At Princess Mother Memorial Park, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration permanent secretary Phattarut Thadtranon Tanthanon yesterday co-chaired the opening of an event in honour of the Princess Mother. It comprised the giving of alms to 72 monks and an exhibition on the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s work in honour of the Princess Mother.
In Yala province, members of a local health network offered alms to nine monks at the Boromarajonani College of Nursing in remembrance of the Princess Mother’s contributions to the country’s medical sector. Her Royal Highness was born on October 21, 1900, and passed away on July 18, 1995.

The rumour arose after a 2017 calendar that recently appeared on the social media failed to show May 5 as a national holiday. Some Thais expressed dismay at this apparent change in a tradition that marks reverance for the late monarch.
HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej passed away at the age of 89 on October 13, throwing the nation into deep mourning.
“There has been no change to the national holidays,” Government Spokesman Lt-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said yesterday. “Any such change requires prior approval from the Cabinet. And the Cabinet has not done such a thing to date.”
He said rumour-mongers could cause confusion and damage the public interest.
Sansern revealed that authorities were now investigating to try and find the source of the rumour.
“They violated the Computer Crime Act. If you know any person who spreads the rumour, please immediately alert police,” he said.
Sansern urged people not to believe unverified information.
“Please follow news from the government,” he said.

HUNDREDS of thousands of people are expected to attend the heartfelt singing of the royal anthem in tribute to HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej at Sanam Luang today.
Organisers have prepared a full orchestra to help provide memorable moments.
From 1pm to 5pm, there will be multiple rounds of mass singing of the royal anthem with the backing of a full orchestra, they said.
Another highlight is scheduled for 10pm, when mourners will hold white candles and sing a last round of the royal anthem.
Newly appointed Deputy Bangkok Governor Pol Lt Gen Amnuay Nimmano said the authorities expected a huge gathering – at least 100,000 Thais to join the mass singing.
In recent days, at least 50,000 people clad in black have gathered daily at Sanam Luang next to the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, where royal and religious ceremonies are taking place to pay tribute to the late King, according to Maj-General Pongsawat Panchit, deputy commander of the First Region Army, which is responsible for security around the area.
Security measures have been stepped up for today’s grand event, while emergency service providers are prepared to cope with the needs of the huge crowd expected to visit Sanam Luang over the three-day long weekend, according to Pongsawat, who chaired yesterday’s meeting of a joint security and safety command officials.
The operation will utilise officials from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), the First Army Region, the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB), the Ministry of Public Health, and other related state organisations. Seven checkpoints will be set up to screen visitors before they enter the inner area of Sanam Luang.
Both male and female police will operate the checkpoints, while other personnel will patrol areas around Sanam Laung, including Rajdamnoen Road.
“This is the heartland [Sanam Luang]. We have to secure it and make sure that everything here goes smooth. We are willing to work hard for this unifying and historic event,” Pongsawat said.
He urged the authorities to take preventive measures against possible crime and handle cases of missing children and the elderly properly.
More volunteer doctors and hospital staff will be ready to help any visitors needing first aid or emergency medical treatment, he said. Pongsawat also urged to the authorities to provide more wheelchairs to facilitate the elderly and handicapped. Currently, there were 250 wheelchairs available, he said.
The BMA will assign more doctors and medical personnel to provide emergency services to visitors while officials will closely monitor the quality of ready-to-eat food donated by the public in a bid to avoid cases of food poisoning.
Wattanee Wattana, deputy permanent secretary of the BMA, said ready-to-eat food, especially food with coconut milk as an ingredient, would be bad if exposed to heat for more than four hours, so authorities would check the quality before handing out food.
In regard to traffic management, no personal or public vehicles were allowed to enter the Sanam Luang area, he said. Members of the public should commute to Sanam Luang by shuttle buses or other public transport, he said.
Tents and seats will be set up at bus stops around Sanam Luang for the public.
Today, people will be allowed to enter the Sala Sahathai Samakhom Pavilion in the Grand Palace to sign the condolence book in memory of the King while the royal anthem singing is underway, the command centre said.
But certain streets around Sanam Luang, where royal motorcades regularly pass, remain closed and people joining the singing are not allowed to enter those prohibited zones, Amnuay said.
But he said the preserved routes could be used for emergency purposes during the singing event.
Tonight’s singing is being organised by a team headed by Prince Chatrichalerm Yukol. Organisers discussed the preparation plan for the singing yesterday with the command centre officials.
The major concern of authorities was emergency cases, so the number of doctors and other volunteer medics would be increased, Amnuay said.
According to the Royal Household Bureau, around 225,000 people have signed the condolence book since last Saturday – an average of 40,000 to 50,000 people per day. And last Saturday saw the highest turnout – about 70,000.
From Friday, people will be allowed to pay their respects to the King in the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall inside the Grand Palace, where the monarch’s body rests.

The government would send URLs (web addresses) of people thought to have put up such posts and times that clips were broadcast so the team can consider if it should block or suspend them within 24 hours, he said. That would be followed by court orders and more details when they came to hand.Ann Lavin, director of public policy and government affairs at Google’s Southeast Asia and Greater China office, was invited to meet Prajin as the government wished to get advice on how to handle lese majeste issues from posts on Google and YouTube.
“Lavin, the executive of Google and YouTube, has insisted that the firm places importance on the case and agreed to move by setting up the team in the US. There would be Thai nationals in the team, which would handle the issue for 24 hours.”
She also said a complaint report in would be available in Thai.
A Google executive was invited to meet Prajin as the government wished to get advice on how to handle with lese majeste cases posted in Google and YouTube. “Lavin, the executive of Google and YouTube, has insisted that the firm places importance on the case and agreed to move by setting [up] the team in the US. There would be Thai nationals in the team which would handle the issue for 24 hours [a day],” Prajin said.

However, Google denied that it is monitoring posts by Thai social networkers but it will simply consider the Thai government’s requests for removal of certain sensitive posts on case by case basis.

“We have always had clear and consistent policies for removal requests from governments around the world. We have not changed those policies in Thailand,” the statement said.

“We rely on governments around the world to notify us of content that they believe is illegal through official processes, and will restrict it as appropriate after a thorough review. All of these requests are tracked and included in our Transparency Report.”

There have been reports that people were offered free motorcycle rides and then charged upon reaching Sanam Luang, deputy city police chief Maj-General Chaiyaporn Panichattra said.
He urged people to file complaints and provide police with wrongdoers’ licence-plate numbers or photo or video evidence. As well as at relevant police stations, people can file complaints at the police coordination centre near the Wiset Chaisri gate.

HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the much-revered monarch, passed away at the age of 89 on October 13.
CU president Bundhit Eua-arporn urged all fresh graduates to remember the moment, be grateful and embrace a righteous path to repay the gracious contribution from the King.
“You are the graduates in the reign of King Rama IX,” Bundhit said.
At the conferral ceremony yesterday, the princess instructed the graduates to use their knowledge in the right way.

The source said nominees are: former 2nd Army deputy commander Lt-General Jeerasak Chomprasop; former Provincial Police Region 1 commander Pol Lt-General Amnuay Nimmano; former BMA deputy permanent secretary Jakkapan Phiwngam; and BMA Traffic and Transportation Department director-general Taweesak Lertprapan.
Amnuay said he was not aware if he had been nominated for deputy governor, and refused to disclose details pending a statement from Aswin.
When asked whether he would resign from the National Reform Steering Assembly, Amnuay replied: “Why do I have to leave the assembly? That has got nothing to do with this, and the law does not prohibit it.
“Pol General Aswin could be in the assembly when he was also a BMA deputy governor.”

ACROSS the country, many farmers live free from worries about water shortages due to His Majesty’s many irrigation projects. These projects remain as evidence of his hard work for Thailand even after his passing.
On the day of his coronation, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej announced: “I will rule the country with Dharma for the sake of all citizens’ happiness.” He stood by those words during his reign by devoting himself to tackling people’s problems, especially the chronic issues of flood and drought.
Since His Majesty was crowned King 70 years ago, as many as 473 irrigation projects have been put in place nationwide. Suthep Noipairoj, former director-general of the Royal Irrigation Department (RID), said His Majesty’s main mission was to ensure that people lived happily without fear of water problems that could destroy their crops and property.
“His Majesty was very talented in irrigation. He was devoted to monitoring people’s problems and trying to find solutions and prevention measures. This was despite the fact that he was suffering from poor health,” Suthep recalled.
“There is solid evidence that the royal irrigation projects have offered tremendous benefits. I can say that if we did not have the foundation that he laid in irrigation, serious problems like the 2011 flooding and 2015 drought would be far more destructive and more people would have suffered,” he said.
For instance, he said, one of the King’s masterpieces in water management was the Pasak Jolasid Dam in Lop Buri, which has been helping irrigate the Chao Phraya River Basin.
He said that during the 2011 flood and 2015 drought, the dam played a key role in relieving the severity of the situation, preventing serious destruction.
“The dam slows down the flow of the Pasak River and stores water to prevent flooding downstream and provide water for agriculture and domestic consumption in areas downriver from Lop Buri such as the provinces of Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani and Bangkok,” the former RID director-general said.
Pasak Jolasid Dam was initiated in 1989 to address the regular flood and drought problems in Pasak River, one of the main tributaries of the Chao Phraya River. The dam, which was built between in 1994 and 1999, was opened by His Majesty himself.
Suthep also cited Phitsanulok province, which benefited from His Majesty’s work.
“This province was only hit slightly during the 2011 flooding and farmers in the province were able to grow crops during the dry season every year with the exception of 2015, when they were instructed by the government not to grow dry-season crops. This was all thanks to the King’s project at the Khwae Noi Bamrung Dan,” he said.
His Majesty explained the necessity to build this dam in Phitsanulok in 1995 in order to address the flooding and drought problems in the province and better manage water in the Chao Phraya River Basin. This dam was completed in 2011 and is now one of the four main dams to regulate water throughout the basin.
Royon Jitdon, director of the Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute, said the key reason for the success of His Majesty’s initiatives were his progressive views on water management and preparedness.
“As we can see, His Majesty always had a map and information about the area in his hands when he was in the field. He had in-depth information and was able to make comprehensive plans for water management, leading from the headwaters in the mountains down to the delta,” Royon said.
He said His Majesty had very progressive ideas about water management and he based all his initiatives on available hydro-information. This method is now being used by the World Bank, which has ordered every country seeking funding to gather information in the affected area first.
He said another reason that made these initiatives successful was that the King understood people’s problems and their needs. This is why His Majesty’s initiatives were very beneficial.
“The King once told me that in order to work on water management, we needed to be up-to-date with the changing situation and always be prepared for the future. I think this is an important thing that everybody who works in this field should keep in mind and follow in his footsteps to work for the people,” he said.
King Bhumibol was known for his interest in irrigation, a pursuit that began when he was still young. According to the book “Jao Nai Leklek, Yuwakasat” (Small King) written by His Majesty’s older sister, HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana, the King used to dig canals in the garden and build dams as part of his games as a child.
Owing to that interest, he chose to study science and engineering at the University of Lausanne, but had to switch to politics and law after taking the throne in 1946.
Yet his interest in water-management never waned, and ended up benefiting his citizens during his reign.

The blasts were part of the August 11-12 spate of arson and bomb attacks in seven tourist towns, which resulted in four people being killed and 35 injured.
The 21-year-old Muhammad denied charges of possessing war-grade explosives without permission, conspiring to commit arson and racketeering.
So far, arrest warrants have been issued for nine suspects.
Muhammad and Trang arson suspect Abdul-Kadae Salae are in custody.
The seven fugitives are: Phuket bomb suspects Ahama Lengha and Yusoh Maetimoh; Phang-Nga firebomb suspect Sukiman Kubaru; Nakhon Si Thammarat bombing suspect Hakeem Doloh; and Hua Hin bombing suspects Russaran Baima, Asmin Katemmadee and Seri Waemamu.

Targeted raids
Srivara also spoke at a press conference to announce the achievement of the police in the crime sweep and targeted searches between October 10 and 19.
The Provincial Police Region 9 seized 32 guns including two M16 rifles; the Southern Border Provinces Police Operation Centre nabbed 162 drug suspects along with illicit drugs – 4,305 yaba pills, 20.85 grams of heroin, 47.57 grams of marijuana, 1,020.29 kilograms of krathom leaves, and 2.73 grams of “ice”.
Officers also arrested eight gun-related offenders along with 18 guns, including three M16 rifles and apprehended nine people who were wanted in criminal cases.
Police also reported the extra-judicial killing of four national security suspects during the October 13 search in Songkhla’s Saba Yoy district. They were Abdulwahub Ratuyahae, Yasa Salae, Rusdin Porsu and Fadlan Sohman.
Three of the dead were wanted for various attacks in the deep South.
The slain suspects were armed with two pistols and two M16 rifles that were also seized.

Government Spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said yesterday that the mass recital of the Royal Anthem would be accompanied by the Siam Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Somtow Sucharitkul and a 100-strong chorus.
This historic moment will be filmed by prominent director Prince Chatrichalerm Yukol and his team.
The film will be shown in theatres and on television, Sansern said.
“The great moment will show how enormous is the love, loyalty and mournfulness that all Thais dedicate to our beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej for his gracious kindness,” he said.
Those interested in being a part of this memorable activity should wear black, decent clothing, bring a white candle and attend the rehearsal at 10am, he said.
For more information, call (08) 9949 5629.