Pheu Thai appoints ‘Ung Ing’ as its chair

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PUBLISHED : 28 Oct 2023 at 04:00

Paetongtarn “Ung Ing” Shinawatra, the youngest daughter of jailed former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, has been appointed the new chair of Pheu Thai, the party leading the coalition government.

The appointment, announced yesterday after the party’s executive board election, is expected to cement her family’s grip on power following the general election in May.

In her acceptance speech, Ms Paetongtarn thanked the party’s members who elected her after she had already been appointed leader of the “Pheu Thai family” during the election campaign.

Thaksin, who is undergoing a yearlong jail sentence after returning from 15 years of self-imposed exile, was also included in Ms Paetongtarn’s speech. She referred to him as her “political inspiration”.

“It is my honour not only to continue [Thaksin’s] political missions but also to manifest the affirmations made by (party) members to support the people’s fight in their political journey,” she said.

She said she was confident in the party’s ability to grow as its members have amassed much experience in the world of politics. She promised, as the new leader, to improve the mindset of party members, adding that since the election in May, the best decision the party has made was to lead the coalition.

She finished by saying her improvements would restore the party’s reputation as the public’s first choice.

Many figures, including Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, came to congratulate her on her new appointment yesterday at the party’s office.

Mr Srettha told the media he was confident in Ms Paetongtarn’s skills and would provide help if she needed it.

Some important figures were also named to new posts on the party’s board, including Deputy Minister of Finance Julapun Amornvivat and former party leader Chusak Sirinil, both of whom were appointed as deputy leaders.

Danuporn Punnakanta, a former MP for Bangkok, was appointed as a party spokesman, and Sorawong Thienthong, a former deputy minister of public health, was named the party’s secretary-general.

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PM holds first all-hands meeting with advisers

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Srettha also preparing for overnight stays at Government House once renovations are done

PUBLISHED : 27 Oct 2023 at 19:56

PM holds first all-hands meeting with advisers
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and his advisory team at Government House on Thursday. (Photo: @Thavisin on X)

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin says he has held the first meeting with his advisory team at which all members were present.

Mr Srettha, who is also the finance minister, marked the occasion on Thursday at Government House by posting pictures on X (formerly Twitter).

The advisory team consists of Pichai Naripthaphan, Chaikasem Nitisiri, Yuttapong Charasathien, Gen Nipat Thonglek, Songkram Kitlertphairoj and Kittirat Na Ranong. Thai Trade Representative Nalinee Thavisin (no relation) was also featured in the photos.

“This was the first time I met with all five advisers,” he wrote. “I talked about our framework and the responsibilities among the PM’s advisers and the Thai trade representative. I believe that all of you are a major factor in pushing the government’s policies into action.”

The advisory team answers to the Secretary-General to the Prime Minister, Prommin Lertsuridej.

Mr Srettha on Friday arrived at Government House at 7am to preside over a Buddhist rite to mark his taking on the job of prime minister. Ten senior monks from nine temples, including Wat Traimit, Wat Phra Chetuphon and Wat Suthat Thepwararam were invited to the blessing ceremony.

Several key figures from the government participated in the ceremony — including Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office Puangpetch Chunla-ead, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Jakkapong Sangmanee, Mr Prommin, and government spokesman Chai Watcharong.

Mr Srettha announced earlier that he planned to stay overnight at Government House. However, the residential quarters have not yet been completely renovated. “We organised the merit-making ceremony because we had not had one since our government took office,” he said.

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Chiang Mai airport to operate around the clock

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Minister expects move could increase international arrivals to northern province by 30%

PUBLISHED : 27 Oct 2023 at 17:36

Chiang Mai airport to operate around the clock
Passengers queue at check-in counters at Chiang Mai airport. (File photo)

Chiang Mai International Airport will begin operating around the clock from next Wednesday as a response to the government’s Quick-Win economic stimulus policies, according to Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit.

He said Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin deemed the expanded hours necessary given the expectation that tourists will be flooding in during the year-end peak season, and in future thanks to visa exemptions for visitors from Chinese and Kazakhstan, among other factors.

Airports of Thailand (AoT) has confirmed that the airport in the northern province will expand its hours, currently 6am to midnight, to around-the-clock operations from Nov 1.

A direct flight from Chiang Mai to Osaka in Japan operated by Thai VietJet will be the first flight to depart once the change is made. It will leave Chiang Mai at 12.30am that day.

Mr Suriya said the ministry had asked AoT to hold talks with carriers and related parties about appropriate flight routes and schedules to take advantage of the expanded hours.

Operations must follow the airport’s environmental impact assessment guidelines, especially for noise, to ensure the least impact on residents living nearby. A suitable compensation plan for those who will be affected will also be discussed.

AoT will will also hold a public hearing for area residents later, said Mr Suriya.

Chiang Mai airport currently welcomes about 4,800 visitors from 20 international flights a day. The government expects 24-hour service will increase international passenger numbers by about 30%, said Mr Suriya.

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Novena MRT station closed after smoke detected; commuters evacuated

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SINGAPORE: Novena MRT station on the North-South Line was closed on Friday evening (Oct 27) after staff detected smoke inside the station.

“For the safety of our commuters, they have been evacuated and the station was closed,” transport operator SMRT said in an update on Facebook at about 6.30pm.

There is no smoke detected in the tunnel, it added.

“Train services on the North-South Line remain available but are skipping Novena station in both directions.”

Free regular bus and bridging bus services are available between Toa Payoh and Newton in both directions.

When contacted for more information about the incident, SMRT referred CNA to its social media channels.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to an incident at Novena MRT Station at about 5.30pm. It is currently at the scene investigating.

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Thai casino worker found dead in Cambodia

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Thai suspects reportedly sought after body found dumped in well in border town of Poi Pet

PUBLISHED : 27 Oct 2023 at 17:16

Thai casino worker found dead in Cambodia
Cambodian authorities inspect the body of a man found dumped in a well in a rice field near Poi Pet, a Cambodian border town across from Sa Kaeo. Thai officials later determined the dead man was a Thai from Chiang Rai. (Facebook photo)

SA KAEO: A black bag containing the body of a Thai casino worker was found dumped in a well in a rice field near the Cambodian border town of Poi Pet, police said on Friday.

Cambodian police believe Thai nationals were responsible for the man’s death, according to Pol Com Roong Thongmon, chief of immigration police in neighbouring Sa Kaeo province.

He said he was informed by Poi Pet police that the bag was found on Tuesday morning by local residents near Koup Thom village, about 30 kilometres from the Thai border. They reported it to Poi Pet police.

The villagers reportedly told police that the bag was brought on a motor-tricycle by two or three Thai-speaking men who dumped it into the well.

The witnesses said they opened the bag and found the body of a man, with no identifying documents. Poi Pet police subsequently took the body to Poi Pet Hospital.

Pol Col Roong and Pol Col Pattanachai Pamornpiboon, the Khlong Luek district police chief, crossed the border to examine the body on Wednesday. An investigation revealed that the body was that of a Thai man identified as Padungkiat, 31, from Chiang Saen district in Chiang Rai.

The man worked as an employee at a casino in Poi Pet.

On Thursday, police contacted the man’s family in Chiang Rai and the family said they would come to Poi Pet on Friday.

However, Thai police were subsequently informed by their Cambodian counterparts that the body would be cremated at a temple in Poi Pet on Thursday at 5pm and remains would be collected and sent to his relatives later. The family agreed.

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Singapore swimmer Toh Wei Soong wins two golds in a day at Hangzhou Asian Para Games

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SINGAPORE: Singapore swimmer Toh Wei Soong won two golds on Friday (Oct 27) at the Asian Para Games in the men’s 50m freestyle S7 and 50m butterfly S7 events.

The fastest qualifier in the heats earlier on Friday, Toh clocked a time of 28.81 seconds in the 50m freestyle S7 final, setting a new Games record.

China’s Wang Jingang came second with a time of 30.39 seconds, while his compatriot Huang Xianquan claimed bronze with a time of 31.18 seconds.

Toh’s time was faster than the 29.01 seconds he recorded when he won the event in Jakarta five years ago. 

In the men’s 50m butterfly S7 final later on Friday evening, Toh again clinched gold with a time of 30.49 seconds. 

China’s Huang came second with a time of 32.17 seconds, and India’s Suyash Narayan Jadhav took third with 32.22 seconds. 

This brings Toh’s gold medal haul at this year’s Asian Para Games in Hangzhou to three.

He won gold in the 100m backstroke S7 event on Thursday, after taking home a silver in the 400m freestyle S7 on Tuesday. 

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Eight suspects of Nigerian-led drug network arrested

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PUBLISHED : 27 Oct 2023 at 16:46

Eight suspects of Nigerian-led drug network arrested
A police chart details the arrest of eight suspects of a Nigerian-led drug network following a raid on 17 locations in Bangkok and surrounding provinces on Friday. (Capture from Police TV)

Eight members of a Nigerian-led transnational drug network were arrested during a police raid on 17 locations in Bangkok and surrounding provinces.

Teams from the Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) and officials the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) conducted the raids to apprehend suspected drug offenders, Pol Lt Gen Khirisak Tantinawachai, acting chief of the NSB, said on Friday.

During the operation, three Thai women, four Nigerian men and a man from Ivory Coast were arrested. Seized from them were four cars, 17-baht weight of gold ornaments and some amounts of illicit drugs – 350 grammes of heroin, 49 grammes of cocaine and six grammes of crystal methamphetamine.  The total estimated value of the seized items was about 2.5 million baht.

The Thai women were identified only as Thatsanee, Kranokkra and Rattanaporn.

The operation followed information that a Nigerian leader of a drug network based in Nigeria had directed a close aide, Joseph or Mickey, living in Thailand, to sell illicit substances in the kingdom. Mickey, with his Thai wife Thatsanee, opened a bank account to receive money transfers from the drug trade, according to Pol Lt Gen Khirisak.  Mr Mickey had his Thai wife, Thatsanee, to open a bank account to receive money transfers from the drug trade, said Pol Lt Gen Khirisak.

The network had sold illicit drugs at night entertainment venues in Bangkok and neighbouring provinces. It had also smuggled illicit drugs to sell in other countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan. 

With around 20 members, the network laundered money earned from the drug trade by purchasing various products such as clothes, shoes and dried fish, which were then exported to Africa through logistics firms.

The officer said that Thai women, who were wives or girlfriends of Nigeran drug suspects, acted as nominees to launder money acquired from the drug trade for the network.

The eight suspects were in police custody for legal action. The investigation was being extended to arrest other network members.

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Paetongtarn elected new Pheu Thai leader

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Paetongtarn elected new Pheu Thai leader
Paetongtarn “Ung-Ing” Shinawatra, centre, is elected new leader of the Pheu Thai Party on Friday. (Photo: Pheu Thai Party)

Paetongtarn “Ung-Ing” Shinawatra, the youngest daughter of jailed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has been elected the new leader of the Pheu Thai Party, with Sorawong Thienthong as secretary-general, during a general assembly held at the party’s head office on Friday.

The assembly was convened to select a new executive committee following the resignation of Dr Cholnan Srikaew as party leader, honouring his pre-election commitment to step down if Pheu Thai formed a government with the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) or the United Thai Nation (UTN) Party.

Core Pheu Thai members and representatives from provinces began arriving at the party’s head office at 8.30am, and the assembly took place on the 7th floor of the office.

Ms Paetongtarn, leader of the Pheu Thai Family, was greeted by party members when she arrived at 9.09am.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin arrives at the Pheu Thai Party’s head office on Friday. (Photo: Somchai Poomlard)

Prime Minister and Finance Minister Srettha Thavisin arrived around 11.20am and went straight to the meeting room.

An electronic voting machine, borrowed from the election committee of Bangkok, was used in the party election, and as expected, Ms Paetongtarn, 37, was elected the party leader. She received 289 votes with one abstention.

Twenty-two other members of the executive committee were also elected.

Chusak Sirinil, a party list MP, Julapan Amornvivat, a Chiang Mai MP, Paopoom Rojanasakul, secretary to the finance minister, Pongkawin Juangroongruangkij, an adviser to the transport minister, Jiraporn Sinthuprai, a Roi-et MP, and Ochit Kiatkongchuchai, a Chaiyaphum MP, were named deputy party leaders.

Sorawong Thienthong, a Sa Kaew MP and son of political veteran Sanoh Thienthong, was named party secretary-general, along with his three deputy secretaries-general: Saran Timsuwan, a Loei MP, Sriyada Palimanan, a list MP, and Linthiporn Varinvachararoj, a list MP.

Sorawong Thienthong is the new secretary-general of the Pheu Thai Party. (Photo: Thanarak Khunton)

Danuporn Punnakan, a list MP and former actor, was made party spokesman.

“The new administrative body of Pheu Thai must improve itself to lead the party to becoming number one for the people again,” Ms Paetongtarn told party members and reporters, wearing a red suit, the party’s signature colour.

Paetongtarn was the figurehead of Pheu Thai’s campaign for the May general election and has plans to modernise the party.

Pheu Thai is the latest incarnation of the political movement founded by her father Thaksin, but it was beaten into second place in the May 14 general electoin by the upstart progressive Move Forward Party.

The result came as a shock to a movement that had previously claimed most seats at every poll since 2001.

Yuttaporn Issrachai, a political analyst, said the announcement follows the pattern of Pheu Thai’s “family-run style”.

“It is an effort to modernise the party, but in the end, the core of the party is still the same. It belongs to the Shinawatra clan,” he told AFP.

However, Pheu Thai deputy leader Phumtham Wechayachai defended the move, saying Ms Paetongtarn earned the leadership role.

“It’s not because of her surname. We select people based purely on their qualifications,” he told reporters.

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