Commentary: Living dangerously in Jakarta all over again, amid crippling air pollution
WHAT’S BEING DONE TO CURB JAKARTA’S AIR POLLUTION?
Widodo has called for measures to tackle the pollution, including urging workers to work in a hybrid manner (both online and offline), limiting emissions and urging residents to use mass transport. Longer-term measures include supervising coal-fired power plants, shifting to electric vehicles and providing more open green space.
Officials and politicians seem to have become air pollution experts overnight and scrambled to tackle the chronic pollution by issuing policies and recommendations.
The Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry has formed a task force to tackle the problem, while the government has again recommended people wear a mask for the first time since lifting Covid-19 mandates a year ago. Last week, half of the city’s civil servants were asked to work from home for the next two months, although media associations cast doubt on the move, saying improving public transport is more important.
There was also a bizarre move taken by the Jakarta police and fire department last week that involved spraying water cannons across Jakarta’s thoroughfares, which was claimed to be an effort to reduce air pollution.
How dangerous exactly is the city’s air pollution?
Head of the Indonesian Lung Doctors Association Agus Dwi Susanto has previously said Jakarta’s air pollution emitted from motorised vehicles was as dangerous as cigarette smoke. “Eighty-six per cent of lung cancer is linked to cigarettes and 4 per cent to air pollution,” Agus told local media in 2019.
Last week, Indonesia’s Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the number of acute respiratory infection cases had risen in Jakarta. “We’ve seen (that) before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were about 50,000, now it’s risen up to 200,000 cases,” he said, blaming air pollution.
From GPS to security systems: Older smart devices may not work after 3G shutdown
WHAT SERVICE PROVIDERS ARE DOING
Telcos and IoT service providers told CNA they are contacting customers about network migration and upgrading or replacing their devices if connectivity is going to be affected.
A Singtel spokesperson said only a “very small proportion” of its IoT customers use 3G, and the telco is working closely with them to facilitate migration to newer networks.
M1’s IoT services are not affected by the retirement of the network as its 3G SIM cards are 4G-ready, a spokesperson said, adding that customers would need to ensure their IoT equipment can support 4G.
The spokesperson added that many customers are already working with their partners to customise the hardware with compatible SIM card inserts.
M1 has also been offering equipment refreshes by providing 4G- or 5G-capable routers to customers that do not require any hardware customisation.
One service provider is checking the vehicle monitoring systems of luxury cars across Singapore to ensure that their SIM cards are compatible with newer networks.
The SIM cards of most of these vehicles were issued in their country of manufacturing, said Mr Patrick Lim, director for group strategy at Ademco Security Group, which provides security and fire protection solutions.
The car manufacturers may use older SIM cards to save costs. Ademco will be communicating with the manufacturers about this, including on whether vehicle recalls will be needed to upgrade the SIM cards, he said.
Another group at risk of losing connectivity are the enterprises that choose to run their security and fire protection systems by themselves in-house after the service provider has set it up, said Mr Lim.
With time, these customers may forget about the arrangements in place, and may not be up to date on the 3G network retirement, he said.
While the proportion of such customers is not big for Ademco, it is “significant enough that I remember them”, said Mr Lim.
He added that during the previous retirement of the 2G network in April 2017, some such customers on 2G connections experienced disruption.
Saensuk sees years of hard work pay off
‘Smart’ plan to help aged gets top gong
PUBLISHED : 29 Aug 2023 at 05:11
Chon Buri: Saensuk Municipality in Muang district of this eastern province has won a gold award for its success after having teamed up with Dell Corporation and Intel Microelectronic (Thailand) nearly 15 years ago to kick off Thailand’s first smart city for elderly people in Chon Buri.
Narongchai Khunplome, mayor of Saensuk Muncipality, said all the years of effort that have gone into improving the quality of life for people living in the small seaside city had been a response to its status as an ageing city with 20% of its 47,000 population aged over 60.
He said Saensuk Municipality realised that creating a healthy city would provide an avenue for sustainable development because the concept also spans the social, economic and environmental arenas.
“All must be integrated to create a city with good health. The municipality has invested in infrastructure, including a digital medical service platform as well as other necessary facilities to promote healthy recreational spaces for people of all ages,” he told the media during a press tour at the weekend.
He said the city had been funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) to support a plan to improve healthcare for the elderly. That included funding caregiver training in Japan and the construction of a Senior Development Centre where the elderly can enjoy many recreational activities such as swimming, dancing and more.
Saensuk is also among the top 10 healthy cities, performance-wise, funded by Jica.
Regarding smart technology, Mr Narongchai said the city now provides a “smart safety system”, to 300 frail elderly citizens who live alone or who have developed severe non-communicable diseases.
The system sees each given a two-way communication GPS device for direct contact with a medical team in case of an emergency, Mr Narongchai said.
“We have done a great job of ensuring health security for our people. What we are looking to do in the future is also align the city’s provisions with those of a “sports city”, which is now a recognised status within the global community.
We have plans to invest more in better facilities for sports lovers,” he said, adding that being a sports city will be a significant source of income, citing predicted revenue from staging a themed festival that could earn around 50 million baht each time it is held.
Meanwhile, Dr Amporn Chantawibul, a senior technical officer, said the department has plans to promote health for all ages through close cooperation with the local administration, adding that Saensuk Municipality is among 18 cities that have won a gold award for this year.
She said each city has its own particular management style that has driven it to achieve the main three elements of a Healthy Environment, Setting and People.
Commentary: Amid S$1 billion money laundering probe, a look at how dirty money is washed through online gambling
MIXERS AND TUMBLERS
To make matters worse, the rise of “mixers” and “tumblers” – terms used to describe paid service platforms that exist to obfuscate the source of cryptocurrencies – add a layer of complexity when attempting to trace the origins of funds.
Think of “mixers” and “tumblers” as washing machines for dirty money. Put in dirty money, run a washing cycle, and out comes clean money. One prominent example of what “mixers” and “tumblers” could be is an online gambling website.
There are two common modus operandi adopted by money launderers.
First, criminals in Country A gather cryptocurrencies through online scams, extortions, and malware. For example, criminals use victims’ credit cards to buy bitcoins without going through banks’ two-factor authentication safety measure. The criminals then use the illicit cryptocurrencies to purchase credits from an online gambling platform.
Criminals in Country A play a few rounds online to create legitimate-looking gambling records, then withdraw the credits and convert them into cash in Country B. This method meets with little to no pushback from online gambling sites with weak anti-money laundering (AML) compliance and supervision.
In the second more complex method, criminals operate in close coordination. This entails criminals selecting an online gambling platform, for example online poker, that accepts multiple players.
Criminals in Country A play against their affiliates in Country B and lose deliberately. Country B affiliates then withdraw the winnings and convert them into cash. To succeed, criminals must avoid detection by both the online platform’s AML and anti-fraud systems, as well as other non-affiliated players in the game.
State agencies to be targeted in graft war
PUBLISHED : 29 Aug 2023 at 05:00
The Ministry of Interior has joined hands with anti-corruption agencies in declaring war on graft within state agencies.
Suttipong Juljarern, permanent secretary for the interior, yesterday chaired a seminar to discuss scaling up efforts to combat corruption.
The seminar was held at the Royal City Hotel in Bangkok, with about 230 people attending, including an adviser to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) chairman.
“We are honoured to have experts from anti-graft agencies share experiences of their work in a bid to inspire state officials to beef up efforts to fight against corruption,” Mr Suttipong said.
He said the ministry has stressed the importance of tackling graft head-on as the problem undermines the functions and systems of the state and public confidence in the government.
The Interior Ministry was the target of the most graft allegations and other disciplinary offences, followed by the Royal Thai Police and the Education Ministry, according to a report released by the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) in 2014.
The ministry’s senior officials have issued policy guidelines consistent with the governance principle to ensure transparency in the state administration, enabling people to monitor state agencies’ work under the law.
Mr Suttipong said all agencies agreed that graft in state agencies or the private sector could have a direct, adverse impact on the country. Brainstorming ideas to deal with the matter is necessary, he said.
The ministry has worked with various networks, particularly anti-corruption agencies, including the NACC and the PACC, as well as private sector organisations campaigning for graft eradication.
With a strong team behind it, Mr Suttipong said the ministry would be able to declare war on corruption while also raising awareness among state officials to strictly comply with governance principles in a bid to guarantee transparency within the state organisations.
“I must thank all relevant networks, particularly speakers from the NACC [who attended the seminar],” he said. “I hope input from the forum will help us achieve our goals in avoiding all forms of corruption and misconduct and boost public confidence.”
Public input for charter redo urged
PUBLISHED : 29 Aug 2023 at 05:00
The Pheu Thai Party on Monday accepted for consideration a petition by the Internet Law Reform Dialogue (iLaw) group calling for a referendum on rewriting the 2017 constitution.
The petition calls for the new Pheu Thai-led government to organise a referendum to gauge public opinion on iLaw’s proposal to formally elect a new constitution-drafting assembly to rewrite the 2017 constitution.
The group submitted its proposal with the signatures of more than 200,000 people supporting it.
Pheu Thai leader Cholnan Srikaew said iLaw’s call aligns with his party’s intentions.
He said Pheu Thai will seek a cabinet resolution during the first meeting of the new government on its proposal to hold a referendum to decide whether or not the majority of the public agrees with the party’s intention to rewrite the charter.
During the petition submission at Pheu Thai’s headquarters on Monday, iLaw stressed it was concerned that public participation wouldn’t be assured in the new government’s bid to rewrite the charter. The petition is an effort to ensure that the public is properly involved in the new constitution, the group said.
Dr Cholnan said if Pheu Thai’s proposal is approved at that first meeting, the new government will seek to amend Section 256 of the constitution to allow the formation of a new charter drafting assembly.
A main opposition party previously sought to amend Section 256, paving the way for the setting up of a charter drafting assembly, but the Senate blocked the attempt.
Pheu Thai secretary-general Chusak Sirinil affirmed that the party has a clear aim to push for the rewriting of the entire constitution, saying he has proposed for the party first to seek to organise a referendum to gauge public opinion on the party’s intention.
Mr Chusak shrugged off concerns raised by some over the financial burden of rewriting the constitution while it could be partially amended.
He said it would be worth it if rewriting the charter best serves the public interest.
He said he agrees that the two key questions that should be asked in such a referendum are whether the charter should be rewritten entirely and should a new charter-drafting assembly be elected to do the job.
Activist pushes BMA to act fast on Ashton
PUBLISHED : 29 Aug 2023 at 05:00
Activist Srisuwan Janya is pressing the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to take action against the Ashton Asoke condo a month after its building permit was retroactively revoked by a court order.
Mr Srisuwan accused the BMA of sitting on its hands since a month has now passed since the Supreme Administrative Court ordered the permit revoked because the property’s main entrance was not the required width.
The permit’s withdrawal has been interpreted to mean the condo, located in a prime area adjacent to both Sukhumvit and Asoke Montri roads, was illegally built. However, the BMA said earlier the project developer, Ananda MF Asia Asoke Co, could re-apply for a permit in 30 days.
The condo unit owners and tenants were reportedly looking to sue the company for damages.
Mr Srisuwan said yesterday that the 30 days have expired without the issue being addressed. There is still no entrance that is at least 12 metres wide — the minimum legally required width for a building as tall as the 50-plus storey Ashton Asoke condo.
The BMA is duty-bound to enforce relevant sections of the Building Control Act in compliance with the court’s ruling in the case.
Access to the building may be blocked, or in the worst-case scenario, the condo may need to be demolished, although the BMA has given its assurance things would not come to that.
Mr Srisuwan, who led petitioners in bringing the Ashton Asoke case to the Central Administrative Court in the first place, said the condo is technically and legally deemed to have been permit-less since the day it was built eight years ago.
For starters, the activist said the BMA should slap a fine on the condo developer for each day the project has been without a permit until a new one is granted.
“The BMA can’t sit idly by and play into the hands of a private company,” he said, adding the BMA is in danger of being in dereliction of duty if it is found to be buying time by not enforcing the law.
Emergency decree extended again
PUBLISHED : 29 Aug 2023 at 05:00
The emergency decree imposed in the three southern border provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat will be extended for another three months, from Sept 20 to Dec 19, 2023.
The decision was made yesterday by the administration of the emergency situation committee during a video conference chaired by caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon from the office of the Five Provinces Bordering Forest Preservation Foundation.
Lt Gen Pacharasak Patirupanon, an assistant spokesman for Gen Prawit, said the emergency decree is currently in force in the three provinces, except for Si Sakhon, Sungai Kolok, Waeng and Sukhirin districts of Narathiwat; Yaring, Mayom Mai Kaen districts of Pattani; and Betong and Kabang districts of Yala.
The committee resolved to extend the emergency decree for another three months, from Sept 20 to Dec 19. The extension, the 73rd, is for the continuation of government operations to deal with the insurgency and maintain peace and security for local people and for property, he said. The resolution will be forwarded to the National Security Council and the cabinet for approval.
The meeting also approved the Internal Security Command Region 4’s proposal to lift the emergency decree in Pattani’s Kapho district.
Meanwhile, a gunman yesterday opened fire on a house in Tak Bai district of Narathiwat, injuring three people. Police suspect the shooting was a result of a personal conflict.
Tak Bai Police were alerted to the shooting at 4.30am at the house in tambon Ko Sathon. Pol Col Supachad Na Phatthalung, superintendent of the Tak Bai police, attended the scene with other officers and army personnel.
They found Mesong Masa, 51, the house owner, her brother Ayu Masa, 28, and her 16-year-old nephew at the scene. All had been wounded by broken glass from windows shot out with an M16 rifle.
Pol Col Supachad said police found 19 M16 rifle cartridges by a side wall of the house. Police believe Mr Ayu might have had conflicts with other villagers, leading to the shooting, which was meant as a warning.
Kunlavut takes world championship crown
PUBLISHED : 29 Aug 2023 at 05:00
NEWSPAPER SECTION: News
Kunlavut Vitidsarn became the first Thai badminton player to win the men’s singles title at the World Championships after rallying to beat Japan’s Kodai Naraoka 19-21, 21-18, 21-7 in Copenhagen on Sunday.
The 22-year-old, who was runner-up last year, secured the third world crown for his country after Ratchanok Intanon in the women’s singles in 2013 and Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai in the mixed doubles in 2021.
World No.3 Kunlavut spilt blood, sweat and finally tears as he defeated fourth-ranked Naraoka, also 22, in the final that lasted 109 minutes — one of the longest men’s singles matches ever.
“I’m very happy, this has been a dream for me since I was a child,” said Kunlavut.
India Club in London: Iconic restaurant to shut after 70 years
India ClubThe place is nondescript; if you don’t look for it, you may not find it. And yet, for over 70 years, many Indians in London have sought it out, looking for familiar flavours and faces – a taste of home abroad.
The India Club – an iconic lounge-cum-restaurant and bar – that sits inside the Hotel Strand Continental on a busy stretch of road in central London, has been a historically and culturally significant space for the South Asian community in the city for decades.
It was set up in the 1950s as a place for early Indian immigrants to meet and connect, but now the India Club is set to shut down as the owners of the building it is housed in want to demolish a part of the structure to set up a more modernised hotel.
Many patrons say they are saddened by the news as the closure of the Club will lead to the city losing a part of its history.
The Club has been battling against closure for years. A couple of years ago, its owners – Yadgar Marker and his daughter, Phiroza – won their battle against the demolition after their campaign to save the place received thousands of signatures.
But last week, they told the press that 17 September would be the last day the Club would remain open.
The news has come as a blow to many as the place is steeped in history. Located on the first floor of the Hotel Strand Continental, the India Club was started by the members of the India League – a Britain-based organisation that campaigned for India’s independence in the 1900s. India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru is said to have been among the Club’s founding members. The Markers bought the lease to the property in the 1990s.
Reports say that India’s freedom activists initially used the Club as a meeting space, but later it became a place for people from the South Asian community to forge friendships over shared meals and events.
“In the 1950s and 60s, it was the only place Indians could go to meet people who spoke their language and ate their food,” says Kusoom Vadgama, a historian who regularly visited the Club after she moved to the UK in 1953.
“The India Club helped all of us feel a little less alone in our new home,” she said, adding that people would often meet there to celebrate birthdays, weddings or even Indian festivals like Diwali – the Hindu festival of lights.
Ms Vadgama grew up under colonial rule in East Africa and moved to the UK to study. Many people from India had also immigrated to the UK in the years following the country’s independence, but there were hardly any cultural establishments for the Indian diaspora in London back then, she said.
The India Club filled this gaping hole for the community. It served up dishes that were familiar to the Indian palate, such as south Indian staples like dosas (a pancake made from fermented rice) and sambhar (a lentil gravy seasoned with spices); north Indian delicacies like butter chicken (chicken cooked in a buttery curry); Indian street food like pakoras (vegetable fritters) and, of course, coffee and masala chai (milk tea infused with spices).
Even the interiors of the Club were designed to mimic the coffee shops of pre-independence India, where people met to chat about culture and politics over cigarettes and cups of chai. The chandeliers, Formica tables and straight-backed chairs of the Club have remained largely unchanged since it was set up more than 70 years ago.
In an ode to its rich socio-political history, the walls are lined with portraits of prominent Indian and British personalities who visited over the years, such as Dadabhai Naoroji, the first British Indian MP, and philosopher Bertrand Russell.
Over the years, the Club became a popular “watering hole” for not just immigrants, but people from all walks of life, including journalists and for various India-British groups and associations.
Journalist and author Shrabani Basu remembers frequenting the restaurant with fellow journalists in the 1980s. “It was one of the few places that served affordable Indian food in central London,” she says, adding that the India Club is like the city’s “hidden secret”, and she loves taking friends and family who visit from India there.
Smita Tharoor, a motivational speaker, says her father Chandan Tharoor, who was one of the Club’s founding members, had a lot of fun stories about the place which he frequented as a bachelor, including one about “a bar lady who would refuse to serve drinks to men she thought were drunk”.
When he came to visit her in London years later, her father took her to the Club. Since then, Ms Tharoor has become a regular visitor too. “After my father passed away, I held an event at the India Club in his honour. I also held my husband’s 50th birthday there,” she says. “The India Club has a very special place in our hearts, and it’s sad to see it go. Now, only the memories remain,” she says.
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