Heed result of referendum, says Somchai

 

With 33 days to go before the planned referendum, the Election
 Commission has finally begun to move on sending millions of
 information booklets on the draft constitution to Thailand Post
for mailing. (Photo by Pattanapong Hirunard)

The referendum and its outcome must be respected, Election
Commission member Somchai Srisutthiyakorn has warned,
urging all parties to accept the result whether they are satisfied
 with it or not.

The charter referendum process -- which has been criticised by
 rights advocates for its lack of public participation and free debate
 as well as the tight restrictions on freedom of expression –
should not follow Britain's example, Mr Somchai said.

 In the aftermath of the Brexit vote, many Britons were displeased
with the majority's decision to leave the European Union, which
 has sparked protests and calls for another referendum to be
 organised.

 "That is not how referendums should function," he said,
 urging all political factions to put an end to their campaigning
once voters have gone to the polling stations and cast their
 referendum votes on Aug 7.

 In the weeks leading up to the Brexit vote, false information was

spread to the public with some participants framing their arguments

 with hate speech,Mr Somchai said.

 The EC is doing its best under the Referendum Act to curtail the s

pread of misinformation, he said. (In a separate development,

members of the military-appointed National Reform Steering

 Assembly (NRSA) took their deputy chairman and former

 Democrat Party MP Alongkorn Ponlaboot to task for what they

 called secret meetings with politicians.)

 Ex-politician rapped: Alongkorn 'a loose cannon'

See also: Academics demand release of activists

Any conflict from a campaign to mislead people would leave society

divided in the wake of the referendum, Mr Somchai said.

The public must rally behind the result of the Aug 7 vote so as to

 avoid any splits, he said. If the draft charter presented by the

 military-appointed Constitution Drafting Committee does not pass

 the referendum, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)

 will have to set up a new drafting team, to create a new draft in the

 following three months.

 However, there will be no time to hold another referendum and the

next draft will have to be submitted to the King for endorsement and

 adopted soon after, allowing a general election to take place as

expected next year, if the NCPO intends to stick to its roadmap.

Time is running out fast, Mr Somchai added, adding the military

 should not further deviate from the roadmap, as it has repeatedly

 promised the people an election next year.

However, a rejected draft charter would present a political scenario

 which is worrying for the country, according to academics and

 politicians who debated Thailand's political future at a seminar at the

Thai Public Broadcasting (Thai PBS) Monday.

The path ahead will lack clarity if the draft charter is rejected in

 the referendum, said Ekkachai Chainuvati, a law professor at

 Siam University.

Thana Cheeravinij, a former Democrat Party MP, said: "Thais know

 the consequences of the choice they are bound to make, if they vote

 to accept the draft. However, they don't know what lies ahead if

they reject it.''

This is far from being an ideal situation for people only a month away

 from the vote, he said. Peace academic Gothom Arya, also a former

director of Mahidol University's Institute for Human Rights and

Peace Studies, said he was worried that if the charter is rejected,

another draft would be written and adopted with no public

 participation or endorsement.

He suggested the regime should instead come up with a new charter,

based on either the 1997 or the 2007 charter, to be adopted over the

 next four years until a new election.

 During that time, a charter  drafting committee, supported by the

public, should be up and running, to write a new draft constitution

that truly caters to citizens' needs and demands, Mr Gothom argued.

News,Politics,Bangkok Post,5 July 2016.

 

In my believe if Thai people know the core value of the draft charter

which mean to make rules to stop corruption,they will accept

 the referendum.

So it depends on how the government authorities help them to understand

as we all know that they read very little and sometimes lead by the false

information.

If the draft charter has been rejected,it’s in the power of the government

to revise old version of the charter that proper to the country and the

new election should be held on the roadmap.

 

Sincerely Yours.

Department wants VAT kept at 7% for another year

The Revenue Department plans to propose that the Finance

 Ministry maintains value-added tax (VAT) at 7% for another year.

This would help boost consumer confidence as the economy is

picking up, said Prasong Poontaneat, director-general of the department.

The 7% VAT rate is due to expire at the end of September. Without

 the 7% VAT renewal, the tax will be imposed at 10% of product and

 service value.

VAT's contribution to government coffers is increasing, but the full-year

 amount is expected to fall short of the target by 100 billion baht due

 largely to the decline in VAT on imported goods, oil in particular,

 said Mr Prasong.

The department has set the VAT target at 700-800 billion baht for

 this fiscal year, ending Sept 30.

The largest tax revenue contributor also estimated that its tax revenue

 will miss the target by more than 100 billion baht, but it tried to cap

 the shortfall to below 150 billion baht, he said.

"In May, tax collection showed better signs. The tax revenue exceeded

 the same period last year by 40 billion baht or 6%, but it was still

lower than the target by 30 billion baht. The tax items that were lower

 than targeted are beyond our control -- chiefly VAT on imported oil,"

he said.

Tax incentives to comply with the government's recent policy also

hurt the department's revenue stream, said Mr Prasong, adding that

they are the income tax reduction for the single financial account

 scheme and holiday tax breaks.

The Revenue Department is set to garner 1.90 trillion baht in tax revenue

for fiscal 2016, assuming that the oil price averages US$60 a barrel.

Due to the single financial account scheme, a set of tax perks offered

to attract small and medium-sized enterprises to pay tax correctly,

 sales revenue reportedly rose by 6-10%, he said.

News,General,Bangkok Post,4 July 2016.

 

At 7% VAT rate some customers do not want Tax Invoice so if 

VAT rate increase  to  10% there will more procedure to avoid the

 tax system,and will be lower the amount of tax receive.

At this point cost of living is high so as we want to picking up the

economy and boost consumer confidence,to remain VAT rate at 7 %

will help all the system and people.

Sincerely Yours.

 

 

UDD bosses called in over gatherings

 

The Crime Suppression Division (CSD) has summoned 19 core members
 of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) to
 answer charges of violating the regime's ban on political gatherings.

The move follows a complaint by the National Council for Peace and
 Order's legal team that accused the red-shirt leaders of violating
 order No.7/2014 banning any political gathering of more than
 five people.

According to the regime's complaint, the 19 red-shirt leaders defied

 the ban when they gathered at a Bangkok shopping mall on June 5

 to announce the launch of the referendum monitoring centres to

 ensure the charter poll on Aug 7 was fair.

 All are required to report to the CSD next Thursday. A second

 summons will be issued if they fail to meet the deadline.

If they persistently refuse to obey the summons, they will face

 arrest warrants.

Those named in the CSD summons include UDD chairman

 Jatuporn Prompan, Nattawut Saikuar, Tida Tawornseth,

Prasit Chaisrisa, Weng Tojirakarn, Nisit Sinthuphrai,

 Saranwut Sarankate and Yongyuth Tiyapairat.

The others are Korkaew Pikulthong, Veerakan Musikapong,

 Songkhram Kijpairote, Somwang Asarasi, Yotwarit Chuklom,

Thanawut Wichaidit, Kirkmontri Rujsotthirapat, Aree Krainara,

Somchai Jaimung, Sakrapee Phromchart and Pornsak Srilamut.

On Sunday, authorities blocked the opening of the centres in

several provinces, prompting the UDD to petition the UN High

Commissioner for Human Rights. Mr Nattawut said he was ready

 to go through the judicial process. He insisted the UDD never

 called for international organisations to intervene in the

 country's affairs, as claimed by critics.

 Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court will rule next Wednesday

on the constitutionality of Section 61 of the Referendum Act,

 following a petition by the ombudsman. The court will decide

if it contains vague wording which can restrict  people's  rights to

 express opinions about the referendum.

News,Politics,Bangkok Post, 23 June 2016

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politics/1017333/udd-bosses-called-in-over-gatherings

The United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) are

  known as Red-Shirts group who support former prime minister

Thaksin Shinawatra.

The activites they have done always support their party

not for the country.

The launch of the referendum monitoring centers is political motive

to their benefit.

To monitoring the charter referendum is the government affair not

 from them who have the conflict of interest.

In my believe the government does not intervene with the people’ rights

 and let us vote the referendum freely.

 

Sincerely Yours.

Tourist numbers up, but tourism sector not really happy

 

 

Despite rising tourist numbers and increasing revenue, the tourism
 sector remains worried by economic problems, fierce competition
 and the fact the increase in visitors is concentrated in some areas
 only,according to a new survey.

The Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT), the Tourism Authority

 of Thailand and Chulalongkorn University on Tuesday reported

results from their survey of 600 tourism-related business

operators, 350 foreign tourists and 350 Thai tourists in the

 second quarter of this year.

The survey found the tourist sector had slightly more confidence

 in the second quarter compared with the first three months, but

 the outlook for the third quarter, which is the low season, was

 not as certain.

The lower confidence resulted from fierce competition among

 business operators and economic problems that meant individual

 tourists were spending less, TCT president Ittirith Kinglake said.

Based on the survey, the number of visitors to Thailand should

 reach 33.87 million this year, up 13.35% on last year,

 and revenue from foreign tourists is estimated at 1.71 trillion baht,

 up by 17.83%. However, operators' confidence would not rise

 accordingly.

 In addition to economic concerns and fierce competition,

 the increase in visitors is occurring only in some groups of

tourists, notably the Chinese, Mr Ittirith said.

 In the third quarter of this year, the number of visitors from

 Asean should rise by 7% year-on-year to 2.09 million, those from

 East Asia by 26% to 3.97 million and those from Europe

by 3.4% to 1.11 million, he said.

 The number of Chinese visitors was expected to increase

 by 27% to 2.68 million in the third quarter. Their numbers should

 exceed 10 million for the first time this year, Mr Ittirith said.

The figure was 8.1 million last year. The survey also found that

foreign tourists were less satisfied with their visits to Thailand,

 mainly due to poor transport services.

Thai tourism operators and local tourists shared the same view,

 Mr Ittirith said. Foreign tourists wanted lower fares, more domestic

flights, better local transport, transport alternatives like passenger boats,

 better quality destinations and a better standard of service.

 The main competitors for tourists' dollars were seen as Hong Laos
and Malaysia.

Most surveyed foreign tourists were repeat visitors. They came to
Thailand because of its beautiful tourist attractions, culture, religion,
food and because it gave value for money.

The survey also found that more Thai people intended to travel in the

 third quarter due to long holidays in July and August, but 47% of

the Thai respondents said they would spend less on their vacations,

 while 40% said they would spend about the same amount as before.

Thai tourists wanted cleanliness, a good standard of service and

convenient transport.For outbound Thai tourists, Korea and Laos were

 their main destinations.

News, General ,Bangkok Post,June 21,2016

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1016013/tourist-numbers-up-but-tourism-sector-not-really-happy

.

.

As the number of Chinese visitors was expected to increase by 27 %

compare to 26% from East Asia,7% from Asean and 3.4% from

Europe,these mean we increase the quantity of the tourists not the

 quality in term of payment per person because Chinese visitors

 spend less.

In my opinion ,we should target on quality not quantity so that

 we can safe beautiful nature for the long run business. Also we

 should provide them better local transport alternatives with

 reasonable price and most important their safety while they stay

in Thailand.

Sincrerly Yours.

Phra Dhammajayo : Wanted by the arrest warrant

 

Phra Dhammajayo,the abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya was accused

in involving with the 12 billion-baht Klongchan Credit Union

Cooperative (KCUC) embezzlement case in receiving 1.2 billion baht

from the former chair of the embezzled Klongchan Credit Union

 Cooperative,Mr Supachai Srisupaakson Mr Supachai  has been

 sentenced to 16 years in jail  from the embezzlement case.

The DSI has attempted to arrest the abbot by the arrest warrant

 appoved by the Criminal Court .

The abbot has claimed he is ill for not appearing for a summons in

the case.

The abbot’s supporters try to protect him but many of Thais people

don’t believe the abbot is seriously ill until he can’t appear to meet

 the DSI.

The supporters also made the petition to The White House to help

 the abbot.

In trying to protect the abbot ,the supporters brought backhoes to

 obstruct the entrance into the temple  and  stretched large barbed

  wire on the wall ,claimed to prevent the violence from the

 third party but removed later.

In the arrest process the DSI has attempted to avoid the confrontation

with the abbot’s supporters and offered the doctor from the police

 hospital to examine the abbot to prove that he is too ill to meet

the DSI to acknowledge charges outside the temple,but the abbot denied.

 

 

The Medical Council of Thailand was asked to send the doctors to

examine the abbot also and they agreed to send the team to the temple
but it still unclear the abbot will allow or not.

 

The DSI has asked Phra Thepprattanasutti,the chief monk of Pathum

 Thani  who has direct duty to rule the monks in the province to

 request Phra Dhammajayo to surrender.

In several meeting including yesterday meeting the DSI deputy director,

Pol.Lt.Col Somboon Sarasit said Phra Dhammajay will surrender with

 conditions that still can not disclosure ,however all condition will follow

 the law.

He will bring the meeting result to attend a meeting with the DSI and

 will be back to attend a meeting with Phra Theprattanasutti and

 the other party on Monday ,June 6.

 

This case against  Phra Dhammajayo made controversy and conflict

over the society  because he has many supporters but the case  is

 challenging the ruling of the law.

 

Gen Prayut Chan-o cha,the Prime Minister insisted Phra Dhammajayo

 must defend himself to the justice system and will finally be arrested

 within his life time.Also

Paiboon Nititawan,former chairman of the defunct National Reform
Council committee on religions affairs,and Mano Loohavanich once
 the top monk at Wat Dhammakaya has made petition to the Ruling
 Monks to prove whether the abbot breached Buddhist or not because
 he claimed that he is superman once met Apple’s late co-founder
 Steve Jobs in heaven.

 

In my opinion Phra Dhammajayo must follow the law and defend

 himself  to the justice system,there is no reason for the Court

 to bully him and I believe the Court will rule the case fairly.

 

 

  

 

 

 

Two years from the coup : Economic,Social and Politics

 

 

The  National Council for Peace and Order ambitious mission is
 to return happiness to the country through economic,social
 and political reforms.

Economic :

An International Monetary Fund (IMF ),led by Ms Ana Corbacho,

exchanged views with the Bank of Thailand (BOT) the other

 public institution ,private sector and academics concluded that :

The Thai economy recovered in 2015 after a slowdown induced

by political uncertainty ,output grew by 2.8 percent.The recovery

is expected to strengthen moderately and the real GDP growth

projected at 3 percent in 2016 and 3.2 percent in 2017.

(From IMF Staff Completes 2016 Article IV Mission to Thailand)

In my viewpoint ,although the weak global economic outlook has

a negative impact on the Thai economy,but with Thailand 4.0

 model,tax measures,investment privileges,improving

infrastructure and control wage rate to stimulate more investment,

the country can reach the projected GDP.

 

Social :

Before coup,we had street protested which people injured and

killed.The controversy devided people into two groups,PDRC

 and Red-Shirts.After coup with military rule,PDRC had a little

movement and usually support the government while the

 Red-Shirts agitated peaceful of the country.

I think this conflict will still continue but in control of the

government so the next election is very important to the country.

 

Politics :

Before coup,we had corrupted government which huge loss over

 500 billions in rice-pledging scheme and they want to pass

 the Amnesty Bill.These two major points led to street protested

 to beat off the Yingluk government which up with coup to prevent

 more crisis even.

After two years from coup,we have draft charter wait for

referendum on August 7,if it pass we will have the election

 next year.

I hope the majority of Thais people will pass the referendum of

 the draft charter ,but if they vote down it,the NCPO still has full

 authority to pick any charter version to be enforced so that

finally the power will be handed back to the people following

 the election.

 

Sincerely Yours.

DOA hits back over chemical residue claims

Two of the most common quality labels seen in Thailand are for

"certified organic" and Good Agricultural Practice (GAP).

The Department of Agriculture is trying to defend its quality

 controls after lab tests that showed dangerous pesticide residue

 in many samples of vegetables and fruits.

The Department of Agriculture (DOA) insists it has imposed

 strict measures to check on chemical residues in vegetables

 and fruits before granting them Good Agricultural Practice

(GAP) and organic product certifications.

The department made the statement Thursday after a food

 safety survey conducted by the Thai-Pesticide Alert Network

(Thai-Pan) showed that more than half the fruits and

 vegetables awarded the government's "Q mark" for quality were

 found to be highly contaminated with chemical residues.

The GAP certification is given after a chemical safety check is

performed on produce at farms and orchards while the Q mark

 is issued before the produce is sold to consumers.

The Thai-Pan survey was conducted on 138 samples of popular

 fruits and vegetables in greater Bangkok, Chiang Mai and

 Ubon Ratchathani from March 16-18. Samples were sent

to a lab in the United Kingdom for examination using a

 multi-residue pesticide screen method to test for 450 substances.

 The overall results showed 46.6% of samples contained residues

 higher than the accepted safety standard.

Notably, 57% of fruits and vegetables granted the Q mark by

 the National Bureau of Agricultural Commodity and

 Food Standards (ACFS), were found to have unsafe

 levels of contaminants.

Also, 25% of the products certified as being organic, which

were supposed to be free of chemicals, were found to contain

 chemical residues exceeding accepted standards.

It showed that 100% of red chillies had harmful residues

exceeding standards, followed by basil and long beans (66.7%),

Chinese kale (55.6%), Chinese cabbage (33.3%),

 morning glory (22.2%), and tomatoes and cucumbers (11.1%).

 

However, 100% of non-Chinese cabbage samples were free

of contaminants.

 For fruits, all of the tested oranges and guava were contaminated

 with harmful residues exceeding standards.

 About 71% of dragon fruit, 66% of papayas and

 44% of nam dokmai mangoes had residues.

Watermelons were free of harmful residues.

The survey results later went viral on social media and frightened

 the public. Some say high chemical residue levels in those crops

 can pose health risks and even cause cancer.

 

The DOA said in its statement Thursday that before GAP

 certification is issued, farmers are required to submit information

 about their crops to the department. If the department finds

 contamination in the produce, farmers are given a deadline to

solve the problem.

If they fail to rectify the issue, they will be denied the

  certification.

The department said the Thai-Pan survey, although negative to

the produce certification, helps raise public awareness of

 the issue.

The DOA will also trace back contaminated vegetables and fruits

 found in the Thai-Pan survey to the farmland they originated on.

The DOA also said it has confiscated pesticides which were

 illegally smuggled into the country over the past several years.

Last year, several suspects were arrested and charged with

 possessing methomyl,paclobutrazol and methyl eugenol used for

producing pesticides.

News,General,Bangkok Post,6 May 2016.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/960901/doa-hits-back-over-chemical-residue-claims

 

After reading a food safety survey conducted by the

Thai-Pesticide Alert Network (Thai-Pan) results ,

we (my group friends who have knowledge  how to grow vegetables

 and fruits) are very confused about  the results show for they are

 contrast to the fact of how the fruit gardeners use chemical with

 their prouducts.

 

However ,today,Mr Somchai Channarongkul,Director-General

of the Department of Agriculture (DOA) also said the misleading

results due to the number of the sampling by Thai-Pan which

is too small (138 sample from Thai-Pan compare to 5,000-6,000

 samples from DOA) to represent the results show.

 

Sincerely Yours.