View Full Version : South +s:Halal Industry
Good to see that this annual event in the deep south is going on as usual. PRD National News Bureau: -
03/03/07 22nd Zebra Dove Cooing Contest drawing many Thai and foreign contenders
The 22nd Zebra Dove Cooing Contest has kicked off in the southern province of Yala. Many contenders from all regions in Thailand and neighbouring countries are bringing in their zebra doves to take part in this competition. Security in this event has also been strengthened.
Yala Governor Thira Mintrasak presided over the opening ceremony of the 22nd Zebra Dove Cooing Contest. At least 1,500 zebra doves from Thailand and neighbouring countries are contending in this event. Contestants are also confident of the safety and standard of the venue. The security officials have also ensured that ill-intentioned events will not occur during the tournament.
Mr. Pongsak Yingchoncharoen, the Mayor of Yala, said the festival is considered to be an ancient tradition of the province, and it has helped promote tourism amid the southern insurgency. He said the tournament will stimulate the sluggish economy in the province.
Reporter : RTI-Reporter03
http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/previewnews.php?news_id=255003030024
28 March 2007 Smart card is launching for the three Southern Border Districts
Thailand and Malaysia will exchange information on Smart Cards for people with two nationalities in the three southern border provinces of Thailand.
The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Sawanit Kongsiri, chaired the seminar on foreign affairs in Trat province today (Mar 28). He says the seminar discussed the solution for the people with two nationalities in the deep South.
During the initial phase, Smart Cards have been issued to 500 citizens to check for any duplication. If a duplication has been found, the officials have to determine whether the person is Thai or Malaysian. Mr. Sawanit says if the initiative is successful, more Smart Cards will be issued.
Reporter : RTI-Reporter01
http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/previewnews.php?news_id=255003280030
Hmm! One wonders how well-managed and representative such a poll is when collected in a conflict zone. Is any such poll or report now complete without some reference to the Serficiency Economy :rolleyes: :
28 March 2007 Survey says majority of southerners have positive views on Sufficiency Economy
The Office of the Permanent Secretary for Education together with Suan Dusit Poll of Suan Dusit Rajabhat University conducted a survey on the government’s performance to solve the southern unrest. The survey covers 2,039 samples from the southern provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, and Satun from March 1st to 14th, 2007.
The respondents give the government 3.35 points out of 5 points on its effort to solve violence in the deep South. As for the effectiveness of the security being provided by the Royal Thai Army and the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Center (SBPAC), the respondents give them 3.33 points and 3.29 points respectively.
40.36 percent of the samples believe the government will take about 6 to 10 years to solve the unrest. However, 16.07 percent believe the problem will be solved in more than 20 years. 43.03 percent is uncertain that the government is on the right track in solving this problem while 42.38 percent think the government is on the right course. 14.59 percent feel that the government is not on the right direction.
Meanwhile, 79.99 percent believe His Majesty the King’s Sufficiency Economy philosophy can be properly applied in the southern border provinces. However, 15.25 percent see that the philosophy can be applied later as southern violence has not yet been solved.
At the same time, 78.55 percent agrees with the Ministry of Education’s strategy to promote ethics in the Thai education system. In addition, 81.80 percent think that the government has to provide equal assistance to both Thai Buddhists and Thai Muslims.
Reporter : Praphorn as reporter
http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/previewnews.php?news_id=255003280025
My guess is that the project (below) would involve something like the production of PC enclosures rather than mainboard components or peripherals. Nevertheless, a bold move perhaps!? Especially as I believe this is the aristo would narrowly escaped an ambush in Yala Province a few months back, while engaged in welfare projects for locally-based soldiers:
29 April 2007 Lady Viriya Chawakul to build computer factory in Narathiwat
Lady Viriya Chawakul (วิริยา ชวกุล) is preparing to construct a computer factory in Narathiwat province.
The Deputy Governor of Narathiwat province,Mr. Nipon Narapitakkul (นิพนธ์ นราพิทักษ์กุล), revealed that Lady Viriya Chawakul (วิริยา ชวกุล), the Chairperson of the Foundation of Military, Police, and Border Defence Volunteers under the Patronage of Her Majesty the Queen, has plans to build a computer parts factory in the province in order to reduce unemployment. The Narathiwat Deputy Governor said that the parts would be produced by hand, with 70 workers currently being trained in production processes.
The Deputy Governor of Narathiwat province added that local residents interested in working at this factory may submit applications to the Office of Islamic Affairs of Narathiwat province.
http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/index.php
Pattani doves croon, coo, helping locals cast away fears
PATTANI, May 5 (TNA) -Thousands of Thais, Buddhist and Muslim alike, and bird-lovers from more distant places, gathered together peacefully Saturday, as 1,700 doves crooned and cooed and help the spectators put aside their worries of violence in the ongoing shadowy and formless insurgency which has brought fear as a constant companion to residents of the South.
Owners of the winning birds will receive trophies from Thailand's Queen Sirikit.
The annual dove singing contest, held at sports stadium here, saw more than 2,000 dove raisers participating in the colourful event while many enthusiasts also joined. Many dove breeders from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines also participated in the contest, being held for the sixth time in Pattani.
The most expensive dove joining the contest is named "Papa James" from Singapore, whose owner valued him at Bt2 million.
Cooing and crooning don't diminish the need for security, however, and vehicles entering the stadium are searched thoroughly to protect participants from insurgent sabotage.
The insurgency doesn't go away. Earlier in the week presumed insurgents killed and burned two men in Pattani Monday, beheading one victim. Responding security forces found two bombs, which were defused by a police bomb squad.
The violence continues unabated despite the repeatedly reaffirmed intentions of the interim government of Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont to apply every effort to ending the unrest through reconciliatory means.
More than 2,100 people have been killed in three years of violence in the three southern border provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani. (TNA)-E111
Last Update : 2007-05-05 / 20:30:46 (GMT+7:00)
http://etna.mcot.net/query.php?nid=29253
Alternative fuels for South
The Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency Department is to invest Bt201 million in the three southernmost provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani as part of its attempt to boost the proportion of alternative fuels consumption to 4.7 per cent by the year's end.
Director-general Panich Pongpirodom said an investment of Bt37 million had been approved and the department was in the process of securing another Bt164 million from the central government.
Ongoing projects include the development of high-efficiency cooking stoves for 10 villages, the transfer of wood-fired technology, a solar-powered water-boiling project for 60 sanitary stations and the promotion of alternative fuels in line with the sufficiency-economy philosophy.
Projects that need financial support from the central budget include a hydro-power project in Narathiwat, a wind-power project in Pattani and biodiesel projects for Narathiwat, Yala and 20 communities.
The third stage of a recyclable power project will provide loans to companies that invest in conservation projects.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/05/29/business/business_30035457.php
26 August 2007
Betong district enforces strict security during Malaysian National Day
Betong district is enforcing strict security measures on the occasion of Malaysia's National Day.
Betong District Chief Officer Nopadol Songmuang (นพดล สองเมือง ) reports that August 31st is Malaysia's National Day, which will include an extended holiday period for Malaysians. Every year a large number of Malaysian travelers visit Thailand through Betong district of Yala province during this period. Mr. Nopadol said that local officials are expediting travelers' convenience in immigration procedures, customs, and safety. The Betong district precinct, as well as local Border Patrol Police, and military units will be enforcing strict security to ensure order during this period.
Meanwhile the Betong Mayor, Mr. Khunawut Mongkolprachak (คุณวุฒิ มงคลประจักษ์ ) revealed that 80-90 percent of hotels and accomodations have been booked. Hotel operators believe that they will achieve full bookings during this period.
Reporter : RTI-Reporter06
http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/previewnews.php?news_id=255008260006
I'm not altogether sure whether this is a positive development or not. On balance, I have to say that I (very marginally) think it is. These teachers have probably been vetted here, and are probably not considered real hardliners anyway. Knowing the reputation of Malaysia's federal government, these teachers are probably unlikely to placed with anyone controversial. Indeed, my information is that the Malaysian Government runs a virtual inquisition (including extracted confessions of heresy under torture :eek: ) on those who don't exactly toe their line:
100 teachers sent to Malay to receive training on Islamic teaching
Songkhla - The Education Ministry Sunday sent 100 teachers from five southern provinces to Malaysia to receive training on Islamic teaching.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/08/26/national/images/30046536-01.jpg
[Photo: The Nation][Ed: Looks like this was pictured at the Diamond Plaza Hotel.]
Khunying Kasama Worawan, secretary-general of the Office of the Basic Education Commission, chaired a ceremony at a hotel in Hat Yai to see the teachers off to Malaysia.
They are teachers from Satun, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat.
They will receive training in Malaysia from August 26 to September 8.
Kasama said the teachers would be trained to use Computer-Aided Instruction technology, computers and Internet to adapt for Islamic teaching in the five southern border provinces of Thailand.
The teachers will observe the teaching in five Islamic Teaching institutes in Malaysia, she said.
She said the 100 teachers could speak Malay dialect so they could communicate with instructors in Malaysia.
The training was part of the cooperation between the Thai-Malaysian education ministries to develop education in the deep South of Thailand. Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has recently represented Thailand to sign the cooperation contract.
The Nation
Project that will supposedly be completed by the end of the year, over the Golok River in Narathiwat Province's Waeng District:
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?p=16724&posted=1#post16724
http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/previewnews.php?news_id=255008260006
[Hat Yai] Tourism resumes normally for Malaysian holidays
SONGKHLA, Aug 31 (TNA) - ........... Hat-Yai Report = http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?p=16804#post16804 ...........
Meanwhile, in Betong district of the nearby province of Yala, security personnel were on high alert as many Malaysian tourist were flocking into the district to celebrate their long independence day holiday.
Some 90 per cent of hotel rooms in the Betong are occupied and over Bt20 million is expected to change hands, considered a good sign of business reviving in the province.
Betong district chief Noppadol Songmuang said the security measures were fully in place as Friday is also the anniversary of the establishment of the separatist group BERSATU (Barisan Bersatu Kemerdekaan Pattani). (TNA)-E003
http://etna.mcot.net/query.php?nid=31381
1 August 2007
Betong security forces on alert during Malaysian National Day period
Peacekeeping forces in Betong district of Yala province are establishing strict security measures in order to prevent violent incidents during Malaysian National Day and the 1 year anniversary of mass bombings in the district.
The Superintendent of the Betong district precinct, Pol. Col. Narin Supatprateep (นรินทร์ สุภัทรประทีป) said that military and police officials have stepped up sreening measures for people traveling through the Betong district of Yala province. Peacekeeping forces have been instructed to conduct regular inspections of government facilities, congested communities, and commercial districts in order to prevent unrest from occurring during the period of Malaysian National Day. Authorities are also concerned of possible repeated insurgent attacks marking the 1 year anniversary of mass bombings in 6 banks throughout Betong.
Pol. Col. Narin added that authorities are placing particular emphasis on monitoring for explosives.
Reporter : RTI-Reporter06
http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/previewnews.php?news_id=255008310012
'Pesantren' is not a term I've heard before:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20071016.B08&irec=7
Moderate Muslims fight radicalism in Thai south
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Songkhla, Thailand
After finishing his education in Cairo, Egypt, 10 years ago, Abdul Halim Lateh returned to work at his father's pesantren, or Islamic boarding school, in his hometown in Chana, along the Pattani-Songkhla border in southern Thailand.
"Back then, the condition was very peaceful here. Several years later, murders and bombings began to take place and the pesantren was accused of being a training ground for radicalism," he told The Jakarta Post last week after performing Friday prayers at a mosque inside the school complex, around 1,000 kilometers south of Bangkok.
A resurgence in violence by guerrilla groups in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, the three southernmost provinces of Thailand, began in 2001. But bombings and killings significantly increased after 2004 in the three provinces, the only Muslim-majority areas in the predominantly Buddhist country.
Violence has slowly spilled over into neighboring provinces and is threatening to spread to Bangkok.
The conflict has resulted in more than 2,500 deaths in the past decade, with more than 2,300 occurring since an escalation of violence in January 2004. Now killings and bombings occur almost daily.
After his father died, Halim decided to transform the school from a traditional study center with a religious-based curriculum into a modern school using the national curriculum.
He collected almost 10 million baht (US$300,000) of his own money and donations to expand the school into an educational center from play group up through high school, with improvements in the curriculum and the quality of teachers.
"I think radicalism and separatism can only be eradicated through equality in education, economic opportunities and politics. And I chose to educate my people so that they have the same ability as others. Education also enables us to gradually phase out radicalism with moderate Islamic teachings," Halim said.
In September 2006, army commander Sonthi Boonyaratkalin and the Thai military seized power from prime minister Thaksin. Realizing that military force would not be enough to curb attacks and bombings in the south, the military junta begin reconciliatory gestures.
The new government decided to grant full subsidies to finance the operational costs of madrasah or pesantren that registered with the government and adopted the national curriculum, while giving a half subsidy for traditional pesantren but with moderate teachings.
"It is very fortunate. Every student gets 10,000 baht per year. There are hundreds of modern pesantren in the southern part of the country with tens of thousands of students. And most of them have turned modern with the national curriculum although religious teaching still makes up a big part," Halim said.
And Halim's hard work seems to have paid off as almost 90 percent of his students have passed university exams and continued their studies.
An Indonesian studying Islam in Yala, Dedi Susilo Sahri, 22, said his pesantren played a crucial role in making militant Muslims more moderate, as almost none of the students or teachers believed in violence to achieve their goals.
"Thai authorities trust us. Every month, they send several local Muslims they accused of being militants to learn at our pesantren. And it looks like these people changed," Dedi, an Acehnese who with 30 other Indonesians is studying the Koran in Markaz Yala, told the Post.
While acknowledging that it was difficult to fight radicalism and separatism, one of Yala's religious leaders, Abdul Hafiz, said he and other local figures were trying to squelch radicalism by advancing moderate teachings at their pesantren.
He said most of people in the area were against separatism and violence, and that the situation had made their lives very difficult, with no businesses willing to invest in the three provinces, resulting in high levels of unemployment and crime.
Both Halim and Hafiz accused drug lords of taking advantage of the situation to create chaos, to allow the south to serve as a transit point for opium and other drugs moving from the Golden Triangle to the north to destinations in Southeast Asia.
"The drug trade has attracted many of our youngsters looking for quick and easy money," Hafiz said.
I'm just as fascinated by the "three-wheeled pig transporters" in paragraph 4. [At a rough guess they are talking about motorcycle sidecar combos just big enough to carry one pig crate. Larger loads of porcines are usually carried on pickup trucks with four wheels. Four and three-wheel tuks-tuks are rarely used for this purpose.] Certainly there are some pigkeeping Buddhists in this Muslim majority area, but I note some of the diggers and their observers appear to be Muslim:
http://www.phuketgazette.com/queernews/index.asp?ref=20071117174355
Friday, November 16, 2007
Boomtown or bust!
http://www.phuketgazette.com/newsimages/bull11162007-6100-1.jpg
[Photo: Phuket Gazette - DIG DEEP: Villagers mine for the mystical "lek lai", a soft metal that purportedly confers invulnerability upon its owner - not a bad things to have in Pattani these days.]
PATTANI: With bombings in the Deep South regrettably almost a daily occurrence, it comes as little surprise that some might refer to the region as a “boomtown”.
In fact, the Deep South is also in the middle of its own little “gold rush”, though the object of the hopeful prospectors desire isn’t gold, but a mysterious black ore thought to have magical health-giving powers.
Some people are saying that the rock is actually lek lai, a mythical metal that melts when held over a candle flame and confers invulnerability upon its owner – not a bad thing to possess in the Deep South these days.
The discovery was made in the village of Phru Jud, in Tambon Khuan Nori of Khok Pho district. When journalists arrived on November 1, they found the roads lined with cars, motorcycles and three-wheeled pig transporters.
The village was filled with people of all ages – from teens to grandparents – all lugging spades, pickaxes and buckets up to the hills where the rocks were to be found.
At the bottom of the path to the hills, groups of diggers were sitting around selling what they had found and discussing prices. Some had polished their specimens and were selling them as stones to embed in rings. Glittering black examples sold for 1,000 to 10,000 baht, matte black specimens were fetching between 100 and 800 baht and tea-colored rocks went for 100 to 500 baht.
Raw, unpolished rocks fetched between 50 and 2,000 baht, while large rocks infused with the mysterious black substance were selling for up to 15,000 baht.
Local rubber plantation owner Stapa Waesa, 56, said that the “rock” had first been discovered by Ma-ae Yusoh, another rubber plantation owner, about seven months ago.
Ma-ae, a member of Khuan Nori Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor), dreamed of an old man who told him to go and dig in the hills and then distribute what he found among the villagers, K. Stapa said.
“After the dream, Ma-ae and four relatives went to dig in the hills, where they found rocks different to everyday rocks. Ma-ae then went and gave them out to local villagers, telling them that an ancestor had appeared in his dream telling him about the rocks.
“I kept my share of the rocks and had a run of good luck, finding they could cure ailments including stomachache, toothache and fever. If you soak the rock in water then rub the water on the part that hurts for about half an hour, it gets better,” K. Stapa said.
Some unbelieving villagers threw their stones away, but others polished them and sold them to traders in the market for more than 1,000 baht each. As word of the stones spread, villagers began to go and dig for them themselves, K. Stapa said.
In the first month following their discovery, the stones were plentiful and especially beautiful, he said. Now, some days as many as 1,000 people come to look for the rocks.
People are not sure exactly what the rocks are, but there are many theories, K. Stapa said. Some are saying it is manganese, while others believe it to be a kind of lek lai. Some villagers have made the rock into amulets to protect them; others keep them in their cars to protect them while on the road.
Jintadi Phithamaethakul, Head of the Pattani Provincial Natural Resources and Environment Office, said he knew that the villagers were digging for a type of rock but could not yet say what the rock was, though it was likely to be manganese.
He has ordered for samples to be sent for examination in Songkhla.
K. Jintadi said that he could not confirm the health-giving properties ascribed to the substance, but that it was unlikely to be dangerous if just rubbed on the body and not ingested.
Source: Komchadluek
Hi-tech surveillance of southerners, officials suggested by FTI
BANGKOK, March 19 (TNA) - The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) has advised the government to apply the high-security high-technology RFID personnel identification system in the southernmost provinces as part of its stepped-up security measures for local villagers and government personnel.
Federation of Thai Industries president Santi Wilassakdanont said he would raise his proposal on the use of the RFID personal identification system during his planned meeting with Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej at Government House on Tuesday.
The RFID system may be applied by incorporating detailed personal data onto each person's ID cards, including those held by residents of the southernmost provinces, so that it could tell a local resident from an outsider, according to the federation's president.
For instance, he said, the RFID system can scan visitors or passers-by on or near government premises to distinguish law-abiding persons from suspected insurgents, given the specified personal data which can be read out from the people's ID cards.
The RFID system could help maintain security and protect government personnel and locals from those who might be carrying out attack anywhere throughout in the Southernmost region. (TNA)-E008
General News : Last Update : 22:20:29 19 March 2008 (GMT+7:00)
http://enews.mcot.net/view.php?id=3353
Kuwait confirms halal investment in South; Kuwaiti-Thai MOU signed
BANGKOK, Aug 14 (TNA) - Kuwait affirmed its interest in launching the halal food industry in Thailand's southernmost region and also pledged to provide jobs for some 3,000 more workers from this country to be employed in the Middle East state.
Halal is a system of dietarily appropriate foods scientifically prepared according to strict exclusion of some animal fats and other elements which should be prepared under Muslim religious supervision.
The Kuwaiti authorities expressed those interests during an official visit to Thailand by Kuwaiti prime minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah who held talks with his Thai counterpart Samak Sundaravej at Government House.
The Kuwaiti prime minister is on a two-day official visit which ends today.
Deputy government spokeswoman Supharat Nakbunnam said Kuwait intended to open the halal food processing industry in Thailand's southernmost region in which local residents will be hired and halal foods will be exported to the Middle East state.
Besides, the Kuwaiti authorities will see to it that some 3,000 Thai workers will be hired in the sultanate in addition to about 3,000 others currently employed there.
Given the fact that about 20,000 Kuwaiti tourists visit Thailand yearly, the sultanate is also interested in Thai spa services and pledged to consider increasing scholarships for Thai Muslim students to advance their studies in Kuwait.
Mr. Samak and his Kuwaiti counterpart witnessed the signing of the Agreement on Economic and Technical Co-operation between Thailand and Kuwait and the Memorandum of Understanding on Conducting Bilateral Consultations between Ministries of Foreign Affairs. (TNA)
Political News : Last Update : 10:32:41 14 August 2008 (GMT+7:00)
http://enews.mcot.net/view.php?id=5745
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