Ko Lanta Investment Slow; Halal Promoted; Police Crackdown

[NBT TV Phuket]

A property developer in Krabi said the current political situation effects are seen in an investment slow-down on Lanta Island.

http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/prev...php?news_id=457

<p> The political situation in the past months has resulted in a slow down of property investment on Lanta island. The comment was made by the local property developer Sunthorn Chaokitka who stated that the slow down of transactions is due to lack of confidence in Thailand’s economy and the government’s policy on the economy. Sunthorn went on to say that the land prices in Lanta district, which is the whole island, have been soaring with beach side plots of at least 10 million baht per rai. He touched on the tourism atmosphere saying that the island is now quiet due to the monsoon or low season.

The Krabi provincial Islamic committee promotes Halal Certificate requests from local businesses.

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<p> Manufacturers, producers and business operators, of any religion not only Islamic, can apply or request for their products to be Halal certified. The statement was made by Paisarn Phromyong, a board member of the Halal Standard Institute of Thailand who emphasized that the Halal certified food or products are not meant only for Muslims, but for all. He pinpointed Krabi in particular saying that it has got high potential as it welcomes tourists from around the world, although many of them are Muslim. The provincial Islamic committee has enhanced their capacity to improve the provincial Halal standard to be acceptable to international tourists. At present 21 products and businesses have been certified. 16 of them are food and 5 are hotels’ restaurants. Another 100 applications are being processed. Halal food means all ingredients and every production step must adhere to Halal regulations; the cooking area & equipment must be clean, safe, and non-contaminated; Storage and transportation must be separated; and washing procedures must be in accordance with Islamic law.

Krabi police report their crime suppression operation in the past 10 days

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<p> In the past 10 days of July 10 – 20th the Krabi police managed to suppress 84 crime cases. During a press conference, headed by the governor Siwa Sirisaowalak, they revealed operations involving 121 suspects with 18 items seized as evidence. Under the road safety program, the authorities also destroyed 107 sub-standard motorbike exhaustion pipes which cause loud noises. The governor said he was pleased with the operation results and hopes to continue the operation to maximize safety for the general public and tourists to Krabi.

Andaman News NBT (VHF dial) + maybe FM90.5 Radio Thailand at 8.30am & perhaps relays/repeats on local Cable TV channel 1, broadcast to Phang Nga, Krabi & Phuket provinces, & possibly FM108 Mazz Radio 7.30pm in Phuket, Tuesday 22 July 2008 & http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/ Contact [email protected]