Literary bridges

Published on February 26

The first volume of "Don Quixote" has been translated into Thai, bringing the classic text to the Kingdom for the first time. Spanish has been Professor Swangwan Thaichareon-wiwat's preferred foreign language ever since she was a fourth-year student at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Arts in 1985. And of the great Spanish literary masters, Miguel de Cervantes ranked as her favourite.

"I first read Cervantes' "Don Quixote", penned in 1605, when I was 20. After graduating from Chulalongkorn, I continued my study of Spanish and Latin-American literature and earned a master's degree from New York University's campus in Madrid in 1988," Swangwan, 41, said. "When I was younger, I liked [the book] because of its sense of humour. When I got older, I found its message to be very substantial. Most importantly, "Don Quixote" highlights the ethical values of human beings."

She later joined Ramkhamhaeng University as a lecturer and helped set up the university's Spanish-language unit. She was also involved in the compilation of the first Thai-Spanish dictionary.

A gifted translator, she has also produced Thai versions of several notable foreign literary works so they are accessible to a wider local readership.

Most importantly, Swangwan was commissioned in 2004 to translate "Don Quixote", one of the world's greatest literary masterpieces, into Thai. For 18 months she was on loan from Ramkhamhaeng University to undertake this monumental project under the Spanish Embassy's sponsorship.

Balanced blogger

Published on November 19

Sarinee Achavanuntakul, 32, better known as "Fringer" in cyberspace, loves to write and share information, knowledge and wisdom with like-minded people. Fourteen months ago, she set up the fringer.org website as a forum for these pursuits.

"It liberates me," says the US-educated former financial executive, who believes that blogs, or web logs, and personal websites hold new promise for the advancement of mankind's knowledge.

She shares the opinion of Rupert Murdoch that the advent of blogs, of which there are now several hundred million worldwide, is probably comparable to the invention of the printing press some five centuries ago in terms of knowledge dissemination and creation.

Blogs (the term "blog" entered the "Oxford English Dictionary" in 2003) were a natural progression from Internet chat rooms, ICQ and online diaries.

Sarinee, who earned an economics degree from Harvard University in 1996, says blogs can also be considered part of the "creative destruction" process in which traditional mass-media outlets will find themselves increasingly being displaced by the new media.

In the era of 'Netizenship', many consumers of news and information will also become co-producers, posing new challenges to the gatekeepers at traditional mainstream media outlets such as newspapers and TV networks.

Fair and clear outlook

Published on October 15

Despite his relative youth, this law lecturer is a veteran in the fight for justice, which he wants to see done in the sell-off of Shin Corp.

At first sight, Sattra Toa-on looks just like the young guy next door. Yet, he made news headlines last month by taking state officials to court for dereliction of duty over the sale of Shin Corp.

The 28-year-old junior law lecturer at Rangsit University argued that the deal seriously damaged the interests of the Thai public and consumers, and accused officials at various government agencies of negligence in this regard. The Central Administrative Court agreed to hear the case last month.

Sattra also told the court that the Bt73-billion sale of Shin Corp to Temasek Holdings of Singapore violated at least four laws - Article 39 and Article 40 of the 1997 charter, the Foreign Business Act and the National Telecom Commission Law. In essence, he argued that the licences of iTV, Shin Satellite Plc and Advanced Info Service (AIS), now held by Temasek, are no longer valid because the Singaporean firm's direct and indirect shareholdings in these businesses has topped 96 per cent, far exceeding the legal limit of 49 per cent.

Cine inspiration

Published on June 18

Suparb Rimtheparthip believes films can make the world a better, safer place, and he's out to promote them. Sometimes short films can be much more powerful than weapons or military might. Based on this belief, a project called "Films for Peace" was initiated to help ease the ongoing southern violence. And a key man behind this initiative is Suparb Rimtheparthip.

Suparp, editor of the film magazine Bioscope and one of 12 core members of the project, made the dream of bringing together the world of film-makers and the world of "hard-core" human-rights experts and southern activists a reality.

The aim was to gather through a contest a set of short films that create better public understanding of the roots of the region's problem.

A panel of officials from the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) and film industry experts selected 12 short films from 308 entries. These were screened for the public last month at a special festival in Bangkok. The films are now also available.

This has all been done under the umbrella of the NRC - a special body set up to help resolve violence in the South, which recently submitted its final report to the government.

The EC Three's 'David'

Published on July 30

Thaworn Senniam, 59, deputy secretary-general of the opposition Democrat Party, was in the spotlight as his landmark April 18 lawsuit essentially led to the downfall of the three remaining members of the Election Commission. The decision paved the way for the judiciary to nominate new commissioners for the next general election.

Dubbed the little David who has killed the giant EC, Thaworn, a former public prosecutor for nearly two decades, says he filed the lawsuit against former EC chairman Vasana Puemlarp and two other commissioners as a private citizen after the party declined to take the trio to court.

"I took them to court as a Thai citizen with the right to vote and the obligation to pay taxes, since I was damaged by the EC trio's illegal acts and dishonesty when they organised the April 2 and related polls. As you know, the Criminal Court has ruled that these guys [who earlier repeatedly declined to step down to help break the political deadlock] had helped the Thai Rak Thai Party in winning the inconclusive polls, whose results were soon nullified by the Constitution Court.

"As a citizen, I was entitled to cast my ballot in a free and fair election and as a taxpayer I was damaged because the EC had wasted the public's money to the tune of Bt2.3 billion in organising that failed election," says Thaworn, a graduate of Thammasat University's Faculty of Law.

Homespun wisdom

Published on July 2

Sumet Tantivejkul explains why the Western development model lacks the sustainability of sufficiency economy.

Sumet, a former chief of Thailand's National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), accepted an invitation from the British Council and the British Chamber of Commerce in Thailand to give a public address on His Majesty the King's initiatives on sufficiency economy for sustainable development.

The presentation, marking the 60th anniversary of His Majesty's accession to the throne, was bilingual, but Sumet, who is well versed in foreign languages, especially French, was requested by the organisers to speak in Thai, as the majority of the audience were locals.

In his speech Sumet criticised, with a few apologies, the Western mainstream development model.

He said Thailand had been following this mainstream thought on economic and social development for decades, with high economic or GDP growth rates being the sole indicator of success. From the late 1960s until the 1997 economic crisis, annual growth rates ranged between 7 and 10 per cent per annum. But the price of such success was that plenty of natural and other resources were used up in driving exports or tourism, at the expense of local people and the environment.

Scientific synergy

Published on June 11

Dr Pornchai Matangkasombat is heading the drive to get maximum leverage from Thailand's research.

Pornchai, 67, is regarded as one of Thailand's top scientists in the fields of microbiology and immunology, as well as a staunch advocate of a close linkage between academia, the private sector and government to increase the value of the country's basic scientific research and talents. In 2004 Pornchai, who had been serving as president of the prestigious Mahidol University since 1999, was approached by the government to spearhead the setting up of the Thailand Centre for Excellence in Life Sciences, a non-profit organisation tasked with promoting coordination between government, scientists and business. This is seen as crucial to establishing Thailand as the regional hub for the biotechnology industry and related services.

Following the successful mapping of the entire human genetic code in 2003, the future of medicine - the diagnosis of illnesses as well as the pharmaceuticals used to treat them - is heading toward substantial advances never seen before in the history of mankind. Besides the promise of great improvements in people's daily lives, life sciences, or modern biology aided by rapid advancement in digital technology, have opened up new opportunities for businesses and entrepreneurs worldwide.

As for Thailand, Pornchai, who graduated with a PhD in microbiology from the University of Wisconsin in 1968, prior to which he was granted a Borden Research Award in Medicine, says the right infrastructure and management system are needed to further develop the biotech industry and services.

Nophakhun Limsamarnphun

nop1122@yahoo.com