News from Thailand – September 23, 2013

Soldiers are going to help victims of the floods that have hit 15 provinces. Prime Minister Yingluck called in the army for help yesterday. The army deployed 1.500 soldiers, 35 vehicles, five excavators and 29 flat-bottomed boats. There will be some rain in the coming days; the residents have been warned of a 'possible deluge' (phrase Bangkok Post).

An overview:

• Flooding has been reported from 15 provinces in the Northeast, Central and Eastern Region, including Ubon Ratchatani, Surin, Si Sa Ket, Ayutthaya, Nakhon Sawan, Prachin Buri and Sa Kaeo.
• Residents living along a river have been asked to bring their belongings to safety as the water level in some major rivers is rising.
• In Suphan Buri, 100.000 sandbags are ready and water pumps are on standby to protect the city center should the Tha Chin River flood.
• Residents of Sam Khok (Pathum Thani) who live along the Chao Praya River have parked their cars elsewhere as a precaution and prepared boats.
• Hospital staff in the low-lying areas of Lop Buri province have been ordered by the health minister to move medical equipment to higher floors and to check emergency generators.
• The Meteorological Department forecasts increasing rainfall between Wednesday and Saturday in the lower North and central and northeastern provinces. A monsoon then arrives.
• Last week, a depression caused flooding in eight counties, affecting tens of thousands of homes.
• Floods also hit Prachin Buri province, forcing 734 inmates to move from Kabin Buri prison. On Sunday around noon there was 20 cm of water. The prison director has requested permission to take them to Sa Kaeo and Chanthaburi.
• In the city market of Kabin Buri, the water is 1 meter high. Almost all roads in the city are under water.
• Thai Airways International canceled or postponed some flights to Hong Kong yesterday because of Typhoon Usagi, which passed through Thailand last week.
• Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi does not expect a repeat of the 2011 floods, as the water level of the Chao Praya River is still at a manageable level.

– Fans of 4-year-old panda bear Lhinping flock to Chiang Mai Zoo for one last glimpse of the popular panda, who had her own TV channel when she was young. On Saturday, the animal will leave for China for a year to look for a male and then it will return. Lhinping will first quarantine for two months in Chengdu and then be allowed to choose from six males. Lhinping was a major crowd puller for the zoo. Since September, the panda has been visited by 370.000 people, who brought in 15,8 million baht.

– The wife of the skipper of the fishing boat, who was shot at by the Myanmar navy on Saturday, urges the authorities to continue their search for her husband. The navy searched the place where the ship was attacked, but did not find him. "We still don't know if he's dead or alive," the woman says. Earlier, the newspaper reported that the man had been apprehended by the Myanmar navy and that his ship had been seized.

The fishing boat was fired on early Saturday morning off the island of Koh Khom in an area disputed by both countries. The skipper ordered the crew to jump overboard and they were later rescued by the Thai navy. He himself stayed on board. According to one of the crew members, the trawler was sailing in Thai waters. The vessel is owned by Surin Losong, president of the Ranong Fishermen's Association. The Thai navy has protested in Myanmar. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not yet responded.

– The suggestion of education minister Chaturon Chaisaeng to exempt experts and specialists from obtaining a teaching license (or to relax the requirements), is not well received by the Teachers Council of Thailand (TCT). The minister suggested alleviating the shortage of teachers.

The TCT says that it is not at all difficult to obtain a teaching qualification. 'Students should not be put off', says TCT board chairman Paitoon Sinlarat. To date, 60.000 graduates have obtained their teaching qualification. Those who are not yet authorized can obtain a temporary authorization valid for 4 years.

The TCT has decided to resume the 1-year education program in the second semester of the 2013 academic year. She was stopped last year after it emerged that E-Sarn University in Khon Kaen had been selling diplomas to students. Universities are also allowed to offer the program, but they are subject to stricter requirements to prevent a repeat of the scandal in Khon Kaen.

– In order to prevent school drop-out and help students find a job, regional education authorities and school principals may in future develop educational programs in which vocational skills are taught. Current education is too focused on admission to university. The Ministry is working on revising the curriculum.

Good experiences have been gained with such a program in a pilot project in Chiang Mai. Among other things, lessons are taught in leather processing and massage techniques. In the office of the education authorities, a room has been set up where the products of the students are exhibited. A cooperative of students has also been established.

Each year, 200.000 students drop out in the first three years of secondary school and 300.000 in the second three years. About 200.000 students who are suitable for university studies have decided not to do so. According to Amornwit Nakonthap, advisor to the Quality Learning Foundation, 31 percent of Thai children under the age of 3 have slow development because they are cared for by grandparents. Thailand has compulsory education for 9 years.

– Owners of elephants and mahouts threaten to march to Bangkok when the government transfers authority over Thai elephants from the Department of Provincial Administration to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP). They are afraid that their animal will be confiscated for no reason. Yesterday they protested in Ayutthaya Historical Park.

The DNP is given the power to confiscate elephants whose owner cannot show a registration document. Mahouts doubt whether the DNP can take good care of the animals. The government is taking the measure because CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Life Fauna and Flora) wants Thailand to register all elephants to prevent poaching and (illegal) trade in elephants.

– Students with a student loan better pay off their loan on time, because the Student Loan Fund will provide data on all borrowers to the National Credit Bureau. The fund has loaned 1996 billion baht to 420 million students since 4,1. 2,8 million borrowers have to start paying off their debt; that started 1,48 million borrowers. Of those who do not pay, 70 percent have an income.

The budget of the SLF for the financial year 2014 has been reduced by 6,7 billion baht. The result will be that some students will receive zero when they apply for a student loan.

– More than a hundred students of Chalermkarnchana College in Nakhon Si Thammarat yesterday blocked access to the building in protest against the high tuition fees. They have no problem with the 800 baht per credit and 5.000 baht per semester, but with other expenses, such as 5.000 baht per year and an education-related fee of 3.000 baht. It is unclear what it is intended for. They also have to pay for the use of a language lab, which does not exist. The students demand a meeting with the rector.

– Thailand receives 1 billion baht from Japan to restore the eastern ring road of Bangkok, so that the road remains passable when it floods in the future. The work is carried out by a Japanese company. The road is an important link between Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani and the port of Laem Chabang.

– Suvarnabhumi Customs yesterday found 220 protected turtles in three boxes that were left behind in the arrivals hall. The turtles sell for 1.000 to 10.000 baht, depending on their size.

– Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who rules the country? In a poll by Abac, 62,4 percent of respondents answer: Thaksin. He makes the decisions and runs the country. Yingluck is the leader of the country according to 37,6 percent. 67,9 percent believe there are groups that want to overthrow the government. 54,1 percent are not confident that politics can solve the country's problems. 62 percent think reconciliation is possible.

– Yesterday was Car-Free Day in Bangkok and apparently it went so well that the municipality wants to hold such a day every month. The car-free day has been organized for 5 years. Some 20.000 people cycled from Sanam Luang to CentralWorld yesterday under the leadership of Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra. There they were joined by the Minister of Transport.

Comments

– Thailand will progress at a snail's pace if this country remains a daycare center with 65 million spoiled children, who act spoiled, writes Voranai Vanijaka in his weekly column Bangkok Post. Because those 65 million children are spoiled with subsidies on rice, rubber and LPG, with countless tax exemptions and favors and of the 38 million workers only 2 million pay income tax.

So the private sector complains about the minimum daily wage of 300 baht, the rice and rubber farmers spring into action when they feel they are not getting enough and taxi drivers block the streets when the LPG subsidy is threatened.

With the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in sight, people are wondering how we can compete if we've never had to compete – at least not really. That is why activists are protesting against the free trade agreement with the EU, because it regulates IP (intellectual property) rights. As a result, the price of medicines, among other things, is affected. After all, Thailand is a hub for the production of cheap, off-label medicines that would otherwise violate IP rights.

If we want to join the big boys like the EU, we can negotiate to a certain extent to protect ourselves, but ultimately we will have to play the game by international rules. If we want to compete with the not so big guys like the AEC, we also have to make sure our guys are ready. But we won't get anywhere as long as we remain a nanny state.

That requires a change of vision, a reengineering of cultural attitude and mentality – and a change in the education system. Thailand needs to grow up and compete in the real world. (Source: Bangkok Post, Sept. 22, 2013)

Political news

– The recently formed People Assembly Reforming Thailand (Part), a bundling of 57 citizens' groups [the newspaper previously wrote 45], will legally challenge the proposal to borrow 2 trillion baht for infrastructure works. They will probably go to the Constitutional Court to put a stop to it. Opposition Democrats certainly do.

Part believes that the proposal violates the constitution because the money is borrowed outside the budget. To gain support from the population, she will hold forums in all provinces. On Friday, the House of Representatives gave the green light to the proposal in its third and final reading. The Senate will discuss it this week. Part is a response to Prime Minister Yingluck's initiative to set up a reconciliation forum.

– The Senate Monetary, Fiscal and Banking Affairs Committee has calculated that the Yingluck government spent 544 billion baht last year on 'populist policies', such as tax breaks for buyers of a first home and first car and a reduction in business tax.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post