With Thailand’s general election just over a week away, I figured it’s time once more to chat with journalist Erin Cook, who specialises in South-East Asia. But as always we talk about much more than just Thailand.
Erin produces the excellent newsletter Dari Mulut ke Mulut, an English-language summary of what’s happening in the region, and an occasional newsletter specifically on the Australia-Indonesia relationship, Flat White, Kopi Susu.
In this episode we discuss what to look out for in Thai politics over the coming weeks. We also talk about the elections in Myanmar, the latest deadly landslide in Indonesia, a couple of events in the Philippines, the Cowra prisoner of war camp, making excuses, the Crying Horse, and Donald Trump’s body odour.
This podcast is available on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, JioSaavn, Pocket Casts, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, Spotify, and Speaker.
You can also subscribe to the generic podcast feed.
Episode Links
-
Following Southeast Asia and Timor-Leste, mostly elections, FP and Instagram posts. Don't complain to me that I don't cover business enough, I do not know of such things.
-
Erin Cook's newsletter covering South-East Asia, but in June 2025 it's moving to Substack.
-
Erin Cook's newsletter covering South-East Asia, this being its new home from June 2025.
-
Erin Cook's other newsletter, specifically about the Australia-Indonesia relationship.
-
[27 January 2026] At least 25 people have been killed by a landslide in Indonesia - and many others remain missing. Rescuers are searching for victims after the disaster - which buried the village of Pasir Langu in West Java province.
-
[26 January 2026] At least 42 people are missing after landslide in West Java, with 23 deaths confirmed among Indonesian marine force.
-
[30 December 2025] One of the deadliest disasters in Indonesia in recent years struck in November 2025, when days of intense rainfall triggered flooding and landslides across three provinces on the island of Sumatra: Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra.
-
Abhisit Vejjajiva MPCh MWM (Thai: อภิสิทธิ์ เวชชาชีวะ, RTGS: Aphisit Wetchachiwa, Thai pronunciation: [ʔà.pʰí.sìt wêːt.tɕʰāː.tɕʰīː.wáʔ] ; born 3 August 1964) is a Thai politician who was the 27th prime minister of Thailand from 2008 to 2011. He was the leader of the Democrat Party from 2005 until he resigned following the party's weak performance in the 2019 election. He returned as leader of the party once again in October 2025, following party elections.
-
[3 January 2026] 2026: Thai politics beyond snap general elections
-
A general election is scheduled to be held in Thailand on 8 February 2026 in order to determine the composition of the House of Representatives. A referendum will also be held on the same day so as to determine whether the 2017 constitution should be replaced with a new one.
-
[19 January 2026] People’s Party are the frontrunner. The party is the third iteration of the Future Forward/Move Forward movement after both parties were forcibly dissolved and MPs booted from parliament over painfully transparent moves to rein in their immense success
-
[19 January 2026] At this election, all voters will receive three ballots. The first two is for the general election. The green ballot is used to cast a vote for the local candidate that you wish to represent your constituency. The pink ballot is for the party-list, where the votes will be used to proportionally calculate how many of the one hundred party-list MPs each party gets. In total, 500 MPs will be elected. Voters will also receive an additional yellow ballot for the constitutional referendum (more on that below).
-
On 18 June 2025, a political crisis in Thailand arose when a phone call between then-Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Cambodian senate president Hun Sen leaked amidst a major border conflict between the two kingdoms. The leak led the Bhumjaithai Party to withdraw from the governing coalition led by Paetongtarn and her Pheu Thai Party. The resulting controversy and backlash led the Constitutional Court to suspend Paetongtarn from her official duties on 1 July, before fully removing her from office on 29 August.
-
[3 September 2025] The Constitutional Court has ruled that Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra violated ethical standards in her leaked voice call with Cambodia’s de facto leader Hun Sen, and is to be removed from office as a result.
-
[26 January 2026] Pheu Thai announces its biggest giveaway yet
-
[20 January 2026] Thailand is heading into elections next month, with parties campaigning across the country. A small party, the New Alternative Party, has proposed state-assisted matchmaking to help single citizens find partners. The party says the plan would include opposite-sex and same-sex couples, allow choices between Thai and foreign partners, and offer rematching if a first match fails. The proposal comes as Thailand’s birth rate declines, with annual births falling from over one million in the 1980s to around 500,000 to 600,000 in recent years. More than 20 percent of Thailand’s population is now over 60.
-
Scroll down for a look at Thailand's population pyramid. It's going to be quite challenging.
-
Since 1896, the company used its "57 Varieties" slogan; it was inspired by a sign advertising 21 styles of shoes, and Henry Heinz chose the number 57 even though the company then manufactured more than 60 products, because "5" was his lucky number and "7" was his wife's.
-
[7 January 2026] Little buzz around the question of drafting a new constitution
-
[1 July 2025] Since 1932, there have been 22 coups in Thailand. Most were bloodless, and 13 succeeded in establishing military rule. The most recent was in 2014, when the army ousted Prime Minister Paetongtarn’s aunt Yingluck Shinawatra. A military junta ruled until 2019, when Thailand transitioned into a “military-dominated, semi-elected government,” according to Freedom House. The army maintained considerable political influence until more open and fair elections were held in May 2023.
-
Since the abolition of the absolute monarchy in 1932, Thailand has had 20 charters or constitutions. Many changes followed military coups, reflecting the high degree of political instability in the country. After each successful coup, military regimes abrogated the existing constitution, generally without public consultation.
-
[26 January 2026] The Election Commission (EC) has revealed that a total of 139,810 Thais in 135 countries have registered to vote in the general election on February 8th, while 95,975 across 122 countries have registered to vote in the referendum. The largest number of registrants is in Australia, followed by the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Germany. In Australia, 26,463 people have registered to vote in the general election and 19,802 in the referendum. In the U.S., 17,411 have registered for the election and 11,114 for the referendum.
-
This study is evaluating an investigational combination vaccine against illness caused by RSV, hMPV and PIV3 in one injection. The study aims to evaluate if the vaccine will produce antibodies against the 3 viruses. The impact of this research may be life changing – not only improving individual health but also protecting vulnerable populations worldwide.
-
While development of The University of Queensland's first iteration of a COVID-19 vaccine will not progress, the process matured their rapid-response ‘molecular clamp’ vaccine technology.
-
A molecular clamp is a polypeptide used to maintain the shape of proteins in some experimental vaccines. On a virus, pre-fusion proteins on their surface provide an attractive target for an immune reaction. However, if these proteins are removed or made by recombinant technology, they lose their shape and form what is called a "post-fusion form". When part of a virus, these proteins maintain their form by forming a quaternary structure with other viral proteins. The pre-fusion state of the protein is a higher energy metastable state. The extra energy is used to overcome the activation barrier of the fusion to the cell membrane. The virus protein (or part of it) in combination with the clamp polypeptide is called a chimeric polypeptide.
-
[11 December 2025] Thailand and Cambodia are back. Thailand launched an airstrike along the disputed border areas on Monday, following weeks of simmering tensions and small-scale spats. At least 13 soldiers and civilians have been killed in recent days, Al Jazeera reports. Half a million people on either side of the border have been sent scrambling for shelter.
-
[31 December 2025] Thailand hands over 18 Cambodian soldiers after 155 days in captivity as a truce agreed over the weekend continues to hold.
-
[15 January 2026] According to the Lincoln Square Project, Ford workers in Detroit had an unexpected sensory takeaway from the president's recent visit. Staffers there report multiple workers describing "Diaper Don" Trump's body odor as "like bad breath mixed with feces — I can't describe it, but I'll never forget it."
-
The Cambodia–Thailand border dispute is a territorial dispute between Cambodia and Thailand over certain areas of their border. It began in the 1950s, shortly after Cambodia's independence from France, and first centred on ownership of the Preah Vihear temple... The dispute mostly stems from the Franco-Siamese treaties of 1904 and 1907, which defined the final boundary between Siam (as Thailand was then known) and French Indochina, the borders of which were inherited by Cambodia.
-
Cowra Prisoner of War Camp Site is a heritage-listed former prisoner-of-war camp at Evans Street, Cowra in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The camp was built from 1941 to 1944. It was the location of the infamous Cowra breakout in 1944.
-
The Cowra Breakout occurred on 5 August 1944, when 1,104 Japanese prisoners of war escaped from a POW camp near Cowra, in New South Wales, Australia. It was the largest prison escape of World War II, as well as one of the bloodiest. During the escape and ensuing manhunt, four Australian soldiers were killed and 231 Japanese soldiers were killed or committed suicide. The remaining escapees were re-captured and imprisoned.
-
The Cowra Japanese Garden and Cultural Centre is located in the town of Cowra, in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The 5 ha (12 acres) garden was established to recognize and develop the historic and ongoing relationship between the people of Cowra Shire and the people of Japan.
-
We must go back in time to the internment camp at Tanah Merah on the Digul River in Dutch New Guinea, a place often referred to as a concentration camp, though not officially designated as such. The camp was established in 1927 in the aftermath of the Indonesian Communist uprisings of 1926–27. It was hastily constructed to isolate those considered the most dangerous elements of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).
-
When the Japanese invaded the Dutch East Indies, some 20,000 Dutch and Indonesians (Netherlands East Indies – NEI) fled to Australia. As Australia had a strict White Australian Policies, native people from NEI were housed separately. Of them 1,200 Indonesian internees were held at the Cowra POW Camp during WWII. There were two groups, the first being merchant navy sailors and the second being Nationalists who had been exiled to what is now Irian Jaya (Dutch New Guinea) after they had been involved in the 1926 uprising.
-
[5 January 2026] Voting has begun in Myanmar. ‘Sham’ is the word, I’m assuming because it’s the most polite version reflecting what’s happening.
-
[27 January 2026] Far from being free and fair, the month-long elections that just concluded in Myanmar have been devoid of meaningful democratic practice... The multi-stage elections were being held in only a fraction of the country currently under the military’s authority. Elections were not held in opposition-held territory, so many otherwise eligible voters were disenfranchised.
-
General elections were held in Myanmar for elected seats in the Amyotha Hluttaw and the Pyithu Hluttaw of the Assembly of the Union in three phases, beginning on 28 December 2025 and concluding on 25 January 2026. The election is being held by Myanmar's military junta that came to power after the 2021 military coup d'état.
-
[25 January 2026] Many popular parties are banned from standing and voting has not been possible in large areas of the country because of a five-year-long civil war. The dominant party backed by the ruling military junta is expected to win a landslide victory.
-
[26 January 2026] Search and rescue operations continue for 10 people still missing after a passenger boat capsized off a southern Philippine province, with the death toll rising to 18, the Philippine Coast Guard said.
-
[27 January 2026] Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have ruled that former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte is fit to attend pre-trial proceedings for alleged crimes against humanity.
-
Thunderbirds turns 60 years old in 2025, with Trapped in the Sky celebrating its diamond jubilee on September 30, 2025. Like the 50th anniversary before it, many companies are releasing specially branded merchandise and brand new stories to commemorate the special occasion.
-
An in-depth documentary look at the creation and making of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Supermarionation classic, Thunderbirds.
-
[14 January 2026] Sewing mistake spawns unlikely retail hit seen as fitting mascot for approaching Lunar New Year of the Horse.
-
[27 January 2026] As the Lunar New Year approaches, a production error at a toy factory has led to the creation of a viral 'crying horse' plush toy. Intended to celebrate the Year of the Horse, the toy's upside-down mouth has resonated with China's overworked, stressed young white-collar employees. The toy has become a symbol of their struggles, with sales booming amid the country’s economic challenges and youth unemployment.
If the links aren’t showing up, try here.
Thank you, Media Freedom Citizenry
The 9pm Edict is supported by the generosity of its listeners. You can always throw a few coins into the tip jar or subscribe for special benefits. Please consider.
For this episode it’s thanks to Liam O’Boyle and Peter Evans.
And it’s thanks again to everyone who supported The 9pm Summer Series 2025 crowdfunding campaign.
CONVERSATION TOPICS: None this time.
THREE TRIGGER WORDS: Bernard Walsh, Garth Kidd, Paul Williams, Peter Lieverdink, Peter Wickins, and one person who chooses to remain anonymous.
WE WILL, WE WILL JUDGE YOU, part of Another Untitled Music Podcast: Joanna Forbes, Martin English, and one person who chooses to remain anonymous.
ONE TRIGGER WORD: Andrew Best, Drew Mayo, Errol Cavit, Frank Filippone, Jim Campbell, Jordan Wightman, Karl Sinclair, Kym Yeap, Mark Newton, Michael, Michael again, Miriam Faye, Nicole Coombe, Oliver Townshend, Peter Blakeley, Ric Hayman, Stephen Collins, Steve Sainsbury, and two people who choose to remain anonymous.
RECOMMEND A SONG TO US, another part of Another Untitled Music Podcast: Briala Bowmer, Kimberley Heitman, Mindy Johnson, and Rhydwyn.
PERSONALISED VIDEO MESSAGE: None of these this time either.
PERSONALISED AUDIO MESSAGE: Matthew Taylor, and one person who chooses to remain anonymous.
FOOT SOLDIERS FOR MEDIA FREEDOM who gave a SLIGHTLY LESS BASIC TIP: Chris Scobell, Craig Askings, deejbah, Hammy Goonan, James Henstridge, Leigh Costin, Lindsay, Opheli8, and one person who chooses to remain anonymous.
MEDIA FREEDOM CITIZENS who contributed a BASIC TIP: None of these either, which is curious.
And another ten people who chose to have no reward at all, even though some of them were the most generous of all. Thank you all so much. You know who you are.
Series Credits
- The 9pm Edict theme by mansardian via The Freesound Project.
- Edict fanfare by neonaeon, via The Freesound Project.
- Elephant Stamp theme by Joshua Mehlman.