"Paetongtarn had a call with the Cambodian president. There was a border clash, which I think ended up killing one Cambodian soldier. But part of this audio clip was leaked to the press, and in it, she referred to the president as 'uncle.' I think they have close family ties. The Shinawatra family and the Cambodian Senate president's family have been close—friends and political allies for a long time. And then, in the leaked audio, she also ended up criticizing the Thai military commander, kind of referring to them as the other side—her own Thai military. So after this phone call was leaked, there was a lot of backlash, a lot of people were not happy. But I think the context here is important too: people had not been super happy with her as Prime Minister for a while." - Wing Vasiksiri, Investor and Ecosystem Builder" - Wing Vasiksiri
"It's the same story that you cycle out many times, right? It's the same power play dynamic with the Shinawatra family. They continue to return to power over and over again, often with very high electoral support, but sometimes maybe they overestimate the lines in which they're able to play. Even a phone call with Cambodia that some people might view as just a friendly call between two people with a long family relationship—most people saw it as a betrayal of Thailand and maybe of the sovereignty of Thailand relative to Cambodia." - Wing Vasiksiri, Investor and Ecosystem Builder" - Wing Vasiksiri
"Democratic instability has been very much a recurring issue and theme across Thai politics, right? I think the biggest thing to keep in mind here is that this is just the latest escalation in a very long-running conflict—it’s been happening for, what, almost 20, 20-plus years. And even though the government was elected democratically, if the people aren't happy, you see protests, and they can still be removed by the courts. I think it shows that the Constitutional Court is still one of the most powerful players in Thai politics. But the ripple effects—from tourism, overall morale in the country, investor sentiment, investor confidence—it’s going to be, yeah, we’re going to continue feeling this, right?" - Wing Vasiksiri, Investor and Ecosystem Builder" - Wing Vasiksiri
In this episode, Jeremy Au speaks on leaked power calls, cannabis crackdown, and why Thailand's startup scene is quietly rebooting.
Keywords: Wing Vasiksiri, Leaked Power Calls, Cannabis Crackdown, Thailand Startup Scene Quietly Rebooting, Thailand, Southeast Asia, VC, Thought Leadership
