The majority of people want a new constitution and not just amendments to the 2017 Constitution, a poll showed recently.
The Nida Poll on “Do people wish to have a new constitution?”, was conducted on March 17-18, on 1,313 people aged 18 and above in all regions across the country.
The survey showed that 58.49 per cent of respondents wanted a new constitution, 25.13 per cent did not want a new constitution, 6.48 per cent said they would not take part in a referendum, 5.94 per cent said they would participate in a referendum and vote no, and 3.96 per cent said they were not sure.
When asked who should be tasked with drafting a new constitution, 59.86 per cent said the majority of members of the constituent assembly committee should be elected nationwide, 21.86 per cent said members of Parliament, 17.75 per cent said a constituent assembly committee drawn from universities, 11.88 per cent said senators, 10.97 per cent suggested a constituent assembly committee selected by the government, 9.75 per cent said a committee selected by Parliament and 8.38 per cent did not offer an opinion.
A strong high-pressure system from China that now covers Vietnam is expected to cover the Northeast and the South China Sea by Sunday, creating hot to very hot weather conditions in upper Thailand.
The Thailand Meteorological Department on Sunday forecast summer storms followed by thunderstorms, gusty winds and hail first in the Northeast, then the North, the Central including Bangkok and its vicinity, the East, and the upper South regions.
The department has urged people to stay safe from the severe conditions by keeping away from open areas, big trees and unsecured billboards. Farmers have been warned of damage to crops.
From March 22-25, the easterly winds across the South and the Gulf will strengthen with more rain in the South. Strong winds are likely in the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea, with waves 1-2 metres high and above two metres during thundershowers.
The weather forecast for the next 24 hours:
North: Hot to very hot day with haze; scattered thunderstorms with gusty winds and isolated hail mostly in Phayao, Nan, Phrae, Uttaradit, Phitsanulok, Phichit and Phetchabun provinces; minimum temperature 19-29 degrees Celsius, maximum 39-42°C; southwesterly winds 10-15 km/hr.
Northeast: Scattered thunderstorms with gusty winds and isolated hail mostly in Loei, Nong Khai, Bueng Kan, Nong Bua Lam Phu, Udon Thani, Sakon Nakhon, Nakhon Phanom, Mukdahan, Kalasin, Roi Et, Yasothon, Amnat Charoen, Ubon Ratchathani, Si Sa Ket, Surin, Buriram, Nakhon Ratchasima, Chaiyaphum, Khon Kaen and Maha Sarakham provinces; minimum temperature 24-26°C, maximum 33-35°C; easterly winds 10-20 km/hr.
Central: Hot to very hot day; isolated thunderstorms with gusty winds mostly in Lop Buri and Saraburi provinces; minimum temperature 24-27°C, maximum 37-40°C; southerly winds 10-20 km/hr.
East: Hot day with scattered thunderstorms and gusty winds mostly in Nakhon Nayok, Prachin Buri, Sa Kaeo, Chachoengsao, Chon Buri, Rayong, Chanthaburi and Trat provinces; minimum temperature 25-27°C, maximum 32-36°C; southeasterly winds 10-30 km/hr; waves below a metre high and about a metre in thundershowers.
South (east coast): Partly cloudy with isolated light rain; minimum temperature 21-26°C, maximum 32-37°C; easterly winds 15-30 km/hr; waves about a metre high.
South (west coast): Partly cloudy with isolated light rain; minimum temperature 21-26°C, maximum 34-36°C; easterly winds 10-30 km/hr; waves below a metre high and about a metre offshore.
Bangkok and its vicinity: Hot day with haze; minimum temperature 26-27°C, maximum 34-37°C; southerly winds 10-20 km/hr.
Thailand was ranked the 48th happiest country in the world, according to the World Happiness Report 2021, while Finland was the happiest country for the fourth consecutive year.
The latest report was published on Friday.
Finland was followed on the list by Iceland, Denmark, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
The ranking was based on gross domestic product, social welfare, healthy life expectancy, level of freedom, generosity as well as perception of corruption in the country.
The latest report also surveyed people of each country about the Covid-19 situation, and their happiness in the last year, compared to the previous ones.
Singapore was the best-ranked in Asean at 32nd. Philippines ranked 61st, Vietnam jumped four places to 79, ahead of Malaysia (81), Indonesia (82) and Cambodia (114).
Afghanistan was the least happy, at the bottom of 149 nations evaluated.
The mother of a schoolboy in Kalasin, who drowned during boy scout “wargames”, has filed a police complaint against teachers for carelessness.
The body of 15-year-old Noppakao Sita was discovered in a swamp near the school on Tuesday.
Investigators believe he was forced to jump into the swamp even though he did not know how to swim as part of activities organised by the Ban Na Kor Wittayakom School.
On Wednesday, the boy’s parents and school friends plus representatives of the school were summoned by police for interrogation.
Noppakao’s friends told police the activity featured wargames, in which students had to jump into the swamp to avoid “bombs” – stones aimed at them by their teachers. No life jackets or rubber boats were provided for them for safety, while students said teachers did not indicate which parts of the swamp were deep or shallow.
On Saturday, Buachuen Sita, 48, and the boy’s stepfather filed a complaint against the teachers at the Huai Mek Police Station.
Some teachers were also charged with violating the Alcohol Beverage Control Act as they had been drinking during the boy scout activity.
Police said several staff members and the director had been summoned for interrogation, but most of them postponed the meeting.
Fitch Ratings Thailand expects Thai corporates’ credit outlook to improve this year as vaccination is rolled out and economic activity recovers.
However, the pace of recovery for tourism would be slow amid prolonged travel and social distancing restrictions, the credit rating agency warned in its briefing on Wednesday.
It added Thai banks would face restricted profitability for the next few years amid the sluggish recovery. In April last year, Fitch lowered its operating environment mid-point score for Thai banks from BBB+ to BBB due to pressure from the pandemic.
Wednesday’s briefing also identified corporate sustainability as a trend that was “shaping longer-term structural trends that will affect many of these sectors beyond the recovery”.
In 2021, the outlook for the oil & gas and petrochemical sectors will remain negative, as leverage will remain high despite a recovery in earnings, said Fitch. Telecoms companies should have enough rating headroom to absorb an increase in spectrum payments and 5G investment, it added. In comparison, the outlook for the food retail sector would remain stable as earnings rebound. Fitch expects the outlook for the building material and power & utilities sectors to be stable in the coming years.
On global ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) trends, sustainability considerations are increasingly being incorporated into policies, corporate governance frameworks, and the lending and investment decisions of financial institutions, said the agency. This would increase the influence of ESG considerations on company strategy, financing and operating environments in 2021.
It also expects that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed rules to support sustainability-linked bonds will increase the number of corporates able to issue ESG-related bonds.
Around 10 per cent of low-income Thais fell below the poverty threshold in 2019, according to the latest report by the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC).
The new report measures income before the Covid-19 pandemic ravaged the economy and household finances.
However, it provides a useful baseline to measure the impact of the pandemic on poorer citizens, with the 2020 survey expected to show a surge in poverty.The NESDC’s income distribution report for 2019 divides low-income Thais into 10 groups according to their income level. The top group earned an average Bt32,663 a month while the poorest earned only Bt2,049 per month.The NESDC surveys poverty and income distribution every two years.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA)’s Department of Drainage and Sewerage has dispatched officials to check the condition of drainage canals and tunnels as well as water pumping stations to prepare for the upcoming summer storm on March 21-22.
The Thailand Meteorological Department has forecast that a strong high pressure area from China will extend to cover upper Thailand, bringing summer storms, thunderstorms with gusty winds and hail to the Northeast, the North, the Central, including Bangkok and its vicinity, the East and the upper South regions.
“We are checking the condition of our facilities to make sure that they can drain rainwater in time during the storm,” said BMA permanent secretary Silapasuay Raweesaengsoon on Saturday.
“Officials have been sent to dredge up the canals and pick up floating weeds and trash in flood-prone areas as well as install water pumps to maximise the draining capacity.
“We have also trimmed the branches of large trees near public roads to prevent accidents that could happen due to strong winds knocking over tree branches,” she added. People can report hazardous trees to the nearest district office to get them trimmed. A fee will be charged for privately owned trees.
The BMA has also contacted owners of billboards to make sure that the structure can withstand gusty winds during the storm. Owners of billboards that are too old or damaged must fix them immediately or take them down for public safety, she said.
“We have coordinated with the Metropolitan Electricity Authority to prepare for power outages during the storm as well as provide backup power in case of emergency during the blackout,” said Silapasuay.
“People can monitor the weather conditions in Bangkok from the website http://dds.bangkok.go.th/ or get latest updates from Facebook and Twitter @BKK_BEST, or download mobile application Bangkok Connect.”
For a second year running, Thailand’s Songkran festival will be dry.
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) has issued a ban on all water splashing activities, though traditional practises like pouring water on Buddha statues and on elderly people are still allowed.
So far, at least two public events have been announced during the April 13-15 break that are in line with CCSA’s orders.
This year Bangkok’s famous Khaosan Road will have a “holy water” cave filled with Buddha statues instead of its usual wild, wet party, while Buriram province is planning a huge night parade/bazaar in its Chang Arena from April 6 to 15.
Thai banks’ operating environment remains challenging due to a slow economic recovery and continued downside risks from the fallout of the Covid-19 outbreak, Fitch Ratings said.
It will be particularly demanding for vulnerable bank clients, especially small businesses.
Still, the risk of a severely stressed macroeconomic scenario has eased and business activity this year should show some rebound from the low base of 2020.
Thailand’s economy has been hit hard, with GDP contracting by 6.1 per cent last year. Fitch predicts moderate recovery of 3.7 and 3.6 per cent in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
However, there are downside risks to the 2021 forecast, as the pace of recovery will be weaker compared to other emerging markets in the region and will limit near-term growth in banks’ financial performance.
Fitch lowered the operating environment mid-point for Thai banks in April last year from “BBB+” to “BBB” with a stable outlook due to significant and sustained risks the pandemic posed to the banking sector.
The pandemic’s impact on banks’ asset quality has been tempered by relief measures such as debt moratoria and restructuring, as well as lenience on loan classifications.
The amount of loans under relief has fallen substantially from its peak in July 2020 and should decline further in the coming quarters, as measures are much more targeted than earlier.
Fitch estimates that loans under relief at commercial banks and non-banking financial institutions, but not including state policy banks, was around 17% at end-2020.
Asset-quality risks are also mitigated by loss buffers. The Thai banking sector’s loan impairment charges rose by more than 40 per cent in 2020, and loan loss allowance coverage was 142 per cent of impaired loans at year-end.
Management overlays for provisioning will likely be used in 2021 as loan impairments rise.
However, there is scope for credit costs to stabilise or fall slightly, as long as there are no further major disruptions to business activity.
Fitch downgraded the Viability Ratings of several major Thai banks last year to reflect anticipated pressures on asset quality and earnings over the next few years.
A veterinarian clarified recently that his relationship with a wild elephant – posted on his Facebook last week – was a true story, after experts suggested that the elephant in his photo was likely a pet, not a wild one as he had claimed.
On March 13, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation veterinarian Pattarapol Maneeon posted on his social media an account of his reunion with the first wild elephant he had cured.
The veterinarian said that he had met the elephant 12 years ago, when it suffered from trypanosomiasis.
Pattarapol said the elephant was smart, and it took a long time before allowing him to approach it and begin the treatment. He added that the last time he found the animal, it was still able to remember him.
Later, a newspaper said that the story was questioned by wild elephant experts, as important information, such as the date or place of reunion, had not been mentioned in the post.
The report cited expert opinion that a rope collar was seen on the animal’s neck, suggesting that it was a pet elephant.
In response to experts’ suspicions, Pattarapol explained that the elephant in his photo was really a wild elephant called “Phrai Tang”. And the photo was taken three weeks ago.
