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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40016915

Police guarding the Parliament compound lodged a complaint with the Parliament president and opposition whips on Wednesday, voicing opposition to a change of their uniform.

Agroup of 60 Parliament policemen gathered to submit a letter to President Chuan Leekpai, Sutin Klungsaeng, chief opposition whip, Pheu Thai MP Khajit Chainikhom (Udon Thani), and Pheu Thai MP Wisut Chaiyanaroon (Phayao) to express opposition to a change in their uniform.

On June 12, Chuan reportedly approved the plan to “improve the uniforms of Parliament police to suit the present time”.

The plan calls for 200 new uniforms to be procured at 5,000 baht apiece by December, which requires a budget of at least 2 million baht.

The uniform upgrade covers shirts, pants, skirts, buttons, hats and insignia.

Chuan said on Monday that the new uniforms would be used after the next House tenure begins following a general election next year.

Speaking to reporters after receiving the letter, Khajit said he received complaints from several police officers based at Parliament who informed him that they did not want any change in their uniforms.

“They feel their current uniforms are good enough, although they are dressed like police officers of other units. They reason that if being similar is good, then why do they have to change?” Khajit said.

“So, we should not waste more than 2 million baht on changing the uniforms.”

Khajit said Parliament should have earlier sounded out opinions from the policemen on whether they wanted the change instead of thinking and planning for them.

“The ones who wear the uniforms are policemen. Since they are happy with their existing uniforms, why do the executives have to be worried for them?” Khajit said.

“Any order given must first take into account the feelings of the subordinates.”

Khajit said he did not believe the Parliament Office claim that police guarding the compound wanted a change in their uniforms. He said several policemen complained to him that they did not want any change.

Some Parliament representatives told reporters that the new design came out of the blue instead of being based on uniforms worn by policemen guarding courts and other independent organisations.

Published : June 22, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40016880

The Commerce Ministry has rejected Kla Party leader Korn Chatikavanij’s call to reduce fuel prices by capping the gross refinery margin, saying it did not have the power to do so.

Korn on June 12 urged the ministry to use its authority under the Price of Goods and Services Act to cap the refining margin, which he claimed had risen 10-fold since June 2020, adding to soaring fuel costs.

However, industry bosses on Monday dismissed Korn’s claim that Thai refineries were “robbing Thai people” with their high margin of over 8 baht per litre of oil.

The margin is the difference between the cost of crude oil and the value of refined fuel.

The Petroleum Refining Industry Club said on Monday the average gross refinery margin had risen by just 0.47 baht per litre between 2018 and the first quarter of this year.

Soaring fuel prices have put the Oil Fuel Fund – which regulates pump prices via subsidies – over 96 billion baht in debt, forcing the government to lift the price cap on diesel.

Last week, the government made a special request that refineries contribute an extra 8 billion baht to the Oil Fuel Fund for three months, from July to September.

Commerce Ministry permanent secretary Bunyarit Kalayanamit explained that regulating fuel prices was the responsibility of the National Energy Policy Council (Nepo), which oversees the Oil Fuel Fund as per the National Energy Policy Council Act.

He added that oil refineries and exporters are legally obliged to contribute to the fund under the Oil fuel Fund Act.

“Currently, authority to deal with rising oil price is in line with the aforementioned acts,” Bunyarit said, adding that these laws had to be respected.

Published : June 21, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40016867

The father of Deputy Education Minister Kanokwan Vilawan has surrendered to face corruption charges related to alleged encroachment in the Khao Yai National Park, a spokesman of the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) said on Tuesday.

Apolice source, however, said the absconding suspect had been arrested.

OAG deputy spokesman Prayuth Phetkhun said Phichit Juthaprachakul, director of the OAG’s anti-corruption office for Area 2, had informed the office that Soonthorn Vilawan had surrendered to police and he would soon be handed over to the Public Prosecutors Office Area 2.

Prayuth said once police hand Soonthorn over to the public prosecutors, he would be charged in court for allegedly violating Section 151 of the Criminal Code by encouraging officials to commit malfeasance.

While Prayuth said Soonthorn had turned himself in, a police source said he was actually arrested by a team of police officers who had tracked him down. Details of the arrest were not given.

Last week, Pol Maj-General Jaroonkiart Pankaew, commander of the Anti-Corruption Division, said Soonthorn might have fled Thailand by crossing the border.

Soonthorn, chairman of the Prachin Buri Provincial Administration Organisation, Kanokwan and eight other persons have been accused by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) of illegally occupying about 150 rai (24 hectares) of land in Khao Yai National Park in Prachinburi province.

Kanokwan was released on bail after she was arraigned in the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases Region 2 in Muang district of Rayong province.

There has been confusion on whether Soonthorn could face charges because both Jaroonkiart and Prayuth said last week that by normal count, the statute of limitations in the charges against Soonthorn should have expired on June 13.

But Prayuth added that the opinion of the National Anti-Corruption Commission might be sought on whether the anti-corruption act’s provision should be applied to this case. Under the act, the statute of limitations in a corruption case would not expire if a suspect flees before he or she is arraigned in court.

Published : June 21, 2022

By : THE NATION

House Speaker Chuan Leekpai said that Parliament police will wear new uniforms when the new House of Representatives’ term begins after the next general election.

“Iexpect that the use of new uniforms will not be in time for the current House’s term because a provisional regulation prohibits it,” Chuan said.

The current House is due to end its four-year term in March next year.

Chuan said Parliament police officers themselves wanted to change their uniforms after Parliament surveyed their opinion.

The speaker said the House cannot order police to change their uniforms as everything has to proceed in accordance with a provisional regulation that requires the use of current uniforms to continue until the current term of the House expires.

Chuan added that Parliament police officers did not have to worry about the cost because politicians would bear the expense.

“The money will not come from the officers’ pockets or the state budget because this is an internal affair of Parliament,” Chuan said.

It was reported that Parliament police officers disagreed with the plan to change their uniforms, as they argued their current uniforms had been in use for just six months.

A source said Chuan approved on June 12 the plan to “improve the uniforms of Parliament police to suit the present time”. The plan calls for 200 new uniforms to be procured at 5,000 baht apiece by December, which requires a budget of at least 2 million baht. The uniform upgrade covers shirts, pants, skirts, buttons, hats and insignia.

Published : June 20, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40016830

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has admitted his government was wrong to use force to suppress the southern insurgency, and voiced support for handing autonomy to the deep South.

Thaksin was speaking in an online seminar held on Sunday by Motive, an NGO working in the southern border provinces. The seminar was titled “Scenario Patani – Future of Patani State or Thailand’s southern border provinces”. Patani refers to the former independent Malay sultanate that extended across modern-day Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat and four districts of Songkhla province

Thaksin said he supported the “people of Patani” – residents of the four southern border provinces – in their efforts to define their own future.

He said that when he was prime minister, he focused too much on security in the deep South. He said he had realised his policy was wrong and had been about to change it when his government was toppled by a coup in 2006.

Following the coup, he met with leaders of southern insurgency groups to hear their views, Thaksin added.

The southern insurgency flared during the Thaksin administration following an attack by insurgents on a Narathiwat Army base in January 2004, when a cache of weapons was stolen.

Two major incidents that year saw Thai security forces kill 32 militants holed up in Krue Se Mosque, Pattani, and 85 men in Narathiwat, in what is commonly referred to as the Tak Bai massacre. At the time, Thaksin cleared security forces of wrongdoing in both cases.

Speaking on Sunday, he said the government had wasted hundreds of billions of baht on military operations in the deep South, to no avail.

“We have lost many soldiers in the military operations. Today, we must use the military budget to develop the region and that development should have input from all sectors,” Thaksin said.

To solve the problem of insurgency in the South, the government must first understand the true situation of the region, he added.

He pointed out that deep South residents speak two languages – Thai and Malayu, while many have dual citizenship and travel back and forth between Thailand and Malaysia. Meanwhile, education in the region was focused on learning the Islamic religion and there were too few students in normal schools. Worse still, development on the Thai side of the border lagged far behind the Malaysian side, so many locals travelled to work in Malaysia, Thaksin said. He added that the border provinces are also plagued by drug and human trafficking problems, which could only be solved by civil government agencies, not military operations.

The former PM said the political party best positioned to develop the region was the opposition Prachachart Party, whose seven MPs are led by veteran Muslim MP Wan Muhamad Noor Matha.

“The Prachachart Party, which is close to people in the southern border provinces, can propose development input from locals to the next government,” said Thaksin, expressing confidence it would win in the deep South at the next election.

“Prachachart should play a major part in solving the southern insurgency,” he added.

He admitted his government had made mistakes in deep South policy and said military operations over the past 10 years had made almost no progress.

He said the key now was to recognise the deep South’s situation and switch the military budget to support “soft power”, technology and infrastructure development.

Thaksin also recounted spending a night at an Army base in a deep South conflict zone while he was PM. “The battalion commander at that time was Lt Col Apirak Kongsompong, who later rose to become Army chief. I made the visit without informing anyone in advance. … I also ate boiled eggs in the camp,” he said.

Only a political solution, not military force, would restore peace and development to the region, Thaksin continued.

He said the government would have to take brave steps, such as allowing the region to become a special administrative zone first.

“The government must allow local representatives, elected by local residents, to work. The government can simply ‘babysit’ the special administration. When everything is running smoothly, the region can become an autonomous zone,” Thaksin said.

Published : June 20, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40016804

Opposition Pheu Thai Party boasted that its rallies in Si Sa Ket on Saturday were a huge success with thousands of supporters showing up.

Pheu Thai spokesperson Teerarat Samretwanich said on Sunday that large crowds had shown up at the rallies in Uthumphon Phisai, Rasi Salai and Khukhan districts. The gatherings were led by Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the youngest daughter of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, and Nattawut Saikuar, former leader of the red-shirt movement.

Paetongtarn is head of the Pheu Thai Family project and Nattawut the director.

“More than 10,000 Si Sa Ket residents and people from nearby provinces showed up at the rallies,” Teerarat said, adding that this was a clear sign that local people continue supporting the party.

Pheu Thai also announced its potential candidates for House seats in the Northeast, she said.

“We are going ahead and are not worried about reports that some MPs [at least three] will defect,” Teerarat said.

The rallies labelled “Lai Noo Tee Ngu Hao” (“Chasing Away Rat and Beating Cobras”), were seen as an attack on coalition partner Bhumjaithai, whose leader Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is nicknamed Noo or “rat”.

“Cobras”, meanwhile, is believed to refer to the two Pheu Thai MPs who defected to Bhumjaithai to contest the 2019 election and won.

‘Unfair targeting’

Pheu Thai leaders also referred to the inadequacies of Prayut Chan-o-cha’s government, saying that it is time the country moved forward as people have had enough economic hardship under eight years of Prayut’s regime.

In response, government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana hit back by saying Prayut had been clearing the mess left behind by Pheu Thai’s de facto chief Thaksin, who fled overseas to escape punishment over corruption allegations.

Thanakorn also slammed Pheu Thai for taking back Nattawut and appointing him as director of the Pheu Thai Family project. The spokesman pointed out that Nattawut had divided and damaged the country as leader of the red-shirt movement.

Nattawut had left Pheu Thai to join the now-dissolved Thai Raksa Chart Party and then the New Direction Party.

“If the prime minister had not stepped in to solve these problems, the country would have still been divided along the political colour codes and severely eroded by corruption,” Thanakorn said.

He added that Pheu Thai may also be too blinded by its efforts to bring Thaksin back to see what Prayut has achieved for the country.

As for the upcoming no-confidence debate against Prayut, Thanakorn said he does not believe Seri Ruam Thai Party leader Pol General Sereepisuth Temiyaves’s claim that he has strong evidence against the PM to reveal during the debate.

The opposition submitted a censure motion against Prayut and 10 other ministers last week. A date has yet to be set for the debate.

Sereepisuth, who was the former police chief, has said he has some surprises in store for Prayut, but Thanakorn said he believes the Seri Ruam Thai leader is simply making empty threats to help his party win in the upcoming by-election in Lampang’s Constituency 4.

Published : June 19, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40016780

More than 2,000 supporters of the opposition Pheu Thai Party greeted Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of exiled former premier Thaksin, at Ubon Ratchathani airport on Saturday. Paetongtarn was on her way to address gatherings in neighbouring Si Sa Ket province.

Pheu Thai politicians in the Northeast are backing Paetongtarn to become the next prime minister.

Paetongtarn arrived at the airport just after 8am and was welcomed by Pheu Thai MPs for Ubon Ratchathani, Yasothon and Amnat Charoen, as well as local politicians affiliated with the party.

She was accompanied by senior Pheu Thai figures, including secretary-general Prasert Chantararuangthong and Nattawut Saikua, who was recently appointed director of the “Pheu Thai Family”.

Many among the crowd waiting at the airport held photos of Paetongtarn and her elder brother Panthongtae, who also accompanied her on the trip. The crowd shouted “Pheu Thai Family” repeatedly.

Kriang Kantinun, a senior Pheu Thai figure based in Ubon Ratchathani, said the party’s supporters were eager to meet Paetongtarn, who also serves as head of the Pheu Thai Family.

He said people have high hopes of Paetongtarn after “eight years of hardship”, referring to the period since the 2014 military coup.

Chalermphon Malakham, a sub-district administrative organisation chief in Ubon Ratchathani, said he was waiting at the airport to greet “the next prime minister”, adding that Paetongtarn was suitable for the top political job.

Also at the airport was Pheu Thai deputy secretary-general Worasit Kantinun, who said Paetongtarn deserved to become the party’s prime ministerial candidate.

“She is suitable to become our prime minister. We have nowhere else to turn to. She is a very good choice to solve the crisis,” the politician said.

The next general election is due to be held no later than March 2023, when Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s tenure expires.

Paetongtarn is due to address rallies in three districts on Saturday – Uthumphon Phisai, Rasi Salai and Khun Han – as part of the “Pheu Thai Family excursion in Si Sa Ket”.

Published : June 18, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40016761

Pheu Thai Party supporters in Si Sa Ket are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of exiled former premier Thaksin, who is due to address gatherings in the Northeast province on Saturday.

The “Pheu Thai Family excursion in Si Sa Ket” will feature rallies in three districts – Uthumphon Phisai, Rasi Salai, and Khun Han.

Paetongtarn is head of the so-called Pheu Thai Family while also serving as the opposition party’s chief adviser on participation and innovation. The 35-year-old is tipped to be nominated as Pheu Thai’s prime ministerial candidate at the next general election.

She will attend Saturday’s events along with senior Pheu Thai figures including party leader Chonlanan Srikaew, Sutin Klungsang, and Chaturon Chaisang.

Also addressing the rallies will be red-shirt leader Nattawut Saikua, who has just rejoined Pheu Thai.

Preparations were underway on Friday to host at least 5,000 participants at each venue on Saturday.

Free red T-shirts printed with “Pheu Thai Family” were being offered via Line chat groups for red shirts and Pheu Thai Family supporters.

Kamta Boonwan, a 70-year-old Si Sa Ket resident, said locals were excited to greet Paetongtarn as it was the second-best thing after “meeting the father”. Thaksin was deposed by the 2006 military coup and has lived overseas since 2008 after being sentenced for corruption.

Kamta said that every resident in his village wanted to join an event on Saturday but there were insufficient T-shirts for all of them.

“Pheu Thai organisers told us that we have to wear red Pheu Thai Family T-shirts, or we will not be allowed in. This is for security reasons as they are afraid of infiltrators,” he explained.

The villager said he expected a “historic number” of Pheu Thai supporters to show up at the Si Sa Ket events.

Published : June 17, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40016760

The majority of Parliament police officers disagree with a plan to replace their uniforms after only six months of use, calling it a waste of money in a time of economic hardship.

The plan calls for 200 new uniforms to be procured at 5,000 baht apiece by December, which requires a budget of at least 2 million baht.

Parliament President Chuan Leekpai approved the plan to “improve the uniforms of Parliament police to suit the present time” on June 12, according to a source.

The uniform upgrade covers shirts, pants, skirts, buttons, hats and insignia.

However, some have questioned whether the change is necessary at a time when government budget is already stretched to the limit amid rising inflation.

A recent survey of Parliament police officers found that most of them saw no need to change the uniform, as the current one looks fine and has only been in use for about six months, the source said.

The junior Parliament police suggested that a change of insignias would be sufficient and a cheaper option, the source added.

Published : June 17, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40016749

Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, Progressive Movement’s secretary-general, will meet police investigators on June 20 about a lese majeste accusation levelled against him.

The academic-turned-politician said in a Facebook post on Thursday that police had initially summoned him for questioning on June 12. However, he and his lawyer were busy and asked to postpone the meeting to next Monday at 10am.

The summons is in response to a complaint filed by independent historian Thepmontri Limpaphayom accusing Piyabutr of insulting the monarchy under Article 112 of the Criminal Code.

Piyabutr, who gave up his job as a lecturer of law at Thammasat University to enter politics in 2019, has maintained that his comments about the Thai monarchy and calls for reforms were purely aimed at helping the institution survive modern-day challenges.

“None of my comments suggested transforming [the Thai political system] into that of a republic. No insults were levelled against the monarchy,” Piyabutr wrote on Facebook. “I have only goodwill for Thai society and want Thailand to become a democracy for one and all. Those with differing views should be able to coexist peacefully and the monarchy institution can be retained,” he said.

Piyabutr added that he has been making written and verbal comments about monarchy reform for over a decade, since his time as a law lecturer at Thammasat University.

“None of my comments can be seen as violating Article 112,” he said.

The former secretary-general of the now-defunct Future Forward Party noted that this was the first time he has been formally accused of lese majeste, adding that it was “undoubtedly politically motivated”.

He claimed that legal action by “those hyper royalists and ultra-royalists” was aimed at discouraging him from commenting on reforms of the monarchy.

“They want to make me stop speaking, but they can’t,” he said.

Published : June 17, 2022