IN FOCUS: Revitalised Boracay island in the Philippines faces next challenge – the return of mass tourism
TIME TO TAKE PAUSE
Just as tourists have been drawn en masse to the white sands over the years, entrepreneurs, street vendors, gambling personalities and resort tycoons have ridden the same winds blowing into Boracay, chasing a slice of the earnings.
Aguirre-Graf, the former head of the Boracay Foundation – a non-profit charged with “sustaining the island’s environmental, business and social needs” – and an officer of the local hotel association, said that the island’s fabric will only be further damaged if the relentless pursuit of profit is allowed to run.
“We cannot only think about profit. We should also think about the future, how the island will survive if we keep on putting more buildings and bringing more people,” she said.
“The management of the garbage and preservation of our flora and fauna on the island is very important because there has to be balance.
“If we have to open it to mass tourism, again, we have to really impose strict regulations so that those things that happened before will not happen again.
“I’m sure there will be a way but we just have to install all the necessary infrastructure in order to sustain growth in Boracay. But sometimes you doubt your governments, you know,” she said.
Boracay faces a litany of challenges, including erosion on its White Beach, driven by rising sea levels and climate change, hundreds of sinkholes throughout the island caused by soil erosion and sustained leaking of water pipes and sewerage lines and the overall pursuit of sustainable and equitable development.
At the same time, the building of new hotels, resorts and restaurants is rapidly underway.
Can Johor Bahru’s iconic opera house ignite the city’s cultural life?
Cultural expert Joe Sidek, who is the founding director of the George Town Festival in Penang, told CNA that he “thoroughly enjoyed” his experience at the opera house in April when he watched the Drum Up JB! Performance.
However, he expressed concern that the small capacity of the Permaisuri Zarith Sofiah Opera House would make it difficult for performances with large manpower to break even financially.
“It’s really a lovely little opera house, nice building and great views of the sea and the Causeway,” said Joe.
“But from the commercial side of things, it’s not so easy. Can you imagine, if there are around 20-30 people in your performing team and you have so many people to pay? The maths is not right,” he added.
Joe explained that having a 600-capacity venue will hold back the opera house from hosting larger scale events like concerts featuring world renowned artists, keeping in mind the likes of Coldplay and Taylor Swift have recently favoured Singapore’s Sports Hub 55,000 capacity venue for consecutive-days performances over other options in the region.
However he acknowledged that in the case of the Permaisuri Zarith Sofiah Opera House, garnering profits through large-scale events was never R&F’s main objective.
“The idea is to enjoy the multiplier effect, offer these events to draw tourists who will come to Johor Bahru, eat at the restaurants, stay at the hotels and attract more footfall in that manner,” said Joe.
“But doing (large-scale) events is not (R&F Group’s) core business,” he added, noting that the company’s focus is on residential and retail property.
How did CPIB come about and what powers does it have in investigating corruption in Singapore?
CPIB DIRECTOR HAS 30 YEARS IN PUBLIC SERVICE
Mr Denis Tang currently heads CPIB. He was appointed director in October 2018 and has served in several positions within the Home Team, with his last appointment being deputy commissioner of operations at the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority.
He joined the Singapore Police Force in 1982 upon receiving a local merit scholarship. He then studied economics at the National University of Singapore before returning to the police in November 1986.
He was conferred the Public Administration Medal (Bronze) in 1997, the Long Service Medal in 2017 and the Civil Service Long Service Award (35 years) in 2020.
In 2019, Mr Tang gave a speech at the 8th Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, where he spoke about how CPIB uses “state-of-the-art technology and new methods of operation” in its work.
NOTABLE CPIB CASES
1975:
Minister of State for the Environment Wee Toon Boon was charged with corruption involving a sum of S$840,000.
He had used his ministerial status to make representation to civil servants on behalf of a property developer. In return, he was given rewards like a bungalow and free air tickets for his family.
He was convicted following a trial and sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment. He also had to pay a financial penalty of about S$7,000.
1979:
CPIB launched an investigation into Member of Parliament Phey Yew Kok, who was also chairman of the National Trades Union Congress and general secretary of three trade unions.
He had misappropriated more than S$350,000, mostly from two of the unions, and instigated an accountant to provide false information to a CPIB officer.
Phey was charged in court but fled the country. After more than three decades on the run in Thailand, where he worked odd jobs, he turned himself in at the Singapore Embassy in Bangkok on June 2015.
In January 2016, he was sentenced to five years’ jail after pleading guilty to a dozen criminal charges that included criminal breach of trust.
1986:
Mr Evan Yeo, then-director of CPIB, approached Mr Lee Kuan Yew on Nov 21, 1986, regarding a complaint of corruption against Minister for National Development Teh Cheang Wan.
Teh was accused of accepting bribes totalling S$1 million in 1981 and 1982, in return for helping two property developers to retain and acquire pieces of land for development.
In a subsequent parliamentary speech, Mr Lee said he initially asked for investigations to be discreet because the “news would spread like wildlife” if the public knew CPIB was probing “so prominent a minister as that for National Development”.
About a week later, Mr Yeo gave Mr Lee a summary of the evidence gathered and asked for permission for an open investigation.
Satisfied that there were sufficient grounds to do so, the Prime Minister approved open investigations. CPIB then interrogated Teh for the first time on Dec 2.
Mr Lee asked the Cabinet secretary to ask Teh to take a leave of absence until Dec 31. Investigations would have been completed by then, and the Attorney-General would have decided whether or not to prosecute him.
On Dec 14, Teh died by suicide in his home. In a letter addressed to Mr Lee, he wrote: “I have been feeling very sad and depressed for the last two weeks.
“I feel responsible for the occurrence of this unfortunate incident and I feel I should accept full responsibility. As an honourable oriental gentleman, I feel it is only right that I should pay the highest penalty for my mistake.”
1994:
CPIB opened investigations against Choy Hon Tim, former deputy chief executive of operations at national water agency PUB.
The following year, he was sentenced to 14 years’ jail for criminal conspiracy and accepting bribes totalling around S$13.85 million from a businessman who was once a PUB clerk.
The total amount of bribes that Choy took remains the largest to date in a single case in Singapore’s history.
2012:
CPIB levied sex-for-contracts corruption charges against ex-Central Narcotics Bureau chief Ng Boon Gay and former Singapore Civil Defence Force commissioner Peter Lim.
Mr Ng was accused of obtaining sexual gratification from a female employee of two IT vendors seeking government contracts. He was eventually acquitted of all charges.
As for Lim, he was convicted and sentenced to six months’ jail in 2013. He had obtained sexual gratification from three women in exchange for showing favour to their companies for IT-related tenders.
2015:
Wong Chee Meng, the former general manager of Ang Mo Kio Town Council, was hauled to court for accepting more than S$86,000 in bribes from a company director, Chia Sin Lan.
In return for the bribes, Chia’s two companies were awarded more town council projects. Chia also took Wong to KTV lounges, massage parlours and restaurants to curry favour with him.
Both were convicted in 2018. Upon appeal in 2020, Wong was sentenced to 39 months’ jail, while Chia was given 33 months’ jail.
Commentary: Can Thai prime ministerial aspirant Pita Limjaroenrat find a way back after a chastening first defeat?
The second is if the Constitutional Court decides to disqualify Mr Pita from the second round based on alleged violations of electoral laws. This would effectively force the opposition to nominate someone else or risk being out-manoeuvred by an incumbent coalition leader.
Arguably, this outcome would also simplify the intra-opposition bargaining process by taking Mr Pita out of the picture, paving the way for Pheu Thai to lead in forming the government. Pheu Thai will work hard to keep Move Forward on board but once again, the sticking point will be the lese-majeste reform. This will likely result in a Pheu Thai-led coalition with conservative parties, with Move Forward in the opposition.
A RETURN TO MAY 2014 AND MILITARY INTERVENTION?
Of course, it is entirely plausible that none of these developments will transpire, and everyone sticks to their original scripts next week.
Mr Pita may not give way to Pheu Thai; Pheu Thai may fear breaking away from Move Forward at the risk of losing credibility with progressive voters; the Constitutional Court may not want to risk sustained demonstrations and violence in Bangkok by taking the nuclear options of removing Mr Pita or dissolving the Move Forward Party – which happened to the party’s predecessor Future Forward Party in early 2020.
This scenario would not only prolong the political limbo but tip Thailand towards a situation where unrest becomes more disruptive and overt military intervention becomes increasingly likely. A return to May 2014 may be around the corner.
Harrison Cheng is a Director in risk consultancy firm Control Risks.
Stare at smokers to stop them, Hong Kong health chief urges public
Getty ImagesPeople in Hong Kong should discourage smoking by staring at anyone who lights up in areas where it is banned, the city’s health secretary has suggested.
Answering questions about how to created a tobacco-free city, Lo Chung-mau also said police could not be expected to catch smokers.
Hong Kong is currently debating toughening its anti-tobacco measures.
Current rules ban smoking inside restaurants, workplaces, indoor public spaces and some outdoor public areas.
After launching a public consultation to reduce smoking in Hong Kong, Prof Lo told fellow lawmakers at a health meeting that the public have a role to play in reducing smoking and that it would be challenging for police officers to catch smokers in the act in time.
Prof Lo, who is also a medical doctor, said smoking was bad for the health of everyone and Hong Kong needed a “culture in society that people are willing to comply with the law”.
“When the members of the public see people smoking in non-smoking areas, even if no law enforcement officers can show up immediately, we can stare at the smokers.”
Prof Lo told the panel that law enforcement would be improved. Breaking current smoking rules is punishable with a fine of up HK$1,500 ($192; £147).
But he also said when police “arrive at the scene, the crime may have already stopped” and so they are unable to take action, going on to suggest smoking rules should be enforced like etiquette over waiting for a bus.
“No one will say it requires the law to compel people to queue. Our society is able to create a culture where people will comply with this rule of queuing when waiting for buses. I hope the whole of society can build a non-smoking culture.”
Among the new measures being considered by Hong Kong’s government are banning people born after a certain year from buying tobacco products and significantly increasing the tax on a packet of cigarettes.
Shekhar Kapur: Hollywood’s diversity push is guilt driven
Director Shekhar Kapur has said Hollywood’s push for more diverse casts has come from its guilt over “all the actors who are not getting work”.
Kapur said the inclusion of ethnic minority actors in shows such as Netflix’s Bridgerton is “a good thing” in terms of opportunity.
But, he said, it hides “a greater, more fundamental issue” of which stories are brought to the big screen.
He added the rise in protests had helped bring the issue to the fore.
“Hollywood should be telling stories of that culture, of the culture of the brown people, of the African-American people, of the black people, of Asians,” he told BBC Newsnight’s Sima Kotecha.
“But what’s happening is they’re still addicted to their, you know, the narrative is still their point of view.”
Kapur is best known for his films Elizabeth and its sequel The Golden Age, both starring Cate Blanchett, and Bollywood films such as Mr India and Bandit Queen.
When asked about Hollywood’s efforts to increase the diversity of actors in its films, Kapur described it as “a guilt trip” and woke.
“It’s Hollywood feeling guilty about all the actors that are not getting work. And because there’s a huge rise of protests,” he said.
The live-action remake of The Little Mermaid released in cinemas in May starred black actress and singer Halle Bailey as main character Ariel, which caused controversy in some quarters.
Kapur joined the film industry in India as an actor, before going on to become a director.
His 1998 film Elizabeth, about the early years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, received widespread critical acclaim and several Oscar nominations.
Following its release, the director said many of the scripts he received went on to be “a huge success”, including ones that he turned down.
Discussing international scripts he would receive, he said: “It’s always an American going in, fixing the world’s problem, going to Africa… and I said, ‘Don’t send me those scripts because it’s not true’.
“For example, if you were going to make Gandhi the answer, the question was: ‘Who’s the American in it? Who’s the American who goes and fixes all the problems? And who’s the white man in the film?’
“And I would refuse to do those films. Absolutely. Because it’s not patently not true.”
Kapur was educated in Delhi before moving to London for a career as a management consultant and chartered accountant, but later turned to film directing, releasing his first film Masoom in 1983.
The 77-year-old, whose most recent film What’s Love Got To Do With It? starred Shazad Latif and Lily James, suggested the film industry is contained within far too small a geographical area.
“I really believe that Hollywood’s too concentrated together as like a group,” he said. “I think it needs to be taken away and spread out.
“I would love to see it in Shanghai if you can. I would love to see it in Mumbai or in Tokyo or as it’s happening in Seoul.”
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22 March 2022
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Comfort women: Last of Japan’s WW2 sex slaves sing ‘forget us not’
Virma Simonette/ BBCWarning: this article contains details that some readers may find distressing.
As Pilar Galang limps with her walking stick into a room full of fellow octogenarian women in a sleepy Philippine town, she suddenly struggles to remember why she is wearing her favourite floral dress.
The 88-year-old glances at her sister-in-law, Maria Quilantang. It’s a cue to refresh her memory. The two women are in yet another gathering of former World War Two sex slaves – the so-called “comfort women” who were forced into military brothels in South Korea, Philippines, Taiwan, China and Indonesia by the Japanese Imperial Army.
The 20 or so women in the farming village of Mapaniqui are among the last survivors in the Philippines.
As young teens they were snatched from their homes, dragged on dusty roads and imprisoned in a blood-red house where they were raped repeatedly. Now in their late 80s to early 90s, they continue to fight for a public apology and compensation from Japan, both of which have eluded them for decades. They recount their trauma to those willing to listen, hoping that they will not be forgotten by the world even as their own memories fade.
There were nearly 200,000 of them, mostly Koreans. In South Korea, their numbers have now dwindled to nine. The last known survivor in Taiwan died in May. Japan’s refusal to confront its wartime past and pay reparations has been a source of tension with its neighbours.
In a 1951 peace treaty with Japan, the Philippines agreed to waive claims for wartime reparations. Although the former sex slaves say they will not recognise this, the Philippines, whose top source of development aid is Japan, has been reluctant to push Tokyo.
“We hope to get justice before we die,” says Ms Quilantang, the group leader and the most outspoken among them. “There’s only a few of us left and we are all in our twilight years.”
On a sweltering afternoon, the group, which calls themselves Malaya Lolas or Free Grandmothers in Filipino, gathered as they have for decades to sing their story in slow a cappella verses.
“We cried. We pleaded for a little compassion. Their bestial hearts only craved satisfaction. At the age of 14, I was poisoned,” the Malaya Lolas sing.
Ms Quilantang cracks jokes to put her fellow grandmothers at ease: singing before an audience is no different from karaoke, she tells them. There’s no anxiety that chewing on a betel nut cannot soothe.
Then, Ms Quilantang turns serious. She was eight when she was raped in that red house in the middle of a rice field. Up to this day, she gets flashbacks when she sees that house from across the highway. Dilapidated, it still stands, now attracting ghost hunters and historians.
So many crumbling World War Two structures remain in the grandmothers’ village, located in Candaba town, a two-hour drive north of the capital, Manila – although it’s now known for duck eggs and tilapia farms rather than its dark wartime past.
Ms Quilantang says far more mundane things also trigger flashbacks. When she sees soil drenched in rain, she remembers the time during her captivity when her only source of drinking water were the deep footprints of water buffaloes that ploughed the rice fields.
“What we carry is quite a burden,” she says. “I had so many dreams when I was a kid.”
Ms Quilantang says the ordeal robbed her of her childhood, a good education and a happy family life as her father died during the war: “I could have worn nice clothes as a little girl. Instead, we were constantly moving from place-to-place, constantly fearing the Japanese.”
Yet she considers herself lucky because she got married to a farmer and raised a family. Many other Filipina comfort women suffered discrimination in their communities and within their own families.
As much as Maxima dela Cruz wanted to attend that afternoon’s gathering, she couldn’t because she is bedridden. At 94, she is among the oldest in the group.
She watches the slow days in Mapaniqui town pass by from the window of her home. When she was much younger, she was among the Malaya Lolas’ most active campaigners.
“I’ve been to so many protests. I’ve been to Japan, Hong Kong, even Europe,” she says. “The lawyers who help us bring us to all these places. Everything is still clear to me, ingrained in my mind even if my body is now weak.”
After the war, Ms dela Cruz says she was forced to work and was unable to go to school because she had to help out on her parents’ farm. When she got married at 16, she remembered distinctly how the family shared one whole chicken instead of having a wedding feast.
“It would have been nice if Japan gave us a little something for our daily expenses,” she says.
Recalling their past is always cathartic for the Malaya Lolas, says their lawyer, Virginia Suarez.
“This is so liberating for them, to tell their story in a song. You can’t stay quiet when you suffered what they went through. That will be additional torture,” Ms Suarez adds.
Japan has insisted that any attempt by the Philippine women to seek compensation must be backed by their government. The Malaya Lolas’ appeal to force the government to do so went as high up as the Supreme Court, but failed.
They raised their case with the UN’s Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw), which in March this year ruled that Manila must compensate the grandmothers and apologise to them for the decades of suffering and discrimination.
“This is a symbolic moment of victory for these victims who were previously silenced, ignored, written off and erased from history in the Philippines,” says Cedaw member Marion Bethel.
Ms Suarez, the Malaya Lolas’ lawyer, said government agencies had released thousands of pesos in aid to her clients since the Cedaw ruling. But, she adds, they will never stop campaigning for an apology from Japan.
“An apology is really important to the lolas because it is an admission of wrongdoing,” she says. “Japan committed a very grave sin against them. The world should not forget that and they should pay for that.”
For Ms Quilantang, the fight will go on for as long as people will listen.
“We are a very close-knit group of friends and we have many people helping us. We want justice. As long as people invite us, we will keep singing.”
If you are affected by the issues in this story, you can contact the BBC Action Line.
Related Topics
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28 December 2015
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Best of friends or enemies?
Best of friends or enemies?
The Pheu Thai and the Move Forward parties will have an adversarial relationship right through to the next election and beyond, according to a political analyst.
Both parties have a knife behind their back, ready to stab one another.
It is thought the Pheu Thai Party has been suspicious of the Move Forward (MFP), its closest ally, since before the general election, the analyst said.
On the surface, Pheu Thai and the MFP have positioned themselves as like-minded, pro-democratic entities who went through more than eight years of Prayut Chan-o-cha-led governments.
Under the surface, however, Pheu Thai may have a reason not to trust the MFP.
A political source is convinced the MFP knew from the outset that it would end up in the opposition.
The hurdles have multiplied, which dimmed the MFP’s prospects of successfully forming a coalition government, as the days drew closer to the electing of the new House speaker and prime minister in parliament.
Soon after the May 14 general election, MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat was the subject of a petition by Ruangkrai Leekitwatthana, a former Pheu Thai and Palang Pracharath Party politician, over his iTV shareholding controversy.
He was alleged to have knowingly owned 42,000 shares in iTV despite a law which bars anyone with stocks in a media firm becoming an MP.
However, Mr Pita hit back, insisting he held the shares which had been bequeathed by his father to him and his sibling in his capacity as executor of his father’s will.
The Election Commission (EC) has admitted the case for deliberation and will rule whether or not it has grounds for referring Mr Pita to the Criminal Court.
This week, the EC inquiry panel looking into Mr Pita’s alleged ineligibility wrapped up its investigation and forwarded the findings to the EC’s main committee.
From the iTV saga also comes other equally worrying legal disputes that could put Mr Pita before the Constitutional Court whose ruling could wipe out his political future and his shot at the premiership.
If the share row does not bring Mr Pita down, a far heavier criminal charge which is being sought against the party might.
The FAIR Party, a member of the proposed eight-party coalition led by the MFP, recently landed itself in hot water after a senior party figure, Hakim Pongtigor, spoke at a seminar on the right to self-determination and the advocation of a separate “Patani” state.
Also due to participate in the forum was an MFP politician whose no-show came at the last minute. The forum concluded with a mock questionnaire distributed to participants, reportedly asking them if they agreed whether people should have the right to hold a referendum on the deep South separating from the rest of the country.
Political activist Srisuwan Janya earlier petitioned the EC to investigate whether FAIR, the MFP and Prachachart Party were complicit in the alleged separatist push.
Security authorities are moving to arrest anyone actively connected to the forum on charges of violating the security law and trampling on the constitution’s stipulation that the nation is indivisible.
Then, a sift through his asset declaration records by the investigative Isra News Agency revealed what critics termed as suspicious intent behind Mr Pita’s sale of prime land in Prachuap Khiri Khan at a heavily discounted price.
The 14-rai plot with convenient access to a road and natural resources in Pran Buri district was estimated to be worth at least 18 million baht. However, Mr Pita put it on the market for six million baht, and the land was finally purchased at a heavy discount, which critics thought might have been a way to evade paying high taxes.
Mr Ruangkrai said he sent a letter to the MFP leader to provide more information about the transaction to fulfil a constitutional requirement for a minister.
He said the MFP leader is seeking to become prime minister and so should prove he has the qualifications listed in Section 160(4) of the charter, which says a minister must have an honest track record.
Amongst the information Mr Ruangkrai asked from Mr Pita was the land sale contract, the receipt, the estimated price, payment of land transfer fees, personal income tax, and a copy of the land ownership paper.
The PPRP member also wanted to know if Mr Pita had paid brokerage fees for the transaction and authorised anyone to carry out the transaction on his behalf.
Mr Ruangkrai also questioned whether the land was sold at the stated price.
The Pheu Thai source said that given the slew of legal challenges against both the MFP and Mr Pita, the MFP must have banked on itself transferring to the opposition bench.
But before that, it might be in the MFP’s best interests to play “victim” with Pheu Thai portrayed as the villain in the unfolding political drama, according to an observer.
The Pheu Thai Party has been attacked by MFP supporters for flip-flopping on its position over the House speaker role. The party vehemently insisted on claiming the role only to backtrack later and again soon after that.
Pheu Thai said earlier it was a matter of principle that the biggest party, being the MFP, should get both the speaker and prime minister posts. However, its supporters instantly vented their fury at what they said was Pheu Thai’s lackey mentality toward the MFP.
The reaction prompted Pheu Thai to reassert its demand for the speaker position amid observers’ comments that the party was trying to capture the speakership as a stepping stone for the premiership.
Victimhood could be the MFP’s ticket to sympathy votes in the next election four years down the road. Being in the opposition would free it up to drum up enough support to win an outright majority in the next election.
At the same time, the Pheu Thai Party, as the ruling party, might be tempted to emasculate the MFP as part of a pre-emptive strike to prevent it becoming a formidable challenger in the next polls.
Abhisit: Thought to prefer opposition role
An old party at the crossroads
The Democrat Party is thought to be more divided than ever after the collapse of the July 9 meeting to select a new leader to succeed Jurin Laksanawisit, who stepped down following the party’s poor election performance, according to observers.
It is no secret the Democrats have different views about which direction the party should take following the May 14 general election in which they won only 25 seats, half the total captured in the 2019 polls, and lost significant ground in their southern stronghold.
One camp reportedly wants to be part of a new government, preferably led by Pheu Thai, while the other wants to be in the opposition as a way of clawing back its reputation and political strength.
The first camp is said to be led by acting secretary-general Chalermchai Sri-on, who backs Naraphat Kaewthong, a veteran politician from Phichit, to become leader. The opposing group, which is believed to have the support of party patriarch Chuan Leekpai, is rooting for former leader Abhisit Vejjajiva to return to head the party.
The July 9 meeting to select a new executive board and party leader ahead of Thursday’s crucial prime minister vote was supposed to decide which way the party would head.
However, it was brought to an abrupt end as a result of a lack of quorum. This happened as it appeared that the candidate backed by Mr Chalermchai’s group may be on course to win the party leadership contest and control the party’s fate.
When the meeting kicked off in the morning, there were attempts to undermine Mr Chalermchai’s group by revising the weighted vote rule used in the selection of the party leader.
Under the rule, current MPs account for 70% of the total, while the other members make up the remaining 30%.
Mr Chalermchai’s faction is believed to have 20 MPs and that number is enough to enable Mr Naraphat to win the leadership contest.
The motion was shot down, and so was an attempt by acting party deputy leader Ong-art Khlampaiboon to postpone the vote for 60 days. When these efforts failed, a lack of a quorum to postpone the leadership race became the last resort.
Without a new executive board, the Democrats could not pass a formal resolution on how MPs should vote in the joint sitting of MPs and senators to select the new prime minister.
A Democrat Party source said most MPs are unlikely to vote for Mr Abhisit because they want to be part of the next government. The former leader is believed to prefer being in the opposition.
Rumour has it that Mr Chalermchai has cut a deal with Pheu Thai and agreed to support the party if it takes over in leading the formation of a coalition government from the Move Forward Party. With 25 House seats, the Democrats can expect to be allocated three cabinet portfolios.
Analysts believe the Democrats will be “finished” if it chooses to join a coalition headed by Pheu Thai, which it has fought bitterly against. The party will be seen as abandoning its principles.
If the party wants to revive itself, there is no better place to start than working with the opposition.
Now that Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has decided to leave politics for good, the Democrats might be able to capture the four million votes the United Thai Nation (UTN) Party had in the May 14 poll, said Phichai Ratnatilaka Na Bhuket, a political scientist from Nida.
It is predicted the UTN, without Gen Prayut, who served as its chief adviser and central figure, will be weakened through defections to other parties, if not disintegrate.
But some pundits argue that it does not matter who takes charge of the Democrats, unless it undergoes a serious revamp and gives younger politicians bigger roles in running its affairs, the party will not be able to revive its fortunes.
According to Yuttaporn Issarachai, a political scientist at Sukhothai Thammathirat open university, the Democrat Party is fraught with structural problems and is bound by an ingrained organisational culture that does not support young politicians.
He cited the departure of several members of the “New Dems” group after the 2019 election defeat as a party failure to undertake an internal overhaul and tap into the potential of these young politicians.
One of the former New Dems, Parit Wacharasindhu, defected to the Move Forward Party where he was given a chance to prove himself, according to Mr Yuttaporn.
Dept finds five cases of EG.5.1 subvariant
Thailand has detected five cases of a new coronavirus XBB subvariant called EG.5.1 which is known to spread quickly but has mild symptoms, according to the Department of Medical Sciences.
The department chief Dr Supakit Sirilak said yesterday that the department found one person infected with the EG.5.1 subvariant in April, three cases in May and another case in June. Those patients did not have severe symptoms.
Dr Supakit explained that EG.5.1 or XBB.1.9.2.5.1 belongs to Omicron subvariant XBB.1.9.2, which has a mutation in spike proteins S:F456L and S:Q52H that accelerates its speed of transmission by 45% more than XBB.1.16.
He said in Asia, the new subvariant was found in 11 countries including China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Israel, Laos, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand and India.
The Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) reported 1,385 cases of EG.5.1 in Europe, 203 cases in Oceania, 35 cases in North America, four cases in Central America and one case in South America.
In Asia between June 4 and July 4, the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.16 was still the dominant strain followed by XBB.1.9.1 and EG.5.1.
Currently, the World Health Organization has focused on eight Omicron subvariants, with two variants of interest and and six variants that are under monitoring.
Senator vows lawsuits over threats
Senator Somchai Sawaengkan will file lawsuits against people posting online threats against him and his family members in the wake of Move Forward Party (MFP) leader Pita Limjaroenrat’s failed prime minister bid.
Sen Somchai yesterday said he and other senators are gathering evidence to bring legal action against internet trolls who have threatened them and their families after a joint session to vote for a new prime minister on Thursday with only 13 senators voting yes, while most (159) were abstentions while 34 voted no.
Sen Somchai held a debate in parliament before the voting session where he said he would not support Mr Pita for the post.
Yesterday, he said, many MFP supporters had posted bullying messages to him and even to his son’s Instagram account.
“This action is unacceptable. It is worse every day when those with different opinions are bullied online and death threats are sent to them and their family members,” according to Sen Somchai.
He and other senators subjected to cyberbullying will take legal action, he said, with evidence being submitted to the Technology Crime Suppression Division.