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Govt to dump seven out-of-date laws

NationalFeb 15. 2021

By The Nation

A Government House source said the Cabinet recently approved a draft to repeal some laws that are either not applicable any more or overlap other laws.

The Council of State proposed seven laws that can be repealed, namely:

1940 Royal Thai Police Regulation and Operation of Gold Mining

Inconsistent with the protection of rights and freedoms of persons prescribed in the Constitution, which specifies methods for land expropriation and does not allow the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry power over gold mining as in the past.

1941 Electricity Business Promotion Act

The Energy Regulatory Commission has been established to oversee the electricity industry.

1945 Act on procedures against persons disseminating news that spoils goodwill between Thailand and other allies

This is covered by the 2019 National Intelligence Act.

1948 Act on unreasonable government trade

This law has never been practised. The current Public Administration Act controls and examines government procurement projects.

2005 CD Product Act

Only one case has been tried under this law since its introduction. Now there is a legal mechanism controlling the movement and use of CD manufacturing machinery as well as related copyright law.

1936 Act on Training of Certain Children and 1958 Act on Training of Certain Children (No 2)

Other codes such as the Child Protection Law and laws related to youth and family can be used instead.

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First batch of Covid vaccine will arrive on Feb 24: Anutin

NationalFeb 15. 2021Anutin Charnvirakul

By The Nation

The first shipment of China’s Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine will arrive in Thailand on February 24, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced on Monday.

He said the first batch of 200,000 doses will leave China on February 20.

They are expected to be the first Covid-19 vaccine to arrive in Thailand following a delay in shipments of the AstraZeneca vaccine procured by the Thai government.

“After the vaccine arrives, the Department of Medical Sciences will conduct random quality checks before it is used for inoculation,” Anutin said.

He added that the Food and Drug Administration is poised to register the Sinovac vaccine for emergency use.

Sinovac said trials had shown around 50 per cent efficacy in preventing infection and 80 per cent efficacy in preventing cases requiring medical treatment.

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Want to join the Clubhouse? Here’s how

NationalFeb 15. 2021

By THE NATION

Clubhouse, an exclusive social networking app, is suddenly all the rage among Thai netizens after Tesla billionaire Elon Musk was revealed to be a member.

Thai social media users are now eager to know more about Clubhouse – including how they can join. Luckily, Twitter user Yoware – or MCOT journalist Peerapol Anutarasot – has offered an “Introduction to Clubhouse” at his website.

The first thing to know is that Clubhouse is an invitation-only audio-chat app, launched in 2020 by software developers Alpha Exploration. Growing popularity saw the app valued at US$1 billion last month.

The application allows users to communicate with others by voice only, not messages or photos. Users can listen in and participate in chat rooms on topics such as technology, books, business and health.

Importantly, users’ voices cannot be recorded. Some have compared the application to old-style radio , Yoware said.

Clubhouse has gained popularity because it was launched during the Covid-19 when people are mostly staying home, he added. Its trendiness is also being driven by celebrity members such as Musk, Jared Leto, Kanye West – and the exiled Thai scholar Pavin Chachavalpongpun.

Exclusivity made the app even more attractive, said Yoware. New Clubhouse users must be invited to join by existing users, while the app is only available on new Apple gadgets. As of February, the application could only be used on an iPhone, iPad or iPad with an IOS of 13 or higher.

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PM defends police over violence at protest on Saturday

NationalFeb 15. 2021Prayut Chan-o-cha

By THE NATION

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has defended police over violence at Saturday’s pro-democracy protest in Bangkok, saying they were only doing their duty.

The protest calling for the release of four leaders of the anti-establishment movement began at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument before activists marched to the City Pillar Shrine near Sanam Luang. Bottles and smoke bombs were thrown as protesters and police clashed on Saturday night, leaving 25 people injured including several police officers.

Reports that passers-by and medical volunteers had been attacked by security officials drew harsh criticism from social media users.

Responding to press questions on Monday, the PM insisted that police had acted strictly in line with their duty under the law. He said people should understand that police work with care and are human beings just like everyone else.

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Police nab so-called supplier of illegal migrant workers

NationalFeb 15. 2021

By THE NATION

Police on Monday announced that Ratree “Je Pet” Vechsuwan has been arrested for allegedly running an illegal migrant labour network.

Ratree, who was detained on Friday, is said to run the country’s largest network bringing illegal migrant workers from Myanmar to Thailand’s Samut Sakhon province.

She has allegedly been running this business for more than five years, even when border checkpoints were closed for the Covid-19 outbreak.

Her network is believed to have brought illegal migrants across the Thai-Myanmar border in Chanthaburi before taking them to Samut Sakhon.

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PM wants RaoChana registration period extended after banks swamped

NationalFeb 15. 2021Photo by Wanchai Kraisornkhajit

By The Nation

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has urged the Finance Ministry to extend the registration period of the “RaoChana” (WeWin) cash-handout campaign for people who do not have a smartphone.

Photo by Wanchai Kraisornkhajit

The PM intervened after learning that Krungthai Bank branches nationwide were crowded with people waiting to register for benefits under the campaign, especially the elderly.

“I have ordered the Finance Ministry to extend the registration period if it cannot meet demand,” Prayut said.

Photo by Supakit Khumkun

He also asked people to wear face masks and maintain their distance from others while waiting.

Photo by Supakit Khumkun

Krungthai Bank says it has set up special service counters for people registering for RaoChana from February 15 to 25.

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National Single Window project to facilitate sharing of citizens’ info among state agencies

NationalFeb 15. 2021Buddhipongse Punnakanta

By THE NATION

The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) plans to push the “national single window” (NSW) project, with an aim to share citizens’ information among government agencies, in a bid to improve operational efficiency and decrease people’s expenses in preparing documents.

DES Minister Buddhipongse Punnakanta explained that the NSW is a central system, linking the database of each agency. He explained that people in the future need not prepare different sets of copied documents when they contact government agencies, as their information can be shared among the agencies.

This will ensure easier and more reliable operation, he added.

The minister said that all ministry services would be improved and linked. In the past two months, the ministry has changed over 70 forms of government transactions.

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Thai space agency snaps heart-shaped island for Valentine’s Day

NationalFeb 15. 2021(Photo: Facebook @gistda)

By THE NATION

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, Thailand’s space agency revealed satellite images of the heart-shaped Jittakut Island in Amnat Charoen province on Sunday (February 14).

Also known as the “Love Promise Island”, Jittakut is located in Muang district of the northeastern province.

Equivalent in size to six football pitches, the 32-rai island sits in the middle of Phuttha Utthayan Reservoir (formerly Huai Pla Daek Reservoir), which provides tap water and irrigates fields in Amnat Charoen.

(Photo: Facebook @gistda)

“After completion of the 22-million-cubic-metre reservoir in 1965, the province developed the heart-shaped island into a tourist attraction by building public park and walkways connecting it to the mainland,” said the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA).

Also on the island is Tiyakkhafah Pond, which was one of the sources of sacred water used in the coronation ceremony of King Maha Vajiralongkorn in May 2019, said the agency

“The satellite images of Jittakut Island have been processed with the false-colour imagery technique to enhance the details,” said GISTDA.

“We turned the land and the island pinkish red to celebrate Valentine’s Day so you can send the pictures to your loved ones. Meanwhile, tourists are welcome to visit the island in person to appreciate the beautiful scenery of the reservoir.”

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Thaksin urges govt to buy weapons to fight poverty, not wars

NationalFeb 15. 2021

By THE NATION

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra told a Bangkok audience on Sunday that the government should be buying weapons to fight poverty – such as modern technology for agriculture – not weapons for non-existent wars.

Thaksin was speaking in a video played during the seminar “No poverty among Thais: A pipe dream or a reality”, hosted by CARE (Creative Action for Revival & People Empowerment) at Lido Connect theatre in Bangkok’s Pathumwan district.

“I want to ask the government three questions: What is your view on declaring war against poverty? Can what you have done so far really solve problems of poverty? And do you have the knowledge to solve poverty problems amid the changing situation,” said Thaksin.

“As someone with experience in tackling poverty, I am happy to give you some advice. The proven formula in fighting poverty is to increase people’s income, reduce their expenses, and know how capitalism works,” he added.

“Currently, people have no money to invest, so we need to increase channels where they can access funds.”

“In the past, we used to tackle poverty by providing the four requisites – medical care, food, clothing and accommodation. However, this method will need adjustment to suit the current situation, where people’s consumption is changing due to the lockdown and rise of online channels,” he said. “The government must figure out how to use new technology to help poor people and not add to their burden.”

Broadcast live via CARE Movement’s Facebook page, @careorth, the seminar was also joined by key speakers such as former Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee, economist Supawut Saichua and Duangrit Bunnag.

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Food trucks becoming more popular in Covid era

NationalFeb 15. 2021

By THE NATION

The Commerce Ministry is planning to promote the food-truck business, especially since it has grown amid the Covid-19 crisis and was close to Bt3 billion in value last year.

Deputy Commerce Minister Weerasak Wangsuphakijkosol said he had told the Department of Business Development to come up with promotions to draw more small operators into the food-truck business.

He added that operators have more flexibility as they can use their trucks as a guarantee for loans.

Meanwhile, the Food Truck Club (Thailand) said that though orders for new food trucks in the beginning of 2020 had come to a stop after the arrival of Covid-19, sales rose in the third and fourth quarters.

The food-truck business is flexible and has low risk, compared to normal restaurants. The value of the business in 2019 was Bt2.64 billion, which rose by 11.97 per cent to Bt2.95 billion in 2020.

Statistics show that 60 per cent of food-truck operators are in the Central region, followed by 14 per cent in the North, 9 per cent in Northeast, 6 per cent each in East and South and 5 per cent in the West of the country.

Products sold via food trucks in Thailand are international food (27 per cent), drink (26 per cent) and Thai food (22 per cent).