Barkar Nash (Page 1,011)

59-year-old embarked on 1,000km journey to raise money for children

A 1,000-kilometre walk may seem daunting, but not for James Lee Valentine. He is living proof that having a sense of charity and resolve and experience can make a great difference to people’s lives.

Mr Valentine, 59, is no stranger to long-distance walks for charity. His latest feat, also the longest he has undertaken so far, was a special marathon journey from Pattaya to Phuket, two resort cities closest to his heart.

Feeling fired up to raise 1 million baht for Take Care Kids, a children’s foundation based in Pattaya, the British expat put his stamina to a major test.

The walk from Pattaya on the eastern seaboard and then to Phuket, the island province in the Andaman Sea in the west, covered 1,050km. The 48-day walk was concluded on June 6.

The journey was preceded by another charity walk earlier this year, from Pattaya to Jomtien Beach, a very much shorter distance along a stretched-out route covering about 33km. It took place on Feb 14 to mark Valentine’s Day and reflect his surname.

Instead of celebrating Valentine’s Day by candlelight, he chose to do something for underprivileged children under the foundation’s care.

A visit to the foundation prior to the charity walks opened his eyes to the desperate situation faced by children at the hands of abusive families. Many had suffered abuse before being resettled in a safe environment.

Himself a father of two, Mr Valentine said he left the foundation that day distraught but was determined to do something to help the children.

Mr Valentine raised 71,000 baht from the Pattaya-Jomtien walk, which he gave to Take Care Kids.

Accompanying him on the walks were members of the Hash House Harriers, a group of social runners with chapters throughout Thailand, mainly Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket. The Hash House Harriers regard themselves as a charity group.

Mr Valentine was first introduced to Take Care Kids in early January during one of the foundation’s fundraising activities in Pattaya and became interested in contributing to its cause.

After the Pattaya-Jomtien charity walk, Mr Valentine said he knew more money would be needed to build a new foster home for the foundation.

After the 33km walk, he said: “I felt really good. And I visited their [the foundation’s] existing foster home, met the children there, and thought I should go do a big walk.”

With this in mind, he set off on the journey from Pattaya to Phuket, for which he received 200,000 baht in donations.

Mr Valentine, who is now back in Pattaya, where he currently lives, decided to walk to Phuket due to what he said is a personal attachment to places beginning with the letter “P”. Before coming to Pattaya, he spent 24 years in the Philippines and 10 years in Phuket, where the Hash House Harriers have their biggest chapter.

“I was thinking if I really enjoyed the walk, I might walk to Penang [Malaysia] only because it begins with a P,” he said.

During his walk from Pattaya to Phuket, Mr Valentine travelled along Sukhumvit Road, Rama II and Phetkasem Road, the main route heading South.

For most of the trip, the roads were not pedestrian-friendly. As well as narrow and uneven paths, he endured intense heat and physical pain.

“I probably had five motorbikes in 40 days of walking that came too close to me because I could feel them pretty much brush my cape,” he said.

On May 1, on day 12 of his journey, he passed Hua Hin district in Prachap Khiri Khan and wrote on the Take Care Kids Facebook page that he was diagnosed with sciatica, a common condition affecting the sciatic nerve, which extends from the lower back to the back of each leg.

He decided to listen to his body and take two days of rest before telling himself the pain would not hold him up or abort his mission for Take Care Kids.

Miraculously, the pain from the sciatica went away as he soldiered on after the rest. It hasn’t given him any problems since.

Mr Valentine said that, unlike Bangkok, convenience stores and pharmacies in the provinces are few and far between. He sometimes had to walk 50km between each one.

People also offered him a lift, but he politely declined.

Mr Valentine is no stranger to walking long distances. His first charity walk was back in the United Kingdom alongside his older brother in 1996.

59-year-old embarked on 1,000km journey to raise money for children

A 1,000-kilometre walk may seem daunting, but not for James Lee Valentine. He is living proof that having a sense of charity and resolve and experience can make a great difference to people’s lives.

Mr Valentine, 59, is no stranger to long-distance walks for charity. His latest feat, also the longest he has undertaken so far, was a special marathon journey from Pattaya to Phuket, two resort cities closest to his heart.

Feeling fired up to raise 1 million baht for Take Care Kids, a children’s foundation based in Pattaya, the British expat put his stamina to a major test.

The walk from Pattaya on the eastern seaboard and then to Phuket, the island province in the Andaman Sea in the west, covered 1,050km. The 48-day walk was concluded on June 6.

The journey was preceded by another charity walk earlier this year, from Pattaya to Jomtien Beach, a very much shorter distance along a stretched-out route covering about 33km. It took place on Feb 14 to mark Valentine’s Day and reflect his surname.

Instead of celebrating Valentine’s Day by candlelight, he chose to do something for underprivileged children under the foundation’s care.

A visit to the foundation prior to the charity walks opened his eyes to the desperate situation faced by children at the hands of abusive families. Many had suffered abuse before being resettled in a safe environment.

Himself a father of two, Mr Valentine said he left the foundation that day distraught but was determined to do something to help the children.

Mr Valentine raised 71,000 baht from the Pattaya-Jomtien walk, which he gave to Take Care Kids.

Accompanying him on the walks were members of the Hash House Harriers, a group of social runners with chapters throughout Thailand, mainly Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket. The Hash House Harriers regard themselves as a charity group.

Mr Valentine was first introduced to Take Care Kids in early January during one of the foundation’s fundraising activities in Pattaya and became interested in contributing to its cause.

After the Pattaya-Jomtien charity walk, Mr Valentine said he knew more money would be needed to build a new foster home for the foundation.

After the 33km walk, he said: “I felt really good. And I visited their [the foundation’s] existing foster home, met the children there, and thought I should go do a big walk.”

With this in mind, he set off on the journey from Pattaya to Phuket, for which he received 200,000 baht in donations.

Mr Valentine, who is now back in Pattaya, where he currently lives, decided to walk to Phuket due to what he said is a personal attachment to places beginning with the letter “P”. Before coming to Pattaya, he spent 24 years in the Philippines and 10 years in Phuket, where the Hash House Harriers have their biggest chapter.

“I was thinking if I really enjoyed the walk, I might walk to Penang [Malaysia] only because it begins with a P,” he said.

During his walk from Pattaya to Phuket, Mr Valentine travelled along Sukhumvit Road, Rama II and Phetkasem Road, the main route heading South.

For most of the trip, the roads were not pedestrian-friendly. As well as narrow and uneven paths, he endured intense heat and physical pain.

“I probably had five motorbikes in 40 days of walking that came too close to me because I could feel them pretty much brush my cape,” he said.

On May 1, on day 12 of his journey, he passed Hua Hin district in Prachap Khiri Khan and wrote on the Take Care Kids Facebook page that he was diagnosed with sciatica, a common condition affecting the sciatic nerve, which extends from the lower back to the back of each leg.

He decided to listen to his body and take two days of rest before telling himself the pain would not hold him up or abort his mission for Take Care Kids.

Miraculously, the pain from the sciatica went away as he soldiered on after the rest. It hasn’t given him any problems since.

Mr Valentine said that, unlike Bangkok, convenience stores and pharmacies in the provinces are few and far between. He sometimes had to walk 50km between each one.

People also offered him a lift, but he politely declined.

Mr Valentine is no stranger to walking long distances. His first charity walk was back in the United Kingdom alongside his older brother in 1996.

iTV ‘shutdown’ may save MFP chief’s bid

Move Forward Party (MFP) leader Pita Limjaroenrat’s bid to become prime minister moved a step closer to reality on Monday after the chairman of a recent meeting of iTV shareholders said the media company is currently not operating pending a legal case.

As a result, Mr Pita could be spared from legal wrangles that could lead to him being disqualified as an MP if it is proven that the media company has shut down.

iTV was back in the spotlight after a video taken during the annual shareholders’ meeting on April 26 contradicted the official minutes.

Clips from the footage taken by a shareholder were aired on TV Channel 3 late on Sunday night.

In the clip, a shareholder asks: “Does iTV still operate media businesses?”, to which Executive Director Kim Siritaweechai, who chaired the meeting, replies: “As of now, the firm doesn’t do anything. It has to wait for a legal case to end.”

Controversy has swirled around alleged attempts to “revive” iTV to block Mr Pita’s bid to become prime minister through his shareholding in the media company.

Chairman of the Election Commission (EC) Ittiporn Boonpracong said on Monday the poll agency is already looking into whether Mr Pita violated Section 151 of the organic law on the election of MPs.

On Friday, the EC threw out all complaints related to media share ownership against the MFP leader but will instead investigate whether Mr Pita applied to be a list-MP candidate knowing he might not have been eligible.

That would be considered a violation of Section 42(3) and Section 151 of the organic law on the election of MPs.

If found guilty, Mr Pita faces up to 10 years in prison, along with a fine of between 20,000-200,000 baht, and a ban from taking part in elections for up to 20 years.

On Sunday, a source said that four recent petitions along with a request to dissolve the MFP have already been dismissed as groundless by the EC while the eight-party coalition led by the MFP goes about forming a new government.

Mr Kim, also president and executive director of Intouch Holdings Plc, which is a majority shareholder in iTV, on Monday ordered iTV committee members to launch an investigation into the minutes of the shareholders’ meeting.

MFP secretary-general Chaithawat Tulathon said the remarks in the video clip contradicted the minutes of the meeting, which he said he suspected may have been falsified.

Executives of iTV must provide a clarification, he said, adding that efforts are being made to block the MFP’s bid to form a government.

Writing on Facebook, MFP MP-elect Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn said he would step up calls for the broadcaster to make a statement on the matter, having earlier cast doubt on the accuracy of the minutes.

“iTV must clarify why the minutes of its annual shareholders’ meeting did not match the answer given by the chairman at the event.

“Society must ask whether this amounts to falsifying the minutes of the shareholders’ meeting to persecute another person politically and whether those responsible should face criminal charges, Mr Wiroj wrote.

Last week, Mr Pita said he had already transferred the 42,000 shares he inherited from his father, who died in 2006, to relatives to pre-empt any attempt to use them as political ammunition.

He said he was confident there was nothing to disqualify him from serving as an MP or becoming prime minister of a coalition government.

He said that in its 2018-19 financial statement, iTV was defined as a holding company, but in the two following financial statements, it was labelled a TV organisation.

iTV stopped broadcasting in 2007, and its licence was taken over by Thai PBS.

The company was delisted from the Stock Exchange of Thailand in 2014.

However, its business registration remained active because it is still embroiled in a legal dispute with the government over unpaid concession fees.

On May 10, political activist Ruangkrai Leekitwattana petitioned the poll agency to investigate.

Under the current constitution, individuals with media holdings are barred from running for office.

Anti-corruption body denies targeting Pita

More than 100 current and former MPs, including Move Forward Party (MFP) leader Pita Limjaroenrat, have yet to declare their wealth after the House dissolution in March, as required by law, according to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).

Since the March 20 House dissolution, 384 members, or about 70% of the 500 MPs have submitted their assets and liabilities records to the NACC, according to the commission secretary-general, Niwatchai Kasemmongkol.

He warned those who had not yet filed this information, including the expected prime ministerial candidate Pita, that the deadline was drawing near.

The former MPs had up to 60 days after vacating office to submit declarations, or by May 19. However, the deadline was extendable until June 18.

Mr Niwatchai said the NACC was looking out for any irregular transactions, such as an unusually high increase in assets or an excessive reduction in liability or debts. An in-depth probe will be launched to trace the origin or sources of such irregularities, he added.

He said Mr Pita has not declared his assets and liabilities although he was aware that the MFP has given written notice that the remainder of its submissions will be provided before the deadline extension.

He explained that although the law says nothing about a second deadline extension, the NACC has not ruled out the possibility. However, further delays beyond the 30-day extension might pique the NACC’s interest, he said.

The NACC law stipulates punishments against any MPs who exhibit intentions to conceal, disguise or withhold their wealth or liabilities.

Mr Niwatchai insisted the NACC had not singled out Mr Pita for the assets and liabilities probe and that it would treat all MPs equally.

He confirmed Mr Pita had submitted a record of his controversial iTV shares to the NACC after he became an MP following the 2019 general election.

Mr Pita had over 42,000 shares in iTV, an independent broadcaster founded in the 1990s. Under the current constitution, an election candidate is barred from running for office if they own shares in a media company.

The MFP leader stands accused of contesting the 2019 general election with the full knowledge of the legal prohibition against holding media shares when he registered as a candidate.

An MP must present their asset and liability documents upon taking office and again upon leaving office.

Mr Niwatchai said the NACC would check the share record to establish their value and whether Mr Pita was holding such stock in his capacity as executor of a family inheritance, as the former MP has reportedly claimed.

Once Mr Pita has made his declaration, the NACC will compare his wealth during and after his time as an MP.

Mr Pita said earlier that he had transferred the shares to his relatives to ensure he could be the next PM amid attempts to block him from the job.