News from Thailand – September 8, 2013

The abandoned T2 terminal at Don Mueang airport, which briefly served as a shelter during the 2011 floods, is expected to open sooner than expected.

Airports of Thailand, the manager of the airport, hopes to get the green light from the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) soon for a 3 billion baht renovation plan. The terminal could then be used from May. AoT wants to prevent terminal 1 from becoming overloaded.

This year, the airport will handle 16 million passengers, while its annual capacity is 18,5 million. With T2 added, 30 million passengers can be processed. Initially, it was planned to take T2 into operation only in November 2014. In anticipation of the approval of the NESDB, AoT will start some work this month. A special procedure is followed when tendering for major work in order to avoid bureaucratic hassles.

The 92 (old) check-in counters will be reduced to 80, divided over six 'islands'. An open-air gallery will be built on the third floor, where passengers can observe the air traffic. There will also be an outdoor smoking area of ​​20 square meters. T2 will be used for domestic flights.

– The rubber farmers in the South have their requirement of 95 baht per kilo unsmoked rubber sheets changed to 90 baht per kilo (the government's offer) within seven days and 100 baht within four months. This was decided yesterday at a meeting of a rubber network in Trang, which has branches in fourteen southern provinces.

If their demands are not met, they threaten rallies in every province and blockades of border posts and export routes to stop rubber exports. The farmers also want the levy of the so-called transfer rate (a rate that is paid into a fund) is suspended and that (the detained) demonstrators are not prosecuted.

The farmers do not seem to be very united, because the planters in five districts of Nakhon Si Thammaret reject the 90 baht. Amnuay Yutitham, a farmer leader in Tha Sala (Nakhon Si Thammmarat), says they will hold a rally on Saturday unless the government increases its offer from 90 to 95 baht.

But farmers' representatives in Cha-uat and Chulabhorn (also Nakhon Si Thammarat) thanked the government for its offer of 90 baht at a press conference yesterday. They said the price was adequate given the cost of production, which is around 65 baht per kilo.

In Songkhla province, residents are resisting rubber farmers' threat to block the border post in Sadao. Farmers made that threat on Friday after a meeting with a government delegation led by Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong (Finance).

– The remains of Briton Paul Clive Hamilton-Ritchie (2012), missing since October 34, were found on Koh Chang (Trat) last night. Police found a human skull and bones in a forest in Bang Bao in the south of the island. Next to it lay a looped nylon rope tied to a tree branch. A bag containing the man's passport was also found. After the disappearance of the Briton, the family had opened a website to get information about his whereabouts.

– Prime Minister Yingluck defended her many trips abroad in her weekly radio and TV speech on Saturday. She said the number of foreign investors looking to invest in Thailand has increased as a result. The trips abroad have been criticized by opposition Democrats. Yingluck has visited 41 countries so far, which cost the sweet sum of 300 million baht.

In her speech, the prime minister elaborated on the disappointing economic growth, a subject she has never spoken about before, and said that tourists still have faith in Thailand.

– The Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) has given a detailed explanation of the five demands it made in April for the progress of the peace talks with Thailand. The 30-page document is currently being translated from English into Thai. According to the BRN, its demands do not violate the Thai constitution. [I don't mention the requirements, because I've mentioned them often enough.]

A government committee will meet next week to discuss a response to the document. The next peace talks are scheduled for the middle of next month.

– The Ministry of Commerce will not tinker with the guaranteed price for rice, which was set by the cabinet on Tuesday. It remains 15.000 baht per tonne of paddy in the main crop and 13.000 baht in the second crop with maximums of 350.000 and 300.000 baht per family respectively. The Thai Farmers Association this week demanded 14.000 baht per ton in both crops and a maximum of 400.000 baht. She threatens action.

– Despite some rains, many parts of Thailand, especially in the Northeast, are struggling with drought and that does not bode well for the dry season, because the water level in many reservoirs is ominously low. Weather permitting, the Bureau of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation will generate artificial rain.

– A leader of the white mask movement from Samut Prakan received death threats yesterday. He found a note on his car that read "you die." A rock was also thrown through the window of his office and police found bullet holes. For those who don't know yet: the white masks is an anti-government group, which sees the government as a bunch of puppets of Thaksin.

– Residents of a gold mine in Wang Saphung (Loei) oppose the expansion of the mine. They are already suffering from the work. Today a company is holding a public hearing and they will certainly have their say.

– Not five, as the newspaper reported yesterday, but 939 mostly elderly patients received heart disease medication instead of medication for high blood pressure in July. The Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) had put the medicines in the wrong packaging. The medicines had gone to five hospitals. The patients have been informed and the GPO has withdrawn all medicines.

Political news

– The parliamentary treatment of the amendment proposal on the election of the Senate is not progressing very well. Yesterday there was no quorum in parliament, so the debate had to be adjourned. There were 319 MPs, 6 short of the quorum. The meeting started an hour late, after which the Democrats asked the chairman to count the number of senators and members of the House of Representatives.

Democrat Chatphan Detkitsunthon declared "Today we have been misled because we had to wait for the meeting." About the past week, he remarked 'Our mouth is closed', referring to the fact that members of the opposition party were not given the opportunity to speak. The adjourned meeting will continue this afternoon.

Comments

Bangkok Post sounded the alarm about the advancing bad food habits in Thailand in her editorial on Saturday. Not only is Thailand the world's second largest sugar exporter, but the country is also the twelfth largest sugar consumer, which should come as no surprise to anyone who has ever looked at Thai teeth.

According to figures from the Department of Health, 1 in 5 suffer preschoolers and 1 in 10 Thai children from the consequences of poor nutrition. They consume too much sugar, eat too few vegetables, have an iodine and iron deficiency and suffer from tooth decay.

Although Thai cuisine is nutritious, preparation takes time and contemporary society is characterized by instant gratification. Fast Food delivers that. That, coupled with a mostly urban lifestyle with little exercise and too much time spent on computers and TV, and it becomes clear why diabetes is becoming a global scourge.

In China, 12 percent of the population is diabetic, even higher than in the US, and in Thailand, 1 in 13 Thais have diabetes. The Ministry of Health wants food labels to contain warnings against sugar and salt. It would be worth making those mandatory for snacks first – assuming the rising cost of living doesn't push them out of the market. The Food and Drug Administration should take this up with the food manufacturers. It's not a new proposal, because it pops up every two or three years and then you never hear about it again.

The newspaper concludes with the observation that the use of traffic lights labels with data on the amount of fat, saturated fatty acids, sugar and salt can help people who strive for a healthy and nutritious diet. Let's give it a chance, writes BP.

Economic news

– Some staff members of the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand (SME Bank) were dressed in black yesterday in protest against the decision of the board of directors to hold a restructuring plan for the management. Board and management are bickering over the need for relocations, which are needed to address the excess NPL rate.

New lending has slowed down severely. In the first eight months of the year, the bank allocated 9 billion, well below the target of 21 billion. The annual target of 100 billion baht will almost certainly not be achieved. The expansion of the loan package is part of the strategy to reduce the percentage of NPLs.

The percentage of NPLs is now 32 percent or 32 billion baht. By the end of the year, this should be reduced to 29 percent (28 billion baht). The number of NPLs is likely to rise even further as 4 billion baht in loans granted to flood victims at the direction of the government will be classified as 'sour'. They should be paid off this year.

One of the protesting staff members says that there are major internal conflicts between the Executive Board and management. In the past, some loans were allegedly wrongly approved, which also explains the high percentage of NPLs. A committee is currently investigating the bank. It is suspected that bills have been forged. Bad loans are also said to have been approved by the former president.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post