Category: The Bangkok Post

As this year marks the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, AORTA theatre troupe in collaboration with RCB Experimental Art Lab is staging Pride And Prejudice: In Her Room, a romcom adaptation of the English author’s Pride And Prejudice.

This work unfolds within the experimental arts space at RCB Forum, 2nd floor of River City Bangkok, Charoen Krung 24, every Friday to Sunday, starting this Friday and running until to Nov 16. Showtime is 7pm, plus a 1pm matinee on Saturdays and Sundays.

Austen was a celebrated author renowned for her sharp wit and singular voice. Her timeless novel Pride And Prejudice captures the lives, loves and aspirations of women in 19th-century English society with humour, irony and enduring romance. The beloved masterpiece has been reimagined time and again through films, series and countless creative interpretations across the globe.

This time, AORTA’s director and playwright Aim-ei Polpitak reimagines the story of the six Bennet women, placing them within the world of 2025. Their lives unfold within the intimate setting of a single room — a space that becomes a mirror of negotiation, longing and struggle in a world that remains beyond their control — whether in the past or the present.

The play invites audiences to breathe alongside these six characters in an atmosphere of warmth laced with Austen’s signature wit for almost two hours. Experience their love, hopes and choices — moments that will make you laugh, move your heart and perhaps bring tears to your eyes.

The stage design, crafted by Norse with furniture by Hay, evokes a contemporary aesthetic intertwined with the classical spirit of Austen, bridging timeless sensibilities with the truths of today’s world.

The performance is presented in Thai, with no English surtitles provided. Tickets cost 900 baht.

The energy minister on Monday ordered a reduction in pump prices of 50 satang per litre for diesel and 30 satang for all kinds of petrol, effective from 5am Tuesday.

Auttapol Rerkpiboon said had ordered the board of the state Oil Fuel Fund to make the reduction to help reduce the cost of living and stimulate the grassroots economy.

The price of standard diesel will fall from 31.44 baht to 30.94 baht per litre. Retailers will decide whether to apply the cut to premium diesel.

On Monday retail petrol prices ranged from 27.89 to 49.84 baht per litre in Bangkok.

Prices are slightly higher in provinces outside the Bangkok area.

The filling of the massive sinkhole on Samsen Road in Bangkok’s Dusit district has been completed, paving the way for the demolition of the damaged Samsen police station, Bangkok’s governor said.

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said on Monday at the sinkhole site that 1,700 cubic metres of crushed stone had been levelled over the sand-filled sinkhole, which now appeared stable enough for people to walk on. Nearby structures, including police flats, Vajira Hospital and nearby commercial buildings, showed no movement or additional cracking, except for the Samsen police station, he said.

The next step, the governor added, would be the demolition of the Samsen police station followed by road reconstruction. The demolition was expected to take about four days. Because the station’s floors were built using the post-tension technique, the work must be done with great care to prevent the slings from snapping, he said.

Mr Chadchart noted that no date had been set yet for the reopening of Samsen Road.

He said the project would also involve restoring subway tunnels beneath the road and reconstructing underground utilities, including water mains and sewers. All work would proceed cautiously with safety as the top priority.

The sinkhole, which appeared on Sept 24 on Samsen Road in Dusit district, formed above an underground railway station being built for the Mass Rapid Transit Authority’s (MRTA) Purple Line extension. It initially measured about 30 metres wide, 30 metres long and 20 metres deep.

The state-run MRTA attributed the incident to the area’s water-saturated, soft soil, which cracked and flowed into the tunnels and the under-construction Vajira Hospital station on the Purple Line.

A relentless surge in the price of gold is delivering windfalls across emerging markets, boosting investor confidence in countries that mine and buy the metal.

In South Africa, home to the world’s deepest gold mines, stocks are on track for the best year in two decades, with shares of miners like Sibanye Stillwater Ltd, AngloGold Ashanti Plc and Gold Fields Ltd tripling in value. The credit rating of Ghana, Africa’s top gold producer, has been upgraded by Moody’s Ratings. Emerging-market countries rank among the biggest buyers of bullion, boosting national coffers.

For money managers in emerging markets, gold’s surge is giving them another reason to stay bullish. By fanning a wealth effect for bullion producers and buyers alike, valuable gold holdings are giving investors more conviction to buy. In a report earlier this month, Goldman Sachs Group Inc strategists listed South Africa’s mining strength as a top reason it sees gains ahead for the country’s bonds and stocks.

‘The rally in gold is beneficial for a small group of countries in emerging markets such as Uzbekistan, Ghana and South Africa,’ said Daniel Wood, a portfolio manager at William Blair Investment Management. ‘The wider story of the rising gold price is that investors are increasingly looking for alternative investments away from the more traditional developed market currencies, particularly the US dollar.’

Wood said he’s bullish on Uzbekistan’s currency because the country is both a major bullion producer and holds substantial reserves. He added that soaring metal prices are part of the reason why South Africa’s markets are having such a historic year.

South Africa’s FTSE/JSE Africa All Shares Index has gained more than 30% in 2025. The rand is near a one-year high, and the 10-year government bond yield recently fell below 9% for the first time in more than seven years. Slowing inflation that’s allowed the country’s central bank to cut interest rates is also boosting market sentiment.

All in all, it’s a dramatic turnaround for a country that has struggled to attract investors for years because of political turmoil and power shortages that sapped economic growth.

Another country that’s benefiting from the gold rally is Ghana. After enduring an economic crisis in 2022 that caused it to default on its debt, the nation has been on a path to recovery under new President John Mahama. The cedi has strengthened about 38% this year, the biggest increase globally.

Other investors said they’re watching countries like Poland, Turkey and Kazakhstan, which have all been adding to their gold reserves. Alexis de Mones, a fixed-income portfolio manager at Ashmore Group Plc, said that while the trend is generally positive, investors shouldn’t read too much into it.

‘Those countries that have a greater share of gold in their reserves will also look better, but one should not necessarily look at pricing effects as a source of credit strength,’ he said.

The bigger driver for emerging markets is the fact that higher gold prices are coming at a time when the dollar is weak and financial conditions are broadly easing, de Mones added. That’s a view echoed by Ning Sun, a senior emerging-markets strategist at State Street Markets in Boston.

She said rising gold prices are usually part of a broad move that drags down anything risky. But in this case, given dollar weakness and nervousness about US economic policy, that relationship has flipped. And now, emerging markets are turning out to be a winner.

‘The rally does benefit emerging markets more than developed markets,’ she said. ‘Emerging markets not only produce gold, they also hoard the metal.’

The Social Security Office (SSO) is once again at the centre of an embarrassing controversy following a recent online public hearing on reform of the pension formula for insured workers under Sections 33 and 39 of the Social Security Act.

The public consultation, held through the government’s online platforms, was meant to gather opinions from contributors about how to ensure fairness and the long-term sustainability of the nation’s largest welfare fund.

Instead, it was marred by an apparent surge of automated “bot” responses over several days, raising suspicions that certain groups may have attempted to sway the outcome. Such interference is not merely a technical glitch; it is a disgrace.

The SSO’s pension reform is a matter of national significance, with profound consequences for the 24.6 million insured workers and the 2.65-trillion-baht funding that supports them. The reform aims to address structural weaknesses that, if left unchecked, could cause the pension system to collapse within the next three decades as Thailand’s ageing population expands and payout obligations outstrip contributions.

The proposed reform centres around adopting a new “CARE” formula to replace an outdated system that calculates pensions based on the salary in the final 60 months of work. Under the current structure, workers whose income declines before retirement, or those who shift from formal employment (covered under Section 33) to voluntary coverage (under Section 39), are unfairly penalised. The new system would instead use adjusted lifetime average earnings to calculate pensions more accurately, ensuring greater equity and alignment with real income levels.

While the CARE model may reduce benefits for a small group of contributors whose earnings rose sharply in their final working years, it will improve fairness across the system as a whole. This is a necessary step to preserve confidence in a fund that millions of Thais rely upon for their future.

Yet pension formula reform alone will not save the Social Security Fund. The root of the problem lies in governance and transparency. In recent months, questions have emerged over the SSO’s budget allocations, procurement practices and investment management. There are reports about outsiders being invited to board meetings on key investment strategies. Such issues have undermined trust among members who already hesitate to increase their contributions. The bot incident is therefore symbolic of a broader malaise: a system vulnerable to manipulation, both technical and institutional. It underscores why reforming the formula must go hand-in-hand with a root-and-branch overhaul of management within the SSO itself.

Thailand’s largest public fund cannot afford to be seen as opaque, complacent or compromised. Rebuilding public trust through genuine accountability and open governance must form the foundation of any meaningful reform. Only then can the SSO truly safeguard the financial security of workers, not just for the next 30 years but for generations to come.

The government should use this opportunity to review the broader social protection system. Pension reform must reflect a genuine social contract between the state and citizens. The SSO’s credibility will depend on its willingness to confront technical and ethical challenges transparently, showing that public welfare, not political interest, is its guiding principle.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the government has a plan to deal with the conflict with Cambodia, before warning that any intrusion into the kingdom’s sovereign territory will be met with firm action.

Speaking at a seminar jointly organised by the Medical Council of Thailand and the Mahitala Dhibesra Institute on Sunday, Mr Anutin said: ‘As the government, I ask everyone in Thailand to remain calm about the situation with Cambodia. We will not be at a disadvantage.

“Some have asked why the government has been so quiet. Sir, would you go to war and announce your battle plans? You cannot tell them in advance that you will negotiate or take certain actions – the moment you do, they will counter it over there.

“Be assured: no government will allow our country to be placed at a disadvantage by a neighbouring state or by any country with which we have a dispute. We must protect our national interests,” he said.

“Some say Thailand is doing nothing and is allowing the other side to act unilaterally. Let me make it clear: there have been no shots fired into our territory, no invasions, no provocations along our border. Why? Because our message reached them: if they come, we will respond decisively. They know that and have thought better of it.

“But I cannot stand here and say, ‘If they come we will send this force’ – that is impossible. We will not disclose our plans and allow others to prepare,” he said.

The government will expel any intruders in Thai territory, but in disputed areas, its actions must follow international procedures, with discussions and negotiations determining the scope of intervention, the prime minister said.

Separately, Nikorndej Balankura, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) special session in Chanthaburi on Oct 20-21 will focus on two key issues, namely Cambodian encroachment in Ban Nong Chan and Ban Nong Ya Kaeo in Sa Kaeo, and Thailand’s plan to build a fence along agreed border markers.

Senator Angkhana Neelapaijit has requested police protection following a series of death threats and online harassment linked to her comments on the Thai-Cambodian border conflict.

The threats, which also allegedly targeted senior Human Rights Watch researcher Sunai Phasuk, have prompted calls from 19 human rights organisations for urgent safeguards and respect for freedom of expression.

Ms Angkhana and Mr Sunai on Saturday submitted a letter to the national police chief, Pol Gen Kittharath Punpetch, urging the enforcement of legal protections for human rights defenders and their families. The request follows escalating threats via social media, including vulgar phone calls and accusations of disloyalty to the nation.

“I merely exercised my right to question government policy,” said Ms Angkhana. “Yet I’ve been branded unpatriotic. We must be able to disagree without fear. The situation has gone beyond free speech — I now fear for my safety.”

Police have since deployed uniformed and plainclothes officers to guard her residence. She called on the government to educate the public on the importance of rights and dignity in shaping Thailand’s global image.

Mr Sunai reported similar threats after scrutinising government actions. “My criticism is based on evidence, not emotion,” he said.

The threats intensified after the pair criticised a nationalist influencer’s stunt in which he deployed loudspeakers to blare helicopter and fighter jet sounds near Cambodian refugee settlements in Sa Kaeo. The pair argued the act undermined diplomatic efforts and risked inflaming tensions.

Their remarks triggered a wave of online attacks, including references to the 2004 enforced disappearance of Ms Angkhana’s husband, lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit.

Confucian studies in Thailand are gaining renewed momentum through research collaborations, youth-focused initiatives and international partnerships, as highlighted during the 7th meeting of the Executive Committee of the International Confucian Association (ICA), held recently in Xiamen, China.

In his remarks at the meeting, former deputy prime minister Phinij Jarusombat praised the ICA’s growing influence in advancing Confucian research and fostering intercultural dialogue.

He cited the successful “Harmonious Civilisation Seminar 2025”, held in Bangkok in June, as a prime example of Thailand’s active role in promoting Confucian thought across Southeast Asia.

“This meeting allows us to reflect on the past, assess the present, and plan for the future,” Mr Phinij said. “The Bangkok seminar vividly demonstrated how Confucian wisdom can engage with global challenges through the exchange of ideas across cultures.”

The 2025 seminar, themed “Confucian Philosophy and Global Civilisational Dialogue”, attracted hundreds of participants from political, academic and business sectors across Asia and beyond.

Attended by high-level representatives, including ICA President Sun Chunlan and senior Thai officials, the event established a platform for in-depth exchanges on Confucian values such as benevolence, sincerity and harmony.

Discussions explored how these principles could inform responses to pressing global issues, including climate change, social fragmentation and geopolitical tensions.

Delegates also examined Confucian perspectives on education, youth responsibility and corporate ethics, with the seminar fostering new networks of cross-cultural understanding.

Mr Phinij said the seminar underscored the vitality of Confucianism in contemporary society.

Rather than dwelling on the past, the discussions focused on how Confucian moral wisdom can guide areas such as business ethics, family education and community governance — even extending to frontier fields like artificial intelligence and digital ethics.

Core Confucian tenets such as “Do not do to others what you do not wish for yourself” and “Harmony without uniformity” were presented as valuable frameworks for global governance and international relations in today’s fragmented world.

The seminar’s messages resonated widely through extensive coverage by Thai and international media. Its emphasis on “harmony” inspired young people to reflect on how traditional culture can coexist with modern civilisation. Mr Phinij noted that although Confucian wisdom is rooted in China, it can flourish within Thailand’s cultural landscape, which blends Buddhist and traditional values.

Drawing from Thailand’s experience, Mr Phinij presented two proposals to strengthen global Confucian scholarship and cooperation. He proposed establishing a Thai-Chinese International Confucian Research Centre to systematically translate and interpret classical Confucian texts while training a new generation of bilingual scholars versed in both Thai and Chinese cultures.

The initiative would also integrate Confucian values — including filial piety, compassion, loyalty, honesty, propriety, justice and self-reflection — into Thai education.

Thailand’s role as a regional tourism and cultural hub could further be leveraged to host more intercultural events, including future Harmonious Civilisation Seminars, positioning the country as a key node for Confucian exchange in Southeast Asia.

Mr Phinij also advocated for a rotating regional hosting mechanism within the ICA to better reflect global diversity and incorporate perspectives from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.

Leadership has always been about more than a title. Yet in today’s world of rapid change and constant uncertainty, the definition of leadership is being rewritten.

The people who truly move organisations forward are not those who rely on authority or seniority, but those who redefine what leadership means, day by day and decision by decision.

Lead with Agility, Not Playbooks

Markets can shift overnight, hybrid workplaces continue to reshape culture, and digital disruption has become the new normal. In this environment, the best leaders are those who adapt quickly, rally their people and find new paths forward even when the way is unclear.

Flexibility is now one of the most valuable leadership skills. It allows organisations to stay resilient when faced with unexpected challenges, and to seize opportunities before others even see them.

Quote to remember: ‘In 2025, flexibility is the new authority.’

EQ Over IQ

Technical expertise may open doors, but emotional intelligence (EQ) is what keeps teams engaged and inspired. In an age where technology can outperform humans in logic and data, what remains uniquely human is empathy. Teams want leaders who listen with intention, show respect and make people feel seen and valued.

Leaders who can manage emotions – their own and others’ – create trust. They know that difficult conversations, handled with honesty and care, strengthen relationships instead of breaking them.

Courageous Communication Builds Trust

In Thai culture, silence is often a sign of politeness. Yet in leadership, silence can lead to misunderstanding or loss of confidence. Effective leaders are those who speak openly and transparently, even when they do not have all the answers.

Saying, ‘I don’t know yet, but here is how we will figure it out together,’ demonstrates strength and humility. It invites collaboration and shows commitment to finding solutions rather than pretending to have them.

Quote to remember: ‘Courage builds credibility.’

Create Leaders, Not Followers

The ultimate measure of leadership in 2025 is not individual success, but the ability to build other leaders. Great leaders share ownership, invite participation and trust their teams to make meaningful decisions. They recognise that leadership is not about control, but about creating conditions where others can thrive.

When leaders invest in developing future successors, they secure not just today’s performance but tomorrow’s sustainability.

Quote to remember: ‘Great leaders do not grow followers. They grow more leaders.’

Leading Forward

Those who embrace adaptability, empathy, courage and empowerment will not just manage the future – they will define it. Leadership in 2025 is no longer about hierarchy; it is about humanity, connection and the ability to help others lead alongside you.

A man who parked his pickup truck behind an ambulance is accused of disrupting the emergency transfer of a critically ill patient at Plaipraya Hospital in Krabi province. The patient later died from respiratory failure.

The family in the pickup was transporting their mother, who was conscious and responsive but suffering from dizziness.

The hospital in Plai Phraya district issued a statement on Saturday to express condolences to the deceased and explain the incident, which took place on Thursday, Oct 16.

At 11.10pm, medical staff, stretcher personnel and security officers were actively providing emergency care to a male patient suffering from acute myocardial infarction and respiratory failure, which required intubation, the statement said.

The patient was prepared for transfer to Krabi Hospital, which is a referral facility with greater treatment capacity.

‘At 11.15pm, a brown Toyota pickup truck was parked closely behind the designated ambulance, blocking its rear door,’ it said. ‘The vehicle was transporting another woman patient, 69.’

The relatives wheeled her into the emergency room and encountered the head nurse, who was preparing documents and working on the transfer of the critical patient, the hospital said.

The nurse explained the situation to the relatives and asked them to wait for a moment, providing a bed for the patient and taking notes about her medical history. ‘However, they complained with loud voices about the lack of immediate attention for their mother,’ the hospital’s statement said. (Story continues below)

When the critical patient was about to board the ambulance, staff discovered the truck was still obstructing their way. They requested the driver to move the vehicle, but he did not cooperate. ‘The truck owner continued to angrily complain about the lack of service,’ the hospital said.

‘The family of the critical patient then went on their knees in tears, pleading with the driver to move the truck.’

Despite their pleas, the other party continued to argue with staff for some time before eventually moving the vehicle, allowing the transportation to Krabi Hospital, the statement said.

However, the critical patient, who was the father of the family, later passed away on the same night. For the patient transported in the pickup, doctors provided emergency care until her condition improved and prescribed medication for home use.

The hospital said the actions of the truck owner ‘obstructed urgent duties of the medical team’.

According to Thairath Online, a daughter of the deceased, identified as Pattaraporn Panich, 29, said she believed that if the transfer had been a bit faster, her father might have survived as every minute is critical for a heart disease patient.

The family is not pursuing any legal action at this time and will decide whether to do so after the father’s funeral. Plai Phraya Hospital director Dr Natthapong Doo-Ngam shared with Thairath that the hospital has assigned its legal team to gather evidence and consider reporting to police on Monday. The details have not yet been finalised, he said.

It was found that the truck driver was an employee of Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc.

‘After reviewing the surrounding facts, the company determined that the employee’s behaviour did not align with the organisation’s values and operational principles,” the company said in a statement issued on Sunday. “Therefore, the company has decided to stop employing the individual involved.”