Thailand Live Friday 18 Feb 2011

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Thailand Live Friday 18 February 2011

News, Bits and Tweets

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Keep up to date with live updates from the news, hour by hour.

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Related topic: Thailand Live Thursday 17 Feb 2011

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New Finance Office to Help Grassroots People

The Finance Ministry has set up a new body to take charge of building the micro finance system and providing more extensive social protection for low-income earners.

The Bureau of Financial System Development for Public Sector has been established in line with Finance Minister Korn Jatikavanij's effort to facilitate the introduction of community banks which will serve the needs of low income earners.

The new agency will also play a role in the government's registration of the remaining informal debtors set to be concluded within this year Director of the Fiscal Policy Office, Naris Chaisut, said the bureau's work covers five aspects, namely planning the entire micro finance strategy, promoting proper

and extensive social protection for low income workers, building people's financial immunity against unnecessary debts, introducing measures to combat loansharking and creating a database to support the Finance Ministry's related projects.

The bureau is also tasked to get the business sector involved in the establishment of community welfare.

Narit said it has the goal of providing six millions low-income earners with formal financial sources this year, easier access to social welfare and income insurance scheme in 2012 and extensive social protection in 2015.

-- Tan Network 2011-02-18

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Thai Rock Stars Comdemn Concert Melee

Following Tuesday night's concert cancellation by an American metal band that led to a scene of unrest among disgruntled fans, two Thai rock stars have come out to condemn the incident and are sympathetic to the reason why the American band canceled the show.

After popular American alternative metal band Deftones abruptly canceled its Deftones Live in Bangkok concert on Tuesday night at the Thunderdome in Muang Thong Thani, both angry Thai and foreign fans wrecked the venue.

The concert organizer, Engine 9, has released a statement saying that the Deftones manager said the show was canceled due to the stage's sub-par sound and lighting quality which could affect the band members' performance.

Deftones guitarist Sergio Vega wrote on his Twitter page that the band experienced numerous technical and electrical difficulties on stage which almost electrocuted one of the band members and decided to cancel the show as it was deemed unsafe.

The lead singer of popular Thai rock band Blackhead, also set to perform on the same stage, condemned the crowd's violent reaction and felt sorry for the Thai fans who missed out on a world-class act.

The lead singer of another well-known Thai band Retrospect also condemned the violence at the concert venue and urged fans to keep their temper in check.

Many said that the violent incident and acts of vandalism were triggered by intoxicated fans outraged by the abrupt cancellation of the concert.

They said concert organizers must address such a problem and devise appropriate security measures to prevent future violence.

-- Tan Network 2011-02-18

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Defense Minister says Thailand will retaliate if Cambodia starts fires over the border

SAKEAW (NNT) -- Defense Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan said retaliation is in order to protect Thailand's sovereignty, if Cambodia opens fires first over the border.

Speaking during his trip to Sa Keao province to attend a religious ceremony, Gen. Prawit said that he has instructed the local army to remain patient and step up their defense as clashes continue to persist over the border.

He also reported that the situation around Talat Rong Kluea, which is on the Thai-Cambodian frontier, has returned to normal. Local and foreign tourists are now visiting the area again although the number of those leaving for Cambodia to gamble is lower as they are still not confident about the current situation.

-- NNT 2011-02-18

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NEW!

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Thai Doctor Warns New Bacteria Resistant To Every Antibiotic

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Bangkok Asked To Sign Ceasefire During ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting

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Riot in Ratchaburi jail kills two inmates and injures many

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PRICE CONTROLS

DSI launches probe on palm oil hoarding

By THE NATION

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PM keeps options open on ceasefire

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SPECIAL REPORT

Thailand's politicians turn to social media for election campaigning

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Laying a trail at the birthplace of Buddha

By Chularat Saengpassa

The Nation

In the Sacred Garden - the birthplace of Buddha - bricks are being placed to create a paved walkway for pilgrims from all corners of the world.

The project aims to restore this holy place to its original beauty and is dedicated to Their Majesties the King and Queen of Thailand. It is said that when Queen Mayadevi gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama here more than 2,500 years ago, the plot was lush and beautiful. Prince Siddhartha would later become Lord Buddha.

Today, millions of people are Buddhists and Thailand is arguably the biggest Buddhist country in the world.

Lumbini, which includes the Sacred Garden, a monastic enclave and New Lumbini Village, has been inscribed as a World Heritage site since 1997. Because of its status, the project has had to secure prior approval from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).

It must also be in line with the Master Plan of Lumbini, which was approved in 1978 by the United Nations and the Nepali government.

"I've pushed for the project since my visit to Lumbini last August," said Thai Pheung Thai Foundation chairwoman Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan. "Back then, I had to wade through muddy soil to the Sacred Garden and there was not even a censer."

Sudarat signed a memorandum of understanding on the restoration at the Sacred Garden on February 14.

Lumbini Development Trust (LDT) vice-chairman Acharya Karma Sangbo Sherpa, Lumbini's chief archaeologist Basanta Bidari, Thai Ambassador to Nepal Maris Sangiamponsa and the chief abbot of Lumbini's Thai temple, Phra Rajrattanarangsi, also attended the signing ceremony.

"I would like to thank Thai Buddhists for their contribution to this restoration work," Acharya Karma Sangbo Sherpa said.

Sudarat said she was happy she had the opportunity to carry out the project. It will include the construction of the walkway, three praying yards, toilets and a multipurpose pavilion. The road leading to the Sacred Garden will also be improved.

"We will also use Chaipattana aerators to clean water at the holy pond of the Sacred Garden. Buddhists can drink it safely now," Sudarat said.

His Majesty the King invented the Chaipattana aerators.

People who wish to support the project can donate money to the "Lumbini Sathan Fund": savings account number 047-255916-4, Siam Commercial Bank Lat Phrao Soi 10 branch.

Phra Rajrattanarangsi said even a donation of Bt1 or Bt5 would be welcome because he hoped all Thais could make merit through this project together.

Maris described the project as a milestone in Thai-Nepalese relations.

Sudarat plans to officially announce the project in Thailand on March 1. Basanta Bidari Somdej Phra Phutthajarn, the abbot of Wat Saket (commonly known as the Golden Mount), will be present.

Basanta Bidari has worked in Lumbini for more than 25 years. He discovered the Marker Stone, which is believed to have been used to mark the exact birthplace of Prince Siddhartha.

-- The Nation 2011-02-18

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Lin Ping 'to stay in Thailand for two more years'

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Eric Clapton - Rocking chair with jet engines

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UPDATE

Nationwide raid on sellers of 'Big Eye' lenses ordered

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Bangkok district offices open to complaints

By The Nation

Complaints into justice system invited Under a pilot project, Bangkok's Taling Chan, Din Daeng, Dusit and Don Muang district offices will soon begin collecting complaints from people who believe they have been unfairly treated by the justice system, the Government House website reports.

At a meeting yesterday to follow through the Thailand Reform progress, it was reported that the complaintp-gathering centres at the four district offices would be open from February 28 onwards before expanding to all provinces.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who presided over the meeting, urged authorities to set a clear guideline for collecting complaints - including how long each approach takes, the clear answer provided, if there is one, obstacles encountered, and success indicators.

-- The Nation 2011-02-18

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Four common bacteria strains see high drug resistance

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Men become cremation monks

By The Nation

A total of 239 Buddhist men went to Wat Pa Ban Tad yesterday morning to apply to be ordained as monks for the cremation ceremony of highly revered monk Luangta Maha Bua Yanasampanno.

Among them was American national Joshua Williamson, 25, who intends to become a monk for life.

After attending the alms offering ceremony, applying to take part in the project and taking blood tests, the applicants - many of whom had ordained as Buddhist novices before - had their heads shaved and attended an orientation session by senior monks.

As part of re-landscaping for the March 5 cremation ceremony, the temple will dismantle former deputy abbot Phra Ajarn Panya Panyawuttho's crematorium to make way for a large plaza or garden.

-- The Nation 2011-02-18

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AD-HOC panel to study six more Projects

By Pongphon Sarnsamak

THE NATION

An ad-hoc Independent Commission on Environment and Health (ICEH) will study six industrial projects in Map Ta Phut and Nakhon Si Thammarat for their environmental and health impact, before it forwards the report to relevant agencies.

The projects to be studied are an ethylene oxide plant owned by TOC Glycol; a vinyl-chloride monomer plant owned by Thai Plastic and Chemicals; Aisco Resources' steel-melting plant, waste-gas recycling and production plant owned by Bangkok Synthetics; propylene manufacturing unit owned by IRPC; and a petroleum production project run by Chevron Thailand.

In addition, two industrial projects in Map Ta Phut are willing to conduct environmental and health impact assessments (EHIA) even though they are not on the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry's list of 11 harmful projects.

ICEH's chairperson Veerawat Teeraprasart said the ethylene oxide plant run by TOC Glycol on Hemaraj Eastern Industrial Estate would be the first project for the ICEH to consider once the Office of Natural Resources and Environment Policy and Planning (ONEP) finishes studying the assessment report.

Veerawat said the National Environmental Board's expert panel had studied the report submitted by TOC Glycol and asked the project's consultants to revise and resubmit it.

"We will take 60 days to study the assessment and give additional comments," he said.

In a move to speed up the consideration process, ICEH had previously set up a sub panel to collect information and opinions from experts and residents related to the project before the project owners submit their report to ICEH.

The sub-panel will spend 30 days studying the assessment and collecting related information before sending it to the ICEH. After that, the ICEH will spend another 30 days reading the assessment and providing additional comments before sending it to agencies for approval.

-- The Nation 2011-02-18

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Teachers get raise

By The Nation

Some 400,000 teachers nationwide will soon get salary hikes equivalent to those of civil servants, after Parliament yesterday unanimously passed draft legislation governing teachers' salaries.

Education Minister Chinnaworn Boonyakiat said teachers paid by the Education Ministry would get an 8 per cent raise from March.

Like civil servants, teachers will then receive a further 5 per cent raise from April 1. Teachers' academic standing money will also get a hike.

-- The Nation 2011-02-18

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Marine scientists offer Bt2-bn plan to save coral

By The Nation

Marine scientists from 11 universities want the problem of coral bleaching and deterioration to be made part of the national agenda, a Bangkok seminar was told yesterday.

A master plan, which requires Bt2 billion and direct government involvement, had been worked out by the lecturers and handed over to the prime minister last year, Sak-anant Plathong from Prince of Songkla University said.

"However, no progress was made until media broke the news about coral being bleached at several marine national parks, which later prompted the closure of seven diving sites in just two weeks," he said.

He added that the closures ordered by the Department of National Park Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) were the right decision, but not based on the latest information, because the Adang-Rawee site off the coast of Krabi had been shut down unnecessarily.

The department should have taken action last May, when the lecturers gave it the master plan ahead of the high season, he said, adding: "The DNP just said it had no money."

Among the proposals in the master plan is a three-part mechanism that involves tourism operators and prevents huge business losses while gaining support and cooperation for the conservation of coral reefs and other marine lives.

The other measures include legal action against industrial waste being illegally discharged into the sea, illegal fishing in coral areas and garbage being dropped from ships taking divers or tourists to diving sites. Some of the strict measures proposed are prohibiting snorkelling in shallow waters and stringent regulations on the construction of factories or industrial operations in areas close to the shore.

"An integral management of the coral-reef issue with direct government involvement is needed to ensure that the problems are dealt with systematically. A one-time Bt2-million budget is tiny compared with the annual Bt100 billion earned in revenue from tourism," Sak-anant said.

-- The Nation 2011-02-18

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Electoral revamp proposed by Sombat panel

By THE NATION

The Sombat Thamrongthanyawong panel is drawing flak for making sweeping recommendations about revamping the electoral system, as coalition and opposition members continue to voice scepticism.

The Democrats see this proposed revamp as the wrong remedy, while the opposition considers the panel a lapdog trying to help this coalition cling to power.

At the centre of the contention are two issues - doing away with the censure debate and giving the party with the most popular votes the first chance to form a government.

In reaction to the panel's recommendations, Pheu Thai MP Jatuporn Promphan said he could not accept the idea of an electoral victory based on popular votes instead of actual House seats won.

Jatuporn said the Sombat panel had suspiciously floated the same idea as that of the Democrat campaign strategist Korbsak Sabhavasu.

The Democrats know that they cannot defeat the opposition in the race for constituency votes, and are therefore making a deceitful attempt to hijack Pheu Thai's victory, Jatuporn said.

He added that censure should never be barred, especially in a country that is still plagued by corruption.

Pheu Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit said he suspected panel chairman Sombat was a henchman tasked with rewriting electoral rules so they favour the Democrats. Rules that condone the powers-that-be to cling to dominance will only push back democracy, he said. If the idea of discarding censure debates goes through, it would break the parliamentary system that Thailand has been following since 1932, he explained.

Pathum Thani senator Paiboon Sumsiripong said he also disagreed with the proposal of eliminating the appointment system for senators. He said that even though he personally was an elected senator, his colleagues who had been appointed to the upper chamber had made invaluable contributions.

Education Minister Chinnaworn Boonyakiat, who is also a Democrat MP, said these proposed changes were misguided because they did not address two crucial issues - corruption and people's involvement in politics. The political system would remain weak as long as people lacked the necessary education to develop a civil society, he said.

He also voiced concern that the attempt to strengthen political stability might be done at the expense of weakening checks and balances. Without censure, there would be no way of checking on the government's performance or curb runaway power, he said.

Chinnaworn also said some of the proposals appeared to be conflicting. For instance, there is one proposal about strengthening party-list MPs, while another proposal says that party membership should be downgraded in order to allow more independent MPs.

Sombat said the opposition to his committee's ideas was expected, because the proposals were meant for the public's interest and politicians would fight back if they ended up losing their personal interest.

He said the panel had not proposed the highlighting of party-list MPs to favour the Democrat Party, adding that previously the parties that won the most votes were the now-defunct Thai Rak Thai and People Power Party.

In 2007, Pheu Thai had 33 party-list and 161 constituency MPs, while the Democrats had 33 party-list and 139 constituency MPs.

"People are attacking me for favouring the Democrat Party, as if I want to run in the elections under the party's banner. That's not true. I still want to be [National Institute of Development Administration] president. I can be more useful as [NIDA's] president than a politician," he said.

-- The Nation 2011-02-18

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Senators step down ahead of term end

By NERISA NERYKHIEW

THE NATION

As many as 67 of the 74 appointed senators of the 150-member Senate resigned yesterday in the hope of getting reappointed.

The mass resignation came just one day before the senators' initial three-year term comes to an end officially today.

The Constitution prohibits any person from holding a senator's post for two consecutive terms. But the current appointed senators - the first group after the charter became effective in 2007 - are exempted as their term is three years, and not six years like elected senators from each of the country's 76 provinces.

However, many of the appointed senators are worried that because they will have stay on as caretaker senators when the selection process begins, it would prevent them from being eligible for the selection, as the charter also prohibits political-office holders from becoming senators.

Yesterday's mass resignation left only seven appointed senators remaining in the upper House - Senate Speaker Prasobsook Boondech, Ruangkrai Leekitwattana, MR Preeyanantana Rangsit, Varin Thiemcharas, Urai Kunananthakul, Admiral Narong Yutthawong and Lieutenant Bhumisak Hongyok.

Varin said yesterday that he and Preeyanantana would resign just before the selection process begins, because they did not see any need for an early resignation.

With the resignation of many appointed senators, their elected colleagues are worried that the legislation process for many laws might be affected. These include the mid-year budget and a law authorising MPs and senators to summon people for information.

There might be cases where the votes, either for or against the law, would not reach 75 - half the total senators.

Some senatorial committees might also face similar problems because each panel needs nine to 15 members.

However, Prasobsook said he believes the senatorial meeting could take place with the remaining senators and that laws such as the mid-year budget would get passed.

-- The Nation 2011-02-18

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Insurgents kill two, leave trap

By The Nation

Insurgents yesterday murdered two men at a garage in the deep South province of Pattani, leaving behind a booby-trapped motorcycle that failed to explode at the scene.

In a separate incident in the same province, a soldier was shot and killed.

In the first incident in Khok Pho district, four gunmen pretending to be clients shot dead garage owner Somphob Kaewsunee and mechanic Sawas Salahame before fleeing.

Police noticed a suspicious motorcycle hidden among many at the scene and found three kilograms of explosives in it.

The motorcycle, which had a Pattani licence plate, was taken outside and caught fire after a high-power water gun was shot at it in an attempt to defuse the bomb. The fire went on for half an hour before an explosion occurred.

The explosives were set to be detonated by signals from a two-way radio but may have failed because the circuit was not well connected, police ordnance experts said.

In Yarang district, Sergeant Abdulloh Kalong was shot by two men on a motorcycle while he was travelling on his own bike. The victim was killed instantly while his wife, riding pillion, sustained minor injuries from the fall.

Pattani is currently hosting a five-day festival of worship for a Chinese goddess that ends on Saturday. Security will remain tight until most tourists, mainly Buddhists, leave the province.

Elsewhere in the three southernmost and predominately Muslim provinces, Buddhist ceremonies marking Makha Bucha Day today will be heavily protected by security officials, especially during candlelit walks after dusk, the most vulnerable period for insurgent attacks.

Yesterday in Muang district in Yala, a rubber-tapper sustained minor injuries from a roadside bomb that was detonated by a trip wire.

-- The Nation 2011-02-18

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PM Abhisit Ready for Talks with PAD Leaders

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Suvarnabhumi named fifth best airport

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Red shirts from Lampang are leaving for BKK now. They will attend a major rally here tomorrow. /RT @nationnews /via@Urisara_NT

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COMMENT

Thailand and Cambodia need a 'Jimmy Carter' mediator

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AFP: Rights Groups Press Thailand On Rohingya Boat People

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[Maestro]

to be continued

Thailand Live Saturday 19 February