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Thai auto industry must adapt quickly to EV production, govt warns

NationalNov 12. 2020

By THE NATION

The Energy Ministry has warned that businesses in Thailand’s automotive industry must adapt quickly to the growing trend for electric vehicles (EVs).

Prasert Sinsukpraser, who heads the ministry’s Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency, said the Thai EV industry would grow rapidly between 2020 and 2024, including the manufacture of batteries.

The growth would have a big impact on Thailand’s auto industry, the second biggest in Southeast Asia, since manufacturers will find it difficult to adapt their production methods from internal-combustion-engine vehicles to EVs.

Prasert explained that conventional vehicles consist of around 20,000 to 30,000 auto parts, while EVs use only 2,000 to 3,000. Thai manufacturers of gear systems, engines and axels would find the transition especially difficult, he said.

“Producers must adapt themselves to the EV market. The battery will be the core of EV production. And if Thailand can be a leader in the EV battery industry, we can be winner in EV industry.”

The government would offer incentives for EV battery producers to build both production and assembly plants in Thailand, he added

It also aims to boost demand by promote EV battery usage, first within government subsidiaries and then for the public.

Noting rapid expansion of the global EV battery market, he said battery sales in China had increased by 175 per cent in 2018 alone, driven by the surging EV industry.

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Sangha Council bans monks from joining protests

NationalNov 11. 2020

By The Nation

The Sangha Supreme Council has issued an urgent edict banning monks and novices from joining political rallies.

Narong Song-arom, director of the National Office of Buddhism, said on Wednesday that the participation of monks and novices in recent political gatherings had triggered widespread public criticism. The office had sent several letters to abbots warning them about the matter, but monks were still joining the protests, he said.

Therefore, the Sangha Supreme Council of Thailand issued an urgent edict to temples throughout the country to ban monks and novices from engaging in political activities. Violators will be punished with disciplinary measures and legal action, added Narong.

Monks at one rally had even called for monastic rules including shaving of the eyebrows to be scrapped, he said.

However, they knew the rules before becoming monks and nobody had forced them to enter the monkhood, he pointed out.

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Progress on bridge to connect Koh Lanta with mainland

NationalNov 11. 2020The design for the 2-kilometre bridge to link Koh Lanta with mainland Krabi. 

By The Nation

An environmental impact assessment (EIA) is being conducted for a bridge to connect Koh Lanta with the mainland in Krabi province, the Department of Rural Roads (DRR) said on Wednesday.

The bridge will run from Ban Hua Hin on the mainland to Lanta Noi to solve travel difficulties and boost development potential of the area, said Pathom Chaloeywares, the department’s director-general.

To get to Koh Lanta at present, travellers must take the ferry from Ban Hua Hin Pier to Ban Klong Mak Pier on Koh Lanta Noi, before crossing Sirilanta Bridge to Koh Lanta Yai.

However, the ferry has limited capacity and only operates from 6am to 10pm, leaving tourists at risk of missing their flight on the mainland at peak periods when the ferry is booked up. There is also concern over oil and diesel pollution from the ferry.

The DRR has held a public hearing to gather opinions on the bridge project from local businesses and government agencies.

Participants okayed plans for an extradosed bridge spanning 1,950 metres.

An extradosed bridge, usually built over relatively short spans, combines features of box-girder bridges and cable-stayed bridges.

Details of the project are expected to be finalised around March 2021 before a budget is requested in 2022. If approved, construction will get underway in 2023 and be completed in 2025.

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National Press Council’s reach expands in world of media

NationalNov 11. 2020

By THE NATION

The National Press Council of Thailand announced on Tuesday that it will unofficially start following requirements set in its new constitution as of Wednesday.

Secretary-general Chai Patakamin was quoted as saying in the council’s website that the committee has approved the new code, which now requires the council to supervise all kinds of media, instead of just print and digital media.

The number of committee members is also set to increase from 21 to 23, as it will be supervising more media channels.

The rules will be officially changed once the current committee completes its tenure in March 2021.

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Korean soldier tests positive on return from Thailand

NationalNov 11. 2020

By The Nation

Health authorities say a South Korean soldier who spent almost a month in Thailand tested positive for Covid-19 on his return to his homeland on Sunday (November 8).

The soldier was among 202 attendees of a planning session for next year’s Cobra Gold military exercise, held in Rayong on November 3-5, said Walairat Chaifu, chief of the Epidemiology Division at the Department of Disease Control (DDC).

Participants comprised 177 Thai soldiers and 25 foreign troops, who were drawn from the United States (12), South Korea (5), Indonesia and Australia (2 each), Singapore, Japan, and India (one each). They stayed at a hotel in Ban Chang District, which hosted their meetings and a buffet meal.

The South Korean soldier tested positive on Sunday after taking a flight from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Incheon Airport.

He arrived in Thailand on October 17 and spent two weeks at an alternative state quarantine (ASQ) hotel in Bangkok’s Sukhumvit area. He twice tested negative during quarantine.

On November 1, he was picked up by an embassy car and moved to another hotel on Sukhumvit.

On November 2, a van from the embassy picked him up and ferried him to the meeting in Rayong’s Ban Chang.

On November 6, the soldier travelled back in the embassy van to a Sukhumvit hotel – health officials are checking whether this was the same hotel he stayed in previously.

On November 8, the soldier travelled to Suvarnabhumi Airport for the flight back home.

Walairat said the other South Korean soldiers on the same trip had tested negative.

However, Thai soldiers who attended the meeting have been quarantined as a precaution.

Thai health authorities investigating the source of the infection have contacted their counterparts in South Korea to find out whether the soldier caught the virus in Thailand or before he left his own country.

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Honda launches ‘clean energy’ motorbike taxi service on Sukhumvit

NationalNov 11. 2020

By The Nation

AP Honda, the Thai subsidiary of Japanese automaker Honda Motor, has launched “Green Win by Honda” project, in which 50 Honda PCX electric motorbikes will be used to provide taxi services to Bangkokians.

The project also includes the setting up of 10 battery switching stations, the first of which has been installed in the parking lot of a Holiday Inn hotel.

This project, which has been launched in response to the government’s initiative to promote electric vehicles, will provide motorbike taxi services along the BTS Sukhumvit line.

Passengers will be charged normal fares and the service will run for one year from this month onwards.

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More coverage for cancer patients from next year, vows Anutin

NationalNov 11. 2020

By THE NATION

From January 1, cancer patients can receive treatment at all equipped hospitals, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Wednesday.

He was speaking at a seminar hosted by the Department of Medical Services to announce its medical policy for next year. Present at the forum were more than 300 provincial public health officers and doctors.

“In line with the new medical care policy for 2021, cancer patients will be able to receive treatment at all state hospitals that are ready to provide the service,” Anutin said. “We aim to reduce waiting time and deaths among cancer patients.”

Anutin added that the department will also focus on employing Covid-19 prevention measures when Thailand opens its doors to more foreigners in 2021 to reduce the risk of medical professionals contracting the virus.

“Next year we will further promote the use of medical cannabis by training more medical professionals on safely using medical cannabis extracts,” he added.

Dr Somsak Akksilp, director-general of the Department of Medical Services, said the department has developed four schemes to boost the efficiency of medical institutes in treating cancer patients.

“The Thai Cancer Base Plus [TCB Plus] platform was created to register cancer patients with the aim of facilitating seamless transfer between hospitals, while the One Program will help prioritise treatment options for each patient based on their symptoms and progression rate,” he said. “We have also created the DMS Bed Monitoring System to help hospitals manage available beds, and the DMS Telemedicine mobile application will help schedule tele-consulting service for patients in remote areas who cannot travel. They will receive their medicines through mail.”

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THAI now selling products via Facebook

NationalNov 11. 2020

By The Nation

Thai Airways International (THAI) is selling more than 400 products via its TG Warehouse Sale Facebook store in order to generate extra revenue for the company, the firm said on Wednesday.

The move was initiated by THAI’s management team to optimise the use of plates and utensils to suit the number of flights that are expected to decrease significantly over the next one to two years due to the Covid-19 crisis.

People can search for THAI products and place an order via https://www.facebook.com/tgwarehousesale/. They can decide whether to receive the products at firm’s Suvarnabhumi warehouse or through a delivery service.

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One killed, but four narrowly escape crash in Si Sa Ket

NationalNov 11. 2020

By The Nation

A pick-up truck crashed into a truck carrying a load of refrigerators in Si Sa Ket province on Tuesday, killing one and injuring four. 

Police arrived at the accident site in Muang district at 9.45pm to find three injured people in the pick-up truck, who were immediately sent to hospital. 

Meanwhile, the other truck’s driver and passenger were found stuck between the front seats. The passenger, later identified as Buri Ram-resident Pinyo Chantet, 32, had died immediately. 

Witnesses said they heard a tyre explode before the two vehicles crashed, and decided to call the police because they were worried the vehicles would explode.

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Slap on the head costs woman her life

NationalNov 11. 2020

By The Nation

A motorbike taxi rider surrendered to police on Tuesday for reportedly stabbing her workmate out of anger, which she said had been building for two years. 

Thongthae Janmun arrived at Wang Thonglang police station at 4pm to confess that she had committed a murder that morning. She said the conflict was not related to work, as they usually picked up passengers from different places, but that she and the victim often had personal clashes. 

That morning, the victim had slapped Thongthae on her head, which infuriated her. So, she pulled out a knife and stabbed the other woman. 

Thongthae has been charged with intention to murder, which will result in a sentence. 

A small conflict erupted at the police station when the victim’s family tried to attack Thongthae.