News from Thailand – November 26, 2014
The Sirindhorn Museum in Kalasin (pictured) and Japan's Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum will become sister museums and will collaborate on research, exhibitions, staff training and excavations.
Both museums have exchanged paleontological expertise since 2006 and in 2013 the Japanese museum borrowed dinosaur fossils for an exhibition. The collaboration has now been laid down in a Memorandum of Understanding. The Thai museum was built in 1995 after dinosaur fossils were found in the area.
– The government will launch an economic stimulus package next year as a 'surprise'. "That is our New Year's gift to the people," says Prime Minister Prayut. The package aims to 'make people happy', because now they are struggling against rising debts. The measures cover finance, investment and economic security to solve the problems of borrowing, to promote tourism and travel and to reduce inequality. Prayut does not want to say more about it.
He also announced yesterday that the government will introduce 163 new laws next year. According to the prime minister, low-income groups will benefit the most.
– The PDRC, the anti-government movement that gripped Bangkok at the beginning of this year, has submitted a laundry list of wishes for the new constitution. I will mention the most important: The Senate must be appointed in its entirety and not elected by half; the national electoral list should be abolished; the number of MPs should be reduced and they should each represent more constituencies; governors, kamnans and village chiefs must be elected, and the Electoral Council should no longer be allowed to disqualify members of parliament: the council may collect the evidence but the decision should lie with the judge.
The PDRC put the wish list on the table yesterday during a meeting with the Constitution Drafting Committee, the committee that will write the new constitution. The CDC will also hold XNUMX more public hearings to gather public opinion. According to CDC spokesman Lertrat Ratanawanit, martial law does not prevent this, which prohibits (political) gatherings of more than five people.
– Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is not the baddest. Students may have made the well-known three-finger gesture in protest against the coup (derived from the film cycle Hunger Games), he is going to organize a forum for them, so that they input can provide for national reforms. 'When the forum starts, participants have to contribute their ideas on documents. Please no protests this time.'
The most famous incident involving the three-finger gesture occurred last week when students, while Prayut was giving a speech in front of Khon Kaen County Hall, threw their fingers in the air [as the cameras rolled and clicked]. As a result, five officers, who were responsible for security, were transferred. Prayuth does not comment on it. "That's an internal police matter."
– Even more Prayut; it seems like nothing else is happening in Thailand. The interview that former Prime Minister Yingluck gave on Monday could lead to her being banned from traveling abroad, some think [word choice Bangkok Post].
When asked, Prayut uses generalizations such as "Has anyone been banned yet" and "There are rules when someone stirs up trouble, from soft (ban on traveling abroad) to hard (ban on financial transactions)."
In the interview, Yingluck says that she has taken into account a military coup from the first day of taking office. The former prime minister fills her days with reading, meeting friends, shopping, eating out, paying attention to her only son and growing mushrooms in the garden.
– The man from Sierra Leone who, after an initial investigation, did not show up for a daily check for the Ebola virus, was arrested yesterday at Suvarnabhumi airport when he was to leave for Europe. However, he turned out not to be infected and is still allowed to leave the country.
As an explanation for his absence, the man said he did not feel comfortable about Thailand's Ebola controls. During his stay he visited different places in Bangkok. The Bureau of General Communicable Diseases says the man could not be quarantined because he had no fever or other symptoms.
– The Sueb Nakhasathien foundation, which opposes the construction of the Mae Wong dam, receives support from the Department of Water Resources. The agency has made a plan for 48 projects in the basin of the river Sakae Krang. The plan includes the improvement of two natural water reservoirs, which are currently not functioning properly due to sediment formation. Officials will take a look shortly.
According to the DWR, this does not get in the way of the Department of Royal Irrigation, which strongly supports the construction of the dam. The Sueb Nakhathien foundation believes that the dam is unnecessary when investing in the construction of community reservoirs . According to the foundation, the effect is the same as the dam and that approach costs less.
– On Friday, Saturday and next Tuesday, some roads around Sanam Luang will be closed so that the Royal Guard can practice for the parades on December 5 on the occasion of the monarch's birthday.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post
The village chiefs are already elected.
There have also been elections for a thesaban, but I cannot say whether the elected person is a kamnan.
But who would appoint the members of the senate?
“…The Senate must be appointed in its entirety and not elected by half…”
The true demodicracy! Wim joked Can't that ever?
Keep it up guys and one day we will get a one man one vote and the only one to vote will be the PDRC club itself. And that while in the Netherlands there are calls to abolish that outdated stepped system for the senate for direct voting, or to abolish the senate altogether.
Hey, it's getting something here.
Quote: “The government will launch an economic stimulus package next year as a 'surprise'. "That is our New Year's gift to the people," says Prime Minister Prayut. The package aims to 'make people happy', because now they are struggling against rising debts. The measures cover finance, investment and economic security to solve the problem of loans, to promote tourism and travel and to reduce inequality. Prayut does not want to say more about it.”
Isn't this what seems like "winning souls"?
Quote: “He also announced yesterday that the government will introduce 163 new laws next year. According to the prime minister, the low-income groups will benefit the most.”
Isn't this what looks like throwing presents around? Doesn't this look like what the last democratically elected government did?