Lt-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd, the spokesman attached to the Prime Minister’s Office, said that the nine state agencies involved would spend Bt16.9 billion to buy more than 22,000 tonnes of rubber latex and almost 3,000 tonnes of rubber sheets for their use.

The prime minister, however, has turned down a request by rubber farmers for an order under Article 44 of the post-coup interim charter to make it mandatory for state agencies to buy rubber for their use, according to the spokesman.

“The prime minister is well aware of the suffering of the rubber farmers. But he maintained that there was still no need to invoke Article 44 to help reduce legal obstacles and make it compulsory to use local rubber. It is because the problem is being tackled and progress has been made gradually,” Sansern said.

General Prayut’s powers under Article 44 have remained under the new Constitution in effect since early April. As head of the ruling junta’s National Council for Peace and Order, he is empowered to issue orders with the goal of reforming the country that bypass the existing laws and powers of the three branches of government.

So far, nine state agencies have informed the prime minister of their intention to use local natural rubber for their projects. These are the Agriculture and Cooperatives, Defence, Transport, Education, Natural Resources and the Environment, Public Health, Interior and Tourism and Sports ministries, as well as the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

The rubber supply to be bought is for road construction and the production of products such as boots, gloves, pipes and rubber sheets.

“The prime minister has instructed the nine agencies to speed up their budget spending to help stimulate the domestic consumption of natural rubber before the end of the current fiscal year” at the end of September, Sansern said.

According to the spokesman, the Royal Irrigation Department has received 100 tonnes of rubber from the Rubber Authority of Thailand for its project to repair asphalt roads with a total length of 3,000 kilometres.

The government has come under mounting pressure from rubber growers to help prop up the falling prices. Groups of planters in the South have called on the prime minister to use his power under Article 44 to demand state agencies to use rubber in their projects, in order to help boost prices.

General Prayut also has instructed the relevant agencies to expedite establishment of a fund to help stabilise local rubber prices, to which the country’s five major rubber exporters would contribute Bt200 million each.

Meanwhile, leaders of small-time rubber planters in the South met with local military authorities in Nakhon Si Thammarat yesterday following their signature campaign to call for the removal of the governor and executive board members of the Rubber Authority of Thailand.

The five leaders of the rubber growers had earlier been summoned to meet the authorities from the 41st Military Circle and the Internal Security Operations Command at a local military camp. But the venue was later changed to the Provincial Hall to make it “appear more relaxed”, according to a source.

The group has started a campaign to collect at least 50,000 signatures to call for removal of the top executives of the Rubber Authority of Thailand, whom they blamed for the falling rubber prices

After yesterday’s meeting, the group maintained that they would continue with their signature campaign.

The envoy made the remark while presiding over the French National Day reception at the Pullman Bangkok King Power Hotel on Friday night. “We look forward to next year’s election returning an elected parliament,” he said during a press briefing.

Apart from this, Garachon chose to limit his remarks regarding Thailand’s political situation. He simply said that both Thailand and France were going through a “transition period” as his country’s new president, Emmanuel Macron, had only assumed office in May.

Under former president Francois Hollande, France was among the Western countries that condemned the ruling junta for staging the 2014 coup and called for an immediate return to democracy. While Macron has yet to make any political remarks regarding Thailand, his foreign policy in Asia, including Asean, is likely to remain strategic.

France joined the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia in 2007 before the European Union followed five years later.

At his press briefing, Garachon described France’s relations with Asean as “active, impressive and promising”. He noted the 27-billion euro (Bt1.04 trillion) trade between France and Asean countries in 2015, accounting for 13.7 per cent of trade between the European Union and Asean.

Infrastructure, education, know-how sharing and tourism were among areas of cooperation that Garachon said could be closer. France, which has had diplomatic relations with Thailand for 160 years, is the second largest exporter to Thailand with trade valued at 1.7 billion euros while Thai exports to France are worth 2.6 billion euros.

Thailand is France’s second largest partner in Asean, and there are 260 French companies doing business in Thailand. In June, France opened Station F, the world’s largest start-up centre with the capacity to support more than 1,000 start-up companies, which will be in line with the “Thailand 4.0” plan emphasising innovation and technology. On July 3, French and Thai private representatives signed agreements covering agriculture business, transport and infrastructure, Smart City projects, and renewable energy.

France also supports ongoing Free Trade Area dialogue between the EU and Asean.

Counter-terrorism measures were also an area of concern that France looked forward to developing with the international community, Garachon said.

“We have to encourage more data exchange to cope with the fast-adjusting terrorism and the transnational-crime threat,” he said. “We have to be ahead of them.”

The legislation has not been created to bully or discriminate against some particular people, he said. It had no impact over cases that had already been ruled on.

The organic law would only affect people absconding from trials, Seree said.

“It is not an infringement on rights or violation of the universal principles,” he maintained. “It depends on which principles we are talking about. But our country needs rules that suit our society or we won’t be able to deal with the rampant corruption.”

The legislation covered the procedures in court for political office holders, Seree stressed. It would do nothing to penalise, increase penalties, or put the blame on the innocent, the legal expert said.

Rather, the new legislation aimed to overcome weaknesses in the old procedures of the political office holders’ court, such as by suspending the statute of limitations for those on the run.

If anyone questioned its legality, they could petition the Constitutional Court, Seree said

The National Legislative Assembly passed the controversial bill on Thursday. The legislation would allow trials in absentia as well as suspension of the statute of limitations in cases where defendants were on the run.

Critics suspected the legislation targeted fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and colleagues who have several cases ongoing in the political office holders’ court.

Disharmony in politics (70.5 per cent) was top among the five concerns 1,278 people expressed in a survey conducted by Suan Dusit Poll during the past week and released on Saturday.

Coming second and third on the list were the behaviour of politicians and their comments on current politics. More than two-thirds, or 68.7 per cent, of the poll respondents said that politicians were inclined to abuse their power for their own ends, and that they often set a bad example due to their verbal abuse. Some 66.98 per cent of the people surveyed believed that politicians’ comments were not constructive and provoked further political conflict.

The second last and last of the five concerns related to the election road map and the legislation of organic laws.

Some 57.76 per cent of respondents were afraid that the election would be postponed as the process was still being forged and politicians were still debating the new voting system.

More than half of the people, or 53.68 per cent, said that they had no knowledge about the organic laws because there were so many pieces of legislation, and they were concerned that the laws would not be completed in time for the election. The respondents were also uncertain of the transparency in the legislation.

The poll also asked what people wanted to see in Thai politics today, and the first of the top five responses was harmony, with 84.66 per cent.

Progress and a healthy economy came second, or 71.63 per cent, while clean and corruption-free politics was third with 69.25 percent.

The fourth thing people wanted to see in politics was democracy and inclusive participation (64.87 per cent). Finally, people wanted to see new blood in politics and politicians who would be more constructive (63.07 per cent).

The move is to express solidarity with Thai activists opposed to the military-backed regime.

The five young activists, identified as Cat, Chris, Austin, Jay, and Effy from Australia, England, Canada, Malaysia, and Vietnam respectively, visited Pai at Khon Kaen Central Prison on Friday.

Pai has been detained since December for sharing a BBC article deemed insulting to the monarchy on Facebook. His bail requests have been rejected more than 10 times since.

Despite months of detention, Pai remained in good spirit and told his international friends, with one of his fists up in the air, to encourage young people everywhere to carry on their struggle for freedom and democracy.

The five international activists would share their experience of meeting with Pai and other political prisoners in their languages to spread the word about the situation in Thailand, according to the New Democracy Movement Facebook page.

In its Facebook post, the anti-junta group also insisted it would continue to fight until justice and freedom are restored.

ONGOING CASES against politicians will be covered by newly approved legislation on the procedure for criminal cases against politicians when it comes into effect, a drafter of the law said yesterday.

This new law, however, will not affect cases in which courts have already issued verdicts, he added.

Udom Rathamarit, a constitution drafter who also sat on the committee vetting the organic law, confirmed yesterday that the new law had no impact on cases already concluded. These included one against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra stemming from his then-wife’s purchase of a coveted land plot in the Ratchadaphisek area from a state agency.

After hearing the case in 2008, the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division on Political Office Holders sentenced Thaksin to two years in prison for abuse of power.

“That case has already been decided. The procedures in the new legislation cannot apply to cases that the court has already settled,” the law professor told The Nation.

High-profile cases are under way at the court against former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra and former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom from the Pheu Thai Party.

The bill was approved almost unanimously 176-0 by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) on Thursday.

Judges have expressed concern over the clause that allows trials in the absence of fugitive defendants. Atikom Intarabhuti, secretary-general of the Courts of Justice who is a member of the committee vetting the draft law, said trials in absentia are against a universal principle and international practice.

Deputy Attorney-General Khemchai Chutiwong said yesterday that the law could be applied retroactively to existing cases but with exemptions on criminal punishment.

As the new legislation is an outline of how cases will proceed, it is automatically applicable to all cases, including those occurring before the bill’s enactment, Khemchai said.

Only stipulations on criminal punishments will not be made retroactive, he said.

Khemchai said that while attorneys will not be involved much with the new legal process, it should help speed up the prosecution of politicians involved in wrongdoing, given that they are politically appointed and take office very quickly.

He said this would not create a double standard in how politicians are treated compared with civil servants and the private sector with regard to corruption. The existing justice system already punishes anyone committing corruption, he explained, with the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders already in place to rule on wrongdoings by politicians.

“Politicians often have a huge impact on society. They also come and go fast, so we need this bill in place,” he said. “Civil servants and the private sector, on the other hand, often commit less serious graft so they can be prosecuted under the normal process.”

Asked if this standard would apply in the case of fugitive ex-PM Thaksin, Khemchai replied: “Possibly yes. However, the law is aimed at future use and does not target anyone specifically.”

National Legislative Assembly (NLA) member Wallop Tang-kananurak yesterday sought clarification on the draft bill on criminal cases against political office holders being binding on cases in the “judicial process”.

While Article 67 in the bill’s provisional clause says the new law will not affect cases that are already in the judicial process, Wallop said it is still not clear what was covered by the term “process”.

Wallop said the law should not apply retroactively to cases concerning former premier Thaksin which have already been ruled on by a court.

He said in his interpretation, the new law would not cover cases already adjudicated, including Thaksin’s, but would cover existing cases on which a final ruling has not been issued.

“The president or the spokesperson of the NLA committee vetting the said draft bill should clarify this point,” Wallop said. “The Constitutional Court could also be approached for clarity on the term ‘process’.”

Meanwhile, Kamnoon Sitthi-samarn, a National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) member, said yesterday that the new legislation would result in “a revolution” in court proceedings on high-profile cases.

There are several clauses that would facilitate court procedures to ensure progress in a case without any needless delays, including absence of the defendants or the statute of limitations.

These are addressed in the bill’s Articles 26, 27, and 24/1’s paragraph one and two.

In addition, those who are sentenced but flee the country would be subject to prosecution under paragraph three of Article 241, Kamnoon added.

As a result, court cases that are on hold would then proceed following this new law, Kamnoon said.

Kamnoon said the cases concerning a former prime minister on the run would proceed under this law. He was referring to Thaksin.

Even in a case where the court has ruled and delivered a final judgement, the convict cannot escape penalties under this law, he added.

Advocates of the bill argued that the special practice of conducting a trial in absentia and suspending the statute of limitations were aimed at bringing powerful politicians to justice.

Political scientist Chamnan Chanruang, however, cautioned yesterday that legislation targeting particular people or professions without taking into consideration the universal principle would undermine the majesty of the law.

“Laws must be based on some principles and standards. If done arbitrarily, people will have no confidence in it,” Chamnan said. He also raised questions about the legislation being prejudiced against politicians.

Powerful people in other fields such as in public and private sectors were also susceptible to abuse of power, he explained. It was unfair that there was a specific law to deal with a particular profession, the scholar said.

This would include the case of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s Ratchadapisek land deal, in which the court had already handed down a sentence of two years in prison.

“That case [the Ratchadapisek land deal] was already over. The new procedures in the new legislation cannot apply to cases the court has already settled,” the law professor told The Nation.

This is because old cases that have proceeded and concluded under previous laws are covered by previous law and not under the new law, said Udom.

Article 24/1 paragraph three of the new law stipulates that in the event that final judgement is delivered in a case, but the defendant has fled the country, he or she would still be subject to punishment. Exemptions from such punishment for those having fled the country following the criminal code’s Article 98 are waived.

Udom, however, insisted that the cases with final ruling would not be subject to implementation of this new law.

Ongoing trials, however, would be conducted under the new law when it comes into effect, Udom said.

Advocates of the bill argue that in order to bring powerful politicians to justice, they should be exempt from the usual practice of forbidding trials in absentia and allowing a statute of limitations for crimes.

But political scientist Chamnan Chanruang cautioned that legislation targeting particular people or careers without taking into consideration the universal principle would undermine the majesty of the law.

“Legislation must be based on some principles of standards. If done arbitrarily, people will have no confidence in it,” Chamnan said.

He also wondered whether the new legislation is prejudiced against politicians.

Powerful people in other fields such as in state and business sectors were also susceptible to abuse of power, he explained. It was unfair that one specific law targets one particular profession, the scholar said.

There are several clauses that would facilitate the court proceeding with cases rather that being held up or abandoned by the absence of defendants or a statute of limitations as is the case now, Kamnoon posted on his Facebook page today.

These are addressed in the draft bill’s Article 26, 27, and 24/1’s paragraph one and two, Kamnoon noted.

Those fleeing the country to avoid being punished would still be subject to prosecution under Article 241, paragraph three, he added.

As such, court cases now being put on hold due to certain impasses in the court process, would instead proceed following proclamation of this new law, Kamnoon wrote.

Proceedings could continue against former Prime Minister’s on the run, including Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, he pointed.

Even if the court had previously ruled and delivered a final judgement, a politician would not escape the penalties under this law, he added.

As the draft bill stipulates how such cases will be proceeded without the defendants being present, it is thus automatically applicable to all cases that are on hold, including cases before the draft bill’s enactment, Khemchai explained.

Only stipulations on penalties will not be retroactive in these cases, he said.

The draft was deliberated and passed on Thursday by the National Legislative Assembly.

Khemchai said the new law would not have much impact on the work of lawyers, and it would help speed up prosecution of politicians involved in wrongdoings.

He said there was no double standard in dealing with politicians, civil servants and private sectors concerning graft, as there are already separate court procedures in place for politicians, including the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders.

“Politicians often have a huge impact on society. They also come and go fast hence we need this bill in place,” he said “Civil servants and the private sector, on the other hand, often commit less serious graft so they can be prosecuted through the normal process,”

Asked if this standard will be applied in the case of fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Khemchai replied: “Possibly yes. However, the law is aimed at future use and does not target anyone specifically.”