Myanmar Court Rejects Appeal of Jailed Reuters Reporters

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11 January 2019, 16:16

FILE - In this combination file image made from two photos, Reuters journalists Kyaw Soe Oo, left, and Wa Lone, are handcuffed as they are escorted by police out of the court in Yangon, Myanmar Sept. 3, 2018. Photo: Thein Zaw, File / Associated Press

YANGON — A court in Myanmar on Friday rejected the appeal of two Reuters journalists convicted of violating the country’s Official Secrets Act during their reporting on the country’s crackdown on Rohingya Muslims, maintaining the seven-year prison terms they were sentenced to last year.

Judge Aung Naing of the Yangon High Court said in his ruling that lawyers for Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo failed to submit enough evidence to prove they were innocent. Neither man was in court for the ruling.

The conviction of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo has drawn condemnation from rights groups, Western governments and global press associations and has raised questions about press freedom in Myanmar as it transitions from decades of military rule.

Although the military has kept control of several key ministries, Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s rise to heading the government had raised hopes for more democratic freedoms.

“Today’s ruling is yet another injustice among many inflicted upon Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo,” Reuters Editor-In-Chief Stephen J. Adler said in a statement Friday. “They remain behind bars for one reason: Those in power sought to silence the truth. Reporting is not a crime, and until Myanmar rights this terrible wrong, the press in Myanmar is not free, and Myanmar’s commitment to rule of law and democracy remains in doubt.”

The two journalists were convicted of violating the colonial era Official Secrets Act after they were found with government documents in their possession. They were arrested on Dec. 12, 2017, in the country’s main city, Yangon, immediately after having a meal to which police officers had invited them.

One police officer, despite being called as a prosecution witness, testified that his superiors had ordered the men to be entrapped with documents planted on them. The officer, Capt. Moe Yan Naing was dropped from the force after his testimony and jailed for a year for breaking police regulations.

Supporters of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo contend they were framed because of official displeasure over their reporting on the brutal crackdown by security forces on minority Rohingya in Rakhine state.

More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled to neighboring Bangladesh following a crackdown that began in August 2017. Critics have described the campaign as ethnic cleansing, or even genocide, on the part of Myanmar security forces.

Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, had worked on one of the most detailed accounts of official abuses, an investigation of the killing of 10 Rohingya villagers in Inn Din village, for which seven soldiers were eventually sentenced to up to 10 years in prison with hard labor.

European Union ambassador to Myanmar Kristian Schmidt, who also was at court, described the ruling as “a great disappointment and a missed opportunity to correct a wrong that has been committed against the two journalists.”

“It casts serious doubts on the independence of the judiciary of Myanmar and for people’s right to information and learning the truth,” he said.

He called for Myanmar’s president to have the journalists released immediately and unconditionally.

Kyaw Soe Oo’s wife, Chit Su, said the ruling came as a surprise.

“We thought that they would be free today,” she said. “We were expecting to welcome them in front of Insein Prison.”

“I still believe that they will be free,” she added.

Lawyers for the men had previously said that if their appeal failed, they would have to hope for a pardon or general amnesty to obtain an early release.

One of them, Than Zaw Aung, told reporters Friday there were still two or three more steps they could take in the courts, involving appeals, and they have 60 days to make a submission to the country’s Supreme Court.

The reporters’ work and stand for freedom of the press have earned them awards and plaudits. Most notably, they were among a group of journalists honored by Time magazine as “Person of the Year.” The cover of some editions of the magazine showed their wives holding photos of the two.

CP Foods Promises Sustainable Packaging

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Khaosod English

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11 January 2019, 16:07

BANGKOK — Charoen Pokphand Foods (CP Foods), Thailand’s leading food producer, announced sustainable packaging policy to reduce plastic footprint from its business worldwide.

Realizing the urgency of global plastic waste crisis, CP Foods has made a commitment to achieve 100% of the Company’s packaging to be reusable or recyclable or upcyclable or compostable and eliminate problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging.

The goals are expected to be accomplished by 2025 for Thailand operations and by 2030 for overseas operations.

With this policy, CP Foods will develop and manage packaging sustainably by considering throughout the value chain, achieving the company’s sustainable goal to cut waste disposal to landfill and incineration by 30% within 2020 when compared to 2015’s performance.

As of 2017 data, the company successfully reduced waste disposal to landfill and incineration per production unit by 9.08% compared to the baseline year of 2015.

The policy is set to support CP Group’s ‘Sustainable Packaging” policy, stating that CP Group and its business units in Thailand must commit to ensure that 100% of plastic packaging must be made of sustainable materials by the year 2025.

CP Foods also made a global commitment as a member of notable sustainability organizations such as Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship (SeaBOS), World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to reduce ecological footprints from its products and operations.

To deliver on these promises, the policy has a framework to optimize its packaging in the four key areas, including promoting the use of materials from sustainably managed renewable resources, supporting initiatives such as a Take-back System to recycle or recover energy from used packaging, increasing recycled material content where appropriate without compromising food safety and quality, and developing to move from single-use towards reuse models for packaging used in production line or transportation as relevant.

“CP Foods strives to be a responsible company with an environmental friendly value chain. Therefore, it has been working on the way to find alternative substitutes to single-use plastic materials, especially in the hotspot areas where plastic packages are frequently used such as feed mills, aquaculture farms and food processing plants,” Mr. Sooksunt Jiumjaiswanglerg, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Agro Industrial Business and Co-President of CP Foods, said.

Since 2017, 60% of animal feed bags used in the company’s livestock feed business in Thailand has been replaced by bulk feed tank. It is able to reduce 8,000 tons of plastic, helping the company to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emission by 17,000 of carbon dioxide equivalent. It also extend this successful practice to operations in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines and Russia.

The company were able to reduce 1,600 tons of plastic, 3,600 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, at aquaculture farms by using Q-pass tank as a replacement of plastic baby shrimp containers.

New technologies are applied at chicken and food processing plants to minimize plastic waste in production and logistic process, allowing the company to drop over 3,500 tons of plastic since 2006. The chicken and food processing plants target to achieve zero plastic bag to landfill within 2025.

Mr. Sukhawat Dansermsuk, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Food Business and Co-President at CP Foods, said it is the first company in Thailand to use Poly Lactic Acid (PLA), which is a biodegradable plastic substitute made of natural materials, for fresh pork and chicken packages.

“Our company strives to made packages, which meet consumer expectation in term of function, design, food safety while using innovations to maximize utilization of natural resources in line with the concept of Circular Economy, which has been a core principle of CP Foods’ business over the years,” he said.

To achieve this packing vision, CP Foods have developed packaging specialists and encourages creativity to develop innovation and renovation. The recently launched Research and Development Center will be play a vital role in the company’s packaging innovations as well as providing solutions for package designs and other of technical assistances to all CP Foods’ businesses across the world.

Guns and Suspects Seized in Pursuit of Pattani School Gunmen

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JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI

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11 January 2019, 15:57

Soldiers investigate the area where an abandoned motorcycle was found Friday they believe was used by gunmen who killed four paramilitary officers in a Pattani school earlier this week.

PATTANI — Five suspects were being questioned following an attack on a Pattani school that killed four paramilitary volunteers, police said Friday.

Four more men believed to have played a role in the attack have been taken into custody since a first was apprehended following a firefight with police in the vicinity of the attack, according to the provincial police commander.

Maj. Gen. Piyawat Chalermsri said by phone today that investigators have also recovered several pieces of evidence including guns, uniforms and motorcycles believed used in the shooting in the Yarang district.

An AK-47 was recovered from a khlong and two banana clips from the forest. He said only one of the five suspects was likely involved as a gunman, while the others could be accessories.

Read: Four Soldiers Shot Dead on Pattani School Campus

A sixth man is still on the run following yesterday’s gun battle in Pattani City, Piyawat said, adding that up to eight gunmen could have been involved in the Thursday morning attack. Three stolen motorcycles were abandoned in the city area following a police pursuit of suspicious individuals.

Four school guards from the Volunteer Defense Corps were shot dead and their guns stolen at the Ban Bukoh School by assailants disguised as patrolling rangers, according to police.

Classes remain canceled today and will resume Monday, the dean of the elementary school said, adding that students were still in shock by the assault, which happened while they were in class.

Though the attackers are believed to be separatists who have waged a bloody independence campaign for nearly 15 years, Piyawat said they still don’t know which group they belonged to.

Election Official Defends Need For New Cars, Including Benzes

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Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

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11 January 2019, 12:31

Pro-democracy activists stage a protest Monday at Election Commission to demand an election be held in February.

BANGKOK — The Election Commission said Friday that taxpayers must foot the bill for tens of millions of baht worth of new cars needed by its directors.

Commission sec-gen Krit Urwongse said the purchase, budgeted at roughly 22 million baht, is necessary because the current vehicles used by the commissioners are aged and prone to breaking down.

“In the latest case, Election Commissioner Santhat Siriananpaiboon traveled to Phetchabun for an inspection, but his car broke down there,” Krit told reporters. “His office had to send a van to bring him back to Bangkok.”

Krit said some cars in use were bought in 2011, while the commission chairman’s vehicle dated back to 2005. Each of the new vehicles would cost between 2.7 million baht and 4.2 million baht, depending on seniority, Krit said, saying that at least two of them would get Mercedes-Benz cars.

The requisition drew anger from the opposition when it was revealed Thursday in part because the commission has not organized any election for nearly five years. The election agency also came under criticism this week for not setting a date for the next poll and instead deferring to the ruling junta.

Old cars used by the commissioners would be auctioned off, Krit said.

Govt Quietly Halts Election Preparations Nationwide

Discover Exclusive Dining Experience by Michelin-Starred Chef Jan Hoffmann at Goji Kitchen+Bar (Sponsored)

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Khaosod English

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11 January 2019, 12:28

Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park is treating gastronomes to an exclusive international dinner and brunch buffet created by Michelin-starred chef Jan Hoffmann, at Goji Kitchen + Bar from 25 to 27 January 2019.

Chef Jan, who has worked in a series of Michelin-starred restaurants across Europe, has a passion for fresh produce and natural ingredients. He has now created a series of distinctive dishes exclusively for Goji Kitchen + Bar, including appetizers of braised carrot in vegetable stock and goat cheese; and Japanese cucumber and organic cauliflower with walnuts, whey and dill; and main courses of sustainable prawns with mango, cashew nut milk, cashew marzipan and colored sweet potatoes; and baked Hokkaido pumpkin with organic chicken and egg, served with red grapes and blue cheese. For dessert, Chef Jan has created a basil sherbet with organic peach, homemade oat milk and micro basil.

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“Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park is delighted to welcome Jan Hoffmann, the famous Michelin-starred chef from Germany. This is a very special occasion; it is a great opportunity for diners to experience his incredible dishes and for our own kitchen team to co-create special menus with an internationally recognized chef who is passionate about natural ingredients. We are delighted that Thai gastronomes will get the chance to experience Chef Jan’s exclusive menus at Goji Kitchen + Bar,” said Michael Hogan, Executive Chef, Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park.

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Chef Jan has extensive experience working in many leading European restaurants, including the three Michelin-starred Seehotel Überfahrt in Germany. He trained under legendary chef Thomas Neeser at the famous Hotel Adlon in Berlin and worked alongside talented chefs such as Matthias Schmidt from Villa Merton in Frankfurt and Juan Amador, the owner of Amador in Langen which was among Germany’s top five restaurants at the time.

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Chef Jan achieved his first Michelin star at Seven Swans, a famous establishment in Frankfurt. His passion for organic produce inspired Chef Jan to create vegetarian menus for the restaurant, and this helped Seven Swans retain its prized star and become one of only four vegetarian restaurants in Europe to be listed in the Michelin Guide. Presently, Chef Jan Hoffmann is also a consultant for restaurants all over the world and plans to open his own restaurant in the near future.

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Don’t miss Chef Jan Hoffmann’s special culinary creations at Goji Kitchen + Bar, Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park, from 25 to 27 January 2019.

Dinner is served on 25 & 26 January 2019 from 18.00 to 22.00 hrs, priced at THB 1,978++ per person.
Brunch is served on 27 January 2019 from 11:45 to 14:30 hrs, priced at THB 2,128++ per person.

The prices are standard for the buffet dinner or brunch at Goji Kitchen + Bar without any additional charges. This is a special gift from Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park to our local food-loving patrons.

To reserve your place at this unique culinary occasion, please call +66 (0) 2 059 5999 or email [email protected].

Or connect with us via these channels:

Website: www.bangkokmarriottmarquisqueenspark.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GojiKitchenAndBar/

Line official account: @gojikitchenbar

Arrests of Visa Scofflaws Good for Tourism: Big Joke

By

Asaree Thaitrakulpanich, Staff Reporter

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11 January 2019, 12:19

Two foreigners react as Lt. Gen. Surachate Hakparn looks on Friday morning at Bangkok’s Montien Riverside Hotel.

BANGKOK — Nearly 500 foreigners were arrested this week on visa violations in the latest raid police said early Friday morning will benefit tourism.

Immigration Bureau police commander Lt. Gen. Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn paraded the newly arrested foreigners at 1am on Friday through the parking lot of Bangkok’s Montien Riverside hotel starting, announcing that they had netted a total of 490 foreigners overnight.

“We’ve been working through the new year,” Surachate said. “As of now, in the entire land, there are zero overstays.”

He said the raids would be a boon to Thai tourism.

“We are confident that tourism will improve due to our continuous and decisive raids and operations,” he said. “People who stay here have to do so legally.”

Friday’s operation was the 42nd episode of a crackdown that began in 2017 as “Operation Black Eagle” before being rebranded to the less racially charged “X-Ray Outlaw Foreigner.”

Police say the raids have hit 6,252 locations and seen 6,468 people arrested.

Most of the 249 foreigners scooped up in the latest raid were arrested for illegal entry: 113 Burmese, 71 Laotians, 64 Cambodians and one Pakistani. Those arrested for various crimes numbered 220, while 21 were arrested for overstaying their visas: four each from India, Laos and Burma, two each from Germany, Sweden and Vietnam and one each from America, Russia and Italy.

Surachate said the crackdowns were crucial since tourist arrivals will increase. In 2018, he said a total of 38 million tourists visited, 11 million of them Chinese.

He predicted that, within two years, the numbers would jump to 60 million per year – almost equaling the entire national population. However, he said he was confident the increased number of arrivals would mostly be independent travelers rather than those on cheap tours.

“[Independent] tourists are quality tourists. They come and spend money in Thailand, not just in kick-back areas,” he said. “These raids have erased almost all of these tours.”

So Absurd: Make Portraits, Learn Collaging With Dutch Duo

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Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Staff Reporter

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11 January 2019, 12:18

A portrait taken by Marga van den Meydenberg, at left, and a collage made by Niels Kalk.

BANGKOK — Melting strawberry ice cream is poured on a bald head. An 83-year-old woman is crowned with cardboard bowls. Nearby, a guy flips his fluffy hair as black, spaghetti-shaped candy splashes out of his mouth.

For the next two weeks, Bangkokians can get their unique, cool or just plain weird personalities immortalized in surreal portraits at a Dutch artist’s pop-up studio.

On Thursday, publishing house-turned-art space Yelo House kicked off its first international exhibition. All or Nothing is a duo exhibition featuring two Berlin-based Dutch artists – photographer Marga van den Meydenberg and collage artist Niels Kalk.

Meydenberg began her project in 2015 by renting empty spaces around Berlin to shoot portraits of strangers. With the right gear, she says she can “freeze the wow moments” using objects and a knack for timing – there are no filters here.

“Every human is unique, and therefore a piece of art,” Meydenberg said, adding that sometimes she “saw nice faces on Berlin streets” and pulled them in to take their portraits in her temporary studios.

Image from iOS 1 1 e1547183510156 — Marga van den Meydenberg on Thursday poses before her works on display at Yelo House

Walk-ins are welcome when Meydenberg opens her studio 2pm to 6pm every day except Tuesday on the mezzanine of Yelo House. They can pay any amount they want and receive one digital photo of the portrait sent by email. One condition though: The portrait is Meydenberg’s choice.

Next to her portraits are the displayed works of Kalk, her boyfriend. The illustrator-character designer brought a series of collages that improvisedly put together his humor, love of animals and cut-outs from books.

The works, Kalk said, are mostly inspired by comics from his childhood such as Gaston, Asterix and Obelix. He also draws inspiration from old magazines his father read.

Kalk will host a workshop on collaging on Jan. 26. The workshop will be conducted in English. Fees are 1,000 baht for adults and 800 baht for children.

All or Nothing runs until Jan. 27 at Yelo House. The creative space can be reached by foot from BTS Ratchathewi or National Stadium.

Image from iOS 3 e1547183565826 — Marga van den Meydenberg and Niels Kalk

Trams Could be Humming Across Phuket in 4 Years: Official

By

JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI

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11 January 2019, 12:03

PHUKET — Work on a tram line connecting Phuket’s airport to the city is expected to begin next year and could be complete by 2023.

Theeraphan Tachasirinugune, Mass Rapid Transit Authority deputy governor, said Friday that fares for the 42-kilometer tram line linking the Phuket International Airport to Chalong Intersection in Phuket Town could be capped at 137 baht.

He said for over 34 billion baht has been budgeted for the project which would involve light rail and overhead wires.

The plan hopes to win cabinet approval by mid-2019, he said, adding that bidding would then go out in the third quarter for construction to be able to begin before year’s end. A concession would be granted to a private company to operate the tram.

Theeraphan said the service could launch in 2023 with an expected ridership of up to 16,300 passengers per day during its first year.

The approximate route anticipated for the future tram linking Phuket’s airport and town.

Australia Praises Thai Handling of Saudi Runaway, Concerned About Player

By

Associated Press

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11 January 2019, 11:16

Australia's Foreign Minister Marise Payne, at left, gestures as she answers questions Thursday in Bangkok. Photo: Gemunu Amarasinghe / Associated Press

BANGKOK — Australia’s foreign minister praised Thailand for its handling of a young Saudi woman who fled her family to seek asylum in Australia, but also reminded it of continuing concern about a Bahraini soccer player granted asylum in Australia who remains in Thai detention.

Marise Payne met with senior Thai officials in Bangkok on Thursday after Australia announced it would assess the request for asylum by 18-year-old Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun, who was stopped Saturday at a Bangkok airport on her way to Australia and her passport seized. She said she was fleeing abuse by her family.

Payne told reporters that Australia’s review of Alqunun’s case is already underway.

Read: Aussies Go Topless to Support Saudi Runaway

She quashed speculation that Alqunun might accompany her back to Australia “because there are steps which are required in the process which Australia, and any other country considering such a matter, would have to go through.”

Confined to an airport transit hotel, Alqunun conducted an online appeal for help, garnering tens of thousands of followers on Twitter and enough public and diplomatic support to convince Thai officials to admit her temporarily under the protection of U.N. officials. The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees quickly deemed her a legitimate refugee.

Alqunun’s case has highlighted the cause of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia. Several female Saudis fleeing abuse by their families have been caught trying to seek asylum abroad in recent years and returned home. Human rights activists say many similar cases have gone unreported.

She has attracted interest worldwide, particularly in Australia. In downtown Sydney on Thursday, four women dressed in jeans and calling themselves the Secret Sisterhood held a topless protest outside the building housing the Saudi Consulate, calling on Australia to grant Alqunun residency.

Alqunun’s father arrived in Bangkok on Tuesday, but his daughter refused to meet with him. Thailand Immigration Police chief Lt. Gen. Surachate Hakparn said the father denied physically abusing Alqunun or trying to force her into an arranged marriage, which were among the reasons she gave for her flight.

Surachate said the father wanted his daughter back but respected her decision. Surachate described him as a governor in Saudi Arabia.

“He has 10 children. He said the daughter might feel neglected sometimes,” Surachate said.

Payne was also asked by reporters about the case of Hakeem al-Araibi, a 25-year-old former member of Bahrain’s national soccer team, who was granted refugee status in Australia in 2017 after fleeing his homeland, where he said he was persecuted and tortured. He was arrested while on holiday in Thailand last November due to an Interpol notice in which Bahrain sought his custody after he was sentenced in absentia in 2014 to 10 years in prison for allegedly vandalizing a police station — a charge he denies. Bahrain is seeking his extradition.

She said she raised Australia’s concerns about the case with Thailand’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister.

“The Thai government is most certainly aware of the importance of this matter to Australia,” she said. “I do note that there are legal proceedings underway in relation to Mr. al-Araibi, and Australia will continue to be in very close contact with Thai authorities in relation to this.”

Al-Araibi, who now plays for Melbourne’s Pascoe Vale Football Club, has been publicly critical of the Bahrain royal family’s alleged involvement in sports scandals, which puts him at risk of punishment by the Bahraini government.

Al-Araibi has said he was blindfolded and had his legs beaten while he was held in Bahrain in 2012. He said he believed he was targeted for arrest because of his Shiite faith and because his brother was politically active. Bahrain has a Shiite majority but is ruled by a Sunni monarchy, and has a reputation for harsh repression since its failed “Arab Spring” uprising in 2011.

Craig Foster, a former Australian soccer player, held a news conference Thursday in Sydney to issue a joint call for al-Araibi’s release with Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Sydney-based Gulf Institute for Democracy and Human Rights.

After commending FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, and Australia’s Football Federation for supporting al-Araibi’s release, Foster criticized the Asian Football Confederation and its head, Salman al-Khalifa.

“Sheikh Salman is obligated to support Hakeem. He is obligated to do everything in his power to advocate, both privately and publicly, and to use the immense leverage that football has, with the Bahrain government, his own government, he’s a Bahrainian national, and also with the Thai government to release Hakeem. The silence of the Asian Football Confederation is not just confounding, it’s absolutely disgraceful,” he said.

Story: Kaweewit Kaewjinda, Trevor Marshallsea

Even if Thailand Votes, No Parliament Awaits New Lawmakers

By

Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

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10 January 2019, 17:56

A concept art of the new parliament, Sappaya-Sapasathan.

BANGKOK — A massive facility meant to host Thailand’s next parliament in five months appeared far from completion Thursday.

The future home of the legislature remains a jumble of scaffolding, unfinished walls and staircases, underscoring the fact the Sappaya-Sapasathan, as it is called, is far from complete despite government pledges the decade-long project would be done by June.

House Speaker Pornpetch Wichitcholchai suggested as much this morning, saying they are still searching for a venue where lawmakers elected in the next election can meet and formally inaugurate the parliament.

“Right now we are still looking for a place ahead [of the meeting],” Pornpetch, who heads the current interim parliament, told reporters.

LIVE: See the site where Thailand's new parliament is being built in Bangkok's Dusit district.

โพสต์โดย Khaosod English เมื่อ วันพุธที่ 9 มกราคม 2019

Rehousing the legislature became necessary since the former parliament building was reclaimed by the palace, which owns the land. Although the building was set to close forever by New Year’s Eve, lawmakers were granted an extension to hold special sessions there until the end of February.

Day-to-day meetings and other work is to take place at another building in Bangkok’s Bang Sue district.

The overall work was deemed 56 percent complete as of Dec. 14, the last time the parliament website was updated.

A Place of Harmony

The new site is about 4 kilometers due north of the former building at a riverside location near Dusit district’s Kiak Kai Intersection. During a visit today, the work was in full swing on many sections, with materials and tools scattered around. Scaffolding covers many of the walls. One staircase stank of urine. The river pier meant for government delegations is still just a cluster of barges.

The future seat of democracy is flanked by several military bases; the Kiak Kai neighborhood also houses tanks, anti-aircraft guns and infantry. Gunfire can be heard from a shooting range just opposite the new parliament. The defense industry department is located around the corner.

Construction of Sappaya Sapasathan – which means “A Place of Harmonious Assembly” – was first approved in 2008 during the administration of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej. Officials argued that the 30-year-old parliament next to the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall was getting too crowded.

Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, who now reigns as king, placed the foundation stone at the site in 2010, but construction could only begin in 2012. The government at the time estimated that the project would take about 900 days to complete. The deadline was repeatedly pushed back, and a budget that started at 14 billion baht has ballooned to nearly 22 billion baht.

It’s a gigantic facility of about 400,000sqm – about one-fourth of which will be given over to green space.

It was designed by a firm called Arsom Silp, which based its plans on ancient Hindu cosmology. A 134-meter tower representing Mount Meru, which marks the center of the universe, is flanked by the Sun Chamber and Moon Chamber where MPs and Senators will meet, respectively.

Replacing the modernist edifice that opened in 1974 with a structure based on Buddhist cosmology was criticized for inviting religion into the secular space of governance. Architect Chatri Ladalalitasakul defended his work, saying he hopes it will remind politicians to act morally.

“Thai people have a lot of faith in Western democracy,” Chatri said at a panel in 2016. “However, no matter what political system you believe in – whether democracy, dictatorship or socialism – how far can it go if no one has morality?”

Asked whether he believes the symbolism will deter corruption, the architect said there’s no guarantee.

“But in the same way, many structures that represent democracy don’t make their countries into a better democracy,” Chatri said.

Allegations of fraud and mismanagement also beset the new parliament before it opened. In May 2018, transparency activists were outraged by revelations that costs for electronics alone stood at 3 billion baht, which included digital clocks running as much as 70,000 baht apiece.

A plan to cut down thousands of teak trees for its construction was only suspended in 2016 on the order of junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha after an outcry. A forestry official said in September said that farmed teak would be used instead.

Some critics also said favoritism was a factor in awarding the work to Sino-Thai Engineering & Construction PCL, which saw its contract renewed for a fourth time in March 2018 despite chronic delays.

Because there is no public transport to the new parliament, except buses and boats on the Chao Phraya River, the government plans to extend roads in Kiak Kai and build yet another bridge across the river. The plan is expected to cost another 6 billion baht.

In the event a general election is held, future lawmakers will need to make due until the building is ready for the public’s business.

Interim parliament chief Pornpetch said the legislators could convene in a TOT auditorium on Chaeng Wattana Road, a plan the next government would not be beholden to.

His deputy, Surachai Liangboonlertchai, also said that, post-election, lawmakers may have to meet in the auditorium if the new parliament is not ready. He said officials may have to borrow or rent necessary equipment for their first session.

Great Moments in Thai Lawmaking: Goodbye Parliament Edition

A Place of Harmony

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