Including stateless ‘Thais’ in calculating electoral boundaries a new glitch for EC
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2023
The Election Commission (EC) met on Monday to discuss the possibility of its new electoral boundaries being annulled by the Constitutional Court.
Concerns were sparked when the EC announced that it had based its electoral boundaries on the population census released by the Provincial Administration Department on December 31.
This census includes stateless people, who are considered “Thai” but do not have many legal rights and certainly not the right to vote.
The election watchdog was set to meet again on Tuesday, the day activist Srisuwan Janya plans to lodge a complaint with the Constitutional Court on the subject.
A source from the EC Office said many commissioners were worried that the election would hit technical problems if the court finds the drawing of new electoral boundaries unconstitutional.
The EC had announced earlier that it based the distribution of 400 House seats to 77 provinces on the population census as of December 31. The commission also insisted that the same method was used in previous elections as well.
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, the government’s legal expert, had said earlier that stateless people cannot be included in the population census when distributing House seats. He pointed out that stateless people cannot vote after all.
Similar opinions were aired by Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, a former EC commissioner, who warned that the election watchdog would be held responsible if the court later rules that the counting of stateless people was unconstitutional.
The general election is tentatively scheduled to be held on May 7.
Ex-EC official ‘mishandled’ 2019 ballots cast by Thais in New Zealand
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2023
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) concluded that a former high-ranking Election Commission official had committed a severe disciplinary offence in his handling of election ballots from New Zealand in 2019.
The allegation against Nat Laosisawakul, former EC office deputy secretary-general who is now retired, was announced by NACC Office secretary-general Niwatchai Kasemmongkol on Monday.
Nat oversaw the March 23, 2019, general election. Niwatchai said the NACC reviewed the investigation report and decided that Nat failed to act within his responsibility and power to ensure that ballots cast by Thai expatriates in New Zealand reached the EC in time for counting.
Niwatchai said Nat knew since March 22 that the mailbag containing ballots from the Thai Embassy in Wellington may not be delivered in time for counting on the following night.
The NACC noted that Nat had been informed of the delay by his subordinates and other agencies, but did nothing to deal with the issue. He did not provide any advice or instructions to his subordinates either.
The NACC also noted that Nat had failed to hold an urgent meeting to address the issue and did not report the problem to his superior to come up with a solution in time.
The commission also noted that the mailbag arrived at Suvarnabhumi International Airport by 8.50pm, and though Nat knew this, he did not order any of his officials to rush to the airport to pick up the bag.
He also failed to inform his superior of the bag’s arrival and votes cast by Thais in New Zealand did not get included in the final count, NACC concluded.
The NACC pointed out that an election gives each Thai both inside and outside the country their constitutional right to vote. It also said that a very large budget is required to hold an election.
Hence, all officials overseeing the election should pay utmost attention to the task, the NACC said.
However, it said, Nat did not carry out his duty to solve or mitigate the impact of the damage caused by the delayed delivery.
As a result, the NACC concluded that Nat had committed a severe disciplinary offence by failing to observe the law and electoral regulations, resulting in severe damage to the EC Office.
Niwatchai said the NACC also concluded that the two Foreign Ministry officials investigated along with Nat were innocent because they had done everything within their power to have the diplomatic mailbag delivered to Thailand on time.
The NACC will next ask the EC Office to launch a disciplinary probe against Nat retroactively.
After the ballots were delayed, the then-EC secretary-general transferred Nat to the post of director of the Political and Election Development Institute on March 24, 2019.
On Monday, Nat said he had heard about the NACC’s decision against him from news reports, but was perplexed.
He said he had explained to the NACC that the issue was “force majeure” because the delay was caused by a logistics problem in New Zealand that he could do nothing about. He added that all sides had tried their best to have the diplomatic mailbag delivered in time but failed.
Thailand’s new 300-baht ‘landing’ fee for foreigners gets go-ahead
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2023
The Cabinet on Tuesday greenlighted the 300-baht “landing fee” for foreigners arriving by air, Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said.
The fee is expected to go into effect from around June 1, or 90 days after it has been published in the Royal Gazette.
The “Kha Yeap Pan Din” (fee for stepping on Thai soil) for foreigners arriving by land or sea will be halved, as people in this group usually only stay for a few days, he said.
Foreigners entering the country via a border pass, those on a one-day trip or those with a work permit will be exempted.
Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, Minister of Tourism and Sports
When the fee was proposed last year, Phiphat said the money earned would be used to buy insurance for foreigners and leftover added to the tourism development fund. The fund will support the building of entrances for the disabled and toilets at tourist attractions.
He said medical expenses incurred by foreigners at public hospitals from 2017 to 2019 have cost the government up to 400 million baht. If the ministry collects this fee to cover insurance, then it will not have to seek a separate budget.
This decision has been slammed by netizens both in Thailand and overseas.
Power bills could start dropping in May, says Energy Ministry
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2023
Power bills for both residential and business users could drop after this year’s second fuel tariff (Ft) adjustment in May, Energy Ministry permanent-secretary Kulit Sombatsiri said on Monday.
Kulit was speaking after a meeting of the National Energy Policy Council (NEPC), which forecast electricity usage will reach a peak in April and start to drop in May.
It also predicted a drop in the price of imported liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the same period, enabling the country to reduce diesel used for electricity generation and substitute it with cheaper LPG.
“These conditions could prompt the Energy Regulatory Commission [ERC] to consider lowering the Ft for the second adjustment period of the year,” said Kulit, adding that the ERC could return to the same rate of under 5 baht for both household and business users.
Currently the household rate is 4.72 baht per unit, while businesses are charged 5.33 baht. The Ft aims to help household users, who use less energy than the business sector, by using natural gas from the Gulf of Thailand to produce electricity for this group, resulting in cheaper power bills.
ERC secretary-general Khomkrit Tantrawanich added that the commission will adjust the Ft based on three core factors: The price of imported fuels, currency exchange rate, and the amount of natural gas flowing from the Gulf of Thailand.
Other factors that could affect Ft adjustment include the amount of the fuel tariff paid to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat), which is currently 0.22 baht per unit, he said.
If Egat requires a higher rate to maintain electricity generation, the Ft adjustment in May could result in little change to power bills, he added.
The ERC reviews the Ft every four months – in January, May and September.
2 Thai soldiers killed as tank overturns in Lopburi
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2023
Two military officers died after their Scorpion light tank overturned during exercises at an Army barracks in Lopburi on Tuesday morning.
The tank overturned when it hit a mound while trying to avoid a military truck at a sharp curve.
Two of the three officers in the tank, a sergeant major first class and an Army cadet, succumbed to their injuries after they were taken to Ananda Mahidol Hospital.
The exercises were being held by the 2nd Cavalry Division of the King’s Guard to ensure efficiency in disaster prevention and mitigation operations.
Keeping vapers, baraku banned in Thailand will save lives: experts
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2023
Vaping devices and e-cigarettes should remain prohibited items in Thailand as they are very harmful to people’s health, several experts said on Monday.
They were speaking at a forum in Bangkok to discuss the dangers of vaping devices.
Lertsak Raktham, director of the Office of Consumer Protection Board (OCPB)’s Legal Execution Division, said Thailand has specified that any vaping devices, baraku (hookah) and electronic baraku cannot be imported, sold or used.
He said anybody caught importing, selling or possessing these items can face the following penalties:
• Up to 10 years in prison and/or a fine five times the value of the product for importing
• Up to three years in prison and/or a 60,000 baht fine for selling
• Up to 10 years in prison and/or up to 500,000 baht in fines for smuggling
• Up to five years in prison and/or a fine four times the value of the product for possession
“OCPB has joined police and officers from the Department of Disease Control 13 times to arrest the sellers of these items at Bangkok’s Khlong Thom Market,” he said.
Lertsak Raktham
Lertsak added that the next step will be to deal with large importers and sellers of vaping devices and baraku. He said there are 10 large importers, who have more than 1 billion baht in circulation.
“Once police arrest vaping device smugglers, they will ask the Anti-Money Laundering Office to find out if anybody influential is involved,” he said.
The OCPB has also joined the police to ensure that people, especially children, do not have access to online advertising related to vaping devices, he said.
The Digital Economy and Society Ministry has shut down 7,000 websites related to vaping devices, Lertsak added.
“Advertisers can also be penalised for aiding and abetting,” he said.
Prakit Wateesatokkit
Meanwhile, Prof Dr Prakit Wateesatokkit, president of the Action on Smoking and Health Foundation, said vaping devices have nicotine, toxic chemicals and ultrafine particles that can enter the bloodstream and severely harm the respiratory system.
He also said that 70% of users find it difficult to give up vaping because they are addicted to nicotine.
“There is no proof that vaping devices are safer than cigarettes,” he said, adding that proving this can take up to 30 years.
He said it is necessary for the public to realise that the nicotine hit provided by some vaping devices is equal to smoking 50 cigarettes at the same time. Prakit added that young people are attracted to vaping thanks to the more than 16,000 delicious flavours and aromas on offer.
He said it will be difficult to stop young people from accessing electronic smoking devices because they already have easy access to cigarettes and tobacco.
“The World Health Organisation has warned that vaping devices will encourage children to smoke,” he said, adding that many smokers use vaping devices to give up cigarettes.
As of 2021, 32 countries have banned vaping devices, up from 13 countries in 2014, Prakit said. This proves that more countries are becoming aware of the dangers, he added.
The number of Thai children aged 13 to 15 who are addicted to vaping has risen from 3.3% in 2015 to 8.1% in 2021, he said. Statistics also show that 33% of the Thai population was found to be addicted to vaping in 2021.
“Many countries have not confirmed that vaping devices can help people kick the smoking habit,” he added.
Cobra Gold returns to Thailand with added bite of 6,000 US troops
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2023
Cobra Gold 2023 will be back to full strength at the end of this month when 30 nations including 6,000 US personnel will join the annual wargames, Thailand and the United States announced on Tuesday.
This year’s military exercise will be the first to include training for space disasters, according to the press conference at Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters in Bangkok.
The press conference, held by joint chief-of-staff Gen Thitichai Thienthong and US ambassador Robert F Godec, announced that the 30 participating nations would be divided into the following groups:
– 7 participating in main war exercises: Thailand, the US, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, and Malaysia.
– 3 participating in humanitarian aid exercises: China, India and Australia
– 10 nations will join as observers: Cambodia, Laos, Brazil, Pakistan, Vietnam, Germany, Sweden, Greece, Kuwait and Sri Lanka.
All in all, 7,394 military personnel will join the 42nd Cobra Gold for this “light-training year”.
Thitichai told the press conference that Cobra Gold would be restored to full operations following Covid-19 but would still observe Public Health Ministry measures during training from February 27 to March 10.
He said this year’s training includes:
– Command Post Exercise. Training on commanding large forces to deal with threats in the land, marine, aerial, cyber and space domains.
– Cyber warfare training. Participants will learn strategies to counter cyberattacks, detect cyber threats and implement standard cyber security.
– Space operation training. Participants will learn how to combat impacts from space phenomena that affect military operations, such as solar or geomagnetic storms that disrupt communications and satellite signals.
Thai, Japanese and US military and civilian space agencies will provide data and methods for the training.
– Humanitarian Civic Assistance (HCA) training. HCA participants will construct multi-purpose buildings for schools in six training areas.
– Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response Exercise (HADR-X). The exercises incorporate the HADR Tabletop Exercise and HADR-Demo exercise.
In the tabletop exercise, the participants will be trained to deal with natural disasters by using regional and international responsive networks.
In the HADR-Demo, the participants will observe demonstrations on how to search for and rescue victims, provide urgent medical help and evacuate victims, deal with chemical leaks, and fight fires.
– Field Training Exercise (FTX). The FTX will include combined exercises of army, navy and air force troops. Joint Forcible Entry Operations will cover landfall exercises, parachuting, evacuation of civilians from war zones, and live fire training.
Brazil will join Cobra Gold as an observer for the first time this year.
US Ambassador Godec thanked Thailand for hosting Cobra Gold 23 and welcomed all 30 participating nations. He noted that 2023 marked both the 42nd Cobra Gold but also the 190th anniversary of US-Thai diplomatic relations.
“This partnership has improved the lives of both Thais and Americans and will continue to make our countries more prosperous and secure,” Godec said.
The security partnership and field training exercises would “better the lives of our farmers, students, and shop owners” in Thailand, he added.
Godec hinted at tensions in the disputed South China Sea and cybercrime/warfare in his explanation of why the war exercises were crucial.
“The Indo-Pacific region accounts for roughly 60% of the world economy and two-thirds of all economic growth over the last five years. At least a third of global maritime trade goes through the Indo-Pacific region. Our shared security partnership ensures that the goods exported by Thai and American business owners can continue flow freely, enhancing our shared prosperity. In Thailand, an estimated 35% of local financial payments are now digital. We are working together to ensure that our critical digital infrastructure is secure,” he said.
“What makes Cobra Gold special, is that it exemplifies the fabric of our friendship – a genuine friendship – that we have woven together over the last 200 years. Thousands of Thai and US military members have formed lasting friendships through Cobra Gold and other military interactions. Our 1833 Treaty of Amity and Commerce started as bilateral trade agreement and blossomed into the partnership we celebrate today. Similarly, Cobra Gold evolved from a small bilateral marine exercise into one of the world’s preeminent multinational security exercises,” the ambassador added.
Speaking at the same press conference, Colonel Kurt Leffler, US Senior Defence Official and Defence Attaché to Thailand, thanked the Thai government and Thai people for co-hosting the war exercises. Leffler is also chief of the Joint US Military Advisory Group – Thailand, also known as JUSMAGTHAI, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this September.
He said this year would mark the largest US participation in Cobra Gold in a decade.
“We’ve certainly returned to a ‘Cobra Gold of Old’ in terms of scale,” he added.
“The Cobra Gold Exercise provides participating countries the opportunity to practice, rehearse, and experiment together against a wide variety of challenges. These repetitions, year after year, build shared understanding and muscle memory needed to respond together against disasters in the real world, saving time in our collective response, and thus saving lives. Our effective response to regional disasters in recent decades – from floods and storms to earthquakes and cave rescues – is the direct result of millions of personnel hours of training in Cobra Gold.”
Leffler said that exercises will be focused not only on current concerns but also on those over the horizon.
Credit card users get checklist to avoid online ‘boobytrap’ charges
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2023
The Central Investigation Bureau has issued a six-point checklist for credit card users to prevent bogus or scam charges online.
The CIB came up with the checklist after celebrity doctor Varanya Nganthavee (Dr Lily) announced on Facebook that her Bangkok Bank credit card was charged US$2,675 (90,600 baht) for purchases of TikTok ads she never consented to.
Varanya explained she had never used her credit card to buy TikTok ads. She informed the bank, which cancelled her card and launched a probe of the unauthorised charges.
The doctor said she then got replies for several of her followers detailing their similar problems with unknown credit card charges.
On Tuesday, the CIB warned via its website that credit card users, especially those who use social networks frequently, should check the following:
1. Check against accidentally tapping or clicking a link on your smartphone.
The CIB said smartphone users should concentrate when opening an app or reading an SMS message so that they do not accidentally tap any mischievous link.
2. Check against downloading apps unwittingly.
The CIB warned that mobile users can unwittingly download mischievous apps. For example, if an ad pops up while they are playing a game, the user may tap to close it but instead end up accidentally downloading the app.
3. Check against downloading apps from untrustworthy developers.
The CIB advised users who download apps from platforms such as the Play Store or App Store to carefully check the names of developers to see whether they are trustworthy.
4. Be careful when handling pop-up ads.
The CIB warned that illicit websites such as porn and gambling portals are full of pop-up ads. Users are advised to read the ads carefully before interacting with them by tapping the “Yes” or “No” buttons.
5. Try to avoid illicit/illegal websites.
The CIB advised mobile phone users to steer clear of illegal sites, such as gambling or porn platforms. Illegal sites may be embedded with malware to hack the personal information of users, it explained. It also advised mobile phone users to read URLs carefully before visiting the sites.
6. Android users should not download apps outside the Play Store.
The CIB noted that smartphones that run the Android operating system may be tricked into downloading mischievous apps outside the Play Store, where apps have been already scanned for safety. The CIB said mobile phone users should not download apps outside the Play Store at all.
Army chief wants military schools to teach Muay Thai
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2023
The Royal Thai Army has instructed its Army Training Command to include Muay Thai in the learning curriculum of the military schools under its supervision.
Army chief General Narongpan Jitkaewthae said that the image of Muay Thai as a national cultural heritage was bolstered during the Amazing Muay Thai Festival 2023, which saw a record-breaking 3,660 military officers gathering at Rajabhakti Park in Prachuap Khiri Khan province to perform the “wai-kru“ ceremony.
This event was evidence of the calibre of Thai soldiers, as only those with such quality would be included in the Army, he said.
He expressed his concern over the inability of some families to take care of their children during the semester break, which might cause problems, such as drowning deaths.
To help parents take care of their kids during the upcoming school break and enhance child development, the Army will offer youngsters a range of activities, including field trips to historical locations, as well as music and sports training camps, he added.
Miss Universe, beauty queens join Chao Phraya cruise to thank fans, sponsors
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2023
The newly crowned Miss Universe 2022 joined other beauty queens on a “thank you” cruise down Bangkok’s River of Kings as part of her Asia tour.
US national R’Bonney Gabriel, who beat 83 other contestants for the “most beautiful woman in the universe” title in New Orleans on January 14, met Thai fans for the first time at the “Hello Universe Thank Press Party” cruise.
Also present were the third most beautiful woman, Dominican Republic’s Andreína Martínez, top five semi-finalist Gabriëla Dos Santos from Curaçao and Miss Thailand Universe Anna Sueangam-iam, who won the Transformational Leadership and Social Impact awards in the pageant.
The beauties were welcomed onboard by Jakkaphong “Anne” Jakrajutatip, chief executive officer of the Miss Universe organiser JKN Global Group Plc.
Jakkaphong thanked fans for their continued support and expressed confidence that the Miss Universe pageantry will expand with quality in mind.
Other guests of honour included Miss Universe Thailand compere Thitipong Duangkong, beauty guru Prasert Jermjutitham, and influencers “Pui TPN” and “SpriteBABABI”.
During the cruise, fans took turns taking selfies with the beauty queens, before the party wrapped up with the shooting of the “Hello Universe!” commemorative video.
The JKN Global Group acquired Miss Universe on October 25 last year for 800 million baht. The group has announced plans to expand the brand by 40% as part of its effort to become a key player in the global content industry.
Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, Minister of Tourism and Sports
Lertsak Raktham
Prakit Wateesatokkit
– Space operation training. Participants will learn how to combat impacts from space phenomena that affect military operations, such as solar or geomagnetic storms that disrupt communications and satellite signals.
US Ambassador Godec thanked Thailand for hosting Cobra Gold 23 and welcomed all 30 participating nations. He noted that 2023 marked both the 42nd Cobra Gold but also the 190th anniversary of US-Thai diplomatic relations.
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