News from Thailand – November 23, 2012

The Pitak Siam group's anti-government rally tomorrow poses a threat to national security. There are indications that the demonstrators are going to use violence and storm government buildings. They would even plan to take Prime Minister Yingluck hostage.

The government has therefore decided to activate the Internal Security Act (ISA) in three districts of Bangkok, making it easier to apprehend rioters, block routes and search buildings.

50.000 police officers from all over the country have been called in to keep order. The first landed yesterday in the parking lot of Dusit Zoo, opposite the parliament building. 1.700 'crowd control police' have been called up from the eight southern provinces in the Northeast. 180 buses have also been supplied, which can be used to transport suspects.

A so-called Center for the Administration of Peace and Order has been set up in Bangkok. Under the leadership of the head of the national police, representatives of 24 services keep an eye on the situation.

According to a source at the Pitak Siam group, the government is trying to discredit the rally by suggesting it wants to overthrow democracy. The Constitutional Court sees no evidence for this either. Yesterday it considered a request to ban the rally, but this was rejected.

Sunthorn Rakrong, coordinator of the Network of People in 16 Southern Provinces, said the ISA's takedown shows the government's fear of the protesters.

– A British doctor and a parasitologist from Nigeria will receive the Prince Mahidol award this year. The doctor, Michael David Rawlins, has done pioneering work in developing guidelines aimed at improving healthcare in the UK. Other countries are adopting it. The Nigerian has done important work involving residents in residential communities in the fight against disease.

The two winners were chosen from 75 nominations from 34 countries. They each receive an amount of US$100.000. The awards will be presented in January.

– AIS, Dtac and True Move did not conspire at last month's 3G auction. They have also neatly adhered to the auction conditions. This has emerged from an investigation by the DSI led by the Secretary-General of the House. The committee that conducted the investigation did not consider whether the auction conditions promoted competition between bidders. That question fell outside the committee's remit.

The 3G auction last month caused a storm of criticism. The three providers would have received their license for a price that was much too low due to a lack of competition. The Administrative Court is also considering the case at the request of the National Ombudsman. He believes that the auction lacked 'free and fair' competition.

– Three former staff members of the Islam Burapa school in tambon Kaluworneu (Narathiwat) have been acquitted by the Narathiwat court of charges that they had allowed insurgents to manufacture bombs in the school.

The school was raided in July 2007, arresting 7 people, and then forced to close. One of them was found responsible for 17 bombings and arson attacks. Weapons and bomb-making materials were found during the raid. The school was allowed to reopen in February of this year. The message does not mention what happened to the remaining four.

In Sungai Kolok (Narathiwat) a fire was set in the kitchen of a 'road side food stall' last night. In Pattani, the principal of a school in Nong Chik was seriously injured. She was shot with an M16 rifle as she drove into her car. Two men on a motorcycle had followed her.

– The 200 billion baht, which the government has earmarked for measures after last year's floods, has not been well spent. Most of the money has been spent on repairing properties with the aim of regaining investor confidence. A well-planned and long-term answer was lacking, water management experts argued yesterday at a forum at Chulalongkorn University organized by a Senate subcommittee.

'Existing waterways cannot cope with major natural disasters. Flood policy is still unclear. Therefore, the country is still at risk of future calamities," said Thannawat Charupongsakul, of the university's faculty of natural sciences.

Pramote Maiklad, former director-general of the Royal Irrigation Department, said many canals are still not dredged. Now the government wants to spend another 350 billion baht, but the plans for this are based on a computer model and do not take into account local conditions and the environment.

Apichat Anukulamphai, a member of the Water and Flood Management Commission, said water management policies are ineffective due to urban planning and insufficient control. Residents build houses in and above waterways without action being taken against them.

– Small fishermen want a greater role in determining fisheries policy. Their representatives should be appointed to the national and provincial fisheries committees. This plea was made by the Speaker of the Fisherfolk Assembly of Thailand Wednesday at a Fisheries Department seminar.

They also want the 3-kilometre zone within which large trawlers are not allowed to fish to be extended to 5 kilometres. Other Asian countries have already done so. Small fishermen fish in that zone. The FAO recognizes that small local fishermen play a key role in preserving the marine ecological system. The Fishery Act will soon be revised. A parliamentary committee is currently studying the proposed amendments.

– Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn is concerned about the plans for the construction of the Huay Samong dam, which will flood 2.000 rai of forest land, which is part of Khao Yai-Dong Phaya Yen. This national park is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

In July, UNESCO's World Heritage Committee (WHC) called on Thailand to reconsider plans to mitigate environmental impacts. The Royal Irrigation Department is processing the results of an environmental impact assessment and will send it to the WHC.

– More than half of Nakhon Ratchasima province is suffering from a severe drought. Twenty of the 32 districts have been declared a disaster area. The drought has affected 80.000 households; 720.000 rai of farmland has been destroyed. The Mun Bon and Lam Chae water reservoirs have been closed, leaving some water for the dry season. Across the country, areas in 18 provinces are struggling with drought.

– Eleven of the 141 piers along the Chayo Phraya in Bangkok are not allowed to be used during Loy Krathong. They are old and fed up with days. Loy Krathong starts next Tuesday. The festivities in Bangkok last for 3 days.

– You just have to be lucky. A ticket seller in Udon Thani had a debt of 10 million baht, but that has now disappeared like snow in the sun. A total of 42 million baht was awarded on eight tickets that she was unable to sell. For those who believe in lucky numbers, the winning ticket was 639500.

– There is a soothing tranquility in the KFC branch Siam Square. Customers can also not place their order verbally. Of the 45 employees, 32 are deaf. Parent company Yum Restaurants International (Thailand) Co has taken this initiative in the context of the so-called CSR programme: corporate social responsibility. After this branch, three more businesses will follow next year, where hearing impaired people will be employed, a total of 120 people. Yum also has chains in India and Singapore where deaf employees work.

The National Association of the Deaf in Thailand (NADT) and Suan Dusit Rajabhat University welcome KFC's initiative. Thailand has an estimated 1,3 million people with disabilities, of which 199.284 have hearing problems. Many cannot find a job. “I think they can work very well in different professions,” said Suksan Suttiboon, manager of NADT. “I am pleased that KFC is offering this opportunity and I hope more companies follow suit.”

The staff has been extensively trained to record orders and learn about customer preferences. The hearing staff is also trained to be able to communicate with them and help them if necessary.

How the customers place their order is not clear from the article. It does state that there are monitors on the counter, on which staff and customers can see what has been ordered.

Economic news

– How much will the government lose on the rice mortgage system? The Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) estimates 300 billion baht. This will increase the national debt and harm the country's economy.

Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong (Finance) does not believe it. He distrusts the TDRI because it had devised the price guarantee system under the previous government. "So the criticism of the Pheu Thai government's policies was to be expected," he says. He did not say how high the loss will be.

Nipon Poapongsakorn of the TDRI points out that the government must do everything possible to provide liquidity to the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives. The government bank pre-finances the program by paying farmers 15.000 baht for a ton of white rice and 20.000 baht for a ton of Hom Mali. Because almost nothing has been sold from last season's harvest, the bank will have to deal with high interest charges now that the new season has started.

According to the government, the program benefits farmers because they get more for their rice. According to the TDRI, more than half of the farmers also have other sources of income. For the poorest group of farmers, their main source of income is not rice cultivation.

– Would those countries still be able to keep it apart? Under the leadership of the US, the Trans-Pacific Economic Partnership (TPP) is formed, a group of eleven countries that have a free trade agreement. A number of those countries are also participating in the negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The difference? China is not a member of the former, but is a member of the latter.

The RCEP consists of the ASEAN countries plus China, Australia, India, South Korea, Japan and New Zealand. Together, half of the world's population lives there. The RCEP is seen as a rival to the TPP, a trade initiative of President Obama. He has his eyes on the Asian continent, because that is where the fastest growing economies are located.

Thailand has already expressed interest to Obama during his visit to the country. Some analysts view Obama's flirtation with Asia as an attempt to reduce China's influence. China is the world's largest producer and exporter of industrial products.

– Negotiations on the Thai-European Union Free Trade Agreement will begin in January. The business community is pressing for haste, because in January 2015 the Generalized System of Preferences for Thai exports will expire.

The Food and Drug Administration and the National Health Commission are investigating the impact of the agreement on Thailand's pharmaceutical industry. That study will be completed in June. Health experts and activists therefore want the negotiations to be postponed. They fear that the FTA will make it more difficult to obtain some medicines at reasonable prices. This includes the duration of patents.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl –Source: Bangkok Post