POLITICIANS FROM the major parties have expressed dissatisfaction with the revision of the political parties law, casting doubt over why politicians and party members have been singled out as the only persons subject to the death penalty if found guilty of trading political positions for money.

Ongart Klampaiboon, a prominent member of the Democrat Party, yesterday said he had observed that the severest punishment would be enforced only in regard to politicians or members of political parties, and would not apply to those in other high-ranking positions, such as civil servants or a non-MP prime minister.

Kanin Boonsuwan of the Pheu Thai Party voiced similar sentiment, as well as concern over possible slander and abuse or arbitrary use of the law.

The reaction came after the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) on Tuesday announced several changes to the organic law, including the individual contribution to a capital fund and the number of members a party had to recruit.

The provision setting out capital punishment for party members found guilty of trading positions remained unchanged, however.

Apart from concern over the capital-punishment issue, Nipit Intarasombat, deputy leader of the Democrat Party, said the revisions made by the CDC were “rather irrelevant”.

Although he welcomed the individual-contribution reduction to Bt1,000, he said it would not bar financiers from interfering in political parties.

However, Nipit added that the idea of keeping financiers out of politics might have been unrealistic from the outset.

He suggested that they were essential, and that the minimum capital-fund of Bt1 million that the CDC proposed for each party was not adequate, as electoral campaigns were very expensive.

In a related development, the Election Commission (EC) will make an official submission to lawmakers on the draft organic law governing its activities, insisting on the preservation of provincial election committees and opposing the proposed electoral inspectors.

Chief drafter Meechai Ruchupan said yesterday the idea of electoral inspectors had arisen in response to the EC’s observation that the provincial committees, whose members were mostly civil servants, were influenced by politicians.

Hence, the lawmakers had decided to replace them with independent inspectors, he said.

Moreover, the central EC office should also superintend its provincial offices in order to prevent outside influence, Meechai said, adding that it was laid out that the EC should issue rules and regulations to cope with this weakness.

The CDC still welcomes further recommendations regarding the issue, he stressed.

EC member Somchai Srisuthiyakorn said the commission would submit a proposal to the CDC to preserve the agency’s provincial committees and their regulations.

The electoral commission agreed that the law should retain the provision that provincial committee members, comprised of representatives from various sectors, excluding civil servants, would receive a meeting allowance as their main source of income – not a monthly salary – as well as a provision that the committees should serve a term of four years, he said.

Somchai however dismissed the allegation that the provincial representatives were not independent, arguing that there was no concrete evidence to support such a claim.

Besides, the notion that the inspectors would not be swayed by politicians was mere wishful thinking, he added. He also said politicians would do anything to ensure their interests, and there was no guarantee that the inspectors would not be free from political influence.

“The ad hoc inspectors would work only for two months each time. There would be no continuity and they could lack responsibility. This is a loophole through which someone in the political sphere could get in – and it would be impossible to bring disciplinary proceedings against them,” Somchai said.

The EC was, however, willing to comply with the rules even though they had not been revised as the agency recommended, he stressed.

“Our board members have no vested interest in any business group,” the council said yesterday.

Its statement also said the board of the Medical Council agreed in principle about the bill and believed that breast milk was extremely important to infants.

“We support professional bodies in presenting easy-to-understand information to the public,” the statement said, “Academic comments either for or against the bill will be made during the deliberation by the National Legislative Assembly [NLA]”.

The bill’s content is based on the International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes. Proposed by the Public Health Ministry’s Health Department, the bill is already in the hands of the NLA.

Several critics and supporters of the proposed legislation have clashed over their differing stances on the issue.

Some doctors associated with the Medical Council and paediatric networks fear the bill may backfire because unhealthy food for infants and children up to three years of age may quickly replace powdered milk or infant formula.

But Dr Siriwat Tiptaradol, a former deputy permanent secretary for Public Health and the first president of the Thai Breastfeeding Centre Foundation, questioned these doctors’ motivation, asking whether they had received sponsorship for their academic conferences or overseas trips.

This prompted the Medical Council to issue a statement defending its board members.

“We only aim to provide educational information to people and other organisations, and recommendations to the government for the benefit of the medical and public health sectors,” the statement said.

Prof Dr Yong Poovorawan, who teaches at the Department of Paediatrics in Chulalongkorn University’s medical faculty, said on his Facebook page yesterday that if the promotion of healthy food for young children was banned, unhealthy food would fill the gap.

“It’s best to go for the middle path,” he said.

Yong recommended that the bill should control food products for infants aged up to one year only. Food for older children should be controlled by ministerial regulations instead, he suggested.

He said if relevant authorities wished to promote breastfeeding more, they should push for laws that allow mothers to take paid maternity leave for up to six months.

The point winning most praise is the stipulation that at least half of party committee members tasked with selecting MP candidates must come from regional branches. The stated aim of the CDC here is to return ownership of the parties to ordinary voters by ensuring they get representatives who better respond to their needs and demands. In the past, candidates have been imposed by the central executive committee, meaning that locally approved nominations were often overlooked.

The new system will only work, however, if local party organisations have sufficient political awareness and independence to fend off attempts by central-party executives to influence their selection of candidates. This is a potential weak point.

One provision drawing criticism is the requirement that 500 party founders contribute seed money totalling Bt1 million. Critics query whether this is either necessary or practical. They argue that the financial restriction violates the basic right of people who share an ideology to form a political party, since they might not be wealthy enough to raise the seed fund.

However, proponents counter that in the real world, political activities need to be funded, and the amount of seed money stipulated is reasonable and affordable.

Critics are also questioning provisions that prohibit the interference of “outsiders” in internal party affairs. That interference, wielded by wealthy outsiders who have often been banned from politics for serious violations, can even extend to de facto control over a party. As such it represents a serious barrier to parties being representative of ordinary members’ interests.

The controversial question here, though, involves the definition of “interference”.

If a non-member attends a party meeting but doesn’t offer a directive or a viewpoint, will that be seen as illegal intervention? Would an outsider’s persuasive comments at a meeting be regarded as interference?

Some outsiders attend the meetings simply to see how the members vote. Meanwhile anyone determined to influence the party’s direction could simply ignore the meetings and lodge his orders directly with the executive membership. In that case, how would it be possible to prove an offence had been committed?

The concept of interference obviously needs to be clearly defined in the new law. If the provision is too broad, it will be open to interpretation. That would leave the way free for genuine offenders to go unpunished or innocent people to be framed.

Acting deputy city police chief Pol Maj General Panurat Luckboon said he had ordered additional checkpoints to be set up in front of the Turkish Embassy in Suthisan, and the Russian Embassy in Bang Rak district.

He spoke after chairing a meeting of officials from the Army, the National Intelligence Agency, Immigration Police, plus senior provincial police via a video conference network.

An off-duty policeman, Mevlut Mert Altintas, 22, shot the Russian Ambassador to Turkey eight times at the opening of a Russian photography exhibition. The attacker was heard shouting “Aleppo” and “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest), during the attack.

Panurat said Thailand was not a party to the conflict [in Syria] but the authorities would be on high alert to prevent any

incident here.

Deputy national police chief Pol General Srivara Rangsibrahmanakul said neither embassy had asked for extra security following the attack in Ankara. However, police would follow up and keep abreast with information related to the drama in order to be able to ensure safety for each diplomatic mission and their personnel.

National police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda said police had to give full protection to foreign embassies and were ready to provide more, if asked.

The tragedy in Turkey, he said, would not have an impact on national security of Thailand.

Panurat said officials also discussed preparatory measures for security throughout the country over the New Year period when Bangkok and other provinces would be crowded with people, including foreign tourists.

Police have been told to check security cameras at 27 piers along the Saen Saep Canal – a major waterway that runs through Bangkok.

“Each police station along the river will check whether the security cameras at the piers in their jurisdiction are functioning or not. If they are not in full capacity, they should be fixed. The lights in those areas will be checked to make sure they are working at night, so people can be safe,” Panurat said.

The measures would also boost trust and confidence among tourists. In regard to violence in the Deep South, he said no intelligence reports suggested that militants from the area may instigate violence in Bangkok over the New Year.

Boonjaeng was among the four workers killed when the former car showroom they were trying to demolish collapsed. His body was taken to the Chulalongkorn University for an autopsy.

Efforts are ongoing to recover the fourth man’s body from the rubble.

Police have now charged four people over the tragedy.

A sacred ritual was performed at the national park on November 17 before nine specially selected sandalwood trees were cut down and logged.

They were then cut into 1,461 sandalwood strips and many bigger pIeces. They were sent to the Office of Traditional Arts in Nakhon Pathom province.

Sandalwood is considered an important part of the royal cremation ceremony.

“Kui Buri forest will gain historical value. The future generations will come here and learn about it. It has supplied sandalwood for the royal cremations of many important Royals including HRH Princess Sri Nagarindra the Princess Mother and HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana, and now the late king,” Srisawas Boonma, the kamnan of Tambon Hat Kham, said.

Officials loaded the sandalwood into three trucks, which were decorated with black and white ribbons. More than 20 vehicles were in the convoy as officials and local leaders in Prachuap Khiri Khan followed the trucks. Police also escorted the trucks.

A number of people lined the road leading out of the national park to show their respect for the late king.

HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej died at the age of 89 on October 13.

National Reform Steering Assembly’s deputy chair Alongkorn Ponlaboot announced that nine songs had been composed in |remembrance of the late king.

A music video has already been produced for the songs and can be watched at http://www.reformvoice.com.

On January 1, members of the public will not be allowed to enter the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall to lay prostrate before the body of the late king. Praying rituals, however, will take place as usual.

The Royal Household Bureau will open the Sala Sahatai Samakhom inside the Grand Palace between 7.30am and 5pm on January 1 for people to sign wellwish messages for HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

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He failed to respond to an arrest warrant issued over allegations of defamation and inciting unrest.

The DSI is also considering the possibility of applying for a new warrant to arrest the temple’s former abbot Phra Dhammachayo after New Year celebrations.

The source said the DSI is also investigating allegations that the temple’s executives had spent more than Bt100 million of donations from the Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative (KCUC) on stock trade.

The source said a National Office of Buddhism representative yesterday testified about the acting abbot’s role and his authority as per the Sangha Act and promised to give information about recent changes to that position to the DSI by January 10.

The DSI had filed charges against the acting abbot for harbouring a fugitive and neglecting to perform his duties.

Meanwhile, Justice Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana said Phra Dhammachayo’s prosecution would be based on the law and conducted very carefully. The minister explained that he had no agenda or need to favour anybody, and would let the DSI do its job as it already had a plan of action.

Deputy national police chief Pol General Srivara Ransibrahamakul said he will today look into police investigation over the World Peace Muktawan monastic retreat in Phang Nga’s Koh Yao district that is allegedly encroaching into a national forest.

This retreat was linked to the Nakhon Ratchasima’s World Peace Valley Khao Yai monastic retreat, which is allegedly encroaching on state-owned land and has led to an arrest warrant for Phra Dhammachayo. He said the temple has also been linked to at least 10 sites that allegedly encroach into forests nationwide.

Meanwhile, a source said KCUC members will be asking the DSI to investigate the KCUC executives who withdrew the appeal on the Bt22 million embezzlement case that landed former chairman Supachai Srisupa-aksorn a 16-year jail term, resulting in the members’ loss of rights to demand compensation.

Separately, the Pathum Thani-based Dhammakaya Temple yesterday filed a police complaint against the Tambon Klong Sam Administrative Organisation for abusing its authority by blocking the use of the ubosot at the seventh gate.

Lawyer Natthachai Kliewpian said the building, alleged to have been built without permission as per the 1979 Building Act, was erected two years before the Act went into effect and since it’s a religious structure it is not required by law to get permission.

At 3pm yesterday, some 10 officers from Klong Luang Police Station officers were escorted by the temple lawyer to install signs reading “criminal case evidence” at 68 buildings and structures in the temple compound. This move was made to stop anybody to use, move or do any damage to the structures as investigation is ongoing.

PRIME MINISTER General Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday invoked the special power under Article 44 of the Interim Charter to issue relief measures for digital-TV operators, who have faced business difficulties for problems that many say were caused by the state regulator, as well as the global economic slowdown.

The moves, which include extending the deadline under which state agencies have to return their radio spectra – or bandwidth – for reallocation, were welcomed by broadcasters, who said they would help ease financial strain.

The PM’s order extends the deadline for all 21 state agencies to return their spectra to the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission by another five years from the original deadline of April next year.

The PM’s order also allows the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Research and Development Fund Commission to subsidise the monthly cost faced by digital-TV broadcasters for transmitting their programmes to satellite and cable platforms for three years, at a total subsidy of Bt2.5 billion.

The fund commission will pass the subsidy to Channel TV 5, which will seek transmission services for broadcasters. Currently, broadcasters seek transmission services on their own.

It is estimated that each standard definition channel can save Bt15 million per year in transmission costs and each high-definition channel can save Bt60 million a year.

This subsidy will apply for all 22 commercial broadcasters and four public broadcasters.

The order also increases the instalments of upfront licence payments that 22 digital-TV broadcasters must pay by an additional three instalments.

The orders were published in the Royal Gazette yesterday.

Originally broadcasters had to pay a minimum price upfront for their licences, plus an “exceeded value” sum. The minimum amount had to be paid in four instalments, starting with a 50 per cent upfront fee, followed by 30 per cent, 10 per cent and a final 10 per |cent.

At the same time, they had to pay the “excess” in six instalments, starting with 10 per cent of the amount in the first two instalments, then 20 per cent in the remaining four instalments.

The broadcasters have already paid three instalments for the minimum price and the excess. The fourth instalment is due next May.

Under the PM’s order, broadcasters can now pay half the original payment for the remaining instalments for minimum price and excess price.

This will help ease the burden that faced by broadcasters, who have been lobbying the government for relief in the face of intense competition, plus disappointing advertising revenue and viewer numbers.

But state coffers will still gain the same revenue.

It means broadcasters will be able to pay smaller sums to the government in their next payments – 5 per cent in the fourth instalment and a final 5 per cent in the fifth round, instead of 10 per cent in a fourth round, as originally planned.

For the excess fee, they will pay 10 per cent of the remaining sum in the fourth to the ninth rounds, instead of 20 per cent as originally planned in rounds four to six.

The instalment payments will be |subject to interest of 1.5 per cent for the fifth to ninth years, under the new arrangement.

Thepchai Yong, chairman of the board of directors at Nation Multi-media Group (NMG), said the change was good news for digital TV operators.

“It is a relief measure that will help digital TV operators out of their current financial burden,” he said.

“Financial problems that digital TV operators face stem from the NBTC not being able to fulfil its commitment to those business firms, who won bids for digital-TV channels.

“It then caused problems, including inadequate reception of digital-TV signals and small numbers of penetration – which didn’t reach the level projected initially by the NBTC.”

More money for content development

Kematat Paladesh, president of the Radio and Television Broadcasting Professional Federation and president of Bangkok Media and Broadcasting (the operator of PPTV digital channel), |welcomed the “very good news”, which had come after some TV operators and his federation put more effort into |convincing the regulator to support the industry.

He suggested that the new rates could help TV operators cut costs so they would have more money to spend on content development to attract viewers.

The broadcasting committee of the NBTC held an auction in Dec 2013 |that resulted in 24 digital-TV licences being granted to 17 bidders the following April. The total value of licence |payments was Bt50.86 billion, spread over six years.

But there are only 16 operators left now, running 22 channels. Two licences held by Thai TV Co were revoked by the regulator, after the company refused to pay a second instalment of its upfront fee late last year.

The pair were among the first batch of 300 inmates released from Bangkok Remand Prison under an amnesty granted to mark His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s accession to the throne, said prison director Krit Krasaethip.

Since 7am yesterday, relatives and friends – including 30 close aides of Himalai and Thanyathep in uniform and civilian clothes – gathered outside the prison to greet the freed men.

At 9.10am, Himalai and Thanyathep, who were jailed in the same case as former MP Chuwit Kamolvisit, who was freed earlier, emerged from the prison and were collected by two pickup trucks.

Himalai later said he was grateful for His Majesty’s kindness and vowed to devote his life to education as a PhD degree could enable him to embark on a teaching career.

Still maintaining his innocence, Himalai said he would later visit the seniors who helped him all along, including Chuwit whose confession resulted in his sentence being reduced. Himalai and Thanyathep were jailed for five years each by the Appeal Court in 2012.

In the 2003 case, 60 beer bars in Bangkok’s Sukhumvit area were forcibly demolished in defiance of the law.

The amnesty was granted to those selected by each prison’s committee for those with good behaviour who had not been convicted of rape and murder, drug trafficking and public fraud.

It was reported that about 30,000 inmates were eligible for release under the amnesty.