South-East Asia (Page 1,964)

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) have sent a 30-strong team to clear rubbish along rail tracks near Phaya Thai after a Japanese netizen posted pictures of a Kiha-183 train, donated by Japan to serve tourists, passing through an apparent dump site in the area.

Twitter user @tabinezumiworld posted the picture on Sunday with a message saying it showed the gap between rich and poor in Bangkok.

The area is to be used for building a new elevated train line.

In a subsequent comment, he also posted a message in both Japanese and Thai that he knew that homes had recently been demolished for the new project.

He also noted that “There was broken glass, pieces of concrete and leftover food,” and he wondered when all this rubbish would be collected.

“It is unsanitary and has a bad odour. I hope for a speedy resolution. I urge the Thai government, City Hall and SRT to take action,” he tweeted.

The post was picked up by ThailandFootpath Facebook, which has more than 300,000 followers and also later carried by mass media.

Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt on Tuesday responded to the outcry by inspecting the area himself.

He said the piles of garbage along the railway are a result of the demolition of about 100 homes of local communities living illegally along a 1.2km stretch of track.

Mr Chadchart said the demolition took place last month to pave the way for the construction of the Don Mueang-Suvarnabhumi-U-Tapao high-speed rail route, but after the demolition, the rubbish had just been left there.

Ekkarat Sriarayanpong, head of the SRT governor’s office, said that the SRT and BMA had sent a 30-strong team to clean up the area, and a backhoe tractor and trucks were used to remove and transport the waste from the area.

He said that SRT will set up a fence and will also put up “no trespassing” signs to stop any intruders and those who may throw away their own rubbish in the area.

KRABI: Maya Bay — made world famous by the Hollywood blockbuster The Beach starring Leonardo DiCaprio 23 years ago — will be closed for two months during the monsoon season for the purposes of natural rehabilitation.

It was closed off to the public and tourists from Tuesday until Sept 30, said Ratchanok Phaenoi, chief of Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Koh Phi Phi National Park.

She said this is also being done for tourist safety, as strong waves during the rainy season will make it difficult for boats to dock at Loh Sama Bay on Koh Phi Phi Le, which is within walking distance of Maya Bay.

It reopened to tourists on Jan 1 last year after being off-limits for three and a half years due to overcrowding, which led to the destruction of coral reefs and its marine ecology.

Since last year, the park has capped the total number of tourists to about 4,000 a day and does not allow people to swim in the bay in order to protect the island’s sensitive ecology.

The park forbids tourist boats from docking at the bay but has a pier at Loh Sama for them. Maya Bay will be closed every year during the monsoon season from now on, the park said. Ms Ratchanok said the break will help restore its ecology.

Figures showing there were 39.7 million people in full-time employment in the second quarter this year, an increase of 660,000 on the same period last year, have been released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).

Deputy government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul on Tuesday revealed the improvement in the employment situation in the country after the NSO data showed the number of people working full time or around 35-49 hours per week has increased by about 560,000.

The number of people who work more than 50 hours a week increased by about 350,000, while those in part-time jobs or working less than 35 hours decreased by 240,000 people.

Unemployment also declined to 1.1% — with around 430,000 people still out of work, compared to the same period last year in which 1.4% of the working population, or about 550,000 people, were without jobs, Ms Traisuree said.

“Indicators of the overall labour situation are positive,” she said. In addition, there are now only 74,000 people who have been unemployed for more than a year in the second quarter, which is down from 140,000 people in the same period last year, added Ms Traisuree.

S112 to stay untouched on Pheu Thai’s watch

Srettha Thavisin, a Pheu Thai prime ministerial candidate who is expected to be formally nominated ahead of Friday’s vote, has given assurances that Pheu Thai will leave the lese majeste law alone after some senators expressed scepticism about his stance on the matter.

He said that a PM candidate nominated by any party that still seeks to amend Section 112 of the Criminal Code, known as the lese majeste law, will not receive support from the senators.

“If Pheu Thai nomi­nates me for the next prime ministerial vote, Section 112 amendment must be left untouched. Pheu Thai has made it clear it will not amend or scrap the law.

“The party wants to form a new government and move the country forward. It is necessary to defuse tensions over Section 112.

“Today, addressing the bread-and-butter issues affecting people’s daily lives is an overriding priority. Improving the economy must come first,” Mr Srettha said.

Several senators had not been convinced by Mr Srettha’s stance and said they may not vote for him after they watched a video clip of him saying during a campaign event ahead of the May 14 election that he would support Section 112’s amendment.

However, Mr Srettha later backtracked, saying Pheu Thai would not lay a finger on Section 112 if it led the new government, one day after parliament rejected the renomination of Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat for the prime ministerial post on July 19.

Mr Srettha said on July 20 that Section 112 amendment must not be attached to the eight prospective coalition parties’ new bid to win the prime ministerial vote; otherwise, the candidate nominated by the bloc would not get the support needed from the senators and parties outside the bloc.

If Pheu Thai becomes the leader of the eight-party bloc, Section 112 amendment would be off the agenda, he said.

The MFP’s determination to amend Section 112 was regarded as a key factor in Mr Pita’s failure to gain sufficient support for his bid to be named prime minister from MPs and senators in the first vote on July 13.

Under the constitution, a PM candidate needs the support of at least half of the 750 members of both the lower and upper chambers of parliament, or 376 votes in total.

Linthiporn Warinwatchararoj, a party-list MP for Pheu Thai and acting party spokeswoman, on Tuesday said that Mr Srettha also admitted on July 20 that any move to amend Section 112 would pose a major hurdle to Pheu Thai’s bid to form a government.

According to a Pheu Thai source, the party will issue a statement ahead of Friday’s vote to reaffirm its stance that it will not support any move to amend Section 112 and had opposed the MFP’s bid to include it in the MoU in the first place.

Senator Jadet Insawang said that if Mr Srettha is nominated for the prime ministerial vote on Friday, he should be asked to outline his vision before the vote and members of parliament should also be allowed to quiz the candidate before making their decision.

Parliament president Wan Muhamad Noor Matha previously said parliament would convene on Friday, but whether the new vote for a prime minister takes place that day will depend on a Constitutional Court decision the day before.

The court will announce if it is to accept a petition regarding the rejected renomination of Mr Pita as prime minister. If accepted, the vote will not occur until the court’s ruling.

Apprehension is growing about a planned meeting of the eight prospective coalition partners amid growing doubts over the unity of the bloc despite Pheu Thai’s insistence that all is well.

The meeting, which Pheu Thai has not yet announced the date for, will focus on the details of discussions between it and other parties outside of the coalition bloc, as well as senators, after Pheu Thai took the lead in forming the government and tried to solicit support for its prime ministerial candidate.

Speculation is rife that Pheu Thai will abandon the Move Forward Party (MFP) to make way for Bhumjaithai, the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) and the Chartthaipattana Party to join its coalition.

However, some reports suggest the bloc remains unchanged but that Bhumjaithai and Chartthaipattana will vote for Pheu Thai’s prime ministerial candidate. The MFP may be forced out of the coalition after the vote to let the PPRP in.

Pheu Thai may reportedly propose ending the current alliance because the senators and other parties have not backed down from their anti-MFP stance. It is also believed this proposal will be accepted by a vote of 5:3, with those against it being the MFP, the Fair Party and the Thai Sang Thai Party (TST).

Pheu Thai deputy leader Phumtham Wechayachai said on Tuesday the eight-party alliance will hold talks before the prime ministerial vote, which is scheduled to take place on Friday.

Pheu Thai is still sticking with the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the bloc, and it will bring before the meeting the details of its discussions with political parties outside of the bloc and the senators, he said.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is planning to increase the monthly rubbish collection fee for households — but those who properly sort their own rubbish prior to collection won’t be required to pay the increased fee.

Deputy Bangkok governor Chakkaphan Phew-ngam said yesterday the decision was reached in an effort to encourage more people to sort their own rubbish.

He said the new rates will be reviewed by BMA’s Legal and Litigation Department before being forwarded to the Bangkok Metropolitan Council for approval.

Under the plan, households which produce less than 20 litres of rubbish per day will be required to pay 60 baht per month, which is made of a 30-baht rubbish collection fee and a 30-baht disposal fee, starting from the middle of next year.

The proposed fee is lower than the rate that the BMA announced in 2019.

City Hall had planned to charge households which produce less than 20 litres of rubbish per day 80 baht per month for rubbish collection, but the new rate was never implemented due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Households which separate their own trash, however, will be allowed to keep paying the current rate of 20 baht, though they will need to register with their local district office beforehand to be eligible.

Meanwhile, households that produce 20-1,000 litres of rubbish per day will have to pay 120 baht a month, while those which produce over 1,000 litres of waste each day will be required to pay 8,000 baht.

Chartthaipattana Party secretary-general, Praphat Phothasuthon, yesterday dismissed rumours he had brokered a political deal with former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra when they met recently in Hong Kong, saying he was only there for Thaksin’s birthday party.

Praphat: Attending birthday bash

Describing him as an old friend, Mr Praphat said Thaksin told him during the two-hour meeting that he intended to come home to visit his grandchildren.

And by coming home, Thaksin meant he planned to land in his private jet at Don Mueang airport, go to court as required and, if necessary, serve a period of time in prison, according to Mr Praphat.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin’s youngest daughter, had already revealed her father planned to return on Aug 10, although some observers doubted whether it will really happen.

Mr Praphat said he and Thaksin had not sat down to discuss any political deals, despite rumours suggesting otherwise.

Throughout the meeting, Thaksin talked mainly about his close ties with Banharn Silpa-archa, the late prime minister and leader of now-dissolved Chart Thai whose former members currently run under the Chartthaipattana banner, and how they worked closely together up until Varawut Silpa-archa became party leader, he said.

He was responding to rumours spread by political activist Chuvit Kamolwisit recently that Mr Praphat was in Hong Kong to discuss a tie-up between Chartthaipattana and the Pheu Thai Party.

Asked if Chartthaipattana had ever been invited to join the Pheu Thai-led coalition being formed, Mr Praphat simply said Chartthaipattana wasn’t in a position to answer the question as to who would actually join the bloc.

“I really have no idea which parties will actually be in the new coalition as the number of parties in the coalition should be clearly known after the new prime minister is selected,” he said. “And it’s a tradition that the party with a new prime minister will then begin inviting other parties to join its coalition.”

Asked about a previous discussion between Chartthaipattana and Pheu Thai, Mr Praphat called it “positive”.