Thailand Live Friday 5 Nov 2010

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Thailand Live Friday 5 November 2010

News, Bits and Tweets

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Related topic: Thailand Live Thursday 4 Nov 2010

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Special Report: Thai Govt works at its best, undertaking the worst flood’s effects

Beside the ongoing political problems, capital inflow, and the appreciating Thai baht, the Thai Government is now facing one of the toughest challenges brought on by natural disaster. Since the worst flood in decades hit Thailand in October, the government has been carrying the weight of the world on its shoulders in the hope of finding the best solution for the country.

Unusually heavy monsoon rain has since early October caused widespread flooding all over the kingdom of Thailand. 50 out of 76 provinces have been hard hit by flash-floods, many of which have since been inundated. With the water levels in some areas reaching two meters, crops have been destroyed, patients evacuated from hospitals, cars swept away by strong current, and even two- story homes in some districts submerged to the roofs.

More than a hundred people have died, while 5 million others have been severely affected by floods. The Thai Government has, from the very beginning, been trying its best to assist the victims of floods; coming up with a string of relief measures aimed at alleviating the plight of the affected as soon as possible.

The government has set up an information center for natural disasters with the object of integrating the work of different public sectors to enhance their efficiency in assisting flood victims. The center aims to provide victims with all kinds of help ranging from providing humanitarian necessities to rehabilitating the areas damaged by the devastating floods.

In addition, the cabinet has just approved a relief budget of 20 billion baht, which will be spent on restoration and rehabilitation of cities, and communities, as well as farmland. Financial aids will also be given to victims to enable them to weather the hardship not of their own making.

5,000 baht in cash will be distributed to each of the 632,000 affected families; for those who need to entirely rebuild their homes, 100,000 baht compensation will be granted.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives will, at the same time, compensate the losses to farmers whose plots of agricultural land have been damaged by floods. To expedite the compensation process, some regulations and orders that could hamper relief efforts will be adjusted to speed up the operation.

Likewise, the Commerce Ministry will make sure the prices of consumer products, particularly those of food and construction materials, remain stable, hoping to prevent hoarding by unscrupulous merchants.

As for the Ministry of Industry, registration-renewal fees for those affected factories will be waived for one year. Moreover, the costs of repair for electronic appliances, vehicles, and any machinery used in the agro industry will be lowered.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Transport will also play a role in the repairing task by getting their crews and machines ready so they can start repairing damaged roads and railroad tracks as soon as the water recedes.

Apart from financial aids, health issue is another one on the list of the government's top priorities. Sanitary problems in flooded areas could cause an outbreak of cholera, diarrhea, Leptospirosis, and many others diseases. Moreover, mental health remains one of the diseases easily and usually developed by the affected people, given the condition in which they have to endure. According to the Department of Mental Health, 1 out of every 6 flood-victims suffers from depression and insomnia.

Consequently, the Public Health Ministry has dispatched mobile emergency units to provide free medical services and disseminate information on flood-related disease preventive measures to victims.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has confirmed that the government will definitely improve the country’s flood warning system. He has also ensured that the nation's water management system will be revamped to make sure the country can better cope with the situation in the future.

To relief the impact of this worst flooding, all sectors must be involved, and have a clear understanding of their roles in assisting the victims.

The Government has been working days and nights to help out victims and minimize the impact of the floods which have wreaked havoc on the country in the past few weeks. Everyone needs to continue to perform his/her duty and help others. Thailand will soon be back on tracks if we all do what is expected of us.

-- NNT 2010-11-05

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HAT YAI

'No need to relocate city'

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FLOOD CRISIS

As waters retreat, Hat Yai begins its big cleanup

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NAKHON SI THAMMARAT

Mudslide adds to flood woes

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HOUSE DEBATE

Democrat, Pheu Thai MPs row over video-clip scandal

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More bad floods are on the way, academic warns

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

“Become Thai PM and I divorce you”, Newin's wife says

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Freezing temperatures in North, Northeast

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True democracy needs an empowered public, say academics

By Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Nation

The notion of social equality is a useful tool that can help develop sophisticated democracies, Alan Walker, professor of Social Policy and Social Gerontology at Sheffield University, said yesterday.

Walker said that although England created its first parliament in 1215 and the United Kingdom parliament came into being in the 18th century, the parliament continues to be dominated by elites and characterised by an absence of public influence outside election periods.

This, coupled with the absence of direct or deliberative democracy, has resulted in politicians “speaking for the people [instead] of people speaking for themselves”, Walker said. He was speaking at the three-day annual King Prajadhipok Institute conference, which began yesterday in Bangkok. The topic this year is social equality and the quality of Thai democracy.

Walker explained that what is needed is social empowerment, which includes local connectedness, the involvement of citizens in various forums, reshaping of state institutions and developing countervailing power to “neutralise the power of elites”.

“There’s no exerted effort to empower people [in the UK],” Walker said, adding that the focus should be on real power and analysing sources of disempowerment, such as poverty and social disillusion, in order to create a richer and deeper democracy.

Jaeyeol Yee, a professor of sociology at Seoul National University, agreed with the relevance of social equality as a tool to gauge the level of democracy. Yee described South Korea as a society in transition marked by declining trust. Opening information and democratisation has made it more difficult to maintain an authoritarian system based on a traditional social system, he argued.

“Democratisation destroyed authoritarianism, but it also undermined the authority of major institutions that have claimed to be a source of political legitimacy,” Yee posited, adding that as a result, there is a vacancy of governance that must be filled with more rational and legal authority.

“[south] Korea is now facing the transition zone where the system based on traditional personal ties should be replaced by more transparent rule-based domination,” he said, adding that establishing transparency is the most important task in the country in order to upgrade social quality and sustainable development.

-- The Nation 2010-11-05

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EC may pounce on other MPs

By The Nation

The Election Commission is considering several cases of alleged unconstitutional shareholding in addition to the six MPs who were disqualified by the Constitution Court, election commissioner Sodsri Satayathum said yesterday.

She said the EC was waiting for the court’s full verdict, which would be referred to when the agency considers a complaint by academic Somkit Homnet that a number of other parliamentarians were also holding shares in businesses with state concessions, which is against the Constitution.

The EC will take more cases to court if it suspects the charter has been violated, Sodsri said.

-- The Nation 2010-11-05

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DISQUALIFICATIONS

Deputy ministers' future in balance

By The Nation

Boonjong

Banned MPs Boonjong and Kuerkul ‘don’t need to quit’ to run by-elections

Democrat Party secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban will discuss the future of two Cabinet members disqualified as MPs by the Constitution Court on Wednesday over unconstitutional shareholding, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday.

The prime minister said he had not discussed the matter with Deputy Interior Minister Boonjong Wongtrairat or Deputy Transport Minister Kuerkul Danchaiwijit yet.

When asked if the two should quit the Cabinet before running in the subsequent by-elections, the PM just said, “Secretary-general Suthep has been assigned to talk to them”.

Suthep said yesterday he saw no reason for Boonjong and Kuerkul to give up their Cabinet seats before running in the by-elections, as he had done before contesting the MP’s seat in Surat Thani last Saturday, which he won by a large margin. He said that in his case, it had to be done for the sake of the government’s stability. “Other people don’t have to do the same,” he added.

Bhum Jai Thai Party spokesman Supachai Jaisamut said yesterday that Boonjong would retain his Cabinet seat as he is the party’s most suitable candidate for the job and because the Constitution does not prohibit political appointees from running in an election.

“We have to be clear about this point. Please do not force other coalition parties to follow an example set by the Democrat Party,” the spokesman said, referring to the ruling party’s decision to have Suthep resign as deputy prime minister before contesting the by-election.

Boonjong said yesterday the Bhum Jai Thai Party would be meeting next week to decide whether it should field him in the Nakhon Ratchasima by-election and if it was necessary for him to quit the Cabinet first.

A Democrat source said it was likely that Bhum Jai Thai would keep Boonjong in his Cabinet seat and field his wife in the by-election instead.

Opposition Pheu Thai Party MP Jatuporn Promphan yesterday called on both Boonjong and Kuerkul, who is from the coalition Chart Thai Pattana Party, to vacate their Cabinet seats before contesting the by-elections in order to ensure they have no unfair advantage over their competitors.

Boonjong and Kuerkul are among six MPs disqualified by the Constitution Court. The other MPs are Somkietr Xanthavanij from the Democrat Party, Preechaphol Pongpanit from Pheu Thai Party, Maliwan Tanyasakulkit and MR Kittiwattana Chiayan from Puea Pandin Party.

Puea Pandin leader Charnchai Chairungruang said yesterday the party had agreed to field candidates in Surin and Nakhon Ratchasima �" where its MPs were disqualified. He said Maliwan would contest to win back her seat in Surin, while the candidate for Nakhon Ratchasima would be named in a few days.

As for the Chart Thai Pattana Party, Somsak Prisanananthakul, who is adviser to the party leader, said yesterday the party had resolved to retain Kuerkul in the Cabinet and would discuss next Tuesday whether he should be fielded in his Ayutthaya constituency.

Kuerkul yesterday expressed his readiness to contest the by-election, adding he believed the constituents still trusted in him. He said he would follow whatever decision the party’s seniors make regarding the matter, as well as whether he should resign his Cabinet seat first before contesting the by-election.

However, a government source said Chart Thai Pattana’s patriarch Banharn Silpa-archa wanted Kuerkul to be replaced as deputy transport minister because he has been holding the post for a long time. The party is waiting for Banharn to signal Kuerkul’s replacement, the source said.

Meanwhile, the opposition Pheu Thai Party resolved yesterday to field its candidates in the upcoming by-elections in the Northeast provinces of Surin, Khon Kaen and Nakhon Ratchasima, party MPs Somchai Phetprasert and Surawit Konsomboon said.

They expressed confidence that the party’s candidates would all win, though it might be a difficult task in Nakhon Ratchasima.

In a related development, Puea Pandin’s key figures will meet with Banharn in a day or two to discuss the possibility of mending ties with the ruling Democrat Party, a source from Puea Pandin said, adding that the party might be given two Cabinet seats for returning.

-- The Nation 2010-11-05

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Thai PM: State Of Emergency Likely To Be Lifted In Some Areas In Deep South

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Thai Opposition Blames Govt For Being Too Slow In Flood Response

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Singapore Airlines resume flights on its A380 superjumbos after completing technical checks, following emergency landing of Qantas plane with same engine model /MCOT

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Heavy rain in Chumporn, 2 m. deep flood in Pattalung, residents evacuated; mudslide in Kanom district in Nakorn Srithammarat /The Nation

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Bank of Thailand (BoT) monitoring impact of renewed capital inflow on baht

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Security Act to Replace Emergency Decree in South

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Major floods cost Bt32.4-54.2 billion loss to economy

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INN: 30 deaths from flood crisis in South alone; 140 nationwide; 21 districts in Nakorn Si Thammarat declared disaster zones due 2 mudslides /via @TAN_Network

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Talks on Cabinet line-up next week: Suthep

By The Nation

The coalition parties will next week meet and discuss the Cabinet line-up, Democrat Party secretary general Suthep Thaugsuban said on Friday.

"I believe the Cabinet reshuffle will be limited," he said.

Suthep said he did not expect any changes involving the Democrats would impact on quotas allocated to other coalition parties.

After winning the by-election in Surat Thani, it is widely speculated that he will resume his ministerial appointment although his new job remains unclear.

In his capacity as coalition manager, he said his precedent of quitting the Cabinet before contesting the by-election should not be applied to other cases.

"At the time, I worked close to the prime minister as government manager and overseer of security affairs, hence I should step down to avoid tainting the government for unfairness," he said.

The cases involving the two deputy ministers are under a different context, he added.

Deputy Interior Minister Boonjong Wongtrairat and Deputy Transport Minister Kuerkul Danchaivichit are poised to run for by-elections in Nakhon Ratchasima and Ayutthaya.

-- The Nation 2010-11-05

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Urgent!! (9.43) Ping pong bomb exploded inside a telephone booth in front of Labour Ministry, Din Daeng. No injuries reported /TR @preecha_Cr /via@tukky_nt

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Thai stock index opens on Friday at 1,046.39, up 14.78 points /MCOT

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Karachi airport has been shut down after plane crash /BNONews

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Bomb Explosion near Labor Ministry

A bomb exploded at a mail box near the Labor Ministry on Dindaeng Road. There have been no reports of injuries so far.

-- Tan Network 2010-11-05

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INN: explosion at mail box in front of Labor Ministry was from giant firecrackers; police believe the perpetrator only aimed to create chaos /via@TAN_Network

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High Tides on Nov 6-11 May Cause Flooding in BKK

The Royal Irrigation Department has warned that high sea tides on November 6-11 may cause flooding for communities along the Chao Phraya River bank in Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi and Bangkok.

-- Tan Network 2010-11-05

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Boonjong's wife likely to contest by-election

The Bhum Jai Thai Party is considering endorsing the candidacy of Kanchana Wongtrairat to contest the by-election in Nakhon Ratchasima, party's MP Prajak Klaewklaharn said on Friday.

"Kanchana is a party's option to avoid controversy surrounding her husband and Deputy Interior Minister Boonjong Wongtrairat," he said.

-- The Nation 2010-11-05

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Explosion at postbox in Din Daeng, no casualty; police find pingpong bomb, letter addressed to Democrat Party /MCOT

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7-Eleven Joins Thai Police in Fighting Crimes against Foreign Tourists

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