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Local Buddhists offended by Senator
Lanna people demand an apology
Nopniwat
Krailerg and Saksit Meesubkwang
Chiang Mai residents have signed a petition for a Khon
Kaen province senator to be sacked because of her claims that a Buddhist
tradition violates her constitutional right as a woman.
Senator Rabiabrat Pongpanich, who is also a member of the
Senate Committee on Women, Youth and the Aged Affairs, has offended
Buddhists by challenging the prohibition banning women from entering the
inner area of Prathat Doi Suthep’s main pagoda.
The senator was refused entrance, and said this violated
her right as a woman as set out in clause 30 of the Thai Constitution.
Rabiabrat also asked the National Buddhism Bureau to give her reasons for
the refusal.
People in Chiang Mai and nearby provinces have been
discussing the issue for more than a week through radio programs, newspapers
and television. She is accused of showing disrespect for Buddhist beliefs
and a Lanna custom.
On July 7, dissatisfaction with her action reached the
point where a crowd that included elderly people, monks, teachers and
teenagers gathered at Wat Loke Molee and Buddha Satarn, Chiang Mai, to sign
their names calling for her to be ousted from her political posts.
The abbot of Wat Loke Molee, Dr Duangkam Aphiwattano,
said what the senator had been trying to do was “really sinful”
according to Buddhist customs and would stoke up anger in the fervent
Buddhists of the north.
The chairman of the province’s Culture and Customs
Conservation Club, Pichai Kotwichian, said that he felt upset with senator
Rabiabrat. “The custom has been accepted for a long time and has become a
Lanna tradition that everyone should respect. Prathat Doi Suthep is highly
respected by the local people and even high-ranking people and royal
descendants have never objected to the prohibition,” Pichai said. He
called on Rabiabrat to review her actions and apologize.
One retired teacher said she felt as if the senator had
insulted the people of Chiang Mai and their customs. “Chiang Mai women
have paid respect to and followed the prohibition and never considered it
their right to enter the sacred place before, because they can distinguish
the law from the customs,” she said. She added that she was very angry
with the senator when she listened to her speaking on the subject on TV.
Thanet Homthanikul, chairman of the Chiang Mai Teenagers
Club, said it was improper for the senator to insist she had a right to
enter the pagoda. “As I am a Buddhist, I want to protect my religion,
otherwise other people will keep on offending our religious customs,” he
said.
He also wanted the senator to apologize to the people of Chiang Mai and
called on her not to act against the religion again.
Give a thought - and a helping hand - to the disabled
Chiang Mai lacking facilities for disabled persons
Vincent Leutwiler
and Autsadaporn Kamthai
Disabled people often have to struggle just to get around
in public places as they do not have adequate facilities for them.
To address this, a Communicating for Advocacy workshop
took place at the Holiday Garden Hotel in Chiang Mai from July 5-7.
 The
director general of the Mental Health Department, Dr Prach Boonyawongwiroj,
presents a certificate to one of the participants at the end of the
workshop.
The participants discussed the lack of facilities for
disabled persons in many public places focusing on shopping malls. They
noted that facilities such as ramps or handrails in public toilets are often
not provided, causing inconvenience for the disabled. Hardly falling in line
with the definition of a ‘public convenience’!
Participants included Luc Masschelein, founder of the
Foundation for Disabled Children-Thailand; Leng Sour from the Cambodia
Health Education Media Service; Shahidul Haque and Mayeen Ahmed from the
Social Assistance and Rehabilitation of the Physically Vulnerable (SARPV)
from Bangladesh; Douglas A. Tell and some of his colleagues from Wheels of
Hope and Pioneer of Hope; and several representatives from Thailand’s
Department of Mental Health, Ministry of Public Health and Northern Child
Development and Healthlink Worldwide.
People attending the workshop hope to raise public
awareness and encourage people to help disabled persons in public places.
They also call for facilities to be provided.
The general director of the Mental Health Department, Dr Prach
Boonyawongwiroj, took part in the workshop to listen to the concerns of the
participants and encourage them in their work.
HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s helping hand
Nan’s hill tribes benefit from her projects
Phitsanu Thepthong
When HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn visited the
remote rural villages in Nan province’s Bor Klua district in February
1995, she was so moved that she felt compelled to help the villagers improve
their quality of life.
 Local
handicrafts draw the visitors’ attention.
These people in Ban Bor Luang, tambon Phu Fa, were mostly
economically and socially disadvantaged hill tribes. She therefore initiated
her own private project office to start development projects, beginning with
setting up primary schools as the top priority.
Projects under the aegis of the Phu Fa Development Center
were established in November 1999. Their aim was to promote eco-friendly
sustainable development schemes, self-reliance, and knowledge for the local
people in the districts of Bor Klua and Chalerm Phra Kiart.
 HRH
Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s residence under construction.
HRH Princess Maha Chakri’s residence is now under
construction, together with training centers to help develop this area in
terms of production and marketing of local products, for the hill tribes of
Thint (or Kamu) and Lua hill tribe minority groups.
The Phu Fa Development Center, aims at maximizing
highlands agricultural projects, initiated by HRH Princess Maha Chakri, with
financial support from several organizations and cooperation from Japan and
the Thai government.
 Terrace
farming under management of the Phu Fa Development Center in Bor Klua
district, Nan.
During the initial stage of the project developments, 120
hill tribe families have been allocated farming lands, with each family
provided 10-15 rai for integrated farming for their crops.
“We hope that they can follow the project center
objectives in Bor Klua district first, and can grow chemical-free fruits and
vegetables. The center has planned to extend more areas of crop plantations
next in Chalerm Phrakiat district,” said Prakit Vongsrivattanakul, the
secretary of the project center.
The center’s major schemes involve education, mother
and child welfare, career promotion and training and local traditions and
culture awareness.
The Centre also focuses on implementing a plan of career
training in agriculture, especially the cultivation of U-long tea. Tao, a
type of palm fruit and makhampom or emblic or phyllanthus emblica L. as well
as the local production of handicraft baskets could also be available.
Prakit said that the center staff were going to teach the
hill tribe groups, marketing and production methods as well. “Formerly,
they earned 700 baht per year per rai from their rice faming, but once the
project is launched, they would be able to earn up to 5,000 baht per rai per
year,” he said, stressing the introduction of integrated farming methods
for them.
Discover a hidden gem of Thailand’s northern region
Phitsanu Thepthong
Border trade and tourism are booming at the Thai-Laos
checkpoint in Ban Huay Koan in Nan province’s Chalerm Phra Kiart district
connecting with Muang Ngern in Laos. This is one of the results of the Thai
government improving the road from this border checkpoint into Laos’ Muang
Ngern town and adjacent Hongsa in our northern neighbor’s Xaiyaburi
province.
The Thai
checkpoint building for immigration and customs.
The checkpoint, about 140 km north of Nan city, is also
the gateway to Luang Phrabang and Vientiane in Laos, to Sibsong Panna and
Kunming cities in southern China, as well as the town of Dien Bienfu in
Vietnam.
Dubbed as the hidden gem of the northern region of
Thailand, Nan province’s Chalerm Phra Kiart district in the east Lanna
region is being developed as a gateway to Indochina, as it shares a 100 km.
long border with Laos to the North and the East.
 Ready
for trading at the checkpoint between Thai and Laos peoples.
Cross border trade between Nan and Laos has played an
important role in promoting business, and this checkpoint has been developed
to facilitate trade and tourism between Thai and Laos peoples. Since it was
opened in 1994, Thailand has imported products such as wood, lignite and
kaolin from Laos for use in cottage industries in Nan and nearby provinces.
The Nan Administrative Organization sought a budget from
the government to support a project to develop the Huay Koan border market
into a tourist spot, creating jobs and generating income for the local
people. Their request was answered in 2002 when it received 29.8 million
baht for the Huay Koan border development project.
This area has now become a thriving border market which
serves as a transportation network linking the two countries. However, this
is not an immigration point, as people are allowed to cross only at the
immigration office points at Chiang Khong border passes in Chiang Rai and in
Nong Khai province in northeastern Thailand.
Every Saturday, about 100 Laotians cross the border to shop at the
morning market on the Thai side. However, Laos people still have less buying
power than Thais. The result is that in the Thai-Laos border trade, Thailand
has been showing a trade deficit over the past eight years. The Thai export
figure stands at 11 million baht, while imports from Laos are worth 1.3
billion baht.
BoI says northern investment up
Autsadaporn
Kamthai
Investment in the North in the first half was healthy
and at a satisfactory level, according to the director of the BoI (Board of
Investment Northern Office), Siriporn Nurak.
Investment increased by 48.15 percent over last year,
and the value of investment is 10.3 billion baht.
 The
director of the Board of Investment (Northern Office), Siriporn Nurak.
Most investment came from small and medium enterprise
investors. Agro industry and products are still the most popular types of
business, with investors starting 18 projects, injecting 4 billion baht.
The electronic appliances industry ranked second, with eight projects and
an investment of 3.7 billion baht. Third came the metal and metal parts
industry, with four new projects invested in at 1.9 billion baht.
Fifteen new projects were started in Lamphun province,
and 14 in Chiang Mai. Investors started two new projects each in Nakhon
Sawan and Uttaradit provinces, and one each in Kampaeng Petch, Chiang Rai,
Phayao, Phitsanulok, Phichit and Lampang.
Of the projects approved by the Board of Investment (BoI),
almost 70 percent have only Thai shareholders while 25 percent have foreign
shareholders.
The BoI director predicted a good second half of the
year, although the situation in Iraq, rising oil prices, and growth in bank
interest rates may have an effect on decisions to invest here.
To support and increase investment potential in the
region, the BoI arranged a seminar on “Policy to Support New
Investment” for Northern Handicrafts Manufacturers and Export Association
(NOHMEX) members and four to five star OTOP (One Tambon One Product)
producers on July 16 at Lotus Pang Suan Kaew Hotel. It will organize a
public relations fair exclusively for foreign investors at the venue on
July 30.
For more information, please contact the BoI office at the Airport
Business Park on Mahidol Road or call 0-5320-3397-400, or e-mail chmai@boi.go.th.
The AIDS message spread in Chiang Mai
One million carry the virus in Thailand
Vincent Leutwiler and
Jiraphat Warasin
Chiang Mai held its own AIDS conference at the Lotus Pang
Suan Kaew Hotel on July 8-9. Its purpose was to improve the response to HIV
and AIDS among the public by the sharing of experiences and learning from
others, as well as to raise AIDS awareness by using the AIDS education
program.
 Dr
Usa Doungsa, coordinator of AIDS Education at Chiang Mai University’s
Faculty of Education.
Dr Usa Doungsa, coordinator of AIDS Education at Chiang
Mai University’s Faculty of Education, said participants exchanged their
experiences of work on HIV, aimed at preventing people from becoming infected
with the virus. “In this modern world, parents and religious leaders should
realize the AIDS situation and teach people to always use condoms when having
sexual intercourse to reduce the risk of infection,” Dr Usa said.
Nuntawan Yantadilokhe of the Office of AIDS, Tuberculosis
and Sexually Transmitted Diseases in the Public Health Ministry said that
statistics showed Thailand has one million people infected with HIV. About 84
percent of newly infected HIV positive persons contracted the virus through
sexual intercourse without using condoms, even though they are highly
educated. “The issue of AIDS and sex education should go hand in hand, and
students should be taught to think of the consequence of unprotected sexual
intercourse such as unwanted pregnancies and HIV transmission,” Nuntawan
said.
 Nuntawan
Yantadilokhe of the Office of AIDS, Tuberculosis and Sexually Transmitted
Diseases in the Public Health Ministry.
Nuntawan said the department aims to distribute anti-retrovirals
(ARVs) to 60,000 persons living with HIV/AIDS by next year, and it has
already distributed ARVs to 40,000 of them through the 30 baht health scheme.
ARV resistance occurs in only 10 percent of patients and
at present Thailand uses GPO Via, which is manufactured by the Government
Pharmaceutical Organization.
Nuntawan asked people living with HIV/AIDS to realize that
anti-retrovirals might have some side effects, “But we want you to take the
ARVs as prescribed. Your body will form a resistance to them if you stop
taking them and then you will have to take other kinds of concentrated drugs
instead.”
She also warned people living with HIV and AIDS not to buy drugs being
sold through many websites. They should also go for a blood test to check the
viral load before taking any drugs - which should not be done without medical
supervision.
City gets mystery donation for taxi call centre
Is this finally the end of the belching red buses?
Nopniwat Krailerg
A mystery donor has given the Nakhon Lanna Transport
Cooperatives millions of baht to spend on setting up a center for red
minibuses, meter taxis and a radio center for taxis.
Singkam Nunti, chairperson of the Cooperatives, told
Chiangmai Mail he was not at liberty to give more details of the source of
the finance at present. “The money will be used to construct a parking lot
for the Cooperatives’ cars that will be manned 24 hours a day,” he said.
Tourists can call the center at all hours for car
services and the center will radio the nearest car on the road or a car in
the parking pool to go and pick up the passenger. The parking center is
expected to be at one of the city hotels.
Singkam said he could see the center coming into
operation within this year, while the current office of the cooperatives, in
front of the Chiang Mai Cultural Center, will continue to operate.
He said there are currently only four meter taxis in
service. “The Cooperatives will put 20 more onto the streets in the next
three months. They are being prepared to be put into service.” Singkam
said that the meter taxis were popular among tourists and there are not
enough to meet the demand for them.
While another 20 taxis is a step in the right direction,
a cursory glance at the transportation needs in any tourist city would have
shown the need for meter taxis years ago. It seems as if Chiang Mai is being
slowly dragged into the 21st century! Now if it follows Bangkok’s lead and
introduces taxi motorcycles and takes away 90 percent of the red buses, the
traffic congestion is fixed, and people will be able to get about to carry
out errands around the city.
Domestic violence reaches worrying levels
Chiang Mai workshop drafts proposed law
Staff reporters
Violence against women and children in Thailand is
increasing and a proposed law against it is to be presented to the Cabinet.
This was brought out at by Charnyut Kosirinont, director of the Office of
Women’s Affairs and Family Development, who presided over a workshop on
the issue.
The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and
the Ministry of Public Health organized the workshop in Chiang Mai to
facilitate the work of relevant organizations and promote cooperation among
them to help women and children who suffer various kinds of violence.
Service centers to assist women and children have
previously been established in 876 districts countrywide to address the
problem.
Sujit Tripitak, director of the Family Institute
Promotion Office, said violence against women and children was increasing in
both number and degree. “Statistics show domestic violence is very
prevalent. The oldest reported victim is 77 and the youngest seven months.
The major cause is couples who are not ready to have families, so are unable
to give enough love and warmth, as well as not being able to deal with the
materialistic society,” Sujit said.
It was noted that relevant organizations, with the
Ministry of Social Development and Human Security as the main supporter,
should provide students with knowledge on family life and encourage both
provincial and tambon administration organizations to run training courses
for couples who plan to live together. They should also set up centers for
family development in their communities to help solve the problem.
A proposed law against violence against women and
children was drafted at the conference. It will be handed to the Cabinet.
Public to be asked for input
on mass transportation scheme
Last time we were asked was eight years ago
Saksit Meesubkwang
The Chiang Mai public will be invited to submit their
ideas on a mass transportation system for the city and region.
The Office of Transportation and Traffic Policy and
Planning (OTP) of the Transport Ministry organized a seminar on the issue at
the Empress Hotel on July 9, following the mobile Cabinet which proposed a
146 million baht budget for Chiang Mai to spend on a feasibility study.
Kamrobluk Surassawadee, the director of the OTP, chaired
the public meeting which was attended by participants from local
administration organizations, the Chamber of Commerce, Chiang Mai Tourism
Business Association, and academics.
Kamrobluk said that the government had set a one year
deadline for the province to complete the study to estimate the demand for
and type of transportation service for the region. The cabinet also ordered
that the study of both present and future transportation should be done in
relation with the provincial development strategies.
The study will look at whether a monorail or two-track
train is preferable. “However, opinion polls on the benefits and
disadvantages of the mass transportation proposals must be carried out among
Chiang Mai residents to prevent any disagreement between the public and
government,” Kamrobluk said.
Chaithawat Saowaphon, the director of Information
Technology Service Center of Chiang Mai University, who carried out previous
public opinion polls on Chiang Mai’s mass transportation said the
government could not use the poll results of eight years ago because the
society and demands of the people had changed.
At present, he said, the ring road is very beneficial and
convenient for many Chiang Rai residents as more and more people tend to
live in housing estates along it.
However, he believed that the “poor planning” of
Chiang Mai’s mass transportation was one of major causes of air pollution.
He agreed with the concept of mass transportation in Chiang Mai but
suggested the government should study the impact on residents and the
landscape, as well as red bus drivers before embarking on the project.
Maesa Elephant Nursery has patter of eight baby elephant feet
Two proud Mums and one even prouder Dad
Editorial staff
Photos by Maesa Elephant Nursery
The Maesa Elephant Nursery in Chiang Mai’s Mae Rim
district have two new bouncing babies, and tourists and visitors are
flocking to see the cute little ones.
 The
first baby being assisted by birthing assistants.
The Anchalee Kalmapijit, deputy managing director of
Maesa Elephant Nursery said the two baby elephants were in good health, and
so far the 38 year old mother elephant Somnuek was also fine.
The first baby was born at 1.55 a.m. on June 21 and
weighed in at 90kg and is 97cm high. His father is 41 year old Sidor.
 The
second new baby with mother Pangsuay.
Three days later, the second baby elephant was born at
2.40 p.m. weighing in at 95kg and measuring 100cm. Sidor (AKA Lothario) was
also the father here, but the mother elephant is Pangsuay.
Veterinarian Ronnachit Rungsri said vets from Chiang Mai University would
take care of the mother elephants to ensure they do not pick up any
infections and are in good health to feed the new arrivals
Free course to learn traditional Thai massage
Nopniwat Krailerg
Ten prisoners at Chiang Mai Women’s Correctional
Institution have learned how to give traditional Thai massages and are
looking forward to train others, according to its director, Naowarat
Thanasrisutharat.
The offer to learn traditional Thai massage and foot
massage is also being extended to the general public, with tuition being
free. The prisoners will share their knowledge with those interested in
learning this skill at the correctional facility.
They did their courses which were run by the Chiang Mai
Labor Skills Development Center and Ministry of Public Health.
The institution is now also offering its inmates
occupational training courses in 16 fields including, beautician,
traditional masseuse, tailor, mechanic, tile layer, baker, weaver and flower
arrangements.
Naowarat said 80 percent of inmates (1,615 women) are
serving sentences for drug-related crimes. He also said there are no new
convictions in connection with narcotics because of the successful “war on
drugs”.
There are no Western prisoners, and the only non-Thai
prisoners are of Burmese descent.
Those interested in the free massage training course
should telephone 0-5322-1231 ext 17 for more information. You do not have to
commit a crime to enroll!
Building of government offices grinds to a halt
Nopniwat
Krailerg
The construction of a government center in Chiang Mai’s
San Kamphaeng district has been halted as the owner of the land is asking
for 36 million baht in compensation for the removal of his tobacco factory.
The cessation has occurred, even though Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra initiated it, the plans were completed and construction
workers were ready to start.
Surachai Chongruk, San Kamphaeng district chief officer,
told Chiangmai Mail that the province and district acknowledged that they
had the problems and were trying to cope with them.
PM Thaksin had also told the chairperson of San
Kamphaeng’s Kamnan and Village Headmen Club to speed up the construction,
when he was in Lamphun at the end of last month for the mobile Cabinet
meeting.
The factory owner wanted 27 million baht compensation for
an improvement at the factory in Ban Huai Krai in Ban Thi district, Lamphun
and another 8 million baht for its transferal.
Surachai said that construction was to have started in
mid July on the 108 rai area of the tobacco factory in Tambon Rong Wuadaeng,
San Kamphaeng district, at a cost of 7.8 million baht.
Suspected car rental thief on the run
Police looking for a rental car?
Autsadaporn Kamthai
The Provincial Police Bureau, Region 5 is hunting for a
Burmese woman nicknamed Rita, who is allegedly part of a gang stealing
rental cars.
The woman, Duangneth (Rita) Klaingam, is reported to have
forged documents to rent vehicles from many car rental companies and then
hiding the cars before they are spirited across the border to be sold.
Police went to her house in Hang Dong district, but she
had managed drive off in her rental car and evaded them before they turned
up.
While on the premises, police confiscated car and
motorcycle hire contracts, car keys and a pickup truck, which had been
reported stolen from Khon Kaen province in the Northeast.
The police reported that Rita was in the same gang as
Thanakorn Phomun, 30, a resident of tambon Padaed in Chiang Mai’s Muang
district who was arrested two years ago on a charge of forging documents to
rent cars and sending them to neighboring countries to be sold.
Police also searched the house of Wirat Chaowapreechakul,
48, in Mae Sot district, Tak province, where they suspected cars and
motorcycles stolen in the northern region were also being kept.
They found two cars, one pickup truck and ten
motorcycles. The police also discovered purchase and pawn contracts for over
10 cars, a bank account book with entries of over 100,000 baht, gold
pawnshop receipts and purchase contracts for 100 baht weight gold ornaments.
Wirat has initially been charged with loan sharking.
Police hope to track down other suspected thieves in his alleged network
after questioning him.
The crackdown on suspected rental car thieves in the
northern region follows the large number of companies making complaints to
the police.
Radio Thailand a hit with local dialect speakers in Phrae
Phitsanu
Thepthong
Somkid Boonthaworn, the director of Radio Thailand, Phrae
station, says community radio talk-back shows on local issues are very
popular in the region. The most popular are issues concerning local
problems, local news, and government issues, according to Somkid.
 Community
radio on air with local lawyers and commentators at Radio Thailand, Phrae.
Radio Thailand Phrae, is run by the Thai government. It
broadcasts programs covering Phrae, Lampang, Uttaradit and some parts of
Phitsanulok provinces from 4 a.m. to midnight daily.
Some radio programs are run by local people, lawyers, and
police, on different issues such alien immigrant registration for
Cambodians, Laotians and Burmese, as well as issues as the anti-drugs
campaign.
Some radio programs also give youth groups air time,
playing local folk songs hoping to stop them dying out as modern pop songs
are aired more often on commercial radio.
“Most of the listeners like the radio announcers who
speak in the northern dialect; we get good feedback from many callers during
the live phone-in programs,” says radio news program chief Chanisa
Chomsilp.
One program host says the most popular issues involve conflicts between
spouses, as well as property and asset transfers between them. “These are
hot issues, so I use Buddhist principles to offer compromise to help solve
their problems.”
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