News from Thailand – July 18, 2014
The authorities of Lop Buri are going to clamp down on the monkey population in the province, as residents are starting to suffer from the increasing number of quite cheeky monkeys.
They are lured into cages with tasty treats and, after a medical examination, transferred to game management centers in Chachoengsao, Sa Kaeo, Ratchaburi and Nakhon Nayok. The province is also considering building a monkey park modeled on the popular bird park in Chat Nai.
Most monkeys can be found at the Phrapang Sam Yot stupa, as tourists know. The owner of a nearby store jealously keeps doors and windows closed to prevent them from sneaking in and renovating his house. The owner of a nearby clothing store complains about the urine and faeces of the animals and food that tourists leave for the animals.
According to a monkey food seller, the monkeys only misbehave when they are hungry. Normally they behave in an exemplary manner, he says. [Do you believe it?] He wants the monkeys to stay because they are symbolic of Lop Buri and tourists like to see them.
– The VAT will be maintained at 7 percent for another year, but will be raised to 1 percent on October 10 next year. The NCPO announced this yesterday.
The rate consists of two parts: the VAT and a local tax. The ratio is currently 6,3 percent VAT and 0,7 percent local tax; that will be 9 percent VAT and 1 percent tax. Ten percent is the maximum allowed by law.
The Yingluck government had already decided to leave VAT unchanged for another year to stimulate consumer spending and the economy. Thailand introduced the VAT in 1992. Initially it was 10 percent, but at the request of the business community it was increased to 7 percent.
– Hassle in the taekwondo world. Rungravee Khurasa claims to have been punched by coach Choi Youngseok at last week's Korean Open, but Taekwondo Association of Thailand officials say he did nothing wrong.
The national team returned from South Korea yesterday, Rungravee had left earlier and the coach has stayed in his home country. He is being talked to with all his might to return and prepare the team for the Youth Olympics and Asian Games.
Choi says the complaining athlete did not warm up for her first match. She lost that match. She lacks discipline, he says, which is why she was punished. She also allegedly lied to the media. According to the TAT president, she is not very popular with fans.
– Three suspects have been arrested for the poisoning of the 50-year-old male elephant Khlao in Ayutthaya. Two were in possession of the tusks they sawed off. They have stated that they were hired by a customer to provide tusks. When they saw the elephant tied to a tree near the Lop Buri river, they thought 'Eitje' [in Thai of course, because they don't speak Dutch].
The suspects have stated that they often hunt wild animals on orders from customers in Yaowarat (a Chinese district in Bangkok with many ivory shops). In 2010, one of them was arrested for poisoning a Bengal tiger. He was sentenced to one and a half years in prison, but ran away and has been a fugitive ever since.
The usual reconstruction was canceled yesterday because angry mahouts with ten elephants and hundreds of local residents had gone to the scene of the disaster. The police are still looking for the client.
– The increase in the minimum daily wage to 300 baht in April last year has not improved the financial position of workers, says Yongyuth Chalamwong, director of research at the Thailand Development Research Institute.
The 13 percent increase did not keep pace with the 16 percent increase in the cost of living, he says. The workers thought they had a higher disposable income, but this was canceled out by inflation. Despite the shower, they were even able to save less.
In 2011, savings at the end of the month averaged 1.838 baht, up from 1.341 baht last year, according to data from the National Statistical Office. Workers who usually spend more than they earn overspent 2011 baht per person per month in 200 and 1.088 baht last year. [donkey do you stretch?]
Yongyuth's conclusion: Raising the minimum daily wage only makes sense if price measures are taken at the same time to keep the cost of living under control.
– A 28-year-old man was handcuffed yesterday on suspicion of rape and murder. He assaulted a woman (37) from Laos and her 5-year-old daughter in Phakdi Chumpon (Phetchaburi). He dumped the girl's body in a canal. The mother's body was found in her bedroom. A bruise on her neck indicates that she must have been strangled. The girl's body turned up; she had similar injuries.
A neighbor says she heard screaming. She later found the victim. The suspect is the woman's brother.
– A committee formed by the junta has established that attendance fees from members of parliament for committee meetings have been tampered with. The money will be recovered. Committee chairman Anantaporn Kanchanarat says three thousand [Good morning!] committees have been formed. Some committee members received 9.000 baht for three hours of meetings, leaving after 5 to 10 minutes, sometimes even at several committee meetings in one day.
The junta committee also considered three other projects: (1) the construction of a new parliament building in Kiakkai, delayed due to land transfer problems; (2) the construction of apartments for civil servants with 3 rooms, including chambers for members of parliament; and (XNUMX) irregularities in the allocation of pensions and welfare benefits. The committee has asked the Secretariat of the House of Representatives to review these matters. The junta committee is working to unearth more mud, but for now I will leave it at that.
– Get out, the lottery ticket sellers on Ratchadamnoen Avenue were told yesterday. Soldiers and agents began to clear their stalls despite booing from the vendors. Vendors say they've been making a living there for decades, but authorities are determined to return the sidewalk to pedestrians. Referring to the junta's slogan, one salesman cynically wondered, "Does this act bring back happiness or will it bring trouble?"
After Wednesday, lottery sales at the Khok Wua intersection, where about a hundred stalls are located, will definitely be over. The city of Bangkok has designated four alternative locations for the vendors.
– More protests, now from the Thai Transportation and Logistics Association and the Land Transport Federation of Thailand against the weight limit of 50,5 tons (large trucks) and 25 tons (ten-wheelers), which has been in effect since the beginning of the month.
The two interest groups want a relaxation because of high transport costs, but the junta stands firm.
A study by Naresuan University found that overloaded trucks damage roads costing billions of baht. The transporters previously complied with the recommendations of the study, but are now protesting to the NCPO. According to them, the current limits are higher than in other Asian countries.
– Nearly 130.000 motorcycle taxi drivers are now registered with the Land Transport Department, which can be called a success for the junta, which wants to sweep the world. The drivers get a new vest with a luminous strip and a slot for the registration ticket of the LTD.
– Former park head Chaiwat Limlikhitaksorn of Kaeng Krachan National Park and his associates will not be prosecuted for the disappearance of Karen activist Porlajee Rakchongcharoen. The Phetchaburi Provincial Court considers the evidence that they would detain Porlajee, as claimed by his wife, to be insufficient.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post
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Dossier
Dossier is a section with information about topics that are or have been regularly in the news. Dossier provides background information, based on articles Bangkok Post. It's been a while since the last episode came out. Today some figures about rice and (rice) farmers and data from the Economic Review mid-year 2014 of Bangkok Post.
Some figures about rice and (rice) farmers
Thailand has 17 million farmers; they make up 43 percent of the country's workforce and 24 percent of the population.
The agricultural land under cultivation is 149 million rai. Of this, 70 million rai is used for the cultivation of rice. Of those 70 million rai, 43 million rai is suitable or reasonably suitable for rice cultivation. The rest are less suitable or unsuitable. Other crops with a higher yield should be grown on it.
The cost of Thailand's rice production is 9.266 baht per ton, much higher than the 4.000 baht in Myanmar and 5.000 baht in Vietnam. That's why Thai farmers and Thai rice find it hard to compete on the world market and that's why the farmers earn so little. (Source: Bangkok Post, July 16, 2014)
Facts and numbers
- Population: The population of Thailand is 67.741.401 (June 2014 estimate); Thailand ranks 21st among all countries in the world. The largest group are 25-54 year olds (46,9 percent). Women are in the majority in this group. In the 15-24 age group, boys form the largest group. The percentage of over-65s is 9,8 percent. Life expectancy for men is 71 years and for women 77,54 years.
- Telephony: There are 6,39 million fixed lines, 84,1 million mobile phones and 34 million internet users.
- Energy: Thais use 169,4 billion kWh of electricity and 45,08 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
- Corruption: On the Corruption Perception Index, Thailand has risen (so it has become more corrupt) from 84th place in 2009 to 102nd place in 2013. Only in the year 2010 things went slightly better or, let's say, less bad.