Speaking at the Thailand Focus 2018 conference, Political Road Map: the Election Ahead, hosted by the Stock Exchange of Thailand, Abhisit Vejjajiva, leader of the Democrat Party said that a paradigm shift is needed in economic management.

The Democrat Party committed to achieving income equality by promoting decentralisation and relaxing regulations, also promising to promote participation in policy and decision making.

Chaturon Chaisang, a leading member of the Pheu Thai Party, said economic policy should meet the people’s needs.

He said the Pheu Thai Party would create opportunities for business and more accessible financial services. Chaturon argued that Thailand has paid a very high cost for stability under the current dictatorial regime with trade and investment damaged and the public denied any input into decision making.

Anutin Charnvirakul, leader of the Phumjaithai Party, said while gross domestic product had increased by 4.8 per cent, the majority of people do not feel positive about economic growth because inequality is high.

He added that the government must prioritise projects that meet people’s demands across the country. Projects like the Eastern Economic Corridor is likely to concentrate development in a few provinces and it could be postponed, he said.

Anutin said he expected another election delay, telling  global fund managers attending the Thailand Focus that the election is more likely to be held in the second half of 2019.

Abhisit shared his views, adding that the country is unlikely to see an election on February 24. He also warned that election postponement could lead to national instability due to economic discontent.

After three hours of debate, 206 legislators present voted in support of the bill, with no votes against.

The meeting was chaired by the assembly’s president, Pornpetch Wichitcholchai.

Only a handful of NLA members rose to debate the budget bill. They made queries about certain clauses but did not criticise the draft legislation as a whole.

Among the big winners are the Defence Ministry, which is to get Bt117.6 billion; the Education Ministry, Bt297.3 billion; the Interior Ministry, Bt43.9 billion; and the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry, Bt25.5 billion.

The government’s fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends on September 30.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, who is in charge of the government’s legal affairs, explained yesterday that a new approach would be adopted to solve the primary voting problem. Each party will have to appoint an 11-member panel –comprised of four party executives and seven ordinary party members.

This panel will then meet party members in each province before coming up with a list of potential MP candidates for each constituency.

If party executives fail to decide on a successful candidate, the committee can come up with a new list. Should the issue persist, the executives and the committee can then hold a secret ballot to reach a resolution, Wissanu said.

He added that this approach was in line with the Constitution.

Initially, primary voting was included in the organic law to boost member participation and prevent party executives from dominating the party. Party members voted for candidates deemed eligible by the selection committee, while party executives could only choose one of two candidates winning the most votes.

Primary voting has yet to be held for the upcoming elections, as restrictions imposed by the junta have made it difficult for political parties to establish provincial branches and arrange primary voting.

Wissanu, however, said the new method would ease time constraints. Once the organic law on the election of MPs is promulgated next month, the Election Commission can proceed to draw electoral boundaries.

This process should take no more than 60 days, Wissanu said, adding that parties can use the last 30 days to handle candidate selection as per the boundaries drawn.

The order, issued under Article 44, can be expected after the promulgation of the election-related bills next month, Wissanu said.

This development came after the NCPO on Tuesday agreed to partially lift the ban on political activities, which has been in place since the 2014 coup. The NCPO said the partial lifting was to allow parties to make necessary arrangements ahead of the national election planned for February 24 at the earliest.

Meanwhile, National Legislative Assembly member Somjet Boonthanom, responsible for designing the primary voting clause in the bill, said he was disappointed with the alternative.

“We want political parties to be an institution, so we made provisions for members to choose their representatives,” he said. “But they can’t do it and we’re now going back to the same old problem.”

Surasak Keereevichien said it was likely that officials had decided to purchase the devices because they believed the devices would work.

“Sometimes, it is not about the value of devices. It’s more about belief, just like when you buy Buddha amulets,” Surasak said. “Officials who used this device found it worth the price. But some people see the price as too high.”

The commissioner said his agency would come up with a clear-cut conclusion on the matter “at an appropriate time”.

“The NACC will not allow the statute of limitations to expire,” he said.

The NACC is investigating the purchase of GT200 and Alpha 6 hand-held devices from a UK-based manufacturer, who claimed these devices could detect explosives and drugs etc from a distance.

When asked if a recent court verdict against certain Phitsanulok state officials could serve as a precedent for similar cases, Surasak said the officials were found guilty of purchasing items without authority, not because the devices were unusable.

Between 2005 and 2010, 15 state agencies bought 1,398 GT200 and Alpha 6 devices for a combined Bt1.13 billion. After the devices failed scientific tests, the UK government in January 2010 banned their export and warned foreign governments that they were “wholly ineffective”.

In February 2010, the government led by Abhisit Vejjajiva ordered scientific tests of the GT200 to verify its claimed effectiveness. The tests found that the GT200’s detection rate was no more effective than random chance.

THE SUPREME Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders yesterday acquitted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a malfeasance case, related to the 2003 rehabilitation of Thai Petrochemical Industry (TPI).

By majority vote, the court said Thaksin showed no intention of making any personal gains when he failed to veto a Finance Ministry plan to rehabilitate the financially troubled petrochemical giant.

The court said the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), which took the case to court, failed to produce witnesses and evidence that was convincing enough to prove the defendant had committed malfeasance as alleged.

Following the 1997 financial crisis and subsequent devaluation of the Thai currency, TPI’s foreign debts doubled from Bt65 billion to Bt130 billion. The jump in the debt burden severely affected the company’s 7,000-plus employees.

TPI’s top executive Prachai Leophairat and its labour union leaders later asked for assistance from the Finance Ministry.

The court also found that the Finance Ministry’s rehabilitation of the TPI came after consent from the company’s creditor banks, its executives and labour union, in line with an order from the Central Bankruptcy Court. At that time, the bankruptcy court agreed that the ministry should take charge of TPI’s rehabilitation to protect the country’s economy and prevent an important industry from falling into the hands of foreigners.

It was found that the defendant did not make any personal gains from the subsequent sale of TPI shares as part of a capital increase. A regulation at the time stated that such shares must be sold to agencies under the Finance Ministry’s control only, including PTT, Government Saving Bank and Government Pension Fund.

The court also did not find Prachai’s testimony convincing.

Prachai claimed he was told by a government official at the time, “My boss wants TPI”, supposedly referring to Thaksin. The court said this claim “did not carry much weight”.

The NACC working group on the case is going to consider whether to appeal the verdict, senior NACC official Pannapong Chanphetkul said after learning about the court’s ruling. The NACC has 30 days to appeal the case.

This case was previously suspended after Thaksin fled the country in 2008, shortly before the same court sentenced him to two years in jail for abuse of power while in office. The trial was resumed after an amendment to the Act on the Criminal Procedures for Holders of Political Offices promulgated last year allowed the court to conduct hearings in absentia.

The NACC in 2010 found the former PM in breach of Article 157 of the Criminal Code that prohibits malfeasance, by having then-finance minister Suchart Chaovisith head the rehabilitation plan for TPI.

As TPI was a private company, it was beyond the finance minister’s purview because of the scope to influence his ministerial work, the NACC argued.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, who is in charge of the government’s legal affairs, explained yesterday that a new approach would be adopted to solve the primary voting problem. Each party will have to appoint an 11-member panel –comprised of four party executives and seven ordinary party members.

This panel will then meet party members in each province before coming up with a list of potential MP candidates for each constituency.

If party executives fail to decide on a successful candidate, the committee can come up with a new list. Should the issue persist, the executives and the committee can then hold a secret ballot to reach a resolution, Wissanu said.

He added that this approach was in line with the Constitution.

Initially, primary voting was included in the organic law to boost member participation and prevent party executives from dominating the party. Party members voted for candidates deemed eligible by the selection committee, while party executives could only choose one of two candidates winning the most votes.

Primary voting has yet to be held for the upcoming elections, as restrictions imposed by the junta have made it difficult for political parties to establish provincial branches and arrange primary voting.

Wissanu, however, said the new method would ease time constraints. Once the organic law on the election of MPs is promulgated next month, the Election Commission can proceed to draw electoral boundaries.

This process should take no more than 60 days, Wissanu said, adding that parties can use the last 30 days to handle candidate selection as per the boundaries drawn.

The order, issued under Article 44, can be expected after the promulgation of the election-related bills next month, Wissanu said.

This development came after the NCPO on Tuesday agreed to partially lift the ban on political activities, which has been in place since the 2014 coup. The NCPO said the partial lifting was to allow parties to make necessary arrangements ahead of the national election planned for February 24 at the earliest.

Meanwhile, National Legislative Assembly member Somjet Boonthanom, responsible for designing the primary voting clause in the bill, said he was disappointed with the alternative.

“We want political parties to be an institution, so we made provisions for members to choose their representatives,” he said. “But they can’t do it and we’re now going back to the same old problem.”

POLITICIANS yesterday gave a |cautious welcome to the junta’s easing of political restrictions that have been in place since the 2014 coup – but they said more had to be done to allow political parties to better prepare for the general election.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday that the ban on political activities would be partially relaxed from next month, by invoking his absolute power under Article 44 of the interim charter, ahead of the election that is expected to be held between February and May. In effect, the leader assured that the road map to democracy would go ahead as promised.

His remark came after the weekly meeting of the ruling junta National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).

Prayut said the NCPO had initially agreed that the ban should be relaxed soon after the final two electoral legislations were promulgated. He was referring to the organic laws on MP elections and the Senate structure, which are expected to get royal endorsement next month.

“So, everything follows the same schedules [announced earlier],” Prayut said. “The earliest date possible is February 24, and it can be held on any Sunday as recommended by the Election Commission. The |government has no intention to delay the election any further.”

Political activities that will be allowed include the selection of party executives, membership applications and the selection of MP candidates, Prayut said.

The relaxation should help solve every electoral problem facing political parties, he said.

Parties and politicians have been paralysed since the junta took power in 2014 and imposed restrictions, citing the need for peace and order. The ban continued even after the new Constitution was put in place, stopping them from making preparations for the first election in five years.

Cautious welcome

Politicians cautiously welcomed the junta move yesterday as the easing of restrictions will finally allow their parties to make some necessary arrangements ahead of the national vote.

Deputy leader of the Democrat Party, Ongart Klampaiboon, told The Nation that it was a good sign that Prayut had finally cleared up the matter, though he still wanted to see details of the move to determine if it was practical.

“This is just a general direction. We’ll still have to see what the new order will bring,” he said. “Our party just wants an order that will allow us to make preparations for the election as required by the organic laws. We don’t mind partial lifting and full lifting of the ban being done separately.”

Ongart was referring to the fact that the initial easing would only give politicians a certain degree of freedom, while the entire lifting of the ban would come later this year.

Future Forward Party’s deputy leader Chamnan Chanruang said his party was confident it would be able to meet any requirements, but whether the premier’s word could be taken seriously was another matter.

“We have three or four experiences [when Prayut failed to keep his words about the election date]. I hope this time he doesn’t have any more reasons to delay it,” Chamnan said.

He added that since the ban should never have been imposed, his party did not find it necessary to be grateful for its removal.

Future Forward has campaigned for the election and will continue to do so regardless of the ban, he said.

“The party never paid attention to such limitations, and when it’s officially lifted, we’ll just proceed accordingly,” Chamnan said.

Chart Thai Pattana Party director Nikorn Chamnong also welcomed NCPO’s move, saying political parties need to be able to move more freely, particularly on urgent tasks, such as member recruitment and primary voting preparations, ahead of the general election.

Nikorn said the NCPO should also consider enacting Article 44 power to authorise the Election Commission (EC) to rejig constituencies, a crucial element for parties to prepare for primary voting to select their candidates, ahead of the enforcement of a new MP election law.

The EC generally has to wait until a decree is issued announcing the election date before it can designate constituencies.

Pheu Thai politician Worawat Auapinyakul yesterday called for a complete removal of the ban so parties can start campaigning in time for the ballot.

“The primary voting system has been a hurdle to all parties,” Worawat said. “Those new parties will have to seek trustworthy representatives and members in every constituency they’re going to contest. Even the Pheu Thai Party will have to do lots of work in constituencies where we don’t have an MP.”

The page is in Thai and its title is translated as “Uncle Pom’s Lovely Side”. Pom is General Prawit’s nickname.

Newly created on August 23, the page has attracted more than 800 followers and a post announces that it is run by “a group of people who support Uncle Pom”.

There are also posts containing messages in support of Prawit, news reports in favour of the ruling junta, and video clips defending Prawit against allegations. One of the videos is about the wristwatch scandal, in which Prawit claimed the more than two dozen luxury watches he was spotted wearing in recent years were borrowed from his now-deceased wealthy friend.

The webpage described Prawit, who is in charge of the government’s security affairs, as a reliable man who has been trusted by the armed forces for over five decades, and also a former commander well loved by his colleagues and “brothers” in the Army.

Prawit has faced backlash from his comments on controversial issues, such as the death of a military cadet under suspicious circumstances and the capsizing of a tour boat in which many Chinese tourists drowned.

THE Pheu Thai Party will abolish compulsory military conscription if it returns to power after the next election, a party source said yesterday.

The former ruling party also aims to sell the Navy’s submarines and use the money to fund the construction of hospitals, the source added.

The party came up with the ideas after many of its members met former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra overseas.

Thaksin, referred to as “Big Boss”, is widely viewed as Pheu Thai’s patriarch even though he holds no executive position in the party.

The former PM has lived overseas in self-imposed exile after fleeing the country in 2008, shortly before the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders sentenced him to two years in jail for abuse of power while in office.

Abolishing military draft and selling submarines to fund new hospitals would be part of Pheu Thai’s key policy platforms for the next election, expected to be held next February, the source said.

The source added that since the country is not at war, there should be no need for drafting many people to the military. Compulsory conscription should be replaced by voluntary military service, the source added.

Pheu Thai also believes the country needs hospitals more than submarines, the source added.

After the 2014 military-led coup, the junta approved the purchase of three submarines worth Bt13.5 billion from China.

While meeting party members overseas recently, Thaksin reportedly expressed confidence that his party would gain a majority in the House of Representatives, winning as many as 260 of the 500 seats up for grabs, the source said.

Thaksin was apparently citing the results of recent public opinion surveys that put Pheu Thai ahead of other parties.

Thaksin has also reportedly said that delaying the election any further would worsen the situation for the junta and work in favour of Pheu Thai, the source said.

“It will be easy for Pheu Thai to get votes. Today, people at the grassroots level are suffering from economic problems,” the source pointed out.

Thaksin has also reportedly suggested that the party’s former MPs visit their electorates frequently to hear the problems of local residents, so party policy platforms can be planned accordingly.

Wissanu said he had submitted legal suggestions to the NCPO a day before the junta members were set to meet and discuss matters.

The suggestions include permissions for parties to hold meetings with a view to receiving more members, to comment on the setting of constituencies, to conduct primary voting, to set up committees in order to seek MP candidates, and to cooperate with their members, he said.

The deputy PM also brushed aside that the NCPO’s tentative deliberation would have anything to do with the speculated resignations of two ministers in the current Cabinet, who are rumoured to hold top posts in a party supporting the prime minister, General Prayut Chan-o-cha.

There has also been speculation around the NCPO’s possible enforcement of its absolute Article 44 power to clear political hurdles, mostly set by the junta-appointed legislators themselves, and enable political parties to prepare themselves under the new, complex election mechanism under the 2017 Constitution.

Most of the concerns are in regard to the newly introduced primary voting system that will be required for all parties to select their MP candidates.

All parties, regardless of their size, must have sufficient numbers of members and representatives in contesting constituencies under the new system.

The NCPO, citing the need for order and security, long ago also imposed bans against political party activities and political assemblies of five or more people unless permitted by the junta.

Such bans have frozen parties from holding any mass official meetings since the junta came to power back in 2014.