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iLaw’s Yingcheep tries to allay suspicions by MPs, senators over charter amendment

NationalNov 18. 2020Yingcheep Atchanont 

By The Nation

The petition to rewrite the charter began in August while the Ratsadon group was established in October, revealed iLaw manager Yingcheep Atchanont, while calling on MPs and senators not to be suspicious about the intention to have a “normal political system”.

Constitution amendment flaws, he said, could be fixed in a second parliamentary motion.

Yingcheep said legal terms were used to cover up the flaws. For instance, no one opposed the principles of the amendment to elect a prime minister without interference from outside powers.

He also said it would be nearly impossible to separate each point in the amendment as it would require about a million documents, so it made more sense to merge them.

Responding to some senators questioning where the problem lies with the Constitution, Yingcheep explained that the government’s reform plan under a reform panel had not succeeded.

In addition, there were 3,000 pages of principles and the National Strategy Committee, led by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, was the one that interpreted them, the iLaw manager said.

He said reform requires the participation of the people and the amendment suggested that Section 16 be scrapped to see whether it actually affects government policy, or are they just afraid of change?

He said senators appointed by the National Council for Peace and Order have to quit, while new members of the Election Commission and the Constitutional Court have to be promptly selected according to Constitution Act BE 2540 to elect new senators.

The amendment does not intend to create a void, Yingcheep said, adding that he would like it to be accepted, while problems could be solved during the second motion.

Meanwhile, Pheu Thai MP Wisarn Techathirawat said he supported the iLaw draft to amend the Constitution.

Wisarn said Parliament should listen to the voice of the people as 50,000 are allowed to propose a law change while about 100,000 people have already signed their names supporting the draft.

He also accused Prayut of not being sincere on Constitutional amendment as government MPs have demanded that the Constitutional Court decide whether a charter amendment is in line with the law.

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Cool temperatures turn Nong Khai into a misty paradise

NationalNov 18. 2020

By THE NATION

Winter has brought some amazing sights to Nong Khai province such as a sea of fog over the Mekong River, which can be enjoyed from the hilltop temple Wat Pha Tak Sue’s 16-metre-long glass skywalk.

The temperature in some parts of the province had dropped to a pleasant 18 degrees Celsius, and views of the mist-covered mountains can be quite spellbinding.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand has said that 3.02 million people are expected to travel around Thailand during the November 19-22 long weekend. Also, the most popular destinations will be in the North and South thanks to the cool weather.

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BAAC warns fake Line accounts are scamming customers for personal data

NationalNov 18. 2020

By THE NATION

The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) has warned its customers of several fake Line accounts under the bank’s name attempting to scam customers into inputting their personal data.

“The bank is in the process of disbursing the subsidy under the government’s price guarantee scheme to rice farmers for crop year 2020/2021, which has prompted imposters to create fake Line accounts to scam the bank’s customers,” the BAAC warned.

Under the scheme, the price per tonne of rice is guaranteed at Bt15,000 for jasmine, Bt14,000 for off-season jasmine, Bt10,000 for ordinary rice, Bt11,000 for Pathum Thani rice and Bt12,000 for sticky rice.

“The bank has no policy to contact customers via Line to transfer the subsidy,” the BAAC said. “The bank’s official Line account is called ‘BAAC Family’, which is used to introduce new products and post important announcements. All response via this account will be automatic messaging and never from human staff.”

The BAAC also advised customers to look for the bank’s logo and a green shield icon in front of the name “BAAC Family” in Line’s information page, which signifies an official account.

“Also, our Line account must have more than 7 million friends and features a banner that you can click to apply for the BAAC Connect service. Falsified accounts cannot fake these,” it added.

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Baht weakens just before BOT monetary policy meet

NationalNov 18. 2020

By THE NATION

The baht opened at 30.19 to the US dollar on Wednesday, weakening from 30.16 at close on Tuesday.

The Thai currency is likely to move between 30.10 and 30.30, said Jitipol Puksamatanan, senior director of the chief investment office at SCB Securities.

On Tuesday night, the US stock market decreased. The S&P 500 contracted by 0.5 per cent, while the Stoxx 600 was down by 0.2 per cent due to investor concern about the Covid-19 situation.

At the same time, the US financial market went into a “risk-off” state again after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Covid-19, for which a vaccine was nearing development, would not affect the economy in the long term. However, he added that employment would take a long time to recover to its normal level.

The US Ten-Year Treasury yield meanwhile decreased by 3.4 basis points to 0.87 per cent, and the dollar weakened by 0.1 per cent, compared to other main currencies.

In Thailand, the baht moved in a narrow range before the Bank of Thailand’s monetary policy committee was due to meet on Wednesday.

Observers believe the central bank will implement more relaxed monetary measures to stimulate the economy, but these policies may tend to weaken the baht, Jitipol said.

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New Student Loan Fund borrowers may not need guarantors

NationalNov 18. 2020

By THE NATION

Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul proposed to the Cabinet that new borrowers of the Student Loan Fund should no longer be required to have a personal guarantor, said deputy government spokeswoman Traisulee Traisaranakul on Tuesday.

“The minister said that borrowing from the Student Loan Fund is an investment in the student’s own future and therefore should pose no burden on guarantors, who are usually parents, relatives and sometimes teachers,” she said.

“A Cabinet meeting acknowledged the proposal and assigned the Finance Ministry to study the details before presenting the motion for Cabinet approval.”

The meeting on Tuesday also acknowledged the measures that have been implemented to help alleviate the financial burden of borrowers, including reducing the “late payment” fine from 7.5 per cent to 0.5 per cent, granting a two-year grace period for holders of state welfare cards, cancelling the auction of collateral assets and postponing legal action.

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Govt aims to issue Bt100-bn savings bonds next year

NationalNov 18. 2020Patricia Mongkhonvanit 

By THE NATION

The government is planning to issue Bt100 billion in savings bonds to cope with its financial requirements next year, with the first tranche of Bt50 billion expected to be issued after New Year, the Public Debt Management Office (PDMO) said on Tuesday.

PDMO director-general Patricia Mongkhonvanit said the issuance of bonds depends on whether or not the government has measures that need money after New Year, while the interest rate will be based on the PDMO’s current policy rate as well as the market situation.

“Issuing savings bonds is a fast way to gain capital to support government projects, and so far the bonds have received positive response from the public,” she said.

In fiscal year 2019, the PDMO issued more than Bt100 billion in saving bonds, which was higher than in the past when such bonds hardly exceeded Bt50 billion.

“This is because this year and the next the government has several projects that require large sums of money under Bt1-trillion loan decrees,” she added.

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BTS to BMA: Give us Bt8-bn train operation fee or we will stop running Green Line

NationalNov 18. 2020

By THE NATION

Bangkok Mass Transit System Pcl (BTS), operator of the Green Line train extension section (Bearing-Samut Prakan and Mo Chit-Saphan Mai-Ku Kot) has submitted a letter demanding that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) settle train operation fees amounting to more than Bt8 billion of the extended section, which has been open since 2018, Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang said.

“BTS said they would have to stop train operations if they do not get paid,” he said.

“The BMA has to admit that we do not have the money and will need financial support from the government since it has tasked the BMA with train operations, but the extended section does not charge passengers additional fares.”

Aswin said the latest test run of Green Line trains on the extended section from Wat Phra Si Mahathat to Ku Kot stations has been completed without any problems and the section is scheduled for public use on December 16, with Prime Minister Prayut Cha-o-cha expected to preside over the opening ceremony.

After a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda said his ministry had proposed postponing consideration of an investment partnership contract between the BMA and BTS, which aimed to extend the Green Line train contract that would end in 2029 by another 30 years, to 2059, while maintaining a maximum fare of Bt65.

“Several agencies have supported the decision to postpone approval of the contract, including the Transport Ministry, the Finance Ministry and the Office of the Council of State, citing that they have yet to undertake detailed consideration of the contract,” Anupong said.

“Therefore, the ministry decided to postpone submitting the contract for Cabinet approval until all related agencies have given us their opinions.”

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Cool, foggy morning in upper Thailand, isolated heavy rain in South

NationalNov 18. 2020

By THE NATION

Upper Thailand will continue to see cool weather, with fog in the morning and rather cold temperatures on mountaintops, while the Gulf and the South will experience isolated heavy rain, the Meteorological Department said on Wednesday.

 It advised motorists and trucks in upper Thailand to take caution due to poor visibility in many areas.

Here’s the weather forecast for the next 24 hours:

North: Cool weather with fog in the morning; temperature lows of 17-22 degrees and highs of 31-34 degrees Celsius.

Northeast: Cool weather with light fog in the morning; temperature lows of 20-23 degrees and highs of 31-33 degrees Celsius.

Central region: Partly cloudy with light fog in the morning; temperature lows of 22-25 degrees, highs of 33-35 degrees Celsius.

East: Partly cloudy; temperature lows of 23-25 degrees, highs of 33-34 degrees Celsius; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres offshore.

South (east coast): Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 60 per cent of the area and isolated heavy rain; temperature lows of 23-25 degrees, highs of 32-33 degrees Celsius; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.

South (west coast): Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 40 per cent of the area and isolated heavy rain; temperature lows of 23-26 degrees, highs of 33-35 degree Celsius; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.

Bangkok and surrounding areas: Partly cloudy with light fog in the morning; temperature lows of 24-25 degrees, highs of 33-35 degrees Celsius.

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Cabinet sets aside Bt6 billion to buy 26 million Covid-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca

NationalNov 18. 2020

By The Nation

The Cabinet has earmarked Bt6.05 billion from the national budget for emergency and necessities to reserve 26 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine developed by British pharmaceutical giant, AstraZeneca, government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri announced on Tuesday.

Of the budget, Bt2.38 billion will be allocated to the National Vaccine Institute to reproduce the vaccine so the price can be brought down to US$5 (Bt150) from $20 per dose.

The remainder will be divided into Bt1.59 billion for reserving vaccines and Bt2.08 billion for management and distribution. The last amount will only be paid out once the vaccine is proved to be effective.

“The Cabinet has agreed to earmark funds for the purchase of vaccines from AstraZeneca because the Public Health Ministry has signed a memorandum of understanding with it. Thailand’s very own Siam Bioscience company is also preparing to produce vaccines,” he said.

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Pattanakarn-Srinakarin flyover reopens after 5 months

NationalNov 17. 2020

By The Nation

The flyover bridge at the intersection of Bangkok’s Pattanakarn and Srinakarin roads was reopened on Tuesday after five months of work to strengthen its structure.

The Pattanakarn flyover runs for 527.5 metres over the intersection with Srinakarin and is divided into 15 sections. The bridge has been in operation since 2004, but was closed on May 30 after complaints from drivers that its road surface had become badly degraded.

City Hall ordered renovation work on the bridge, scheduled for completion within 180 days.

The newly reopened flyover should help ease traffic congestion on Pattanakarn Road and the surrounding area.