Barkar Nash (Page 1,029)

The eight-party alliance led by the Move Forward Party (MFP) has formed a committee to prepare for a transition of power in a move labelled by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha as “inappropriate”.

MFP leader and prime ministerial candidate Pita Limjaroenrat on Tuesday announced the establishment of a “transitional coordination committee” following a meeting of the prospective coalition at the Prachachart Party’s headquarters.

The leaders of all eight parties agreed to establish the committee with Mr Pita as chairman.

In addition to the transitional coordination committee, seven working panels were also set up to deal with electricity, diesel, and energy prices; drought and El Nino issues; problems in the three southernmost border provinces; constitutional amendments; environmental concerns and PM2.5 pollution; the grassroots economy and SMEs; and drug-related problems.

Each panel consists of representatives from the eight parties, and will hold regular meetings to provide updates on their progress to the transitional coordination committee.

“This collaborative approach aims to foster a consensus among all, enabling the formulation of comprehensive policies to address the country’s challenges and consolidate them into joint policies,” he said.

The finalised policies will be announced in parliament and implemented by both the executive and legislative branches, Mr Pita said.

“Our work is proceeding smoothly, and we are committed to working together to solve the problems of the people to the best of our abilities.

“Furthermore, the allocation of positions within the executive branch will always prioritise the people’s interests,” Mr Pita said.

Gen Prayut, however, when asked by reporters about the MFP’s transitional plans, criticised the move and warned against the scheduling of any meetings with representatives of government agencies.

Even though the MFP won the election, it’s not in government yet.

“That is inappropriate,” Gen Prayut said. “Government organisations are still under the present government. They will prepare information for the transition in the future.”

Asked if Mr Pita was acting like another prime minister by meeting key figures from the business community and other groups, Gen Prayut said he did not have such a perception.

“I’m not looking at it. I’m not starting any conflict with anyone. As I have told you, we should adhere to democratic rules,” he said.

The prime minister said that the MFP could meet representatives from the private sector, but it was inappropriate to meet with government organisations for the time being.

Asked about foreign investors’ reactions after the election, Gen Prayut said that they have been waiting for the new government to take shape.

“Several politicians said they would do many things [if they become the new government], and they are expected to revise [the current government’s projects], which makes me worry because several of the projects are already proceeding nicely,” Gen Prayut said.

The current government has been trying to attract foreign investors as part of efforts to boost the economy and GDP, Gen Prayut continued, adding that the new government should attach similar importance to encouraging investment from abroad.

“If any damage arises, there is nothing I can do because I will have left office by that time,” Gen Prayut said.

Asked about the intention to replace military conscription with voluntary recruitment under the MoU signed last week by the MFP-led coalition, Gen Prayut, who concurrently serves as the Defence Minister, would only say: “It is up to them.”

The MFP and its partners recently signed an MoU agreeing on a joint policy platform.

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A lawyer has asked the Office of the Attorney General to forward a petition to the Constitutional Court requesting that it order Move Forward leader and aspirant prime minister Pita Limjaroenrat and his party to cease their campaign to change the lese majeste law.

Teerayut Suwankesorn filed his ptition request with the OAG on Tuesday, saying he was acting as an individual and a citizen.

Mr Teerayut said he wanted the Constitutional Court to order Mr Pita and the Move Forward Party to cease all attempts to amend or abolish Section 112 of the Criminal Code, the lese majeste law.

He also wanted the court to order them to stop expressing opinions in speeches, articles, publications and advertisements which could lead to Section 112 being amended or abolished.

Mr Teerayut said he expected the OAG would forward his petition to the Constitutional Court in 15 days. If not, he would exercise his right under the constitution and submit the petition directly to the court for consideration.

He had earlier submitted a petition asking the Election Commission to examine whether Move Forward and its members, in declaring its policy to amend Section 112 during its campaign, had violated the constitution. The EC has not responded to the request.

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The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases on Tuesday rejected the complaint of a former national parks chief against police who arrested him over a bribery scandal in December last year.

Rutchada Suriyakul Na Ayutya, until recently director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, had filed a complaint against members of the police Anti-Corruption Division (ACD).

They arrested him at his office on Dec 27 last year for allegedly demanding and taking bribes from subordinates hoping for promotion or preferred transfers. About 5 million baht in cash was found in envelopes in his office safe during the police sting operation, which followed a complaint filed against him.

The former director-general accused police of malfeasance, fabricating evidence, trespass, maltreatment and illegal assembly. 

In dismissing the complaint, the court said ACD police were only doing their duty. Mr Rutchada’s lawyer, Rachan Chueabankoh, said his client would appeal the ruling.

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A teenage boy was stabbed to death and three others injured in a classroom at a school in Si Sa Ket’s Sri Rattana district on Monday afternoon.

Police were called to a public school in Sri Rattana district about 2.20pm on Monday.

They found a 14-year-old Matthayom Suksa 2 student dead in a classroom with multiple stab wounds. Three other injured students were given first aid by teachers before being sent to hospital.

The slain youth and another student, also 14 and in Mathayom Suksa 2,  had been playing together before they started fighting during lunch break. The other student stormed  off in anger, Thai media reported on Tuesday.

In the afternoon, the angry student returned accompanied by friends.

He was armed with a knife and attacked the victim, who was sitting at the front of the classroom, reports said.

The victim was stabbed in the chest and in other areas, and fell bleeding to the floor. Three other students were also hurt during the altercation. The attacker fled.

A young student was later escorted to Sri Rattana police station by his parents. The boy was charged with assault causing death and physical assault of other people.

Police said the boy would be taken the provincial juvenile court for questioning on Tuesday.  

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The Election Commission has dismissed petitions asking that it examine whether the Pheu Thai Party’s policy of a 10,000-baht digital handout to everyone aged 16 and over violates Section 73 of the law on the election of MPs.

The petitions were filed by Srisuwan Janya, secretary-general of the Association for the Protection of the Constitution, Ruangkrai Leekitwattana, a former election candidate of the Palang Pracharath Party, and Sonthiya Sawasdee, a former adviser to the House committee on law, justice and human rights.

Section 73 of the election law prohibits election candidates or other figures from promising to give voters assets, money or benefits. It also prohibits them from giving misleading information about policies. A party could be dissolved if found guilty of violating this section.

This policy of the Pheu Thai Party drew much criticism, with people questioning its feasibility.

In response, the EC asked Pheu Thai to explain where the money to implement the policy would come from, potential risks and the cost,  as required by Section 57 of the Political Party Act.

The EC, at a meeting on Monday, resolved to reject the petitions on the grounds the party could explain during campaigning how its policy would be implemented if it was in government. 

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Citing research by the Ad-Hoc Committee on Systematic Hemp and Cannabis Resolution, Thailand’s Cannabis Future Network has urged three alliance parties not to reinstate the plant as a narcotic drug, as that would be like “getting the first shirt button wrong” and lead to more problems.

Prasitchai Nunual, the network leader, wrote on their Facebook fan page on Monday that before the election, this particular ad-hoc committee was set up to discuss removing cannabis from the list in an attempt to study the systemic usage of the plant.

According to Mr Prasitchai, the committee consisted of not only experts but also representatives of political parties, including the Move Forward Party (MFP), the Pheu Thai Party and the Prachachart Party, three of the seven allies that signed a working agenda on May 22.

With that said, the three parties’ attempt to, in his words, “change their agenda” on cannabis after the election, which included the reinstatement of cannabis as a narcotic drug, appeared contradictory in his view. He said that changing the agenda was done for the benefit of the parties, not the country, and, even worse, was not based on the evidence available.

“It is okay to go back on their words based on the committee’s earlier studies, but not based on public opinion or their personal political beneficiaries,” the post read.

Mr Prasitchai added that a shift in cannabis policy based on public opinion alone would be akin to “getting the first shirt button wrong”, which might result in an even worse situation later on. He suggested that they review the results of the study once again before thinking of reinstatement.

Meanwhile, cannabis growers in Khon Kaen also called for discussion before any changes are made.

Seangpirun Wongtawan, the owner of a cannabis shop in Khon Kaen, told the reporters that she was worried about vague legal regulations on cannabis, as they made it difficult for owners to keep up with and adhere to, particularly concerning plant registration.

She said she wished new regulations would focus more on medical applications of the plant as “growers have already invested large amounts in their products”.

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National police chief Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas has ordered highway police to investigate claims that drivers of overloaded lorries are not being arrested because they display special bribe-paid stickers.

Police spokesman Pol Lt Gen Archayon Kraithong said on Monday that Pol Gen Damrongsak wanted the Highway Police Division to get to the bottom of the allegations quickly.

Officers found involved in such bribery would face decisive action, including expulsion from the force.

The Highway Police Division earlier reported it regularly cooperates with the Land Transport Federation of Thailand and stops overloaded lorries, the spokesman said.

The national police chief would welcome any information from the public about the alleged racket so that the police could deal with it, Pol Lt Gen Archayon said.

Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn, a Move Forward Party list MP-elect, recently posted on social media that he was compiling evidence about the alleged racket. He claimed overloaded trucks with special stickers were not being detained or the drivers arrested at weighbridges.

The stickers variously depicted rabbits, a smiling sun or Kung Fu Panda, and were available at a cost of thousands of baht per month, he said.

Pol Maj Gen Ekkaraj Limsangkat, commander of the Highway Police Division, said that an inquiry panel was set up to look into the claim, and tough action will be taken against any lorry operator involved in bribery. Officers implicated will also face legal and disciplinary action. He also admitted that police taking bribes had existed for a long time, and amending related laws is necessary to address the problem.

Under current laws, legal action will be only taken against drivers of overloaded trucks, not owners or operators of the business, which leads to repeated offences, Pol Maj Gen Ekkaraj said.

“We may have to amend the laws so that when a lorry is found carrying a load exceeding the legal limit, it will be confiscated,” he said.

“If the law is amended, tens of thousands of lorries are expected to be seized, and this measure should deter operators,” Pol Maj Gen Ekkaraj said.

Wichai Sawangkachorn, president of the Northeastern Transport Association, said such stickers had been used for the racket for a long time. He also claimed those involved also include politicians and senior officials.

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Covid-19-related deaths declined last week as the dominant strain is neither more transmissible nor more severe, according to the Public Health Department.

Permanent secretary Opas Karnkawinpong said on Monday there were 42 fatalities related to Covid-19 last week, down from 64 deaths the previous week.

“The [fatality] rate is starting to fall,” he said.

Most of the deaths were elderly people, those with underlying illnesses and pregnant women.

Deaths resulted from lung inflammation, respiratory failure and complications, including those related to chronic kidney disease.

“Most of them had not sought the vaccination advised by the health ministry. Some people had fears of side effects,” Dr Opas said.

“Vaccines reduce symptoms and fatalities. Young family members should take their elders for vaccination. However, sometimes it turns out that the children and grandchildren are the people afraid of side effects,” he said while recommending annual Covid-19 inoculation.

Dr Opas said that the XBB.1.16 strain was spreading in Thailand, but it was neither more transmissible nor more severe than other strains.

He said Covid-19 infections were rising more in Bangkok than in other provinces.

Most cases now were asymptomatic because of vaccination. A survey found that 90% of Thai people had Covid-19 antibodies from vaccination or infection, Dr Opas said.

“It may now be similar to other respiratory diseases which evolve. After infection, people have antibodies, and the disease tries to adapt for co-existence,” the public health permanent secretary said.

“It is a time of balance between humans and the disease.”

He said there was no shortage of hospital beds for Covid-19 inpatients. The bed occupancy rate for Covid-19 patients nationwide was 22%.

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Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday brushed off rumours that he will remain as prime minister if a “political accident” were to happen in the near future.

The prime ministerial candidate for the United Thai Nation Party (UTN), who was asked about the claim after his meeting with the Young Entrepreneurs Chambers of Commerce (YEC), said he had no comment on the rumours, before adding that “everything must be done according to the regulations”.

“Don’t talk about ‘what ifs’ with me. There is no ‘what if’. It’s speculation, isn’t it? What if this? What if that? How can I answer that?” he said.

Doubts emerged if the eight-party alliance led by the Move Forward Party (MFP) will back MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat’s bid to become the next prime minister and succeed in putting together a coalition government.

The bloc has 313 combined House seats, so it needs the support of at least another 63 MPs or senators to confirm Mr Pita’s nomination as premier. Moreover, the MFP and Pheu Thai recently locked horns over which party should take the House speaker post, triggering speculation the alliance could fall apart.

In his meeting with the YEC representatives, Gen Prayut said the group briefed him on the success of “young public and private collaboration” (YPC) programme in the eastern region.

He said it was his government’s policy to strengthen the capacity of young entrepreneurs who will play a greater role in national development and work with young generations of state officials.

The YPC programme for the eastern region included the development and promotion of processed durian in Chanthaburi, a smart mobility scheme in Chachoengsao and the development of the agricultural sector in Chon Buri in line with bio-circular-green (BCG) economic model.

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