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Thailand Live Monday 28 May 2012
News, Bits and Tweets
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Keep up to date with live updates from the news, hour by hour.  
For breaking news, national, regional and international news updates on a daily basis only, this thread is closed to commentary so that those who wish to follow the news can find it here...
Commentary is still open for Thailand news in the relevant thread posted in News Clippings.

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Thais happy to see King
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- Thai people who watched the live broadcast of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej's visit to the people in Thung Makham Yong, Ayutthaya, on Friday expressed a happiness level as high as 9.59 out of 10 points, a survey by Assumption University's research centre found.

Meanwhile, almost 90 per cent of the respondents said they wanted political figures to solve the nation's problems using the Royal Development Projects as examples and guidelines.

Assumption University's Academic Network for Community Happiness Observation and Research's research director, Noppadon Kannika, said the level of happiness for people's loyalty for the monarchy was 9.25 and the happiness for the love and gratitude to the country was 9.21 points out of 10.

While the survey was conducted with 1,114 households nationwide, the indepth interview found most of the family members were tearful with joy to have seen His Majesty in good health, Noppadon said. Meanwhile, as a result of watching the programme, children in primary school level had developed their loyalty to the monarchy and accordingly felt their love for the country just as their parents, who joined watching the programme, had.

Noppadon said 93.4 per cent of the respondents said they hoped to see a peaceful and happy society under the King, 86 per cent said they expected harmony among the people and 80 per cent expected national unity.

As for what they expected from politicians, over 77 per cent of the respondents said they wanted politicians to stop quarrelling and almost 76 per cent said they wanted corruption eradicated.


-- The Nation 2012-05-28

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Pheu Thai faces hard decision on unity bill
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- Party will meet today to discuss whether to put controversial draft at the top of parliamentary agenda

Full story: http://www.thaivisa....-on-unity-bill/

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
'Time to scrap party-dissolution rule'
Chularat Saengpassa,
Pongphon Sarnsamak
The Nation

Veteran Phoomtham Vejchayachai to file petition to axe severe ban on execs

BANGKKOK:-- Penalties under the Political Act which prescribe the dissolution of parties and the revocation of their executives' voting rights must be revoked, according to veteran politician Phoomtham Vejchayachai, a former executive of the dissolved Thai Rak Thai Party who was banned from politics for five years.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa....rule-interview/

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Lese majeste petition to Parliament
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- A group of university lecturers will submit over 27,000 names of voters to Parliament tomorrow to sponsor a bill to prevent abuse of the lese majeste law.

The Campaign Committee for Amendment of Article 112 held a rally at Thammasat University yesterday after it had gathered enough names to table a bill to amend Article 112 of the Criminal Code.

Since January 15, 38,281 people had signed the petition to support the amendment bill, but the committee verified the names and found 27,296 were eligible. The Constitution allows at least 15,000 eligible voters to propose any laws on basic rights and state policies to Parliament.

The committee would go to Parliament tomorrow to submit the petition and the proposed bill to the Parliament president.

The Thammasat auditorium was filled with red-shirt supporters who back the Article 112 amendment. The demonstrators said they would band together until Article 112 is either annulled or rewritten to stop it from being manipulated as a political tool.

The group said in a statement issued yesterday that the lese majeste law was widely applied by politicians and political activists to silence their opponents. Cases of lese majeste increased dramatically after the military coup in 2006 polarised politics in the country. Many pro-coup politicians and activists used the law to gag their critics.

Many academics, writers and journalists were accused of breaking the law for their literary attacks on the establishment.

The case of Amphon "Akong" Tangnoppakul, who died recently in prison during his trial on lese majeste charges, drew sympathy and questions from the public over heavy-handed imposition of the law. Amphon was charged with lese majeste for sending an SMS allegedly defaming the monarchy from his mobile phone.

The elderly man denied the allegation, saying he did not even know how to send a text from a cellphone. The prosecution failed to prove clearly it was him who sent the message. Amphon was sentenced to 20 years and was declined bail during the trial before he died of cancer in prison early this month.

The lecturers and the bill proponents called for a reduction in jail terms for violations of Article 112 and a limit to the authority to indict someone on lese majeste charges to the Office of His Majesty's Principal Private Secretary. The current law allows anybody to sue anyone whom they believed insulted the royal institution.


-- The Nation 2012-05-28

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Pheu Thai to file BTS complaint with DSI
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- A Pheu Thai spokesman said yesterday he would file the BTS contract extension with the Department of Special Investigation for an inquiry.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa....laint-with-dsi/

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REGIONAL INTEGRATION
Brewers get ready for launch of AEC
KWANCHAI RUNGFAPAISARN
THE NATION



BANGKOK: -- Two local beer giants are spreading their wings to cash in on the Asean Economic Community, but some concerns have been raised, as Thailand will lose competitive advantage to other Asean members when the AEC is fully effected in 2015.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa....omic-community/

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BMTA urges crackdown on transit
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority is pushing for harsher sentences for crimes against public transport, while police nabbed the former vocational student suspected of shooting the driver of a 131 bus.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa....public-transit/

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Cabinet facing giant bills for health,roads
Piyanart Srivalo
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Two budget requests have been put on the agenda for approval by the Cabinet tomorrow one a colossal amount of more than Bt157 billion from the National Health Security Office (NHSO) for free or lowcost treatment for holders of healthcare golden cards.

In the second, the Transport Ministry’s Department of Rural Roads is seeking Bt3.64 billion for repairs and maintenance of roads associated with royal projects for a five year period.

For the NHSO’s request, Bt155,666,287,200 is needed for treatment costs while another Bt1,672,025,400 is for management and administrative purposes. The Public Health Ministry, which would submit the request, said it was government policy to achieve better standards and services for the NHSO.

For road repairs and maintenance, the budget would be spent on roads linking many royal project sites and several royal research centres, mostly located in the North.

A budget plan has divided the works into three phases: from 20122014 for 24 roads covering 219 kilometres and needing Bt1,306 million; from 20142016 for 34 roads covering 390 km and needing Bt2,044 million, and in 2016 for 18 roads covering 76 km costing Bt296 million.


-- The Nation 2012-05-28

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OEC will promote reading skills in a move to boost IQ
The Nation

The Office of the Education Council (OEC) is planning to focus on children's reading skills to boost IQ levels as part of a sample project in six provinces.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa....thai-education/

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Return of 111 won't break up party
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- While allocating Cabinet seats to some of the returning 111 banned politicians will not cause the Pheu Thai Party to break up, some MP defections are possible if the banned politicians are to run under the party banner in the next election, an opposition MP said.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa....heu-thai-party/