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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/politics/40019949

Prayut Deploys Soldiers For Flood Operations In Bangkok, Across Country

SAT, SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

Though Suspended As Prime Minister, Gen Prayut Chan-O-Cha Has Used His Powers As Defence Minister To Instruct The Armed Forces To Defend Bangkok And The Country Against Floods.

Delivering the news on Saturday, Defence Ministry spokesman Gen Kongcheep Tantravanich said the military has deployed personnel and equipment to flooded areas across the country to aid disaster prevention and response efforts.

“All the armed forces are supporting the government, as instructed by Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the defence minister,” the spokesman said.

Days of heavy rain across large areas of the country, including the capital, have resulted in serious flooding.

Military personnel are working with Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation officials and volunteers in provinces affected by flash flooding and inundations caused by torrential rain.

Kongcheep said soldiers are helping to issue flood warnings, move belongings to higher ground, evacuate victims, distribute relief supplies, provide medical assistance, build temporary embankments, remove vegetation blocking waterways, and repair flood-damaged roads.

He said Prayut has also instructed the military to support the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) in dealing with flash floods across the city

“All of the armed forces were ordered to closely monitor the water and weather situation in Bangkok and the surrounding provinces,” said the spokesman.

Soldiers are clearing Bangkok’s waterways, water gates and sewer pipes to help speed up drainage into the sea, he added.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/politics/40019922

Sudarat To Be Thai Sang Thai Party’s PM Candidate

FRI, SEPTEMBER 09, 2022

Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan Will Be Thai Sang Thai Party’s Prime Ministerial Candidate At The Next General Election, Its Chief Strategist Said On Friday.

Bhokin Bhalakula said Sudarat will be proposed as PM candidate to the party’s executive board.

Former House speaker Bhokin also congratulated Sudarat on being voted the party’s new leader at its recent general meeting.

Thai Sang Thai, whose key figures including Sudarat are ex-Pheu Thai Party members, was established in March last year.

Bhokin said he was confident that Sudarat, as party leader, would help “change the country” by liberating and empowering people.

“We have to work together to free the country from authoritarianism and the bureaucratic polity that has oppressed ‘small people’,” he said.

Bhokin said Sudarat would help bridge the generational divide.

“She has strong leadership and is ready to be a torchbearer for people who love the country and democracy,” he said.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/politics/40019918

Gen Prawit Shows Silky Touch In New Career As Fashion Model

FRI, SEPTEMBER 09, 2022

Acting Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan Has Volunteered To Become A “Shop Window” For Thai Silk, Deputy Government Spokesperson Tipanan Sirichana Said On Friday.

She said Prawit, who also doubles as deputy prime minister, offered to showcase Thai silk clothing for the Department of Sericulture free of charge.

His goal is to promote the traditional industry and increase the income of silkworm raisers, the spokeswoman said.

Prawit kicked off his new career as a fashion model by wearing a checker-patterned tie made of “pa khao ma” silk.

He also urged fellow Cabinet members to add Thai silk to their wardrobes to boost the income of farmers.

Prawit took the role of acting prime minister last month after Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha was suspended as prime minister pending a Constitutional Court ruling on whether his eight-year tenure has already expired.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/politics/40019869

Former Deputy PM Somkid Elected Sang Anakot Thai Chairman

BY LINE : THE NATION

THU, SEPTEMBER 08, 2022

Former Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak Has Been Appointed The Chairman Of The New Sang Anakot Thai Party, The Party Announced.

The party, whose name means “Building Thailand’s Future”, held a special meeting of its executive board on Wednesday and the board voted to make Somkid the party chairman.

The executive board meeting was held at Rama Gardens Hotel on Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road to make preparations for contesting the next general election, which will be held after the current House completes its term in March.

The meeting was attended by some 300 of the party’s tentative election candidates.

The meeting was chaired by party leader Uttama Savanayana and attended by executives, including party secretary-general Sontirat Sontijirawong, deputy leader and southern region chairman Nipit Intarasombat, deputy leader and northeastern region chairman Supol Fongngam, and deputy leader Suranan Vejjajiva, chairman of the Bangkok area.

Sang Anakot Thai was formed by Uttama and Sontirat, former leader and secretary-general of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP). Uttama and Sontirat formed the PPRP to support former coup leader General Prayut Chan-o-cha to the post of prime minister only to see themselves removed from top posts of the party and the Cabinet later, prompting them to leave the PPRP and form the new party

Uttama said the meeting was informed that Somkid had joined Sang Anakot Thai as a member on September 2.

He said Somkid was given the chairmanship so that he would steer the party’s strategies for the country’s development.

Uttama said the meeting was held to make preparations for contesting the next election so that all party members would work in the same direction.

The meeting was also held to express the party’s readiness to step in and solve the country’s issues and tackle the economic hardship of the people, Uttama added.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/politics/40019849

The Constitutional Court president has ordered a probe into the leaking of a “statement” of a key witness in the case of the tenure of suspended prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Chaowana Traimart, secretary-general of the Constitutional Court, said on Wednesday that the court president, Worawit Kangsasitiam, was concerned over the circulation on social media of what appeared to be a written statement of Meechai Ruchuphan, former chairman of the now-defunct Constitution Drafting Committee (CDA).

Chaowana declined to confirm whether the leaked statement was a real copy of Meechai’s statement.

“I can’t confirm it because I saw only the copy circulated in social media,” Chaowana said.

The rumoured statement from Meechai was widely shared among Facebook users. In the “leaked” document, Meechai purportedly stated that Prayut’s PM tenure would count from April 2017 when the current Constitution was promulgated. If so, Prayut’s eight-year tenure would expire in April 2025.

On August 24, the court accepted the opposition’s petition for a ruling on whether Prayut’s eight-year tenure ended on August 24. The opposition argued that Prayut had become the prime minister of an interim government on August 24, 2014 following the May 22, 2014 coup.

Meechai was among three persons the court had demanded written statements from for consideration in the case. The two other statements came from Prayut and Pakorn Nilprapun, former secretary of the CDA.

Chaowana said the probe would focus on how a document has been leaked after it was submitted to the court and it did not focus on the authenticity of the document.

“The Constitutional Court president is extremely sorry about the leaked document although the court does not know how it happened. The court president saw that the leak affected the person who gave the view and affected the parties in the conflict,” Chaowana said.

Chaowana confirmed that the court has scheduled a special meeting on Thursday but the meeting would not result in a ruling in the case.

He said the judges would simply decide whether statements from the three persons would be adequate for deliberations in the case.

He said the fact that the court had scheduled a special meeting on Thursday did not mean that the judges were speeding up the case to help anyone as speculated by certain critics.

Chaowana said the meeting was scheduled in accordance with normal procedure that started when the court accepted the petition for review.

“I hereby affirm that the nine Constitutional Court judges are free in their work. No one knows how the ruling will be and no one knows whether the submitted documents are adequate or not. It’s too early to say the judges already have a ruling on their mind,” the secretary-general added.

Published : September 07, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/politics/40019839

Almost 54 per cent of respondents in a Suan Dusit Poll believe there is a possibility Parliament would be dissolved and a fresh general election called.

In the September 3-6 online survey titled “General election signals”, which was made public by Suan Dusit Poll on Wednesday, 1,128 people nationwide were asked for their opinions.

The intensity of the current political situation forced 50.45 per cent of respondents to closely follow the situation, while 53.92 per cent said there was a possibility of Parliament dissolution, according to the survey.

Meanwhile, 52.75 per cent felt opposition parties would gain an advantage in the next general election, while 56.56 per cent believed there would be more vote buying.

Most respondents said political parties’ promises and candidate personality are factors that would influence their decision during voting, while 68.29 per cent felt the political situation would intensify.

Asked what they would most like to see, 24.35 per cent of respondents said they want politicians to work for the country and its people, 19.56 per cent said fair competition, 18.27 per cent felt there must be cooperation among parties, 16.61 per cent wanted transparent politicians, and 13.28 per cent said they preferred strong leadership.

Suan Dusit Poll researcher Pornphan Buathong said even though people will pay attention to political parties and their promises in the next general election, it would not be easy for the parties to gain popularity as voters would also take into account other factors, such as the work done by candidates and their personality.

“Hence, these poll results are also the signals that people are sending to politicians,” she added.

Published : September 07, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/politics/40019806

A lawyer on Tuesday filed a complaint with the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), accusing a member of a panel monitoring the telecom watchdog of abusing his authority.

Trairong Tanthasuk submitted his complaint against Napat Winitchaikul to the NACC at its head office in Nonthaburi province. Napat is a member of the committee monitoring the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission’s work.

Trairong’s complaint accused Napat of committing malfeasance and nonfeasance. He handed over the complaint to Phairoj Niyomdecha, director of the NACC Investigation and Operations Division 2.

In the complaint, Trairong alleged that Napat’s behaviour had caused damage to the state because he liked to act beyond his authority as a member of the NBTC monitoring panel and former chairman of the panel.

The complaint cited an incident of Napat wearing a shirt with the logo of his monitoring panel to submit a letter to the NBTC opposing the merger of True Corporation and Total Access Communication.

Trairong said Napat’s actions had caused misunderstanding among the public that his panel was opposed to the merger, although the panel had never made an official decision on the issue. He said Napat was supposed to maintain his neutrality in the case.

“Initially, when I saw the report, I thought Napat was acting on behalf of the panel,” Trairong said.

Trairong said Napat also had asked the NBTC to cancel its regulations earlier announced on the merger of telecom firms although the regulations have been enforced to permit other mergers.

This has led to a question as to whether Napat was abusing his authority, Trairong said.

The lawyer added that when Napat was chairman of the monitoring committee, he had signed an order to appoint an adviser to the chairman although there was no law or regulation that empowered him to do so.

Trairong said Napat had also proposed a budget for fiscal year 2020 for the monitoring panel to visit 371 radio stations nationwide, although he had no legal power to do so.

Napat was approved as a member of the NBTC monitoring panel by the National Legislative Assembly on March 13, 2019. The panel voted on April 1, 2019 to make him its chairman but he was deposed as chairman on March 20, 2020 with a majority votes that appointed Pansak Chanpanya as a new chairman.

Published : September 06, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/politics/40019758

A special meeting of Constitutional Court judges has been called on Thursday for deliberations on the defence statement of suspended prime minister General Prayut Chana-o-cha as well as statements of defence witnesses, a source said on Monday.

The source from the Office of the Constitutional Court said that Worawit Kangsasitiam, president of the court, had called a special meeting on Thursday to discuss the written statements of three defence witnesses.

The court had earlier scheduled a meeting on September 14 to issue a ruling on the status of ex-deputy interior minister Nipon Boonyamanee. The court was asked to decide whether Nipon should be suspended from the Cabinet now that he has been charged in the corruption court related to his duty as the head of Songkhla’s Provincial Administrative Organisation eight years ago. Nipon, however, pre-empted a ruling and decided to step down with immediate effect from Monday.

The source said Worawit had informed eight other Constitutional Court judges that he had received written statements from Meechai Ruchuphan, former chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee, and from Pakorn Nilprapunt, deputy secretary-general of the Council of State.

The source did not state the name of the third defence witness, who might be Prayut himself as his defence team has also submitted a written statement to the court.

The court suspended Prayut from duty as prime minister after accepting a petition from the opposition for a ruling on whether Prayut might have completed his eight-year term limit. The petition pointed out that Prayut had become the prime minister on August 23, 2014 following the coup and the 2017 charter sets an eight-year limit on the PM’s term.

But Prayut’s defence team has argued that the “prime minister”, to face the eight-year limit, must be one appointed by the House of Representatives elected under the current charter. They pointed out that Prayut had assumed the premiership on June 9, 2019, following the general election in March that year so his eight-year term would be reached in 2027.

The source said if the judges considered on Thursday that they had enough information to make a ruling, the court would schedule a date for announcing a decision. Normally, the court would spend at lest 15 days for considering the information.

But if the court wants more information, the court will defer its ruling until it gets all the information it wants, the source added.

The source added that the court on Thursday might also consider dismissing the petition about Nipon’s status now that he has quit as deputy interior minister.

Published : September 05, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/politics/40019747

Deputy Interior Minister Nipon Boonyamanee resigned from his post on Monday to fight a case in the corruption court related to his tenure as head of Songkhla’s provincial administrative organisation (PAO) eight years ago.

Nipon submitted his resignation with immediate effect, addressed to General Prayut Chan-o-cha, the suspended prime minister.

He was appointed to the post on July 10, 2019.

Nipon went to the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases later in the day to enter his plea of innocence after the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) got public prosecutors to charge him with dereliction of duty related to a bidding project when he was Songkhla PAO head eight years ago.

The NACC found grounds to charge him with nonfeasance after Nipon refused to approve the payment for two road maintenance trucks to the bid winner, Ponlavit Tech Plus Co Ltd, totalling 52 million baht.

Nipon came to the court with Wasant Sroypisut, former Constitutional Court president who is his defence lawyer, and Suthas Ngernmuen, former justice minister.

Speaking to reporters at the court, Nipon said he had informed Prayut in the morning that he had decided to quit to fight his case in court and Prayut had given him his moral support.

“I didn’t want to use my political position to pressure the work of the judges,” Nipon explained on the reasons for his resignation.

He said no one had pressured him to resign and his leaving the job had nothing to do with the next election, which would be held after the current House completes its four-year tenure in March.

Nipon, a Democrat Party deputy leader, said he did not want to wait until the court had ordered his suspension from duty and he thought he had made the right decision to resign.

Nipon said it would be up to the Democrat executive board to decide who should succeed him as deputy interior minister.

Also on Monday, Nipon posted a long message on his Facebook wall to defend his decision not to pay the money to the bid winner eight years ago.

In the post, Nipon alleged that Ponlavit Tech Plus and a rival bidder had fixed prices and submitted falsified documents.

Nipon said had he paid the money, the Sonkhla PAO would have been damaged.

He noted that the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases Area 9 has issued arrest warrants against suspects over alleged collusion in price fixing, and most of the suspects had fled the country. The suspects who have been arrested have been charged in court, Nipon added.

Itthipon Duanduan, the owner of the company, reportedly fled to Qatar on June 14.

Ater Nipon refused to approved the payment, the company filed a lawsuit with Songkhla Administrative Court and has been fighting the case until the Supreme Administrative Court ruled on May 8 this year that the Songkhla PAO must pay 80 million baht to the company, plus interest accumulated during the eight years.

The Supreme Administrative Court reasoned that Ponlavit Tech Plus had won the bid and the allegation of price fixing could not be cited as a reason to delay the payment.

The NACC had earlier explained that the case of price-fixing was separate from the case of dereliction of duty against Nipon as he was required by the law to approve the payment.

In his Facebook post, Nipon maintained he had made the right decision to hold back payments and if he were given a second chance, he would still affirm his decision not to pay the amount to the bid winner.

Published : September 05, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/politics/40019720

Bangkok police have advised motorists to avoid Ratchaprasong intersection in Pathum Wan district, where anti-government protesters are gathering on Sunday.

Pathum Wan police station chief Pansa Amarapithak said drivers should avoid Ratchadamri Road from Ratchaprasong to the Pratunam intersection and Rama I Road from Chid Lom to the Chalermphao intersection.

The areas are expected to be congested from 5pm when rally organiser Kana Lomruam Prachachon (Melting Pot Group) says the protest will start.

Pansa said the group’s leaders, Jatuporn Promphan of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), and Nitithorn Lamlua, told police that about 300 protesters would attend the rally.

Pansa said the two leaders promised the protest would stick to the pavement in front of CentralWorld and not stray onto the road.

But the Sunday rally would add pressure to traffic congestion in the busy shopping district, so shoppers should use the Skytrain where possible instead of driving, the station chief added.

Jatuporn said his group will continue protesting against the so-called “3 Ps” despite Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha being suspended as prime minister pending a Constitutional Court ruling on his tenure limit.

The two other “Ps” are acting PM Gen Prawit Wongsuwan and Interior Minister Gen Anupong “Pok” Paochinda. The three generals joined forces to stage the 2014 coup and have been in Cabinet together since then.

Earlier, Jatuporn noted that Prayut was not suspended from Cabinet as he still held the post of defence minister. He added that the former coup leaders were seeking to cling on to power forever.

Pansa said that both plainclothes and uniformed police would be deployed to monitor the rally and maintain security at ground level and on the Skywalk.

Police would check for weapons at the rally site while also ensuring the Skywalk was not used to launch attacks on protesters below, he added.

He said protesters’ constitutional right to demonstrate peacefully would be protected as long as they did not mention the royal institution. He also advised them to confine their activities to the seven sites prepared for them by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. Protesters who gathered elsewhere must avoid violating traffic law by blocking roads, he said.

Published : September 04, 2022

By : THE NATION