News from Thailand – September 6, 2013

There was plenty of partying in parliament again this week, but not really. Three incidents.

On Wednesday, a Democratic MP was removed from the conference room by police. He had been shouting at the president of the chamber because he had refused to let him speak on questionable expenditures of the parliament budget.

On Thursday, a fellow hothead threw a chair in the direction of the chairman, this time the second vice-chairman. He thought he wanted to end a debate about the rubber protests prematurely. His colleagues calmed him down. The seat back was damaged.

The incident ended with the Democrats storming out of the conference room, as 27 of them had been silenced. The opposition whip said they can no longer be part of a Chamber that ignores the concerns of the people.

– It was in line with expectations: the Thai Farmers Association rejects the new guaranteed price for paddy (brown rice) in the next season. She threatens protests. The farmers want the price to drop to 14.000 baht per ton at most, with a maximum of 400.000 baht per household.

On Tuesday, on the advice of the National Rice Policy Committee, the cabinet decided to maintain the price in the main crop at 15.000 baht and to pay 13.000 baht in the second crop, with maximums of 350.000 and 300.000 baht respectively. The government expects to buy 2013 million tons in the 2014-16,5 season and has allocated a budget of 270 billion baht for this purpose.

– Like 3G, 4G will also be introduced in Thailand with a long delay. Watchdog NBTC has decided to grant True Move and Digital Phone a year's delay to hand in their 2G spectrum. The auction of 4G is therefore delayed by a year.

According to a researcher from the Thailand Development Research Institute, the country is losing 160 billion baht in revenue as a result. She said this in a TV interview last week, prompting the NBTC to file a libel suit against the academic and interviewer. But that charge is likely to be dropped after media organizations called it an invasion of academic and press freedom.

– Students of Prathom 3 (primary school) and Prathom 6 will be subjected to a new national reading test between 9 and 20 September, developed by the Office of the Basic Education Commission (Obec). The test, which measures comprehension and pronunciation, provides teachers with a tool to pay special attention to weak brothers.

An optimistic Obec secretary-general says that if all goes well, every Prathom 3 and 6 student will be able to read well by the end of next semester or around May next year. And who are we to contradict him given the discussion on Thailandblog about Gringo's statement.

– Asked for comments on the ranking of Thailand in a survey by the World Economic Forum (Thailand has the worst education quality of eight Asian countries), Minister Chaturon Chaisaeng (Education) says that the ministry will try again to make education reform a national agenda item . Unlike a lecturer from Chulalongkorn University, he has no questions about the methodology of the ranking. According to the lector, not the quality of education was measured, but the opinion of Thais about education.

– Five hundred forest rangers started yesterday to make short work of illegally planted rubber trees in the Nern Perm forest reserve (Phitsanulok). Under the watchful eye of photographers and photographing colleagues, the chainsaw went into the young trees that have been planted there since 2008. According to data from the Royal Forest Department, 11.653 rai of protected forest land in Phitsanulok province has been illegally put into use since that year.

– The late Krirkkiat, former president of the Bangkok Bank of Commerce (BBC), which went bankrupt in 1995, and his assistant have been acquitted by the Supreme Court of misusing an electronic card to authorize loans in excess of 30 million baht. They should have asked permission from the bank board and the Bank of Thailand. According to the court and now also the Supreme Court, the Public Prosecution Service has not been able to convincingly demonstrate that they wanted to dupe others.

Krikkiat was previously sentenced to 70 years in prison on seven charges, reduced to 20 years by the Supreme Court for embezzling 1,22 billion baht. He died in October last year.

The BBC went bankrupt in 1995 with US$3 billion in debt. That was a prelude to the bankruptcy of 56 other financial institutions in the financial crisis of 1997. The BBC had made it very bad by making huge loans to politicians and stooges for real estate and stock speculation, corporate takeovers and other purposes. In the case, former BBC adviser Rakesh Saxena was sentenced to 10 years in prison after deportation from Canada.

– The government has set up four committees to deal with the problems with foreign workers. Prime Minister Yingluck, who chaired a meeting of relevant services, NGOs and international organizations yesterday, said he was deeply concerned about the living conditions of the migrants and other related humanitarian problems. "We have to provide them with health care and convenience."

The health minister says the problems, which range from human trafficking, crime to health issues, are due to their illegal status, pushing them into illegality. “The government cannot reach them to provide assistance. To solve the problems, we have to encourage them to get out of there so that we can help them.”

An estimated 2 to 3 million migrants work in Thailand and that number is expected to increase once the planned infrastructure works [for which the government will borrow 2 trillion baht] begin.

– The Nong Khai police will transfer 105 Rohingya refugees from a reception center to eleven police stations, after riots broke out there on Wednesday. The refugees demanded to be sent to a third country and began tearing down fences. The security of the center was then reinforced with a hundred agents and officials. Seventeen refugees have been handcuffed. The Rohingya were placed in Nong Khai in February from the immigration office in Sadao (Satun). They had thought to be sent to Malaysia.

– The restoration of the large chedi of Wat Prayurawongsawas Worawihan in Bangkok has been awarded the Award of Excellence of the Unesco Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation 2013. 47 projects in 16 countries were submitted for the award.

– A special court chamber for tourist cases was opened in Pattaya yesterday. Tourists can go there with complaints about fraud, theft, conflicts and accidents. The office is occupied 24 hours a day; interpreters are present. According to a spokesman for the Ministry of Sports and Tourism, cases are dealt with within a day unless they are complicated. The first case was brought forward by the relatives of two Chinese people who died in a speedboat accident. They ask for compensation.

– A Russian man was arrested yesterday after he stole a catamaran in Sattahip (Chon Buri) on Sunday and sailed away with it. The boat was now drifting adrift off the coast of Phetchaburi because it had run out of fuel. The boat was spotted by fishermen, who alerted the police. The man said he had wanted to sail to Indonesia and the Philippines.

– One hundred students and teachers of the Taweethapisek school yesterday demanded the resignation of their director before the Ministry of Education. The director would ignore the drug problems of students. He also increased the school fees and tea money collected from parents in exchange for their child's admission to the school. The problems would have dragged on for several years.

– The Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) admitted in July by mistake against medicines congestive heart failure in the packaging of medicines for high blood pressure. They went to seven hospitals. Five patients have been given the wrong drug, but have not suffered any ill effects, according to the GPO.

– The Internal Trade Department database was briefly hacked yesterday morning. The homepage was replaced by a penguin and the server crashed. According to sources, the attack was aimed at the permanent secretary of the ministry for her comments on price increases. She called the concerns about that no more than "a feeling."

Comments

- Bangkok Post notes in its editorial on Thursday a huge discrepancy between the support that the rice farmers in the North, Central Plains and Northeast receive and the rubber farmers. The government has 270 billion baht left over to support rice farmers; for support to rubber farmers 30 billion baht, consisting of a subsidy of 1.260 baht per rai to 900.000 small planters, 5 billion baht in loans for the processing of raw rubber and 15 billion baht in loans for the purchase of machinery. Compare that to the 15.000 baht that rice farmers get in hand cash for a ton of paddy.

In addition, the newspaper points out that rice exports have collapsed due to the high guaranteed price paid by the government, while rubber was the number 1 export product last year, worth 250 billion baht, 50 billion less than the year before.

The argument used by the government not to support the rubber price does not make sense. The government says it does not want to disrupt the market, but it does in the case of rice. The newspaper calls the refusal of Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong to travel to the South disappointing. That is 'inappropriate' for a minister with rubber in his portfolio.

Finally, the newspaper calls on both parties to compromise. She calls the rubber farmers' road and rail blockade "unacceptable and unjustified." They cause too much nuisance for many innocent people. According to BP, a compromise is not impossible. And the government needs to think about whether its populist agrarian policy should be continued.

– Another comment on the same issue, this time from Wichit Chantanusornsiri, economics reporter at BP. He is not surprised that the farmers run to the government every time they are faced with a price crisis, because the farmers have been pampered for years. This also prevents them from improving their production, both qualitatively and quantitatively, or switching to other products with better prospects.

It is time, Wichit writes, that farmers and the government comfort zone abandoned by paying more attention to agrarian reforms. But he is skeptical about whether that will happen, because it is easier to pump money into the sector and make short-term political gains than to reform the agricultural sector, which takes longer than a government term.

– In an analysis in today's paper, Nauvarat Suksamran analyzes the government's attitude as a divide-and-conquer tactic. After all, farmers in the North and Northeast agree to the subsidy of 1.260 baht per rai and have waived the planned nationwide protest on August 30. Without their support, southern farmers are isolated and their bargaining position is weakened.

According to Pheu Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit, farmers are influenced by opposition party Democrats. Complaints have even been filed against six Democratic MPs for terrorism and threats to national security. Arrest warrants have been issued against six protest leaders.

Politically, there is little gain for the government. The South is a Democratic stronghold. In the last election, 50 of the 53 district seats went to the Democrats, Pheu Thai did not win one.

Rong Boonsuayfun of Walailak University in Nakhon Si Thammarat, who has studied the price of rubber, warns the government. "Because the government has no regard for the hardships of the rubber farmers, tension is building and could explode." He also points to the discrepancy between support for rice and rubber farmers.

Political news

– Opposition party Democrats goes one impeachment commence proceedings against Senate President Nikom Wairatpanich. Nikom closed the session of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, although only 7 of the 57 Democrats who wanted to speak on Article 5 of the amendment to the Senate election were given the opportunity. That article ends the ban on family members of MPs from running for the Senate.

The curious thing about the Democrats' move is that the request for impeachment the Senate President has to pass and that is – right, yes – Nikom. When Nikom accepts the request, he must forward it to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).

Nikom says he is not aware of any harm because the opposition repeatedly made unnecessary remarks. He has agreed to forward the request to the NACC.

The opposition whips choose a different path; they are going to petition the Constitutional Court. According to them, the amendment is in violation of the constitution.

Furthermore, 114 Democratic MPs and senators have asked the Constitutional Court to rule on the 2014 budget, which would also be in violation of the constitution. This concerns cuts in the budgets of some independent organizations [which the ruling party Pheu Thai wants to curb].

[Explanation from DvdL: It all seems like a childish thing, but in fact a hard power struggle is going on between the ruling party Pheu Thai, which has an absolute majority in parliament, and the opposition, which seizes every opportunity to exert some influence. to practice.]

Economic news

– The new alcohol tax rate structure is unfair because the rates of some categories are much lower than others, although the alcohol percentages are the same. But Somchai Pulsawas, director general of the Excise Department, disagrees with this criticism from, among others, Sudhabodi Sattabusya, vice president of Boonrawd Brewery, the producer of Singha products. The new tariffs aim to strengthen the competitive position of Thai producers against importers.

The new method calculates the excise duty based on the latest ex-VAT wholesale price instead of the factory price. Imported drinks used to be assessed on the basis of the CIF price (costs, insurance and freight), but often lower declarations were made so that less excise duty had to be paid. As a result, imported drinks had an advantage over those produced in Thailand.

Sudhabodi counters that he has no idea how well the wholesaler calculates its costs. 'If a wholesaler is not good at this, we have to pay more based on what he indicates. How can we compete with our products then?'

A manager of a beer brewery points out that beer is taxed at 48 percent and distilled at 4 percent, while the amount of alcohol per liter of 100 percent alcohol does not differ much. "We should not protect the producers of it [Thai Beverage], because the high alcohol content is responsible for many traffic accidents."

– The shelves in shops in the South are starting to empty due to the road and rail blockade in Nakhon Si Thammarat, which has been going on for more than a week. The Land Transport Federation of Thailand says that soon the supply of LPG and NGV will also stagnate. The transport of products from the region to other parts of the country has also come to a standstill. Transport companies are now looking for alternative routes, but this increases transport costs.

Cargoes destined for Malaysia cannot be shipped and when the airport of Surat Thani is blocked by the rubber farmers, tourism and hotels also suffer. According to the Thai Logistics Service Providers Federation, a daily loss of 300 to 400 million baht is incurred. The carriers are calling on the government to end the blockades.

– Telephone companies still use an expiration date on prepaid telephone cards, while this has long been prohibited. Anupap Tiralap ('independent analyst') calls on users to file a complaint against watchdog NBTC with the administrative court. According to him, the NBTC neglects its statutory duty to reprimand the providers.

The expiration date is in violation of international regulations and the Telecommunications Business Act of 2006. Thailand has 80 million mobile phones, 90 percent of callers use a prepaid arrangement (card or online). According to Anupap, the telephone companies earn 86,4 billion baht per year from unused credit.

– The Purple Line will be completed 2 years later than planned, says Bangkok Metro Plc. In 40 months the subway will run between Bang Sue and Bang Yai. The line measures 23 km and has 16 stations. The first underground subway started operating in 2004 between Hua Lamphong and Bang Sue.

– The Monetary Policy Committee, which every month the policy rate (the rate from which banks derive their interest rates), is concerned about unpaid car loans and car for cash loans [?] as household debt increases. This appears from the minutes of the MPC meeting of 21 August. The defaults affect used car prices, collateral values ​​and potential borrowers.

I read in the post that a significant portion of new car loans are taken out by dealers rather than buyers. It is not clear to me what the effect of this is. The report also states that savings cooperatives should be monitored more closely. They are not subject to central bank credit rules, while they have lent significant amounts to government officials. If that is not a dead body in the closet, and that also applies to loans from loan sharks. Two figures that remain outside the official statistics.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post