PM walks out of parliament chamber in apparent protest at not being listened to
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Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha abruptly cut short his explanation of the southern economic zone project and walked out of the parliament chamber on Thursday afternoon, apparently upset that a group of MPs were not paying attention to him.
"I think I will stop here because no one is listening, but laughing. That is enough, thank you," said a disappointed prime minister before he left the chamber during the censure debate this afternoon.
The prime minister took to the floor to make a clarification, after Deputy Interior Minister Nipon Boonyamanee defended an allegation, by Kao Klai MP Prasertpong Sornnuwat, that he abused his power in the interests of his people and himself, by forcing villagers in Jana district of the southern province of Songkhla to sell their land in areas covered by the southern economic zone project.
He claimed that the land conflict took place before he took on the responsibility for the project and dismissed the allegation as completely groundless. He insisted that the project is intended to improve the quality of life of the local people.
Speaking in his capacity as the supervisor of the police and the strategy for the southern development project, the prime minister said the problems in the south are complicated, but his government is determined to solve them, to bring about prosperity to the region and to improve the lives of the people there.
He dismissed the Kao Klai MP's allegation, that there has been no progress in the southern economic zone project, maintaining that the it is now in the preparatory stage and it will take time to progress, noting the importance of infrastructure development, which must be ready before investors make decisions on whether to invest in the zone.
He insisted that implementation of the project must be transparent and can always be checked.
Vaccine passports inject new hope for Thai tourism
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A "vaccine passport" has emerged as the best hope for Thai tourism businesses devastated by COVID-19. The passport, which could exempt inoculated tourists from the mandatory 14-day quarantine, might help the tourism industry slowly get back on its feet.
What is a vaccine passport?
In essence, a vaccine passport is documentation – very likely an e-document in this increasingly digitalised world – to prove the holder has already been inoculated against a disease. In the current context, vaccine passports will focus on COVID-19, which has so far infected 110 million people and killed 2.42 million since first emerging in December 2019.
Global agencies such as the International Air Transport Association are already busy developing vaccine passports or an equivalent.
The concept is not new. The World Health Organisation (WHO)'s International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis, also known as the Yellow Card, has been around for decades. The Yellow Card records vaccination against diseases such as yellow fever and is required for entry to several countries around the world, including Nigeria.
Is it necessary?
The answer is an overwhelming "Yes" for Thai businesses such as hotels and airlines, many of which are on the verge of collapsing under the weight of the COVID-19 fallout. Social distancing and travel restrictions have left businesses across several industries teetering on the edge of failure.
Thailand, where tourism accounted for 16 per cent of gross domestic product in 2019, has been hit hard by the virus.
In response, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) recently proposed luring back foreign tourists with new measures – including an offer to waive mandatory 14-day quarantine for those who can produce a vaccine passport.
Faced with quarantine and other COVID-19 measures, only around 10,000 foreigners visited Thailand between October and December last year. The same period a year earlier saw more than 10 million foreign arrivals.
But Thai tourism and related industries are now threatened by talk of extending the quarantine period. The Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration recently suggested that it may be necessary to impose a 21-day quarantine on passengers arriving from Africa, where a fast-spreading variant of the virus is responsible for most COVID-19 cases.
Dr. Nakorn Premsri, the director of the NVI, said that AstraZeneca was the one who told Thailand that it would be better to reserve vaccines from them because they will be manufactured in Thailand. Dr. Nakorn added that the decision to transfer technology was made well before Thailand decided to procure vaccines from AstraZeneca.
Thailand still has doubts
So far, Disease Control Department director-general Opart Karnkawinpong has rejected the idea of a COVID-19 vaccine passport, citing a lack of proof that inoculation completely prevents transmission of the disease.
Although millions of people around the world have already been inoculated, research on the effectiveness of the vaccines is still in its early stages.
Other concerns
Health issues aside, some critics say vaccine passports are a bad idea because they would deepen inequalities across the world, since people in many countries will have to wait years for their jabs.
So far, only about 100 million of the world's 7.78 billion people have been vaccinated against COVID-19. In Thailand, no jabs have been offered yet. If a vaccine passport is required for entry to flights, hotels or big entertainment/sport events, millions of unvaccinated people would be left behind.
Others say that introducing vaccine passports risks exacerbating discrimination based on race, nationality, or wealth via access to smartphones. Privacy concerns have also been raised.
February 9, 2021 Thai health officials are not convinced about the "vaccine passport" idea, which would allow travellers, who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter Thailand without the need to endure 14-days of quarantine.
Who has embraced vaccine passports?
Despite concerns, several countries are keen to adopt COVID-19 vaccine passports. Denmark is planning to introduce a coronavirus vaccination passport before the end of this month, while neighbouring Sweden has announced plans to follow suit.
For air travel, Qantas, Emirates and Etihad airlines will require vaccine passports soon, while UK-based Saga Cruises has made COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for anyone boarding its ships.
Greece, too, is now encouraging the European Union to push ahead on a common vaccination certificate as part of a fast-track lane for travellers.
Dr Apisamai Srirangson, assistant spokeswoman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, speaks about Covid-19 vaccine's availability, at Government House on Thursday. (Screenshot)
Everyone in Thailand - Thais and foreigners, including migrant workers - will have access to quality and safe Covid-19 vaccines, a government spokesperson said on Thursday.
The assurance was given during the daily Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration briefing at Government House, by assistant spokeswoman Apisamai Srirangson.
Trending on Bangkok Post
150 new Covid-19 cases
The government on Thursday reported 150 new Covid-19 cases, comprising 142 local infections and eight imported, raising the total to 25,111.
Everyone in the country, including foreigners, would have access to vaccines, she said.
"Vaccinations will include expatriates and migrant workers. The government intends to offer equal protection," she said.
According to Dr Apisamai, the government has three objectives for Covid-19 vaccination.
To reduce Covid-19 illness and deaths, vaccination will be for people older than 60 years and those with chronic diseases.
To protect the national health system, recipients will be medical personnel as well as workers and officials tasked with disease control or are in contact with patients.
To protect the national economy and society, recipients will be the general public and workers in the service, tourism and industrial sectors. Employers will co-pay for the vaccination of their migrant workers.
Vaccines will also be held in reserve for emergency use.
The first, limited delivery of vaccine would be on Feb 24. These doses would be used through into May to save lives and contain Covid-19 in the country, Dr Apisamai said.
Later deliveries of vaccines, which would arrive in larger amounts, would reach workers in the service and tourism sectors.
Vaccination certificates would be issued to inoculated people who need to travel abroad. This would include business people and students, Dr Apisamai said.
She also said that the government agreed that private organisations should be able to acquire Covid-19 vaccines themselves. However, they must be medical organisations with doctors and appropriate equipment available to save any recipients who may have an allergic reaction after the injection.
The vaccines they choose must be approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
"In other words, the private organisations that will directly procure vaccines are hospitals," Dr Apisamai said.
The government would announce details about Covid-19 vaccination later, she said.
Thai Airways International announced on Tuesday it would deliver the first 200,000 dosesof vaccine, supplied by China's Sinovac Biotech Co, to Thailandon Feb 24.
Crackdown looming on foreign teachers without work permits as new labor minister flexes muscles
Picture: Bangkok Business News
Labor minister Suchart Chomklin who took over at the helm in a reshuffle last year is determined to stop foreigners teaching without a work permit in Thailand.
And stop the practice of teachers turning to teaching after arriving on tourist visas.
Suchart instructed the Department of Employment to check all private and state schools employing foreigners both in the provinces and in Bangkok, reported Bangkok Business News.
A PR drive has been taking place to inform schools and institutions about the regulations of hiring foreigners - and the penalties for breaking the law.
Suchart Pornchaiwisetkul of the Department of Employment said that a survey showed that of 922 schools checked there were 6,129 foreign teachers.
The top five nations' hired were teachers from:
1. The Philippines (2,667)
2. Britain (558)
3. The USA(465)
4. China (237)
5. South Africa (160).
The remaining 2,042 were from other nations.
In the survey eight teachers were found without work permits. A handful more were not following the regulations properly.
One school was found to be flouting the law hiring teachers without work permits and twenty others were not properly following the regulations .
These were not giving names and nationalities correctly within 15 days of employment and were not properly reporting those who left employment.
BBN reported that teachers can only be hired on non-immigrant visas and can't convert tourist or transit visas into a work opportunity.
The new proposal for the color-coded map of #Thailand which will hopefully be confirmed by Monday next week. This should lead to a relaxation of restrictions in many provinces.
📍DARK RED: Samut Sakhon remains in the highest level
📍ORANGE: Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Samut Songkhram, Nonthaburi, Nakhon Pathom, Pathum Thani, Tak and Ratchaburi
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha counters opposition criticism on the second day of the censure debate, which touched on the government's Covid record, arms procurement schemes and the closure of a goldmine in Phichit. Photos by Chanat Katanyu
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Wednesday warned critics of the government's vaccination programme that they would be held responsible if their comments affected the delivery of Covid-19 vaccines.
Gen Prayut hit back at an MP from the opposition Move Forward Party (MFP) who had questioned the government's delivery of the vaccine, saying the issue should not be politicised.
Trending on Bangkok Post
175 new Covid-19 cases
The government on Wednesday reported 175 new Covid-19 cases over the previous 24 hours, 168 local infections and seven imported, raising the total to 24,961.
He said: "I am concerned that comments on the vaccines will cause problems. I don't want it to be politicised. You have to be careful. If we cannot get what has been agreed upon because of this, you must accept responsibility."
He said the government was trying to solve the economic problems caused by the pandemic and fully appreciated the extent of people's suffering.
"This is because we have [real] information. We do not surf on social media alone," said Gen Prayut. "Having power does not mean I can issue any orders [I like]. But I have to listen to doctors and make sure vaccines arrive as soon as possible. I don't want any delay.
"However, I insist Thailand has done a better job of controlling Covid-19 than several other countries, and we're still trying to do even better."
The premier said he had received information that as many as 80% of Thais wanted to be vaccinated while 10% had doubts and the rest were against it. The vaccines will gradually arrive and the situation will improve when Thailand can produce its own Covid-19 vaccines, Gen Prayut said, stressing those most in need would get the first jabs.
He also welcomed news that the first locally made vaccine would enter its first phase of human trials on March 1 and involve 210 participants. The second trial is due to begin by April on 250 participants and the final trial is expected to begin by the end of this year.
The Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) has been working on the project with its international partners, including the global Programme for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York. Together they have developed a pilot NDV-HXP-S vaccine and lab tests have been showing promising results.
The GPO and Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University are now working to prepare the pilot vaccine for the human trial, raising hopes the country will soon be able to produce its Covid-19 vaccine at a rate of 25-30 million doses per year, Gen Prayut said.
During Wednesday's no-confidence debate, Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn, an MFP list MP, criticised Gen Prayut, Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul for being slow to procure vaccines.
He also questioned the government's over-reliance on one company. "According to an estimate from the government, if the vaccine rollout is too slow by one month, the economic losses will amount to about 250 billion baht a month,'' Mr Wiroj said.
"Therefore, each day the government delays its rollout, the country will lose 8.3 billion baht, or 347 million baht per hour.
"The vaccination is not only about preventing the outbreak -- its importance also lies in ensuring a faster economic recovery and easing the plight of Thais nationwide."
Thailand has lagged behind many other countries in the region which have already started vaccinating, Mr Wiroj said. He also asked why the government had not bought vaccines from Chinese company Sinopharm which used the same technology as another Chinese company, Sinovac.
Sinopharm's vaccine was registered for general use on Dec 31 last year and its efficacy in third-phase human trials were as high as 79.34%, Mr Wiroj said, adding Sinovac's vaccines had not even produced results from third-phase human trials.
Mr Wiroj also criticised the government for not joining the World Health Organisation's Covax vaccine programme, pointing out many wealthy countries had joined the programme, including Canada, Australia, Norway and many members of the European Union.
On Sunday, government spokesman Anucha Buraphachaisri responded to reports that Thailand was the only Southeast Asian country to skip the WHO's Covax scheme, saying that as a middle-income country it was not eligible for free or cheap vaccines.
If Thailand wanted to join the Covax programme, it would have to pay full price for vaccines and that carried the further risk of the country having to pay in advance without knowing the source of the vaccines or their delivery dates.
Thailand decided against joining the programme to pursue its own deals because the government is not allowed to spend money on vaccines which have not been proven to be effective.
Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul defends the government's Covid-19 vaccine procurement and rollout.
Tension in the chamber increased when Move Forward Party MP Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn criticised the government's vaccine procurement strategy.
Thai Airways planes are pictured at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport. REUTERS
On March 2, Thai Airways will submit its business rehabilitation plan to the Central Bankruptcy Court. After that, in around May, the court will assemble Thai Airways' creditors to vote on the plan. If a majority of creditors vote yes, the court will appoint rehabilitation plan administrators and Thai Airways will conduct its business according to the plan. If a majority of creditors vote no, Thai Airways will be declared bankrupt and will head towards liquidation.
Originally, Thai Airways intended to submit the plan on Jan 2 but that did not happen. The submission date was then rescheduled to Feb 3. That did not happen either. The submission date is now pushed to March 2 -- one day before the deadline set by law. If Thai Airways fails to submit the rehabilitation plan by that date, it's over.
Thai Airways was a large public organisation and currently employs about 20,000 people. More importantly, the national flag carrier is a vital part of the tourism industry. Before going under, Thai Airways carried over 24 million passengers a year. If half were tourists, it means that Thai Airways alone brought in 1.2 trillion baht (equivalent to 7.3% of GDP) of tourism income to economy. This definitely is not an organisation to be ignored.
Thai Airways never publicly explained the plan and its problems led to submission postponements. But with information from various sources and my own experience in mega-debt restructuring, I can pretty much guess what has been going on. According to my understanding, the first draft of the restructuring plans failed because of three burning issues. The first issue was the abandonment of Thai Smile -- a 100% subsidiary of Thai Airways. Thai Smile has been running at an operating loss for seven consecutive years, about 1.5 billion baht per year, and sees no sign of turning profitable any time soon. Most foreign creditors saw no reason to keep the cash-drained Thai Smile. But certain Thai creditors disagreed as the closure of that subsidiary could result in political repercussions.
The second burning issue was the downsizing of the fleet. The draft called for halving of its fleet of 80 aircraft to fit the new business plan. Well, half a fleet means half an income. Half-sized income means half-sized debt. Creditors, on average, would need to take a 50% hair-cut on their loans.
But in reality, creditors with collateral, like airplane lessors, would get much less haircut depending on the value of the collateral while non-secured creditors, like debenture holders, would bear most of the haircut burden. Super-deep and uneven haircuts caused disagreement among creditors. However, in subsequent drafts, Thai Airways still insisted on the necessity of downsizing its fleet as it could find no profitable routes for those planes.
The last burning issue was most critical and Thai Airways did not have a good answer for it. The issue was about new debt that occurred after it filed for bankruptcy protection in May last year, and the necessary working capital needed when Thai Airways resumes its normal business. Without a regular income, Thai Airways has been losing money -- at least one billion baht a month since the grounding of its fleet. So, it has been secretly borrowing money to pay for necessities such as staff salaries. I estimate that the accumulated new debt and needed working capital for business resumption would amount to at least 30 billion baht. Without this money, the rehabilitation plan will never work.
In response to that, Thai Airways appointed an advisory firm to find the money both from new investors and new borrowing. The appointment of an additional adviser is a controversial one as the fee is a whopping 600 million baht. The fee is high because the adviser will only get the full amount if it can find new investors and funds. I don't think the money-finding scheme worked, resulting in the postponement of the February submission date.
Be real. Who would be brave enough to invest in an airline business now? If one wants to do so, one has 25 bankrupted airlines around the world to choose from. And a few more months, there is likely to be more airlines filing for bankruptcy. Finding money for Thai Airways would be most difficult.
Plan A failed to get investor's blessing because there is no identification of cash injection sources. Plan B failed to get the consent again because Thai Airways cannot find cash. Now we are in Plan C which has to be submitted before the March 3 deadline.
Without the necessary cash injections, Thai Airways is as good as dead.
Under Plan C, it seems like Thai Airways is preparing itself to walk down the bankruptcy route. But before facing the cruel fact, it wishes to save its four siblings -- Thai Catering, Thai Cargo, Thai Ground Services, and Thai Technical. Three siblings -- Thai Crew Centre, Thai Flight Training Centre, and Thai Smile -- will not be saved. But without the mother who carried 24.5 million passengers a year and flew 80 aircraft around the world, these four siblings will find difficult to survive on their own. I do not want to see Thai Airways die. The country should not risk leaving more than 10 million cash-paying foreign tourists in the hands of foreign carriers.
Here is my suggestion. The government should be the one which provides the "seed" necessary for finding a cash injection. The government does not need to pay anything upfront, but just simply agree to purchase services from Thai Airways for five consecutive years at the amount of 10 billion baht a year. With the 5-year purchase contract totalling 50 billion baht from the government, Thai Airways can use that contract as collateral for a new 30 billion baht loan or even lure new investors.
In exchange for the contract, Thai Airways has to commit to bringing in a minimum of three million foreign tourist a year. Why?
First, the country will have secured 150 billion baht of foreign tourist income. Second, the government will get 26 billion baht in tax revenue from those tourists, calculated based on 17.5% effective tax rate. Third, the government would get 10 billion baht a year in travel vouchers from Thai Airways. Fourth, at least 10 thousand people can keep their jobs at Thai Airways and all its siblings will survive.
The majority of Thais are ready to welcome foreign tourists back to the country, but not without a 14-day quarantine requirement.
Empty streets, bars and beaches are now a feature of Thailand
According to a survey in 4Q2020 by the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT), 60 per cent of locals and 50 per cent of tourism operators want Thailand to reopen borders to international tourists, starting first with China and then other low-risk countries.
In addition, 39 per cent of Thais and 50 per cent of operators surveyed said they would welcome foreigners from low-risk countries on VIP tours with no quarantine, for short stays of 7-10 days.
The TCT surveyed 785 tourism-related entrepreneurs and 1,444 Thais from November 11 to December 10, 2020, regarding their opinion on the policy of opening the country for accepting tourists.
Polling 1,020 tourism-related operators from November 11 to December 29 last year, the report also found that the tourism confidence index of tourism-related operators had dropped to 62 in 4Q2020, compared to 88 during the same period in 2019 – which represents a significant decline in performance over previous years.
An index value below 100 means that the tourism situation has worsened compared to the same period in the previous year, whereas an index higher than 100 means that the tourism situation has improved over the same period in the previous year.
Despite the addition of public holidays to boost tourism, the expected confidence index for 1Q2021 is equal to 53, a vast drop from 4Q2020 due to the impact of the current outbreak situation in Thailand. – TTGAsia.Com
Members from Thai Airways' Funeral Assistance Association seek financial aid after allegedly being scammed in funeral funds, at least 26 people faked death certificates
Bangkok –
Members from the Funeral Assistance Association For Thai Airways Employees gathered at the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) today, February 16th, to demand a thorough investigation and legal action after several fake death certificates were reportedly issued among mischievous Thai Airways employees in order to receive financial assistance from the Association.
Veerayuth Thuankong, 60, told reporters that about 20 association members who came to the Division today had noticed the unusually increasing number of death reports every year. Their investigation exposed that at least 26 members of the association issued a fake death certificate before submitting them for a financial claim of funeral assistance at the Association.
According to Veerayuth's statement, the Association has recently lost more than 14 million baht. The concern had previously been presented to the board of directors of the association for help but nothing had been done so far.
He stated: "We urged the CSD to respond to our complaints and seek justice for us as the Association had lost a huge amount of money to the scammed members."
Initially, the CSD investigator had acknowledged the issue that would be forwarded to the supervisor for further consideration and legal orders.
The Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) announced today that they will be meeting formally next Monday, February 22nd, to discuss easing restrictions and measures around controlling the Covid-19 coronavirus.
This was originally expected this week but as the Prime Minister, Prayut Chan O'Cha is occupied with the Parliament censure/no-confidence debate this week the formal meeting around Covid-19 restrictions was moved to next Monday.
The meeting is likely to address the color-coded status of provinces in the country which also, based on status, control restrictions and measures around Covid-19. Bangkok, for instance, is a "red" zone and alcohol sales at restaurants are prohibited, as well as bars and nightlife closed.
In nightlife dependent Chonburi, which is an "orange zone", this means that although nightlife is open it has to be closed by 11:00 P.M.
Both areas are hoping the consideration for looser restrictions will change or ease the zone status and ease restrictions. A preliminary meeting for easing restrictions is scheduled for Thursday, February 18th. Proposals made at this meeting will be brought to the final meeting next Monday, February 22nd.
We will cover in full any announcements made next Monday, February 22nd.It is not a guarantee that any measures eased would take effect on the same day as well, they may be announced to be eased at a later date. Any measures eased would also need provincial approval from a governor. For instance, if a governor of a province wanted to strengthen rules (As Rayong did by keeping a ban on nightlife for several days after it was lifted in other orange zones) the governor has that ability, but they may not further ease rules.
Did you know that there is a road in Sweden called 👑 King Chulalongkorn's Road (Kung Chulalongkorns Väg)?
The road goes between Bispgården in Ragunda to the pier in Utanede, Jämtland and was named in honour of the King's visit 1897.
If you could name a road in Thailand 🇹🇭 after Sweden 🇸🇪, where would it be and what would you name it? - Svenska Ambassaden i Thailand
📷: www.thailandshistoria.se
