However, it would not affect entire political parties, as had been speculated, CDC chief Meechai Ruchupan said on Monday.

Meechai said the tripartite law review committee would meet on Tuesday to consider the proposed changes.

He said the CDC insisted that the primary voting system was the internal business of political parties, and it must not affect the parties’ right to field MP candidates. The new charter has guaranteed this point, he said.

If MPs or senators were found to be involved in fraud, they must be discharged, as their qualification would become invalid, Meechai said.

Yingluck, who faces charges related to a rice-pledging scheme, will make a verbal statement to the Supreme Court on August 1 and her verdict will be read on August 25.

This has prompted concerns in some circles about gatherings of people to show support for her.

Winthai said people had speculated about what would happen based on personal assumptions. In general, he said, people understood the situation and were cooperative. People mostly acted lawfully, he added.

The military would work on security issues as usual, without focusing any particular events or groups, he said.

Some new outlets reported on the weekend that top brass had instructed officers to closely follow the movements of certain groups of people ahead of the Supreme Court verdict.

According to a source quoted by Thai-language newspaper Kom Chad Luek, Army commander-in-chief General Chalermchai Sitthisart, in his capacity as secretary to the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), had instructed local peacekeeping forces to monitor the movements of “all groups involved” over the next month.

The commanders of all four army areas in the main regions of the country had been assigned to monitor any suspicious movement, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Seri, chairman of the NRSA’s political reform committee, was responding to criticism made during Sunday’s public seminar addressing the assembly’s work in the past two years.

The forum heard criticism that the NRSA was only a buffer for the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and that when any reform agenda came under censure, the NCPO could easily evade and drop the NRSA’s proposals.

Seri, however, argued that this was not necessarily true.

The public must look at the work it had done, he said, adding that the assembly had been appointed to serve the national interest.

The reformer hence called for people not to take its work “only as proposals”, and pointed out that reform had not been achieved by any government despite several attempts.

“Please don’t look at it that way. The NRSA has only been trying to clear up all the long-standing problems,” Seri said.

“All members are experts in different fields. And in the past 10 years, there has been the problem with corrupt politicians – and the NRSA has tried to resolve it,” he explained.

The NRSA, which was set up in 2015 to work on reform matters, is set to be dissolved soon once the recently passed national strategy law comes into effect.

However, questions have been raised about how much the assembly accomplished given that reform has been a major agenda item since the 2014 coup.

The court, however, reduced the penalty given to them from jail terms of two years to eight months, citing that they did not act in their own interests or any individual’s interests.

The six ex-leaders are retired general Chamlong Srimuang, Somsak Kosaisuk, Pipob Thongchai, Suriyasai Katasila, Somkiat Pongpaiboon, and media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul, who is serving a jail term in a separate case involving violation of the stock market.

According to court testimonies, the six ex-leaders led the protests against the Samak government in a bid to put pressure on the then premier to resign.

They invaded Government House and were charged with invading a state properties and causing damage.

The first court had sentenced them three years’ jail each before reducing the penalty to two years.

Their lawyers planned to propose bail of no more than Bt100,000 for each of them.

Last week, the group, along with three other ex-leaders of the People’s Alliance for Democracy, faced a sedition charge for their scattered protests targeting several government compounds in 2008.

However, the first court dismissed that sedition charge against the six ex-leaders and suspended for two years the determination of penalties for the three other ex-leaders.

The court cited as the reason for dismissing the sedition charge the fact that the six ex-leaders had already been sentenced to two years in jail term.

THE COUNTRY’S top anti-graft officials have been appointed to investigate alleged corruption in the 2000-2013 procurement of multi-billion-baht Rolls-Royce industrial equipment by PTT plc and its subsidiary, PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP).

Pol General Watcharaphol Prasarnrachakit, chairman of the National Anti-Corruption Commis-sion (NACC), said yesterday three of six procurement projects by the state-owned PTT and PTTEP during the period would be scrutinised by a subcommittee headed by Supa Piyachitti, Surasak Kirivichien and Pol General Staporn Laothong.

According to documentary evidence provided by the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the US Justice Department, more than US$11 million (Bt368 million) was paid in bribes to PTT, PTTEP and other state officials in return for the energy companies purchasing Rolls-Royce’s products from 2000 to 2013.

Dozens of top executives from PTT and PTTEP, as well as members of the two companies’ procurement committees, are among people accused of receiving the bribes from Rolls-Royce.

Watcharaphol said preliminary fact-finding inquiries saw grounds to pursue further investigations into dubious procurements related to the three projects, so the NACC decided the three commissioners would take charge of the case.

Previously, a total of 26 former ministers and top executives of state-owned Thai Airways International (THAI) were accused of receiving kickbacks from the UK-based Rolls-Royce in return for purchasing a large number of aircraft engines for the national-flag carrier’s fleet.

Watcharaphol said the anti-graft agency would also seek cooperation from counterparts at the US Justice Department while working on the PTT-PTTEP/Rolls-Royce case.

In the case of THAI, its previous president, Charumporn Chotikas-athien, has set up an in-house committee to look into the allegations.

The NACC also proceeded with its investigation of the THAI case with a focus on a former transport minister, a deputy minister, THAI’s board of directors and its long-term investment subcommmittee.

Together, they approved a multi-billion-dollar deal to buy six aircraft with Rolls-Royce engines in 2004 and 2005 when Thaksin Shinawatra was prime minister.

In January this year, Tewin Wongwanich, the current CEO of PTT, said the state-owned oil and gas firm had also launched an internal investigation into the alleged kickbacks from 2000 to 2013.

During the period, Tewin’s CEO predecessors were Pairin Chuchot-taworn and Prasert Boonsamphun.

According to Tewin, representatives of the German firm Siemens were also asked to provide information relevant to the allegations since Siemens purchased Rolls-Royce businesses in late 2014.

While documentary evidence from both UK and US authorities regarding PTT’s and THAI’s procurement is substantial and specific, efforts to bring wrongdoers to justice have been relatively slow.

In addition, the statute of limitations for some incidents have expired after a period of 20 years. In most cases, anti-graft authorities may still pursue criminal actions against those involved in receiving kickbacks.

Documents from UK and US authorities have also implicated |top officials in Indonesia, Malaysia, China and India regarding procurement of aircraft engines for national carriers.

Rolls-Royce has agreed to pay a huge fine of $808 million to settle the case after it cooperated with UK authorities on an investigation regarding bribe payments and related wrongdoing.

THE junta-appointed National Reform Steering Assembly (NSRA) has hardly brought about any concrete reform despite having been in office for almost two years, audience members heard at a seminar yesterday.

Speakers at the seminar added that the assembly had only helped provide justification and serve as a buffer for the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).

The remarks were heard at a public seminar titled “Two Years of NRSA: What has society gained from it?” held at the Thai Journalists Association headquarters.

Nikorn Chamnong, a director of the Chart Thai Pattana Party, who recently resigned from the NRSA, conceded that the NRSA had been appointed to give advice to the prime minister only. It had no authority to take action, he said.

“What we do is create plans and then send them to different agencies,” the former reformer said. “There are 27 key points of reform such as administration mechanisms, basic infrastructure and human development.”

Nikorn said in the past two years, the NRSA had approved 190 reports. About two-thirds have been submitted already to the prime minister, he added.He admitted that the process was not like an assembly, but rather a bureaucratic system and the NRSA acted as a buffer for the NCPO. When facing strong pressure, the government could easily drop the proposals, the veteran politician said.

The NRSA was set up in 2015 to replace the National Reform Council (NRC), which was dissolved due to the failure of a draft constitution.

Chawalit Wichayasut, Pheu Thai Party’s former deputy secretary-general, echoed Nikorn about the role of the NSRA, which was to study and provide advice to the government. Its questionable achievements had resulted from the government’s failure to prioritise points in the reform work, Chawalit said.

“If the government had wanted to bring about reform on some particular point, it should have prioritised it so the NRSA could work intensively on it,” the politician said.

Chawalit also said that the junta had failed to identify the key issues facing the country. He added that it was the lack of democracy that had worsened everything in the past three years. He urged all sides to help return the country to normality to improve inclusiveness and public participation in the reform work.

Democrat politician Nipit Intrasombat, meanwhile, said the NRC and the NRSA had not been necessary but had been set up mainly to support the NCPO. “More importantly, not all the points proposed by the NRSA were taken up by the NCPO. The junta leaders think for themselves and have already decided that the country is better with semi-democracy,” Nipit said.

He went on to say that the country would not see democracy in the future as everything had been prescribed by the Constitution and the national strategy was to be semi-democratic. But it was unclear whether the military government’s plan would succeed, he said.

Reform advocate Suriyasai Katasila told the forum he was concerned about the 20-year national strategy that would strengthen the bureaucratic system and weaken democracy, he said.

Suriyasai, a deputy dean at Rangsit University’s College of Social Innovation, said he hoped that reform could take shape and prove effective after an election next year.

Army commander-in-chief General Chalermchai Sitthisart, in his capacity as secretary to the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), has instructed the local peacekeeping forces to monitor the movements of “all groups involved” over the next month, until the verdict is issued, the source said yesterday.

The commanders of all four “army areas” in the main regions of the country have been assigned to make sure any suspicious movements are under their microscope, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

If the local peacekeeping forces, which were formed after the military coup in 2014, discovered any plan to mobilise large groups of people into Bangkok, they would need to persuade their leaders to cancel such a trip, the source said.

“The forces should try to explain that the justice process must be respected. There must be no attempt to pressure the court with large numbers of people. Nobody must be above the law,” the source said.

After months of a trial on a case against Yingluck, the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division on Political Office Holders on Friday scheduled August 25 for the reading of its verdict.

The case stemmed from the previous Pheu Thai Party-led government’s corruption-plagued rice-pledging scheme, which was estimated to have caused at least Bt500 billion in damage to the country.

Military officers have been dispatched to different areas of the country in an attempt to persuade Yingluck’s supporters not to come to Bangkok when the court issues its ruling, the source said yesterday. They are going to meet with local community leaders and administrators and ask them to “create a better understanding” among the local residents.

“We ask for cooperation. There should be no mobilisation of the masses, otherwise there could be unrest in the country,” the source added.

All the groups of people involved should respect any decision by the court, whatever the verdict will be, he said.

“It remains unclear now if people will be mobilised from the provinces into Bangkok. The NCPO is monitoring the situation. It will be clear when the [verdict] is nearer,” the source said.

“We believe that part of the supporters travel here because they love Khun Yingluck and want to offer her moral support. But if it is not really necessary, they should follow the news at home,” the source commented.

Hundreds of Yingluck’s supporters gathered at the high court last Friday during the last hearing of the case against her.

Some Democrat Party politicians claimed yesterday that many of the supporters travelled together in an arranged trip from the northeastern provinces of Ubon Ratchathani and Amnat Charoen.

A large number of Yingluck’s supporters are expected to show up at the court building again on August 25, when the verdict is scheduled to be read.

Meanwhile, Somchai Sawangkan, a member of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), said yesterday that he has learned of a plot to incite riots in a bid to overthrow the government and the NCPO.

“In August, the political situation will be volatile. The rice-pledging scheme case is high stakes and has high pressure. Some people want to show support for their political party ahead of the next election,” Somchai said.

“They will try to bring down the government and the NCPO through riots. Hard-core groups that are their allies have clearly said that they want to wage a ‘people’s war’,” he added.

Somchai warned that such a plot could lead to unrest and further damage to the economy and the country as a whole.

He claimed to have “information” that people from the North, Northeast and certain provinces near Bangkok would be mobilised to gather in the capital on August 1 when Yingluck is to make the defence’s closing statement for the case, and again on the verdict-reading day of August 25.

“They will try to mobilise as many as 10,000 people” for the August 25 gathering, Somchai said.

The latest poem, the fifth by the premier, has touched upon the principle of Pracha Rath, initiated by his government to support the grassroots economy.

Maj-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd, the government’s spokesperson, said Prayut wished to see people – particularly those in farming areas –embrace the right approaches, especially the King’s science and Pracha Rath.

He urged them to ponder the principles and embrace them in their farm practices to sustain their living as well as the nation’s stability.

“Sometimes, it’s quite boring for us to keep telling people the same stories, and via verse, the stories might get more interesting somehow,” said Sansern, urging the public and young generations to disseminate the premier’s poems. This is not the first time that Prayut has written a poem for farmers. Early this month, he wrote a piece designed to cheer up farmers with such verses as, “You are strong, tolerant, and have high integrity worth respecting.”

The poem, “Farmers’ Soul Soothing Poem”, urged farmers to not lose their morale or leave their homes as the government has been trying to solve their problems with the Pracha Rath policy and trusted that this was the way to get them out of trouble.

Before this, Prayut penned poems for his officials, including the Cabinet, encouraging them to remain focused and work tirelessly for the people.

The poem urged them not to give up if they encountered struggles along the way when working for the people, and to use their wisdom instead to overcome problems.

Prayut continues to write despite the fact that he had earlier said he would “rather keep his mouth shut” after his first poems sparked a brief verbal tussle among established poets. The poets were split over the PM’s verse, and some appended new stanzas to his efforts.

Meanwhile, the local stock market is bracing for possible adverse impacts from the high-court verdict in the case against the ex-PM. The bourse’s management has assured that any effect on the financial markets will be short-term.

Nada Chunsom, dean of the School of Development Economics at the National Institute of Development Administration (Nida), said a guilty verdict in the legal case against Yingluck could adversely impact the next government’s policy on farm products.

Yingluck is accused of negligence for irregularities stemming from her government’s project. The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division on Political Office Holders is scheduled to read its verdict on August 25. Her former commerce minister and his deputy are among those indicted in another case also stemming from the project.

“I think the next government would be more careful on policy choices regarding the farm sector,” Nada said.

She noted that the next administration might |not opt for a large-scale populist policy similar to |the rice-pledging scheme, while a short-term market intervention may be still needed.

The cost of the Yingluck administration’s price-shoring scheme was estimated to be about Bt500 billion. The Pheu Thai Party has countered that it could be much lower had the current government smartly managed a rice auction from the government stockpile of 18 million tonnes.

Nada said that future policy might focus on farm insurance against weather factors such as flooding and drought rather than against volatility of market prices. The current government has laid out a 20-year strategy that emphasises fiscal discipline by future governments after the general election next year.

The academic, however, was cautious that the next elected government might need to take into account demand from their political constituents, and that no one knows how politics would play out.

Meanwhile, Stock Exchange of Thailand president Kesara Manchusree said yesterday that the Thai capital market was protected from any shock that might happen as a result of the verdict in Yingluck’s case.

Kesara said the stock market had been through many political upheavals in the past. Investors were now more mature and the stock market had tools to deal with the issue, she said.

Foreign investors viewed the Thai capital market as attractive for long-term investment. Regardless of the court outcome, rumours or speculation would have only a short-term impact on the market, she said.

The EC bill is the first of the organic laws to pass through the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) and the tripartite law review committee. Prior to the EC’s decision to petition the Constitutional Court, the EC bill was close to promulgation, pending only royal endorsement. The EC, however, made a last-ditch attempt to |get a ruling on the law’s constitutionality.

There are some six points in the bill that the EC has objected to, including the total reset of the current commission.

However, it has decided not to petition the reset question, as the optics of this could lead some people to conclude that it was fighting for the personal interests of EC members. Instead, said Election Commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn on Thursday, it will petition the court over the constitutionality of two controversial points.

The first concerns the removal of the EC’s authority to organise local elections. The second is the removal of the power of EC members to suspend elections if fraud is found.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said yesterday that the EC’s petition would affect the process of royal endorsement of the government’s final |submission.

However, he added, it would be unlikely to affect the election road map. That’s because lawmakers have ensured sufficient time to enact the 10 organic laws required by the new charter, he said.