2016 is passing with promised changes in political rules, a better rail system, debates over rice prices, the ongoing Wat Phra Dhammakaya saga — and the passing of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha holds up a chart showing how the 'five rivers' in charge of national administration works. Thiti Wannamontha
The passing of King Bhumibol Adulyadej
by Nauvarat Suksamran
The passing of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Rama IX, plunged the nation into profound grief on Oct 13.
Thais were weighed down with a deep sense of loss when a Royal Household Bureau announcement of the monarch's passing was televised that evening.
The King passed away at 3.52pm at Siriraj Hospital, where the late monarch had received medical treatment after years of suffering from declining health. The King was 88 and had been on the throne for more than 70 years -- the world's longest-reigning monarch at the time of his passing.
Having reigned since June 9, 1946, King Bhumibol Adulyadej was regarded as a guiding light, a unifying figure, and the heart and soul of the nation, leaving behind a legacy which will continue to inspire and motivate people.
A hard-working monarch, he worked with tireless and selfless devotion to help his people, initiating thousands of development projects modelled on his sufficiency economy principles and his "New Theory on Agriculture" approach to improve the livelihoods of the needy and the rural poor.
Shortly after King Bhumibol's passing, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, who was named by the late King as his heir, asked to defer his proclamation as the new King as he wanted to join the nation in mourning the late King's passing, according to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
On Dec 1, the Crown Prince accepted the invitation of the National Legislative Assembly president and acceded to the throne as the 10th King of the Chakri Dynasty.
The new King was formally named His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun.
The government declared a one-year mourning period as foreign royalty and world leaders expressed their deepest condolences to the royal family and Thai people over the loss of the late King.
The United Nations held a rare special assembly session on Oct 28 to pay tribute to the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, with representatives of member countries speaking in the late King's honour.
In an outpouring of grief, massive crowds of mourners wearing black journeyed from across the country to pay their respects to the monarch's body which is lying in state in the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall inside the Grand Palace.
The Royal Household Bureau reported on Dec 23 that more than 2.19 million people had come to pay their respects to the late King over the past 54 days. The number is expected to continue to rise throughout the coming year.
Confronted with the greatest loss, it seemed many Thais with differing views were united by their shared grief. Many vowed to turn sadness into strength and follow the footsteps of the inspirational monarch.
The spirit of sharing has also been prevalent, with people offering help, free food, free drinking water, as well as free motorcycle rides to those travelling to pay their respects to the late King.
Thais across the country and abroad held numerous activities in tribute to King Bhumibol.
One major highlight took place on Oct 22 when Sanam Luang and surrounding streets became a sea of black as hundreds of thousands of black-clad mourners converged for a historic mass singing of the royal anthem dedicated to the memory of their beloved monarch.
Black-clad mourners pack part of Phra Pin Klao Bridge to pay respects to His Majesty the King as the procession of King Bhumibol Adulyadej's body moves along the route from Siriraj Hospital to the Grand Palace on Oct 14, a day after the King had passed away. Patipat Janthong
Referendum and roadmap to election
by Mongkol Bangprapa
This year saw a lot of political ups and downs, but it was the charter and referendum that received a whole lot of publicity mainly because it would determine if the junta's political roadmap would stick.
The Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC), chaired by Meechai Ruchupan, completed its draft in March and as expected the document was full of controversial and potentially divisive issues.
Among them were the complex electoral system seen to be favouring small political parties rather than the big ones and the CDC's last-minute decision to let the military regime have the last word on the appointment of all 250 senators which is believed will help prolong the military's grip on power.
Critics were further stunned when the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) voted to accept an extra question to be asked at the charter referendum.
The question asked if the Senate should join MPs in selecting the next prime minister during a five-year transition period. Speculation had intensified that attempts were underway to allow a non-elected prime minister to come to power after the next general election.
Two major parties, the Democrat and Pheu Thai parties, voiced disagreement over the charter content and the extra question while former street protest leader, Suthep Thaugsuban, pledged his full support.
Just days before the referendum, Prime Minister and junta chief Prayut Chan-o-cha declared he would vote "yes" -- a move seen as a last-ditch attempt to galvanise the draft constitution's passage.
As it turned out, the draft charter and the extra question were endorsed at the Aug 7 vote with 16.82 million votes, or 61.35%, and 15.1 million votes, or 58% respectively.
However, the road to fresh elections could be bumpy; a total of 10 organic laws must be drafted within 240 days of the promulgation of the constitution and the NLA has 60 days to deliberate them.
After the laws are passed, an election must be called within 150 days or five months.
There are several factors at play which could delay the junta's political roadmap.
First, the interim charter stops short of saying what will happen if the charter fails to receive royal endorsement by the deadline, which is in early February next year.
Even if the charter is royally endorsed and promulgated, there is no guarantee the roadmap will not be delayed. The CDC and the NLA are working on a tight schedule to get all the 10 organic laws completed by the deadline.
Mr Meechai, the CDC chairman, has admitted to the possibility of the roadmap being delayed, but insisted the committee has an obligation to get all the work done by the deadline.
"The whole new drafting process will not take more than a month because we know where the problems are. If necessary, the roadmap will be delayed just a bit," he said.
Wat Phra Dhammakaya followers gather at the temple amid rumours the DSI planned to stage a raid. Pattarapong Chatpattarasill
Wat Phra Dhammakaya saga
by King-oua Laohong
Opponents of Wat Phra Dhammakaya were disappointed after officials failed time and again to search the temple and bring its former abbot, Phra Dhammajayo, to answer criminal charges against him.
In one attempt early this month, four search warrants were issued by the court which paved the way for a planned raid by a team led by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) at Wat Phra Dhammakaya and the planned arrest of Phra Dhammajayo on Dec 13-16.
The operation was eventually shelved after a seven-hour meeting between officials and the temple on Dec 12.
A combined police-DSI operation team decided to improve the raid plan. The meeting was attended by deputy national police chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul and DSI director-general Paisit Wongmuang.
In addition to charges of money-laundering and receiving stolen property in connection with the multi-billion-baht Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative embezzlement scandal, the former temple abbot is wanted in connection with two land encroachment cases -- one in Loei province and the other in Nakhon Ratchasima.
The temple was accused of moving to incite its disciples and monks loyal to Phra Dhammajayo to form a human shield against the authorities' attempt to raid the temple and detain the former abbot.
The temple also moved to persuade an international Sangha network to petition the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNHCR) to stop what it described as "violence" against the temple.
The Royal Thai Police and the DSI, meanwhile, found it was no piece of cake implementing the raid.
A drone was flown to capture a bird's eye view of the temple's land, covering more than 2,000 rai. The operation was disrupted by people in the temple flashing laser beams from the ground at the drone.
According to a source in the search operation team, the DSI wanted to act on the four search warrants right away but Pol Gen Srivara objected, predicting the team would end up failing to locate Phra Dhammajayo, and could end up in clashes with the temple's followers.
Pol Gen Srivara wanted the team to pinpoint where in the temple the former abbot actually was staying, if he was there at all, and if the temple had stockpiled weapons and mobilised people to fight.
The operation team may seek the court's approval on a fresh search warrant to raid the temple but a new request is required to be submitted along with a sound reason to explain why the previous warrants had ended in futility.
Pol Col Paisit who said the operation team decided if it had pushed ahead with the raid to detain Phra Dhammajayo, clashes with the temple's disciples would have resulted, which would play into the hands of certain political elements who would use the situation to stir up unrest.
"A critical weak point that needs to be resolved lies with the need to keep public confidence in the operation. As soon as a search warrant was out, the temple appeared to know what was afoot and was ready to fight back," the DSI chief said.
Passengers queue at Bang Phai station to get a free ride during a test run of a Purple Line train. Wichan Charoenkiatpakul
High-speed train ambition
by Amornrat Mahitthirook
As the government has an ambitious plan to develop high-speed train projects, it has turned to China and Japan as its key partners to help materialise them.
China has come on board the rail project which runs from Bangkok to Nong Khai, while Japan is interested in the route between Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
The Sino-Thai project is split into two parts, the first involving the 252.5km Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima route and the second the 354km Nakhon Ratchasima-Nong Khai route. The speed of the train would be 250km per hour.
Construction of the first section, which will kick off first, is also divided into four lengths -- the 3.5km route from Klang Dong to Pang Asok in Nakhon Ratchasima's Pak Chong district; the 11km route from Pak Chong to Sikhiu district's Klong Khanan Chit; the 119km section between Nakhon Ratchasima and Saraburi's Kaeng Khoi district and; the 119km Bangkok-Kaeng Khoi route.
The Klang Dong-Pang Asok section would be developed first and Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith expressed confidence work on the section will begin as early as March next year.
Construction bidding should conclude a month earlier.
Based on a Dec 2 meeting between Chinese and Thai officials on the project, the Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima route is estimated to cost 179.4 billion baht.
Details of the Klang Dong-Pang Asok section have been drafted by the Chinese and they will be referred to in the bidding.
The details of Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima high-speed rail route are to be forwarded for cabinet approval next month.
In March this year, an agreement was reached where Thailand would invest in the rail construction but purchase trains and signal systems from China.
However, the talks ended up in a stalemate as China insisted it must be able to seize some properties in the event that Thailand breaches the contract, such as land plots along the rail tracks or ports to be placed as collateral.
"We cannot accept this. Further talks must be held," Mr Arkhom said. China is also offering loans to fund the signal system and trains.
The interest rate is at 2.3% for a loan in US dollars and at 2.8% for a loan in Chinese yuan.
The construction of the Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima rail section could take three years.
The Japanese-Thai high-speed train project, meanwhile, is split into two sections -- the 384km Bangkok–Phitsanulok section, worth 227.4 billion baht, and the 285km Phitsanulok–Chiang Mai section, valued at 269.3 billion baht. The speed of the train is expected to reach 300km per hour.
The Japanese sought approval to study the project this year and it will draft the design next year. Work could start in 2018 and the service is set for launch in 2022.
In August this year, Japan and Thailand signed a memorandum of cooperation on the project, which includes a condition that Japan must conclude the project feasibility study by next year.
Ramkhamhaeng University students fill a bag with rice in an activity to help rice farmers sell their grain directly to customers. Patipat Janthong
Rice price slump upsets farmers
by Anucha Charoenpo
Rice prices were back in the picture in late October when farmers demanded the government come up with measures to help address a slump in prices of the staple crop.
The issue put the government on the defensive, with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha shifting the blame on to rice millers and some local politicians for pulling the strings that drove down the prices.
In response, some 30 executive committee members of the Thai Rice Millers Association resigned. Manas Kitprasert, who also stepped down as association president, denied the rice mill operators had anything to do with rice price manipulation.
He said millers had always followed government policy and adhered to the principle which puts farmers' interest first. However, the millers have now been accused of working with politicians to drive down rice prices to discredit the government.
Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn, meanwhile, said a worldwide oversupply of rice stock was the main reason for the depressed rice prices.
Global rice yields rose 2.4% due to favourable rainfall while worldwide demand for the grains dropped by 1.5%, according to Ms Apiradi.
The Thailand Development Research Institute said rice prices around the world have fallen as a record crop is forecast for the 2016-17 harvest season.
The quantity of rice harvested in Thailand until this month is likely to exceed that for the same period last year due to abundant rainfall throughout the year.
According to a Commerce Ministry survey, in late October the prices of Hom Mali paddy from the 2016/17 crop had fallen by as much as 1,000 baht a tonne in a week to 6,800-9,000 baht, depending on humidity (moisture).
The Commerce Ministry said the export price of Hom Mali rice would reach $490 a tonne, based on the futures price, which was the lowest in 10 years, triggered by increased output in almost all exporting countries.
With the sudden fall of rice prices this year, some farmers were forced to sell land to cover debts for seeds, fertilisers and insecticides while waiting for the government to roll out packages to help them deal with the problem.