News from Thailand – July 15, 2014
The Government House will receive a 300 million baht refurbishment before the caretaker government moves into the building in September. According to the permanent secretary of the PM's Office, nothing has been done to the building for years and renovation is desperately needed.
The Government House consists of several buildings. The Thai Khu Fah Building is about small adjustments, because major changes require permission from the Fine Arts Department, because it is on the Monument List. The Prime Minister's office is located in that building. Government House recently reopened after being used for meetings and press conferences by the protest movement and previously under siege.
Yesterday, top officials attended a ceremony to bless the building complex. The highlight was the tribute to the Brahma statue. This statue on the roof is supposed to scare away evil spirits. Coupleider Prayuth Chan-ocha did not attend the ceremony organized by the Permanent Secretary.
Political observers are curious if Prayuth will take up residence in the building, either in his current position or as prime minister. Prayuth has announced through his spokesperson that he will not move. He operates from the army headquarters on Ratchadamnoen Avenue. Also today, Prayuth is absent from a Muslim ceremony at Government House.
- Has Bangkok Post not paying attention again? Yesterday the newspaper reported that the National Economics and Social Development Board has proposed that patients pay for certain medical services and also yesterday that the Ministry of Health denied plans to do so. But today the newspaper writes that this information comes from a leaked report from the ministry. Do the BP journalists even read their own newspaper?
Be that as it may, the proposal has been launched, and [of course] patient organizations are screaming bloody murder. Apiwat Kwangkaew, head of an HIV/AIDS patient network, is resisting because the population already pays enough taxes, he says. If the ministry goes ahead with the plan, it will first have to apply the scheme to the health insurance of civil servants for a trial period of 5 years.
'If it turns out that it benefits state expenditure and makes civil servants more aware of benefits, it may be reasonable to apply it in the UC as well,' he says. UC stands for universal healthcare scheme, the national insurance that applies to 48 million Thai. According to Apiwat, the civil service insurance costs the government much more money than the national insurance, ie on average per participant.
Two hundred health experts are meeting today to discuss the proposals. The Thai Federation of General and Central Hospital Doctors believes a co-payment is necessary, but it should be lower than suggested in the leaked report.
According to the report, a personal contribution would be requested for between 30 and 50 percent of medical costs. Currently, UC policyholders pay 30 baht per consultation. “We have to let people take responsibility for themselves. Free healthcare leads to overuse without people paying attention to their health,' says the federation chairman.
Today, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Narong Sahametapat, talks to the media. He denied last week that the ministry had plans for its own contribution. The deputy secretary suspects that the leaked document is fake.
– The junta is happy with the big cleaning that has been done on the beach of Phuket. All illegal structures on the beaches of Patong, Kata, Karon, Surin, Nai Thon Kamala and Nai Harm have been removed. 'Now the beaches are just as beautiful and natural as they always were. Tourists and residents of Phuket are happy with it and want it to stay that way forever," said naval chief Narong Pipattanasai.
Narong asks the population to help keep the beaches free of illegal structures for as long as possible. The NCPO also plans to crack down on the island's taxi mafia and improve services at Phuket airport.
– In an operation in which 420 soldiers and agents were deployed, 150 alleged drug dealers and users were arrested early yesterday morning in the province of Nakhon Si Thammarat (photo home page). 126 locations were raided at 5 am. The operation mainly targeted street dealers and addicts in areas such as a neighborhood near Nakhon Si Thammarat station. There, the suspect in the rape and murder of Kaem would have bought two methamphetamine pills on the night train to Bangkok. According to the police, that area is a distribution hub for ya ba pill.
– Arrest warrants have been issued by the Southern Bangkok Criminal Court against seven suspects in the deadly grenade attack on February 23 in front of Big C on Ratchadamri Avenue. The attack near a protest site of the anti-government movement killed three people and injured 21 others. The suspects are charged with first-degree murder and possession of weapons. They are also suspected of other attacks.
– A drunken stateless man has 'renovated' a police cell in Bangkok. He was arrested for assaulting and threatening his ex-girlfriend, who is from Uzbekistan. In the cell he went on a rampage; for example, he damaged a camera and toilet bowl. An attempt to bribe the agents with 100.000 baht failed. After three hours, officers handcuffed him because he wouldn't stop.
– Wonderful, all those plans they come up with at Education. But I say: not words, but deeds. The Office of the Basic Education Commission (Obec) is working on plans to underprivileged prepare children in rural areas for the Asean Community by giving them English language education that matches the labor market. Now, after three years of Mathayom, these children enter the labor market with a limited knowledge of the English language.
Obec is now developing English teaching materials that are useful in practice, such as supermarkets, offices, hospitals, tourism, transport and construction. English teachers at 450 of the 7.000 schools with the target group have already received training for the program that will start in November. The number of hours of English lessons remains the same. The emphasis in all schools will shift from grammar to communication skills.
– It does not improve education, it costs too much money and it puts an unreasonable burden on teachers.
So, put that in your pocket, Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment (Onesqa), which measures education every five years.
Who say that? According to the rector of Srinakharin University: many university presidents and private universities. There is also criticism of the assessment criteria that Onesqa uses. They are the same for all institutions. So little customization.
– Transport costs will increase by 10 percent as a result of the recent reduction in the maximum weight of a container truck. On July 1, the new limit of 50,5 tons came into effect, 7,5 tons less than before. The carriers have not yet adjusted their rates, but they have prepared their customers for the increase.
Tomorrow, three transport clubs will meet to discuss solutions to limit the consequences for the sector. There are particular fears for the period from November to April because agricultural products have to be transported.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post
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Nice proposal to lower the maximum load per truck, but not only for container transport. Sugar cane transports during the harvest, with heavily overloaded wagons, destroy all roads. So here the knife cuts both ways. But now the enforcement; there are weighbridges on the major roads and despite that ………….
It is actually quite special that it applies to container carriers, because a 20-foot container or a 40-foot container already has a maximum weight of its own. (24 and 32 tons off the top of my head….)
“…Free health care leads to overuse without people paying attention to their health,” says the federation president….” on the national or universal healthcare is called.
Hum. Now I have been using the state hospitals for years and have learned to tell doctors - without losing face - that I only want THAT and THAT pill and not the rest of the range.
But when I see what doctors prescribe to others and that people just don't leave the hospital pharmacy with a shopping cart….. You are only a good doctor if you deliver at least FIVE sachets, I sometimes think.
Paracetamol is pretty much standard and feel free to take 6 x 500 mg per day, a Thai liver can handle that! That certainly includes vitamins and other things that should be in the diet. Now I know that the poor Thai in the periphery do not eat enough variety and do not eat enough 'disc of five', but to compensate for this with tablets that also contain dyes and preservatives?
The overconsumption is also due to the prescription policy.
Oh, and while they're at it, the mandatory stopping of the leaflet is a personal wish of mine. Even if it is in Thai, then go to the internet. Now it is often guessing what you do in or on your body.
Just heard that in the far north of Thiland Thaton. The military visits homes to look for drugs. The person I spoke to was happy with it. And that local corruption is also being tackled. It gives the common man or woman confidence again .