DGA pins digital hopes on app

DGA pins digital hopes on app
DGA director Supot Tiarawut

The Digital Government Development Agency (DGA) has issued an update on the progress of Thailand’s digital government transformation, laying out its aim of digitising services via the mobile app “Tang Rat”.

Supot Tiarawut, director of DGA, said the DGA was making progress in driving a digital government, whether providing services at the Government to Citizens (G2C) level, Government to Business (G2B) or Government to Government (G2G).

For the G2C level, DGA has connected more than 112 government services to serve citizens through the application “Tang Rat”, a mobile app that combines services from all state agencies available for people on digital platforms, he said.

Currently, there are more than 112 services with cumulative usage of over 7.5 million logins and 607,041 downloads, said Mr Supot.

By 2024, the DGA aims to include more services such as personal land tax examination checks, personal insurance information and interest payment services (pawning).

Mr Supot said the DGA has also launched a government open data centre on data.go.th, where public data is available for citizens and software developers. There are currently 10,226 open data collections and 3,871,796 people have used the service.

For the G2B level, the DGA has designed bizportal.go.th. to provide business-related services for small and medium-sized enterprises. Entrepreneurs can apply for licences from the government through the website. Over 124 services are available online and about 15,881 users have registered for them.

For the G2G level, the DGA focuses on supporting data linkages among state agencies such as the Government Data Exchange (GDX) on communication channels which guarantee data safety. Currently, 13 agencies and 74 data services have been linked while collective data has been linked 133.44 million times.

In addition, the DGA is focused on providing digital knowledge to officials. It has established the Thailand Digital Government Academy (TDGA) to help improve digital skills among civil servants and government officials.

The academy has provided training to more than 1.9 million officials. In 2024, the training will include officials at the provincial level. Digital courses will be designed for the local area and will develop digital skills onsite.

“The success of the DGA’s projects has shown the agency can lead the scheme “Smart Nation Smart Life”, allowing agencies to manage and present public services through digital channels,’’ Mr Supot, the DGA director, said.

Thailand’s ranking in digital government development as surveyed by the United Nations continues to increase as a result of such efforts, he added.

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New kind of pit viper discovered in South

New kind of pit viper discovered in South
The newly-discovered limestone eyelash pit viper (photo: Bunyarit Dechochai)

Staff at the Thale Ban National Park in the southern province of Satun have discovered a new kind of pit viper, the smallest yet found in the subfamily of venomous snakes.

Saengsuree Songthong, chief of the national park, said he, his assistant Nakhen Kaweethanatham and research official Bunyarit Dechochai accidentally spotted the newly-discovered species of pit vipers while they were resting under a limestone shelter recently.

They took pictures and asked a researcher to identify the snakes. The research later found that the team made a new discovery.

Mr Saengsuree said that the newly-discovered species was scientifically named “Trimeresurus ciliaris” and called “limestone eyelash pit viper”. It looks similar to Trimeresurus venustus or “beautiful pit viper”.

The limestone eyelash pit viper is smaller than the beautiful pit viper, the park chief said. Its eyelashes and nose are bigger and patterns on its lateral scales are clearer.

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Don Muang to kick off Bangkok’s ’50 districts, 50 hospitals’ policy

Don Muang to kick off Bangkok's '50 districts, 50 hospitals' policy
Public Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew

Don Muang will be the first district in Bangkok to obtain a new hospital under the “50 districts, 50 hospitals” policy, Public Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew said.

Dr Cholnan said this is one of the 13 programmes he announced on assuming the position.

He said the project would begin by selecting a location with an existing building in the district which would be further developed into a 120-bed hospital for primary care with rooms for emergency operations and medical services.

“What we will do is to improve the building to make it ready for medical services in the first 100 days. This can be done in other districts, if they are ready,” Dr Cholnan said.

When asked about how medical staff would be sourced to work at the new facility in Don Muang, Dr Cholnan said the personnel would initially come from within the Public Health Ministry.

Dr Cholnan said he would like to see the hospitals under this policy to operate as a public organisation, similarly to the Ban Phaeo Hospital in Samut Sakhon’s Ban Phaeo district.

He said he had set up a committee to implement the 13 policies he had announced. Dr Opas Karnkawinpong, the permanent secetary for public health, was in the process of setting up 13 sub-committees to oversee each of the 13 policies.

Dr Opas said one of the sub-committees would specifically handle the 50 districts, 50 hospitals policy.

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Feeder link for high-speed rail gets all-clear

RAYONG: The Eastern Economic Corridor Office of Thailand (EECO) has approved a feeder electric train linking with a high-speed rail link between the capital’s airports and U-Tapao airport in the high-speed rail project’s second hearing.

The public hearing panel was recently organised by EECO in Ban Chang district and joined by local administration representatives with a main focus on a development plan for feeder transport for the high-speed railway.

According to Karn Chaloemwongphan, EECO’s traffic and transport model expert, two main railway systems were proposed on the hearing panel: a road-tyre-based system and a fixed guideway-based system.

The panel had agreed on the second method, with two types of train and railway systems to consider. According to Mr Karn, they were a conventional rail-based system, such as Light Rail Transit (LRT), trams, or tram-trains, and a contemporary transit system, such as monorails, automated guideway transits (AGT), and urban maglevs.

Three rail routes for the feeder train were also proposed. They were the northern railway from the EEC-Sri Racha high-speed station in Chon Buri; the western railway from the EEC-Pattaya high-speed station, and the southern railway from the EEC-U-Tapao high-speed station.

Results pointed to the southern railway as the most suitable area due to engineering, economic, and environmental factors. This area will be a pilot for further study as well as the fundamental design of the project, said Mr Karn.

Mr Karn said the feeder train was expected to be a flyover of at least 20 kilometres in length, covering areas between Bang Lamung and Sattahip districts in Chon Buri and Ban Chang district in Rayong.

It will start at the EEC and become a flyover at Highway No.331 (located near Huai Yai police station). The flyover will go along Highway No.7 (Khao Chi Chan and Khao Chi Oan) and finish at Highway No.3, or Sukhumvit Road.

After the hearing, EECO and the project’s consultant will gather comments to improve the feeder train construction, details of which will be proposed at a later hearing.

The 1.92-kilometre high-speed rail link will handle the expected surge in traffic volume caused by U-Tapao Airport’s importance to the EEC. It will be promoted as another international airport for commercial flights in 2025 when the rail link finally opens.

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Most want subsidised childcare, free education to spur birth rate: poll

A majority of people want the state to provide subsidies for childcare and free education as an incentive for Thai people to have one or more children now that the country has become an aged society with a low birthrate, according to a survey by the National Institute of Development Administration, or Nida Poll.

The poll was conducted on Sept 26-28 by telephone interviews with 1,310 people aged 18-40 of various levels of education, occupations and incomes throughout the country.

Asked about their marital status and number of children, the answers varied as follows:

• 29.39% unmarried, not in a relationship
• 26.57% officially married, with one or more children
• 20.92% unmarried, in a relationship
• 10.99% unofficially married, with one or more children
• 4.58% officially married, no children
• 2.52% single parents
• 1.98% unofficially married, no children
• 1.98% living with a partner, with one or more children
• 1.07% living with a partner, no children

For the 759 respondents without children, when asked whether they want to have one or more, 53.89% said they do; 44.00% do not; and 2.11% did not know or were not interested.

For the 334 respondents who do not want to have a child, when asked why, with each allowed to choose more than one answer, the answers were as follows:

• 38.23% did not want to shoulder the expenses for raising children
• 38.23% were not sure how the children would survive in the present social condition
• 37.72% did not want to be burdened with childcare
• 33.23% wanted to lead a free lifestyle
• 17.66% were afraid they would not be able to take good care of the children
• 13.77% attached more importance to work
• 5.39% cited health problems
• 2.10% were uncertain about their genetic ability to produce good children
• 0.90% were afraid about the consequences of bad karma from how they had treated their parents

Asked whether they were concerned there would be fewer new-born children in the future, 50.53% said not at all; 23.13% were not particularly worried; 17.79% were fairly concerned; and 8.55% were very concerned.

Asked what measures they thought should be taken by the state as an incentive for Thai people to have children, with each respondent allowed to choose more than one answer, the answers were:

• 65.19% free education
• 63.66% subsidies for childcare until the age of 15
• 30.00% lower income tax on people with children
• 29.47% more leave days for parents to raise their children
• 21.91% a financial reward for having a child
• 19.92% a subsidy for single parents
• 17.18% develop and provide financial support for childcare centres
• 9.85% free services at centres helping people with reproduction
• 7.48% higher taxes on people without children
• 5.50% wider opening of channels for surrogacy
• 4.89% setting up of match-making centres for Thai people

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Building a business that also helps underprivileged women ‘an uphill task’ but these Singaporeans have done it

The hole-in-the-wall bookstore quickly became a viral sensation. 

And as a result, not only was Books Beyond Borders able to fund a school bag distribution programme, it also helped raise money for supplies to support school libraries, art classes and even STEM labs in Nepal. 

To date, the social enterprise has raised more than S$37,000 towards these efforts, which required Chong to work closely with nonprofit organisation Teach for Nepal, whose fellows are employed in some of the most underfunded schools across the country.

It was this partnership that drew his attention to a “critical gap” in Nepal’s education system: The absence of a scholarship programme for girls completing 10th grade. 

“Most girls in Nepal, after completing their 10th grade schooling, lack the means to pursue higher secondary education and are often expected to start raising a family,” said Chong.

“This perpetuates the cycle of poverty.

“By bridging this gap and enabling more girls to attend school, the likelihood of their future generation receiving an education increases,” he added.

Chong announced this year that Books Beyond Borders was narrowing its philanthropic focus to helping young Nepalese women achieve higher education, specifically by donating 5 per cent of its monthly profits to the scholarship programme.

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‘It’s like a thrill’: More wildlife sightings in Singapore due to habitat change, people seeking out animals

INTEREST PEAKED DURING COVID-19, BUT HAS DIPPED

Another reason for the increase in sightings could be one Singaporeans have heard before – the pandemic. 

Like Ms Tsang, Mr Kwan saw a spike in interest in local nature walks during the COVID-19 period. Demand has since eased, but the guide still sees a substantial number of queries from schools, companies and community organisations.

ACRES’ Mr Kalai Vanan said the non-profit organisation was “surprised” by the number of calls it received during the pandemic. 

“We thought that we didn’t have to rescue because if people were not walking around, nobody’s going to see animals in distress. But we realised it’s the other way around.

“More people were calling us, which is strange because people couldn’t travel anywhere so people started roaming around. Naturally, with more people doing that, they’re going to find more injured animals, more stranded animals and that sparked the interest.”

People developed interests and hobbies that took them to nature, like hiking, cycling and photography. 

A downside to that was that people start getting too close to the animals, Mr Kalai Vanan said, cautioning against disturbing wildlife. 

Ms Tsang has seen people turn to her Facebook page for help when they glimpse an animal for the first time. 

“It’s also a social need. Sometimes when you see an animal yourself, you don’t know whether other people have seen it, you want to confirm … it’s really a tapir you saw,” Ms Tsang said. 

“We don’t know as much as the experts do, so we ask for more information online.”

Similarly, those who spot “rare” animals also approach NParks. 

“Community stewardship and engagement also play a key role in supporting NParks’ biodiversity management and monitoring efforts. Some of these ‘rare’ wildlife sightings were made known to NParks through feedback submitted by volunteers and the public,” NParks’ Mr Lee said. 

Those who actively seek out animals, like Dr Woo, are driven by their passion for seeing animals in their natural habitat. 

“I always thought that you only see such wildlife overseas. You need to go overseas, make a trip to one of the jungles overseas. 

“But in recent years I realise that you don’t really have to go overseas. You get to see wildlife in Singapore as well.”

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Commentary: SingPost is giving households stamps – but writing letters is a dying art

THE PERSONAL TOUCH OF HANDWRITTEN MAIL

But perhaps the datedness of sending handwritten mail has made it even more of a meaningful gesture today.

My daughters’ primary school has a yearly Post-A-Blessing project, where students get to design postcards for loved ones, friends or anyone they would like to encourage. The school then uses SingPost to mail out the postcards.

Whenever my girls’ postcards arrive in the mail, addressed to me and my husband, I would always be touched by their sweet messages and doodles. These postcards, which we put up at our desks at home, are constant reminders of their love for us.

Their Post-A-Blessing project also has students penning postcards to healthcare workers and support staff in their school like cleaners and security guards. It is a lovely gesture that would make their recipients’ day.

Even in a hyper-connected world, kids love receiving mail too. A friend who is a children’s book author and illustrator recently had some limited-edition postcards, and offered on social media to send them to readers with a message. A mum who took up the offer shared how happy her son was to have received the author’s personalised postcard.

Pen pals, which I used to keep as a child, have become popular among youth thanks to TikTok. Videos tagged #penpal have accumulated more than 470 million views on the platform, and feature users penning letters to strangers, complete with drawings and custom wax seals.

Many of these users picked up the hobby during COVID-19 lockdowns, for a sense of routine in an uncertain time.

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PM hails response to visa scheme

A visa-free scheme for Chinese and Kazakh tourists has received a positive response, according to Prime Minister and Finance Minister Srettha Thavisin.

The scheme — which runs from Sept 25 to Feb 29, amid the Chinese National Day on Oct 1, the Mid-Autumn Festival this month and Chinese New Year in February — is part of the government’s “Quick Win” policy to spur the economy.

Mr Srettha yesterday posted a message on X, formally known as Twitter, that a CNN report showed that Chinese tourists had responded well to the visa exemption and better was yet to come.

Thailand is a top destination for Chinese tourists, he said, adding he was happy for businesses that would benefit from the visitors.

Citing information from Trip.com, which operates China’s largest travel booking platform, Ctrip, Mr Srettha said travel bookings from China to Thailand are now nearly 20 times higher when compared with the same holiday period last year.

Hotel reservations in the country by Chinese tourists have jumped by 6,220% when compared to the same period last year, he said.

“Thailand is very happy to welcome every Chinese traveller,” he said.

“Our country has beautiful beaches and myriads of Thai cuisine. I wish every tourist to travel in Thailand safely and gain good experiences.”

Government spokesman Chai Wacharonke yesterday said the government’s visa-free policy will help spur the economy, adding the country is stressing the importance of keeping tourists safe, which will boost Thailand’s reputation for safety.

Meanwhile, state-run Transport Company managing director Sanyalak Panwattanalikhit said the visa exemption scheme has also benefited domestic tourism as the number of locals visiting tourism sites during weekends has also increased.

Some schools are already on term break, he said, noting the company has reported 30,000–35,000 passengers travelling during the weekend.

One of the most popular routes is Bangkok to Chiang Khan in Loei, he said.

The town of Chiang Khan is a popular destination among Thai tourists who are looking for the laid-back ambience provided by old wooden shophouses lining the bank of the Mekong River, he said.

The company will increase its service from two trips to four trips per day, he said.

In another move, the company will also resume its Bangkok–Ban Phaeng in Nakhon Phanom starting from today, Mr Sanyalak said.

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