News from Thailand – July 30, 2013

This is him then: the Saphan Mon, Thailand's 850-meter long bridge over the Song Kalia in Kanchanaburi, part of which collapsed on Sunday evening.

Earlier, the newspaper cited the strong current caused by the rainfall as the culprit, but today the newspaper quotes an official as saying the bridge could not withstand the accumulation of aquatic plants. But they were carried by the strong current.

– The video with the death threat to former Prime Minister Thaksin is counterfeit and aims to bring down the government, says Deputy Prime Minister Pracha Promnok. The video was not made by al-Qaeda, as the makers suggest, but is the work of anti-government people.

But it will be difficult to apprehend the creators, because the video has been posted abroad on YouTube. Pracha refuses to say in which country this happened, but certainly not in Malaysia. According to him, the authorities know the identities of the three men in the video and are preparing to take action against them.

For his claim that the video is a fake, Pracha has three clues: al-Qaeda has never interfered in Thai politics, if the people in the video were al-Qaeda, they wouldn't show their faces, and audio and video wouldn't work. in sync.

The Dean of Rajabhat University mentions even more arguments: why nine years after the Tak Bai incident only now react with a threat. This is referenced in the video. And the fact that al-Qaeda itself has not responded also raises questions about the authenticity of the video.

– The schools in Chanae district (Narathiwat), where two female teachers were killed by a bomb attack last week, are open again. About a hundred schools had closed their doors on Thursday after the fatal attack.

The desks at the Pitak Withaya Kumung school, where the two taught plus another teacher who was injured, remained largely empty yesterday: only 100 of the 300 students showed up. All nineteen Muslim teachers were there. The mood at the school was depressed.

Security at the school has been strengthened since Sunday. It consists of a team of nineteen soldiers and a village defense team.

– The death of nurse assistant Natnaree Melgul in Koh Samui last November is now being considered a possible homicide after initially being ruled a suicide, says the lawyer representing the family. The Public Prosecution Service disagrees with the police report and has asked the police to re-investigate the case.

Police initially claimed that Natnaree hanged herself, but the autopsy report and witness statements contradict this. According to the Public Prosecution Service, evidence may have been tampered with. The victim's friend will likely be called in for questioning.

Police failed to take photos of the crime scene, according to Atchariya Rungrattanapong, president of the Club for Justice Under Investigation. They left the cloth with which Natnaree would have hanged herself.

– It won't get along with a ban on the carcinogenic chrysotile asbestos. A committee of the Ministry of Health says it can find no evidence that it is harmful to health. In 2011, the ministry was already instructed by the cabinet to study the health risks. The National Economic and Social Development Board then proposed to ban crysotile, following the example of fifty countries.

Political news

– The proposal to borrow 2 trillion baht for infrastructure works could be seriously delayed if the Constitutional Court deems it unconstitutional. Opposition Democrats threaten to go to court if passed by parliament. Democrats say the proposal lacks details of the projects funded with the money.

Minister Chadchat Sittipunt (Transport) is not concerned. "I fulfilled my duty and came up with the best option." He says he will look for other options if the court rules against the proposal.

Asked why the government does not fund the projects from the annual budget, Chadchat says this would frustrate future governments. They can then not start new projects, because the investments put pressure on subsequent budgets. According to the Ministry of Finance, the government needs 50 years to pay off the loans.

Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-ranong says that the national debt will remain below 50 percent of gross domestic product because the 2 trillion baht will be spread over a period of seven years. That percentage is acceptable. Parliament will consider the proposal next month.

[Why Bangkok Post this post and puts it rather prominently on top of the front page, eludes me because it's all old news.]

– Opposition party Democrats warns of a new wave of political unrest when parliament next month debates the amnesty proposal of Pheu Thai MP Worachai Hema. If this proposal is passed, all people, military personnel and civil servants, accused or convicted of political offenses since 2006 will be amnestied. The amnesty does not apply to 'persons in authority' who can make decisions about political conflicts.

The Democrats believe that this wording does not make it clear who will or will not receive amnesty. "Once the proposal has been passed by parliament, we cannot prove exactly which persons had that authority," said spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut. "It is possible that all offenders will escape punishment and not take responsibility for what they did."

Pheu Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit confirmed again yesterday that the proposal does not exempt protest leaders from prosecution, nor does Thaksin. Tomorrow the party will meet with its coalition partners about the political situation.

Deputy Prime Minister Pracha Promnok thinks anti-government rallies are inevitable during parliamentary consideration of the proposal. Bangkok's municipal police held an anti-riot exercise this weekend. Twenty companies are prepared and take turns protecting the parliament.

Economic news

– Banks are too conservative in lending to small and medium-sized enterprises. The Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCG), a government agency, is urging banks to provide more loans to small and medium-sized businesses in high-risk industries or those with problematic credit behavior.

President Vallobh Tejapaibul says financial institutions should provide loans to SMEs with bad credit history but still able to service their debt.

TCG was set up with the aim of helping SMEs to get more credit with the help of its guarantees. TCG has now issued a guarantee to 70.000 borrowers. TCG's low non-performing guarantee rate (NPG) of 4,4 percent of outstanding loans of 82 billion baht, according to Vallobh, is an indication of banks' conservative policies. “Our NPG wouldn't be this low if banks were more confident in extending credit to SMEs,” he says.

I will not mention the rest of the message, because all the numbers are starting to make me dizzy, but his message is clear: open the money tap, banks!

– Budget airlines make a larger profit than regular airlines, because they are saddled with cumbersome operations, relatively low productivity and higher costs. The figures from Thai AirAsia (TAA), Nok Air and Thai Airways International (THAI) – all three listed companies – show how the two industry groups are performing in terms of profitability.

TAA, the country's largest low-cost carrier (LCC), made a net profit of 12 percent in the first quarter, Nok Air 14 percent and flag carrier THAI 9,8 percent on equity. For the full year 2012, THAI had a gain of 2,3 percent on assets.

TAA expects to bring its profit margin to 15 percent within a few years and Nok Air expects to maintain double-digit growth this year. THAI has not released a forecast for this year.

According to aviation experts, the no-frills carriers, especially in Thailand, have a profit advantage because they fly new, more fuel-efficient types, preferring to lease rather than buy, thus missing the capital cost of purchase favored by regular carriers. In addition, they usually sell their tickets over the internet, while the other airlines use the expensive Global Distribution System. LCCs also receive the money sooner and personnel costs are lower because employees perform different tasks.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post