News from Thailand – June 17, 2014
A collection of weapons of war has been found in a canal near the home of a man in Ayutthaya who had to report to the army. The resident was called up because he was suspected of illegal possession of weapons. The find consisted of an M79 grenade launcher, 16 grenades, an AK-47 rifle plus ammunition and two body armor.
No progress has yet been made in the investigation into the grenade explosion on Friday evening on Rama IX road (Bangkok). The explosion took place a few hours before the announcement of the end of the curfew. Examination of CCTV footage has not identified a suspect.
– Seven infrastructure projects costing more than 1 billion baht are being scrutinized by an NCPO committee. Are they transparent and do they not cost too much money? This includes the purchase of 115 passenger trains, 126 locomotives, the expansion of Suvarnabhumi Airport and a passenger screening system for Airports of Thailand.
Depending on the opinion of the committee, the projects will be canceled or adjusted downwards. If irregularities are discovered, they will be referred to the National Anti-Corruption Commission and the Attorney General.
– After two years, the junta pulls the plug on the controversial tablet PC program of the previous government. Even the students of educational zone 4 (North and Northeast) who are still entitled to a tablet, are fishing next to the net. It's over for the plaything of the former Pheu Thai government.
The budget earmarked for the program in the 2013 and 2014 budgets will be spent on more useful projects. The relevant services have already been asked to make proposals for this. Suthasri Wongsaman, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Education, is thinking of setting up the so-called smart classroom, a classroom with advanced technology.
– The construction of dike roads along the Chao Praya River is harmful to riparian communities and the landscape, and it increases carbon dioxide emissions. The Green World Foundation is not pleased with the plan to take this old project out of the closet.
According to General Secretary Saranarat Kanjanavanit, more roads only lead to more traffic; they do nothing to combat traffic congestion in Bangkok, which is one of the aims of the construction. Saranarat believes that it would be better to invest in water transport.
Noppanant Tapananont, a lecturer in architecture at Chulalongkorn University, is equally critical. The project poses a threat to the people living along the river, it blocks the view of historical sites and isolates residential areas.
The Stop Global Warming Association says the project should be subject to public hearings as it may have harmful effects on local residents. If that does not happen, the association will go to court.
Deputy Governor Jumpol Sampaopol of Bangkok Municipality warns that driving piles into ground along the river will affect the water flow of the river, which is the main outlet of water from Bangkok during the rainy season. The NCPO should study the project in detail to avoid problems with the water flow.
See also Plan for embankment roads along Chao Phraya taken out of the closet in News from Thailand of June 16.
– The court martial has issued arrest warrants against seven people who have not reported to the army. If found guilty, they could be jailed for up to two years and/or fined up to 40.000 baht.
– The University Network of Thailand's Reform asks the junta to summon former Prime Minister Thaksin. Thaksin's passport should also be revoked. Thaksin fled Thailand in 2008 shortly before being sentenced to 2 years in prison for abuse of power in the purchase of land by his then-wife.
– The junta has ordered the police to act against extortion of motorcycle taxi drivers. Some driver groups say they have to pay 300 baht to the police every month. The police deny the accusation and suspect that the blackmailers are posing as agents.
When extortion comes to an end, so can fare cheating, says Aphirat Khongsompong, commander of the First Infantry Division, which has been ordered by the junta to come clean. Two other army units will tackle misconduct by taxi drivers and illegal minibuses.
Only 5.000 driver groups are registered with the Land Transport Department; the rest [how many?] are illegal.
– 56 government companies are preparing to open their books so that the junta gains insight into the bonuses and showers paid. It will be checked whether they are in accordance with the regulations of the Bank of Thailand and the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
The junta's hunt for all those benefits has begun with the decision to scrap free travel for members of the board of directors and families of Thai Airways International (THAI). They can also do something about it in other companies.
Airport manager Airports of Thailand, for example, paid bonuses of eleven times the monthly salary last year. A source says that the height is related to the profit made. That amounted to 16 billion baht last year.
The bonus at THAI is 1 to 2 months salary. The president of the THAI union believes that nothing should be paid out because the company is making a loss. He argues for a maximum of four months.
The railways have never paid a bonus, because that company only makes a loss. This year could be the first time the company meets its target. Aeronautical Radio of Thailand has no bonus system. The company does pay a special allowance every year.
– The anti-coup three-finger gesture written on banknotes, although not banned, is not well received by the Bank of Thailand (BoT). Images of banknotes thus mutilated are circulating on social media.
The BoT insists on using banknotes correctly so that they last longer. New banknotes are printed every year; 80 percent of this is used to replace worn notes. The bank advises people who own such a banknote to exchange it at the Government Savings Bank.
– Tor Odland, Vice President of Telenor Asia, can pack his bags, because he has been transferred from his place of work in Bangkok to Norway. Odland embarrassed the junta by revealing that last month's blackout of DTAC's Facebook was not a technical glitch. The switch was turned at the request of telecommunications watchdog NBTC [read: the NCPO]. The head of Telenor Asia also risks being fired. Telenor is DTAC's largest shareholder.
The NBTC has a punishment in store for DTAC and Telenor. She will check whether Telenor owns too many shares in DTAC. She is also considering the auction of the fourth generation mobile broadband for certain bidders. DTAC would be the victim of this.
– To prevent booing with rice stocks, the army in the Northeast will seal all 315 rice warehouses. The army wants to make sure that rice is not transported until stocks have been inspected.
Eight thousand soldiers will assist with the inspections. They receive training for this. The junta has scrapped the controversial and costly mortgage system for rice. The purpose of the inspections is to establish quantity and quality to uncover corruption and detect decaying stocks. The purchased rice is stored in 1.800 warehouses and silos throughout the country.
– The police have four suspects in their sights for the murder of a woman, Sunday in a food shop in Khok Po (Pattani). Two people were also injured in the attack by four men.
In Chanae (Narathiwat), a villager was killed in a bomb attack and a defense volunteer was injured. The attack was aimed at a team of the EOD that protects teachers together with soldiers. The bomb, which was hidden in a metal pole, exploded as the team passed in a convoy. The villager was hit as he passed on his motorcycle. Some military vehicles were damaged.
– Since the kick-off of the World Cup on Friday, 237 gamblers have been arrested, according to the Bangkok municipal police. They were caught during raids on nightclubs, entertainment venues and internet cafes. Minors were not among them. Furthermore, 400 illegal gambling sites have been blocked.
– The Land Transport Department, in collaboration with the Medical Council of Thailand, will draw up new guidelines for the health certificate that is required when applying for a driver's license. Recently, a driver behind the wheel had an epileptic fit that caused him to run into school children. Four were killed, ten were injured.
The Medical Council has submitted a version of the guidelines, which is based on studies in the US and Europe. But they will have to be adjusted. In the US and Europe, most road accidents are due to drunk driving and symptoms of heart disease, diabetes and epilepsy.
Exodus Cambodians
– Border trade at the Rong Kluea market in Sa Kaeo province is not yet affected by the exodus of Cambodians to their homeland. It is business as usual on the market. Most Cambodian employees work there legally, so they don't have to run. In the past week, approximately 60.000 Cambodians crossed the border at this location.
Unlike border trade, the agricultural sector and companies that depend on Cambodians are affected. A plantation owner says her workers have fled into the forest. She is short of hands for more than a week. Her neighbors have the same problem. If the rumors continue, she fears the worst for agriculture and SMEs, as many Thais don't want to work in those sectors. In addition, those who do want to work on a farm demand a higher wage.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post
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Businesses fear labor shortages due to exodus of Cambodians
Junta insists: No roundups against foreign workers
Hi Dick,
In my opinion, one should first start with the huge backlog of maintenance and first of all those projects that transport many people.
Because, for example, quite a few meters of new rails will have to be laid.
Of course airport and screening are also important, but these are new projects, so before the front pages are filled with those horrors again…..first overdue maintenance.
LOUISE
No dikes needed in Bangkok. Then let all the water flow there and no longer flood the higher places. Now it's protecting Bangkok and leaving other places with floods. Dikes do not always have to be roads. It's practical.
You can compare Thailand with a home that has been heavily polluted in recent years. With the junta as a cleaning crew, and they are doing a great job! The whole house is tackled from top to bottom, and nothing is secretly swept under the rug.
That is why I think the period of 15 months that people think they need before the house is really habitable again is a reasonable period, and then I hope that the new residents no longer live out of the house, and that they also regularly open a window so that a breath of fresh air can blow through the house, and the mess makers are shown the door in time.
General Phrayut is doing very well and doing what the country needs. Investigate everything quickly and take firm measures. National interests take precedence over self-interest. The new roads near the river just have to come, if it serves the general and national interest. You see the opposition blooming again as before. I know from experience that these are typical Thai regions. They don't work with you, they work against you. That's why thai companies hate thai staff and get their staff from abroad. Thai employees don't want to accept orders about certain ways of working that are best for the company and the general public. It's up to them how they do something. There are also very good employees who do a good job, but they are thwarted by the employees who always think that they will not get ahead. This causes a lot of damage to Thai society and should also be addressed, by means of compensation. Perhaps this will teach the Thai a little more responsibility for their actions, which is now zero comma zero.
The fact that the guest workers are now going home does not have to be a problem at all, if the government introduces compulsory work for the Thai population, from and up to a certain age. There is a lot of work to be done in Thailand, especially in the maintenance of everything. But because they don't feel like it, it is and becomes a mess everywhere and beautiful Thailand deteriorates very quickly, with all its consequences. The mentality of the Thai will have to change quickly, and a lot of attention should be paid to this at school. Re-education of the teachers and schoolteachers is badly needed. The idiotic personal thoughts and actions of teaching staff, so people with an exemplary function, that people look up to in Thailand, are running out of steam. To name an example, holding the door open for each other, instead of letting the door fall against your face. I hear a lot of complaints from foreigners about the rude behavior of the Thai, which is unacceptable to us Westerners and arouses aggression, where we are automatically helpful, they give resistance. Nevertheless, thailand
is a beautiful country, with many possibilities, beautiful nature, a lot of work, in which almost everything can run in harmony, but in which there is no room for corruption, lying and cheating. That is what General Prayuth wants to achieve. He's my man, a real leader we need here.