Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, chairwoman of Vietnam’s National Assembly, and Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, president of Thailand’s National Legislative Assembly (NLA), also expressed satisfaction with bilateral relations, as reflected in exchange visits by high-ranking delegations.

Pornpetch is on a four-day official visit to Vietnam, ending tomorrow (Wednesday).

Ngan reaffirmed that Vietnam gives its strategic partnership with Thailand high priority, but urged both sides to work more closely in implementing action plans drawn up for 2014-2018.

They should also strengthen important cooperation mechanisms such as joint cabinet meetings, political consultation and high-level dialogue on security and defence policy, she said.

Both sides agreed that designated parliamentary agencies should closely supervise the respective governments’ cooperation agreements and maintain delegation exchanges at all levels.

Highlighting thriving trade and investment ties, they noted that Thailand ranks 10th among foreign investors in Vietnam and is its biggest trade partner within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Vietnam is the eighth-largest foreign investor in Thailand.

Bilateral trade hit US$12.5 billion (Bt416 billion) in 2016, up 8.9 per cent year on year, and was approximately $7 billion in the first half of 2017, up 22.5 per cent year on year, they noted.

Ngan said the two sides should coordinate better to reach the targeted trade revenue of $20 billion by 2020 and reduce their trade imbalance, since Vietnam still has a high trade deficit with Thailand.

More favourable conditions should be created for Vietnamese and Thai businesses to boost trade and investment activities, she added.

She pledged that the National Assembly and government of Vietnam would create optimal conditions for Thai firms to invest in tourism – particularly marine tourism – textile and garment, footwear, cosmetics, food, agriculture, machinery, chemicals and material production sectors.

These are areas that match Thailand’s strengths and Vietnam’s potential, she said.

Echoing his host, Pornpetch said the two countries need to step up partnership in trade and investment and gradually balance the trade deficit.

Thailand wants more Vietnamese investment, he said, adding that the two legislative agencies are ready to work together to resolve obstacles facing investors.

Last year about 800,000 Vietnamese tourists visited Thailand, but only 260,000 Thais visited Vietnam.

Pornpetch said he hoped that, after more routes linking the two countries are opened, the number of Thai visitors to Vietnam will surge.

Ngan said that, as Asean members, Vietnam and Thailand need to enhance solidarity to promote the bloc’s unity, strength and central role. They should remain steadfast on Asean’s common principles and viewpoints on regional and global issues, she said.

She urged further coordination with each other and other Mekong riparian countries to promote cooperation, management and sustainable use of the river’s water resources, and to effectively implement the outcomes of the seventh summit of the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy held last October.

The legislators discussed the signing of a new memorandum of understanding on agricultural cooperation between Vietnam and Thailand, as well as the signing of an agreement to set up a hotline for fisheries activities at sea.

Ngan suggested that both sides consider expanding the areas of work as well as job openings for Vietnamese workers in Thailand.

The labour ministries of both countries should carry out relevant procedures soon so that Thailand can officially recruit Vietnamese workers, she said.

She also thanked the Thai government for creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese-Thais to integrate into local society and for the construction and management of the relic sites related to late President Ho Chi Minh in Udon Thani and Nakhon Phanom provinces.

The officials also discussed regional and international issues of shared concern.

Ngan said Vietnam wants to continue working with Thailand to strengthen Asean solidarity, boost the bloc’s common voice and role in settling security and development affairs in the region, and help deal with East Sea (South China Sea) disputes through peaceful means, in line with international law.

THE CONSTITUTION Drafting Committee (CDC)’s proposed election system could pave the way for an outsider to become prime minister, Pheu Thai Party’s acting secretary-general said yesterday.

Phumtham Wechayachai made the comments after the CDC last week announced its plan to abolish the one-party-one-number electoral system in its organic draft law on MPs.

In an approved organic law draft on political parties, the CDC and the National Legislative Assembly also passed the new Mixed Member Apportionment (MMA) system, party membership fees and seed funding as well as a primary voting system.

While MMA would allocate votes to all contesting MP candidates proportionately, likely preventing any single party from winning decisively at the national level, the party membership requirement puts more conditions on obtaining membership.

The primary voting system, meanwhile, would require parties to have local representatives or branches in contested constituencies in order to select their MP candidates, making it harder for small-scale parties to comply.

“Pushing for the primary vote without having a clear understanding will cause a rift in society and weaken political institutions,” Phumtham said. He added that the “powers-that-be” should allow political actors to participate more in designing the voting system.

“All of these are clear indications to weaken the political parties and to transfer political power to their own group and allowing an outsider to become prime minister,” he said.

If these regulations cause problems “then it is the duty of all Thais to help in making changes to these regulations to be in line with the real problems at hand”, he said.

The CDC’s proposed new numbering system would also require MP candidates in each constituency to draw lots to receive their own individual numbers. This would mean that MP candidates would be registered under different numbers in various constituencies, despite belonging to the same party.

Politicians and academics are concerned that the proposed method would complicate election procedures and confuse voters, who would have to elect both constituency and party-list MPs in one ballot.

It could also weaken the significance of political parties in the election arena because numbers would

belong to MP candidates, not their parties.

Phumtham said election regulations should be easy to follow to encourage public participation in politics.

Meanwhile, Election Commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn said the numbering system, although designed to prevent vote buying, would not do so efficiently.

As most vote buying was done through canvassers at the village level, the number an MP candidate draws will not stop canvassers from lobbying the MP’s constituency, he said. The system would also complicate the Election Commission’s logistical procedures when managing elections, he added.

However, Prasarn Marukpitak, a former member of the defunct National Reform Council, argued the new system would help empower each MP candidate by putting more focus on individuals rather than party influences.

Voters should also not be confused when casting votes, given that MP candidates would have 45 days to campaign. Voters would also only focus on their own constituencies, Prasarn said.

AUDITOR-GENERAL Pisit Leelawachiropas has threatened to release the names of local administrative officials who are organising trips to Bangkok in support of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

The threat emerged yesterday as Pheu Thai Party secretary-general Phumtham Wechayachai announced that he believed people would “give us [Pheu Thai] a chance to always stand by them”.

Yingluck, the former leader of Pheu Thai, is fighting charges of negligence related to her government’s rice-pledging scheme, which allegedly caused massive financial damages to the country, at the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Positions.

When she showed up to deliver her closing statements in the case on August 1, more than 1,000 people attended to express moral support for her.

On August 25, the court is scheduled to deliver a verdict in the case.

“There are reports that some local administrative body officials have planned trips under the pretext of other missions. Local government officials have told us that there are plans to bring participants to the court too,” Pisit said yesterday. “Such actions happened before on August 1.” He added that his office was investigating the reports and would consider releasing the names of those involved.

Surasarn Pasuk, a former MP affiliated with the Pheu Thai Party, urged Pisit to disclose the names, adding that otherwise society would be confused by the claim.

“In my opinion, local administrative bodies have been very careful during the past few years under close scrutiny. I don’t think they will dare using the state budget for such purposes,” he said.

Thida Thavornseth, a leader of the red-shirt umbrella group United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, said red-shirt supporters were being suppressed and blocked from travelling to the court to show support for Yingluck on August 25, with most modes of transport having been made unavailable by the government.

People who wished to show up at the court would have to take public buses, she said.

Government suppression had caused difficulties for people and as a result angered them, she said, adding that the current situation was even worse than during the era of Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat, whose military-led government in the 1950s and 1960s was notoriously repressive.

In response to Thida’s remarks, National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) spokesman Winthai Suvaree said the government did not intend to prevent people from showing their support for Yingluck, but needed to ensure peace and order. The NCPO had to prevent any mobilisation related to the event from escalating into a big political movement, he added.

Phutham said his party would respect the court’s ruling, regardless of the outcome, while insisting that the rice-pledging scheme had been conducted honestly and cautiously in line with the country’s administrative plan.

“If our dedication to contribute to the well-being of the majority will hurt us, then we still believe that the people will understand, protect us and give us a chance to always stand by them,” said Phumtham.

The verdict in the rice-pledging scheme is seen as having a profound impact on the fate of Yingluck as well as Pheu Thai Party.

Phumtham said Pheu Thai believed that national reconciliation could not be achieved unless there was justice in society.

It was the responsibility of the leadership, especially the government, to set an example in ensuring justice equally for everyone, he said.

“Pheu Thai Party has demonstrated our standpoint that unity can happen if the process towards creating it is not merely a ritual based on image, but a sincere effort towards facilitating fairness and equality for everyone,” he said. “With this, true unity can happen and it will be an important way to take our country out of crisis.”

The party secretary-general also denied that Pheu Thai was discussing who would lead the party in the next election, adding that the party was a political institution that had rules and regulations to follow.

Determining the party leader must be done through an internal democratic process with the participation of party members, he said. However, due to the NCPO’s ban on political activities, it was impossible for a meeting to be held to make such a decision, he added. It was too early to determine whether the next leader would come from the Shinawatra family, he added.

As the day of the verdict approaches, the NCPO has been stepping up security measures and warning against organised mobilisation of Yingluck supporters as well as calling on people to stay home and not turn up at the court to support Yingluck.

Authorities have also ordered the temporary shutdown of a red-shirt TV station, citing one programme’s content as allegedly breaking the law.

The move ahead of Yingluck’s verdict has been widely seen as an attempt to restrain Pheu Thai supporters from demonstrating their power. The party last week issued a statement calling for the NCPO to end violations of rights and freedoms of ordinary people and the media.

Phumtham said yesterday that all of the public’s basic rights under the Constitution must be respected by the government.

The agreement will likely require approval from major political parties before being put into practice.

But the same mechanism will also help protect media from interference and threats, ensuring them freedom of the press, Maj-General Kongcheep Tantravanich said on Monday.

Kongcheep, a spokesperson to the junta government’s committee on reconciliation building, said that the tool is necessary because media “have been manipulated to provide political discourses and biased information” in ways that fracture society.

While Kongcheep did not elaborate details regarding the control mechanism, the junta-appointed, now-defunct National Steering Reform Assembly earlier proposed a plan that will allow state authorities to take part in media affairs.

Their proposed media regulation draft bill called for creation of a “national media council” that would include two government representatives to oversee the media landscape.

Although much opposed by journalists and media professionals, the draft was eventually forwarded to the Cabinet, who will decide on what points of the NRSA’s draft they agree with before forwarding it to the National Legislative Assembly to pass into law.

Kongcheep’s mechanism could be the junta’s latest step to create a body to regulate media with endorsements from political parties and figures.

Since the beginning of this year, the junta government has been drafting an agreement, along with seeking input from political players. The input is never detailed for the public.

Political actors are expected to approve the agreement, which also covers other social and economic issues, as “another step to achieve reconciliation”. How closely they will be bound to the final agreement is not yet clear.

Somchai said that as most vote buying is done through canvassers at the village level, whatever number an MP candidate draws will not obstruct canvassers from lobbying the MP’s constituency.

He said the system would also complicate the EC’s logistic procedures.

Initiated by the Constitution Drafting Commission, the proposal is set to be included in an organic law on selecting MPs.

Politicians and academics are concerned the method will make it harder for voters to understand the election process and lessen the significance of political parties in the election arena.

Democrat Party deputy leader Ongart Klampaiboon suggested that the CDC should set goals to prevent election fraud and vote buying, including setting up measures to prevent parties from taking advantage of state authority networks.

Preventing election fraud is necessary, Ongart said, as it would stop corrupt political actors from exploiting their authorities to commit further graft.

Buying overpriced US weapons is just part of the act of homage to the empire. Look at OZ, we used to get great planes from the US, but now we are being ripped off buying the (sometimes) flying lemon F35, why, because we we told we have to.

Rancid

Why does Thailand need missiles?  One would think that under the current climate, the main enemy is the horrible farang, his money, his leasehold of the pool villa, carrying a  METV visa and who dares to enter the Kingdom more then x times a year!!!

Observer90210/ThaiVisa

Auditor-General Pisit Leelavachiro-pas said the government’s rice-quality grading and bidding methods used in selling off the final stock of 2.8 million tonnes was credible based on the office’s observations, since experts from other trade and industry bodies were also involved in the process.

His remarks followed Pheu Thai Party complaints that the process had been manipulated, resulting in low prices for the rice sold. High-grade rice, which was fit for human consumption and would bring higher prices, had been graded with lower-quality rice for feedmill and energy-generation use, Pheu Thai members said.

Yuttapong Charassathien, a former deputy agriculture minister of the Pheu Thai Party, said the complaint was officially submitted to the auditor-general on July 14, but there was no response so the party would follow up on the issue.

Yuttapong added that the party’s action was not related to the upcoming Supreme Court verdict due on August 25 regarding former premier Yingluck Shinawatra’s alleged negligence of official duties while implementing the rice-pledging scheme and resulting in corruption and massive financial losses to the state.

Yuttapong said the party’s move should not be seen as politically motivated. During the tenure of former premier Yingluck, a total of 18 million tonnes of rice was pledged by the government. Over the past several years, the huge rice inventory has been sold to the private sector at significant losses since the government paid farmers up to Bt15,000 per tonne against the then-prevailing price of Bt7,000-8,000 per tonne.

The last 2.8 million tonnes of rice have been sold via bidding this year, of which 2.1 million tonnes were classified as C-grade rice, not suitable for human consumption, and bringing a low price for feedmill and energy use.

Pisit said he was not sure if it was feasible for the government to grade the rice more specifically since the volume was huge. In addition, he said, new rice harvests were coming onto the market, so farmers could be affected in terms of pricing if there was a large supply of old rice for human consumption.

The poultry industry also disposes of baby chickens in the sea when there is an oversupply of chicken in order to ease downward pressures on domestic chicken prices, Pisit said.

However, Yuttapong said the Pheu Thai Party would not stop exposing alleged irregularities in the government’s handling of rice sales.

The ex-judge, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Yingluck’s strong line of defence was that she had no “special intention” to cause damage to the state or irregularities to the project.

This defence, the source pointed out, would be similar to that of former prime minister Somchai Wongsawat and three other defendants in another case. The four defendants were all acquitted by the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders.

According to the former judge, the point of consideration for the court is whether Yingluck had the intention to cause damage or cause irregularities to the rice-pledging scheme. “In Yingluck’s case, she had no special intention to cause damage to the state or allow irregularities to happen,” the source said.

The ex-judge said the court would consider whether Yingluck had done sufficiently in preventing corruption relating to the project, and whether it was necessary for her to end the project after getting written warnings from the National Anti-Corruption Commission and the Auditor-General’s Office regarding the irregularities.

Up to 350 different ballots may have to be produced, and the central EC office would not be solely responsible for the production, Somchai said on Friday. To keep up with the demand, he said, the central office may have to allocate to provincial offices, but their production standards may be different and that could create flaws and loopholes in the production. In addition, party logos should be included on the ballots along with the MP candidates’ running numbers to clearly identify the candidates and their affiliations, Somchai said.

If the new number running system is implemented, using ballots identifying only the MP candidates, with unique numbers not connected to the candidate’s party, then the importance of parties is reduced, Somchai suggested. And that would go against the new election format’s stated objective – that voters will choose both their desired MPs and parties at once.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said the government did not have the budget to buy the weapons.

Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan yesterday denied having purchased new missiles from the United States, saying the military had already ordered all the weapons it needed. His reaction came in response to media reports that the US State Department had approved the sale of five RGM-84L Harpoon Block II missiles, costing Thailand approximately Bt828 million (US$24.9 million).

The US State Department reported that Thailand had asked to buy five anti-ship missiles, in addition to another missile, to be used by the DW3000 Class Frigate. The proposed purchase, it said, included containers, spare parts, support and test equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment.

It also included technical assistance from US government and contractor representatives, engineering and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics and programme support. “This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to strengthen the US-Thai strategic relationship and to improve the security of an important partner,” the US State Department statement said.

A US Embassy official said, “Current military sales are part of our longstanding partnership and continuing sales of defence equipment to Thailand. All pending arm sales are guided by the criteria in the Conventional Arm Transfer Policy which includes regional stability and technology security.”