A NATIONAL STRATEGY would be completed by early next year and come into effect in mid-2018, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Saturday.  His comment came after the government published the names of 70 people appointed to six sub-strategy committees in the Royal Gazette on Thursday.

The six sub-strategy committees would draft strategies relating to national security, national competitiveness, human resources development, social equality, the environment and public-sector management. The committees have a five-year term.

The committee appointments follow the promulgation of the new National Strategy Act and they would work under a super-board for national strategy chaired by Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha.

The new charter, proclaimed this year, for the first time calls for a long-term national strategy of 20 years alongside national reform plans.

Wissanu said he would meet with the chairman of each sub-committee to help them prepare for the process of formulating each sub-strategy.

Each committee is required to hold public hearings as part of their planning, and must finish their plan and submit it within 120 days – by January 2018 – to the national strategy super-board. That body would evaluate and merge the sub-strategies and send them on to the Cabinet for approval. If approved, the strategy plan would then be sent to the National Legislative Assembly and come into effect by middle of next year, he said.

Asked why the government appointed Chadchart Sittipunt, former transport minister in the Yingluck Shinawatra government, Wissanu replied that he did not know who proposed Chadchart but that the prime minister had agreed with the list. He said that the appointment has nothing to do with the political reconciliation objectives of the government.

“We don’t look at the political camp or ideology of [committee members], but we consider who has time and is willing to work with the government,” said Wissanu.

The government had contacted many people, with some turning down the invitation, citing their lack of time, said Wissanu.

Those who are appointed to the list of the national strategy committee could also be appointed to other positions since law does not prohibit them. However, if they are elected as house representatives or appointed as senators, they would be expected to resign from a strategy committee, said Wissanu.

Asked what the national strategy committee would do if a newly elected government chose not follow the strategies, Wissanu said that if some government agencies failed to follow the strategies, the national strategy board would complain to the Cabinet.

In the event that the Cabinet did not follow the strategies, the strategy board would petition to Parliament and if Parliament agreed with the national strategy board, the case would be forwarded to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

The strategies could be changed, said Wissanu in response to a concern about dual government and whether the 20-year strategy would limit the capacity of new government.

THE DUST has yet to settle on the dramatic escape of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra late last month and the whole speculation about her whereabouts. All leads point to the former PM joining her brother in exile in either Dubai or London.

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha revealed on Thursday that according to information he had received Yingluck was in Dubai.

Dubbed “The City of Superlatives”, Dubai was not a surprise choice for Yingluck to escape the Thai justice system. Her brother, former PM Thaksin, has a villa in the Gulf city whose stunning growth from a sleepy port to a world-famous business crossroads within a single generation has been a spectacular success story.

Thaksin chose Dubai as his home base in 2008 because of its convenience, Isra News Agency quoted from “Conversations with Thaksin”, a book written by American Tom Plate, who interviewed him in 2010.

Thaksin was sentenced in absentia to two years in jail in 2008 for conflict of interest during his five years in office.

The residence is located in the exclusive Emirates Hills, a gated community in Dubai named after Beverly Hills. Emirates Hills is largely home to the expatriate community of Dubai, as it consists of the first freehold properties that were sold in the city.

The 68-year-old former PM told the author he likes Dubai as he feel like he is at the centre of the world. From there, he can travel around the world and as it is not too far from Thailand, his families and friends can also visit him.

The book described his house as a seven-bedroom, two-storey-plus-basement villa with adequate room to accommodate the occasional visiting relative.

During the past decade, Thaksin has always welcomed visits from his family, many of his former MPs and supporters at his villa.

If government information is to be believed, this is the second time the Shinawatra siblings had reunited after his sister was toppled by the coup in May 2014.

The elder brother and sister reunited in July 2014 for the first time in Paris for Thaksin’s 65th birthday celebrations. Yingluck was permitted by the junta to go on a 20-day trip to Europe.

But it is believed Thailand’s first female prime minister may not be too comfortable in the heat of the Gulf country where temperatures fluctuate between 10 degrees Celsius in winter to 48 degrees in the scorching summer. Yingluck may prefer to spend her time in London, which has a climate very different from Dubai.

CNN and Reuters reported that Yingluck is now in London and seeking asylum there, although the government contradicted that report. Speculation that Yingluck may choose the UK for life in exile makes sense, as Thaksin owns a manor in Surrey, near London, worth more than Bt260 million.

Recently, Thaksin’s daughters Pintongta and Paetongtarn posted their photos with their father in London since September 15 on social media. However, there is still no sign of Yingluck.

Irrespective of which city the two siblings set up their base in, their political future appears dim.

The door for a political comeback seems to have been almost shut on the two siblings after a new organic law on the criminal procedures for political office holders came into effect last Friday.

If the 50-year-old Yingluck wants to appeal against her five-year imprisonment sentence for negligence in preventing corruption and irregularities in her government rice-pledging scheme, she will be required to appear in court in person. An arrest warrant has been issued for her after her conviction.

The law also affects Thaksin as it allows the prosecution to ask the court to bring four cases related to him for trial in the court in absentia and there would also be no statute of limitations for the cases.

Irrespective of whether they choose Dubai or London, the real question is whether the Shinawatra siblings, who lie at the centre of Thailand’s political conflict, would together make active political moves from abroad. Thaksin used the strategy of “turning the world against Thailand” in his initial years in self-exile.

Critics believe the two siblings have limitations in making moves to attack the junta.

Titipol Phakdeewanich, dean of the Faculty of Political Science at Ubon Ratchathani University, said that the recent remarks of Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan seemed to suggest there was a deal between the Shinawatras and the military under which Yingluck would not to make any political moves.

“In the current political circumstances, the power and influence of the Shinawatras are limited by the military and the ongoing anti-Shinawatra sentiment, especially among the Thai middle class,” Titipol said.

Chamnan Chanruang, a Chiang-Mai-based political scientist, said Yingluck may avoid being as direct and hard as her brother, as she might be seeking asylum.

Usually, the country providing political asylum would bar involvement in political activity during stay in that country.

“Yingluck has been very much loved thanks to her sweetness and humility,” he said.

Only a slight move on the social network could draw a lot of sympathy for her, which would be uncomfortable for the coup-installed regime, Chamnan added.

Thaksin had once confirmed that he had applied for asylum in Britain, but dropped the plan as it would have restricted his freedom to speak out. Aside from that, Chamnan also pointed to the Krung Thai Bank money laundering case involving Thaksin’s son Panthongtae. The fact that Thaksin’s son was currently being probed could deter the siblings from attacking the junta, he said.

However, Titipol said the Shinawatras would continue to maintain their relations with their international allies in order to pressure Thailand to return to democracy, despite the alteration of US foreign policy stance under the Trump administration.

“I don’t think the Shinawatras will fade away from Thai politics in the long term. Once democracy is resumed, there will be room for the Shinawatras to make their political moves,” Titipol said.

A top Pheu Thai Party figure, who is a close aide of Yingluck, told The Nation that Yingluck could end up anywhere. “International leaders love her. Her image [when she travelled abroad for international meeting] in their eyes is a strong person,” he said.

“There are more people who love PM Yingluck than those who hate her. She does not have to go along with Khun Thaksin. Both can travel separately,” the source said.

Her supporters are waiting for her first remarks. “I think once she settles down, she would explain her decision. She is a former prime minister, so she cannot disappear forever,” the Pheu Thai figure said.

Sansern said Prayut showed no interest in the matter because he was focused on his obligation to legal enforcement, which in this case involved attempts to have the fugitive ex-leader extradited to serve her prison time under the Thai justice system. Concerned agencies, Sansern added, have been working within local and international law to proceed with the case.

Sansern confirmed that the Foreign Affairs Ministry had unofficially acknowledged that Yingluck had travelled to the United Kingdom, but whether she would seek asylum there was her personal business.

Criteria for asylum seeking in the destination country would be taken into consideration in her case, the spokesperson said.

Yingluck was sentenced in absentia on Wednesday to five years’ imprisonment for malfeasance involving her administration’s fraudulent government-to-government rice deals.

She disappeared from public view in the days before August 25, when the verdict in her case was first due to be read.

On Thursday, Prayut said that Yingluck was in Dubai, where her brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, has reportedly been living in self-exile.

Some international news outlets, including CNN, said she was in London and seeking political asylum in the UK, citing their source as her Pheu Thai Party.

The British Embassy in Thailand, told The Nation that “the [UK] Home Office does not comment on whether an individual is in the UK or not”.

Thaksin and his family are said to be staying in London in a house worth Bt260-million. None of the family has so far have indicated whether Yingluck is also in the UK capital.

A legal source had told The Nation that an individual has full rights to seek political asylum in a destination country with which he or she has some connection. The host country might take diplomatic relations into consideration, he said, noting that it has the full authority to grant or reject any application.

Thaksin’s eldest daughter Pintongta on Friday posted on her Instagram account, showing her twin daughters asking her why they never met their grandpa Thaksin in Thailand. She was apparently posting from London, saying she had made the right decision to make a trip to be with her father at a difficult time.

Thaksin’s daughters have been posting family photos along with morale-booting messages since mid-September before the court verdict was eventually issued against Yingluck.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry has received a letter from the Royal Thai Police requesting it to revoke Yingluck’s passport.

The ministry is now considering the matter following its regulations concerning passport issuance, according to Busadee Santipitaks, the ministry’s spokesperson and chief of the Department of Information.

Meanwhile, the Suan Dusit Poll has surveyed opinions of around 1,000 respondents nationwide on the impacts of the court verdict on Thai politics and reconciliation.

Around 33 per cent, the highest share, said the verdict had quite an effect on reconciliation efforts as major parties and their members would not give their cooperation in future political activities. About 24 per cent viewed that it would greatly affect reconciliation efforts, as the rift among groups would be widened. Around 21 percent viewed that it would not have much impact because the government could control the situation and this was a personal matter, while the people just wanted to see peace and order.

Around 37 per cent viewed that the verdict would have quite an effect on politics because different groups would use the issue to attack one another. Around 27 per cent viewed that it would greatly affect politics as it has directly impacted on politicians’ credibility, and politics from now on would be under close watch. Only 19 per cent viewed that it would not affect politics much and the government could control the situation.

Sansern said the premier paid no attention to the matter. He preferred to focus on his duty to enforce the laws, which in this case means extraditing the convicted former PM to serve her time as pronounced by the justice system, said Sansern.

Thailand’s agencies have been considering local and international laws in order to proceed with the case, he added.

Sansern for the first time confirmed Yingluck’s destination was the UK. The Foreign Ministry had unofficially acknowledged that Yingluck travelled to Britain, but whether she would seek asylum there or not is her personal matter, he said.

The rules for seeking asylum in the UK are being examined, Sansern said.

The early retirement of Pol Maj-General Atthakrit Tharichat, deputy police inspector-general, was approved on Friday by Police Commissioner-General Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda.

In addition to once being among Thaksin’s bodyguards, Atthakrit was director of the Government Lottery Office in 2012 when Yingluck Shinawatra was the prime minister.

He left the police service following the May 29, 2014 coup. He was reinstated in the police service by Royal command to the position of deputy police inspector-general on January 28, 2015.

POLICE HAVE begun the process of revoking convicted former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s passport as confusion continues to surround her whereabouts.

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said: “I don’t know [if Yingluck is in London].”

He added that the Foreign Ministry had not given him any updated reports of Yingluck’s whereabouts, although it has been reported in foreign media that she has left Dubai and is now in London.

On Thursday, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha said that she was in Dubai.

Dubai is a convenient place for her since her brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, is living there in self-exile.

Junta leaders also said the United Arab Emirates had promised to prevent her from taking part in any political activities against the military government.

However, while authorities acknowledged Yingluck’s location as Dubai, anonymous sources have consistently suggested that the former premier had left Dubai for London in early September.

Yingluck was sentenced in absentia on Wednesday to five years’ imprisonment for her negligence in the government-to-government rice deal. She disappeared from public view in the days before August 25, when the verdict in her case was due to be read.

Three police officers have been transferred to inactive posts for their involvement in transporting Yingluck to the Cambodia border.

Police have also charged two Nakhon Pathom police officers who were found to have aided Yingluck’s flight on August 23.

None of the police officers have been charged with malfeasance of duty. They are accused of importing a car without Customs approval, as an engine number of a Toyota Camry believed to have been used in transporting Yingluck, did not show in the Customs Department’s records.

One of the officers, Pol Colonel Chairit Anurit, has been charged with faking vehicle documents, as four false licence plates were found in the sedan.

On Thursday, police searched Yingluck’s house in Soi Yothinpatthana 3 in Bangkok, and seized 17 of her personal belongings as evidence.

The evidence should help verify Yingluck’s escape if traces of her DNA found on the articles match those found in the sedan allegedly used for the escape.

In order to prevent Yingluck from further travel, deputy police chief Pol General Srivara Ransibrahmanakul said yesterday that police have contacted the Foreign Ministry and asked it to revoke her passport and to confirm to them her whereabouts. Police have also contacted Interpol to locate her, Srivara said.

The Foreign Ministry yesterday declined to confirm Yingluck’s location or whether she had sought political asylum.

The British Embassy in Thailand said “the [UK] Home Office does not comment on whether an individual is in the UK or not”.

Thaksin and his family are now in London where he has a Bt260-million house, but none of them indicated whether Yingluck is also in the UK capital.

A legal source said that an individual has full rights to seek political asylum in a destination country that he or she has some connections with.

The host country might take diplomatic relations into consideration, he said, noting that the country has the full authority to grant or reject an application.

Yingluck’s case is not unique, the source said. “Like others, she may apply for asylum at any time and the destination country will have full authority to directly consider her request,” he said.

As asylum seeking is regarded as a personal matter, authorities of seekers’ home countries usually do not involve or oppose the procedure as it could risks diplomatic ties, he said.

The Office of the Attorney-General has no authority to get involved if Yingluck seeks asylum, but will focus on extradition. The extradition request would proceed once Yingluck’s exact whereabouts is known, he added.

The British Embassy says asylum seekers to the UK must have left their countries and be unable to go back because they fear persecution.

They should apply when they arrive in the UK as soon as they think it will be unsafe for them to return to their own countries. After applying, they will have meetings with immigration officers and have interviews with caseworkers. They should usually get a decision on their applications within six months. They will not usually be allowed to work while their asylum applications are under consideration.

In addition, the court’s current judges would not be totally reset, but would rather depend on their qualifications as required by the charter.

The new charter gives the court the power to rule on the constitutionality of laws or draft laws.

It could also rule on issues relating to powers of members of the Lower House, Senate, Parliament, Cabinet, as well as members of independent agencies.

Meechai Ruchupan, head of the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC), said the panel had drafted the bill with the aim to improve the efficiency of the Constitutional Court with new mechanisms.

The court could at least take action against those who caused trouble for trials.

Those who violate the rule in court would be considered guilty of contempt of court and could be punished by a jail term of up to one month and/or a fine of up to Bt50,000.

They could be cautioned or be ushered out of the court premises before the court resorted to |those punishments, according to the bill.

Like most organic laws, judges who do not meet the new qualifications set by the new Constitution would be dismissed. Those who do could stay until their terms are finished.

The judges are under the same standards as other independent agencies’ commissioners, Meechai said, and could complete their terms unless disqualified by the new Constitution.

Only members of the National Human Rights Commission would be dismissed regardless of their qualifications due to its position in the international stage, Meechai explained.

The organic bill stipulates that the Constitutional Court’s judicial panel should have nine members.

The NLA passed the bill unanimously, 198-0 in its first reading.

A committee of 22 members has been set up to review the draft before entering the second reading within 50 days.

Judicial panel composition proposed in organic bill 

THREE ARE head judges from the Supreme Court, who have been in office for no less than three years and are selected by the judges at a general meeting of the Supreme Court.

Two judges are from the Supreme Administrative Court, who have been in office for no less than five years and are selected by judges at the general meeting of the Supreme Administrative Court.

One legal expert, who has been a professor of law at a Thai university for at least five years and has empirical academic works.

One political science/public administration expert, who has been a professor in those fields at a Thai university for at least five years and has empirical academic works.

Two specialists, who have served in the government sector as the director of a department or a higher position, or as deputy attorney-general or a higher position for at least five years.

Jatupat was already sentenced in mid-August to two years and six months in prison for a lese majeste charge resulting from his sharing a BBC report profiling the monarch. He was found guilty and initially sentenced to five years for the charge, but the term was reduced because he confessed, according to the court judgment

The student activist was arrested for that charge in December after sharing the BBC Thai report on Facebook. His bail requests were consistently rejected as authorities regarded lese majeste as a serious charge, possibly entailing severe punishment amid calles from international human rights organisations for Jatupat to be released.

Prior to the court judgment, Jatupat, who had maintained his innocence for months, agreed to plead guilty after consulting with his family and legal team to get a more lenient sentence.

The court on Friday, in addition, allowed the defendant’s legal team to appeal against the prosecutor’s proposal to apply Jatupat’s penalty in the political gathering case consecutively, adding it to the lese majeste sentence.

Anon Nampa, a member of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights who has helped Jatupat in the cases, said the delay in the testimonies could prolong his client’s penalty terms. He hoped that the court would see that Jatupat’s act was peaceful and did not trigger any disturbance.

Jatupat reportedly sang a song and carried a banner on the topic of opposing the coup on May 22, 2015, the one-year coup anniversary.

Anon said the legal team would wait and see whether the court rules against Jatupat in the case and how the penalty would be applied before considering an appeal.

The court has set the new witness testimony date for November 20.

However, her lawyer yesterday rejected concerns about the impact of the new law for his client, saying they would act in accordance with the law.

The new organic act was published in the Royal Gazette yesterday, with significant implications for an appeal in Yingluck’s case relating to her government’s rice-pledging scheme.

Although the law allows politicians to appeal Supreme Court verdicts, it requires defendants to present themselves to the court in person when they submit petitions. The rule would also apply to Yingluck, according to Meechai Ruchupan, chief charter drafter, who also drafted the law.

The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders on Wednesday ruled that the former prime minister was guilty of negligence in the government-to-government rice deal and handed down a five-year jail term without suspension.

Under the new law, Yingluck would need to come out of hiding if she wanted to fight the case, making her vulnerable to arrest.

Yingluck fled the country shortly before the first court verdict reading, which was set for August 25. She is reportedly in Dubai, according to top state officials, including Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Meechai said the new law also prescribed exemptions of the statute of limitations if a convicted individual was on the run, meaning she would have to be on the run entire life if not appealing.

Yingluck’s lawyer, Norawich Larlang, told The Nation that he had not yet heard from Yingluck and no decision had been made whether to appeal.

Norawich added that he was not concerned about the new requirement for Yingluck to submit a petition in person.

He said he “does not think it makes things more difficult. [The defendant] has to do as the law tells them”, he said, without elaborating further.

Suebpong Sripongkul, spokesman for the Courts of Justice, said the new charter gave a convicted political office holder a greater opportunity to fight in an appeal.

They could appeal either the facts of the case or on the basis of a legal technicality, rather than just on the grounds of “new evidence”, Suebpong said.

In regards to damages in the case, Noppadol Laothong, another Yingluck lawyer who oversees the civil lawsuit on her behalf, said the fact that Yingluck had been ruled not guilty in the implementation of the policy could mean that she did not have to pay compensation of Bt35 billion demanded by an administrative order.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said concerned parties must study the verdict before proceeding with asset seizures under the order. Wissanu said the verdict was for a criminal charge against her and should have nothing to do with the asset seizure.

At this point, the Legal Execution Department’s actions have been limited to freezing Yingluck’s accounts. The department had been waiting to see whether the Administrative Court would rule against the order as petitioned by Yingluck, he said.

In the court verdict readin on Wednesday, the panel of judges meeting before the verdict reading took two separate votes on whether she was guilty and what penalties were appropriate.

Eventually, the panel of nine members voted eight to one that Yingluck was guilty of malfeasance before voting unanimously to give her a five-year jail term that would not be suspended.

According to sources familiar with the Supreme Court, Pison Pirun, president of the Supreme Court’s Juvenile and Family division, was the only judge to propose that the former prime minister was innocent.

POLICE YESTERDAY searched the residence of convicted former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra who, junta leaders claimed, was in Dubai where she would keep a low profile.

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday said he was informed by the Foreign Ministry that Yingluck was in a city in the United Arab Emirates where her brother Thaksin Shinawatra resides.

Prayut had said on Tuesday that he knew her whereabouts but he would reveal details only after the Supreme Court verdict in the case against her.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders sentenced Yingluck to five years’ imprisonment for negligence in her government’s rice-pledging scheme before the 2014 coup toppled her administration.

While Prayut did not seem too hopeful about getting the ex-PM extradited in the absence of a treaty between Thailand and the UAE, Deputy PM and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan said Yingluck would be asked to cooperate by not involving herself politically while in Dubai.

The UAE has informed the Thai Foreign Ministry that they would ask Yingluck to make such a commitment, Prawit said.

The Foreign Ministry is yet to comment on Yingluck’s movements or whereabouts overseas.

“We’ll proceed to revoke her passport only if we are requested by relevant agencies and the ministry agrees that the criteria [in Yingluck’s case] are in line with ministerial regulations,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Busadee Santipitaks said.

Deputy police chief Pol General Srivara Ransibrahmanakul said that police would also seek information from the Foreign Ministry about Yingluck’s whereabouts. If she is really living abroad, then the police will contact the attorney-general on legal proceedings, he said.

Yesterday, Srivara took 25 police officers to search Yingluck’s house in Soi Yothinpatthana 3, where they seized 17 of her personal belongings as evidence of her suspected escape from Thailand two days before the scheduled court ruling on August 25.

The search followed testimony given by Pol Colonel Chairit Anurit, one of three policemen suspected of facilitating Yingluck’s escape. During an interrogation last week, Chairit said that he had driven the former premier and her secretary, Nilubol Klinpratoom, in a Toyota Camry sedan from Bangkok to Sa Kaew province.

DNA evidence sought

Srivara searched Nilubol’s condominium unit in Bangkok authorised by a search warrant and the absolute power of the PM under Article 44 of the interim charter, which is embedded in the 2017 Constitution.

Last year, Prayut issued junta order No 13/2016 under Article 44 power to grant security officers, including the police, power to conduct arbitrary searches without warrant.

Srivara said that the absolute power was needed since the search of Nilubol’s room was conducted after 6pm.

The evidence should help verify her escape if traces of Yingluck’s DNA found on these articles match those found in the sedan allegedly used for the escape, Srivara said. The DNA test should take around a week.

The search was also aimed at ensuring Yingluck was not in hiding in her house, he said.

The search was led by Pol Colonel Watanyu Witthayapalothai, a policeman who oversaw Yingluck’s security details.

Her lawyer, Noppadol Laothong, was also at the house.

If the escape is verified, Chairit will face charges of neglecting his duty as a state officer under the Criminal Code’s Article 157. Chairit has already been charged with faking vehicle documents, as four fake licence plates were found in the sedan.