Murder and....lack of modern Siam? | Bangkok Post: learning
Murder and....lack of modern Siam?  Level switch:   1. Advanced
Murder as a business strategy has existed for a long time in
Thailand. No names this time, but fingers are all pointing
towards one "influential figure."  Witnesses are hesitant to
come forward and testify in a trial because they also may be
murdered.  Even if the perpetrator of the murder is finally
convicted, it may take decades (Read article).   This time the
family of a cabinet minister may be implicated in a murder over
a land deal gone bad.  US political scientist Benedict Anderson
wrote his famous article "Murder and progress in modern Siam" in
1990. The paper begins by mentioning the 1983 box-office hit Mue
Puen [มือปืน, the gunman]. The hero of the film "officially
supports himself by working as a barber; but we are soon shown
that he is secretly a highly paid professional killer. His
paymasters are wealthy businessmen—and so are his victims."
Almost 30 years later, it seems