News from Thailand – October 6, 2013

Four insurgents and two police officers were killed in a fierce firefight in Rueso (Narathiwat) yesterday. Among the slain insurgents is Abdul Roheng Da-eso, nicknamed Black Pele, against whom ten arrest warrants were pending.

The insurgents opened fire as police and soldiers, fifty strong, approached a house where eleven had been hiding. After 15 minutes, the remaining seven insurgents surrendered. Two pistols, an AK47 and more than a hundred rounds of ammunition were found in the house.

In another operation, soldiers arrested two men suspected of the October 2 bombing in Krong Pinang (Yala). Four army officers were killed. They are also suspected of involvement in a June bombing that killed eight soldiers.

– Deputy Prime Minister Pracha Promnok says that the five demands that the BRN resistance group has made for the progress of the peace talks are 'acceptable overall', but the agreement is not 100 percent. Pracha said this after speaking to 32 advisers in Narathiwat about the next peace talks scheduled for October 20.

Two of the five demands are difficult: Thailand must recognize the BRN as a representative of the 'Melayu Pattanis', the inhabitants of Pattani, and all suspects who have been arrested must be released and arrest warrants against other suspects must be withdrawn.

Pracha hopes that the BRN is 'open-minded' to the proposals from the Thai side; if not, the negotiations will stall. Army commander Prayuth Chan-ocha calls all demands unacceptable.

Reports are now being contradicted that Hassan Taib, leader of the BRN delegation, will be replaced. It has been suggested in the media that his second-in-command Arwae Yaba or one of the main rebel leaders, Sapae-ing Basor, would take his place.

Thai delegation leader Paradorn Pattanatabut says this report has not been confirmed in his latest talks with Malaysian authorities. Malaysia acts as a 'facilitator' of the talks. According to Paradorn, there is some disagreement between the resistance groups about the composition of the BRN delegation. They want a more proactive approach in the conversations.

- Bangkok Post looks back at the arrest of the American drug lord and assassin Joseph Hunter (photo homepage). Prior to his arrest, he lived for six months in a modest home in the exclusive Baan Suan neighborhood of Kathu, Phuket. Anyone interested can read the story on the website: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/373186/rambo-lonely-lair

– Next year, four projects will be funded from the 2 trillion baht that the government will borrow for infrastructure works. These are the extension of the Phetkasem Sai 4 Road in Bangkok, a new toll road between Bang Pa-In (Ayutthaya) and Nakhon Ratchasima, the doubling of five tracks and the extension of electric train trails in Bangkok. [What is meant by the latter I do not know. I think it's about subway routes.]

The trillion-dollar loan has now been approved by the House of Representatives and has yet to receive the green light from the Senate. Minister Chadchart Sittipunt (Transport) expects the law to borrow the money to come into force at the end of this year. Work could start early next year. The 2 trillion will be borrowed over a period of 7 years.

The minister says that the construction of the toll road (196 kilometers, cost 84 billion baht) will be controlled by a anti graft agency.  [Another nice vague term, why not mention that body by name. I assume this refers to the (private) Anti-Corruption Organization of Thailand (ACT).] Public hearings are held beforehand. To monitor the progress of the project, a agency set up.

According to a source at the ministry, the project can start soon because feasibility studies and an environmental impact assessment have already been done. We are waiting for the implementation of the Royal Decree on the expropriation of land.

– Minister Chalerm Yubamrung (Employment; formerly the chief deputy prime minister) was operated on in Ramathibodi Hospital for subdural hematoma, a hemorrhage between the dura mater and the cobweb membrane. Chalerm is now in intensive care. According to the hospital director, his condition has improved.

– A premature baby was found yesterday at the entrance of a residential area in Bang Khen. The girl was wrapped in papers and put in a garbage bag. The child was found by a garbage man when he opened the bag to separate the garbage.

– The proposal to amend Article 190 of the constitution will be discussed between October 14 and 18, says government whip Amnuay Klangpa. Agreements will then be made about the parliamentary treatment. Article 190 regulates the approval of treaties with foreign countries.

According to the current article, any agreement must be approved by parliament. The article cost then Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama (now Thaksin's legal advisor) the headline in 2008 because he had signed a joint communiqué with Cambodia on the application for World Heritage status for Hindu temple Preah Vihear. He should have asked parliament for permission.

– In That Phanom (Nakhon Phanom) a loading and unloading place has been constructed to facilitate Thai-Laotian transport over the Mekong River. Secretary of State Pong Chewananth (Transport) was officially allowed to use it yesterday. The quay was completed on June 23.

Economic news

– The Federation of Thai Industries is very pleased with the ruling of the Constitutional Court that the 2014 budget is not in violation of the constitution. The government can now start spending money and the business community likes that. Government spending is considered to be the sole economic driver as exports and consumer spending lag behind.

FTI Chairman Payungsak Chartsutthipol is relieved. "I've spoken to a lot of people who were worried that the budget would be blocked, because then the economy would have taken a big hit."

FTI Deputy Secretary General Korrakod Padungjitt urges the government to speed up the environmental and health impact assessments required for next year's major projects. Early preparation creates time for better communication with the population, so that opposition is reduced. As an example, he mentions the Mae Wong dam, for which money has already been earmarked, but the dam is met with objections from the population. 'The reports must be comprehensive and correct in order to be accepted by the public.'

– The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, which pre-finances the mortgage system for rice, still has sufficient cash to expand the loan portfolio. The mortgage system draws a heavy financial burden on the bank, while the government has great difficulty selling rice, causing repayments to the bank to stagnate.

In the 2011-2012 season, the mortgage system made a loss of 137 billion baht; the newspaper does not mention an amount for the 2012-2013 season. For the coming rice season, the government has set the budget at 270 billion baht for the purchase of 16,5 million tons of paddy (brown rice).

The reports always refer to a revolving credit of 500 billion baht, but even the newspaper does not know whether the budget of 270 billion is part of this. I don't always make sense of juggling numbers. In any case, the mortgage system is a money-consuming subsidy program, because that is what it comes down to.

– Thailand needs to review its excise structure to remain competitive and succeed in the integrated Asian market, said Daniel Witt, president of the International Tax and Investment Center. The government must create a structure that discourages cheap imports. Otherwise, producers will move to neighboring countries, where they will benefit from tax benefits and low labor costs. When they then export their products to Thailand, they also benefit from the low import tariffs.

Wittt credits the government for its decision to reduce corporate and income taxes, which encourages a positive investment climate and economic growth. He asks the government to closely monitor tax developments in neighboring countries in order to remain competitive. He also calls for the system for calculating excise duty on spirits to be simplified. According to him, it should be based on the alcohol percentage and not on the retail price, as is the case now.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post