Pm And Cabinet Visit Samui, Nearby Isles

[Lite Beer]

PM and Cabinet visit Samui, nearby isles

The Nation on Sunday

KOH SAMUI: -- Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra led her Cabinet on the start of a three-day tour of the South, touring Surat Thani province yesterday, which is a Democrat Party stronghold.

The PM visited the tourist isles of Koh Samui, Koh Tao and Koh Pha-ngan yesterday.

The Cabinet stayed on Samui last night and ministers are due to visit Nakhon Si Thammarat today.

Billboards and signs welcoming the premier and her ministers were seen in many places she travelled to. Yingluck visited Koh Tao Health Promotion Hospital yesterday. She also visited Tharnsadej Natural Reserve on Koh Pha-ngan, placed a wreath in front of a statue of King Chulalongkorn and visited Thong Sala fresh market on the island.

Today, the PM will chair an economic meeting between the government and private sector on

Samui before visiting Nakhon Si Thammarat and chairing a Cabinet meeting at Surat Thani Rajabhat University tomorrow.

Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said he wants the government to lay down plans for long-term flood prevention in the south and well as reconstructing flood-damaged infrastructure and seeking more sources of freshwater, especially on Samui, which is an important tourism destination.

Abhisit said he had no details about the planned Donsak airport in Surat Thani province but urged the government to consider the demands of local people.

Abhisit assured the government no supporters of the Democrats would stage any protest against Yingluck and the Cabinet while in the area, though some may submit petition notices.

On her weekly TV programme yesterday, the PM described the "success" of the recently concluded Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) in Kuwait with Thailand as a coordinating nation. She said Thailand had offered to host the next ACD meeting in 2015 in Bangkok.

Yingluck said she also met with the prime minister of Kuwait to discuss many issues and thanked Kuwait in supporting Thailand in the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) with regard to the Deep South. The premier said she had asked Kuwait for more scholarships for Thai-Malay Muslims from the Deep South.

The prime minister said while there were only about 60,000 visitors from Kuwait to Thailand each year, the government was considering extending the length of visas they can get from 30 days to 90 days.

Yingluck said she also met with her Pakistani counterpart, and said that with Pakistan's 176 million population there was much room for increased bilateral trade in energy, motors, food and jewellery.

Meanwhile, cultural and religious exchanges were discussed with the Sri Lankan leader, along with exploration of trade and relations with Tajikistan officials. Tajikistan was also a supporter of Thailand in the OIC, she noted.

-- The Nation 2012-10-21

[Noistar]

My usual scepitism about PM does this, that or the other remains.

It will be interesting to see how her (long overdue) visit into Opposition territory goes.

Will she receive similar attention to the 'welcome' afforded to Abhisit at CM?

On a positive note, it's about time this Government realised that Thailand isn't just the big mass of red north of Bangkok.

Like Abhisit when he was PM, a bit of on the ground fact–finding will never go astray.

Lets hope it's not just a PR exercise. I would love to be proved wrong when I think the ruling party never think of the good of Thailand.

Lets see what happens.

[asiawatcher]

Sounds to me like the PM may be well intentioned but taking the 'cabinet' with you? Lunches, hotels, per diems, flights?

[rubl]

Abhisit assured the government no supporters of the Democrats would stage any protest against Yingluck and the Cabinet while in the area, though some may submit petition notices.

Democrats! Playing by the rules, no fun at all. Beaches with pebbles and no protests. Wussies.

BTW all you who live down there be warned. The other newspaper mentions that the PM plans to find time to visit the southern provinces more often !

[animatic]

Sounds to me like the PM may be well intentioned but taking the 'cabinet' with you? Lunches, hotels, per diems, flights?

Not to mention the horrendous traffic problems they will cause with

ALL the combined minivans, staff vehicles, police escorts and road block offs,

expected from bringing all these PTP masters of the Universe into essentially hostile territory.

100-120 official vehicles, moving in more than one direction, all demanding

safe right of way over everyone else. And then the delivery vehicles they make late,

driving like morons, to not be docked pay for not making their routes on time or in total.

All this for a political grandstanding operation that is highly unlikely to see more

tax revenue dispersed in local godfather/ex. Dep. PM Suthep Thuagsuban's home base.

Where is the upside for Samuians?

Edited October 21, 2012 by animatic

[nurofiend]

Sounds to me like the PM may be well intentioned but taking the 'cabinet' with you? Lunches, hotels, per diems, flights?

they only went to mushroom mountain on kpg, they didn't spend a lot of money after that.

[Halion]

WHAT IS THE RATIONALE IN CALLING THE THREE SOUTHERN PROVINCES "THE DEEP SOUTH"

It is the south or southern Thailand. I find the reference rather idiotic and theatrical.

[whybother]

WHAT IS THE RATIONALE IN CALLING THE THREE SOUTHERN PROVINCES "THE DEEP SOUTH"

It is the south or southern Thailand. I find the reference rather idiotic and theatrical.

There are many southern provinces. These three are the most southern.

[noitom]

"Deep South" is a code phrase for "them."

[noitom]

In a previous story about this trip yesterday in this news site, it was billed as a "Thai government plans to 'promote' and 'develop' Thai islands. Regardless of the news flip on this to make it look different from yesterday, the purpose is more than likely to 'promote' and 'develop' as originally stated in the news yesterday. So here is how that can be clarified as to what 'promote' and 'develop' actually amount to.

"Promote" and "develop" means first get all the land titles altered and in the right hands. Once the chanotes are held by the "right" people, then development is announced. This means that a few Caterpillar earth movers will be seen around and the work sites will be dotted with Burmese and Bangladeshis in hard hats milling around moving dirt. Then signs will go up that "luxury" condos are only a few are available for a "limited time only" on a four payment "scheme." Once some money has changed hands for down payments from some farangs buying on the Thai come bet for four five years out the promotion accelerates.

Then the "promote" starts to happen. Real estate agents and brokers and travel agents will start taking pop up ads on Internet sites, tour brokers and travel agents will get some of the down payment skim and "promote" the new Thai island destination and investment. BOI will schedule "investment" meetings. Once new tours and bookings show an increase, a few trucks will be seen unloading a few bails of rusty metal rods and a big pilon hole driller will show up, all to make the "promotion" and the "development" look authentic.

The police will start recruiting for new "franchisees." Girls will be interviewed for hard to get window seats in a few newly leased bars on the main unfinished road. The local big men will hire an "expert" to write an investment grant for US Trade Development to finish the road in from the airport and agree to the skim cut by the girls.

Hotels and resorts will provided Thai government signware stating that no poisonous chemicals are used in cleaning the rooms or ridding them of vermin. Bars and restaurants will get complementary signware stating that "absolutely no DEET used in beverages." Street vendors are approved for a certain skim amount for their spots and for new police hire uniforms, and they are provided with complementary free signware stating that "all fish balls are poison puffer fish free - guaranteed."

Girls will be approved for bar work, food will be prepared, tourists will check in, the CATs will keep drilling and hammering, the illegal hard hats from Burma and Bangladesh will keep eating rice on the side of the project waiting for the Thai trucks to deliver cement and sand, traffic will come to a stop, motorcycle taxis will proliferate, tourists will keep coming, a few will get suckered into a down payment for a luxury condo, skim money will keep flowing. TAT will claim business is booming in the Thai islands. The cycle will repeat over and over.

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