Anything & Everything About Thailand

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368 words
16 January 2006
Bangkok Post
English

Community radio station FM92.25, whose programmes have been critical of the government, was again raided by Public Relations Department officials yesterday.

They searched the premises, but took no further action.

The station operates from TPI Tower in Sathon district but was shut down last year and its signal can currently be heard only over the internet and on some other community stations.

The officials claimed the station violated regulations by using a transmitter rated at 2,000 watts, which is more powerful than the legal 30 watt limit for community radio.

PM's Office Minister Suranand Vejjajiva gave notice that action would be taken against operators of any community radio stations which failed to comply with technical regulations such as the height of their transmitting aerial and signal strength and if their programme content was damaging to the country.

Transmission signals of all community radio stations would be checked. Those violating the regulations would be penalised. The imminent crackdown would not zero in on community stations run by government critics or those of the Manager Group, he said.

The Manager media empire is owned by Sondhi Limthongkul, the government's fiercest critic. He hosts the Thailand Weekly talk show which exposes alleged irregularities committed by the government or those close to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Mr Suranand, who oversees the department, said the raid on FM92.25 complied with legal procedures.

"The government welcomes political views from people, be they from political debate or community radio stations. But people expressing their views must respect the democratic system and the law," he said.

"The government is willing to act on their comments and inspect alleged irregularities."

The government would act against those who failed to respect the law by giving false information causing damage to the country.

He vowed to take action against operators of community radio stations if their stations violated regulations on community radio operations that limit the antenna height to 30 metres, the transmission power to 30 watts and the broadcasting range to 15 kilometres.

An initial check found two or three community radio stations in Bangkok breached the regulations, he said.

[U-Need]

561 words
16 January 2006
Bangkok Post
English

Story by PREEYANAT PHANAYANGGOOR - ROIET

For the members of the Thawangkum and Simnongmueng families it will be a once in a lifetime experience when they become neighbours of a very distinguished guest -- Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Mr Thaksin is due to spend the first night of his five-day anti-poverty workshop in At Samat district on a large field belonging to Somdetch Thawangkum.

Mr Somdetch, 53, who works as a taxi driver in Bangkok, rushed home yesterday in the hope of welcoming his new neighbour. "I'm so proud the prime minister has decided to camp out in the field next to my home," he said.

The field, covering about three rai, and located nine kilometres from the centre of At Samat district, has been transformed into a makeshift military-style camp, where Mr Thaksin and his team will sleep over.

However, Mr Somdetch won't be able to get too neighbourly with his special guest since his own home, which is close to where Mr Thaksin will be based, will be occupied by the governor of Roi Et and his staff, meaning Mr Somdetch has to spend the night at a relative's home nearby. Mr Somdetch said he was still happy about the arrangement.

"I couldn't believe my ears when the assistant village headmen told me about the prime minister's plan. I did not prepare anything special for the occasion, simply a regular clean-up," he said.

However, Mr Somdetch's wife, Wongchan, wants the government to pay her family in return for using the family's land as well as other facilities inside their home so she can use the money towards her daughter's education.

Just opposite where Mr Thaksin will be camping, Sri Simnongmueng said she and her husband were even luckier since they didn't have to sacrifice anything to stay close to the very special guest. Mrs Sri, 69, said she would stay up late until she caught sight of the prime minister.

"My sons and daughters who live nearby and neighbours in Ban Non Somboon, will come home to get a glimpse of Mr Thaksin," she said. However, she was not sure whether or not she would get the chance to tell Mr Thaksin about her problems. "I don't think I'll get close to Mr Thaksin as there will be so many people around him, including many state officials and security personnel," she said.

"If I had the chance, I would tell him about the floods, which damaged the paddy fields, and the poor water quality in the village," she said.

Mr Thaksin's base will include seven tents. Four will be used as sleeping quarters, while two will be used for meetings. The other is for cooking.

Mr Thaksin will share the four tents being used as sleeping quarters with cabinet members, including Prime Minister's Office Minister Newin Chidchob, who will have separate sleeping quarters, a metal framed military bed and a mosquito net. Mr Thaksin will have a private bathroom next to his tent. He will eat with locals who will cook local specialities for him.

About 10 UBC cameras have been installed near Mr Thaksin's sleeping quarters to broadcast his activities in a live "reality TV show"-style format.

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China Daily 01/16/2006
CHUAN YU
2006-01-16 07:12

Like most foreign businesspeople, Prasong Uthaisangchai is evidently attracted by China's seemingly inexorable economic growth and vast market.

"Everybody is looking at the growth story in China," he says, citing the nation's stunning 8-9 per cent average gross domestic product growth over the past two decades. "They want a piece of the cake."

Uthaisangchai, the senior executive vice president of Bangkok Bank, supervises the international operations of Thailand's largest lender. He is not so sure whether buying into a local bank a strategy many of his counterparts are using to circumvent the huge cost of building distribution channels in the sprawling country would yield the desired results.

It would take three to five years, he says, to judge whether such "marriages" are successful, given the sharply different mentalities of foreign banks and their Chinese spouses, who are heavily influenced by planned-economy mindsets.

"I still cannot tell now," he says. "But you risk losing the chance if you are late."

After opening four Chinese branches and reaping return-on-equity ratios of close to 10 per cent, his bank is taking a cautious shot - by joining one of the consortia bidding for a minority stake in the troubled bank in South China's Guangdong Province.

Financial security

The sweeping wave of foreign equity investment, however, has set off alarm bells among local academicians and some government officials, triggering worries that foreign banks may take control of China's banking system and threaten its financial security.

Sceptics believe that if foreign banks take control, which they fear is possible when more banks are publicly traded, they will be able to influence China's industrial and monetary policy through the banking system; firewalls would be difficult to build in the event of a financial crisis like the one that swept Southeast Asian countries in the late 1990s.

That makes a ceiling on foreign equity investment in a Chinese bank - currently at 25 per cent combined or 20 per cent for a single foreign bank - extremely important and indispensable.

The current limit is an appropriate level because it allows foreign banks to participate in the management as the second-biggest shareholder, but could keep them from becoming the biggest shareholder as long as the government wants to keep control, the CBRC official says. Non-government local shareholders are not allowed to own more than 15 per cent.

Should a crisis occur, "the 75 per cent, though scattered (among many investors), can speak with one voice because they have common interests," he says.

Others disagree. Foreign banks are only seeking to maximize their profit from investments, and have no political intentions, says Lin Yan, an analyst with Fitch Ratings.

An inefficient and fragile banking system, instead, could hinder effective allocation of a nation's scarce resources, and may cause systemic credit tightening, shake public confidence and therefore threaten economic and social stability, says Fred Hu, managing director of Goldman Sachs Asia.

"There is no evidence of the participation of foreign financial institutions leading to, or aggravating the instability of a nation's financial system," he says. "Instead, the world's most developed and efficient financial systems are the most internationalized ones, like Hong Kong, Singapore, Britain, Switzerland and Luxemburg."

Agrees Tang Xu, director of the Research Bureau of the People's Bank of China, the nation's central bank. "When I cannot manage my banks well, I can have others manage them for me by giving them incentives," he says. "When they succeed, my financial control and ability to maintain economic stability will grow, and the financial system will be more stable."

There has been talk that regulators are considering raising the 25 per cent ceiling, but CBRC officials have said no adjustment will take place until its study of existing foreign equity investments is completed at the end of this year.

Do we need them?

Foreign banks were not as interested in the bad loan-ridden Chinese banks a few years back, and greater foreign ownership was not included in the nation's World Trade Organization commitments made in 2001.

And banking regulators expect benefits different from what they initially wanted from foreign investors. "Originally, the idea was to get more capital," says Liu Shuyi, deputy director of the CBRC's Zhejiang Office. "Now it's mainly management expertise and know-how, so as to complete the integration with the rest of the world as fast as we can."

A few years of restructuring and tightened capital supervision have brought the share of banks that meet the 8 per cent capital adequacy requirement to 68 per cent of total banking assets from a meagre 0.54 per cent at the end of 2002.

Chinese regulators hope foreign participation will bring in new forces to help remodel local banks with international best practices in such key areas as management, internal control and corporate governance.

"As they do a good job of managing their 20 per cent of the bank, overseas strategic investors are also managing the remaining 80 per cent of Chinese investment," CBRC Chairman Liu Mingkang said in a recent briefing.

Signs of improvement are abundant, as Chinese banks usher in directors assigned by foreign investors, optimize corporate governance structures, and reconstruct their management and risk control systems.

But as Uthaisangchai says, it's too early to judge whether the Sino-foreign marriages are a success.

"I cannot say all the goals have been met, but the first steps have been taken," says Lin Yan, adding her firm has raised ratings for Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Bank of Communications. "It will take time for the new systems to work."

And as Chinese banks test the water in international capital markets, the involvement of foreign strategic investors serves as an anchor of investor confidence. The 19.9 per cent investment from HSBC was seen as a bright spot for the initial public offering of Bank of Communications last June in Hong Kong, which was 205 times oversubscribed by retail investors. "Given the lack of confidence among foreign public and investors in China's banking system only a year earlier, it was difficult to imagine a Chinese bank could list hitchlessly in the international capital market," Hu says.

Yet foreign participation is no elixir, at least for solving the chronic problem of bad loans. A PBOC survey in 2003 showed administrative interference was the reason for 80 per cent of the bad loans in the preceding two years, while poor management was to blame for the remaining 20 per cent.

"It is up to the progression of reform in China's economic and social mechanisms, such as changing local government functions, improving the legal environment for the financial industry and building a credit culture," says Xu Yunhui, president of Tebon Securities Co Ltd "It's not as simple as selling shares to foreign investors."

For sale or on sale?

Alongside debate on whether selling to foreign investors is an appropriate reform path is much clamour about pricing, particularly for the four State-owned banks that control more than half of banking assets. Sceptics say the prices, which are largely measured by net assets of the banks, fail to include such intangible assets as brand, customer base, distribution networks and human resources.

A key bone of contention was the initial public offering price of China Construction Bank, which stood at 1.96 times the bank's 2005 net assets, much higher than what Bank of America paid prior as a strategic investors - 1.15 times of net assets.

The criticism was strongly refuted by government officials and economists. Foreign buyers have reasons for discounts, they say, which include government interference like the assignment of senior management, relatively high social security expenditures, frequent fraud cases in recent years, poor profitability and corporate governance, as well as the limited influence in management due to ownership limits.

The valuation of Chinese banks is indeed, not at a low level, according to Fred Hu. The three Chinese banks listed in Hong Kong average a price-to-book ratio of more than 2 times, compared to the 1.48 times average of Asian banks and a 1.79 times average for European banks,

"It's unavoidable that there will be favourable terms to attract buyers, but that does not mean a cheap sale," says an analyst who prefers to be anonymous.

"It is cacophony around the reform of the State-owned banks," he says. "But that is a set strategy, which is indispensable for meeting challenges brought by the World Trade Organization commitments."

The debates still rage but the wave of selling shares to foreign investors is not yet ebbing. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the nation's largest commercial lender, is still in talks with potential investors including American Express. Agricultural Bank of China, although awaiting the State's bailout package, will likely follow a similar path.

The majority of the more than 100 city commercial banks, and far bigger numbers of rural and urban credit co-operatives, are also gradually becoming of age for marriages with foreign investors.

As in marital unions, only time will tell whether such marriages bring happiness to both sides.

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235 words
16 January 2006
11:23
Associated Press Newswires
English

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Police in the Thai beach resort of Pattaya said Monday they had detained a man suspected of raping a British tourist after offering her a ride on his motorcycle.

Police arrested the 19-year-old after the woman, identified as a 29-year-old tourist from the city of Liverpool, told police she had been raped by a Thai man, said police Maj. Apimuk Amnartmankong. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

The arrest came just two weeks after another British tourist, 21-year-old Katherine Horton of Wales, was raped and murdered on New Year's Day in the southern beach resort of Koh Samui. Two Thai fisherman are on trial for that crime, which carries the death penalty. The pair is expected to be sentenced Wednesday.

Police said the alleged rape in Pattaya occurred Saturday evening, when the woman was waiting for a taxi and a man pulled up on his motorcycle and offered her a ride, which she accepted. Motorcycle taxis are common in Thailand.

The man allegedly stopped the motorcycle on a dark road, dragged the woman into an area of bushes and raped her, the woman told police, Apimuk said.

Pattaya, about 110 kilometers (70 miles) southeast of Bangkok, is known for its beaches, its thriving sex industry and high crime rate.

[U-Need]

487 words
16 January 2006
Asia Pulse
English

BANGKOK, Jan 16 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers:

BANGKOK POST:

- Shareholders holding in excess of 60 per cent of the outstanding shares in Golden Land Development Plc, one of the country's leading residential property developers, have expressed interest in selling and are in discussions with three parties, according to sources close to the deal.

- The carmaker AutoAlliance Thailand (AAT) and seat manufacturer General Seating Thailand (GST) have settled disputes with their labour unions. But 300 workers at the auto-glass maker Saint-Gobain Sekurit (SGS) remain on strike in Rayong for higher pay and benefits.

- Mystery still surrounds the future of Shin Corporation and whether Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his family are preparing to exit the company he founded 22 years ago.

- DTAC, the country's second largest mobile company, says it is prepared to compete with a regional player if Singaporean interests end up taking over Shin Corporation.

- Thai companies may find it tough to enter the multi-billion-dollar market for US government contracts even under a free-trade deal.

- The Finance Ministry is studying tax reforms aimed at anticipating the country's changing fiscal needs as a result of future liberalisation.

- SET president Kittiratt Na Ranong yesterday reiterated his intention to step down if Thai Beverage Plc does not list on the market.

- 124 Communications said Airports of Thailand had hired the company as its public-relations consultant. The contract worth 21.94m bt runs until July.

- The no-frills carrier Thai AirAsia will launch a daily service to Krabi in March to cash in on the expected revival of tourist traffic to this Andaman coastal province.

THE NATION:

- The 2007 fiscal budget is expected to be presented to the Cabinet tomorrow, despite fuzziness over how much transit mega-projects will cost.

- The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) will meet with its licence holders and their telecom concessionaires today to discuss its draft regulations on consumer protection.

- The Thai Airways International board is courting MCOT president Mingkwan Sangsuwan to head the national flag-carrier, a company source said on Friday.

- industrial and food ex-porters hope to do well this year because of global economic growth and new manufacturing technologies.

- The Agricultural Economics Office reports that production of main commodities rice, cassava, maize, rubber, palm oil and fruit is projected to grow 4-5 per cent and their value to increase 10-15 per cent this year.

- Toyota still trailed behind Isuzu in one-tonne pickup sales last year, Tri Petch Isuzu said in a press release on Thursday just hours after Toyota announced 2005 sales figures that showed it had taken the lead in commercial- and passenger-vehicle segments in Thailand for the first time in 23 years.

- Comtech Group Inc, a leading provider of customised module design and subsystem solutions, last week acquired a 51-per-cent interest in Huameng Engineering Service Ltd.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated Monday 16 January 2006 :-

Horton's mother speaks against death penalty

The mother of murdered Welsh university student Katherine Horton has said she does not believe her daughter's killers should be executed in Thailand , BBC News reported.

Elizabeth Horton told BBC Wales she did not support the death penalty, but said she was not making a plea for clemency.

The trial of two fishermen accused of raping and murdering Horton, 21, took place on Friday in Surat Thani. They pledged guilty and the court will issue a sentence on Wednesday.

Horton's mother told BBC Wales: "I have never believed in the death penalty. I don't believe anyone has the right to take another person's life.

" But a life sentence should mean life. The Thai authorities will deal with it as they see fit. I would not want to interfere with the Thai legal system."

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My comments :-

Elizabeth Horton is perfectly right in saying that " she would not want to interfere with the Thai legal system."

Whereas PM Thaksin has asked for the Court to pass the death penalty on the 2 suspects. In doing so PM Thaksin is "interfering with the judicial system

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Tuesday 17 January 2006 :-

Phuket: Tourist excess, water shortage

Phuket (TNA) – Growing tourist numbers threaten to create a water shortage on the resort island of Phuket later this year, the Phuket governor said.

The number of visitors was likely to rise to five million this year, putting pressure on supplies, the governor said. The province had already called on the government to tackle the water problem urgently, he added.

Cabinet has recently approved a budget of 66 million baht to prevent a water crisis on the island, ranked one of Thailand’s top tourist destinations.

A senior provincial irrigation official, Suwin Anukul, said that the Bangwad dam, the province’s biggest reservoir, could only meet another five months of local demand.

If there was no rain in the first half of the year, the province would have to draw on two other water sources in Talang district to meet supply needs, said Mr. Suwin.

Construction of two new reservoirs on the island would be stepped up to provide a long-term solution to the province's water shortage problem.

Water from the Ratchaprapa dam in Surat Thani province would also be diverted to supply the Andaman coastal provinces, he said.

A feasibility study and environmental impact assessment are to be conducted before the project is given the go ahead.

[U-Need]

Wisarut Bholsithi from Thairath, January 16, 2006

Deupty BMA City Clerk Ratthaphon Methanathaworn said that after the discussion with the Highway Department, BMA has decided to change the names of the folowing roads and lanes.

1) (Old) Kaset - Nawamin -> (New) Prasoed Manookrit from Kaset Intersection to Nawamin Intersection with total distance of 9.10 km.

2) Upgrading Sangkhom Songkrau Lane (Soi Sangkhom Songkrau - AKA Chokchai 4 Soi 6 to Sangkhom Songkrau Road (Thanon Sangkhom Songkrau) even though it is a 2-lane road. This is due to the fact that Thanon Sangkhom Songkrau has become a shortcut linking Chokchai 4 Road (Lad Phrao 55 Road) with Lad Phrao 71 Road as well as Pradit Manootham Road (Ram Indra- At Narogn Expressway) with a distance of 1.4 km.

3) Changing Trimit Road in Samphanthawongse district (Bangkok Chinatown) to "Thanon Mitraphab Thai -Chin" (AKA Sino-Thai Friendship Road) as the commemoration for 30 years diplomatic relations between Thailand and mainland China.

All changes have to be done by May 2006.
Furthermore, BMA has agreed in pinciple that they should introdue number on the lanes (sois) in Yaowaraj Road from Odean Circle (now Chinatown Gate) to Ratchawongse intersection.
The left side would be Yaowaraj Soi 1, 3, 5 while the right side (from Odean Circle) is Yaowaraj Soi 2, 4, 6. The old names of Sois would be preserved within brackets on the signs.
However, Songsaawat Road and Phadung Dao Road would not change into numbered lanes for Yaowaraj Road. However, the final approval would is pending.
The plan to change Soi Inthamara into Soi Sutthisarn to be in line with Suthisarn Road has been suspended for a while until the decision from the Adminsitration Court has been handed down after the Inthamara family has filed the case in Adminsitration Court.

[U-Need]

Wisarut Bholsithi from Transport Journal, January 16, 2006
1) Airprot express bus for the following routes
1.1) Silom - Suvannabhum
1.2) Bang Lam Phoo - Suvannabhum
1.3) Sukhumvit - Suvannabhum
1.4) Hua Lamphong - Suvannabhum
Either private concession holders or hotels can operate these express buses on the following four routes with the following conditions attached:
1) No passenger stops along the route allowed.
2) No subcontracting to other companies.
2) Transit buses - either by Transportation Co. Ltd. (for intercity services to Suvannabhum via motorways) or BMTA (within tha Bangkok vicinities). BMTA already has seven routes.
3) Airport taxi - accordign to the meter plus 50 baht surcharge in the same way as Don Muang Airport Taxi. However, all the taxis must be brand new ones.
4) Limo service - only limos with engines of at least 1900 CC and space for at least 2 big suicases and NGV engines allowed for limo service to Suvannabhum.

[U-Need]

TRADE / THAILAND-US TALKS; 100% foreign ownership in financial institutions sought
246 words
17 January 2006
Bangkok Post
English
WICHIT CHANTANUSORNSIRI

The United States wants its businesses to be allowed to maintain 100% foreign ownership in banks, securities brokers and insurance companies under the Thai-US free trade agreement, according to Naris Chaiyasoot, the director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office.

Foreign ownership restrictions exist for all three sectors, albeit with exemptions allowed for cases such as banks taken over by foreign institutions following the 1997 crisis. In general, insurance firms and banks limit foreign shareholdings to no more than 25%, although proposals are being considered to raise the cap to 49%.

Financial services was a key topic for discussion in last week's sixth round of negotiations under the Thai-US FTA held in Chiang Mai. Officials hope to conclude negotiations by midyear, with the next round of talks scheduled to be held in the US next month.

Dr Naris said US officials want to fully liberalise shareholding rules for banking, insurance and securities brokerage under the FTA.

"In any case, [financial services] remains as a conditional position, and will depend on negotiations in other sectors as well and how much benefit Thailand will receive," he said.

US officials also want Thai regulators to allow US banks to apply for new banking licences and employ more US professionals.

But Thai negotiators are seeking prudential "stability" measures under the FTA to allow Thailand to maintain controls on capital flows in case of instability.

[U-Need]

233 words
17 January 2006
English

BANGKOK, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The following are major news items in Thailand's leading newspapers on Tuesday:

Bangkok Post:

-- A decade after laws were passed limiting areas where staff can smoke in state offices, the Thai government has finally decided to enforce them. Any permanent secretary or chief of a state office who continues to turn a blind eye to staff or visitors violating non-smoking laws will be fined 20,000 baht ( about 500 US dollars), Public Health Minister Phinij Jarusombat warned Monday.

The Nation:

-- China is to present a special gift -- two giant dragon lanterns -- to the King of Thailand to mark the 60th anniversary of his accession to the throne. The dragons will take pride of place at the Chinese New Year festival in Yaowarat (China Town) on January 29 and 30. This year's China Town festival will be bigger than ever in Bangkok, and will have the theme: "A warm friendship of two nations under the great kindness of the King Bhumibol Adulyadej."

Sing Siam Yet Pao

-- Al Qaeda's leader Osama Bin Laden could be seriously ill or dead, said an Australian terrorism expert. Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio quoted Clive Williams from Sydney-based Macquarie University as saying that he has seen evidence to support the theory that Bin Laden died of massive organ failure in April last year.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Tuesday 17 January 2006 :-

Thais just don't want to work as housemaids

By Penchan Charoensutthipan & Ampa Santimetaneedol

The Labour Ministry's " Magic Maid " training programme needs a little touch of magic itself to make it work.

The 10-day training scheme for housemaids, designed to create job opportunities for people from the provinces, has drawn little interest.

"We can hardly find anyone who's interested. With people better educated now they want to do something else," a labour official in the Northeast said.

"Furthermore, there are not so many young people left in the provinces. The harvest is over and they've already gone back to the city."

And those who are applying for the scheme are in the 35-40 age bracket - considered too old.

"There are only middle-aged people. We have to accept them, although I don't know if they're up to the job physically," he said.

"Magic Maid", launched on Jan 6, is one of the anti-poverty schemes being showcased by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra during his five-day visit to Roi Et's At Samat district.

The programme was expected to draw up to 6,000 applicants nationwide. The 10-day course runs for six hours a day, with those who complete it looking to earn about 5,000 baht a month.

A labour official in an Eastern province said the scheme had fallen flat there too. People wanted jobs in the tourism and services industry which paid better.

'It doesn't matter how cool the name is. It's the kind of job Thai people don't fancy. At the end of the day we'll have to recruit wives or relatives of state officials," he said.

In At Samat, Duangthip Suwanworn, 32, said no one wanted to be a housemaid and suggested that if the government really wanted to help, it should build irrigation canals and roads to facilitate farming.

A group of villagers waiting to welcome the Prime Minister said North-Eastern people valued freedom and independence.

"We like to be our own boss, or work in factories, or other kinds of jobs and go back home to look after the family," one villager said.

Labour Minister Somsak Thepsuthin has also launched a course on caring for children and the elderly.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Tuesday 17 January 2006 :-

Alcohol advertising to be banned in Thailand

The Public Health Ministry has rejected a recommendation to limit the hours for advertising alcohol on television, and will ban all advertising for alcoholic drinks, all the time, in all media. The laws are expected to be announced in March.

Public Health Minister Pinit Jarusombat said this morning that a meeting of the Alcoholic Consumption Control Board has deliberated the draft legislation controlling alcoholic beverages and a law banning advertising alcoholic beverages in all media. He said that the advertising time has been proposed to change from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. to 2 to 5 a.m.

In the end, the minister told Radio Thailand, the committee decided to ban all advertisements of the products on television, on all radio stations and in all print media.

Mr. Pinit said that a sub-committee has been set up to draft the law, adding that it should not take longer than 30-45 days and can be announced without cabinet approval.

The draft legislation will also cover the distribution of alcoholic beverages, making the minimum age of alcoholic buyers from 18 to 21 years old.

In related news, protesters at the Securities and Exchange Commission have vowed to continue demonstrations against the approval of a Singapore stock market listing for bear and liquor giant Thai Beverage.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Tuesday 17 January 2006 :-

Roi Et villagers take fast lane to Bangkok

By Preeyanat Phanayanggoor

Roi Et : Many Bangkok residents have had chance encounters with people from At Samat, even if they had never heard of the district before the Prime Minister and his entourage arrived.

People from the impoverished district in this North-Eastern province have long worked in the big city as tuk-tuk and taxi drivers to make ends meet during the farming off-season.

Driving taxis is a popular sideline for young males from Roi Et, including many from At Samat where Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday launched his five-day workshop to tackle poverty.

A retired village headman, Amporn Sonwongthong, said a lack of jobs in Roi Et has driven many young people to Bangkok.

Persistent floods have forced about 40 men from his village of Ban Nam Kham to become taxi drivers, he said.

"Many farmers could no longer grow rice due to the repeated floods of the past six years, so some had to earn a living in Bangkok instead. Those lucky enough to grow a crop of rice can use money earned in Bangkok to hire extra help during the harvest season," Mr Amporn said.

Ban Nam Kham villager Prasit Kum-oan, 41, was home for a three-day break from Bangkok. He said he became a taxi driver because it was flexible and allowed him to come home often. He often took a week off during the harvest season to help his wife in the paddy fields.

Mr Prasit said friends and relatives from Roi Et have formed a large community of taxi drivers in Bangkok. He said up to 200 drivers are from his village and nearby villages in tambon Pon Mueng alone.

"I have rented a house with about 10 other taxi drivers from Roi Et. It feels like living back home because we speak our local dialect and cook local dishes such as somtam and fermented fish [pla ra]," Mr Prasit said.

During his 10-year career, he said, he has helped train eight men from his village as taxi drivers. "It usually takes a week to teach them how to drive on Bangkok's busy roads and for them to remember important areas and buildings," he said.

Mongkolchai Suramanee, 32, a taxi driver from Ban Pon Mueng village, said for some years there had been more drivers from Roi Et than from other provinces because it is difficult to get a job without guarantees from other drivers.

Roi Et residents have a head start, he said, since many newcomers are relatives or friends of veteran drivers.

Mr Mongkolchai said many taxi drivers from Roi Et still work as farmers, tending the fields during the rainy season and driving in Bangkok during the dry season.

But he called on Mr Thaksin to help create jobs in At Samat so residents would not have to leave their parents and families.

"I haven't bought a house in Bangkok because my parents and my home are here in Roi Et. If I could choose, I would love to stay in Roi Et with my family while earning the same amount of money as in Bangkok," Mr Mongkolchai said.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Tuesday 17 January 2006 :-

Smoking ban to be strictly enforced in all state offices : Advertising of alcohol to be curbed or banned

By Apinya Wipatayotin

A decade after laws were passed limiting areas where staff can smoke in state offices, the government has finally decided to enforce them.

Any Permanent Secretary or chief of a state office who continues to turn a blind eye to staff or visitors violating non-smoking laws will be fined 20,000 baht, Public Health Minister Phinij Jarusombat warned yesterday.

The people caught puffing away will be fined 2,000 baht.

Smoking restrictions have long been enforced in private enterprise.

Mr Pinij was speaking after signing a memorandum of understanding with 20 ministries and nine state organisations, including the Prime Minister's Office, on the enforcement of non-smoking areas in state offices. It takes effect today.

He said although non-smoking regulations were introduced many years ago, there had been lax enforcement in government offices. The signing of the memorandum would serve as a reminder to smokers and senior officials that the law would be enforced.

The Public Health Ministry yesterday also agreed in principle on the need for tougher controls on the advertising of alcoholic beverages.

The national committee on alcohol control, chaired by Mr Phinij, will consider whether to shorten the period of TV advertising from seven hours to only three hours a day or to ban alcohol advertising altogether.

Ads for beer, spirits and other alcohol are allowed on TV only from 10pm to 5am, so as not to encourage drinking by adolescents. This may be limited to between 2am and 5am.

"We will work on the details. Hopefully, everything will be settled within 45 days," the minister said.

If a total ban on advertising alcohol in the media was implemented, television would be hardest hit in terms of revenue. Research by the Centre for Alcohol Studies found total annual media revenue for advertising of alcoholic drinks is about 2.3 billion baht, with 1.6 billion baht going to TV, 229 million baht to newspapers and 169 million baht to radio stations. The study was between 1999 and 2004.

According to a ministry survey, Thais drank an average 58 litres of alcohol per person in 2003, up from 20.2 litres in 1989.

Health officials have been particularly concerned about the rapid increase in drinking among the 11-19 age group.

New laws or laws being drafted aimed at stemming this trend include limiting areas where alcohol can be sold, banning alcohol sales at petrol stations, limiting sales hours in stores and raising the legal age from 18 to 21 years.

Drafting of the bills is expected to be completed the end of next month and they will then be sent to the parliament.