Thai Govt's Database Woes Continue For Second Day

[webfact]

Govt's database woes continue for second day

Boonlua Promprathankul,

Chanikarn Phumhirun

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Most district offices and their service units were unable to issue national identification cards for a second consecutive day yesterday due to census-database problems.

"The computer system is slow," Interior Ministry spokesman Pipatchai Paiboon said yesterday. "We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused."

Although census data could be retrieved from a backup server, the computer system experienced serious slowdowns.

Therefore, most district offices could only register deaths, births and new household registrations.

"The computer system has caused us headaches and much trouble for people," Muang Ranong district chief Surat Akarawirojkul said.

The nationwide problem prompted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to hold discussions with Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit and Interior Ministry permanent secretary Phranai Suwannarat.

An informed source said Yongyuth blamed the system's ageing mainframe for the hiccup.

After emerging from the discussions, Yingluck said the mainframe should have been replaced many years ago, but due to complaints about alleged irregularities in the procurement plan, the replacement had not taken place.

"We will consult relevant authorities as to what we should do next," she said.

According to the informed source, the controversial procurement plan had stalled since being forwarded to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

The Election Commission (EC), meanwhile, said the database glitch would not affect the by-election in Chiang Mai's Constituency 3.

"Voters can exercise their right during advance voting on May 27 or on the actual by-election day of June 2," election commissioner Praphan Naigowit said.

-- The Nation 2012-05-19

[noitom]

So they can't validate ID cards, how will they validate a citizen's authorization to vote and vote once?

[Marvo]

According to the informed source, the controversial procurement plan had stalled since being forwarded to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

The NACC were waiting for their kick-back before letting it through

Edited May 19, 2012 by Marvo

[inquisitive]

Last week I accompanied a Thia national to Burirum where she was selling some property. She had divorced her husband ten years ago and bought the property for investment five years later in her name alone. When she went to register the new sale she was told that she needed her husband's signature. It seems that her "state-of-the-art" and expensive new national identification card did not even contain the fact that she had not been married for years before the card was even issued! It kind of makes you wonder what information the chips on the ID cards actually contain.

Oh, and to prove she was unmarried, she had to make a personal visit to yet another building where they looked up her paper records - again making one wonder what the computer database is for and what it contains. Am I the only one, or are there others that think something might be wrong here?

[anterian]

Each year I go to immigration to renew my retirement visa, each year I fill in forms and supply photocopies of others. Never a computer in sight, where does all this paperwork go. Incidentally, 8 years ago when I first started down this road I had great problems, it seemed my village did not show up on the national database.

[samran]

Last week I accompanied a Thia national to Burirum where she was selling some property. She had divorced her husband ten years ago and bought the property for investment five years later in her name alone. When she went to register the new sale she was told that she needed her husband's signature. It seems that her "state-of-the-art" and expensive new national identification card did not even contain the fact that she had not been married for years before the card was even issued! It kind of makes you wonder what information the chips on the ID cards actually contain.

Oh, and to prove she was unmarried, she had to make a personal visit to yet another building where they looked up her paper records - again making one wonder what the computer database is for and what it contains. Am I the only one, or are there others that think something might be wrong here?

I've got a Thai ID card and I have to say that the computer system usually is pretty good making government transactions efficient and quick.

You name it. Tax, car rego, passports and immigration. All much easier than the equivalents in Australia and the UK where I have also lived.

So the computer server is down. It is pretty rare though.