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Officials To Rein In Illegal Van After Numerous Crashes

(28 August) In the wake
of the van accident which killed 9 victims in Chachoengsao Province, the Department of Land
Transport promised a more serious curb on vans that pick up passengers without proper license like
the one involved in the latest fatal crash.

Illegally-operated vans have also made news in
the past for their frequent accidents.

Mr. Jiruth Visanjitr, Director General of Department
of Land Transport, said the department will toughen the law enforcement on these vans, to be in
accordance with Transport Minister Chatchart Sitthiphan’s instruction.

Working in
collaboration with the Transport Company and Bangkok Mass Transport Authority (BMTA), Mr. Jiruth
told our correspondent he had ordered his officials to submit a report within one month, regarding
the number of registered and unregistered vans in service in the Metropolitan area.

The
report will also look at the numbers of passengers who take these vans, he said, and the Ministry
will proceed to bring the unregistered vans under official regulation if it is proven that they
service a large share of passengers on the roads.

That would mean there have been too few
registered vans to meet the passengers? demands, Mr. Jiruth explained.

The license will come
with stringent safety measures, such as a course on public safety for the vans? staff and a
bi-annual vehicle check-up, according to Mr. Jiruth.

The director said that this would force
the ghost minivans to comply with the regulation issued by Transport Ministry. Since the beginning
of 2013, the police have made over 2,500 arrests over these illegal vehicles, Mr. Jiruth told our
correspondent.

Furthermore, the Ministry is planning to install a device on the vans to
control speed limit and monitor their locations.

The latest fatal minivan accident happened
earlier this week when the crowded van crashed into the 18-wheeler truck, causing 9
deaths.

The deceased victims? family will be paid 400,000 for compensation, while the other
injured victims will receive financial support during their stays at the hospital.

Mr.
Rueangsak Mahavinigchaimontri, Chacheongsao Governorm visited the wounded today and also urged the
provincial transport authority to curb on the illegal van services.

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Senator Rebuked For Complimenting Yingluck's Beauty

(28 August) The parliamentary debate on the Constitution amendment yesterday saw a bizarre moment in which lawmakers argued whether the beauty of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is related to the Constitution.

The ruling Pheu Thai Party proposed an amendment that would allow all Senators to be elected and remove restrictions on Senators? qualification; under the current 2007 Constitution half of the Senate is appointed by a panel of ?experts?.

Ms. Yingluck joined the debate for the first time as an MP, sitting next to her sister, Ms. Yaowapa Wongsawat, another big player in the Shinawatra clan.

During his explanation why an amendment is needed, Mr. Prasert Prakhunsueksaphan, the Pheu Thai Senator representing Khonkaen Province, also made reference to Ms. Yingluck, calling her "a beautiful" and "intellectual" Prime Minister.

The remark was protested by a Democrat MP, Mr. Sathit Pituthecha, who accused Mr. Prasert of "licking" (currying favour from) Ms. Yingluck to win her support for the next Senate election. He also charged that Mr. Prasert′s compliment of Ms. Yingluck′s prettiness is not relevant to the Constiutional amendment.

Mr. Prasert then argued that he only said in the nature of what is correct.

After further verbal exchanges between the pair, Mr. Somsak Kiatsuranon, the House Speaker, delivered his judgement that Ms. Yingluck′s beauty is indeed not related to the Constitution, and asked Mr. Prasert to "stay on the topic" of the parliamentary discussion.

 

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Statue Of His Majesty The King Stolen From Temple

(28 August) A bronze-gold
statue of His Majesty the King has been stolen from a temple in Pathumthani Province, its abbot
said.

Pra Kru Kosol Sitthikarn, the abbot of Wat Bang Poon Temple, alerted the police after
he noticed that the statue was nowhere to be found.

CCTV cameras revealed the incident on 20
August, as 2 men entered the Praying Hall and stole the bronze-gold statue from a shelf.

According to the abbot, the statue represented His Majesty the King′s greatness. The locals
helped construct the statue in 1993 to show their loyalty, he said, and it has been used in annual
celebration of the King′s birthday for 16 years.

Pra Kru Kosal also said that this is the
fifth time that items in the temple had been stolen, and urged the police to arrest the men as soon
as possible.

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Cars Dealers Suffer From Yingluck's Populist Policy

(28 August) Like her
influential brother, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra led Thailand down the road of populist
policies aimed at easing the financial burdens of the grassroot and low-earning populace. Among her
trademarks is the First Car Program which exempts tax for first-time car buyers.

The
government insisted it would benefit the low-income citizens and boost number of car sales. But
critics warned that the policy contributed to increased traffic jams in the already clogged roads of
Bangkok.

A number of car dealers across the country are now complaining about the First Car
plan as well, charging that it distorted market demands and in fact damaged the car sales business
in the Kingdom, reported our correspondent at Prachachart.

A report from the Japanese
Chamber of Commerce indicated that in September, car sales from every manufacturer combined amounts
to less than 100,000 cars, despite the sweltering promotion campaigns.

Market analysts
believed that the motor business would also shrink at least 5-10% this year, as the real demand in
the market does not match the virtual demand estimated by the car industry.

Car dealers
interviewed by our correspondent explained that the supposed demand was drawn up in the previous
period when the government announced ?First Car Program?. Excited customers rush to the car dealers
to place their orders to take advantage of the policy while it lasted.

But not every customer actually buys
the cars they ordered. Some backed off later, once they realised they did not have the financial
capability to purchase and maintain the vehicles. Others purchased the cars but have had a hard time
paying for them later due to their low income.

What followed is a distorted market in which
the manufacturing sector over-produced their cars, and it was up to the dealers to bear the task of
selling these unclaimed motors – not an easy task, the dealers said, because very few customers
would want to buy cars that had been left sitting at the showrooms.

Sales persons are forced
to reduce their own commission fee, and to top more perks for their customers, particularly the 0%
instalment and First Class Car Insurance.

Some motor giants tried to resolve the matter by
offering jaw-dropping discounts to boost their sales, sometimes offering a price even lower than the
tax-exempted car price in previous year.

But it appears that the situation also hurts the
customers; the red hot promotion led many people to buy the best offer they see, ignoring their own
needs for appropriate gears and services.

The dealers told our correspondent they are
still waiting to see if the situation will improve later this year, the time of the year when many
new customers seek out cars to buy.

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Entertainment Giant Mulls Plan For 'Low Cost' Cinema

(27 August) Kantana Group
is planning to launch a low-cost ?Community Cinema? in early 2014, targeting movie lovers who wish
to pay less for entertainment.

Mr. Jaruek Kanjaruek, Managing Director of Kantana Group,
said that the Community Cinema project plans to create small local cinemas, which would contain 50
seats and charge the audience 30 baht per movie.

It departs greatly from the mainstream
cinema business, owned by the likes of SF Cinema and Major Cineplex, which can charge moviegoers up
to 170-200 baht per movie.

The project has been welcomed by many investors. So far, 500
investors have signed up to jointly build the cinema with Kantana.

The company, a big player
in Thailand′s entertainment industry, plans to build up to 1,000 such cinemas all over
Thailand.

According to Mr. Jaruek, the Community Cinema model is targeting people who wish to
pay less for the leisure. Moreover, the project is hoping to reduce the problem of intellectual
property piracy and strengthen Thai entertainment business.

Mr. Jaruek believes that 30 baht
would be the right ticket price, as it takes up to 10% of the national minimum wage. With this
ticket price, the cinema is capable of reaching out to a wider audience.

The director also
believes that the cinema would support economic growth of local communities, as the cinema will
provide commercial space for local businesses.

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Govt Spokesman Denies '200,000 Baht Per Day' Food Budget

(27 August) The spokesman
of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has refuted the allegation that Cabinet members are entitled
to an excessive 200,000 baht per day budget on daily food.

The allegation was spread widely
on the social network, fanned mostly by anti-government groups. These critics charged that Ms.
Yingluck and other Ministers are treated to numerous luxurious meals each day at work.

Some
versions of the rumour also comes with a photo showing a wide array of food allegedly served at the
Government House.

Mr. Teerat Ratanasevi, Ms. Yingluck′s spokesman, responded by posting a
photo of a humble noodle dish on Twitter, saying that it is the kind of cuisine he and other
officials, Ms. Yingluck included, eat everyday at work.

I tell the housekeeper at my office
to buy food for me every lunch, Mr. Teerat said.

He further explained that the Government
House does have a special budget for the meals served in events that the government welcomed its
dignitaries. However, he stressed that the special set of menu is not as extravagant as the
ant-government critics have alleged.

For example, he said, the government provided rice with
fried chicken and black pepper, and some fruits, to representatives of the industrial sector who met
with the Cabinet last month.

Moreover, the Government House only pays for the Cabinet
members? food on days of Cabinet meetings, according to Mr. Teerat.

As for the photo of
luxurious meals forwarded by many anti-government critics, it appears that the photo in fact belongs
to a menu of a certain restaurant, our correspondent reports. The photo has also been attached in
separate rumours about Ms. Yingluck′s excessive meal budget in late 2011.

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Tollway Fee To Rise After 1 September

(27 August) Motorists in
Bangkok would have to pay more to use the expressways after 1 September 2013.

Mr. Atthanat
Thin-apai, Director of the Expressway Authority of Thailand, announced that the Ministry of
Transport decided to raise expressway fee from the beginning of next month.

The decision,
which was concluded on 21 August, will force Bangkokian to pay 5-10 baht more for Chalerm Mahanakorn
Expressway, Srirat Expressway and Bhuraphavidhi Expressway.

Moreover, the toll for the
expansion of Bhurapavidhi Expressway will be increased 0.10-0.30 baht per kilometre.

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'White Masks' Rally Against Tony Blair

(27 August) Over 20
anti-government protesters staged a rally in front of the British Embassy in Bangkok this morning to
voice their opposition against the Thai government′s invitation to former UK leader Tony Blair to
join ?reconciliation talk?.

Mr. Blair is scheduled to speak at a government-sponsored event
in a 5 star hotel in Bangkok next week, which was billed as a panel discussion to find solutions for
Thailand′s deeply polarised society.

However, the protesters, who identified themselves as
part of the ?White Masks? movement, argued that the government is wasting millions of baht on the
invitation of such a high-profile speaker, and viewed the talk as a political trick to lend
credibility to the government.

2 British nationals, a husband and a wife, also joined the
rally. 40 police officers guarded the Embassy′s entrance.

Both the Thai authorities and Mr.
Blair′s spokesman have in the past insisted that the former British Prime Minister will attend the
talk on a pro bono basis.

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Activists Call For Independent Inquiry Over Oil Spill

(27 August) A group of
environmental activists has demanded that the government set up an independent and transparent commission to
investigate the oil spill in the Gulf of Thailand that has severely damaged the region′s tourism and
livelihood.

In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Dharmma Research for
Environment Foundation urged an effort to hold the PTT Global Chemical responsible for its role in the incident,
which was caused by a leak in the company′s oil pipeline.

Ms. Supaphon Malailoy, the group′s
representative, and other activists submitted the letter at the Government House today. Reportedly,
32,000 people have signed the letter.

Some activists also painted their faces with black
ink, and brought with them a jar of marinated shrimps and a jar of black squid to be given to the
Prime Minister as an ironic gift.

Ms. Supaphon said that the group believed that the
PTT-appointed commission, led by Ms. Thongthip Rattanarat, is unreliable due to its close
relationship with the company.

She cited the procedures made by Australian government, when
it appointed an independent commission to investigate the oil spill caused by PTT Australian-owned
rigs in 2009. The case, conducted by the impartial commission, resulted in 8,946 million baht
compensation fee paid by the company, she said, urging the Thai government to do the
same.

The appropriate committee should include
epresentatives from various sectors, such as the
public sector, private sectors, academia, legal experts, and local residents, and it should define
clearly what compensation PTT Global Chemical should pay, Ms. Supaphon added.

Deputy Prime
Minister Suphon Atthawong reassured the group that he will pass on the letters regarding the issue
to the Prime Minister and other relevant agencies as soon as possible. 

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PM Yingluck Ranked As Wealthiest Cabinet Member

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra attending an event in Nonthaburi Province, 26 August 2013.

(27 August) The National
Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has released a list of personal properties and wealth of the
Cabinet members under Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra′s government.

The Prime Minister
herself is ranked as the wealthiest of the bunch, with declared personal possession of 601,660,181
baht.

Although she possesses the combination of property assets and wealth worth 628,660,181
baht, she also owns a debt of 27,000,000 Baht.

Minister of Labour, Mr. Chalerm Yoobamrung,
possesses property and wealth worth 171,283,646 baht, while Mr. Jaturon Chaisaeng, Minister of
Education, holds 118,838,359 baht in property and wealth.

Mr. Peerapan Palusuk, Minister of
Science and Technology, owns 74,471,376 baht, and has 5,068,757 baht worth debt, making his total
wealth at 69,402,618 baht.

Mr. Santi Prompattana, Minister of the Prime Minister Office,
possesses 19,647,405 baht, and 1,290,676 baht in debt.

Mr. Pongthep Thepkanchana, Deputy
Prime Minister, and his family possesses 3,085,369,475 baht, and, curiously, has a debt of 10
Baht. 

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