PATTAYA, 10 April 2009: The Thai government said the 14th Asean Summit will be held as scheduled despite increasing security threat from hundreds of protesters who swarmed the meeting’s venue today. Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who is in charge of security, told a news conference at the Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall today that […]
Thailand
A referendum on our future
By Wong Chin HuatTHE Bukit Gantang by-election has one overriding meaning. The by-election for this parliamentary seat in Perak is not about local development, as the Barisan Nasional (BN) would describe it. Neither will the election results determine Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s job as prime minister, as some opposition supporters would hope for. Voters in Bukit Gantang will […]
Perak must not fail
By Wong Chin HuatCorrected 1.40pm, 7 Feb 2009 Signboard maker in Ipoh (© Alex Moi / flickr) A FAILED state is a state losing its ability to govern and exercise authority. Text-book examples include Sudan, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Iraq and Afghanistan, countries that we would never compare Malaysia to. The Fund for Peace, a US think tank, listed 12 […]
Aussie jailed 3 years for insulting Thai royal
BANGKOK, 19 Jan 2009: An Australian writer, who had taught English at a university in the northern city of Chiang Mai, today was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to a charge of lese majeste (insulting a sovereign or ruler). Harry Nicolaides, 42, had his sentence reduced from six years when he pleaded […]
Bombs destroy immigration posts in southern Thailand
GOLOK (Southern Thailand), 14 Jan 2009: Two bombs exploded at the Malaysia-Thailand checkpoint this morning, destroying three new posts belonging to the Thai immigration at the Golok bridge. The first bomb went off at 6.30am local time (7.30am Malaysian time), destroying three of the six posts. Fifteen minutes later another bomb exploded nearby, forcing the […]
Bangkok airport remains closed
BANGKOK, 26 Nov 2008: The Suvarnabhumi Airport today remained closed and dozens of flights were cancelled as anti-government protesters continued to block all roads leading to Thailand’s main gateway. The Airport of Thailand (AOT) authority had earlier said it wanted to reopen the airport at noon but this did not materialise as anti-government supporters had […]