Long winding road to ruin
"I do not seriously believe that the pandemic has necessarily increased the number of people gambling, or for that matter gambling disorders," said psychiatrist Dr Apichat Jariyavilas. We can also term it as gambling addiction or compulsive gambling. It was found that gambling addiction has effects that are similar to people with alcoholism. Of course, as we have often seen, compulsive gambling does eventually cause people to have financial, relationship and work problems. "Positive enforcement from loved ones goes a long way," he said, "while we realise the importance of seeking treatment and the fact that the road to recovery can be time-consuming."
Source:Bangkok Post
January 25, 2021 22:07 UTC
Section 112 and Covid shots are not a good mix
Section 112 and Covid shots are not a good mixIs Section 112 or the lese majeste law a kill or cure for the government when it comes to its Covid-19 vaccination plan? Questions about the government's vaccine strategy and its effectiveness are likely to become more pronounced. Here, however, we are caught in a strange association between Section 112 of the criminal code and Covid-19 vaccines which shouldn't even exist. Since each charge is punishable by as many as 15 years in prison, Mr Thanathorn could be looking at 165 years in jail if convicted. He vowed to take legal action against "anything that is distorted and not factual" about the government's vaccination plan.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 25, 2021 21:56 UTC
Govt too quick to use S112
Govt too quick to use S112In using Section 112 against Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit for raising questions about its vaccine procurement, the Prayut Chan-o-cha government could be said to have, at best, over-reacted. But the prime minister should know this is not the best way to secure public trust in the procurement plan. Then it mentioned a plan to vaccinate 13 million Thais, using 26 million doses, in May, from AstraZeneca and Oxford University. As of yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul confirmed a priority list of 19 million who will be the first to be inoculated. Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Anutin, for instance, is among those attaching no importance to clarity.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 25, 2021 21:45 UTC
Longines World Racing Awards Announced Tuesday
Longines World Racing Awards Announced Tuesday#LonginesWorldRacingAwardsThe 2020 Longines World Racing Awards ceremony will be held virtually on Tuesday, 26 January, at 14:00 GMT/9:00 EST. The event, which is organized by the Swiss watch brand Longines and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) will honour the Longines World’s Best Racehorse, the Longines World’s Best Horse Race, and the Longines World’s Best Jockey of the 2020 season. The ceremony will reveal the highest-rated horses in the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings as well as the Longines World’s Best Horse Race for 2020. The full list and further information on the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings will be available on the IFHA website http://www.ifhaonline.org. To watch the 2020 Longines World Racing Awards live, join us on Tuesday, 26 January, at 14:00 GMT/9:00 EST:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=519M5jiraq8&feature=youtu.be
Source:Bangkok Post
January 25, 2021 04:30 UTC
DES chief seeks nod for B100 mobile aid
The Digital Economy and Society he will seek cabinet approval for 100-baht monthly assistance for two months for mobile subscribers. Digital Economy and Society (DES) Minister Buddhipongse Punnakanta says he will seek cabinet approval for 100-baht monthly assistance for two months for mobile subscribers of both prepaid and postpaid systems. Once successfully registered, postpaid users will be eligible for a 100-baht monthly discount provided by operators for two months. Prepaid subscribers are also allowed a 100-baht monthly credit for two months. An executive of a major mobile operator who requested anonymity said mobile operators rejected developing a central platform for assistance registration.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 24, 2021 23:48 UTC
Leaving the nest
The merger sees the combination of 200 billion baht worth of telecom infrastructure assets and 36 billion in cash flow from the two enterprises. One concern is NT has more than 17,000 employees, many of whom lack actual experience in the competitive telecom service market. NT operates five businesses: hard infrastructure, international service, mobile business, digital infrastructure and service, as well as fixed line and broadband. The present structure has 20 senior executive vice-presidents (SEVPs): 10 each from TOT and CAT Telecom. Before the merger, CAT mobile service (my by CAT) had 2.5 million subscribers and TOT mobile had 180,000 users.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 24, 2021 23:48 UTC
Drowning in plastic
Drowning in plasticLast January, Thailand kicked off the year and a new decade with the ban on single-use plastic bags, initially adopted by department and convenience stores as well as some other retailers, who would no longer provide customers with the plastic bags in order to lessen the environmental impact. The convenience of dumping used plastic bags and other plastic items takes a toll on the environment. The ban on single-use plastic bags was the first step of the country's long-term plastic waste management plan, which will include measures to stop using other items such as cap seals, plastic cups and straws as well as polystyrene food containers. The deliveries generated piles of small ziplock plastic bags, bubble wrap, packaging tape and delivery boxes at my house. One year after the ban on single-use plastic bags, of which we thought we have made a small win in saving the environment, other forms of plastic pollution need to be further addressed.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 24, 2021 23:48 UTC
Vaccine buy bears up to scrutiny
In fact, Mr Thanathorn criticised the vaccine deal in a Facebook livestream talk, titled "Royally-sponsored vaccine: Who Gains, who loses", on Jan 19. Essentially, Thanathorn raised a few valid questions about the vaccine deal between Siam Bioscience and Oxford-AstraZeneca, from the perspective of someone unaware of the background of the deal. The questions asked include: Why was only Siam Bioscience allowed to procure the vaccine, and not the other pharmaceutical companies? And why was the government giving taxpayers' money, amounting to about 500 million baht, to Siam Bioscience under its vaccine development programme? Mr Thanathorn is complaining about being gagged by the lese majeste charge for speaking out about the vaccine deal.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 24, 2021 23:48 UTC
Taxpayers get a raw deal
Taxpayers get a raw dealAlthough the government believes that a cut in the employees' contribution to the Social Security Fund (SSF) from 3% to 0.5% is a valuable assistance measure to this vast group of people who are excluded from the latest relief scheme, the measure is still unsubstantiated and unfair. Those employees are regular taxpayers who contribute to state coffers every year but it seems that they are being ignored by the government. Such an instruction is baffling given that government officials and state employees still enjoy full salary payments. What the government should do is give fair treatment to all affected groups of people, including affected state and state enterprise employees. As such, it should start paying due attention to the 11 million people who are honest taxpayers as well as a large number of SMEs that cannot access the government's relief schemes.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 24, 2021 23:37 UTC
Old solutions no answer to dust menace
Old solutions no answer to dust menaceThe polluted morning skyline, as seen from Phra Pok Klao Bridge over the Chao Phraya River in Klong San district. Mr Varawut said he has "asked" provincial governors to "ask" farmers in their area to avoid burning farm waste. Yet state agencies still have no idea what to do about it, apart from "asking for cooperation". Last month, the Centre for Air Pollution Mitigation (CAPM) said state agencies are working hard to tackle pollutants at their source to reduce the fine dust pollution. The problem will persist as long as state agencies stick to the same solutions of the past.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 24, 2021 23:37 UTC
Haze fight needs new approach, say experts | Bangkok Post: learning
Similar conditions were reported in Nakhon Ratchasima, where micro-dust levels have exceeded the safe level for five days straight. (Photo by Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)Thailand is heading in the wrong direction with its approach to solving PM2.5 microdust and other air pollution problems as measures are not systematic or year-round, according to academics. Sirima Panyametheekul, a member of the Thailand Air Quality Management (TAQM) coalition of pollution experts, said the weather is a factor and with lower temperatures and an absence of wind, the air pollution problems would get worse. In a further change aimed at battling air pollution, vehicle inspections would now be carried out on the spot to avoid unnecessary trips into the DLT workshop in the city. The results of these evaluations could see registration renewal applications refused, depending on the state of the vehicles, according to Mr Chirute.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 24, 2021 23:37 UTC
INTEGRITY AND TRANSPARENCY ASSESSMENT
INTEGRITY AND TRANSPARENCY ASSESSMENTCorruption, favouritism and nepotism, running deep within Thailand’s public administration and public service systems,is compromising the viability of legal-rational authority and causing failure in the maintenance of integrity and transparency, resulting in a shortfall of good governance on a national scale. Following international practice, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has formulated the Integrity and Transparency Assessment (ITA) in the hope of creating a safeguard against corruption in government agencies as a whole, rather than having to deal with corruption on an individual/smaller scale. That is to say, ITA is not just an assessment, but an instrument by which each agency can strengthen its own operational integrity, better display transparency, and more efficiently serve the public. Without the corruption-breeding loopholes engendering inefficiency and unfairness of Thai public administration and narrowing of Thai public services, the country would stand a better chance of dodging corruption damage. Through a collaboration between Office of the NACC and the Faculty of Economics at Chulalongkorn University, ITA uses a holistic and comprehensive approach to enable multi-faceted data collecting, an essential resource when looking to enhance integrity and transparency.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 24, 2021 21:45 UTC
From the doghouse to the White House
It wasn't long before "Bo" a Portuguese water dog was romping around on the White House lawns in his capacity as "First Dog". So after four dog-less years, for many Americans it will be refreshing to see a couple of hounds running around the White House discovering all sorts of exciting new snifferies. There have been plenty of famous White House dogs, including Warren G Harding's impressive Airedale called "Laddie" which even had its own chair in cabinet meetings. Mr Sanders later told CBS: "In Vermont we know something about the cold. Beached in FloridaSomeone who is perhaps a trifle more fashion conscious than Mr Sanders is former first lady Melania Trump who experienced a swift wardrobe change following her farewell to the White House.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 23, 2021 22:18 UTC
Army must be accountable
Army must be accountableThe Royal Thai Army (RTA), one of the country's most powerful institutions, last week marked Thai Armed Forces Day, a day when it showcased its strength and solidarity. In fact, the carnage by Jakrapanth escalated the calls for reform in the RTA which the former army commander pledged to comply with. In addition, activist lawyers alleged there has been the illegal allocation of over 70,000 rai of forest land in Nakhon Ratchasima for a real estate project involving senior army officers. Army spokesman Maj Gen Santipong Thampiya did not disclose the details of the RTA's investigation into the case. Why should the public trust a force of armed men who can barely be transparent in their affairs?
Source:Bangkok Post
January 23, 2021 22:07 UTC
TCG's merchant of risks
— Rak Vorrakitpokatorn, President, Thai Credit Guarantee corporationLabelling himself both an undertaker and merchant of risks, Rak Vorrakitpokatorn has a mission to help comatose small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) survive profound hardships during this major economic crisis. But the new outbreak has shifted their attitude, as help from the TCG for loan guarantees is seen as a do-or-die situation. For instance, if an SME receives a loan worth 10 million baht, the TCG will insure 7 million. The lowest credit score issued by TCG is 65, in contrast with a minimum of 70 issued by banks. Normally loans provided to SMEs, filtered through banks' loan approval process, will turn into non-performing loans (NPLs) at around 5-6%.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 22, 2021 23:55 UTC