News from Thailand – November 23, 2014
A khon player is made up. Khon is a traditional Thai dance form with a storyline drawn from Thai history and ancient Thai myths.
Striking sound from the Thai Chamber of Commerce. Not the economic growth figures should determine economic policy, but the reduction of social inequality and sustainable economic management.
TCC Vice President Vichai Assarasakorn made this plea yesterday during a seminar with all provincial chambers of commerce. 'At the end of each year, when big companies and banks take stock, the government should limit its fixation on growth figures. Because small businesses, farmers and workers are struggling at the same time with low incomes and debts.'
The Chamber of Commerce members also considered whether the new constitution should contain measures that offer guarantees for a sustainable economic policy. The members want the constitution to allow for 'inclusive growth': growth from which all sectors of society benefit equally.
TCC vice-chairman Pornsil Patcharintanakul argued for a long-term stimulus plan, because the effects of short-term measures, such as subsidies for rice and rubber, do not have a long-term effect. The law should prescribe which crops are eligible for government support.
Ian Pascoe of financial consultancy Grant Thornton said the 10 years of political turmoil had left a worrying mark on Thailand's international competitiveness. A continued lack of investment without coherent long-term strategy and action has taken its toll as stagnant global economic growth weighs on the economy. Pascoe believes that Thailand needs a growth of 4 percent in gross domestic product to remain at neutral growth.
– The death certificate of police officer Akkharawut Limrat, circulating online, raises questions about the cause of death. According to the deed, he suffered fractures in his spine in a fall from a high place.
The fact that his family had the body cremated half an hour after they picked it up also seems suspicious. Normally there is three days in between, for the ritual washing and condolence visits. The message says that Akkharawut was recently 'cleared' in a transfer round, but I don't know what that means and the message doesn't say so.
– It is a prayer without end: a ban on the use of asbestos. Thailand has still not joined the more than fifty countries that have banned carcinogenic asbestos.
The Ministry of Industry is going to try again. It submits a proposal to the cabinet to end the use and production of asbestos before 2020. Companies are given 2 to 5 years to make adjustments. The stuff does not have to be removed from homes and business premises in which asbestos has been processed.
The ministry will provide information about the safe removal of building materials containing asbestos. The Ministry's plan also provides for the development of alternative materials, such as ethylene vinyl and basalt fiber.
According to a recent study by King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, the economic burden on businesses, consumers, households, pig farms, schools and hospitals will be 464,8 billion baht when the ban comes into effect.
In Thailand, chrysotile, one of the two forms of asbestos, has been used in the production of roofing sheets for over 50 years. The Siam Cement Group stopped production in 2007, Mahaphant in 2011, but two other companies still use it: Oran Vanich and Diamond Roof Tiles. The manufacturers are not convinced that there is a link to cancer, although the World Health Organization advises against its use.
Kevtex Co, a company that makes truck and bus brakes, recently switched to rockwool. According to the director, production costs have therefore increased by 30 to 40 percent. "While our customers cannot handle the price increase, it is necessary because we need to be ready in case the government stops importing [asbestos]."
- Honda is recalling 17.369 cars in Thailand following a traffic accident in July that killed a pregnant Malaysian woman because of the air bag was not functioning properly. The Honda City she was in was registered in Brunei and manufactured in Thailand; the air bag came from the US.
At least five deaths, all in Hondas, have been linked to faulty air bags produced by Japanese company Takata Corp. More than 14 million vehicles have already been recalled worldwide for testing. There is a danger that the air bag explodes, blowing metal particles into the car.
In Thailand it concerns the City models from 2003 and 2004. There have not yet been any accidents with them. The two hundred Honda dealers call on their customers in a letter to the airbags to be replaced free of charge, starting at the end of November.
– Despite all the fuss about the movie and the three-finger gesture, the new Hunger Games a blockbuster. The first two days that the film was shown in the cinema, the number of visitors was 20 percent higher than with its predecessor Catching Fire.
The film appears to benefit from the junta's ban on making the film-derived gesture used by anti-coup demonstrators to protest the coup. One cinema has withdrawn the film (Scala, see photo homepage) for fear that it would be misused for political purposes.
Jeff Gomez, president of Starlight Runner Entertainment, says it doesn't matter if the movie is boycotted by one theater or several. "Social media has long established a strong connection with the film."
– The rector of Chulalongkorn University has banned a seminar on the parliamentary system because the organizers had failed to ask permission from the NCPO (junta). The seminar was supposed to take place yesterday. One of the organizers says the seminar was just to explore opinions about the most ideal parliamentary system. He will now make up for his omission and ask permission from the NCPO to hold the seminar next month.
– A 79-year-old Korean took his own life on Friday by jumping from the 19th floor of a condominium building in Bang Na (Bangkok). His roommate has stated that he had been in Thailand on a tourist visa for almost a year. He had not noticed anything special about his friend and said he did not know why he committed suicide. The police inspected the room to be sure, but found no evidence of a fight.
– In Chiang Mai, the police arrested four men who filled bottles with smuggled alcohol and stuck stickers of well-known brands on them. At nightlife venues, the alcohol was sought after because it was cheaper than the real stuff. According to the report, its use can lead to nausea, blindness and even death.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post
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