New from Thailand – March 19, 2012
The cremation of Princess Bejraratana Rajasuda, who died on July 27, will take place on April 9 at Sanam Luang in Bangkok. A special crematorium was built there. Yesterday, soldiers practiced at the Grand Palace with the carriage on which the princess's urn will be transported. The princess was the only child of King Rama VI.
– A proposal by ruling party Pheu Thai to set up a special governance structure in the deep South does not get the hands of the Southern Islamic Culture Foundation. The Pheu Thai Commission reviewing the legislation is proposing that the provinces of Yala, Pattani, Narathwiwat and four districts of Songkhla be placed in a special tier of government called 'Pattani Maha Nakhon' (Pattana Mega City). Its mayor should be elected. Despite this, critics believe that power is not decentralized enough.
– Focus on the rising cost of living and forget about constitutional changes for a while. Opposition leader Abhisit government party Pheu Thai has given this advice. “Inflation and high consumer prices need to be addressed,” he said at a cost-of-living seminar.
Abhisit responded to comments from Pheu Thai supporters that things are not too bad with the concerns of the population; the opposition would blow up the issue.
According to Abhisit, prices of consumer goods are rising because the price of gasoline is rising. Government supporters deny that connection. Abhisit disputes this and stressed that the government should review its energy policy.
– Parents of Prathom 1 students, who will receive a tablet PC next school year, must supervise their children when they use the tablet. They would have to sign a form to prove this. This proposal makes a committee to Prime Minister Yingluck. The committee also wants a special telephone number to be opened, on which technical information is given and complaints can be passed on. The Office of Vocational Education Commission has produced a handbook for teachers and parents with instructions for use.
According to Minister Suchart Thada-Thamrongvech, the curriculum for the tablets of the Prathom students is ready to be downloaded. The content consists of e-books (derived from eight textbooks) and 336 learning objects that are played with a flash player. The British Council has offered seven free courses for non-native English speakers. [The message does not state for which class.]
Tomorrow, the Ministry of Education will request a credit of 600.000 baht for the purchase of tablet PCs for students of Mathayom 1.
– Next month, 200 Thais will be selected for employment in Israel under the supervision of the International Organization of Migration (IOM). This supervision must guarantee that the workers are not exploited by employment agencies.
Recently, the Ministry of Employment stopped the deployment of 5.000 Thais, who had to pay amounts between 300.000 and 400.000 baht for a 5-year contract. Supervision by the IOM limits that amount to 69.000 baht for ticket and administrative costs. Under Israeli law, employment agencies cannot charge more than 30.000 baht in agency fees.
– A man (20) from Myanmar has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of a Chinese cook. The suspect has confessed to killing the cook at the Peking restaurant in the Robinson building on Ratchadaphisek Road (Bangkok) on Saturday night. 90.000 baht and documents were stolen from the restaurant. The suspect had been working as a kitchen assistant in the restaurant for 2 months.
– More than 92 percent of respondents in a poll by Abac believe that the Administrative Court and the Constitutional Court are essential for democracy. Earlier, a Pheu Thai MP suggested that both courts are no longer needed and might as well be housed in the Supreme Court.
– A hailstorm and storm severely damaged 100 houses in the district of Hua Hin (Prachuap Khiri Khan) on Saturday evening. Some houses had their roofs blown off and many trees and billboards fell on the Cha-am Pran Buri bypass. Electricity and telephone went out in tambon Nong Phlap.
– The water discharges from the Bhumibol and Sirikit reservoirs have been reduced in order to have sufficient water in stock for the period mid-June to mid-July. The government had previously ordered the water level to be raised to 1 percent on May 45, but this has now been waived. Both reservoirs contained too much water at the beginning of the rainy season last year. As a result, they had to discharge water, which has exacerbated the flooding.
– Toyota Engine Thailand proposes raising the retirement age from 60 to 63-65 and lowering the minimum age to 18. According to vice-chairman Ninnart Chaithiraipinyo, this is necessary because the car industry is expanding. This year there is a need for 40.000 extra workers.
– Phase 3 of the expansion of the port of Laem Chabang requires an investment of 65,4 billion baht: 28,7 billion baht to be provided by the government and the rest by the business community. The investments include land reclamation and development of roads and railways. The port now handles 7,5 million TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) containers per year. In 2019, the maximum capacity of 11 million TEU will be reached. With phase 3 in operation, the port can handle 18 million TEU. This phase should be completed in 2020.
– The pagoda of Wat Phra Borommathat Woramahawihan in Nakhon Si Thammarat will be nominated by the Ministry of Culture for inclusion on the Unesco World Heritage List. The pagoda contains relics of Buddha.
– The proposal for reconciliation of the King Prajadhipok Institute (KPI) favors former Prime Minister Thaksin and should therefore be revised, writes opposition leader Abhisit in an open letter. One of the proposals is to annul the decisions taken by the military regime after the 2006 coup, which would expunge Thaksin's 2-year prison sentence.
According to Abhisit, the institute's report ignores the influence of justice and violations of law by Thaksin, who hid his assets in 2001 when he was prime minister, which is against the law. The Truth for Reconciliation Commission (TRC), set up by the previous Abhisit administration, has called that case the main cause of the conflicts in the country.
"If Thaksin had been removed from his position with a fair trial, Thailand would not have experienced severe conflicts," the TRC said. The study of the KPI, says Abhisit, does not pay any attention to it.
Thaksin's war on drugs, interventions in independent organizations, corruption, illegal action against the population in the South (including Krue Se and Tak Bai) and the actions of red shirts (disruption of Asean Summit in Pattaya, street blockades and arson in Bangkok) are also missing from the report.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post
For completeness. On April 8, 9 and 10 (Easter) there is national mourning in Thailand due to the cremation of Princess Bejraratana. That means that alcohol is nowhere to be found and all entertainment venues are closed.
Thanks for adding, but I wouldn't want to put anything in quotes, if you know what I mean.
Hans what do you mean 8,9 and 10 and then by the way Easter! I think Easter falls on April 24 and 25!!!
I don't know what year you use, but this year Easter Monday falls on April 1 in my calendar...
And on April 6 it is also a Buddha day (separate from national mourning) but with the same consequences for nightlife.
A Buddha Day? Well, just a day off. April 6 commemorates the foundation of the Chakri dynasty, on that day in 1782 King Rama I ascended the throne. I also don't fully understand the consequences for nightlife. What do you mean exactly?
Tino
What you say is more than correct, but I have continued with my Thai calendar. When there is a Buddha statue printed next to the date, it is normally a Buddha day. For April 6 there is a drawing of King Rama I plus a Buddha statue, so I assumed that it is also considered a Buddha day. What I mean by nightlife is an alcohol-free day. If not..ok. We'll see on April 6 what it ends up being. I actually meant that if April 6 and April 8,9, 10 and XNUMX become alcohol-free days, tourists will not be able to laugh about it (and neither will the HORECA)
Be extra careful this year, because I think the restaurant where I've been eating for years has only 1 day ever not wanted to serve me beer. If it had been there for 3 days, my upstairs room would certainly have known this
Jogchum, I think Hans writes that THIS year (April 8,9, 10 and 3), there are XNUMX days of mourning. So there is nothing wrong with your upstairs room if this was not the case last year. This indeed has consequences for alcohol sales and nightlife (just like during Buddha days or birthdays of the Royal family, elections, etc.). What Dick writes is also true, so nowhere can you write between quotation marks. If a hotel or other drinking establishment ignores this, this is at their expense as well as the consequences for the operator, but also for the consumer. Some days are more important than others and monitoring compliance often depends on this. I can tell you not to provoke them (as I have seen others do), because that could be a very unpleasant leave for you that you will certainly remember later. Moreover (and this is also a call to others), please do not put pressure on owners or staff to serve a beer. If you miss your barley drink, drink your beer in your room. I can only advise - Live with it and try not to want to do something different. Since I live in Thailand, we have more of these days in a year and you get used to it. There are worse things in the world.
So: buy in advance what you think you will drink at home during three days of alcoholic beverages. Of course you can get a few drinks at the mamma-papa shops.
Also do not understand that if necessary there are 'farang' who then want to drink beer from a coffee mug, which was sometimes offered to me. It doesn't taste good that way and it's not that difficult not to drink alcohol for one or more days.
If you have a problem not drinking alcohol for a day or more, then you have a problem. Moreover, it gives you the opportunity, once sober, to look at your great conquest with different eyes - this is just a tip...
I can understand that alcohol is not allowed to be sold on days of national mourning, Buddha days and the day before elections. But I never understood why that is on a festive day like the king's birthday.
Also, I'm still amazed why no alcohol is sold between 1400 and 1700 unless you buy more than 10 liters.