Thailand morning news for February 22, 2019

Auto output up 8% in January
Automotive output in January stood at 179,595 units, up year-on-year by 8.06%, on increased production for domestic and overseas markets, the Federation of Thai Industries said on Thursday.
— Bangkok Post

Rights advocates worry cyber bills a major threat
Some tweaks made after outcry, but sweeping state powers raise fears of invasion of privacy
— The Nation (very annoying popups)

Thailand reveals plans for ‘ASEAN’s biggest digital innovation hub’
Thailand is set to launch Digital Park Thailand, which its says will be the biggest digital innovation hub in Southeast Asia.
— KrASIA

NLA panel places rice bill on ice
A committee vetting the controversial rice bill has delayed tabling the draft law for its second and third readings following heavy criticism, according to the National Legislative Assembly (NLA).
— Bangkok Post

Airports concessions shake-up sought
THE THAI Retailers Association (TRA) said yesterday that it has come to an agreement with the board of the Airports of Thailand (AOT) to divide business concessions at airports into three separate contract types – for duty-free outlets; retail, food and beverage, service and banking; and duty-free …
— The Nation (very annoying popups)

Manpower sees 1.2% unemployment
US recruitment agency Manpower Group Thailand forecasts an unemployment rate in 2019 of 1.1-1.2%, equal to 418,000-450,000 people, up from 400,000 in 2018.
— Bangkok Post

Thailand’s sponsorship market grew 19% – 2018
ASN (Asia Sponsorship News) has just released its Sponsorship Market Overview for Thailand 2018.
— The Thaiger

Philippines’ DFA and Central Bank say USD 50 billion Thai cheque is fake
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and Central Bank of the Republic of Philippines have notified the Angolan authorities that the USD 50 billion Thai cheque is in fact fake, a key evidence in the “Thai Swindle” trial.
— EIN Newsdesk

MOL to finalize Minimum Wage increase in March
The Minimum Wage Committee plans to finalize this year’s Minimum Wage increase for all 77 provinces within March.
— NNT

Too many booze bans
In another desperate bid to curb the high alcohol consumption blamed for road traffic deaths, health authorities have come up with an idea to ban booze sales on Songkran Day on April 13 every year.
— Bangkok Post

Transport plane with Thai PM on board returns due to engine trouble
A Thai air force’s C-130 transport plane carrying Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha returned to Bangkok’s air field on Thursday due to an engine trouble, according to local media.
— Xinhua

Hungarian model for water management adopted for Mekong River
Thailand and Hungary have established a cooperation to adopt the Danube River’s water management strategy for the Mekong River.
— Pattaya Mail

TISI index up in January
The Thai Industries Sentiment Index (TISI) increased to 93.8 points last month from 93.2 in December on big government investment projects, domestic consumption and the general election scheduled for next month.
— Bangkok Post

AoT approves ‘Terminal 2’ but scraps controversial design
Airports of Thailand Plc’s (AoT) board gave the nod Wednesday to a 42-billion-baht plan to build a second terminal at Suvarnabhumi airport, but it scrapped a blueprint for the terminal’s design.
— Bangkok Post

Red-shirt terrorism trial adjourned until after polls
The Criminal Court on Thursday postponed the hearing of defence witnesses in the trial of red-shirt demonstrators arraigned on terrorism charges, because many of the defendants are running in the March 24 general election.
— Bangkok Post

Life insurance sector to grow 3-5% this year
The Thai life insurance industry is expected to grow between 3 and 5 percent this year.
— NNT

Cannabis : Clear guidelines ‘will attract amnesty seekers’
UNDERGROUND CANNABIS USERS WILL NOT COME FORWARD IF CONDITIONS UNCLEAR: EXPERTS
— The Nation (very annoying popups)

Rights body wants juvenile crime records locked away
THE NATIONAL Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has urged the Royal Thai Police to amend its rules on publicly releasing juveniles’ criminal history.
— The Nation (very annoying popups)

Elephant runs into tourists’ raft, overturning it and injuring one in Northern Thailand (VIDEO)
Footage of the moment a loose elephant runs wildly in a river before running into a tourist’s raft and overturning it and injuring one person, has gone viral and turned into a cautionary tale today.
— Coconuts (paywall)

Thailand Accelerates Push To Regain FAA Category 1 Rating
Nearly four years after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration stripped Thailand of its Category 1 safety rating, the Southeast Asian country has accelerated efforts to address a variety of oversight and other shortcomings in a bid to restore its former standing with the FAA. Regaining Category 1 status would allow Thai-registered airlines to launch new routes to the U.S. and participate in codeshare agreements with U.S.-based carriers.
— AINonline

Thai police seek to prosecute new party leader over online speech
Just over a month before Thailand’s long-delayed elections, police say they are seeking the prosecution of the leader of a new political party for allegedly spreading “false information” about the military government in a speech posted on Facebook last year.
— Al Jazeera

Candidates face EC legal heat
The Election Commission (EC) is considering bringing criminal charges against disqualified election candidates and political parties after some of them were found to have tampered with membership records and databases, a source said.
— Bangkok Post

MEA revises service charge for getting electricity to ease consumers’ burden and to stimulate investment
The Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) announced changes to the service charge for getting electricity.
— The Nation (very annoying pop-ups)

LGT opens wealth management office in Thailand for high net worth investors
LGT, the international private banking and asset management group owned by the Princely House of Liechtenstein, today announced the opening of its wealth management business in Thailand, following the successful award of regulatory approvals.
— AEC News Today/ PR Newswire (media release)

Government asking young bloods to express themselves constructively
The Ministry of Defense is asking members of the public, especially millennials and political activists, to express themselves constructively and in a peaceful manner.
— NBT World (video)

Thai police nab visa, stock and shares scammers
The Royal Thai Police on Wednesday held a press conference to announce the arrest of visa and short-selling scammers.
— NNT

GSB and TPQI accrediting low-income workers
The Government Savings Bank (GSB) has joined hands with the Thailand Professional Qualification Institute (TPQI) to elevate occupational accreditation in order to boost confidence among employers and consumers.
— NBT World (video)

Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair in full swing
The 63rd Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair is now underway as organizers expect a 2.4-billion-baht cash flow throughout the 5-day event.
— NNT

Facial recognition for e-KYC nears debut
The Bank of Thailand expects 10 financial and non-financial institutions testing out facial recognition for electronic Know Your Customer (e-KYC) technology in the regulatory sandbox to exit this stage, paving the way for banks to offer passbook account opening through mobile banking apps in the next quarter.
— Bangkok Post

Stray dogs to be moved from beach after hurting boy
The Krabi governor has ordered provincial livestock officials to move all stray dogs from Ao Nang beach after a gang attack a Finnish boy.
— Bangkok Post

AOT dumps Duangrit Bunnag Group’s Suvarnabhumi Terminal 2 design
The board of Airports of Thailand Public Company, the operator of Suvarnabhumi international and several other airports in Thailand, has scrapped the Suvarnabhumi Airport Terminal 2 project design, budgeted at…
— Thai PBS News

Private sector donates pollution masks to traffic police
The private sector has donated as many as 15,000 pollution masks to traffic police to protect their health while on duty.
— Pattaya Mail

Varsities reject plan for new dept
FOUR KEY university networks voiced opposition yesterday to the establishment of the Higher Education Department.
— The Nation (very annoying popups)

TISI index up in January
The Thai Industries Sentiment Index (TISI) increased to 93.8 points last month from 93.2 in December on big government investment projects, domestic consumption and the general election scheduled for next month.
— Bangkok Post

Community Forest Bill won’t benefit all, campaigners say
The Community Forest Bill aims to give villagers more say in managing natural resources but is too limited in its scope and risks further marginalising those living outside areas covered by the act, land campaigners said on Thursday.
— Bangkok Post

Air quality in northern region at cautious levels due to forest fires
Air quality in the Bangkok area has improved slightly this week with the overall air quality being very good, while the northern region continues to suffer from haze due to forest fires and agricultural burning.
— Pattaya Mail

Thai politics goes to court. Again.
The Constitutional Court’s decision on Thai Raksa Chart is likely to be swift but unlikely to be impartial.
— New Mandala

Beware revealing graphic details of charcoal suicides, media is warned
FOLLOWING a significant number of recent charcoal-burning suicides in Thailand, the Public Health Ministry’s Mental Health Department is urging the media to avoid giving too many details of how the deaths occurred, out of fear that such reports could lead to copycat deaths.
— The Nation (very annoying popups)

Thai FDA Scrambles to Make Medical Weed a Reality
The sudden reality of legal, medical marijuana this week has only added new urgency to questions about what is legal for whom, where and when.
— Khaosod English

Young elephant found dead with plastic in intestines – Chachoengsao
PHOTO: Department of national parks, wildlife and plant conservation The body of a young elephant has been found with plastic inside its large intestine in Chachoengsao (north of Chon Buri) yesterday.
— The Thaiger

Japanese discount store chain Don Quijote begins a wave of Asian expansion, launches in Bangkok
Japanese discount store chain Don Quijote begins a wave of Asian expansion on Friday with the launch of a shopping complex in Bangkok, aiming to increase the number of overseas stores to 200 from 41 now. Plans call for opening stores in Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippi
— The Pattaya News

Students are dropping out along Cambodia’s border with Thailand
by VOA A Cambodian official has reported that about 23% of children in three provinces along the border with Thailand have stopped attending school.
— The Thaiger

Militants failing to find new recruits in South: police chief
AUTHORITIES IN the deep South claim state policies are proving effective in stemming the flow of fresh recruits to militant separatist groups.
— The Nation (very annoying popups)

Thailand’s sponsorship market grew 19% – 2018
ASN (Asia Sponsorship News) has just released its Sponsorship Market Overview for Thailand 2018.
— The Thaiger

Thai Power Party Defends Candidate’s ‘Hot’ Pics
A relatively unknown MP candidate in Mukdahan province suddenly found herself at the center of attention on social media this week – probably not for the reason she wanted.
— Khaosod English

Naresuan Seniors, Alumni Defend Muddy Hazing
A ceremony, watched over by professors, sanctifies a wooden pole. Freshmen in white carry a heavy wooden pillar around the campus before placing it in front of the Architecture Faculty building, where they dance and sing around it. Then, the dirty part begins. Using hoses, …
— Khaosod English

No fatalities or injuries reported in Lampang earthquake
PHOTOS: NNT No fatalities or injuries have been reported as a result of yesterday’s earthquake in northern Thailand. The tremors occurred 15 times and registered 4.9 magnitude with a 21 kilometre deep epicentre in the Wang Nua district of Lampang province, but caused no serious effect to …
— The Thaiger

Military hands over school building in Tak
The 3rd Army Area of the Royal Thai Army, along with American and Singaporean soldiers, have handed over a newly-constructed building to Ban Koh Ai Duan School in Tak province.
— Pattaya Mail

Feature photo Neil Shelley

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 February 22 added by John Le Fevre on February 22, 2019
View all posts by John Le Fevre →

Bio
Latest Posts

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.