South-East Asia (Page 995)

Anti-Fake News Centre ‘must go’

The Move Forward Party (MFP) has vowed to disband the Anti-Fake News Centre after forming the next government.

In a Facebook post on Friday, the party said the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) will be the primary target of an overhaul.

Restructuring will include disbanding the Anti-Fake News Centre, an agency under the DES Ministry, the party said in the post.

“It is not the duty of the state to tell what is true or not. It is its duty to allow all of society to scrutinise, debate and present versions of the truth, similar to Cofacts,” it said, referring to Taiwan’s citizen-driven fact-checking platform that aims to combat fake news.

“Under the MFP government, the DES Ministry will not have the task of blocking websites — it must contribute to rights and freedom,” it said. “Among the legislation being proposed by the MFP is a computer bill that aims to remove state powers that silence people.”

The party also pledged to push for a single digital identity policy to allow links with the databases of all state agencies. The move would make it easy for people to seek public services at state agencies, it said.

“[After forming a government,] we will see to it that separate databases of various agencies are combined in a single system to support this policy,” it said.

There is also a need to develop the country’s information technology infrastructure to boost economic growth, it said.

“A big database will be created to store information from state agencies and the private sector so people can access it and use it for economic and social benefits with safety standards designed to protect private information,” it said.

“Pushing for this information mega project requires legal and [technological] work,” it added.

The party also pledged to create an open system to disclose information about state procurement projects in formats easy to access and scrutinise.

Meetings held by state agencies would be broadcast live and recorded so people can monitor and track government officials, it said.

“Many may think that only A-list ministries with substantial budgets can play a key role in changing the country,” the party said in the post. “For the MFP, the DES Ministry will be the first piece of machinery that will reshape the country.”

Yala Rajabhat University to consider transferring credits or offering special classes

Authorities are looking for ways to help Thai students who were evacuated from Sudan due to political unrest there to continue their studies in Thailand.

Chanathan Saengphum, deputy secretary-general of the Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre (SBPAC), discussed the issue recently with Asst Prof Sirichai Namburi, the rector of Yala Rajabhat University (YRU) 

The 130 Thai students were evacuated from Sudan at the end of April.

Initially, the SBPAC urged the university to help the students transfer their study credits while the centre works out a solution so that they can complete their studies at the university.

Asst Prof Sirichai said the university would raise the issue at a meeting of the YRU Council.

In principle, if a student is to transfer credits from a foreign university, the class must be offered at the Thai university where they intend to move, and the curriculum must be at least a 70% match.

The university might consider holding special classes to ensure the students can graduate within a year, the rector said.

Asst Prof Bunsit Chaichana, vice-rector for student development and public relations, said 45 of the students wanted to apply to further their education with the university. They had been studying medical science, Islamic law and Islamic studies in Sudan.

However, YRU can only accept 20 of the students for now because the other students need to submit more documents.

Suspect in speedboat accident also accused of using actress’s debit card after her death

The mother of drowned actress Nida “Tangmo” Patcharaveerapong plans to ask a court to upgrade the case against one of the people charged in connection with the speedboat accident from recklessness to murder.

Panida Siriyuthayothin has also asked police to take legal action against a friend of her daughter for allegedly using her debit card after she died last year.

Ms Panida, accompanied by lawyer Chaiwat Lomakul, on Friday filed a complaint with Crime Suppression Division police against one of the six suspects in the drowning death. She said she had obtained evidence that the person had used Tangmo’s debit card to buy goods after the actress fell into the Chao Phraya River in February last year.

Ms Panida said the person, who was a close friend of Tangmo, had used thecard at the time when rescue workers were searching for the body of her daughter. The card was used three times over a period of three days, she added.

She also said the person had received money from an accidental death insurance policy held by Tangmo. The policy paid out one million baht to her adopted daughter, who was the daughter of her personal manager.

Ms Panida said she had earlier petitioned the court to ask for 50% of the benefits from the insurance policy in her capacity as the mother of Tangmo. The case is still before the court, but the mother of the girl has already received the money.

As well, Ms Panida said she had obtained fresh evidence in the form of an audio clip from the dash-cam of a car after Tangmo’s death. In the recording, the defendant is heard telling an outsider what happened to Tangmo, said the mother, adding that she believed the person in question showed an intention to kill Tangmo to obtain financial benefits.

She and her lawyer plan to petition the Nonthaburi Provincial Court to upgrade the case against the defendant from recklessness causing death to murder.

Though she did not name the person, she apparently was referring to Tangmo’s manager Idsarin “Gatick” Juthasuksawat.

Idsarin was one of the six suspects in the case. The others were speedboat owner Tanupat “Por” Lerttaweewit, boat driver Phaiboon “Robert” Trikanjananun, Wisapat “Sand” Manomairat, Nitas “Job” Kiratisoonthisathorn and Peam “Em” Thamtheerasri.

Tangmo, 37, fell into the Chao Phraya River from a speedboat near the Pibul 1 pier in Muang district of Nonthaburi on the night of Feb 24 last year. Her body was found two days later.

The case received blanket coverage in local media, while rumours and speculation reached a fever pitch in online forums and social media.

On May 10 this year, the Nonthaburi Provincial Court gave Tanupat and Phaiboon suspended jail sentences and ordered them to perform public service.

Tanupat was sentenced to five years and eight months in jail and fined 128,000 baht. Because he confessed and showed an intention to pay compensation to the damaged parties, the jail term was halved to two years and nine months, suspended for three years, and the fine reduced to 64,000 baht.

Phaiboon was given four years and four months in jail and fined 108,000 baht. Because he confessed and intended to pay compensation, his jail term was halved to two years and two months, suspended for three years and the fine halved to 54,000 baht.

On March 2, during a court hearing to examine the evidence in the six cases, Tanupat confessed to a charge of recklessness causing death, and Phaiboon confessed to operating the boat without a licence.

The cases against the other four suspects have yet to be concluded.

Caretaker government proposes to ‘fully re-engage’ junta, starting with informal weekend meeting

The caretaker government is proposing to “fully re-engage” Myanmar’s military rulers and has invited Asean foreign ministers to an informal meeting on Sunday in an effort to jump-start a stalled peace plan, Reuters has learned.

The proposal was made in a June 14 letter to Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) counterparts from Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, which was seen by Reuters on Friday and confirmed by three sources with knowledge of the planned meeting

Asean has barred Myanmar’s ruling generals from its high-level meetings over its failure to honour its agreement, known as the “5-point consensus”, which included calls for an immediate end of hostilities, dialogue between all parties and the granting of full humanitarian access.

Asean chair Indonesia has declined to attend Sunday’s meeting, according to three sources. The Indonesian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment. Given that the country is expected to have a new government by August, it is not clear whether the engagement effort will continue.

Indonesia last month cited progress in its behind-the-scenes efforts to engage multiple parties in Myanmar’s conflict in a bid to advance the peace process agreed in 2021 by Asean leaders and Myanmar’s military, two months after it seized power in a coup and launched a deadly crackdown on opponents.

Myanmar has been roiled by violence since the coup, with the military battling on multiple fronts to try to crush an armed pro-democracy resistance movement formed in response to the crackdown.

Human rights activists and some United Nations experts have accused the military of committing widespread atrocities. The junta says it is fighting terrorists who aim to destroy the country.

The letter from Mr Don did not explicitly say that Myanmar’s junta-appointed foreign minister had been invited to the meeting. However, two informed sources said he had been invited.

The letter said the proposed meeting would be “part of the initial steps” of the peace process.

It cited a meeting last month at the Asean summit in Indonesia where “a member nation” made an unequivocal statement that Asean should fully re-engage with Myanmar at the leadership level.

“A number of members supported the call and some were willing to consider, there was no explicit dissenting voice,” Mr Don said in the letter.