LOSERS
Water management
Not even Prime Minister Prayut Chano-cha and Section 44 could hold back floodwaters pouring down from the North. At press time, large swathes of Ayutthaya province and Pathum Thani towns were submerged, hundreds of rai of crops are ruined, and spot flooding from Nakhon Ratchasima to Don Muang in Bangkok has occurred. The general prime minister ordered the waters not to invade the Central region. He also ordered a competent water management committee to carry out his order. His orders didn’t work. The floods disobeyed the general. Flooding now is out of control — by huge irony, just as the previous, non-male prime minister is under investigation for failure to stop the Great Flood of five years ago. Here is the full text of Gen Prayut’s remarks on his concern for the spreading floods.
Technology
If we consider that misusing technology is like not even having it at all — which we do, right? — then the sudden attack of sanity upon the always interesting National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission chief Takorn Tantasith is good for technology. Specifically, Mr Takorn had second thoughts about forcing foreigners to use special SIM cards that can track them closely because he wants to. The plan’s not dead yet, but it is gasping for breath. Meanwhile, Thai e-shopping firms and websites, led by Tarad.com, admitted they are scared. Big, foreign sites are moving in and stealing trade and customers. It’s a tough call for the government, whether to go protectionist in cyberspace.
Economy
The spin doctors looked at the number and marvelled that exports had actually risen for the first time in five years. That wasn’t exactly a lie. Car exports in August, did, in fact, rise 40.4% from August of last year. Hidden in the small print: Because of a (legitimate) accounting adjustment, the figure was for July and August. Bank of Thailand governor Veerathai Santiprabhob was immediately off the mark, saying, essentially “Don’t get cocky”. The Commerce Ministry didn’t even hear him and started talking about how fourth-quarter exports would rise brilliantly. Perhaps. US figures show demand for imports is down 1.5% year on year.
Zika virus
Authorities confirmed the sad news that two children have been born with microcephaly, or abnormally small heads caused by the Zika virus. Because of privacy concerns, there are few other details, but the Public Health Ministry has confirmed one of the two mothers definitely had contracted Zika during her pregnancy. The confirmation of the Zika virus threat leaves the country awaiting advice on how to deal with the crisis. Not so the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. That highly respected group declared that Zika is endemic in Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam. The CDC advised women who are pregnant or trying to get pregnant to avoid all these countries, plus Singapore.