News from Thailand – Valentine's Day February 14

Thailand may be hit by 27 typhoons and 4 tropical storms this year. The country can expect 20 billion cubic meters of water, the same as last year, but Bangkok will not be flooded this time. The sea level will be 15 cm higher than last year.

This is what Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi (Science and Technology) says. He bases his statements on data from his ministry and the ministries of ICT and Agriculture. According to Plodprasop, the large reservoirs can store 5 billion cubic meters of water, another 5 billion cubic meters are stored in storage areas and the remaining 10 billion goes to Bangkok where it is drained via canals and the Chao Praya to the Gulf of Thailand

- Yesterday, Prime Minister Yingluck and several ministers embarked on a 5-day tour of the seven provinces hit by last year's floods. The first was the Sirikit dam in Uttaradit. The government has earmarked 194,8 million baht for compensation payments to flood victims and infrastructure rehabilitation in affected provinces. A village chief in Muang district says farmers have not seen a penny since the province was flooded in July. The governor of Uttaradit says the money is on its way.

– The Air Force is struggling to repair all water damage at the base on Don Mueang, because the government has reduced the requested budget from 10 billion baht to 7 billion baht. Of this, only 3,063 billion baht has been approved for the time being. The water has damaged defense and navigation systems, an armory and an ammunition factory. Furthermore, houses, buildings, roads, 10 aircraft and tools were damaged. The air force wants to raise the main road on the base by between 30 cm and 1 meter and build a flood wall of 1,5 meters high around the base.

– Yesterday, the cabinet allocated 4,83 billion baht for the construction of flood walls around six industrial estates in Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani. They are expected to be ready by the end of August. Only 40 percent of factories in the industrial parks flooded last year have resumed production, the industry ministry said. By the end of the first quarter, 80 percent will be operational, the ministry expects.

– Victims of the floods in Bangkok have until the end of this month to apply for additional compensation. In addition to the compensation of 5.000 baht per family, families can also receive compensation for damage to their homes or funeral costs, among other things.

- The private banks got their way. The three state banks will also pay a levy to insure their assets. This levy will be increased by 0,07 percent from 0,4 to 0,47 percent of the credits. The interest costs of the FIDF debt can be paid from the proceeds.

FIDF debt of 1,14 trillion baht has been transferred by the government from the Ministry of Finance to the Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF), part of the Bank of Thailand. The government wanted to get rid of the annual interest charges in order to create room in the budget for investments in water management.

Along with the debt transfer, the government authorized the FIDF to levy a 1 percent levy on private banks, including the 0,4 percent they already pay to the Deposit Protection Agency (DPA). The current increase of only 0,07 percent allays fears that banks will pass on the bill to customers.

FIDF debt consists of liabilities incurred during the 1997 financial crisis to support ailing banks. The three state-owned banks are the Government Savings Bank, Government Housing Bank and the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives.

– Thammasat University's ban on activities of the Nitirat group has been withdrawn by the university board. Nitirat, a group of progressive law teachers, was previously forbidden to campaign on campus for the revision of Article 112 of the Penal Code (lese majeste). The ban drew both support and criticism.

According to the rector, Nitirat must ask permission if she wants to organize activities. It is then examined on a case-by-case basis whether she receives it. 'The Nitirat group's academic activities are not prohibited, but the organizers must ensure there will be no violence and the participants should be asked not to cause any problems.'

– Eleven officials of the Ministry of Education are suspected of corruption in a printing order of school notebooks. The Department of Special Investigation has discovered that they had 3,6 million notebooks, ordered in 2007 by the Udon Thani Provincial Administration Organization, printed from three private companies at a price lower than the price paid by the PAO. The difference between them was 14 million baht. The DSI has taken the matter to the National Anti-Corruption Commission, which will decide whether to prosecute the gentlemen.

– The Green Political Group has asked the Ombudsman to investigate Prime Minister Yingluck's visit to the Four Seasons last week hotels. Yingluck dropped a parliamentary meeting for this. The action group wants the ombudsman to check whether the visit is in violation of Article 279 of the constitution, which sets requirements of good conduct, ethics and suitability for those in authority.

According to rumors, she had a secret meeting about water management projects there. The visit became known because businessman Ekkayuth Anchanbutr, who was sitting in the hotel's coffee shop, was punched in the face 10 minutes after Yingluck's departure, according to him by a man associated with Thaksin.

– Not in Bogor, as the newspaper wrote yesterday, but in Bangkok started yesterday a 2-day meeting of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission (JBC). Delegations discussed the planned opening of a new border post and the selection of a company to take aerial photographs of the border. It has been agreed that technical teams from both countries will inspect border markers 1 to 23. The 4,6 square kilometers claimed by both countries at Hindu temple Preah Vihear is located in this area.

– Opposition leader Abhisit warns of an escalation of violence in the South if the government does not keep its promise to compensate the victims of the violence. A government commission has proposed that the relatives of the victims receive the same compensation as the victims of the political violence between 2005 and 2010. But Abhisit points out that the cabinet has not yet taken a decision. He also wonders if the money is there for it. According to him, there are 5.000 cases since 2004, which would cost 30 to 40 billion baht.

– A pregnant woman caught for the second time trying to steal money from an offering box at a temple in Ayutthaya begs not to be sent to prison. She says she acted out of desperation. She has been unemployed since the floods and no one wants to hire her because she is pregnant. The woman already has a 10-year-old son. The temple has decided not to press charges.

– The provinces of Prachin Buri, Nakhon Nayok and Tak have a governor again, after the previous ones were transferred to an inactive post. The three new governors previously served as vice governors in their provinces.

– Five new trains (cost 3 billion baht) and a new line between Suvarnabhumi and Pattaya are on the wish list of the Ministry of Transport. There are currently 8 trains running on the Airport Rail Link. When the new ones are added, wait times can go from 12-20 minutes back to 7-10 minutes. At least 2 trains will be ordered this year. The new connection will be researched by a consultant. The results are expected in a year.

– During raids by 300 agents in the provinces of Lampang, Rayong and Chon Buri, four suspects of drug trafficking were arrested and property worth 100 million baht was seized. Two suspects are still on the run. The six are said to be members of a drug ring run by a convicted drug dealer who was recently transferred from Rayong Prison to Khao Bin Central Prison in Ratchaburi.

– Minister Nalinee Taveesin (PM's Office) has been appointed head of the Women Development Fund. Through the fund, each province receives between 70 and 130 million baht for women's projects. Previously, Nalinee was put in charge of the National Identity Office. Nalinee is controversial because she is blacklisted by the US Treasury Department for trade with Zimbabwe, against which the US has imposed sanctions.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post