Thai news in brief – January 8
When Thai students graduate, they hardly speak English and that could break the country when the Asean Economic Community takes effect in 2015, academics warn.
The labor market will then be open to workers from all ten countries. Countries like Singapore and the Philippines have an advantage with a workforce that speaks much better English.
The Ministry of Education is aware of this and has therefore declared 2012 the English Speaking Year. It wants students to speak English every Monday.
– The director of the central bank has been chastised by a former finance minister for daring to disagree with the government over the management of the FIDF debt of 1,14 trillion baht. Virabongsa Ramangkura calls his attitude an 'unhealthy approach to democracy'.
Korn Chatikavanij, Minister of Finance in the previous government, does not think the attack is justified. "The central bank has the right to oppose any political initiative that affects its independence and operations."
The issue revolves around interest payments on the obligations of the Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF), contracted during the 1997 financial crisis to support ailing banks and financial institutions. Initially, the government wanted to transfer those payments to the central bank, but after protest from the bank, a compromise was devised whereby the Thai banking world could pay for (part of) the costs.
– Despite the emergency ordinance in the South of Thailand in force, the Thai government has not been very successful in prosecuting the insurgents. 75 percent of cases brought to court are dropped due to lack of evidence. One case went through to the Supreme Court, which eventually acquitted the suspect. The case cost the government 1,5 million baht. Violence in the South is entering its ninth year.
– The measures that the government will take against flooding will result in an economic growth of 7 percent, predicts Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong (Trade). He is confident that the proposed investment of 350 billion baht in water management projects will boost investor confidence, shaken by last year's floods.
– The most wanted hit man in the South was arrested in Bangkok, where he had fled with his four wives. Kolawatchara Sukraksa (42) charged 150.000 baht per murder. He was wanted for five murders, drug trafficking and illegal possession of firearms.
– The Nakhon Ratchasima police claim that the number of car thefts in the province has been reduced from 10 to 2 per month. She attributes this to stricter checks on car papers.
– About 1.000 teak planks have been seized in Mae Hong Son. The planks were just being loaded onto a truck by a group of men when a military patrol passed by. Boards were also hidden near a river. The men managed to escape.
– Somroj Khukittikasem, lecturer at the Rajamangala University of Technology in Surin, is concerned about the declining number of elephants. According to him, the illegal ivory trade and the increasing demand for ivory from abroad are responsible for this. Somroj calls on the population to take a stronger stand against the ivory trade and the consumption of elephant organs.
– Rubber farmers threaten to dump rubber latex in front of Prime Minister Yingluck's house on Wednesday in protest against the dropped price. Representatives of farmers in 14 southern provinces decided that yesterday. They demand that the government do something about the fall in prices.
– At the end of last month, the owner of a jewelry store in Silom was found dead in his Mercedes Benz. Yesterday, the police presented the suspected perpetrator. According to the police, the suspect stated that he killed the jeweler because he discovered that he (the victim) had stolen methamphetamine from him. The suspect would have had two accomplices. The murder weapon has not yet been found. According to the victim's sister, the drug story is false. The suspect would have borrowed large amounts of money from her brother. He had recently turned off the money spigot.
– The proposal by the government-appointed National Independence Rule of Law Commission to forego the formation of an assembly of citizens in the revision of the constitution and instead form a 33-person panel has been rejected by opposition party Democrats' dictatorial'. The committee rejects the assembly because many members probably lack knowledge and the assembly could also be dominated by groups affiliated with the government. The Democrats wonder what criteria the committee wants to use when staffing such a panel.
- The erosion along the southern coastline, which has been ravaged by storms and high waves recently, is due to the construction of deep-sea ports, local villagers believe. According to a member of the Bang Saphan environmental network, there were never any problems before construction started of a deep-sea port in Bang Saphan. Now part of it calves every year beach off. According to the Marine and Coastal Resources Department, the villagers' story is correct. The measures taken so far have had little effect, says a source at the service.
– The floods and the increase in the minimum wage on April 1 could be used by employers to replace workers with machines, fears Yongyuth Chalamwong, director of labor research at the Thailand Development Research Institute. Chalee Loisung, president of the Thailand Electronic and Electric Appliance Workers' Federation, believes that opportunity is not impossible. He says many employers are concerned about raising the minimum wage to 300 baht a day. This may influence the awarding of bonuses and the annual salary increase.
– Transport companies threaten to block highways with 20.000 trucks if the price increase of CNG (compressed natural gas) continues. Since 2009, CNG has cost 8,5 baht per kilo, but this price will gradually increase to 14,5 baht in December this year. The cabinet will consider the issue tomorrow. Last week, the Land Transport Federation of Thailand issued an ultimatum: postpone the plan or we will start the blockade tomorrow. PTT Plc, the sole supplier of CNG, says it had an accumulated loss of 31 billion baht as of December. This year that could be 41 billion if the price does not rise. In Malaysia, CNG costs 6,5 baht per kilo. Thailand obtains 24 percent of its gas from Burma.
– One third of the staff of a police station in Ubon Ratchatani would be linked to the drug trade. That is why Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung has ordered an investigation. Chalerm heard the complaint about the agency yesterday during his visit to Nakhon Ratchasima province.
Of course they can also learn Chinese. Also important now Thailand are dollars
exchange for Chinese money. What if in China (after all that's happening in the world)
does war break out? You can of course bet on the best horse as in the past with the Japs. But then choose the wrong side again?
I'd stick with English. So did the French and Germans.
They always thought that their language was the most important thing in the world.
How about Spanish. One of the most spoken languages in the world. They now also learn English properly at school.
But with a Thai you never know.
Perhaps Russian is compulsory in the schools in Pattaya and the surrounding area?
The humor has to be there.
Cor.
As for the English language:
Doesn't that also have to do with the level of education in Thailand, insofar as it is provided by the government? . One of my friend's daughters is doing "accounting" at the university in udon thani. But she hardly speaks English and when she recently had to explain something to her mother about bookkeeping (which is part of her education after all), she couldn't.
However, her other daughter (10 years old) attends a private school and is already learning English and Chinese.
Andrew Biggs once devoted a column to this in Brunch. Students know everything about grammar for the written entrance exam for the university, but speaking and listening are not practiced.
Another columnist who was educated in England was once wiped out with an English test from a university. The answers (published on the Internet) turned out to be full of errors.
I assume that the quality of education in private schools is better, especially if English is taught by a native speaker.
Here's the column I referenced in my previous comment:
A feast of failures
January 15, 2011 – Tomorrow is National Teachers Day. Arglit Boonyai writes cynically about it in his weekly column in the Bangkok Post. 'A celebration of failure', he writes, recalling that the majority of subject teachers failed exams in their own subject. He also points to the 2.715 tutorial schools, which are apparently needed to prepare students for higher education.
But the most striking example of the poor quality of education came to Arglit in a book designed to prepare students for the entrance exam of Thailand's most prestigious university. He made the sample questions and got them all wrong, being a native English speaker with 21 years of British education under my belt. To be on the safe side, he checked with the paper's sub-editors. Conclusion: The university-published text book was in fact a complete and utter waste of time.
(NB Arglit Boonyai was previously editor-in-chief of Guru and his contributions therein also dripped with a refreshing cynicism.)
No response to the news, but to Austrian air's advertisement to fly to Brussels. Have you ever tried? I do; April 10 to Brussels and July 10 back to Bangkok. All flights full. What kind of advertisement is this?
Appreciation for the “short news” Of course we read everything in the Nation and the Bangkokpost, but it is still nice when pieces are translated into Dutch and sometimes explained a little. Do not delete this section from the blog.
the short news section is the reason for me to log in every day .
In short, kudos to those who make this possible.
a healthy and warm 2012
g peter
During our last stay on Koh Samui in October 2011, it became clear that the majority of the serving staff in the hospitality industry consists of Burmese.
In this former English colony, English is generally spoken much better than in Thailand.
After years of Thailand I speak and understand a little Thai, the Burmese no longer understand me!
Too bad because in this way the Thai economy suffers from guest workers, who are said to be cheaper than the Thai themselves. And they weren't expensive!!
In prachuap Khiri kahn, those girls were on 100 to 150 thb a day, from working more than 12 hours, hotels with restaurant, mainly Thai tourists, so they could shake the tips too.
Furthermore, not a word of English.. Also many Burmese on the local fishing boats..
the written entrance exam together with teamoney under the table of about 100000 baht will certainly be successful. an advice to pass.