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Paweena takes a
stroll down Walking Street
This time as newly
appointed Minister of Tourist Affairs
Paweena Hongsakul, Minister from the Office of the
Prime Minister, visited Pattaya after receiving the position of Minister
of Tourist Affairs.
Paweena came to Pattaya to observe the
administration’s activities relating to tourism. She also visited
principal areas in nine other provinces.
Residents along South Pattaya’s “Walking Street”
took the opportunity to approach her to solicit her help in reversing the
cabinet’s decision to remove the 101 structures in the area. Paweena is
well respected for her past involvement fighting for the rights of women
and children.
 Minister
of Tourist Affairs Paweena Hongsakul gets a VIP tour of South Pattaya’s
Walking Street.
Paweena toured the Walking Street with Chonburi
Ministers of Parliament, the Mayor and Commanders from the Tourist and
Pattaya Police Departments.
The group of officials eventually went into King’s
Food Restaurant where one tourist, overwhelmed with her presence, began
singing the Loi Kratong song.
The group was also steered into the Norris Gallery
owned by Walking Street Sub-Committee Chairman Noris Phechararat. He and
other members of the committee waiting for her at the gallery also called
for her help to reverse the Environmental Commission’s decision to
dismantle the 101 structures. Members of the sub-committee presented
Paweena with a beautifully framed oil painting as a souvenir.
Paweena later explained that her visit to various
tourist areas was to collect data and to get a better understanding of
some of the on-going issues within the tourist industry. After just coming
into the position of Minister of Tourist Affairs, Paweena said she will
become very active in pursuing her work.
Pattaya records
first air-fatality
Motorized para-glider
crashes; pilot killed instantly
A motorized para-glider spun out of control and
nose-dived to the ground, instantly killing 41-year-old German pilot
Ritter Carmatin Jotanat (sic).
The pilot, known as “Charlie”, lost control of the
light aircraft at around 4:30 p.m. on July 30th. The aircraft burst into
flames when it crashed in a secluded, overgrown area near Soi Wat Intharam
in Nong Preu Sub-District.
The death was the first recorded air-fatality in
Pattaya.
It took police nearly 30 minutes to get through the
underbrush to the crash site and put out the fire. Villagers had already
pulled the pilot’s body out of the wreckage.
Witnesses said that they could hear Ritter’s craft
hovering above for about 15 minutes. They said they then saw the glider
wavering back and forth before it dropped its nose and came spinning down
to the ground.
Gliders have become a common site in the area, as there
is a small airfield nearby in Soi Nong Krabok.
The victim’s wife, Mrs. Srinuan Phunsawat, told
police that Charlie was a glider enthusiast. He bought the used Italian
made glider and paid storage for it at the Pattaya Bamrung Sporting Club.
She said she thought there was something wrong with the aircraft, as
Charlie was constantly repairing it, sometimes with her help.
Mrs. Srinuan also she had just given Charlie a warning
when he left the house to be careful not to end up like John Kennedy Jr.
The owner of the Bamrung Sporting Club told reporters
that Charlie’s glider was a Model 503 Lotax from Italy, which could take
off from both land and water. He speculated that the cause of the crash
may have been the imbalance of weight on the wheel/floatation device, with
one side being heavier than the other, and high altitude winds put it out
of control.
Police said that Charlie may not have had a proper
pilot license.
Is the end in
sight?
Will the 1.8 billion baht wastewater treatment facility
be operational soon? That’s what Pattaya City officials asked the
companies responsible, and they could not provide a definite reply.
 Pattaya
Mayor Pairat Suthithamrongsawat (left) and Samprasit Contracting
representative Sombat Phetrakul (right)
The best the contractor could come up with was that by
the end of this year residents will not be seeing any of the various
construction equipment in the area. This could be interpreted differently.
Two weeks ago, Mayor Pairat Suthithamrongsawat called a
meeting to get an update on the 1.8 billion baht project. City
administrators sat down with representatives from the Samprasit
Contracting Company and Macro Consultants Ltd., along with other city
personnel involved with the project.
Problems identified included the drainage pipes in
front of Pattaya City School #4, Nong Yai Temple, the missing sewer covers
on Pattaya 2nd Road, and the problem of Pattaya 3rd Road yet to be
restored to its original condition.
Sombat Phetrakul from the contracting company said the
items that came up missing are on order and should be replaced before the
end of the year. The problem on Pattaya 3rd Road requires further
modification, but they expect it will be repaired to its former condition
by the same time. The Samprasit Company is laying the drainage pipe system
and will be resurfacing the roads. Thereafter, the construction equipment
should no longer be seen around the city.
However, the most important question brought up had to
do with when the facility would actually become operational.
Representatives from the two companies were unable to
come up with a definite answer, saying that they and the foreign producer
had not yet finalized the purchase of some necessary items, including the
motor equipment. They said that more definite information is expected this
week.
Also, the original contract expired last month. Contractors are asking
for a 180-day extension lasting until the end of this year. They are also
asking for a 399-day extension.
Walking Street to
get new surface
Will cost business 1,500 baht per
square meter
A sub-committee chaired by Narit Phetrarat and City
Manager Niran Watana-satsathorn came to an agreement on July 15th to
re-surface the Walking Street from the junction near South Pattaya Pier to
the Nang Nuan Restaurant. The project is expected to cost five million
baht to complete.
Pattaya City’s Maintenance Department is coordinating
the design of the road to include concrete with inlaid bricks portraying
ocean designs. It will be a one of a kind design and should make the area
quite an attraction for visiting tourists.
 Committee
Chairman Narit Phetrarat (left) and Pattaya City Manager Niran
Watanasatsathorn have hashed out a plan to resurface the Walking Street
with concrete and inlaid brick to portray ocean designs.
The city is supporting the project with one million
baht and the remaining four million baht will come from the business
owners along the street.
City Manager Niran disclosed that the residents along
Walking Street will be required to support the project by paying 1,500
baht for each square meter in front of their respective property. The area
will soon be surveyed to see how much area each resident will be required
to support.
“The on-going problem of the 101 structures
identified for removal in the same area is not expected to be much of a
problem and should be settled soon,” Niran said. “We are looking
forward to completing the project prior to His Majesty the King’s
birthday on December 5th. Once the residents in the area all come to an
agreement the project could be completed within one week.”
Larn Island blues
Committee wants to regulate tourist
prices
Larn Island is still struggling with the problem of
establishing fair prices for commodities, services and tourist attractions
for visitors to the island.
The Larn Island Community Committee members held a
meeting at Pattaya City Hall on July 21st to try and solve this on-going
problem. Wirawat Khamkhai, Pattaya Deputy City Manager, and community
members from Larn Island sat down together to figure out how to improve
the image and character the island portrays to visitors.
 Larn
Island situation - vendors don't answer to anyone; anything goes.
The island’s image is going in the wrong direction
with tourists being charged for services set at whatever price the vendors
feel they can get out of the temporary visitor, who is probably at the
island for their first and last visit.
The prices that are really out of hand are service
charges for renting water scooters and jet-skis. The root of the problem
appears to stem from the tour guides and the companies they represent in
conjunction with many of the vendors not announcing or establishing set
prices. This leaves tourists wide-open, as some are barely aware of the
currency exchange rates.
When a confrontation or incident occurs it is difficult
for authorities to assist because the boat owners are difficult to
identify since most of the watercraft are not properly registered.
The Deputy City Manager said in order to correct the
problem the owners of the watercraft need to be contacted and funds from
the budget need to be allocated to establish proper boat registration
procedures. This will provide tourists with visible information to
identify the watercraft.
Over 100 watercraft are in service at the island with no controls or
standards established for visitors to understand. Behavior such as taking
advantage of tourists in this manner makes it easily understood why the
number of visitors from various countries decreases year by year.
German arrested
for residing in Thailand illegally
Suspected of swindling his
own countrymen
After being tasked by the Director General of the Royal
Thai Police to crack down on foreigners involved in crime, police
investigations have been active in the Pattaya area.
Information was collected on a German named Paul Grahmm
Helmut, 39, who was allegedly involved in scams involving Teutonic
visitors to Pattaya.
 Klaus
Günter indentifies Paul Helmut (left) as the man who duped him out of
36,500 baht.
Investigations indicate that Helmut has allegedly been
involved in charging high prices for visa extensions and one-year visas
without delivering either; condominium fraud and attempting to extort
money from Germans back home by claiming they had made some girl pregnant
during their stay in Pattaya.
The one-year visa scam had the additional con of
requiring a life insurance policy to be purchased at the same time.
Klaus Themnilki Gnter, age 64, was one of
Helmut’s victims. Gnter had agreed to get a one-year visa from
Helmut at the price of 36,500 baht. When Helmut didn’t come through with
the visa, Gnter went to police.
The Pattaya Tourist Police had Gnter accompany
them to Helmut’s address where they arrested Helmut after Gnter
identified him for police. Helmut was unable to produce his own passport
for police, so they brought him in for further investigation.
Helmut refused to admit to any of the charges.
Gnter and another man who witnessed money
exchange hands between the two parties gave police a positive
identification of Helmut.
Helmut is being charged with residing in Thailand illegally and for
swindling others out of money. Helmut has been transferred to the Pattaya
Police who will take charge of the case.
Driver arrested
for taking voters to the polls
Officials say the incident
didn’t affect the outcome
A large number of voters turned out in four
sub-districts of Banglamung for this month’s elections. Candidates vied
for two Sub-District Officer positions in each village area. These
included Nong Preu, Khao Mai Keo, Takhien Tia, and Pong.
Designated polling officers were positioned at voting
stations to identify any tampering. The controlling official at Moo #9
noticed that several vehicles full of voters were showing up at the polls
in his area. Assuming something might be amiss, he made discreet inquiries
and discovered that the concerned voters were paid 200 baht each to come
and use their voting privilege. Free transportation was provided as well.
Others received amounts of rice instead of cash.
The election official reported the incident to the
election committee officials at the sub-district. They in turn asked the
Banglamung District police officer assigned to the area of Moo #9 to
investigate.
Bunsong (Uan) Ruangsaengthongkul, the driver of the
vehicle hauling voters to the polls, was located and brought in for
questioning.
Uan told police that he was a pork dealer at the market
and was contacted by a man identified only as Mr. Sompong. Sompong had
asked him to ferry voters to and from the polls.
The voters were to vote for the #1 and #2 names on the
ballot for Moo #9, where three people were campaigning for the two
positions.
Uan said that he was impressed with the #2 person
campaigning and agreed to drive the voters to the polls. He said he did
not accept any payment for his time.
During the investigation it also came up that Uan was
using a different vehicle for each of his trips, each time bringing 5-6
voters to the polls. This he admitted. In all he said he must have made
around 10 trips to the polls.
Uan was arrested and charged with arranging
transportation for voters to and from the voting polls, which has a fine
of no more than 200 baht, or three months jail, or both. Offenders of such
an offence also have their voting privileges removed for a period of four
years.
Election officials say the incident did not affect the
results of the election in Moo #9, and aside from this isolated incident
the election appeared to be conducted fairly. No other infractions were
reported.
Reporters talked to the #2 person on the voting ballot, a Mr. Rin
Chanthong, who commented that he had never heard of either of the two
individuals, Uan or Sompong. Rin, who won the election along with the #1
person on the ballot, casually said voters out there must consider him as
being worthy of sitting in the Sub-District Official’s position. They
must have looked at his past record of developing and providing assistance
to the area. He felt they probably were just sending their relatives to
the polls after convincing them who should be elected. He added that he
campaigned entirely on his own prior to the election.
Improving the
looks of Pattaya’ roads
Homoring His Majesty the King’s
upcoming 72nd birthday
The Pattaya City council recently met to discuss the
beautification project of sprucing up the center islands along the
roadways in Pattaya. The project is in honor of His Majesty the King’s
upcoming 72nd birthday on December 5th.
The project is a combined effort from the
administration and the private sector consisting of planting various
flower arrangements in the center islands starting at the entrance to the
city along Sukhumvit Road and going all the way to Jomtien. The project
has been divided up into two areas with city officials collecting funds
from the public to complete the project.
 The
center islands along Sukhumvit Road will be renovated to look like this
center island.
Panga Vathanakul is coordinating the consolidated
effort of the project between the administration and the public. Khun
Panga expects the project to be finished by the end of August.
The city administration must be consulted with to
decide what amount of money should be spent on each of the 10 islands
remaining. So far a sum of money has been raised from donations made by
the public, which is on deposit.
Surat Mekavarakul of the Pattaya Business and Tourism Association says
he feels the project is well worth supporting, as the islands will portray
healthier looking flora with enough room remaining for vehicles to
complete turns along the road. The public is encouraged to assist by
putting up with the traffic congestion caused by the project’s
completion. The project is another method the city is instituting to
increase tourism to Pattaya by helping to present a pleasant appearance
for those entering and departing the city.
Ministries join
hands in stimulating investment in Eastern Seaboard
The Thai-German Institute (TGI) joined the Joint
Thai-Taiwanese Federation of Thai Industries in arranging a special
seminar entitled the “Updated Policy of Thai Industries” at the TGI
Conference Room at the Nakhon Amata Industrial Estate in Chonburi.
Suwad Liptaphanlop, Minister of Industry, explained the
updated policy, and Rangsarit Jantharat, Deputy Minister of Labor and
Social Welfare, presented a dissertation on “Updated Policy of Thai
Labor and Social Welfare”.
Participating in the seminar were Chonburi Governor
Sujarit Pachimnan, Chairman of the Thai-Taiwanese Cooperation Vikrom
Kromadit, Professor Ernst Schilling, the German Director of TGI, and
Narong Ratana, the Thai Director of TGI. Over 200 persons attended the
seminar, including many representatives from foreign embassies and foreign
investors.
The seminar was arranged to explain the Ministry of
Industry and the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare’s new policies and
procedures to investors and foreign embassies in order to promote and
encourage investment along the Eastern Seaboard.
Policies on the establishment of Small and Medium Size
Enterprises (SMEs) was provided, giving the audience a better
understanding of the data and assurances with the information coming from
the responsible ministries and questions pertaining to various problems
and obstacles investors may encounter were also answered during the
seminar.
 (From
left) Minister of Industry Suwad Liptaphanlop, Thai Director of TGI Narong
Ratana, and Prof. Dr. Ernst Schilling, the German Director of TGI.
TGI was established from a joint Thai and German
government venture controlled by the Ministry of Industry with the purpose
of developing individual capabilities in the way of technological
engineering production in the industrial region using up to date
technology.
The Minister of Industry, Suwad, disclosed that the
industrial region is now an international competitor with organizations
such as ASEAN, AFTA, NAFTA, EU, and WTO, therefore, Thailand can now
consider itself capable of surviving. The industrial region must be able
to adjust to the competitive world market in time and keep up with
environmental and health concerns, which are very important factors.
The Ministry of Industry is in the process of
coordinating with the Board of Investment (BOI) in order to improve and
develop various SMEs, such as automotive repair shops, small factories,
and block street factories (deuk taew), which are scattered all over and
have no concern for the environment.
The SMEs are included in the new policies by having
them move into the various industrial complexes along the Eastern
Seaboard. There are currently 20 SMEs identified with 20,000 rai of land
available for the relocation. If a large industrial complex is in order,
no less than 20-30 rai of land would be required. One SME would only
require one rai of land.
The main development concerns are improvements in
accordance with ISO 9000 and ISO 14000, which involve the inclusion of
quality and environmental systems and promoting foreign investment with
cooperation from the responsible offices.
The Deputy of the Ministry of Labor and Welfare,
Rangsarit, said that presently the government is emphasizing the
importance of Thai labor and has specified new labor and welfare measures
by establishing a National Labor Development Committee. Korn Thapprangsi
chairs the committee.
Additionally, a Labor Development Committee has also
been established for the provinces consisting of both government officials
and persons from the private sector.
There are also Job Training Centers in every province
with the Ministry of Industry providing the technological training
required and the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare is responsible for
training lesser skills.
As for the investor’s concern pertaining to future
unskilled labor wages, the new policy stipulates those wages will be on
hold for the time being. However, unskilled labor wages will be
reconsidered each year during the month of January.
The foreign investors and other members of the audience
raised the following three concerns considered to be of utmost importance.
First is convenient travel on the roadways, specifically the connecting
roads between Hwy 311 (Eastern Seaport Industrial Complex, Bo Win, Pluak
Daeng, Amato City) and the Bang Na Road to Trat (Nakorn Amata Industrial
Complex, Bang Pu, Bang Phli). Also included in this first concern is the
lack of schools in the area.
The second concern involves the availability of water,
electricity, and communication systems.
The third and most important of all the concerns that surfaced during
the seminar revolved around the environment, including drinking water,
seafood quality and the contamination of underground water.
Copyright 1998 Pattaya Mail Publishing Co.Ltd.
370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi 20260, Thailand
Tel.66-38 411 240-1, 413 240-1, Fax:66-38 427 596; e-mail: [email protected]
Updated by Chinnaporn Sangwanlek. |
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