A fitting tribute to The Nation’s founder

I’m sure I speak for many readers of The Nation in adding my own praise to Tulsathit Taptim’s eloquent tribute to Khun Suthichai Yoon. If it weren’t for Khun Suthichai, we wouldn’t have this column. Indeed, we wouldn’t have any Nation at all.
For decades, under Khun Suthichai’s leadership, The Nation has acted as a feisty gadfly to sting whatever government happened to be in power whenever that government needed stinging. That tradition of speaking truth to power, of setting governments straight whenever they went astray, has continued up to the present day, when The Nation’s editorials boldly scold an addled and often misguided junta.
I first encountered Khun Suthichai’s writing way back in the 1970s, when I was a young English teacher in Taiwan and he was a young journalist writing for Asiaweek magazine (now sadly defunct). “Who is this guy?” I wondered. 
His writing showed an unusual breadth of knowledge and depth of insight into Asian affairs. 
I was happy to encounter it again, this time in The Nation, when I settled in Bangkok in the 1980s.
I’m sure staffers at The Nation will miss Khun Suthichai’s guiding hand, as we readers will miss his insightful observations. Even though he’s retiring, I hope his restless spirit will inspire him to continue to grace these pages with his ongoing commentary on the national and international scene.
S Tsow