News from Thailand – September 23, 2014
Thailand has so far won two bronze medals at the 17th Asian Games in Incheon (South Korea). Rattikan Gulnoi was the first to lift weights (98 kilos in snatch and 124 kilos in clean; don't ask me what that means) followed by judoka Thaonthan Satjadet.
Rattikan was unhappy with her performance as she had performed better at the London Olympics. But she said she was happy to have won Thailand's first medal.
To the games is participated by 45 countries. Thailand is in sixteenth place on the medal list. China leads the list with 58 medals.
– It is no small accusation made by the federation of employees of local administrative bodies: 10.000 employees (non-permanent) of local and provincial administrative bodies were forced to resign or agree to a change in their employment contract during the previous government. The NCPO's decision to increase the salary of permanent staff has added to that, says chairman Piyaporn Chanlamud.
Yesterday, the federation presented a petition to the National Ombudsman with the request to conduct an investigation (photo above). The federation is now trying this route as previous requests to the Home Office, the Prime Minister's Office and the Office of the Permanent Secretary of the Defense Ministry have gone unanswered.
– Lack of transparency and nepotism hinder the selection process of members of the National Reform Council in the province. So says Somchai Sawangkarn, member of the NLA (emergency parliament). Many selection committees would collude in the choice of their candidates. Somchai mentions a few provinces by name: Surin, Tak, Phattalung, Phangnga and Chachoengsao. He calls on the NCPO (junta) to solve the problem because it can spoil the [selection] process. The nomination from the problematic provinces may have to be kept, says Somchai.
Former Senator for Phatthalung, Thawee Phumsingharat, shares Somchai's concerns. In his own provinces, 15 candidates have been invited by the selection committee, who are not even qualified. He wants the final selection of five candidates to be made public.
The National Reform Council (NRC) will consist of 250 members: 173 nominated by eleven committees and 77, from each province 1, nominated by provincial selection committees.
The eleven committees cover various sectors of society, such as the judiciary, local government, education, energy and so on. Each committee nominates 50 candidates, each provincial committee 5. The NCPO makes the final decision. The NRC will be given the task of formulating reform proposals. The starting gun will be fired next month.
– That will be tightening the belt for the government hospitals in the coming budget year. The National Health Security Office has been forced to freeze the subsidy to hospitals because it does not receive the requested 183,1 billion baht from the junta, but 153,2 billion baht. But patients will not notice it, says Kanit Sangsubhan, member of the NHSO board of directors. The permanent secretary of the Ministry of Health says hospitals can supplement their budget from other sources.
The budget of 153,2 billion baht is earmarked for it universal healthcare scheme (say free national insurance) and expenditure on HIV/AIDS treatment, chronic kidney disease as well as improving efficiency in health care units [?] and salary increases of civil servants. As a result of the budget cuts, hospitals continue to receive 2.895 baht per patient per year.
– Persistence wins, Srisuwan Janya, secretary general of the Constitution Protection Association, must have thought. Previously, he was denied the request at the Constitutional Court for a ruling on the formation of the NLA (emergency parliament) and now he is asking for a ruling on the composition of the NLA. This is contrary to the constitution, says Srisuwan, because it is not varied enough with more than half of the members coming from the army and police.
– The police in Bangkok are looking for a new variety of ecstasy pills. They come in a variety of colors and are embossed with a trademark. According to the Narcotics Control Board, the new pills are already widely used in Europe. One pill costs 100 to 120 baht. In Thailand, trading them is even more lucrative because here they cost 1.000 baht.
The new pills were in the possession of two suspects who were arrested [when?] by the police. One in his room in Ramkhamhaeng, the other on Rama IX road. They had 1.270 pills with them, representing a value of 1,27 million baht. The bank accounts of the husband and wife have been frozen and their assets seized.
The commander of the Third Army Corps says his corps has found poppy plantations in different parts of the country. Fields have been destroyed in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, Tak, Khampaeng Phet and Nan. So far this year, 1.900 rai worth of fields have been destroyed, representing 99,51 percent of the total area, causing the price of opium to skyrocket.
– Former Pheu Thai MPs call the study trip of Election Council Commissioner Somchai Srisuthiyakorn to England a waste of money. [Noting that this commissioner has always been wrong with PT.]
Amnuay Khlangpha, former MP for Lop Buri, cracks some hard nuts about the Electoral Council and therefore thinks that the commissioners should resign. Old hat, let me go unmentioned.
Somkid Chueakhong (Ubon Ratchathani) does not understand what Somchai had to do with the referendum in Scotland because nothing is known yet about new elections.
Somachai defends himself. Studying the referendum and the UK electoral system was 'valuable' and a 'wise use of taxpayers' money'. His fellow travelers have also learned a lot from it.
The study trip was made by class 5 of the Electoral Council's Political and Electoral Development Institute. A trip abroad is part of the curriculum. Others have been to Sweden and Denmark. The participants themselves pay 70.000 to 100.000 baht, the Electoral Council adds 5 million baht. When they return, they must hand in a report on what they have learned.
– The squabbles about the forum at Thammasat University that was abruptly ended on Thursday by the army will continue. Prat Panchakhunathon, a lecturer at Chulalongkorn University, mentions it out of the question that the military authority will be asked permission for an academic forum. That is contrary to academic freedom, he says. He strongly disapproves of the raid on Thursday.
The Asian Human Rights Commission also condemned the raid and detention of three speakers plus the organizers. “This is the latest in a series of actions by the authorities that restrict freedom of expression while contributing to a widespread climate of fear in Thailand. Since coming to power, the junta has shown a profound disrespect for basic human rights principles.”
In Chiang Mai, the university bows to the army, which has asked for a planned forum to be canceled on Thursday. That would be about 'Happiness and Reconciliation Under the 2014 Interim Constitution'. It has been postponed indefinitely.
– The rate structure of public and taxi transport will be discussed on Saturday at a workshop organized by the Ministry of Transport. All carriers want to raise rates now that the Ministry of Energy has announced that the price of LPG and NGV (natural gas) will go up next month and possibly also the price of diesel.
The BMCL (underground metro) had already wanted to raise the fares on September 1, but has postponed it for a month. The minister wants a second postponement until December 1. The taxi companies want to increase the fares by 10 (current message) or 20 (previous message) percent. The Chao Phraya Express Boat Co, the ferry service on the Saeng Saen canal and the Land Transportation Association [freight or passenger transport?] also want a rate increase.
– The timetable between Sungai Kolok (Narathiwat) and Hat Yai (Songkhla) was partially resumed yesterday. Train traffic has been halted since Thursday after a train derailed near Banna (Songkhla). All trains would run again from today. On to the next derailment.
– A Cambodian lost both hands when a artillery shell [?] exploded which he was dismantling in his scrap metal company in Muang (Lop Buri). The police have six 105mm artillery shells found in the company as well as remains of the explosion. The stuff was believed to have come from an army base nearby.
– The controversial microphones in Government House have been returned to the supplier, said a government spokesperson. A committee will first find out how the tender went. A much too high price would have been asked for the microphones with a screen.
– Who is lying and who is telling the truth? The army says it handed over 37 gamblers and 310.000 baht to police in a raid on an illegal gambling den in Khon Kaen. The police say they know nothing about a raid and do not know where the gamblers and the money are. The Provincial Police Region 4 will investigate the case.
The raid was carried out by fifty soldiers. They arrested the gamblers and, in addition to the money, also seized twenty borrowed cars. They were handed over to the later alerted police.
The police, on the other hand, claim not to have been warned. There happened to be some policemen nearby, who witnessed the departure of the soldiers. There was no transfer. That remains to be seen as the raid was watched by reporters, who saw the money being transferred.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post
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About this blogger
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Known as Khun Peter (62), lives alternately in Apeldoorn and Pattaya. In a relationship with Kanchana for 14 years. Not yet retired, have my own company, something with insurance. Crazy about animals, especially dogs and music.
Enough hobbies, but unfortunately little time: writing for Thailandblog, fitness, health and nutrition, shooting sports, chatting with friends and some other oddities.
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Snatch is called in Dutch jargon for weightlifting: pulling.
The translation for Clear is to punch
see: http://www.powersportlebbeke.be/Gewichtenheffen1.html.
@ chris Thanks for the clarification. Have you ever been guilty of it?
No, not that. But since I bought the sports package from True I watch a lot of sports on TV. And my wife is a fan of all Thai athletes and also of sports such as muang thai boxing, 'normal' boxing, taikwando, tennis and volleyball. Incidentally, the most eye-catching performance yesterday was the 5-0 victory of the Thai (men's) football team against Indonesia. Thailand therefore took first place in the group stage and advances to the next round. Some experts attribute medal chances to the team.
Chris, they added another one in added time. The final score was thus 6-0!!!