Bangkok post december 26 2016

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T H E N E WS PA P E R YO U C A N T RU S T

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016 30 BAHT EDUCATION

Govt revives plan to help needy pupils DUMRONGKIAT MALA

Season’s snaps People take photos with a red bear mascot and white Christmas trees inside Bangkok’s CentralWorld shopping complex on Christmas Day, yesterday. The white colour of the trees represents mourning for the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

WICHAN CHAROENKIATPAKUL

RUSSIA

Plane with 92 aboard crashes A Russian plane headed to an air base in Syria with 92 people aboard, including members of a well-known military choir, crashed into the Black Sea yesterday minutes after taking off from the resort city of Sochi, Russia’s Defence Ministry said.

There was no indication anyone survived the crash of the Tu-154, which belonged to the Defence Ministry and was taking the Alexandrov Ensemble to a New Year’s concert at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria’s coastal province of Latakia. Crews recovered several bodies, and ships, helicopters and drones were searching the area for more.

A total of 84 passengers and eight crew members were on the plane when it disappeared from radars two minutes after taking off in good weather. Emergency crews found fragments about 1.5km from shore. There was no immediate word on the cause.

Viktor Ozerov, head of the defence affairs committee at the upper house of Russian parliament, said the crash could have been caused by a technical malfunction or a crew error, but ruled out terrorism as the plane was operated by the military. AP MOSCOW:

Accident record: Page 7

Computer law critics mull charter court fight Repeat petitions threat if law goes too far DUMRONGKIAT MALA PRANGTHONG JITCHAROENKUL

Critics of the new Computer Crimes Act are threatening to challenge the law change in the Constitutional Court.

They say the change in the law endangers their rights and freedom of expression as guaranteed by the constitution, and hopes the court will step in.

Yingcheep Atchanont, a project manager at the Internet Dialogue on Law Reform (iLaw), said court action would be better than asking Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to exercise his sweeping power under Section 44 of the interim constitution to abrogate the law, as some critics have demanded.

Mr Yingcheep was referring to calls on Saturday by Democrat Party deputy leader Ong-art Klampaiboon for the premier to overturn the act.

He said, however, his group will keep a close watch on the law and expects the court to keep its enforcement in check to prevent any violation of rights under the new constitution.

“What’s done is done, but there is still a channel to petition the court to interpret the law. Whenever the law is not enforced properly we will petition the court,” Mr Yingcheep said during a panel discussion at Thammasat University yesterday.

He also said the group was concerned

that Paragraph 1 of Section 14 of the amended Computer Crime Act will be exploited as a tool to silence critics of the government.

He referred to the term “distortions” included in the provision, saying it could be used to pursue defamatory action.

Mr Yingcheep said more than 300,000 people had signed a petition against the law, which was a positive sign that people attach importance to issues of freedom of expression.

Sarinee Achavanantakul, a founder of the Thai Netizen Network (TNN), said even though the amended law has passed the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), ministerial regulations are still needed to enforce the law, which will take another 120 days.

She said she hoped by that time the government would have held forums for the public to offer their views on the law again.

She also called attention to several bills, which are awaiting deliberaton by the NLA, such as a bill on cyber security, a bill on the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission and a bill on personal information protection.

“A close watch must be kept on these bills as there might be some conflicts of interest,” she said.

Angkhana Neelapaijit, a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) member, said the NHRC was most concerned about how the proposed cyber screening panel will define and judge what is right or wrong under the law.

One of the key changes made to the law calls for the creation of a ninemember committee to screen computer

information, she said. The committee can recommend that officials seek a court order which grants them permission to remove or block content even if it does not violate any law but is considered a breach of “public morals”, she said.

She questioned how the public will be able to scrutinise the panel if they feel they are treated unfairly.

She said the terms “national security” and a “breach of good morality” as stipulated by the amended law are too broad and violate the principles of basic rights.

Ms Angkhana said the NHRC and foreign human rights bodies had urged the NLA to remove the terms national security and a breach of good morality in many laws, but to no avail.

Orapin Yingyongpattana, a representative of the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), voiced concern that Section 14 of the computer crime law would lead to self-censorship among the media and journalists because the law is vague.

This would adversely affect the media’s freedom to present information. “Those in power who sue may not want to win their cases, just silence [their critics],” Ms Orapin said.

Thitirat Thipsamritkul, a Thammasat University law lecturer, urged the government to reduce ambiguities in the law, saying future interpretations and enforcement of the law could stray from its original intentions.

Enacting such a restrictive law will have enforcement problems in the future, she said.

Undeterred, government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd yesterday said the

government will step up efforts to deal with computer crimes and false information spread on the internet, and vowed the amended Computer Crime Act must be enforced.

“The hacking attacks on several government websites over the past week have accelerated the process to implement the law,” Lt Gen Sansern said.

The Education Ministry plans to revive the One District, One Scholarship (Odos) project to offer international education to underprivileged students with a solid academic record to help develop their communities.

Newly-appointed Deputy Education Minister Panadda Diskul said he would approve the fifth phase of the scholarship programme, but some criteria must be adjusted to ensure only needy students benefit.

ML Panadda said the revised criteria will focus on supporting students to pursue their studies in vocational fields which the country needs.

Launched by the Thaksin Shinawatra administration in 2004, the Odos project aimed to provide opportunities to high school graduates from poor families in each district nationwide to further their education abroad.

The source of funds to sponsor students in the first and second phases was the 2- and 3-digit lottery, known as the “above-ground lottery”, introduced by the same administration.

Students needed to come from families that earned less than 100,000 baht a year and have a grade point average of 3.0 in the previous five semesters of their secondary schooling.

But participants had to study in nonEnglish speaking countries such as France, Japan, Germany and China.

However, the scheme was scrapped by the Surayud Chulanont administration after the second round of scholarships were granted when the lottery, the source of funds, was itself cancelled.

“We decide what and where students study so we can ensure the budget is well spent,” he said.

In previous rounds, only 1% of scholarship recipients chose to study in vocational fields, so the ministry might set a target to increase that to 10%, ML Panadda added.

ML Panadda said the ministry may also change other regulations. They may require applicants to genuinely live and study in the district where they apply for a scholarship, and return to serve the government.

The Education Ministry also will provide adequate language skills for recipients before sending them to study overseas, to cut the number of scholarship recipients returning early from abroad.

The Odos programme was criticised in its early days because, of the 740 students of the first phase to study abroad, 113 returned prematurely to Thailand as they could not adapt to life overseas.

In Germany 20 students returned to study in Thailand, and one 17-year-old student committed suicide due to stress and pressure.

The scheme was revived again by the Yingluck Shinawatra government, but amended so the scholarships could be awarded to anyone, regardless of their socio-economic background.

This time, recipients had the right to select the countries or fields of study, including in English speaking countries, but still were not obliged to pay back the scholarship or work for the government.

The widened criteria were again criticised on the basis they might be misapplied, as the scheme was originally intended to help academically gifted students from poor families, not the children of the wealthy or influential members of high society.

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Bangkok Post I

NATIONAL

Govt to spend B18.4bn in major road upgrade Programme will boost support for SEZs AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK PRASIT TANGPRASERT

The Rural Roads Department plans to spend 18.4 billion baht to develop roads nationwide to connect provinces, support border trade in 10 special economic zones, and boost tourism.

Under the plan, to get under way next year, many provinces will get new bypasses and shortcuts that will improve travel along roads in and between provinces, including those in special economic zones, also known as SEZs, department chief Pisak Jitviriyavasin said.

The plan will include five road projects covering a distance of 41.6 kilometres to support transport and logistics development in these zones, he said.

The projects would give a much needed boost to SEZs, which have been slow to

gather momentum since their launch by the Prayut Chan-o-cha administration in 2015.

The government wants to develop new industrial estates in these areas to generate investment and jobs and increase exports to neighbouring countries.

However, many projects under the scheme have drawn opposition from local communities over potential land grabs and encroachment.

Yet the government is pushing ahead with its SEZ policy and new projects under the Rural Roads Department effort.

Mr Pisak did not elaborate on what areas have been eyed for development, but said the department will take more than one billion baht from the 18.4-billion-baht package to support transport in 10 provinces: Tak and Kanchanaburi, which border Myanmar, and Chiang Rai, which borders both Myanmar and Laos; Mukdahan, Nakhon Phanom and Nong Khai which is adjacent to Laos; Trat and Sakaeo which are situated to the west of Cambodia; and Songkhla and Narathiwat which borders Malaysia in the South.

CRIME

Flare-seller at football match turns himself in

The road development will be carried out together with the state’s National Single Window policy, which is aimed at creating a new electronic system of customs clearance to promote international trade and investment among countries in the South East Asia, Mr Pisak said.

Other portions of the 18.4-billion-baht budget will go to five development projects, he added.

According to the department, 7.6 billion baht, which is the largest portion, will be spent on road upgrades. A total of 4.9 billion baht is allocated for plans to help solve traffic congestion in the provinces.

New bridges will be built under a 2.4-billion-baht package. A budget of 1.4 billion baht will be used to support logistics development and 886 million baht will fuel plans to develop roads to tourist attractions across the country.

The 18.4-billion-baht package is part of the department’s 2017 budget of 46 billion baht. In regard to the overall spending, the department plans to spend 59%, or 21.9 billion baht, to repair roads nationwide, Mr Pisak said.

ASSAWIN WONGNORKAEW

CITY

Green Line work shuts Phahon Yothin Road Road users have been urged to avoid Phahon Yothin Road between tomorrow and Thursday and between Jan 3 and 31, as construction of the northern extension of the Green Line electric railway will be under way.

The Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) declared a section of the road between Phaholyothin Soi 69/7 and Ying Charoen Market will be partially closed to traffic to allow machines to operate.

The closure is set to take effect from 10pm tomorrow to 5am on Thursday, and from 10pm on Jan 3, 2017 to 5am on Jan 31, 2017, the announcement said.

Under the plan, all outbound lanes between Phahon Yothin Soi 69/7 and Ying Charoen Market will be closed, while inbound lanes will make way for two-way traffic lanes. The MRTA urged motorists and commuters to use alternative roads to avoid traffic congestion.

The southern and northern extensions

of the Green Line are a joint project between the Transport Ministry, the BMA and the MRTA. The extension is to develop the 12.8km southern Green Line extension from Bearing to Samut Prakan and the 18.4km northern Green Line extension linking Mor Chit, Saphan Mai and Kukot.

The northern extension which spans from Mor Chit northward to Khu Khot subdistrict of Lam Luk Ka district in Pathum Thani is expected to ease traffic problems between Bangkok and Pathum Thani.

Laying good foundations An official shows one of nine piles to be used in the foundation-laying ceremony that will kickstart the construction of a royal crematorium for the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej at Sanam Luang. All the piles, made from ‘thong lang’ and phayung wood, were blessed in a religious ceremony. APICHIT JINAKUL

MUAY THAI

Expert urges ‘no head contact’ among young boxers PRANGTHONG JITCHAROENKUL

Thai boxers younger than 15 years old are being urged to avoid “head contact” to reduce the risk of brain injuries, while children aged under nine should be banned from Thai boxing.

“Children aged between nine and 15 can take part in boxing, but direct head contact must not be allowed,” Adisak Plitapolkarnpim, director of the Child Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention Research Centre (CSIP) told the 9th Health Assembly at Impact Arena Muang Thong Thani in Nonthaburi recently.

Boxers aged between 13 and 15 can enjoy the fighting sport with light contact to the head and face, he said.

Dr Adisak, also an expert in child health, said the fighting rules should be revised to protect child boxers from possible injury to their brains.

“Spectators and a change in the boxing rules can play a vital role in preventing child boxers from suffering brain injuries, abnormality in the brain structure, Parkinson’s disease and early-onset Alzheimer’s later in life,” he said.

He suggested the rules be changed to allow points to be gained from an

“accurate” punch and if the boxer punches his opponent’s head too hard, points should be deducted.

Dr Adisak also advises child boxers aged under nine to avoid any contact sport.

“The Boxing Act sets 15 as the minimum age to compete professionally, but few people involved in the muay Thai industry follow the law, so it has made little impact,” he said.

Instead of getting involved in fights, Dr Adisak said underage boxers can instead perform wai kru, a traditional ritual in which students pay respect to their teachers.

“No one is safe from getting punched in

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

the face or head directly,” he said, insisting his intention was not to ban children from joining Thai boxing.

Meanwhile, he stressed that wearing head protection gear must be made compulsory for all ages. Dr Adisak said the 1999 Boxing Act should be amended to come in line with the Child Protection Act, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act and the Convention on the Rights of the Child for the benefit of child boxers.

“We know Muay Thai paid fighters have been exploited in the past like child labourers and the matter still remains a serious concern,” he said, referring to the

2014 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labour conducted by the United States Department of Labour’s Bureau of International Labour Affairs.

The US research team, however, had no recommendation for boxers aged above 15 as they are mature enough to understand the consequences.

According to the CSIP, from 2007 to 2015, 420 young boxers registered with the Board of Boxing under the Sport Authority of Thailand annually.

The number of boxers aged under 15 registered with the board rose from 929 in 2007 to 9,998 this year.

A man wanted for selling flares that were thrown by spectators during a football match at Bangkok’s Rajamangala National Stadium earlier this month turned himself in to Lampang police yesterday, police said.

Pol Col Jittapon Wongwan, superintendent of Kelang Nakhon police, said yesterday Worapon Suersakul, 38, a resident of Lampang, reported to investigators to explain his alleged involvement in the flare throwing incident at the Thailand-Indonesia football match on Dec 17 at the stadium on Ramkhamhaeng Road.

Flares were seen thrown from a section if the stadium where an Ultras Thailand banner was on display. Ultras Thailand is an organised but unofficial group of Thai team supporters.

Mr Worapon was wanted for having war materiel in his possession without permission from the Ministry of Defence, police said. Pol Col Jittapon said Mr Worapon was questioned by a combined team of military and police officers, including himself.

The suspect surrendered to police after Hua Mak police in Bangkok, overseeing the case, started the procedure to seek an arrest warrant for Mr Worapon from the Lampang Provincial Court through Kelang Nakorn police.

Pol Col Jittapon said Mr Worapon admitted to investigators in a one-hour interrogation session that he sold a box of flares to a member of Ultras Thailand in an online deal. He also admitted some of the flares fired during the match were from his shop, adding he did not, however, supply all of the flares thrown.

Mr Worapon said he has operated an online business selling flares and fan equipment.

He told investigators he was present at the stadium to support Thailand when the incident took place, but denied any involvement in firing the flares or being a member of Ultras Thailand. Pol Col Jittapon said Mr Worapon has been charged on the possession count.

Violators are liable for a jail term of up to five years, a fine of up to 50,000 baht or both.

Pol Col Jittapon said police freed Mr Worapon pending investigation as the suspect did not pose a flight risk following his surrender to authorities.

Football Assocation of Thailand president Somyot Poompunmuang said he believed the flare throwing incident was intended to discredit the association and the country.

TRANSPORT

Safety class boost for new licences Applicants for new driving licences will be required to attend a five-hour class on safety from Jan 1, in the Land Transport Department’s latest move to reduce road accidents.

However, while the training is a tool to enhance prospective drivers’ knowledge and instil good driving awareness, good results still depend largely on individuals as they apply on the roads what they have learned, department chief Sanit Phromwong said.

Driving licence applicants are now required to go through a four-hour class.

Transport officials have agreed to increase the training period by one hour, focusing on what to do in emergency cases and how to drive safely, Mr Sanit said.

Under the new driving curriculum, applicants will study various issues ranging from laws about cars and roads (90 minutes), safe driving (two hours), driving etiquette (one hour) and emergency cases in which drivers are taught how to give first aid (30 minutes).

The department said knowledge about good driving will help reinforce the government’s efforts to curb road accidents which tend to increase during long holidays, especially the Songkran festival and New Year.

But results will depend on drivers applying “awareness of safety” when they are driving, Mr Sanit said.

As well as first-time applicants, motorists whose licences have expired for a year or more are also required to attend classes under the new curriculum. The lessons will be conducted by 500 staff, Mr Sanit said.

Prospective drivers are advised to attend classes organised by the Land Transport Department, but for their convenience, they also can join ones held by driving schools, certified by the department, or certain state agencies, he said. Applicants who complete the training can proceed to other steps such as sitting a written exam.

In good hands Deputy national police chief Pol Gen Chaloemkiat Siworakhan leads the press to the house of Thai ‘luk thung’ folk singer Mike Piromporn who has joined the ‘Leaving Houses under Police’s Care’ project, in Bangkok’s Lat Phrao district yesterday. Police look after residents’ homes while they are away. THITI WANNAMONTHA

HEALTH

1m strays to be sterilised in department anti-rabies drive POST REPORTERS

The Livestock Development Department will spearhead an ambitious move early next month to sterilise one million stray dogs and cats nationwide as part of attempts to put an end to rabies.

If these animals are sterilised, the government would be a step closer to solving the “root cause” of rabies and other viruses carried by strays, department chief Apai Suttisunk said.

Dogs account for 90% of stray animals in Thailand, while cats make up the rest, according to livestock officials. They have long been a worry for state officials trying to reduce their numbers.

However, Mr Apai said, the department won’t exclusively target strays for sterilisation.

Officials plan to tend to animals kept as pets but which often receive little care apart from getting their basic meals.

Earlier, the Public Health Ministry

warned pet dogs are a major cause of rabies after finding 80% of them are not vaccinated. They pose a threat to householders and others, the ministry said.

Mr Apai said that sterilisation will be carried out along with a vaccination programme for pets.

The Bureau of Epidemiology said seven people died of rabies between Jan 1 and Aug 7 this year.

Two were reported in Chachoengsao, and the others in Tak, Rayong, Samut

Prakan, Songkhla and Si Sa Ket. Three provinces — Yasothon, Kalasin and Pathum Thani — have also been declared rabies-hit zones.

The department will lead the programme and “we will not stop if our work is not finished”, he said, expecting at least 200,000 dogs and cats will be sterilised and vaccinated in the first year.

The push corresponds with a project to make both animals and people free of rabies.

Worapon Suersakul turns himself in over an allegation of selling flares to football fans without permission.ASSAWIN WONGNORKAEW

Thai Pulse Police have fined the male driver of a passenger van for urinating on Phetkasem Highway in the middle of Hua Hin tourist district, Prachuap Khiri Khan. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/ general/1168165 A newborn baby girl was found abandoned in front of a house in a canal-side community opposite the Talad Thai market in Khlong Luang district, Pathum Thani, yesterday. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/ crime/1168120

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

I Bangkok Post

NATIONAL

I 3

Airport police alert to signs of trouble Screening of suspicious types starts at international arrivals gate, writes Wassayos Ngamkham

Two Indian criminal suspects, wearing face masks, were arrested at Amari Watergate Hotel in the Pratunam area yesterday.

Businessman Mahimananda Mishra, front, and his close aide, Basanta Kumar Bal, allegedly hired gunmen to kill a business rival in India in October.

They entered Thailand on Dec 20 on tourist visas.

I

PATTARAPONG CHATPATTARASILL

Two Indians face murder rap Businessman, partner accused of killing rival POST REPORTERS

Immigration police have arrested a highprofile Indian businessman and his associate in Bangkok’s Pratunam area for allegedly being behind the murder of a business rival back home in October.

Mahimananda Mishra, the 63-yearold owner of Orissa Stevedores Limited, which provides labour for the loading and unloading of cargo at India’s eastern port of Paradip, and the firm’s director Basanta Kumar Bal, 69, were arrested at Amari Watergate Hotel yesterday.

The pair are wanted under arrest warrants issued by an Indian court for premeditated murder and illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

Immigration Bureau chief Nathathorn

Prousoontorn said his agency was notified

by Indian authorities and Interpol about the arrival of the suspects in Thailand.

The pair travelled from Nepal to Thailand on 15-day tourist visas.

“The two came with their family members along with five or six bodyguards,” Pol Lt Gen Nathathorn said, noting the group was comprised of about 10 people.

Shortly after being notified, investigators were deployed to track the group in Chon Buri and when their arrest warrants were sent from India, officers captured them at the hotel, he said.

During the arrest, the two conceded they were the subjects of the arrest warrants, Pol Lt Gen Nathathorn said, adding the pair will be deported to India today.

Their family members also told officers they wanted to return to India with the suspects, he said. Information about their bodyguards will also be sought for the deportation.

The suspects will have their visas revoked on the grounds they could pose a

risk to society and will be blacklisted from entering Thailand, he said.

As the festive New Year approaches, the bureau is stepping up efforts to keep out people with dubious backgrounds to ensure peace and security, the bureau chief said.

Pol Lt Gen Nathathorn said Mr Mishra is believed to have at least 50 gunmen under his control and Mr Bal is his close aide.

On Oct 26, Mahendra Swain, an executive of Seaways Shipping and Logistics Limited (SSL), was killed in a gun and bomb attack, which also left scores injured.

According to Indian media outlets, the business conflict started in April last year, when Jindal Steel and Power Ltd cancelled its stevedoring contract with Mr Mishra at the port and awarded it to a consortium of three companies, including the Hyderabad-based SSL. The three firms then formed the separate Utkal Stevedores Association to challenge Mr Mishra’s Paradip Port Stevedores’ Association, which had controlled all

cargo operations at the port for more than three decades.

The challenge is believed to have riled Mr Mishra as Paradip port is India’s second-largest, which handles 76 million tonnes of cargo a year.

In October, SSL was awarded a two-year contract from the Steel Authority of India Ltd to handle 800,000 metric tonnes of limestone imports at Paradip port.

This is believed to have triggered the murder.

It was found that Swain had sought protection from Paradip Police before his murder.

Pol Lt Gen Nathathorn said the perpetrators who hurled the bomb and opened fire at Swain had been arrested and they claimed the two suspects nabbed by Thai police hired them.

The pair fled from India to Nepal before entering Thailand on Dec 20, he said.

Officers are still on the lookout for others believed to have fled to Thailand with the pair, the bureau chief said.

mmigration police are keeping an eye on Lt Gen Nathathorn said. tourists flocking to Thailand during the The Immigration Bureau chief gave New Year holidays, as some transnational travellers from South Asia as an examcriminal suspects may disguise themselves ple because police have been alerted among the crowds. about criminal suspects from this region.

Tougher security measures include the Other countries which must be kept deployment of plainclothes police at key under watch are those in the Middle East, international airports. Unknown to many he said. perhaps, discreet checks on passengers The screening, both at the gates and start as early as the arrivals gate. immigration counters, will be supported This year, the number of tourists arriv- by plainclothes police. ing and departing Thailand is expected to At Suvarnabhumi airport, the Immigrabe slightly higher, reaching eight million, tion Bureau has increased the number of compared to 7.9 million in the same period police by 250 to make sure they can handle last year, said Immigration Bureau chief the large number of holiday travellers.

Nathathorn Prousoontorn.

If the random checks find suspects, Officers have been ordered to strictly officers will inspect them more thormonitor travellers since last Friday until oughly, taking a close look at their visas, Jan 5, which covers both the Christmas and hotel booking records, cash and tickets for their return flights.

New Year celebrations.

“In fact, transnational crimiIf these documents are nal suspects can secretly enter unclear, Pol Lt Gen Nathathorn the country at any time of the said, they will be detained for further interrogation or year, but we’ve become more may even be sent back to serious because of a large number of travellers at the airtheir countries. ports,” he said.

The Immigration Bureau Immigration officers are has rejected the entry of 1,500 divided into teams to help each foreign travellers this year, other screen suspects, Pol Lt mostly from India, Bangladesh, Gen Nathathorn said.

Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

A team of officers wearing Nathathorn: Checks The number is a bit higher jackets with the word “Immi- start early. than 2015’s figures which stood gration”, will stand at the arrivat 1,400.

Pol Lt Gen Nathathorn said his agency als gates to monitor travellers who look suspicious. Up to four to five officers will is also working with authorities in forbe on duty for each flight around the clock, eign countries to prevent suspected travhe said. ellers from boarding planes if they are They will be the first to observe the arriv- on blacklists. als area before passengers proceed to have “We have to stop criminal suspects at the their passports checked by officers at immi- origin countries. This practice is conducted gration counters. worldwide, not only at Suvarnabhumi airHowever, this team can only conduct a port,” he said. random inspection of these travellers, Pol Lt Pol Lt Gen Nathathorn said tougher Gen Nathathorn said, describing their job security measures will be imposed with as primary screeners. Among irregularities care so as not to cause any impact on the the team has been asked to watch is travel- tourism sector. “We have to think about lers’ belongings. ways to help travellers to avoid wasting their If some tourists from South Asia have time too,” he added. unusually few belongings, it’s possible they may plan to overstay their visas here, and Contact Crime Track: buy clothes once they have settled in, Pol crimetrack@bangkokpost.co.th

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Bangkok Post I

ASIA

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

JAPAN

Abe and Obama to pay respects at Pearl Harbour HONOLULU: Seven months after US Presi-

dent Barack Obama visited Hiroshima, the city where World War II all but ended, his Japanese counterpart is paying his respects at the site where the brutal conflict began.

Prime Minster Shinzo Abe is travelling to Pearl Harbour, where he and Mr Obama hope to underscore the alliance between their two nations — 75 years after the Japanese surprise attack that brought the US into history’s bloodiest war.

The two leaders are meeting tomorrow in the Hawaiian state capital Honolulu, on the archipelago’s Oahu island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The visit has particular resonance for Mr Obama, who was born in Hawaii and spent much of his childhood and adolescence here.

Mr Abe and Mr Obama will visit the wreck of the USS Arizona, where 1,177 sailors and marines died. The ship’s rusting remains, still visible, are now a memorial.

On Dec 7, 1941, “a date which will live in infamy”, as then president Franklin D Roosevelt said, Japan’s Gen Isoroku Yamamoto unleashed a devastating attack on Pearl Harbour’s “Battleship Row”.

The assault caught the US off guard and

the Japanese sunk or heavily damaged eight US battleships.

The two-hour offensive killed 2,403 US citizens in all and injured more than 1,100 others. An explosion in the Arizona’s ammunition stocks sealed that ship’s fate.

Just as when Mr Obama visited Hiroshima, the purpose of Mr Abe’s tour is not to question decisions made three-quarters of a century ago, nor to offer an apology, rather to pay homage to the victims and encourage historical reflection.

“It puts a bookend in some ways to this open US-Japan conversation about the past and the war,” said Japan expert Sheila Smith from the Council on Foreign Relations.

“It puts us on a very different pedestal on the reconciliation side of things which I think is important for the region to see.”

In Hiroshima in May, during a speech given to a completely silent crowd, Mr Obama launched an impassioned plea for a world without nuclear arms and he wrote a message in the visitor book at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.

“We have known the agony of war. Let us now find the courage, together, to spread peace and pursue a world without nuclear weapons,” he wrote. AFP

Mother of suicide victim urges change work culture Jail house rocks

Thousands flee big typhoon Philippines expects storm surges up to 2.5m high Babies, toddlers and old people were loaded on to military trucks in the Philippines yesterday as thousands fled from the path of a powerful typhoon barrelling towards the disasterprone archipelago.

Officials warned that storm surges up to 2.5m high, landslides and flash floods posed the biggest threats as Nock-Ten closed in on the Bicol peninsula and nearby islands.

The typhoon threat, on one of the biggest holidays in the mainly Christian nation, triggered pre-emptive evacuations that officials said could involve hundreds of thousands of people.

“We went around with megaphones and gave instructions to our people to eat breakfast, pack and board the military trucks,” Alberto Lindo, an official of Alcala, a farming village of 3,300 people near the active Mayon volcano, said.

About 100 babies, toddlers, parents and elderly people were the first to be trucked off to a school some 7km away as strong winds began to shake trees at midday, scattering leaves on the pavement.

“There are large ash deposits on the slopes [of Mayon]. Heavy rain can dislodge them and bury our homes in mud,” Mr Lindo added.

Philippine and international weather services said Nock-Ten, named after a bird found in Laos, was set to hit Bicol on the south of the main island of Luzon yesterday evening. The US Joint Typhoon Warning Centre has forecast sustained winds of 231kph and gusts of 278kph

One year after a young woman committed karoshi suicide after working excessive hours at Japan’s top ad agency Dentsu Inc, her mother is urging fellow Japanese to change how they deal with work.

The death of Matsuri Takahashi, officially recognised in September as death from overwork and widely reported in the media, has prodded regulators to launch an investigation into the company and sparked intense debate over the country’s notoriously long working hours.

In a memo disclosed to the media ahead of yesterday’s first anniversary of her 24-year-old daughter’s suicide, Yukimi Takahashi took some solace from the fact that her daughter’s death has helped build momentum for curbing long working hours. “If Matsuri’s death is having an impact on the way people work in Japan, that may be the result of Matsuri’s own power. But Matsuri was hoping to contribute to society as a living person. Thinking TOKYO:

A gay inmate in elaborate Mardi Gras parade attire walks on a makeshift stage during a mock Miss Universe pageant inside a prison in Manila on Christmas Eve. Inmates dressed as beauty queens pranced on a makeshift stage for a mock beauty pageant at the Philippines jail on Christmas Eve, bringing festive cheer to one of the country’s most overcrowded prisons. Thousands cheered and whistled as 11 gay and one transgender prisoner danced and sang at the pageant at the Quezon City Jail courtyard. AFP

DARAGA:

Residents sit inside a classroom at the Central Elementary School which was turned into an evacuation centre in Santo Domingo, Albay province, yesterday. AFP when Nock-Ten makes landfall on the now-isolated island of Catanduanes, home to 250,000 people. The typhoon will eventually affect an area of nearly 42 million people, including the capital Manila which was forecast to be hit today.

Civil defence officials in Bicol said earlier nearly half a million people in the region were in harm’s way and needed to be evacuated.

The government called for pre-emptive evacuations in the area on Saturday, with nearly 4,000 residents moving into emergency centres and more than 8,000 others seeking shelter elsewhere, an official tally said.

Evacuations were continuing yesterday as the military and local governments sent lorries to evacuate coastal communities and other areas hit by landslides or flash

floods in previous powerful typhoons.

But Christmas is the biggest holiday in the country, Asia’s bastion of Catholicism, giving officials a hard time getting people’s attention away from the holidays to heed the warnings. With many refusing to leave high-risk communities, some officials said they decided to carry out forced evacuations.

In the past 65 years, seven typhoons have struck the Philippines on Christmas Day, according to the government’s weather agency.

Governor Miguel Villafuerte of Camarines Sur, which is on the typhoon’s forecast path, offered roast pigs, a popular Christmas delicacy locally called lechon, in evacuation centres to entice villagers to move to emergency shelters.

“I know it’s Christmas ... but this is a

legit typhoon,” Mr Villafuerte tweeted on Christmas Eve. “Please evacuate. We’ll be having lechon at evacuation centres.”

In Catanduanes province, Vice-Governor Shirley Abundo said she has ordered a forced evacuation of villagers, saying some ``are really hard-headed, they don’t want to leave their houses because it’s Christmas.’’

“We need to do this by force. We need to evacuate them now,” she told ABSCBN television.

Some 20 typhoons or lesser storms strike the Philippines each year, routinely killing hundreds of people. Bicol is often the first region to be hit. It prides itself on having honed its disaster response to minimise casualties.

“We have recalled all of our first responders from vacation. They will be on 24-hour standby and on call for rescues or support,” Rachel Miranda, spokeswoman for the region’s civil defence office, said.

Nock-Ten, which will arrive outside the normal typhoon season, disrupted celebrations of one of the most important holidays in the religious calendar, with all ferry services and commercial flights in Bicol suspended. Some of the thousands of commuters stranded at dozens of ports that were closed for the typhoon spent the night inside evacuation centres on Saturday.

After Bicol, Nock-Ten is forecast to strike the heavily populated heartland of the main island of Luzon including Manila. Rescue workers in the capital have been put on standby, evacuation centres opened and food and other rations stocked. The coastguard yesterday ordered the beaches south of Manila to be cleared of holidaymakers by today, while residents of the capital’s seaside slums were warned to leave their homes. AGENCIES

this way, I cannot regret it enough.” Stressing that no one should be unhappy or lose their lives because of work, the 53-year-old single mother said, “I hope all the working people in Japan will change the way they view work.” As for her daughter’s employer, Yukimi Takahashi asked Dentsu to “truly reform” its work practices and resolve not to create any more victims. Matsuri Takahashi joined the ad agency in April 2015 after graduating from the University of Tokyo. Once she became a full-time worker in October, her workload began intensifying and she was logging more than 100 hours in overtime work a month. In early November, she is believed to have developed depression.

On Dec 25 that year, after speaking with her mother by phone, she jumped to her death from her company dormitory, leaving behind Twitter posts suggesting continual days and nights in the office and stress had gradually overtaken her. KYODO

A crawly Crispmas Seiya Takahashi tries to eat a canape of a fried locust during an event in Tokyo on Saturday. About 35 people took part during the day, which was organised by a group that enjoys cooking insects and worms. AFP

Myanmar’s government seeks to counter charges of violence Journalists from both local and foreign news organisations spent two days in northern Rakhine’s Maungdaw township

M

yanmar’s government, under international pressure to address violence in Rakhine State, this week organised a three-day tour of the troubled area in the country’s west for media outlets.

The journalists, from both local and foreign news organisations, spent two days in northern Rakhine’s Maungdaw township, which is still under a security lockdown following deadly attacks on border guard posts in October and subsequent violent clashes last month.

In Maungdaw, which has a large Muslim Rohingya population, residents claimed soldiers from the country’s armed forces burned a village in October.

A number of Rohingya women there also claim to have been raped. However, some villagers dispute the claims.

A 60-year-old retired health care worker from Pyaung Pike village north of Maungdaw, who only identified himself as Nauzi, said soldiers set fire to some houses including his own on Oct 13.

“When the soldiers entered our village on Oct 12, we were all scared so we were hiding on the hill at the back of the village.

They searched our houses but couldn’t find anybody because we were hiding.

“They set fire to our houses only the next

morning,” he said. Nauzi said more than 100 houses were burnt on that day out of a total 260 in the village.

The situation there is still tense but relatively more stable than before.

He said discrimination against Muslims is the source of the problems.

“I think the two communities can live together peacefully if the authorities treat us fairly without discrimination.

“Being Muslims, we cannot travel out of our towns and villages without official permission, which is difficult to get,” he said.

The latest round of violence began on Oct 9 when, according to official media accounts, hundreds of “violent armed attackers” launched simultaneous assaults on several border police stations and outposts, killing nine officers, and seized weapons and ammunition.

The military subsequently launched weeks-long “clearance operations”, raiding Rohingya villages in the area in the search for suspects and making hundreds of arrests, causing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.

The government of predominantly Buddhist Myanmar does not recognise the term “Rohingya,” insisting that the stateless Muslims are mostly Bengali migrants

from Bangladesh who illegally entered the country over the past decades.

However, more than 95% of the population in Maungdaw Township is Muslim, according to officials.

Pol Brig Gen San Lwin, chief of the border guard police in Maungdaw command centre at Kyee Kan Pyin village, denied the accusations of extrajudicial killings and rape.

He said the security forces just acted in defence because Muslims are attacking them.

“The military and police have been conducting the operations in accordance with the law, as instructed by the government,” he insisted.

“We had information that the RSO has been giving training to some Muslim villagers before the attacks,” he said, referring to the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation, a small local militant group active in the 1980s and the 1990s but believed to be defunct.

“We have all the evidence they recruited many villagers and set up networks to organize among them for such attacks.”

After the Oct 9 attacks, the attackers retreated into nearby Muslim villages, he said. “We’ve managed to recover five rifles

hidden at Warbate village near our station.

Similarly, we’ve recovered more arms when we search and raid the villages.”

There are more than 900 villages in northern Rakhine including Maungdaw where incidents happened and more than 500 are Muslim villages.

But the populations at non-Muslim villages are very small compared with Muslim villages, he said, explaining the difficulty of the operation.

Communal violence in Rakhine broke out in 2012 between the majority Buddhist and minority Muslim populations. Some 120,000 Rohingya remain displaced in camps across the state.

More than 200 people from both sides have been killed and over 5,000 houses and religious buildings destroyed during clashes since 2012, when violent clashes broke out, according to the United Nations.

According to the latest official figures, nearly 100 people, including 17 security officers, have been killed since the Oct 9 attacks.

Nazu Muthe, 56-year-old Muslim man from Kyein Chaung Gyi village, Maungdaw, said locals are unhappy about the latest attacks because their lives are now even more difficult. “We want to live peacefully

with the Rakhine community there. We had been living side-by-side peacefully for a long time,” he said. Most Muslims villagers said the travel restriction posed the greatest difficulty.

“We cannot travel out of our village, not even 1km, since the October incidents.

There is a dusk-to-dawn curfew. In the past we could travel up to Maungdaw,” he added.

He said although they heard that houses were being burnt at Muslim villages by the army, they cannot confirm whether it is true or not.

“We didn’t see it with our own eyes so we cannot confirm. We do not know whether the houses are being burnt down by the residents themselves or the military,” he said.

Myanmar’s military alleged that the Muslim villagers set fire to their own houses before fleeing in order to discredit the army.

“It is scary for us when these incidents happen ... if the military talk to us and take us in for questioning, we could be in trouble. There are some people in our own community who don’t like us talking to the authorities. They would brand us as informers,” he said.

A 41-year-old Muslim aid worker from another village in Maungdaw was beheaded

soon after he spoke to reporters to deny the allegations of atrocities.

The body of Dues Mahmud from Ngkhuya village, also in Maungdaw Township, was found on Friday without his head.

He had been missing since Wednesday evening, when he spoke to a group of the reporters on the tour. He spoke in defence of the security forces, saying the allegations of abuse, theft and torture are untrue.

Despite the ongoing conflicts, both communities expressed hope of coexisting peacefully in the area.

Hla Thein, 60, a Rakhine Buddhist businessman from Ngkhu Ya village, said Muslims from the village fled because of fear and poverty. “Because of the tight security it is difficult to find jobs and engage in trading,” he said.

A Muslim religious leader in Maungdaw, Ashad Husein, 57, said the latest attacks by Muslims were instigated by exiles and their support groups with ill intentions.

“It is not a good thing for both sides,” he said, adding that confidence-building measures are necessary for the two communities to co-exist.

“There will be education and awareness campaigns for both communities to make it happen,” he added. KYODO

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

I Bangkok Post

I 5

WORLD

SYRIA

Refugee chef serving up a taste of home

Russian steps up raids on rebel zones

After a death-defying escape to Greece, one migrant has regained a passion

B

efore braving a “trip of death” to escape Syria, Talal Rankoussi was a chef in a Damascus restaurant considered the largest in the world.

Bawabet Al Dimashq (Damascus Gate) still holds that distinction with Guinness World Records because it can seat more than 6,000 people.

So when 41-year-old Mr Rankoussi was asked by a US benefactor to spice up the meals for several hundred fellow Syrians at the Ritsona refugee camp near Athens, the two-decade culinary veteran did not hesitate.

The father of three, who crossed the Aegean in February in “a trip of death, riding a plastic tyre in an ocean under the rain”, says the food handed out in the camp “is undercooked ... with no regard to improving the quality”.

Like most refugee camps in Greece, Ritsona receives daily meals from catering companies commissioned by the army.

But in terms of quality and nutritional value, it “just covers survival needs”, says a camp operator who declined to be named.

“It’s been a challenge just to get the caterers to send pitta bread instead of white bread,” the operator says, adding that “sometimes we have 200 meals left over that nobody wants to eat”.

Then came Carolynn Rockafellow, a former US investment banker who moved to Greece last year after a 30-year career, including two decades at Credit Suisse.

Ms Rockafellow, originally from New York, has taken a personal interest in the wellbeing of Ritsona’s 700 refugees, nearly half of whom are children.

With personal funds and donations

from friends, Ms Rockafellow has created Cafe Rits, offering alternative cuisine out of one of the camp’s few brick-and-mortar buildings.

“I feel this story is as much about helping the Greeks as it is about helping the refugees,” Ms Rockafellow says over the sound of Mr Rankoussi furiously chopping vegetables.

“This is a very tough situation for Greece and I think they’re doing a great job,” says the woman whose nickname around the camp is Madame Sharba — Mrs Soup.

Several times a week she and a few helpers drive out to a supermarket on the nearby island of Evia and load a van with supplies for the day’s meals, plus meat and vegetables for camp families to do their own cooking.

About €3,000-€5,000 (110,000-190,000 baht) a week goes into the cafe budget.

“Everyday we have distribution of either vegetables, meats or cooked meals. Meat once a week, vegetables twice or three times a week, cooked food twice a week,” says Mr Rankoussi, now keeping a close eye on a bubbling cauldron of onion broth.

Staple Syrian recipes include kibbeh, fattoush salad, maqluba rice, muhammara dip, mostly made with locally sourced ingredients, and all a far cry from what Greek catering services can provide.

Cafe Rits is like an oversized food truck, without the wheels.

The walls are lined with pots, pans, tins and cutlery. A long bench where the food is prepared cuts across the room, while gas-fired stoves stand near the entrance.

Water is brought in a plastic tub because there is no piping — or heating.

“I wanted to find a way to empower

A child gets a snack from a volunteer working in the kitchen of Cafe Rits in Ritsona refugee camp. AFP refugees, to bring them back their culture through food,” says Ms Rockafellow, who has two grown-up children and was a volunteer chef in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Sandy in the US. “Syrian people love to offer hospitality and something of themselves through food,” she added.

The dozen-strong volunteer team also prepares lunch bags for around 80 of the camp’s children who take afternoon classes at nearby schools.

“We also host parties. It’s important to laugh and to remember that this, too, shall pass,” she says, adding that she wants to use her experience to help her refugee volunteers find jobs once they leave Greece.

Mr Rankoussi, who reached Greece in February after a poor experience trying to find employment in Turkey, has applied for asylum in several European countries including Germany, Holland and France.

But he would have “no problem” dishing out to patrons in a Greek establishment if given the chance.

“This is my interest. This is my job,” the stoic chef says with a smile. AFP

Erdogan seeks to team with Trump vs IS ANKARFA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip

Erdogan plans to seek the support of the incoming Donald Trump administration for joint action against the Islamic State (IS) in the Syrian city of Raqqa.

Turkish troops are close to capturing the IS stronghold of al-Bab in northwest Syria and could move via the town of Manbij toward the group’s de facto capital in Raqqa, Mr Erdogan said in a televised speech in Istanbul on Saturday.

Mr Erdogan reiterated his country’s readiness to extend its fight against the jihadist group in Raqqa if US President-elect

Trump agrees to prevent Kurdish forces from participating in such an operation.

Turkey is concerned the Kurds’ territorial gains in Syria could lead to a new state within the country, in turn provoking separatist Kurdish aspirations at home.

Kurds have established control over much of Syria’s north during five years of civil war, and in doing so, emerged as a favoured US fighting force in the ground war against the IS “We will not allow the formation of a new state in northern Syria,” Mr Erdogan said as he vowed to retake the Syrian town of

Manbij, which was seized by Kurdish forces from the IS. “After Manbij, Raqqa is next if we can join hands with the US” Turkey launched an incursion into Syria in August to fight the IS and the Kurdish forces of PYD/YPG, regarded by Turkey as terrorists for their links to the PKK, whose fight for autonomy in Turkey’s southeast has killed nearly 40,000 people, cost hundreds of billions of US dollars, and undermined Turkish aspirations to join the European Union. “We will declare a safe zone cleared from terrorism in northern Syria,” Mr Erdogan said. BLOOMBERG

ISRAEL

Netanyahu raps ‘shameful’ vote Israel scrambled on Saturday to contain the fallout from a UN vote demanding it halt settlements in Palestinian territory, lashing out at US President Barack Obama over the “shameful” resolution.

The United Nations Security Council passed the measure on Friday after the United States abstained, thus enabling the adoption of the first UN resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy.

By deciding not to veto the move, the US took a rare step that deeply angered Israel, which accused Mr Obama of abandoning its closest Middle East ally in the waning days of his administration.

The text was passed with support from all remaining members of the 15-member council, with applause breaking out in the chamber.

The landmark vote came despite intense lobbying efforts by Israel and calls from US President-elect Donald Trump to block the text.

While the resolution contains no sanctions, Israeli officials are concerned it could widen the possibility of prosecution at the International Criminal Court.

They are also worried it could encourage some countries to impose sanctions against Israeli settlers and goods produced in the settlements.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the resolution as a “shameful blow against Israel at the United Nations”.

“The decision that was taken was biased and shameful, but we will withstand it,” the Israeli leader said.

“It will take time, but this decision will be annulled.”

Mr Netanyahu said Mr Obama had broken a long-standing US commitment not to “dictate the terms of peace to Israel” at the UN body.

He said he had instructed his foreign minister to review engagements at the United Nations, including funding for UN JERUSALEM:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel meets US President Barack Obama at the White House last year. The US decision to not block a UN resolution condemning Israeli settlements has angered Mr Netanyahu. NYT agencies and the presence of UN representatives in Israel.

Mr Trump reacted after the vote by promising change at the UN. “As to the UN, things will be different after Jan 20,” he said, referring to the date of his inauguration.

He added: “The big loss yesterday for Israel in the United Nations will make it much harder to negotiate peace. Too bad, but we will get it done anyway.”

The US has traditionally served as Israel’s diplomatic shield, protecting it from resolutions it opposes.

It is Israel’s most important ally, providing it with more than US$3 billion each year in defence aid.

That number will soon rise to $3.8 billion per year under a new decade-long pact, the biggest pledge of US military aid in history.

But the Obama administration has grown increasingly frustrated with settlement building in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied for nearly 50 years.

There have been growing warnings that settlement expansion is fast eroding the possibility of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the basis of years of negotiations.

Settlements are built on land the Palestinians view as part of their future state

Russian jets stepped up strikes on several towns in Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province and rural Aleppo two days after the evacuation of rebels from their last pocket in the northern city of Aleppo, rebels and residents said on Saturday.

They said at least eight strikes targeted Binish, Saraqeb and Jisr al-Shaqour — main towns in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib. There were reports of several casualties, mainly among civilians.

Idlib province for months has been a target of Russia’s heavy bombing campaign against rebel-held areas. It came even while the former eastern part of Aleppo under insurgent control faced an escalation in aerial raids and shelling until its defences collapsed and the rebels were forced to agree to an evacuation deal.

The Syrian army has hinted the next major campaign after its victory in Aleppo was to rout insurgents in their stronghold of Idlib province, where mainly Islamist brigades operating under a coalition known as Jaish al-Fateh are in control.

Residents and rebels said Russian and Syrian jets also staged heavy strikes on rebel-held parts of western and southern parts of rural Aleppo for the second day since the last rebels left their remaining pocket of territory in Aleppo city.

They raided the town of Khan al-Asal, about 14km west of Aleppo, with cluster bombs while several strikes hit Hreitan and Andan, according to a rebel fighter from Jaish al-Mujahdeen. The nearby town of Atareb was also hit.

Although the Syrian army, with the help of Iranian-backed militias, was able to take full control of Aleppo city after Russia conducted hundreds of raids that pulverised rebel-held parts, large swathes of western and southern Aleppo countryside remain in rebel hands.

Rebels said they repelled an Iranianbacked militia assault on Saturday to gain ground in Rashideen, west of Aleppo.

The Syrian army continued to comb areas in eastern Aleppo that fell under its control on Thursday. The Lebanese Hezbollah-run news service said weapons caches left by insurgents exploded, causing two deaths. REUTERS AMMAN:

and seen as illegal under international law.

“We cannot stand in the way of this resolution as we seek to preserve a chance of attaining our longstanding objective of two states living side by side in peace and security,” said Samantha Power, the US ambassador to the UN. “The settlement problem has gotten so much worse that it is now putting at risk the very viability of that two-state solution.”

Obama adviser Ben Rhodes said: “We cannot simply have a two-state solution be a slogan,” but added that “we did not draft this resolution ... We took the position that we did when it was put to a vote”.

David Friedman, his nominee for ambassador to Israel, favours moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and has voiced support for settlement building.

Some 430,000 Israeli settlers currently live in the West Bank and a further 200,000 Israelis live in annexed east Jerusalem, which Palestinians see as the capital of their future state.

The resolution demands “Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem”.

It says settlements have “no legal validity” and are “dangerously imperilling the viability of the two-state solution”. AFP

Syrian chef Talal Rankoussi prepares a meal for the volunteers working in the Ritsona camp, 80km north of Athens. AFP

6 I

Bangkok Post I

WORLD

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

CHRISTMAS

Religious leaders strike sombre seasonal note Faithful haunted by Berlin market atrocity Christian leaders from the Vatican to Bethlehem struck a sombre note on Christmas Eve speaking of war, fear and division, as cities in Europe ramped up security in the shadow of the Berlin market attack.

At the Vatican, Pope Francis urged the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics to feel compassion for children, notably victims of war, migration and homelessness in his Christmas Eve Mass.

Addressing a 10,000-strong crowd late on Saturday in St Peter’s Square, the pontiff urged worshippers to think of the children BETHLEHEM:

“hiding underground to escape bombardment”, in apparent reference to Syria.

In Bethlehem, some 2,500 worshippers packed the Church of the Nativity complex, built over the grotto where Christians believe Jesus was born, for Midnight Mass in the Israeli-occupied West Bank near Jerusalem.

Like Pope Francis, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa also used his homily to plead for compassion for refugees and for a halt to the violence wracking the Middle East.

“We fear the stranger who knocks at the door of our home and at the borders of our countries,” he said at the Mass, which was attended by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and other dignitaries.

“Closed doors, defended borders, before personal and political choices, are a

metaphor for the fear that inevitably breed the violent dynamics of the present time.”

Security was tight across Israel where Christmas coincided with the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.

Prepared remarks by the leader of the world’s Anglicans noted 2016 had left the world “more awash with fear and division”.

“The end of 2016 finds us all in a different kind of world; one less predictable and certain, which feels more awash with fear and division,” Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said in his Christmas Day sermon yesterday.

In Europe, many preparing to celebrate were still reeling from last week’s lorry attack on the Berlin Christmas market.

German authorities were working through the holiday season hunting possible accomplices to Tunisian Anis Amri,

who was killed on Friday in a shoot-out with Italian police near Milan.

Amri, 24, is believed to have hijacked a lorry and used it to mow down holiday revellers at the market last Monday, killing 12 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

Tunisia said on Saturday it had arrested three men suspected of links with Amri, including his nephew.

Locals and tourists in Berlin visited the Christmas market targeted in the attack and many took a moment to quietly light a candle or lay flowers for the victims.

“It’s really nice there are so many people here and it’s still open,” said Marianne Weile, 56, from Copenhagen.

“So even though you are really sad about what happened you can still keep Christmas. It’s not like this crazy guy ruined it

for everybody.” Security was also tight at Milan’s cathedral, where Italian police were out in force and concrete barricades were erected around the historic Piazza del Duomo. In France, 91,000 police, gendarmes and soldiers were deployed to guard public spaces including churches and markets. Despite the security fears, many were braving winter temperatures to take part in traditional revelry. Among them some 30 hardy Slovaks participated in a winter swim at Bratislava’s Zlate Piesky lake, some drinking beer in the nearly freezing water.

In London, meat-lovers converged on Smithfield Market for the traditional Christmas Eve auction at butcher Harts, waving banknotes in the air as they bid on turkeys, pork cuts and rump steaks.

Meanwhile, in debt-ridden Greece,

Finance Minister Euclide Tsakalotos sent Christmas cards featuring the tight-fisted Dickensian protagonist of A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge, in a jibe to the country’s creditors.

Christians in Syria’s Aleppo were preparing for celebrations after President Bashar al-Assad’s forces retook full control of the city following a rebel withdrawal this week.

Members of Aleppo’s Catholic minority have been prepping for the first Christmas mass in five years at the Old City’s Saint Elias Cathedral, the roof of which collapsed under a salvo of rocket fire. “All our memories are here. This is where we celebrated all our feast days, our joys,” said Bashir Badawi, rummaging through rubble for wood and scrap metal to make a crude Nativity scene.

“We want to transform all this destruction into something beautiful.” AFP

Queen hails unsung heroes in address Queen Elizabeth II paid tribute to inspirational unsung heroes in her Christmas Day broadcast to the Commonwealth yesterday.

The 90-year-old monarch put the focus on “ordinary people doing extraordinary things” and urged people to achieve “small things with great love” in the speech, which is an integral part of Christmas Day traditions in Britain and for millions of people around the world.

“I often draw strength from meeting ordinary people doing extraordinary things: volunteers, carers, community organisers and good neighbours; unsung heroes whose quiet dedication makes them special,” she said, in the pre-recorded message.

“They are an inspiration to those who know them, and their lives frequently embody a truth expressed by Mother Teresa.

“She once said: ‘Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love’.”

Recalling the Rio 2016 Olympics, Queen Elizabeth paid tribute to Britain’s 67 medallists who propelled the country to second in the medals table — the kingdom’s best performance in an away Games.

“There was a time when British Olympic medal winners became household names because there were so few of them,” she said.

She said the athletes spoke of being inspired by previous generations, and were now inspiring the next.

The monarch also singled out Grenada, the Bahamas, Jamaica and New Zealand — four countries where she is also queen — which won more Olympic medals per head of population than other nations.

Though she recalled the Games and her 90th birthday celebrations, the head of state LONDON:

Iraqi security forces stand guard as Christians attend a Christmas Eve service at the Mar Shimoni church in the town of Bartalla near Mosul on Christmas Eve for the first time since its recapture from Islamic State jihadists. IS seized Bartalla and swathes of other territory north and west of Baghdad in the summer of 2014. AFP

Iraq’s Christians take Mass in IS shadow Festive ceremony evokes both holiday cheer and grim reminders

F

or the 300 Christians who braved rain and wind to attend Christmas’s Eve Mass in northern Iraq, the ceremony evoked both holiday cheer and grim reminders of the war raging around their northern Iraqi hometown and the distant prospect of moving back permanently.

Displaced when the Islamic State (IS) seized their town, Bartella, in August 2014, the Christians were bussed into town from Irbil, capital of the self-ruled Kurdish region where they have lived for more than two years, to attend the lunchtime service in the Assyrian Orthodox church of Mart Shmoni.

Torched by IS militants, church-supervised volunteers recently cleaned it up after government forces retook Bartella as part of an ongoing campaign to liberate the nearby city of Mosul and surrounding areas in Nineveh province. But the church is still missing its icons, electrical wiring hangs perilously from its ceiling and most light fixtures are gone. The headless statue of a late patriarch stands in the front yard, its pedestal surrounded by shards of glass.

On Saturday, women joyously ululated when they stepped into the marble-walled church. Almost everyone held a lit candle.

Many took photos with their mobile phones. A handful of gas heaters were brought in, but they did little to warm the place on a wet and windy December day.

For many of them, the sight of their hometown in almost complete ruin was

shocking. Only a few homes in the once vibrant town of some 25,000 people stand unscathed. Most have been damaged by shelling or blackened by fire.

On one street wall, the IS black banner remains visible under the white paint. Next to it, someone wrote: “Christ is the light of the world. Bartella is Christian.”

“Our joy is bigger than our sadness,” said university student Nevine Ibrahim, 20, who was in Bartella onSaturday for the first time since she, her parents and four siblings left in 2014. They found their house badly damaged. Everything they owned was gone.

“I don’t think we can return. The house can be fixed but the pain inside us cannot,” she said, seated among three of her siblings.

“Who will protect us?”

Halfway through the service, conducted in Assyrian and Arabic, it became something of a wartime mass. Roughly a dozen US military servicemen and a 100-man contingent from the Iraqi military led by several top generals descended on the church in a show of solidarity.

Unlike their US counterparts, the Iraqi troops came armed. Iraqi soldiers — with one wearing a skull-face balaclava — searched people coming into the church.

Inside, soldiers frisked anyone moving close to the Iraqi generals, who arrived in some two dozen armored SUVs and Humvees.

The distant thud of explosions could be heard after mass. But none of that seemed

to dampen the worshippers’ joyous spirit.

The soldiers photographed each other and took selfies. Many of them held lit candles and the congregation warmly applauded when Bishop Mussa Al-Shamani thanked the Iraqi military for “liberating” Bartella.

The Christians of Nineveh are members of an ancient and once-vibrant community.

They enjoyed protection under Saddam Hussein, but their numbers rapidly dwindled after the US-led invasion of Iraq toppled the regime of the late dictator in 2003.

Since 2003, Sunni militants have targeted Christians and their churches, terrorising the community and forcing many of its members to flee to the West, neighbouring nations or the northern Kurdish region. The IS’ onslaught across northern Iraq in 2014 devastated the unique communities of Christian-majority towns like Karamlis, Bartella and Qaraqosh — all in the Nineveh plains. Of the estimated 1.5 million Christians who lived in Iraq on the eve of the US-led invasion, about 500,000 are left.

“This is the mass of defiance,” Assyrian priest Yacoub Saady told the congregation at the end of the service. “We, the Christians, are the oldest component of this country.

We are staying put and no power can force us to leave.” His words, however, were more hopeful than realistic. The Bartella Christians attending Saturday’s Christmas Mass

spoke of the community’s woes and their slim hopes of returning home.

With the central Baghdad government strapped for cash because of low oil prices and the spiralling cost of the war against the IS, it is unlikely that monetary compensation will be dispensed to residents who lost their homes, or that large scale reconstruction will be undertaken in Bartella anytime soon.

Residents also have deep security concerns, arising mostly from the Iraqi military and security forces’ meltdown in the face of the IS blitz across northern and western Iraq in the summer of 2014.

“People must first be compensated and services like water and electricity restored before they come back to live here,” said Ramsen Matti, a 28-year-old accountant who now lives in Irbil with his wife and their only child, a daughter born in Bartella less than two months before they fled the town.

Altar boy Masar Jalal arrived with his father on Saturday, the 16-year-old’s first visit to Bartella since he fled with his family to Irbil in 2014. “I cried for what has become of the town,” said Masar. “I will only come back to live here if there is security.”

He found some of his old clothes when he visited the family home, but the furniture was gone. “The clothes I found are too small for me now but I also found a mug with my photo that a cousin of mine snapped. No one took that.” AP

Sri Lanka claims festive tree record Christmas tree, claiming to have beaten the world record despite constructions delays and a shorter-than-planned finished product.

The 73m artificial tree in capital Colombo is 18m taller than the current record holder, organisers said. The tree’s steel-and-wire frame is covered with a plastic net decorated with more than a million natural pine cones painted red, gold, green and silver, 600,000 LED bulbs and topped by a 6m-tall shining star. The tree cost US$80,000 (about 2.9 million baht).

It was criticised by the Catholic Church, which suggested that the funds better be spent on helping the poor.

Hundreds of port workers and volunteers struggled for four months to put up the tree in time for the holidays. Work was suspended for six days in early December after Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith lambasted

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II records her traditional Christmas Day broadcast at London’s Buckingham Palace. AP

Michelle Obama keeps kids updated on Santa progress HONOLULU: For most people, a Christmas

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka unveiled a towering

Sri Lankans visit the world’s biggest artificial Christmas tree in Colombo on Saturday. AP the project. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe responded to the criticism by saying the tree was not being built with public money but with donations from individuals and private firms. Guinness World Records is yet to confirm this is the tallest artificial Christmas tree. Currently the record is held by a Chinese firm that

put up a 55m tree-like tower of lights and synthetic foliage, ornaments and lamps in Guangzhou last year.

Sri Lankan organisers said they wanted the tree to help promote ethnic and religious harmony in the Buddhist-majority island nation, where a long civil war ended in 2009 but reconciliation remains

a challenge. “This is just to show the world that we can live as one country, one nation,” said Arjuna Ranatunga, a former cricket player and the minister of ports and shipping. He said Sri Lanka still is still grappling with issues regarding religion, caste and race. Minority Christian and Muslim communities complain of discrimination. AP

did not mention the referendum in which Britain voted to leave the European Union, the dominating political and news feature of 2016 in the United Kingdom.

She chose to focus on smaller-scale decisions instead.

“Even with the inspiration of others, it’s understandable that we sometimes think the world’s problems are so big that we can do little to help,” she said.

“On our own, we cannot end wars or wipe out injustice, but the cumulative impact of thousands of small acts of goodness can be bigger than we imagine.”

The royal family gather for Christmas at Queen Elizabeth’s private Sandringham estate in Norfolk, eastern England.

Queen Elizabeth, who is the supreme governor of the Church of England, often refers directly to her guiding Christian faith in her Christmas message.

“Christ’s example helps me see the value of doing small things with great love,” she said in conclusion.

“The message of Christmas reminds us that inspiration is a gift to be given as well as received, and that love begins small but always grows.

“I wish you all a very happy Christmas.”

The queen’s Yuletide message is an annual tradition screened at 3pm in Britain on Christmas Day, as many families recover from their turkey lunch.

It is broadcast at convenient local times across the Commonwealth.

It is one of the rare occasions where she speaks from the heart, without having to consult government ministers.

The tradition was started on radio by her grandfather king George V in 1932. It is now filmed in advance in high-definition and posted on YouTube. AFP

Eve phone call with the first lady of the United States is an unexpected surprise. But Austin was holding out for someone else.

“I want to hear Santa talk,” said Austin, one of a handful of kids who called the Norad Tracks Santa programme on Saturday and found Michelle Obama on the other end of the line.

Santa couldn’t get to the phone, the first lady patiently explained, “because he’s delivering all the gifts” — three million of them as of late morning in Honolulu, where President Barack Obama and his family are on vacation.

There was a bittersweet note this year as the first lady carried out her annual Christmas ritual for the final time, taking calls from kids who wanted to know exactly how much progress Santa had made on his journey.

It will be up to the next first lady, Melania Trump, to decide next year whether to continue the tradition.

But Austin had another concern in mind: Would Santa know where to go?

“I’m going to move to another house,” said Austin, joined by three other kids in North Carolina.

No matter, Ms Obama replied.

“He’s going to be able to find you no matter where you go,” she said, according to a transcript released by the White House.

“That’s the special thing about Santa.”

The first lady spent roughly a half-hour taking calls before joining her husband, daughters Sasha and Malia and family friends for lunch at Side Street Inn, whose greasy food and low-key atmosphere is popular among Hawaii locals and tourists alike. Then the family drove to Breakout Waikiki, a “live action” experience where visitors are trapped in a room and must work together to break out.

But before the family fun, there was a geography lesson as the first lady updated children about Santa’s most recent locales on his gift-giving voyage: Sardinia, Malta and Hungary, to name a few.

If there was a lesson for the first lady, it was a crash course in the latest hotitem gifts.

A girl named Kirsten told Ms Obama she wanted a drone from Santa. Joshua wanted a Hot Wheels garage, while Aiden wanted a hoverboard.

But it was Adilyn whose gift seemed to catch the first lady off guard.

“I’m getting a hedgehog tomorrow,” Adilyn said. AP

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

I Bangkok Post

WORLD

I 7

AVIATION DISASTERS

Russia decides to ground its new airliner over safety fears Russian aviation authorities have grounded the country’s fleet of its newest model of civilian airliner, the Sukhoi Superjet 100.

Metal fatigue, a problem usually associated with older airplanes, was discovered in the tail section of a new Sukhoi plane, the Russian regulator Rosaviatsia said.

The grounding was the latest setback for the Russian jet, which has already had a rough introduction.

The plane model is important as a test of whether Russia’s military aerospace prowess can translate into a successful civilian product. The manufacturer, Sukhoi, is best known as the maker of military jets now flying over Syria.

Most other Russian-made civilian jets, once a workhorse fleet of wide- and narrow-body planes, are flown only by regional airlines and the ageing planes are plagued by safety problems.

After the latest announcement, the Russian national airline Aeroflot, a major MOSCOW:

Sukhoi customer, on Saturday cancelled 21 flights scheduled on domestic routes during the busy holiday season.

Rosaviatsia ordered the planes grounded pending inspections after a regional carrier, IrAero, reported finding metal fatigue in a component in the tail wings of one plane, according to Regnum, a nongovernmental Russian news agency.

The agency grounded the fleet to determine whether similar problems were appearing in other planes, most of which have been flying for only a few years.

Sukhoi said in a statement that it was conducting inspections of the entire fleet “to support airworthiness of the civilian Sukhoi planes”.

The defect “of one element of the tail portion” could not cause a crash, but “all the same airlines must check this model of aircraft”, the company said.

Aeroflot said in a statement that flights on Sukhoi jets had been cancelled for “technical reasons”. NYT

Russian rescue workers carry a body from the wreckage of the crashed plane at a pier just outside Sochi, Russia, yesterday. AP

Serbia’s miracle woman dies An air hostess who miraculously survived a fall of more than 10km 44 years ago after a plane exploded mid-air has died at the age of 66.

Vesna Vulovic, who was a 22-year-old flight attendant with Yugoslav airways JAT, was found dead by friends in her Belgrade apartment, Tanjug news agency reported on Saturday.

The cause of death was not known.

Vulovic was the only survivor of the Jan 26, 1972, bomb blast over the Czech town of Srbska Kamenice which killed 23 passengers and five crew.

She was trapped in the cone of the BELGRADE:

tail and landed on a slope after plunging 10,160m from the DC-9 aircraft. Vulovic is in the Guinness Book of World Records for surviving the longest fall without a parachute.

She was temporarily paralysed from the waist down and in a coma for nearly a month. She spent several more months in hospital. “My thoughts are always with those who died here,” Vulovic said at a ceremony in 2002 when she returned to the spot where she had landed.

The bomb had been placed in the baggage hold in the Stockholm to Zagreb flight by a Croatian separatist group. AFP

Vesna Vulovic, a former air hostess and survivor of a fall from 10,000m when in 1972 her plane was blown up in mid-fight by a bomb. AP

Day of mourning for Russia 92 on board as plane goes down off Sochi President Vladimir Putin said Russia will observe a national day of mourning today after a military plane with 92 onboard crashed in the Black Sea yesterday with no sign of survivors.

The Russian military plane crashed on its way to Syria with no sign of survivors among the 92 onboard, who included dozens of Red Army Choir members heading to celebrate the New Year with troops.

The Tu-154 plane crashed in the Black Sea shortly after taking off from the southern city of Adler where it had been refuelling, defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told Russian news agencies.

It disappeared from radars just two minutes after it took off at 5.25am (9.25am, Thailand time).

The ministry told agencies there was no MOSCOW:

sign of any survivors at the crash site and that four bodies had been recovered off the coast of the resort city of Sochi, after authorities launched a frantic search operation. “Fragments of the Tu-154 plane of the Russian defence ministry were found 1.5km from the Black Sea coast of the city of Sochi at a depth of 50 to 70m,” the ministry said.

President Vladimir Putin has ordered Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to head a government commission to investigate the crash.

The plane had been on a routine flight to a Russia airbase in western Syria, which has been used to launch air strikes in Moscow’s military campaign supporting its ally President Bashar al-Assad in the country’s devastating civil war.

Among the plane’s 84 passengers were Russian servicemen as well as 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, the army’s official musical group also known as the Red Army Choir, and its conductor Valery Khalilov. They were headed to Syria

to participate in New Year celebrations at the airbase.

Nine journalists were among the passengers, with state-run channels Pervy Kanal, NTV and Zvezda saying they each had three staff onboard the flight. There were also eight crew members onboard, the ministry said.

A list of passengers published by the defence ministry also included Elizaveta Glinka, a doctor and charity worker who serves on the Kremlin human rights council.

Mikhail Fedotov, who heads the council, said Glinka was travelling to Syria to bring medication to a university hospital in the coastal city of Latakia near the airbase, agencies reported.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told news agencies that Mr Putin was being kept updated on the search operation and was in constant contact with defence minister Sergei Shoigu.

Deputy Defence Minister Pavel Popov had flown to Adler along with a team

tasked with clarifying the circumstances surrounding the crash. The ministry has not put forward any possible causes of the crash.

Mr Konashenkov said that the aircraft had been in service since 1983 and had flown some 7,000 hours since. The plane last underwent repairs in December 2014 and was serviced in September, he said.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said a criminal probe had been launched to determine whether violations of air transportation safety had led to the crash.

Investigators are currently questioning the technical personnel responsible for preparing the plane for take-off, the committee said. Tu-154 aircraft have been involved in a number of accidents in the past.

In April 2010 many high-ranking Polish officials, including then president Lech Kaczynski, were killed when a Tu-154 airliner went down in thick fog while approaching Smolensk airport in western Russia. AFP

UNITED STATES

TUNISIA

Trump says he intends to dissolve charity

Authorities arrest Berlin attacker’s nephew, 2 others

WASHINGTON: US President-elect Donald

Trump said on Saturday he intends to dissolve his controversial philanthropic foundation to avoid conflicts of interest.

The move was quickly complicated by an ongoing legal probe.

Mr Trump’s sprawling portfolio of US and overseas business interests and holdings, as well as his Donald J Trump Foundation, have come under increased scrutiny in the weeks since his election.

The closing of his charity would be his first big step to avoid a brewing storm of potential conflicts of interest.

His private foundation has been at the centre of several controversies, including how much money he has actually given it, and is under investigation by New York

attorney general Eric Schneiderman. In a statement to US media on Saturday afternoon, the attorney general’s office said Mr Trump could not yet close the foundation.

“The Trump Foundation is still under investigation by this office and cannot legally dissolve until that investigation is complete,” Schneiderman spokeswoman Amy Spitalnick said.

Mr Trump’s transition team said he had directed his counsel to take the necessary steps to close the foundation.

“The foundation has done enormous good works over the years in contributing millions of dollars to countless worthy groups, including supporting veterans, law enforcement officers and children,” Mr Trump said in a statement.

“However, to avoid even the appearance of any conflict with my role as president I have decided to continue to pursue my strong interest in philanthropy in other ways.”

An investigation by The Washington Post in June said Mr Trump had given just a fraction of the money he’d promised to charity and it was only after public pressure that he made good on a pledge to cough up US$1 million to a nonprofit group for veterans.

His children, too, have come under the spotlight for their charitable enterprises.

Mr Trump’s transition team this week denied a report that his sons were seeking donations of up to $1 million (about 36 million baht) in exchange for possible post-inauguration access.

The Centre for Public Integrity, an award-winning group that addresses ethics and other policy issues, said a nonprofit foundation was set up making discreet potential pay-for-play possible.

Daughter Ivanka Trump was forced to scrap a charity auction for coffee with her after ethics experts said it appeared bidders could pay for special access to the Trump family.

Critics say Mr Trump will run into conflicts unless he fully divests himself of all his business and charitable interests.

Mr Trump savaged his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton during the campaign over her and her husband Bill Clinton’s foundation, calling it a “criminal enterprise”. AFP

SPAIN

Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt dies aged 68 LONDON: Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt

died in hospital on Saturday after suffering a severe infection, his family said. The veteran rocker, who had survived numerous health scares, was 68.

He was taken into hospital in Marbella on the south coast of Spain on Thursday because of complications with a pre-existing shoulder injury.

In nearly five decades in the business, marked by hard rock, hard drugs, hard drinking and an unwavering style, Status Quo were synonymous with rock and roll.

With his flowing blond hair, denim outfits and white Fender Telecaster guitar belting out the riffs, Parfitt was an instantlyrecognisable figure on stage.

The Quo are known for their strippeddown, three-chord hits such as their signature song Rockin’ All Over the World, with which they opened the mammoth 1985 Live Aid concert, which raised money for famine-hit Ethiopia.

“We are truly devastated to have to announce that Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt has passed away,” his family and manager said in a joint statement.

“He died in hospital in Marbella, Spain, as a result of a severe infection, having been admitted to hospital on Thursday evening following complications to a shoulder injury incurred by a previous fall.

“This tragic news comes at a time when Rick was hugely looking forward to

Tunisia on Saturday said it had arrested the nephew of Anis Amri, the suspected Berlin truck attacker gunned down

by Italian police, as Germany searched for the jihadist’s possible accomplices.

Tunisia’s interior ministry said the nephew and two other suspects, aged between 18 and 27, were detained on Friday and were members of a “terrorist cell” connected with Tunisian-born Amri.

It made no direct link between the trio and the Berlin assault last Monday, when Amri is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down people at a Christmas market, killing 12.

The 24-year-old went on the run and was the focus of a four-day manhunt before being shot dead by police in Milan after opening fire first.

The Berlin rampage was admitted by the Islamic State (IS), which released a video on Friday in which Amri is shown pledging allegiance to IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The Tunisian interior ministry said in a statement that Amri had sent money to his nephew so he could join him in Germany, and had allegedly urged him “to pledge allegiance to Daesh [IS]”. The unnamed nephew also claimed his uncle was the leader of a jihadist group based in Germany, known as the Abu al-Walaa brigade, it added.

The arrests come as German authorities probe whether Amri had help before or BERLIN:

after the attack. Hundreds of investigators are set to work on the case throughout the holiday season. “It is very important for us to determine whether there was a network of accomplices ... in the preparation or the execution of the attack, or the flight of the suspect,” federal prosecutor Peter Frank said on Friday.

Seven of those killed were German nationals, a federal police spokeswoman said. The other five victims came from the Czech Republic, Italy, Israel, Poland and Ukraine.

The fact Amri was able to travel to Italy unhindered despite a Europe-wide arrest warrant has raised uncomfortable questions for intelligence agencies. German security services have also faced criticism for not keeping better tabs on Amri before the Berlin carnage, even though he was a known criminal. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere denied there had been a blanket security failure. It “is impossible to monitor every person suspected of posing a threat around the clock”, he told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged a “comprehensive” analysis of how Amri was able to slip the net, vowing to speed up the deportation of rejected asylum seekers such as him. Amri was killed after firing at two officers who stopped him for a routine identity check on Friday near a Milan railway station. AFP

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Asylum seekers riot at camp SYDNEY: Asylum seekers held at a Papua

Rick Parfitt of British rock group Status Quo performing in the Stravinski Hall stage at the 43rd Montreux Jazz Festival, in Montreux, Switzerland. According to media reports citing Parfitt’s manager, Parfitt died at a hospital in Spain on Christmas Eve aged 68. EPA launching a solo career with an album and autobiography planned for 2017 following his departure from Status Quo’s touring activities on medical advice.

“He will be sorely missed by his family, friends, fellow band members, management, crew and his dedicated legion of fans from throughout the world, gained through 50 years of monumental success with Status

Quo.” Parfitt is survived by his wife Lyndsay, their young twins Tommy and Lily and his adult children Rick Junior and Harry.

Parfitt had battled a series of heart problems.

Doctors first told Parfitt his lifestyle of rock and roll debauchery could cost him his life after a quadruple heart bypass in 1997.

In 2005 he had a throat cancer scare and had another heart attack in 2011.

Earlier this year, Parfitt suffered yet another heart attack.

Later he announced he would not return to perform live with Status Quo. One of Britain’s most successful bands of all time, the band has sold more than 118 million records. AFP

New Guinea detention centre briefly took control of two compounds and expelled guards following the death of a refugee who fell ill at the centre, Papua New Guinea police said yesterday.

Senior Sergeant Thomas Lelepo, from Lorengau Police Station on Manus Island, said guards at the Manus Island regional processing centre were expelled by residents last night.

“There was a situation there ... over the death of a resident,” he said, adding that order had been restored.

A 27-year-old Sudanese man, who was identified as Faysal Ishak Ahmed by refugee advocates, collapsed at the centre and was evacuated to hospital in Australia this week.

Australia’s Department of Immigration and Border Protection said he died on Saturday.

The man’s death is not being treated as suspicious by Australian authorities but detainees and refugee rights groups have claimed the man was seriously ill for months and had made repeated requests for

medical assistance before the emergency.

Under Australia’s tough border security policy, asylum seekers intercepted trying to reach the country by boat are sent for processing at the camps on Papua New Guinea’s Manus island and Nauru in the South Pacific. They are never eligible for resettlement in Australia.

An Australian immigration department spokesperson confirmed an incident on Manus Island overnight. “The Department is aware of a disturbance involving a group of residents in the mess area of Manus RPC,” the spokesperson said in a statement on Sunday. “The disturbance has now been resolved. There is minor property damage and no reported injuries.”

Photos posted to Facebook by Iranian refugee Behrouz Boochani, who is among the asylum seekers held on Manus Island, showed what appeared to be damage to a mess area inside one of the compounds.

The UN and human rights groups have condemned Australia’s immigration policy. REUTERS

8 I

Bangkok Post I

OPINION

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

Established 1946

Bangkok Post The Newspaper You Can Trust

PM silences the nation

I

t should not be news when a national leader pledges to enforce a law. Yet Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha made front-page headlines on the weekend when he felt compelled to promise he would implement the massively amended Computer Crime Act 2016 (CCA 16) with neither fear nor favour. The premier has turned this law into a controversy. Instead of consulting the country, he has reinforced — again — the claim that the military regime considers legitimate criticism as scurrilous attacks.

Prime Minister Prayut has both plans and policies to develop the country. But his damaging new revisions to an already flawed computer law illustrate its shortcomings. By refusing to acknowledge the serious problems with the new legislation, the premier is once again rejecting the public’s voice. Critics of the bill are not enemies of the country or the military regime. He just seems to be treating them that way.

The amended Computer Crime Act was on the desks of Gen Prayut’s cabinet and members of the National Legislative Assembly for months. To their credit, the NLA leaders were open about the bill’s agenda. The public got notice of parliamentary hearings, and of the voting schedule. Ten days ago, Critics of the bill exactly as the government are not enemies of asked, the NLA passed the law unanimously. the country or the What they got is effectively a new law, with military regime. more opaque sections and He just seems to be harsher punishments than ever seen before. In effect, treating them it allows the government, police or prosecutors that way. unlimited discretion in defining an online crime.

For example, a crime is anything on a computer or device that is “a breach of good morality”. To quote the prime minister, “Good morality is peace, order and national security”. And anyone violating peace, order or national security faces a 15-year prison sentence.

The most prominent legal, political and digital-economy experts explained the problem. Criminal laws are not supposed to be vague, but to precisely define crimes. The ruling junta under Gen Prayut clearly wanted this shadowy wording, which amounts to a threat against anyone using a computer or similar device. As the prime minister put it, he intends to use the law to get rid of junk information. That only adds yet another layer of haze to the blurred lines of what is, and what is not, legal while online.

On Friday, Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva called on Gen Prayut to be more mindful of constructive criticism. He is correct. No less than Gen Prayut, Thais demand updated laws to deal with digital crimes. But most want something better than the CCA 16. He said Gen Prayut takes both criticism and helpful suggestions as proof of political obstruction.

This has defined almost all government actions since the coup. With new laws and reforms alike, the regime has almost always ignored expert opinion. This is not encouraging for a junta that has set out a roadmap to return the country to democratic and constitutional rule.

By actual definition, democracy means holding a government to account. But under Gen Prayut, neither his government nor his appointed legislative and reform bodies have answered to the public. Instead of listening to expert opinion on this disputatious computer legislation, the prime minister has ignored them.

The premier has attempted to link critics of the law with criminal activists who have attempted to disrupt some government websites. Most people will see that this is unfair. Gen Prayut and his legislators have had months to listen to the public, and chose to ignore them. This has made an arguably bad law even worse. The public should always have a voice on important legislation.

THE BANGKOK POST Vol.LXIX No.361 The Bangkok Post is edited by Umesh Pandey for the Post Publishing Public Company Limited, Printer, Publisher and Owner.

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Xmas gifts and economic logic FESTIVE SEASON MEGAN MCARDLE

S

pend much time with economists around this time of year, and you will, eventually, get around to hearing about the dreadful inefficiency of exchanging gifts. You desperately wrack your brains for something, and then buy a supply of scented bath oil for someone who has only got a shower; they return the favour by giving you three books you already had.

This is, an economist will solemnly point out, an extreme waste of resources, because each of you would have been happier taking the same amount of cash to buy something for yourself.

This observation is frequently greeted with cries of “Scrooge!” And yet on one level, it’s obviously true, as attested by the vast stocks of unused scented bath sets accumulated by mothers, grandmothers and aunts in their linen closets. And yet, on another level it’s just as obviously false: even if you are the sort of rational calculating machine who shows up in economics models as Homo economicus.

There is a higher logic to the gift economy, a metarationality, that mandates we keep giving and receiving objects of dubious value rather than giving one another money or just abstaining from the exchange of gifts.

We think of “the economy” as a single vast sphere, where cash is king and caveat emptor.

But in fact, every American lives in two economies: the market economy, dominated by

arms-length transactions with strangers; and the “gift economy”, regulated by what anthropologists call reciprocal altruism. Market transactions are specified exchanges of value for value, with few residual obligations on either party once the contract has been executed, the sale completed. Reciprocal altruism is a lot fuzzier; it’s a sort of favour bank, where you and I (tacitly) agree that we will help each other out without knowing when or how that help might be demanded.

Reciprocal altruism has some benefits over market exchange, which is why smaller groups generally at least partially rely on it. It lowers what economists call “transaction costs”: the non-cash costs of coming to an agreement.

These can include things like finding someone who will sell you what you want, negotiating a price, and paying a lawyer to draw up a contract. I don’t need to negotiate a price with my sister when I ask her to drive me to the airport, or call a cab company, or worry that the cab won’t show; she’ll show up because she’s my sister.

Reciprocal altruism also has some higher

‘‘

costs: you have to put more work into signalling loyalty to the relationship, often by putting favours into that favour bank; you generally can’t just decide that you’d rather not trade today. You stand by your brother in a fight, even if that fight is unwise; you take your friend to the doctor, even if you have other important things to do and your friend is a hypochondriac. But there is a payoff to this: when you have a crisis, and really need them, those people are going to be there for you no matter what time of night, or how costly it may be.

Reciprocal altruism is a universal insurance policy that neither the market nor the government can fully replace.

Trying to conduct one sort of exchange by the rules of the other doesn’t really work.

That’s why communism has never successfully worked above the level of a small group; it’s trying to manage transactions with strangers on the logic of small-group reciprocal altruism. Those small groups have a lot of social mechanisms, from shaming to threat of exile, to prevent people from cheating. When you try to scale it up to millions of strangers, it

Go ahead and buy that scented bath set. The recipient will enjoy having something to open.

Megan McArdle is a Bloomberg View columnist.

PostBag Unseen Buddhists Re: “Selling Buddhism”, PostBag, Dec 24.

I think Kuldeep Nagi was both incorrect and unfair when he criticised me for not “realising” that Thailand has nothing to do with Buddha’s teachings. Since Buddhism is Thailand’s national religion, how is it that the country has nothing to do with Buddha’s teachings?

Khun Kuldeep should know that even in areas deep in alleyways off busy Bangkok streets there are people living a quiet and contented life free from most of the influences of the outside world.

Most of these people go to bed as early as nine o’clock in the evening, and wake up at four or five in the morning. They have lived their lives in a frugal and religious manner for generations.

VINT CHAVALA

Blanket suppression A writer (Dec 24) mentioned “blind faith” and “senseless rituals” in relation to Thai Buddhism. A good description, I think, for the workings of many other “institutions”.

It seems to be a constant in human mass psychology. It always kicks in when thinking is replaced by following. And it always ends with prosecution of non-followers.

Diversity and creativity are turned into bleak uniformity. What a sad world. We could do so much better.

KARL REICHSTETTER

Hidden treasures Kuldeep Nagi paints a rather bleak and one-sided picture of Buddhism in Thailand.

Despite all the tawdry news and grind-

collapses into destitution or bloody tyranny.

But that’s also why trying to scale down the rules of market exchange to the intimate network of family and friends is doomed to fail. (If you don’t believe me, try offering your partner money to have sexy time with you.)

The rules of reciprocal altruism actually require some inefficiency. Imagine the two possible outcomes if gift exchanges were reduced to cash: you both give each other equivalent amounts of cash, in which case, why bother; and one person gives the other more cash, in which case we now observe a sudden disparity in how committed the two parties are to the relationship. This is corrosive to reciprocal altruism.

That’s why we don’t let cash intrude into these relationships (and why a lot of people have a deep moral intuition that turning certain sorts of (typically intimate) dynamics into market transactions, via prostitution or organ sales, is morally wrong or at least questionable. Gifts, unlike cash, put us into a relationship with someone, one in which some labour had to be expended on choosing the gift, some thought given to the other person and what they might like. It is the maintenance fee for your relationship, the premium for your insurance policy.

So, no matter how fond you are of economic logic, don’t let it spoil your holiday season: go ahead and buy that scented bath set. The recipient will enjoy having something to open.

And since our brains are hardwired for reciprocal altruism, it will probably make both of you just a little bit merrier, toward each other and everyone else. ©2016 BLOOMBERG VIEW

ing corruption constantly gnawing on the spiritual heart of Buddhism there remains a robust and resilient core of real practitioners in this country.

Especially in the forest tradition in rural settings, the authentic and profound teaching and teachers of Theravada Buddhism may still be found. I would urge Mr Nagi and anyone interested in taking up the real study and practice of Buddhism to dig a little deeper into the rich treasure that is Thai Buddhism.

MICHAEL SETTER

Absolving the rich Having given the subject serious thought I have decided the founder of Dhammakaya temple was on to a sure-fire winner in present day Thailand.

With corruption endemic and a large number of politicians, police and government servants earning money from dubious sources that they cannot admit to, there is a large number of “important” people who are in dire need of a way to gain elevation in their next life after being so immoral in this one as to be doomed in normal Buddhist terms.

Dhammakaya is just perfect for individuals in this situation because with a small fraction of their vast wealth they can pur-

CONTACT: BANGKOK POST BUILDING, 136 NA RANONG ROAD, KLONG TOEY, BANGKOK 10110 FAX: +02 2403666, email: postbag@bangkokpost.co.th All letter writers must provide full name and address. All published correspondence is subject to editing at our discretion

chase a lofty position in the next life despite the bad effects their current life should earn them. Its a great way to win from doing evil.

Very handy.

“

InQuote

LUNGSTIB

Obama’s legacy Theodore Soderberg in his Dec 25 letter “Hope, change and farce” writes that US President Obama “nearly destroyed America”.

With the stock market going through the ceiling (it nearly crashed when George W Bush was president) unemployment below 5% and the country now experiencing significant economic growth, how has America been “nearly destroyed”?

It seems Postbag has given a licence to right-wing people who only want to disrespect the president of the United States without providing a fact or shred of evidence that Mr Obama did not perform well.

ERIC BAHRT

Chiang Mai

Fear of dissent Thailand is no stranger to the persecution of minorities. The government of every country on earth has been guilty of this at one time or another.

As Myanmar persecutes minorities, they are forcing them to join forces, which makes one think the Myanmar government wants a civil war. Perhaps Thailand should consider Myanmar as a mirror: should internet defenders be punished or deified?

The difficulty with the second law is there are plenty more young folk who know how to hack the system — and some of them are out of reach.

MICHAEL WELDON

This worldliness has taken Christmas hostage.

POPE FRANCIS, CRITICISING RISING MATERIALISM.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

I Bangkok Post

SPORTS

Lift, putt, kick... Thais have a year to savour

I 9

As 2016 draws to a close, Sports desk looks back at a highly satisfactory season in which the Kingdom’s athletes made international headlines

Ariya Jutanugarn poses with the Women’s British Open trophy. AFP

POWERFUL WEIGHTLIFTERS

Olympic weightlifting champions Sopita Tanasan, left, and Sukanya Srisurat show their gold medals during a homecoming parade in Bangkok. AFP

Thailand claimed two gold, two silver and two bronze medals at the 2016 Olympics and four of these were won by the country’s weightlifters.

Sopita Tanasan was champion in her debut in the 48kg class, having been a regular weightlifter in the 53kg division.

She comfortably beat silver medallist Sri Wahyuni Agustiani of Indonesia by 8kg.

“The win is for my late father who did not have the chance to see my success. I hope he saw my victory from above,” said Sopita of Chumphon.

Having been banned by the International Weightlifting Federation from 2011-2013 for using a prohibited substance, Sukanya Srisurat was Thailand’s other gold medallist at the Rio Games after her success in the 53kg category.

She defeated teammate Pimsiri Sirikaew who won her second silver medal following her runner-up finish at London 2012.

Pimsiri is the only second Thai athlete to claim more than one Olympic medal after boxer Manus Boonjamnong, who sealed gold in 2004 and silver in 2008.

Chon Buri-native Sukanya was picked by the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) as female athlete of the year ahead of Sopita because Sukanya set a new Olympic record during the Rio Games.

Sinphet Kruaithong, a relatively unknown weightlifter before the Rio tournament, defied all odds to grab the bronze in the men’s 56kg class.

With the success, he became the first Thai male lifter to win an Olympic medal.

Weightlifting is now the Kingdom’s most successful sport at the Olympics with five gold medals overall, one more than boxing.

Thailand’s other two medal winners in Rio were taekwondo fighters Tawin Harnprab (silver) and Panipak Wongpattanakit (bronze).

It was the first time that Thailand won more than one taekwondo medal in a single Games, although Panipak’s bronze was considered a failure as she was a pre-tournament favourite for gold.

Also, Tawin is the first Thai man to win an Olympic medal in the Korean martial art.

CME Globe which came with US$1 million in bonus.

On the men’s side, Thongchai Jaidee secured his eighth European Tour title at the 100th French Open.

KINGS OF ASEAN FOOTBALL Having won all of their five matches from the first round to the semi-finals, Thailand tasted their first defeat of the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup when they lost 2-1 to Indonesia in Bogor in the first leg of the final.

Kiatisak Senamuang’s men overturned the deficit with a 2-0 victory at Rajamangala National Stadium in the second leg for a record fifth Asean title, one more than Singapore’s tally.

Forward Sirod ‘Pipo’ Chatthong became an instant hero as he scored both goals in the deciding match.

The 24-year-old was only called up to the national team recently.

He also scored a goal against Myanmar in Thailand’s 4-0 win in the second leg of the semifinal in Bangkok.

“I am not a hero. The whole team is,” said Sirod after the most glittering moments of his career.

Thailand also claimed two major individual awards at the 2016 Suzuki Cup with midfielder Chanathip ‘Messi Jay’ Songkrasin being named the most valuable player and forward Teerasil Dangda topping the scoring charts.

Kiatisak became the most successful person of the Southeast Asian championship with two titles as coach and three as player.

PARALYMPIC SUCCESS Wheelchair racer Pongsakorn Paeyo celebrates a win at the Paralympics. REUTERS Tawin Hanprab celebrates after winning a bout at the Rio Games. EPA

Thailand had their best ever Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, capturing six gold, six silver and six bronze medals which surpassed their previous top haul of five golds at Sydney 2000.

Teenage wheelchair racer Pongsakorn Payae was Thailand’s most successful athlete at the Rio Paralympics with two gold and an equal number of silver medals.

“I put in my best effort because it is my first appearance in the biggest sporting event for the disabled,” Paralympian Pongsakorn, 19, said after a win.

Veteran wheelchair racer Prawat Wahoram and boccia star Watcharaphon Vongsa also took two golds each.

With the Rio achievement, Prawat, 35, became Thailand’s most decorated Paralympian with seven gold medals.

Thailand have been participating in the Paralympics since 1984.

The Thai contingent finished 23rd overall in the Rio medals table, improving on their last show in London where they were spotted in 31st place with four gold, two silver and two bronze medals four years ago.

ARIYA’S BREAKTHROUGH

Sirod Chatthong, left, and teammate Tanaboon Kesarat take their turn to lift the Suzuki Cup. AFP

Ariya Jutanugarn held a two-shot lead with three holes left at the ANA Inspiration, the year’s first major, only to suffer a late collapse and hand the title to New Zealand’s Lydia Ko in April.

However, she used the disappointment at Rancho Mirage as springboard to stardom.

The following month, Ariya, now 21, won at the Yokohama Tire Classic to become the first Thai champion on the LPGA Tour.

“It was so tough. I couldn’t control anything.

My legs were shaking, my hands were shaking,” Ariya said after the Alabama tournament.

She was triumphant in all of the three tournaments scheduled for the month of May, which co-incidentally is her nickname.

In all, Ariya lifted winner’s trophies five times this year including the Women’s British Open.

At the end of the season, Ariya won the money title, player of the year award, and Race to the

Ratchanok Intanon thanks fans after her Singapore Open win. EPA

RISE AND FALL OF RATCHANOK Ratchanok Intanon was unstoppable in the first few months of the year.

She won at the Thailand Masters in February and then claimed three consecutive Superseries titles in India, Malaysia and Singapore to briefly become the top-ranked player in the world.

Hit by injuries and doping allegations — she was later cleared of any wrongdoing by the Badminton World Federation — the 2013 world champion has since gone downhill.

Tipped to win Thailand’s first ever Olympic medal in badminton, Ratchanok, who like Ariya is nicknamed May, suffered an early exit in Rio. The 21-year-old shuttler finished last in the group stage of the World Superseries Finals in Dubai earlier this month.

Ratchanok is now ranked fifth in the world after her Dubai setback.

Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk claimed the Denmark Open title to become the first Thai male shuttler to win a top-tier Superseries tournament.

He dedicated the success to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, a patron of Thai badminton who passed away on Oct 13, co-incidentally Tanongsak’s 26th birthday.

“I have been playing internationally for 11 years and I am so happy today… so happy that I can dedicate this trophy to my King [Bhumibol],” Tanongsak said after the biggest win of his career.

He also lifted the Thailand Open trophy, graciously donated by the late monarch, and is being seen as an heir to veteran Boonsak Ponsana who retired this month.

10 I

Bangkok Post I

SPORTS

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

RUGBY

Raiders lose Carr in costly win Texans, Falcons and Giants reach play-offs WASHINGTON: Oakland’s Derek Carr was

among three NFL stars to suffer broken right legs on Saturday while the Atlanta Falcons, Houston Texans and New York Giants booked play-off berths.

On a wild day with 12 games, Green Bay set up a showdown with Detroit next weekend to decide a division crown while Cleveland avoided a winless season and San Francisco snapped a 13-game skid.

Tennessee quarterback Marcus Mariota and Seattle receiver Tyler Lockett suffered broken legs, dimming title hopes for their squads, but the biggest loss was Carr.

Oakland (12-3) stayed on the heels of New England (13-2) for a home play-off edge by downing Indianapolis 33-25, but the Raiders were undone when quarterback Carr was injured when sacked early in the fourth quarter by Colts linebacker Trent Cole.

“A good win but a tough setback to have our QB go down like that,” said Raiders coach Jack Del Rio, who added that Carr will had surgery yesterday on his fractured right fibula.

Matt McGloin, 1-5 as a starter (all in 2013) with only 13 career NFL games, will replace Carr in hopes of keeping the Raiders’ title bid on track.

Dallas, Seattle, New England and Oakland had already secured play-off berths and New Orleans beat Tampa Bay 31-24 to ensure the Giants a wild-card spot and Atlanta the NFC South division crown.

Houston clinched their place in the knockout fight to the Super Bowl with a 12-10 victory over Cincinnati that wasn’t secured until Bengals kicker Randy Bullock was wide right on a 43-yard field goal attempt on the final play.

Aaron Rodgers completed 28-of-38 passes for 347 yards and four touchdowns to power the Green Bay Packers over visiting Minnesota 38-25 for their fifth win in a row.

The victory means the Packers (9-6) will play for the NFC North title at Detroit on Jan 1 no matter how the Lions (9-5) fare at Dallas tomorrow morning (Thai time).

“We had some adversity and we stuck together,” Rodgers said.

“I’m really proud of the character of the football team. It has been one of those trying seasons where it hasn’t quite come together at the right time.

The All Blacks pose with the Rugby Championship trophy. REUTERS

All Blacks, England vie for 2016 plaudits

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr is tackled by Colts outside linebacker Trent Cole. AP “But over the last five weeks, we’ve shown a lot of mental toughness, a lot of grit, and guys sticking together when there could have been some fracturing.”

The Vikings, who opened the season 5-0, fell to 7-8 and out of play-off contention after the team plane skidded off a runway after landing on Friday at a nearby airport, stranding players and coaches on the plane for more than four hours.

“I don’t think the plane ride had anything to do with it or anything else. There are no excuses,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said.

Atlanta’s Matt Ryan threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns while Matt Bryant kicked four field goals as the Falcons (10-5) beat hosts Carolina 33-16.

Miami’s Jay Ajayi ran for 206 yards and a touchdown in the Dolphins’ 34-31 victory at Buffalo. Andrew Franks kicked the

winning 27-yard field goal with 47 seconds remaining in overtime.

The Dolphins (10-5) would claim their first play-off berth since 2008 if Kansas City beat Denver this morning.

New England routed the New York Jets 41-3 and can clinch a home-field play-off edge by beating Miami next week.

The Patriots — on a six-game winning streak — gave coach Bill Belichick his 200th career victory as Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes, LeGarrette Blount ran for two touchdowns and Stephen Gostkowski kicked his 300th career NFL field goal.

Tennessee’s play-off hopes ended due to the 38-17 loss at Jacksonville in which Mariota was injured.

Washington sustained wild card playoff hopes with a 41-21 victory at Chicago.

Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins ran for

two touchdowns and threw for another as Washington (8-6) enters next week’s finale against the Giants with a chance to advance.

The Browns avoided a winless campaign with a 20-17 home victory over San Diego, ensuring they will not match the 2008 Detroit Lions as the only 0-16 teams in NFL history.

San Diego’s Josh Lambo missed a 45-yard field goal attempt on the final play to preserve Cleveland’s longawaited victory.

San Francisco snapped a 13-game losing streak by edging Los Angeles 22-21 as Colin Kaepernick flipped a touchdown pass to Rod Streater with 31 seconds remaining then ran in a game-winning two-point conversion.

The 49ers had not won since beating Los Angeles in the season opener. AFP

Brown stars as Rainbow Warriors claim Hawaii Bowl Hawaii quarterback Dru Brown threw for 274 yards and four touchdowns as the Rainbow Warriors overcame an early deficit to beat Middle Tennessee 52-35 in the Hawaii Bowl on Saturday.

The Rainbow Warriors (7-7) amassed 500 yards of total offence and their highest-scoring output this season to end on a three-game winning streak. The Christmas Eve victory marks their first bowl win since 2006, an unlikely end to a season that began with losses in three of the first four games.

“It’s been up and down all year and there were a lot of times these kids could have quit and they stuck together, not only for the seniors, but for the fans and the supporters of Warrior football,’’ coach Nick Rolovich said. “They represented the university very well and I’m happy for them to go out with a win today.’’

Brown completed 20 of 30 passes without an interception. He had a two-yard touchdown run and was sacked just once.

Brown has nine touchdowns to zero interceptions over his past two games.

Tight end Metuisela Unga caught two HONOLULU:

The All Blacks and a revitalised England dominated world rugby in 2016, boding well for what could be an epic British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand next year.

Even the most optimistic observer would have bet on the All Blacks suffering after losing a combined total of 589 caps when they waved farewell to iconic skipper Richie McCaw, emblematic goal-kicking playmaker Dan Carter, Keven Mealamu, Conrad Smith and Ma’a Nonu after bagging a second successive World Cup in October 2015.

It was that tournament in which England spectacularly underperformed, their failure to get out of their pool — the first ever by a host country — hastening the departure of Stuart Lancaster and ushering in pragmatic Australian Eddie Jones.

From different angles, the two leading sides in world rugby hit 2016 running, both ending the year with 13 Test victories.

New Zealand racked up a recordequalling 18 Test wins, started in 2015, a sequence ended by a 40-29 defeat by Ireland in Chicago in November. England, for their part, finished the year undefeated, a first since 1992.

Under Jones, who had coached Japan at the World Cup — notably to the upset victory over South Africa, England bagged their first Six Nations Grand Slam since 2003 and won a first-ever Test series in Australia in a dynamic 3-0 whitewash.

The All Blacks completely dominated the Rugby Championship, winning the southern hemisphere’s elite round-robin tournament with two rounds still to play, averaging 44 points a match and a winning margin of 30.

Among their victories was a memorable 42-9 stuffing of the Wallabies and a record 57-15 away victory over South Africa.

“To come out and do what we’ve done this year, lose just the one match, play some good rugby at times, to stand up under pressure late in the season when fatigue is a big factor, I’m very proud of our team,” said All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, who gave starts to 20 players who didn’t go to the World Cup. Indeed, the Kiwi factory has not relented in producing some fantastically talented players.

How many other countries would cope with the departure of players of the quality and experience as Carter, Nonu and Smith in the backline? Not many, but up stepped Beauden Barrett, Anton Lienert-Brown, Malakai Fekitoa and Ryan Crotty, all looking like seasoned All Black pros.

McCaw might have gone off to pilot helicopters, but No.8 Kieran Read has PARIS:

of Brown’s scoring strikes, an 18-yarder in the first quarter for Hawaii’s first score and a 12-yarder late in the third.

Hawaii running back Diocemy Saint Juste ran for 170 yards on 25 carries.

Hawaii turned three Middle Tennessee turnovers into 21 points. They fell behind 14-0 just over five minutes into the game, but scored the next 28 points and never relinquished the lead.

“That’s been kind of a trend this year where we start off slow, but after those two scores we all came together on the sideline and said, ‘Enough is enough, let’s go,’’’ Hawaii defensive lineman Kory Rasmussen said.

Brent Stockstill started at quarterback for the Blue Raiders after missing the previous three games with a broken collarbone.

He finished 30 of 51 passing for 432 yards.

Stockstill threw four touchdown passes — two to Richie James — and was intercepted twice.

“I played terrible in first half and put us in a deep hole. We tried to come out of it, but we just didn’t make enough plays,’’ Stocksill said. AP

Hawaii’s RJ Hollis, No.74, and his teammates celebrate winning the Hawaii Bowl. AP

England head coach Eddie Jones. REUTERS assumed the captain’s duties with aplomb and the openside flank has been successfully occupied by Matt Todd, Sam Cane and Liam Squire.

For England, it was more of a mental change of attitude under Jones, rather than a change in the squad Lancaster struggled to get the best out of.

A good dose of arrogance and self-confidence has transformed the Red Rose team, the likes of James Haskell and the Vunipola brothers thriving under Jones’ no-nonsense approach in which no player is guaranteed a place.

“The only record we are interested to beat is to be the No.1 team in the world and to do that we have to win the World Cup,” said Jones.

The Australian added that he’d be happy for his team to play the All Blacks “tomorrow”.

But they won’t. That will fall to the British and Irish Lions on a 10-match, three-Test tour, coached by Wales’ Kiwi-born Warren Gatland, who successfully led the amalgamated team to a series win over Australia in 2013.

“In every position they’ve got real depth,” Hansen said. “These guys are going to be able to play a really strong midweek team and also have a very strong Test team who are going to be fresh and ready to rumble.”

2016 also marked the reappearance of rugby at the Olympics, the seven-a-side form of the game debuting at the Rio Games. Fiji ran out convincing winners in the men’s competition, beating Britain in the final, while Australia trumped over New Zealand for the women’s gold.

English champions Saracens beat Top 14 winners Racing 92 21-9 to win European Champions Cup, while Connacht surprised Leinster to claim the Celtic League title.

Hurricanes won their maiden Super Rugby title, beating the Lions 20-3, with two other Kiwi sides in the semi-finals — the Chiefs and Highlanders, a telling reminder of New Zealand’s strength in depth. AFP

SAILING

Slingsby looks to add final touch to resume Australian sailor Tom Slingsby has won the America’s Cup and an Olympic gold medal. Still missing from his career resume is a line honours’ victory in the Sydney to Hobart race.

Slingsby will be the master tactician aboard super maxi Perpetual Loyal when it leaves Sydney today along with 88 other yachts in the annual 628-nautical mile race to Australia’s island state of Tasmania.

The owner and skipper of Perpetual Loyal is Anthony Bell, who has made it a priority to raise money for hospital equipment for sick children. Another priority will be to finish the race after a few years where weather conditions forced the yacht to retire.

“To win the Hobart you’ve got to get to Hobart, and we’re very focused on our SYDNEY:

Tom Slingsby’s Perpetual Loyal at the SOLAS Big Boat Challenge in Sydney. EPA AMERICAN FOOTBALL WASHINGTON: Results and standings in the National Football League after Saturday’s games: Washington 41 Chicago 21; Green Bay 38 Minnesota 25; New England 41 New York Jets 3; Jacksonville 38 Tennessee 17; Cleveland 20 San Diego 17; Atlanta 33 Carolina 16; Miami 34 Buffalo 31 (overtime); Oakland 33 Indianapolis 25; New Orleans 31 Tampa Bay 24; San Francisco 22 Los Angeles 21; Arizona 34 Seattle 31; Houston 12 Cincinnati 10 STANDINGS AMERICAN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE AFC EAST W L T OTL PF PA PCT 1. Y-N England 13 2 0 0 406 236 .867

2. Miami 3. Buffalo

10 5 0 7 8 0

0 349 345 .667 1 389 348 .467

4. NYJets

4 11 0

0 245 399 .267

AFC NORTH

SCORES and STANDINGS 4. Jacksonville

3 12 0 0 298 376 .200 AFC WEST

3. Washington

3. New Orleans 7 8 0 4. Carolina

0 386 364 .567

0 437 416 .467

6 9 0 0 353 385 .400 NFC WEST W L T OTL PF PA PCT

6 9 0 1 340 318 .400 NFC NORTH

1. Y-Seattle

9 5 1

0 329 269 .633

12 3 0

0 410 361 .800

W L T OTL PF PA PCT

2. Arizona

6 8 1

0 374 356 .433

0 306 263 .571

2. Kansas City 10 4 0

0 319 274 .714

1. Detroit

9 5 0

0 301 285 .643

3. Los Angeles

4 11 0

0 218 350 .267

5 9 1

0 298 305 .367

3. Denver

8 6 0

1 299 258 .571

2. Green Bay

9 6 0

0 401 364 .600

1 14 0

1 240 425 .067

4. San Diego

5 10 0

1 383 386 .333

3. Minnesota

7 8 0

1 289 297 .467

4. San Francisco 2 13 0 1 286 455 .133 x-clinched play-off spot; y-clinched division

4. Chicago

3 12 0

0 269 361 .200

9 5 0

0 341 276 .643

1. X-Oakland

2. Baltimore

8 6 0

3. Cincinnati

AFC SOUTH

NATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE

W L T OTL PF PA PCT

4. Philadelphia

8 6 1

‘Have you won the Sydney to Hobart?’”

Slingsby is now based in Bermuda as he prepares to defend the America’s Cup title he won as strategist with Oracle Team USA in 2013.

Skippers in this year’s Sydney to Hobart were told to expect favourable conditions over the opening day of sailing: a fast start on Sydney Harbour in a brisk north-easterly, and that the breeze will strengthen throughout the afternoon as the boats run down the New South Wales state coast.

That translates to spinnaker sailing in 20 to 25 knots, allowing the super-maxis to pull away from the rest of the fleet and potentially challenge the race record.

Earlier in the week, veteran Spanish sailor Juan Vila, navigator aboard race

W L T OTL PF PA PCT

W L T OTL PF PA PCT 1. Pittsburgh

4. Cleveland

leanings around that,’’ Bell told The Weekend Australian newspaper.

Slingsby, who won a Laser gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics, has been part of the fund-raising effort for sick kids.

“We’ve formed a really tight friendship and great mateship,’’ Bell said. “Tommy’s probably one of the best sailors in the world and refuses to take a cent out of Loyal. He converts his stuff into kids’ medical equipment and that is a good statement about him as a bloke.’’

Slingsby is also focused on finishing — and winning.

“I’ve won an Olympic gold medal, I’ve won the America’s Cup, the two biggest things in sailing,’’ he said. “But I return back to Australia and I still get the question,

NFC EAST

NFC SOUTH

1. Y-Houston

9 6 0

0 262 304 .600

2. Tennessee

8 7 0

0 357 361 .533

1. Y-Dallas

12 2 0

0 366 258 .857

1. Y-Atlanta

3. Indianapolis

7 8 0

1 387 372 .467

2. X-NY Giants 10 5 0

0 291 274 .667

2. Tampa Bay

W L T OTL PF PA PCT

W L T OTL PF PA PCT 10 5 0

1 502 374 .667

8 7 0

1 337 353 .533

SOCCER GLASGOW: Scottish Premiership results on Saturday: Hamilton 0 Celtic 3 (Griffiths 41, Armstrong 54, Dembele 84); Rangers 1 (Waghorn 13)

record holder Wild Oats XI, said the winner could finish in around 38 or 39 hours. That would have Wild Oats XI across the line at Constitution Dock in Hobart in about 1 day, 14 or 15 hours, well inside Wild Oats’ record of 1 day, 18 hours, 23 minutes, 12 seconds in 2012.

There are 12 international yachts, including skipper Jonas Grander on Swedish entry Matador, Richard Stain on Britain’s Samskara, Kwanymin Rho aboard Sonic from South Korea and Joseph Mele, skipper of the US entry Triple Lindy.

Last year, American yacht Comanche won the storm-wracked race in 2 days, 8 hours, 58 minutes, 30 seconds. It was the first American winner since 1998 and the first foreign winner since Sweden’s Assa Abloy in 2001. AP Inverness CT 0

Celtic Rangers Aberdeen Hearts St Johnstone Ross County Dundee Kilmarnock Partick Motherwell Hamilton Inverness CT

STANDINGS P W D L 18 17 1 0 19 11 5 3 18 9 4 5 19 7 7 5 18 7 6 5 19 4 8 7 19 5 4 10 19 4 7 8 19 4 6 9 18 4 5 9 19 2 10 7 19 3 7 9

GF 50 26 32 34 24 20 18 16 22 22 19 23

GA 13 18 18 25 20 32 26 31 29 31 28 35

Pts 52 38 31 28 27 20 19 19 18 17 16 16

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

I Bangkok Post

SPORTS

I 11

OBITUARY

Edward, a man who unequivocally loved his sport ROGER CRUTCHLEY

This Christmas brought us the very sad news of the passing away in London of former colleague and sports editor Edward Thangarajah at the age of 84.

Edward, a Sri Lankan, was dedicated to his profession and one of the hardestworking journalists I have ever come across. He would regularly go out to cover stories during the day and then stay in the office until late at night, supervising the sports section.

I first met Edward in the early 1970s when he joined the Bangkok Post as a subeditor on the news desk at our old office

Edward Thangarajah.

on Ratchadamnoen Avenue. Although he was well-informed on current affairs, it was clear his main love was sport. He was particularly knowledgeable on boxing, cricket, rugby union and table tennis, and it came as no surprise when he was later appointed sports editor.

In those early days Edward became a regular member of the Bangkok Post cricket team, led by the then sports editor Anton Perera and would later become captain. He was an attacking opening batsman and always entertaining to watch. His sons, Kumar and Jude, batted in a cavalier-style similar to their father.

Our team was a motley crew of

journalists, some of whom had never played cricket before. Amazingly one year we overcame much more experienced teams and actually won the league title, with Edward playing a significant role.

On one occasion I arrived at the RBSC ground for a match and Edward introduced me to our two new opening batsmen, snooker star Steve Davis who was world No.1 at the time, and his manager Barry Hearn. Edward had met them at an exhibition snooker match in Bangkok and invited them along to play cricket for us. They thoroughly enjoyed the experience and although Davis didn’t trouble the scorer, Hearn had quite a

decent knock.

Edward was also a very useful table tennis player and he would thrash me without extending himself at all. On one occasion he invited me to play against his American friend. I think I got two points in the entire game, after which Edward informed me the fellow was a former American champion.

Edward was also keen to help out whenever he could. In the mid-1970s, the Cosmos football team I played for had to find an emergency goalkeeper.

Edward volunteered even though he hadn’t played for years, and I can picture him throwing himself across the

goalmouth in athletic fashion and making good saves even though he was well into his 40s.

He was a great boxing fan and during his time as sports editor he often came in the office with both Thai and international boxing champions at his side. Edward went on to play an important role for the WBC in Asia.

Edward was a very strong Catholic and for the past four decades was a familiar figure at the Holy Redeemer Church on Soi Ruamrudee. He would always sign off a telephone conversation with “God bless”.

He will be greatly missed.

RIP

GOLF

Danthai lands Boonchu title in epic play-off Miscued tee-shot ends Jazz’s bid on 4th hole KITTIPONG THONGSOMBAT NAKHON RATCHASIMA: Danthai Boonma

got the better of Jazz Janewattananond on the fourth play-off hole to win the Boonchu Ruangkit Championship title yesterday.

The 20-year-old Danthai ended Jazz’s challenge with a par on the fourth extra hole — the 18th of the par-71 Charnvee Resort and Country Club. Both were level on 15-under 269 in regulation play.

Danthai took home 612,500 baht, while Jazz received 402,000 baht at the 3.5-million-baht tournament.

Danthai, who claimed his first play-off win as a professional, dedicated the victory to his parents and admitted that he was quite nervous during the shoot-out.

“It was a great way to finish the year after winning the Thai PGA Tour title in Kabin Buri early this year,” said Danthai, who also has an Asian Tour crown to his credit.

“I am happy to win my first title on the All Thailand Golf Tour.”

Earlier in his amateur career, Danthai had edged Gavin Green of Malaysia in a play-off to win the individual gold medal at the 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar.

Jazz, meanwhile, said that he miscued his tee-shot on the fourth play-off hole, where he found the sand bunker.

Asked about his plans for the next year,

the 21-year-old Jazz claimed that he was not sure of anything yet as the official Asian Tour rankings had not been announced yet.

“I am not sure if I will earn a tour card,” said Jazz, who finished 63rd on the money list. “The tour has not made it [rankings] official.”

Prom Meesawat, who yesterday carded a 62 with nine birdies in a bogey-free round, came in joint third on 14-under 270 with James Byrne of Scotland (66) and Rattanon Wannasrichan (68). They received 198,333 baht each.

Prom said he was relaxed playing his final round of the year and after sinking nine birdies on the front nine, “everything seemed easy”.

“There was nothing much to expect, just play and enjoy the game,” he said.

“In the off season, I will focus more on physical side to prepare for the next season.

“I will take part in about 10 European Tour events next year and these do not include the co-sanctioned tournaments.”

Thailand No.1 Thongchai Jaidee in his bid to claim the title and move into the top 50 in the world.

The world No.52 settled for joint sixth on 13 under after he signed for a 69 with one eagle, three birdies, one bogey and a double bogey.

Joining him on 13-under 271 were Raththee Srithanakunsak (66), Sutijet Kooratanapisan (67) and Tirawat Kaewsiribandit (68).

Overnight leader Chanachok Dejpiratanamongkol, who led by three shots going into the final round, endured a

Danthai Boonma poses with the Boonchu Ruangkit Championship trophy yesterday. disappointing 73 with two birdies and four bogeys. He shared 10th on 12-under 272 with Kiradech Aphibarnrat (69).

Thanyakorn Khrongpha carded a 67 for 273.

Udorn Duangdecha finished the year on top of the All Thailand Golf Tour money list after a tie with Prayad Marksaeng (68), John

Michel O’Toole (69) of the United States and Tawit Polthai (70) for the 25th place.

With this event being the final leg of the Asian Development Tour, the top five on the money list are granted automatic places on the Asian Tour next year. Thailand’s Itthipat Buranatanyarat and Suradit Yongcharoenchai, ranked fourth and fifth respectively,

are among the qualifiers.

LEADING FINAL ROUND SCORES (Par-71) 269 — Danthai Boonma (THA) 65-67-72-65, Jazz Janewattananond (THA) 63-72-70-64 270 — Prom Meesawat (THA) 71-66-71-62, James Byrne (SCO) 70-66-68-66, Rattanon Wannasrichan

(THA) 68-67-67-68 271 — Raththee Sirithanakunsak (THA) 67-68-70-66, Sutijet Kooratanapisan (THA) 68-67-69-67, Tirawat Kaewsiribandit (THA) 71-66-66-68, Thongchai Jaidee (THA) 66-66-70-69 272 — Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA) 66-68-69-69, Tap Chanachok (THA) 70-65-64-73 273 — Thanyakon Khrongpha (THA) 65-68-73-67

Major champions and their most memorable moments Willett, Johnson, Stenson and Walker reflect on their career-defining shots in 2016, writes Doug Ferguson

F

rom 20 feet away, Dustin Johnson was just trying to hit the green. From 190 yards, he was going at the flag. Henrik Stenson made a 50-foot putt across the 15th green at Royal Troon and found as much value in the putt he made from four feet on the next hole.

The long and short of every golf season is defined by major championships. This year brought a collapse at the Masters, chaos over a ruling at the US Open, a duel at the British Open and a marathon at the PGA Championship. There were signature shots from each, and a shot that held particular significance to each winner.

Interviews with the four major champions revealed both.

THE MASTERS Danny Willett was in dire need of a bathroom break for more than obvious reasons.

Coming off the 15th green, he saw the large leaderboard that showed him leading the Masters after Jordan Spieth put two in the water on the 12th hole and made triple bogey.

“People were cheering, shouting, ‘Look, you’re leading the Masters.’ It probably was good timing for a bathroom break,’’ Willett said. “I locked the door and at least got a minute to myself.’’

What followed were the winning shots

Henrik Stenson poses with the trophy after winning the British Open at Royal Troon. AP

Masters champion Danny Willett holds his newborn son Zachariah. AFP

— an 8-iron to seven feet and the putt for birdie. On a day that until then had been mostly about Spieth, that was his signature moment.

But there was another shot that stood out to Willett.

He had hit 3-wood toward the pine trees

hit a cut to the middle of the green and let it drift to the flag,’’ he said. “I knew if I hit it straight, I’d be fine. I hit the shot I wanted. I knew when I hit it close I was going to win.’’

He was more excited about the short parfour 17th, where he hit his tee shot into the right bunker. That’s where he wanted to be, though he knew the bunker shot would be his toughest. Anything too strong and the ball would go across the green into another bunker. Anything short and it would roll back into the bunker he was in.

It just cleared the lip and was 20 feet short of the hole and set up the par he needed.

“It was not an easy bunker shot,’’ he said.

“I was ecstatic when it was on the green.

It was a really hard shot. Just really hard.’’

on the par-five 13th in the previous rounds.

On Sunday, he was five shots behind and running out of holes, so he opted for driver.

“Because I don’t draw it, that’s a tough tee shot for me,’’ Willett said. “I stood up there and hit a five-yard draw and got it down there, and it left us a 5-iron in.’’

He still could have made birdie even if he had driven in the trees. He still needed help from Spieth. But pulling off that shot did wonders for his confidence.

“It was one of the real good ones of the week,’’ he said.

US OPEN

PGA Championship winner Jimmy Walker and his wife Erin at Times Square. AFP

Four months after his US Open victory, Dustin Johnson still doesn’t know the final margin and still doesn’t think he should have been penalised for his ball moving on the fifth green at Oakmont. But he won’t forget two shots.

The highlight was a 6-iron from 190 yards from the 18th fairway that settled five feet away for birdie. Johnson was leading by three, though he said he stopped looking at leaderboards after the USGA told him he might be penalised one shot after the round.

“The wind was off the left. I wanted to

BRITISH OPEN Ask Henrik Stenson for one shot and he can’t help but mention six of them. The battle at Royal Troon with Phil Mickelson was that good. Stenson tied a major record by closing with a 63, and his 264 was the lowest 72-hole score in major championship history.

The biggest shot was his 50-foot birdie putt across the 15th green for a twoshot lead.

“I had a long putt on 11,’’ he said. “The greens are fairly slow at links, and sometimes on a long putt you’re taking it back and think, ‘This is too much,’ and I decelerated on the putt and came up six feet short and ended up three-putting. I looked at the hole during my practice strokes and said, ‘It doesn’t matter how it feels, just commit to whatever length of stroke you’re making.’

It felt like a bit of a slap shot when I hit it.

It dropped over the edge at perfect pace.’’

As for that one shot of special significance? He nearly went hole-by-hole for the entire weekend until settling on No. 10 in the third round.

Mickelson had a one-shot lead when Stenson got in trouble off the tee and had 35 feet left for par. He holed it to stay one behind, and after a pair of two-shot swings on the par-three holes on the back nine, the Swede had a one-shot lead going into Sunday.

“That one kept the momentum,’’ Stenson said of his par putt. “That one kept me in the ball game.”

at Baltusrol when he saw that Jason Day failed to make birdie in the group ahead of him. Walker was still two shots clear of the No.1 player in the world. That’s when he turned to caddie Andy Sanders.

“I said: ‘This is it. I birdie this and it’s over, we win. Let’s do it now as opposed to doing it on the last hole.’ That was the goal, to birdie right there,’’ he said.

He made birdie from eight feet, but only after he backed off twice upon hearing the cheers of Day’s approach to the par-five 18th that set up eagle.

Walker held on to win by one, ending a 36-hole Sunday caused by rain delays.

He found the confidence to win earlier on Sunday during the third round with what looked like an ordinary shot into the sixth green.

Walker said he had been horsing around with his two sons the night before and tweaked his neck. During his warm-up for a marathon final day, he felt pain from the right side of his neck when he turned in that direction, though it didn’t affect his swing.

Even so, he was conscious of it and hit some loose shots being overly protective.

That changed at No.6.

“I said: ‘Dude, it’s not hurting. Get over it. Let’s go play’,” Walker said. “I hit a great 7-iron to five feet and made it. And that was the shot that started to right the ship. It was quality golf after that.’’ AP

PGA CHAMPIONSHIP Jimmy Walker was walking toward his third shot on the par-five 17th in the final round

Dustin Johnson lifts the US Open trophy. AFP

Sports B

NFL

Raiders tame Colts, but lose Carr to injury

10

Golf

Danthai claims Boonchu trophy in play-off

11

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mories Golden mem Rio medals amo ong 2016 highlights for Kingdom’s athleetes Page 9 MONDAY, DECEMBER R 26, 2016

FOOTBALL

Conte revels in Blues’ Christmas cheer Charging Chelsea look to win 12th in a row LONDON: Antonio Conte’s first few months

as Chelsea manager could hardly have gone any better as his side head into the holiday period six points clear at the Premier League summit.

The west London club face Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge today seeking a 12th successive league victory, which would leave them two wins short of equalling Arsenal’s all-time top-flight record.

After an inconsistent start, Conte has made his mark on the club and while he accepts the extent of Chelsea’s recent success has been unexpected, he believes it is fully merited.

“If you ask me this before, I must be honest: it was a bit difficult to believe we would be top of the table at Christmas,” said the Italian.

“But I think we are working very well and I’m very happy for the players. The players deserve this.

“But in my experience it’s important to keep this position. You can keep it only through hard work, to face every game with great concentration and focus and will to fight.”

The omens are good for Chelsea, who have won the Premier League title on the four occasions they have previously led the table on Christmas Day. And it is a measure of the current optimistic mood at Stamford Bridge that Oscar’s reported £60 million (US$73.7 million) departure to Shanghai SIPG should

Chelsea are six points clear heading into the holiday period. REUTERS cause little concern.

Chelsea will face Bournemouth without the suspended Diego Costa and N’Golo Kante, presenting Conte with his first major selection dilemma after a period in which

his team has largely picked itself.

Conte must decide whether to hand Michy Batshuayi a first Premier League start following his £33 million move from Marseille in place of Costa.

The loss of Kante, meanwhile, will deprive the team of their most consistent midfielder during the recent wining run.

“For sure, Diego is an important player for us,” said Conte.

“But these days we are working to find the right solution in the squad. I can have different solutions to replace him. I’m working on this.”

He added: “This is a good test for us because we play this game without two players who are very important for our team.

“This gives us the possibility to play some players who, until now, haven’t played a lot. Or to find another solution.”

Bournemouth’s impressive recent progress was brought to an abrupt halt in a 3-1 home defeat by south-coast rivals Southampton last weekend.

“We’ve had time to reflect on Sunday’s defeat as we always do,” said manager Eddie Howe.

“We will try and come back a better team from it. We need to do better really and it’s a good challenge for us this weekend.

“Kante and Costa will be missing, but I saw Cesc Fabregas come on against Crystal Palace and he was excellent, so it will be a very difficult game regardless of who plays.”

In last season’s fixture, a late winner from Glenn Murray secured an unexpected victory for Howe’s side, but skipper Simon Francis says they will face a very different Chelsea this time around.

“In terms of personnel, they haven’t changed their players too much, but they’ve changed their formation and seem to have a manager that they’re running through brick walls for,” he said.

“We were in need of a big away win last season and that came at Stamford Bridge.

“That did all sorts for our season and we had some huge ones after that as well. We’ll be going there to win the game. We need some points away from home.”

Winger Junior Stanislas and midfielder Andrew Surman could both be in contention for the trip to the capital.

Stanislas has not played since the beginning of the month because of ankle trouble, while Surman has been sidelined since October due to a hamstring injury. AFP FIXTURES (kick-offs 10pm unless stated) Today Arsenal v West Brom, Chelsea v Bournemouth, Hull v Man City (12.15am, Tue), Leicester v Everton, Man Utd v Sunderland, Burnley v Middlesbrough, Swansea v West Ham, Watford v Crystal Palace (7.30pm)

Tomorrow Liverpool v Stoke (12.15am, Wed)

Wednesday Southampton v Tottenham (2.45am, Thu)

STANDINGS Chelsea Liverpool Man City Arsenal Tottenham Man Utd Southampton West Brom Everton Bournemouth Stoke Watford West Ham Middlesbrough Leicester Burnley Crystal Palace Sunderland Swansea Hull

P 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17

W 14 11 11 10 9 8 6 6 6 6 5 6 5 4 4 5 4 4 3 3

D 1 4 3 4 6 6 6 5 5 3 6 3 4 6 5 2 3 2 3 3

L 2 2 3 3 2 3 5 6 6 8 6 8 8 7 8 10 10 11 11 11

GF 35 41 36 38 29 24 17 23 21 23 19 21 19 16 23 16 28 15 20 14

GA 11 20 20 19 12 17 16 21 21 28 24 29 31 19 29 28 32 28 37 36

Pts 43 37 36 34 33 30 24 23 23 21 21 21 19 18 17 17 15 14 12 12

Oezil and Arsenal look to bounce back Arsene Wenger knows Arsenal have no margin for error when they attempt to revive their Premier League title challenge against West Bromwich Albion today.

The visit of Tony Pulis’s side to the Emirates Stadium presents the Gunners with an opportunity to bounce back after successive defeats to Everton and Manchester City that have undermined their claim to be genuine challengers this season.

It wasn’t simply the defeats, but the manner of the losses in games when Wenger’s side led on both occasions only to be overwhelmed by their opponents’ greater strength.

The performances led to accusations that, despite a promising start to the season in both the Premier League and the Champions League, Arsenal remain flawed and incapable of pulling off the right result when it mattered most.

Bearing the brunt of that criticism was LONDON:

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. REUTERS

Anger the spur for ailing Foxes Leicester City host Everton today hoping inspired words from the players can transform a season, not just a match.

The week has revealed how angry exchanges in the dressing room at Stoke City last Saturday helped inspire a second half performance that saw them fight back from 2-0 down with 10 men to claim a 2-2 draw.

Now the Premier League champions hope those irate words, and the subsequent performance, can turn around a season that has left them flirting dangerously with the relegation scrap — only three points separate them from third from bottom Sunderland.

Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel said: “Every now and then, if something needs to be said, I’ll happily say it.

“I was very emotional and very irate at the time and had some things that I wanted to get off my chest.

“I wasn’t the only one — a lot of people spoke. We’ve got a dressing room with a lot of leaders in there so we had a good chat and decided that this wasn’t the way the game was going to go.”

Manager Claudio Ranieri said he welcomed the players speaking frankly.

“It is important that everybody reacts,” said Ranieri.

“Sometimes players speak, sometimes there are leaders on the pitch and it’s important they are linked very well together.”

Ranieri added it could prove to be the pivotal moment of their campaign.

“Yes, it could be our turning point but we have to show it in the next three games,” said Ranieri.

“In the dressing room there was a fantastic atmosphere.

“The players believed they could get back and they were right.

“You can’t repeat that because there are some moments that are very particular moments that you can’t recreate, but of course the players must understand that

Mesut Oezil, the playmaker whose contribution had been praised during the opening months of the campaign before the Germany international produced two sub-par performances.

Wenger, though, is happy with the 28-year-old World Cup winner’s contribution — although Oezil is yet to commit himself to a new contract — and insists the explanation for his team’s dip lies elsewhere.

“I don’t give Mesut any leeway when the team doesn’t have possession,” Wenger told Arsenal Player.

“He has to do his job like everybody else and usually he does it well.

“His main strength is of course when we have the ball and he suffers more when we don’t have it.

“At City, he suffered more than others because we didn’t have enough of the ball.

Unfortunately, if you want to have the ball,

TODAYon TV American Football 08:30 NFL — Denver Broncos v Kansas City TrueSport HD, TrueSport 3 08:30 (Tue) NFL — Detroit Lions v Dallas Cowboys TrueSport HD, TrueSport 3

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Basketball 10:30 NBA — LA Clippers v LA Lakers TrueSport HD 3, TrueSport 3 08:00 (Tue) NBA — Indiana Pacers v Chicago Bulls NBA TV 10:30 NBA — Denver Nuggets v Los Angeles Clippers NBA TV

Sailing 08:30 Sydney Hobart Race 2016 Fox Sports 2

Soccer

Leicester City’s Daniel Amartey, right, celebrates scoring with Andy King. REUTERS the next games are very important for us.

“Always I encourage my players to speak.”

Ranieri will have to cope, however, without striker Jamie Vardy, who is suspended for three games after being sent off against Stoke, whilst defenders Robert Huth and Christian Fuchs will also serve one-match bans against Everton.

And midfielder Danny Drinkwater is still a doubt with a calf injury.

Everton manager Ronald Koeman admits he is uncertain whether Ross Barkley will go on to fulfil his undoubted potential.

Barkley has been tipped for greatness with club and country ever since he burst on to the scene as a raw teenager five years ago.

The midfielder’s attributes as a player have seen him favourably compared to the likes of Paul Gascoigne and Michael Ballack.

But Barkley — considered fortunate not to be sent off in the Merseyside Derby last Monday for a brutal foul on Jordan

Henderson — has suffered a dip in form this season which has seen him lose his place in the England squad and be dropped to the bench by Koeman.

The Dutchman offered a tentative reply when asked if there was a concern Barkley might never scale the heights for which he seemed destined.

“I am not sure, I am not sure,” Koeman said.

“Ross needs to improve to be the player that maybe everyone expected when he was 18 or 19.

“I had the same stories in Holland with players who, when they were 16 or 17, they were too good in the academy.

“They didn’t really have competition but because they were stronger or they were a better player than the rest.

“But then they step up a level and everyone is strong, everybody is a good player, and still you need to make a difference. And that is more difficult.” AFP

19:30 EPL — Watford v Crystal Palace beIN Sports 1 22:00 EPL — Chelsea v Bournemouth beIN Sports 1 22:00 EPL — Man United v Sunderland beIN Sports 2, PPTV 22:00 EPL — Arsenal v West Brom beIN Sports 3 22:00 EPL — Leicester v Everton beIN Sports 4 22:00 EPL — Burnley v Middlesbrough beIN Sports 5 22:00 EPL — Swansea v West Ham beIN Sports 6 22:00 Championship — Reading v Norwich MCOT Family 00:15 (Tue) EPL — Hull City v Man City beIN Sports 1 02:45 Championship — Newcastle v Wednesday MCOT HD SPORTS EDITOR Wanchai Rujawongsanti wanchair@bangkokpost.co.th SPORTS DESK sports@bangkokpost.co.th phone 02-616-4000 ext 4103 fax 02-240-3781

you have to win it back.

“He is a guy who works much harder than people think and his body language goes a bit against him sometimes.

“We are a team who win the ball back high up the pitch very well, which means he and Alexis Sanchez do their part of the job very well.

“We have to respond. Mesut Oezil is an important player, a big player, and the big players always respond to criticism on the pitch.”

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is expected to miss out after picking up an injury at City and Welsh international midfielder Aaron Ramsey faces a fitness test regarding a hamstring problem.

West Brom head for the Emirates Stadium with boss Tony Pulis happy with his team’s form despite a 2-0 defeat to Manchester United last weekend.

Pulis’s men have lost just twice in their

last seven games but the Welshman is already looking at potential reinforcements in the January transfer window.

“I know where we are at the moment and we’re bobbing along okay,” said Pulis, who could be without key midfielder James Morrison who has had a bout of flu.

“What we’ve got to do is try to improve it this [transfer] window if we can and keep it going and hopefully every window from that point onwards we will get those one or two quality players that we need all the time.”

Pulis, who launched a bid this week for Manchester United midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin, has urged players unable to get into the starting XI at bigger clubs to consider joining the Baggies for regular football.

“This is a very good club to be at, it’s an opportunity to come here and play,” he said. AFP

World Cup-winner Draxler ends debacle at Wolfsburg Julian Draxler had the world at his feet when Wolfsburg paid Schalke €35 million (US$37.3 million) back in August 2015 for Germany’s rising star.

“We’re convinced Julian will develop further with us,” beamed Wolfsburg’s thendirector of sport Klaus Allofs with Draxler signed as a playmaker to replace Kevin De Bruyne, who had just left for Manchester City.

Wolfsburg confirmed on Saturday that the attacking midfielder was joining Paris Saint Germain.

Draxler, who signed a five-year deal, wanted to play Champions League football with Wolfsburg, the 2015 German Cup winners, who had just beaten Bayern Munich in a penalty shoot-out to win the German Super Cup. But by December 2016, the winger had repeatedly made it crystal clear he wanted to leave, which saw him kicked out of the squad for their 5-0 league drubbing at Bayern.

At 23, with a World Cup winners medal in his pocket and 27 caps for his country, he was now too big for Wolfsburg.

“This kind of attitude always brings confusion in a team,” said Wolfsburg’s coach Valerien Ismael.

“If you focus on something, you have to put all your heart into it.”

As his teammate Mario Gomez put it, “those who want to leave should be allowed to go. It should have already been settled in the summer!”

In August, Draxler first said he wanted to leave Wolfsburg, but his request fell on deaf ears with then-coach Dieter Hecking, who was sacked in October by Allofs, who in turn left in December after poor results.

It was not an option to let their star go less than a year after signing him, but things went from bad to worse in the league table.

Draxler did not even bother celebrating with fans after their 1-0 victory over BERLIN:

Julian Draxler in action during Euro 2016. EPA Eintracht Frankfurt on Dec 18 in the last league game of the year.

There had been little sign of the trouble ahead in Draxler’s first season.

The attacking midfielder helped Wolfsburg qualify top of their group for the Champions League’s knockout stages for the first time in the club’s history — sealed by a 3-2 home win over Manchester United.

However, Wolfsburg finished eighth last season, missing out on even a Europa League place, and Draxler returned from Euro 2016 having played in five of Germany’s six games.

Draxler has always been a precocious talent, gifted with extreme pace, who is an excellent reader of the game and strong in one-on-one challenges.

But his performances this season have been nowhere near his reputation.

As ex-Germany captain Lothar Matthaeus put it in early December, “if I was in charge of a big club, I would not recruit Draxler at the moment.

“First, because of his weakness of character and then because, although he certainly has talent, he has never proved at a high level that he could make a lasting difference.” AFP

Business Bangkok Post

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SET 100 SET HD

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IN BUSINESS BUSINESS OVERHAUL

FUN AND FUNCTIONAL

Country Group looks to overseas property for higher income, reducing the revenue share of its securities business to 20-30%. B3

Toy sellers and manufacturers are offering more options for autistic children. B5

UPBEAT NOTE

An entrepreneur finds the right stuff in the black soldier fly for innovative cosmetics. B8

LORD OF THE FLIES Revenue Department is optimistic the improving economy and public investment will help it achieve its 2017 revenue target. B3

TOUGH MOVE Melamine maker Srithai is splitting its operation into three business units in its first restructuring in 53 years. B4

BUSINESS EDITOR Busrin Treerapongpichit busrint@bangkokpost.co.th BUSINESS DESK business@bangkokpost.co.th Tel: 02-616-4100 x4077 Fax:02-240-9827

TECHNOLOGY

CAT board accepts units merger Subsidiary for data, cable consolidation

KOMSAN TORTERMVASANA

KOMSAN TORTERMVASANA

The board of CAT Telecom has finally approved the consolidation of its internet data centre and submarine cable network businesses after nearly six months of uncertainty.

A new subsidiary company, National Gateway Data Centre Co, will be formed by mid-2017, said CAT president Col Sanpachai Huvanandana.

The board approved the consolidation plan last week. CAT management executives will have to make a proposal and submit it to the State Enterprises Policy Commission, known as superboard, for final approval.

“The development will drive greater efficiency in our core network infrastructure for telecom and internet connectivity, in order to attract international technology companies and private organisations to invest in cloud computing and computer servers in the country through CAT’s integrated digital infrastructure,” he said.

Mr Sanpachai said CAT expects the superboard to give it the green light to move ahead with the consolidation programme, enabling it to create more practical business models to keep up with the changing business environment.

CAT Telecom now owns six submarine cable routes in Thailand.

A report by the Telecommunications Association of Thailand found that Thailand’s international internet traffic in the first nine years grew by 81% with two terabits per second, and is expected to reach 38 terabits by 2020.

The six submarine routes of CAT have full capacity of 10 terabits per second.

In March this year, the government allocated 5 billion baht to assign CAT to develop new submarine cable routes, and has targeted to start investing in the new routes from next year.

For data centres, CAT has a combined 2,000 racks of servers that run 500 square

CAT Tower in Bang Rak is one of the state telecom’s main offices in Bangkok. The CAT board has approved the consolidation of its internet data centre and submarine cable network businesses, ending months of uncertainty. PANUPONG CHANGCHAI metres of data centres, of which 1,000 racks are operated by the newest data centre Nonthaburi II that was officially launched last year with an investment budget of 500 million baht.

Nonthaburi II is a significant step in the company’s strategies in data centre development, paving the way for it to lead sector in the country as well as the Asean region.

CAT and TOT now operate under

survival plans in compliance with the superboard’s policy.

TOT has 15,367 employees, while CAT has 5,995.

The superboard had previously scrapped its original plan to merge three core businesses of TOT and CAT Telecom, citing difficulties in evaluating assets and settling operational processes.

The original plan of the merger process was to partially consolidate three

similar core businesses — transmission and fibre-optics networks, undersea cable networks and internet data centres — in a bid to eliminate duplicate investments and keep up with a changing marketplace, said a source at the Digital Economy and Society Ministry.

Wilailuck Chulewatanakul, permanent digital economy secretary, said the superboard preferred TOT to take charge of the transmission and fibre-optics network

business through the National Broadband Network Co, soon to be established.

CAT will be responsible for undersea cable networks and internet data centres through two more new companies: National Gateway Network Co and Internet Data Centre Co. The scope of responsibilities are based on the strengths and the ownership of telecom infrastructure assets of each enterprise.

Ascend allots $100m to strengthen Asean ventures SRISAMORN PHOOSUPHANUSORN

Ascend Money, the e-payment arm of CP Group’s Ascend Group, has earmarked US$100 million for investment in 2017 to reinforce its operations in six Asean countries.

“We aim our revenue to grow by 30% next year, compared with 20% in 2016, fuelled by the increasing adoption of a digital lifestyle and better financial payment processes,” said Punnamas Vichitkulwongs, chief executive of Ascend Group.

The investment budget will be used to develop its e-payment activities and platforms to provide a greater variety of e-payment systems and services, as well as encourage the use of e-payment.

TOT starts broadband installation

Mr Punnamas said Ascend Money will not expand its footprint into new markets next year. Instead the company will focus on strengthening its market position and presence in the six countries.

Headquartered in Bangkok, Ascend Money operates in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia.

“We are further focusing on two underserved groups, the digital consumers, with our innovative mobile wallet app, and the underbanked, with our massive agent network,” he said.

According to several reports, Thailand’s online sales are expected to account for 8% of the total retail market by 2020, up from 1.3-1.4% of 2 trillion baht last year.

However, cash still dominates consumer payments in Thailand.

In comparison, online sales in China accounted for 6-8% of the total retail market in 2014, 8% in the US and 13% in Britain.

Mr Punnamas said the government’s push of a national electronic payment system and better telecommunications infrastructure will facilitate a cashless payment revolution over the next few years.

He said the e-payment services market has huge room to grow as the vast majority of the Asean population do not have a bank account.

Mr Punnamas said 60-70% of the adult population of Asean does not have access to financial services such as credit, savings

and insurance. Close to 80% of the bloc’s adult population has no bank accounts, he added.

“The large unbanked population of several Asean members makes them a new and attractive market for financial and telecommunications companies, which can leverage alternative ways of reaching customers and provide them with financial services,” he said.

Mr Punnamas also said Alibaba, through its subsidiary Ant Financial Services Group, is likely to acquire an additional 10% stake in Ascend Money in 2017 after buying a 20% stake in August.

The deal is expected to be inked next year. If the deal is sealed, Ant Financial will hold a combined 30% stake in

Ascend Money.

Together with Ant Financial, Ascend Money will expand its online and offline payment and financial services ecosystem and strengthen its payment services for users and merchants, he said.

With this partnership Ant Financial, which also runs Alipay, the largest mobile lifestyle and payment app in China, will provide Ascend Money with strategic and technical support for the expansion of its business.

Ascend Money provides payment services such as domestic and international remittances, bill payments, top up services, online and offline payments and payroll.

Future services will include lending, insurance and investment.

TOT Plc will begin constructing the 15-billion-baht national broadband network today, with the first batch covering 100 villages in five provinces.

Installation of the national broadband network in five provinces, including Phayao, is expected to complete by midJanuary, said a TOT executive who asked not to be named.

The government plans to install internet broadband network to cover 40,432 villages in order to eliminate the digital divide in remote areas, 24,700 of which will be handled by TOT with an investment cost of 15 billion baht.

The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) will handle the installation for the remaining 15,732 villages. The investment costs have not been made available. The regulator will use the universal service obligation fund for the investment.

The development is part of the government’s effort to provide affordable high-speed internet access to low-income rural households, in compliance with the nation’s digital infrastructure development roadmap.

The source said TOT expects to install broadband networks in at least 2,000 villages a month, starting from March. The government wants TOT to complete construction for all 24,700 villages by 2017.

TOT has set conditions for an auction to seek suppliers for fibre-optic network equipment. The auction is expected to take place by January, and the results may be revealed by February.

The bid winners must start supplying TOT their fibre-optic networks from March.

The source said the auction to seek suppliers will comprise three segments of equipment products: fibre-optic network, WiFi hotspot equipment and distribution panel boards, a component of an electricity supply system that divides an electrical power feed into subsidiary circuits while providing individual circuit breakers.

Gp Capt Somsak Khaosuwan, deputy permanent secretary of the Digital Economy (DE) and Society Ministry, said TOT and the DE Ministry will hold three memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremonies today.

The three MoUs are related to the construction of the national broadband network project, to ensure the transparency of the auction processes, project planning and implementation, including spending.

The three MoUs will comprise of an agreement for morality between TOT and anti-corruption agencies, one for a non-disclosure agreement between the DE Ministry and TOT, and an agreement for utilising TOT’s resources for optimum benefit for the TOT and the Metropolitan Electricity Authority, together with the Provincial Electricity Authority.

Gp Capt Somsak said TOT has to report to the DE Ministry all details of the project procurement procedures, including details of the auction.

BROADCASTING

Channel 9 adds entertainment in revenue drive NANAT A SUCHIVA

Piset Chiyasak

SET-listed MCOT Plc, the operator of Channel 9, is restructuring its TV content by adding more entertainment programmes and partnering with other state agencies to raise its revenue by 10% next year.

MCOT acting president Piset Chiyasak said the broadcaster will push for a clear target segmentation for Channel 9, which has a simulcast broadcast on MCOT HD channel.

“We want to play a role in building a knowledge-based society for Thai people and this goal remains unchanged. Our channel’s primary content is about facts and entertainment and we will adjust

it by broadcasting more entertainment and documentary programmes to help build stability for our future TV ratings,” he said.

The content restructuring also includes the enhancement of news programmes to have more in-depth current affairs programmes and reports, which will be aired next year.

For its children’s channel MCOT Family, the content will remain focused on edutainment.

MCOT projects that its TV content will be 30% news and current affairs, 30% entertainment and 40% documentaries.

Mr Piset said about 70% of its TV content will be produced by MCOT, a change over

recent years whereby half of its programmes have been produced through partnerships with external production houses.

MCOT has the production capability to produce TV programmes itself and does not want to spend too much on hiring production houses like in the past, he said.

After the TV content restructuring, Mr Piset believes that Channel 9’s revenue will increase by 10% next year, thanks to less dependence on outside production houses and the new content, which is expected to reach more target viewers.

MCOT expects to see its revenue contribution from the public sector jump to 30% next year, up from 10% at present, as it will have more engagement with other

government agencies, he said.

“We will easily cooperate with other government agencies and our potential partnerships can cover all forms of media networks from radio to terrestrial TV broadcasts,” added Mr Piset.

In the third quarter of this year, it reported 660 million baht revenue, a 36% drop year-on-year, while its net loss was 257 million, compared with a net profit of 55 million in the same period last year.

For the nine-month period, its net loss stood at 463 million baht and revenue totalled 3.43 billion.

Soonthorn Areerak, MCOT executive vice-president, said the company plans to distribute its documentary and

entertainment content to regional and global markets through the distribution network of MCOT Global.

Panorama Worldwide, a subsidiary of MCOT, specialises in producing quality documentaries. Its documentaries will focus on the Chinese market as the country has a lot of potential and its people have strong purchasing power, he said.

“I believe MCOT can provide a onestop production and broadcast solution for international broadcasters with support from Panorama Worldwide,” said Mr Soonthorn.

MCOT shares closed on Friday on the SET at 14 baht, unchanged, in trade worth 2.7 million baht.

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Bangkok Post I

BUSINESS NATIONAL

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

BUSINESS CALENDAR DEMONSTRATIONS MONDAY: Somboon Yindeeyoungyuen, caretaker director-general of the Primary Industries and Mines Department, will demonstrate to the media the use of drones in the mining industry, such as for site surveys in risk areas and mineral exploration. The demonstration is scheduled to take place at Silasanon Co in Saraburi province.

PRESS CONFERENCES MONDAY: Asst Prof Pakdee Manavest, deputy secretary-general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, will hold a press Asst Prof Pakdee: conference on NBTC meeting the NBTC board meeting regarding several telecomrelated issues at its office on Phahon Yothin Soi 8.

TUESDAY: The Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Center for Economic and Business Forecasting of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce will reveal the latest survey results on consumer spending for the New Year holidays at the university’s press room on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road. Last year the centre reported year-end spending of 125 billion baht, the highest in the past few years, but it doubts whether spending will reach that level this year because of several negative conditions.

White Christmas trees, lights, yellow flowers and other decorations are displayed in front of CentralWorld. PATTARAPONG CHATPATTARASILL

NEW YEAR PRAYER

O

S TURDAY: SA T CentralWorld joins the Cultural Promotion Department in organising a New Year prayer ceremony, a special event to make merit and enlightenment to welcome 2017. The event, to be held in front of the CentralWorld, Ratchaprasong intersection and several Central Group’s shopping malls, will replace the traditional New Year countdown party as the country remains in mourning after the passing of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The traditional alms-giving to the monks will also be held on the morning of New Year’s day for merit-making and good fortune.

Free drinking water and refreshing towers for motorists during New Year holidays. organised the Otop City 2016 fair, which ends today at Challenger 1-3, Impact Muang Thong Thani, showcasing the nation’s premium products from the One Tambon One Product scheme.

FAIRS

MONDAY: ProExhibition Co has organised the New Year’s Gifts Fair at the International Trade Promotion Department’s Exhibition Hall on Ratchadaphisek Road to run until Jan 1, 2017.

MONDAY: The Community

WEDNESDAY: Pradit Yomanan,

Otop City 2016 fair at Impact Muang Thong Thani. THITI WANNAMONTHA

Subdued consumer spending is expected this holiday period. SOMCHAI POOMLARD

Development Department has

governor of Nakhon Nayok province,

will preside over the “Pracharat Market for Communities Fair” at Chao Khun Udom Pracharat Ruam Jai market in Ongkharak district, Nakhon Nayok. In addition to a variety of community products available at discount prices and entertainment activities, state banks and government agencies will promote local entrepreneurs at the fair, which ends on Thursday.

CAMPAIGNS THURSDAY: Chatchai Sirilai,

president of GH Bank, will hand drinking water and refreshing towels to Highway Police Division chief Somchai Kaosamran to give to motorists under the “Return Safely Home” campaign promoting road safety during Dec 29-Jan 4 as heavy traffic is expected throughout the New Year holiday.

SALES MONDAY: Home Product Centre Plc, operator of the HomePro hardware store chain, will hold a

marketing campaign called “Small Appliance & More” to promote sales during the holiday season at its stores nationwide and online at www.homepro.co.th until Jan 4, 2017.

TAX BREAKS MONDAY: The Finance Ministry’s tax breaks worth up to 15,000 baht per person, which started on Dec 14 to stimulate consumption during the festive season, will end this coming Saturday (Dec 31).

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

I Bangkok Post

NATIONAL BUSINESS ENERGY

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Thai Luxe eyes B4bn for Kyushu plant

CGH seeks business overhaul Company eyeing assets abroad as technology upends traditional securities market.

By Nuntawun Polkuamdee and Darana Chudasri

YUTHANA PRAIWAN

S

ET-listed Country Group Holding (CGH) aims to boost its revenue by investing 10 billion baht in overseas property next year, reducing the revenue share of its securities business to 20-30%.

The company aims to be on the SET50 list within five years, chief executive Tommy Taechaubol told the Bangkok Post in an exclusive interview.

“We have seen opportunities to go to other countries. Right now we are looking at assets in England because current prices are very attractive. We’re also looking at Australia,” he said.

Mr Tommy said they are specifically eyeing property in the hospitality sector, where the growth prospects remain good in the medium to long-term. He added that any such property has to be in a good location.

“Also, the reason we have seen such an opportunity to manage good assets in England is because asset prices are declining in line with the impact of Brexit,” he said.

CGH already plans to finance its investment, in part, by issuing bonds worth about 2 billion baht.

Mr Tommy said it has prepared a longterm financial plan apart from issuing bonds and borrowing from banks. The company also seeks to list its investment projects on the stock market or sell them to a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT).

Its business direction will be clearer by next year once the first hospitality project investment deal is sealed and the revenue from ongoing projects starts contributing to CGH. “We are in negotiations for the first project. If they are successful, as we hope they will be, we will definitely move towards

Mr Tommy stands by a logo for MCF, one of four core businesses currently operated

by CGH. Through its diversification plans, he aims for CGH to be on the SET50 within five years.

CGH : DIVERSIFICATION STRATEGY

OUR INVESTMENTS

99.3%

24.8%

24.9%

9.03% POSTgraphics

Note: As of 30 September 2016

that direction.

Mr Tommy said that investment would also change CGH’s revenue structure. Its securities business contributes as much as 90% of revenue, a figure that could drop to 20-30% next year, he said. Revenue from new investments in overseas assets and its investment in Padaeng Industry, meanwhile, will increase significantly.

Revenue from mutual funds contributed by MFC will be stable.

Currently, CGH operates four core

businesses: Country Group Securities (CGS), of which it owns 99.3%; MFC, an asset management business in which it has a 24.8% stake; Padaeng Industry (PDI), a mining and renewable energy company in which it has had a 24.9% stake since last year; and property developer Country Group Development (CGD), of which it holds 9.03%.

Apart from investment abroad and other subsidiary companies such as PDI, the company also plans to invest in solar

FINANCE

UOB banks on Thai SME digitisation SOMRUEDI BANCHONGDUANG

United Overseas Bank (Thai) UOB (Thai) is hopeful the digitisation of its small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) business will contribute to its growth.

The bank improved its infrastructure system by digitising and differentiating financial products and services in order to attract new customers, said Sayumrat Maranate, country head of business banking. The bank’s non-borrowing clients are the key target group for its loans, she said.

Non-borrowing clients, who largely use the bank’s transactional banking services make up 40,000 accounts now, double the past few years as special deposit packages have drawn them to the bank.

With digitisation improving loan analysis and risk management systems, the bank can expand new customer bases and control asset quality of unsecured loan

products satisfactorily, Mrs Sayumrat said.

UOB (Thai) has rolled out a mobile app for small businesses, UOB Business, offering both financial and non-financial information, especially foreign exchange rate, interest rate and Asean news, to customers. The mobile app will support local SME operators in branching into regional markets.

It defines SMEs as those who generate minimum annual sales of 100-400 million baht and have a credit line of 20 to 40 million.

Digital banking under the bank’s fiveyear plan from 2017 to 2021 aims to offer SME business processing, starting from application to loan approval in other mobile apps. More convenience, simplification and security would help the bank’s SME business expansion in terms of both loan portfolio and client base.

The Singapore-based bank has offered

unsecured loans, called BizMoney Loan, to SME customers without requiring property or monetary deposit collateral. The credit line for the loan is capped at 4 million baht with interest rates in the range of 12-15% per year compared with its peers’ 18-21%.

To qualify for the loan, SME operators must deposit and have active banking transactions at the bank for at least one year.

“We launched the unsecured loan product two years ago and received a good response. Most of the loan product’s customers are the bank’s non-borrowers with active banking transactions. Only one borrower has failed to make payment so far, due to death,” Mrs Sayumrat said.

The bank projects its SME loan portfolio will rise by 9% to 50 billion baht at the end of this year and single-digit growth is expected next year in compliance with prudent policy.

ECONOMY

Revenue chief upbeat on target WICHIT CHANTANUSORNSIRI

The Revenue Department is comfortable with its revenue target for this fiscal year as it is optimistic the improving economy and accelerating public investment will generate higher tax revenue, its chief says.

Economic growth in 2017 could expand at a faster pace than the past few years when political chaos stalled the country’s economy in 2014 and dismal exports slowed growth in 2015 and 2016, said directorgeneral Prasong Poontaneat.

The department has a revenue target of 1.87 trillion baht for the 2017 fiscal year. The country’s largest tax-collecting agency collected 1.76 trillion baht, 7.2% below target, in the 2016 fiscal year ending on Sept 30, 2016.

The department’s revenue was 900 million baht higher than targeted in October 2016 and 67 million higher in November.

The increase in estimated budget disbursement to invest in big-ticket infrastructure projects, comprising 200 billion baht coupled with the 190-billion-baht midyear budget for local developments, will boost domestic investment and economic growth, said Mr Prasong.

The government is pushing to increase the number of large-scale infrastructure projects that break ground to prompt the private sector to invest, warding off downside risk to growth. The Finance Ministry has instructed state enterprises to frontload investment spending earmarked over the next two years in 2017 to boost

I B3

Vessels docked at the Bangkok Port. Revenue officials anticipate an improving economy, which would result in higher tax revenue. SOMCHAI POOMLARD the country’s economic growth amid lacklustre private investment.

Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong recently estimated that the government’s plan for massive spending from the mid-year budget for local developments and front-loaded spending by state enterprises is expected to add at least 0.2 to 0.3 percentage points to economic growth next year.

The ministry’s Fiscal Policy Office forecast GDP growth of 3.4% next year, beating

the Bank of Thailand’s projection of 3.2%.

Mr Prasong said if prices of the main agricultural products — rice, rubber and maize — increase, it will come as a boon to domestic consumption and the Revenue Department could reap a value-added tax windfall.

However, oil prices are a negative factor as the department’s 1.87-trillion-baht target is based on a Dubai crude price of US$60-65 per barrel, but the current level is $51-$52 a barrel, he said.

farms and other renewable energy projects such as a waste recycling project with an investment budget worth 5 billion baht for 2017-18.

PDI has also conducted a feasibility study for manufacturing new materials.

He declined to give further details for PDI’s investment plans.

For the financial resources of PDI, he said it has cash flow of 2-3 billion baht and also land banks in Bangkok and beyond totalling hundreds of rai which could be used to fund investments.

“If we can do it as planned, PDI will generate growth and sustainable income for CGH in the long-term,” said Mr. Tommy.

For its securities arm CGS, the company will revise its business strategy to do other businesses outside of retail trading, which has been generating lower margins due to the stiff competition.

Recently, the company has begun selling off its trading branches, which are down to 12 from 60 two years ago. However, it still maintains its securities business with a revised strategy to match the new business environment.

“We will not jump into a price war like other players,” Mr Tommy said, adding that the conventional ways of stock trading have nearly ended as new technology has changed the landscape.

“You can see that either services and other fee-based income will be replaced with technology, which means that traders and investors don’t need brokers. We have to shift our revenue base from brokerage fees to others,” he said.

Mr Tommy is looking at developing businesses such as financial advisory services, bond and equity underwriting, trading and structuring new products, and proprietary trading.

“Proprietary trading is also generating significant income in line with the strong growth of the bourse. But this is nothing certain since the market can be up or down and it is not a good idea to keep relying on brokerage fees. Other fee-based income will help cushion the volatility of the market,” he said.

“In the next five years, we aim to be among the stocks trading on the SET50,” Mr Tommy added.

Thai Luxe Enterprises Plc (TLUXE), a SETlisted animal feed producer and trader, has allocated 4 billion baht to develop and operate a geothermal power plant in Japan over the next two years.

The geothermal power plant is located in Oita, a prefecture on Kyushu island.

Chief executive Kittipat Chollavuth said Thai Luxe started diversifying its business into renewable energy by acquiring assets from local businesses in Japan to develop four power generating units there with one megawatt capacity each.

The development of the geothermal project has been done through its wholly owned Thai Luxe Power Co. The four units have already begun operations — the first in June and the other two more recently.

Mr Kittipat said the plant could be developed further to expand power generating capacity to 42MW within the next two years.

Thai Luxe plans to add another 8MW by acquiring power plants in Japan, making the company’s total capacity 50MW. He said the expansion of its business and power generating capacity as well future joint ventures will be done via its wholly-owned subsidiary, PPSN Co, and a local Japanese business, Setouichi Natural Energy Co. The power produced from the plant will be sold to Kyushu Power Electricity with a feed-in tariff rate of 40 yen per kilowatt hour, excluding VAT. He expects its total revenue to rise above 3.2 billion baht in 2018, compared with 2.3 billion forecast for 2017, due largely to strong growth of its animal feed business and rising revenue from its renewable power business.

He said the pandemic of the early mortality syndrome disease afflicting shrimp farms has subsided, resulting in a revival for the business and rising demand for shrimp feed meal.

The company invested 1.5 billion baht in 2015-16 and aims to invest another 2.3 billion baht in Japan next year.

Mr Kittipat said revenue from renewable power is expected to generate 16% of total revenue in 2018, up from 1% at present.

TLUXE shares closed last Friday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 8.95 baht, up 15 satang, in trade worth 9.07 million baht.

B4 I

Bangkok Post I

BUSINESS NATIONAL

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

Srithai restructures in drive for growth Melamine maker splits business into three PITSINEE JITPLEECHEEP

SET-listed Srithai Superware Plc, the world’s largest melamine manufacturer, is restructuring its organisation for first time after 53 years of establishment in a bid to drive growth next year.

Sanan Angubolkul, chairman and president, said it will spin off its operation into three business units: melamine, plastic injection and trading. Srithai itself will act as a holding company.

The move is to allow each business unit

to reach its potential, with a clear evaluation of its performance.

“The nature of three business units is different, “ he said. The company also wants a new generation of younger staff to manage the business that suits them.

Srithai will continue to spend 500 million baht to expand its melamine business and buy new machines for packaging and containers business at its factories in Thailand and Vietnam.

“We will slow down our investment next year as orders for food and beverage packaging products have dropped after buyers in the European market ban shrimp and chicken from Thailand,” he said. The company hopes the ban will be lifted next year.

Nonetheless, the company sees the decline being offset by rising demand in

European countries that prohibit the use of glass products in catering and outdoor activities due to safety concerns. The company expects its sales in Europe to double over the next five years.

Srithai is more optimistic about the US market. Donald Trump as president is set to make a trading policy that is tough for China, a move that would benefit Srithai’s melamine business.

“We expect to sell more melamine products to the US next year. Big customers who regularly buy melamine products from China have already shifted their orders to Srithai,” he said.

Labour cost in China is also on a rise, raising the prices of the Chinese products.

Srithai is hopeful that sales in the US, worth 100 million baht a year, will double

Srithai is restructuring for the first time in 53 years. The move is to enable each business to reach its potential, says Mr Sanan. PAWAT LAOPAISARNTAKSIN

in the near future.

Currently, 20% of export sales comes from the Middle East, 10% from Europe and the rest from other countries.

Mr Sanan said plan to list its Vietnamese

ENERGY

company on the stock market in Vietnam is delayed because it does not need more fund and has low debt. The new plastic plant in Hanoi will start operation next year.

Srithai expects its sale in 2017 will exceed

10 billion baht, up from 9.5 billion baht expected this year.

SITHAI shares closed on the SET on Friday at 1.78 baht, unchanged, in trade worth 1.88 million baht.

INDUSTRY

BM plans Japanese tie-up LAMONPHET APISITNIRAN

SET-listed Bangkok Sheet Metal Co (BM), a local sheet mould and sheet metal producer, plans to sell a stake to a Japanese electronics giant in search of further business expansion.

Chief executive Tanin Sajjaboribun said the Japanese company is interested in acquiring a 20% share of BM to take advantage of its expertise, after seeing strong potential for its sheet metal business in Thailand.

He declined to provide the Japanese company’s name.

“The Japanese company wanted to expand its business in Thailand through a subsidiary, but it is a very slow process, which is why it needs to find a Thai partner such as BM,” said Mr Tanin.

He said there are more Japanese investors interested in expanding their businesses into Thailand and using it as a production base to expand in Asean.

Mr Tanin said the plan to partner with the Japanese company would bring benefits to BM, such as high-technology transfers as well as new customer base in Japan.

BM was established in 1995 as a producer of metal trucking and white conduits, communication racks, cabinets and enclosures, electrical switchboards and lighting fixtures.

It also produces fabrics and metal

work, mould and dye-making and related machines, tools and equipment.

Mr Tanin said he expects BM’s revenue next year to grow 5-20%, thanks to the massive state investment in infrastructure projects, which will raise demand for the company’s products.

He added the company aims to benefit from major expansion and construction of railway projects.

In the first nine months of this year, BM posted a total revenue of 609 million baht.

BM’s revenue in 2015 was 806 million baht.

Net profit in the first nine months was 42.7 million baht, down from 46.9 million year on year. Net profit in the third quarter alone was 18.9 million baht, down from 32.7 million in the same period last year.

Next year, BM plans to expand into producing agricultural machinery such as sugar cane harvesting machines and rice harvesting machines, he said.

“Since metal sheet is used in harvesting machines, we plan to produce them for Siam Kubota Corporation Ltd as a made-toorder products to be sold under the brand of Kubota,” said Mr Tanin.

BM also plans to expand its machinery production and exports to neighbouring countries, which are all agriculture-based economies.

BM shares closed Friday on the SET at 3.50 baht, down two satang, in trade worth 3.41 million baht.

Sany delays Thai facility PIYACHART MAIKAEW

A petrol attendant filling car with fuel at a PTT station on Vibhavadi Rangsit road. Low oil prices this year has increased petrol consumption this year. PATTARAPONG CHATPATTARASILL

More use petrol as LPG demand slumps POST REPORTERS

Relatively low oil prices have continued to encourage motorists and logistics businesses to switch to petrol, pushing its consumption, along with diesel, to rise in the first 11 months of this year, according to the Energy Ministry.

Petrol consumption rose 10.2% from the same period last year to 28.8 million litres per day largely due to retail prices that fell by 3-4 baht a litre compared with last year, encouraging motorists to switch from the mass transit system to their own cars.

Cheaper prices also pushed diesel consumption up by 3.59% to 60.2 million litres per day. The rise in diesel demand was also due to the increased number of diesel-engine cars on the road, rising by 4.1% from the same period last year.

In contrast, consumption of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fell by 9% from the same period of last year to 16.4 million kilogrammes a day, largely due to falling demand in transport and petrochemicals.

The retail price of LPG was capped at 18.1 baht per kg for more than two decades through government subsidies during the

global gas price surge, which encouraged motorists to use it for transport.

Demand has collapsed over the past few years as the government began floating the retail price.

The price was completely floated in February 2015, causing the LPG retail price to rise 33% to 24.2 baht per kg and had cut demand on the gas sharply since then.

The petrochemicals sector has switched from using propane, an LPG by-product, as their feedstock to naphtha, a petroleum by-product that has become much cheaper in line with collapsing oil prices.

LPG demand in the petrochemicals sector dropped 15.6% from the same period last year to 4.92 million kg a day, while demand from transportation sector dropped 15.4% to 4.03 million kg per day.

The policy to start floating the price of LPG, which was initiated when global oil prices collapsed in 2014, has brought the retail price of LPG higher than oil, further encouraging motorists to return to oil.

Falling demand in LPG also cut LPG import by 61.8% in the first 11 months of this year to 39 million kg a month.

AVIATION

AoT expects modest uptick in throughput

SCG sells off Musashi stake

BOONSONG KOSITCHOTETHANA

Passenger traffic through Thailand’s six main airports during the New Year holiday is expected to grow at a more moderate rate, reflecting tamer travel sentiment.

The Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) estimates passenger throughput at 2.69 million between Dec 29 and Jan 4, up by 6.16% year-on-year to a daily average of 384,892.

AoT officials said the passenger volumes are based on the assumption that an airline can fill 80% of available seats on each flight.

Total throughput could soar past 3 million if they manage to carry passengers at aircraft capacity.

Aircraft movements, defined as takeoffs and landings as booked by airlines, are projected to rise by 9.82% in the period to 16,911, or a daily average of 2,416.

Thailand’s air travel in the festive season is going through a more subdued mood due partly to the local and global sluggish economic situation, the slowdown in Chinese arrivals and mourning for the late King Bhumibhol Adulyadej.

Suvarnabhumi, the gateway airport, would see a 2.61% rise in passenger tally in the holiday period to 179,300 a day,

in 2015, which itself had dropped by 23%.

Overseas operations, mainly from AsiaSany Heavy Industry, the Chinese maker of Pacific including Thailand, contribute engineering and construction machinery, about 40% of its total revenue. has put off plans to construct a manufacturSany entered Thailand in 2008, estabing facility in Thailand, citing stiff competi- lishing Sany Heavy Industry (Thailand) to import its products to be sold locally. tion among others.

Vice-president Jeff Fu said another key It appointed two local firms — Siam issue is that the company has yet to secure Sun Autosales and MaxCrane Machinery — local partners for the venture. to distribute Sany’s concrete-mixer trucks More importantly, excavators imported and cranes. from China are exempt from Sany has also formed a joint venture with the Ariimport tariffs, he said.

The Changsha-based firm yawutiphan family to set up had earlier announced its Sany Thaiyont Co, which hanambitious plan to invest US$40 dles excavator distribution. million to build a manufacturSany holds a 51% stake in ing plant in Rayong’s Amata Sany Thaiyont with registered City Industrial Estate. It had capital of 198 million baht, aimed for the Thai facility to while the rest is held by the become a production hub for Ariyawutiphan family. the Asean region.

Yotsawat Ruangrak“Although we do not have Fu: Still looking for likhit, managing director of Sany Thaiyont, said the a manufacturing facility here, local partner company would invest 70 Sany is committed to becoming one of the top three excavator brands in million baht next year to construct its Thailand by 2021,” he said, adding that the service centre headquarters in Chon Buri local market has many competitors now to serve its current networks in Bangkok, from the US, Japan and Sweden.

Khon Kaen, Phitsanulok, Prachin Buri and Listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Sany is China’s largest engineering machinHe expects the company to sell 300 ery manufacturer and the fifth largest in excavators this year. Some 4,500 excavators the world. valued at 15 billion baht are sold annually Sany has six plants in China and four in Thailand.

Last year, it sold 120 Sany excavators. abroad — in Brazil, Germany, India and Mr Yotsawat said the excavator market the US. The company expects 2016 revenue to is expected to pick up next year thanks to grow for the first time in four years by 10% megaproject developments, particularly from 23.4 billion yuan (121 billion baht) roads and mass transit systems.

POST REPORTERS

People walk past Don Mueang airport’s departure unit. The AoT expects the New Year holiday passenger traffic through its main airports to grow at a subdued rate. PATTARAPONG CHATPATTARASILL with 1,008 aircraft movements a day, up by 6.22%.

Don Mueang, the low-cost carrier hub, would see a 5.93% rise in passenger count to 102,000 a day, with a 10.1% growth in aircraft movements to 730 a day.

Phuket, the country’s third busiest

airport, would see passenger traffic jumping 19% to 55,600 a day with aircraft movements growing 12.7% to 320 a day.

Chiang Mai airport is expected to see a mere 2.19% rise in its passenger throughput to 29,200, although aircraft movements would leap by 14.6% to 220 a day.

At Hat Yai airport, passenger volume is expected to increase by 20.1% to 12,000 a day with a 23.2% jump in aircraft movements to 85 a day.

Passenger traffic at Chiang Rai airport is projected to grow by 9.1% to 6,700 a day, with aircraft movements up 23.3%.

SET-listed Siam Cement Group (SCG), the industrial conglomerate, has divested its auto parts business by selling its shares in Musashi Auto Parts Co, a manufacturer of motorcycle parts and auto parts.

President and chief executive Roongrote Rangsiyopash said SCG has reached an agreement with Musashi Seimitsu Industry Ltd (Japan) to sell SCG’s 21% stake in Musashi Auto Parts Co Ltd. “Following this transaction, SCG is expected to receive total proceeds of 970 million baht,” said Mr Roongrote. The transaction is expected to incur a non-recurring loss of about 150 million baht, he said.

Musashi was a 1988 joint venture formed between SCG, Musashi Seimitsu and other shareholders.

In 2015, Musashi recorded sales of 5.62 billion baht, with net profit of 439 million.

It had assets of 6.06 billion baht.

SCG plans to focus on its core business of cement production. It is about to complete the construction of its factory

in Laos, whose commercial operation is expected to start in the first quarter next year.

The 10-billion-baht plant, located in central Khammouane province, has an annual production capacity of 1.8 million tonnes, making cement and ready-mix concrete to serve rising demand in the rapidly growing economy.

Other investments in Asean include 5 billion baht to double its annual cement production capacity in Kampot, Cambodia from 900,000 to 1.8 million tonnes.

In Indonesia, SCG invested 11 billion baht in a cement plant in Sukabumi, West Java, with an annual capacity of 1.8 million tonnes. In Myanmar, the company invested 12 billion baht in a cement factory in Mawlamyine with an annual output of 1.8 million tonnes.

SCG posted a net profit of 14.1 billion baht in the third quarter, a 57% increase year-on-year.

SCC shares closed on Friday on the SET at 484 baht, up four baht, in trade worth 513 million baht.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

I Bangkok Post

WORLD BUSINESS

I B5

Owner Bethany Mathis stands near a number of interactive games at Time 4 Toys, while her son Hayden, 14, tests out a game, in Flowood, Mississippi. AP

Fun and functional

T

Toy sellers and makers offer more options for autistic children, writes Joseph Pisani in New York

oy stores, with bright lights, loud sounds and crowded aisles, can be hard to manage for children with autism or other sensory issues. For parents, finding toys that match their children’s skill sets and will hold their attention can be a process of trial and error. Big toy sellers and specialists are both trying to provide some better options.

Hasbro Inc, for instance, offers tips on how parents can teach autistic children to play with Mr Potato Head or a My Little Pony set. Toy maker Melissa & Doug offers stores special catalogs.

A Toys R Us in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, turned off its music for three hours on a recent Saturday morning and turned its break room into a quiet zone as part of an event planned with the Greater Philadelphia Autism Society.

The company’s 100 stores in the UK have been offering similar hours for one

day a year since 2014, and Toys R Us plans to bring similar events to more of its 900 US stores.

Chuck E. Cheese’s, the chain with arcade games and rides, similarly plans to turn off the music and dim the lights at 40 Northeast restaurants for a couple of hours one Sunday a month starting in January, as part of a trial run.

In the meantime, small stores designed specifically for children with sensory issues are popping up as well.

“The need for a store like this is even bigger than I thought it would be,” said Bethany Mathis, who opened Time 4 Toys last month after having a hard time finding toys for her eight-year-old son with sensory processing issues.

The walls at the store in Flowood, Mississippi, are painted in soft colours and children can test out the toys.

An estimated one in 68 children have

Paxton Mathis, 8, plays with a remote car at Time 4 Toys. AP

Hayden Mathis demonstrates a double-maze board activity play system that helps develop motor skills, learning and concentration for all children. AP

autism or a related disorder, according to a US government study based on 2012 data.

That’s up from one in 150 a decade before.

Symptoms of autism vary widely, and can range from mild social interaction problems to repetitive behaviors to difficulty speaking or even the inability to speak.

This can make choosing toys even harder than it is for unaffected kids.

Jamilah Rahim opened Spectrum Toy Store in Chicago this year after she realised no toy stores were meeting that need.

As an in-home behavioral therapist, she saw parents spend money buying toys online that their children ended up not being interested in.

At her 700-square-foot store, children can sit and play with any of the toys and parents can see if they like them before buying.

“It’s more of an experience than just a one-stop shop for them to buy toys,” said Rahim, who still works as a behavioral therapist part-time, which helps her discover new toys to stock.

Meghan Hetherton drove four hours to visit the store from her home in Eaton Rapids, Michigan.

Two of her four children are autistic, and when she takes them shopping at big stores, her four-year-old son hums to cope with the crowds and noise.

Hetherton often finds herself apologising to store workers.

“I shouldn’t have to,” she said, but “store employees just don’t understand.”

At Spectrum Toy Store, her children pulled toys from the shelves, played with putty and tried on chewable silicone jewellery before she bought some.

“They were able to be themselves,” said Hetherton.

“Dimming the lights and turning off the music can help some autistic children, but others may still be affected by a big space,’’ said Dr Eileen Crehan, a postdoctoral fellow at the autism programme at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

She’s noticed that cinemas and ballparks are also offering sensory-friendly days. “It’s sort of catching on.”

After hearing from employees and customers, Hasbro teamed up with The Autism Project two years ago to teach parents and caregivers how autistic children can play with its toys.

The company launched a site called Hasbro Toybox Tools with videos and downloadable instructions for some of its more popular toys, such as Baby Alive dolls and the Chutes and Ladders board game.

“Play doesn’t always come natural with kids with autism, but it’s important to their development and helps them learn to socialize with others,’’ said Sandra Pierce-Jordan, the executive director of The Birchtree Center, a non-profit in Newington, New Hampshire, that works with autistic children.

Emily Berman said she has had to teach her daughter how to pretend to eat plastic

Jamilah Rahim poses for a portrait in her Spectrum Toy Store in Chicago that specialises in toys for children with special needs. AP toy foods or how to move a toy train on its tracks.

“My daughter is non-verbal, making it hard to pick out toys,’’ said Berman, who is a life coach in Encinitas, California.

“I wish I knew what she wanted,” she said.

Berman has bought toys suggested by behavioral therapists and buys many items

online. “A lot of it is trial and error.”

Another toymaker, Melissa & Doug, began printing a dedicated catalogue about five years ago after it noticed an increase in letters and calls from parents of autistic kids who said their children loved the company’s wooden puzzles or stuffed animals.

It also added a section to its website that

lets shoppers browse for toys by specifying the skills the child needs to work on.

Melissa & Doug said some stores have added special sections in their stores, and that notes come in from parents whose children spoke for the first time playing or had other developments.

“It’s really fulfilling,” said co-founder Melissa Bernstein. AP

B6 I

Bangkok Post I

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

I Bangkok Post

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

Futures Focus

Top market of 2016?

Who guessed oil?

T

Oil Market Outlook

O

il prices were pressured last week by an unexpected jump in US crude oil inventories and signs of rising exports by Libya, even as Opec prepares to start making production cuts totalling up to 1.2 million barrels per day next month.

However, prices were supported by news that all oil companies in Russia, including Rosneft, had agreed to cut production volumes in line with commitments made at a meeting between Opec and non-Opec producers on Dec 10.

West Texas Intermediate (WT) rose last week by $1.12 per barrel, closing at $53.02. Brent fell 5 cents to $55.16 and Dubai crude averaged $52. Thaioil forecasts that WTI this week will move within the range of $50 and $54, while Brent will trade between $52 and $57 with thin volume during the holiday period. The market will be watching to see how Opec manages its planned production cuts amid increasing Libyan output. Among the factors expected to influence trade: „ The National Oil Company (NOC) of Libya has reached an agreement with rebel groups in the west to allow the El Sharara and El Feel pipelines, with a total capacity of 420,000 bpd, to resume operations after being shut for two years. The revived El Sharara oil field is now producing about 58,000 bpd and El Feel will be brought online soon. NOC aims to increase production capacity by 275,000 bpd within three months, from the current level of 600,000 bpd. That’s still less than half of the 1.6 million bpd seen before the 2011 uprising that halted production and closed ports. The country is targeting output of 1.2 million bpd by the end of next year. „ US crude oil inventories are likely to remain high as imports and domestic production are rising faster than refinery run rates, which are already high in response to heating fuel demand. Stocks in the week to Dec 16 posted a surprise gain of 2.3 million barrels, compared with forecasts for a drop of 2.5 million, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported. However, inventories at the WTI delivery point in Cushing, Oklahoma fell by 250,000 barrels to 66.26 million, the first drop in seven weeks. „ Production of shale oil in the US is expected to increase further as more rigs return to service in response to prices that are holding firmly above $50 per barrel. Drillers added 13 oil rigs in the week to Dec 23, bringing the total to 523, the most since December 2015, the energy services firm Baker Hughes said. It was the third straight week of double-digit increases, a sign that the shale oil industry has accelerated spending. „ Traders will watch for more signs that Opec and nonOpec producers intend to make good on their agreement to start cutting output by a combined 1.8 million bpd in January. The deal will remain in effect for six months, during which compliance will be carefully watched. Opec producers including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have begun to notify their customers of output cuts by an average of 5% in January. „ Economic indicators to watch include US consumer confidence, pending home sales and initial jobless claims.

For more information visit www.thaioilgroup.com

I B7

DERIVATIVES & COMMODITIES BUSINESS

he SET50 Index closed last week at 940.98 points, a decrease of 5.64 points or 0.6% from the previous week. The most traded SET50 Futures contract S50Z16 (expiring in December 2016) was settled at 943.20 points, an increase of 7.9 points or 0.84%.

The US market moved back and forth in thin trade ahead of the Christmas break. The S&P 500 rose at the beginning of the week after the final third-quarter US GDP growth figure topped forecasts at 3.5%. But stocks fell on Thursday, led by retailers, on rumours that President-elect Donald Trump was considering a 10% tariff on imports. The Dow gained 15 points in thin trade on Friday to close at 19,933.81 points, an increase of 0.4% from 19,843.41 the week before.

In Europe, the Italian government agreed in principle to bail out Monte dei Paschi Bank after fund-raising efforts failed.

In Thailand, the Bank of Thailand kept its policy rate at 1.5% in anticipation of an impact from higher US rates on Asian currencies and economic growth prospects. It also revised down its forecast for Thailand’s growth next year by 0.1 point to 3.2%. The SET Index finished the week at 1,509.98 points, down 0.8% from a week earlier, in thin trade as many foreign investors prepared for Christmas.

On the TFEX, daily average trading volume was 293,486 contracts, an increase of 37,178 contracts or 14.5% from the previous week. The most actively traded product was Single Stock Futures with 968,331 contracts, or 193,666 per day. Total market open interest was 2,140,698 contracts, an increase of 34,434 or 1.6%.

MARC JONES LONDON: Oil is set to be the top market performer of 2016 with a gain

TFEX INVESTOR TYPE 100 60

• Gold Futures

21,789

• Stock Futures

968,331

• USD Futures • SET50 Options • Total Volume

419,428

44,013

73.31

6,670

3,816

2,854

74.79

7,197

5,967

1,230

20.61

1,467,428 1,025,232 442,196

43.13

• Total Open Interest* 2,140,698 2,106,264

34,434

1.63

• Daily Average Volume 293,486

37,178

14.51

256,308

Dec 19

Dec 20

Dec 21

Dec 22

Dec 23

SET50 INDEX AND SET50 INDEX FUTURE PRICE COMPARISON Volume (contracts) 200,000 175,000 150,000 125,000 100,000 75,000 50,000 25,000 0

10.49

37,294 -15,505 -41.58 558,727 409,604

Local investors

20

This Previous week Week % (5 days) (4 days) Change change Trading Volume (contracts) 463,441

Local institutions

40

TFEX TRADING STATISTICS

• SET50 Futures

Foreign investors

80

0

of nearly 50%, an outcome few would have predicted when it plunged to a 12-year low in January.

In a year of shocks, including the Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s election, several major assets have been on a rollercoaster. “[Given] the fragility that markets started the year with and the events that then happened ... it is pretty remarkable how resilient things have been,� said Michael Metcalfe, head of macro strategy with State Street Global Markets.

Crude surged from as low as $27 a barrel to just shy of $58 following two of its worst-performing years on record. It dovetailed with large gains from copper, zinc and tin, and in currencies including the Russian rouble and Brazilian real which are both up 17%.

Many stocks have not done badly for investors. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones are up 12% and 14%, respectively, with gains accelerating since Trump’s victory. The Nikkei is 5% higher in dollar terms while a 7% gain for emerging market stocks will end a poor three-year run.

The dollar has risen for a third straight year, with all of its 4.5% gain against a basket of major currencies coming since the US election.

The yen is still clinging to a 2% gain despite a 12% plunge since Nov 8. The euro is down 4.5%.

Brexit-battered sterling had the worst year of the forex majors. It has lost 16% on the dollar and 12% against the euro, never recovering from a plunge to a 31-year low the day after the leave-EU vote.

On the other hand, London’s FTSE has boomed since Brexit, up 18% since the June vote, although it’s almost flat on the year. “Sterling’s weakness has been very good for large-cap UK equities and we expect that relationship to hold,� said Mike Bell, global market strategist with JP Morgan Asset Management.

Benchmark 10-year US Treasuries are level for the year but have lost 5% since Trump’s election and last week’s quarter-point rise in US interest rates. Corporate bonds have fallen 3.5% since Nov 8 and emerging market dollar and local currency debt have slid 4.2% and 6.5% respectively.

But for the year overall, emerging market dollar and local debt have both earned investors around 9% and high-yield bonds have returned over 14%.

The clear winners, though, have been commodities and most things linked to them.

Thanks to the stellar gains for metals, Europe’s mining firms have soared 60% with big names Anglo American and Glencore up 280% and 200% respectively. Gold is up almost 7% despite being one of the assets hit hardest since the US election. REUTERS

Unit: %

SET50 Index

Price (index points)

S50Z16

955 950 945 940 935

Dec 19

Dec 20

Dec 21

Dec 22

930

Dec 23

SET50 INDEX FUTURES SERIES COMPARISON Symbol • S50Z16 • S50F17 • S50G17 • S50H17 • S50M17 • S50U17

*Open Interest as of last last Thursday

Gold Watch

Settlement Price 943.2 943.0 940.6 939.8 933.7 927.3

Prior Settlement Price 935.30 933.20 930.10 926.30 919.40 913.70

% Change 0.84% 1.05% 1.13% 1.46% 1.56% 1.49%

Change 7.9 9.8 10.5 13.5 14.3 13.6

WEEKLY ROUNDUP AND OUTLOOK High

G

old traded in a range of $17.09 an ounce last week, with a late rally prompted by safe-haven demand following violent attacks in Germany and Turkey. However, the gains were not enough to stop a seventh weekly decline, the longest since May 2004. Prices continued to be pressured by the strong US dollar, as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen noted the US labour market was the healthiest in 10 years, and US third quarter GDP expanded by 3.5%, the best quarter in two years. Holdings in gold funds fell by 3.9 tonnes to 1,779.3 tonnes, extending the longest run of declines since September 2004. The last fixing on Friday in London was $1,131.00, compared with $1,131.60 a week earlier.

The strategy is to focus on short-term speculation, with only slight fluctuations expected in thin holiday season trade. If the

• Spot Gold ($)

1,142.32

Low

Open

Weekly change

Last

1,125.23

1,133.96

1,133.11

-0.85

-0.07%

• Local Price (Baht))

19,400

19,250

19,400

19,400

0

0.00%

• Gold Futures (GFZ16)

19,470

19,320

19,450

19,390

-60

-0.31%

16.21

15.59

16.07

15.74

-0.33

-2.07%

• Spot Silver ($)

OUTLOOK FOR THIS WEEK

% Weekly Change

• Support

1,116 (19,000)

1,090 (18,500)

1,066 (18,100)

• Resistance

1,152 (19,600)

1,176 (20,000)

1,200 (20,400) POSTgraphics

Note: High, low and close prices are calculated from data in this week. Open price on Monday is considered as open price in this table.

resistance levels at $1,142 and $1,152 are not breakable, prices might move down toward the supports at $1,122 and $1,116. If the price holds above the resistance, the rebound could be brief. Be prepared

to cut losses or take profits as applicable, given the low volume.

Prepared by YLG Bullion International Co Ltd

GLOBAL ECONOMIC UPDATE LAST WEEK USA

FOREX Open (M)

Close (F)

% change

N THB

35.81

36.01

-0.56%

N CAD

1.3322

1.3487

-1.24%

N EUR

1.0458

1.0438

-0.19%

N GBP

1.2492

1.2259

-1.87%

N CHF

1.0253

1.0266

-0.13%

N AUD

0.7304

0.7212

-1.26%

N NZD

0.6982

0.6904

-1.12%

N JPY

117.53

117.40

0.11%

N CNY

6.9410

6.9481

-0.10%

N SGD

1.4437

1.4458

-0.15%

Open 8.30 (Mon) and Close (Fri) 15.30 in Bangkok

GOVERNMENT DEBT MARKET Open (M)

Close (F)

bps EU

N H9CD9>7 8?=5 C1<5C 9>3B51C54 9> $?F5=25B higher than expected.

N H9CD9>7 8?=5 C1<5C G5B5 E@ =9<<9?> E>9DC 9> $?F5=25B 12?F5 6?B531CD N #1B;9D 3?=@?C9D5 M1C8 &# 65<< D? 9> 535=25B <?G5B D81> @B9?B N ?B5 & @B935 9>45H G1C E>381>754 9> $?F5=25B 25<?G 6?B531CD N 1<<1C 54 & G1C B53?B454 1D

9> $?F5=25B <?G5B D81> @B9?B N EB12<5 7??4C 453B51C54 9> $?F5=25B 12?F5 expectations.

N & L>1< 31=5 9> 9> ' 89785B D81> 5H@53D54 N >9D91< :?2<5CC 3<19=C B579CD5B54 1D 89785B D81> 6?B531CD N "5149>7 9>45H G1C E>381>754 9> $?F5=25B 25<?G expectations.

N #?>D8<I 8?=5 @B935 B?C5 = ? = 9> %3D?25B <?G5B than prior.

N $1D9?>1< 13D9F9DI 9>45H 31=5 9> 1D 9> $?F5=25B <?G5B D81> @B9?B N &5BC?>1< 9>3?=5 G1C E>381>754 = ? = 9> $?F5=25B 25<?G 6?B531CD N ?>CE=5B 3?>L45>35 M1C8 CEB754 D? 9> 535=25B 12?F5 5H@53D1D9?>C N EBB5>D 133?E>D G1C E@ 1D O 29<<9?> 29<<9?> 9> %3D?25B 89785B D81> @B9?B N "12?EB 3?CDC B?C5 I ? I 9> ' 89785B D81> @B9?B

N US 02

1.2480

1.2098

-0.038

N US 10

2.5820

2.5539

-0.028

N TH 02

1.8100

1.8300

0.020

N TH 10

2.8900

2.9300

0.040

N CA 10

1.8300

1.8250

-0.005

N GB 10

1.4490

1.3600

-0.089

N DE 10

0.3270

2.2480

1.921

N AU 10

2.8780

2.8830

0.005

N NZ 10

3.4350

3.4550

0.020

N JP 10

0.0850

0.0550

-0.030

N CN 10

3.3000

3.2150

-0.085

GERMANY N 6? 2EC9>5CC 3<9=1D5 B?C5 D?

9> 535=25B <?G5B than expected.

N 6? 3EBB5>D 3?>49D9?>C G5B5 E@ 1D

9> 535=25B 12?F5 6?B531CD N 6? 5H@53D1D9?>C 31=5 9> 1D 9> 535=25B 1C expected.

N =@?BD @B935C G5B5 E@ = ? = 9> $?F5=25B <?G5B than prior.

N &B?4E35B @B935C B?C5 = ? = 9> $?F5=25B 12?F5 expectations.

N SG 10

2.5230

2.4270

-0.096

FRANCE

Open Monday and Close Friday in Bangkok

MONEY MARKET N Savings

0.500%

N MOR

7.375%

N Fixed 3 months

1.00%

N MLR

6.250%

N Fixed 6 months

1.25%

N MRR

7.625%

N Fixed 12 months

1.50% Open (M)

Close (F)

bps

N LIBOR 1 month

0.74400

0.75611

0.0121

N LIBOR 3 months

0.99428

0.99706

0.0028

N LIBOR 12 months

1.69178

1.68789

-0.0039

Open Monday and Close Friday in Bangkok

Source: Reuters

N &B?4E35B @B935C B?C5 = ? = 9> $?F5=25B E>381>754 6B?= @B9?B

BRITAIN

N 6! 3?>CE=5B 3?>L45>35 B?C5 D? 9> 535=25B higher than expected.

JAPAN

N H@?BDC 453B51C54 I ? I 9> $?F5=25B 89785B D81> expected.

N =@?BDC 453B51C54 I ? I 9> $?F5=25B 12?F5 expectations.

N *B145 CEB@<EC 31=5 9> 1D J 29<<9?> 29<<9?> 9> $?F5=25B 25<?G 6?B531CD N BoJ kept interest rate unchanged at -0.1% in 535=25B 1C 5H@53D54

CHINA

N ?EC5 @B935C B?C5 I ? I 9> $?F5=25B 89785B than prior.

THIS WEEK USA N 3?>CE=5B 3?>L45>35

N (938=?>4 =1>E613DEB9>7 index

N &5>49>7 8?=5 C1<5C

N +>5=@<?I=5>D 3<19=C

N ??4 DB145 21<1>35

N &B5<9= G8?<5C1<5 inventories

N $1DEB1< 71C CD?B175

N BE45 ?9< 9>F5>D?B95C

N 89317? &#

, $1D9?>G945 & , BBA mortgage approvals , Housing equity

G9D84B1G1<C EU , Private loans , M3 money supply ITALY , I51B 2?>4 1E3D9?> CHINA , #1>E613DEB9>7 &# , $?> =1>E613DEB9>7 PMI

JAPAN

GERMANY IFO BUSINESS CLIMATE INDEX (MoM) Point 120 115 110 105 100 95 90 85 80

8

Million units

6 5 4 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

%

3

2006 2007 2008 2009

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

USA CORE DURABLE GOODS ORDERS (MoM) 2.5

%

1.5 0.5 0.0 -0.5 -1.5 -2.5

2000 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16

-3.5 Nov Mayâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;11 Jan Jul 52 2012

BREXIT AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE UK IN 2017

Jan 2013

Jul

Jan Jul 2014

Jan 2015

Jul

Jan 2016

Jul

MARTINA WATCHARAWARATORN

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Bangkok Post I

COMPANIES NATIONAL

z z ENTREPRENEUR

Lord of the flies The founder of Oricga finds the right stuff in the black soldier fly to innovate in the field of cosmetics, writes Lamonphet Apisitniran.

W

hile flies are normally reviled as pests, one particular species — the black soldier fly — is not only a bona fide friend of the earth, but also the source of Thai entrepreneur Chanarong Sangduan’s innovative cosmetic products.

The journey towards his enterprise began five years ago when Mr Chanarong began to feel bored at his job in advertising, which he had being doing for nearly a decade. Ultimately, he felt like he was using all of his creative energies to help sell other people’s goods and make them rich.

At one point, he began to ask himself: “Why not promote my own products and build up a fortune for myself?”

At the age of 40, Mr Chanarong got to work doing just that. From the getgo, he started by thinking about what types of businesses would be worth exploring more deeply. His attention was brought to cosmetics, which he had not only been interested in for a while, but also recognised as a multi-billion baht industry that is yet to be overrun with competition.

Realising which industry he would pursue, the question then shifted to what types of cosmetics he should focus on.

“My thinking at the time was that I should come up with something new, something that had never been made before. It should be something completely different, something that sets itself apart from other cosmetics you generally find on the market,” says Mr Chanarong.

As it turns out, he has had a long-held interest in entomology, having read a lot of books about insects, including foreign textbooks. While reading, he learned about various substances that can be extracted from them and used in medically-oriented cosmetics.

From that point on, his path became increasingly clear.

“I quit my job in advertising and went to Chiang Mai to set up my business,” Mr Chanarong says.

In the northern province, he spent three years working with a group of researchers who eventually became his partners.

In that time, he spent 10 million baht bringing his vision to life, leveraging his home and other assets to secure loans in order to keep pushing the project forward.

Luckily, he also got support from the National Innovation Agency, which gave him 2.4 million baht to help with his research.

“In the end, we managed to create an innovative product based on substances extracted from an insect. I was very happy with our work and registered for a petty patent from the Department of Intellectual Property at the Ministry

Mr Chanarong’s Oricga products won this year’s Thailand Cosmetic Contest.

TAWATCHAI KEMGUMNERD

of Commerce,” he says.

And just what type of insect was it?

As it turns out, his new innovation was based off of a substance extracted from Hermetia illucents, otherwise known as the “black soldier fly”.

Black soldier flies are a common member of the family Stratiomyidae.

Generally, neither the larvae nor the adults are considered pests.

Rather, black soldier fly larvae play a similar role to that of redworms — as essential decomposers, helping to break down organic substrates and returning the nutrients to the soil.

Black soldier flies are also an excellent

Oricga cosmetics contain substances extracted from the black soldier flies. TAWATCHAI KEMGUMNERD

source of sustainable protein for aqua culture, pet and human nutrition. As the larvae have voracious appetites, they can be used for composting household food scraps and agricultural waste products.

Based on Mr Chanarong’s research, it was also discovered that they are very high in protein and other organic substances that are good for human health, such as calcium, amino acids, folic acid, omega 3, omega 6 and omega 9.

Ultimately, he established his own company, Oricga Ltd, and started producing cosmetics from those substances.

His products were similarly branded under the “Oricga” label.

Mr Chanarong says he is also working on registering Oricga for an international patent at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to help growth in the future.

He says Oricga was also granted the “Cosmetic 4.0” award at the “Thailand Cosmetic Contest 2016”, since the product represents an innovation derived from natural substances with myriad benefits.

“The best aspects of the substance we extracted from the black soldier fly are its anti-inflammation and anti-ageing properties, which we use as major ingredients in our products,” says Mr Chanarong, adding that its organic base will help elevate the product to a premium status.

He says he plans to launch his antiageing products next year in various forms, including serums, lotions and edible capsules. Mr Chanarong aims to sell the products at home and abroad.

He has already sealed a deal to allow a department store owner in Myanmar to distribute his products there. Mr

Chanarong is also seeking out distributors in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

He is further in talks with Korean and French cosmetics companies to be his marketing partners.

Korea, as it turns out, is going to play a major role in his plans moving forward.

“We plan to do an “Outside-in” marketing strategy by first promoting our products in Korea before bringing them to Thailand later, as most Thais prefer foreign to local brands,” Mr Chanarong says.

At this point, products sold under his own Oricga brand are set to account for 50% of the company’s business. The other 50% will be generated by serving as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for various foreign brands.

“Our target customer group will be people aged 20-35 who can afford cosmetics that cost around 1,000 baht per item,” he says.

Mr Chanarong says he plans to spend 15-20 million baht on marketing, planning and expansion.

Regarding the issue of acquiring raw materials, Mr Chanarong says he has a breeding farm for black soldier flies in Chiang Mai. Capable of breeding around one tonne of the insects each month, he says he can produce around 150 litres of the necessary organic substance needed for his products during that period.

“The farm is ready to be expanded if demand rises. We have no problem in seeking feedstuff for the insect, as our farm is located near a food processing factory. Those unwanted agricultural products, in turn, can be turned around to help breed and feed our insects,” he says.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

ASIAN SHARES DRIFT LOWER IN THIN PRE-HOLIDAY TRADE Recap: The oil price retreat and lack of positive market-moving factors weighed on Asian stocks last week.

Thai shares also tracked the fall in the regional bourses, but buying in tax-saving funds ahead of the year-end limited the downside.

The SET index moved in a range of 1,502.29 to 1,527.03 points before closing on Friday at 1,509.98, down 0.8% from the previous week, in thin turnover averaging 34.1 billion baht a day as many foreign investors began their Christmas holidays. Foreigners were net sellers of 4.7 billion baht and brokers sold 87.9 million. Retail investors were net buyers of 3.6 billion baht and institutional investors bought 1.2 billion.

Big movers: Two stocks entered the MAI last week. Ama Marine (AMA) jumped 55.2% above its IPO price at 9.99 baht to 15.50 baht on Thursday and closed on Friday at 19.60 baht, a 96.2% gain from the offering price.

The cafe chain After You (AU), also the biggest gainer last week, soared 200% above its IPO price at 4.50 baht on its first day on Friday to 13.50 baht.

MAX led in volume, losing 10% to 0.09 baht. Leading in turnover were GL, also the top loser, falling 21% to 54.50 baht; PTT, up 0.6% at 365 baht; and CPALL, off 1.6% to 60.75 baht.

Newsmakers: The Bank of Japan, noting a pickup in emerging Asian demand and factory output, signalled rising confidence that the economy is headed for a steady recovery. It left policy unchanged with short-term rates at minus 0.1% and the 10-year government bond yield around 0%.

However, it warned that the Fed’s interest-rate increase cycle could disrupt emerging market capital flows.

Japan’s cabinet approved a record US$830-billion spending budget for fiscal 2017 that counts on low interest rates and a weak yen to limit borrowing, underscoring the challenge Tokyo faces in curbing the industrial world’s heaviest debt burden.

Fitch Ratings has revised Indonesia’s BBB- credit rating outlook to positive, meaning Asean’s largest economy may get an upgrade the next time the rating agency assesses it.

Non-resident investors have pulled US$23 billion from emerging market portfolios since early October, according to data from the Institute for International Finance showed. The outflows have triggered the longest continuous “reversal alert” since the organisation began issuing the notice in 2005. Concerns have risen since Donald Trump’s presidential election victory as the threat of tariffs has stirred fears of a trade war while rising US yields have attracted funds away.

The Thai Finance Ministry expects investment from the private sector to recover to about 400 billion baht in 2017, compared with state investment of 900 billion. A private investment recovery, it aid, would allow the economy to grow at its full capacity of 4-5%.

The Bank of Thailand kept its policy rate at 1.5%. The move was intended to promote stability as the prospect of higher US interest rates weighs on Asian currencies and growth prospects. The central bank also maintained its economic growth projections at 3.2% for 2016 and 2017.

Farm product prices in November rose 3% year-on-year and 1.8% from the month before, according to the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE). Rising rubber prices thanks to a global oil price rebound that made synthetic rubber less attractive, and tighter supply due to the heavy rainy season in southern region led the increase. However, overall agricultural production was down 3.4% year-onyear due to lowered output of paddy and field corn, resulting in farmers’ income being flat in November. The OAE expects paddy, oil palm and rubber output to rise in December,

MARKET MONITOR NUNTAWUN POLKUAMDEE DARANA CHUDASRI while rubber prices should increase following a surge in futures prices in the Tokyo market.

The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) said car exports dropped 3.1% year-on-year in November to 98,477 units, with value declining 6.4% to 51.1 billion baht, due to a slowdown in the Middle East, Latin America and Africa. Production increased 4.7% to 170,784 units. The FTI raised its 2017 domestic car sales forecast to 800,000 units, from 780,000 projected earlier.

If the forecast holds, it would be the first increase in four years. Sales are expected to rise amid an improving economy and the expiry of the fiveyear lock-up period for the first-time car buyer scheme.

The FTI believes most industries will perform better next year, largely bolstered by infrastructure investments, continuous state spending, increasing tourist volume, greater private spending, and improving consumption.

The World Bank has revised up its forecast for Thailand’s economic growth by 0.1 percentage point to 3.2% next year in anticipation that exports will pick up with a US economic recovery. CIMB Thai Bank revised down its forecast by 0.3 points to 3.2% next year on the back of greater export uncertainties from Donald Trump’s trade policy and China’s cooling economy.

Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC) chairman Vichai Assarasakorn estimates growth next year could be 0.5 points higher than the current estimate of 3.5% to 4.0%, if 83 billion baht is disbursed as planned under some 1,000 Pracha Rat (People’s State) projects to stimulate local economies.

Tisco Bank and its sister firm All-Ways Company have acquired the retail banking business of Standard Chartered Bank Thai (SCBT) in a deal worth 5.5 billion baht. The business includes credit cards, personal, business and mortgage loans, wealth management, bancassurance and retail deposits.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha exercised Section 44 of the interim constitution to help struggling digital TV operators, who spent staggering sums on licences that have turned out to be nowhere near as lucrative as they’d hoped. They will be allowed to make their fourth, fifth and sixth auction fee payments in two installments each over two years, on condition that they pay 1.5% annual interest.

Coming up this week: Thailand’s trade data for November is due today.

Markets in the US, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore are closed the same day.

Thailand’s manufacturing production index and capacity utilisation for November will be released tomorrow. The Bank of Thailand will release its monthly economic report for November on Friday.

Stocks to watch: Tisco Securities recommends medium- and large-cap stocks on expectations that they will benefit from a taxpayer buying spree in LTFs and RMFs as the year draws to a close. Interesting stocks are KBANK, SCB, ADVANC, INTUCH, BEAUTY, KAMART, STEC, UNIQ, SEAFCO, SCC and TPIPL. KTB Securities recommends shortterm speculation in TISCO, PTTEP, TACC, CHO and BCH. Technical view: Apple Wealth sees support at 1,500 with resistance at 1,520 points. Maybank Kim Eng Securities (Thailand) tips support at 1,490 and resistance at 1,535 points.

FIVE REASONS TO ADOPT OMNI-CHANNEL RETAIL T

he retail landscape is undergoing significant transformation, driven by ever-changing consumer expectations, new demographics, and emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things and augmented reality.

In the future the store essentially will be wherever the customer is. Being a retailer that thrives will require guiding consumers through frictionless experiences to discover, evaluate and buy products. Retailers will need to construct omni-channel capabilities that create convenient and easy shopping pathways for their customers.

Customers are now demanding a seamless omni-channel shopping experience and looking for their next “best experience”. Thai retailers are increasingly adopting omni-channel as a “new

BY INVITATION PRAPUSSORN PECHKAEW normal” retail model to increase their sales and improve customer engagement. Here are five reasons why retailers need to go omni-channel: 1. Sell more products: According to a recent IDC study, an omni-channel shopper on average spends 30% more compared with a single-channel shopper. With the internet, consumers have instant access to a wealth of

information about brands and their products. Consumers are actively using this information to decide what to buy, where to buy, what price to pay, and what payment method to use.

Today shoppers use their smartphones, tablets and other devices to access the internet and search and compare products prior to purchase.

This “digitally connected customer” also wants consistency at every touchpoint, and expects the immediacy of digital media to carry through the entire shopping experience.

2. Expose your brand: Thai shoppers are highly connected as the growth of connected devices is booming and the smartphone/tablet penetration rate in Thailand will exceed 50% by the end of 2016. “Click and collect” is rapidly

growing and will become a key component of the omni-channel model.

Creating rich, meaningful and personalised content that consistently represents your brand on any device or platform will enhance your brand exposure and improve customer loyalty.

3. Engage your customers: Location-based technologies offer new opportunities to retailers to understand where and when consumers look for information. With this knowledge in hand, they can provide relevant, meaningful and rich content to successfully attract a consumer’s attention to a product at the right time and through the right channel.

Mobile is the extension of a retailer’s storefront, and location-based marketing enables retailers to send tailored,

personalised messages to the consumer.

4. Improve the customer experience: Customer expectations are driving customer experience innovation across all areas of the business-to-consumer (B2C) retail field. Customer experience management enables retailers to identify what customers are seeking.

Using intelligent technology, they can then execute the right actions to create a scalable customer experience that is unmatched by the competition.

Retailers should invest in an omnichannel platform that is future-proof, and develop a road map for digital and omni-channel transformation.

5. Rebalance your load: Omni-channel helps bricks-and-mortar retailers to rebalance their business model and take advantage of technology to “rightsize”

their physical stores. The physical store can become a combined showroom, distribution centre and point of service as needed.

Omni-channel exploits the physicaldigital convergence by integrating store, online, social media, mobile and email to give the consumer the same experience across different channels.

Omni-channel adoption will have unintended consequences for all stakeholders in the retail value chain.

However, it will reward the winners that can digitally transform their operations and become ubiquitous digital agents to customers with both bricks and clicks touchpoints.

Prapussorn Pechkaew is a senior market analyst with IDC Thailand.

The Bangkok Post’s lifestyle, arts and culture section

LIFE Bangkok Post

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

Some public transportation improvements did take place in 2016, but the ‘missing link’ Purple Line fiasco was one of several disappointments for Bangkok’s long-suffering commuters

In 2016, we’ve seen how technology has played a part in the bus system. The contract to install GPS on 2,600 pub c buses was public as signed, s g ed, with t the t e first st phase p ase of o the t ep proo ject including 500 buses while more are scheduled by mid-2017.

With GPS, the co-ordinates of buses and driving speed can be tracked. This means the possibility of predicting arrival times at each stop — something Thai buses sorely lack — and also a safer ride for commuters.

It will take some more time before full implementation. Meantime, we now have a website to track buses in 35 routes called cityglide.com by Plan B Media, a company that has also offered Wi-Fi on board Bangkok buses since the end of last year. Commuters can access the site to search and receive estimated times of arrival from transit services, and it’s fairly accurate. We finally have some idea how long we will have to wait for our bus.

This year, Bangkok was also supposed to acquire 489 new NGV buses procured from Bestlin Group. But after the first batch of 100 arrived earlier this month, they were impounded by customs authorities at Laem Chabang port in Chon Buri for alleged customs tax evasion. As of

A

benchmark of a developed city is when everyone, and not just the poor, take public transport. Bangkok still has a lot to do even though 2016 has seen several developments in the continual effort to improve our public transport. We have new GPS in buses and sparkling new canal boats and trains. Meanwhile, a trial run of water transportation in Klong Padung Krung Kasem has been launched.

And yet we have seen the Purple Line electric train and its “missing link”, boat accidents were still reported, and the NGV bus procurement scandal is the latest glitch in the system. Here we look back on the highlights and lowlights of the year for mass transit.

Another year has passed and the high-speed train talk remains just talk

mid-December, the agreement hasn’t been finalised yet.

Again, we have to keep waiting into 2017.

Apart from the Purple Line, the construction of other electric train lines has shown progress. For example, in the first phase of the Red Line from Rangsit to Bang Sue, many stations are nearly complete.

And yet Bangkok’s train system had a publicity boost with the first photos of Sanam Chai station of the Blue Line extension. The elaborate Thai-style architecture of the underground station has caught public enthusiasm.

However, the service will not begin until 2019.

It’s been an active year for boat services because when traffic on land doesn’t seem to improve that quickly, water transport gains the spotlight.

BMA launched a boat service in Klong Phadung Krung Kasem to promote tourism and tackle traffic problems.

A modified canal passenger boat on Klong Saen Saeb.

PHOTO: PATIPAT P JANTHONG

PHOTO: WICHAN CHAROENKIATPAKUL P

A train on the Purple Line is close to empty.

NGV GV V buses busses bu sees.

STORY: PATTRAMON SUKPRASERT

PHOTO COURTESY OF MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT

After six years of construction, the Purple Line electric railway finally opened in August. But it quickly turned out to be a major debacle; first the number of passengers fell far lower than the target of 70,000 a day, a disappointing figure that troubled the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand; second, there was the “missing link” between the Purple Line and the Blue Line, which doubles the severity of the first problem.

There are several factors. The price (over 70 baht per trip from Klong Bang Phai to Hua Lamphong station for passengers travelling with no MRT Plus card) makes it expensive to commute to the city when alternatives such as a van ride can be cheaper and could also be faster.

But the most controversial issue is the 1km missing link between the Blue Line’s Bang Sue station and the Purple Line’s Tao Poon. Without the connection between the two stations due to operating contract problems, passengers have to seek alternative ways to travel between them. The authorities have provided a provisional solution by allocating a free shuttle bus that takes approximately 15 minutes to travel between these two stations.

The problem has been constantly discussed, and one of the two operators in charge of the two lines needs to take action on this (MRT for the Purple Line, or Bangkok Expressway and Metro Plc for the Blue Line). As of

Dec 22, the outcome of the scandal remains uncertain. So whether or not the buses are worth the money is probably a question that will have to wait until 2017 for an answer.

There was no major change on bus routes except that Bangkok Mass Transit Authority has allocated some buses to offer special free shuttle services, transporting passengers from outskirt areas to Sanam Luang for accommodating the public who head to the Grand Palace to pay homage to the late King Bhumibol as only public buses are allowed in the area. This is actually an interesting public transportation experiment that shows how buses can carry a large flow of people across town.

A big worry, however, is when the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority floats an idea to scrap the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service that links Silom with Tha Phra to save 200 million baht in annual contract costs.

The reasons given are that there are more effective ways to get commuters to their destination on the Thon Buri side faster and the BRT lanes are occupied by other vehicles. However, the solution to this problem can also be done the other way round — for example, by banning cars entering the lanes.

The service operating from Hua Lamphong to Thewes runs daily from 6-9am and 4pm until later in the evening.

The hottest boat issue is the Klong Saen Saeb services, the busiest canal which has served commuters travelling from eastern Bangkok to the centre. A safety concern has been raised after a boat explosion caused by an accumulation of gas ignited by the heat of the vessel’s exhaust pipe in March. In November a man was found dead after falling into the water when disembarking the boat.

Family Transport Co, which runs the service on Sean Saeb Canal, made a quick move this time. They launched a renovated Saen Saeb boat with a claim of improved safety. Steps were installed to narrow the gangway to embark and disembark from the boat. Wood and plastic barriers have been installed around the boat to prevent passengers standing on the side. The improved boat is scheduled to operate at the end of this year. Whether or not it will solve the problem, we have to wait and see. z

Continued on page 8

life t HAPPENING 2 | MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016 | Bangkok Post

Daddy of Thai art lines of door and window frames. Some paintings also show small portraits of King Bhumibol sitting next to the rice barn.

The “Daddy’s Home” series is meant to refer to the house of King Rama IX — the father of all Thais — who had tried to develop the country in every aspect so that Thai people could live with self-reliance and self-sufficiency and in harmony with nature and the environment.

The exhibition is to remind all Thais to care for the earth, treasure natural resources and help to preserve the fertility of our land for the next generation.

The exhibition is repeated with the aim to encourage us to realise the beauty of our country and be grateful for the king’s virtues.

9 Art Gallery/Architect Studio opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10am-7pm.

Visit www.9artgallery.com or call 053-71-9110.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF 9 ART GALLERY/A / RCHITECT STUDIO

In remembrance of our beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 9 Art Gallery/Architect Studio in Chiang Rai has brought back the “Daddy’s Home” series by veteran painter Sompong Sarasap to showcase at the gallery until Jan 31.

The collection comprises 25 paintings and drawings created in 2009 and exhibited the following year. Sompong took inspiration from a changing society and environment as a result of globalisation, developments in communication and transportation and the rise of materialism.

He found conflict between the globalisation movement and our consciousness and spirituality and began to raise questions about our society, a true sense of Thainess and the direction of traditional Thai art.

Through symbolism art, Sompong portrays rice grains and the interior and exterior of a rice barn using the abstract

Left and above, paintings by Sompong Sarasap.

TODAY

THINK BOX

OTOP CITY 2016 FAIR Featuring 10,000 products from local wisdom across the country, at Impact Challenger Hall 1-3, Muang Thong Thani. Ends today.

Call 092-592-2332.

I LOVE THE KING EXHIBITION Featuring 20 drawings in black ink and pencil by ML Chiratorn Chirapravati, at Megabangna, Bang Na-Trat Road. Until Saturday.

Visit www.mega-bangna.com or call 02-105-1000.

THANK SALE 2016 Featuring a free premium gift for every 500-3,000 baht spent at participating shops at Center Point of Siam Square, Rama I. Until Saturday.

Visit www.facebook.com/centerpointofsiamsquare.

URBAN HAPPINESS 2016 Featuring up to 80% discounts, at Gateway Ekamai, Sukhumvit Road. Until Saturday.

Call 02-108-2888 ext 244.

BLU WINTER MARKET - FOOD-FUN-FEST Featuring 150 famous restaurants from across Hua Hin and food trucks from Bangkok, sales of handcrafted gifts and lifestyle products, and entertainment every weekend, at Bluport Hua Hin Resort Mall, Prachuap Khiri Khan.

Until Jan 4.

Call 02-310-1904.

KING IN OUR HEARTS EXHIBITION Featuring 199 canvas paintings created by amateur artists as well as a selection of paintings and sculptures by veteran artists, at RCB Artery, 1st floor of River City Bangkok, Charoen Krung 24.

Until Jan 5.

Call 02-237-0077 ext 618.

THE PLATINUM GIFT F FEST 2016 Featuring fashion, accessories and home-decor items from 50 shops, at the Platinum Fashion Mall, Ratchathewi Road. Until Jan 5.

Call 02-121-8000 ext 54.

9 ARTISTS 70 MEMORIES EXHIBITION Featuring 70 paintings of King Bhumibol Adulyadej created by 9 famous architects and designers, at The Crystal, Ekamai-Ram Intra Road.

Until Jan 9.

Call 02-101-5719 and 02-101-5872.

KING OF F OUR HEARTS - BLESSING OF BHUMIBOL EXHIBITION Featuring his 48 royal compositions and his personalised New Year greeting cards, at Central Embassy, Phloenchit Road.

Until Jan 11.

Call 02-793-7418.

Arusa Pisuthipan

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE SAD

LIGHTEN UP TOGETHER CAMPAIGN Featuring a chance to win a voucher package worth 10,000 and 100,000 baht for every purchase of 1,000 and 10,000 baht spent, respectively, at CentralWorld and 30 branches of CentralPlaza and CentralFestival. Until Jan 15.

Call 02-667-5555 ext 4115.

O

Biking the Northeast PHOTO COURTESY OF RIDE TO KHONG’S LEGENDARY

Professional and amateur cyclists in Thailand and overseas are invited to prove their cycling prowess to vie for trophies and prizes worth more than 1 million baht during Ride to Khong’s Legendary 2017 from Jan 13-15.

Organised by the Tourism Authority of Thailand and NCC Exhibition Organizer, the second edition of the international cycling competition will cover almost 300km, touching four Northeastern provinces: Khon Kaen, Kalasin, Sakon Nakhon and Nakhon Phanom.

It is divided into three stages, starting with the Speed Hunter stage on the first day, held at Khon Kaen Criterium, Bueng Kaen Nakhon Lake, Khon Kaen, featuring 3.8km per lap (seven laps for males, six for females). Set for Jan 14, the Mountain of Honor will stretch 131km from Kaeng Don Klang of Khon Kaen to King Chulalongkorn Monument of Sakon Nakhon. Finally, the Charming of Khong will take cyclists along a 131km route from King Chulalongkorn Monument of Sakon Nakhon to Wat Klang of Nakhon Phanom on Jan 15.

Each route will pass famous attractions such as the Phu Phan mountains, reputed for their picturesque scenery, Khong Ping Ngu Curve, which has a beautiful

garden, and Wat Phra That Phanom, one of the most highly revered temples of the Northeast.

The competition has two main categories. The Road Bike is open to general male and female cyclists and is divided into different age groups, while the Mountain Bike is open to all male and female cyclists.

Competitors can enter as individuals or teams of five (for males) and three (for

females), and they can choose to participate in one stage only, two stages or all three stages. The winner of each stage will receive a specially designed T-shirt and a cash prize, while the winner of the full stage (all three stages) will receive a trophy, a T-shirt and a cash prize.

Exclusively on Jan 12-13 from 10am8pm, special models of bicycles from leading brands will be showcased at the fountain court of Khon Kaen 200 Years

Public Park. Many booths will offer bike accessories and local food. Cultural performances will also be staged.

Fees vary and registrations should be made by Jan 6. Part of the proceeds will go toward the provision of bicycles for rural schools.

Visit www.ridetokhonglegendary.com or call the TAT Contact Center at 1672.

SOCIAL SCENE

SHOPPING CAMPAIGN: Rvisra Chirathivat, assistant vice-president of Zen Department Store, held the Zen Special Thanks: Share the Love As Thanks event to introduce a shopping campaign for the festive season. From left, Ston Tanteaporn, Pichamon Chomanan, Charn Chanon, Ms Rvisra, Natprapa Choonhavan, Tanyawan Devahastin Na Ayudhya and Jarudech Boonyasit.

HEALTH AND BEAUTY SUPPLEMENT: Sopidnapa Chumpani, CEO of Lavish, launched its food supplement for health and beauty at La Creperie, Siam Paragon.

From left, Navadee Mokkhavesa, ML Auradis Diskul, Naphalai Areesorn, Mrs Sopidnapa, Kleddao Panichsamai, Preeyanuch Bulakul and Suquan Bulakul.

Send pictures to life.social@bangkokpost.co.th.

nly five more days till we start counting down to a new year. Of course, this moment of festive spirit is a time to celebrate. It is the season filled with gifts, cakes, greeting cards, hampers, new year tinsels and banners, twinkle lights, beautiful words and stuff. It is a time to plan for holidays ahead and choose which direction to move forward in the new year.

But amid this joyous occasion, the year-end is also a time to look back at the past 12 months. This year makes history in many ways — the good, the bad and the sad. And here’s why.

This year Thailand lost its most beloved and revered monarch. To say that losing King Bhumibol Adulyadej was heartbreaking is an understatement. After years of ailments and numerous visits to Siriraj Hospital, Rama IX gave up the brave fight on Oct 13. This day is undoubtedly the greatest, saddest loss the Kingdom has ever seen.

After the late monarch’s 70-year reign, Thailand welcomed a new King — His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, who ascended the throne on Dec 1. This date also marks one of the most important chapters in Thai history. “Thailand now has a new King,” announced Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Internationally, besides Myanmar’s democracy icon and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was appointed the country’s state counsellor in April, the other person making history in world politics was none other than US President-Elect Donald Trump, who won over Hillary Clinton with 276 Electoral College votes.

Despite the clear winning margin, Trump’s win caused public anxiety not just in the US but also around the world. Trump will be sworn in as the 45th US president, despite controversy. He is the only US president with no political or military experience ever elected to office.

Bob Dylan also raised a few eyebrows when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. The 75-year-old music icon made it clear that he would not attend the award presentation ceremony, which was held in Stockholm earlier this month due to “other commitments”. In the Swedish Academy’s 115-year history, Dylan is the first musician to have won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Innovations made this year were particularly memorable, starting from the launch of the Nintendo NES Classic — the mini replica of the original NES game console — and Sony PlayStation VR to Apple’s Airpods, the company’s first wireless headphones. Even though a few items are harder to find than others like the Nintendo NES Classic, which sold out, at least the arrival of these gadgets reminds us that despite economic slumps, the tech world is still sleepless.

In the world of sports, the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro saw a number of historic records and firsts. For the very first time, a refugee team took part in the Olympic Games. The team comprised 10 athletes from Syria, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia. They took part in track, swim and judo events.

The Rio Games was, however, one of the most talked-about Olympic Games in history. Sub-standard infrastructure in the athletes’ village, as well as doping charges, were among issues facing the Olympics committee. But besides that, Zika was the top concern back in August as Brazil had been severely affected by the mosquito-borne virus. A group of physicians and scientists sent an open letter to the World Health Organization (WHO), asking them to reconsider the risks that might stem from holding the Olympic Games as scheduled. WHO replied that changing the venue would not significantly alter the international spread of the virus.

Because of this, a number of athletes decided to pull out of the games. However, in September WHO reported that there were no confirmed cases of Zika infections among athletes and visitors at the Rio Games.

2016 also saw a lot of notable deaths in the global entertainment scene — from David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Harper Lee, Prince, Anton Yelchin to Leonard Cohen.

If there is anything to learn from history, it is lessons. We can move on and ensure some parts of history do not repeat themselves. Otherwise, 2017 will be just another year that passes by.

We can move on and ensure some parts of history do not repeat themselves

Arusa Pisuthipan is the deputy editor of the Life e section of the Bangkok Post.

life t HAPPENING Bangkok Post |

USA TODAY (TNS)

A lawyer for Katherine Russell, widow of one of the Boston Marathon bombers, says the new film Patriots Day is unfair because it suggests she knew something was up before the attack and then didn’t co-operate with the investigation afterward.

“It’s just not true,’’ lawyer Amato DeLuca said. “I have no objection to them making a movie. ... What I quarrel with is the license they take in portraying Katie as someone who did not co-operate and try to save lives. She did everything she could.’’

The movie opened last week in Boston, New York and Los Angeles, and will have a wider release on Jan 13 in the US (also in Thailand).

Russell was married to Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who died during a violent encounter with police.

She has never been charged with any wrongdoing, and her lawyer has said repeatedly that she didn’t suspect anything before the bombings.

In one scene in the Mark Wahlberg film, Russell is shown being defiant as an investigator grills her on whether there are more bombs. The movie character also refuses to answer questions and asks for a lawyer but is told she has no right to one.

Richard DesLauriers, who was special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston division during the bombings, said he believes the portrayal is on base.

“I have no reason whatsoever to believe that anything about this aspect of the movie is inaccurate,’’ said DesLauriers, who is no longer with the FBI. DeLuca said Russell willingly sat down with authorities multiple times, including in the hours after her husband was killed. She also talked eight to 10 times with three Washington-based anti-terror investigators during meetings at the kitchen table in her parents’ home in Rhode Island as well as at his law office in Providence, he said. “It was always very cordial. It was always very co-operative.

bot who must help Mac and Cheez make it through the asteroid field.

Also along for the ride is Peas, “a little bot [that] acts almost like a pet,” Banks said.

In addition to providing the voice for Cheez, Banks also had her facial movements recorded, “so when you do inflection and everything they can match it with everything you are doing with your face at that time”.

Oh, and about the voice, it’s not totally intelligible, she says. “We sort of created a language and then we sped it up,” said Banks, who also voiced the character Wyldstyle in The Lego Movie. “It does make sense if it were translated for you and you saw it written out. It’s a little like pig Latin in a way.”

As for experiencing VR, Banks says she felt “a little bit of vertigo”, but when the married mother of two took off the headset she thought, “My kids are going to lose their minds when they see this. It is so fun to be immersed that way”.

Banks sees VR as one of several new career paths for actors to explore. “There’s fewer movies but at the same time there is an explosion of games and VR and all the streaming content and a lot of television.

There’s more television than ever these days,” she said. “It is going to be very exciting as [VR] unfolds and as they make more and more strides with the technology. I’m excited to feel a part of something that feels very fresh and new and is the future of film.”

Banks immerses herself in another out-of-this-world role in the upcoming Power Rangers movie reboot, in US cinemas on March 24.

Her character Rita Repulsa, she said, “is sort of an uber-villain in the Power Rangers universe”. No word yet on whether Banks will have a part to play in a planned full-length feature film starring Mac and Cheez in the works from Baobab and Roth Kirschenbaum Films (Alice In Wonderland, Maleficent).

Good people,’’ he said this week of the Washington-based investigators.

DeLuca said it was unfair to focus on the moments of turmoil in the hours after her husband was killed when she was frightened and confused by what had happened, while ignoring the months she spent answering questions, reviewing photographs and offering other help.

“It just feeds into this belief that people like Katie would place themselves above the country and above their patriotism, because she’s a Muslim,’’ he said. “She did what any of us would have done.’’

Russell has since moved to New Jersey with her daughter.

During a news conference last week, producer Michael Radutzky said the interrogation scene was “triple-sourced from multiple authorities’’ based on “significant reporting about her behaviour, her affect, her manner and the words she had to say”.

Director Peter Berg said there were “unresolved issues’’ with Russell, and it was hard to understand how someone living in a small apartment with the bombers could not have known what was going on.

He said he had asked to speak with Russell. DeLuca said it was not in her best interest to do so.

“I’m not interested in making a movie,’’ DeLuca said. “Why invite speculation from the public? We answered all the questions from the FBI and from the terrorist task force.’’

The film ends with updates on where the characters are now, three and a half years after the bombings. Russell’s reads: “Law enforcement continues to seek information on Katherine Russell’s possible involvement in the bombing.’’

“That’s news to me,’’ DeLuca said.

“No one has made any suggestion that’s what’s going on. Obviously, it’s been some time since this occurred. Nothing has changed.” AP

PHOTO: AFP

Icelandic icon Bjork, who has built one of the boldest careers in pop music, has lashed out at the media for its “sexist” views, saying women are expected to sing about romance, not science.

“Women in music are allowed to be singer-songwriters, singing about their boyfriends,” she wrote in an impassioned Facebook post last week.

But, she added, “if they change the subject matter to atoms, galaxies, activism, nerdy math beat editing, or anything else [other] than being performers singing about their loved ones, they get criticised”.

Bjork said she hadn’t “moaned about sexism” through most of her career, but got fired up after criticism of her DJ set at a Texas festival last weekend.

“Some media could not get their head around that I was not ‘performing’ and ‘hiding’ behind desks. And my male counterparts not. And I think this is sexism,” she wrote.

The 51-year-old musician, a former leader of The Sugarcubes post-punk group, was wearing a mask while DJing at the Texas gig as she has in other performances.

Despite four decades in music, and including a starring role in Lars Von Trier’s award-winning film Dancer In The Dark,

Kadokawa promotes Malay version of anime your name. your name.

PHOTO: KYODO

The Malaysian unit of Japanese entertainment content provider Kadokawa Corp. is promoting the Malay version of the blockbuster anime film your name. in graphic novels and comics.

“We translated the content into Malay and sold over 1,000 books during Comic Fiesta 2016,” Chris Yew, the CEO of Kadokawa Gempak Starz Sdn. Bhd., said during the recent two-day animation, comics and games events in Kuala Lumpur.

The English version will be released in January, he said.

Kadokawa Gempak has produced more than 250 publications of various genres from acclaimed local, regional and international artists since it became Kadokawa’s Malaysian subsidiary in November last year, according to Yew. “Over the years, we have built strong and expedient networks that span the length and breadth of Malaysia and Singapore,” he said, adding that the firm also does business in South Korea, Brunei, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, China, France, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macao and Japan.

Yew said Kadokawa’s Malaysian arm has also prepared a platform for local artists to demonstrate their talent in the content market.

And he said his company is currently trying to purchase the copyright of the immensely popular Japanese anime One-Punch Man to bring it into Malaysian. “We hope to bring this famous animation into the Malaysian market. We want to publish it in graphic novels and comics,” he added. KYODO NEWS.

Katherine Russell with lawyer Amato DeLuca.

Bjork slams ‘sexist’ music critics

PHOTO: AFP

Elizabeth Banks.

3

PHOTO: AP

Elizabeth Banks has landed another fantastical role: an alien in an animated virtual reality film.

The actress, perhaps best-known for the fanciful character of Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games films, provides the voice for the part of Cheez, described by Banks as “a cute little alien”, who appears in an animated VR short called Asteroids!

A four-minute version of the film short, produced by Silicon Valley VR upstart Baobab Studios and out for Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream, drops in on Cheez and fellow alien space traveller Mac as their space ship unexpectedly encounters an asteroid field. A longer 10-minute version will debut at the Sundance Film Festival next month in Park City, Utah.

“There’s a lot of really fun surprises in the revelations of what they are doing on their ship and their relationship to each other,” Banks said in an interview. “It’s a great mix of humour and excitement. If you have never experienced VR, you know it’s really wild to be watching something in front of you but know there is something behind you. And then when you turn around, it is wild.”

Mac and Cheez made their first appearance in an animated VR short released earlier this year called Invasion!, also from Baobab, one of several studios working on animated 360-degree VR content. CEO Maureen Fan (Toy Story 3 and Zynga’s Farmville sequels) and Chief Creative Officer Eric Darnell, who directed the Madagascar films, founded the studio founded last year. (You can find links to download the Invasion! app for various VR devices on the Baobab website.)

In that VR adventure, Mac and Cheez land on Earth and encounter two rabbits — VR viewers take the point of view of one rabbit. Asteroids! puts you in the action, too, as a

|

Lawyer says Mark Wahlberg Patriots Day movie is unfair to Boston bombing widow

Virtual reality is new career path for actors MIKE SNIDER

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

Bjork said she was only accepted by critics last year with the release of an autobiographical album about her break-up from longtime partner, the artist Matthew Barney.

“I made Volta and Biophilia conscious of the fact that these were not subjects females usually write about.... I sang about pregnant suicide bombers and for the independence of [the] Faroe Islands and Greenland... I sang about galaxies and atoms but it wasn’t until Vulnicura, where I shared a heartbreak, I got full acceptance from the media,” she complained on Facebook. “If we don’t cut our chest open and bleed about the men and children in our lives, we are cheating our audience.”

The singer of Venus As A Boy and Human Behaviour has previously criticised the media over its coverage of the music industry. In June she was quoted

by NME slamming music journalism as “a boys club”.

“They like music that is... well, a lot of it is for boys,” she added. Bjork, who in March announced she was working on a new album, wrote this week that in 2017 she would “get to have a costume change” and abandon the subject of heartbreak in lieu of new inspiration. AFP

life t MOTORING

Lamborghini has revealed the Aventador S with a wilder 740hp V12 engine, four-wheel-steering and more aggressive styling.

4 | MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016 | Bangkok Post

Ä

Go to www.bangkokpost.com/auto

FIRST DRIVE AND DREW W FRANK A KEL

The GT R proves it has all to put the driver behind.

H

ere’s as sure a sign as you’ll get this side of its new, Formula 1-powered hypercar that Mercedes-Benz in general and its AMG division in particular are getting very serious indeed about their high-performance weaponry.

The new Mercedes-AMG GT R may not be the most powerful car in AMG history and even at 22 million baht, it remains some distance from the most expensive.

But for sheer, naked aggression and laserlike focus on the driving experience, it represents a new level for the company.

Think of it relative to a Mercedes-AMG GT S as you might a Porsche 911 GT3 to a 911 GTS. One changed letter, one entirely transformed car.

We’ll start with the body and structure, where carbonfibre construction for the front wings, rear spoiler, torque tube and roof plus some additional underbody bracing make the car both lighter and stiffer.

The chassis has wider tracks, coilover suspension units, bespoke spring, damper and anti-roll bar settings, and vastly fatter tyres — the rears are 325/30 ZR20s — not to mention Mercedes’ first use of active rear-wheel steering, programmable ninestage traction control, optional forged, implausibly lightweight aluminium wheels and colossal (and also optional) carbonceramic brakes.

Less has changed under the bonnet, but new turbochargers, a revised compression ratio and fresh mapping still manage to add a further 75hp to the 4.0-litre V8’s output, to bring the total to 585hp, with a chunk of additional torque too. The seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox is retained, but with a longer first gear, a shortened seventh and an overall reduction in the final drive ratio.

In aerodynamic terms, an invisible deployable front lip spoiler, a double rear diffuser and an adjustable rear wing not only provide meaningful downforce but, impressively, manage to do so while improving drag.

Not for the first time, the pinnacle product of an AMG supercar line — the one that should have you quaking in your boots — is the one that turns out to be not just the fastest but also, by some margin, the easiest to drive.

Just as the Black Series SLS was by some distance the most forgiving SLS, so its AMG GT R descendant has pulled the same trick again. It’s no pussycat and remains more challenging on the limit than a lot of midengined exotica such as the Ferrari 488 GTB and McLaren 570S, but the crucial difference with the GT R relative to the GT S is that the effort required to drive it really fast is more than matched by the reward.

And it is really fast. Eye-poppingly so.

The response from the tuned V8 is little short of brutal, almost regardless of the revs on the clock, as is the sound. Indeed, one way the GT R can be best enjoyed is to put the transmission into manual, hook a high gear at really low revs and see just

Backs up its aggressive looks and ferocious noise with a stunning drive.

Worth the extra over an AMG GT S? Every last bit of it

Adjustable rear wing provides meaningful downforce. how flexible the engine really is and hear just how fabulous its barrel-chested growl is at such revs. Good though the Ferrari and McLaren are, with their flat-plane cranks, they can’t do this.

The GT R’s problem is that while Mercedes-AMG has provided it with the ironfisted body control such a car clearly needs, it has not been able to do so while retaining the at times eerily good ride quality of its mid-engined rivals.

AMG proudly states that most of the car’s development has taken place on the Nurburgring and, frankly, that’s how it feels.

Even in comfort mode, the suspension was firm enough on the roads of the Algarve in Portugal.

Find a smooth stretch, however, and the GT R proves it has all the grip, the turn-in immediacy and traction of those that put their engine behind the driver. You learn to apply the power earlier and earlier in corners, barely believing how much the

TThe h ri ride d is de i fir firm m but but the chhasssis i yie y lds lo lots ts of o gri grip. p

The response from the tuned V8 is little short of brutal.

Optional carbon-ceramic disc brakes work well.

SCOOP

rear axle will transmit to the road without complaint.

But for all its extra power and pace, it is its behaviour at track speeds that really sets the GT R apart from lesser GT coupes.

You need to dial your brain in to the speed of the steering response — the car would be further improved by a slower rack — to quell the temptation to over-correct each slide, but once you’ve done so, the car is a joy to drive fast.

All the excesses of the GT S chassis have been trimmed away and discarded. Despite travelling at an altogether different rate, the GT R does less of everything: less understeer on turn-in, less oversteer at the exit and all with far greater progression and accuracy. It will let you clean up your lines with the throttle and, should you so choose, drift cleanly.

Mercedes-AMG says it’s not that kind of car but, instead, a precision track tool, and I understand where it’s coming from.

JIM HOLDER

BENTAYGA COUPE ‘WILL HAPPEN’ Bentley CEO is confident it will get the go-ahead; stretched version of regular model is also likely

A

COMPUTER-GENERATED IMAGE

family of Bentley Bentaygas is being evaluated as the Crewe-based firm bids to capitalise on the luxury SUV’s runaway sales success.

Plans include a coupe-styled version of the car, a long-wheelbase variant and possibly a high-performance limited-edition model in the vein of the Continental GT3-R. Despite being one of the most controversial Bentleys yet — as the firm’s first SUV and now its first diesel model — the Bentayga has been critically acclaimed and exceeded sales expectations. The firm anticipated making 3,600 Bentaygas in 2016 but will end the year having delivered around 5,600.

The Bentayga coupe is expected in around 2019 if it gets the board approval of the Volkswagen Group, Bentley’s parent company. That would coincide with the

facelift of the standard car and draw fresh interest at a time when many competitors will be launched in the sector. It will be broadly styled on the standard car and retain four doors but have a sloping roofline and be tuned to have sharper dynamic and performance characteristics.

“I’m confident that it will happen and our team is working on the case for this car, but it is not yet approved for production,” said Bentley CEO Wolfgang Durheimer.

An extended-wheelbase Bentayga is believed to be already in development, following the sales success of the Mulsanne EWB model.

“In the Middle East and China, it is almost exclusively what we sell,” said Durheimer. “Those markets have shown what is possible and it makes business sense. The engineering is not rocket science, but it is

life t MOTORING Bangkok Post |

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

FIRST DRIVE RICHARD LEU

The Nissan Note gains a hybrid option, but it isn’t coming to Thailand for several reasons

T But should it ever step out of line even by chance, it’s nice to know you’re not going to be all arms and elbows getting it back.

You should drive the GT R on representative roads before you make the decision to buy one. If you can live with a ride that is very firm but not overly harsh, and if you can stomach the price, the rest is all good news.

The GT R represents every bit as large a step over the GT S as the 7 million baht price disparity and its immense specification suggests. And it would have been so easy for Mercedes just to make this car faster; far more impressive is the fact that it’s been made so much better too.

You might prefer to drive a 911 GT3 RS on the track or a McLaren 570S on the road.

But if you like the idea of a state-of-the-art sports car but traditionally configured with a thundering V8 at one end and its driven wheels at the other, the GT R will deliver on the promise of its outlandish appearance, and do so in spades. AUTOCAR

aking global trends for small cars into consideration, id i the h diesel di l engine i may not be a feasible option in the future. Combine that with high development costs, and small cars have wafer-thin margins.

That’s reportedly why Volkswagen is planning to offer petrol-electric hybrids in A- and B-segment cars in future. In fact, Toyota has already adopted this strategy with the Yaris hatchback in Europe.

And just recently, Nissan has announced a semi-electric version of the Note hatchback for the Japanese market called E-Power, which combines a 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine and an electric motor.

But unlike in conventional hybrid-powered vehicles, E-Power propels the driven wheels via the electric motor (see accompanying illustration for more clarity). Packaging is made efficient by placing the batteries under the front seats.

Because of this, Nissan is saying that E-Power is essentially an EV (electric vehicle) since the electric motor does most of the work. The petrol engine simply generates energy for the batteries,

MERCEDES-AMG GT R Price

22 million baht

Top speed

317kph

0-100kph

3.6sec

Economy

8.7kpl

CO2

259g/km

Engine

V8, 3,982cc, twin-turbo

Installation

front, longitudinal, RWD

Power

585hp at 6,250rpm

Torque

700Nm at 1,900rpm

Gearbox

7-speed dual-clutch auto

Weight

E-Power is being touted as an EV when it’s actually a hybrid.

which in turn supplies juice to the electric motor. But B after f speaking ki to an engineer i at the h E-Power’s driving trials in Yokohama, Japan, this month, Lifee learned that this electrified Note is more of a hybrid, not EV. Here’s why.

First some hard facts. When compared to the Leaf — Nissan’s first pure EV without an internal combustion engine — the E-Power has a 40kW electric motor that’s exactly half as potent.

Plus, the E-Power’s 1.5kWh battery is 20 times less powerfulthan in the Leaf. And to top it off, E-Power has no plug-in facility.

Now for the driving bit at Nissan’s Oppama proving grounds, which should matter more for readers. Press the starter button and it’s quiet like in pure EVs and many other hybrids. Most of the time, the electric motor does all of the driving and helps for instantaneous acceleration — a key trait of EVs. But that was with the air-con off as temperatures in Japan during this time of the year near zero. Switch it on (as you would do in Thailand) and the petrol engine comes to life more than usual because air-con systems naturally drain power from drivetrain units of whatever type.

This is why the engineer wants to call E-Power a hybrid. So whether you’re able to achieve that lofty 37.2kpl average fuel consumption Nissan is claiming under Japan’s JC08 driving mode depends on how and where you drive the car.

But one thing’s for sure if you’re not so keen about cutting CO2 tailpipe emissions or saving petrol costs, performance isn’t lacking when you drive harder than usual, although the petrol engine coming to life when necessary is quite irritating on the ears and spoils the serene EV driving experience Nissan is boasting about.

So yes, it’s better to label E-Power as a hybrid despite some distinctive technical operations it has over counterparts seen in other brands.

And now that Nissan has already kick-started its hybrid crusade in Thailand with the X-Trail

1,630kg Note: Estimated price for Thailand. Specs may vary.

expensive. When you change components like the side panels and roof, you add a lot of cost.”

Bentley’s head of engineering, Rolf Frech, revealed that a highly tuned version of the W12 Bentayga is under consideration but it would be a limited-edition model only.

“If we have enough people who want the car, and they are new to the brand rather than people who will choose this Bentley rather than another one, then we will consider it,” said Frech. “The Continental GT3-R was limited to 300 cars and looked really extreme and performed well, and already it is a collectors’ car, so there is interest.”

Frech also said such a car could not compromise Bentley’s traditional values of luxury. “We can make dynamically focused cars that are extreme, but only for very special occasions,” he said. “They cannot impinge on Bentley’s core DNA.” Durheimer also said plans to launch an SUV smaller than the Bentayga — sized between the Porsche Macan and Porsche Cayenne — are on hold. “For now, we will go bigger, not smaller,” he said. AUTOCAR

Nissan says the fro wheels are driven by b an electric motor whicch gets its energy from thee petrol engine-charged battery.

Revised interior sees new flat-bottomed steering wheel and electric gear operation.

Batteries are placed beneath the front seats to help create an airy cabin.

SUV, you might assume that the Note E-Power will follow suit. Sadly, not anytime soon, even if Nissan had engineered it for all driving conditions around the world, which it hasn’t yet.

Pricing is critically complex, as well. As hybrids have higher development costs and additional electrified components than conventional petrol engines, they need a substantial reduction in excise tax even in locally assembled form (to escape the high 80% import duty in Thailand).

The Thai-made X-Trail Hybrid enjoys 10%, while the non-hybrid faces 30%. But because the Note can be taxed at 17% under Ecocar Phase 1 rules, the E-Power version can only get a 7% reduction. Blimey, even the Thai Honda office had trouble pricing the previous-gen Jazz Hybrid when it had a 20% space from the regular petrolpowered model.

But it isn’t game over for the Note yet in Thailand. Minus all those electric components, the Note will come to Thai showrooms early next year as its third Ecocar following today’s March hatchback and Almera saloon. Although Phase 2 regs came into effect this year already, a Nissan executive said that makers have eight years to use Phase 1 rules. Nissan was first with an Ecocar in 2011.

This means that the Note will share the same 79hp three-pot engine and CVT gearbox as in the March and Almera. Just to refresh some minds, the Note is around three years in its current generation and uses the same V platform as the other two siblings.

The Note is most likely to be refreshed for 2017 with the tweaked V-Motion front grille the E-Power is wearing. The Note’s interior is still basically Almera, although there’s also the likelihood of that flat-bottomed steering wheel in the E-Power.

We haven’t driven the normally-powered Note in Japan. But it’s safe to assume that by shedding some 200kg of those hybridised items, the circa-1,000kg Note should perform amply

where fuel economy (at least 20kpl under Phase 1 requirements) takes a precedent over grunt.

But the key selling point of the Note would be cabin space. By sharing the Almera’s 2,600mm wheelbase, there’s so much legroom for rear passengers and cargo space in the Note it easily threatens the Jazz. And apart from having a price advantage over the Honda hatch (which isn’t an Ecocar), Nissan will be highlighting driverassist tech for the Note in the guise of automatic emergency forward braking and lane departure warning.

Of course, by passing mid-life in its current generation, the Note has downsides. Handling is just as stodgy as in the Almera and the materials inside the cabin feel low-rent — despite journalists being in Notes tailored for Japan.

In a nutshell, the Note will be coming to Thailand with value-for-money as the highlight: big on space, comfort, features with prices to match. It also provides Nissan the chance to make good use of relatively old tech and justify its Ecocar investment.

As for E-Power, forget it for the time being.

NISSAN NOTE E-POWER Price

na

Top speed

na

0-100kph

na

Economy

37.2kpl

CO2

68g/km

Engine

I3, 1,198cc, petrol-electric

Installation

front, tranverse, FWD

Power

79hp (95hp)* at 5,400rpm

Torque

103Nm at 3,300-5,200rpm

Gearbox

CVT automatic

Weight

1,220kg *combined output with electric motor.

|

5

life t DIVERSIONS 6 | MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016 | Bangkok Post HOROSCOPE

ANDY CAPP

ANIMAL CRACKERS

BLONDIE

THE BORN LOSER

FRANK & ERNEST

GARFIELD

INSANITY STREAK

PEANUTS

THE WIZARD OF ID

WUMO

JERALDINE SAUNDERS

CAPRICORN Dec 22-Jan 19 Grin and bear it. Adapt to alterations in your schedule. It could be that a loss of time due to unexpected changes has you rushing around or that other people are simply unpredictable.

AQUARIUS Jan 20-Feb 18 Don’t open the wine before its time.

If you are in a hurry to make a change or start something new, but run into delays and obstacles, it is a sure sign that you need to wait for better timing.

PISCES Feb 19-March 20 Your love life might be confusing when someone seems to play indiscriminately with the on/off switch.

Stressful relationship situations can be soothed and repaired with tender loving care.

ARIES March 21-April 19 Take steps to be self-disciplined. Take pride in passing up the second piece of chocolate cake or for taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Go over plans and projects with a fine-tooth comb.

TAURUS April 20-May 20 Your fantasies may have a solid base in reality. Use your imagination and insights. Your skilful manoeuvring of financial matters can add extra dollars to your piggy bank.

GEMINI May 21-June 20 Break with traditions by replacing them with new ones. You may have a change of heart due to an influx of new information. Be sure you act only from sincere and completely honest motives.

CANCER June 21-July 22 You can’t do harm when you exude charm. Show off your friendliness.

Group activities and social gatherings might be right up your alley and can put you in the centre of the action.

LEO July 23-Aug 22 Be adventurous with amorous arrangements. A romantic partner may be timid. Be encouraging as you explore new places and prove your passion. Loved ones need reassurances and dependability.

VIRGO Aug 23-Sept 22 When at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. A relationship might be on the brink of a collapse but you can repair it. Keep trying to open up the avenues of communication whenever possible.

LIBRA Sept 23-Oct 22 Lighten the load. You have a talent for interceding in disputes and making things better. Your interests may be scattered but new ideas can be exciting. Take up a fascinating new study.

SCORPIO Oct 23-Nov 21 The best relationships begin with friendship. Remain open to forming new alliances without abandoning old ones. You may be challenged to deal with opposing factions or extreme viewpoints.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 22-Dec 21 Hope can float your boat. Ideas that have been in dry dock are almost ready to launch. Display enthusiasm and eagerness to gather support when discussing your most important objectives.

AGENCY

ON RADIO CHULALONGKORN FM 101.5 After Dinner Musicale (9.35-10.30pm) Suk Towards A New Life (5:46).

Josef Strauss Dynamiden (8:47).

Vivaldi The Goldfinch (4:05).

Jean Wiener Franco-Americain (15:14).

Mozart Eine kleine Nachtmusik (17:00).

Music of the Masters (10.30-11.55pm) Nielsen Overture to Maskerade (4:36).

Francaix Quadruple Concerto For Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon & Orchestra (11:38).

Bloch Schelomo (21:45).

Mendelssohn Scottish (37:22).

SUDOKUPACIFIC©UCLICK

Use the grid with the cryptic or the easy clues, but beware: The answers are different.

How to solve Sudoku:

EASY CLUES

CRYPTIC CLUES

ACROSS 3 Gain access to (3,2) 8 Wild (5) 10 Indian dish (5) 11 Chafe (3) 12 Iraqi currency (5) 13 Fundamental (7) 15 Manages (5) 18 Manipulate fraudulently (3) 19 Surgeon’s stitch (6) 21 Portrays (7) 22 Plant part (4) 23 Dressed (4) 24 Specimens (7) 26 Thrifty (6) 29 Narrow brooch (3) 31 Sum (5) 32 Colonist (7) 34 Skinflint (5) 35 Uncooked (3) 36 Songbird (5) 37 Thin candle (5) 38 Approaches (5)

ACROSS 3 The swimmer sat around quietly at the far end (5) 8 Where the islanders are a bit capricious?

(5) 10 Running across country makes her no different (5) 11 Scot with a bit of stomach ache? (3) 12 and 15 Form of soap barrel seen in the far north (5,5) 13 African transport workers getting out of breath?

(7) 15 See “12” 18 Conflict warily started (3) 19 What the poor don’t have to be lent in extremes of poverty (6) 21 When I leave the cab without paying, there’s just no accounting!

(3,4) 22 What Jack might say to a bit of a hoyden? (4) 23 Used to be very little around the tourist centre (4) 24 One who loves to read, perhaps about a space station (7) 26 It’s good to dally foolishly, if happily (6)

Place a number from 1-9 in each empty cell so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains all the numbers from 1-9. (This means that no number can appear twice in any row, column or 3x3 box.)

DOWN 1 Jocund (5) 2 Nightclub show (7) 4 Heroic (4) 5 Counting frame (6) 6 Fortune-telling cards (5) 7 Guide (5) 9 Mat (3) 12 Of the fingers (7) 14 Pinch (3) 16 Tows (5) 17 Shabby (5) 19 Plug (7) 20 Sketch (5) 21 Redecorate (2,3) 23 Middle (7) 24 Salty (6) 25 Illuminated (3) 27 Automaton (5) 28 Street urchin (5) 30 Gem (5) 32 Scorch (4) 33 Circuit (3)

TARGET

How many words of four letters or more can you make from the letters shown here? In making a word, each letter may be used once only. Each word must contain the large letter, and there must be at least one nine-letter word in the list. No plurals; no foreign words; no proper names.

TODAY’S TARGET: 12 words, good; 18 words, very good; 24 words, (or more) excellent.

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

© SOLO SYNDICATION

If today is your birthday: Concentrate on social events and people rather than business aspirations for the next several weeks.

Your friendly demeanour will be an asset but wait until February to use your business acumen. February is a month when you can safely initiate important financial matters like buying a new car or making a shrewd investment. Whatever you begin during that time period is likely to build your financial security. In May your gullibility is at a high point.

Avoid new romantic entanglements and put business or career situations on the back burner. TRIBUNE CONTENT

CROSSWORD

29 Deceive a fish?

(3) 31 Thus the French are involved in shoe repairs (5) 32 Wherein to see horses or possibly odd wolves around (7) 34 Stick at the crease, being not out? (5) 35 She’s backward in reading (3) 36 Wonderful trio

by Chopin, initially (5) 37 Ring Eleanor at the week-end (5) 38 At the close of play, the match is ill-humoured (5) DOWN 1 Full scale (5) 2 Roguish style in which to make an entrance (7)

4 Worker of a type only found abroad (4) 5 Forty per cent of farms fit to be termed fertile (6) 6 Fiddlers possibly get drunk in there (5) 7 Powerless to move during a wild winter! (5) 9 Not French fathers! (3) 12 To incompletely perform bad D.I.Y. would imply deceit (7) 14 Most diminutive man? (3) 16 Displeasure with a bad half of beer (5) 17 In a funny way, Eric imitates Bill (5) 19 Bird with a big bill for fish (7)

20 Lots of workmen make jokes, out for a bit of fun (5) 21 The result of adding to an endless story!

(5) 23 Maybe Gwen did make a dress for it (7) 24 Lorraine’s regional associate (6) 25 He may be bent on catching a big fish (3) 27 Might it get only a half allocation of beer? (5) 28 Charge up to bed with it! (5) 30 Fishy series of notes? (5) 32 A drink taken to heart by football fans? (4) 33 Modest part of a poet’s production (3)

SCRABBLE

EASY SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 1, Morale 7, Deported 8, Wide 10, Strain 11, Bewail 14, Are 16, Casts 17, Espy 19, Dinar 21, Duvet 22, Cadet 23, Boys 26, Focus 28, Dim 29, Apathy 30, Casino 31, Abet 32, Lavender 33, Dither DOWN: 1, Mousse 2, Apiary 3, Eden 4, Polecat 5, Atlas 6, Idols 8, Wrap 9, Die 12, War 13, Italy 15, Liver 18, Sloop 19, Dud 20, Net 21, Dashing 22, Cut 23, Bisect 24, Omit 25, Shower 26, Fault 27, Carve 28, Dab 30, Card CRYPTIC SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 1, Joints 7, Ta-CI-turn 8, To-NI 10, B-order 11, Sad-is-M 14, Old 16, Nippy 17, Rite 19, Ga-M-in 21, Magic 22, Oiler 23, Cats 26, Baird 28, Doh 29, All-e.g.-e 30, Salome 31, Ably 32, Coasting 33, Airmen DOWN: 1, Jabber 2, Noodle 3, Stir 4, Titanic 5, Tulip 6, Enemy 8, T-rot 9, Ned 12, DI-N 13, Sprat 15, Wager 18, I-deal 19, Gal. 20, Mir 21, Midge-t-s 22, Or-e 23, Collar 24, Ah-O-y 25, SWE-den 26, Bat-C-h 27, I-liad 28, Dab 30, Saga

life t SCREENING Bangkok Post |

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

|

7

The Great Wall: What filmgoers and critics are saying in China and beyond AMY QIN NYT Y

W

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNITED INTERNATIONAL PICTURES (FAR F EAST)

The he Gr G eatt Wal Wall a l.

‘‘

Zhang has delivered nothing more than a formulaic monster movie

PHOTO: AP

hat if the Great Wall was built not to keep out northern invaders but to defend against mythical monsters?

What began as a passing thought in the mind of Thomas Tull, chief executive of Legendary Entertainment, has now reached the big screen. Legendary’s The Great Wall, l directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Matt Damon, was released in China last Friday (it opens in Thailand next year).

With a budget of more than US$150 million (5.4 billion baht), the fantastical film about fighting monsters on the Great Wall is the largest-ever China-Hollywood co-production and is being seen as a test of whether event films made in China can become hits in the West. (It is scheduled to hit cinemas in North America on Feb. 17.).

Set in ancient China, the film centres on William Garin (Damon), a foreign mercenary who is taken captive by a secret army of elite fighters on the Great Wall called the Nameless Order. Garin and his sidekick (played by Pedro Pascal) soon learn that the wall was built to protect against mythical flesh-eating monsters called the taotie, who rise up every 60 years to devour humanity.

Reviews of the movie in China have so far been mixed. On Douban, a popular book and movie review website, the movie has an average rating of 5.4 stars out of 10 based on more than 82,000 ratings. Many of the reviewers — both professional and amateur — have expressed disappointment with Zhang, lamenting his turn from art house hits like Raise The Red Lantern to blatantly commercial, popcorn movies.

One amateur critic, Xiedu Film, set off a dust-up when he wrote on the Sina Weibo microblog, “Zhang Yimou has died!”. Le Vision Pictures, one of the production companies backing the movie, on Friday demanded that the critic apologise and delete the comment, which the company called a serious violation of Zhang’s right to reputation.

“It’s akin to libel and cursing,” the company wrote on Sina Weibo. Xiedu Film explained in a follow-up message: “I just feel that Zhang’s art career is almost coming to an end.” Still, other reviewers applauded the film for its dazzling effects and expressed excitement about the film’s potential to export Chinese culture to the rest of the world. We rounded up reactions

Matt Damon at a red carpet event for the movie The Great Wall,l in Beijing, on Dec 6. from Chinese filmgoers and critics writing for Chinese and Western outlets. Here are excerpts (including in some cases translated passages) from reviews from the upbeat to the negative.

POSITIVE, TO A POINT “I’ve seen a lot of reviews that say The Great Walll has a thin plot. This is indeed a shortcoming. But if the movie turns out to be an international box office success, then

[the plot] will also be seen as having contributed to that. For foreigners unfamiliar with Chinese stories, a complicated story would have made them confused and disoriented.” — Raymond Zhou, movie critic, in Tencent’s Dajia Column.

“Despite his best efforts [to suppress his signature style], there are still traces of Zhang Yimou in the movie. The scenes with the synchronised drummers recall the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, and the dense forest of arrows and the spear movements of the bungee-jumping female fighters are like those seen in Peking Opera.

There’s no way to erase this. And, even though he did not use very much red, there were still hints everywhere of his passion for vivid colours.” — Yang Shiyang, movie critic, in Tencent’s Dajia Column.

THUMBS DOWN “Most big Hollywood films are very simple, direct and universal in the system of values they embody. Freedom, honour, fairness, justice, love and the spirit of dying for a just cause — these are the most common values that they convey. But in The Great Wall, l why are these soldiers fighting, dying and sacrificing their bodies? What spirit did they represent that they could persuade Garin, the ‘foreign bandit’, to stay behind?

None of this is fully explained in the movie.”

— Yin Hong, film professor at Tsinghua University, on the Sina Weibo microblog.

The similarity of the premise to past films “wouldn’t be such a problem if Zhang or his scribes had devoted even a smidgen of time to giving the respective commanders identities or back stories. Instead, though they

are played by recognised actors with proven ability and charisma, these characters are just glorified cameos, stomping around in heavy armour looking angry or worried or both”. — Maggie Lee, Variety.

“Beyond the casting and the ceaseless onslaught of diverse special effects, Zhang and his Hollywood screenwriters have delivered nothing more than a formulaic monster movie — albeit one transposed to a historically undefined China where generals dressed like terra-cotta warriors already have mastered anaesthetics, air travel and American-accented English.” — Clarence Tsui, Hollywood Reporter.

“Every predictable turn comes to pass, and most major developments loom so large it’s a wonder the elite fighters don’t spot them. Aside from the nods to Chinese culture, there is little to differentiate between this and any other Hollywood action adventure.” — Helen Roxburgh, The Guardian.

“When all is said and done, it’s just 94 minutes of content which forces the plot to move too quickly. We don’t see nearly enough about the deployment of the army.

There is not enough context about the roles that the villains and the supporting figures play. Not to mention the female soldiers all have very fair and clear skin. I don’t think people who fight in real wars can have skin that tender. And that guy, what’s his name, Junkai [who plays the teenage emperor], he is the epitome of what we call ‘good looking until you open your mouth’.” — Miaoke Zhongguo, online user, on Douban.

A PAN IN POEM FORM I am Zhang Yimou I love Chinese style I’ve had enough shooting art films And I’ve won enough awards It’s time to make some money And revitalise the Chinese film industry When I first got this “The Great Wall” screenplay The boss said I couldn’t change the main plot So I figured out every possible way To turn this foreign story Into one with clear Chinese style 100,000 soldiers, five elite forces Grand gold and red colour, carved beams and painted rafters The wind is blowing and the drum beating, and Qin opera is being sung, I don’t care, I just want my Chinese style.

— Max Horowits, user, on Zhihu.com (the Chinese equivalent of Quora). © 2016 NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE

NOW SHOWING Assassin’s Creed Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard star in this film adaptation of a popular video game. Fassbender plays Callum Lynch, a criminal who has been sentenced to death. He wakes up, however, to find himself with Sofia (Cotillard) and that he’s actually a descendant of a creed of ancient assassins destined to keep peace on Earth. Directed by Justin Kurzel.

Passengers Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt star in this sci-fi romance. A spaceship is on a 120-year journey to a planet colony with thousands of passengers on board. But its sleep chambers malfunction and two people wake up 90 years before schedule. Their feelings grow, and yet the spaceship has more secrets in store for them. Directed by Morten Tyldum.

Sing Buster Moon (voice of Matthew McConaughey) is a koala bear who runs a beautiful old theatre. When the bank threatens to close it, he has to come up with a big show — a singing competition for all animals. Featuring the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson and Seth MacFarlane. Directed by Christophe Lourdelet and Garth Jennings.

Collateral Beauty Will Smith plays Howard, a successful advertising executive in New York who suddenly experiences a tragic loss that throws his life off balance. He reduces his life to a monotonous routine and begins to write letters to Love, Time and Death. They answer him, in the form of Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley and Jacob Latimore. Directed by David Frankel.

A Street Cat Named Bob Based on a best-selling book, the film tells the story of a street busker and recovering drug addict whose life is transformed after an encounter with a stray cat. Directed

by Roger Spottiswoode.

Motel Mist This Thai independent film is set entirely in a seedy love motel. A middle-aged man checks in with a young girl and they act out a creepy game of seduction, oppression and revenge. Meanwhile in an adjacent room, a young man is trying to contact an extraterrestrial. Directed by

Prabda Yoon. In Thai with English subtitles. At SF CentralWorld, House RCA, Bangkok Screening Room.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story In this Star Warss spin-off, Felicity Jones plays Jyn Erso, daughter of the Empire’s chief engineer forced to build a secret weapon. Separated from her father, Jyn is convinced to join the Rebel Alliance and goes on an adventure with Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) to various planets in the galaxy to sabotage the evil Empire. Also starring Donnie Yen as a blind warrior and Forest Whitaker as an extremist rebel. Directed by Gareth Edwards.

Office Christmas Party Jennifer Aniston plays an uptight CEO who’s on the verge of closing her hard-partying brother’s branch of the business. To save the day, the brother (T.J. Miller) and his right-hand man (Jason Bateman) throw an epic party with the hope of securing a big client. Directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck.

Underworld: Blood Wars In this sequel, Kate Beckinsale returns to fight the centuries-old war between the two supernatural clans, the werewolf Lycan and the Vampires. Directed by Anna Foerster.

Moana In this latest animation from Disney, Moana the Polynesian princess (Auli’i Cravalho) defies her father’s order and voyages beyond the reef in search of demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson). Moana will then help Maui restore the heart he has stolen from a goddess and reset the order of her world. Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker.

Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them In this extension of the Harry Potter franchise, Eddie Redmayne plays Newt Scamander, a magical zoologist who arrives in New York in 1926. Newt is the author of

the textbook that Harry Potter would read 70 years later, but now he’s on a quest to catalogue fantastic creatures around the world. In New York, Newt is up against the dark wizard Grindewald (Johnny Depp), who’s cooking up a plan to wreak havoc in the magical community.

Directed by David Yates.

Porn Jak Fah In this Thai ensemble movie, four directors tell three stories based on songs by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. They are Love At Sundown, Still On My Mind and New Year. Directed by Jira Malikul, Adisorn Treesirikasem, Chayanop Boonprakob and Nitiwat Tharathon.

life t FEATURE 8 | MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016 | Bangkok Post

IT WAS W AN INTERESTING 2016 FOR BIKE-LANE USERS

THE YEAR OF BIKING CAUTIOUSLY STORY: SIRINYA WATT A TANASUKCHAI

A

lthough 2016 wasn’t a golden year for cycling infrastructure improvement in Bangkok, a surprisingly silent upgraded bike lane along Praditmanutham Road has made city cyclists feel they aren’t left in the cold.

After less than two years, Bangkok’s first complete 8km bike lane in the Rattanakosin area — which recently dismissed Bangkok governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra helped paint in late 2014 as a New Year’s gift — was under threat a few times this year for being “under-used”.

A city committee on tackling bike lane problems raised the issue, in May, that many city bike lanes were under-used and not worth the maintenance costs.

Two months later, the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) asked the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to revise its plan to improve or build a new bike lane, as the existing loop in the old town was underused, claiming the city had been wasting 28 million baht improving the under-used infrastructure.

The Sky Lane at Suvarnabhumi airport has continuously been upgraded since last year.

PHOTO: APICHART JINAKUL

PHOTO: THANARAK KHUNTON

The issue of under-use raised by the OAG not only frustrated cycling commuters, but also contributed to the shelving of three new bike lanes planned by the BMA’s Traffic and Transport Department (TTD), in Srinakarin, Ratchadamri and Henri Dunant.

But cyclists, civic groups and the BMA’s TTD didn’t take the issue raised by the OAG as the answer. It prompted them to work together to draft a master plan for bike lanes in Bangkok to make cycling a mode of city transport. The draft is still being worked out.

The mishap for bike lanes didn’t seem to stop. Again earlier this month, deputy governor Amnuay Nimmano proposed to retire underused bike lanes in the capital as they have obstructed traffic.

However, many argued that the bike lanes in Bangkok have actually been misused and not respected by other road users. A Bangkok Post reader suggested the city give up the strips for not being fit for purpose, rather than under-used.

While cycling commuters have been struggling with the paths, cycling lanes for exercise have been rosily paved by public and private agencies to pamper middle- and upper-class athletes.

The Sky Lane, renamed to match its blue lane, at Suvarnabhumi airport has continuously been upgraded since last year, to turn it into a world-class cycling lane-cum-tourist attraction.

With a budget of 400 million baht from SCB, the 23.5km lane has been repaved; a 4km loop was also added for novices. Other facilities such as resting areas with toilets have been added along the route, while more shops are being opened at the entrance to facilitate use.

Some may have also noticed the compact cycling lane at the Makkasan Rail Link station.

Another shady bike lane has also been paved around Chitralada Palace.

Yet city cyclists have something to celebrate this year. The silent improvement, completed in September, has been the 12.6km (one each

side) bike lane of Praditmanutham, a real gift for city cyclists.

The as-new lane became the city’s most perfect and practical piece of infrastructure for being physically separate from the main road and partly covered by tree shade. The protected bike lane also has high potential, as it runs through a residential area in the eastern part of Bangkok and links to the inner city, possibly bringing in countless commuters to the city with less traffic — if enough drivers decide to give up their cars.

Regular users have been enjoying the silently improved bike lane for months now. The path has been repaved, and obstacles such as shop signs and parked vehicles have been removed.

The near-perfect lane only lacks adequate lighting and a connection between big intersections where heavy traffic makes it hard for cyclists to cross.

The lane is close to being the city’s most practical if the BMA decides to invest a few more million baht to make the strip safe and practical.

GET ET IN THE SADDLE AT AT A PRICE THAT AT SUITTS YOU

A bike lane is taken over by tuk-tuks. In some areas, buses and private cars also park on cycle lanes.

CYCLING PLUS TEAM

Price: 32,000 baht Even though XDS is not a world-renowned bicycle brand, it is one of the leading bike manufacturers in China for so many years as well as one of the world’s biggest bike producers for the time being.

XK800 comes with the X6 ultralight aluminium alloy frame — durable for both heavy use and racing. Up to international racing standard, this model accepts 27.5mm tyres and comes with Shimano XT groupset and Magura Air Fork with Remote Lockout. If you are looking for a wallet-friendly mountain bike, XK800 is a good bargain.

WWW.THA WWW THAIMTB.COM TB COM

Mountain Bike XDS XK800

Price: 45,900 baht This is a made-in-China brand, perfect for exercising and racing. It’s not cheap, but in the long-run it offers one of the best value for money bikes from a brand that’s climbing up from mid-level to competitive elite. The highlight is its carbon frame, with Shimino Ultegra gears and Vision wheels.

WWW.BM WWW BMC-SWITZERL C-SWITZERLA LAND.COM ND COM

Tropix: Paris Model

BMC Road Machine 01 Price: 504,000 baht Designed with a frame similar to that of a race bike, this versatile model is suitable for running both on smooth and bumpy surfaces. The road bike accepts up to 32mm tyres which allows acceleration even on rocky and gravel roads. Going for minimalism, BMC Road Machine 01 is neither a mountain bike nor a cyclocross model yet all eyes are on Road Machine 01. This model is proof that road bikes are not designed solely for smooth surfaces because, after all, bicycles were first invented even before roads became what they are today.

FACEBOOK: MOD X BIKE

z

Folding Bike FSIR Spin 2.0 Price: 13,500 baht An alternative brand from China defies the stereotype of low-quality, low-price Chinese products. Weighing just 7kg, the FSIR Spin is one of the lightest folding bikes on the market. Its strength is agility, which makes it perfect for crowded city streets that require swift navigation.

It may not be the fastest bike around, but that’s not a problem when it’s spry enough to access urban terrains such as footpaths and narrow lanes. When folded, it’s so compact you can even carry it on a bus.

Continued from page 1

A bumpy ride New trains are now n avvaili abl able. e.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE STA TATE RAILWA WAY OF THAILA L ND

TRAINS Passengers have longed for faster and more punctual services. Another year has passed and the high-speed train talk remains just that — talk.

The big change we have this year, however, are the sparkling new trains, Chinese-made, that run on four routes: Bangkok-Chiang Mai, Bangkok-Ubon Ratchathani, Bangkok-Nong Khai and Bangkok-Had Yai. The new trains, which excited travellers after their launch, offer improved convenience and safety. They come with a vacuum toilet system, personal TV for first class, special compartments for people with disabilities and CCTV cameras.

LIFE

modification costs were not covered.

Ten trains from Japan arrived in Thailand earlier this month. The authorities are now evaluating the modification costs, and work will begin early next year. These Japanese trains are scheduled to be in service by mid-2017.

This also raises questions on whether or not investing money for the adjustment and transportation of the trains was cost effective, or getting brand new trains would have been a better choice.

Just a few days ago, there was also another update on trains — the renovated third-class carriages aged over 60 were released. The project is an urgent priority as the government aims to give train renovation as a new year gift. All the trains that are set to be renovated are expected to be finished by next year.

VANS Also one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. The saying seems valid to the country’s authorities who were delighted to receive 24 second-hand trains from Japan. These trains were given for free but the transportation costs, restoring costs and Editor: KONG RITHDEE | kongr@bangkokpost.co.th Travel Editor: PONGPET MEKLOY | pongpetm@bangkokpost.co.th

The most important issue related to vans is station relocation for inter-provincial services. Victory Monument was once a centre for this mode of mass transit. But the new stations are at the city’s bus terminals: Mor Chit 2, for northern and northeastern

PHOTO: PORNPROM SATR A ABHAY AYA

The most hi-tech boat service of the year goes to the 8km route in Klong Phasi Charoen, running from Taksin-Petch Kasem Pier to Taling Chan floating market. Launched in April, the spaceship-like boat claims to have a minimal effect on the people who reside on the river banks, causing limited pollution, and is controlled by a GPS system.

Wi-Fi is also provided on-board. The fare is charged only through a Rabbit card.

Inter-provincial vans relocated to the city’s three bus terminals. routes, Sai Tai Mai, for southern routes, and Ekamai, for eastern routes.

Relocation is part of government efforts to alleviate traffic congestion and cope with rising passenger numbers. However, it has caused some dissatisfaction as many find it inconvenient to get to the new stations and there is, to get there, an additional cost to pay.

THE PROV O INCES Other big regional cities have also made an effort to improve public transport.

Chiang Mai launched a few bus routes last

Deputy Editor: ARUSA PISUTHIPAN | arusap@bangkokpost.co.th Motoring Editor: RICHARD LEU | motoring@bangkokpost.co.th

year. But the most successful city may be Khon Kaen, now that there is Khon Kaen City Bus running around the clock which just kicked off at the beginning of this year.

The feedback seems to be positive. The bus co-ordinates can be tracked through an application. Wi-Fi is available on-board.

The fare is collected through a machine or through an RFID card.

The idea of a light rail system has also been discussed in some cities such as Chiang Mai, Phuket and Nakhon Ratchasima in the past few years. But not much tangible progress has been shown this year.

Bangkok Post

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MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

A YEAR TO

PHOTO: AFP

PHOTO: AFP

REMEMBER

ASIA z Trumped: Barack Obama’s “pivot to Asia” — a promise to pay

F

rom the election of “Duterte Harry” in the Philippines to the affair of the “Female Rasputin” that has gripped millions of Koreans, it’s been another memorable year in Asia. A few long-running political and security soap operas also continue to play out, most notably the drama in the South China Sea. As well, there is no sign that the tragedy of the Rohingya will end anytime soon. This week, Asia Focus takes a look back at some of the events and personalities that made headlines in 2016.

PHOTO: REUTERS

more attention to the world’s most populous and economically buoyant continent — is under threat following the surprise US presidential election victory of Donald Trump. The Republican billionaire has singled out China for special attention, but whether Mr Trump’s tweets will translate into policy remains to be seen. Asia is most worried about trade protectionism as exports make up a quarter of the region’s GDP, and a fifth of all Asian goods go to the US. The first casualty of a Trump administration is almost certain to be the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), championed by Mr Obama. US allies such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore were seen as being among the biggest winners of a more open trade regime. A more isolationist and protectionist stance will cost Washington influence in the region.

z South China Sea: Another year, more posturing and more

LAOS

z Aceh devastation: Indonesia’s Aceh province was struck by a

6.5 magnitude earthquake in early December, the worst disaster to hit the region since the 2004 tsunami. The quake and aftershocks killed at least 100 people, injured nearly 900, displaced about 85,000 people and damaged more than 11,000 buildings.

Killer quakes occur regularly in the region, where many live with the terrifying memory of Dec 26, 2004, when a 9.1 quake off Sumatra triggered a devastating tsunami that killed more than 100,000 Acehnese.

z Duterte tricks: Bad blood between Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and US President Barack Obama dominated the

headlines at the Asean and East Asia summits. Otherwise not much happened. As expected, 18 world leaders gathering in Vientiane managed to say little about the South China Sea, despite mounting evidence backed by an international tribunal ruling that Beijing is in the wrong. That left reporters to watch every move by the Philippine and US leaders, after Mr Duterte delivered a profanity-laced outburst earlier in which he called Mr Obama a “son of a bitch”. The tirade was prompted by the US president’s dismay over Mr Duterte’s drug policy, which essentially consists of killing people.

brazen Chinese construction on islands that most people agree it does not own. An international tribunal in The Hague, ruling in a case brought by the Philippines, said in July that Beijing had no legal basis to claim historic rights to the bulk of the disputed encompassed on maps by its infamous “nine-dash line” which extends hundreds of kilometres to the south and east of its island province of Hainan. China has refused to recognise the ruling and at year-end was adding even more military facilities on various contested rocks and islets.

PHOTO: REUTERS

ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the US-led trade deal that Donald Trump is almost certain to kill. The TPP had been seen as a big boon for Vietnam’s exports and manufacturing economy, which is receiving record foreign investment due to its numerous trade accords, cheap labour and relative stability. Relations with Washington have warmed considerably under the Obama administration, though, and Hanoi hopes the trend will continue.

PHOTO © 2016 THE NEW YORK TIMES

VIETNAM z No deal: Vietnam, perhaps seeing the political writing on the wall, shelved

provides accounts to the Queen, ran secretive tax-haven services for a Brunei prince accused of stealing US$15 billion from his own people, according to a report in The Guardian citing the Panama Papers, a treasure trove of documents showing how the wealthy hide their money. The Sultan of Brunei’s brother, Prince Jefri Bolkiah, was among the clients of the blue-blood bank. Coutts reportedly provided the spendthrift prince with banking services throughout the 1980s and 1990s as he lavished himself with hundreds of luxury properties, artworks, more than 2,000 cars and several aircraft. In 2000 he was charged with embezzling $14.8 billion from the sultanate’s sovereign wealth fund, which he chaired from 1986-98.

A UK court in 2007 ordered Jefri to pay back the full amount that had disappeared. Coutts provided nominee directors and shareholders for two companies the Prince set up in the British Virgin Islands. While this is not illegal, it allowed Jefri to conceal his identity.

MALAYSIA z Where’s the money? Thousands of anti-government protesters marched

PHOTO: EPA

PHOTO: AFP

in Kuala Lumpur in November to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Razak, as the scandal surrounding the looting of billions of dollars from the state development fund 1MDB dragged into its second year. Mr Najib branded the yellow-shirted protesters “a tool of the opposition”, and the group’s leaders were arrested the day before the rally. Mr Najib has managed for nearly two years to block or sideline any credible investigation by Malaysian authorities, while also shutting down media outlets that get too curious. Meanwhile, the US Justice Department continues to gather evidence linked to the disappearance of US$3.5 billion from the fund founded by Mr Najib. Some of that money allegedly flowed into the accounts of “Malaysian Official 1”, whom US and Malaysian officials have identified as Mr Najib.

MYANMAR z Rohingya suffering: Amnesty International said the actions

z How much longer? Investigators searching for Malaysia Airlines flight

PHOTO: EPA

MH370 in November recommended extending the search by 25,000 square kilometres, to an area further north in the Indian Ocean, after conceding for the first time they were probably looking in the wrong place. But Australia, one of three search countries, rejected the recommendation citing a lack of “credible evidence”, leaving it unclear whether Chinese and Malaysian search teams would finance a prolonged hunt. An exhaustive survey of the current 120,000 sq km search area west of Australia is due to be completed in January, with no sign of the missing jet.

Flight MH370 disappeared in March 2014 with 239 passengers and crew on board, most of them Chinese, en route Beijing from Kuala Lumpur.

PHOTO: AFP

BRUNEI z Stashed away: Coutts, the taxpayer-owned British bank that

of Myanmar’s military against the Rohingya Muslim minority may constitute “crimes against humanity”, as international concern grew about conditions in Rakhine State. The Amnesty report accused Myanmar forces of murdering civilians, rape and torture. The military has denied accounts of atrocities and says it is conducting anti-terrorist raids in Rakhine. At a December meeting of regional leaders in Yangon, the government said it needed “time and space” to resolve the issue.

Malaysia said this was now a “regional concern”, and called for Asean to coordinate humanitarian aid and investigate the allegations.

THE PHILIPPINES z War on drugs: President Rodrigo Duterte has been

unrelenting and unapologetic about his war on drugs ever since voters propelled him to power in May because of his promises to do something about crime. About 6,000 Filipinos have died since June, with about 2,000 of those deaths at the hands of police and the rest at the hands of vigilantes or rival drug gangs, reports say. The carnage has drawn heavy condemnation abroad, to which the president has responded with coarse outbursts. Recently he boasted that years ago he’d killed a few people himself, just to encourage police in his hometown of Davao. In September, he said he wanted to extend the drug war another six months because he “cannot kill them all”. z Hail to the thief: Long-dead former dictator Ferdi-

nand Marcos was buried in November at the Heroes’ Cemetery in a secrecy-shrouded ceremony, a move approved by President Duterte that infuriated supporters of the “people power” revolt that ousted Marcos three decades ago. Pro-democracy activists were enraged by the treatment accorded a man who oversaw the deaths of thousands and looted his country of about US$15 billion. President Duterte said he respected their right to protest but suggested it was time to finally put the Marcos debate to rest.

z Continued on page 3

2

ASIA|FOCUS

AROUND ASIA Bangkok Post

INDONESIA

THE PHILIPPINES

INDIA

China has offered to provide US$14 million worth of small arms and fast boats to the Philippines for free, aiding President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs and fighting terrorism, according to Philippine Defence Minister Delfin Lorenzana. The offer was made by Chinese ambassador Zhao Jianhua during a meeting with Duterte last Monday at the presidential palace, Lorenzana said, adding that Beijing had also made available a longterm soft loan worth $500 million for other equipment. China’s arms offer came after a US senator said he would block the sale of 26,000 M4 rifles to the Philippine police due to human rights concerns.

India’s central bank rolled back an order restricting deposits of banned rupee bills into bank accounts, after the move sparked a huge public backlash. Prime Minister Narendra Modi unleashed chaos last month with his move to withdraw 500- and 1,000-rupee notes from circulation, in an effort to tackle widespread corruption and tax evasion. Bur as the Dec 30 deadline to swap old rupee bills for new ones draws nearer, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that deposits of over 5,000 rupees in old banknotes would only be allowed once before the cut-off date. People would also be required to explain why they had not deposited the money earlier. The RBI reversed its decision last Wednesday for all “verified” bank accounts, without giving a reason.

Police in India are torturing suspects to death in custody with impunity and blaming suicide or natural causes, according to Human Rights Watch. It said a failure to follow proper arrest procedures, such as presenting a suspect before a magistrate within 24 hours, was allowing police to literally get away with murder. At least 675 people died in police custody in India between 2009 and 2015, government figures show.

An investigation by the rights group found that victims were beaten with belts or boots, or suspended by their wrists. HRW investigated 17 deaths in police custody and found that in each case the police failed to follow proper arrest procedures.

AROUND ASIA BUZZ An independent human rights watchdog will investigate President Rodrigo Duterte’s admission that he killed three criminals years ago, after the United Nations called for a murder probe. Duterte, who is waging an anti-drugs war that has left thousands dead, said he helped police kill three suspected kidnappers early in the first of his several terms as mayor of Davao. UN rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said Duterte’s killings, by his own admission, “clearly constitute murder” and Philippine judicial authorities must launch an investigation. The Commission on Human Rights has formed a team of investigators to look into the matter, even though Duterte’s spokesman Ernesto Abella dismissed the UN call as a mere “opinion”.

China has handed back to the United States an underwater drone it had seized on Dec 15 in an incident that raised tensions in a relationship that has been tested by President-elect Donald Trump’s signals that he might reconsider US policy toward Taiwan.

Washington considered the seizure illegal and released a statement that it would continue to “fly, sail and operate in the South China Sea wherever interr national law allows”. China’s Foreign Ministry said there was no basis for the Pentagon’s assertion that the seizure was unlawful and instead linked it to the United States’ military presence in the waters, which Beijing considers provocative.

CAMBODIA

LAOS

VIETNAM A court in northern Vietnam sentenced a former army officer and another activist to more than 10 years in prison each for attempting to overthrow the communist government. Tran Anh Kim and Le Thanh Tung were convicted of attempted subversion at a one-day trial for setting up “reactionary group in the name of National Force for Democracy”, the state-run online newspaper Vietnamnet reported. They were sentenced respectively to 13 years and 12 years and must serve four years of house arrest after their prison terms end.

Cambodian officials have seized 1.5 tonnes of illegal ivory and animal parts hidden in a timber shipment from Mozambique that was destined for China. The huge haul — one of the largest in Cambodia this year — highlights the country’s key role in a lucrative and ecologically disastrous illegal wildlife trade primarily fuelled by Chinese demand. According to Wildlife Alliance, a Cambodia-based conservation group that helps authorities track smugglers, customs officials made the bust while searching some shipping containers last Friday on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. Hidden behind rare timber logs, they found 1.3 tonnes of African elephant tusks, 10 cheetah skulls, 82kg of animal bones and 137kg of pangolin scales.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

Days of unseasonably torrential rains have killed at least 24 people in central Vietnam, inundating swathes of the region including the tourist draw town of Hoi An. Vietnam regularly experiences tropical storms and heavy downpours but it is unusual for the country to see so much rain in December, during the cooler dry season that is popular with tourists. Coastal Binh Dinh province reported the biggest death toll with 16 people killed since heavy rains began on Dec 12. At least two more are missing in the province with hundreds of houses in remote areas currently under water. Damage totalled US$32 million with more than 32,000 hectares of crops destroyed. Parts of the central town of Hoi An, a World Heritage site that boasts picturesque pre-colonial trading houses, were submerged.

SINGAPORE

Indonesian counterterrorism police shot and killed three suspected militants, including two would-be suicide bombers, and arrested four others during several raids last Wednesday, foiling year-end terror plots. National Police spokesman Rikwanto said the raid took place based on information from a suspected Muslim militant who had been arrested shortly before. According to Rikk wanto, the four planned to attack a police box near a hospital in South Tangerang.

MYANMAR

MALAYSIA Malaysian police have arrested seven people, including four foreigners, for suspected links to the Islamic State (IS) militant group and for planning attacks in Malaysia and abroad.

Authorities have revoked the passports of scores of citizens identified as having left the country to join IS, and police reported this year that 18 Malaysians had been killed fighting for the group in Syria, and another seven were killed carrying out suicide attacks. A grenade attack on a bar on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur in June was the Islamist group’s first successful assault in the country.

JAPAN Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet approved Japan’s biggest annual defence budget in the face of North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats and a territorial row with China. The cabinet approved 5.13 trillion yen (US$43.6 billion) in defence spending for the fiscal year starting in April, up 1.4% from the initial budget for the current fiscal year. It marks the fifth straight annual increase and reflects the hawkish Abe’s attempt to build up Japan’s military, which since World War II has been constitutionally limited to self-defence. Abe, who is pushing revisions to the constitution, strongly backed new security laws that took effect this year making it possible for Japanese troops fight abroad for the first time since the end of the war.

S. KOREA A rainbow-headed snake and a dragon-like lizard are among 163 new species that scientists recently discovered in the Greater Mekong region, the World Wildlife Fund said last Monday, adding that rapid development in the area, from dams to mines, was threatening wildlife survival. The discoveries include a gecko in Laos with pale blue skin and a rare banana species discovered in northern Thailand that is critically endangered because of increasing deforestation.

Singapore convicted a third private banker last Wednesday in connection with the international money-laundering scandal involving the Malaysian state fund 1MDB. Yeo Jiawei, a Singaporean former wealth manager with the Swiss bank BSI, was convicted after a 12-day trial of witness-tampering and obstructing the city-state’s 1MDB-linked investigations. He was sentenced last Thursday. Yeo, 33, is also charged with money-laundering, cheating and forgery but will be tried next year on those counts. Malaysia has yet to begin a serious investigation into the 1MDB scandal.

A squad of 10 South Korean marines landed by helicopter on rocky islets in the Sea of Japan that are controlled by Seoul but claimed

by Tokyo, according to South Korean Defence Ministry sources. The marines landed on one of the two islets, known as Dokdo to Koreans and Takeshima to Japanese, as part in a oneday exercise by South Korea’s navy and coast guard. The drills, also involving warships and maritime patrol planes, have been held once or twice a year since 1986 despite protests from Japan. This is the first time in five years for South Korean marines to land on one of the 200-square-metre islets.

Malaysia’s foreign minister turned up the heat on Aung San Suu Kyi at emergency talks in Myanmar last Monday, warning that an army crackdown on the Rohingya minority could spark a regional migrant crisis. About 27,000 Muslim Rohingya have fled northwestern Myanmar for Bangladesh since the start of November to escape a military counter-insurgency operation. Anifah Aman called for an independent Asean-led investigation into the allegations of army abuse. He also urged full humanitarian access to the locked-down area, where more than 130,000 people have been without aid for two months. He warned the crackdown could trigger a repeat of last year’s boat crisis, when thousands of starving Rohingya were abandoned at sea by traffickk ers as they tried to flee to Malaysia.

CHINA

China’s smoggiest city closed schools last Wednesday as much of the country suffered its sixth day under an oppressive haze, sparking public anger about the slow response to the threat to children’s health. Since mid-month, a choking miasma has covered a large swathe of northeastern China, leaving 460 million gasping for breath. Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei province, was one of more than 20 cities which went on red alert, triggering an emergency plan to reduce pollution by shutting factories and taking cars off the road. Nowhere has been hit as hard as Shijiazhuang, which has seen a huge rise in pollution. But the city’s education department announced it was closing elementary schools and kindergartens, following similar moves in nearby Beijing and Tianjin.

IN NUMBERS COMMENTARY: ACHARA ASHAYAGACHAT

GAMEON ON GAME

Game revenue performance Game revenue performance in Asia Pacific 2016 in Asia Pacific 2016

24.37bn 24.37bn

Asean’s Rohingya dilemma Online population Online population

788.8m 788.8m

Revenue (US$) Revenue (US$)

12.45bn 12.45bn 4bn 4bn

1.2bn 1.2bn

988m 988m

44.6m 44.6m

21.5m 21.5m

21.1m 21.1m

705m 705m

521m 540m 521m 540m

117.6m 117.6m

China China

56.7m 56.7m

28.7m 22.8m 22.8m 28.7m

Japan Korea Japan South South Korea Australia AustraliaTaiwan Taiwan Indonesia IndonesiaMalaysia MalaysiaThailand Thailand

Country Country

Notes: Game revenue generated in eight AsiaNotes:countries Game revenue in eight AsiaPacific totalledgenerated an estimated US$46.6 Pacific countries an estimated US$46.6 billion this year, up totalled 10.7% year-on-year and billion this for year, up 10.7% year-on-year and accounting 46.8% of global game revenue. accounting for 46.8% of global game revenue.

Source: Newzoo 2016 Global Games Market Report Source: Newzoo 2016 Global Games Market Report

The online population in eight Asia-Pacific The online population in eight Asia-Pacific countries was 1.6 billion, with 1 billion identified countries was 1.6 billion, with 1 billion identified as gamers. as gamers.

In 2016, 58% of growth in the global game market In 2016, 58% of growth in theAsia global game marke is estimated to have come from Pacific. is estimated to have come from Asia Pacific.

POSTgraphics POSTgraphics

M

yanmar held a timely, face-saving meeting on the growing Rohingya crisis last Monday, and now the rest of the world has retreated to its corner, so to speak.

The low-key gathering took place at a hotel in Yangon and not in an official venue in the capital, Nay Pyi Daw, which underscores how uncomfortable Myanmar is with the attention the world is paying to the Rohingya. Nevertheless, Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said afterward that everyone left with a sense of satisfaction.

Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said Asean ministers had an open, frank and constructive discussion on the complex situation, including the provision of humanitarian aid.

But what kind of aid can be delivered, how and at what cost, is not yet known.

The challenge of “irregular migration”, the term favoured by the hosts and some Asean and international organisations, will not go away as long as the Rohingya continue to flee appalling conditions in Myanmar. Critics use more blunt terms such as “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing”.

Asean, its policy of non-interference under strain, has been groping toward a solution, but little has been done to address the root causes.

Last Monday’s meeting resulted only in a bland declaration that Myanmar would “regularly update the situation to Asean members”, as Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi put it. But the mere fact that there were talks — and in Myanmar no less — helped lower the temperature.

Spokesmen for Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi have pleaded for “time and space” in handling the issues in Rakhine State, stressing the importance of Asean unity and settling disagreements through diplomatic consultations. The Lady has also pledged to quicken the citizenship verification process.

The Rohingya issue is a hot potato for all, including states beyond Asean. Bangladesh is facing heat for not taking more Rohingya. Worse, the Muslim nation has charged some of 20,000 refugees with illegal immigration.

But Bangladesh also deserves some sympathy. It is already housing 200,000 Rohingya, including 90,000 unregistered refugees living in two unofficial camps in Cox’s Bazar.

Ms Retno, the only foreign minister to visit the camps, heard firsthand accounts of harrowing journeys.

“Having learned from their stories and experiences, [we can conclude] how complicated the problems are in Rakhine State,” she said. “Regardless of what has caused them to stay in the Kutupalong camp, they live there in misery. As fellow human beings, we have to try harder to help them.”

She also stressed that the refugee question must be settled in the country of origin. Therefore, any steps taken by the Myanmar government to address problems in Rakhine must be supported, she added.

It is a noble sentiment from Indonesia, especially in the face of Malaysian-led outrage against Myanmar to divert attention from the Kuala Lumpur government’s corruption scandals.

But we shouldn’t forget that Myanmar is facing other issues too.

The ongoing violence and prolonged suffering of those denied humanitarian aid in Kachin and Shan states is also damaging the faith that ethnic groups placed in the National League for Democracy. This is endangering the peace process that Aung San Suu Kyi has said is critical for the country’s future.

My longtime Burmese friends also lament how chaotic the situation in the country remains, one year into civilian rule.

In the old days, government officials just listened to the orders of the generals, but now the civil servants don’t know to whom, and to what extent, they should listen.

“Worse, the government is not run by the NLD — which is after all inexperienced in national administration — but rather by the Lady who may seem to have her own ideas and not well-rounded information,” said one friend.

In addition to problems with ethnic minorities, Myanmar faces a stalling economy and the kyat has been fluctuating.

Meanwhile, the Arakanese people, as they call themselves, are also helpless in Rakhine. Their political party has been refusing to work with the NLD as it has filled key local government positions with its own people. The Arakanese also feel neglected; when humanitarian aid reached the Rohingya and not them, it spurred more hatred against the Rohingya.

The Arakanese basically feel they have been oppressed for centuries in their own land by the Burmese kings and military.

But people in Myanmar don’t want to criticise Suu Kyi too much, for fear the civilian government could be shaken. The last thing they and the international community want is the return of the military.

ASIA FOCUS EDITORIAL ACTING EDITOR W WRITER S CONTRIBU I TORS

SUB E EDITOR DESIGN CONTACT

: Nareerat Wiriyapong : Pathom Sangwongwanich, Erich Parpart : Le Mai Huong (Vietnam), Ismira Lutfia Tisnadibrata (Indonesia), Grace Kyaw (Myanmar), Sanjay Austa (India), Ali Khizar (Pakistan) and Narendra Kaushik (India) : Anthony McAuley : Chanakarn Nikornpornudom : nareeratw@bangkokpost.co.th Tel: 02-6164000 ext: 4194, 4198 & 4199

Readers can send their feedback or comments to nareeratw@Bangkokpost.co.th

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MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

Bangkok Post ASIA NEWS

Xii Jin X Jin Ji inpin nppin inng. g.

3

Donaldd Trump.

PH PHO PH HO OTO:: AP

PHOTO: REUTERS

SUPERPOWERS SQUARE OFF Differences between Trump and Xi magnify uncertainties between US and China. By Chris Buckley in Beijing

z Both

came to power vowing to restore their nations to greatness. But America’s loud, ad-libbing president-elect, Donald Trump, and China’s guarded, calculating president, Xi Jinping, are glaring contrasts as politicians, and their pairing has injected new unpredictability into relations between their governments.

“I could not think of two more different protagonists in the great drama of US-China relations,” said Evan Medeiros, formerly the senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council.

“Personalities matter a lot in international relations, especially between great powers.”

A quarrel after China seized an underwater drone from the US Navy has given a taste of how the different styles of Trump and Xi could play out if bigger tensions were to break out over the South China Sea, trade imbalances, North Korea’s nuclear weapons or other issues that Trump has raised.

Trump has recently blared warnings at China, seemingly guided by visceral reflexes and a vague but bold set of demands. By contrast, Xi, the son of a Communist veteran, is disciplined and steely.

He rarely speaks off the cuff in public. Even his seemingly impromptu gestures are often carefully choreographed, and he usually adheres to policy points when meeting foreign leaders.

Xi is certainly capable of bold action, as he has shown in the South China Sea, but he tends to shroud his thinking in a cloud of slogans. That leaves outsiders guessing about when and how he will act on his demands.

“The situation could become quite combustible,” said Jessica Chen Weiss, an associate

professor at Cornell University who studies Chinese foreign policy.

“Xi Jinping is more measured in his public statements than Donald Trump, but the Chinese government will likely hit back quite forcefully against any radical efforts to challenge the status quo. The best thing the president-elect’s advisers can do for our national security is to screen Trump’s tweets.”

Trump took to Twitter on Dec 17 after the Chinese military confirmed that it had seized a submersible drone in waters about 80 kilometres northwest of Subic Bay in the Philippines. The Pentagon had revealed the seizure, and China’s Ministry of National Defence said it would return the device, which can be used to monitor undersea currents and conditions, in an “appropriate manner.” It did so last week.

Trump’s immediate response was to suggest that offering to return the drone wasn’t good enough. He said that seizure was an “unprecedented act” — originally he spelled it “unpresidented”, to widespread mirth — and later added, “We should tell China that we don’t want the drone they stole back.”

Trump did not say how he would handle similar disputes after he is sworn in as president. But his other comments so far suggest that he will take a blunter, less predictable course on China than recent White House administrations.

This month, Trump spoke on the phone with Tsai Ing-wen, the president of Taiwan, breakk ing nearly 40 years of American presidents and presidents-elect avoiding direct conversation with the leader of the island, over which China claims sovereignty.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump then suggested he could depart from the One China principle, which blocks Washington from diplomatic ties with Taiwan, using that as a pressure point to seek trade concessions from Beijing. He also criticised China on trade, the buildup of military outposts in the South China Sea and its reluctance to isolate North Korea.

“China is not used to the US asserting and pushing its interests like the Chinese do,” said Dan Blumenthal, the director of Asian studies at the American Enterprise Institute, who praised Trump’s blunter approach. “If it is prepared for that, we will be able to avoid confrontation and conflict.”

So far, Xi has not reacted publicly to Trump’s warnings. The two men had a brief but cordial call after Trump won the election. Chinese leaders rarely wade openly into disputes, leaving that to junior officials. But pressure for a tougher reaction to Trump could build in China if he

“The best thing the president-elect’s advisers can do for our national security is to screen Trump’s tweets” JESSICA CHEN WEISS Cornell University

INDONESIA

INDIA z Cashless society: The effort to eradicate “black

rocked on Jan 14 by suicide bombers and gunmen in the first assault claimed by Islamic State in the world’s most populous Muslim nation and in Southeast Asia. Seven people were killed, including five attackers, and the brazenness of the assault suggested a new brand of militancy in Indonesia. It took security forces about three hours to end the assault near Sarinah, Jakarta’s oldest department store, after militants traded gunfire with police and blew themselves up.

z

money” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a dramatic twist on Nov 8 when the government outlawed 500- and 1,000-rupee banknotes, which accounted for 86% of the currency in a country where 78% of financial transactions are made in cash. The change was meant to combat corruption and tax evasion but in the short term it plunged the country into chaos instead. The inconvenience led to protests against Modi but the government has stood by its demonetisation decision and is confident that conditions will return to normal soon.

Continued from page 1

A YEAR TO

REMEMBER

z Train deal: Singapore and Malaysia signed an

agreement in July will bring a high-speed rail link to Kuala Lumpur by 2026. Tenders for the project will be called next year. The rail line, carrying trains at more than 300 kilometres per hour, will cut the land journey between the two cities to 90 minutes, from about five hours now.

z Quantum leap: China launched the world’s

SOUTH KOREA z Blue House blues: South Korean President Park

Geun-hye was impeached by parliament over a corruption scandal and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn is now serving as interim president. The scandal, which generated huge protests, centred on Ms Park’s relationship with a friend named Choi Soon-sil and included allegations of cult activities, influence-peddling and leaks of classified information. Ms Choi, dubbed the “Female Rasputin”, is now on trial, accused of using her presidential connections to pressure companies for millions of dollars in donations to two nonprofit foundations she controlled. The constitutional court, meanwhile, has 180 days to rule on the validity of the impeachment vote. If the judges rule against Ms Park, new elections must then be held within 60 days. z Catching fire: The South Korean tech giant Sam-

sung permanently ceased production of its highend Galaxy Note 7 smartphones after reports of devices it had deemed safe catching fire. In September, Samsung recalled around 2.5 million phones after complaints of exploding batteries.

But the company later insisted that all replaced devices were safe. However, that was followed by reports that those phones were catching fire too. A Kentucky man said he woke up to a bedroom full of smoke from a replaced Note 7, days after a domestic flight in the US was evacuated after a new device started emitting smoke in the cabin.

January launched a new international development bank, seen as a rival to the US-led World Bank and an attempt to change the unwritten rules of global development finance. Despite opposition from Washington, US allies including Australia, Britain, Germany, Italy, the Philippines and South Korea have agreed to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in recognition of China’s growing economic clout. The AIIB is expected to lend between US$10 billion and $15 billion a year for the first five or six years.

first quantum satellite in August, in an effort to harness the power of particle physics to build an “unhackable” system of encrypted communications. The launch took place in the southwestern Gobi Desert, and came as the US, Japan and others also seek to develop applications for the burgeoning technology. Beijing has poured enormous resources into the race, one of several cutting-edge projects that include everything from asteroid mining to gene manipulation. The satellite — nicknamed Micius after a 5th century BC Chinese philosopher and scientist — will be used in experiments intended to prove the viability of quantum technology to communicate over long distances.

CAMBODIA z Political gamesmanship: Veteran strongman Hun Sen

kept critics guessing about how much opposition he is willing to tolerate as the country heads into local elections in 2017 and a general election in 2018. Headlines focused on the legal tribulations of deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha, who spent three months holed up in his party’s headquarters after being convicted on what he called bogus charges. Hun Sen, a frequent user of the courts to bully opposition figures, finally sought a royal pardon from King Norodom Sihamoni for Kem Sokha. Suddenly the two rivals were all smiles, pledging to work together for the national interest. The opposition party’s top leader, Sam Rainsy, is still in self-exile abroad. He faces imprisonment for a defamation conviction if he returns home. Then again, he received a royal pardon once before, so another one is not out of the question.

PHOTO: AFP

became the first serving US president to visit Hiroshima since the World War II nuclear attack. Mr Obama said the memory of Aug 6, 1945 must never fade, but did not explicitly apologise for the US attack — the world’s first nuclear bombing — that ended the war.

Mr Obama also spoke to two survivors and in an address called on nations to pursue a world without nuclear weapons. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, meanwhile, was scheduled to make a landmark visit at year-end to Pearl Harbor, the US naval base in Hawaii, where a Japanese attack brought America into World War II.

Kashmir Valley flared anew in 2016 with the killing of Burhan Muzaffar Wani, a militant commander of the Kashmir-based Hizbul Mujahideen. He was a new-age poster boy for militancy and his death during an encounter with Indian security forces on July 8 sparked protests and violence that led to nine deaths. Jammu and Kashmir Police and Indian paramilitary used force to suppress the violence which later resulted in the deaths of more than 100 civilians in unrest that persisted into November.

PHOTO: EPA

PHOTO: AP

z Historic visits: Barack Obama in May

case of Zika in May and the virus has been spreading ever since. The first carrier of the virus, which has caused particular devastation in South America, was a 48-year-old Singaporean man returning from Sao Paulo, Brazil. He was admitted to hospital and isolated but that did not stop the outbreak. The number of locally transmitted Zika virus cases reached 242 in September, with most linked to an existing cluster in the city-state’s east.

However, the swift and successful response of the Singaporean government and grassroots organisations earned the country praise from the World Health Organization, which called Singapore a “role model” for its handling of Zika.

z Kashmir unrest: Unrest in the Muslim-majority

PHOTO: AFP

SINGAPORE z Zik Zika alert: l t Si Singapore reported t d its it first fi t iimported t d

CHINA z Hey big lender: Chinese President Xi Jinping in

the pressure on Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja “Ahok” Purnama, who was accused of insulting the Koran. Mr Purnama, a Chinese Christian, was accused in September of misrepresenting a Koranic verse which suggests Muslims should not be ruled by non-Muslims, in an effort to boost support ahead of the governorship election in February 2017. Mr Purnama, better known as Ahok, appeared in court on Dec 14 and tearfully denied all allegations that he insulted Islam. If convicted, he could face a five-year jail sentence.

PHOTO: REUTERS

discussions on the possible abdication of Emperor Akihito in mid-October following the 82-year-old emperor’s remark in July that his age was making it hard for him to fulfil his duties. Abdication is not mentioned under existing laws, so they will need to be changed to allow him to stand down. The panel aims to submit legislation as early as May next year. Akihito, who has had heart surgery and was treated for prostate cancer, has been on the throne since the death of his father, Hirohito, in 1989. If he does abdicate, it would be the first time a Japanese emperor has done so since 1817.

PHOTO: AP

PHOTO: REUTERS

z Abdication hint: A panel in Japan began

harsher response to Trump. Global Times, a newspaper often marked by strident anti-American rhetoric, held a forum in Beijing where speakers urged tough retaliation if Trump moved closer to Taiwan, and praised the seizure of the drone.

“China isn’t afraid of confrontation with America,” Dai Xu, a former Chinese Air Force senior colonel and outspoken hawk, said at the meeting.

“Without China’s cooperation, Trump will achieve nothing. I dare say that if he opts for confrontation with China, he won’t stay in office for more than four years.”

Another speaker, Jin Canrong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing, told Global Times, “China is a dragon, America is an eagle, Britain is a lion. When the dragon wakes up, the others are all snacks.”

Such tough talk does not set Chinese foreign policy, but Xi and other leaders are sensitive to nationalist ire that they themselves have nurtured.

Xi has summed up his vision of national rejuvenation and strength as the “Chinese Dream”, a theme he has promoted since taking office.

Pressures on Xi are likely to grow if Trump continues publicly excoriating China, especially on territorial issues, such as Taiwan and the South China Sea, where public sentiment often favours a tough response.

“China tends to give the new leader a grace period to settle in,” Weiss said, citing her research about China’s response to elections and new leaders. “Trump has moved more quickly to challenge and defy China than other presidents-elect, however, so the grace period could end quickly.” © 2016 New York Times News Service

z Jakarta attacks: The Indonesian capital was

z Blasphemy trial: Muslim hardliners stepped up

JAPAN

keeps lobbing out warnings, especially after he becomes president.

Experts disagreed over whether China’s seizure of the submersible drone was intended as a signal to Trump, or even authorised by Xi. But Chinese decision-makers probably took into account that Trump’s team would read it as “a test and a warning”, said Ni Lexiong, a naval affairs researcher at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law. “It would be impossible for China not to react to his provocations,” Ni said. “Trump seems to want a foreign policy that keeps the other side guessing.

But that way of working can easily lead to trouble.”

An editorial in a prominent Communist Party newspaper said that Xi’s government needed to be ready for rockier relations.

“Trump hits out with a hammer to the east and a club to the west, and his real thinking is very difficult to fathom,” said the editorial in the overseas edition of the People’s Daily, using a Chinese saying that means to speak or act without rhyme or reason. China, it said, should “stay steady on its feet, keep a good grasp of developments, calmly respond, and that’s it”.

But even China’s calls for calm have barbs and caveats that could rile a Trump administration.

When the Chinese defence ministry said it would return the submersible drone, it also said the Chinese ship showed a “professional and responsible attitude” by seizing the device, although the drone appeared to be outside even an extremely generous view of China’s rightful reach in the South China Sea. Chinese hard-liners are already urging a

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ASIA NEWS Bangkok Post

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

Technicians prepare an aircraft simulation unit at the Garuda Indonesia pilot training centre in Jakarta.

The new pilots could be absorbed in the workforce if they were not so picky as there are a lot of small airlines flying in remote areas” ARISTA ATMADJATI Aviation lecturer

PHOTO: AFP

Waiting for take-off Opportunities in the Indonesian skies are vast but many pilots remain grounded because their training doesn’t match what the market needs. By Ismira Lutfia Tisnadibrata z The

Indonesian transport ministry is preparing to start building new airports in 13 locations from 2017 to 2019 to meet the country’s growing need for infrastructure and to increase the number of people using air transport for domestic and international travel.

The broader goal, it says, is to increase the country’s air transport capacity by developing new airports, expanding existing ones and improving links to remote areas.

It also aims to increase the number of people flying domestically by 6.1% to 95.9 million, and those taking international flights by 4.8% to 19.9 million in 2017.

Given those figures, now seems to be a great time to be a pilot in Indonesia. But whether expanded air travel will provide

more job opportunities to absorb flying school graduates remains to be seen. Indonesia has a surprising number of unemployed pilots. In some cases it’s because the training they have received doesn’t match what the market needs. In other cases, the vacancies are on remote or regional routes that don’t appeal to pilots.

Currently, there are at least 900 local pilots who cannot find jobs with local airlines, Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said at the launch of a campaign to increase public awareness of air transport safety in Jakarta earlier this month.

Budi’s statement was in contrast with previous statements by officials in recent years, that Indonesia was short of pilots as

the growth of the aviation industry was outpacing that of pilot training.

The minister says he plans to put in place a number of programmes and introduce better training courses to improve local pilots’ skills in a bid to solve the problem.

In its 2017 outlook, the ministry said it plans to produce 2,531 air transport academy graduates between 2017 and 2019, including 752 in the next year.

“We have to impose certain requirements for foreign pilots to work in Indonesia. I think we are quite open but it would irresponsible for us if our pilots have fewer opportunities,” Sumadi said.

Ali Nahdi, the vice-president of the Indonesian Pilots Federation, said the actual

number of jobless rookie pilots in Indonesia was higher than what the minister said.

“It’s actually more than a thousand and the number is growing,” Ali told Asia Focus. “The government and all stakeholders including airlines need to seriously work together to find a solution.”

In terms of providing better training to improve pilots’ capabilities, Ali expects the government will go ahead with new programmes despite the high cost of training to obtain ratings to fly certain types of aircraft.

“It would also be up to the airlines to recruit more local pilots in accordance with their needs and requirements,” he said, adding that airlines and the pilots they hire could work out a scheme to anticipate the

costs of obtaining pilot certification to fly specific airplanes.

“Otherwise the government and flying schools in the country should start thinking about reducing admissions of new students,” he said. “We surely don’t want them to graduate without job opportunities to fly.”

Indonesia has 24 flying schools, including two that are owned by the government.

According to the head of the human resource development centre at the ministry, Yuli Sudoso Hastono, they produce 65 new pilots every year.

“But those flying schools don’t train pilots to acquire the qualifications required by airlines,” Yuli was quoted as saying by Liputan6. com.

Ali said another stumbling block is the mindset among pilots that they have to work for major commercial airlines, when there are also opportunities at smaller, commuter airlines or chartered services.

Arista Atmadjati, an aviation lecturer at Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta, agreed, saying that new pilots tended to be picky when it came to finding jobs amid the already fierce competition in the workforce.

“They don’t want to fly for small airlines serving routes in remote areas,” Arista told Asia Focus, citing Susi Air, an airline owned

by Maritime and Fisheries Affairs Minister Susi Pudjiastuti, which has 80% foreign pilots in its workforce.

On the other hand, most airlines don’t want to invest in training new pilots so that they are certified to fly the specific aircraft that the airlines use. Meanwhile, there are foreign pilots better equipped with type rating certifications who are ready to fly.

It shows that demand for pilots, not just for regular airlines but also for chartered and commuter airlines, remains high in Indonesia.

“The new pilots could be absorbed in the workforce if they were not so picky as there are a lot of small airlines flying in remote areas,” said Arista.

“Otherwise foreign pilots will continue to take the jobs as many of them work here seeking to acquire more flying hours.”

Financing adaptation to climate change a huge challenge

Men pull a tricycle through the snow in a neighbourhood next to a coalfired power plant in Shanxi, China.

By Erich Parpart

z Climate change is damaging economies

($2.3 billion), Vietnam ($2.1 billion), Indonesia ($1.9 billion), Myanmar ($1.4 billion) and South Korea ($1.1 billion).

Most of the losses are caused by impacts such as natural disasters, water shortages, loss of agricultural produce, flooded cities, natural wonders becoming less attractive, coastal erosion and damage to infrastructure.

“The strong impact from climate change is everywhere across the globe, not only on agriculture but also on the living standards of people. Therefore we think it is very important to search for adaptation solutions because we cannot neglect them anymore,” Mr Fleer told Asia Focus.

“The impacts vary. Some countries have to deal with drought while others have to fight floods which means we do not have a solution that is applicable globally. We have to go on the ground to search for specific solutions.”

Agricultural production, which accounts for about 11% of Thailand’s GDP and employs 70% of the active working population, is hit every year by flooding and drought. Crop damage and livelihood

“Some countries have to deal with drought while others have to fight floods which means we do not have a solution that is applicable globally. We have to go on the ground to search for specific solutions” JONAS FLEER Frankfurt School of Finance and Management

disruption have a knock-on effect on consumption and the entire economy.

Future climate scenarios show a trend toward higher temperatures and an increase in the number of hot days, which will expose key Thai crops such as rice, sugarcane and corn to even higher risks, according to the TDRI. “The Thai government is currently spending less than 0.25% of agricultural GDP on research expenditure into climate change impacts. We need to invest more in adaptation, otherwise it will be very difficult for farmers to adapt,” Nipon Poapongsakorn, a distinguished fellow at the TDRI, told Asia Focus.

“We have to invest to properly maintain tourist spots which are one of Thailand’s main revenue sources, and we have to also invest in the maintenance and renovation of old infrastructure while building new infrastructure that can withstand the weather in the future.”

Mr Fleer said it was difficult to calculate the extent of adaptation costs. However, the World Bank has estimated that developing countries will need between $70 billion

PHOTO: REUTERS

and it is costly to combat, so prevention has become the priority, experts say. That means more money will be needed to fund adaptation to the rise of global temperatures, with the private sector playing a bigger role in mobilising financing.

According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), the average global temperature across land surfaces in November this year was 0.95 degrees Celsius above the 20th century average of 5.9C. This year has been the warmest in 136 years of modern record-keeping.

The good news is that the Paris Climate Agreement signed by 197 countries is now in place to combat climate change in an effort to keep the global average temperature increase well below 2.0C, but this may not be enough.

“We need to mitigate these impacts including droughts, floods and extreme events such as storms, which means that climate-resilient development is needed along with considerable additional investment,” said Jonas Fleer, coordinator for the Adaptation Finance Fellowship Programme at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.

“Public funds are still very well below the required amount that is needed and thus it is essential to understand and mobilise the private sector, especially in the setting of private funds,” he said on the sidelines of a climate change forum held recently in Bangkok by the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI).

The Global Climate Risk Index (CRI) analyses the extent to which countries have been affected by weather-related loss events including storms, floods and heatwaves. Data from 1996 to 2015 indicated that China has experienced US$32.8 billion in absolute losses from natural disasters, followed by India at $11.3 billion.

The figure for Thailand was $7.6 billion, or about 1% of gross domestic product (GDP). The Thai number was much higher than that of the Philippines ($2.8 billion), Japan ($2.4 billion), Bangladesh

and $100 billion per year through 2050 in order to meet the current and future climate adaptation needs.

“It is hard to estimate but I can say that we are still very far behind in terms of what we are actually spending right now,” he said.

In 2011, adaptation finance estimated at $4.4 billion went to developing countries. In order to fill the capital gap, the private sector has to be mobilised since the public spending is still well below the needed amount.

Mr Fleer noted that the Green Climate Fund has disbursed around $4 billion but the target is supposed to be $100 billion a year until 2020. “The money is also supposed to be split 50% for mitigation and 50% for adaptation, so there are a lot to be done and this money cannot only come from governments,” he said.

“There also needs to be an understanding on how decisions to invest or not invest are made, and opportunity finance as well, because these are all critical to establishing policy frameworks that are capable of releasing potential private investment and adaptation finance.”

Financial tools available to spur private-sector financing for adaptation include public lending for private expenditure, risk

guarantees and export credits, and public-private partnerships. Non-financial assistance can take the form of provision of data on how climate will affect businesses, government incentives and improved institutional arrangements.

“To look at adaptation finance first we have to look at adaptation in general,” explained Mr Fleer. “Adaptation is a structural change in which economies and private actors have to [assess] risks as well as new business opportunities, while adapting to the changing environment, such as the development of new products and investment in innovations,” he said.

“Private finance has certain business opportunities in lending money to enterprises that require it for adaptation measures, and in this case there is a mutual relationship between both actors.”

However, it is not always easy to convince a business to invest in a green project that is beneficial for the environment and society if the costs remain with the company only.

Other barriers include imperfect market conditions such as a lack of liquidity in the long-term debt market and a lack of accurate and easily accessible climate data on which businesses can base their decisions.

“This means that private actors are not aware of potential climate risks or even

business opportunity which could then reduce the demand and supply for adaptation activities,” Mr Fleer said. “If companies do not have enough information, for example, on how rainfall will be next year, then they cannot act according to the changing climate or impact forecasts.”

To overcome these barriers, more analysis is needed to devise remedial policies or public interventions, while tax and other incentives should be considered in order to encourage private fundraising.

For example, companies could be encouraged to commit funds to mitigation, which could later turn into adaptation measures. On the consumer and public side, governments can provide subsidies for more people to buy hybrid and electric cars.

“The Finance Ministry’s measures to promote the use of electric vehicles are a good start but we have to concentrate more on adaptation issues,” Dr Nipon said. “For example, the government needs to promote and encourage the private sector to invest.

“At least you can look at it as ‘green tax’, and not only a tax because you can also have an environmental fund and adaptation fund, where any private-sector entity that wants to create this kind of fund may be entitled to some kind of income tax reduction,” he added.

ASIA|FOCUS

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

Bangkok Post ASIA NEWS

DIGITAL SILVER LINING z Sunil

Kaushik, alias Sonu, has never had it so easy.

A licensed vendor for Mother Dairy, an Indian company that markets milk and milk products in the Delhi National Capital Region through 800 kiosks, Sonu has not handled much cash in last few weeks since Prime Minister Narendra Modi made 500- and 1,000-rupee banknotes illegal tender as part of a dramatic campaign against corruption and “black money”.

Most of Sonu’s sales take place through mobile wallets of Paytm, an e-commerce company that has 165 million users and has a tie-up with Mother Dairy. “All my sales are taking place through mobile wallets. I no longer have the hassle of handling cash and depositing it in Mother Dairy’s bank account,” he says.

He estimates that the digital payments he receives have risen from 1,500 rupees (around 790 baht) a day to 18,000 rupees since Nov 8 when the premier announced the demonetisation. The banned currency constituted 86% of the cash in circulation in the Indian economy.

The subsequent cash crunch has proved to be a blessing in disguise for the economy as a large number of people have switched over to digital modes of payment — e-wallets, electronic point of sale (ePOS), UPI (Unified Payment Interface operated by National Payments Corp of India), credit and debit cards.

According to the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, there was a 300% surge in number of digital payments in the month to Dec 7.

“The initiative to shift to a ‘less cash’ world is an important element of this government’s resolve to transform India to a digitally empowered society.

New milestones of transparency and governance are being set. This is a new India in the making” RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD Union Minister for Electronics and IT The ministry says e-commerce and POS transaction numbers jumped from 385,000 on Nov 8 to 1.6 million on Dec 7 while e-wallet transactions increased from 1.7 million to 6.3 million during the same period. The number of UPI transactions rose from 3,721 to 48,238.

Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Union Minister for Electronics and IT, views the surge as a sign of positive change. “The initiative to shift to a ‘less cash’ world is an important element of this government’s resolve to transform India to a digitally empowered society. New milestones of transparency and governance are being set. This is a new India in the making,” he said.

The Modi government earlier declared a long-term objective of transforming India into a cashless economy, and while demonetisation has caused widespread hardship and inconvenience, it has had the effect of getting millions of citizens to move away from cash.

The government has announced several incentives to spur the transformation. Finance Minister Arun Jaitely declared on Dec 8 that public-sector petroleum companies would give a 0.75% discount on petrol and diesel to people purchasing fuel through digital means.

As well, the government is offering incentives to encourage the deployment of POS devices in each of 100,000 villages with populations of less than 10,000.

India has around 250,000 villages in all.

It will also support regional banks and cooperative banks to issue Rupay Kisan cards to 43.2 million farmers to enable them to make digital transactions.

Mr Jaitely also said that suburban railway networks would give discounts of up to 0.5% to passengers for digital purchases of monthly and seasonal tickets from Jan 1. He also has extended free insurance of up to 1 million rupees (530,000 baht) for customers buying tickets online. Around 1.4 million railway passengers buy tickets online every day.

He minister also announced a discount of 0.5% for online catering, accommodation and retiring rooms in railways. He said public-sector insurance companies would provide up to 10% discounts for people paying premiums digitally and 8% for new policies.

The finance ministry has also advised public-sector banks not to charge more than 100 rupees in monthly rental for POS terminals, micro ATMs and mobile POS units. The financial institutions will not charge service tax on digital transactions up to 2,000 rupees.

As well the central government is stepping up training of merchants to handle digital payments through common service centres (CSCs) in villages, and has asked telecom service providers to beef up their networks to handle more online traffic. At the same time, it has announced a discount of 10% on digital payments of tolls on national highways.

Yet it may take at least a few years to transform the Indian economy into a cashless one. Mrinal Sinha, operations head at MobiKwik, an e-wallet company, estimates that digital payments constitute only 15% of the US$1.5 trillion worth of consumer spending in the country at present. Senior officials in the Electronics and IT Ministry believe the percentage could double in the next four months, however.

Rachna Nath, partner and head of digital consulting at KPMG India, agrees that demonetisation could be a trigger for adoption of digital payments. But for this, she says, India will need to expedite the creation of infrastructure. In addition to greater telecom connectivity, she said, authorities need to ensure wider promotion of financial literacy.

Ms Nath noted that in Kenya, the inadequacy of the banking infrastructure led to the creation of P-Pesa, one of the world’s most successful e-payment systems. In India, she said, the scarcity of cash could have the same effect.

“The scarcity of currency may be a boon in disguise for the adoption of digital payments,” she told Asia Focus.

Sreedhar Prasad, a partner for strategy and operations with KPMG India, said it might take India 24 to 36 months to build a cashless economy.

A committee headed by former finance secretary Ratan Watal has suggested measures to halve the ratio of cash to gross domestic product (GDP) from the current 12% in the next three years. The committee has proposed that systems be developed to make it easier for people to pay through mobile phones and Aadhaar (biometric identity) cards, and that they be charged a fee for using cash.

Ms Nath and Mr Prasad stressed that building trust in digital payments would also be crucial.

“The digitised economy is all about trust. That is the most important thing,” said Mr Prasad.

Ms Nath said security of transactions would matter more than anything else, adding that telecom connectivity was still not good in many parts of the country.

That was underlined dramatically on Dec 11, when cashless shoppers in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Gujarat and Goa had a harrowing time as card networks failed to read credit and debit cards for two hours in the evening.

Meanwhile, the e-wallet and e-payment companies such as Paytm, Oxygen, MobiKwik and RazorPay expect exponential growth in their business in the coming months and are hiring hundreds more people in their marketing and engineering departments.

Signs promoting Paytm, a digital wallet service with 165 million users, are seen at the stalls of roadside vegetable vendors in Mumbai.

PHOTO: REUTERS

Scarcity of cash caused by controversial demonetisation has become a powerful catalyst for building a digital economy in India.

By Narendra Kaushik in New Delhi

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ASIA LIFESTYLE Bangkok Post

6

L

“Although China’s household registration and one-child policy shouldn’t have been bound together, local authorities have been doing so for years because they found it useful to force families to comply with the family planning law” YOUSHUI WU Zhejiang Bi Jian Law Firm

Children walk past a one-child policy slogan written on a wall, which reads “All citizens must observe the law, a single child is glorious” at a market in Futang village in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China.

PHOTOS: REUTERS

iving in Beijing for 23 years, Li Xue has never attended school, not even for a day.

China provides nine years of free education to every child but Li was not included. For the past 23 years, she has had no access to any form of social welfare. She has not been allowed to get married, find a job or open a bank account.

For Li was the second child born to her parents and, due to the country’s one-child policy that ran from around 1978 until 2015 to curtail population growth, she didn’t exist in the Chinese government’s database.

Li said her parents tried to register her at the police station when she was born but staff there refused and demanded a letter of approval from the local family planning commission.

With no letter approving her birth, Li’s parents were faced with the prospect of paying a hefty fine for breaking the onechild policy to register her but could not afford to do so.

Since then it has been a two-decade battle with officials until China scrapped its one-child policy last year and Li finally received an official paper to prove her existence.

Ending the one-child policy has left people like Li scrambling to make up for lost years, resentful as they fear this recognition may have come too late and unsure what the government is going to do to help them make up for those years.

Li missed out on an education and struggled to learn everything by herself, using library books borrowed under her elder sister’s name with her family unable to afford a tutor.

“My mother was dismissed from her job because she gave birth to me,” Li told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an interview at her home in Beijing, a shabby house without a private toilet and with a make-shift shower.

“All four of us had to live off my father’s meagre salary.”

Li’s mother, Bai Xiuling, a former factory worker, said her daughter used to cry when other children set off for school.

“She wanted to study at school, but she can’t. My child has already missed the nine-year compulsory education. No money can buy her time back,” she said.

According to China’s latest population census, conducted in 2010, there were 13 million unregistered citizens like Li, almost one percent of the country’s total population.

“Most of them are children born outside the country’s one-child policy,” said Jiantang Ma, the then head of China’s National Bureau of Statistics who conducted the census.

A 2015 study by the Academy of Macroeconomic Research at the National Development and Reform Commission found nearly half of China’s unregistered citizens were illiterate or lacked formal education.

For during the years of the one-child policy, second children would not be

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

LOST LIVES

registered in the household system unless a hefty fine was paid with some exceptions to this rule.

Births out of marriage are also considered a violation of China’s strict family planning rules, and unmarried couples had to pay a fine to register their newborn.

China is one of few countries which has a household registration system, known as hukou in Chinese, that contains the births, marriages and other information on citizens.

A person without a hukou record in China is denied public services, such as education and healthcare, and is barred from getting married, finding a job or even opening a bank account.

The link between the one-child policy and hukou is controversial with Chinese policymakers saying the household registration system is open to all citizens without any conditions. But families affected say the link was clear.

“Although China’s household registration and one-child policy shouldn’t have been bound together, local authorities have been doing so for years because they found it useful to force families to comply with the family planning law,” said Youshui Wu, director at Zhejiang Bi Jian Law Firm.

Wu, who assisted many Chinese couples to register their second child, added there was also an economic incentive as people who had children born without permission were unable to register them unless they

paid a hefty fee which became a lucrative source of local revenue.

Data that Wu obtained from 24 provincial-level governments under the country’s open government information regulations found that in 2012 alone, Chinese authorities collected more than 20 billion yuan (US$2.95 billion) in fines from parents.

“None of the governments were able to fully account for how the money was spent,” Wu said.

Wenzhuang Yang, an official at China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission, denied China’s one-child policy — and punishments associated with it — have played a role in blocking millions of citizens from being registered.

At a press conference earlier this year, Yang said his department had tried its best to remove hurdles set by local authorities in household registration and many unregistered citizens have now been included in the hukou system.

Yang was not available to be reached for further comments despite repeated phone calls.

Unmarried mother Chunyan Liu, a freelance English teacher, said she was unable to pay the fine so she kept her daughter’s birth secret for seven years until April this year when she finally registered her child.

“The fine in Beijing was really high. I thought about it over and over again, but still I dared not to let the government know that I have a child born without

China’s ‘invisible children’ struggle to recover their missed years. By Coco Liu in Hong Kong and Shanshan Chen in Beijing

Parents take a picture with their baby at the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing. permission,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Due to a lack of hukou, Liu’s daughter had no access to government-subsidised healthcare. She was unable to buy train tickets or travel abroad.

“When other parents took their kids to the Hong Kong Disneyland, we couldn’t even think of it,” Liu said.

“My daughter is now seven years old, and she has never set foot outside Beijing,” she said, adding that she was still worried that government official might ask her to pay the fine.

Despite all the concerns, however, Liu calls herself “lucky”. Last year, she tried but failed to find a place for her daughter to study, due to a lack of hukou. “Now, my daughter has everything she needs to go to public school,” Liu said.

But others are not so lucky with researchers from the Academy of Macroeconomic Research at the National Development and Reform Commission saying more than half of China’s unregistered citizens are above 18 years old.

Many of these adults not only lost out on schooling, but also struggled to find a

job as they couldn’t provide hukou record and other legal documents often needed for hiring.

For example Liu Wei, from northern China’s Henan province, had no choice but to work in a coal mine.

After the mine was closed, Liu couldn’t find another job and ended up sleeping on the streets for five years, the report said.

The social isolation can also pass from one generation to the next with the researchers unsure how the end of the onechild policy would impact those people.

“Quite a lot of unregistered children in China have grown up and started their own families, creating the second generation of unregistered children,” the report said.

Wenzheng Huang, a demographer and a former assistant professor at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, said the government had tried to address this problem after the 2010 census highlighted 13 million unregistered citizens.

“As far as I know, many unregistered children now have their hukou. ... The Chinese central government has begun taking household registration seriously,” Huang said.

“The government has recognised having so many citizens unregistered is a serious problem. It not only takes a toll on social development, but has caused huge pain to many families.”

Thomson Reuters Foundation

MILLENNIALS CHANGING HOW CHINA THINKS ABOUT MONEY

By Engen Tham and Adam Jourdan in Shanghai

M

up the tab. He lives in a one-bed flat in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. His parents are in nearby Shannan.

“I’ll generally turn to mum and dad.

They’ve always been able to help me financially,” said Ma. In May, he asked his parents for financial support to open a restaurant. “I just need to ask and they’ll give me [money].”

Parents paying off the credit card bills of their millennial children is not unusual in China, but it could have ramifications, said Rui Yao, an associate professor in personal finance at the University of Missouri.

“They don’t see the consequences of not paying. The thinking is ‘my mum has it covered’”, she said. “They’re not prepared for an economic downturn for sure.”

The next generations may not be so lucky either. They will have to support longer-living parents and potentially more children as China relaxes its onechild policy. China’s ageing population is already shrinking, which means greater financial pressure on those working to support those who are not.

Ma says he is more frugal than his friends. He uses his bank card and Ant Check Later, a popular online lending platform owned by tech giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. This is a far cry from his parents’

generation. Ma’s mother, who is 49, only started using a credit card three years ago.

“They couldn’t spend on overdraft, so they really didn’t squander any money,” he said.

The gap is clear: consumer credit is up nearly 300% over the last six years alone, hitting around 23.5 trillion yuan (US$3.41 trillion) in October. The figure is set to more than double over the next five years to nearly 53 trillion yuan, according to the consultancy Mintel.

While mortgages are the lion’s share of household debt, credit card and consumer loans have shot up from just 4.6% of household debt in 2015 to 16% now, BMI Research shows.

“The young generation today has a totally different attitude to my generation,” said Ma’s grandmother, Wei Chunyin, 76. She grew up in the 1960s and said she was in debt just once — for 100 yuan, the equivalent today of $14.50.

“We were very economical and hardworking. Clothing was just to wear, and we wouldn’t even really eat snacks, just food from our unit,” she said, referring to her workplace.

Ma’s generation is the first in China’s modern history to be raised in relative prosperity and social stability.

They are better educated and already more affluent than their elders. Boston

PHOTO: REUTERS

a Yiqing, 24, is typical of China’s younger generation — he uses his credit card frequently and borrows from online platforms to fund his shopping habits. In a pinch, he is happy to fall back on a lender closer to home — his mum and dad.

Interviews with Ma, a single-child, his mother and grandmother, show how rapidly attitudes toward credit are changing as the millennial generation — roughly those aged between 18 and 35 — embraces debt like never before.

The frugal attitude of previous generations produced the bedrock of China’s creditworthiness — household savings equal to some 50% of gross domestic product, one of the highest levels globally.

Ma and his cohorts are changing that equation. Their willingness to borrow has driven up household lending — the fastest growing area of China’s debt. They are among the most indebted of their peers in Asia, taking on debt 18.5 times their income, significantly higher than their parents’ generation, a report from the insurer Manulife shows.

While their spending and borrowing is an opportunity for lenders, brands and economic growth, it is also a risk as they add to China’s fast-growing debt.

Right now, Ma has a safety net — wellheeled and doting parents who can pick

A young woman checks Ant Check, an Alibaba-linked application that can be used for peer-to-peer lending, on her smartphone at a cafe in Beijing.

Consulting Group and AliResearch said they are expected to drive 65% of consumption growth until 2020, when they will make up around 53% of total consumption spending, up from 45% now.

“Understanding their mindset is critical and anybody ignores them at their peril,” said Micky Pant, the head of Yum China Holdings Inc, which operates the KFC and Pizza Hut food chains.

Their potential has not been lost on the banks, with some specifically targeting them for loans.

“Internally our appraisals are skewed toward the young consumer groups.

For example, front-line sales staff get a bonus 1.3 times the normal level if they sign a young customer,” said a banker in the credit card department of China Merchants Bank, a leading credit

card provider.

“So everyone is out looking for youngsters to sign up.”

When asked about the strategy, CMB said it had many credit card products that are welcomed by young people.

Bankers say lenders often know millennials have doting parents to fall back on in a pinch.

“Taking a darker read on it, the parents of the post-1990s generation — who were born in the ‘60s or ‘70s — haven’t yet retired, and are financially pretty secure,” said a debt collector in the credit card department of a listed city bank.

Like other parents in China, Ma’s mother and father, a nurse and government officer at the local Meteorological Administration respectively, are resigned to supporting their son financially for now — even if he defaults.

Ma’s mother, Zhen Yinchun, said that when she was young she saved around one-third of her income because there was little to spend it on, in contrast to her son.

It is a running joke in the family whether Ma will return any money he has borrowed, she said.

“I’ll say it’s a loan and he’ll agree. But up to now he’s never paid anything back,” she said.

Reuters

ASIA|FOCUS

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

Bangkok Post ASIA LIFESTYLE

7

UNDER SIEGE

AGAIN

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When the Vietminh began their attack, in March, Beatrice fell on the first night, with Gabrielle and Anne-Marie overrun shortly after.

The ensuing battle lasted 55 days, ending with the fall of the inner strong points “Dominique” and “Eliane” in May. More than 3,000 French Union forces and more than 10,000 Vietminh were killed.

The French commander, Gen Christian Marie Ferdinand de la Croix de Castries, and around 10,000 men and women surrendered and were marched off as prisoners of war (but not before the capture of de Castries’ bunker was reenacted for the cameras). The Vietnamese released 3,900 of these prisoners of war four months later as part of the Geneva Accords, signed in July, which established the partition of Vietnam. The rest are largely unaccounted for.

Beatrice, a group of interconnected hillocks, is today a battle-buffs’ playground, with reconstructed trenches and block-houses, and steps to help visitors up the forbiddingly steep slopes. But urban progress is catching up with the battlefield. In 1954 this valley was farmland, with isolated small hamlets inhabited by ethnic mountain tribes. Today Dien Bien Phu is

PHOTOS: NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW

ust over 60 years ago Dien Bien Phu in northern Vietnam, not far from the border with Laos, dominated headlines around the globe. The epic battle that took place here marked the beginning of the end for the French Union, the last large colonial empire in Asia.

Today it is a small city — the bustling administrative centre of the region. The momentous events of the past have been largely forgotten, submerged by Vietnam’s economic surge. The largest hotel in town caters to bureaucratic entertainment rather than foreign tourism. It is so bereft of tourist information that a casual foreign visitor could pass through without knowing that history was made here. The modern mania for war tourism has yet to touch Dien Bien Phu. In May 1954 the French garrison of Dien Bien Phu fell to Vietminh forces under the command of Gen Vo Nguyen Giap. Today, the strong points that defended the garrison’s airport are being overrun again, but this time by the inexorable forces of urban sprawl.

Dien Bien Phu was an “air-ground” base, established by French forces in November 1953 by parachute drop into territory held by the Vietminh, a pro-independence coalition, and designed to be supplied by air. Strong points were quickly established. Those in the north — designated “Beatrice”, “Gabrielle” and “Anne-Marie” — were on hillocks protruding 50 to 100 metres above the flat valley floor. The valley itself was surrounded by mountain ranges, where the Vietminh dug in their artillery.

Dien Bien Phu, the landmark site of French colonial defeat, recedes as urban sprawl gathers pace. By Stephen Grenville in Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam

One of the views the Vietminh might have had of Dien Bien Phu, but very different in their day.

Trenches at “Beatrice”, one of three French strongholds that were quickly overrun by the Vietminh.

a city of perhaps 125,000 citizens, with 10-storey buildings and endless shopping streets.

One part of Beatrice — the B3 hillock — seems to be in the process of being flattened for a factory, and one side of Anne-Marie has been carved away in a manner that the Vietminh sappers could only have dreamed of. Gabrielle was never very high, so perhaps its current low posture is just natural attrition.

“Claudine” and the “Huguettes”, the strong points that stood in the way of the post-conflict enlargement of the airfield (essentially still in its 1954 location) have long gone. Another strong point, known as “Isobelle” is now covered by rice fields.

That said, the battle is still imprinted on the small city that has grown up here since 1954.

Dominique, situated next to a busy street intersection, is waiting for anyone ready to tackle its 165 steep steps (or, cheating, to drive up the side in comfort) with a huge victory memorial on top.

De Castries’ substantial bunker is crowded with Vietnamese tourists celebrating the victory.

A portable Bailey bridge that connected the two sides of the camp across the Nam Youm river is fragile but still in use, serving bicycle traffic.

Above all, Eliane, the commanding hill that was critical to the camp’s defence, features reconstructed trenches and bunkers, and a gaping hole where Vietminh sappers tunneled 45 metres and blew up more than a tonne of explosives. Near the summit sits one of the 10 M24 Chaffee “light” tanks (weighing nearly 20 tonnes) used by the French. Five or six more are scattered around the battle sites, in various stages of dismemberment.

Farther afield, keen tourists can visit Giap’s headquarters in the surrounding mountains — a series of reconstructed huts and dank bunkers in a sylvan setting.

T PHOTO: REUTERS

By Jun Endo and Mikhail Flores in Manila Diesel-fuelled jeepneys offer passengers cheap fares and the option to get on and off anywhere, and not just at designated stops.

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Many intriguing stories have emerged from this searing episode. One of the most popular, however, needs correction — or at least a heavy dose of skcepticism. The usual view is that the French strong points were named after de Castries’ former mistresses. But once you note the alphabetical progression — Anne-Marie, Beatrice, Claudine, Dominique ... and so on down to “Lili” — the story becomes either an amusing myth or a suggestion that the general chose his mistresses in a curious way.

This battle marked the close of France’s Indochina war, more or less ending the French colonial experience in the region. Looking back, it looks like a portent of the “American War” that was to come. Some analysts have drawn more specific parallels with the Americans’ Khe Sanh combat base, similarly situated in a mountainous area close to the border with Laos, and similarly put under siege 14 years later by the same Vietnamese enemy.

But massive airpower and more than a decade of technological development in

DUTERTE SOUVENIRS FLYING OFF DAVAO SHELVES

JEEPNEYS IN JEOPARDY AS MANILA CLEANS UP War II, they began serving as public transport.

Sarao Motors was the first to launch commercial production. As jeepneys became more popular, so did the automaker, with its annual production topping 150 units in the 1970s.

But eventually, soaring material prices and the emergence of new elevated railway lines pummeled jeepney makers. Sarao Motors was no exception. In 2000, it was forced to close its operations.

“Our main concern right now is environmental issues, and we’re looking into shifting to electric or other alternative powertrains for the vehicle” ED SARAO Jeepney manuifacturer

But the company has since been revived and now turns out 40 to 50 vehicles a year. Its customers are mostly individuals who operate jeepney services. They typically own one to several jeepneys and lease them to drivers at about 600 pesos for half a day. Drivers pay for the fuel but get to keep what they make from the fares, which start at 7 pesos.

Part of what makes jeepneys so popular is that passengers can get on or off anywhere along the route, unlike with buses, which have designated stops.

But the vehicles are being viewed more critically these days, especially in urban areas.

Drivers are often seen engaging in reckless behaviour in their scramble to scoop up more passengers, and emissions from ageing jeepneys are a major source of air pollution.

The government has started consulting the industry on a planned phaseout of jeepneys that are more than 15 years old by 2018. The move is part of a broader plan to develop a better mass-transit system, including larger buses, to decongest Metro Manila.

But Ed Sarao does not see the cultural icon disappearing from the road. “It is here to stay, even though there are rumours that the government will phase out the vehicle,” he said. “I’m not sure if they will continue that, because they have no programme to offer to people who will be displaced.”

-shirts, mugs and all kinds of other products featuring the likeness of President Rodrigo Duterte are flying off shelves in his hometown in the southern Philippines, a clear sign that the tough-talking president still enjoys rock star status.

Duterte’s home in Davao City in Mindanao has become a popular tourist site.

Nearby, a row of stores sell Duterte character goods.

With his poll numbers still running high half a year since he took office, the Duterte boom seems likely to have an extended run.

Lucila Laoang, a 60-year-old accountant from Quezon, a city in the northern part of Metro Manila, was shopping near the president’s home in Davao to buy Duterte-inspired merchandise, including items requested by her husband and son.

She made her pilgrimage to the president’s home while in Davao for a conference. Duterte was the city’s mayor for more than two decades before becoming the country’s leader in May. Laoang bought two baseball caps featuring Duterte, priced at 180 pesos (US$3.60) each, and a 25-peso magnet.

After paying for her purchases, she immediately went to another store and started browsing.

A vendor displays Duterte T-shirts along a sidewalk in Davao City, the president’s home town.

A 75-year-old man who was on a business trip from Singapore bought a T-shirt and a sticker.

A sales clerk at a store selling Dutertethemed T-shirts and mugs said some 100 items had been sold on the day I visited.

Sales have remained strong and steady since the inauguration, the clerk said.

Duterte’s home, located in a residential area in central Davao, fits the president’s reputation as a man of the people.

It is in an unassuming two-story house where he still spends weekends. Tourists are allowed to come close after going through security checks.

At Paintline, a T-shirt wholesaler in Davao, workers were busy packing printed tops into bags when I showed up. The company created five different Duterte-themed T-shirt designs.

Kevin Descalsota, a 25-year-old employee, said most of the T-shirts had already been sold, and that a lot of overtime work was needed to fill all the orders.

Many of these Duterte goods show images of the president sticking out his fist in his signature pose or bear the words, “The Punisher”, a nickname given to him for cracking down on drug users.

His name is commonly spelled “DU30” on T-shirts. The spelling comes from the local pronunciation of the

PHOTO: REUTERS

eepneys, the colourful, flamboyant and often less than environmentally friendly minibuses that have for decades been a cultural symbol of the Philippines, face an uncertain future amid a government push to rein in traffic congestion and air pollution in major cities.

Manufacturers of the vehicles, long a popular means of public transport, are exploring ways to reinvent their business models as the government encourages other forms of transport and tightens regulations.

Sarao Motors, a Jeepney-manufacturing pioneer, is exploring a shift to electric vehicles.

“As for the future, our main concern right now is environmental issues, and we’re looking into shifting to electric or other alternative powertrains for the vehicle,” Ed Sarao, the company’s 56-year-old chief, told the Nikkei Asian Review.

At the Sarao Motors factory in Las Pinas, south of Manila, some two dozen workers assemble jeepneys. Their work ranges from tuning up used engines imported from Japan to fabricating metals to form vehicle bodies.

Sarao said more subdued metallic hues were favoured these days. The company’s jeepneys take about three months to assemble and are priced at about 700,000 pesos (US$14,000) each.

Jeepneys started out as modified fourwheel-drive US Army vehicles. After World

In 1954 the valley was farmland, with isolated hamlets inhabited by ethnic tribes. Today Dien Bien Phu is a city of 125,000 citizens, with 10-storey buildings and endless shopping streets

helicopters and artillery brought that battle to a satisfactory conclusion for the Americans.

They abandoned Khe Sanh, but only after relief forces had raised the siege and American air power had pummeled the enemy with bombs and napalm.

In contrast, the French in 1954 were never able to use air power as a decisive battle advantage. They had fewer than 200 aircraft in the whole of Indochina, including Cambodia and Laos.

In its structure, the battle for Dien Bien Phu was in many ways a throwback to World War I, the 1914 to 1918 conflict known to its participants as the “Great War”. With its barbed-wire entrenchments, and the pivotal role of artillery, machine-guns and tanks, Dien Bien Phu was a miniature version (in duration, scale and losses) of the Great War’s Western Front in France, Belgium and Germany.

With the exceptions of Dominique, Eliane and de Castries’ bunker the parts of the battlefield that have been preserved are devoid of visitors. My local guide knew little of the gripping story of the 55-day siege, and was unfamiliar with Bernard Fall’s contemporaneous account Hell in a Very Small Place, or Martin Windrow’s definitive account of the battle in The Last Valley.

Perhaps it is inevitable that the less-visited strongpoints are being erased by progress. But it leaves a pang of regret that many of those who died here will be engulfed by urban expansion without recognition of their last resting place.

There is no French cemetery (only a small memorial established by former foreign combatants) and the Vietminh cemeteries, extensive though they are, cannot account for more than a fraction of those who died.

By Jun Endo in Davao

English word “thirty”, which sounds somewhat like “terte”. The abbreviation is frequently used in newspaper headlines as well.

It is also used on hot-selling ornaments meant to resemble licence plates.

Priced between 200 and 300 pesos, the plates are staple items at stores along a major street in central Davao.

A coffee shop in the city, meanwhile, has been selling “Dutertea” since the former mayor ran for president. The recipe is a mixture of two popular lattes — Japanese matcha green tea and durian — topped with a heap of whipped cream. It is very sweet, which does not seem to fit the image of the foulmouthed leader.

Duterte has made a slew of controversial remarks. He once called US President Barack Obama a “son of a whore” and directed a “go to hell” his way.

He has also continued acting like a dictator, especially in his bloody war against drug users, which has led to a spike in extrajudicial killings.

Still, Duterte is riding high in opinion polls. He enjoys strong and broad support among Filipinos fed up with rampant crime and corruption. His approval rating stood at 76% at the end of September, according to a survey by the pollster Social Weather Stations.

Duterte has stepped into controversy, like he did in deciding to bury the remains of Ferdinand Marcos, the country’s long-ruling dictator, within the heroes’ cemetery. The decision has been followed by a series of demonstrations.

Should Duterte continue playing with controversy, he might someday trigger a major public backlash. If a popular leader keeps tuning out dissenting voices, one day he could find his public standing — and sales of coffee mugs — on the decline.

Going forward, those sales could prove to be a good gauge of the president’s popularity.

8

ASIA|FOCUS

ASIA PROFILE Bangkok Post

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT TRADE

N

avigating the complex labyrinth of international trade policies is a daunting challenge for businesses and bureaucrats alike. It’s also a business opportunity for the Singapore-based Asian Trade Centre (ATC), which is committed to using its unique expertise to provide quality information and practical insights.

With an academic background in international relations and political economy, ATC executive director Deborah Elms is no stranger to deciphering and predicting the next moves in foreign policy and trade agreements between Asian countries and the United States in particular. She believes her company’s expertise will be in more demand than ever in the immediate future.

It will no longer be “business as usual” for Asian countries when US President-elect Donald Trump takes the helm at the White House on Jan 20, as the flamboyant property tycoon has vowed to impose trade protectionist measures, among other controversial policies, as a means to “make America great again”.

Short of nothing but risk and uncertainty, Mr Trump’s trade policy is radically different than what any other American presidents have espoused previously, therefore Asia should brace itself for difficulty in the trade realm, Dr Elms told Asia Focus in an exclusive interview.

“He is not interested in free trade agreements [nor] underwriting multilateral institutions,” she said. “He sees any organisation that is larger than two as a problem because in his eyes, anything that is larger than two cannot be win-win, it can only be win-lose.

“He wants everything to default to bilateral agreements and I think that is not only in trade, [but] that is his view generally. So he will not be underwriting multilateral institutions in trade [and] security.”

Based on her observations of his election campaign, she sees Mr Trump as believing that the US is engaged in a trade war and he will do whatever it takes to restore the advantage in America’s favour, with the effort primarily focused on nemesis China, said Dr Elms.

“It is not going to be pretty here in Asia because it will be all enforcement and one-sided [policy],” she said, summing up Mr Trump’s attitude as: “‘You foreign Asians owe the US respect and you need to do whatever it is that you can to benefit the Americans.’”

Mr Trump is expected to slap temporary tariffs on imports of Asian steel, for example, but this protectionist policy is unlikely to last very long before certain US industries — and members of Congress in districts where those industries are located — start to remind the president about reality, she said.

“The point of this [policy] is supposed to be to divert resources to make these products in the US. They make steel in the US, but these are different kinds of steel and it is economically inefficient to make the same kind of steel that the Chinese do for a variety of reasons,” Dr Elms explained.

“I do not think those jobs would come back in 180 days anyway. So now you are just going to cripple the industry and not bring the jobs back.”

In the absence of a concrete and properly thought-out plan, it is expected that Mr Trump will not raise import tariffs across the

board, but will opt to do so for certain products and targeted countries such as China and Mexico, she said.

The scope of risk and uncertainty under the Trump administration expands beyond trade as other notable flashpoints in Asia include the South China Sea disputes and North Korea’s nuclear programme.

“He [Donald Trump] can be so unconstrained, does not follow the normal rules of the game, and he is not diplomatic. He’s got a complete cast of characters around him who have no experience in government [and] almost all of them are outsiders,” said Dr Elms.

Despite growing anti-globalisation sentiment and the rise of right-wing movement as mirrored through Brexit and the US election outcome, it is hoped that such developments would not occur in Asia because the collateral damage would be monumental, in her view.

“An export-oriented region is going to have a very hard time if anti-globalisation [sentiment] takes off. So the hope, from my perspective, is that Asia manages to escape this and that we remember how export-oriented economies grow and thrive,” she said.

Employment opportunities and, to a greater, extent, economic growth could collapse amid such a protectionist mindset. A better solution is to equip citizens with the necessary skill sets to cope with changes in the modern era.

“Companies lax in reminding their own employees and politicians have got sloppy in reminding their own citizens that this matters, that you cannot stop trade and just turn back the clock. You cannot say, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if everything we had was made locally’, because you cannot make everything locally,” Dr Elms stressed.

SOLUTIONS THROUGH KNOWLEDGE ATC’s primary activities include research, training and advocacy. The company, based in Singapore, provides strategic thinking on complex policy and regulatory challenges, solutions for both governments

An export-oriented region is going to have a very hard time if anti-globalisation [sentiment] takes off.

So the hope, from my perspective, is that Asia manages to escape this and that we remember how export-oriented economies grow and thrive”

PHOTO: PORNPROM SATRABHAYA

Businesses and governments alike deserve far better quality information than they are getting about the practical implications of global trade policies, says Asian Trade Centre chief Deborah Elms.

By Pathom Sangwongwanich

and companies to trade problems, as well as suggestions for improving bottom-line performance for companies trying to make sense of trade agreements.

For instance, ATC conducts capacity building courses for government officials throughout Asia on all aspects of trade.

Courses may include broad topics such as understanding the World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments, meeting the demands of the WTO Trade Policy Review mechanism, negotiating free trade agreements, or harnessing trade for economic development.

“What we are interested in is training more [people in] developing countries in Asia because that is where we think there is a huge need,” said Dr Elms.

Current funding for the company comes from a wide range of sources. They include companies (Google, Rio Tinto, UPS and HP Inc), governments (Taiwan, the Embassy of Vietnam in Singapore, and the EU Delegation), aid agencies (USAID and the British Prosperity Fund), multilateral institutions (the World Trade Organization and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation), think tanks (Fung Global Institute and Geneva Network), as well as chambers of commerce and trade associations (the US-Asean Business Council).

ATC recently split its structure into two entities since the company could only register its status as a “for-profit” company in Singapore as mandated by law. Its nonprofit entity, named the Asian Trade Centre Foundation, is registered in the US and is aimed at capacity-building for governments.

Dr Elms explained that the plan was for the company to eventually separate into two institutions, with a similar scope of work between them. The process remains ongoing because it is awaiting US tax officials’ approval of non-taxable status for the US-based entity.

But funding is a challenging issue as, in her words, it is hard to convince companies to pay for services and these companies take a tight-fisted approach toward services expenditure.

For a small company, funding from large corporations has the added disadvantage of delay as it often takes 90 days for funds to be transferred to the company’s bank account, she said.

“In Singapore, where you might think that we have decent financing for small companies, we have no financing for small companies. Access to credit is appalling for small companies,” she said.

“In Asean [countries], it is very hard for services companies because banks will usually lend against collateral, and collateral for banks is physical inventory, [of which] services companies have none.”

In her view, Asia claims to be supportive of knowledge and innovation, but the regional financing structure at the moment does not lend support to such grand ambitions.

Manpower is another enduring challenge for a company engaged in a specialised field like ATC, said Dr Elms. Compounding the challenge is the fact that Singapore has manpower restrictions, meaning the company has to find Singaporeans who have qualified knowledge in international trade and are willing to work in a small company “Most Singaporeans do not [want to work

for a small company] so that is a 40% price premium for Singaporeans to work in a small and medium-sized enterprise. That is a challenge.”

DEBORAH ELMS Executive director, Asian Trade Centre

‘ONE SHOT AT YOUR REPUTATION’ Though she doesn’t see herself as a perfectionist when it comes to broad-spectrum work, Dr Elms admits that things have to be “perfect” when it comes to client-facing products because the company’s reputation could deteriorate instantly if poor quality products or services are delivered to customers.

“At our company, you only get one shot at your reputation, so it is really vitally important that we manage our reputation at all times, because it takes just one bad product to cause major problems for a small company,” she said.

“We have to be very careful, from my perspective, in who we work with. I want to make sure that we always work with partners who have the highest quality. We definitely turn down projects that are not heading in the right direction for us [or] do not match up with our overall objective. We [also] turn away projects that are too complicated or the timeline is too short for us to turn around something of the right quality.”

But as it turns out, the company is experiencing the opposite problem. Employees are “over-delivering” on small budgets, said Dr Elms.

“They [clients] are delighted because they are getting way more output than they should for the amount of money they are giving us. But, at least for us, that is better than the alternative, which is turning around something and having them say, ‘Well, what is this?’”

She used to think that spending a huge sum of money on corporate lobbying was a bad idea, but after more than a decade of being involved with trade negotiations and policies, she sees the alternative, which is barring corporate lobbying, does more harm than good.

“No corporate lobbying, no corporate engagement, no corporate-government discussions in the process of policy-making is actually worse because you are leaving it to government bureaucrats, most of whom have no experience in business at all, to come up with policy outcomes,” Dr Elms said.

The possible negative impact of such top-down, narrowly focused policy decisions is not limited to businesses, but also expands to consumers, workers and the environment.

“Government bureaucrats, even really good ones, just don’t have the experience to understand some of the ramifications of policies that they are considering because of their narrow remit. And if they do not reach out beyond other government bureaucrats, then they are never going to know what the consequences of some of their decisions are,” she said.

In her view, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is an example of a bad and secretive trade negotiation compared with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which featured a more open negotiation process.

The RCEP, for which talks are expected to conclude sometime next year, involves the 10 Asean member states together with

BORN z 1968, Boulder, Colorado

EDUCATION z Bachelor’s degrees in print journalism

and international relations, 1986-90 z Master’s degree in international relations,

University of Southern California, 1995 z Doctor of Philosophy in political science,

University of Washington, 2003

CAREER z 1992-94: Research administrator,

RAND Center z 1994-96: Research assistant,

RAND Institute for Higher Education z 1995-98: Teaching assistant,

University of Washington z 1998-2004: Lecturer, University of

Washington z 2005-14: Senior fellow, S Rajaratnam

School of International Studies, Singapore z 2008-14: Head of Temasek Foundation

Centre for Trade and Negotiations, Singapore z 2014-present: Executive director, Asian Trade Centre

FAMILY z Married with three children

HOBBIES z Travelling, photography, interior design

China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. With the TPP now on its deathbed because of opposition from Donald Trump, the RCEP could become even more significant, and that concerns Dr Elms.

Problems associated with digital technology and e-commerce regulations could arise under the RCEP, she points out, as officials responsible for trade negotiations have not properly discussed the implications with companies engaged in the digital arena.

For example, data localisation is a policy promoted by the RCEP countries where user data is stored in a data centre that is physically situated in the same country where the data originated. But for a small company such as ATC, this could have an adverse effect because the company might not have expertise in data security, consumer privacy, and, most importantly, hosting data locally.

“Singapore is so tiny,” she said. “What if, heaven forbid, something happens in Singapore and all of the servers go down?

I would lose all of the data for my company.

“The problem is, if you leave it to people who have no experience in business, you would end up, in my view, with rather poor policies.”

HolidayTime

Î Read more news at bangkokpost.com

MONDAY, DECEMBER R 26, 2016

It takes two to Tango at Flavours restaurant’s New Year Buffet Rembrandt hotel’s sensorially named outlet is “stepping up” the year-end fun with a complimentary dance lesson and eye-popping international buffet

CHRIS LOMBARDI

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ome slip on your dancing shoes and dance (and dine) the night away at Flavours restaurant, where Rembrandt’s hotel-wide holiday nosh-fest continues with a New Year buffet and a Tango coach to teach you how to dance the night away in passionate Latin style.

At the appetiser counter there’s a lush garden of greens-by-the-bowl features crudités salad bar with condiments and dressings along with an alluring selection of salads like Apple-walnut; Roasted beetroot and caraway; Italian lentil-onion; “Yam Talay” with river prawns; Grilled sirloin with Thai nam jim jeo dressing; Glass noodle with minced pork & shrimp; Mexican cheese / corn; Fish aguachile plus vegetable Samosa with tamarind sauce.

Potage options are “Tom yam goong” hot-sour soup with river prawn and Mexican tortilla soup — a thick broth with bits of the traditional corn flatbread.

The Main Dish menu is a taste-tempting potpourri of international gourmet creations inspired by numerous world cuisines like Beef tenderloin Rossini with Herb-butter vegetables and Gratin potato; Stir fried chicken with cashew nuts; signature Mexican seafood specialty Sea-bass with olives, artichoke and almonds. From Rembrandt’s tandoor Indian kitchen comes delicacies Murgh Malai with tender pieces of boneless chicken marinated in cream cheese and herbs; and Methi Machli boneless fish Kebab with spices.

At the live carving board there’s assorted roasts like Leg of lamb with rosemary gravy sauce; and maple-pineapple glazed festive picnic ham.

The afters array is a sweet tooth-satisfying selection of sweets from the world over.

There’s a raft of dessert favourites on offer,

including fresh strawberries and cream; assorted cakes & pies; French pastries and ice cream with condiments plus Mexican “Tres Leches” cake and crispy “bunuelos”; Thai sweets and banana in coconut milk; Italian pannetone with vanilla sauce and Indian Gulab Jamun cheese dumplings with cardamom.

And throughout the holiday season all Rembrandt dining venues are offering traditional, house-made Christmas Stollen loaf with almonds, rum marinated pear, marzipan and raisins and Christmas cookk ies in classic varieties like gingerbread, cinnamon star, Lackerli and Brunsli.

New Year’s Eve Tango Dinner and Dance Saturday, 31 December 2016 Dinner: 6pm-11pm.

Bt1,600 net per person.

REMBRANDT HOTEL BANGKO K K 19 Sukhumvit Soi 18, Sukhumvit Road.

Tel. 02 261 7100 # Flavours.

Email: http://www.rembrandtbkk.com.

HOLIDAY TIME’S ONLINE @ http://www.bangkokpost.com/lifestyle/social-and-lifestyle

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Bangkok Post I

HOLIDAY TIME

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

A many-splendoured meal Uno Mas hosts a smashing Spanish feast GARY BOYLE

Y NEW YEAR’S EVE DINNER WITH A ROOFTOP VIEW

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elebrate New Year Eve on top of the world at Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel. Enjoy a specially created 4-course set dinner at Chili Hip at 20th fl. with its innovative lighting and dramatic city vista and live music.

Savour Sea Red Crab Claw and Snow Crab Timbale, Celeriac Roasted garlic and Baby Carrot Soup, Australian Veal Tenderloin, Seared Foie Gras, and PanRoasted Cod Loin, Baked Langoustine, and Chocolate Crunchy Champage Peach Dome.

Bt3,399 net including a glass of wine.

Saturday 31, December. 19.00 hrs – 23.00 hrs.

Tel. 02 625 1234 or email at cwb@chr.co.th.

For further information, please contact: Supamart Srisupapol Public Relations Manager. Tel. 02 625 1234/Fax: 02 625 1235.

Email: supamartsr@chr.co.th.

ou’ll need a strategy. Launching a raid on the multitude of food stations set up for this brunch will require some forethought. Newcomers to Bangkok’s thriving Sunday brunch scene risk being overwhelmed by the sheer scope of quality food on offer. They may wander wide-eyed past the seafood display of stacked king crab limbs and the twitching live lobster only to get distracted by the cart full of Spanish mussels, then bewildered by the constant parade of waitresses brandishing bite-sized tapas. How does one even begin?

With alcohol, of course. On arrival you’ll be given a warm welcome in the form of a cold shot of gazpacho Bloody Mary. While a novice may glance warily at their watch — alcohol this early in the day? — the seasoned buffet-goer will down the shot in one and consider it the starting pistol for the feasting.

Uno Mas — the slick Spanish restaurant of Centara Grand at CentralWorld — is the venue for this monthly gastronomic blowout. The restaurant wraps around the 54th floor, offering different sky-high views of the city from each of its dining areas. The brunch is available on the first Sunday of each month, and frankly, more often than that would be ludicrously decadent.

Everybody starts with the seafood. The oysters are St. Vaast, Fine de Claire and Tsarskaya. The lobsters are Maine, Phuket and rock. The ceviche is lobster, salmon, scallop and tuna. And that’s just the first few feet of the seafood section. To try everything is impossible, so it’s best to take a partner to share the burden. I attended with a chef whose default reaction to quality food is to claim that he could do it better and for half the price. However, mere minutes into our two hours of indulgence, his dismissive policy was in ruins.

The Spanish mussels in white wine were crowned as his favourite dish, for their freshness but also the simple trick of adding rosemary to the sauce. Then the soft wagyu ribs were the favourite, for their chanterelle mushroom accompaniments.

Then the quail egg on poached potato was declared the winner, and so on.

The ribs were from the main course menu, which also includes rib eye, lamb racks and foie gras from the butcher, and lobster, Dover sole and snow fish from the fishermen. Ordering a main is not entirely necessary, such is the frequency of visits by the tapas-wielding waitresses. It’s difficult to turn down the constant treats offered, and the table soon becomes littered with tasting plates as the conversation becomes littered with complimentary adjectives.

True bon vivants will be wryly delighted by the fact that there’s no alcohol-free packk age for the brunch. And why would there be? Temperance is incongruous with the Sunday brunch scene. Your glass of G.H. Mumm champagne or sangria or wine or cocktail or beer will be frequently and discretely topped up, as if you’re holding a magical never-empty drinking vessel. In fact, you’ll be so merrily relaxed that the sound of a smashing plate will fail to startle you.

The plate-smashing signals the arrival of the Uno Mas house speciality — a

Cochinillo roast suckling pig. Under the crackling skin, the meat is so soft that it can be cut in front of the diners with a dinner plate instead of a knife, and the plate is then theatrically thrown to the ground to prove that it is indeed a regular dish.

A CHANGE OF VENUE FOR A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR

SHANGRI-LA HOTEL, BANGKOK’S NEW YEAR PACKAGE

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Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok Reservations Department tel. 02 206 8788.

Email: reservations.slbk@shangri-la.com.

tarts and macaroons, not to mention the endless supply of small sweet plates from the waitresses.

And then, close to two hours after you began, just when your waistline is hoping it’s all over, a trolley laden with cheese is wheeled into the restaurant. I barely had the energy to wave the waitress away but my dining partner, a native of cheese-loving Wisconsin, somehow found the space to indulge.

And finally, a reckoning. Just how much of the world’s finest food did we eat? Difficult to say, as the empty plates are regularly whisked away, but we’re sure that we passed the value-for-money mark around one and a half hours ago.

And even that most difficult to please patron — the Wisconsin chef — has to grudgingly admit that this is some of the best food he’s had in Bangkok. There is no higher praise.

The next Uno Mas Champagne Brunch, priced at 3555++ baht, is January 8, 2017.

For more information, call 02 100 6255 or visit www.unomasbangkok.com.

RING IN 2017 BY THE RIVER ing in the New Year with breath-taking views of the Chao Phraya River for reminiscences and farewells to 2016 followed by hope, plans and resolutions for 2017 with a special “New Year” Package of Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok.

Guests can stay in a Deluxe Room with rates starting from Bt38,000++ for a minimum of 2 consecutive nights for staying from 29 December 2016 to 1 January 2017.

The package includes: Daily buffet breakfast for two persons at NEXT2 Café; One New Year’s Eve dinner for two persons at NEXT2 Café terrace.

The package is available for two consecutive nights. Prior reservation is required and subject to availability. The offer cannot be used in conjunction with other promotions.

What else? Well, there’s what the chef describes as the best ham in the world — a 36-month cured Joselito that they’ll drizzle with oil but is best savoured entirely on its own. And of course there’s dessert, which is anything from the pile of ice creams,

Try something different this festive season – head to venues, downtown’s best spot for holiday cheer New Y Year’s Eve, 31 December 2016 Twenty-Seven Bites — Bangkok’s best buffet with bubbly option. 8pm-1am Bt1,990++ per person with free-flow soft drinks; Bt2,490++ per person with free-flow sparkling wine, local beers, house wines and soft drinks.

Attico — Family-style Toscana Vigilia di Capodanno menu with free-flow bubbly option. 8pm-1am Bt2,890++ per person; Bt3,890++ per person with freeflow prosecco.

Brewski — Bubbles and Brews on the rooftop along with tasty bar snacks all night long. 5pm till late.

New Y Year’s Day, 1 January 2017 Twenty-Seven Bites — Big Blu New Year’s Day Brunch with festive fun and entertainment. Noon-3.30pm Bt1,890++ per person with free-flow soft drinks; Bt2,290++ per person with free-flow local beers, house wines, sparkling wine and soft drinks.

Brewski — Brewski Sunday Session with BBQ and DJ tunes. Bt1,000 per person including BBQ and three pints of beer per person. 3pm-8pm.

Booking is required for all festive season offers. Tel. 02 302 3333 or email: restaurant. bangkok.blu@radisson.com.

The festive season at Radisson Blu Plaza Bangkok likewise includes a business party package allowing colleagues to celebrate their successful year in style. Rates start from Bt950 net per person. Packages are

customisable and combine many options and amenities such as party room use until midnight, changing room, dining vouchers and more.

Radisson Blu Plaza is just 500 metres from BTS Asok and MRT Sukhumvit stations. Tel. 02 302 3488 or email: catering. bangkok.blu@radisson.com.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

I Bangkok Post

HOLIDAY TIME

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Gourmet Dining & Sparkling Entertainment for New Year at The Okura Prestige Bangkok arty through to Countdown and on into the wee hours of the New Year in a radically decked out club-like space 25 floors above the city lights.

In the heart of Sukhumvit, steps from both MRT and BTS stations, The Westin Grande d Sukh khumvit it, Bangkok’ k k’s sophi histiti cated elevated event space and city-view terrace makes the ideal setting for a memorable celebration.

Hosted on the biggest night of the year, Black Light Party features blacklight lig li ht jum jumpin ping i g, str t obe b light ghts hts, and d party t music destined to get everyone up and dancing.

W

ith its enviable downtown location and elevated views of the Bangkok skyline, The Okura Prestige Bangkok is the best place to enjoy your New Year celebrations. Gourmet dining at award-winning restaurants and live entertainment will make it truly unforgettable for you and your loved ones.

UP & ABOVE See out the year with family and friends at our New Year’s Eve Buffet Dinner with a truly sparkling celebration at Up & Above Restaurant. There will be gourmet cuisine, live entertainment, a wonderful atmosphere, and breathtaking views of Bangkok.

The special menu will include roast prime rib of beef with black truffle sauce, and roast rack of lamb. There will also be foie gras, an array of seafood including lobster, crab and oysters, live stations with Japanese specialties and pastries and desserts.

New Year’s Eve Dinner is on 31 December 2016 at Bt3,900++ per person with one welcome New Year cocktail and soft drinks. Sparkling New Year’s Eve Dinner, Bt4,900++ per person with free flow Prosecco and selected wines, local beers and cocktails. Champagne New Year’s Eve Dinner, Bt5,900++ per person with free flow Champagne and selected wines, local beers and cocktails. Children, 4-12 years old. Bt1,000++ per person.

There are two sittings offered for the New Year’s Eve Dinner, the first sitting is 6pm-8pm and the second sitting is from 8.30pm.

On New Year Day, Up & Above Restaurant welcomes 2017 with a spectacular New Year’s Day Brunch at Up & Above Restaurant. The feast will include roast prime rib of beef with black truffle sauce, roast rack of lamb with parsnips and rosemary jus, lobster, crab and oysters on ice, a live Japanese station, and delicious

desserts. Diners can enjoy the gourmet cuisine with a choice of free flow packages so they can celebrate New Year with style.

The New Year’s Day Brunch on 1 January 2017 is Bt2,900++ per person with one welcome Christmas cocktail and soft drinks. Sparkling New Year’s Day Brunch, Bt3,900++ per person with free flow Prosecco and selected wines, local beers and cocktails. Champagne New Year’s Day Brunch, Bt4,900++ per person with free flow Champagne and selected wines, local beers and cocktails. Children, 4-12 years old, Bt1,000++ per person. Brunch served from noon to 3pm.

ELEMENTS On 31 December, see out 2016 and welcome the New Year with an indulgent celebratory 6 or 7-course dinner of signature French cuisine with Japanese influences. Gastronomic highlights include Egg Mimosa Artichokes asparagus, sevruga caviar, Brie de Meaux layered over night with black truffles, Poached Australian Wagyu fillet with wasabi and bone marrow mousse, shimeji mushrooms and black truffles, and the fabulous celebration dinner ends with delightful petits fours from the dessert trolley.

There are two sittings offered, the first sitting is 6pm-8pm serving a 6-course menu at Bt4,900++ per person including a glass of Champagne or signature cocktail, while the second sitting is from 8.30 pm. serving a 7-course menu at Bt5,600++ per person including a glass of Champagne or signature cocktail.

Y MAZATO YA A On New Year’s Eve, join loved ones for our authentic Japanese Gozen, Kaiseki and Teppanyaki menus at Yamazato. Highlights from the New Year’s Eve Gozen and Kaiseki menus include delights such as steamed egg custard with avocado, crab, sea urchin, caviar, and sarashina soba.

The New Year’s Eve Gozen lunch is Bt1,500++ per person and Toshikishi Soba Kaiseki Dinner is Bt3,500++ per person.

Close to midnight on 31 December 2016, Yamazato concludes the evening with traditional Toshikoshi Soba noodles served with tempura balls of shrimp and scallop and deep fried tofu sushi at Bt800++ per person, only available from 10pm–11.30pm.

On 1 and 2 January 2017, Master Chef Shigeru Hagiwara presents special Gozen set lunch and Kaiseki set dinner menus as well as Teppanyaki dinner to welcome New Year’s Day. Highlights include assorted osechi, sashimi, Hokkaido scallops, Kagoshima Gyu sirloin, and much more.

The New Year Gozen lunch is Bt2,500++ per person, New Year Kaiseki dinner is Bt4,000++ per person and New Year Teppanyaki set is Bt3,500++ per person.

Lunch is served from 11.30am–2.30 pm and dinner from 6pm–10.30pm New Year’s Eve Gozen lunch and and Toshikishi Soba Kaiseki Dinner are available on 31 December 2016 while Teppanyaki sets available from 31 December 2016 2 January 2017. New Year Gozen lunch and Kaiseki dinner available from 1 - 2 January 2017.

Yamazato’s Master Chef Shigeru Hagiwara also offers jubako boxes of Osechi Ryori. Each item is carefully chosen to symbolise good health, fertility, happiness, and a long life. You can order a set of 2 boxes for Bt6,500 net, or a set of 1 box for Bt3000 net. Orders available from 1 November – 25 December 2016. Pick–up is on 31 December 2016 from 2pm–6 pm only.

For more information and reservations, please call 02 687 9000 or email fbreservations@okurabangkok.com.

Prices are subject to 10% service charge and 7% government tax, except prices for Osechi Boxes which are exempt from service charge but include 7% government tax.

The Okura Prestige Bangkok Park Ventures Ecoplex 57 Wireless Road, Bangkok 10330, Thailand Tel: 02 687 9000 Fax: 02 687 9001 Website: www.okurabangkok.com.

at The Sukhothai Bangkok

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iscover an exciting new way to celebrate the happiest time of the year with an exclusive programme of festive activities at The Sukhothai Bangkok.

Spend precious time with your loved ones, family and friends — and enjoy every moment as we at The Sukhothai Bangkok personally provide our worldclass service and facilities for you.

La Scala New Year’s Eve Connoisseur Set Menu Bt7,000 net (food only) Accompany your special one as we say goodbye to 2016 with a 7-Course Menu at revered Italian restaurant, La Scala. Chef David has created an amazing menu featuring Warm Boston Lobster with Baked Italian Tomato, Boiled Capon Breast, Consomme Like a Mayonnaise with Alba White Truff fle and Steamed Dover Sole, Braised Cauliflower, Rose’ Wine Bubble and Oscietra Caviar.

Countdown on 31 December 2016 All guests dining in our restaurants on New Year’s Eve are more than welcome to enjoy pre-dinner drinks and canapes served at the Lobby Salon, and to

enjoy drinks and dancing until the new day dawns! By the way, we also provide an “Overnight Menu” to ensure your freshness as you wake up on the first day of the year.

Also remember, drink, but don’t drive. Our limousine service can be reserved in advance to drive you home in total comfort and to drop you off at your doorstep!

join our countdown event at the hotel’s Garden Courtyard after dinner. Toast with champagne or your favourite drink from our open bar, together with complimentary dessert.

Then it’s time for the countdown 5…4…3…2…1 and Bang! Be amazed by a specially designed countdown show as we enter the brand new year of 2017… After that let’s continue on into The Zuk Bar. Cheers, and welcome 2017 with our vibrant live band as we

New Year’s Day, 1 January 2017 Colonnade New Year’s Sunday Brunch Bt3,800 net (food only) Enjoy Lobster Bisque, Pernod, Lobster Butter, Roasted Pumpkin Soup, Dragon rolls such as Lobster tempura, Foie Gras Sushi, A la minute carbonara in parmesan, Roasted Pork Porchetta filled with Fennel Italian Sausage with Rosemary Garlic, a Noodle station and a variety of desserts such a Tortino Vitamin “C” The Sukhothai truffles and Festive Pralines.

Reservations call 02 207 8000.

Email: fb.bangkok@westin.com. www.we westi tingr g and andesu desukh khumvi mvit it.com t com. www.facebook.com/westinbangkok Instagram @westinbangkok.

OSECHI

DINE & WINE

Meet the ‘English Butcher’

Splendid 2016 Festivities

New Year’s Eve31 December 2016 Colonnade New Year’s Eve Buffet Dinner Bt4,500 net (food only) Bid farewell to the final day of 2016 with a splendid, never to be forgotten dinner. Selections include six kinds of Fresh Oyster, a Seafood Tower, Roasted Brined French Turkey with Sage and Onion Stuffing and Chestnut with Cranberry Sauce. A broad choice of desserts includes Champagne and Strawberry Jelly. Our irresistible New Year’s Chocolate Log and Festive Whisky Hot Chocolates will also be served to complete your evening.

Here on Saturday 31 December 2016 from 9pm–2am the hot DJ line up includes Groove, Honey G feat. Sasha and Dee Iris.

Dress in White or Neon colours and glow in the dark!

E t is onlly B Entry Bt1 t1,300 300 includi l ding 2 driinks k if you enter before 10pm or 1 drink if you enter after 10pm.

Lobby Salons 28 December 2016 - 1 January 2017 Festive Chocolate Buffet Bt1,200++ Sweet lovers — be sure not to miss this very special Festive Chocolate Buffet at Lobby Salon. Besides a large variety of sandwiches and savouries, many traditional festive desserts have been prepared, including Christmas pudding, Saffron Apple Truffle Log and Swiss Cheese Fondue, plus celebratory Festive Whisky Hot Chocolates and the finest of imported chocolates.

Thimian Festive Hampers Hamper A at Bt3,800 net per set includes Sukhothai homemade Sesami Praline, Panettone, Jam, Christmas Cookies, Soft-spoken Chocolate, a Sukk hothai Coffee Mug, Sukhothai Elephant Doll, Sukhothai Shopping Bag and a bottle of Chateau Julien Red Wine.

Hamper B at Bt2,500 net per set includes Sukhothai homemade Sesami Praline, Fruit Cake, Jam, Christmas Cookies, Soft-spoken Chocolate, a Sukk hothai Coffee Mug, Sukhothai Elephant Doll and Sukhothai Shopping Bag. THE SUKHOTHAI BANGKOK South Sathon Road. Be in advance to avoid disappointment.

Tel. 02 344 8888 Email promotions@sukhothai.com.

T

here is a new look to dinner at Brasserie Europa every Friday. This elegant restaurant at the Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok is adding new ‘English Butcher — BBQ Grill’ items to the extensive and highly popular international buffet dinner every Friday.

Guests choose their favourite meats and shellfish from the characteristic ‘English Butcher’. The items are then cooked à la minute and served at the table. Choices include succulent imported American, Australian and Argentinean prime cuts as well as a selection of seafood such as Tiger prawns, Bay scallops and salmon steam will be available for you to choose from. In addition, ‘Special Ingredient’ or ‘Dish of the Day’ menu items selected carefully under the watchful eye of the hotel’s renowned Executive Chef James Norman will be presented on the table for guests to choose.

“This is a fabulous way to end a busy week. By adding such a top quality selection of grilled BBQ items we are making Friday night dinners at Brasserie Europa even better value,” explains James Norman. The Friday Night BBQ grill and buffet at Brasserie Europa is priced at Bt2,200++ per person including free-flow non-alcoholic beverages. “We believe that this new English Butcher BBQ grill will appeal to locals, expatriates and

international visitors, especially as we are located conveniently to Siam Paragon and BTS Siam. We are very confident that this new look to dinner every Friday at Brasserie Europa will prove to be another spectacular success story of Brasserie Europa”, added Chef James.

Brasserie Europa also welcomes the return of the incredible seasonal garden BBQ dinner on the table, available from 18.30 to 22.30 hrs. every evening (except Fridays and festive holidays) from Saturday, 15 October 2016 until Tuesday, 31 January 2017.

Enjoy the milder climate and indulge yourself and loved ones with this incredible BBQ on the table in the gorgeous setting of Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok’s lush green garden and magnificent free-formed swimming pool.

This mouth-watering on the table dinner experience features a portable charcoal bucket barbeque with a tempting, unlimited selection of succulent premium meats and fresh seafood.

Priced at Bt988++ per person and Bt494++ for children aged 6-12. Brasserie Europa is open daily for lunch from 12.00 – 15.00 hrs. and for dinner from 18.30 – 22.30 hrs.

SIAM KEMPINSKI HOTEL BANGKOK 991/9 Rama I Road Pathumwan.

Reservations call 02 162 9000 Email: brasserie.siambangkok@kempinski.com.

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Bangkok Post I

HOLIDAY TIME

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016

Bespoke New Year Countdown Celebration at Decanter and The St. Regis Bar

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or a sophisticated evening of elegance and refinement with your nearest and dearest, to ring in 2017, exclusively yours could be the luxurious Decanter, at The St. Regis Bangkok. Make Decanter your private celebration venue for around 30 hand-picked guests, this New Year’s Eve. An elegant 12th floor lounge, Decanter’s timeless ambiance and flawless décor are complemented by discreet service and a compelling view of the Bangkok skyline.

THE ELEGANCE OF DECANTER ON NEW YEAR’S EVE 31st December 2016 Celebrate 2017, with an exclusive, private five-course degustation menu dinner party, this New Year’s Eve. Decanter is available from 7pm until late, at Bt6,000++ per guest (based on a minimum of 30 guests*), including a thoughtfully curated wine pairing. To rival the momentous occasion, Chef Stefan Merlo creates a tempting presentation of culinary mastery.

Exclusive New Year’s Eve Five-Course Degustation Menu at Decanter: Amuse Bouche: Tuna Loin and Hokk kaido Scallop Tartar Avocado, Lime, Caviar — Alpha Box Dice, Golden Mullet Fury, Barossa, Australia.

Soup: Green Pea Soup, Smoked Bacon, Mint, Champagne — Familie Saahs Nikolaihof Hefeabzug Gruner Veltliner, Wachau, Austria.

Appetiser: Pan-Fried Fillet Of Patagonian Toothfish, Uni Butter Sauce — Reyneke Sauvignon Blanc, Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Main Course: Australian Beef Tournedos Rossini, Duck Liver, Black Truffle, Fondant Potato - Mas Martinet ‘Clos Martinet’ Tinto, Priorat DOCa, Spain OR Canadian Lobster Thermidor Green Asparagus, Fried Garlic — Cantina Terlan Kellerei, Kreuth Chardonnay, Alto Adige, Italy.

Dessert: Chocolate Mousse, Candied Walnut Popcorn, Coffee Ice Cream — Gonzalez Byass Matusalem Oloroso Dulce Muy Viejo Sherry, Andalucia, Spain.

NEW YEAR’S EVE COUNTDOWN AT THE ST. REGIS BAR - 31st December 2016 Ring in the New Year at The St. Regis Bar, for a vibrantly elegant evening of celebration, to mark the end of 2016 and the beginning of new possibilities into 2017.

The St. Regis Bar offers an exclusive experience, to dress up and let the Champagne flow. Enjoy the art of Champagne sabrage at 6pm and let the live entertainment set the mood for celebration.

6pm Champagne Sabrage.

6pm-1am Live DJ playing the latest hits.

10pm–1am Accompanied by live saxophone.

Bt2, 500++ per person, including two selected House Bar beverages from 8pm until midnight.

VIP Table for two at Bt10,000++, including a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Brut VIP Table for four at Bt15,000++, including two bottles of Veuve Clicquot Brut.

THE ST. REGIS BANGKOK To reserve Decanter and The St. Regis Bar on New Year’s Eve, call +66 2207 7777, or email: fb.bangkok@stregis.com.

Italian-style New Year’s Eve Banquet at Loop, Pathumwan Princess Hotel

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celebratory menu of the finest dishes awaits you at Loop to welcome in the New Year, prepared by resident Italian chef Roberto Panariello.

A choice of smoked salmon with carpaccio and nutritious avocado or thinly-sliced Parma ham and creamy Stracchino cheese is followed by ravioli of lobster tails or Paccheri pasta with braised boar in red wine. Following a cleansing mulled wine and lemon sorbet, the main course is served — a tough choice between succulent grilled Canadian lobster with saffron risotto or an impressive T-bone steak, grilled to your own taste. Perhaps a short break is then needed, but, to finish, one of Roberto’s famous desserts must be tried; a creamy amoretto cheesecake, a richly filled Sicilian cannolo or mixed seasonal fruit platter — the choice is yours!

This superb end of year meal is just Bt1,400 net, and for children under 12, Bt700 net.

LOOP ITALIAN RESTAURANT, Terrace and Bar: 8th floor of Pathumwan Princess Hotel. Open daily 11am-10.30pm. Tel. 02 216 3700 Ext. 20818.

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