Central region gears up for post-flood tourism

The recent flooding in many areas of Thailand has directly affected tourism in terms of tourist attractions, transportation routes, local tourism and related businesses. 

It has also had a psychological impact on the industry since many tourists who had planned their travels have become uncertain about the situation and decided to postpone their trips. 

Among the hard-hit provinces in the terms of tourism are 14 Central region provinces Bangkok, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan, Chachoengsao, Nakhon Pathom, Samut Sakhon, Ayutthaya, Suphan Buri, Angthong, Chainat, Lop Buri, Sing Buri and Saraburi while Kanchanaburi, Samut Songkhram, 

Ratchaburi, Phetchaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan have been indirectly affected, according to Tourism Authority of Thailand Central Regional Office director Somchai Chompoonoi.

Sanam Chandra Palace, Nakhon Pathom.

To stimulate tourism in the Central region, the TAT regional office has come up with short-, medium- and long-term plans to mobilise resources and work with the public and private sectors and tourism business alliances to promote the concept of sustainable tourism through CSR and volunteerism-related, religious and cultural trips and cultural tourism. 

The volunteerism-related trips and activities include flood relief trips, Big Cleaning Day, pilgrimage and merit-making trips, such as the We Care Ayutthaya trips for tourism business allies to clean flood-hit temples and tourist attractions in Ayutthaya.

To restore people's confidence in the Central region's readiness to welcome tourists back, the office has been running public relations and marketing campaigns and invited members of the media and Thai and foreign tour agents to visit both the flood-hit and unaffected tourist spots which have returned to normalcy. For example, the tourist season in Hua Hin and Prachuap Khiri Khan has been officially launched.

The office has also been working to promote public awareness of annual festivals and activities, such as the 20th anniversary of Ayutthaya World Heritage celebrations being held until December 13, the Kwai River Bridge Anniversary Week, the Blossoming Sunflower Festival and New Year Festival.

In addition, all eight TAT offices in the Central region have collaborated in organising Travelling and Doing Good for the King trips, countdown celebrations and New Year's Eve mass praying in the 19 Central provinces. Next year's first and biggest tourism marketing event, entitled "Sawasdee Thailand Fair" is scheduled for January 9.

Flood-damaged air force base

In photo above aircraft sit up to their bellies in water at Don Mueang air force base last month. 

COMMENTARY: A year for Air Force to recover by Wassana Nanuam

Few people realised the magnitude of the damage caused by the flooding at Don Mueang air force base - till the Defence Ministry requested a budget to restore it.

The Royal Thai Air Force headquarters went completely under for the first time in its 100 years of history. Result? The air force now needs 95% of the 12.28-billion-baht budget the Defence Ministry is seeking from the government.

The damage has inevitably made air force chief ACM Itthaporn Subhawong the target of much criticism, for his alleged carelessness and complacence in letting the base get so thoroughly inundated.

As the number one man in the air force, he cannot avoid responsibility. The air force's electronics, communications and flight checking equipment under the Directorate of Aeronautical Engineering, and the Royal Thai Air Forces Defence System's Phase I at Don Mueang were destroyed because they could not be moved to a safe, dry place.

"We had a well-prepared plan but we did not expect the water to come in from Don Mueang Airport," ACM Itthaporn said in defence.

A high-ranking source at the air force admitted to the unexpected scenario. "We were confident that we could handle it. But we didn't expect the water would be that high," the source said. 

"We had put up a barricade of sandbags. By the time the water rushed in, we could not pump it out because that would cause problems for the communities living nearby. So we decided to leave it this way," the source added.

"ACM Itthaporn was very sad about what happened because all the staff had done their best. We should give him moral support," the source added

"The air force chief didn't relocate anywhere. He's always been staying here at the air force chief's official residence. The first floor of his residence was inundated and he had to live only on the second floor. 

He took a boat to work at the office, which had to be shifted from the air force headquarters building to a temporary site at the 80th Anniversary Building on Phahon Yothin Road," the source added.

The severe damage at Don Mueang was the reason why Thailand needed 30 US soldiers and technicians - to help restore the base. 

Almost all the systems had been directly purchased or were military aid from the United States and only the Americans could make them function again. 

The only system the Americans didn't touch was the Royal Thai Air Force's Defence System, which has been changed from the US to the European system.

"There is no secret prison or operation base for the US or CIA at the air force base in Don Mueang as some foreign new agencies have speculated. 

The point is, all electronic equipment and flight information are secret and classified," said the source, who is familiar with the rescue operation.

It is estimated that the air force base will need at least a year to 18 months to return to full normal operation. The task is under air force assistant chief ACM Prachin Jantong, who is tipped to be the new air force commander. ...

Air Force Flood Recovery Vocabulary

recover - when the situation improves, gets better ได้คืน, ได้กลับคืน, เอากลับคืน,

a year for Air Force to recover realize - to know something (become aware of or understand something)

few people realized

magnitude - size, either great or small ขนาด,ความใหญ่,ความสำคัญ ความรุนแรง the magnitude of the damage

base - a place from where an activity can be planned ฐานที่มั่น

budget - the amounts of money that an organisation has available to spend on different things during a period งบประมาณ (See Wikipedia) restore - to cause a particular situation to exist again, especially a good one ฟื้นฟูสภาพ

few people realised the magnitude of the damage caused by the flooding at Don Mueang air force base - till the Defence Ministry requested a budget to restore it headquarters - the place where an organisation or company has its main offices; the location from where it is controlled สำนักงานใหญ่ กองบัญชาการ

air force headquarters

went completely under - was flooded with water (not really completely under water) the Royal Thai Air Force headquarters went completely under for the first time in its 100 years of history

budget - the money available in a company or organization on something such as a project งบประมาณ 12.28-billion-baht budget inevitably - certain to happen, cannot be prevented or avoided อย่างเลี่ยงไม่ได้

target - something or someone attacked เป้าหมาย criticism - การวิจารณ์

inevitably target of much criticism

care - looking after someone or something; take action to keep them in good condition ความระมัดระวัง

carelessness - not careing or looking after someone, neglecting ความไม่กังวล, ความไม่ระมัดระวัง

complacence - not doing anything in a situation that requires action (because of dangerous, for example) ความพึงพอใจ

alleged - claimed to be true although not yet proven ที่ถูกกล่าวหา alleged carelessness and complacence

inundated - flooded ถูกน้ำท่วม, จมลงใต้น้ำ alleged carelessness and complacence in letting the base get so thoroughly inundated.

responsibility - 1. being blamed for something that goes wrong, 2. having to take care of some task as part of your job avoid responsibility as the number one man in the air force, he cannot avoid responsibility.

communications and flight checking equipment defense - something you say to support someone or something that is being criticized or charged การปกป้อง การแก้ต่าง in defense source - someone who gives information แหล่งข่าว

military rank - a position in the military (examples: lieutenant, major, general)

high-ranking - having a very high position in an organization (example: the highest ranking soldiers are generals) a high-ranking source

scenario - the way that a situation develops in the future unexpected scenario - something happened that they didn't think would happen confident - being certain of your abilities or of having trust in people, plans, or the future มั่นใจ

handle the situation - deal with the situation, solve any problems, make things go smoothly

we were confident that we could handle it.

barricade - objects put in front of a road or waterway that stop something from passing through

barricade of sandbags

rushed - going somewhere very quickly ด้วยความเร่งรีบ

the water rushed in staff - workers, employees พนักงาน all the staff had done their best

support - helpe สนับสนุน give him moral support - say things to encourage him and give him strength to face a certain situation relocate - move to another location ย้ายไปตั้งอีกที่หนึ่ง didn't relocate anywhere official - approved by the government or some authority ที่เป็นทางการ

residence - a place where someone lives ที่พำนัก ที่อาศัย บ้านพัก

air force chief's official residence

temporary - done or used for only a limited period of time, i.e., not permanent ชั่วคราว

site - a place where something happens or happened สถานที่ สถานที่เกิดเหตุ

shifted to a temporary site - moved to another place for a short period (until the situation was back to normal)

severe - very serious and worrying ที่รุนแรง ที่น่าเป็นห่วง

severe damage

reason - an explanation of an event, why an event happened เหตุ ; เหตุผล ; สาเหตุ

military base - a place where soldiers live and prepare for military operations

base - same as "military base"

the reason why Thailand needed 30 US soldiers and technicians - to help restore the base ...

military (adjective, noun) - about soldiers, the Navy, Air Force and Army of a country ทหาร, ทางทหาร, เกี่ยวกับทหาร, ของทหาร

aid - help; assistance ความช่วยเหลือ

military aid - help for the military

affairs - events and activities relating to the government, politics, economy etc of a country, region, or the world ความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างประเทศ

military affairs

function - to work or operate in a normal way เป็นปกติ ใช้การได้ปกติ

only the Americans could make them function again

secret prison or operation base for the US or CIA at the air force base in Don Mueang - (See Sept 22, 2011 article)

classified information - information that is officially secret (the public not allowed to know about it)

all electronic equipment and flight information are secret and classified

familiar - knows about

rescue - to save someone from a dangerous situation ช่วยชีวิต

familiar with the rescue operation.

tipped to be - many think that he will become ...

task - a piece of work that someone does หน้าที่ ภารกิจ

commander - a high-level soldier or police officer ผู้บังคับบัญชา

Special cabinet meeting Monday

A special cabinet meeting will be held on Monday, Dec 12, to consider flood rehabilitation projects worth 120 billion baht, cabinet secretary-general Ampon Kitti-ampon said on Thursday.

Mr Ampon said he had circulated a letter advising all cabinet ministers of the special meeting.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra told the cabinet on Tuesday the government needs a better process to approve projects in flooded areas because ministries and provinces had proposed duplicate or non-urgent projects.

Without proper screening, the 120 billion baht budget set for this purpose might not be enough, she said.

PM: Flood damage 1.3 trillion baht

The recent floods had caused about 1.3 trillion baht in damage to the country, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said on Thursday.

In a speech “Roles of the Public and Private Sectors in Maintaining National Security” given to students at the National Defence College of Thailand, Ms Yingluck said the flood damage is so huge that it severely affected the production sector.

“But the government will rapidly stimulate the economy in order to restore confidence of investors and boost economic expansion,” she said.

Ms Yingluck said the government had set up two strategic committees for rebuilding the country and future development and for water resources management.

The government will try its best to enable the production sector to resume production lines as soon as possible. It will also learn more about the new forms of natural disasters in order to timely and accurately forecast and warn people about possible situation they would face, she added.

Operation plans for any emergency situation must be in place, said the prime minister.

In addition, the government will boost economy of all villages through its SML village fund, which would help strengthen the rural communities, she added.

The global situation has been rapidly changing and has negative impact on national security as a result. All sides must join forces in bringing about sustainable stability of peace to the country, said Ms Yingluck.

Flood damage around B1.3 trillion, says PM

The total flood damage to the country is estimated at 1.3 trillion baht, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said on Thursday, and promised to resurrect the economy with all urgency.

The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) said damage to small and medium enterprises alone amounted to 800 billion baht.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, in a speech on “Roles of the Public and Private Sectors in Maintaining National Security” given to students at the National Defence College of Thailand, said the flood damage is huge and had severely affected the production sector.

“The government will rapidly move to stimulate the economy in order to restore the confidence of investors and boost economic expansion,” she said.

Ms Yingluck said the government had set up two strategic committees - for rebuilding the country and future development, and for water resources management.

The government would do its best to enable factories to restart production lines as soon as possible.

It would also move to learn more about the new threats from natural disasters in order to timely and accurately forecast and warn people about the dangers, she added.

Operation plans for any emergency situation must be in place, said the prime minister.

In addition, the government will boost economy of all villages through its SML village fund, which would help strengthen the rural communities, she added.

The global situation had been rapidly changing and has negative impact on national security as a result. All sides must join forces in bringing about sustainable and stable peace to the country, said Ms Yingluck.

Sompong Tancharoenpol, vice chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), said the flood damage to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in eight provinces is estimated at more than 800 billion baht.

More than 10,000 small and medium level manufacturers in eight provinces were inundated, affecting over 660,000 workers, he added.

The FTI had proposed to the government measures to rehabilitate the flood affected SMEs -- setting up an industry rehabilitation fund, offering a debt moratorium for SMEs and using money from the Social Security Fund to pay compensation for workers who lose their jobs during the rehabilitation period, said Mr Sompong.

Yutthasak Supasorn, director of the SME Promotion Office, said SMEs' revenue in the fourth quarter of the year would be down on the previous quarter by 1.5 per cent, due to the floods.

He projected the gross domestic product of the SME sector to grow by between 1.8 and 2.0 per cent this year, substantially lower than the previous projection of 4-4.2 per cent.

Mr Yutthasak expected GDP growth of SMEs would be between 3.8 and 4.2 per cent next year.

He had proposed the government that it should provide low interest rate soft loans for the inundated SMEs and come up with additional measures to support and rehabilitate them.

He said in the first ten months of the year, 49,900 new SMEs had registered with his office, up 16 per cent from the same period last year, and 6,600 SMEs reported that they have closed down, an increase of 36 per cent.

The impact of the recent floods also affected confidence of consumers.

The consumer confidence index (CCI) on the overall economy in November went down to 61.0, from 62.8 reported in October, the Economic and Business Forecasting Centre said.

The CCI was the lowest for 122 months, since September 2001, according to the centre.

Consumers’ confidence on job opportunities for the month stood at 62.5, the lowest in 119 months, and on future income was 89.5, the lowest for 28 months, it said.

The negative factors that eroded consumers’ confidence included the devastating floods that inundated industrial estates, people's homes and office buildings, the lowering of growth projections for the year to 1.5 per cent by the National Economic and Social Development Board, rising living costs, the fragile global economy and higher pump prices for diesel.

The positive factors were the decision by the central bank’s monetary policy committee to cut the repurchase rate by 0.25 percentage points to 3.25 per cent, the weakening of the baht and that the drop in exports in October was only small, the centre said.

Legally speaking, who is to blame?

The ongoing flood situation is deemed as having unleashed crisis upon crisis, as the government failed to inform people in time which areas would be inundated. 

People were unable to move their goods on time, in particular, factories where the machines and other equipment could not be saved. Therefore, the government and authorities should bear a certain responsibility.

Vast portions of the Central Plain were inundated by the huge amounts of water released by the major dams.

Earlier, the government had to release water gradually from the dams. However, it failed to do so, and when the volume became too great, it released all the water in one go, causing many provinces to be flooded.

Under the Civil and Commercial Codes, any person negligently and unlawfully injures life, body, health, property or any right of another person, is deemed to commit a wrongful act and is bound to pay compensation. 

The damaged persons can take legal action against the government and the authorities involved. The prescription for the wrongful act is one year from the date which such persons learned of the wrongful act, and the person who did the wrongful act, or within 10 years from the date which the wrongful act occurred.

Such an official's act is deemed as negligence because Smith Dharmasarojana, the former director-general of the Meteorological Department and chairman of the National Disaster Warning Council, has earlier warned that this year there would be a great volume of water, and there were several storms that hit Thailand.

Moreover, under the Act on Liability for Wrongful Act of Officials B.E. 2539 (1996), the government authority which is sued and must be liable for the wrongful act is entitled to claim compensation from officials if the wrongful act is deemed gross negligence, and the officials must be personally liable.

This flooding is derived from gross negligence because the officials did not properly release water from the dams although Mr Smith had warned about the volume of water and storms. 

Thus, the prime minister, the minister involved and the persons having authority to make a decision must be personally liable under this act as well.

In Thailand, the residents who suffered from flooding are entitled to claim damages to repair their houses, and business operators are entitled to claim damages from their loss of business opportunity.

However, such persons cannot claim damages for a relative's death as that is deemed as "indirect damage". The claimants can jointly take legal action against the officials as one case in the Administrative Court.

In countries like the United States, the US administration was sued for floods in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, as it allowed one channel to be built and made the flooding worse. 

In Maryland, the top officials in the US Department of Homeland Security were sued by Maryland residents as their homes were damaged by Hurricane Isabel. 

In Arkansas, the administration was sued because a storm dropped heavy rain and a violent flooding killed 20 people in a campground, as the government should not have allowed the campground to be built in a flood plain, and had failed to give out warnings of the extreme danger of flooding.

If we take into account all the damage and suffering that has arisen, it will be much greater than the compensation which the civil servant can be liable for. 

But at least the Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and civil servants will be made aware that there is a personal liability for them. 

Like in the business sector, there is personal liability as well. If a director of any company engages in any act outside the scope of objectives of the company, the director must be held personally liable.

The aim of the foregoing legislation is to have the persons who make decisions act responsibly, and that the proper protection be arranged and provided for SME businesses, as well as the businesses of locals and foreigners alike in Thailand.

In this terrible situation, unity among government authorities, and accurate information rendered to the public is absolutely required, to minimise all damage, to make sure things return to normal in the capital, and to provide assistance for flood victims. 

In the end, it is necessary for the country to have a new and splendid water management system to prevent any flooding in the future.

A chance for honesty

Elephants from the Ayutthaya Elephant Kraal help clean the grounds at Wat Phra Si Sanphet near King U-Thong statue in central Ayutthaya after the floodwaters receded last month. It will indeed be a mammoth task for the government to properly supervise the vast rebuilding and rehabilitation projects across the country.

As Thailand emerges from the current flood crisis, the country is focused on efforts to rebuild and recover. While this process will be challenging, it also presents a unique opportunity to internalise good governance measures within the recovery efforts measures that can have a dramatic impact on getting the country back on track.

Taking advantage of this opportunity will ensure a comprehensive and effective recovery programme. It will also create conditions that will strengthen the public's trust in Thailand's institutions and make its public sector more responsive, efficient and accountable.

A close look at countries that are governed well shows that governance is more about designing a well-oiled government machine. 

No machine can run by itself and no government can either, no matter how dedicated its political leaders or how skilled its career employees. 

What is also needed are citizens who actively participate and take on the responsibility to keep government open and honest.

In today's complex and interconnected world, governance requires citizens who are well informed and are willing to actively engage with government institutions and service delivery agencies. 

This is what is called "citizenship" and those who commit themselves to continued oversight of the government that governs them are called "citizens.

As Thomas Jefferson, one of those who helped design the American government acknowledged, the government won't function without "an informed and active citizenry". It is, he said, "the bulwark of democracy".

Let's come back to why governance is important for Thailand  first, what does it mean? We can perhaps understand it as a framework controlling how decisions are made and executed. 

As a system, governance can include the constitutional and legal framework under which governments work, rule, regulate and control the exercise of power in a fair, just and transparent manner. 

It should also include easily accessible rules and regulations controlling how power is exercised, mechanisms for citizen participation, and the processes by which governments are monitored, evaluated and held to account for their performance.

In our context of flood recovery, good governance means arrangements that ensure that the communities most directly affected are consulted and participate in decisions on recovery and rehabilitation spending. 

Decisions should be based on open and informed discussions of options which build on these consultations, accurate and understandable public information on what benefits the people, transparent reporting on how public money is being spent, and whether the spending that is being done is reaching targeted beneficiaries.

This is especially important because the recovery effort involves a lot of money, which if not transparently managed can give rise to corruption and misallocation of public resources, or at least the perception that this risk exists.

More narrowly this would translate into putting in a system that:

1.) Ensures that recovery and rehabilitation projects are designed appropriately so that the technical specifications for projects are not articulated in such a way that they can only be met by specific suppliers or vested interests and with channels for citizen consultation and feedback.

2.) Makes sure that project execution is conducted through an open, competitive and transparent tendering process that focuses on value for money and quality of outcomes with information on the procurement process and prices published for communities to be able to monitor the performance of government agencies.

3.) Institutes a monitoring and evaluation system that ensures projects meet their objectives and reached the project beneficiaries; and 4.) Quickly and effectively sanctions corrupt and nepotistic behaviour.

In other words, good governance can ensure that each hard-earned baht from taxpayers is put to the best possible use in support of the recovery strategy  in a way which is transparent, timely, and targeted.

Furthermore, it's a chance for the government to demonstrate that the immense trust which citizens are placing in them to work for the betterment of the country is well placed.

What are the challenges? As a high-middle income country, good governance is within reach-Thailand has both the capacity and ability to institute, plan and execute a reconstruction and rehabilitation programme that "builds back better" and forms a benchmark for good global practice.

Thailand has a capable bureaucracy, resilient institutions, and a stable fiscal position which will enable the country to finance these recovery efforts. 

However, three main challenges must be addressed to instill good governance measures and achieve a successful recovery:

First, efforts must be coordinated. This means fostering effective institutional coordination between agencies to ensure integration of projects. This will require some creative redesign of current institutions.

Second, transparency must be enhanced. This means opening up the public procurement process to external monitoring and scrutiny while applying appropriate procurement methods to the respective categories of goods and services procured.

Third, a strategic and integrated approach is necessary. This means addressing the short term needs while keeping the medium-to longer view on complementary policy reforms needed to foster resilience, 

innovation, promote skills development, enhance value added, and improve Thailand's competitiveness in the fast integrating global economy.

Today, as the world celebrates the International Day for Governance and Anti-Corruption, each country has the opportunity to reflect on how to improve governance to support growth and well-being.

In Thailand, these measures must be seen as central to a successful flood recovery effort. While the crisis has left both citizens and government with a great deal of rebuilding to do, we remain optimistic that Thailand 

will emerge from this disaster with institutions which have the public's trust and confidence, a more resilient infrastructure, and a more competitive economy, governed by a system which promotes honesty and integrity.

Chow steels itself for sales growth

Chow Steel Industries projects sales growth of 20-30% next year on potential benefits to be gained from the government mega-projects and post-flood rehabilitation.

Chief executive Anavin Jiratomsiri said this year's sales revenue should come in at 5 billion baht after a nine-month figure of 4.2 billion.

The upstream billet maker said overall domestic demand for this type of steel has risen to 7-10 million tonnes annually.

Chow itself has enjoyed double-digit sales growth in recent years. It caters to high domestic demand, as most billet steel must be imported.

"We have an opportunity to substitute for imports. Chow uses some domestic raw materials and imports others for the maximum profit margin," he said.

Mr Anavin said domestic demand would remain high, especially in the next quarter as flood recovery begins in earnest.

Meanwhile, Patchaporn Sankaburanurak, head of investment banking at KGI Securities, said: "Chow plans to float 200 million shares for a listing on the Market for Alternative Investment (MAI). The IPO price is only 3 baht apiece, a 28% discount to attract new equity investors."

The share subscription will be allocated from Tuesday to Thursday of next week through KGI Securities, the Country Group, Thanachart, Capital Nomura, KT Seamico, Finansia Syrus and Globlex Securities.

Trading on the MAI is expected to begin on Dec 21, said Ms Patchaporn.

After the IPO, Chow's paid up capital will increase to 800 million baht, and the Jiratomsiri family's shareholding ratio will be diluted to to 63.4% from 84.5%.

Proceeds will be used as working capital for current projects, substantially reducing funding costs from the current 7%.

Ms Patchaporn said with expansion of the overall steel industry and growing substitution of billet products for imports, Chow is seen growing throughout 2012.

For the first three quarters of this year, the company posted a net profit of 169 million baht on revenue of 4.25 billion, up by 86% year-on-year.

The company has an accumulated profit of 85%, and its dividend policy is 40% of total net profit.

Production is forecast to rise to 360,000 tonnes in 2012 from 300,000 this year.

PwC: Intangible assets not immune to flood effects

The country's worst floods in five decades affected not only tangible assets but also intangible ones, especially of the conglomerates or multinationals with subsidiaries in flooded areas, according to Chanchai Chaiprasit, a partner of PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The direct effects such as damage to machinery and fixed assets have incurred extraordinary expenses that will be realised on balance sheets.

Companies which underwent consolidation or mergers and booked goodwill or other intangible assets such as government concessions as assets might find the value of such items has depreciated, Mr Chanchai said at a seminar held yesterday in Bangkok.

Generally, flood-affected companies with regular accounting year ending in December will face time mismatching problems as the floods took place late in the year. 

The companies are required to write off damages as expenses in this accounting year but they will be able to book that loss a year later after they claim for the damage from insurance company. 

"Investors will see these discrepancies on financial statements for two accounting years. The loss or declining net profit from extraordinary expenses and declining asset value will be shown in 2011 and the odd revenue from insurance claims will appear next year," said Mr Chanchai.

He said four audit firms and professional accounting councils are discussing the possibility of booking flood- affected items as extraordinary items and not on the normal profit and loss statement.

The operating result and profit from normal operations (excluding flood effects) will be shown above the damages from floods. This will help investors and companies gauge the real performance of a company.

Michelin's tyre sales deflated Exports raised until flooding subsides

Michelin dealers in flood-hit areas have ceased their operations, and the top French tyre maker is bracing for reduced sales figures in the Thai market this year.

The company has more than 400 dealers nationwide including exclusive Tyre Plus shops, but 12% of these are in crisis-plagued provinces and have closed.

"We're not sure whether these dealers will reopen after the floodwater has subsided," said Segsarn Trai-Ukos, country director for the Michelin Siam Group.

He said the company's sales network problems will bring down domestic tyre sales figures for this year.

Only 40% of Michelin's domestic tyre production is slated for local sales. Most of the exports are to Asean markets.

Reduced local sales have prompted the company to step up exports as long as flooding remains a problem, said Mr Segsarn.

Most of the domestic sales are in the replacement market, with the remainder used in car assembly.

Michelin will open the 100th Tyre Plus shop across from CentralPlaza Lardprao on Jan 14.

The first one that is wholly owned by the company, it will also house a training centre.

Mr Segsarn said Michelin will also build a 75-million (3-billion-baht) rubber processing plant in Songkhla's Hat Yai district, where a natural-rubber trading centre is located.

The factory will start operating late next year as Michelin's sixth facility in Thailand.

The other five are located in Saraburi, Samut Prakan, Rayong and Chon Buri provinces.

Michelin will have a pavilion at the BoI Fair to be held lakeside at Muang Thong Thani from Jan 5-20.

The pavilion, under the theme of "A Touch of Tyre", will trace the making of its products from their rubber origins to their production using high technology.

Meet Nakhon Sawan's ace flood fighter

Nakhon Sawan mayor Jittahkasem Nirojthanarat said dams should be built on the Yom River to prevent future flooding in the province. 

Jittahkasem Nirojthanarat, mayor of Nakhon Sawan Municipality, has received a lot of credit for the dedication he showed in fighting the floods. APINYA WIPATAYOTIN talks to the local leader.

What did the town do in terms of its flood prevention plans?

We started fighting the water in September and did so until Oct 10, when a boat hit our water barrier. The breach caused a massive amount of floodwater to hit the city.

If the accident had not happened, we would have been able to save the city.

We believed that the city would have been safe had we been able to control the situation over the next three days as the level of water would have been stable.

For this year, the city exercised extreme caution before the flood as we usually face a cycle of heavy flooding every five years.

We faced flood crises in 1995, 2002 and 2006. So we started preparing our flood prevention measures in July.

The city has in place 2km of water barriers in the east and three more in the south. We are going to construct another 4.9km in the south. When that section is completed, the system will provide 100% protection for the city.

We also have four underground water tunnels with a capacity to drain water at 700,000 cubic metres a day. In case of emergency, we can use a wastewater treatment plant to push water out with a capacity of 300,000 cubic metres a day.

What are the key factors that helped the area to recover so quickly?

As Nakhon Sawan is a flood-prone city the province lies at the confluence of the Ping, Wang, Yom and Nan rivers], it's only natural that we pay attention to flood-prevention structures like water barriers, large-scale water tunnels and water pumping stations.

Every sector has done the best to protect the city. But the most important thing is the people. Here we have a perfect team comprising all stakeholders. They do their best in trying to protect the city. We have unity in our city.

If we lacked unity, the damage would have been much more. We faced the biggest flood crisis we have ever experienced this year. 

The highest water level was 74cm, which is higher than in 1995. But thanks to our strong unity and functional flood handling measures, we were able to make the city dry in 10 days.

What do you think is the best way to prevent flooding?

We received 2 billion cubic metres of water from Bhumibol and Sirikit dams. But, we also had to handle more than 6 billion cu/m from the Yom River. With no structure to retain the water, it came at us directly.

We think that it is very important to have one or two dams in the Yom River as it is the only river that has no dam. The structure will not only protect Nakhon Sawan, but Bangkok and downstream areas will also benefit from such a dam.

Moreover, we need to dredge the rivers. Starting in July, the level of water in the Yom and the Nan rivers showed no sign of receding until Oct 13. When the rivers are shallow the water flows slowly. It is an urgent task.

People have talked about the "Nakhon Sawan model." What do you think this is referring to?

It should be described as a good system to prevent flooding which I told you earlier. This system can't be found in Uthai Thani or Ayutthaya. 

We constructed the system in 1980. It allowed us to drain the water effectively. Essentially, we are capable of draining all the water that comes into the city, thus keeping it dry. 

However, this system must be adjusted if it's to be applied to other areas as each place has a different landscape and limitations.

If you want to save a city from flooding, it will take more than 10 years. Bangkok has similar measures _ a water bypass system and big underground water tunnels to expedite drainage.

Another part of the system is how to make people understand the situation and cooperate fully with the city.

During the floods, we had to build an 11.8km water barrier on the west side of city, which has no concrete flood wall. A few people objected to it.

We had to talk and explain to them why the structure was necessary until they understood.

And we didn't forget these people who had to sacrifice their personal comfort to save the city. We tried our best to take care of them.

Are you tired from fighting the water?

Of course, I am. During the peak period, I slept only two hours a day. When the phone rang, I had to rush off to fix a water barrier or deal with one urgent problem after another. But I told myself that I had to do my best to protect the city.

Elderly victims lack support

Payao Sapprasong, 84,emerges from her rented house in Muangdistrict of Nakhon Sawan. The flood crisis destroyed most of her belongings.Sheused toworkasamasseuse toearnenoughmoney to send her grandson to school and pay the rent—nowshe is jobless. 

NAKHON SAWAN : State and private sectors should pay more attention to elderly people affected by the flood disaster as they need special support to get their lives back to normal, a community leader says.

Karuna Kiriwan, leader of Wat Phrom Jariyawat community in Muang district, voiced concerned over the well-being of older people in her community as most of them were left to struggle with the flood aftermath alone.

Like their communities upcountry, many young people have left the villages to work in big cities, leaving old people at home with their grandchildren.

Sixty percent of Wat Phrom Jariyawat community's 1,200 residents are elderly, Ms Karuna said, adding that most developed post traumatic stress disorder after the disaster.

"I have talked to them since the flood and found that they have serious depression," Ms Karuna said. "Most of them live alone or live with their grandchildren, whose parents work in other places.

"At such an old age, it is very difficult for them to earn enough money to restore their houses or to buy new household appliances."

Ms Karuna said agencies in charge of flood rehabilitation should urgently address the problem of mental health among the elderly. Light jobs, hobbies, and recreational activities should be organised to ease their stress, she said.

Payao Sapprasong is one of the elderly residents affected by the flood in early October.

The 84-year-old lived with her 16-year-old grandson in a 10-square-metre rental room when the floodwaters arrived.

She moved to an evacuation centre at a school at Wat Phrom Jariyawat community.

"At that time, I felt despair and didn't know what to do about the future," she said. "I can't do my job, which means that I don't have money for my grandson to go to school and no money to pay for the house rent."

She worked as a Thai traditional masseuse. Before the flood, she could earn about 400 baht a week, but when the flood struck she become jobless.

"I lost my closet, mattress and fan in the flood," Mrs Payao said. "It was my biggest loss in the flood. I don't know whether I have enough money to replace them as I need to keep money for my grandson.

"All I can do now is to pray. I pray for my strength, to be strong enough to survive the crisis."

She said she wanted the Pheu Thai government to increase the 500-baht allowance for the elderly as they promised during the election campaign. Ms Karuna suggested every disaster-hit community set up a centre for the elderly especially those who have no one living at home to take care of them.

"A community temple is a good venue to set up such a centre, where the elderly can have eating and resting areas," she said, adding that running a centre for the elderly needs cooperation from all sectors, including local residents.

The community council held regularly meetings to map out a flood rehabilitation programme, which covered all groups of residents, including elderly people.

Villagers formed a team to clean up the houses of those who needed help and to improve the community's landscape damaged by the deluge.

Ms Karuna said every community should come up with a plan to make their locality elderly-friendly as the nation becomes more and more an ageing society.

The Foundation of Thai Gerontology Research and Development Institute, said Thailand had 7.1 million elderly people in 2009. 

This number is expected to increase as the life expectancy at birth has been risen from 68.5 to 73.6 years for men and from 75 to 79.1 years for women.

The Landmark's Teddy Bears help flood victims

Join the Landmark initiative to raise funds for victims of the recent floods - and increase awareness of the changes to the environment by donating to our plant-a-tree project.

The Landmark Hotel will make a donation for every Baht 250 given by hotel guests or members of the public. Donations will go to the Thai Red Cross to help victims of the recent flood.

In return, the donor will receive a complimentary 'Beanie' Teddy Bear wearing its own blue 'Plant trees with ME' T-shirt.

The tree project began recently with an expedition organized by the Landmark to the National Forest Reserve where tree saplings were planted.

In addition to assisting people in flooded areas, our objective is to remind local people of the need to protect their surroundings while giving our guests and business partners an opportunity to be part of an extremely worthy initiative.

Meanwhile, the Landmark Bangkok is overhauling its hotel operations to ensure they meet the highest 'green' standards. These include in-room advisories about preserving water and reducing laundry.

Moreover, the highlight of this year's holiday season is the Giant White Xmas Tree, decorated with all kinds of Xmas ornaments, baubles, snowflakes, gifts and "Beanie Teddy Bears".

Birthday blues and small mercies

I promise this will be my very last piece about the flood _ for this year, at least.

I know I should diversify and write about other topics. In fact, I did consider commenting on the much-talked-about results of the 2011 Durex Sex Survey in which men from Thailand were rated worst, among 36 countries polled, 

for cheating on their other half, with Thai women coming in second among female respondents for the same tendency, But I concluded that this subject was just too hot for conservative me to handle, so I decided to stick with the flood, and its aftermath, however mundane or morbid that might sound.

And I have reason to linger there. By the end of this month the party is supposed to be in full swing and the flooding a distant memory. Indeed, 

our attention is already being diverted to more exciting news regarding musician Sek Loso; and about Ah Koeng, the 61-year-old whose questionable text messages landed him with a hefty prison sentence after he was convicted of lese majeste. 

Last, but not least, there was the Demi Moore-type statement by writer and critic Kamphaka who used her upper torso as a canvas to protest the treatment meted out to Ah Koeng.

With such sizzling, sexy and controversial matters to choose from, who'd want to read about floods?

But for six million victims, 10% of our population, this disaster was more than just news. For some, it's a bit of history, both personal and collective, that needs to be recorded and remembered since the event really touched us and could continue to affect us for many years to come.

One of those six million is my old pal "Ter", someone I've known since my schooldays more than 30 years ago.

Sitting in a coffee shop in high-and-dry inner Bangkok she clicked a button on her mobile phone to show me photos she'd taken a few days previously when she returned to her inundated house for the first time in a month.

"This one is the least scary. Now that the floodwater has gone down, it just looks like a war zone," she said, skipping on to other images. "It's all too haunting," she concluded.

It was her birthday and I had taken her out to celebrate. She had been in limbo, holed up in a condominium unit since late October when the floodwater reached her housing estate in the Ngam Wong Wan area, behind Khlong Prem Prachakorn.

She moved out when the authorities ordered the evacuation of her neighbourhood.

"When I visited my home for the first time after the water subsided, I thought I'd collapse or tear my hair out or burst into tears and go berserk. 

But I felt strangely calm once I was outside in the open air. Living in the condo was worse, somehow; it was cold, lifeless."

Fetid floodwater enveloped the ground floor of her house and turned her well-tended garden into a miniature version of Suan Siam, the aquatic amusement park. Her piano and chinaware collection were submerged.

It was the most deadly serious birthday I'd ever spent with her in our three-decade-plus friendship. She listened in silence as I shared my thoughts on flood management; as I talked about a conspiracy theory of mine (that the government had unfairly used the western part of Bangkok as a floodway). 

She continued to listen quietly while I babbled on about "big bags" and flood-flow direction in her area. Then I got onto what I term the dichotomy of sacrifice.

That, for her, was the final straw.

"Who made the decision about which parts of the city should or shouldn't be flooded?" she asked. "We should all have borne our share of the sad burden."

A frown had crossed her face earlier when I'd mentioned words like "fairness" and "sacrifice". (I bet she was wondering how I had the temerity to come up with all these theories when my own house had escaped the worst.)

Was she angry that some districts of Bangkok had managed to stay dry?

No. In fact my friend seemed to take a very rational view of the whole situation.

"It wasn't fair that one community had to suffer for the sake of others. But there was also the issue of priorities. We couldn't afford to let some areas get flooded. I do understand and accept that."

And her house was in one of the most badly affected parts of the city. "Well, we were luckier than others," she said, in a resigned tone of voice. "The people of Pathum Thani and Bang Bua Thong suffered more than I did."

Her experience of the flooding was raw and painful. Mine mostly comprised watching the TV news, reading reports and interviewing a few victims. Little more than the role of an armchair critic, you might say.

At one point during the developing saga Ter had taken a taxi back to her neighbourhood to monitor the water level in Khlong Prem Prachakorn. 

Her housing estate is located in that flashpoint zone where enraged Don Muang residents, led by MP Karun "Keng" Hosakul, removed a section of the controversial "big bag" barrier. 

After that tense stand-off, groups of evacuated locals would board large military trucks on a regular basis to go out and check on the levels of flooding around the canal. I assumed that this collective action must have brought Ter much closer to her neighbours.

"I do miss my community," she confirmed. "The people there really did help each other a lot."

I encouraged her to sue for damages, reasoning that several Bangkok communities have already filed charges against the government or the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, accusing them of gross mismanagement.

She considered this suggestion for a moment, looking contemplative.

"You know, I was able to live with the fact that my home was going to get flooded. But what I couldn't stand, and still can't understand, is why Nonthaburi Municipality used piles of metal sheeting to prevent canals overflowing. 

Isn't it illegal to build structures next to public canals? But municipality workers did this and the floodwater came into my community [as a result]. 

It is totally unacceptable to me that one municipality can break the law in order to protect itself and then this action causes flooding in other areas."

Ter returned to her house again last week. She was in for a surprise.

"It's unbelievable! The wooden floor tiles are still intact. They're not even swollen even though they've been submerged for more than a month! And the china that my grandmother gave me was all under water, but none of it got broken."

Minor miracles, but no less appreciated for all that.

Nor did any of the houses in her estate get burgled, as was widely anticipated.

"Several crocodiles were seen in the neighbourhood," she recalled. "When one came out to sunbathe, everybody ran amok. The burglars probably left us alone because they were afraid of the crocs," she said, laughing.

So what was looking like Ter's worst birthday ever, concluded on a more cheerful note. Things are rarely as bad as they first seem.

Again, my friend, a belated happy birthday to you!

White trash ignored

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration says rubbish from the flood will be cleared by the New Year. I live in an area of Bang Khen which has been dry for about 10 days. 

Yesterday morning when I went out to retrieve the emptied bins after this morning's trash collection, I saw that none of the trash that had been put into white fertiliser bags (8 white sacks) had been picked up. 

The trash in these bags is heavy, flood-damaged stuff (books, pieces of wood, etc) too heavy to put in the black plastic bags that are sold in the stores.

I wonder what the BMA expects us to do with this flood-damaged trash. Are we supposed to dump this stuff in vacant lots that are already filled with ruined furniture - which they also refuse to pick up?

I have a lot of sympathy for trash collectors, some of whom I've seen collecting trash while up to their waists in water on Phahon Yothin Road during the flood. 

But our neighbourhood is becoming incredibly ugly with discarded and uncollected trash. I see no hope of our neighborhood ever looking halfway decent again, if the collectors will only pick up trash that comes in black plastic bags, set out tidily in front of people's houses.

By the way, there are two houses in our compound and we've only had time to clean up the one on the higher ground; we're just starting on the other. So we're going to have plenty more trash before the year is over - collected or not.

IRRITATED TAXPAYER

Provide and be liable

It is not illegal for a fugitive to eat or have a place to rest. But for an individual, or a government, or a government minister to provide these things to a fugitive, is to commit the crime of aiding and abetting. 

It is not a matter of what can be provided, nor what might have been provided to others in the past. Rather, it is what may not be provided: anything and everything that aids a fugitive is breaking and undermining the law.

JAMES BROUGHTON

Amazing as ever

The annual international Corruption Perception Index (CPI) is once again unflattering about Thailand. Apparently, we're getting more corrupt because we've fallen from 78th to 80th place, if several disingenuous journalists and commentators are to be believed.

Actually, a quick Wikipedia reference reveals that we are tied with 5 others for 80th place, and this year an additional 5 countries are included overall. But our index has fallen from 3.5 to 3.4, returning to its average rating for the past 5 years.

To suggest this is proof that the Abhisit Vejjajiva government is equally or more corrupt is simplistic, since the year prior to an election is fraught with corrupt fund-raising from all sides.

Interestingly, our worst corruption index in a decade was 3.2 in 2002, and our best was 3.8 in 2005, suggesting that the more settled and stronger a government come election time, the less incentive to be corrupt.

I would also add that the biggest corruption occurs immediately after a hard-fought election, in order to recoup investment before it's ''too late''. Which leads me to believe that our dirty politics is a prime motivator behind this debilitating practice.

Ironic it is, then, that this recent election was contested on the fate of a man convicted for major corruption, and the largest portion indicated they want him back to lead us!

MATT BALMAIN

Wrong deemed right for exposing bigger wrong

I am eager to see the conclusion of the 200 million baht burglary case. The suspects have confessed, but their crime has been good for the country. It has exposed a possible case of 1 billion baht being received in kickbacks by a high-ranking bureaucrat.

This burglary runs parallel to the 2006 coup in that it benefits the country. Over-throwing a legitimate government is a serious crime. But when it was done to get rid of the most corrupt prime minister in Thai history, it was a good crime.

The robbery at Supoj Saplom's house should be viewed in a similar light. If the authorities can prove that Supoj obtained the money illegally, the thieves should be cleared of all charges. 

The government should also present them with a ''Good Citizenship Award'' for exposing corruption and recovering the loot.

MEECHAI BURAPA

No magic in mega

The flood was scary. But what is scarier than the flood disaster is the government and technocrats' obsession with mega projects on flood prevention.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra told the Asean Summit in Bali, Indonesia, last month that her government was considering setting up a network of weirs and dykes that can provide water during droughts and produce electricity. 

The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry is proposing a multi-billion-baht project to create a 300-kilometre "flood route", which is lined by concrete walls of about 1-2 metres high. 

The Engineering Institute of Thailand is floating an idea of building a 200-billion-baht 100-km tunnel linking Ayutthaya and Samut Prakan as the latest solution to future flood in Bangkok.

Many government agencies and private firms definitely have a long list of mega projects in their pockets, waiting for the right time to unveil them to the public.

There is still an ongoing debate on what caused the 2011 major deluge that killed nearly 700 people and affected almost 5 million people in dozens of provinces, including Bangkok.

No matter if the disaster was caused by extreme weather events or flaws in flood management or both, there is no guarantee that mega projects on flood control would be able to prevent the repeat of such catastrophe.

What is certain about these construction projects is that they cost a lot of money and will cause immense impact on the environment and the people.

How many natural waterways will be dammed and how many communities will be affected by Ms Yingluck's plan to build a nationwide network of weirs and dykes? 

How many families will be relocated to pave way for the 100km giant tunnel? How many rai of farmland will be sacrificed for the creation of a 300km flood route?

It is very likely that the devastating impact of these giant schemes will be far greater than flood disaster itself. Vast amounts of taxpayers' money will be spent on these projects while huge loans will be borrowed to fund the ambitious schemes, which are always plagued with corruption.

This does not mean the government should not do anything to prevent the repeat of this year's flood disaster.

A long-term and sustainable flood prevention plan is needed, but it should focus on small-scale, economically viable projects with minor adverse impact on the environment and society.

Long-term flood prevention measures do not always mean construction of mega projects. It could be a regular cleanup of rivers and klongs, strict law enforcement against waterway encroachers, upgrading pumping stations, adjusting sluice gate operations, or overhauling water storage management in the major dams.

It is understandable that flood-devastated business operators and residents who've suffered huge losses and endured various hardships, will want to see concrete measures to safeguard them from future floods.

However, we must not let the flood scare push us into implementing the wrong solutions. And we must not let politicians use the flood crisis to push for multi-billion-baht projects so that they can take under-the-table money from contractors and consultant firms.

The country should take the time to research the true cause of this year's flooding before jumping to the conclusion that Thailand needs more dams, more underground tunnels, a large-scale flood route, or permanent flood barriers.

If the we implement the mega projects without carefully weighing the pros and cons, we could end up like Mr Bean of the British comedy series, whose attempts to solve one problem always lead to bigger problems and troubles. Only this would be no laughing matter.

The series of multi-billion-baht projects proposed in the aftermath of the major inundation shows that Thai politicians and technocrats in the ministries are still very much obsessed with mega projects.

Whether this mega mania comes from their belief that giant projects are a panacea to our country's ills, or because the schemes give them the opportunity for corruption and kickbacks, this obsession with mega projects is dangerous. So every proposed scheme must be scrutinised by the public.

Reds, a failed star and an activist freed

Beneficiaries of this year's royal pardon are diverse, ranging from red shirt core members, to a failed pop star-turned-con artist, and a prominent environmental activist.

The pardon granted in celebration of His Majesty the King's birthday on Monday resulted in the release of around 30,000 inmates across the country. Of these, 12,000 were freed yesterday and many had emotional reunions with families.

In Bangkok, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra presided over an inmate release ceremony at Khlong Prem Central Prison. Attending the ceremony were 2,766 pardoned inmates from 35 prisons and correctional facilities in Bangkok and nearby provinces.

Those receiving a royal pardon are inmates who displayed good conduct, those convicted of minor offences, inmates with ailments or disabilities, and those under 20 years of age and over 60. Under the decree, jail sentences for some prisoners have also been commuted.

Officials at the Corrections Department said they worked with other public and private organisations in preparing inmates for reintegration into society. The process included education, cultivating morality among inmates, and vocational training.

In Udon Thani, 286 inmates were released. Among them is the red shirt radio host couple, Khachadet and Maneerat Panyathong, and a former politician. 

The couple had been sentenced to one year and six months in jail for violating the government's regulations in the political unrest last year.

The former politician, Thongkham Thathaengthong, had been sentenced to eight months in jail for vote buying during the election of Tambon Moo Mon Administration Council.

In Loei, wannabe pop star Nathan Oman, better known by his stage name of Nathan Oman, was among 145 inmates released from prison. 

He was sentenced to one year in jail on March 14 for swindling more than 700,000 baht from Sitthiphon Khot-udomphon, a dessert seller in Loei's Chiang Khan district.

In Prachuap Khiri Khan, Jintana Kaewkhao, the leader of the Ban Krut Conservation Group, was among 235 inmates released from Prachuap Khiri Khan Provincial Prison yesterday. 

She was sentenced to four months in jail on Oct 11 for trespassing on the premises of a power plant in 2001. She was also charged for throwing garbage on tables during a banquet hosted by the company.