News from Thailand – September 7, 2013

Corruption in Thailand has reached a 'mega-critical' level. It has only increased in the past three years. This is because society is not aware of the importance of combating it and because the government is failing to effectively address the problem, especially in major government projects such as the rice mortgage system.

President Pramon Sutivong of the Anti-Corruption Organization of Thailand made no bones about it in Bangkok yesterday in his opening speech of the meeting 'ACT NOW: Fight Together and Salvage the Future' in front of more than a thousand audience. "Although the government has announced that it will solve the corruption problem, it has not achieved any results and no perpetrator has been punished yet."

Pramon also lashed out at the corporate sector, which lobbies for contracts, allowing officials to solicit huge sums in bribes. The media has also been slammed, as some are too shitty to expose corruption and those who do are often threatened with legal action or threatened.

Pramon pleaded for the need to raise public awareness that corruption should be eradicated. If corruption continues to fester with impunity, the problem will break the country even further.

An anti-corruption walking tour was held in Nakhon Ratchasima yesterday. Subsequently, more than XNUMX provincial officials, private sector representatives, the Nakhon Ratchasima Chamber of Commerce and members of anti-corruption organizations took part. Anti-corruption demonstrations were also held in Lampang. The participants took an oath that they will eradicate all forms of corruption. This was symbolically confirmed by smashing eight earthenware pots bearing the word 'corruption'.

Photos: Demonstration yesterday against corruption at Siam Paragon.

– There are no trains running between Sila At (Uttaradit) and Chiang Mai for six weeks, so that the rails can be repaired. The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) made this drastic decision after the train to Bangkok in Long (Phrae) was derailed on Thursday evening. The last carriage of the 11-car train ran off the rails. None of the more than XNUMX passengers was injured. The trail was clear again last night. The derailment brings the number of derailments on the Northern Line to thirteen this year.

The repair work will last from September 16 to October 31. Buses are deployed between Sila At and Chiang Mai, a distance of 300 kilometers. The message does not mention by how many hours the travel time increases [or decreases, who knows?]. The entire line is being overhauled, including the tracks in four tunnels. The rails are replaced and the underlying bed is reinforced. When the work is finished, there will be no more derailments, SRT Governor Prapat Chongsanguan assures.

– With his poetry book Hua Chai Hong Thi Ha (The Fifth Chamber of the Heart) Angkarn Chanthathip has this year's SEA Write Award won. He left six other nominees behind. In its report, the jury praises the paradoxical perspectives in his work.

Angkarn (1974) was born in Khon Kaen. He started writing poetry at school. After graduating from Ramkhamhaeng University, he published several poetry collections, including (I give the English translation of the titles) Sadness Lover en Way and Shelter. Angkarn is the editor of the magazine Mars. The award will be presented in November at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Bangkok.

– In Malaysia, a weapons cache was found on Thursday, which is probably related to the violence in the south of Thailand. Three Thais and a Malaysian have been arrested. The police in Padang Terap (Kedah) had raided a restaurant looking for drugs, but found weapons, ammunition and substances to make explosives. It is believed that the weapons were smuggled from Sabah in southern Malaysia and were destined for insurgents in southern Thailand.

Two military rangers were injured in a bomb blast in Rueso (Narathiwat) yesterday. They were part of a twelve-man escort that had escorted teachers home. On the way back to their base, they were surprised by the bomb, which was hidden in garbage.

– The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources only found out through the media in July that oil had leaked into the Gulf of Thailand. Director Pinsak Suraswadi of the Phuket Marine Biological Center revealed this during a seminar on Thursday. He advocated improving communications, as well as improving training and equipment to limit the damage caused by spills.

Rangsan Pinthong of the Pollution Control Department admitted in his speech that government agencies have been too slow to respond to the spill. They acted late, he said, because they expected PTTGC to handle the situation, but the company couldn't. "It seemed as if PTTGC expected the government to help, while the government expected PTTGC to handle the matter on its own."

– The municipality of Bangkok has removed three thousand billboards and billboards since Wednesday, for which no permit was granted and which caused nuisance to pedestrians and motorists. Some signs were attached to power poles and trees.

Signs for which a permit had been granted, but which turned out to be larger than indicated in the permit application, also had to be accepted. Most illegal signs were found in Chatuchak, followed by Sai Mai and Prawet. Violators will be fined 2.000 baht per sign. In the case of billboards in residential areas, the wrongdoers must pay precario.

– The Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth) is delighted with the recent increase in excise duty on alcohol. Raising the price of alcohol will benefit the population, she believes. ThaiHealth manager Krisada Ruangareerat said yesterday that he expects the number of drinkers, especially among young people, to decrease.

He called on the government to further increase excise duty on locally distilled spirits. That drink is popular with low incomes because a bottle costs between 77 and 91 baht. The low excise duty could entice drinkers to switch from the more expensive spirits to the "whis-e-ky Thai" (as my in-laws call it bend), which has an alcohol content of up to 40 percent. About 30 percent of Thai drinkers drink the stuff.

The increase in excise duty took effect on Wednesday, as a result of which the price of beer, wine and spirits has risen by 5, 10 or 20 percent, depending on the product. Beer has become 3 to 7 baht more expensive per bottle, distilled spirits 7 to 15 percent. Krisada thinks the progressive rate could get producers to reduce alcohol content.

– I will omit the details, but only report that the change of concession to Thaksin's company Shin Corp is still not a race. In 2010, the Supreme Court's Department for Holders of Political Office ruled that the then Minister of ICT should have sought permission from the cabinet and that Shin Corp benefited from the change. The minister and his then permanent secretary are now embroiled in a impeachment retroactive proceeding before the National Anti-Corruption Commission. In summary: the case drags on, now before the Senate.

– Member of Parliament Chen Thaugsuban has apologized for throwing a chair in the direction of the chairman on Thursday. He says he was frustrated at not being allowed to speak. According to this report, he threw two chairs, causing an armrest to fail. Party leader Abhisit is 'shocked', but asks for understanding for Chen's irritation.

– Foreign travel champion or Prime Minister Yingluck will leave tomorrow with a delegation to Italy for a visit to the Vatican. She also visits Switzerland and Montenegro. In Geneva she attends the 24th meeting of the UN Human Rights Commission. [As far as I know, her brother Thaksin has a Montenegro passport. Maybe he has a place there too.]

– The metal butane gas cylinder is being replaced in the South of Thailand by a cylinder made of a composite material. The butane cylinder is used by insurgents to make bombs. Composite shards are smaller and lighter than metal shards. The number of injured is expected to decrease as a result.

– An American lecturer at the University of Udon Thani, who has been tried in his own country for child sexual abuse and had fled during the trial, has been arrested by the Thai police. The US embassy had asked to locate him. The man had been in Thailand since 2011.

– Two men, suspected of the robbery and murder of an American last week in Pattaya, were arrested yesterday. They have confessed to breaking into the man's home. However, the man woke up, after which one of the burglars hit him on the head with a bat and covered his face with a pillow. The thieves made off with 8.000 baht, a mobile phone and an iPhone.

Political news

– The Democratic MPs will be dressed in black mourning clothes for seven days in protest against the way in which the Senate President and the Speaker of Parliament have led parliament sessions this week.

The opposition is one impeachment proceedings started against the Senate President because he did not allow Democrats to speak at a joint meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives on Wednesday. Democrats say the Senate President has violated the Constitution. They also accuse him of dereliction of duty, which the Penal Code criminalizes.

Parliament yesterday spent three hours on procedural issues, such as the right of MPs to speak and motions to end a debate. Opposition leader Abhisit called on the president not to deny MPs the right to speak

– A senator who was caught viewing pornographic pictures on his cell phone during a senate meeting yesterday says he was looking at pictures of his grandchildren (home page photo). A press photographer snapped the senator as he viewed photos of half-naked ladies. The senator was identified by his tie, as he was photographed obliquely from behind.

Economic news

– Australian SMEs are not eager to invest in Thailand and the reason for this is 'supposed political uncertainty'. That perception has been built up over the years and is very difficult to overcome, says Leigh Scott-Kemmis, president of the Australian-Thai Chamber of Commerce. He thinks the feeling is exaggerated. The Thai private sector is very robust. Problems have more to do with the financial crisis and not with politics.'

Australian investment in Thailand is relatively low at A$2,8 billion in 2012. The Chamber hopes for a 100 percent increase in the next six to twelve months. To inform Australians about the investment climate, the Chamber will organize business lunches, the first in Bangkok next week, and then in Pattaya and Phuket. The next step is business forums.

– Consumer confidence fell to its lowest level in nine months in August. The index has fallen over the past five months from 84 in February to 79,3 points in August. Consumers seem to be responding to the lowered forecast for growth in gross domestic product. Last month it was reduced from 4,2 to 5,2 to 3,8 to 4,3 percent.

A poll by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce shows that consumers are concerned about delays in infrastructure works, political uncertainty and the fall in the price of agricultural products, especially rubber and palm oil.

Thanavath Phonvichai, vice president of research, says people are now cautious about spending because they are concerned about the economic outlook and political climate. The higher cost of living and the economic malaise are driving low incomes in particular into the arms of loan sharks. Those with adequate incomes are cutting their expenses.

– The sale of premium cars (ie cars more expensive than 1,8 million baht) is not affected by the decline in private spending. Purchasing power of middle to high incomes is still stable and strong, says Michael Grewe, Managing Director of Mercedes-Benz (Thailand).

In 2012, 13.000 premium cars were sold, of which 6.274 were Mercedes. In the first eight months of this year, sales of Mercedes cars increased by 41 percent to 5.507. This year, the sector expects to be able to sell 17.000 premium cars.

BMW is also doing well. In the past seven months, 4.500 cars have been sold, including the Mini. That is a growth of 39 percent compared to the same period last year. In 2012, BMW sold 6.114 cars. The company has recently started assembling the Mini Countryman in Thailand. It is 24 to 29 percent cheaper than the imported one.

– In the first quarter of next year, the new AirAsia subsidiary AirAsia X Thailand will take to the air. The airline will fly from Don Mueang, also the home of Thai AirAsia, presumably to South Korea and Japan, two routes that are in great demand in Thailand. Few details are known about the new airline, except that it will start with two A330 wide-body aircraft, new or nearly new.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post