'Science for society' is new Thai govt theme

[webfact]

INTERVIEW
'Science for society' is new govt theme
Jintana Panyaarvudh
The Nation


Yongyuth

New deputy PM wants to improve social welfare, to end 'statelessness'

BANGKOK: -- Science under the military administration will become "science for society" instead of "science for the economy", Deputy Prime Minister Yongyuth Yutthawong has said.

"It will be the first time that science will be used to serve society but not the economy. Society is the most important frontier these days, so science has to go for that direction," said Yongyuth in an exclusive interview with Nation Multimedia Group.

One of his ideas to serve this purpose revolves around engaging technology to help entrepreneurs running small and medium-sized businesses. For example, connecting more of these entrepreneurs with technology to improve their businesses.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has yet to allocate duties for his deputies but Yongyuth is expected to oversee education, public health, science, plus social development and human security.

Prayuth's Cabinet has around one year to get things done. Although it's a short period, the Cabinet will try to lay the foundation for the next government, Yongyuth said.

He said his top priorities included improving social welfare. And while the Bt300-minimum wage initiated by the ousted Yingluck Shinawatra government was a good policy, he said the most important thing was educating people on how to make a living.

"I want to see Thais get out of the middle income trap as the PM mentioned. So we need to use knowledge to fight against poverty so that everybody will have a better life," he said. Yongyuth also wants to see an increase in the competitiveness of Thai people, which education will play a vital role in achieving.

Education has shifted from teaching to learning but most teachers did not understand that, he said, adding that teachers should change their role from teaching to coaching or guidance. In this matter, he said, information technology would help them too.

He said tackling illegal migrant labour and preserving jobs for Thai workers and how to solve the problem of stateless people and the granting of citizenship to them were also his priorities.

The 70-year-old technocrat is also an adviser to the National Council for Peace and Order on science and technology. He was a science minister in General Surayud Chulanont's government in 2006-07.

He was also the director of the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology for six years before becoming the first director of the National Science and Technology Development Agency, a position he held for six years.

Yongyuth, who is the oldest minister in the Cabinet, said Prayuth's 33 Cabinet members' accumulative age was 1999. The average age was 62 - the same average age as Surayud's government.

The youngest minister is Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, who is 54.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Science-for-society-is-new-govt-theme-30242760.html


-- The Nation 2014-09-08

[chainarong]

The Deputy P.M. Has been well educated by the PTP, all talk no substance , this science for society is in the realms of a fiction writers dream, Thailand has much more on it's plate that to try to become Asia's silicon valley, matter of fact there's plenty of programmes either running or being planned that cost enormous amounts of money and as Abhisit pointed out the other day, because of the former Governments populist policy's the cupboard is looking bear, the only thing working over time in Thailand will be the currency printing press operators, fortunately like the PTP promises , this science for society will never be heard of after today.

[NongKhaiKid]

There's lots of basics to be sorted out first before flying off at a tangent to make things sound good and the speaker to sound important.

[robsamui]

BOSS: OK everyone - listen up. We have to sound progressive and snappy here. So my new idea is we gonna do something with science - that's modern, isn't it? Right then. Science iit is.

SOMBAT: Such as?

BOSS: Erm . . . well, kind of . . . technology things. Technology can help businesses. Everyone knows that. Everyone will like that.

SOMBAT: Well, what kind of technology things?

BOSS: The sort of technology . . . that . . . um . . . that connects more of these entrepreneurs with technology to improve their businesses, of course! Hey that's good! I'll put it in my speech.

SOMBAT: But what sort of technology?

BOSS: Ahhh - oh, you know, the technical sort. Like we have in our schools, remember?

SOMBAT: Like those iTablet pad things?
BOSS: Ah - well - maybe not that technical . . .

Edited September 8, 2014 by robsamui

[Rorri]

Sorry, but how does "One of his ideas to serve this purpose revolves around engaging technology to help entrepreneurs running small and medium-sized businesses. For example, connecting more of these entrepreneurs with technology to improve their businesses." become science for society, to me it's still economy.

[rickirs]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

The Deputy P.M. Has been well educated by the PTP, all talk no substance , this science for society is in the realms of a fiction writers dream, Thailand has much more on it's plate that to try to become Asia's silicon valley, matter of fact there's plenty of programmes either running or being planned that cost enormous amounts of money and as Abhisit pointed out the other day, because of the former Governments populist policy's the cupboard is looking bear, the only thing working over time in Thailand will be the currency printing press operators, fortunately like the PTP promises , this science for society will never be heard of after today. width=19 alt=bah.gif>

"all talk no substance"

It's called "pandering." A technocrat without a government is a "fish out of water." iI you want to be part of the current "government, you talk-the-talk that the Junta likes to hear. He obviously found a pond to swim in. What he calls "science for society" is probably more accurately called "social engineering" - the manipulation of people to influence their attitudes and social behaviors on a large scale. When exercised by governments, this process is known as a propoganda machine. Such a great start for re-establishing the foundations of democracy.

[recycled]

How many hours do these clowns spend googling to come up with this useless, ineffectual clap trap. What the country needs is for all the unintelligent fossils to silently melt into the background, a good education system put into place run by younger intelligent people, and a massive amount of international expertise to be imported.

[Fullstop]

'Science for society' is new govt theme

..."but were still gonna hang on to the ghosts. We need something to blame when planes skid off the runways and trains fall over...."

[Maroon Watcher]

... but we have to pay science teachers more!

Why?

[me313]

What it really means is taxes will be more easily connected to a system of increased surveillance. For example, in Germany when a restaurant puts an order and the bill into their computer system, the German govt. automatically records the tax for the meal, so it ensures it's cut of the transaction. There is no escape from it. Soon this will be the plight of this "promising" technology for society in Thailand.