BANGKOK — A woman in her 50s sat Friday in front the restaurant where she’s sold khao tom for seven years in a popular Bangkok night market. Not so far were piled boxes and bags of ingredients she didn’t know what to do with.
Charinthip Nakmanee, or as customers call her, Pa Au, is among hundreds of vendors who still hoped to make a living for at least another month at JJ Green Market in the Chatuchak district.
When they arrived today – Friday is one of the market’s busiest nights – the entrance was barricaded with at least a dozen officers guarding it.
“I want clarity,” Charinthip said. Behind her is the kitchen where she cooks dishes from boiled rice with seafood to pad kee mao.
After JJ Green Market’s contract expired last month, authorities gave it a one-month extension and said vendors had until Sept. 12 to leave. However, the market’s management company, V Multimedia, spread the word that they could stay until Oct. 13.
This confused the sellers such as Charinthip, who pays 7,000 baht per month for her small restaurant’s space. While some had already emptied out their shops, others remained behind, waiting for official word on whether they must leave now or next month.
Signaling that they weren’t ready to throw in the towel, the market’s management announcedlate Friday afternoon it was “temporarily closed” until Sunday due to “[trouble] with the order.”
Officers guard the entrance to the JJ Green Market on Friday in Bangkok.
The barriers at the gate went up Thursday after City Hall’s deadline passed, with at least a dozen police and code officers checking visitors and vehicles at the gate. Only vendors were allowed in on the condition they sign in and had over their IDs.
Today officials with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration had a new deadline: Every vendor must be out by Sunday.
“We’ve compromised for a month already,” said a city official who wouldn’t give his name because he was told not to speak to the media. “Definitely there will be no more market here.”
An employee inside JJ Green’s management office declined to answer questions.
City Hall’s Natthanan Kanlayasiri said that the vendors were given notice in August, but since they failed to move out by the deadline, the blockade had to be put up.
“[We’ll] continue the blockade like this until all of them move out. This could take a month,” Natthanan said.
Asked about the conflicting deadline given by the management company, Natthanan said, “They gave that news arbitrarily” and insisted all the vendors must move out by Sunday.
The 21-rai (3.1-hectare) space used by the market since 2011 will be returned to the Queen Sirikit Park Foundation for construction of a much larger park to combine Wachirabenchathat (Suan Rodfai), Queen Sirikit and Chatuchak parks.
BANGKOK — A court on Friday ordered regulators to extend service for DTAC customers using an old slice of spectrum the company has lost the rights to.
Siding with the telecom, the Administrative Court said customers must be given until December before they are dropped, reversing a Wednesday order that it must cut them off Saturday. About 60,000 customers using 95,000 numbers are affected.
Takorn Tantasith, secretary general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, said it would comply with the order.
Two days ago, commissioners rejected the mobile network operator’s request to continue using part of the broadcast spectrum for the affected numbers, presumably attached to older phones that still use 2G service.
The regulator has said it denied the petition because not enough customers would be affected to justify an exception to DTAC’s expired license. The commission said it had notified the company well in advance to move the numbers to another frequency.
In its ruling, the court rejected the commission’s bases for refusing DTAC’s request.
The verdict said the frequency, mostly used for 2G services, is still vital in many remote areas. If urgent communication is needed, such as for medical emergencies, the damage could be fatal and beyond compensation.
It ordered service extended until Dec. 15.
DTAC president Alexandra Reich welcomed the decision and said the company would continue to notify the customers to move their numbers to higher frequencies as soon as possible.
Junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha chairs a meeting Thursday at Government House.
BANGKOK — The junta lifted parts of its ban on political activities Friday, four years after it was put in place.
In an order issued under special power of the junta, political parties are now allowed to hold executive meetings, recruit new members, select their candidates for the polls and hold forums with the public, among other administrative tasks.
However, they are still banned from campaigning in any way. Parties are also instructed to comply with other regulations stated by the junta’s National Council for Peace and Order.
Today’s partial lifting of the ban was issued under Section 44 of the previous constitution, which remains in effect in the current charter to give junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha an authority to enact any legal action he deems fit.
BANGKOK — The French ambassador’s residence, arguably the most historically significant such home in Bangkok, will open to the general public Sunday for a guided tour.
While there exists other charming and historic emissary’s homes such as that of the Portuguese – the oldest – and the American, more influential today; it’s at the French residence that one can take a view and imagine one of most tense encounters between Siam and the West a century ago.
Standing at the riverside porch-cum-jetty, visitors can imagine being transported back to 1893 when Siam came close to being colonized by France. It was there that the French battleship Le Lutin moored just meters from the porch in the Chao Phraya River, taking respite from a conspicuous act of gunboat diplomacy better known as the Paknam Incident.
“The crisis finally exploded early in 1893, following the unexplained expulsion of two French ‘commercial’ agents from the middle Mekong region and the death (from natural causes) of the French consul at Luang Prabang. Paris authorized the Indochina authorities to take measures to secure ‘reparation’ for these acts and explicitly laid claim to all of Laos east of Mekong by virtue of France’s succession to the ‘rights’ of Vietnam,” the late historian David K. Wyatt wrote in “Thailand: A Short History.”
“When Siam forces resisted French troops sent into Laos to take control of the territory in April 1893, killing a French officer who led an attack on them, the French government had the pretext of war they had sought. When the French were refused permission to send gunboats up the Chao Phraya River to Bangkok, the French commander sent them up anyway, forcing the defenses at the mouth of the river (Paknam) in a short engagement, notwithstanding orders from Paris that the gunboats were to remain outside the sandbar at the mouth of the river,” Wyatt wrote.
An old print at on the second floor of the residence depicts the 1893 Franco-Siamese conflicts.
What followed was an ultimatum handed by Auguste Pavie, vice-consul in Luang Prabang and Siam, eventually ceding territories under its control in Laos, 3 million Francs and French occupation of Chanthaburi and Trat.
On a recent visit, Wimolrat Ratchawat, a protocol and administrative officer, declined to elaborate on the incident while guiding a small group of mostly Thai journalists to the site, so anyone wanting some historical context during Sunday’s free tour of the residence for European Heritage Days may want to do some reading in advance.
“I don’t really know much about it,“ Wimolrat said before proceeding to talk about the home’s gherkin architectural aspects, including its hardwood and brick foundations. The extant structure today dates back to 1901 and sits on 4 rai (6,000sqm) of land that includes the embassy.
It is not that the French Embassy fully wants to forget this bitter past period. Heading to the tropical, colonial-style mansion’s second of three floors, find a copper print image from 1893 of “Le Conflit Avec Le Siam” showing the Le Lutin moored in the river before the residence. It’s a little surreal as it hangs on a wall near a window with the a view of where the battleship would have been anchored 125 years ago.
In the main lobby, the 10-meter-or-so high ceiling reminds us of the pre-air con era. The beautiful dining room features Limoge plates and is where a number of select Thais, including Princess Sirindhorn, have dined over the decades.
An old menu card from 1913 was placed on a long dining table to accommodate a dozen guests but could be expanded to take up to 28 people before a backdrop of French and Thai flags.
It’s interesting to consider that while the residence here is just a century and a half old, the relationship between France and Siam actually dates back to the 16th century during the reign of King Narai the Great and France’s Sun King, Louis XIV, when diplomatic missions were exchanged. France even attempted but failed to convert the Siamese king to Catholicism.
An old print shows the French mission travelling to seek an audience with King Rama IV in 1857.
The Chevalier de Chaumont was the first French ambassador to Siam in 1684. The French were eventually ousted from the kingdom after Narai’s death in 1688 and abandoned their fortress in Bangkok after four months of siege. It wasn’t until the reign of King Rama IV, in 1856, when Emperor Napoleon III sent a new diplomatic mission led by Charles de Montigny to Thailand, this time in Bangkok. The consulate was established on the current site and diplomatic ties resumed.
As Wimolrat reminds, the site also included a detention center for French nationals who committed crimes in Siam but couldn’t be detained by Thai authorities. According to the book “La Residence de France a Bangkok,” the detention area – which no longer exists – was located in an annex to the residence. Then there was the swimming pool built by Italian-Thai Development, a major shareholder in the Oriental Hotel, as hotel construction next door took years and caused great inconvenience, Wimolrat said.
It’s been 162 years since and this storied residence is a concrete testimony to the ties – at times rocky and bitter – between the two nations worthy of a look by the general public.
The residence on Soi Charoen Krung 36 will be open from 10am to 4pm on Sunday. A free, 30-minute guided tour will be available in Thai, French and English. Groups will be limited to 20 people and are available on a first-come-first-served basis. Please bring an ID or passport.
The French ambassador’s residence.The main lobby on the second floor.View from the second floor overlooking the Chaophraya River.An old menu on display dating back to 1913.The main dining room on the second floor.
BANGKOK — Taxi service at Bangkok airports was operating normally Friday afternoon, a day after a group of airport taxi drivers threatened to strike over what they can charge.
An emergency meeting was called for today after drivers of large taxis said they would go idle at both Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports today if the authorities refused to raise service fees from 50 baht to 100 baht, complaining the lower rate was “unfair.”
Woraphol Kaemkhuntod, leader of one of the taxi associations, said the demand was triggered by the recent arrival of a fleet of electric VIP taxis to Suvarnabhumi. The electric vehicles, or EVs, are also SUVs, charge higher fares than normal taxis and also receive a surcharge of 100 baht.
“The way they see it is this: They are both Thai drivers, regulated under the same ministry, yet why are two fare structures being applied?” Woraphol said in an interview today. “The EVs are just ordinary taxis that use electricity. We don’t even know if they will actually work.”
He continued, “If they didn’t bring in EVs, this issue wouldn’t have been raised. They are Chinese cars. How good can it be? How many years will they run? Let me ask you: Will you choose Toyota or a Chinese car?”
Cherdchai Sanunsrisakorn of the Land Transport Department said he would meet with Transportation Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith today to discuss adjusting public transport rates for buses and taxis nationwide.
Taxi drivers have long argued, with little success, that fare rates have fallen far below cost of living increases. The last increase was in 2014.
Though service at both airports appeared unaffected Friday, Woraphol said some drivers didn’t show up for work.
The decision to let the electric taxis collect a higher surcharge unleashed a torrent of complaints.
Drivers of large airport taxis said it is unfair they receive half the fee the electric vehicles’ drivers get, as there is “no difference” in the service provided. They noted that the 50 baht they currently receive is the same paid to drivers of regular taxis, despite having higher fuel costs and capacity for more passengers and luggage.
They also said the punishment for not turning on their meters is too harsh and demanded airport authorities reduce the penalty from a lifetime ban to suspension because “current fares are too low, making us lose so much money.”
A Suvarnabhumi driver identifying himself only as Wittawat said the long wait, up to four hours for one passenger, is another big problem.
“We drive into the city, get 200 baht from the meter plus a 50-baht surcharge. It doesn’t cover the expenses of us having to wait that long,” he said. “We proposed raising the surcharge to 100 baht for big taxis and 70 to 80 baht for normal cars, but no agreement has been made.”
They faulted officials for enforcing a double standard, as the new electric taxis can set fixed prices for trips over 300 kilometers.
Cherdchai said the request to raise the surcharge for large taxis would be considered today. He said that he believes they should be able to negotiate with the drivers, and thinks a mass strike is unlikely.
Woraphol said he has not seen any positive signs from the transport department.
“They put our issue in Neutral gear,” the taxi trade guild leader said. “They made no promise.”
Cherdchai defended the surcharge of the electric taxis for their higher standards.
He added that if the strike goes forward, transport officials would supply both airports with an additional 1,000 taxis with approval from airport authorities.
BANGKOK — Downtown’s busy Siam Square area will be more crowded than usual Saturday with two major nerd events going down as the effects of a powerful typhoon bear down on Bangkok.
At Siam Paragon, gamers representing China, Thailand, Australia, Denmark and Sweden will assault, escort and hold control points to claim glory in the Overwatch World Cup. The playoffs are part of a global tournament of the popular FPS game playing out in four host countries – the United States, France, South Korea and Thailand.
The final matches will take place in November at none other than BlizzCon 2018 in Anaheim, California.
Nearby in the CentralWorld plaza, a free outdoor concert by teen idol group BNK48 will go off. For the first time since the addition of new members in July, all 52 singers will appear at the same show.
And looming over all this happy escapism is a very real and powerful storm slated to pound the capital, driven partly by super typhoon Mangkhut. The colossal storm is expected to make landfall on the Philippines early Saturday before resuming its path toward China.
Motorists are advised to steer clear of the area, where the events run from 10am till 9pm.
Overwatch World Cup 2018 will be held in the Royal Paragon Hall on the fifth floor of Siam Paragon. Tickets are 315 baht and can be purchased online.
BNK48 1st 2gether is free. Ominously, the band says 5,000 free raincoats will be distributed at the entrance to the outdoor event.
Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim speaks before a court hearing at Federal Court in September in Putrajaya, Malaysia. Photo: Yam G-Jun / Associated Press
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia — Malaysia’s prime minister-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim said Friday that it’s time for him to return as a lawmaker, but reiterated his full support for the government led by his former foe-turned-ally Mahathir Mohamad.
Anwar and Mahathir put aside their 20-year-old political feud to help their alliance win a historic national vote in May that led to the first change of power since independence from Britain in 1957.
Anwar, who was convicted in 2015 for sodomy, couldn’t take part in the elections but their four-party alliance had agreed that Mahathir would be prime minister and hand over the reins to Anwar. Anwar, 70, was freed and pardoned by the king shortly after the polls.
“The understanding … is that immediately after the pardon, I should enter the race,” Anwar told The Associated Press on Friday. “I waited four months and I think it is also important for me to start connecting” with lawmakers and focus on parliamentary reforms.
Mahathir “will continue leading the nation, I will give full support,” he added.
A lawmaker from Anwar’s party earlier this week announced he had resigned as a member of Parliament in the southern coastal town of Port Dickson to make way for Anwar’s comeback. The Election Commission will set a date for a by-election that must be held within two months.
Some critics said it was wrong for a lawmaker to have to resign to make way for Anwar.
Lawyer Ambiga Sreenevasan, a member of the Institutional Reform Committee established by the government, acknowledged Anwar’s right to rejoin politics but said it would have been more acceptable if either his wife of daughter – both who are lawmakers – had given up their seats instead. Anwar’s wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, is currently the country’s deputy prime minister.
“I have no issue with Anwar coming back. He’s entitled to do that but my understanding or the public had the understanding that one of the family members would give up (their seats),” she told local media.
Anwar said he will work hard to appeal to the electorate and explain how new government policies will benefit Malaysians.
Mahathir, who is the world’s oldest leader at 93, told AP in an interview last month that he expects to be in office for at least two years and will keep his promise to hand over power to Anwar.
Anwar was once a high-flyer in the former ruling coalition but was convicted of homosexual sodomy and corruption after a power struggle in 1998 with Mahathir, who was prime minister for 22 years until 2003. He was freed in 2004 and convicted again in 2015 of sodomy, which he said was concocted to destroy his political career.
Anwar worked from his prison cell to forge a new opposition alliance by making peace with Mahathir, a gamble that paid off.
Anucha Kenhong at a Maha Sarakham theater with his niece.
MAHA SARAKHAM — The latest Predator movie may not have impressed critics, but the franchise’s Thai cosplayers are on a mission to promote the film.
Anucha Kenhong, 32, has been so busy suiting up as the intergalactic trophy hunter to promote “The Predator” at local theaters that he hasn’t actually had time to see it himself.
“I went to the SF Maha Sarakham theater to go promote it. I do it out of my own love for the movie,” said Anucha, one of the several Predator cosplayers in Isaan.
Like his counterpart in Mukdahan we interviewed in June, Anucha’s side hustle is dressing up as a predator for hirefor events. Anucha admits that while he makes his own costumes, he depends on Mukdahan predator Samai Khammongkul to supply his elaborate headgear.
The film’s release scored him a gig Saturday at a local mall where he will promote the film’s opening weekend.
Despite being panned by critics and dogged by a controversial casting decision, superfan Anucha says he’s fine with whatever director Shane Black produced.
“I started liking Predator since ‘Khon Mai Chai Khon’ [‘Human But Not Human’],” he said, referring to the domestic title for the 1987 original. “In that one, Arnold was in the jungle. And since then I’ve watched them all. No matter what form they give me Predator in, I will like it. Their ways of killing are so cool, and there’s lots of plot twists.”
Anucha in a wedding photo in February.
Anucha admits he hasn’t even heard of the scandal surrounding Black’s hiring of an actor friend who was a registered sex offender without notifying the cast. Female protagonist Olivia Munn, who plays female protagonist scientist Casey Bracket, Munn said she was “frozen out” after complaining about the decision.
Anucha only cares about the on-screen spectacle.
“I don’t really dig deep into the [behind-the-scenes] stuff. I just look at the action scenes on the surface,” he said.
But even a vicious man-hunter who stalks the streets of Maha Sarakham in full battle gear has to answer to someone – Anucha got married in February, in full Predator garb, of course.
“I have to wait and watch it with my wife next week. She said I can’t watch it first. I wanted to go watch since yesterday, but I gave her my promise,” he said, laughing.
Many characters joined Anucha’s February wedding.
‘Let’s go see the movie!’ Anucha captioned a clip of him Friday on a custom Predator bike.
‘The Predator’ is in theaters now. It’s rated 18+ for violence, language and sexual references.
Akira Horiuchi, right, of Japan, who won the Ig Nobel in medical education demonstrates his self colonoscopy technic during award ceremonies Thursday at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Photo: Michael Dwyer / Associated Press
BOSTON — Anyone who’s ever been so furious with their boss that they feel like exacting revenge really needs to listen to Lindie Liang.
Liang and her colleagues found that abusing a virtual voodoo doll instead of your boss will make you feel better without getting you fired or thrown in jail, a study that earned them a 2018 Ig Nobel, the annual prize sponsored by the science humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research for comical but practical scientific discovery.
Winners recognized Thursday included a Japanese doctor who devised a revolutionary new way to give yourself a colonoscopy; a British archaeology lecturer who figured out that eating human flesh isn’t very nutritious; an Australian team that found that people who buy high tech products really can’t be bothered with the instruction manual; and Spanish university researchers who measured the effects of shouting and cursing while driving.
The prizes at the 28th annual ceremony at Harvard University were being handed out by real Nobel laureates. The event featured a traditional paper airplane air raid and the premiere of “The Broken Heart Opera,” performed with the help of Harvard Medical School cardiologists.
The winners, who as usual journeyed to Massachusetts at their own expense, also received a cash prize of $10 trillion virtually worthless Zimbabwean dollars. Each was given 60 seconds to deliver an acceptance speech before an 8-year-old girl complained onstage: “Please stop. I’m bored.”
Liang, an assistant professor of business at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Canada, specializes in studying workplace aggression.
“We wanted to understand why subordinates retaliate when it’s bad for them,” she said. “We all know yelling at our boss is bad for your career. So what’s the function of retaliation? Why do people keep doing it?”
Obviously, Liang couldn’t ask people to beat their bosses. Instead, they were shown an online voodoo doll with their supervisor’s initials. They then had the option to use pins, pliers or fire on the virtual doll.
The bottom line: People felt better after abusing the doll, or as Liang put it, “their injustice perceptions are deactivated.”
Still, she doesn’t endorse littering workplaces around the world with voodoo dolls for people angry at their bosses. Let’s just have more civil workplaces to start with, she suggests.
James Cole, a lecturer in archaeology at Britain’s University of Brighton, earned his Ig Nobel for a study on cannibalism that found that if you want a high-calorie meal, eating human flesh probably isn’t the way to go.
Cannibalism is pretty common throughout human history, he said. But the accepted view is that humans have eaten other humans primarily for nutritional reasons. Cole found that the caloric value of humans isn’t that high when compared to other animals we know our ancestors hunted and ate.
“We’re not super nutritious,” he said.
How did Cole determine the caloric value of a human? Don’t worry. No humans were harmed in his study – he used a previously determined formula that bases body part calorie counts on weight and chemical composition.
Dr. Akira Horiuchi, a pediatrician at Showa Inan General Hospital in Komagane, Japan, won for his self-colonoscopy study in which he used a colonoscope designed for children and sat upright rather than lying in the traditional supine position.
Horiuchi isn’t recommending that you give yourself a colonoscopy in the comfort of your home. He said via email that many people are afraid of getting a colonoscopy, and he just wanted to show how easy it can be.
“If people watch a video of my self-colonoscopy, they think colonoscopy is simple and easy,” he said.
People may laugh at the winners, but Horiuchi said winning an Ig Nobel brings attention to studies such as his that might otherwise be ignored.
The incidence and mortality rate of colorectal cancer in Japan are increasing, he said. If his work makes someone more willing to get a colonoscopy, he reasons, maybe he’ll save some lives.
South Korea's Son Heung Min prepares to pass the ball in August during their men's football match between South Korea and Malaysia at the 18th Asian Games at Si Jalak Harupat Stadium in Bandung, Indonesia. Photo: Achmad Ibrahim / Associated Press
A grueling summer of soccer for Son Heung-min took in the World Cup in Russia, a preseason tour to the United States, then the Asian Games in Indonesia where he played six games in 18 days in stifling conditions.
The South Korea superstar returned to Tottenham on Wednesday with a gold medal, an exemption from military service in his home country, and likely some tired legs.
Yet, the hard work doesn’t end there.
Son is faced with the tough task of battling back into the Tottenham team, with fellow winger Lucas Moura having excelled in his teammate’s absence during the last three matches in the English Premier League.
Moura’s three goals – two of which came against Manchester United at Old Trafford – helped him win the Premier League player of the month award for August, and handed Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino something of a dilemma now Son is back.
Does Moura’s form give Pochettino the option of even giving Son a well-earned rest? After all, the winger has barely stopped since linking up with South Korea in late May for warm-up games ahead of the World Cup finals. As if he hadn’t played enough this summer, Son played almost every minute of the national team’s friendly games against Costa Rica and Chile over the past few days.
It seems the 26-year-old Son doesn’t want that, though.
“Fatigue is an excuse,” Son said after the 0-0 draw with Chile on Tuesday.
Tottenham’s hectic upcoming schedule may require Pochettino to throw Son straight into action.
A home game against Liverpool on Saturday starts a run of seven fixtures in 22 days across three competitions for the London club. That includes the start of the Champions League and it’s hardly a slow introduction to the group stage: Spurs play Inter Milan and Barcelona in their first two matches.
There’s a chance Son will not start against Liverpool at Wembley Stadium – although the absence of Dele Alli because of a hamstring injury does leave an available spot in the forward line – but will return for the trip to Inter three days later.
Moura will not be easy to oust. The Brazilian has more goals than Harry Kane this season, often finding himself further forward than the England striker as he cuts in from the right wing. It seems to be a similar tactic to Liverpool, where right winger Mohamed Salah often plays in advance of central striker Roberto Firmino, who can drop deeper like Kane.
Son is coming off his best season for Tottenham, scoring 18 times in all competitions and proving as adept at filling in as a striker in the absence of Kane as playing in his usual position on the left wing.
With Erik Lamela also providing competition in attack and both Alli and Christian Eriksen seemingly mainstays in Pochettino’s team, Pochettino has never had such a wealth of options up front.
Tottenham started the Premier League with three straight wins before losing at Watford 2-1 before the break for international matches.
Morata’s Mission
Alvaro Morata might be running out of opportunities to convince Maurizio Sarri that he should be the first-choice striker at Chelsea.
Morata has one goal in his first five games of the season – after a preseason when he failed to score at all – and looked off the pace in Chelsea’s most recent games, against Newcastle and Bournemouth.
Olivier Giroud, who scored a spectacular volley for France in the international break, has impressed as a substitute for Chelsea and might have convinced Sarri he is worthy of a start against Cardiff on Saturday.
Alternatively, Sarri could repeat what he did to such good effect at former club Napoli last season and play three smaller, more energetic forwards in the front line in Eden Hazard, Pedro Rodriguez, and Willian. At Napoli, Sarri used Jose Callejon, Dries Mertens, and Lorenzo Insigne.
Either way, Morata’s spot looks up for grabs as he struggles to prove worthy of the club-record fee of 58 million pounds (now USD$80 million) that Chelsea spent to sign him from Real Madrid in the offseason of 2017.
