Anything & Everything About Thailand

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated Tuesday 14 February 2006 :-

Police accused of covering up crime against tourists

The police have been accused of covering up the rape of another young British woman on Koh Samui within days of the killers of Katherine Horton being sentenced to death.

The latest victim is 18-year-old Corrie-Ann Holt, a gap year student from Wigton, Cumbria.

Holt claimed that on January 21 she was drugged in the Green Mango bar in Chaweng, then dragged to a spot known as “Secret Beach”, where she was raped by two men, believed to be Thai.

She alleged police asked her not to press charges because it could harm tourism, and treated her as if she was drunk and available.

The latest allegations, which the British Foreign Office is aware of, were published two days ago in the Mail on Sunday.

Holt alleged that she was left for dead and that police also did not bother to take any of her clothing for DNA testing.

Not only did they not keep the allegations under wraps, but yesterday – three weeks after the event – the results of laboratory tests had still had not been received by investigating officers. This is despite the fact it took only six hours for police to establish that two Thai fishermen had raped and murdered Horton, who came from Cardiff.

“I want to say to people going to Koh Samui. Don’t go there. It’s that simple. The police do not care about you,” Holt was quoted as saying.

She said that she had had two beers and a tequila at the bar on the night of January 21, when she began to feel very woozy.

“I remember being walked out of the club or carried – I think I was saying things like ‘Where are you taking me?’ It was like being very drunk but having no control. One of the men was Thai, the other black.

“I don’t remember anything after that until I came to on a beach. I woke up in the middle of being raped. I screamed blue murder. They tried to cover my mouth and were saying in English ‘shut up.’ I bit one of them on the hand.

“I was screaming ‘Stop! Stop!’ but realised that wasn’t working. I shouted ‘Rape!’ and after a few moments they ran off.”

Holt believes she may have been drugged with Rohypnol. However, because she wasn’t given a blood test until 10 hours after the attack, all traces of the drug would have disappeared by then.

“I got up and stood on the rock screaming for help. A Thai woman called down to me in English, asking if I was okay. I couldn’t see her but to know that someone else was there was such a relief.”

After 20 minutes police came and helped her climb up the cliff by the beach to the woman’s house.

“All of a sudden a whole lot of them arrived, along with the new chief of police. He came over and introduced himself to me and said it was his first day. It was slightly bizarre. I didn’t know what the police were saying as I couldn’t understand them. It had gone from being two police to being about 20. They seemed more interested in impressing the police chief than helping me.”

At 6am on January 22, she said she was examined by a male doctor at the local hospital.

“He took blood and did an examination. He didn’t speak any English, which was infuriating, as I didn’t know what was going on.

“He gave me pills but didn’t tell me what [they were]. It wasn’t until I was taken to a private hospital by the British Embassy that I found out they were antibiotics and a ‘morning-after’ pill. I was also given anti-retrovirals against HIV at the private hospital.

“In the government hospital, when I went in for the examination, the chief of police tried to come in as well. I just shut the door in his face. I felt they were more worried about tourism and the damage to it than what I had been through.

“They tried to dissuade me from pressing charges and told me it would damage tourism. I sat there with my mouth open ... I couldn’t believe how I was being treated.”

Holt said she was then driven to the police station to make a statement. “I didn’t have an interpreter – they just wrote down what I was saying in Thai but how closely it matched I don’t know. They weren’t taping the interview.

Holt later learnt that police had not informed the British Embassy – officials only learnt of the rape after her father called the Foreign Office emergency line in London.

Koh Samui police chief Colonel Chakkrit Srisuwan, on learning of the allegations, denied that the rape was being covered up.

“When police interviewed the girl she was not clear about what happened and seemed drunk. She said she had been raped, and mentioned a black man – big, strong.

“A medical check was carried out by two doctors at the hospital. The examination could not confirm rape so they sent samples to a police hospital in Bangkok for analysis. We have yet to receive results.

“The girl was confused and uncoordinated, but there were no serious injuries.

“Police apprehended a Thai man known to have spoken to her and [who] had tried to carry her out of the Green Mango – CCTV cameras show the incident. The manager has made a positive ID – he was taken to Nathon police station.

“The next day the girl was also taken to Nathon to make a report, she still could not remember what happened and said she did not want to continue the investigation. Police advised her to continue and she was asked to identify the man from the club but she said he was not one of her attackers.

“Police are continuing with the investigation.”

Andrew Drummond
Special to The Nation

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated Tuesday 14 February 2006 :-

Southern Thailand hit by floods

A flash-flood yesterday tore through three districts of Narathiwat following four days of heavy rain, prompting the evacuation of more than 350 households.


More than 3,000 rai of farmland and fruit orchards in Sungai Kolok, Sukhirin and Waeng districts were damaged as well as another 150 households. The most affected residential and farm areas were located along the Sungai Kolok River.

Several bridges in Sukhirin district were damaged and a number of waterways have been clogged up.

Some areas in Sukhirin are under 170-200cm of water – the highest level measured. Power has been cut in other areas.

Security officials have been ordered to stay alert for possible insurgent attacks while they are on relief missions in three tambons in Waeng district near the river, where violent incidents are frequent, district chief Wijit Issara said.

Pradit Sukhonthasawas, the district chief of Sungai Kolok, said 30 residents in low-lying areas had been affected by flooding, but the situation in general should improve if there was no more heavy rain.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Wednesday 15 February 2006 :-

Hundreds of families flee as flash floods hit the South

Flash floods struck the eastern coast of the southern region in the early hours of yesterday morning, forcing hundreds of families in Nakhon Si Thammarat and Narathiwat to evacuate, Several communities were cut off as roads were struck by floods and mudslides.

At about 3am yesterday, water run-off, triggered by several days of persistent downpours, swept through 10 districts in Nakhon Si Thammarat and three districts in Narathiwat, where several cities were more than one metre under water.

In Nakhon Si Thammarat, after flash floods struck at a scale not seen in the past decade, officials boarded flat-bottomed boats to rescue villagers who were trapped inside their houses and distribute relief supplies.

Flood-hit districts include Lan Saka, Phrommakhiri, Sichon, Ron Phibun, Chulabhorn, Tha Sala, Phra Phom, Thung Song, Cha-uat districts, and Nop Phi Tham sub-district.

Worst-hit Phra Phom district was totally submerged, said Vichit Maneeloak, chief of the provincial disaster mitigation office. Over 40 flood-hit schools had to close.

Meanwhile, in Narathiwat province, forest run-off from the Sunkalakiri mountain range smashed into 400 households in Sungai Kolok, Waeng and Sukhirin districts. Floodwaters in Sungai Kolok municipality reached 1.50 metres.

The Meteorological Department warned residents of Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat to brace for flooding and forest run-off. Meanwhile, the Royal Irrigation Department said the flooding was unprecedented. Statistics showed that the total amount of rainfall over the past few days was much higher than the 35-year average precipitation for the same period.

An official at the department's Water Monitoring and Cooperation Centre said this kind of flooding was unexpected this month, when heavy rain was rare.

The 35-year average rainfall for early to mid-February on the east coast of the South was only 16.9 mm. This year's average precipitation was 102.2 mm, or about seven times higher than the mean level.

''This is uncommon,'' said the official, who declined to be named.

He said the heaviest rainfall was in Lan Saka district of Nakhon Si Thammarat which was measured at 234 mm and in Waeng district of Narathiwat at 296 mm. These levels are unusual because the month of February has never seen precipitation in a specific area of more than 112 mm before.

Thosakdi Vanichkajorn, deputy director-general of the Meteorological Department said torrential rain over the past few days was caused by a convergence of easterly and southeasterly winds and high pressure. This phenomenon could happen at any time and was difficult to predict.

On Feb 9 and 10 the department's forecast showed there would be heavy rain but it decided not to alert the public because it thought the scale of the weather problems would only be small, he said.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Wednesday 15 February 2006 :-

South Asians seeking Orient Thai expertise

Orient Thai Airlines is in talks with Nepalese and Bangladeshi investors to establish a new airline that would operate in the South Asian region. The discussion centres on the formation of a joint-venture airline company, with the privately owned Thai carrier holding a 49% stake and one of the two South Asian entities 51%.

The partnership was proposed separately by investors from the two countries, which wanted to tap into Orient Thai's expertise and resources in creating new carriers to provide services in their territories, according to Orient Thai chief executive Udom Tantiprasongchai.

The two unnamed potential partners, who are not connected, already have flying licences and are eager to introduce scheduled services, initially on their domestic routes, before expanding in the region.

''Orient Thai would rather choose to go into partnership with one of the two because that is as much as we can handle,'' Mr Udom said yesterday.

Mr Udom does not expect to conclude an agreement with the potential partners any time soon. ''I envisage the picture will become clear in the middle of this year,'' he said.

However, he said that the proposed airline would be a cross between the full-service and budget models, like One-Two-Go, the low-fare subsidiary of Orient Thai.

Unlike other low-cost carriers, One-Two-Go offers reserved seats, serves free snacks and beverages on board and has a simple fare structure.

The talks about setting up a carrier in a foreign country reflect a shift in Mr Udom's business plan toward overseas business opportunities.

He said he no longer wanted to significantly expand Thai domestic operations through One-Two-Go.

''I came to realise that the domestic environment and the double standards adopted by authorities (granting preferential treatment to certain carriers) would not allow us to spread our wings as I used to envisage,'' said Mr Udom, a longtime critic of what he sees as favouritism toward national carrier Thai Airways International.

''I'm more concerned about the double standards than competing against other players.''

One-Two-Go, established in December 2003 as the first local low-cost carrier, operates five domestic routes: from Bangkok to Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai, Phuket and Surat Thani.

Orient Thai flies scheduled services from Bangkok to Incheon in South Korea, Guangzhou in China, Hong Kong, as well as from Phuket to Incheon.

Their entire fleet comprises six Boeing 747s, three Boeing 757s (216 seats), and four MD 82 jets (176 seats).

In 2004, Orient Thai negotiated with CR Airways to acquire a 40% stake in the Hong Kong-based carrier, but the Thai airline found the terms unacceptable.

[U-Need]

BANGKOK, Feb 15 (TNA) - Last Update : 2006-02-15 / 07:44:02 (GMT+7:00)

Shruging off the current political pressure, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has vowed to continue to perform his duties to the best of his ability.

Speaking to alumni of National Defence College, led by Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Navy Adm. Satirapan Keyanon, who gathered at the Government House here Tuesday to show their support behind him, the prime minister said he views the current political turmoil is caused by resistance to changes by some groups in the society, especially those who lose their business interests.

"I've worked hard for the nation, but information about me to the public and other innocent groups in the society was distorted by those resisting to changes or losing their interests," he said.

Mr. Thaksin, however, vowed to continue to perform his duties to the best of his ability, saying he is proud to have support by the majority of the public who still believe in him.

For the sake of national reconciliation, the premier said, he would, from now on, pay more attention to social groups to create better understanding and goodwill in the society.

He thanked the 50 alumni for their support and affirmed that he had done nothing wrong as being accused, including the sell-off of his farmily's business stakes under Shin Corporporation to Temasek Holdings in Singapore last month.

"Everything I've done is legal, nothing is against the law," he asserted.

The prime minister said, however, that he is now adversely affected temporarily by the Saturn.

[U-Need]

BANGKOK, Feb 14 (TNA) - Last Update : 2006-02-14 / 18:55:13 (GMT+7:00)

The Thai cabinet has approved in principle a 24-hour ban for drinking and smoking shown on television screens, Deputy Government Spokesperson Danuporn Punnakan said Tuesday.

According to the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, showing cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption on TV, whether as images or sound, is now totally prohibited, he said.

The decision effectively stops all advertisoing for alcohol and tobacco products on television.

Smoking and drinking on TV has a strong influence on the general public, especially children, the spokesman explained, who tend to easily develop positive attitudes and values towards the two kinds of
behaviours shown on TV, and eventually form their own smoking and drinking habits.

The cabinet, therefore, approved the ban for 24 hours, not only on prime time as presently applied.

In addition, Mr. Danuporn said, the cabinet also approved a proposal that TV programmes shown between 4pm-8pm be made appropriate for children to watch.

Television programmes shown during this period of time should have content that can develop children's intellectual capacity and help promote family and other constructive social values, as well as national
wisdom. (TNA)- E009

[U-Need]

BANGKOK, Feb. 14 (TNA) - Last Update : 2006-02-14 / 18:17:41 (GMT+7:00)

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told his cabinet Tuesday that more security cameras should be installed in the three southern border provinces gripped with violence as they prove to
have eased up the situation, according to a Government Deputy Spokesperson.

Sansanee Nakpong told reporters after a cabinet meeting that the prime minister learned from local police during his one-day-visit to troubled Yala province late last week that closed circuit televisions have helped
them with intelligence leads.

''The prime minister wants monitors installed in wider areas as he believes that would help to prevent unrest in the three border provinces,'' she said.

She said Mr. Thaksin also told the cabinet about security problems facing local teachers in the violence-stricken south and that he has assigned the Ministry of Education to provide them help.

''He also met with some youths who had been misled by militants. He spoke to them and found that they were good but naive kids who were deceived into joining the militancy,'' she said.

''The prime minister told cabinet members that we need to solve this problem psychologically,'' she said.

''At the same time, he wants the government to create more jobs in the south and has assigned related government agencies to do so,'' he said. (TNA)-E110

[U-Need]

BANGKOK, Feb 14 (TNA) - Last Update : 2006-02-14 / 17:47:31 (GMT+7:00)

Drought has hit northeastern Thailand, where 17 of the region's 19 provinces are suffering severe water shortages, according to Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department Director-General Anucha Mokavej, bringing the need for water as the main issue facing nearly one-third of the kingdom's villages.

Low-rainfall now means water shortages in over ten thousand villages, the disaster chief said on Tuesday.

Sparse rainfall in recent months has led to falling water levels in major dams in the Northeast, including the Ubonratna, Lam Takhlong, Lam Praplerng, and Pasak Cholasit Dams.

The lower than usual level of water in these dams has caused water shortages in 10,418 villages in 17 provinces, 32 per cent of the kingdom's villages nationwide, the director-general said.

He said residents living in the irrigation areas will have sufficient water for household use until April, but those who live in other areas may not have enough water for both agriculture and daily consumption.

Moreover, the drought will probably spread into more areas if the rainfails arrive soon, he said.

To relieve the suffering of local people, he said, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department is prepared to truck water and other necessities into the drought-affected areas. In the meantime,
all provincial disaster centres have been ordered to prepare for relief operations.

An emergency hotline -- "1784" -- has been set up for 24-hour assistance, Mr. Anucha said. "We are ready to give them any help once they ask for it." (TNA)-E009

[U-Need]

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT, Feb 14 (TNA) -
Last Update : 2006-02-14 / 13:45:24 (GMT+7:00)

Incessant rain has caused floods in many districts in the southern provinces of Nakhon Si Thammarat and Narathiwat, and the Meteorological Department forecasts that heavy rain will continue in the lower southern region.

Flash floods as well as overflowing rivers and canals are now inundating eight districts in Nakhon Si Thammarat. The Thasala district is under one metre of water, with hundreds of families caught before moving their belongings to higher ground.

Many roads in Ronpiboon district are impassable while the flood level is increasing.

In Narathiwat, water flowing from several areas in three districts -- Sungai Kolok, Waeng and Sukirin in the Sankalakhiri mountain range--has flooded more than 400 households, including Sungai Kolok municipality which is covered by 1.5 metres of water.

Meanwhile, the Meterological Department has warned of continuing heavy rain in the lower south, including the provinces of Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala..

The weather department warned of flash floods in low-lying areas and heavy seas in the lower Gulf of Thailand. Waves as high as two metres are predicted in some areas, together with thunderstorms.

The temperatures have dropped one to two degrees Celsius in Bangkok and the metropolitan areas and further rainfalls are expected in some areas.(TNA)-E004

[U-Need]

491 words
15 February 2006
English


BANGKOK POST:

- The Electricity Regulatory Board yesterday raised the cost of power by almost 7 per cent.

- Orient Thai Airlines is in talks with Nepalese and Bangladeshi investors to establish a new airline that would operate in the South Asian region.

- Thai shares plunged 1.38 per cent yesterday on sell-off across the board following the Constitutional Court's acceptance of a petition seeking a probe into whether Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had violated the constitution in his business dealings, a move that could result in his dismissal.

- TOT Plc says Advanced Info Service (AIS) retains its right to provide mobile-phone services for the further nine years of its concession, despite shareholding changes.

- Minimum wages could rise by almost 9 per cent to 200 baht per day under a proposal floated by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday.

- Latin American bonds and Asian equities will give the highest returns in 2006, while US treasury yields are likely to decline, according to Deutsche Bank.

- The Crown Property Bureau is set to make a tender offer for all securities of Deves Insurance Plc, a SET-listed affiliate, at 140 baht per share with a total tender value worth about 1.26 billion baht.

- Although delays in government megaprojects now appear likely, potential benefactor Chonburi Concrete Products Plc (CCP) has set a goal to raise its sales by 10 per cent to 2.7 billion baht this year.

THE NATION:

- Thai shares stumbled 1.38 per cent in reaction to the Constitution Court acceptance yesterday of a petition to consider an investigation into Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatras business dealings after his family and a related clan sold their combined 49.6-per-cent stake in Shin Corp Plc to Temasek Holdings.

- Mass-circulation daily newspapers are considering raising their prices for the first time in seven years to between Bt10 and Bt13 in March from the current Bt8 to offset increasing costs of paper and transportation.

- Despite the overall positive economic picture, many companies, households, communities and individuals are not enjoying windfalls while environmental degradation is a growing problem.

- Bank of Thailand Governor MR Pridiyathorn Devakula insisted yesterday that the central bank would be able to compensate the Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF) and complete repayments earlier than the current 29-year schedule.

- Deutsche Bank remains bullish about the prospects for the Thai stock market and forecasts strong economic growth, despite mounting political uncertainty.

- Finansa Life Assurance will be ready to meet the challenges if the Thai-US free trade agreement (FTA) opens up the insurance sector in three years, said its president Soontorn Boonsai yesterday.

- Construction raw material firm Chonburi Concrete Product Plc (CCP) expects sales of Bt2.7 billion this year, up 10 per cent from 2005 thanks to the governments mega-projects which are expected to get off the ground in the months ahead.

[U-Need]

By SUN ONLINE REPORTER

THE BEST friend of murdered Brit backpacker Katherine Horton has spoken for the first time of her horror at the brutal killing.

Six weeks after the 21-year-old was raped and killed by two drunken fishermen on the Thai island of Koh Samui, best pal Ruth Adams recalled her trauma at the events of that fateful final day.

The 22-year-old, from Kent, said after spending a day looking for her friend she could not face the truth, even when Katherine's death was confirmed.

"I think I was just in complete denial," she said. "All I did the days afterwards was ask myself: 'What if we hadn't gone back to the huts, or gone into town? What if I’d walked down the beach with her?'"

She said she dreaded having to tell the family what had happened.

"The first thing on my mind was: 'How am I going to tell the family?'

"We were going to be travelling together and you just can’t ring someone up and tell them that."

But she now believes she would have been powerless to prevent the murder, even if the two had been together.

Psychology student Katherine, from Cardiff, south Wales, was attacked as she walked along Lamai Beach on New Year's Day and her body dumped in the sea.

Ms Adams said: "Even if I'd walked down with her it was two people who attacked her so it could have been both of us.

"The hardest thing was going back the next day and having to pack up all Kath's things - that was just horrible, just having these Thai police stood around me."

Both girls were psychology students at Reading University and had travelled to Thailand together for a short two-week once-in-a-lifetime trip.

Ms Adams said they had spent a relaxing day together, before dinner in the evening.

She said: "We just had a really, really fun day on the beach, in the sea and then went out for dinner in the evening - just chatted about friends and the future."

Thai fishermen Bualoi Posit, 23, and Wichai Somkhaoyai, 24, were found guilty last month of Ms Horton’s rape and murder and were ordered to be executed by lethal injection. They are currently appealing against the sentence.

[U-Need]

By Associated Press

February 14, 2006, 10:46 AM EST


BANGKOK, Thailand -- The government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Tuesday it was reviewing a decision to hold a referendum in April on whether or not to amend the constitution.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-Ngam, Thaksin's top constitutional adviser, said there were legal impediments to holding a referendum on April 19, as Thaksin had proposed, the state Thai News Agency reported.
Thaksin said Saturday he had asked the Election Commission to hold a referendum simultaneously with the next election for the country's Senate.

But Wissanu said the constitution did not allow such a vote to be held without more time to prepare.

"We could find other ways to do it such as putting the question on the Internet," he was quoted as saying. "However, it is still too early to say what is what. I need time to think and to talk to the national Election Commission."

In his weekly radio address on Saturday, Thaksin had said that "If the people said they want the constitution to be amended, we will do so as the people hold sovereignty over the country."

But questioned on Tuesday by reporters, Thaksin backtracked, saying a public consultation would be better.

He said there was not enough time to prepare for an actual referendum by April 19, and so preferred the phrase "consulting with people."

Thaksin's Saturday announcement was widely seen as being made in response to political pressure from a growing public campaign seeking his ouster for alleged corruption and abuse of power.

However, the move was dismissed by his critics as a political trick, not really intended at to achieve reform.

Thailand enacted a constitution in 1997 that was supposed to promote democracy, but in practice it has consolidated power in the ruling party.

[U-Need]

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT, Feb 15 (TNA) - Last Update : 2006-02-15 / 16:03:21 (GMT+7:00)

Unseasonal flash floods striking the eastern coast of southern Thailand caused two deaths in Nakhon Si Thammarat province and closed the Thai-Malaysia border crossing in Narathiwat's Sungai Kolok district for the second day.

Floods paralysed transport at the Thai-Malaysian border Sungai Kolok checkpoint. Shipments of fresh produce, unable to be moved to Malaysia, and numbers of Malaysian tourists werel stranded in Sungai
Kolok district.

A 41-year old rubber plantation worker, Payom Phanwicha, was found dead in Nakhon Si Thammarat's worst-hit Phra Phrom district Wednesday morning in an inundated rubber plantation, while Tuesday night, the body of Suti Tongyingmak, 44, was discovered at Hua-It market in the municipality in one metre of water.

Floodwaters in Nakhon Si Thammarat municipality and 10 other districts began to recede Wednesday, with clear skies and no rain.

In Sungai Kolok district of of Narathiwat, floodwaters remained over one metre high. Waters from the overflowing Sungai Kolok River and forest run-off from nearby Sankalakiri mountain also submerged the
cross-border animal quarantine checkpoints.

Schools in nearby Pasemas and Moono sub-districts were closed. (TNA)-E009.

[U-Need]

BANGKOK, Feb 15 (TNA) - Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's recent suggestion the people should use the power of the referendum to amend the constitution sent many voters to read the 1997 law of the land, as its provisions for conducting a referendum had never been applied, and no one -- not even the premier himself -- knew what to do without consulting the legal experts.

The topic became an interesting theme for the ABAC Poll, which last week went to the people -- in Bangkok and around the country -- to learn what they thought.

Srisak Jamornmarn, head of the Assumption University Poll Center, said the poll was conducted on a random sampling of 4,210 eligible voters in 23 provinces nationwide--including Bangkok--to measure public opinion regarding the prime minister's proposal to amend the constitution, which has since become an issue of debate in the country.

''The poll found 61.6 per cent of the respondents agree to the amendment proposal," according to Dr. Srisak. Most respondents think the constitution is complex and presents too many legal loopholes.

One one quarter of the respondents (24.9 per cent) opposed the proposal, and they said they feared that any amendments would be done to benefit one or another special interest group.

Asked about ongoing political movements, nearly one-third (31.5 per cent) said the prime minister need not to be a politician, while 24.4 per cent disagreed and the remainder voiced no opinion.

If the constitution is amended, over half (56 per cent) said it should not permit any prime minister to stay in office more than two terms or 8 years while 39.5 per cent disagreed.

The poll indicated that nearly all voters surveyed agreed that the public has the right and the responsibility to participate in changing the constitution, Dr. Srisak said, because the Constitution will
directly affect the people and their rights.

The number of those who believed amending the Constitution would bring political stability is virtually equal to the percentage of respondents who were uncertain.

That is, 48.7 per cent see stability coming out of the process on constitutional amendment, Dr. Srisak said, while 48.1 per cent were uncertain

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Wednesday 15 February 2006 :-

AirAsia's aviation licence assured

Thailand's Transport Minister confirmed on Wednesday that the budget airline Thai AirAsia's aviation licence would not be revoked, following its belated compliance with Thai law regarding foreign ownership.

Pongsak Raktapongpaisal said he was informed by the Aviation Department that ThaiAirAsia has altered its shareholding structure in accordance with the foreign ownership law which states that Thai-registered airline must be at least 51 per cent Thai-owned.

The new company registered with the Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday and its registration was communicated to the Aviation Department.

The move means that the airline's aviation licence has been assured and its aviation service is immediately authorised to operate, Mr. Pongsak said.

The new business partner under the company's new shareholding structure is Asia Aviation, a registered Thai company which now owns a 50 per cent stake of the shares, replacing telecommunications giant Shin Corp, while 49 per cent is held by Malaysia's AirAsia and the remaining one per cent is held by Thai AirAsia CEO Tassapon Bijleveld.

Asia Aviation has Shin Corp holding 49 per cent of its shares while the rest are held by Thai investor Sittichai Veerathammanoon.

Last month's sale of shares in Shin Corp by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's family to Singapore's Temasek Holdings caused a major shake-up in Thai AirAsia's shareholding structure. It had become a
majority foreign-owned business.

As such, it was disqualified from holding a licence to operate aviation services in Thailand, according to regulations governing the commercial airline business.

Temasek's 49.6 per cent stake in Shin Corp pushed Thai AirAsia's foreign ownership above the 49 per cent limit under the Foreign Business Act.

Earlier, Aviation Department director general Chaisak Angkasuwan warned Thai AirAsia to make the necessary correction to its shareholding composition, or face the loss of its licence and the immediate termination of its services.