Department head Thanya Netithammakul said that given the influx of people to the parks during this period, he had instructed park chiefs nationwide to set up the centres as a safety measure.

Park rangers would be deployed at the centres around the clock, he said, with some of them trained in first aid.

Park chiefs were also instructed to ensure the parks don’t become overcrowded.

Thailand has 128 national parks, many of which are frequented by visitors as they offer pristine environments. They are especially popular during holiday periods. In the past overcrowding led to problems such as accidents.

Thanya said the department did not want visitors to bring alcohol into the parks, and people should bring their rubbish back home to dispose of to reduce the parks’ burden and the threat to wildlife, which in the past had eaten plastic bags and died.

The department has waived park entrance fees for New Year visitors until today.

Called PromptPay, the e-payment infrastructure requires all recipients of government welfare to register with commercial banks to get the monthly allowance directly from state agencies using either a mobile phone number or an individual bank account.

This will start with elderly and baby welfare programmes before PromptPay is expanded to cover other e-payment activities in the public as well as private sector.

In following stages, this nationwide financial infrastructure will allow money transfers at low or no cost among individuals and enterprises, ushering in the new era of digital economy.

Mobile phones will become the wallets while less cash will be used.

Such a widespread use of electronic money, mobile banking and Internet banking services, among others, will boost consumer convenience and national economic competitiveness, but cyber security remains a significant challenge.

Over the past years, news headlines show multiple ATMs of Government Savings Bank were hacked and millions of baht stolen, while some users of mobile and Internet banking services reported their passwords and identities were stolen.

In other words, there are quite a number of bad guys in cyber space ready to abuse the new eco-system.

As a result, banks and other enterprises need to step up their cyber security precautionary measures to cope with problems from these cyber criminals while consumers need more public education on how best to protect their confidential data, identities and passwords.

The PromptPay service will serve as a major test for the effectiveness of existing security measures to prevent fraud and other cyber crimes.

Unless consumers are reassured that the new e-payment eco-system is safe and their money is not going to be stolen, authorities will find it difficult to turn the e-payment service into a successful new foundation of the digital economy.

Efficient, effective and secured e-payment is a prerequisite for an e-commerce boom which is inevitable if Thailand is going to be a real digital economic power house in the near future.

Meanwhile, banks and other financial institutions are exploring ways to better manage their risks associated with the emerging digital economy while insurance companies are formulating new coverage on cyber risks to make the pros and cons of digitalisation more manageable.

For the third year since the 2014 coup, the junta government will continue to assure foreign entities of how democracy will be restored to the country via their designated “road map”.

A crucial landmark will be the general election, currently planned for late next year.

As the junta has yet to lift a number of suppressions against civilians, especially regarding political rights and expressions, its continual work to legitimise such actions can be expected. This will include responses, notably from the US, the European Union and the United Nations.-

The defence will involve not only protecting the country image but also maintaining national benefits in the global arena. Alleged labour abuses in the Thai fishery industry remain a concern for the EU, which gave the alarming yellow-card status to the Kingdom almost two years ago. The authorities are scheduled to provide updates on the issue in Europe in January.

Aviation safety standards, meanwhile, are also a major concern as the country committed to re-certify 28 airlines required by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. The organisation will examine Thailand’s aviation standards in the middle of the year.

Regarding the US, there is speculation the States’ signature liberal approach might be altered under a Donald Trump presidency. Some progress on bilateral trade deals are also anticipated. However, clear directions will be spelled out once Trump takes office in January, when key officials including the secretary of state will be appointed. Trump has yet to address this, including Asean-US affairs.

Regardless of possible policy changes, the US State Department will continue issuing its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices and Trafficking in Persons. For human right trafficking, the US this year elevated Thailand’s status from the lowest Tier 3 to the Tier 2 watch list. The Kingdom will aim to at least maintain that status next year.

As an Asean-EU coordinator, the country also has an obligation to carry out Asean affairs, with the EU caring greatly about human rights practices when dealing with countries in the region. As an immediate neighbour, Thailand needs to help Myanmar and Asean deal with the Rohingya crisis.

The communal conflict in Myanmar spilled over the region as thousands of Muslim Rohingya fled the difficulties at home and arrived in other Asean countries, including Thailand. A recent meeting in Myanmar seemed to indicate no quick way out of the crisis.

However, the River Assembly community group has urged people to closely monitor the procedures used and money spent in the state initiative.

The BMA’s Public Works Department said the riverside promenade and the proposed pedestrian bridge from Tha Phrachan pier to Siriraj Hospital will be among government mega-projects fast-tracked next year.

That is despite claims the projects will destroy the identity of riverside communities, damage the river’s ecosystem, and waste money on unnecessary projects.

Deputy director of the Public Works Department Pinit Lertudomthana said the riverside promenade was being audited by relevant agencies and the bidding process to find a construction firm would be held next year.

“We are already behind the original deadline for this project due to the heavy protest, so the Interior Ministry has asked the BMA rush the process,” Pinit said.

“Right now the promenade design and study by King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Lat Krabang is being reviewed by related agencies and the design will be amended according to their recommendations. The final draft of the promenade will have to pass the BMA’s committees again before the bidding process can start.”

Despite this, he was convinced the bidding process would start next year.

Pinit said the plan to build a pedestrian bridge across the Chao Phraya would also be determined next year. He said the BMA would finish the review process for this project by January 6 and it would then be considered by the government.

He insisted that these projects would benefit the public and were very necessary.

But Yossapon Boonsom, from the River Assembly, stated that as the BMA planned to fast-track the projects next year, it was the public’s duty to closely monitor the projects including the spending.

“Based on the progression of previous projects of the BMA, it is clear that the state’s working process is not transparent, as they did not really listen to people’s voices and the public participation was just a ceremony,” Yossapon said.

“We also doubt that spending a large amount of budget is needed for these projects and we would like to invite everyone to keep an eye on the state’s budget spending on these projects.”

He said that if the BMA insisted on going ahead with these projects and did not listen to the public, he would sue the BMA in the Administrative Court.

Millions of university students in Thailand are having to get prepared for the change. Check the schedule well and stay updated, because things can be a bit confusing.

The new academic year for students at all Rajamangala universities of technology will begin in June – two months ahead of the schedule of the past few years.

The change, according to these universities, is being made to reflect the actual needs of Thai students.

Students here complete their secondary and vocational studies by March. They have no reason to wait for many months to start their higher education.

Before this, Rajamangala universities agreed to postpone the start of their academic year only because the Council of University Presidents suggested the schedule change would suit Thailand’s status as a member of the Asean community.

But as things turned out, Thai students have found it inconvenient and frustrating to begin their academic year in August.

When their semester starts late, they have a higher risk of facing floods. Although the rainy season arrives around May, serious inundation usually strikes in October.

If the semester starts in June, October is the school break.

Taking such factors into account, many Rajabhat universities have announced that their upcoming academic year will start in June.

Other higher-educational institutions plan to stick by the August starting time.

This means there is no consensus on when the school year should start for students at universities, so confusion may prevail for a while.

For younger students, many will have to bear with the grim fact that their schools will shut down permanently next year.

The Education Ministry has already made it clear that it is going to close small schools or those with fewer than 120 students.

On the bright side, the government has promised to boost English teaching and learning at all schools.

Its goal is to ensure that all Prathom 6 graduates can speak the language well enough in the near future to express themselves in everyday situations.

The Education Ministry has also embraced the Thailand 4.0 vision in ensuring Thai children have all the skills needed for the new era.

At the very least, the one-kilometre so-called “missing tooth”, which will link the end of the recently opened MRT Purple Line at Tao Poon station with the far end of the underground MRT Blue Line at Bang Sue station, should be in service byAugust.

This is due to the special power invoked under Article 44 of the interim charter by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who is also chief of the National Council for Peace and Order, as the article can be used to enable the authorities to short-cut all the red tape in getting construction of the missing link completed faster than previously expected.

This would enable commuters to travel smoothly between the capital’s inner areas and Nonthaburi, a northwestern suburb, although the cost of travel remains an issue.

Once a subsidy for fares on the Purple Line comes to end, the combined fare throughout the two connected lines will be a maximum of Bt84 per trip.

However, there are good signs for commuters in that another 10 pending mass-transit lines – part of the government’s first-phase infrastructure investments worth more than Bt440 billion – could be in the pipeline to open services as scheduled from next year through to 2022.

If the missing link between the MRT Purple and Blue lines is completed smoothly and on time, the Blue Line’s two route extensions – from Hua Lamphong to Bang Khae via Tha Phra, and from Bang Sue to Tha Phra – will be available for service in 2019 as planned.

Commuters will then enjoy the utmost benefit, being able to travel throughout the MRT Blue Line as a loop with no added fares or transit, as the entire route will be run as a single line.

For certain, we will see the results of a major facelift from the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), including revamped services providing eight Express Railway trains, running at speeds of up to 120km per hour from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Ubon Ratchathani, Nong Khai and Hat Yai.

This forms part of the SRT’s biggest revamp in a century of operations.

Each train will comprise first-class seating and sleeper cars, second-class seating and sleeper cars – with one specially fitted out for handicapped passengers – a dining car, and a power car.

Private television screens will be available in first-class carriages, and electrical sockets will be provided in all sleeping berths.

All 115 carriages set for first- and second-class seating and sleeping berths on these trains are newly built, while 20 out of 148 third-class compartments on existing rolling stock have already been renovated as a New Year’s gift from the Prayut administration.

The remaining third-class carriages are gradually being renovated, with work expected to be completed in March next year.

Meanwhile, the new boat service along Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem for a distance of 5.5km – which was opened a few months ago – is a good choice for commuters, who can now travel from Dhevet Pier to connect to rail transport at Hua Lamphong station.

While senior officials including Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha have said the case will be prosecuted according to the law, authorities have not been able to search the vast temple and apprehend the monk.

Meanwhile, charges continue to pile up against the temple in Pathum Thani’s Klong Luang district and its supporters involved in the case.

As of December, Dhammakaya Temple – whose acting abbot Phra Witesphawanajahn also faces 13 charges including for allegedly having sheltered Dhammachayo – is involved in almost 200 cases, most of which are about illegal construction and encroaching on public space.

Some of the cases regarding allegedly illegal structures led to Tuesday’s police operation, which saw the removal of metal fences from public spaces around the temple. Officials, however, did not proceed with operations beyond the removal of the obstacles.

In addition, authorities announced this week that the Dhammakaya Media Channel satellite TV broadcasting licence would be revoked by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission after a 30-day suspension ends on January 7.

Citing ill health, Dhammachayo has failed to answer three summonses by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) after the deadlines of April 8, April 25 and May 16 elapsed.

The DSI wants the monk to hear charges of conspiracy to launder money, money laundering and receiving stolen assets linked to the Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative (KCUC) embezzlement case.

In its second application to the court on May 17, the DSI secured an arrest warrant for Dhammachayo.

However, an operation on June 16 to search the temple for the monk failed following a stand-off with temple supporters who gathered at the compound ostensibly for mass prayer but in reality blocking officers’ access.

At the same time, there were multiple attempts to induce the former abbot to surrender, with temple personnel saying he would do so if he was given a guarantee of release on bail, but a deal failed to materialise.

After prosecutors delayed a decision four times, stating that they needed more information from the DSI, in late November they decided to indict Dhammachayo and four others in relation to the KCUC money-laundering charges. Prosecutors also publicly urged the DSI to arrest the monk before the statute of limitations for the crime, which allegedly was committed in 2009, expired in 2024.

Dhammachayo also faces two police arrest warrants in relation to Suan Pa Himawan’s alleged encroachment on forestland in Loei’s Phu Rua district and World Peace Valley Khao Yai monastic retreat’s alleged encroachment on state-owned land in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Sikhiu district. Both organisations are linked to the former abbot.

Those arrest warrants were issued on August 16 and November 18 respectively.

As Dhammachayo remains at large, and the temple and its supporters face criminal cases, the controversy seems certain to remain a hot topic in 2017 as the public watches to see how authorities will resolve the case.

The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders will hear defence witnesses in another six trials which are scheduled during the first half of the year. The last trial is scheduled for July 21 and the court is expected to give its verdict not long after its conclusion, Yingluck’s lawyer Norawich Larlang said.

If found guilty, the former prime minister could face up to 10 years in prison.

The trial has been continuing for more than two years since the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) in 2014 accused Yingluck of negligence in failing to address corruption in her government’s rice subsidy scheme, in violation of Article 157 of the Criminal Code. The scheme allegedly incurred almost Bt200 billion in losses to the state budget.

The former prime minister and her witnesses have faced eight trials over past years, with the latest taking place earlier this month.

Besides the criminal lawsuit, the current government also issued an administrative order calling for the former prime minister to pay compensation of nearly Bt35 billion, which accounts for 20 per cent of the claimed total loss of Bt178 billion. The other 80 per cent is considered the responsibility of thousands of other officials who worked on the scheme.

If Yingluck does not obey the order, the authority could take administrative measures to seize all of her assets. Her legal team is currently appealing the order. Pheu Thai politicians maintain the case is not normal and Yingluck was a victim of political conflict.

Another Yingluck lawyer, Noppadon Laothong, says the administrative case is still at its infancy and it could take years before the Court deliver its verdict.

Critics have expressed concern that the lawsuits against Yingluck could scare future governments and prevent them from adopting subsidy policies. The programmes were not meant to make a profit but were intended to help out farmers, they said.

The controversial rice-pledging scheme was Pheu Thai Party’s flagship campaign policy in 2011. It presented farmers with a lucrative deal, offering Bt15,000 for a tonne of rice, twice as much as the market price.

The anti-Shinawatra camp criticised the scheme, saying it was another populist policy launched by Pheu Thai to win votes and neglected consequences harmful to the country in the long term.