News from Thailand – July 6, 2012
A transsexual member of the provincial council of Nan province has been hit with criticism for attending her first meeting in women's clothing.
The woman (30), who underwent a sex reassignment operation at the age of 16, has asked for understanding from the population. Nok, as she is nicknamed, was elected in May. She defeated all her male opponents in the elections. Chairman Narin Lao-araya thinks it's best if she wears a skirt as long as the population is okay with it. But he also suggests that Nok better follow the dress code that requires men to wear trousers and women to wear skirts or long trousers.
– There is not yet any coordination between government departments, necessary for setting up a coordination center and central flood warning system. The provinces are also failing; they do not deliver the required every day information. The services still use their own warning system, which is confusing for the population. The project should have been operational last month.
Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi (Science and Technology) yesterday informed the Water Resource Management and Flood Control Committee about the delay. With regard to other measures, the minister did have good news: work on strengthening earthen dikes in the Central Plains and Bangkok will start on Monday. It is carried out by 120 contractors. The extension of the King's embankment in eastern Bangkok and the elevation of roads will be completed within one or two weeks.
Works that have been delayed include the dredging of canals by the Bangkok municipality, the planting of vetiver grass to prevent soil erosion (a proposal from the King), and the dredging of waterways by the Marine Department. The plan of the Bangkok municipality and two ministries to combat illegal construction in canals has also been delayed.
The long-named committee promises that Bangkok, Nonthaburi and Pathum Thani will not flood this year.
– As of the end of this month Thailand coordinator of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for the next 3 years. Minister Surapong Tivochakchaikul (Foreign Affairs) has already announced that he will help China find a peaceful solution for the Spratly Islands. The four Asean countries Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam and Malaysia are at odds with China over ownership of this group of islands in the South China Sea. The issue will be discussed next week at a meeting in Phnom Penh of Asean foreign ministers.
– The claim of the opposition Democrats that the Yingluck government wanted to make the U-tapao naval air base available to Nasa in exchange for a US entry visa for former Prime Minister Thaksin has been made out of thin air, says Noppadon Pattama, legal adviser to Thaksin. His boss got a visa for the US months ago. Noppadon says he previously withheld this because the statement could have been misused by the Democrats for a political game.
The US space agency wanted to use the airport as a base for a climate study in August and September. The study was canceled because the cabinet, under pressure from protests, decided to submit Nasa's request to parliament. It will meet again in August.
– More than 80 percent of employers are unhappy with the government's wage policy. The increase in the minimum daily wage to 300 baht has led to higher production costs and lower turnover, according to two studies. Only 17,5 percent of small and medium-sized enterprises say they have not been affected because those companies make enough profit and they already paid a higher wage than the legal minimum. Companies that do experience disruptions solve this by tightening their belts, cutting staff, reducing working hours, automating and trying to increase sales.
The survey of 1.707 SMEs in Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Pathum Thani, Nakhon Pathom, Nonthaburi and Phuket was conducted by the Ministry of Employment; the other survey by the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Trade of Thailand among 189 companies of any size in Bangkok, neighboring provinces and Phuket.
– Hundreds of Thai villagers from Ban Ingthaninkwan (Ranong) were arrested yesterday by the Burmese army. Various government departments had repeatedly warned the villagers not to settle in the area because it is unclear how the border between Thailand and Myanmar runs. About three hundred families with a thousand people have settled in the area. Most have established rubber plantations.
Three villagers managed to flee when the Burmese soldiers surrounded the village. They said they fired warning shots for an hour. The villagers were herded into the center of the village and taken away. Some would hide in the woods.
– Fifty military cadets and 50 Muslim students spend 5 days in a military camp discussing Buddhism and Islam. The purpose of the program, an initiative of the army, is to promote mutual understanding. The cadets are third and fourth year students, as are the students. The participants are encouraged to choose a buddy during the camp, with whom they will – it is hoped – remain in contact for the rest of their lives.
– The Royal Thai Police has filed a report against 66 people suspected of cheating in the entrance exam for the police. The fraud was discovered last month. 53 people have already been arrested or turned themselves in; the others are on the run. The next round is on August 3 and 5. To prevent fraud, the number of exam rooms is limited. In the past, some 6.000 rooms were used, making it easy for participants to commit fraud.
– Between tuktuk drivers and taxi drivers Wednesday evening at the Night Bazaar on the Phahon Yothin Road in Chiang Mai mated. Metered taxis have been running in Chiang Rai province since the beginning of this month, which has led to a battle for passengers. Yesterday the tuk-tuk drivers demonstrated at Muang Chiang Rai police station. They demand that the taxis operate from a fixed location.
– In 2002, the cabinet decided that the locks of the Pak Moon dam would open between June and October each year to allow fish to migrate and spawn in the Nam Moon River. Because the floodgates are still closed, about a thousand members of the Assembly of the Poor demonstrated yesterday at the town hall of Ubon Ratchatani. The governor of the province has promised that he will order the electricity company to open the floodgates.
– Greenpeace has found toxic and carcinogenic substances in water and soil samples taken at Bang Pu Industrial Estate in Samut Prakan. Greenpeace took action after local residents complained about illegal discharges. In April, a driver was caught in the act of discharging wastewater. A Greenpeace campaigner calls the results 'shocking'.
– Since the 2007 constitution is the only one of all (18 since 1932) constitutions to receive popular approval (58 percent) in a referendum, a referendum must now first be held to decide whether amendment is necessary, as ruling party Pheu Thai wishes. This was what Surapol Nitikraipoj, lecturer in law at Thammasat University, argued yesterday during a hearing of the Constitutional Court about what the Bangkok Post calls in the headline 'charter brouhaha'.
The Court is considering whether the planned amendment to Article 291 of the Constitution conflicts with another article in the Constitution. By amending Article 291, Pheu Thai wants to form a citizens' assembly that will review the entire constitution. But according to Surapol, this also goes against article 291, which only deals with amendments and not with the drafting of a new constitution.
On 1 June, the Constitutional Court halted parliamentary consideration of the amendment proposal. Yesterday the opponents were heard, today the proponents have their say. A date for the verdict has not yet been set.
– TV viewers who want to follow the Olympic Games in London (July 27-August 12) via satellite or the internet are missing out again, just like at Euro 2012. The Television Pool of Thailand only has the broadcasting rights for terrestrial via a regular antenna) and True Visions broadcasts the games via its nine HD channels, but this requires a special box.
– The audio clip in which Somsak Kiatsuranont, Speaker of the House of Representatives, says that he spoke with former Prime Minister Thaksin about two hot political issues: amending the constitution and the reconciliation bills, is no proof that Thaksin is calling the shots in the background. This is what Prime Minister Yingluck says in response to statements by the opposition. The cabinet works independently and attempts to revise the constitution are the responsibility of parliament, Yingluck said.
Noppadon Pattama, Thaksin's legal adviser, says Thaksin does not give orders to MPs but only advice. "It is normal for Mr. Somsak to consult Thaksin." A spokesman for Somsak says that the challenged statement was not made during a meeting with party members, but during a conversation with family members. Somsak has not yet shown up at work.
– The school band of the Sakon Suksa Bang Bua Thong school in Nonthaburi has won an impressive number of prizes in Hong Kong at the Hong Kong International Youth Marching Band Competition. Bands from Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan participated in the competition. The Thai band consists of 64 students aged 9 to 14 years. Among other things, they scored the Junior Championship title.
– It has been talked about for 3 years. Dividends from foreign investments by Thai companies should be exempt from income tax, because those companies already pay business tax in Thailand. The private sector is urging the Ministry of Finance to take care of this now.
The current practice means that Thai companies have higher costs than their competitors abroad. The Minister of Finance has his reservations. The exemption would allow tax evasion and the minister does not want companies to bring foreign currency into the country to prevent appreciation of the baht.
Thai companies based in Hong Kong, Singapore or other tax havens are already exempt from investment profits. But if they are based in Thailand and the income is transferred to Thailand, they will pay 23 percent tax this year and 20 percent next year.
– The 80 baht banknote issued on the occasion of the eightieth birthday of the Queen is not new as reported yesterday, writes David Furman in a letter to the Bangkok Post. Banknotes of 40, 80, 400 and 800 baht were printed during the reign of King Rama V. However, they never entered circulation because of the Franco-Siamese conflict at the time.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post