News from Thailand – February 1, 2013

I am the Prime Minister and all policy decisions are taken by the Cabinet under my guidance. This is what Prime Minister Yingluck says in response to an article in New York Times, describing how the country is ruled by her brother via Skype.

Yingluck points to recent polls showing that the population is satisfied with her leadership. 'I prefer to let the cabinet's performance speak for itself.' Asked if Thaksin has spoken to the cabinet via Skype, Yingluck replies that the use of mobile phones during cabinet meetings is prohibited.

Government spokesman Tossaporn Serirak also refers the article in NYT to the realm of fables. According to him, Thaksin did not contact ministers during the weekly cabinet meetings. When the cabinet meets, all telephone signals are blocked to prevent information from leaking out. That means outside calls can't get through.

– Not all pillars, not half of the pillars (subject to a study by a consultancy firm), such as Bangkok Post previously reported, but 90 percent of the pillars of the so-called Hopewell project are being demolished. This says Withawat Khunapongsiri, director of Italian-Thai Development Plc, the contractor who will build the Red Line between Bang Sue and Rangsit.

Yesterday, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) and the contractor signed the 21,2 billion baht contract. It is the second of three contracts for the line. The first (29,82 billion baht), concluded earlier this month with two other companies, will see the construction of the main station in Bang Sue, a depot and a station in Chatuchack. The third contract (26,27 billion baht) covers the purchase of trains and equipment.

The Red Line was originally supposed to have six stations, but two have been added by order of the Minister of Transport. The line will be adjacent to the railway line along Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road where the Hopewell project was planned. The demolition of the pillars will cost 200 million baht.

For more information on the Hopewell project see: The sledge hammer goes into Bangkok's Stonehenge.

– This afternoon in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) Ratree Pipattanapaiboon will be released, who was sentenced to prison in December 2010 for illegal entry into Cambodian territory and espionage. Ratree benefits from a pardon on the occasion of the death and cremation of ex-King Norodom Sihanouk.

Ratree works as a secretary for Veera Somkomenkid, coordinator of the militant Thai Patriots Network. He was sentenced to eight years and is still in prison. He recently received a six-month sentence reduction. He may benefit from a prisoner exchange between the two countries later this year.

Ratree, Veera and five others, including a Democrat MP, were apprehended across the border on December 29, 2010, according to Cambodia, while inspecting a disputed border zone in Sa Kaeo. Those five received a suspended sentence and were released after a month.

– Somchai Khunploem, arrested on Wednesday, sentenced to 30 years in prison for murder and corruption, managed to escape the police for almost seven years. So the question is, who helped him do that? The police will question family members and officials who are suspected of helping.

Police were able to arrest the man after being tipped off that he lived in Chon Buri. She went to investigate, but had to operate with caution because Somchai is a powerful man in the province. To prevent leaks, the police did not use informants.

According to Arthip Taennil, head of a special unit of the Crime Suppression Division (CSD), the police only learned about his whereabouts two to three months ago. He answers this in an interview Bangkok Post when asked why he was only arrested now, when "everyone knew he returned to Chon Buri eight months ago," the interviewer said.

According to a police source, ten people living in a house called Ban Saen Suk in Muang (Chon Buri) helped Somchai evade the police. Among them are Somchai's sons and daughters. Somchai would have lived a normal life and traveled freely.

The head of the CSD says Somchai's relatives and doctors who treated him are unlikely to be prosecuted. Doctors are obliged by virtue of their position to treat patients; relatives go unpunished because they have performed an 'act of gratitude' in the Thai context. Only when there is a 'special motive' is prosecution possible on the basis of Article 59 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Somchai was treated at Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital for cancer of the nasal cavity.

– Thailand and Cambodia yesterday signed an agreement on the clearance of mines in the demilitarized zone at Hindu temple Preah Vihear. The area will be explored over the next two weeks, after which both countries will each send XNUMX three-man teams to clear the mines.

The demilitarized zone was established last year by the International Court of Justice and measures 17,3 square kilometers. The 4,6 square kilometers disputed by both countries is part of it. The agreement was reached after a three-day meeting between the Thailand Mine Action Center and the Cambodian Mine Action Center of Siem Raep Province. It is the first time that Thailand has gained access to Cambodian territory to clear mines.

– The instruction of the Ministry of Education to schools to give less homework evokes mixed reactions from students. Some cheer, others fear it will affect their performance.

The designation applies to students from Prathom 1 (class 1 primary school) to Mathayom 6 (class 6 secondary school). The schools have also been asked to organize more outdoor activities. According to the Office of the Basic Education Commission, the designation aims to prevent students from becoming too stressed.

– In December in Japan, four students from Chulalongkorn University investigated whether algae can be cultivated in a state of weightlessness. If so, they could be used in space as a source of food and hydrogen.

The students took part in the seventh Student Zero-Gravity Flight Experiment Contest. They were given ten times a day for 20 seconds to test their theory on board a parabolic flight. The students are still working out their data.

– The government's decision to allow the Rohingya refugees to stay in Thailand for six months does not mean they will be granted refugee status, said Paradon Pattanathaboot, secretary general of the National Security Council (NSC). Thailand will not set up permanent refugee camps, only temporary ones.

Since early January, 1.400 Rohingya have been detained as they fled violence against them in Myanmar's Rakhine State. The NSC has asked the government to build detention centers for them in Songkhla and Ranong. They can stay there for six months, after which the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has to take over their care.

Reportedly, most refugees would like to go to Malaysia. The NSC has contacted the authorities there and believes that the UNHCR should ask Malaysia to take in the refugees.

In Hat Yai (Songkhla), authorities yesterday raided a rubber plantation, where 29 Rohingya are said to be hiding. They found no one there, but they did find remnants of a camp, such as plastic sheeting, a kitchen with kitchen utensils and toilets. They were probably taken away by smugglers a few hours before the raid. Later that day, residents encountered eight Rohingya from the camp who had lost their way, and another XNUMX Rohingya were found later that day. They said they camped in the rubber plantation for a month after smugglers promised to take them to Malaysia.

– In search of insurgent leader Usman Korkor, sixty agents and soldiers raided an orchard in Muang (Yala) yesterday, but the bird had already flown. However, two guns were found and seven liters of fertilizer, which can be used to manufacture explosives. During the raid, as many as four local teenagers were arrested. They would have something to do with the weapons found. Several arrest warrants are pending against Kusman.

– Interesting news. The Chinese company CAMC Engineering Co has withdrawn from the tender procedure for water management projects. And let this be the company that would have favored Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi. The newspaper reported this on Wednesday on the authority of a source at the Water and Flood Commission (WFMC). The company says it will withdraw because the required documents will not be ready in time. There are now seven companies that are aiming for one of the ten projects, for which an amount of 350 billion baht has been allocated.

– The Ministry of Health's plan to reduce the medical service fees of government hospitals has come under criticism from the opposition Democrats. The rate is charged to the three health insurance plans. It will go up by 5 to 10 percent because of the increase in the minimum wage and the higher cost of medicines and equipment.

The Democrats blame the government. It would not make enough money available to the National Security Office, which is responsible for one of the three insurance policies (the 30-baht program that covers 48 million Thais). The fee per patient has been frozen by the government until 2014 and is 2.755 baht per year.

– The use of electronic ankle bracelets for minor delinquents received approval from the cabinet on Tuesday. Chairman Ukrit Mongkolnavin of the Independent Committee for Promotion of the Rule of Law believes they could also be used on political prisoners and female offenders.

The use of anklets would eliminate a major problem, as political protesters have been in pretrial detention for a year and a proposed amnesty has been delayed by wrangling.

Dol Bunnag, Chief Justice of the Office of the President of the Supreme Court, said ankle bracelets should not be introduced until police are ready. He also points to the risk of suspects intimidating witnesses. Whether the ankle bracelet is used must be examined on a case-by-case basis, based on the behavior of the suspect, says Dol.

According to the director of the IT Crime Prevention and Suppression Bureau, 1.000 anklets ad 20.000 baht are purchased.

– It was four years and three months and it will remain so, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday. The prison is for a doctor with a clinic in Chiang Mai, who is held responsible for the death of a 17-year-old girl after liposuction in 2002.

– For a long time it was quiet around Dr Death or the police doctor in whose orchard three skeletons were found. Supat Laohawattana and his two sons were charged yesterday with the murder of a Myanmar worker and illegal possession of firearms. Still nothing is known about the couple who worked for Supat and disappeared without a trace.

– A 35-year-old Russian went crazy yesterday at the Aranyaprathet border post. He jumped the barrier, tried to punch personnel chasing him, and punched a ranger in the neck at a Paramilitary Ranger Company 1206 checkpoint. In the end, ten men managed to overpower him. According to the man's girlfriend, he is mentally ill.

– The 10-year prison sentence for Somyot Prueksakasem for lèse-majeste is a thorn in the side of many. Activists [no details] will write protest letters to government, parliament and court.

Economic news

– The chairman of the Bank of Thailand differs with his own bank on the measures needed to keep the baht in check. Some economists, like him, are also calling for a reduction in the policy interest rate.

According to Chairman Virabongsa Ramangkura, the difference between Thai and US interest rates is too great. Unlike the bank, he thinks this difference is the main factor driving foreign capital into the country. Virabongsa points out that the price increase is detrimental to business.

The Bank of Thailand, on the other hand, thinks that gap plays only a minor role. According to the bank, low interest rates will lead to an unacceptable increase in real estate prices, creating a bubble.

Exporters are concerned about the rapid appreciation of the baht in the first two weeks of this year and the current trend. They have asked the central bank to keep the baht within the limits of the currencies of regional competitors and some countries with labour-intensive businesses.

Economist Sethaput Suthiwart-narueput thinks the central bank will be better off if it lowers interest rates instead of injecting baht and later absorbing it by issuing bonds, which is the current practice.

“A quarter of a percent interest rate cut won't do much harm, but it signals to the market that we are willing to allow a one-way bet on the baht,” he says.

However, Somprawin Manprasert, deputy dean of Chulalongkorn University's economics department, says lowering interest rates has little effect on investor decisions. This is shown in practice.

'The effect of lowering interest rates will not be very great on the exchange rate. Keeping interest rates low for too long in a good economy encourages speculation in financial assets and real estate – the same scenario we saw in the US in the run-up to the financial crisis.'

Somprawin does not expect the baht to rise much further as financial markets are now moving back towards the strong dollar.

[It is not the first time that Virabongsa, a government mover, has called for interest rate cuts. Last time he used different arguments. The Yingluck government is committed to boosting the economy. The fact that inflation will rise as a result will be the worst. The central bank, on the other hand, wants to limit inflation.]

– Ask any Spanish or Korean couple where they want to spend their honeymoon and the answer is probably Thailand. Every year 100.000 Korean couples go to Thailand and in Spain, Thailand is also known as a top honeymoon destination due to its value for money prices and hospitable services.

According to Sansern Ngaorungsi, deputy governor for Asia and the South Pacific of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Thailand has the potential to rival destinations like the Maldives and Bali as a destination for weddings and honeymoons. Potential markets include South Korea, India, China, Spain and the US, he says.

The TAT expects Americans this year honeymooners after 2 years of marketing campaigns to the country. 1.000 pairs are expected from China this year.

In 2010, the wedding and honeymoon segment accounted for 7 percent of the 19,23 million international arrivals.

– Rice exports will be disappointing for the second consecutive year this year because competition is fierce and demand from major buyers such as China, the Philippines and Indonesia is weak. The Thai Rice Exporters Association (TREA) expects Thailand to export 6,5 million tons of rice this year, down from the 6,9 million tons exported in 2012.

As the largest rice exporter, Thailand has now been overtaken by India and Vietnam. The exporters attribute this to the mortgage system for rice, which means that Thai rice can no longer compete on price with rice from other countries. The rise in the rate of the baht is now on top of that.

On the other hand, the Department of Commerce forecasts exports of 8,5 million tons and the US Department of Agriculture predicts that Thailand will regain its top position this year with an export of 8 million tons.

TREA President Korbsook Iamsuri believes exports could exceed the 6,5 million tons forecast by the association if the government succeeds in selling rice to other governments. According to the Ministry of Commerce, this year would be 1,5 million tons.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post