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2BANGKOK.COM'S NEWS AND VIEWS
MARCH 2004
A tale of two newspapers: Ghost buildings - March 26, 2004
Same day, same subject: ghost buildings. The Post quotes "property expert and lecturer Manop Bongsadadt," and The Nation quotes "independent architect Yodyiam Teptaranon" resulting in very different articles.
B135bn needed to revive ghost buildings - Amnesty seen as best way out of problem - Bangkok Post, March 26, 2004
Construction on half of the buildings, mostly in prime areas, is expected to restart this year...
``About 25% of the 508 ghost buildings are continuing with reconstruction, such as the Central World Plaza. The idea of demolishing them is not fair to their owners. Rather, we should consider whether it is safe to reconstruct or renovate them,'' he said....
'Ghost buildings not worth reviving' - The Nation, March 26, 2004
...half of those structures should be torn down immediately for safety reasons alone, independent architect Yodyiam Teptaranon said.
And the answer to the question, 'Why doesn't someone finish those buildings?':
... Other experts shared the view that many projects could not be restarted because creditors and debtors could not agree on financial matters. Bankers are reluctant to offer "haircuts", the experts said.
A tale of two newspapers: US 'error' - March 25, 2004
The saga of the two local English-language papers continues: Today the Post has a different take on the US human rights report (not mentioning its incorrect story from yesterday), but still spins it by highlighting the 'error' in its headline. The Nation again hammers home that the government claims of an apology are false.
US stands by report, but removes error - Bangkok Post
The United States stands by its assessment of Thailand's human rights problems but concedes it made an error in a report, since removed after Bangkok objected, US embassy spokesman Mark Larsen said.US Embassy confirms no apology issued - The Nation
“There have been no messages from either President [George] Bush or US Secretary of State Colin Powell to the Thai government regarding the human rights report,” said Mark Larson, an embassy spokesman. “The US is standing by its human rights report,” he said.
A tale of two newspapers: US 'apology' - March 24, 2004
Basically the same information, but entirely different spin depending on the paper you choose:
US 'regrets wrongly assessed' findings - Bangkok Post
...Mr Jakrapob said Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai yesterday told cabinet a message from US President George W Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell expressed regret for the US report, which had riled Thai authorities particularly with its criticism of extra-judicial killings during the government's three-month war on drugs.
...Asked to comment on this matter, US embassy spokesman Mark Larsen said he could not confirm that such a message had been sent by his government to the Thai government.
US Embassy dismisses apology claim - The Nation
The US Embassy in Bangkok yesterday dismissed a statement from the Thai government that claimed Washington had apologised for alleging extrajudicial killings in its annual report on human rights.
"I definitely can not confirm that any letter was sent that can be characterised as an apology," the spokesman at the US Embassy in Bangkok said.
A tale of two newspapers: TRT win? - March 22, 2004There is probably no better example of the tone and type of news the two English-language papers carry than the above articles. The Post has just the minimum of facts. The Nation has plenty of interesting analysis which is likely to be slanted against the government. If the Post does come up with some background or analysis, it is usually in an additional article a day after the first one.
TRT bounces back with landslide win - Bangkok Post
Democrat surge sours TRT win - The Nation Din of discontent grows in Phuket - The Nation, March 26, 2004
Concerning Phuket: "Yes, it's a great lifestyle if your style includes a love of noise..."
Mackenna Theater being torn down - March 26, 2004End of arbitration - April 2, 2004
As many construction folk read this site, we thought you might be interested in this press release from AustCham: Early this year the Thai Government passed a Cabinet Resolution which states that any contract between a state agency and a private entity (Thai or foreign) should not include an arbitration clause. This means that arbitration will no longer be a mechanism for settling any contract disputes with the state agency. Should a party wish to enter into a contract with a state agency and they wish to include a clause for arbitration, this will be
considered by the Cabinet on a case by case basis. Furthermore all contracts with state agencies must be in Thai language with English (or other languages) only as unofficial translations.
This decision by the Government is of great concern and as such, the National Academy of Criminal Justice will hold a seminar to explain the consequences of the Cabinet Resolution and seek feedback from both the local and foreign business community. They also intend to report the feedback they gather back to the Government.
Members who will be affected by this Cabinet Resolution are invited to attend this seminar. It will be free of charge and there will be simultaneous English translation.
Details of the seminar are supposed to be here, but the link seems to be broken.
The traffic - March 31, 2004
Thai papers are talking about the unusually heavy traffic this week and attributing it too regular end-of-month rush and people hurrying to complete their activities before going on long vacations next month.
Provincial tours may mean snap poll - The Nation, March 31, 2004
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will today begin a series of provincial tours to assess the progress of his grass-roots programmes, prompting speculation that he is in fact launching a campaign swing ahead of a snap election.
'US apologises for human rights allegations' - MCOT/TNA
We notice that the MCOT/Thai News Agency site still is reporting the discredited U.S. apology about the human rights report: BANGKOK, Mar 23 (TNA) – Washington has issued a formal apology for its report which accused Thailand of gross human rights abuses, government spokesman revealed today.
Speaking after this morning’s cabinet meeting, Mr. Jakrapob Penkair said that the US letter, issued in the name of President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell, expressed apologies for having issued the report, which the US has already admitted was based on ‘inaccurate information’.
Earlier: A tale of two newspapers II - The US human rights report - March 25, 2004
GOP survey question on terror draws ire - AP, March 26, 2004
In Buddhist Bangkok, even stray dogs have their day - Wall Street Journal, March 24, 2004
A question on the National Republican Congressional Committee's "Ask America 2004 Nationwide Policy Survey" asks, "Should America broaden the war on terrorism into other countries that harbor and aid terrorists such as Thailand, Syria, Somalia, the Philippines, etc.?"
About controlling dogs in Bangkok...
20 million Bangkok residents? - March 29, 2004
Conor Bracken points out some odd figures from the the Bangkok Post: Manop Bongsadadt, Chulalongkorn University's town planning lecturer, said Bangkok has to accommodate some 20 million people daily. Six million are residents, two million are non-Bangkok residents who commute to work in the city, another two million are migrant workers, while 10 million are tourists.
More tourists than residents in Bangkok??Former media mouthpiece turns on TRT? - March 25, 2004
Wisarut reports: Even Manager Daily, which used to be a mouthpiece of propaganda for Thai Rak Thai, have warned Premier Thaksin and the cabinet that:
(translated and summarized by Wisarut Bholsithi from an editorial in Manager Daily, March 25, 2004) His Majesty has pointed out the new forms of corruption through the message "CEO-Style corruption" and "The richer of the billionaire, the more corrupt they are!"
Premier Thaksin and his cronies will be expected to suffer punishment from heaven unless they can clarify the following issues:
1) the privatization of EGAT
2) Bird flu
3) the controversial Laem Phak Bia Project
4) The Detroit of the East Plan while they are claiming to expand mass transit projects
4) The integration of Mass Transit System through nationalization while bullying private companies that won the concessions to sell back to the government at very cheap prices before offering an IPO.
The most blatant example of this kind of bullying is that "If BTSC and BMCL refuse to sell the shares to the government at favorable prices, no extensions allowed!"
Thai Rak Thai have played with the sufferings of Bangkokians from the traffic jam so that those government could come up with alternatives in favor of their cronies (e.g. bus rapid transit, expressways striking through communities while the cronies prosper from the local people's sufferings).
This kind of action reveals that those cronies of premier Thaksin want to silently kill BTSC and BMCL in the same way they killed the Lavalin project even though the government is supposed to help companies to stay alive and well so that they can make money to pay for the concessions.
[Note that 2Bangkok.com has been reporting on the political vendettas that have halted the Skytrain extensions since September 2002, but the English-language press has never mentioned this at all.]Comedians' view of the U.S. campaign - Reuters, March 17, 2004
Reuters had a small space-filling article recounting late-night talk show hosts' jokes about the US election campaign. In one Thailand popped up: NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno": "President Bush was out touting his economic record in Ohio last week. Now this is a state that lost 225,000 jobs since Bush took office. If Bush wants to tout his record he should do it somewhere where the Bush economy has actually created jobs, like India or Thailand or China."Heightened risk? - March 16, 2004
For the first time, a terrorist act (or the reaction to it) has impacted a democratic election. If the Spanish bombings are indeed connected to international Muslim extremists, it would be the first time since 9/11 that terrorists acts resulted in any political capital for the bombers. The success of the Madrid bombings in getting Spain to pull out of the Iraqi occupation forces puts other coalition partners (such as Thailand) at greater risk of similar terrorist acts.Bangkok’s colourful street life to come to an end - MCOT, March 12, 2004
The end of an era for Bangkok’s street vendors is set to come as early as the end of this month, when, in the interests of civic order, vendors will be banned from selling their goods in all but specially designated points in the capital. Announcing the move yesterday, Mr. Thanakorn Khunawuthi, director of the Office of Municipal Affairs, said that from 31 March, street vendors would be forbidden from displaying and selling their wares in any area other than the designated zones. The move follows a moratorium on street trading in five special zones announced on 2 March, which bans street vendors from selling their goods near bus stops and footbridges. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) says that the measure seems to have been implemented successfully. Mr. Thanakorn conceded however that some areas were still experiencing problems, most notably Minburi, where street vendors were resisting the moves. Although he said that the BMA would consider requests to designate areas as trading zones, he also warned that district chiefs would have to take responsibility for any continuing problems. Local residents have often opposed the ban on trading, complaining that they no longer have anywhere to purchase food.Thai press has lost its vibrancy - The Nation, March 9, 2004
The Nation points out the silence in the Thai press over political interference: ...This was true until Veera himself broke his silence in public on March 4 to confirm that his removal was a result of political interference. Yet the Bangkok Post made no allusion to it... To be sure, there was dissent at the Bangkok Post, as 77 editorial staff signed a petition addressed to its board of directors and dozens later dressed in black for a few days - but all this took place without the Post itself acknowledging that it had occurred.
...Nowhere did Wasant mention the recent interference at the Bangkok Post or at any other media outlet in Thailand. This despite the fact that Veera's removal was widely reported in the international media, including the International Herald Tribune, the Asian Wall Street Journal, and even the satellite version of the Yomiuri Shimbun.
...At a recent international seminar in Manila, I was reminded by Cambodian and Indonesian journalists that perhaps their media was now more free than Thailand's.Constructing the new garbage terminal - March 11, 2003
Wisarut reports: Bangkok City Council has condemned BMA City Hall for coming up with a plan to construct a garbage terminal at Bang Son (with bidding on April 1, 2004). City Hall is doing this without revealing details of the plan to the BMA City Council or local people. That is the same old dirty trick to get a percentage of the budget without returning it back to the Budget Bureau. This also creates serious conflicts between BMA and local people since locals have no say. The BMA Board is out of touch.
(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
August, 2003Old structures disappearing - March 8, 2004
Songkhla's Old Town has over 100 beautiful and unusual structures clustered along a few narrow streets. Recently, one atmospheric cluster of wooden huts (above) located on a prominent corner across from a wat disappeared and was replaced by a sterile parking lot and cement buildings (below). Even before the huts were removed the front yard was being used as a dumping place for used oil (some of this is visible in the above photo).
2Bangkok.com recently took over 200 photos of the historic buildings in Songkhla's Old Town and will be posting them soon.
(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
March, 2004They envy us - March 2, 2004
2B often mentions the hysterical bashing of Thailand by superior foreigners (and even Thais themselves), but it is interesting to note that those from other developing countries greatly admire the rule of law and general orderliness in Thailand.
Khmer Intelligence has the following item: National ID: Cambodia versus Thailand--The establishment of the rule of law in any country rests on two basic systems intended to identify the people and the lands. Cambodia has none of the two... 'Donor countries have technically and financially encouraged the government to issue a computerized and standardized "Cambodia Citizen Identification Card" to some 6 million citizens from 18 year-old up. But for political reasons and other reasons linked to corruption, the authorities are dragging their feet: only 2 million cards have been issued over the last eight years.'
Not setting up the two basic systems entails the following consequences for Cambodia:
1- Land grabbing, land disputes, landlessness and increased poverty for the weaker segment of the population;
2- Increased government corruption with ghost soldiers and ghost civil servants; election irregularities with flaws in voter registration procedures; difficulty for the authorities to identify and arrest criminals.
In Thailand, as reported in "The Nation" on 23 February 2004, all citizens have been delivered a national ID for a long time. More strikingly, the country recalls how the project of a "smart card" started 20 years ago. Project head Surachai Srisaracam proudly declares: "All 1,077 offices of the Bureau of Registration Administration throughout the country have been connected via an online network, which allows information about the Thai population [information related to households, people, voters, and marriages and divorces] to be updated in real time (...). [This] allows us to provide ID card registration for people in 15 seconds instead of three months."
Earlier: India admires Thailand's 'rich' sports infrastructureSuwannawong family finally beaten - March 1, 2004
Another regional political force was unseated over the weekend. The Suwannawong family, which has governed Hai Yai for 30 years, have been beaten by a candidate from the Democrat Party. TRT had vowed to unseat regional families--and spent a lot of influence in confronting parties in the South. So far though, the Democrat Party has reaped the benefits of TRT's aggressive moves in both Hat Yai and Songkhla.
TG LAX sales - March 1, 2004
Dave Mailman pointed out some scuttlebutt from the aviation board Airliners.net: Posted Thu Feb 26 2004 18:06:45: TG cuts LAX (Los Angeles airport) frequency just about every other year. The reason they lose so much money on the LAX flight is because their U.S. Sales management is completely inept. LAX seems to be the dumping ground for problem children of the Thai Air Force generals who run (or heavily influence) TG. They don't want their lazy brats hanging around headquarters in BKK, so they pack them off to the US where they can do the least amount of damage. But, unfortunately, they kill our market. I haven't met a bright spark in TG sales since 1989. The last moron they sent out as U.S. Sales Manager spent his sales calls presenting a pocket calendar he designed. He barely spoke English and had absolutely no clue how to sell TG. Unfortunately, TG always goes for the easiest sale... the thai ethnic market in LAX. Because of this, their yields are always crap. There is huge demand for travel to Thailand. Try to get space on CX, UA or NW... those flights are almost always full. If TG could ever get past the cronyism that has prevented the truly talented staff from rising to the top, it would be an absolutely fantastic airline.Thailawforum.com - February 26, 2004
Tawan Somboonsuk writes: Thank you very much for your fantastic websites. We would like to know if you would list our website in your directory. Our site is thailawforum.com and it is a nonprofit site that publish articles on law and legal news.News site registration examined - February 16, 2004
Earlier this month, the Bangkok Post moved to a registration system for their website. Techdirt has an interesting thread on why registration for news sites never work: ...sites that require registration and/or demographic info tend to get many fewer visitors and a ton of bogus data... This certainly doesn't help them get more advertising, but the fewer readers does mean they'll get less advertising...
Earlier: Breaking links - February 5, 2004
If you notice, the Bangkok Post today moved to a php-based link system--breaking all existing links yet again.
Earlier: The Bangkok Post and urban legends
