AFP:
Thailand's prime minister said Friday his government would try to boost private investment in Muslim provinces hit by a deadly insurgency, hoping to ease the violence by improving the economy.
Premier Samak Sundaravej met the nation's security chiefs Friday to find new ways of tackling the unrest, which has claimed more than 3,000 lives over four years.
After the meeting, Samak said his government would use non-violent means such as encouraging investment to combat the insurgency.
The region is one of the poorest in the country, with economic growth averaging 1.8 percent a year, compared with 4.3 percent for the entire southern region of Thailand, he said.
He said the investment plan would encourage halal food projects, agriculture support schemes, and increased trade with neighbouring Malaysia.
However, companies that choose to take part in the investment programme will be required to give the military a 51 percent stake in their projects, Samak said.
"We will ask the private sector to commit 100 percent of investment in three southern provinces... but they must allow the military to hold a 51 percent stake," Samak told reporters.
At least 108 factories have shut their doors in the Muslim-majority region along the southern border with Malaysia, while investment has slowed to a trickle.
Poverty has crept higher, with 10.8 percent of the region's people living in poverty in 2006, compared with 9.7 percent two years earlier.
Thailand has tried for years to boost investment in the deep south through tax incentives and other measures, but businesses have been reluctant to put their money into a region where shootings, bombings and arson are a fixture of daily life.
Government statistics show that attacks have become far more frequent as the insurgency has progressed, with 2,633 attacks last year, compared with 1,324 in 2004, the year the unrest broke out.
The violence has widowed 954 women, and orphaned 1,784 children, according to government data.
BP: Why would you invest 100% in the business so that the military can take a 51% stake? Wouldn't the fact that it was majority owned by the military make the place of business more of a target? Insurance costs are up - the owner of the CS Pattani Hotel said his insurance premiums recently tripled -, attracting employees is difficult (a brain drain from the region and well attracting staff to work there is expensive), and daily violence is unlikely to do wonders for consumer confidence. You need security to attract business.
I should note that the Isara News Centre have an article (Thai language only) which mentions what Samak says, it includes the 51% figure for the military, but it doesn't say that the private sector will be investing 100%. The Bangkok Post's article also states "The government is counting on investment from military agencies to help revive the troubled southern provinces, said the prime minister." Ultimately, there appears to be some private-public partnership.
On the change in the poverty level, I have some charts below:
Source: NESDB (Excel file, Thai language)
Source: NESDB (Excel file, Thai language)
NOTE: If you notice some differences between the figures in this post and my previous post, it is because those figures were based on income whereas the above figures are based on spending and I can't find income figures for individual provinces on the NESDB website for 2006. The point is the same though, poverty reduced between 2000-2004 in all 3 provinces, but since 2004 it has increased dramatically in Narathiwat.
btw, below is a chart updating this post:
Source: NESDB (Excel file, Thai language)
Can we ask each general to pitch in their contribution to help stimulating the economy in the Deep South after all the loots they have legally plundered the country for so long? Yes, this is the time for the generals to give back and show us their true love for the country and the people like they claimed when they staged the coup.