Military to lead investment in Southern Thai economy
By Jon Fernquest |
Saturday's Bangkok Post featured a front page article on the new role slated for the Thai military in the economic development of the troubled southern region.
Here is the article in full:
THE SOUTH
Military will lead investment bids to spur region's economy
The military will lead a revival in investment in the restive southern border provinces to restore business confidence and help spur the region's economy, a high-level meeting decided yesterday.
The meeting of a government committee on the special southern economic development zone, chaired by Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, was held at Government House yesterday.
Mr Samak, the nation's security chiefs and executives of agencies concerned looked at new ways of tackling the unrest, which has claimed about 3,000 lives over the past four years.
The government is counting on investment from military agencies to help revive the troubled southern provinces, said the prime minister.
Investments will begin in Satun and Songkhla to convince people in the security hotspot provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat about the merits of such investments.
Mr Samak said the far South is one of the poorest areas in the country, with economic growth averaging 1.8% per year, compared with 4.3% for the entire southern region of Thailand.
At least 108 factories have already shut down in the Muslim-majority region while investment has slowed to a trickle, said the prime minister.
Mr Samak said economic development in the far South would have a chance to grow alongside security deployments.
He said private businesses saw the potential to implement investment projects in the region, but were too afraid to enter the area.
A plan has been conceived where the military will enter into joint ventures, holding a 51% stake, with the remainderof the shares to be held by private businesses.
The Defence Ministry's two state enterprises, the Battery Organisation and the Tanning Organisation, could function as its investment arms.
Yesterday's resolution is based on an economic development model for the far South designed by the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB).
According to Mr Samak, the development plan will be launched first in Songkhla and Satun.
Successful economic developments in the two provinces will set examples for Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat to follow, he said.
Songkhla and Satun will also become buffer zones to contain violence from the three southern border provinces.
The NESDB proposes that Songkhla be developed as an international hub for rubber, education, tourism and sports.
Satun will be promoted as an economic gateway to Malaysia and Indonesia.
In the future, Pattani will be developed as an international hub of halal food and Islamic studies, Yala as the centre of agriculture and agricultural products and Narathiwat as an economic gateway to the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) of Malaysia.
Fish and livestock raised locally will feed the halal food industry there, according to the government committee.
The Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre and agencies concerned have been given 45 days to flesh out details of the regional economic development plan.
For security, the army has changed the format of its standard military training and oriented it more towards countering unrest perpetrated by insurgents.
From now on, soldiers will be trained how to work in the three southern border provinces. They will learn how to react to ambushes and bombings and how to evacuate people, conduct patrols, befriend the local people and seal off areas during security searches, said the source.
Meanwhile in Narathiwat, about 300 people rallied outside special army unit 39 in Rueso district to condemn soldiers based there over the death of an imam.
Imam Yapa Kaseng, 56, was found dead after being detained for questioning by the unit early yesterday on suspicion he was a core member of an insurgent group. It was reported that Yapa had suffered cuts and broken ribs. BANGKOK POST AND AFP
(Source: Bangkok Post, general news, 22-03-08, BANGKOK POST AND AFP, temp-link)
Vocabulary:
lead Z - be the leader in Z, be the first to do some activity Z thus providing an example for others to follow, be the vanguard in Z, be proactive in Z, be on the frontline of Z
bid to Y - an attempt to do Y
spur X - cause something to happen, cause increased activity (See glossary)
spur the region's economy - cause increased economic activity and growth
lead investment bids to spur region's economy - be the first to use investment as a tool to imporve the local regional economy
slated for - planned for the future (See glossary)
a revival - becoming popular and active again
lead a revival in investment - be among the first to start investing again
unrest (noun) - political conflict, people express anger and dissatisfaction about something (by demonstrations, riots, or more violent acts, for instance)
restive (adjective) - in a state of unrest
restive southern border provinces -
restore X - cause X to exist again
restore business confidence - cause people to again be optimistic and positive about the future of the economy
tackling Y - making efforts to solve problem Y
tackling the unrest - trying to put and end to the political conflict
counting on Y - relying or depending on Y to solve a problem
security - protecting from danger, being and feeling safe (See glossary item1 and item2)
a hotspot - a place with serious political trouble and fighting
the security hotspot - a place with political trouble and fighting, so people must be protected from these dangers
the merits of Y - the good and worthwhile qualities of Y
slowed to a trickle - go slower and slower until it almost stops
a deployment - preparing a resource so that it is ready to be used (See glossary on deploy)
security deployments - the soldiers prepared to make a place safe and protect people
a state enterprise - a business owned and operated by the government
a resolution - a formal decision taken at a meeting by vote
National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB or "Sa-pa-pat") - Thai government planning agency for economic development, creates five year plans with an agenda of: 1. Alleviation of Poverty and Income Distribution problems, 2. Enhancing Thailand’s Competitiveness, 3. Promoting Social Capital Development, 4. Promoting Sustainable Development (See Wikipedia)
buffer zones - peaceful conflict-free areas created to separate two sides involved in a conflict
a gateway to Y - an entrance to Y
an economic gateway to country Y - an entrance to country Y with an economic function (Hong Kong is an economic gateway into China, for instance)
East Coast Economic Region (ECER) of Malaysia - "The East Coast Economic Region (ECER), covering the states of Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and the district of Mersing in Johor, is set to become Malaysia's latest and most exciting region offering diverse business opportunities to potential investors.
Located strategically in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, the ECER is well placed to become a major trade and industrial gateway, offering investors access to the vast, burgeoning markets of the Asia Pacific region and beyond, encompassing a vibrant market of about two billion people." (See website)
livestock - animals kept on a farm such as cattle and sheep
cattle - cows and bulls (male cows)
flesh out details - add details to a plan or writing
oriented towards Y - concerned with Y, focused on Y
countering Y - do something to make Y less effective
X perpetrated by Y - Y does something bad X (a crime, a harmful act, an immoral act)
insurgents - people who are fighting a war against the government of their own country
countering unrest perpetrated by insurgents - taking action to end the insurgency
ambushes - hiding, waiting for the enemy, then attacking them by surprise
evacuate X from Y to Z - send group of people X away from dangerous area Y to a place of safety Z
conduct X - organise and carry out activity X
a patrol - move around an area to make sure there is no trouble in the area (See Wikipedia)
befriend - make friends with
conduct patrols - do patrols
seal off Y - put a barrier around area Y (to control things going into and out of Y)
a rally - a large public meeting top support some issue or cause
rallied outside Y - held a large public meeting in support of something in front of building Y
detained - keep in a place under control (for example, the police detained the suspect in the local jail)
detained for questioning - keep someone to interrogate them and ask them questions about a crime
