Thailand English-language News for March 27

In Thailand English-language News for Mach 27, 2018, Newsline presenter Surapan Laotharanarit tells us about:

00:48 | Deputy prime minister and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan said yesterday that the government rejected proposals put by pro-election activists, saying that the election roadmap cannot be expedited as the necessary organic laws have not been completed.

General Wongsuwan said the government will monitor the planned protest rally on May 5 and may prosecute the activists according to the Public Assembly Act if a complaint is filed.

Meanwhile, General Wongsuwan said that the recent removal of Election Commission (EC) Commissioner, Somchai Srisuthiyakorn, was not the government interfering with the independence of the EC, but was to prevent Mr Srisuthiyakorn from causing confusion about the election process.

Responding to the criticism that the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) shouldn’t have used article 44 on political matters and the election, he said that any of government’s actions can be investigated.

02:03 | The Election Commission (EC) has held its first meeting following removal of Somchai Srisutthiyakorn. One matter discussed was how Mr Srisutthiyakorn’s removal will affect its ability to form a quorum for future meetings.

Meanwhile, President of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, is encouraging qualified individuals to submit applications for election commissioner vacancies before April 9.

03:36 | The President of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), Pornpetch Wichitcholchai has explained the need for additional budget for the new Parliament House project, including air-conditioning for the ICT system. He said that additional budget will also likely be necessary to increase parking capacity from the original 2,000 vehicles to 3,973 vehicles.

05:15 | The National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) has affirmed the 20-year national strategy will come into effect in July following the completion of public consultations.

Its four main focuses are:

Increasing the per capita income to US$10,000 from the current level of US$6,000
Increasing annual GDP growth rate to more than five per cent
Increasing productivity to three per cent per year
Achieving top 20 ranking on the IMD World Competitiveness list.

06:59 | Deputy prime minister and Defence Minister, General Prawit Wongsuwan, has assigned chiefs of all defence units as well as the four armed forces to work with the national road safety facilitation committee to foster road safety and protect citizens from road accidents during the coming Songkran holidays.

08:27 | Transport officials and related agencies throughout Thailand are preparing to implement safety measures to try and reduce the number of road accidents and deaths during the upcoming Songkran Festival.

12:36 | Deputy prime minister Dr Somkid Jatusripitak has told attendees at the ‘CEO Innovation Forum 2018’ that Thailand needs to transform itself into a technology and innovation-driven economy.

He said that the Ministry of Science and Technology (MST) is playing an important role in mobilising the country in the future by drafting policies to support ecosystems that foster innovation and S-curve industries. Over the past two years, he said, Thailand’s GDP growth rate had increased from 2.8 per cent to 4 per cent.

Meanwhile, secretary-general of the National Science Technology and Innovation Policy Office (NSTI), Kitipong Promwong, said that last year investment on research and development (R&D) topped Bt100 billion (about US$3.2 billion) or 0.78 per cent of national GDP. For this year he forecast the number will reach Bt160 billion ($5.1 billion) or 1 per cent of GDP.

14:54 | Thailand’s Institute for Agricultural Product Innovation (IAPI) yesterday launched the iLIKE campaign aimed at promoting agricultural innovation products through online media and activities held in commercial districts.

Featured products include ReisCare Rice Baby Powder made of rice, face washing powder made from GI Thai rice varieties, healthy waffles, instant cereal porridge, brown rice powder, and processed fruits.

16:11 | The Sasin School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Global Startup Workshop (GSW), and MIT Association of Thailand are hosting a three-day long conference between March 26 and 28 on innovation driven entrepreneurship.

Speaking during the opening minister attached to the Prime Minister’s Office, Kobsak Pootrakool, said that the government is working on promoting entrepreneurship through revising legislation on cryptocurrency, introducing new visa types, providing incentives for companies to base themselves in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), as well as inviting academic institution to etablish campuses in Thailand.

19:19 | Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has welcome General Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, coordinating minister for maritime affairs for Indonesia to discuss bilateral cooperation related to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

General Chan-o-cha said that Thailand is committed to working with Indonesia to bring comprehensive solutions to the issue and also expressed his satisfaction with Indonesia for its support in helping resolve conflicts along the southern border.

21:10 | Newsline takes a look at the Tokyo SME Support Centre in Bangkok which has had helped more than 2500 Japanese enterprises to expand their business in Southeast Asia.

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Newsline is a daily Thailand English-language news and current affairs programme produced by the National News Bureau of Thailand (NNBT) under the Thailand Government Public Relations Department (PRD) for *NBT World, the NNBTs 24/7 English language television service delivering Thailand government news and information to the Thai, Asean, and wider Asian communities. AEC News Today publishes Thailand English-language News M-F.