News from Thailand – October 1, 2014

He's a powerful man behind the scenes, so if you can visit him in his home, it means something.

Prime Minister Prayut, who retired yesterday as army chief, visited Prem Tinsulanonda, president of the Privy Council, along with other retired army chiefs. Not only were they received by Prem, but he also gave them his blessing and thanked them for the good work they have done in recent months.

Yesterday General Udomdej Sitabutr took over from Prayut at the Royal Thai Army headquarters in Bangkok (photo above). Udomdej promised to protect the monarchy, work in the interests of the country and avoid conflicts with neighboring countries. He also said that the army is firmly behind the government and the junta. He also promised to address the problems in the South. The emphasis should be on creating peace rather than raiding villages.

Meanwhile, violence in the South continued unabated. In Rueso (Narathiwat) yesterday, a restaurant owner was shot dead on his motorcycle and Monday evening in Sai Buri (Pattani) an Islamic teacher, also on his motorcycle.

– Thailand has moved up two places on the medal list at the Asian Games in Incheon (South Korea): from tenth place, which was conquered on Monday, to eighth place. Chanatip Sonkham (taekwondo) and the sailors Noppakao Poonpat and Nichapa Waiwai took care of that.

Thailand now has 8 gold medals, 6 silver and 21 bronze, bringing the total to 35. Tomorrow, the Thai football team, which lost 2-0 to South Korea yesterday, has a chance of winning bronze, but then it has to beat Iraq.

The promising Luksika Kumkhum (photo homepage) failed to win a second gold medal yesterday (she won the first in tennis doubles). She bit the dust in front of the Chinese Wang Qiang. Bowler Yannaphon Larpapharat, already in possession of gold, finished in it men's all events [?] second.

– The 28 members of the NLA (National Legislative Assembly, appointed emergency parliament), who do not want to provide insight into their financial position, have received no response from the Supreme Administrative Court. They must be naked with their buttocks. Members of the House of Representatives and Senate are required to declare their assets and liabilities, so that requirement also applies to the NLA.

The statement must be submitted to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC). This should have happened no later than September 7, thirty days after the members were sworn in. The 28 troublemakers had already gone to the Central Administrative Court, but it had pointed out to them that it is their individual obligation to show the public that they will not use an important position for their own gain. They were to comply with the order of the NACC without delay.

The chairman of the NLA says that the 28 had already made the required statement before going to court. The sole purpose of the legal process was to elicit a ruling on the NACC's claim.

– Good news for Satish Sehgal, president of the Thai-Indian Business Association. He will not be deported and will retain Thai citizenship. That measure taken respectively by the CMPO, a body responsible for enforcing the emergency regulation at the time of the anti-government protests, and the then Minister of the Interior was swept aside by the Civil Court yesterday. The CMPO, chaired by iron-eater Chalerm Yubamrung, wanted to deport him for allegedly supporting the protests.

According to the court, Sehgal's speeches, which he had delivered on the podiums of the anti-government movement, had not harmed the country. The deportation order was discriminatory and unfair, and it violated an earlier Civil Court ruling that ruled the protests peaceful and not against the law.

– It was supposed to be a small birthday party, but a hundred people came to the home of Somchai Khumploem, better known as kamnan Poh, in Chon Buri to congratulate him on his 77th birthday. They were received by his wife, because the kamnan himself (nickname: the Godfather of the East) is imprisoned for the murder of a political rival and corruption in the sale of state forests. He was arrested in 2013 after seven years on the run. Due to his poor health, he is allowed to spend his prison sentence in Chon Buri Hospital and that does not seem to be an uncomfortable stay.

– The union of the Bangkok public transport company (BMTA) wants the plan to legalize unregistered minivans to be postponed. When those vans are allowed to drive on the same routes as the buses and minibuses of the BMTA, conflicts arise between drivers who steal passengers from each other. The union is demanding that the new operators be deployed on other routes in the outskirts of Bangkok.

– Eleven Cambodian fishermen have been arrested in Rayong on suspicion of illegal fishing in Thai waters. The police want to check whether their documents, including a work permit, are correct. The owner of the boat they work on is Thai. He broke the law because the skipper is not Thai.

– Thai Airways International has temporarily closed its office in Hong Kong due to the protests that are underway. The office is located near the location where the demonstration takes place. THAI will continue to fly between Hong Kong and Bangkok. The office is expected to reopen on Monday.

– Prime Minister Prayut's first foreign trip is to Myanmar. He will visit the country on October 9 and 10. Prayut has also decided to attend the 10th Asean-Europe Meeting in Milan (16 and 17 October). 51 heads of government meet there.

In Myanmar, the main topics of conversation are cooperation at the border and problems with guest workers and refugees. Also discussed is the ambitious Dawei project, a joint project between Myanmar and Thailand that provides for the construction of a deep-sea port in Dawei (Myanmar), industrial estate and pipeline. In Milan, economic issues, climate change and Ebola are discussed.

– The trip of Minister Tanasak Patimapragorn (Foreign Affairs) to the US to attend the 69th UN General Assembly was a success, says Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs. The international community has regained confidence in Thailand. Yesterday Tanasak was allowed to shake hands with US Secretary of State John Kerry. Tanasak also spoke with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

– There is no lack of plans for the holiday island of Koh Tao, where two British tourists were murdered two weeks ago. Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul (Tourism and Sports), who visited the island, wants that party time on the beach is limited, to combat drunk driving and noise nuisance. The minister believes that the facilities on the island need improvement, such as waste processing and the availability of clean water and toilets.

The ministry also wants to install more surveillance cameras, give tourists wristbands and recruit volunteers to strengthen the police. The wristbands will contain a unique number and contact details of the hotel where the wearer is staying. This makes it easier for aid workers to help them. The wristbands may also be issued on Koh Phangan and Koh Samui. In discussion is another one buddy system, in which tourists are linked to a native.

In the past eight months, 15,7 million tourists arrived on the island, a decrease of 10 percent year-on-year.

– I have long lost count, but we have one more: a derailed train. Yesterday, a train bound for Nam Rok station in Kanchanaburi ran off the rails. That happened between Wang Yen and Tha Kilen stations. If I'm not mistaken, that's the train that goes over the famous Bridge over the River Kwai drives.

– For three tambons in Mae Sot (Tak) that have been exposed to cadmium for forty years, there is hope when the new regulations Environmental Protected Area finished at the end of this year. The Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP) promises to enforce the rules strictly. The new rules are based on information from recent public hearings. It was drawn up by order of the Administrative Court.

In 2009 activists and villagers already went to court with complaints about cadmium caused by a zinc mine. According to them, their health and fields are damaged. Tests in 2004 by Mae Sot Hospital found that half of the residents had unhealthy levels of cadmium in their urine, but a link to the zinc mine could not be proven. The mine management says it processes the poison in accordance with international guidelines.

– Twenty-nine Thai and Myanmar fishermen working on trawlers in Indonesian waters have enlisted the help of the Labor Rights Promotion Network Foundation (LPN). Six Thais are returning to Thailand today, three of whom are victims of human trafficking, says the LPN, who visited Ambon in August.

During the visit, the LPN met ten Thai and nineteen Myanmarese, who said they wanted to return. Some were forced to work on trawlers and were not paid. Others had one-year contracts, but were not allowed to leave after the contract expired. The LPN encountered even more problems such as forgery of travel documents and seaman's books and assault. Many fishermen have already fled and are now working illegally on the island. Between 2006 and 2014, 128 crew members called on the LPN.

Economic news

Economic crime in Thailand is on the rise for the second consecutive year. Fraud is taking place in more companies than ever before, according to the Global Economic Crime Survey from PwC [?]. It's all neatly indicated in the accompanying graphic: the type of fraud and the frequency. The data comes from 5.128 companies and leaders from the non-profit sector.

Some tantalizing results:

• 37 percent of Thai respondents say they have been victims of fraud.
• 89 percent of frauds occur within organizations (Asia-Pacific: 61 percent, worldwide: 56 percent).
• Globally, 32 percent expect to suffer financial loss from bribery and corruption; in Thailand 48 percent.
• Thais are less aware of cybercrime (39 percent) than in Asia-Pacific (45 percent), but the rate has increased compared to last year, when it reached 27 percent.
• 20 percent of Thai respondents have suffered financial losses of less than 1,6 million baht.
• One respondent reported damage of 3,2 billion baht.

– Exports in August fell by 7,4 percent on an annual basis, reaching the lowest level in 32 months. “The global economy is recovering more slowly than expected,” said Nuntawan Sakuntanaga, director general of the International Trade Promotion Department. The next three months won't be much better, he expects.

The culprits are low prices for raw materials, such as rubber, and weak gold and oil exports. Last month gold exports fell by 92,9 percent to $72 million, a big difference from August when exports amounted to $2,02 billion. The export of cars also showed a downward trend: minus 8,9 percent. Not unimportant, because car exports account for 12,8 percent of total Thai exports.

But there are also bright spots. Agricultural exports increased by 2,7 percent on an annual basis last month, thanks to rice, fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables, frozen and processed chicken meat, sugar and tapioca.

In the first eight months of this year, exports decreased by 1,36 percent on an annual basis and imports (for the fourteenth consecutive month) by 14,2 percent. The decline was mainly due to slower domestic spending, lower exports and reduced demand for cars after the subsidy program for the purchase of a first car ended.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post

More news in:

No mercy for killer Nong Kaem