Apirak resignsBangkok voters will vote in a new governor election in January with Democrat deputy party leader Korn Chatikavanij tipped to run in the contest after Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin (photo) announced his resignation yesterday.
Mr Apirak’s resignation, which will take effect on Nov 20, came one day after he was implicated in City Hall’s fire engine procurement scandal by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC). The anti-graft agency ruled that he had violated the Criminal Code’s Article 157 when he opened a letter of credit for the 6.8-billion-baht deal.
Mr Apirak, who was re-elected in a landslide victory on Oct 5, said his decision to step down even though the case has yet to go to court is to set a standard for Thai politics.
Mr Apirak protested his innocence, saying he had sought advice from various agencies, including the Interior Ministry and the Commerce Ministry, and was advised to open the letter of credit for the purchase to go through.
Election commissioner Prapun Naigowit said the new governor election is tentatively scheduled for Jan 11, noting that the Election Commission must fill the post within 60 days of Mr Apirak’s resignation.
He said Mr Apirak is not obliged to pay for the new election.
Mr Apirak also apologised to Bangkok voters who re-elected him as governor, and the Democrat party which backed his bid for re-election.
‘‘I apologise to the people for this. I also apologise to the Democrat party and the executive board. I will return after I go through the justice process,’’ said Mr Apirak.
He said he had decided to run in the city governor election in October because he was confident that he had done nothing illegal.
The party gave full support to Mr Apirak to fight the charges in the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions.
‘‘I think he has made the right decision. City voters can now choose a new governor instead of waiting in uncertainty,’’ said Democrat party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva.
Mr Korn, a Democrat MP, said the party never doubted Mr Apirak’s transparency and would do its best to help him fight the charges. ‘‘Mr Apirak has taken responsibility in a way that he believes will help the development of democracy,’’ Mr Korn said.
Mr Korn did not rule out running for Bangkok governor, saying he would comply with whatever the party decided.
tip – to say who you think will get a particular job ការនែនាំ implicate – to show or suggest that someone is involved in wrongdoing ជាប់ទាក់ទង scandal – a situation in which important people behave in a dishonest or immoral way that shocks people រឿងអាស្រូវ graft – corruption អំពើរពុករលួយ rule – (of a court or other group with similar authority) to make and announce a decision violate – to do something that is against the law ល្មើសច្បាប់ criminal code – the systems of laws dealing with crimes and their punishment ប្រមូលផ្តុំច្បប់ព្រហ្មទណ្ឌ article – part of a legal document, agreement or law that deals with a particular point មាត្រា landslide victory – an election victory by a very large margin or amount ការឈ្នះដាច់ protested his innocence – claimed that he had done nothing against the law បញ្ជាក់មិនបានខុស transparency – an honest way of doing things that allows other people to know exactly what you are doing rule out – to stop considering something as a possibility ប្រកាស់ថាវាមិនអាចកើតឡើងបាន comply – to obey a rule or law ប្រព្រិត្តតាមច្បាប់
Apirak resignsBangkok voters will vote in a new governor election in January with Democrat deputy party leader Korn Chatikavanij tipped to run in the contest after Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin (photo) announced his resignation yesterday.
Mr Apirak’s resignation, which will take effect on Nov 20, came one day after he was implicated in City Hall’s fire engine procurement scandal by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC). The anti-graft agency ruled that he had violated the Criminal Code’s Article 157 when he opened a letter of credit for the 6.8-billion-baht deal.
Mr Apirak, who was re-elected in a landslide victory on Oct 5, said his decision to step down even though the case has yet to go to court is to set a standard for Thai politics.
Mr Apirak protested his innocence, saying he had sought advice from various agencies, including the Interior Ministry and the Commerce Ministry, and was advised to open the letter of credit for the purchase to go through.
Election commissioner Prapun Naigowit said the new governor election is tentatively scheduled for Jan 11, noting that the Election Commission must fill the post within 60 days of Mr Apirak’s resignation.
He said Mr Apirak is not obliged to pay for the new election.
Mr Apirak also apologised to Bangkok voters who re-elected him as governor, and the Democrat party which backed his bid for re-election.
‘‘I apologise to the people for this. I also apologise to the Democrat party and the executive board. I will return after I go through the justice process,’’ said Mr Apirak.
He said he had decided to run in the city governor election in October because he was confident that he had done nothing illegal.
The party gave full support to Mr Apirak to fight the charges in the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions.
‘‘I think he has made the right decision. City voters can now choose a new governor instead of waiting in uncertainty,’’ said Democrat party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva.
Mr Korn, a Democrat MP, said the party never doubted Mr Apirak’s transparency and would do its best to help him fight the charges. ‘‘Mr Apirak has taken responsibility in a way that he believes will help the development of democracy,’’ Mr Korn said.
Mr Korn did not rule out running for Bangkok governor, saying he would comply with whatever the party decided.
tip – to say who you think will get a particular job ការនែនាំ implicate – to show or suggest that someone is involved in wrongdoing ជាប់ទាក់ទង scandal – a situation in which important people behave in a dishonest or immoral way that shocks people រឿងអាស្រូវ graft – corruption អំពើរពុករលួយ rule – (of a court or other group with similar authority) to make and announce a decision violate – to do something that is against the law ល្មើសច្បាប់ criminal code – the systems of laws dealing with crimes and their punishment ប្រមូលផ្តុំច្បប់ព្រហ្មទណ្ឌ article – part of a legal document, agreement or law that deals with a particular point មាត្រា landslide victory – an election victory by a very large margin or amount ការឈ្នះដាច់ protested his innocence – claimed that he had done nothing against the law បញ្ជាក់មិនបានខុស transparency – an honest way of doing things that allows other people to know exactly what you are doing rule out – to stop considering something as a possibility ប្រកាស់ថាវាមិនអាចកើតឡើងបាន comply – to obey a rule or law ប្រព្រិត្តតាមច្បាប់
Apirak resignsBangkok voters will vote in a new governor election in January with Democrat deputy party leader Korn Chatikavanij tipped to run in the contest after Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin (photo) announced his resignation yesterday.
Mr Apirak’s resignation, which will take effect on Nov 20, came one day after he was implicated in City Hall’s fire engine procurement scandal by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC). The anti-graft agency ruled that he had violated the Criminal Code’s Article 157 when he opened a letter of credit for the 6.8-billion-baht deal.
Mr Apirak, who was re-elected in a landslide victory on Oct 5, said his decision to step down even though the case has yet to go to court is to set a standard for Thai politics.
Mr Apirak protested his innocence, saying he had sought advice from various agencies, including the Interior Ministry and the Commerce Ministry, and was advised to open the letter of credit for the purchase to go through.
Election commissioner Prapun Naigowit said the new governor election is tentatively scheduled for Jan 11, noting that the Election Commission must fill the post within 60 days of Mr Apirak’s resignation.
He said Mr Apirak is not obliged to pay for the new election.
Mr Apirak also apologised to Bangkok voters who re-elected him as governor, and the Democrat party which backed his bid for re-election.
‘‘I apologise to the people for this. I also apologise to the Democrat party and the executive board. I will return after I go through the justice process,’’ said Mr Apirak.
He said he had decided to run in the city governor election in October because he was confident that he had done nothing illegal.
The party gave full support to Mr Apirak to fight the charges in the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions.
‘‘I think he has made the right decision. City voters can now choose a new governor instead of waiting in uncertainty,’’ said Democrat party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva.
Mr Korn, a Democrat MP, said the party never doubted Mr Apirak’s transparency and would do its best to help him fight the charges. ‘‘Mr Apirak has taken responsibility in a way that he believes will help the development of democracy,’’ Mr Korn said.
Mr Korn did not rule out running for Bangkok governor, saying he would comply with whatever the party decided.
tip – to say who you think will get a particular job ការនែនាំ implicate – to show or suggest that someone is involved in wrongdoing ជាប់ទាក់ទង scandal – a situation in which important people behave in a dishonest or immoral way that shocks people រឿងអាស្រូវ graft – corruption អំពើរពុករលួយ rule – (of a court or other group with similar authority) to make and announce a decision violate – to do something that is against the law ល្មើសច្បាប់ criminal code – the systems of laws dealing with crimes and their punishment ប្រមូលផ្តុំច្បប់ព្រហ្មទណ្ឌ article – part of a legal document, agreement or law that deals with a particular point មាត្រា landslide victory – an election victory by a very large margin or amount ការឈ្នះដាច់ protested his innocence – claimed that he had done nothing against the law បញ្ជាក់មិនបានខុស transparency – an honest way of doing things that allows other people to know exactly what you are doing rule out – to stop considering something as a possibility ប្រកាស់ថាវាមិនអាចកើតឡើងបាន comply – to obey a rule or law ប្រព្រិត្តតាមច្បាប់
Apirak resignsBangkok voters will vote in a new governor election in January with Democrat deputy party leader Korn Chatikavanij tipped to run in the contest after Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin (photo) announced his resignation yesterday.
Mr Apirak’s resignation, which will take effect on Nov 20, came one day after he was implicated in City Hall’s fire engine procurement scandal by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC). The anti-graft agency ruled that he had violated the Criminal Code’s Article 157 when he opened a letter of credit for the 6.8-billion-baht deal.
Mr Apirak, who was re-elected in a landslide victory on Oct 5, said his decision to step down even though the case has yet to go to court is to set a standard for Thai politics.
Mr Apirak protested his innocence, saying he had sought advice from various agencies, including the Interior Ministry and the Commerce Ministry, and was advised to open the letter of credit for the purchase to go through.
Election commissioner Prapun Naigowit said the new governor election is tentatively scheduled for Jan 11, noting that the Election Commission must fill the post within 60 days of Mr Apirak’s resignation.
He said Mr Apirak is not obliged to pay for the new election.
Mr Apirak also apologised to Bangkok voters who re-elected him as governor, and the Democrat party which backed his bid for re-election.
‘‘I apologise to the people for this. I also apologise to the Democrat party and the executive board. I will return after I go through the justice process,’’ said Mr Apirak.
He said he had decided to run in the city governor election in October because he was confident that he had done nothing illegal.
The party gave full support to Mr Apirak to fight the charges in the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions.
‘‘I think he has made the right decision. City voters can now choose a new governor instead of waiting in uncertainty,’’ said Democrat party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva.
Mr Korn, a Democrat MP, said the party never doubted Mr Apirak’s transparency and would do its best to help him fight the charges. ‘‘Mr Apirak has taken responsibility in a way that he believes will help the development of democracy,’’ Mr Korn said.
Mr Korn did not rule out running for Bangkok governor, saying he would comply with whatever the party decided.
tip – to say who you think will get a particular job ការនែនាំ implicate – to show or suggest that someone is involved in wrongdoing ជាប់ទាក់ទង scandal – a situation in which important people behave in a dishonest or immoral way that shocks people រឿងអាស្រូវ graft – corruption អំពើរពុករលួយ rule – (of a court or other group with similar authority) to make and announce a decision violate – to do something that is against the law ល្មើសច្បាប់ criminal code – the systems of laws dealing with crimes and their punishment ប្រមូលផ្តុំច្បប់ព្រហ្មទណ្ឌ article – part of a legal document, agreement or law that deals with a particular point មាត្រា landslide victory – an election victory by a very large margin or amount ការឈ្នះដាច់ protested his innocence – claimed that he had done nothing against the law បញ្ជាក់មិនបានខុស transparency – an honest way of doing things that allows other people to know exactly what you are doing rule out – to stop considering something as a possibility ប្រកាស់ថាវាមិនអាចកើតឡើងបាន comply – to obey a rule or law ប្រព្រិត្តតាមច្បាប់
Chiengmai. Tonsak. Kungrao. Surin. The names of the star elephants at the Copenhagen Zoo are Thai because they are from Thailand.
Actually, most of the elephants at the 149-year-old zoo are principally from Thailand due to long-standing relations between the two countries.
The first two Thai elephants, Chang and Eng, arrived in Denmark in 1878 as a gift from the Danish consul in Siam.
The zoo’s successful elephant breeding programme began when Their Majesties the King and Queen gifted three elephants — Chiengmai, Lampoon and Buag Hah — to Their Majesties Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid as a royal gift during their state visit to Thailand in 1962.
‘‘Chiengmai is now the great-grandfather of 12 calves,’’ said zoologist Bengt Holst proudly. ‘‘They are housed in various zoos in Europe.’’
In 2001, Denmark received another three elephants from Thailand. Two of them — Tonsak and Kungrao — were royal gifts from Their Majesties the King and Queen to Their Majesties Queen Margrethe II and Prince Consort Henrik during their visit to Thailand.
Surin is a gift from the people of Surin province to the Danish people. ‘‘The Thai elephants are our biggest attraction,’’ said the zoologist, adding that they are considered the Queen’s royal elephants in Denmark.
qele2The royal elephants were moved from castle-like quarters to a more natural and stimulating abode this year, a ceremony presided by Prince Consort Henrik and his grandson Prince Christian.
The new Elephant House is covered with glass domes to allow more sunlight, with better temperatures and humidity control. The sand-covered floor helps protect the elephants’ legs and feet while providing a soft ground to lie on.
The outdoor area is shaped like a dry river bed with mud holes and a deep ditch for the elephants to bathe. There is also a distance between each feeding ground, thus forcing the elephants to walk for food as they would do in the wild.
The new Elephant House is designed by famous UK architect Norman Foster.
principally - mainly consul - an official chosen by a government to live in a foreign city, in order to take care of people from the official's own country who travel or live there, and to protect the trade interests of that government breeding - the keeping of animals or plants in order to produce young animals from them calves - the young of various other large mammals such as elephants and whales zoologist - a person who scientifically studies animals Prince Consort - the title sometimes given to the husband of a ruling queen stimulating - if an activity is stimulating, it causes your body to be active abode - the place where someone lives presided - to be in charge of a formal meeting or ceremony ditch - a long narrow open channel dug into the ground usually at the side of a road or field, which is used especially for supplying or removing water, or for dividing land bathe - wash architect - a person whose job is to design new buildings and make certain that they are built correctly
Chiengmai. Tonsak. Kungrao. Surin. The names of the star elephants at the Copenhagen Zoo are Thai because they are from Thailand.
Actually, most of the elephants at the 149-year-old zoo are principally from Thailand due to long-standing relations between the two countries.
The first two Thai elephants, Chang and Eng, arrived in Denmark in 1878 as a gift from the Danish consul in Siam.
The zoo’s successful elephant breeding programme began when Their Majesties the King and Queen gifted three elephants — Chiengmai, Lampoon and Buag Hah — to Their Majesties Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid as a royal gift during their state visit to Thailand in 1962.
‘‘Chiengmai is now the great-grandfather of 12 calves,’’ said zoologist Bengt Holst proudly. ‘‘They are housed in various zoos in Europe.’’
In 2001, Denmark received another three elephants from Thailand. Two of them — Tonsak and Kungrao — were royal gifts from Their Majesties the King and Queen to Their Majesties Queen Margrethe II and Prince Consort Henrik during their visit to Thailand.
Surin is a gift from the people of Surin province to the Danish people. ‘‘The Thai elephants are our biggest attraction,’’ said the zoologist, adding that they are considered the Queen’s royal elephants in Denmark.
qele2The royal elephants were moved from castle-like quarters to a more natural and stimulating abode this year, a ceremony presided by Prince Consort Henrik and his grandson Prince Christian.
The new Elephant House is covered with glass domes to allow more sunlight, with better temperatures and humidity control. The sand-covered floor helps protect the elephants’ legs and feet while providing a soft ground to lie on.
The outdoor area is shaped like a dry river bed with mud holes and a deep ditch for the elephants to bathe. There is also a distance between each feeding ground, thus forcing the elephants to walk for food as they would do in the wild.
The new Elephant House is designed by famous UK architect Norman Foster.
principally - mainly consul - an official chosen by a government to live in a foreign city, in order to take care of people from the official's own country who travel or live there, and to protect the trade interests of that government breeding - the keeping of animals or plants in order to produce young animals from them calves - the young of various other large mammals such as elephants and whales zoologist - a person who scientifically studies animals Prince Consort - the title sometimes given to the husband of a ruling queen stimulating - if an activity is stimulating, it causes your body to be active abode - the place where someone lives presided - to be in charge of a formal meeting or ceremony ditch - a long narrow open channel dug into the ground usually at the side of a road or field, which is used especially for supplying or removing water, or for dividing land bathe - wash architect - a person whose job is to design new buildings and make certain that they are built correctly
Chiengmai. Tonsak. Kungrao. Surin. The names of the star elephants at the Copenhagen Zoo are Thai because they are from Thailand.
Actually, most of the elephants at the 149-year-old zoo are principally from Thailand due to long-standing relations between the two countries.
The first two Thai elephants, Chang and Eng, arrived in Denmark in 1878 as a gift from the Danish consul in Siam.
The zoo’s successful elephant breeding programme began when Their Majesties the King and Queen gifted three elephants — Chiengmai, Lampoon and Buag Hah — to Their Majesties Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid as a royal gift during their state visit to Thailand in 1962.
‘‘Chiengmai is now the great-grandfather of 12 calves,’’ said zoologist Bengt Holst proudly. ‘‘They are housed in various zoos in Europe.’’
In 2001, Denmark received another three elephants from Thailand. Two of them — Tonsak and Kungrao — were royal gifts from Their Majesties the King and Queen to Their Majesties Queen Margrethe II and Prince Consort Henrik during their visit to Thailand.
Surin is a gift from the people of Surin province to the Danish people. ‘‘The Thai elephants are our biggest attraction,’’ said the zoologist, adding that they are considered the Queen’s royal elephants in Denmark.
qele2The royal elephants were moved from castle-like quarters to a more natural and stimulating abode this year, a ceremony presided by Prince Consort Henrik and his grandson Prince Christian.
The new Elephant House is covered with glass domes to allow more sunlight, with better temperatures and humidity control. The sand-covered floor helps protect the elephants’ legs and feet while providing a soft ground to lie on.
The outdoor area is shaped like a dry river bed with mud holes and a deep ditch for the elephants to bathe. There is also a distance between each feeding ground, thus forcing the elephants to walk for food as they would do in the wild.
The new Elephant House is designed by famous UK architect Norman Foster.
principally - mainly consul - an official chosen by a government to live in a foreign city, in order to take care of people from the official's own country who travel or live there, and to protect the trade interests of that government breeding - the keeping of animals or plants in order to produce young animals from them calves - the young of various other large mammals such as elephants and whales zoologist - a person who scientifically studies animals Prince Consort - the title sometimes given to the husband of a ruling queen stimulating - if an activity is stimulating, it causes your body to be active abode - the place where someone lives presided - to be in charge of a formal meeting or ceremony ditch - a long narrow open channel dug into the ground usually at the side of a road or field, which is used especially for supplying or removing water, or for dividing land bathe - wash architect - a person whose job is to design new buildings and make certain that they are built correctly
