Representatives of the Communist Party of Thailand on Monday submitted a document requesting to form a new party under that name. The request was signed by Pathom Tanthiti.

Hours after the submission, Sawaeng told Kom Chad Luek online that although his officials had accepted the submission letter, he had ordered that pre-registration of the party not be approved.

“It violates the laws and constitution since it is undemocratic,” Sawaeng said.

Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) chief Maj-General Peerawat Saengthong said the EC had the authority to approve whether a name was appropriate to be registered or not.

“But so far, it [Communist Party of Thailand] is just a name. There is neither a sign of any threat against national security or constitutional monarchy, nor a cause of division,” he said.

However, Peerawat urged the public not to link the party with the powerful Thai Communist Party that launched a guerrilla war against the government in 1965.

But if anything risked security concerns, Isoc has the duty to look into it, he said.

Worachet, who is head of the anti-coup Nitirat group, was referring to “Black May” or “Bloody May”, a common name for the May 17–20, 1992 protest in Bangkok. The protest was staged against the government of General Suchinda Kraprayoon, who previously staged a coup and toppled the government of General Chatichai Choonhavan, and became PM after a general election.

However, Worachet said on Monday that he did not want to give a personal opinion because this was a matter for the future and he did not know whether any party would propose Prayut for the premiership.

“But Thailand faced an incident [with an “outsider” premier] when Suchinda became a PM in 1992. General Prayut should see that as a lesson,” he said.

Some political analysts believe some parties will nominate Prayut as their candidate for PM. Under the constitution, Prayut is not eligible to run in the next election, but he could assume the role as the current charter allows a non-MP or an “outsider” to become premier under certain circumstances.

Thaksin Shinawatra was one of the rare success stories. In 1995, the-then telecoms businessman in his early 40s contested a general election for the first time in his life as the new leader of the Palang Dharma Party, which won 23 House seats in the national vote.

At that time Thaksin received the blessing of party founder and popular Bangkok governor, Chamlong Srimuang, who would later become one of his staunchest critics.

However, after the Palang Dharma’s popularity declined, winning only one House seat in Bangkok in the following general election, Thaksin left it to form his own political party called Thai Rak Thai, which literally means “Thais Love Thais”, in 1998.

The new party led by a political novice gained a landslide victory in the 2001 election, winning 248 out of the 500 House seats up for grabs.

In the next general election four years later, Thai Rak Thai won as many as 375 MP seats in the 500-member House of Representatives, becoming the first party in Thai political history to gain an absolute majority in the Lower House.

However, only a year later in 2006 a Thaksin-led government was overthrown in a military coup following allegations of corruption and power abuses. Thaksin’s party was later dissolved by court order for electoral fraud.

His younger sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, was another political debutante who enjoyed big success, managing to get elected in the 2011 election after only a little over a month in politics.

After Thai Rak Thai’s reincarnation, Pheu Thai Party, won 265 House seats in that national vote, Yingluck became prime minister – the country’s first female head of government – although she was not the winning party’s leader. This was mainly thanks to the influence of her brother Thaksin among Pheu Thai politicians, many of whom today still call him the “big boss”.

However, Yingluck’s government faced the same fate as that of her brother and was overthrown in the May 2014 military coup.

Like Thaksin, Yingluck later fled the country and has lived in self-exile overseas, escaping a jail term at home for negligence in connection with her government’s corruption-plagued rice-pledging scheme.

Another new face in politics who enjoyed rare success was Chuwit Kamolvisit, the former massage-parlour tycoon who is now a media celebrity.

Portraying himself as a victim of the authorities’ alleged abuse of power, Chuwit gained 334,168 votes in the Bangkok governor’s election in 2004 when he made his political debut. The votes were not enough to land him the governor’s job, but the expectedly high support earned him respect and served as a springboard for his subsequent political career, albeit short-lived.

Chuwit later served two years in jail for ordering the dismantling of business booths from his coveted land plot on Sukhumvit Road. After being released from jail last year, he changed his career path to the media, becoming a television journalist and commentator

Thai premier General Prayut Chan-o-cha also invited Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to visit Thailand prior to the start of the special summit.

Thailand has also expressed support for closer economic and security cooperation between Asean and Australia, especially in areas of innovation and sustainable development in the Indo-Pacific region.

Thailand will also play an important role on this crucial matter when the country takes over the Asean chair next year, according to Deputy Government Spokesman Lt-General Weerachon Sukhondhapatipak.

He said Thailand and Australia will celebrate the 70th anniversary of their bilateral relations in 2022 when Thailand is also scheduled to be the chairman of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec).

Thailand has also invited Australian companies to invest in its Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) mega-development programme covering Rayong, Chon Buri and Chachoengsao provinces.

As the last state visit by an Australian leader took place more than 20 years ago, Prayut issued an invitation for the Australian premier to visit Thailand, Weerachon said. He said Australia has also been very active in boosting its relations with Asean countries for mutual benefit in the Indo-Pacific region.

Weerachon said Australia also thanked Thailand for its support for the memorandum of understanding on regional cooperation to combat terrorism.

Meanwhile, Australia warned Asean leaders yesterday that the use of encrypted messaging apps to plan terrorist attacks is the greatest threat facing intelligence agencies in modern times, as they vowed closer cooperation to counter extremism, AFP reported. The Asean-Australia special summit in Sydney heard that use of the “dark web” was a spiralling problem and countries in the region must work together to keep on top of it.

Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton told the meeting “the use of encrypted messaging apps by terrorists and criminals is potentially the most significant degradation of intelligence capability in modern times”.

He said the only way to deal with the problem, and the increasing use of the Internet by groups like Islamic State to radicalise and recruit new members, was to work together. “We have to be constantly alert, constantly working with our neighbours in the region,” said Prime Minister Turnbull, pointing to the increasingly transnational nature of terrorism.

“Sharing of intelligence is critically important. As we all know, what may appear to be a not especially important, not especially consequential piece of intelligence, may be the piece that connects the jigsaw for somebody else’s investigation.

Malaysia’s prime minister also warned his Southeast Asian neighbours that the Rohingya refugee crisis in Myanmar could become a serious security threat for the region.

Hundreds of thousands of the Muslim-minority Rohingya have fled Myanmar’s troubled Rakhine state after authorities launched a brutal crackdown on insurgents six months ago that the UN has called “ethnic cleansing”.

Myanmar has vehemently denied the allegations, insisting it was responding to attacks by Rohingya militants in late August.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak raised fears that so many desperate and displaced people could fall prey to extremist groups like Islamic State.

With Myanmar’s de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi sitting just metres away, Najib said in Sydney that it was no longer a domestic issue for Myanmar.

However, it is a double-edged sword as it reaches people fast and can arouse their emotions, rather than critical thinking, a seminar on social media and politics was told yesterday.

The seminar, Social Media and Changes of Thai politics, organised by Isra Institute’s media executive class, saw notable political experts and Democratic party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva exchange views on the power of social media in shaping Thai politics.

Abhisit said the role of social media could be observed both now, when no election is not yet in sight, and in the lead-up to February next year, when the election is expected to be held.

He said he expected social media to play a greater role in shaping people’s thinking as the election neared, because politics was about the battle between different schools of thought.

By the time of the election there will be around five or six million new voters and the social media they have grown up with would become the new battleground for campaigning, said the former PM.

Among the participants in this contest will be new technology such as Facebook Live, and politicians will need to think hard which tools they should adopt in order to best reach voters.

Abhisit said those using social media should nevertheless be careful because content disseminated online would reach people too fast to be screened properly.

Atukkit Sawangsuk, a noted columnist, agreed with Abhisit, saying social media was powerful but lacked systematic processes to help control contents. Political messages delivered through social media at present were scattered and lacked direction, he said, prompting emotions to be aroused rather than people’s intellects.

This, he said, was dangerous as issues and solutions would be driven by emotion rather than facts, and authoritarianism would be sought more and more to quickly end issues of the day.

However, when social media is used to keep political office holders and high-profile personalities in check that is when it is at its most useful, they agreed.

Prinya Thaewanarumitkul, a law expert and vice rector of Thammasat University, said social media had provided equal access and freedom for people to communicate. Everyday people can suddenly have equal power, he said, citing the case of the CSI LA Facebook Page, which exposed the luxury watches seen on Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan’s wrist on various occasions.

Prinya also noted that social media could be used to help shape policies that people wished to see.

It’s what he called a smart democracy, having only a mobile phone to introduce their political wills and needs, he said.

THE HUGE income gap and wealth inequality presents a formidable task for political parties to solve.

Economic management has been a weak point of the current junta-backed government, and low-income groups, such as taxi drivers, street vendors and even middle-class workers, have been unhappy with the current situation.

Economic data suggest that a clear recovery began last year and it is expected to continue this year, yet the benefits have not yet spread wider to all sectors. So it is fertile ground for new political parties to propose new paths and new solutions to address the economic issues facing middle and lower-income earners. But that task may be formidable.

During the launch of the Future Forward Party, its two key leaders – billionaire Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and law academic Piyabutr Saengkranokkul –– emphasised the importance of people’s participation in forming public policies covering politics, economics and society.

This idea is not only limited to the Future Forward Party. “Participation” has become a fashionable word for the young bloods, who have jumped in to form new political parties. They believe their participation will lead to more economic equality.

Thanathorn describes the state of the economy as “semi-monopolitic” and promises to break it down in order to create space for new entrants. “There are many undesirable factors in society that create such an economy. I will destroy all those things,” he promised.

After about half a century of economic development, Thailand has been praised for significantly reducing the number of absolutely poor people but income inequality has persisted. Looking around, one would find that just a few business groups control both the income and wealth of the country.

According to the National Economic and Social Development Board, the top 10 per cent of income earners had a 36.8 per cent share of national income,while the bottom 10 per cent had a 1.1 per cent share of income  in 2013, which was the second year in the country’s 11th five-year plan (2012-2016). Meanwhile, research by Duangmanee Laovakul revealed that the top 20 per cent of land owners owned 79.9 per cent of the land in the country in 2013, while the bottom 20 per cent owned just 0.3 per cent. Among the priorities in the current development plan (2017-2021) is how to address the issue of inequality, even though the latest data suggests a slight improvement.

“The new government after the next election has to do more to support the rural economy and the poor urban population,” said Lae Dilokvidhyarat, an economist who specialises in labour issues.

Welfare cards and other measures implemented by the current government to help low-income earners will be insufficient, according to Lae. He said the government listened too much to big businesses at the expense of workers and other groups. However, he has high hopes for some of the new political parties.

“It is really good that a new party [the Future Forward Party] has proposed its political ideology,” he said, adding that the old parties usually “have policies but lack political ideology”.

Thanathorn, Piyabutr and other key founders of the Future Forward Party have insisted that they want people to participate in forming policies instead of just letting big businesses, specialists, technocrats and authoritarian rulers direct the country.

The party’s platform of embracing democracy and participation has drawn interest from both the mainstream media and social media.

Yet, not everyone is encouraged.

“I’m not impressed by anyone,” said Deunden Nikomborirak, research director at the Thailand Development Research Institute, an independent think-tank. She said she did not see any new or old politician qualified enough to win her vote.

“There is no candidate who has great experience in running public office, such as we see with US presidential candidates, who are often successful state governors before running for the presidency,” she said.

However, she suggested that if any political leaders wanted to address the semi-monopolistic economy, they would have to allocate an adequate budget to the Office of Trade Compettion Commision (OTCC).

The OTCC has been designed to tackle unfair trade practices, or a so-called monopolistic competition in which a few big businesses dominate the market and use unfair practices to create barriers for new entrants.

It is said that its previous failure has largely been due to the fact that the OTCC is under the control of the Commerce Ministry, which is often led by politicians from big business families or their nominees.

A new law, the Trade Competition Act BE 2560 (2017), makes the OTCC independent of the Commerce Ministry but it remains to be seen how the new government will solve income inequality.

Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit pre-registered his party on Thursday, and has since been subject to some criticism in regard to his family’s auto parts business, Thai Summit, which laid off more than 200 employees in 2006. Remarks he made about religion in the South have also triggered criticism.

His party, while earning praise from some for its young and idealistic image, has been questioned by others, suggesting the party’s initial success might be short-lived due to the lack of a mass political base.

Thanathorn said he would use social media, possibly Facebook Live, to explain to the public any issues that he has been questioned about.

Thanathorn said as the party had pre-registered, the first chapter was over, and it would proceed to do what needed to be done to prove itself to the public.

The young leader said he realised the next chapter of his party would be tougher, but he was confident with its ideologies as expressed to the public, as he has received morale-boost from a number of supporters.

Open to criticism

Thanathorn said he listened to productive criticism and would take it into account as the party’s “homework”. As for those comments meant to attack and discredit the party, he would not let them sway his morale and would respond to them with facts.

The “young blood” also said he would spend time during the coming week communicating with his supporters, as the past week he kept him busy setting up the party.

The party, he said, plans to forge a network with professional and local associations to recruit members – 500 at least – and lay down an infrastructure so it could be a true party for the masses.

Thanathorn also posted on Facebook to clarify his views on religion in the South. He said he had expressed a personal view a while ago that had nothing to do with his party. The context, he said, had been removed, prompting an easy misunderstanding about what he had expressed.

He was alleged to have suggested that the state not support any religions as part of the deep South solution.

Thanathorn said religion was a personal matter that should not be exploited to instigate hatred against one another.

Participatory dialogue should be pushed as part of the solution to the problems in the deep South, he said. Once his party was allowed to proceed with political activities, members would visit people in the South, he added.

Its founders are among almost 50 groups of people who have applied with the Election Commission to register new political parties, following partial relaxation of the political restrictions that came after the military coup in 2014.

However, Future Forward seems to be one of the most prominent.

The party stands out as one of a few new parties with no obvious involvement of existing politicians blamed for the political conflicts and the resultant social division over the past “lost decade”. Also, no bureaucrats are among the party’s co-founders.

It is a party of “ordinary people” who come from a wide range of social groups. And the party seems to be distancing itself from “old politics”.

The co-founders include a wealthy young businessman, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, and young law lecturer, Piyabutr Saengkanokkul.

Thanathorn, 39, comes from the family that owns the country’s largest auto-parts manufacturer, Thai Summit, and he serves as executive vice president of the company. Piyabutr, 38, is part of the Nitirat group of academics that has campaigned against the lese majeste law.

Other co-founders represent different interest groups such as a lawyer with the skill to produce craft beer, the founder of a website for the disabled, the leader of a Muslim students’ group, and a transgender rights campaigner.

They all are prominent figures and thought leaders among their groups. And they certainly can appeal to young voters, particularly those who are going to cast their ballots for the first time.

Moreover, Future Forward is viewed as a “progressive” party whose co-founders bring with them an array of issues that challenge the conservative establishment and mainstream thought. These include standpoints over the lese majeste law, sexual diversity and religious rights.

The party has gained interest from both conservatives and liberals, as well as older and younger people, at the same time.

Also, their apparent stance against the ruling junta and an “outsider” prime minister has attracted attention from both supporters and detractors of the military. And, unsurprisingly, Future Forward has come under a watchful eye of the powers-that-be.

Thanathorn himself has been likened to Thaksin Shinawatra as a young businessman making his political debut.

Then a telecoms entrepreneur, Thaksin entered politics in 1994, when he was 45, and became prime minister in 2001 at the age of 52 after his Thai Rak Thai Party won a landslide electoral victory. The win was credited to Thaksin’s clever marketing strategy and his party’s army of experts from various fields.

It is yet to be seen if Thanathorn and his party could see the same level of success enjoyed by Thaksin and Thai Rak Thai.

National Legislative Assembly (NLA) President Pornpetch Wichitcholchai said some 30 NLA members had signed up, as required by the charter, to forward the petition through him to the Court. He expected to submit the petition to the Court on Monday.

The petition primarily focuses on the controversial point raised by the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC), which views the Senate selection from both independent candidates and from professional organisations as contradicting the charter, making it unconstitutional.

Pornpetch said he had no idea whether the court would rule on the whole bill, or just the point raised. If there was any amendment to the bill following a ruling by the court, Pornpetch believed it would still not affect the election road map as an amendment could be passed within 90 days.

Pornpetch said the points concerning the MP election bill raised by the CDC were still debatable, and in the NLA’s view they were not unconstitutional.

The CDC has argued that any assistance provided to the disabled by officials at the polling centre would violate the charter’s stipulation that the election must be held in a direct and secret manner. Those failing to vote should also not be deprived of their right to political office, contrary to what is stipulated in the bill, the CDC noted.

Pornpetch said the most important reason for the NLA members not wanting to put forward the MP election bill was they feared it would affect the election road map. Any objections to the bill’s implementation, Pornpetch pointed out, could be taken to the Court by the damaged parties afterwards.

Pornpetch said the bill would be forwarded to Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday, and if anyone petitioned him to forward the bill to the Court for interpretation, it would not be the NLA’s concern anymore.

“The human rights crisis in Rakhine state and Myanmar as a whole must be on top of the agenda this weekend in Sydney,” said James Gomez, AI’s director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

“Asean has been shamefully silent on what is happening in one of its member states so far. It is high time for the organisation to take meaningful action, and to call an emergency Asean Summit to address the issue,” Gomez added.

Dubbed by the United Nations as possible “genocide”, the atrocities perpetrated against this ethnic and religious minority in Rakhine state has been barely raised at any top-brass Asean meeting.

The meetings in Sydney today and tomorrow could be no different.

According to drafts seen by The Nation, to be agreed on by the attending leaders during the summit tomorrow, no particular mention of the Rohingya is made despite its “strongest condemnation against all forms of terrorism”.

The leaders would also vow to reiterate on promotion and protection of human rights for all of their people following the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the paper said.

With the exception of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who is skipping the meetings due to “domestic issues to attend to”, Australian and Asean leaders would hold a counter-terrorism meeting as well as a CEO Forum over the weekend.

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha departed Thailand yesterday to attend the summit. According to Deputy Government Spokesperson Lt-General Werachon Sukondhapatipak, Thailand would utilise the platform to revitalise the Asean-Australia strategic partnership amid “escalating regional uncertainties”.

While they could refer to security tensions in the Korean Peninsula and the South China Sea, Thailand has avoided a strong tone on the Rakhine situation, choosing to provide humanitarian assistance to the area while maintaining friendly relations with the powerful Myanmar army.

Myanmar’s State Counsellor and de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi will also attend the summit and is expected to have bilateral meetings with Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull.

While Australia calls for freedom of access to humanitarian assistance in Rakhine, the Turnbull government had earlier refused to directly condemn the government over the humanitarian crisis.

Gomez also urged Asean leaders to pressure Australia to “take their obligations under international law seriously and respect the human rights of refugee” on refugee management and policies.

Earlier this year, AI documented how Australia had abandoned hundreds of refugees, including the Rohingya, to their fate in Papua New Guinea, by moving them to new centres that lack basic services and leave refugees vulnerable to violence.