🇹🇭 Introspection as Thailand mourns

Hello friends!

I’ve learnt a hard lesson this week about why the digital nomad lifestyle seems to be targeted only at people in their 20s. It’s hard! People talk too loud in the communal areas of guest houses and I need ergonomic support for writing, thanks. But a bit of a change to plans and one terrifying train ride later I’m in Hua Hin for the next week or so with not one great writing desk in my hotel room — but two! 

Today, I’ve taken a look at the Nong Bua massacre a week on. I haven’t dug into the weeds on the actual attack itself, there’s been plenty of reporting on that elsewhere and it’s very upsetting to revisit the details. Under that, there’s a bit on Malaysia’s imminent election. A bit of egg on my face for that one: less than a month ago I was standing on the ANU campus saying October! Bah! You’re mad! Well, look now. 

Also, please forgive any typos or nonsense sentences today, I think I gave myself sun stroke.

See you next week,Erin Cook

🇹🇭 Guns, drugs, mental health — what’s to blame for tragedy?

It’s been a week since former policeman Panya Khamrab, 34, opened fire and stabbed dozens of children and their educators in a Nong Bua daycare centre. The families of the children and the teacher killed in a Nong Bua daycare centre collected their loved ones ashes earlier this week. 

The mother of the killer has released a video statement saying that despite media reports she has not been forced to leave her community. It’s really quite moving what she says with her own specific devastation: “I'll pay a visit and offer my apologies to every family when I am less distressed. I am very sorry.” 

The whole sorry incident has prompted two deep discussions about changes Thailand can make to prevent this from ever happening again, one makes more sense than the other. 

Gun amnesty, says former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra from exile. “There are various ways to sort out this issue but the simplest is to grant an amnesty to those who have illegal possession of weapons to register say within 3 months and then go hard on cracking down and imposing fines with rewards to the police for seizing illegal weapons in the possession of the people,” he said in his regular Clubhouse (lol) talk, according to Thai Enquirer.

Elsewhere, current (again) Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha floated a look at gun ownership laws but, he noted, Thailand has always been tough on guns. There’s been a lot of words written about how Thailand is one of only two countries in the region where gun violence is common.  

It’s drugs, which the shooter was reportedly a user of but not under the influence at the time, that are now a focus. From what I’ve read, it was possibly a convenient target for lawmakers already primed to attack drugs and their users at any given time. “There are overlapping problems between the use of guns that cause violence and behaviour caused by drug addicts and users,” Prayuth said, as reported by Reuters.

As it stands, Thai would-be gun owners need to be over 20, have a licence, no physical or mental disabilities and are not allowed to open carry. But, Nikkei Asia notes, “politicial patronage and porous borders” means a “black market” has thrived. There is no current database on who owns what gun and existing licence holders aren’t required to reprove their mental stability every x years. 

Prayuth’s proposal would mean regular checks for licence holders, including law enforcement — a crucial caveat given the killer’s police background. 

Reforms may not totally resolve the issues immediately, but Rangsit University criminologist Krisanaphong Poothakool told Reuters in the piece quoted above that the government is “on the right track” with proposed changes. “The next challenge is to have these evaluations on a platform accessible to all relevant people to ensure effective enforcement.” 

Now for the less sensible view. Bring back the “war on drugs” says opposition party Pheu Thai. It’s a familiar refrain for the Thaksin-founded party. Under Thaksin’s premiership a war on drugs was launched in 2003, leading to 2,800 extrajudicial killings, according to Human Rights Watch. An investigation four years later found around half of those killed had nothing to do with drugs. This was well before my time and I’m unsure of how popular the “war” was itself as part of wider support for Thaksin’s leadership. 

Pheu Thai party boss Cholnan Srikaew said the party will review drug policy. It, of course, follows the domestic political tumult of the last few months and could be a sign of the type of campaign we’ll see from the opposition ahead of next year’s elections. 

All sides of the political divide have offered a nod to mental health but policy has not been discussed to the same degree as guns and drugs. 

Academic Greg Raymond had a very interesting perspective earlier in the week for the Conversation. He wrote that while Thailand had some of the best public social and welfare support in the region during the pandemic, that hasn’t been enough to incubate from a looming mental health crisis (and tell ya what, after working the pandemic in a GP clinic, this is an everyone, everywhere issue). But, he writes, a comprehensive study released in 2015 found the country was ill-prepared to deal with mental healthcare and little has been done in the intervening years. It is his hope — though he is quietly realistic — that the whole horrible tragedy sparks the kind of reform needed to address mental health. 

I saw some chat about discussing the CNN scandal is a distraction from the tragedy but I think it is worth touching on. I think it’s always a good time to touch on industry best practices when the stakes — international reporting — are so high. 

CNN reporters (one of whom is a former Today Tonight presenter which, if you’re Australian, you know what I’m getting at) entered the daycare just days after the massacre and filmed within the premises. They said they were given permission by workers at the site. I think anyone with even a little experience in the region knew what had happened immediately: they were given permission by people who were not really meant to do so, and had exploited that. 

The filming was outrageous and drew condemnation from across Thailand and the region immediately. It is not a surprise to me that it was the same network which entered Myanmar in the early days of the military takeover last February and risked the safety of those who it spoke with. 

I personally think the BBC’s Jonathan Head is a phenomenal example of how to behave and work in the region as a foreigner. So I was not surprised that he so succinctly summarised the issue: 

And on reports that Thai media also entered the site:

🇲🇾 Get those poll booths ready, Malaysia!

I am shocked! Stunned! Bamboozled! By this week’s announcement that Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri had sought an audience with the Agong for approval to dissolve the parliament and make way for elections. It certainly was in the air, but wiser heads kept saying the coming wet season and near-certain flooding across the country makes it a silly proposition. I should’ve realised, of course, that this current cohort of brokers in Putrajaya is far more interested in holding on to or grasping for their chance at power. 

PM Ismail made the announcement Monday and within hours, the Palace issued a statement saying Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah is disappointed “at current political developments” and felt it left “His Majesty with no choice but to assent,” as reported by Straits Times. 

While no date has been set in stone just yet, the vote is expected to be held towards the pointy end of the year. Agong hopes it happens sooner: “His Majesty expresses his hope that the Election Commission conducts the 15th General Election soonest taking into consideration the northeastern monsoon that is forecast to begin in mid-November 2022.” The Election Commission is set to meet Oct. 20 to decide.

Hold on, says Global Bersih, an international movement of Malaysians abroad, how are we all supposed to get ballots in time? The organisation has called on the EC to decide on a campaigning period of at least 21 days so overseas Malaysians can get ballots back in time. “Global Bersih urges all Malaysians living overseas to register as overseas voters as soon as possible to reduce the risk of processing backlogs experienced during the Johor election,” the group said in a statement. 

Meanwhile, there is a LOT of politicking to have — who is even on whose side?? What do they stand for? What’s Mahathir Mohamad playing at? Can Najib Razak campaign from the cells? All will be revealed I’m sure (I hope!) in the coming weeks. 

Reading list:

• The Peculiar Gender Dynamics of Hanoi's Male-Dominated Cờ Tướng Scene (Saigoneer) 

In Hanoi, men love to play xiangqi together. They have for a long time. It’s rare to see older women play because back in the day so much was expected of them back at home. What will changes in gender role expectations mean for this traditional Chinese game? You’ve got to click through — the photos are excellent!

• Cleaning up after death: Meet Singapore’s trauma cleaner (The Straits Times) 

This one isn’t for the weak-stomached, but it is one of the best features I’ve ever read from Singapore (and certainly from the ST). On the specialised cleaning services offered by Rahman Razali. 

• Vietnam's battle to climb the global value chain (Nikkei Asia)

Has Vietnam’s meteoric success in manufacturing become a poisoned chalice of sorts? It’s time to become a high-tech development hub, some say, but how to get there?

• A Saigon Restaurant Poisoned Dozens of Stray Cats. What Happened to Those That Survived? (Saigoneer) 

A ‘cat massacre’ in May in a historic building led one cat lover on a mission to find out more about the city’s stray cat problems, where do they come from? And where can they go?

• I Have Worked, Played and Loved in Other Countries Because I Can’t at Home (The New York Times)

In the aftermath of Singapore’s National Day announcement decriminalising same-sex relationships while simultaneously reaffirming the LGBT community will not, in the near future at least, be awarded the same rights as the rest of the country, there were a lot of takes. We covered many of them last month, but this op-ed from playwright Joel Tan is beautifully written and always worth revisiting. 

• A Casino Kingpin Pitched a City in Myanmar—Police Say He Helped Build a Crime Haven (Wall Street Journal)

Each month the WSJ direct debits an extraordinary amount of money from my account and I think, ‘WHY am I still subscribed??’ And then they’ll drop a piece like this. She Zhijiang was at a restaurant in Bangkok in August when police found him. I won’t spoil the rest of the reveal. 

• Special Report: Family Reveals Plight of U.S. Political Prisoner in Myanmar (Rolling Stone)

Kyaw Htay Oo lived and worked in Southern California as a botanist for 14 years before returning home to Myanmar in 2017. Soon, he was working in the ​​Naypyidaw garden of then-de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi. And then February 2021 happened. He’s been held in prison ever since. He’s an American citizen and it’s time the Biden administration does more, his US-based family says. 

• What is forgotten in the U.S.-Philippines friendship (The Washington Post)

Published to coincide with President Bongbong Marcos’ visit to the US, this piece isn’t interested in keeping up appearances. From colonisation to helping the Marcos’ flee during the 80s, the US hasn’t always been a friend of the Filipino.