs of deepening conflicts and crises which continue seven years after the coup d’etat in 2006. Although both the red and yellow shirts say they want a working democracy and effective rule of law, both place a different emphasis on these values. The former emphasise democratic […]
Thai manufacturers should be more proactive in tapping opportunities in Myanmar and Vietnam, says the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI). President Somkiat Tangkitvanich said Myanmar offers low labour costs and high workforce productivity plus inexpensive raw materials and a good location for exporting commodities. But the once-isolated nation must overcome weaknesses such as meagre infrastructure, […]
Author: Somkiat Tangkitvanich, TDRI Thailand’s education system is failing its youth and the country’s competitiveness. Simply, it lacks accountability. Thailand can no longer argue it lacks the finances to improve and sustain an effective education system. The government’s budget for education has sharply increased from about USD 3.5 billion in 2003 to nearly USD 14.7 […]
Investors are streaming across the border to take advantage of preferential trade arrangements, the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) says. TDRI president Somkiat Tangkitvanich said local businesses are moving to Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam where they can enjoy export incentives for goods sold to the United States and Europe. Mr Somkiat was commenting at […]
KOMSAN TORTERMVASANA Media bodies take aim at ‘threat to freedoms’ The telecom committee is likely to withdraw a defamation lawsuit against an academic and a news reporter for an interview on the panel’s decision to give two private firms one more year to return mobile phone fre-quencies to the state regulator. Secretary-general of the National […]
Yingluck policies worse than Thaksin’s, critics say The second generation of the government’s populist policies has become a political tool to accumulate power, academics claim. The view was offered yesterday by leading academics at a seminar entitled “Rethinking Populist Policy: From Thaksin to Yingluck”, organised by the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) in Bangkok yesterday. […]
