Category: The Bangkok Post

The public should closely monitor the Bangkok and Pattaya elections on June 28 to help ensure transparency, fairness and confidence in the voting process, civil society groups say.

Speaking at a forum titled “Watching Transparency in the Bangkok and Pattaya Elections” at Thammasat University’s Faculty of Law on Sunday, academics and election monitoring organisations urged greater public participation in observing voting, vote counting and result reporting.

The event brought together Assoc Prof Prinya Thaewanarumitkul of Thammasat University, former election commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, data scientist Thuntee Sukchotrat, We Watch director Pongsak Chan-on, and iLaw manager Yingcheep Atchanont.

Assoc Prof Prinya said concerns over transparency had intensified following questions raised about previous elections, making public scrutiny essential to maintaining trust in democratic processes.

He said vote counting should be conducted openly and in full view of the public.

While election laws require vote counting to be conducted in public, practical barriers have sometimes limited public observation, leading to complaints and suspicions over the handling of ballots, he said.

Mr Pongsak from We Watch, which monitors elections before, during and after polling day and trains volunteers to observe voting procedures and collect field data for independent analysis, said citizen participation was crucial to safeguarding the poll’s integrity.

He highlighted several issues from the 2022 Bangkok and Pattaya elections that showed the importance of monitoring.

These included reports of ballots being removed from polling stations, damaged ballot papers and disputes over vote-counting procedures.

This year, Mr Pongsak said observers would be monitoring concerns about the neutrality of some polling station personnel in Bangkok, as well as the growing use of artificial intelligence and deepfake technology to spread misinformation and discredit candidates.

Pattaya’s election will also draw scrutiny following problems during the 2022 poll, including missing ballot papers and irregularities that resulted in delays to the announcement of results and repeat voting at some polling stations.

The panellists encouraged residents to follow the election process closely and monitor vote counting and the reporting of results.

As a fragile ceasefire takes hold following the June 2026 US-Iran agreement, a different kind of movement is unfolding at Israel’s borders. Dozens of Thai workers continue arriving in the country, carrying suitcases packed with hopes for a better future.

Nearly three years after Hamas’s Oct 7, 2023 attack, which killed 39 Thai workers and led to 31 others being taken hostage in Gaza, Thailand’s labour force in Israel has not diminished. Instead, it has grown.

From about 30,000 workers before the attack, the number of Thai workers in Israel has expanded to around 50,000, spread across agriculture, construction, manufacturing and service industries.

The increase has come despite repeated tragedies. Twenty-eight Thai hostages were eventually released alive, while three died in captivity or during the conflict.

Four Thai agricultural workers were killed alongside their employers in a Hezbollah rocket strike in northern Israel in November 2024.

Earlier this year, a 34-year-old Thai farm worker became the first Thai casualty of the recent Israel-Iran conflict after being struck by shrapnel from an Iranian cluster munition.

For “A”, a 43-year-old resident of Nonthaburi, Israel represents something stronger than fear: opportunity.

She has worked overseas since the age of 25, and Israel is her newest destination. Her younger brother-in-law has spent eight years working on a farm in northern Israel.

Through family connections, she learned about an opening with a retail company and immediately applied through Thailand’s Department of Employment.

The position offered a monthly salary of about 77,000 baht — several times what she could earn at home.

To qualify, she completed training courses, studied English and Hebrew, and passed a competitive examination.

“If applicants can greet employers in English and Hebrew, they have a better chance of getting hired,” she said.

The financial commitment was substantial. She paid about 150,000 baht for contract-related expenses and processing fees. The contract runs for five years and three months.

But the calculation was straight- forward.

Her 18-year-old daughter has just entered university and tuition fees alone cost between 40,000 and 50,000 baht per semester. Although her husband contributes financially from Phuket, household expenses remain challenging.

“I just want my family to have a comfortable life,” she said.

By the time her contract ends, she will be 48. She hopes the earnings will allow her to retire early and spend more time with her family.

Asked whether the conflict worried her, she paused briefly.

“I am not afraid of the current situation,” she said. “Regardless of where we are, we could die anytime. The economy at home is unstable. I would rather come here and take the risk.”

Around 40 Thai workers recently travelled alongside her under the same recruitment programme. Most are first-time arrivals in Israel.

Many will work in factories, construction sites and other physically demanding jobs. Among them is a 45-year-old single mother from Nong Khai.

With three children aged 24, 18 and two, she described her journey as one driven by necessity rather than adventure.

Her eldest son helps support the family, but university expenses for her middle child and the costs of raising a toddler have stretched household finances.

She first attempted to secure employment in Israel in 2023, but recruitment plans collapsed after the Hamas attack. When applications reopened in 2025, she tried again, knowing it was her last chance before hitting the programme’s maximum age limit of 44.

“I applied for jobs elsewhere, but employers kept telling me I was too old,” she said. “I was so afraid I would not get this job.” However, she ultimately secured a job.

“It is quite scary,” she admitted, discussing the conflict. “But we pray that nothing happens. They told us the defence systems are strong.”

For some Thais already established in Israel, the decision is no longer whether to come, but whether to stay.

A 33-year-old massage therapist from Mukdahan has lived in Israel for more than eight years.

She initially arrived after marrying an Israeli man and later settled in the Tel Aviv area. Although the marriage ended, she remained, building a new life and eventually starting a family with a Thai partner.

Today, their four-year-old daughter attends school alongside Israeli children. Her daughter speaks Hebrew and English fluently. At home, her mother insists on speaking Thai.

“I want her to remember where she comes from,” she said.

Her income, approaching 10,000 shekels (about 111,445 baht) per month before tips, provides financial stability she believes would be difficult to achieve elsewhere.

Still, stability has not meant peace. She vividly recalls the evening of Oct 7, 2023.

Working at a massage parlour in Tel Aviv, she initially believed the violence was confined to southern Israel.

Hours later, missile warnings reached the city. Explosions landed close enough to shake the neighbourhood.

“Our boss immediately told us to close and go underground,” she recalled.

Since the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Iran, mobile phone alerts have become a regular feature of daily life. Sometimes they arrive at three or four in the morning.

Years of experience have given her confidence in Israel’s security systems and emergency procedures. Following official instructions has become second nature, she said.

For many Thais in Israel, that confidence — whether in the country’s defences, their employers or simply their ability to endure hardship — helps explain why they remain.

The calculations are rarely political, but personal: university fees; children’s futures; household debt; retirement savings.

Behind the statistics of migrant labour and conflict zones are thousands of individual decisions shaped by economic necessity.

For workers like A, the dangers of war are weighed against the certainty of financial struggle at home. The balance, for now, continues to draw Thais to Israel.

“I have to work really hard,” said A before beginning her new chapter abroad. “But for my daughter and for my future, I have to keep fighting.”

No matter how stifling the heat, every night Sanong Suepthai endures it — sleeping under two layers of blankets propped up by a pillow placed on her chest, in a house with no air conditioning.

“The pillow helps let a little air in so I don’t suffocate. But the smell is unbearable. I have to keep an inhaler in one nostril all the time,” she said.

The “smell” that Sanong, a resident of Krok Somboon district in Prachin Buri, refers to is the odour of various chemicals wafting from a nearby factory about 1km from her orchard. The 76-year-old says that during the day, working among the trees in the garden provides some relief, but at night, the stench becomes intolerable. For two years she had to flee to Ubon Ratchathani to live with her younger sister.

“Coming back, I continue to suffer the same problems. Actually, the smell has become even stronger, especially at night,” said Sanong.

“I want to speak to someone in power to fix the damage to the air we breathe and to our land. We used to enjoy so much fertility, but now most trees yield fewer fruits. Why is that?”

Sumet Rienpongnam, founder of the Khon Rak Krok Somboon Group, has been campaigning to address pollution in Prachin Buri. He reckoned the crisis escalated further during the Prayut Chan-o-cha government following a military-led coup.

The military regime issued the Order of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO Order) 4/2016 that exempted certain types of businesses from the enforcement of urban planning laws for green zones. Thus Prachin Buri, a province once renowned for its pristine nature, organic farming, herbal products and eco-tourism, has since witnessed a mushrooming of factories. As of 2025, there were 1,067 factories across the province.

In particular, Sumet pointed fingers at factories dealing with waste treatment and hazardous waste disposal.

“These waste-sorting factories are the source of soil, water and air pollution because there is no real sorting happening — they just pile things up. The waste is not only from factories in Prachin Buri itself but also from Rayong or even from abroad. They simply dump it. They may sort some of it, but what remains after sorting becomes a dumpsite,” Sumet explained.

Sumet took me to Ban Na Khlong Klang in Khao Mai Kaew, Kabin Buri — called Pong Chang Thang among locals — where mounds of gypsum waste were scattered across approximately 200 rai of open land, about 2.3km from Na Khlong Klang School. Sumet estimates the total volume of gypsum to be several million tonnes.

Locals call the mysterious substance “fertiliser gypsum”, so called because the factory marketed it as a “gift” several years ago. (Natural gypsum can be used as fertiliser and is found in many Thai provinces.)

“At first, we were happy when they said they’d bring us fertiliser to use for free. When it first arrived, it had no smell,” recalled Thongkham (a pseudonym), aged 64. She said villagers eagerly pooled their national ID cards for the “fertiliser” — one card per pickup truck load. The chunks were quite hard and villagers had to hire excavators to till it into the soil before planting cassava shoots.

Before long, the cassava shoots they had planted began to yellow, rot and die — hundreds of rai of loss in total.

“It took years for the villagers to rehabilitate the damaged soil — using animal manure, fallen leaves and other organic matter — to the point where they could grow small amounts of food,” Thongkham said.

They complained to the factory responsible for the waste, asking them to take it away for proper disposal, but if anything, even more waste seemed to be dumped. Her home is less than a kilometre from the pile of the mysterious material.

Thongkham herself suffers from headaches and palpitations and takes medication daily.

“I feel sorry for the children at Na Khlong Klang School who have to endure the stench,” she said.

We collected pieces of the ‘gypsum’ scattered along public roads, dissolved them in water and tested the acidity using litmus paper — the result was pH 4. Additionally, we obtained documents from a private laboratory hired by the factory to test the ‘gypsum’, which showed the acidity to be even lower than that. [A neutral pH is 7; acidity starts from zero.]

I spoke on the phone with a staff member at the factory in Ban Bu in Si Maha Phot district. The staff member [who declined to give her name and could not be reached afterwards] claimed that the product of cassava fermentation was citric acid, which could be used in food and cosmetic products for export.

She called the residue from the fermentation process ‘gypsum’, and claimed it was sent to a cement factory in Saraburi to be made into construction products. I contacted the cement company and its senior executive [who also requested anonymity] said they had received material from the said company but it would be incinerated for disposal, which contradicted what the factory staff had said earlier.

Notably, before 2023, the Department of Industrial Works (DIW) had certified gypsum as a “by-product” of cassava fermentation. But after villagers’ repeated complaints to the DIW about the odour from the cassava fermentation process, the DIW conducted an investigation and issued a letter dated June 15, 2023, stating that it was not a safe product but was, in fact, hazardous waste.

Campaigners also obtained a purchase contract for calcium sulphate (gypsum) written in Chinese with Thai translation, bearing the stamps of both companies and signed by their representatives — between seller and buyer, dated May 30, 2023. Intriguingly, the contract did not specify pertinent details, such as the selling price per tonne.

After years of complaints about pollution from industrial waste-sorting factories, the National Assembly revoked the NCPO order on July 25, 2025, citing its damage to communities and the environment. However, the law has no retroactive effect and cannot revoke licences already issued to factories currently in operation.

Moreover, the government is pushing for Prachin Buri to be incorporated into the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project. Thammasat University has been commissioned to survey and produce a report on how joining the EEC would improve Prachin Buri’s economy, boost business and the employment rate.

But Sumet is worried that if this EEC expansion policy succeeds, the pollution problem will only overwhelm his hometown further.

“What chemical contaminants are in the air, water and soil?” he said.

“Can those who have studied this tell us what people in Si Maha Phot are breathing every day — what is in it, how dangerous it is and which factories are producing it? How many contaminated areas are causing suffering to villagers and where are they? And how will the problems be solved?,” Sumet questioned.

“How many millions of cubic metres of water does all the existing industry use, and how many millions of cubic metres of wastewater are discharged? How is the wastewater managed?,” he added.

One of the concerns raised by villagers is the quality of water, which is already often discoloured and murky. Villagers are uncertain whether, given the environmental pollution, rainwater might seep into the groundwater system.

“We don’t have much money, so we can only afford to buy drinking water. For cooking food and rice, washing dishes, and bathing, we have to use groundwater,” said Thongkham.

Last August, the Sut Soi Team, together with the DIW, armed with a search warrant from Kabin Buri Provincial Court, inspected Waste to Energy Company in Lat Takian, an area straddling Si Maha Phot and Kabin Buri districts. The factory was found to have committed multiple violations and ordered to suspend its operation. But in October, a new official came and allowed the factory to reopen.

Dawan Chanhatsadi, a senior member of the Earth Recovery Foundation, who accompanied the Sut Soi Team, revealed that the factory held two types of permits — 105 for non-hazardous waste disposal and 106 for recycling industrial waste — yet had no machinery for recycling.

“It has been accepting hazardous waste — so where has all of it gone?” Dawan asked.

“Have all issues been resolved? What happened to the water that was overflowing from the landfill pit? What has been reduced? And does the factory now have the machinery?”

Sumet raised the same question: “For years everything has gotten worse. The waste piles grow larger every year — tens of millions of tonnes — and the smell is worse than ever. Today, the minister came for a visit, praised the company for making improvements and for their cooperation, and then simply left.”

Thailand must accelerate its transition to renewable energy if it is to reduce dependence on imported oil and gas and avoid repeating the painful consequences of global conflicts, according to Praipol Koomsap, economist at Thammasat University and former assistant to ex-energy minister Narongchai Akrasanee.

Mr Praipol said even if peace negotiations between the US and Iran succeed in stabilising crude oil prices at around US$70-80 per barrel by late 2025, refined oil prices are expected to remain high.

For Thailand, this means relying solely on fossil fuels will continue to expose households and businesses to volatility.

“Increasing the use of renewable energy in both the transport and electricity sectors is the long-term solution if similar conflicts occur again,” he said.

Accidents disrupting petroleum production facilities, refineries, storage depots or liquefied natural gas plants could also trigger supply shortages, said Mr Praipol. If Thailand builds sufficient capacity in clean power and biofuels, he said the impact would be far smaller.

“Renewable energy is like having a fuel reserve. When oil and gas supplies are interrupted, there are still domestic sources to use as substitutes,” Mr Praipol said.

Thailand once considered creating a massive state-owned strategic petroleum reserve, a project that would have required enormous investment to build and operate. He said such a costly scheme is unnecessary if the country commits to expanding renewable energy.

According to the International Energy Agency, renewable power and biofuels accounted for 15.2-17.5% of Thailand’s total energy consumption in 2025. The government aims to raise this share to more than 50% by 2037.

To achieve this, the Energy Ministry is finalising a programme to encourage households to install rooftop solar panels and sell excess electricity back to the grid. Authorities plan to allocate part of a 200-billion-baht loan to support the scheme, which will purchase up to 500 megawatts from households.

In the transport sector, officials are stepping up promotion of biofuels.

Ethanol derived from sugar cane and cassava as well as palm oil-based methyl ester is blended with gasoline and diesel to produce gasohol and biodiesel.

The government is subsidising B20 diesel, which contains 20% methyl ester, to make it five baht cheaper than B7 diesel, which has only 7% methyl ester. The policy is designed to lift sales and reduce reliance on imported oil.

Industry leaders have pushed for clean energy infrastructure to be expanded quickly.

Sarath Ratanavadi, chief executive of Gulf Development Plc, Thailand’s largest energy company by market value, said speeding up construction of renewable projects coupled with technologies that enhance system stability will be critical. He touted smart grids, battery energy storage systems and pumped hydro storage as tools that can help balance supply and demand.

Mr Sarath emphasised private sector investment will be essential, given the enormous capital required.

“Investing in this infrastructure demands vast resources, while the government budget is limited. Encouraging private participation is a reasonable solution,” he said.

Diversifying fuel sources to ensure multiple suppliers will also mitigate external risks, said Mr Sarath.

More than 300 cryptocurrency mining machines were seized during raids on illegal Bitcoin mining operations across five northeastern provinces, with total losses estimated at over 40 million baht.

The Ministry of Interior, the Provincial Electricity Authority, police and provincial administration officers inspected 14 locations in Ubon Ratchathani, Yasothon, Amnat Charoen, Roi Et and Maha Sarakham on Saturday.

The operation resulted in the seizure of 315 digital currency mining machines after investigators uncovered electricity metre tampering and illegal power connections used to run the equipment. Damage was estimated at 40.38 million baht, including 5.38 million baht in penalties for electricity violations and about 35 million baht in unpaid electricity charges.

Officials have collected evidence and filed complaints against those involved.

Phangnga is transforming itself from a seasonal beach destination into a fast-growing premium tourism market, supported by strong visitor spending, niche attractions and growing investor confidence.

“The structure of the Green Season market has shifted, with Thai travellers helping fill rooms alongside arrivals from Australia, Europe, Britain and Italy,” said Uthit Limsakul, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Phangnga Office.

The changing visitor profile is helping fuel growth across the province, which was recently named the world’s most welcoming destination in Booking.com’s Traveller Review Awards 2026.

The award reflects not only service standards but also the reputation for hospitality that has become one of Phangnga’s strongest tourism assets, he said.

Tourism revenue reached 20.3 billion baht between January and April this year, doubling from the same period last year, while visitor numbers topped 1.5 million, including 927,091 foreign arrivals and 582,898 domestic travellers, according to the provincial Tourism and Sports Office. The figures build on momentum from 2025, when tourism generated more than 50 billion baht for the local economy.

Green Season growth

June to September has traditionally been the quietest period of the year for tourism in Phangnga.

Yet many businesses now see the Green Season as an opportunity rather than a setback.

Occupancy rates currently stand at around 40-50% across the province’s estimated 15,000 hotel rooms, concentrated largely in Khao Lak, Na Tai and Koh Yao.

While the Fifa World Cup has affected some overseas travel demand, domestic travellers are stepping in to help fill rooms.

Mr Uthit said Australia remains the leading overseas market during the rainy season, followed by visitors from Europe, particularly the UK and Italy.

Many are long-stay travellers who remain in the province for 10 nights to two weeks and spend an average of around 13,000 baht per trip.

To attract visitors during the quieter months, many hotels have reduced room rates by more than 10%, creating a more affordable alternative to peak-season prices while preserving the area’s premium appeal.

Mr Uthit said the changing visitor mix had helped reduce the impact of seasonality and broaden the province’s tourism base.

Premium markets

Tourism operators are now looking beyond traditional leisure travel and targeting high-value visitor segments.

Mr Uthit said Khao Lak continues to enjoy a strong reputation among affluent Indian travellers after being named Best Wedding Destination, International Category by Travel + Leisure India, an award voted on by the magazine’s readership.

Tourism businesses and the Phangnga Hotel Association will hold roadshows in Mumbai and New Delhi from June 23 to 25.

The events are designed to secure bookings ahead of the high season, running from November to February, when occupancy rates are expected to climb to around 90% if international travel conditions remain favourable.

He said tourism agencies are also preparing a campaign targeting expatriates living in Phuket, a nearby market viewed as having strong purchasing power and potential for weekend travel.

If the Green Season has become an opportunity for Phangnga, nowhere is that transformation more visible than in Khao Lak’s growing surfing scene.

At Memories Beach in Takua Pa district, rough monsoon seas that once deterred tourists are now attracting surfers from across Thailand and overseas.

The beach has become the centrepiece of efforts to establish Khao Lak as the country’s leading surf town.

“Khao Lak has developed into a genuine surf village, with restaurants, bars, surf schools and facilities for visitors throughout the season,” said Chatchai Somporn, president of the Phangnga Surfing Club.

Surfboard rentals start at 200 baht for a 90-minute session, with additional hours costing 100 baht.

Beginner lessons for visitors are available from 1,800 baht, reduced from the standard 2,200 baht rate, while family packages are also offered.

The destination attracts surfers from Scandinavia, Russia and the Philippines.

Mr Chatchai said many are first-time students, among them an 80-year-old man, reflecting the sport’s growing appeal across age groups.

Supporting the sector is The Board Factory, a Khao Lak-based manufacturer producing handcrafted Sunova surfboards for international markets.

“Opening the factory to visitors allows tourists to connect directly with the surf culture and manufacturing heritage of Khao Lak,” said Eknarin Yotiphai, manager of the company.

Away from the beaches, tourism growth is increasingly reaching farming communities.

Alongside bamboo rafting, white-water rafting at Song Phraek and boat tours through the mangrove forests of Khlong Sangne, fruit orchards are another popular attraction.

At the centre of the trend is Salika durian, a geographical indication (GI) fruit unique to Kapong district.

The variety is renowned for its creamy texture, rich flavour and distinctive characteristics.

Phangnga expects to produce about 4,285 tonnes of durian this year from 8,919 rai of productive orchards.

Salika durian accounts for around 400 tonnes and generates more than 100 million baht for the provincial economy each season.

“Although farm-gate prices have softened slightly from last year, demand for Salika durian remains strong because of its distinctive creamy texture and flavour,” said Ronnapol Khwanseng, owner of Suan Keng orchard.

Tourism authorities have organised fruit tourism festivals for three consecutive years, with 34 orchards participating this year.

One recent promotion saw Ford Phuket organise a caravan of 65 vehicles carrying more than 200 visitors to Kapong district orchards, allowing tourists to purchase fruit directly from growers.

Following the Salika harvest, mangosteen, rambutan and jackfruit will draw visitors until August, extending the tourism season deeper into rural areas.

Future confidence

Despite concerns over weaker global consumer spending and uncertainty stemming from conflicts in the Middle East, business leaders remain optimistic about Phangnga’s future.

A major source of confidence is the proposed Phangnga airport.

“The airport plan has created enormous positive sentiment among investors, leading to investment in accommodation, hotels and tourism-related businesses,” Mr Uthit said.

For many tourism operators, the province’s success no longer rests solely on its beaches or marine attractions.

Instead, it increasingly depends on the ability to combine world-class hospitality with distinctive local experiences, whether through surf culture in Khao Lak, destination weddings, fruit tourism or community-based travel.

That diversification is helping Phangnga turn the traditional low season into a period of opportunity.

Police arrested a Frenchman aged 38 in Phetchaburi province on Saturday for alleged involvement in a Ponzi investment scheme and defrauding his European victims of about 7.5 billion baht.

Pol Maj Gen Songprote Sirisukha, commander of Immigration Division 3, said on Sunday that a “Mr Dogan” was apprehended at a pool villa in Cha-am district on Saturday. He was named in an Interpol red notice with arrest warrants issued by France and Turkey.

The Frenchman was also suspected of being a key member of a Ponzi scheme run by a gang based in the United Arab Emirates.

The gang of five set up a ‘digital finance firm’ in 2022 and claimed to have close connections with large-scale finance companies in Dubai. They lured victims, especially Turks who resided in France, Belgium, Switzerland and New Zealand into investing 20,000-300,000 euros each. The gang promised high returns of 15% a month, five-fold annual profit and a 10% bonus for recruiting new investors.

There were about 900 victims whose losses were estimated at 200 million euros (about 7.5 billion baht) in total.

The suspect faces extradition proceedings.

Bangkok governor candidate Mallika Boonmeetrakul Mahasuk pledged to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) to tackle traffic congestion and flooding, while rival Anucha Burapachaisri of the Democrat Party vowed to overhaul Bangkok’s waste-collection system as campaigning intensified in the final week before the June 28 election.

In Lak Si district on Saturday, Ms Mallika, candidate number 14, visited Rim Bueng market, a busy commercial area. She was welcomed by supporters who raised problems they want the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to address.

Ms Mallika said the visit was part of her final campaign push, with only seven days remaining before the election, to seek support and promote her 14 strategies for Bangkok, which she said could be implemented immediately.

“At present, the poll puts me in second place but not by as much as academic polls suggest. Right now, I have a very high chance of winning — the gap is so close I’m breathing down the leader’s neck,” she said, in reference to former governor Chadchart Sittipunt, who is running for a second term.

She said residents in Lak Si were mainly concerned about household finances, trade and the rising cost of living. She pledged measures to stimulate the grassroots economy and support small traders, community markets and small businesses.

She also highlighted chronic problems including congestion on Chaeng Watthana Road, recurring flooding, inadequate lighting, public safety concerns and poor use of public spaces.

Her proposed solutions include an AI Traffic Real-Time system, an AI Flood Radar system, expanded smart lighting and CCTV coverage, and upgraded public services.

Meanwhile, Mr Anucha, candidate number 5, campaigned with Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva and senior party executives in Sathon, Yan Nawa and Bang Khae districts, visiting several communities and markets.

Mr Anucha said residents had responded well to the Democrat Party’s five policy areas and identified waste management and flooding as urgent concerns in Sathon. He pledged to revamp waste collection after residents complained that separated rubbish is often mixed during collection.

He urged Bangkok residents to exercise their voting rights on June 28, saying Democrat candidates in all 50 districts would work alongside a governor backed by a strong party team.

Italy has offered to employ 20,000-30,000 Thai workers a year to remedy labour shortages in three sectors, deputy government spokeswoman Patdarat Thongsaluaykorn said on Sunday.

She said Labour Minister Julapun Amornvivat was advised of the offer by the Italian ambassador.

Italy was interested in employing 20,000-30,000 Thai workers a year in the farming, health and service sectors.

According to Ms Patdarat, Italy was looking to import about 500,000 workers from countries outside the European Union.

The labour minister proposed Thailand and Italy sign a memorandum of understanding to confirm the demand for labour, she said.

The government will launch the “Thailand Fast Pass” scheme on Tuesday to accelerate major investments by cutting approval times and easing regulatory bottlenecks, says Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas.

The scheme builds on the success of the BOI Fast Pass programme, which has proven capable of stimulating investment without requiring additional budget spending, said Mr Ekniti, who is also a deputy prime minister.

He said streamlining government approval and licensing procedures through closer coordination among state agencies can help promote investment, as reflected in higher levels of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Thailand.

Mr Ekniti said fast-track policies directly strengthen investor confidence, noting that Thailand’s ranking in international investment competitiveness compiled by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) improved from 30th to 24th place.

The Board of Investment (BOI) says Thailand Fast Pass is designed to speed up approvals and permits for large projects in targeted industries, reducing processing times by 20-50%.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul will preside over the launch on Tuesday at Government House.

Mr Ekniti, who chairs the BOI, recently held a meeting to review progress in accelerating investment through the Thailand Fast Pass system, focusing on key concerns raised by investors, including access to electricity, clean energy and investment sites.

At a BOI board meeting on May 6, nine additional projects worth a combined 52.1 billion baht were approved under the Thailand Fast Pass programme, bringing the total number to 25 projects with combined investment valued at 223.2 billion baht. In March, 16 projects were approved.

Projects accepted into the programme will receive expedited approvals and permits from agencies including the BOI, the Department of Industrial Works, the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand, the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning, the Customs Department and electricity authorities.

Between 2023 and 2025, a total of 78 large-scale projects worth 480 billion baht received investment promotion approval.

Of these, 35 projects worth about 100 billion baht began investment, while 30 projects worth 110 billion baht had clear plans to start in 2026-27. Another 13, valued at about 270 billion baht, still faced obstacles related to electricity supply, land availability and regulation.

Experts say that if the government can address these issues, 350 billion baht more investment will take place by 2027. The BOI will monitor progress on a quarterly basis.