Jatupat, 25, better known as Pai Dao Din, was charged after sharing an online BBC Thai article about the monarchy in early December.

Anusorn Unno, a key member of the Thai Academic Network for Civil Rights, along with around 10 fellows, submitted the petition signed by more than 300 national and foreign academics. The group also called on the courts to help revive people’s “faith in justice”.

Jatupat was the only person charged with violating the lese majeste law and the Computer Crime Act for posting the BBC Thai article on his Facebook page, despite more than 2,000 others sharing it. He was initially released on Bt400,000 bail.

A Khon Kaen police officer later petitioned the court, saying Jatupat continued to incite the public on social media and he could tamper with evidence if he were to remain free. Further posts on his Facebook page while on bail were deemed to have ridiculed authorities.

The court cancelled Jatupat’s bail, saying he had violated its conditions. The Appeal Court upheld the first court’s ruling and the Supreme Court later upheld rulings by both courts.

Earlier this month, Jatupat’s legal team made another attempt to secure bail but the application was again rejected.

He is under his fifth round of 12-day detention. The maximum is 84 days.

Anusorn, a sociology scholar at Thammasat University, said revocation of Jatupat’s bail as well as his renewed request for bail should be subject to the court’s consideration when the right to temporary release is applied via legitimate channels.

Legally speaking, a person is regarded as innocent until a final court delivers its verdict, Anusorn said. In the longer term, the courts should help protect people’s rights.

MEDIA ORGANISATIONS nationwide issued a joint statement yesterday against the media regulation bill, calling on the National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) to drop the draft and threatening to step up their opposition to the measures until their voices are heard.

But the NRSA members insisted that they would continue pushing the draft, saying it would be benefit media outlets.

At the Thai Journalists Association office, scores of media practitioners gathered yesterday to discuss the contentious bill and show resistance to the NRSA’s media reform panel, as it is listed on the agenda of the reform body’s meeting today.

If the bill is backed by the NRSA today, it will be forwarded to the Cabinet and the National Legislative Assembly for consideration.

After two hours of consultation yesterday, Confederation of Thai Journalists president Thepchai Yong read out a joint statement.

It denounced the embattled bill as restricting press freedom rather than protecting it by opening the way for state authorities to interfere in the media’s affairs through the so-called Media Professional Council.

Besides having a direct impact on the press, the council would also limit people’s freedom of expression and access to information, the group said.

“We call on the NRSA to drop the bill and review the necessity for such legislation. If not, we will step up our measures against the bill,” the group warned.

The Confederation said media outlets had been developing a system of self-regulation to ensure media responsibility and to meet the public’s changing demands.

The statement was endorsed by 30 media organisations from both local and national levels. They include major groups like the Thai Journalists Association, Thai Broadcast Journalists Association, and Society of Online News Providers, plus regional groups such the Network of Southern Journalists and Network of Northern Journalists.

Thepchai said media organisations had never objected to regulation, but the mechanism that would be set up if the regulatory bill were passed did not allow self-regulation and media would be controlled by state authorities.

The Media Professional Council, a key feature of the proposed bill, would play a crucial role in regulation of the press, he said. It would be made up of 13 members, four of whom would be permanent secretaries from the Office of the Prime Minister, plus the Finance, Culture and the Digital Economy and Society ministries.

‘Political proxies’

“What this means is that media regulation would fall under political influence,” Thepchai said. “The permanent secretary is the highest position in the civil service career, but it is appointed by politicians. So, they would be nothing but politicians’ proxies.”

The media profession council would have authority – like “a blank cheque”, he said – to issue regulations, including qualifications and rules regarding media licences.

The council could revoke a group’s licence if practitioners failed to comply with regulations. Thepchai said the balance of power would be lost if politicians could check and scrutinise the press when it should be the other way around – with the media scrutinising politicians.

“The media is one important pillar in the checks and balances system in democracy, as it scrutinises and boosts transparency in politics,” the journalists’ federation president said. “But when they are vulnerable to this kind of legal and political power, it poses a big question – to what extent the media can maintain their role in scrutinising state authority, political authority, or interests groups.”

He said the bill posed a threat to press freedom and the public’s right to access news and information.

Journalists proposed self-regulation as a more appropriate way to ensure media responsibility. They said their news outlets were also regulated by other mechanisms such as the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission and defamation laws.

Meanwhile, Air Chief Marshal Kanit Suwannet, head of the NRSA’s media reform committee, said the reformers believed private media outlets and the public sector must cooperate to find the best solution.

Kanit said having four permanent secretaries sit on the Media Professional Council would support the media rather than be a stumbling block to press freedom. Such a set-up would also create a balance between the state and the media, he told The Nation. “I don’t think permanent secretaries, who are the most senior civil servants, would do anything to interfere with the media. More importantly, I don’t think the media can be controlled,” Kanit said.

“The NRSA is not responsible for writing the regulations, the professional council will be. So, you can lay down anything you think appropriate. It’s still under your control.”

Danger of control over news industry

Issues of concern in the National Reform Steering Assembly’s proposed “media reform” bill

Media organisations are opposing the regulatory bill and insisting on self-regulation due to the following concerns:

The bill proposes a so-called Media Professional Council, which would have the power to dictate media regulations and a code of conduct, as well as issue or revoke press licences that are needed to practise journalism. Such powers could result in total control of the media.

The bill could open the door to political influence and |control of the media as the |professional council would comprise four permanent |secretaries who could be |proxies for politicians.

Natapon Nimmanphatcharin, deputy director of Thailand’s National Food Institute (NFI), pointed out that at least five key industries in the country had manpower problems.

He was speaking at the international forum “Moving Across the Middle Income Trap Border through Human Capacity Building” at Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna in Chiang Mai.

Ramhari Lamichhane, director-general of the Philippines’ Colombo Plan Staff College, said issues with social and entrepreneurial skills were among the challenges in delivering skilled workforce development in Asean.

The Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna organised the event to celebrate its 12th years as a university. Though founded about four decades ago, it was initially a college.

“We believe in human capacity building because human resources are the driving force for the country’s industrial sector and economy. We believe quality human resources will improve quality of life and finally bring Thailand out of the middle-income trap,” the university’s president Dr Namyut Songthanapitak said.

Thailand has been a middle-income country for decades, raising concerns among various sectors that if all parties involved do not take a new approach now, the country will not become a rich state.

The government is promoting the Thailand 4.0 concept, which calls for an innovation-driven economy. With innovations, it is hoped Thailand would escape the middle-income zone and soar higher.

Assoc Prof Dr Thiti Bovornratanaraks, a policy fellow at the National Science Technology and Innovation Policy Office, believed it would be a good idea to integrate work with learning.

At the international forum, his speech focused on the science, technology and innovation (STI) work-integrated learning programme.

“Work-integrated Learning [WiL] can give the quality of human resources that employers want,” Thiti said.

Learning programmes

He added that such an initiative was also good to students as by the time they graduated, they would have better skills and would be able to move up career paths with higher salary.

According to Thiti, government agencies and companies including Michelin and Central Pattana have engaged the STI WiL learning programmes.

Thiti, however, hopes that more firms join this bandwagon.

Wichien Cherdchutrakuntong, a vice chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) Chiang Mai chapter, said demand and supply did not match when it came to human resources in Thailand.

“Overall, educational institutes produce graduates they want but the country’s industrial sector needs something different,” he said.

He believed FTI had tried to solve problems by developing a curriculum with many universities and improving faculty-staff skills.

Wichien added that FTI had also worked hard on research but he believed that more needed to be done.

“Most of our research does not have real commercial value yet,” he said.

Despite the gloomy situation, hope has sprung in Chiang Mai. In this northern province, the Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna, with a contribution from Prof Kiyoshi Yoshikawa, has implemented a project to improve the quality of life among Thai farmers. This initiative involves the application of useful findings from Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna research.

“For example, based on our research, we can create nano bubble generators that help keep fish fresh longer,” Yoshikawa said at the forum in his capacity as the university’s research advisor.

This Japanese academic pointed out that even though Thais are relatively happy compared with the rest of the world, there was room for improvement.

According to the World Happiness Report 2016, Thailand ranked 33rd.

The laid-back lifestyle among Thai people, particularly farmers, is visible, and the clear problem is that Thailand’s agricultural productivity is inferior to other nations.

Yoshikawa emphasised the need to use technology to empower farmers on this front.

“It is possible to make Thais even happier and comfortable by introducing advanced technologies,” Yoshikawa said.

The attack happened at 1am yesterday at Amphawan Temple in Moo 1 village of Tambon Lat Krathing in Sanam Chai Khet district.

Police said three teenagers died at the scene and another died at Sanam Chai Khet Hospital. Four others were severely injured and another has been discharged from hospital after suffering slight injuries.

The explosion caused a 40-centimetre-wide and 20cm-deep hole.

Saneh Thamkham, an assistant village headman of Moo 6 village, said the temple fair ended at 11.30pm on Saturday night but two groups of teenagers stayed in the area, until a conflict erupted leading to the fatal grenade attack.

The temple fair began on Thursday and was supposed to end tonight. Saneh added that he was surprised that the teenagers had been drawn to the venue as it only featured traditional shows, not contemporary music concerts.

Pol Captain Banthom Ramaphat, a deputy crime inspector of Sanam Chai Khet police |station, said forensic officers had collected |evidence at the scene and police were seeking to arrest the perpetrator of the attack.