BANGKOK, Oct 8 – The government will launch a television station in Yawi, a Malay dialect widely spoken in Thailand’s three southernmost provinces, starting Jan 1, Minister to the PM’s Office Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisal said today.
He said the Yawi broadcast is aimed at creating a better understanding among southern people on the government’s administration, improving the people’s quality of life and career, and resolving the perennial crisis in the Muslim-dominated region.
The government’s Channel 11 will act as the core operator of the satellite network which will be supported by the Internal Security Operations Command, the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre, the National Security Council and Modernine TV (Channel 9).
The broadcast will cover three southernmost provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala, and four districts of Songkhla province.
Also referred to as Pattani Malay, Yawi is the primary spoken language of Thais along the Thai-Malaysian border.
Mr Niwatthamrong described Yawi as one of the dialects of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
