The mother of Thanatat Tiyapongpattana confirmed on Friday that it was her son, who went missing in the national park late last month.

His mother told officials that her son ventured into the national park to explore what he told her was the supernatural world. He did not return.

Authorities had conducted a search for Thanatat and handed out pictures of him to the public and visitors to the park.

When he was found, he had a patient’s identity card, a government identity card and a bottle of water.

He entered the park without a phone, which made it difficult for him to be tracked by the security system.

His body was found by tourists at a nature study path near Saisorn reservoir.

In line with the government’s Thailand 4.0 initiative, the private university aims to familiarise its first-year college students with the latest cloud-based computing facilities provided by Oracle for its new course – Innovative Start-ups.

For the first time, first-year students will have access to a cutting-edge digital cloud platform to turn their innovative ideas into real online businesses, while studying for their Bachelor’s degrees at the university’s College of Information Technology and Communication.

Dr Chetneti Srisa-an, the dean, said Oracle Cloud is chosen to power the students’ start-up community, which kicked off last year.

So far, recent graduates of Rangsit University have already launched eight start-ups, including those related to QueQ app (which does away with unnecessarily having to queue up at restaurants, hospitals etc) and GateDee app (for an at-home blood-testing service).

Last year, Rangsit University’s graduates also contested in the Start-up Thailand league organised by National Innovation Agency that provides incubation, funding and other services to promising start-ups. According to Chetneti, the university’s innovative start-up course is open to all first-year students. They can earn a total of six credits through project-based assignments, while also competing to win prize money in multiple contests.

The university has also encouraged students to take part in the Asian business plan competition, which covers start-ups from nine countries including Thailand.

For this year, more than 160 students have enrolled in the course with a total of 28 projects underway, and so they need the latest cloud-based computing facilities to turn good ideas into scalable online enterprises that solve problems for people and businesses.

“We want to promote to students that they commercialise their innovative ideas for various use cases,” he said, noting that Thailand had previously wasted a lot of financial and other resources on many research projects that could not be further developed and commercialised.

According to Chetneti, ongoing digitalisation of the economy and society is posing new challenges to educators as they need to prepare students for the “workforce 4.0”, including through a more personalised education platform with a focus on technology and innovation.

However, not all students will become entrepreneurs, since the ratio of success is less than 20 per cent. Many graduates will still seek jobs as salaried workers but they, too will need new skills and a certain mindset for innovative projects in their workplace.

The GateDee app’s co-founder Kannaphat Kraengkrai is a recent graduate of RSU. Kannaphat said GateDee was created by her and three classmates to help elderly persons who need to get their blood tested regularly.

At most hospitals, people have to wait at least an hour for blood-test results before they can see the doctor, so it is more convenient to have a licensed practitioner get a blood sample for lab analysis ahead of a visit to the doctor’s office.

Kannaphat says Thailand now has about 12 million seniors aged 60 or above. There is a huge potential market for such a service in the rapidly ageing society.

Customers can now get an appointment online for the service and pay for it using the MyMo payment app from Government Savings Bank, Kannaphat said, adding that lab results are delivered online within 24 hours.

Passanan Chamusri, cloud platform lead at Oracle Corp (Thailand), said the company helps the university educate students for workforce 4.0 by leveraging its global learning experience as well as various cases in which innovative technology is practised in the cloud-based environment. The Oracle Cloud programme also highlights competition to help make education more effective.

The workforce 4.0 course starts with sessions to inspire first-year students with actual start-up case studies.

Students then take classes on fundamental knowledge about digital transformation and an introduction to creating platforms in order to develop their own ideas and bring them to life.

Next, students learn how AI (artificial intelligence) and other tools can be used to help execute the projects by embedding it into the core technology to drive innovation and potential success.

The programme also includes hackathon-themed contests in which students create products from their initial ideas. In this process, promising ideas are made concrete by developing them into healthcare apps, micro loan apps, a better registration system or grading system, or a student behaviour analysis system.

The spectacular, celebrity-studded opening of Iconsiam, Bangkok’s latest palace of consumerism, lit up the sky over the Chao Phraya River last weekend, further propelling development of the waterfront into the 21st century.

But if the sprawling mixed-use property represents a fresh peak for commerce and tourism, it also has urban planners and scholars concerned about sustainability, public access to the river and the openness of city planning.

Redevelopment of the river for the 21st century is newly crowned by the vast and spectacular Iconsiam multi-use mega-project. Nation/Rachanon Intharagsa

Bangkok’s development in the past decade has proceeded at such a pace that it is now crowding the riverbanks. Riverfront redevelopment has been booming since 2007, lining the banks with multimillion-baht condos like The River by Raimonland and the Chartrium. The Charoen Phokphand Group converted a clutch of old warehouses into Asiatique the Riverfront.

The Thonburi side, where Iconsiam is situated, also has the commercial and leisure attraction Lhong 1919.

Other abandoned storage houses and shophouses in Thonburi’s Khongsan neighbourhood have been commandeered by artists and designer collectives for galleries and co-working spaces. Boutique hotels and homestay ventures are luring more tourists to the riverside.

But nothing can match the Bt54-billion Iconsiam “mega-city” for shifting waterfront redevelopment to Thonburi, which among other things represents a triumph for the “public-private partnership” model, capitalising on transportation infrastructure in the form of a public railway and ferryboats.

Siam Piwat, Magnolia Quality Development Corp and Charoen Pokphand are the mighty partners behind Iconsiam, but much more is coming as the Gold Line extends BTS transit from Thonburi station to the Phra Pok Klao Bridge, paving the way for further projects along the 2.8-kilometre monorail route.

“Waterfront development has become a key urban redevelopment trend around the world and Bangkok is following that trend,” says Asst Professor Apiwat Ratanawaraha, a scholar on the subject at Chulalongkorn University.

“The investment in Iconsiam indicates that city development is now shifting from Bangkok to Thonburi and returning to the river again,” adds Pitch Pongsawat, a political scientist at the same school. “Thonburi has become a new battlefield for property developers.”

To bring in the tourists and shoppers, Iconsiam contributed about Bt2 billion to the mass-transit rail project, earning in return the right to advertise on the BTS coaches for the next 20 years.

Apiwat has tallied the “potential fiscal effects” of this deal.

“These include loss of potential revenue from advertising because the BMA gave the concession to Iconsiam for 20 years, and unfair distribution of financial resources due to the government’s eventual subsidies for lower-than-expected ridership on the Gold Line,” he says.

The Chao Phraya River as it was in 1950, bustling with boats on which tens of thousands relied daily. Life magazine photographer Dmitri Kessel took this picture, titled “19 Rice Mill”, showing the mill site across the river now occupied by Iconsiam. Photo courtesy Dmitri Kessel

Iconsiam is also investing on the water, notes Niramon Kulsrisombat, director of the Urban Design and Development Centre (UDDC) at Chulalongkorn.

While waiting for the Gold Line’s completion, expected within three years, it had struck a deal with the UDDC, the Transport Ministry’s Marine Department and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to modernise river piers.

“Bangkok used to be known as the Venice of the East when everything was transported by river and canal,” Niramon reminds The Nation Weekend. “In the mid-19th century, transportation shifted to the roads and the piers were left behind.

“Upgrading the piers – which can connect the roads, river and Skytrain – is one of key parts of urban waterfront development. The pier is the link between land and river. In London, Sydney, Venice, the Netherlands and even Vietnam, piers might have cafes, galleries and mini-parks.”

Niramon and her team are currently holding public meetings about ways to improve the Sathorn, Ratchawong, Tha Dindaeng and Ratcha Nevy piers. If no unforeseen obstacles arise, the piers will have a whole new look by next June.

Still, development along the river is dominated by private-sector projects like condos and malls, rather than public spaces such as museums and parkland.

Apiwat, who chairs the master-of-science programme in urban strategies at Chulalongkorn, says much could be learned from overseas about sustainable waterfront development.

“We need to develop a series of master plans that integrate waterfront projects, whether developed by the private sector or the government. Several state agencies and religious institutions could and should contribute more to providing public access to the water.

“Public access to the river doesn’t necessarily mean building broad walkways in all locations,” he says.

“Good design requires careful consideration of context. We can learn from successful projects like the Boston’s Esplanade and New York City’s High Line, which are actually managed by civil-society groups.”

Pitch and Niramon concur, saying Thonburi’s development in particular requires deeper research into history, community interests and future impacts.

But after academic knowledge was brought to bear on the argument and room made for public participation, the Phanoen Thung road project controversy is now seen by some noted conservationists as having pushed the country’s conservation work to a new height.

They say that the unique public learning and engagement process generated through the controversy is an example for similar conservation issues to follow.

“The debates and arguments shaped by strong ecological knowledge and expertise have framed the fruitful discussion, with good intentions contributed from all sides,” said Phanudej Kerdmali, a secretary-general of the noted conservation organisation, Seub Nakhasathien. “And with room allowed for the discussion, the result we have seen is what I would like to call ‘the beauty of the Phanoen Thung controversy’.”

The controversy

The Phanoen Thung road improvement project would not have become controversial if not for its large scope in upgrading the old route, four metres wide and 21 kilometres long, that runs to Phanoen Thung mountain top in the heart of Kaeng Krachan, the country’s largest national park and the subject of a World Heritage nomination.

The area, in fact, is widely known as being rich in biodiversity. It was supposed to have been designated as a wildlife sanctuary over 30 years ago, but was not.

Worries thus grew against the proposal development under the park chief, Mana Phermpool, in consultation with the park’s advisory committee. People feared the project would affect the park’s biodiversity and ecosystems as well as the World Heritage pitch.

Moreover, it was feared that the project would set an example for other parks hoping to develop internal facilities under pressures to increase tourism.

Mana reasoned that the asphalt based 21-km section from Ban Krang campsite to Phanoen Thung was damaged to the point that it would become irreparable if not immediately addressed. The concrete paved road surface was therefore proposed as to prevent heavy damage and erosion in the area, and to increase road safety for users including park visitors.

Improved road access is a component in the park’s management, in which many and sometimes conflicting uses, including tourism, need to be controlled, Mana has said.(Read SPECIAL REPORT: Kaeng Krachan’s main priority: tourism or wildlife protection?)

Local conservation groups, however, were not convinced. They were among the first to sound the alarm, led by bird-watching groups that regularly visited the park. They, in turn, were accused of having a conflict of interest by the project’s supporters.

Before the issue degenerated into personal conflicts, some national conservation groups including Seub picked it up and at the end of October, the foundation and 14 other organisations issued a statement in objection to the project.

Seub and its allies expressed critical concern over upgrading route to the heart of the park, through an area rich in biodiversity and home to a wide range of rare mammals and birds. It was also unconvinced by the proposed mitigation measures.

In addition, it cited the lack of public participation in the project. The public, it said, had first learned about the project when the issue was posted on social media early last month. By the time it was posted, the park had already signed a contract with the construction firm.

Among the vocal voices were Seub’s vice president Dr Rungsrit Kanjanavanit, who brought an academic dimension to the debates and arguments with some critical research papers. The research revealed the impacts roads have on wildlife and birds. One study focused on the effects of human disturbance on the habitat, use and behaviour of the Asiatic leopard (Panthera pardus) in Kaeng Krachan National Park, and was done in 2007 by a team of researchers at King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi – Dr Dusit Ngoprasert, Antony Lynam and George Gale.

According to that study, under which the extent of the impacts were not fully established and remained debatable, six leopards captured living in the study area had showed changes in their behaviours in response to human activities.

While the researchers learnt that the road dividing the study area was not a barrier to leopard movements, the animals’ movements and activities had been affected by human traffic inside the park. The leopards tended to be less active during the day in areas more heavily used by people, compared to areas with less human impact.

The study also showed that leopard habitat use increased with distance from human settlements at the forest edge. Rungsrit’s critique of the road project based on academic arguments were cited by a number of the project’s opponents. A public educational event held in early November by groups opposing the road upgrade included a forum and a photo exhibition of Kaeng Krachan wildlife and the impacts of roads on wildlife elsewhere.

The National Parks Department immediately responded, with its chief Thanya Netithammakul issuing an immediate press release on the same day, listing the reasons why the road improvement should proceed. The DNP eventually called for a special meeting so that supporters and the opponents could meet, talk and find the best way forward.

Although the first meeting on November 5 was attended mostly by project supporters, an attempt to reach a mutual resolution was made again on November 12. This time, both sides eventually agreed to adjust the plan, focusing only on 26 severely damaged spots.

Credit: Transborder News.

Knowledge-based discussions

Along with the heavy topic of the road improvement project for the route to Phanoen Thung, Phanudej also observed how the discussion had expanded into the park’s ecological values, management and eco-tourism that people wished to see in the park.

Phanudej said that, in principle, protected areas should be preserved as much as possible. Any changes or disturbances can affect their ecosystems to some extent and roads have long played a destructive role in this aspect, having impacts on forest ecology that often are not immediately evident to the eyes.

The Phanoen Thung area, he noted, is as rich in biodiversity as the forest deeper inside the park, and should therefore be designated under a dark green zone that restricts human activities.

The most problematic issue for Kaeng Krachan is that its forest area is divided by forest communities inside into two main sections, and forest corridors are thus needed to help connect them in order to increase the chances for wild animals to survive.

Considering that the park faces such a critical issue, its management should give priority weight to conservation rather than to tourism, he said.

But as the road improvement is needed, the park’s value and its fragile state must be considered the first and foremost factors to help guide the appropriate road work, he said.

The meeting that worked out an agreement was vital to a good outcome, said Phanudej,

“The inputs that we had at the meeting are valuable as they reflected how valuable Kaeng Krachan was and helped to frame our decision. The process where both sides sat and discussed together was also crucial, having given a new direction for environmental actions that need no ‘special treatment’ to pressure for negotiations as was needed in the past.

“It was a move to a more peaceful and constructive approach, providing another public learning lesson for Thai society,” said Phanudej.

Runsrit said the Phanoen Thung issue has brought Thai society to a watershed where knowledge is driving the outcome when dealing with conservation issues.

He said the disagreement over the road was good because it helped bring people back to debates and discussions about the impacts from roads and mass tourism.

Road ecology, he said, is a science still little known among Thai people and the knowledge needs to be shared in order to help facilitate fruitful future discussions.

In the future, Dr Rungsrit hoped that conservation agencies would come up with more studies and research that better respond to the needs to help address modern conservation issues and facilitate discussions in the society.

This would eventually help in better decision-making, planning and management, he said.

“To make a decision, we need information and knowledge, and that’s the reason why we need some people to help study the areas thoroughly before we say something. This needs a little more investment,” said Rungsrit.

Public Health Minister Piyasakol Sakolsattayathorn says that the plain packaging will replace all current packaging.

Current guidelines have been used for more than five years and have become ‘familiar’ with smokers to the extent that it is ‘no longer effective’ in discouraging people from smoking or making people recognise the health threats from cigarette smoking, Piyasakol said.

He says the plain packaging will be standard and applied to all brands of cigarettes and colourful or appealing packaging will not be allowed as it is regarded as marketing of cigarettes.

The minister says that the introduction of plain packaging would make Thailand the first country in Asia and the 11th in the world to adopt this kind of ‘negative’ packaging to discourage cigarette smoking. Australia was the first country to enforce plain packaging and the most recent country was Mauritius.

Dr Chayanan Sitthiboot, director of the Tobacco Consumption Control Office, says cigarette manufacturers have one year to prepare for the new packaging.

Source: thethaiger.com

 The King Power Mahanakhon has one of the highest views in Thailand at 314 meters height, 78 floors, and has a 360-degree view of Bangkok city.

Photo: // EPA-EFE

Deputy national police chief Pol General Srivara Rangsibhramanakul said yesterday the spent bullet found in the body of a male elephant was from an AK47 rifle, a weapon not used in Thailand.

He did not mention the name of the country the task force contacted to help, saying only that it was a neighbouring country. However, Ubon Ratchathani is close to Laos.

The remains of the elephant were found near Huay Sai Yai waterfall in BuntarikYod Mon Wildlife Sanctuary on Friday. Officials believe it was shot in the mouth and the bullet penetrated to the back of the animal’s body.

Officials believe the animal did not die at the scene of the shooting.

Basing on photos from camera traps installed in the area, the killers are believed to be a group of armed men in camouflage clothing. The men, using GPS tracking devices, were believed to have entered the area for illegal logging.

Authorities believe the men did not intend to kill the animal as its organs were still intact.

Srivara said that although the elephant was found in the national park, it is near a no man’s land where there has been fighting between illegal loggers.

Gen Wallop Raksanoh, secretary general of the National Security Council, said the committee in charge of emergency situation in the deep South decided to extend the state of emergency for Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat from December 20 to January 19.

The committee, which is chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan, also decided to lift the emergency situation in the Sukharin district of Narathiwat after the insurgency situation improved. Sukharin will instead be put under the lighter Internal Security Act.

The committee also considered the status of four other districts but the panel decided that their situations have not yet improved enough to warrant the emergency status being lifted.

The emergency decree has been declared in the deep South to allow authorities to bypass normal legal procedures for taking suspected insurgents into custody and for interrogation.

Sukhum said he had assigned an inspector-general who oversees Nakhon Sawan and the head of the provincial health office to follow up on the investigation.

He said the officials would determine whether the accused doctor, who has not been publicly identified, did indeed work at the public hospital, and whether his private clinic met required standards.

They will take interim measures as appropriate pending the results of a fact-finding probe.

Sukhum urged women to feel secure about having gynaecological check-ups at public or private hospitals because they provide a high standard of service, including requiring a female nurse to be present during the procedure.

Nakhon Sawan public health inspector Dr Boonchai Theerakan said the director of Sawan Pracharak Hospital had already summoned the accused doctor for an interview.

Although the alleged rape took place at the doctor’s private clinic, he must be investigated as a member of the civil service.

Medical Council secretary-general Dr Itthaporn Kanachareon said on Thursday his agency was prepared to investigate if the accuser so requests or if the council at its next meeting in in two weeks decides on its own to do so.

Actress-turned-activist Panadda Wongphudee, who reportedly brought the case to lawyer Saranya Wangsukcharoen, has meanwhile revealed that 10 more victims had since come to her with similar accusations and she could not see how the doctor could escape punishment.

Panadda made the comment in a recent Facebook post in which she criticised a police officer and reporters for revealing the identity of the original accuser.

She said the police officer in Muang Nakhon Sawan precinct, whom she did not name, showed the formal complaint sheet to reporters, who then published the alleged victim’s name.

Panadda said the invasion of privacy dealt a further blow to the accused, who already faced a prolonged court battle and derision from unsympathetic men and women.

She said her charity group would sue the policeman and the media outlets involved.