News from Thailand – June 29, 2013

A former border police officer was killed in a bomb attack in Na Thawi (Songkhla) yesterday morning. Six other persons were injured, including a school principal and a city council member. Three are in critical condition.

The bomb was hidden in a motorcycle, which was parked in front of a tea house. The police have arrested four suspects. She suspects that ten people were involved in the attack. It would be the same group responsible for the bombing at the Lee Gardens Hotel in Hat Yai in March last year.

In Yala, a woman was shot dead and her 4-year-old son wounded on Thursday when they came under fire from a passing motorcycle on their motorcycle. The second 13-year-old son was not hit.

– The Ministry of Finance has signed contracts with four banks for a loan of 324,6 billion baht. Earlier, a loan of 25,39 billion baht was taken out. Together, that money forms the budget of 350 billion baht that is spent on water management projects. The new loan will be available between 2013 and 2018.

Four companies will carry out the works, but contracts have not yet been signed and will not be any time soon, as the Central Administrative Court, in proceedings brought by the Stop Global Warming Association on behalf of 45 individuals, has ordered the government to hold public hearings first hold. The constitution stipulates this requirement for projects that may have consequences for human health and the environment. It is not yet known whether the government will appeal the ruling.

The loan of 350 billion baht is quite controversial because the decision has not been submitted to parliament. The cabinet has a so-called executive decree passed, bypassing parliament to the irritation of the opposition.

– The South Korean ambassador has stepped into the breach for Korea Water Resources Corp (K-Water), one of the four companies that will carry out the water management projects (see above). According to South Korean environmental groups, the company in South Korea is responsible for environmental damage, social conflicts and would not be solvent.

Ambassador Jeon Jae-man points out that the South Korean government is a 100 percent shareholder in the company. "The company is in a strong position to help Thailand protect itself from flooding."

K-Water vice president Yoon Byoung-hoon says the company will give its best in the two projects it will undertake: construction of new waterways and water storage areas. He calls complaints and criticism from certain groups of large public projects 'common', despite the benefits they have for the population.

Yoon says he hopes that the accusations of the Korean activists will not affect Thais' confidence in the company and the South Korean government's intention to bring the project to a successful conclusion.

– Minister Chadchat Sittipunt (Transport) has instructed the public transport company of Bangkok BMTA to improve bus services during rush hours. The minister spoke with the management of the company yesterday after unsuccessfully trying to reach Don Mueang airport by bus on Thursday. For example, he had to wait 40 minutes for air-conditioned bus 509. Because the ride was slow, he switched to his official car halfway.

According to Chadchat, the frequency of bus services is a major problem, partly due to traffic congestion and reduced services. The minister has said that the frequency in the afternoon rush hour should be the same as in the morning rush hour. In the afternoon, 1.600 to 1.700 buses run against 2.700 in the morning.

BMTA chief Opas Phetmunee will ask the drivers to work overtime in the afternoon. The company still has a budget of 200 million baht, from which overtime can be paid. At least until October. More bus conductors are also temporarily hired and some routes are shortened to increase frequency. More buses will be used on roads where traffic is usually congested.

Other problems the BMTA is struggling with are the poor condition of the buses and the lack of information about the bus routes. Chadchat suggested attaching route maps at bus stops.

– Rumor or truth? According to media reports, the US Food and Drug Administration has recommended that Thai rice be quarantined because it is chemically contaminated. But according to Permanent Secretary Vatchari Vimooktayon of the Ministry of Commerce, none of that is true. The chemicals with which rice is gassed (phosphorine) meet the requirements of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization FAO.

California rice importers have informed the Internal Trade Promotion Department that Thai rice is routinely tested, but has not been warned about it, they say.

The State Department's Department of American and South Pacific Affairs suspects the reports are based on a Import alert from the FDA of May 28, but in that circular rice and rice products from 46 Thai companies are on the green and not on the red list.

Deputy Minister Nattawut Saikuar (Trade) accuses critics of spreading false information about a 60 percent increase in methyl bromide imports. Methyl bromide is also used to degas rice, but Thailand has actually reduced its use, according to Nattawut. So far this year, 27 tons have been imported.

– Irregularities were found in 26 of the 2.071 rice warehouses inspected on Thursday, said Worapong Chiewpreecha, deputy chief of the national police. In some warehouses there was more rice than expected and in some too little. The administrators will be prosecuted.

Packaged rice is safe, tests by the Food and Drug Administration and the Medical Science Department have shown. A total of 57 samples were collected last week from retail and chain stores in various regions. The concentration of methyl bromide was more than half below the limit and the quality of the rice was normal. The tests were done in response to reports of excessive use of chemicals and moldy rice.

The Foundation for Consumers does it all over again. The foundation took 50 samples and sent them to a laboratory.

– The Crime Suppression Division thinks it is on the trail of a gang that smuggles weapons. In a house in Lat Phrao (Bangkok), the CSD found ammunition, grenade launchers, helmets and body armor, among other things. According to the owner of the property, they belonged to her son, who is currently in England supplying weapons to the army. The CSD also raided six other locations, but nothing was found there.

The raids were a follow-up to a June 7 raid also in Lat Phrao. Weapons and vintage weapons were also found there. The owner of the house is currently imprisoned in the US on charges of arms smuggling. He would lead a gang that smuggles weapons from the US to Thailand. Five other gang members have also been arrested.

– Seven members of a committee appointed to investigate irregularities at the Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) quit because they lack confidence in the impartiality of the committee. The seven are activists and representatives of the GPO union.

The committee has invited the dismissed GPO director to its first meeting, which they say "cannot bring the truth to light." The director has been fired due to delays in the construction of a vaccine factory and irregularities in the purchase of raw materials for paracetamol. The seven dissidents want the committee to re-examine that matter. The committee would also not be authorized to reject previous research results.

– Mitsuo Shibahashi (61), former abbot of the famous forest temple Sunandavanaram in Kanchanaburi, has taken off his habit after 38 years to marry a woman. The marriage would already be registered in Japan. A rather curious case, because according to the woman, there are rumors that she would have tried to drug and blackmail the monk.

– Three monks who claimed to have ties with Mitsuo harassed the Thai embassy in Lisbon. They were given shelter and were demanding. Complained about the food and wanted to be shown around. According to an embassy source, they behaved more like tourists than monks. They also did not come from Thailand, but from a European country.

– An agent has been accused of human trafficking because he smuggled a Rohingya woman (25) from a refugee camp in the deep South. He had told the woman that he would take her to her husband, but instead she was raped several times by a Rohingya man in various places in the region. The victim has now returned to the reception camp and has told the police her story.

It is the first time a Thai official has been charged. The smuggling of refugees by authorities has been investigated before, but so far no arrests have been made.

– All seven marine national parks are closed until October 14 due to low season.

– The lifeless body of a monk was found yesterday morning in his room in Wat Tham Sua Vipassana (Krabi). Police suspect he was strangled. A cloth was wrapped around his neck and his nose and mouth were covered in blood. The monk's hands and feet were tied. The police believe his death is related to the trade in amulets. The monk was an avid collector of amulets.

Varies

– Thailand is perhaps the only country in the world with a thin line between a minister and a clown. This writes columnist Ploenpote Atthakor Bangkok Post in response to the video clip that Deputy Minister Natthawut Saikuar (Trade) uploaded on YouTube. Together with officials they sing the song Show Suay, Show Huay, a tribute to the grocery store on the corner. They also make a self-designed dance. The video clip did not last long. There was so much criticism that it was removed after a few days.

– Champagne enthusiasts can indulge themselves in a recreated Moet & Chandon cellar under Cellar 11 Wine Bar & Bistro on Sukhumvit Soi 11. The Thai variant obviously does not have the same length as in Epernay in France, because that cellar is 28 km long. It is just big enough for one table with up to twelve guests. To get into the atmosphere, the wall has pictures of Napoleon (a good friend of the Moet family; he visited the cellar three times) and the Moet family. For a dinner, you will have to pay a lot of money, although the Moet & Chandon Grand Vintage 2002 is offered at a special price of 5.600 baht. And that's a bargain, isn't it?

Political news

– Vice Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung yesterday lashed out at Thawee Sodsong, Secretary General of the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre. He called him ai Thawee, a term that expresses contempt. According to Chalerm, Thawee would be responsible for his demotion to the post of Secretary of Labor.

Chalerm is head of the Center for Implementation of Policies and Strategies for Solving Problems in the Far South, which was formed last year and is expected to tackle problems in the South from Bangkok. According to Chalerm, Thawee ignored his center and also failed to inform it about the demands made by the insurgent group BRN during the peace talks with Thailand.

Thawee also allegedly told lies about Chalerm to Thaksin and Yingluck and lied about illegal gambling halls that Chalerm allegedly opened. “I curse anyone who tells untruths about me. […] Let me say that ai Thawee is partly to blame for the government's difficulties in solving the southern problems. […] If the Prime Minister is still dissatisfied with me and transfers me, then so be it. In Thai politics, nobody wants to argue with me. They will still regret taking the wrong medicine.'

Economic news

– Economic growth is expected to be 4,2 to 5,2 percent this year, the National Economic and Social Development Board predicts. The NESDB previously estimated growth (of gross domestic product) at 4,5 to 5,5 percent. Growth in the first quarter turned out to be lower than forecast, which is why the NESDB has now revised its forecast.

For next year, the NESDB hopes for 5 percent because then the works financed from the budget of 350 billion baht (for water management projects) and 2,2 trillion baht (for infrastructure works) will start.

The Fiscal Policy Office of the Ministry of Finance also contributes. That has revised its forecast to 4,5 percent. Previously, it was 4,8 percent.

Domestic private consumption is estimated at 3,6 percent in the second quarter, compared to 4,6 percent in the first quarter. Private investment is estimated at 5,7 percent in the second quarter. In the first quarter it was still 9,3 percent.

Also some nice numbers. New car sales fell 3,5 percent in May, ending a 17-month period of rising numbers. Private spending accounts for more than half of gross domestic product.

– The ideal baht dollar exchange rate is 30 or 31 baht, the currency should be stable and keep pace with the other currencies in the region. This says Kan Trakulhoon, president and director of the Siam Cement Group. Such a rate helps exports, which is necessary given the weak global economy.

In the past four months, the baht fell below the 30 mark to 29. Many Thai companies reaped the bitter fruits of this. Also SCG, which depends on exports for 27 to 28 percent of its turnover. Added to this was the weakening of some regional currencies, resulting in a significant margin reduction of SCG's products.

Kan does not think spending on water management projects, for which 350 billion has been earmarked, will have much effect because they are in the design phase for the first two years with minimal expenditure. Little can be expected from America and Europe either. Although the US economy is starting to pick up, it will take time for Thai exports to benefit. The economy in Europe needs more time to recover.

– Within 2 years, Suvarnabhumi will have a (third) reserve runway that can be used in case the other (two) runways fail. The reserve runway will initially have a length of 3.000 metres. No new health and environmental impact assessments are required as the job was already featured in the first phase of Suvarnabhumi's development. When those reports have been made, the runway can be extended by 1.000 metres. The cost of the job is 10 billion baht.

Terminal T2 is being prepared for use at Don Mueang. Currently only T1 is in use. The reopening is scheduled for November 2014 and will increase capacity from 18,5 to 30 million passengers per year.

Phuket will get a temporary terminal to relieve the heavily congested airport. It can be ready within four months, increasing the capacity from 6,5 million to 10,5 to 11,5 million passengers per year.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post