News from Thailand – February 20, 2013

Better late than never, we think. Hollywood movie star Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic, The Beach) urges Prime Minister Yingluck to end the ivory trade. On his Facebook page, he writes that tens of thousands of elephants are killed in Africa every year. Much of the ivory passes through Thailand, he writes, as if this had not been known for a long time.

From March 3 to 14, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will meet in Bangkok. Although CITES banned the international ivory trade in 1989, Thailand allows the sale of ivory from captive elephants if certified by the Provincial Administration Department. The problem, however, is that malicious people pass off African ivory as Thai ivory. The World Wildlife Fund therefore calls Thailand the "largest unregulated ivory market in the world."

The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation says ivory processors and traders face severe penalties if they fail to comply with the tightened rules. They must be registered, their ivory stocks must be covered by certificates, they must keep their sales receipts and they must be able to provide information about their buyers.

The service has already met once with two hundred craftsmen and traders. Another XNUMX meetings will be held over the next two weeks. "We want to show the international community that we take the problem seriously and are taking action," said Deputy Chief Theerapat Prayurasiddhi. The shops are asked not to sell ivory to foreigners, because ivory products are not allowed to be exported.

– Is Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi just talking a bit out of his neck? Two weeks ago, he said that the controversial Kaeng Sua Ten dam and Mae Wong dam will be built within 5 years. Yesterday, the Water and Flood Management Commission, of which Plodprasop is chairman, decided not to build that dam, but to opt for the alternative: two smaller dams in the Yom River and 17 dams in the tributaries. According to Plodprasop [but is that man still credible?] this will solve the drought and flood problems in the Yom basin.

Plan development for the Kaeng Sua Ten dam was halted by the Chuan Leekpai government in 1997 under pressure from protests from the Assembly of the Poor and environmental activists, but the plan is regularly shelved where it has been gathering dust. The objections are well known: the dam would be ineffective and would be at the expense of a unique teak forest in Mae Yom National Park.

The two alternative dams do not affect the forest. The construction will cost 1,3 billion baht. The Yom basin covers Phayao, Phrae, Sukothai, Phichit, Kamphaengphet and Phitsanulok.

– To continue on about heavyweight Plodprasop. He was appointed chairman of the public toilets committee yesterday by the cabinet. That club will be given the task of getting Thais off the squat toilet and transferring, or rather to sitting, to the sitting toilet. The squat toilet is said to be responsible for six million Thais suffering from osteoarthritis.

– You must save energy and if you don't, we will cut your budget. That clear message has been received by public services from the government. When the energy bill rises too much, the money tap is turned off a bit, she threatens.

The government wants public services to reduce their energy consumption by 10 percent this year, says government spokesman Tossaporn Serirak. Services that exceed their consumption by 15 percent will be cut next year. In particular, the cabinet has asked for a reduction in the use of lifts and air conditioning. The government is also setting a good example: the jacket is removed during meetings.

Energy Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal warned last week that Thailand could face an energy shortage in April when Myanmar closes two natural gas fields for maintenance from April 4 to April 12, resulting in less natural gas for Thailand's power stations. The government, he said, will ask Myanmar to move the maintenance to mid-April to fall during the Songkran holiday. The energy consumption then decreases. But one of the two operators has already said that delay is not possible.

– The police killed my son, says a 44-year-old mother. She has filed a complaint with the Counter Corruption Division and the House Police Affairs Committee. The 25-year-old son drowned in a canal in Bang Kholaem (Bangkok) while six police officers watched. They had wanted to buy methamphetamine pills from the boy in an undercover operation, but he got suspicious and jumped into the water. All they had done was try to save him with a stick and a plastic tank.

– The three prisons on the Ngam Wong Wan Road in Bangkok stand in the way when the subway line Bang Sue-Rangsit is built (the so-called Red Line). The ministries of Finance and Justice and the Treasury Department, which owns the land, are allowed to solve the problem. A joint committee will be formed for this purpose. These are Klongprem Prison, Bangkok Remand Prison and Women's Central Prison.

– There was no terror threat at all, it was just a rumour. So says General Tanasak Patimapakorn, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung said last week that al-Quada and Salafi terrorists were planning an attack on the US consulate in Chiang Mai. According to the general, the politicians who announced the threat and the security services have no conflict over the reports, because both have the same information. Nor does the general believe that Thailand is a safe haven for terrorists.

– The Department of Special Investigation (DSI, the Thai FBI) ​​suspects fraud in the construction of the 396 police stations, which came to a halt last year. The contractor paid the subcontractors to whom the work was outsourced irregularly. The total of those payments does not match the amount received by the contractor. The owner has been summoned to explain this. The investigation into the tender procedure is still ongoing.

One of the DSI investigators strongly suspects that the contractor deliberately failed to pay the subcontractors because he did not want the project to be completed.

– Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung has appointed nine members of the Wadah group as advisors. They are going to advise him on the problems in the South. Some say they have ties to the insurgents.

The Wadah group consists of influential Muslim politicians from different political parties. Chalerm says they know the issues well and are respected by the population.

Senator Somchai Sawangkarn has warned Chalerm about security breaches. Prime Minister Yingluck says the government has nothing to do with the appointment. It was Chalerm's personal decision, she says. Army commander Prayuth Chan-ocha sees no harm in it. 'Those people know the problems in the South.'

– Eight soldiers were injured in a grenade attack in Yala. A grenade was thrown by two persons passing on the motorcycle, while the soldiers were doing gymnastic exercises.

– Nok Air is already announcing that the 2014 calendar will be just as exciting as the 2013 calendar, which has caused a stir because of the female nudity. 'We are going to surprise a lot of people again,' says Patee Sarasin. He warns that not everyone will like the calendar, leading one source to suggest that kathoey will be photographed.

The Ministry of Culture has accused the low-cost airline of 'a lack of social and cultural responsibility'. "If you don't like it, don't look at it," says Patee matter-of-factly.

– The younger brother of former Prime Minister Thaksin had been ordained as a monk in India for just nine days before he was appointed deputy provost. That rapid appointment as 'Phra Khru Palad Sampipatyanjarn' has aroused criticism from the population.

The person concerned says he owes the appointment to his work for the preservation of Buddhism and not because of his family ties. According to the Religious Affairs Department, the name is merely an ordination name and not an ecclesiastical title.

Political news

– As if there were not enough amnesty bills (I think three plus two announced during a secret meeting between a red and yellow shirt leader) 20 Pheu Thai MPs, who are members of the UDD (red shirts), are going to submit their own amnesty proposal.

The group decided that after a meeting of Pheu Thai the subject should not be discussed. Pheu Thai first wants to gauge the opinion of the coalition parties and the population. The group of 20 wants to work for the red shirts who are still imprisoned. The article gives no further information about what makes this new proposal so unique.

Financial news

-The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is in a difficult position. Whatever it decides today: the policy rate lowering or maintaining at 2,75 percent: it is never good. The government and business are pushing for cuts to curb capital inflows from abroad. It is held responsible for the rise in the rate of the baht, which exporters are complaining about, and leads to major losses for the bank.

Critics denounce the finance minister for putting pressure on the bank. Political pressure on a central bank is unheard of in the financial world. Moreover, according to them, the measure does not have the desired effect and only fuels inflation.

Praipol Koomsup, economist affiliated with Thammasat University, who was a member of the MPC for 2 years, thinks that the MPC should very well motivate its decision today: 'It should explain why it made that decision and how a decision shows its independence. ' Praipol believes that the MPC will maintain its independence by making a decision based on current economic data.

Arkhom Termpitthayapaisit, secretary general of the National Economic and Social Development Board, says inflation is not a problem at the moment. According to him, whether a reduction in the policy rate leads to a reduction in capital inflow depends on how much it is reduced. 'It may be too little and too late.' But a cut is not the only measure available to curb cash inflows.

Opposition leader Abhisit finds political interference aimed at stimulating economic growth without regard for stability dangerous. Fellow party member and former Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij believes that there is no need to lower the policy rate because economic growth at around 5 percent will remain intact this year and unemployment will be less than 1 percent.

Andre de Silva, HSBC's director of global research, says the international community has great confidence in the independence of the MPC [which consists of seven members, including four outsiders]. He is confident because Cabinet Secretary-General Ampon Kittiampon, who has been a member of the MPC for 9 years, has said he does not expect the letter from the Finance Minister, in which he calls for a reduction, to influence the decision of the MPC has. "I understand the pressure from the Treasury Department, but I don't think the MPC will budge."

Bunluasak Pussarungsri, head of research at CIMB Bank, predicts that the policy rate will remain unchanged to avoid a bubble in the market. He says the country's credibility is damaged when the bank is put under political pressure.

Economic news

– Don't be surprised if the air conditioning suddenly stops in the first half of April, because blackouts are to be expected in the afternoon, warns Egat, Thailand's national electricity company. From April 4 to 12, two natural gas fields in Myanmar will be closed for maintenance work. Due to the closure, 1,1 billion cubic meters less gas flows into the country every day, which means that 6.000 MW less can be produced, or 23 percent of the peak demand of 26.121 MW in 2012. This year, peak demand is estimated at 27.000 MW, 4 percent more than in 2012.

Egat will try to solve the problem by using standby mode power plants [?], good for 600 MW, postponement of maintenance programs of some power plants and by switching to bunker oil and diesel. Furthermore, hydroelectricity can be obtained from Laos. But all this together produces 5.000 MW, so that the shortfall is still 1.000 MW.

When 13 million 15-BTU air conditioners are turned off between 1 p.m. and 12.000 p.m., there is no man left. Egat will find out which offices, sectors or areas are eligible for this.

Total, the operator of one of the two fields, says maintenance cannot be postponed, for example to mid-April when less electricity is needed due to the long holiday. PTT Plc says it can deliver an additional 100 million MMSCFD (million standard cubic feet per day) on top of the current 3.100 MMSCFD.

– Last year's economic growth was even higher than expected due to strong growth in the fourth quarter. Earlier it was expected to be 5,5 percent, but it became 6,4 percent. In the fourth quarter, gross domestic product increased by 18,9 percent compared to a year earlier. In the third quarter, growth was 3,1 percent.

The good growth figure was due to industry, hotels, restaurants and construction. Private spending, private investment and government spending also contributed. On a quarterly basis, growth was 3,6 percent, a clear indication of recovery from the global slowdown.

This year economic growth is expected to be 4,5 to 5,5 percent.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post