The country is barely benefiting from the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), a flagship project of the current government, as it is accessible to only a few small local businesses, according to the Thai Sang Thai (TST) Party.
Supan Mongkolsutee, a TST prime ministerial candidate, said the EEC scheme is geared towards large companies and is out of reach to most small businesses.
The EEC area, which covers parts of Chon Buri, Rayong and Chachoengsao, is hosting 12 targeted S-curve industries, including new-generation car production and smart electronics. The government wants to turn it into a high-tech industrial hub.
Mr Supan said only a few small businesses were able to meet the EEC’s criteria and establish themselves in the corridor.
For the economy to grow strong, the government must grant head-start investment privileges to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and make it easier for them to obtain such privileges.
He insisted government support was critical for promoting industries in which Thais are well-versed in, so as to heighten their competitive edge.
The EEC should designate a wider area for industries such as food, jewellery and cosmetics. These are businesses where Thailand is highly competitive.
“All parties contesting the poll mentioned GDP. However, they seem to lack the understanding that SMEs account for 35% of GDP when the proportion should be increased to at least 50%,” he said.
Mr Sutee said the discrepancies in the country had widened too much while the “little people”, who the TST will help, remain weak.
Coordination fix
The Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) has promised to fix the lack of coordination within the bureaucracy, which has deprived some communities of basic utilities.
Leading a campaign walkabout in Ban Sap Hin Kaew in Pak Chong district of Nakhon Ratchasima yesterday, Wirat Warich-alangkarn, the PPRP’s candidate in Constituency 4, met residents who complained about a lack of electricity in their communities.
The candidate said he had learned about the problems affecting residents in the various communities he has covered in the constituency.
He found that more than 300 residents in the Sap Hin Kaew area have been living without electricity for more than 70 years. The communities, located on the side of a mountain, sit on military land.
Power lines could not be provided to supply electricity to the villages because no formal permission had been sought from the military.
Mr Wirat said the problem could have been resolved if related agencies had coordinated more closely in submitting the request to the proper authorities.
Low support
A rift has emerged in the United Thai Nation (UTN) Party, with a group of candidates having complained the party’s support for them was running low.
Preecha Rengsomboonsap, who stands in Loei’s Constituency 1, said yesterday he represents a group of candidates who were not receiving enough support from the party.
He claims to speak for UTN candidates in Nakhon Phanom, Kalasin, Chaiyaphum, Kamphaeng Phet, Phetchabun and Nakhon Sawan.
Mr Preecha arrived at the party’s headquarters in Bangkok to voice his group’s frustration at being treated unfairly by the UTN.
He explained the party should have provided candidates with a better financial lifeline, at least to the maximum amount allowed by the law.
He has not been able to hold talks with the party’s leader, Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, to convey the problem to him, he said.
He claimed he sent a message on the Line app to the party’s secretary-general, Akanat Promphan. However, the message has not been read.
“We came with a feeling of frustration, but we don’t want to hurt anyone,” he said.
Meanwhile, Himalai Phewpan, the UTN coordinator, said he was assigned to hear the complaint. He insisted the party does not have much money to spend on the election and financial donations have to be used prudently.
He added that candidates should be able to manage their own affairs so as not to create a burden for others.
Premature comment
The Bhumjaithai Party has warned Pheu Thai not to make premature comments about what it thinks could transpire after Sunday’s election.
Now is not the time to decide what cabinet posts a party will be laying its hands on as it must wait for the official poll results, according to Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul.
He was responding to comments made recently by a Pheu Thai prime ministerial candidate, Srettha Thavisin, who said Pheu Thai would definitely oversee the Transport Ministry if it led the next coalition government.
The ministry is currently supervised by Bhumjaithai. Mr Anutin said he understood Mr Srettha has come under fire for his comment.
Meanwhile, Bhumjaithai is requesting a Criminal Court injunction to force former massage parlour tycoon Chuvit Kamolvisit to stop attacking the party’s campaign policy.
Kamol Srisawat, the party’s lawyer, said the injunction would keep Mr Chuvit, who is critical of Bhumjaithai’s decriminalisation of cannabis, from disrupting the party’s election campaign.
Mr Chuvit’s attacks will also form the basis for the party to seek legal charges against him for violating the organic law on the election of MPs. Mr Kamol reasoned the attacks have the potential to hurt the party’s popularity.