Bangkok ranks 2nd in ASEAN as city with highest living cost

BANGKOK, 7 June 2011 (NNT) – The capital of Thailand is rated second as the city with the highest living costs in ASEAN, according the 2011 cost of living survey of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) of the Economist Magazine.

It was found that Singapore had the highest living cost in the ASEAN region and was ranked tenth in the world while Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia, were ranked second and third in ASEAN as well as 72nd and 90th in the world respectively.

EIU economists said prices of domestic products and exchange rates were the major factors driving the living cost in Asian countries.

Tokyo of Japan reportedly had the highest living cost in the world, followed by Osaka of the same country. Paris of France fell to the third place after it was at the top of the table in 2010 due to the Euro depreciation compared with the Yen currency.

Hong Kong moved up to the 11th from the 28th while Shanghai and Beijing of China were also rated 29th and 36th after they were ranked 45th and 58th last year respectively.

Nevertheless, there were five cities in Asia on the list of top 10 cities with lowest living costs, comprising Manila of the Philippines, Kathmandu of Nepal, New Delhi and Mumbai of India and Karachi of Pakistan.

Profile: Abhisit Vejjajiva

Abhisit Vejjajiva hails from a wealthy family of Thai-Chinese origin Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is the English-born, Oxford-educated 44-year-old leader of Thailand's Democrat Party. Young and photogenic, though not known as particularly dynamic, he has a reputation for "clean politics". Distinctly upper-class, Mr Abhisit hails from a wealthy family of Thai-Chinese origin. Both his parents were medical professors. He was born in the British city of Newcastle in 1964 and educated at England's top public school, Eton. He then went on to gain a degree in politics, philosophy and economics (PPE) at Oxford University. Mr Abhisit's support is drawn mainly from southern Thailand and from Bangkok's educated middle-classes. He has had less success in attracting the support of working class and rural Thais. In 1992, Mr Abhisit joined Thailand's oldest party, the Democrats and, at the age of 27, entered parliament as one of its youngest ever members. Having tried and failed to become party leader in 2001, he eventually got the post in 2005. Championing a raft of populist policies, Mr Abhisit campaigned under the slogan "Putting People First". The Democratic Party failed to win power at national elections, but in December 2008 the Constitutional Court found the ruling party, led by allies of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, guilty of electoral fraud and banned it. Amid the turmoil of the airport blockade caused by anti-Thaksin protesters, a few Thaksin loyalists changed sides. This enabled Mr Abhisit to form a new government and become the next prime minister without calling elections. The Democrats are not openly allied to one group of protesters or the other. But in the past the party has been closely associated with elements of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), whose protests helped depose Mr Thaksin and his allies. Mr Abhisit was criticised for his choice of foreign minister, Kasit Piromya, who was an open supporter of the PAD movement and its airport blockade. Anti-corruption platform While not entirely ditching the liberal reforms of "Thaksinomics" - a term used to refer to the economic set of policies of the exiled former leader - Mr Abhisit has argued for a more statist approach. Among other things, Mr Abhisit has advocated free healthcare, a higher minimum wage, and free education, including textbooks and milk for nursery-school children. Mr Abhisit opposed the Thai military when it overthrew Thaksin Shinawatra He has also been a consistent campaigner against corruption. When Mr Thaksin called a snap election in February 2006, Mr Abhisit's campaign pitch was that he was "prepared to become a prime minister who adheres to the principle of good governance and ethics, not authoritarianism". Later that year, he opposed the military when it overthrew Mr Thaksin in a coup. "We cannot and do not support any kind of extra-constitutional change, but it is done. The country has to move forward and the best way forward is for the coup leaders to quickly return power to the people and carry out the reforms they promised," he said at the time. The patrician also said he expected high standards of probity from his party and any government he led. Going beyond the current transparency rules for Thai MPs, he said he would require all future Democrat Party representatives to declare their assets and any involvement in private companies. Currently, those measures apply only to cabinet members. Academic However, that has not shielded his government, or party, from corruption allegations, including claims of a cover-up of illegal donations by a petrochemical firm. Before entering parliament, Mr Abhisit had a brief academic career. After Oxford, he taught at Thailand's Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy. Later, he returned to Oxford to study for a Master's degree. He then taught economics at Thammasat University before studying law at Ramkhamhaeng University. Mr Abhisit's family is a circle of accomplished individuals. One of his two sisters is a professor of child psychology, while the other is a leading Thai author. Mr Abhisit's wife is a dentist-turned-mathematics lecturer at Chulalongkorn University. They have two children. Among the chinks in the Abhisit armour are his failure, so far, to win the popular vote and the impression that his good looks tend to outshine his sometimes rather bland political pronouncements. In March 2010, he was spirited away to a barracks when red-shirted opposition protesters marched on Bangkok for days of mass rallies, denouncing him as an illegitimate leader. The prime minister may find that only the popular mandate of a national election win will ultimately silence his critics.

Pheu Thai complaint against multi-coloured-shirt leader

The Pheu Thai Party has decided to file a complaint against multi-coloured-shirt group leader Dr Tul Sitthisomwong after he vowed to launch a graft complaint with the Department of Special Investigation to probe Yingluck's role as a nominee in the asset-concealment case involving former premier Thaksin Shinawatra and his family.

Pheu Thai Party spokesman Prompong Nopparit alleged yesterday that Tul intended to undermine Yingluck's popularity, thereby violating Article 53 (5) relating to the election of MPs and senators. The offence carries a maximum 10 years imprisonment and a Bt200,000 fine.

The spokesman said that he would file the complaint with the Election Commission in the coming week.

Prompong said the move to wreck Yingluck's reputation was initiated because poll surveys showed she and the Pheu Thai Party would emerge the winner in the July 3 election. He said his party believed there were others behind Tul's action. He urged them to stop their "dirty tactics" of spearheading a graft drive in the middle of an election campaign just to destroy political rivals.

"People who benefit from the move to discredit Yingluck are none other than those who side with Dr Tul. His action is not gentlemanly because he is harassing a woman who is volunteering to solve the problems of the country and the people,'' he said.

Asked if Tul's plan to file a graft complaint against her on June 21 would adversely affect the party since it is close to election day, Yingluck downplayed the move, saying she must see the complaint in detail first. She said she just has to clarify the matter and let it move in accordance with the law.

Tul who spearheaded the multi-coloured-shirt campaign last year will launch an anti-Yingluck campaign by setting up a table to solicit signatures at Thammasat University on June 18.

Thai hospitals on E coli alert

BANGKOK, June 4 -- Thai hospitals nationwide have been instructed to be on alert for a deadly new toxic strain of E coli that has killed about 20 people worldwide. It is believed to have originated from poor hygiene at a farm, in transit, or in a shop or food outlet, senior Thai public health ministry officials said.

Permanent Secretary for Public Health Dr. Paijit Warachit said the ministry’s Disease Control Department found that typically about one million patients suffering from diarrhoea are found in tropical countries annually. Since the beginning of this year, about 530,000 patients suffering from diarrhoea were found in Thailand, of which 21 died, but no cases of the rare strain of the bacteria which is now attacking European countries were found in this country so far.

Dr Paijit said his ministry is now monitoring E coli in two ways: through food and drug checkpoints which is the responsibility of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and through hospitals throughout the country which have been told to immediately send samples for laboratory tests on patients suspected of suffering from acute diarrhoea.

Dr Rungrueng Kitphati, director of the Bureau of Emerging Infectious Diseases, said hospitals nationwide have been instructed to accelerate diagnosing patients suffering from severe diarrhoea and send samples for laboratory tests as Thailand has never experienced this disease before, and people should not panic because the number of patients found in Europe now is still relatively small.

“There are reports that the source of E.coli is attributed to changes in environment which has contaminated food and agricultural products. People who have eaten these contaminated food will suffer from acute diarrhea and frequent vomiting, causing kidney to function abnormally and some patients would die between three or four days after being infected,” Dr. Rungruang said.

Dr Pipat Yingseri, secretary-general of FDA, said his office had conducted random tests on vegetables and fruits from Spain and Germany but did not find any of them tainted with the new bacteria.

Reuters, a global news agency quoted European health institutes as saying yesterday that the spread of E coli can be contained by washing vegetables and hands before eating, or preparing food to avoid bacteria being passed on from the faeces of an infected person.

The failure to find the source of the outbreak, complicated by the fact that salads include a variety of ingredients from different producers often from different countries, has becoming increasingly worrying for health authorities and consumers, Reuters said.

The centre of the outbreak of the deadly bacteria was reported in early May in Hamburg, Germany, and the number of those detected with the disease in that country rose to 1,733 with the death toll at 18 as of yesterday, according to Reuters. (MCOT online news)

Phuket steps up fight against illegal timeshare touts

The government sign in Patong, on Phuket's west coast, warning tourists
about dodgy timeshare schemes.


Patong Mayor Pian Keesin called for officials to be investigated.

PHUKET: -- A multi-agency task force will be set up to investigate timeshare companies operating in Phuket, especially Patong.

Tasked with investigating the companies, their workers and any officials involved in allowing the timeshare companies to operate, the “committee” is expected to launch an investigation by October, just before the annual tourism high season begins, Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak announced.

The committee will comprise officials from agencies including the Tourist Police, Royal Thai Police, Provincial Police, Public Prosecutor’s Office, Provincial Office and Patong Municipality.

“It’s a big problem. Tourists book holidays with timeshare companies, but when they arrive in Patong, the companies don’t have any hotel rooms for them to stay in. That is destroying our tourism reputation,” said V/Gov Somkiet.

Patong Deputy Mayor Chairat Sukkaban identified three types of timeshare companies operating on the island.

“There are genuine timeshare companies that are registered and have their own offices, such as the operation run at the JW Marriott [Resort & Spa in Mai Khao]

“But there are also people who rent hotels and properties for only a couple of years, but then offer clients use of the properties over 10 to 30 years. That’s cheating,” Mr Chairat said.

“Third are companies that don’t have anything at all, but they tell their clients that they have got everything for them,” he added.

“Many of these operators set up companies and ‘sell’ anything they can, making anywhere from 100 to 500 million baht. They then close their companies and run away.

“Later they open a new timeshare company, because it is easy to open such companies in Thailand, and cheat people all over again. It is damaging our tourism,” he added.

Deputy Mayor Chairat called on other government departments to help clamp down on illegal operators.

“Before issuing any work permits for such companies, the Department of Employment needs to look in detail at such operators, such as checking whether they have their own properties and offices,” he said.

Supporting Patong Mayor Pian Keesin’s call for the committee to also investigate officials, V/Gov Somkiet warned that any officials found to be involved in any illegal timeshare operations will be reported to their office chief.

Also, timeshare cheats were not only affecting foreign tourists, V/Gov Somkiet added.

“About 30 Thai people filed complaints at the Damrongtham Center. They said a well-known company in Thalang had cheated them of about 80,000 to 100,000 baht each.

“When they got to the hotels where they had paid to stay, there were no rooms for them,” he said.

The meeting on Tuesday was called after Patong business owners filed complaints to the Damrongtham Center.

The complaints alleged that more than 100 foreign workers were on the streets of Patong selling timeshare without work permits.

The complaints, filed with details and photographs, explained that timeshare workers continually rode motorbikes around Patong looking for potential “customers” and they stopped mid-traffic to pitch their sales.

Pheu Thai MP Candidate Lie down in Coffin for Good Luck

Pheu Thai constituency MP candidates lied down in coffins ahead of the election, believing that it will bring them good luck and will protect them from any violence during the election campaign.

Pheu Thai Nonthaburi MP candidates, Nitad Srinon, Udomdetch Ratanasatien, Walaiporn Archariyaprasit, Montri Tungcharoentavorn, and Chalong Riewrang recently made merit at Takien Temple in Bangkruay Subdistrict in Nonthaburi Province.

All five MP candidates lied down in coffins, believing this will bring them luck in the general election scheduled for July 3.

They also asked for amulets to protect them from any violence that may break out during the election campaign.

Chalong said in an interview that making merit can get rid of ill fortune and provides candidates with moral support.

Many Thais believe that lying down in coffins signify being reborn, which will bring them a turnaround from bad to good fortune.

Thaksin Shinawatra: Exiled in Dubai – but still he dreams of Thailand

Ousted in a bloodless coup in 2006, the former PM is desperate to regain power – for his sister.

Would you you like some durian?" A smile flashes across the face of Thaksin Shinawatra as he thinks of the notorious Asian fruit, famed for both its sweet taste and wrenchingly rotten smell. The former Thai prime minister has already served steamed pork balls, coconut noodles with green onion and a prawn and minced-pork curry, but he is adamant the meal will not be complete without this addition. He calls for one – thankfully it is not too ripe – and he appears content. "I always say the best Thai restaurant in Dubai is my home," he chuckles.

The business tycoon and former owner of Manchester City football club is perhaps the world's most famous political exile. Since being ousted from office in a bloodless coup in 2006, he has lived a peripatetic lifestyle, travelling the globe in his Bombardier Global Express jet in search of safe havens to continue his business operations and rally his supporters in Thailand. He has spent periods in Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Brunei, the UK (where he complained he could not find a decent barber), Nicaragua, Montenegro and Cambodia.

Two-and-half years ago he decided to base himself in Dubai, where he lives in a comfortable villa, set on a private compound looking out to a lake and a golf course. Two luxury cars sit in his driveway, a Lexus LS 600h L and a gleaming black Jaguar, and he says he has flown 750 hours in the last 10 months. He admits he remains a billionaire.

Now, the 61-year-old is to once again be thrust centre stage in Thailand's bitter political turmoil as the party he controls from overseas, Pheu Thai (PT), launches an election campaign before a vote on 3 July. Thaksin has appointed an inexperienced but photogenic younger sister, Yingluck, as the party's prime ministerial candidate. A number of polls give PT an edge as it battles to beat the incumbent, Abhisit Vejjajiva, and his Democrat Party, but most observers say the outcome remains uncertain. The behaviour of the army, which has seized power on 18 occasions since the 1930s, will be crucial

"I think it looks very good. The popularity of the party and Yingluck is getting more and more," says Thaksin, as he voices concern that his opponents may try and undermine any PT victory by other means. "Even though we are the opposition, we still have the highest number of MPs in parliament. That's why they're scared, [why] they might use the same tricks. But if [our opponents] were to do it again, it would mean that they don't care [about] the world. They don't care [about] democracy in Thailand."

Thaksin remains a deeply divisive figure. He has widespread support among the rural and urban poor, especially in Thailand's north and north-east, who benefited from a series of populist measures he introduced between 2001-2006. Last year, his Red Shirts supporters filled the streets of Bangkok for many weeks as they demanded parliament be dissolved. But among the urban middle-classes and the political and business elite, he is often despised. Having been convicted in absentia of corruption in 2009 over a series of measures he took while in office which the country's highest court said benefited his extended family, £900m of his assets were seized and his passport was revoked, forcing him to obtain alternatives from Nicaragua and Montenegro. Many consider him nothing less than a fugitive from justice.

During his time as premier, the telecommunications tycoon also faced criticism from human rights campaigners, particularly for military operations in the "war on drugs", in which hundreds of civilian and dissidents were said to have been summarily executed, and for shutting down of critical journalists. In one incident at Tak Bai in October 2004, 78 men were suffocated and crushed to death after being loaded into the back of army trucks.

In the summer of 2007, when Thaksin bought Manchester City, a team whose fortunes he says he still follows, Human Rights Watch described him as a "human rights abuser of the worst kind".

Thaksin insists he is seeking reconciliation. Even though his supporters earlier this year filed an application at the International Criminal Court in The Hague seeking to have Mr Abhisit charged with crimes against humanity, he says the PT is ready to reach out to its opponents. "PT offers reconciliation. Even though we are the victims of this bullying, we offer this... if we win, we offer reconciliation. We don't want revenge," he says, sitting in a drawing room containing photographs of himself and various world leaders. "We don't want the country to be back down any more. We want the people to be back to normal life, we want the economy to progress. We want the country to move forward."

At the same time, particularly after the example of the protesters involved in the Arab spring, he doubts his supporters would sit back quietly if a fairly elected PT government was not allowed to take office. (After he was ousted, two subsequent allies who became PM were forced from office by the courts, over what supporters say were politically motivated allegations.) He believes the wider world would also not tolerate more violence. He has called for international observers to participate in the polls.

"There has to be a reason. They cannot just say we don't want you to become the government," he tells The Independent and another international newspaper. "If [our opponents] were to do something unethical, unlawful, it's not good for them, not good for the country, not good for the people... I really urge them to let things go according to what we call... democracy."