News from Thailand – August 29, 2014

Ten army officers have been detained and are under disciplinary investigation over an altercation Tuesday night at a nightclub in Khlong Luang (Pathum Thani).

The brawl became known through a video clip on the internet. It shows how twenty officers with guns assault three handcuffed Air Force officers. About a hundred visitors witnessed it, but they did not dare to do anything.

The three Air Force officers work part-time as security guards at the club. One of them had banned three plainclothes men from smoking in the club the night before. They refused, after which they were asked to leave the business. The guard was punched in the chest by a man who claimed to be an army officer. In the company of his mates, he returned a day later to teach the guard a lesson.

General Prayuth Chan-ocha has ordered a disciplinary inquiry into the altercation.

– It succeeds again and again: telling people a story and getting money out of them. Eight people were fooled by a man who claimed that his wife was a daughter of the sultan of Brunei. Money and valuables of her would have been seized. Whether the victims just wanted to help for a while to advance a 'tax assessment'. They would get the money back when the seizure was lifted. The end of the story was that the victims had lost 15 million baht.

But no matter how fast the lie, the truth catches up with it. The man, his wife and two others were arrested early this month and released on bail. They were formally charged yesterday. The bank account to which the victims had transferred their money still contains a few hundred baht.

– In a bomb attack yesterday morning in Khok Pho (Pattani), a teacher was killed and two others, a teacher and a police officer, were injured. The bomb, which was hidden near a bridge, exploded as four teachers and two officers passed on motorcycles followed by a pickup truck carrying officers. The teacher is the 175th who has died since the outbreak of violence in the South.

– Even before interim Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has announced the composition of his cabinet, it is already clear who will take part in it, because five members of the NLA (emergency parliament) have submitted their resignations as well as the chairman of the board of directors of Post Publishing, Pridiyatorn Devakula. He is named as a future deputy prime minister in charge of economic policy. Not a crazy prediction because he is already an economic adviser to the NCPO (junta).

– Don't know the English expression: razor gait, in Dutch we would talk about the cheese slicer, a method in which savings are made by taking something from everyone's budget.

And that has the budget razor gang of the NCPO: 17 ministries must hand in a total of 3,2 billion baht. The budgets of two ministries and seven independent organizations have yet to be reviewed.

The cheese slicer is used by the committee of NLA members whose task it is to scrutinize the 2015 budget, which was approved at first reading.

When the committee is ready, the amending budget returns to parliament (NLA) for a second and third reading. The Ministry of Defense has to give in the least: only 45 million baht of 193 billion baht.

– Follow up on yesterday's post'Abbot of Wat Sa Ket accused of trafficking and sex'. The Supreme Patriarch tries to make peace in a conflict between the abbot and his assistant. The abbot is accused on social media of owning several companies. The allegations are contained in a 19-page leaflet sent to senior monks and monday has been posted online. The newspaper yesterday made a connection with the decision of the abbot to give his assistant another task.

The Supreme Patriarch summoned the two yesterday. “The patriarch is upset by the matter. He doesn't want it to escalate and would like both to end their conflict.'

The abbot's younger [or youngest] brother yesterday defended his brother against the allegations. The real estate company in question belongs to him and not to the abbot. Moreover, it is not a project of 100 rai, as claimed, but of 20 rai. He says he started the company with the modest capital of 20 million baht. According to him, the luxury cars and fighting cocks owned by the abbot were gifts from believers.

– Japanese companies would do well to move their production base to Thailand's special economic zones (SEZ) in border areas. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha made this plea yesterday during a conversation with the director and founder of Nidec Corporation, a major producer of electronic components. Representatives of Nidec's subsidiaries were also present.

Prayuth also asked Japanese companies to locate their headquarters or regional office in Thailand. According to him, both countries benefit from closer trade and investment ties. He said a lot more about the relationship between the two countries, but I will not mention that. Lots of clichés, open doors and the usual pleasantries.

The junta last month designated five sites as SEZ: Sadao (Songkhla), Mae Sot (Tak), Khlong Luek (Sa Kaeo), Khlong Yai (Trat) and Mukdahan. The SEZs anticipate the formation of the Asean Economic Community, which will take effect at the end of 2015.

- Nice to know? Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has a brother named Preecha who is a member of the NLA (Emergency Parliament). A photo of him speaking is included in a post about yesterday's parliamentary debate (see home page photo).

Ten bills began yesterday, including one on the security of the royal family. The law that regulates this needs to be revised, but don't ask me what it means because I can't make soup from the wording of it in the message.

– At seven universities, the masters course in law is not certified by the Judicial Commission. The office of the Higher Education Commission (Obec) asks for an explanation. According to the committee, four programs lack a sufficient number of qualified teachers and three are not fully qualified, there are too few lectures or the course does not meet the requirements of the committee. The courses are taken by students who want to become assistant judges.

The decision not to certify the courses was taken on Tuesday. The universities involved are Eastern University of Management and Technology, Siam University, Burapha University, Kasem Bundit University, Tapee University, Pathamthani University and Eastern Asia University.

– Commuters have to leave for home a little later at the end of the afternoon to avoid traffic jams. The municipality of Bangkok gives this advice in connection with the flooding that is expected today as a result of the predicted heavy rainfall. From this afternoon to tomorrow, 70 to 80 percent of the city will be affected.

If everyone now leaves an hour or two later, it will help against congestion, says second city clerk Sanya Chenimit. The municipality aims to drain the water from the roads within two hours. Bottlenecks are the lower places in Bangkok and roads where work is taking place. The advice comes in response to complaints on social media about Wednesday's congestion.

Visa news

– Holidaymakers from 49 countries, including the Netherlands and Belgium, can now use their visa waiver (visa waiver) of 30 days against payment of 1.900 baht to extend for another 30 days. This relaxation has been decided to stimulate tourism. The extension period of a 60-day tourist visa [issued by a Thai embassy or consulate in the country of departure] remains unchanged at 30 days.

The extension rules for foreigners who study Thai at a private training institute and for those who work for a volunteer or charity organization or a foreign chamber of commerce are being tightened. Such a visa can be extended by 90 days up to a maximum of one year.

Economic news

– The Dutchman Bauke Rouwers will be succeeded on October 1 by the Thai Supattra Paopiamsap (51) as chairman of Unilever Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. Rouwers will lead Unilever in France.

Ms Supattra, an MBA graduate of Georgia State University, has been with Unilever for 22 years. She has considerable marketing experience coupled with an excellent understanding of consumers.

This has been proven at the Magnum Cafe that opened in 2012 in Siam Center. The following year sales increased by 400 percent. The 'cafe' she invented also changed Thai consumer behavior by buying ice cream and consuming it at home.

Supattra is the second Thai to head the company. From 1979 to 1995, the company was led by Viroj Phukakul. That is quite special because Unilever's competitors are all headed by foreigners.

According to the newspaper, Rouwers ensured sustainable growth during a crucial period of the company. Annual turnover doubled under his leadership. The company has also succeeded in reducing its environmental footprint. Supattra intends to continue that policy. She wants to double the size of the company by 2020. (Source: Bangkok Post, August 28, 2014)

– The renovation of terminal 2 of Don Mueang airport is completed a year later than planned. It was planned that the much-needed terminal could have been partially commissioned in October, but that will now be at least the middle or end of next year.

The delay is attributed to mistakes made by the responsible AoT staff, a special tender procedure that the new management of Airports of Thailand (AoT) sees no point in and delays at the contractor. Especially the work on the air conditioning and the electrical system is more complicated than expected.

The delay means that it will not be possible to expand the capacity to 30 million passengers this year. This year, the capacity of Terminal 1, which is 18,5 million passengers, is expected to be exceeded by half a million. An annual growth of 25 percent is expected for the next five years.

For the first time since the reopening of Don Mueang, airlines and passengers are complaining about the overload. This will become visible next month when some carriers expand their frequency and new carriers, including Singapore's Scoot, move from Suvarnabhumi to Don Mueang.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post

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