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Thai Crown Prince Urges Calm Over Delay In Succession

Thailand’s Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn has urged people not to worry about his surprise decision to delay being proclaimed king following the death of his father, said the country’s junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha, as his government sought to dispel any concern on royal succession and stressed it was working as normal.

“His Highness’s only wish is to not let the people experience confusion or worry about the service of the land or even the ascension to the throne because this issue has the constitution, the royal laws and royal traditions to dictate it,” General Prayuth, the Thai Prime Minister, said in a televised address late on Saturday (Oct 15), adding that the Crown Prince invited him and regent Prem Tinsulanonda for an audience earlier in the evening to discuss the situation “as his royal highness was deeply concerned for the Thai people during this time of national bereavement”.

Mr Prem heads the Privy Council, a body of advisers to the monarchy, and is known to be close to King Bhumibol’s highly popular daughter Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

He has been at the centre of Thailand’s treacherous politics for decades, first as general and then as a prime minister and even at 96, remains remarkably spry and a master political operator.

Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, who should have ascended the throne, has asked for more time to grieve along with the nation before taking over the monarchy. The constitution dictates that the Privy Council head be the regent in such a situation.

The prospect of complications in the succession could alarm financial markets, but the military government has been quick to quash any such speculation.

Gen Prayuth said on Saturday that the crown prince had said “at this time everyone is sad, he is still sad, so every should wait until we pass this sad time.”

“When the religious ceremony and funeral have passed for a while, then it will be an appropriate time to proceed (with the succession),” Gen Prayuth further quoted the Crown Prince as saying.

“This procedure should not impact the work plan or any steps. Everyone should take this time to keep the memories of the past 70 years.”

No date has been set for the cremation. Officials have suggested it would be at least a year. Buddhist funeral ceremonies have already begun at the Grand Palace complex in Bangkok’s historic centre where King Bhumibol’s body is kept in an ornate hall for the royal family members to pay respects. The hall will be opened to the public on Oct 28.

King Bhumibol has long been revered as a father figure and symbol of unity in a country riven by political crises over the years, most recently by a power struggle between the military-led establishment and populist political forces. Many Thais worry about a future without him.

Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn does not enjoy the same adoration his father earned over 70 years on the throne. He has married and divorced three times, and has spent much of his life outside Thailand, often in Germany.

Though the king designated his only son as his heir in 1972, shortly afterwards he also raised the possibility of the eligibility of a princess becoming the monarch.

Thailand’s strict lese-majeste laws, which have been applied rigorously since a military government took power in a 2014 coup, have left little room for public discussion about the succession.

Thai police on Sunday charged a woman with royal defamation after a mob demanded action over a Facebook post allegedly smearing the “heir and regent”.

The woman, who has not been named, was accused of posting a derogatory statement, according to Thewes Pleumsud of Bo Pud police in the southeastern island of Koh Samui, where an angry mob had descended earlier on Sunday demanding the woman be charged.

The crowd hurled insults at the woman, according to videos widely shared on Facebook.

Two other similar cases since the king’s death — in which angry crowds in Phuket and Phang Nga urged punishment for alleged royal defamation on social media — have raised fears of mob action.

Thailand’s three main mobile service providers said on Sunday customers should report “inappropriate content on the royal institution” on social media.

With the country facing a sensitive period, Gen Prayuth has promised to perform hus duties “with honesty and loyalty.”

Thai government spokesperson Lieutenant-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said on Sunday (SUN) that the government’s administration will continue seamlessly during the country’s mourning period.

A Cabinet meeting would go ahead as normal on Tuesday to discuss preparation for the king’s funeral.

“We can grief but must not forget our duties. We can feel sorrow but need to have hopes. We can be sad but must not lose love and faith towards our country,” Mr Sansern quoted Mr Prayuth as saying at a meeting on Sunday.

Source: TODAY Online

October 17, 2016
Lelaki Maut Ditikam Bakal Adik Ipar Setelah Semak Status Kahwin

Seorang lelaki berusia 34 tahun ditemui mati oleh orang ramai bersama enam tikaman di tempat letak kereta pejabat Majlis Agama Islam dan Adat Istiadat Melayu Terengganu (Maidam), pagi tadi (16 Okt).

Ketua Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Negeri, Wan Abdul Aziz Wan Hamzah berkata siasatan awal mendapati mangsa, Mohd Sukri Hussin ditikam oleh suspek yang juga bakal adik iparnya menggunakan pisau dalam kejadian kira-kira pukul 11.30 pagi.

SUSPEK DIDAPATI SUDAH BERKAHWIN, BERGELUT BERSAMA MANGSA

“Kita mendapat maklumat orang awam mengenai kejadian itu pada pukul 11.36 pagi. Melalui siasatan awal, suspek yang berumur 29 tahun hadir ke pejabat Maidam bersama keluarganya untuk menyemak status perkahwinannya yang berasal dari Kuala Terengganu.

“Setelah disemak, suspek didapati telah berkahwin. Bagaimanapun suspek mendakwa dia masih bujang kepada keluarga mangsa dan berlakulah pertengkaran dan pergelutan antara suspek dan mangsa yang merupakan abang kepada bakal isteri suspek,” katanya kepada pemberita di tempat kejadian.

Wan Abdul Aziz berkata dalam pertengkaran itu suspek dipercayai mengeluarkan pisau sepanjang enam inci lalu menikam sebanyak enam kali terhadap mangsa, termasuk di leher dan dada kiri, sehingga membawa kematian kepada mangsa.

“Suspek kemudian melarikan diri dengan sebuah kereta dengan bantuan seorang rakannya. Suspek turut mengacu kepada pengawal keselamatan yang menjaga pagar utama pejabat Maidam dengan menggunakan pisau yang sama.

“Polis kini sedang melancarkan gerakan memburu suspek dan rakannya dengan melakukan Ops Tutup dan kita percaya suspek dan rakan subahatnya masih berada dalam negeri ini,” katanya.

“SAYA TAK NAK KACAU ORANG”

Katanya pihaknya turut meneliti rakaman kamera litar tertutup (CCTV) bagi mengenal pasti suspek dan rakan-rakannya. Kes disiasat mengikut Seksyen 302 Kanun Keseksaan kerana membunuh.

Sementara itu pengawal keselamatan, Mohd Suffian Yusof, 23, berkata beluau sedang menutup palang pagar utama apabila suspek tiba-tiba datang sambil mengacukan pisau dan berkata: “Saya tak nak kacau orang.

“Suspek kemudian membuka sendiri palang dan terus memecut keretanya. Saya sebelum itu tidak tahu telah berlaku kes bunuh. Saya ingatkan ada kes curi kereta,” katanya.

Source: Berita MediaCorp

October 17, 2016
Lelaki Mati Lemas Dalam Pertandingan Renang Di Hong Kong

Seorang perenang lelaki mati lemas semasa menyertai pertandingan tahunan renang rentas pelabuhan di Hong Kong. Seorang peserta wanita masih dalam keadaan kritikal.

Perenang yang mati lemas berusia dalam lingkungan 40an tahun, dan dilaporkan mati semasa dikejarkan ke hospital dalam keadaan tidak sedarkan diri selepas diselamatkan oleh sebuah bot penyelamat.

Perenang wanita dalam lingkungan 60an tahun juga diselamatkan dalam keadaan yang sama dan kini berada di dalam penjagaan rapi hospital.

Acara lumba renang sepanjang 1,500 meter itu disertai sekitar 3,000 perenang iaitu kenaikan sebanyak 500 orang berbanding tahun sebelumnya.

Ia merupakan kematian pertama sejak acara tersebut dimulakan semula pada tahun 2011 selepas dihentikan selama 20 tahun. Sebelum ini, perlumbaan dihentikan berikutan keprihatinan berhubung tahap pencemaran air.

Source: Berita MediaCorp

October 17, 2016
Little Interest Here For Singapore’s First Electric Car

Think sleek electric cars and the American Tesla models come to mind.

But there are people here slaving over a made-in-Singapore electric vehicle (EV) too.

The EVA, Singapore’s first electric car which was designed to be a taxi, took four years of toil and innovation to create.

When the prototype was launched in 2015, talks to commercialise the vehicle began.

It’s a dream come true for Singaporean researcher Raymond Khoo, 30, who describes the EVA as his proudest achievement.

He remembers when it existed only as a pen-drawn concept on paper in 2012.

The mechanical engineering masters graduate says: “With no automobile courses in Singapore, creating the EVA has been very difficult.

“I had to read books outside of my field and teach myself about automotive design online.

“It is simply the biggest project that I’ve ever worked on. This is our flagship product.”

There is growing global interest in EVs and a growing market led by companies like Tesla and BMW.

In Singapore, a local electric car manufacturer is currently pumping in millions to create an EV, but not for the Singapore market. (See report, below.)

For all the hard work Mr Khoo and his team of 120 researchers put into EVA, there are still no takers – taxi companies, car manufacturers or budding entrepreneurs with the means – to put it into mass production.

This despite Singapore being touted by transport experts as the “perfect test bed” for EVs due to its small size and tech-savvy people.

IDLING

Today, the EVA sits idle in the TUM Create’s Automotive Lab at the National University of Singapore’s University Town.

TUM Create is a collaborative research platform between Nanyang Technological University and Germany’s Technische Universitat Munchen, and is funded by the National Research Foundation Singapore.

Occasionally, Mr Khoo will show interested visitors or researchers the EVA and demonstrate its capabilities as an electric taxi.

Essentially, it is designed in Singapore, built in Singapore and meant for the local market.

The EVA is by no means a failed project for its creators – it is still a platform for further research and development work.

A TUM Create spokesman says: “The EVA taxi is primarily conceived as a research outcome and a platform for testing and showcasing technology and new ideas. EVA has impressed and attracted a lot of automotive interest around the world.

“It is important to understand that starting automotive manufacturing and commercialisation of an electric taxi like EVA in Singapore is a complex issue, involving a large investment with an uncertain sale volume.”

Taxi operator uses only electric vehicles

HDT Singapore launched its initial fleet of 10 electric taxis last week, becoming the newest taxi operator in Singapore and the first to use only electric vehicles (EVs), despite their higher initial costs.

The company hopes to launch its full implementation next January, with more cars and charging stations around the island.

HDT’s managing director James Ng, 44, says the journey has not been easy.

For now, the company can charge its vehicles at any of the 26 charging stations located near HDT’s office in Jalan Pemimpin in Bishan.

These stations are not locked away in a private compound but are placed beside public roads.

Mr Ng tells TNPS: “Part of the agreement was to build these stations in public so that anybody can use them.”

A pricing and payment model is still being worked out, so only HDT vehicles can use these stations for now.

HDT bore the full cost of building these stations, paying around $20,000 for each station.

While the Government could have paid for what would become a publicly-used service, Mr Ng says the company had no time to wait for it to happen.

“We needed the charging stations so that our taxi operations can work,” says Mr Ng.

HDT intends to have one charging station for every three to four EVs. Each full charge takes about 1.5 hours and gives the taxis a 300km range.

The company is affiliated with Shenzhen-based battery and automaker BYD and HDT’s fleet of 10 taxis are all made by the Chinese manufacturer.

HDT also has a fleet of 30 BYD e6 saloon cars – the same model used by the HDT taxis – meant for car rentals primarily for Grab drivers.

Mr Ng declines to share how much has been invested into HDT’s taxi operations so far, except that it is a large sum.

“It is an expensive ongoing experiment, but we are confident that it will work,” says Mr Ng.

HDT is still looking for drivers to join them and interested parties can call 6258-8888.

Take-up rate here still low

As of June, there were only 120 electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles here, according to data from the Land Transport Authority.

It is a paltry figure compared to other nations like Norway, the Netherlands, US and China. In Norway, there are 21.5 electric cars per 1,000 people – the highest in the world.

Some may see the figures as an indication that there is little interest or viability in electric vehicles (EVs), but HDT Singapore’s James Ng, disagrees.

Mr Ng, who is the company’s managing director, says: “The world’s crude oil will eventually run out. Ultimately, we hope that one day, every vehicle in Singapore will be electric.”

HDT’s concept is similar to EVA as both vehicles target the taxi industry instead of private car ownership. It makes more financial sense as taxis typically have high daily mileage.

Currently, EVs are comparatively more expensive than their internal combustion engine counterparts because of the formulae used to calculate the carbon emission-based vehicle scheme rebates and road taxes.

MORE RETURNS

Mr Ng says: “While the initial cost of an EV is high, the running cost of a taxi is really just the cost of electricity. The longer the taxi runs, the more returns we get.

“We believe that this model is viable in Singapore.”

Each HDT taxi saves an average of $15 per day compared to a normal taxi, he adds.

Ms Larissa Tan, CEO of Vanda Electrics, also believes that the future is electric.

Ms Tan says: “Whether Singapore is ready or not for EVs depends greatly on the infrastructure. The Government is doing its part and there has been a large effort to push out more EV charging stations, which does help.

“But we are still slow on the uptake. Singapore has a very conservative approach when it comes to adopting EVs.”

During a Parliament sitting in May, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that the Government plans to set up 2,000 EV charging points across Singapore.

The TUM Create spokesman says: “We believe we are approaching a turning point between electric and internal combustion engine vehicles, especially for high-use public vehicles.

“The Government is moving briskly to explore electric car sharing schemes and EV fleet operations.”

Singapore’s first supercar, the Dendrobium

Singapore’s first supercar, the electrically-powered Dendrobium, is designed by local firm Vanda Electrics and looks set to steal the show at next year’s Geneva Motor Show.

But it is meant for the global market, not Singapore.

Singapore is still not ready for electric cars, says Vanda Electrics CEO Larissa Tan, 41.

“We are very proud of our Singaporean heritage, and no, we do not want to shy away from that identity,” she tells TNPS at the company’s Joo Koon office.

“But to market it here is a different situation altogether. When you look at electric vehicle figures in US, China or Europe, Singapore is nowhere near.”

The company has around 20 staff members and is part of Wong Fong Engineering, a Singaporean family-run producer of truck-mounted cranes and other heavy machinery.

It has invested $10 million in the Dendrobium project so far and has been collaborating with Williams Advanced Engineering in the UK to produce the two-door, two-seater car by next March.

The Williams group of companies also has a Formula One team.

Vanda Electrics also produces the Motochimp bike and the Ant Truck utility vehicle, both of which are also powered by electricity.

Source: The New Paper

October 17, 2016
Thai Woman Charged With Royal Slur After Mob Action

Thai police on Sunday (Oct 16) charged a woman with royal defamation after a mob demanded action over a Facebook post allegedly smearing the “heir and regent”, as the country mourns King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Thailand has one of the world’s harshest lese majeste laws, with jail terms of up to 15 years for each count of defaming or insulting the king, queen, heir or regent.

The woman, who has not been named, was accused of posting a derogatory statement on Facebook on Friday, according to Thewes Pleumsud of Bo Pud police in the southeastern island of Koh Samui.

“She did not post against the late King — it involved the heir and the regent,” he said, referring to Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, and the 96-year-old Prem Tinsulanonda who in a surprise move became temporary regent on Friday.

He declined to give further details since doing so could violate the catch-all law.

Mr Prem, a former prime minister and Bhumibol’s Privy Council head, will act as regent until the Crown Prince formally ascends the throne.

An angry mob descended on Bo Pud police station on Sunday demanding the woman be charged.

The crowd hurled insults at the woman, according to videos widely shared on Facebook.

Police said she was charged and then publicly prostrated herself in apology before a portrait of the king, who died on Thursday aged 88 — prompting a wave of grief across the nation.

Two other similar cases since the king’s death — in which angry crowds urged punishment for alleged royal defamation on social media — have raised fears of mob action.

Domestic and foreign media outlets based in the country routinely self-censor to avoid falling foul of the broadly worded law, while social opprobrium follows those perceived to have overstepped the mark.

Critics say the law — known as ‘112’ after its criminal code — has encouraged witch hunts by the public, with police and courts obliged to investigate all accusations.

The law prevents all but the most cursory public discussion of Thailand’s monarchy, or reporting or debate on the issue.

Cases have surged since royalist generals ousted a civilian government from power in 2014.

The generals have vowed to defend the monarchy from criticism. But analysts say the law has overwhelmingly been used to skewer their political rivals.

A number of people with mental health problems have also been prosecuted.

Cyber patrol teams trawl the internet for royal insults, while self-appointed ultra-royalist civilian groups also monitor the web and report violations.

Source: TODAY Online

October 17, 2016