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Knights rout Stags for Group B lead

Letran used its offensive might and disruptive trapping defense as it overpowered a listless San Sebastian, 99-62, yesterday to seize the Group B lead in NCAA Season 102 seniors’ basketball at the Filoil Center.

The Knights did not leave anything to chance and just railroaded the Stags from start to finish to claim their second straight victory and the top spot in the second bracket that came a few days after their opening-day win over the Perpetual Altas at the MOA Arena.

Denzil Walker had another scoring masterpiece, uncorking 25 points he laced with four booming triples while Chad Gammad had a 19-point effort in helping seal Letran another triumph.

Titing Manalili also put on a show with 14 points, nine assists and five steals that more than made up for his eight turnovers.

The Stags fell to 0-2.

Earlier, the league called off the San Beda-Jose Rizal duel due to slippery floors caused by the sudden afternoon deluge.

It almost led to the league suspending this Letran-SSC-R match before deciding to push through instead in the last minute after the rains stopped and the floor dried.

High-quality healthcare services must remain accessible, affordable for Nigerians – SUNU Health

Moyosore Olomola, chief executive officer (CEO), SUNU Health Nigeria Limited, has reiterated the need to democratise high-quality healthcare service to make it accessible and affordable to more Nigerians.

According to Olomola, making healthcare services accessible and affordable to a wider spectrum of Nigerians will help in reducing the burden of care faced by many patients without health insurance.

‘As an organization, we are determined to re-define the administration of healthcare and make sure that high-quality healthcare services remain accessible and affordable,’ Olomola stated during the recent Africa Brand Awards Nigeria 2026, themed, ‘Creating Iconic Brands in Africa: The Strategic Role of Business Leaders.’

According to him, SUNU Health’s vision of building a sustainable healthcare brand is structured through excellence, service and stakeholder relations, and dedicated the awards to the company’s employees, health care professionals, brokers, clients and its strategic partners.

The company received double recognition at the Africa Brand Awards Nigeria 2026, as Olomola received the ‘West Africa Health Insurance Company of the Year’ and ‘Most Responsive Health Insurance CEO of the Year’ on behalf of the company.

Olomola, who was recognised with the Diamond Award for his leadership style, responsiveness and team-building efforts, stated that both recognition marks SUNU Health’s position as one of the rare companies in Africa.

Likewise, the recognition also marks SUNU Health’s emergence as one of the major brands of healthcare in West Africa and its consistent effort in providing innovative solutions in the healthcare industry.

‘It is both humbling and encouraging. This is because these accolades not only symbolize our continued dedication to excellence, innovations and satisfaction of customers but more than anything else, they stand as a mark of the amazing work done by our employees, the trust our clients have put in us and our stakeholders’ support in the healthcare industry.’

Samuel Olayemi, brand and corporate communications officer, SUNU Health Nigeria Limited, stated that the company is committed to healthier communities in Nigeria and the West African region, as a trusted healthcare partner in line with its continuous development and expansion of its activities across Africa.

‘Such an achievement shows our organisational corporate culture, the efficiency of our leaders and our focus on giving our customers excellent healthcare experience,’ Olayemi stated, adding that the awards will motivate the company’s leadership to continue setting industry standards while making more impacts in the Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) space across Africa.

Sh38bn Nairobi railway hub project bets on Rwanda-style sports arena

Nairobi is set for a 10,000-seater indoor sports and entertainment arena as part of a $294.49 million (Sh38.14 billion) Railway City development that will mirror Rwanda’s model of using a multipurpose venue to attract major sporting, business and entertainment events.

The planned arena will form the centrepiece of the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) Core Centre being developed at the Nairobi Railway Station area, with a hotel, serviced apartments, retail outlets and other entertainment facilities planned around it.

The development is being undertaken by Guernsey-headquartered Zaria Group through its local subsidiary, Metroarena Development Company.

The project forms part of the wider 172-hectare Railway City redevelopment initiative that seeks to expand the capital’s capacity to host major sporting, business and entertainment events, disclosures on the project showed.

‘By stimulating commercial activity and attracting local and international events, the MICE-Core Arena is expected to catalyse growth in the tourism and MICE economy and investment in the surrounding precincts,’ the disclosure said.

The project will partly draw from Rwanda’s experience. After construction, the Kenyan arena will be operated by QA Venue Solutions, a Zaria Group management affiliate that already manages the 10,000-seat BK Arena and Amahoro Stadium in Kigali.

Management contracts for the Nairobi facility are set on renewable 15-year terms, with the intention that QA Venue Solutions will continue managing the arena indefinitely.

The Nairobi project comes as African cities compete for international sporting tournaments, concerts, conferences and exhibitions, with modern venues increasingly being developed as commercial and tourism assets.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is, for instance, developing a 20,000-seat Kinshasa Arena, which is being positioned as one of Africa’s largest indoor venues. The project, estimated at $105 million (Sh13.6 billion), is designed to host basketball, concerts, exhibitions, and other major events.

The DRC arena will exceed the scale of BK Arena and the Dakar Arena in Senegal (15,000 capacity), both of which have become key assets in attracting international competitions and entertainment programming such as the Basketball Africa League (BAL).

Kenya hopes to benefit from such events. Rwanda’s BK Arena, which cost about $104 million (Sh13.5 billion) and was opened in August 2019, describes itself as the largest fully covered arena in East Africa.

The BK Arena hosted the inaugural BAL season in 2021 and the league’s playoffs and finals in subsequent years. It has also hosted other major entertainment events, including American R and B singer Ne-Yo, who performed at the venue in 2019.

Kenya hopes to replicate similar success by using its arena to benefit from the growing sports, entertainment and events economy that also grows tourism.

Kenya Railways

Kenya Railways’ Nairobi Central Station.

File | Nation Media Group

Details of the planned project in Nairobi show the centrepiece will be a five-storey, multi-purpose indoor arena with a seating capacity of up to 10,000 people, depending on the event configuration.

The sports arena is designed to accommodate sporting activities such as basketball. However, the document shows the facility is also planned for conferences, banquets and other events, giving it a wider commercial use beyond sports.

The arena will have an estimated built-up area of 11,680 square metres, comprising 5,575 square metres for seating and arena functions and another 4,045 square metres for back-of-house facilities.

The development will be supported by a three-level public podium, with the ground and first floors dedicated to parking. The second floor will provide the main public realm, including a central pedestrian boulevard connecting different parts of the development.

The plans also provide for retail outlets, restaurants, food and beverage facilities, leisure uses, sports-related public activation zones and a public plaza for spectators and visitors.

An amphitheater and public performance space are also planned alongside parking structures, servicing facilities, landscaping, lighting, wayfinding and smart infrastructure.

The hotel component will comprise a 140-key branded facility, while the serviced apartment tower will provide 70 units. The combination of the sports arena with the hotel, apartment, and parking lot makes the development a mixed-use destination.

The location is intended to give the project access to Nairobi’s main transport corridors while placing it immediately south of the central business district. The site can be accessed through Haile Selassie Avenue, Workshop Road via Bunyala Road and Uhuru Highway.

The project is part of the government’s broader plan to transform the railway station area into a multi-modal, transit-oriented urban centre incorporating commercial, residential and transport infrastructure.

‘The project will contribute to increased government revenue through various tax streams and statutory levies associated with both the construction and operational phases of the proposed development plus long-term land-lease revenue and a gross revenue share to Kenya Railways Corporation,’ the Kenya Railways Corporation disclosure said.

The Nairobi Railway City is a green city of office blocks, malls, and a light industrial hub aimed at decongesting the city’s central business district, and was initially meant to be completed by 2027.

The project will involve the installation of approximately 45kilometres(km) of new track in and around the yard of the present central railway station, including fittings and concrete sleepers.

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An aerial view of Nairobi City overlooking the Kenya Railways Headquarters.

Francis Nderitu | Nation

The upgrade will also entail the construction of a new station management block, a new accommodation block to the east of the station entrance, refurbishment of the existing station building, four new passenger platforms, including refurbishment and expansion of the existing platforms, food and beverage outlets, and repurposing and refurbishment of the Easy Coach House heritage building.

The project will further involve the establishment of a new freight marshalling yard at Makadara yard and the installation of approximately 11km of new track, including fittings and concrete sleepers.

Lanka IOC donates wheelchairs to Colombo South Teaching Hospital

Lanka IOC PLC, in commemoration of its 24th Anniversary, donated 20 wheelchairs to the Colombo South Teaching Hospital – Kalubowila, reaffirming its continued commitment to supporting Sri Lanka’s public healthcare sector.

Colombo South Teaching Hospital Deputy Director Dr. B. Sai Niranjan said Lanka IOC has been a longstanding partner of the hospital and had extended vital assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. At a time when the hospital faced a shortage of essential medicines, Lanka IOC provided urgently required medicines valued at Rs. 2 million. The Company also donated two dialysis machines to the hospital during the crisis period.

Lanka IOC PLC Managing Director K. Raghu said the Company has been serving Sri Lanka for over 24 years and remains committed to supporting communities through its ‘WE CARE’ program.

‘Our mandate is to find meaningful ways of serving the nation. Through our ‘WE CARE’ program, we remain committed to supporting communities and addressing their essential social needs,’ Raghu added.

He noted that healthcare remains a key focus of Lanka IOC’s CSR initiatives. Having identified the shortage of dialysis facilities in government hospitals, the Company has so far donated 34 dialysis machines to government hospitals across Sri Lanka, particularly supporting hospitals with limited facilities.

Raghu also highlighted the recently conducted other initiatives, including the donation of an NIV machine National Hospital Galle, smart glasses to visually impaired students at the University of Colombo, and initiatives to provide clean water to institutions, including religious places.

‘I know that government hospitals can never be facilitated in full. However, wherever there is a genuine requirement, we will continue to do our best to fulfil it. It is our mandate to stand with the community and stand with the nation,’ he said.

Lanka IOC PLC Senior Vice President – Retail Sales and HR Jitendra Sharma, Senior Vice President – Engineering and Administration Sandeep Gupta, Colombo South Teaching Hospital Director Dr. Lalith Poddalgoda were also present.

LPGT standouts take on crack Taiwan LPGA cast at Kenda Tire Cup

The Ladies Philippine Golf Tour’s leading players face another stern international test as they join a formidable Taiwan LPGA Tour field in the Kenda Tire Cup, which fires off Wednesday, September 23, at the Taichung International Country Club in Taichung, Taiwan.

Seven of the top 10 players in the current TLPGA Order of Merit headline the NT$4-million championship, underscoring the depth of the field in the 54-hole event co-sanctioned by the LPGT and TLPGA.

The tournament marks another chapter in the two tours’ continuing partnership aimed at strengthening women’s golf in the region and providing players from both circuits with greater opportunities to compete at a higher level. It is also the first time the two organizations will co-sanction the Kenda Tire Cup after several seasons of collaboration through the Party Golfers Ladies Open.

Yvon Bisera spearheads the LPGT contingent, which includes a mix of seasoned campaigners and emerging talents determined to make an impact against some of the region’s established winners.

The Filipinas, however, will have to contend with an unfamiliar venue and one of the strongest fields they have encountered in the Taiwan series.

The Taichung International Country Club, located near the Dakang Walking Trails, features rolling and undulating fairways set amid secluded valleys, tree-lined corridors and views of the surrounding mountains. The East (out) and Central (in) nines will be used for the championship, placing a premium on course management and adaptation.

With none of the LPGT players having competed on the layout before, Monday’s official practice round and Tuesday’s pro-am will provide valuable opportunities to study the course, assess its playing conditions and prepare for the tournament proper.

The challenge is further heightened by the presence of seven players ranked inside the TLPGA’s current top 10. No. 3 Min Jou Chen leads the group, followed by Han Hsuan Yu, Ching Huang, Hsin Lee, Shih Cheng Hsuan, Jessica Peng and Ya Chun Chang.

Several of the circuit’s recent winners are also in the field, adding further depth to the championship.

Thailand’s Nook Sukapan comes in fresh from her victory in last week’s Straits Cup Ladies Classic, while Japan’s Harumi Yoshikuwa captured the YTS and Suncity Futures events in August. Han Hsuan Yu also carries winning form, having topped the Taiwan Prosperity Ladies Open in June.

Other notable winners in the lineup include Thailand’s Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong, who dominated the CTBC Ladies Open in May; Cheng Hsuan Shih, champion of the KGI Bank TLPGA Futures; and Japan’s Yuria Sonoda, winner of the Nan-Tou Golf and Country Club Futures last April.

The visiting LPGT players, however, are set to embrace the challenge.

Princess Superal, Marvi Monsalve, Sarah Ababa, Harmie Constantino, Kayla Nocum, Lois Kaye Go, Mafy Singson, Chihiro Ikeda, Velinda Castil, Kristine Fleetwood and Rev Alcantara are all in the mix, bringing a blend of experience, competitive form and international exposure to the Philippine side.

Jiwon Lee, Seo Yun Kim, Monica Mandario, Gretchen Villacencio and Eunhua Nam complete the LPGT professional contingent, while ICTSI-backed amateurs Lisa Sarines, Mona Sarines and Isabella Taganas will also see action in the championship.

The Philippines has yet to claim a victory in the LPGT-TLPGA co-sanctioned events since 2018. However, Pauline del Rosario won the TLPGA and Royal Open in 2017, becoming the first Filipina to win on one of the region’s premier circuits.

Meanwhile, Daniella Uy’s fourth-place finish in 2019 stands as the best performance by a visiting Filipina during the joint tour.

That record provides added motivation for the LPGT players as they take on a field packed with proven winners and highly ranked TLPGA stars.

Philippines tagged as deadliest Asian country for environmentalists

The Philippines was named as the deadliest country in Asia for environmental defenders for the 13th consecutive year, climate justice watchdog Global Witness reported.

In the 2025 report of the investigative and campaigning organization, the Philippines tied with Honduras with 12 defenders’ deaths, the highest record outside Latin America.

Six of the recorded killings in the Philippines were indigenous peoples, three were small-scale farmers, a journalist and two others.

Joan Carling, executive director of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights International, attributed the killings to the government’s counter-insurgency programs and extractive projects.

Global Witness said the militarization of rural communities enabled the military to impose repressive measures, including red-tagging to portray defenders as communists or terrorists.

The watchdog cited the case of Veronico Anterio, a 65-year-old farmer who was allegedly shot for voicing opposition to the growing military presence in Samar.

‘Global Witness linked five of those killings to the armed forces, showing how, when attempts to criminalize defenders fail, the military reverts to more direct attacks,’ said Carling.

Cases with suspected links to organized crime were also recorded in the Philippines, along with five other Latin American countries.

Environmental group Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment asked the government for genuine accountability for the attacks, calling it to ‘end the use of state forces and criminal proceedings to suppress peaceful opposition.’

From 2012 to 2025, the Philippines ranked third in the Global Witness statistics, with 318 recorded killings and disappearances of environmental defenders.

The Philippines is joined by Colombia, Brazil, Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Tanzania in the 2025 report.

House prosecutors defend statements on impeachment

Members of the House prosecution panel have maintained that their statements on the ongoing impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte were not about the merits of the case, but merely on procedure and summary of the proceedings.

Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon and counsel for the prosecution Benjamin Tolosa Jr. made this assertion as they explained to the Senate impeachment court why they should not be sanctioned for violation of the sub judice rule which barred parties from commenting on the merits of the case.

In his verified answer to the impeachment court’s show cause order, Ridon said his statements only meant to keep the public informed of the status and progress of the proceedings, adding that he has always understood the distinction between reports on what transpired during proceedings, explaining procedural developments and progress of the prosecution.

‘In making these statements, Rep. Ridon never intended to prejudge the case, influence the senator-judges, substitute public discussion for the evidence and arguments properly presented before the honorable court or diminish the authority of the honorable court to determine the merits of the impeachment case,’ he said.

For his part, Tolosa said his statements either concerned procedural matters or merely recounted matters already placed on record fairly and accurately, in good faith and without editorial comment.

He asserted that his statements, when considered in its complete context, did not evaluate a disputed fact, the credibility of a witness, the relevance, weight or sufficiency of evidence.

‘Accordingly, there is no basis for citing the undersigned counsel for violation of Rule 18,’ Tolosa said.

He further contended that his statements did not state that the prosecution’s evidence was already sufficient to warrant the Vice President’s conviction nor did he urge the Senate impeachment court to convict Duterte.

‘The undersigned counsel did not assess the credibility, weight or sufficiency of those statements and admissions, nor did he urge this honorable impeachment court to draw any particular conclusion from it. Instead, it was merely made to explain the prosecution’s decision to reserve its right to call Respondent ,’ Tolosa said.

No justification for China Coast Guard to ram BFAR vessel – DFA

The Department of Foreign Affairs said there was no justification for a China Coast Guard vessel to ram a Philippine civilian vessel conducting a humanitarian mission in the West Philippine Sea.

The DFA condemned the incident involving the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources’ BRP Datu Magat Salamat, which sustained damage after being struck by China Coast Guard vessel CCG-21585.

‘There is no justification for the CCG vessel to undertake aggressive actions against a Philippine civilian law enforcement vessel, and cause damage to the ship and endanger the safety of the civilian crew,’ the DFA said in a statement posted on Facebook on Friday night, September 18.

“The Philippines emphasizes that the BFAR vessel was merely conducting routine and lawful humanitarian activities to support Filipino fisherfolk in the West Philippine Sea,” it added.

BFAR vessel damaged

The Philippine Coast Guard said the incident happened at around 11 a.m., about 54 nautical miles off Palawan, while the BFAR vessel was carrying out a mission to assist Filipino fishermen in the Kalayaan Island Group.

The vessel was delivering fuel subsidies and food packs to Filipino fisherfolk following weeks of monsoon rains, according to the PCG.

PCG spokesman for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela said the Chinese vessel intentionally rammed the BFAR ship.

‘To call this unprofessional or bullying would be an understatement. What we are seeing here is pure evil,’ Tarriela wrote on Facebook with a video of the incident.

The impact damaged the BRP Datu Magat Salamat’s main railings on the starboard side, metal stanchions and support structures, as well as deck fixtures and equipment. No injuries were reported.

Tarriela said the CCG vessel later made another dangerous maneuver, passing behind the BFAR vessel at a distance of about five meters.

The BRP Datu Magat Salamat was refloated Thursday after running aground at Hasa-Hasa Shoal while approaching Filipino fishing boats to distribute fuel.

Tarriela said the vessel would be brought to Coron Port for an assessment of its seaworthiness.

DFA cites international law

The DFA said the Philippine vessel was conducting routine and lawful humanitarian activities to support Filipino fisherfolk.

‘The CCG vessel’s illegal, coercive, aggressive and dangerous acts are inconsistent with China’s obligations under international law,’ it said.

The department noted that the Chinese vessel’s actions were inconsistent with China’s obligations under international law, citing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the 2016 Arbitral Award, the 1972 International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea and the 1974 Safety of Life at Sea Convention.

‘The Philippines calls on China to respect Philippine sovereign rights within its exclusive economic zone in accordance with UNCLOS as affirmed by the 2016 Arbitral Award, exercise restraint and avoid actions that could further escalate tensions in the region,’ it added.

Beijing blames Philippine vessel

The Chinese embassy in the Philippines disputed the Philippine account of the incident in a statement posted on Facebook.

Jiang Lue, a spokesperson for the China Coast Guard, said the Chinese vessel Sanzhou’ao was conducting what Beijing described as rights-protection and law-enforcement operations near Xianbin Jiao in China’s Nansha Qundao on September 18.

According to the statement, the Philippine vessel No. 3015 ignored repeated warnings from the Chinese side, deliberately altered course and suddenly accelerated before cutting across the bow of the China Coast Guard vessel, resulting in a collision.

‘The Philippine side’s actions seriously violate international law and the basic norms of international relations and threaten the safety of China Coast Guard vessels and personnel,’ the statement said.

The Chinese Coast Guard said its vessel operated ‘in a professional and standardized manner, reasonably and lawfully’ and placed full responsibility for the collision on the Philippine side.

It also demanded that the Philippines stop what it described as ‘infringing and provocative acts,’ warning that consequences arising from such actions would be borne by the Philippine side.

“The China Coast Guard will continue to carry out rights-protection and law-enforcement operations in waters under China’s jurisdiction to safeguard national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests,” it added.

Empires fell, but poets endured: how Nasimi became symbol of Azerbaijan

If we go back several centuries and look at the history of the ancient East, what we encounter is not only empires, wars and battles for territory. There is another, more enduring history of this geography, which is a history created by language, words and literature.

Until just a century ago, there were three lingua francas across the vast geography of the Muslim East: Arabic, Persian and Azerbaijani. While Arabic was an important medium of the religious and scholarly world, and Persian was one of the principal means of communication in the broader literary and administrative-cultural space, the Azerbaijani language also gained significant literary and cultural influence, particularly in the South Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Anatolia, Iraq and various regions of Iran.

There is a striking feature in the history of the Azerbaijani language. The influence of this language cannot be explained solely by the campaigns of rulers and the movements of armies. One of the greatest weapons of Azerbaijani was its poets.

Nasimi, Fuzuli, Khatai and other great masters of the word transformed the Azerbaijani language from merely a means of everyday communication into a literary language capable of expressing profound philosophical and poetic ideas. Their works carried the language across borders and into the literary memory of different peoples and geographies.

In this regard, Nasimi’s place is particularly significant. He is one of the most prominent 14th- and 15th-century masters of Sufi poetry and a major early figure in Azerbaijani literature. A recent example of how Nasimi’s name is being kept alive in Azerbaijan today is President Ilham Aliyev’s recent visit to the ‘Nasimi Gardens’ complex in Shamakhi. The complex features a 21-meter-high monument installation of Nasimi created in a modern style. Visible from various points of Shamakhi, this work makes Nasimi’s name part of the city’s modern landscape.

This is not simply a matter of a statue. Here, a physical and symbolic connection is being created between the great poet of the Middle Ages and modern Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan did not begin remembering Nasimi today. The preservation and promotion of his legacy have been continuing at the state and societal levels for decades. In 1973, the 600th anniversary of Nasimi was widely commemorated. Research into his work was intensified, and scholarly and artistic works about him were created. In 1979, a monument to Nasimi was erected in Baku.

Later, Nasimi’s name was also brought to the international stage. In 2017, the 600th anniversary of his death was commemorated at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. Since 2018, the Nasimi – Poetry, Art and Morality Festival has been held in Azerbaijan. In 2019, the year was declared the ‘Year of Nasimi’ in Azerbaijan.

That year, various events were held across the country to mark the 650th anniversary of Nasimi, while his work was researched anew, promoted and brought to new generations.

All of this demonstrates one fact: Azerbaijan does not preserve its classical figures simply as memories of the past, but it seeks to make them part of contemporary cultural life.

Nasimi’s position in today’s Azerbaijan is explained precisely by this. He is not only a poet of the 14th-15th centuries. His name lives on today in a scholarly institution, on a street, in a monument, in books, at a festival and now in the large tourism and cultural complex in Shamakhi.

In fact, keeping Nasimi’s legacy alive is part of a much larger story of Azerbaijani literature. In this story, Nizami, Fuzuli, Nasimi, Khatai and other great poets are not only individual figures, but also representatives of the great cultural line shaped by the Azerbaijani word over the centuries.

Empires have risen and fallen throughout history. Borders have changed. Rulers have replaced one another. Swords have rusted. But the words created by poets have survived and passed from generation to generation.

That is where the strength of Azerbaijan’s classical literature lies.

If the Azerbaijani language occupied an important place in the literary and cultural life of a vast geography during certain periods of its history, this can be attributed more to the power of the word than to military force. Poets carried the language with them to different courts, cities and cultural centers. Their works demonstrated the capabilities of Azerbaijani and increased the influence of the language.

In this sense, Nasimi is not merely part of Azerbaijan’s past. He is a living symbol of the Azerbaijani language and culture, having survived the test of time and reached the present day.

This is also where the significance of the complex created in his name in Shamakhi lies. The name of a poet who lived more than six centuries ago appears once again today in the cultural landscape of modern Azerbaijan. This is not simply the preservation of historical memory, but its transfer into a new era.

Some peoples remember their history through fortresses and swords. Azerbaijan, however, has written one of the strongest pages of its history through the words of its poets. And Nasimi is one of the greatest figures of that word.

When are policy decisions actually made?

Maybe the best way to understand Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s confounding decision to reinforce the Thai government stance on foreigners as hostile – ordering ‘errant’ visitors be summarily deported – is by understanding how some conclusions in this country are so foregone they appear unshakeable, while others are treated as inconceivable regardless of their grounding.

A case in point: Seeing the headline ‘Bangkok governor defends switch to electric rubbish trucks’ was a little surprising at first glance.

Considering Thailand’s fervently proclaimed green-mindedness and its enthusiastic appetite for electric vehicles, it seems obvious that if any aspect of the capital could benefit from the introduction of a modern, low-carbon innovation, it would be waste collection.

Yet it turned out that Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt’s proposal to replace the current diesel-fuelled fleet of the city with close to 1,400 electric trucks was not so straightforward.

The argument he made was that the switch would cut energy costs by about 4.75 billion baht, or 54%, over five years while also significantly cutting greenhouse gas emissions, noise pollution and the PM2.5 fine-dust pollution that is an annual plague on the entire country.

By his office’s calculations, 1,347 EV garbage trucks would consume 4.01 billion baht worth of electricity over five years, compared with the 8.76 billion baht that would be needed to fuel diesel engines. Leasing these new trucks was also said to reduce the financial burden on the city by 7-10%.

Mr Chadchart appeared just as perplexed as this writer over the resistance the idea was facing, noting that the solution has already been adopted in Pattaya, Phuket and Nonthaburi.

Council not convinced

Ultimately, the Bangkok Metropolitan Council rejected the electrification plan, citing questions over procurement and staffing for the replacement fleet.

Councillors were unconvinced that the terms for the switchover plan were sound, and that Bangkok has the infrastructure to support the change. They also expressed fears of corruption and that the designs could too easily be compromised by ill-intended forces.

These reservations echoed many points brought up by the People’s Party, which is known for its rigorous vetting of projects of public interest while serving as the opposition in parliament.

Suphanat Minchaiynunt, a People’s Party MP for Bangkok, rightfully pointed out that the capital’s administration had actually budgeted over 10 billion baht across the past three years for EV rubbish truck projects, but they repeatedly became stalled or cancelled, leaving the earmarked cash in limbo.

He said the latest proposal, requesting some 6 billion baht, did not even include terms of reference, which could mean the council was approving spending on contractors it may not want in the end.

Pilot projects were planned to prove the concept, Mr Suphanat said, but only a limited selection of companies were invited to take part and in the end no specific pilot project was ever run.

Pre-empting the governor’s point, the MP said the model of EV and the leasing format for the trucks being used in other cities differed from what was being put to the council, voiding the argument that the Bangkok plan was already in effect elsewhere.

This is all well and good. The council found reasonable doubts about a project with a hefty bill and erred on the side of caution, throwing it back to the drawing board.

So what if the city has been reviewing this worthwhile idea since 2023? It will be ready when it is ready.

Contrast all this, though, with the recently implemented TH-AI Passport project.

Though a national initiative rather than a Bangkok-only project, the programme to provide artificial intelligence access to millions of Thais could be likened to the EV garbage truck proposal, in that both are about introducing modern, paradigm-shifting innovations for the greater good of the public.

Just like the waste trucks, the TH-AI Passport plan encountered suspicions of malfeasance from the People’s Party.

Specifications locked

Documents presented by the opposition appeared to indicate that companies were prepped to take on relevant contracts almost a year prior to the project being introduced, that specifications were designed to favour certain suppliers and that the actual technical plan for the 1.6-billion-baht undertaking wouldn’t support its stated purposes.

The party’s fears were strong enough that it submitted its evidence to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), calling for a serious probe.

The government’s defence against these accusations? Simply that due process was undertaken to the satisfaction of involved officials, that Thailand risks being left in the past if it does not quickly adopt AI into daily life and, as of this week, that more than 1 million people registered to take part in the project. Surely, a free handout that many people want should be above reproach?

Similar rationales, similar contentions. One project deemed not worth the risk, the other fast-tracked to deployment.

The selective rigour is exactly how these issues, distant from one another as they are to the government’s recent fervour for deportation, relate.

Certain outcomes, as decided by those currently in office, are fixed points. Thailand needs the AI passport just like it needs to take a hard line against foreigners who ‘disrespect public sensibilities’.

The issue is not that these decisions are inherently flawed, it is that they seem to be pre-determined and based on an opaque consideration process that is becoming increasingly insular.

How much faster can a conclusion aligned with the initial wishes of top officials be reached, before the process of consideration is removed entirely?