News from Thailand – July 16, 2013
Chulalongkorn University, Thailand's oldest and most prestigious university, apologized yesterday for the painting of Adolf Hitler amid cartoon characters created by freshmen of the Fine and Applied Arts department.
According to Dean Supakorn Dispan, the students wanted the painting to express that different superheroes want to protect the world and that there are both good and bad people. The painting, which was made on the occasion of a graduation ceremony on July 11 and 12, has since been removed. See further the post 'Hitler portrayed as a superhero in Thailand causes angry reactions' (July 15).
– The Department of Special Investigation (DSI, the Thai FBI) will request an arrest warrant for the controversial 'jet-set' monk Wirapol Sukphol. The arrest warrant lists two offenses: fraud in obtaining donations for the construction of a replica of the Emerald Buddha and sex with a minor. When the arrest warrant is granted by the court, the DSI will ask for his extradition and revocation of his passport. The monk is said to be staying in the US.
According to Narong Rattananukul, adviser to the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), there are still 2 to 3 million baht in Wirapol's 41 bank accounts. Previously, it was 200 to 300 million baht per day. The ONCB and the Anti-Money Laundering Office will quickly try to trace the missing money.
- Don't shoot the messenger does not seem to apply to Prime Minister Yingluck. The media should verify reports of possible chemical contamination of packed rice before publishing them. Because the credibility of Thailand's rice supply is at stake, she warns.
"We are concerned that these unconfirmed reports are causing public panic and a lack of confidence in the government's ability to ensure food security," the prime minister said yesterday. Yingluck responded to reports, most of them online, that packaged rice is contaminated with chemicals used to kill pests.
'Not all rice is contaminated. A problem may arise, but that does not mean that the entire industry is affected. Please be fair. Sometimes it is a one-off error, a broken packaging. Then you shouldn't assume that this happens everywhere in the industry.'
Meanwhile, the instigator of all the scandalous reports, TV producer Sutthiphong Thammawuthi, has bowed to threats of legal action from chain stores and the Ministry of Commerce. He apologized to the deputy minister yesterday and said he would recommend Thai rice. Sutthiphong had written on his Facebook page that packed rice in shopping malls is not safe and also mentioned brand names.
But the cold is not over yet. Member of Parliament Warong Dechgitvigrom (Democrats) has called on the government to take the allegation of contaminated rice seriously. He says some unscrupulous men have smuggled bad rice into government stocks. "These practices are happening and they are bad for the government's attempts to sell its huge rice stocks." Warong insists on testing.
– Sadao district in the southern province of Songkhla is not affected by violence, it is an important economic zone and it is used by the armed forces as an access route. Moreover, unlike the other districts, the Internal Security Act does not apply. Army commander Prayuth Chan-ocha therefore believes that the district does not belong in the agreement on the ceasefire in the South during Ramadan.
'If the BRN says it is, then that's their decision, not ours. The Internal Security Operations Command will inform the government that the district has not been included in the ceasefire. The government will refute the BRN claim,' he says.
On Friday, Malaysia, which is an observer in the peace talks between Thailand's National Security Council (NSC) and resistance group BRN, announced that an agreement had been reached on a ceasefire during the Islamic month of fasting. This applies to the provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala as well as five districts in Songkhla, including Sadao.
Thawee Piyapatana, president of the provincial branch of the Federation of Thai Industries, said Sadao, which borders Malaysia, is a booming and bustling business center. Investors from Hat Yai, which is ravaged by violence, have flocked to it. Over the past three years, the hotel and entertainment sector has flourished with a combined investment capital of more than 10 billion baht.
For now, the ceasefire seems to be holding apart from a bomb attack last Thursday, a shooting of a man in Bannang Sata (Yala), and a shooting of two people in Sungai Kolok (Narathiwat) on Sunday night.
Paradorn Pattanatabut, secretary-general of the NSC, says it is unclear whether the shooting in Sungai Kolok was the work of insurgents or a personal conflict. In Bannang Sata, it concerned a man who was on his way home on his motorcycle. The police consider it a personal conflict.
– The bubbling over the controversial audio clip of a conversation between former Prime Minister Thaksin and Secretary of State Yuthasak Sasiprasa (Defence) continues. Army Commander Prayuth Chan-ocha says the Defense Council cannot possibly deal with an amnesty proposal [which would benefit Thaksin].
That possibility was raised in the offending conversation. The Defense Council would put in a good word with the cabinet in exchange for which the current commanders would be allowed to stay on. The National Security Council would also make such a request.
A source at Defense says the clip may have been edited to create the wrong impression. The source said this because Yuthasak knows very well that such a construction is impossible. An amnesty proposal cannot be made by the Defense Council.
The permanent secretary of the ministry, on the other hand, believes that the Defense Council can discuss such a proposal if the minister puts it on the agenda.
– The province of Maha Sarakham must become a 'hub' of education and health care. This proposal from Rajabhat Mahasarakham University was welcomed yesterday by Prime Minister Yingluck, who is on a tour in the North East.
Yingluck called on the university to train more graduates for the agricultural industry, which is the main source of income in the province. The university can also help improve the quality control of organic products. Organic products are doing well in the province.
University president Supachai Samappito told her that the university can serve students from the other countries of the Greater Mekong sub-region, especially when the region is better connected with a high-speed rail line. A hospital with 200 beds is also planned, which can later be expanded to 800 to 1.000 beds.
– Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul (Foreign Affairs) wants a firmer finger in the annual round of transfers of ambassadors and other senior officials. Next time he wants to deal with it personally, he said yesterday at the ministry at the opening of a meeting of ambassadors and consuls-general stationed in Asean countries.
The minister explained that for the past two years he had blindly followed proposals from the permanent secretary and his assistants, but now that he knows the ministry staff better and has a better understanding of the performance of the ambassadors and other staff, he can do it himself.
Naturally, the minister's words evoked the accusation of political interference. A former civil servant calls the minister's intervention 'demoralizing'. "Nowadays only people close to Thaksin are promoted." A former minister of Foreign Affairs wonders whether the minister has the right information to choose the right people.
– Not 54.758 rai but 27.500 rai will be reforested this year by the Royal Forest Department (RFD). The RFD is in the starting blocks, the locations are known, the saplings are ready, but the allocation of the budger is stagnant. And even if the 168 million baht would come soon, it can't because the saplings have to be planted before the end of the rainy season in August.
The budget of 168 million comes from the 350 billion baht that the government has earmarked for water management projects. However, the Water and Flood Management Commission, which manages the budget, recently announced a new rather cumbersome working method with four tranches.
– Persistence wins, the family and lawyer of Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, convicted of lèse-majesté, must think. For the fifteenth time they are going to ask for bail. Somyot, already 26 months behind bars, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. The former editor of the magazine Voice of Taksin published two articles in 2010 that, according to the court, were not acceptable.
– Sports hero Jakkrit Panichpatikum, arrested for threatening his wife and mother, will not be released on bail, the court in Min Buri decided yesterday, considering that he may intimidate witnesses. Jakkrit beat his wife, gave her an electric shock and he fired a gun into the air.
– King Bhumibol yesterday visited the Siriraj Phimukhsthan museum on the grounds of the Siriraj hospital, where he is being treated. The museum highlights the history of healthcare in Thailand. The first medical school was attached to the Siriraj.
Economic news
– The high household debts and the economic malaise are reason for banks to assess mortgage applications more strictly. To avoid risks, the LTV ratio (loan-to-value) is lowered.
The United Overseas Bank (UOBT) is reducing the ratio (between the loan and the value of the property) from 90 to 80 percent for houses or units costing 10 million baht or more. Following its conservative counterparts, the bank has stopped offering interest-free mortgages, a marketing tool aimed at attracting borrowers.
Kasikorn Bank goes from 80 to 75 percent and for third homes from 95 to 90 percent.
TMB Bank drops from 90-95 percent to 70 percent for second mortgages and vacation homes.
The banks are responding to repeated warnings from the central bank about rising household debt and indications of a real estate bubble in some places. The bank also warned in 2011, but then because of oversupply. The bank announced mandatory LTV ratios for condos from 10 million baht (90 percent) and detached houses, duplexes and townhouses (95 percent).
– The number of second-hand cars will increase significantly in Thailand as a result of the government's first-car program. This predicts the remarketing firm [a fancy word for used car dealer?] Manheim Asia Pacific. The company estimates that 2,5 million will be put up for sale this year. Last year the number of used cars was 2,1 million.
The government's first-car program, which ended late last year, led to the sale of 1,4 million cars. Buyers of a first car will receive a refund of the tax paid after a year, but it is expected that many buyers will find out that they cannot afford the monthly costs. Twenty percent of car buyers in Thailand put the purchase amount on the table in one go, the rest have to borrow and those people will be hit. Ergo: the number of used cars is increasing.
Director Simon Moran expects many cars to end up at auction companies. He does not see any major consequences for the local car market in the long term because spending will return to normal. Low interest rates also stimulate new car sales. According to Moran, the Thai car market is healthy with a 1:2,5 ratio of new to used cars. That is significantly better than in the US and UK, where used cars make up 75 percent of the market.
Manheim holds online auctions every Wednesday in Bangkok, Phitsanulok, Surat Thani and Nakhon Ratchasima. Every week, 700 vehicles change hands: 400 cars, 150 wrecks and 150 motorcycles.
– The debt insolvency rate of student loans has skyrocketed from 28 to 50 percent. In July, 50 billion should have been paid back, but only 25 billion baht came in, says State Secretary Tanusak Lek-uthai (Finance).
To force students to have better payment discipline, the period within which the loan must be repaid has been shortened from 5 to 3 years after graduation. Those who fail to do so will be blacklisted. This means that it is no longer possible to borrow from most other financial institutions.
Due to poor repayments, less money is available for new student loans. That budget will be reduced by 5,5 billion baht to 23 billion baht, enough for 35.000 students.
Since 1996, students have been able to borrow money cheaply from the government. So far, 800.000 to 900.000 students have taken advantage of this opportunity.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post