His statement said the purchase is uncalled for as Thailand is still suffering from an economic slowdown and that a new government has yet to be formed.

“Making such a move at a time when all eyes on the shaping of a new government is a shameful attempt to avoid criticism,” Srisuwan’s statement said.

He also questioned whether the purchase would benefit Army chief General Apirat Kongsompong, who completed his Masters’ in the US and had undergone extensive training there since initially serving as First Army Region chief until he became known as an “American-style Army chief”.

Srisuwan’s statement argued that the move also went against the policy of Asean countries, which are aiming to reduce weaponry and shifting their focus to establishing strong economies that narrow social gaps and promote people’s well-being.

“Thais are facing difficulties from economic slowdown, with farm products fetching historically low prices. Why would the Army want to step back to the old era of war and buy weapons? Wouldn’t it be better if no weapons are purchased when a new chief lands in the top position? Can that trend start with this new Army chief?” Srisuwan asked.

The purchase of 37 fully-equipped infantry carrier vehicles, which will come with another 23 free vehicles, will be made through the US government’s Foreign Military Sales programme, which involves the transfer of war equipment to their international partners. The 37 vehicles will be used at the 11th Infantry Division in Chachoengsao province, while the remainder would be distributed among other military units.

THE EDUCATION Ministry is far too big and has governance problems, the Independent Committee for Education Reform (ICER) pointed out yesterday.

“The ministry hires 400,000 to 500,000 people. This is a very big workforce. We hope the ministry will take into account the fact that the number of students will be falling over time,” ICER member Chaiyuth Punyasavatsut said yesterday.

The number of students will naturally drop in the face of the falling birth rate, and it is widely known that several private schools have gone out of business in recent years.

Chaiyuth also pointed out that there are governance problems at the ministry, saying he had heard complaints about the transfer of teachers and education officials.

Over and above this, he said, the ministry has centralised its power far too much even though the budget, power and responsibility should be decentralised.

“Assigning provincial agencies to be major players in educational services and management have failed to achieve the country’s educational goals,” he added, emphasising that education policies lack consistency, and hence are less efficient.

Chaiyuth was speaking after emerging from a meeting chaired by ICER president Professor Charas Suwanwela.

According to ICER, the Education Ministry should hand the task of recruitment and appointment of personnel to others. A new institute should also be established to prepare the curriculum and academic content that is suitable to each area.

“We also propose that schools be granted an appropriate budget and enough independence for them to deliver quality services,” Chaiyuth added.

He said ICER had pushed for changes to the educational sector via the National Education Bill. However, this draft law was not passed during the current government’s tenure. Besides, he said, hope that the government would push the draft through an executive decree to back the kind of reform ICER wanted has been dashed.

Late last month, Charas publicly said the government planned to push the draft via an executive decree after recognising that it did not have much time left, but then early this month, the government said it had abandoned this plan.

Ekachai Keesookpun, who chairs the Basic Education Commission, yesterday lamented the fact that the plan had been scrapped.

“I understand that the government wishes to avoid criticism that it has rushed legislation of this key education law. But I am worried that if the draft law is presented to Parliament, its essence may be changed significantly,” he said.

He also pointed out that if the key law on the country’s educational reform was not passed during this government’s term, the country will have to wait at least another year for such a law to be legislated.

“The legislation of related educational laws will also be affected. For instance, the country will have to wait another three years for laws like the Bill on Teacher and Educational Personnel Council to be passed,” he added.

The ministry had named Hinoki Land in Chaiya Prakan district, Chiang Mai province, as one of the Kingdom’s top 10 cultural destinations.

Critics on social media pointed out that Hinoki Land merely copied a Japanese tourist spot of the same name. “The Cultural Promotion Office will collect the comments from social media and the press on the ministry’s selection and present to the board of committees to review our selection of Hinoki Land,” the Culture Ministry’s deputy director of Cultural Promotion Office, Chaiyapon Sukieam, said in a press release. He added that the Cultural Promotion Office in Bangkok had conducted the survey that assigned provincial culture offices and local cultural networks throughout the Kingdom to propose names for the list. The names were to be finally approved by the board of committees, who are cultural experts.

“Hinoki Land is an outstanding cultural place with creative architecture which is made of the aromatic Japanese Cypress, known as Hinoki wood, and decorated with red lanterns. The park is a learning centre where visitors can learn about Japanese culture, instead of flying to Japan. The park is also generating income for the local community and nearby districts,” he said, justifying the choice.

The ministry has six criteria:

The place must have a permanent location and firm structure. It should function as a creative cultural centre that can be adjusted to match the dynamic of modern culture; the place can be run by the government, private sector, an institution, a non-profit foundation or community; the place plays a role as a learning centre on creative culture for the general public and its management serves the creative economy; the activities should integrate cooperation with the government and private sectors and the community; the place should open its services to children, youth and the general public to provide cultural knowledge; the place must be popular among Thais and foreign tourists.

Besides Hinoki Land, the other places in the ministry list are: Chiang Rai’s Doi Tung, Jim Thompson Farm in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Nong Nooch Tropical Garden in Chon Buri, Buffalo Village in Suphan Buri, Woodland Muangmai in Nakhon Pathom province, Ancient City in Samut Prakan province, the Siam Niramit theatre in Bangkok and the Phuket Fantasy theatre.

Meanwhile, the owner of Hinoki Land, Anirut Jeungsutprasoet, said he was also surprised by its inclusion in the list. “I’m glad that the Culture Ministry selected my theme park as one of the top 10 places you must visit. But I’m also surprised at the selection, as no one from the ministry contacted us in relation to the survey, or visited, or sought any information,” Anirut, who spent almost two decades in Japan, told The Nation.

“I’m sorry if the ministry’s nomination hurt the feelings of the public. I just want to state that I was not involved in the selection, and it was all done by the ministry,” he added.

Naporn Popattanachai, director of Thammasart University’s Centre for Natural Resources and Environmental Law, said drought next year will worsen if the authorities do not change their approach and bring the public on board when it comes to dealing with air pollution.

Though the smog season has come to an end with rains arriving in the North, Naporn said evidence such as PM2.5 (particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in size), hotspots and the duration indicate that the smog situation this year lasted longer and was more severe than previous years. This also proves that the government’s measures to control the problem have failed, he said.

He added that the smog-tackling measures failed because they lacked a holistic approach and did not deal with the different sources, as the authorities only focused on banning outdoor fires, which eventually turned farmers against the authorities.

“We observed that despite the ban, wildfires and hotspots took place anyway, intensifying the smog in the North,” he said. “This only proves that the authorities’ top-down command-and-control approach, forcing people not to burn farming waste in their fields and starting wildfires to gather forest products, is no longer effective as farmers are not interested in complying with the authorities.”

Sonthi Kotchawat, a leading environmental health expert, said outdoor fires were responsible for 54 per cent of the overall PM2.5 emissions.

Naporn, meanwhile, said the only way this situation can be reversed is if the authorities bring people on their side when it comes to tackling the problem from every source.

“The authorities need to change their approach, and call on local people to work with them to achieve sustainable solutions to control outdoor fires and other sources of pollution,” he said.

Admitting that the factors behind the smog crisis are very complicated and complex, he said they are still connected to several structural issues and involve multiple stakeholders, including influential big food companies, he said. In fact, he added, as consumers we should also be able to seek sustainable solutions to the chronic smog problem in the North.

For instance, he said, maize farmers are forced to set fire to farm waste and encroach into forests to expand their fields because big food companies require larger harvests. Since they earn little for their crops, the farmers have no choice but to cut down their production costs by practising the cheaper slash-and-burn technique to prepare their farm for the next crop.

“By imposing the right regulations to relieve farmers’ burden from contract farming, we can help them switch their farming techniques to more environmentally friendly ones and greatly cut down on the generation of pollution,” he suggested.

He also added that the policies for tackling smog should be flexible, in order to adapt to the changing situation and allow all related stake holders to change their practices.

They agreed to push forward on economic cooperation through the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project, as well as cooperation in education, science, technology and innovation.

The premier welcomed the new German ambassador, who is a specialist in Asian affairs and could strengthen relations and cooperation between the two countries in the future.

The ambassador expressed congratulations for the recent coronation ceremonies as well as Thailand’s general election, and also for its being made the chair of Asean for 2019.

Both sides agreed to cooperate in the EEC project, which is targeted to lead to some €15 billion (Bt530 billion) in bilateral trade and investment next year.

The premier pledged to provide all conveniences for German investors in Thailand, since Germany was the prototype and inspiration for Thailand to go for under the Industry 4.0 goal.

Source: Thaivisa.com

The announcement was made by Nattaporn Jatusripitak, spokesperson for the deputy prime minister in charge of economic affairs.

The proposal from the Secretariat of the Cabinet for the Cabinet’s declaration was made in response to a royal command from His Majesty the King.

The government next week will clearly set out activities to honour the Queen, besides the traditional merit-making and alms-offering ceremonies for such occasions, Nattaporn added.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha revealed that the King intended to organise a thank-you party for police, soldiers and civil servants that played a part in what the monarch called the “smooth, dignified and beautiful coronation ceremony”.

Held between May 4 and 6, the coronation has showcased the unique and visually splendid culture of Thailand.

“His Majesty the King has provided funds for the feast,” Prayut said, adding that his government would organise the party by May 24.

Under this project, the ministry will formulate a standardised curriculum for training the public in CPR and AED and publish the materials online. The project will aim to provide 10 million Thais with the knowledge, including at least 3.5 million of whom will be able to perform CPR and use an AED, Public Health permanent-secretary Dr Sukhum Kanchanapimai said.

Sukhum said the project was part of a larger campaign in which medical specialist volunteers will provide medical check-ups and treatment to needy people in honour of His Majesty the King Rama X on the occasion of his royal coronation.

The CPR and AED training will also be carried out wherever this campaign’s activities are held. It has so far had trained 2,500 people to perform CPR and use an AED, he added.

Thais suffer an average 54,000 deaths yearly from heart disease. If patients receive properly performed CPR within four minutes after their heart has stopped beating, they could be saved from serious injury, disability or death, said Sukhum, hence it is very important for the rescuers to know and correctly provide CPR and use an AED.

Ranong Governor Chatupoj Piyumputra and Stree Ranong School teachers accompanied Yonladee to apply for her Thai passport at the Department of Consular Affairs in Bangkok, while department director-general Chatri Archjananun welcomed them.

After she received this document, Yonladee said she was very happy and proud to receive her first ever passport and thanked all kind-hearted senior persons and officials who helped her get it.

In the next step, Yonladee will apply for a US visa for the upcoming trip.

She pledged to do her best to bring fame to Thailand.

The girl’s request for Thai citizenship was quickly approved earlier last week, after going public over her fear of losing the opportunity to attend the contest in New York next month.

Yonladee quickly got media limelight, attention from relevant authorities, as well as public sympathy.

Despite having been born and grown up in Thailand, Yonladee had not automatically received Thai citizenship because her parents were foreign migrants.