Thailand Morning News For December 25

Drink Drive Death: 2017s Most Annoying Christmas Jingle (HD video)
The jingle in the video above is set to become one of the most annoying of the festive season. If that happens its executive producer, Thai businessman Sermsin Samalapa, will be delighted.
— AEC News Today (video)

November poll ‘impossible’
Critics slam use of article 44 as harming democracy while weakening existing political parties by essentially resetting playing field.
— The Nation (annoying popups)

Thai & Lao Entrepreneurs Win Prestigious Leadership Scholarships
Two female entrepreneurs, one from Thailand and the other from Lao PDR, are recipients of this year’s 2018 Asean Global Leadership Program (AGLP) Scholarship from regional Management Consulting firm SRW&Co.
— AEC News Today

Thailand, Cambodia legalizing alien workers’ status
The Thai and Cambodian governments are working on documenting all Cambodian workers in Thailand in a move to address the issue of illegal alien workers.
— News Today (video)

Education policy given a failing grade
AS 2017 comes to a close, a prominent educator has compared top education policymakers to inefficient orchestra conductors given their recent performance.
— The Nation (annoying popups)

Energy Ministry to decide on South power plants in three months
It is necessary for more power generating plants to be built in the South of Thailand and the Energy Ministry will have to decide the locations of the plants and the types of fuel to be used with them in three months, Energy Minister Siri Jirapongphan said on Friday (Dec 22).
— Thai PBS

PM wants greater security in South
The Prime Minister says he is not satisfied with the effectiveness of security measures currently deployed in the restive south, requesting more stringent measures in 2018.
— News Today (video)

Businesses help shape new tax law
MORE THAN 150 executives from different companies on Thursday gathered at the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) office to provide inputs on the Union Tax Law, which would soon be enacted.
— The Nation

DSD to launch vehicle inspection service for New Year travelers
The Department of Skill Development (DSD) will provide vehicle inspection services for the New Year travellers to prevent and minimize road accidents.
— NNT

Prayut fan keeps his distance
Former senator Paiboon Nititawan, who makes it clear he will set up a political party which will back Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha as the next premier after the election, has insisted he is not collaborating with the regime to pursue the move.
— Bangkok Post

Exports hit 58-month high as nation rides the global economic recovery
THAI EXPORTS soared to their highest in 58 months in November while exports in the first 11 months of the year hit a six-year high, the Commerce Ministry revealed yesterday.
— The Nation

Meechai assures no “set zero” for old political parties
Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) chairman Meechai Ruchupan reiterated on Sunday (Dec 24) that the NCPO’s order 53/2560 was not intended to “set zero” the memberships of old political parties, but to ease time constraint to allow old and new parties alike to make preparations so that they can contest the next general election.
— Thai PBS

Revised organic MPs Bill to be presented to NLA in Jan
The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) will receive a revised version of the draft organic Members of Parliament Act in January, according to a vetting committee.
— NNT

Tos Chirathivat lauded for e-commerce initiatives
THE NATION has named Tos Chirathivat, chief executive of Central Group as Businessman of the Year due to his long vision in transforming Thailand’s largest retail conglomerate to challenge the emergence of digital technology and maximise its omnichannel potential.
— The Nation

Sun setting on renowned print players
Damrong Puttan did not think his romance-themed Koo Sang Koo Som, at one time a must-read magazine for most Thai households, would one day come to an end.
— Bangkok Post

Deep South activist detained for photographing house search
Paramilitary officers arbitrarily detained a Muslim Malay youth activist after he witnessed and recorded a house search in the restive Deep South. The paramilitary checked his phone and social media before releasing him.
— Prachatai English

Thailand expedites protection of endangered marine species
Thailand’s Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) claims that the number of deaths of marine animals is not increasing. However, of those that do die, the main cause of death is human activity, as it was last year.
— NNT

Electric bus to test run in Bangkok next year
The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) is to test run an electric bus made in South Korea on five routes in Bangkok in June of 2018 to assess its efficiency.
— NNT

OTOP City 2017 draws large crowds
OTOP City 2017 is offering quality products at discounted prices until Monday, December 25th, in Muang Thong Thani.
— NNT

Feature photo John Le Fevre

Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

Thailand morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Thailand news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.

Thailand Morning News For December 25 added by John Le Fevre on December 25, 2017
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John Le Fevre

Thailand editor at AEC News Today

John is an Australian national with more than 40 years experience as a journalist, photographer, videographer, and copy editor.

He has spent extensive periods of time working in Africa and throughout Southeast Asia, with stints in the Middle East, the USA, and England.

He has covered major world events including Operation Desert Shield/ Storm, the 1991 pillage in Zaire, the 1994 Rwanda genocide, the 1999 East Timor independence unrest, the 2004 Asian tsunami, and the 2009, 2010, and 2014 Bangkok political protests.

In 1995 he was a Walkley Award finalist, the highest awards in Australian journalism, for his coverage of the 1995 Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) Ebola outbreak.

Prior to AEC News Today he was the deputy editor and Thailand and Greater Mekong Sub-region editor for The Establishment Post, predecessor of Asean Today.

In the mid-80s and early 90s he owned JLF Promotions, the largest above and below the line marketing and PR firm servicing the high-technology industry in Australia. It was sold in 1995.