News from Thailand – November 7, 2014

In September 2015 it should be ready: a monument in Hua Hin in honor of the monarchy, consisting of nine 18 meter high statues of the nine monarchs of the Chakri dynasty (Rama I to IX, the current king). It already has a name: Lan Maharaj or Great Kings Monument.

The monument is an initiative of the army. The nine statues will be placed on an area of ​​299 by 399 meters on the edge of the sea, facing the water. The grounds can be used for royal ceremonies, military parades and general resignation ceremonies. The construction will cost 100 million baht, an amount that will come from the budget of the army, supplemented by donations from private individuals.

– A database of farmers in Bang Pa-in (Ayutthaya) can serve as a model for other agricultural areas to prevent misuse of government subsidies. It contains data on agricultural lands, harvests (first crop and off-season), number of farm families and data on land ownership.

The Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) calls the database a good tool for checking whether subsidies are going to the right people. Because there is currently a lack of payment of the 1000 baht per rai (up to a maximum of 15 rai) to rice farmers promised by the junta. The money sometimes ends up in the pockets of the landowners and does not reach the farmers who grow rice on it.

The database could also be used to provide welfare benefits to poor farmers who grow other crops, such as rubber planters, said Prayong Preeyajit, secretary general of the PACC. Prayong raised the possibility yesterday after a meeting in Ayutthaya of representatives from the PACC, DPI (Thai FBI), the Attorney General's Office and the Anti-Money Laundering Office, which was devoted to fighting corruption in the payment of the rice subsidies.

Ayutthaya Governor Apichart Todilokvej says that so far the data of 27.000 farmers has been included in the database. 8.800 of them have now been certified and are eligible for the subsidy. The money is deposited by the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives into the farmers' bank account [with the same bank, I presume].

– Ten provinces, including Chiang Rai and Sa Kaeo, have been selected by the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) for a pilot project that aims to encourage public participation in drug control. The project anticipates a 5-year plan of the ONCB (2015 to 2019). The cooperation of the population must be obtained through better information about the drug trade, the consequences of drugs for society and how to inform the authorities about suspicious activities.

The master plan also mentions preventive and investigative actions, tougher sanctions on drug use in prisons, cutting off money flows to drug traffickers and encouraging rehabilitation programs.

Those programs are already doing well: in 2014 the number of participants exceeded the target. The target was 300.000 drug addicts; it became 303.501. The message does not say whether the programs have any effect.

– You have to be careful on the Lat Krabang-On Nut road because as a result of a collision yesterday morning between a truck and tanker, there is a puddle of liquid LPG on the road surface between Suanluang soi 20 and 22. As a precaution, the road is closed over a distance of 1 kilometer closed. The police called in the help of fire brigades in the area to clean up the oil. The message does state that the leak from the tanker ended at a quarter to twelve, but not at what time it started.

– Yesterday came to an end a three-day conference of mayors of the Asean capitals. They leave behind a nice document: the Bangkok Declaration. In this solemn statement, they promise to strengthen their network and cooperation through study trips, workshops and training courses. Other fine plans that have been forged include cooperation in the field of public security, migration, capacity building [?], exchanges, urban development and welfare.

It was the second time that the mayors and governors of the ten cities met, this time hosted by the municipality of Bangkok. Meetings will be held in Kuala Lumpur next year.

– A taxi driver reported to the Bang Bua Thong (Saraburi) police station on Wednesday with a bag. He was left behind in his car by an Indonesian passenger. Bit sloppy, because it contained US dollars worth 2 million baht.

Bag and money are now back with the owner, because he reported to the station yesterday afternoon. The money, he said, was to buy gems in Chanthaburi. The drivers received 5.000 baht as a finder's fee.

– The police in Phuket have arrested a Dane who is wanted in his own country for tax fraud. In addition, his visa had expired. He arrived in Thailand at the end of August 2010 and his visa expired in April last year. The man lived in Patong.

– The headquarters of the Bangkok Municipal Police will investigate the agreements concluded by fifty district police stations for the placement of billboards and / or TV screens. [Maybe I should read it as: agreements that have been made.] Companies are allowed to place the billboards along the roadside or in police pens, but they don't always comply with the rules.

– For the first time, the Thai and Chinese air forces will work together. Later this month, four Thai pilots will leave for China and four Chinese will come to Thailand for a training program. They are allowed to fly along to see how the pilots of the host country operate their aircraft.

The exchange anticipates joint exercises, but Air Force sources say it could be years before that happens, because the equipment of the two countries has major differences. The Army and Navy are already conducting joint exercises.

– Thailand will become a member of the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases, a group of research organizations from Australia, Canada, China, the EU, India, South Africa, the UK and the US. The group aims to promote transnational cooperation in the search for solutions for the detection of chronic diseases, especially non-communicable diseases.

In 2008, 30 million people died from such a disease. In the alliance, Thailand will focus on research into chronic lung diseases.

– A military ranger shot dead three fellow rangers yesterday, wounded two others and tried to kill himself. The man had retrieved his firearm after a fierce argument during a drinking spree at Dejanuchit Camp in Nong Chik (Pattani).

The army command has ordered the commanders in the South to pay more attention to their subordinates and, in particular, to provide them with more support when they are under pressure of work. The army spokesman says the incident could be due to the heavy workload or perhaps the rangers are being pressured to perform well.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post

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