News from Thailand – August 12, 2014

Today is Queen Sirikit's birthday; she celebrates her 82nd birthday, but the newspaper does not say a word about her health.

In the glossy supplement of the newspaper, the queen is even wished 'excellent health' by the Siam Commercial Bank, which is a somewhat bitter wish given the seriousness of her illness. [I must leave it at that, as I have only heard about information about the Queen's state of health.]

The newspaper does pay attention to the state of health of the monarch, who has been admitted to the Siriraj hospital in Bangkok for a medical check-up. His temperature, breathing and blood pressure are normal, the Royal Household Bureau said in a second medical bulletin issued yesterday. A minor infection has been found only in the stomach and is being treated with medication.

The doctors have also found that the monarch is not getting all the nutrients he needs given his advanced age. They have asked him for permission to administer supplements intravenously.

The royal couple has been staying in Hua Hin for a year now. It returned to the hospital last week, where it was previously nursed. It is not known when they will return to the Klai Kangwon palace.

– The Patani Liberation Army (PLA) is closely monitored by the security services, because it is said to be busy recruiting and training insurgents for attacks in the South. The attacks should aim to gain a place in the peace talks between Thailand and resistance group Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN). Those talks began in March last year and broke off in December when the House of Representatives was dissolved.

If I understand the (complicated) message correctly, the PLA is a new group, formed by two factions in New Pulo, a group that has split from the old Pulo (Patani United Liberation Organisation). Both were not allowed to participate in the peace talks. The two factions distrust each other, said the Malaysian observer at the talks.

It is not known how many members the PLA has. The 'army' has a Facebook page where members post photos of training sessions. That page is the main source of information for the Thai security services.

Co-leader Prayuth Chan-ocha reportedly wants to send teams to other countries to talk to resistance groups. [?] The NCPO (junta) would have little confidence in the public peace talks between BRN and Thailand. At the end of this month, Thawil Pliensri, Secretary General of the National Security Council, will travel to Malaysia to discuss the resumption of peace talks. A meeting with the BRN is not on the agenda.

– Another complicated message. Yes, dear people, the position of editor-in-chief is not always fun. I'll try.

A new service is being formed to coordinate water management nationally. The aim is to improve cooperation between all government services involved in water management. A decision on that new service is expected next year. Formation of a new ministry, which has been speculated, is not being considered.

The Thai-Water Partnership Foundation does not find a new service a solution. 'A new service makes no difference. We need to change our approach by focusing on water reservoir management and public participation," said chairman Hannarong Yaowalers.

But a consultant from the Engineering Institute of Thailand is in favor of a central command center. This is necessary to avoid duplication of work, he believes.

The Stop Global Warming Association will make a proposal to the NLA (emergency parliament) for a water management law, with the emphasis on decentralization and public participation.

– On Sunday evening, former Prime Minister Yingluck returned from a holiday in Europe and the US. She arrived at Don Mueang Airport on a private jet from Singapore. Yesterday morning she visited a hypermarket (that's an overgrown supermarket) near her. She told reporters that she did not have to report to the NCPO because she returned at the appointed time.

According to her assistant, Yingluck also properly reported her changed travel schedule, because Singapore was not on it. There she met eldest brother Thaksin again. Last month, Yingluck and her son plus others celebrated his 65th birthday in Paris with Thaksin.

Yingluck's return has been the subject of much speculation. Some thought she would grow her mustache because she has been charged by the National Anti-Corruption Commission with dereliction of duty in the rice mortgage scheme. The Public Prosecution Service is considering whether to prosecute her.

- A nannies i.e. nanny can only be a Thai and not someone from another country. They may only be used as domestic help. Director General Sumeth Mahosot of the Employment Department responds with this statement to statements by pediatrician Duangporn Asvacharan.

Duangporn is concerned about the influence of foreign nannies and domestic helpers on the development of the children they care for. See further in the relevant message News from Thailand of Friday.

– A Myanmar worker who recently moved from Phangnga to Krabi did not die of Ebola, he succumbed to a bacterial blood infection, says public health doctor Phaisan Kueaarun. It is suspected to be leptospirosis.

The man had fallen ill two days after his move and was admitted to hospital with lame and swollen legs. Locals were concerned that he was suffering from Ebola. Panic spread when it became known that workers who had been in contact with him developed a fever. They have been given medication for the flu by a doctor.

As soon as more is known about the death, the population will be informed, but at the moment the authorities emphasize that Ebola was not involved.

– The Department of Health Service Support will file a complaint against the All IVF fertility clinic on Witthayu Road on Thursday. Illegal IVF treatments have taken place in the clinic for commercial surrogacy.

The names of the two doctors who performed the procedure on the surrogate mother of Gammy, the baby with Down syndrome who was said to have been abandoned by the Australian biological parents, have been sent to the Medical Council of Thailand (MCT). They have acted contrary to the MCT rules, according to which surrogate mother and biological parents must be blood relatives. If found guilty, they may hang their doctor's coat on the coat rack.

The parents said in an interview on Australian television on Sunday that the surrogate mother did not want to give up Gammy. They denied the surrogate mother's claim that they did not want to take Gammy with them. She would even have threatened to go to the police and also claim the healthy twin sister, which is denied by the surrogate mother. All very contradictory.

The ALL IVF clinic received a visit from the authorities on Friday. The room was deserted and equipment was missing. The police dug into the documents and equipment left behind. As previously reported, a law is being prepared that would criminalize commercial surrogacy.

– The NCPO wants to interest private investors in the Taling Chan-Min Buri metro line in order to spare the state treasury. Governor Yongsit Rotsikun of the MRTA (underground metro) is confident that it will succeed in attracting private capital because the 35-kilometer line offers better commercial prospects than other planned lines. The Orange Line (cost 178 billion baht) passes through many business areas in Bangkok, such as Pratunam, Ratchadaphisek, Rama IX and Ramkhamhaeng, and also passes major department stores, the Thailand Cultural Center and the Rajamangala National Stadium.

The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) has also pinned its hopes on private capital. She owns three parcels of land (Makkasan, Phahon Yothin and Yannawa) with a balance of 84 billion baht. The SRT wants to develop it commercially.

– I believe the accompanying article, but I do not want to withhold the overview of the international reactions to the coup of 22 May. See further.

Economic news

– Good news for self-employed persons who do not have health insurance through the Social Security Fund (which applies to employees in the private sector) or who participate in a pension fund. The National Savings Fund, established by the Abhisit government and sedated by the Yingluck government, is being revived. The NCPO has decided this, says the Fiscal Policy Office (FPO).

At the time, the Yingluck government gave as a reason [or an excuse?] that the savings fund overlapped with an article in the Social Security Security Act. That article is about pensions for workers in the informal sector. Informal workers can participate in the Social Security Fund, with two options: the first covers the costs of illness, disability and death; the second adds a pension benefit.

The FPO will compare the distributions of both funds. When the SSF offers more benefits, the benefits of the NSF are increased.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post

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