Supreme Patriarch backs reform effort
After meeting the Supreme Patriarch at Wat Ratchabophit yesterday, Mr Phumtham said in the wake of recent scandals which have rocked the monastic community, His Holiness is calling on all Thais to fully commit to protecting the religion.
He said the Supreme Patriarch is in favour of reviewing the Sangha Act, which was first enacted in 1962, to ensure its relevance in today's society.
"The Supreme Patriarch has also made it clear that action must be taken against monks who violate the monastic code," he said.
"His Holiness also supports a plan by authorities to draft new regulations. He called for a thorough review of the Sangha Act to strengthen its provisions."
He said that any amendments to the law must be coordinated with the Sangha Supreme Council, but emphasised that the Supreme Patriarch had already set the tone for a stricter and more disciplined approach.
The Minister of the Prime Minister's Office, Suchart Tancharoen, echoed the call for reform.
He said a working group is studying the Sangha Act to find ways to improve transparency and ensure punishment for misconduct.
The reform process is being fast-tracked with input from relevant agencies to ensure the solutions are comprehensive and practical, he said.
"We've already begun coordinating with the Ministry of Interior, local administrative bodies, and the national police," Mr Suchart said.
"The National Office of Buddhism [NOB] may not have the authority to make arrests, but other agencies can, and everyone is taking this matter seriously. We must act now to protect the faith, and remember that wrongdoing is individual, not institutional."
He confirmed he has instructed the NOB to draft the amendments within two weeks.
Separately, opposition and People's Party leader, Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, said his party is drafting its own version of the Sangha Act to address transparency in temple finances.
He proposed that all donations over 100,000 baht be processed through electronic systems to ensure accountability.
Key points in the draft include mandatory digital accounting of temple incomes, the use of e-donation systems for transparency, and strict bans on gambling or unethical conduct involving monks.
Disciplinary and legal action will be taken without any exceptions.
National Police chief Pol Gen Kittharath Punpetch said yesterday that the police have received 69 complaints against monks for misconduct.
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17 hours ago
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A courageous article
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I was quoted in an editorial back in 1996, during my time with Siam Express, saying that "Thailand's tourism industry is facing tough times with consumer choice, internet disruption and geopolitical impact." Jim Reed of Tour East echoed similar concerns at the time. Even then, we were speaking about patterns, waves of popularity, moments of saturation and the inevitable dips that follow. The current downturn, while real, is far from unprecedented. Analysis by the Kasikorn Bank Research Department tracks the decline in visitor arrivals to Thailand in the first half of 2025 and projects total arrivals for the year will reach 34.5 million. That figure is down from 35.5 million in 2024 and still well below the 39.9 million recorded in 2019, the final full year before the pandemic. These numbers reflect a measurable slowdown, but also a reminder that cycles, rather than collapses, define the tourism economy. History offers us perspective. Spain provides a compelling case study of cyclical tourism dynamics. Since 1946, the country has experienced at least two clear "life cycles" of tourism growth, first during the 1960s boom, and again from the mid-1990s into the early 2000s. Each phase of expansion was followed by a contraction, typically linked to wider economic pressures or geopolitical events. Tourism scholar Richard Butler's widely cited TALC model (Tourism Area Life Cycle) captures this rhythm well. His framework outlines six stages a destination typically moves through, from exploration to development, consolidation, stagnation, and ultimately either decline or rejuvenation. It's a theory that maps almost precisely onto Spain's S-shaped curve of international arrivals. In 1950, Spain welcomed fewer than a million overseas visitors. By 1973, that number had soared to 34 million. Following intermittent downturns during the oil crises of the 1970s and the global recession of 2008–09, Spain rebounded spectacularly. 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Bangkok Post
2 days ago
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Supreme Patriarch backs reform effort
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Bangkok Post
2 days ago
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BMA chief voices train fare compensation concerns
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