Barkar Nash (Page 1,030)

MRTA sued by BTSC over Orange Line

The Central Administrative Court has ruled in favour of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) in a case brought against it by Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc (BTSC).

The case was regarding the MRTA’s decision on May 24 last year to change the terms of reference (ToR) of bidding for the right to invest in the Orange Line project, a source said on Tuesday.

The BTSC had accused the MRTA committee tasked with selecting a private partner to co-invest in the construction of the Orange Line’s extension between Bang Khun Non-Min Buri of unfairly changing the ToR with the intent of helping a certain bidder win.

The court, however, ruled on Tuesday the MRTA had strictly followed the law on public-private partnership investment and all changes made to the ToR were justifiable, said a source at the court.

The committee allowed 60 days for a public hearing to be conducted on the changes announced on May 24 last year, as required under the 2019 Public-Private Partnership Investment Act, said the source, citing the court’s ruling.

And the fact that BTSC asked MRTA in a letter to extend the bid submission deadline as it needed more time to find a foreign partner to meet the new ToR clearly showed BTSC understood and accepted the new ToR and intended to take part in the new round of bidding, said the source.

The amended ToR required bidders to have previous experience in completing a state construction project.

This requirement is justified as the MRTA has to ensure the winner has the technical capacity and sufficient experience to complete the construction of the Orange Line’s new section, which involves digging a tunnel underneath important areas, said the ruling.

The requirement is also in line with a regulation issued by the Comptroller General’s Department, which is aimed at ensuring confidence in construction projects carried out by government agencies, according to the ruling.

As for BTSC’s claim that the bidding might not be fair as the MRTA owns 8.22% of shares in Bangkok Expressway and Metro Plc (BEM), which ultimately won the contract, the court found that the MRTA is actually required to hold some shares in BEM, as outlined by a 2000 cabinet resolution.

His Majesty the King has placed nine schools for underprivileged children under royal patronage, Education Minister Trinuch Thienthong said on Tuesday.

Ms Trinuch said she signed a ministerial announcement on Monday concerning school name alterations after they are adopted by the Rajaprajanugroh Foundation Under Royal Patronage.

The nine schools for underprivileged children were formally named “Sueksa Songkhro” Schools. Ms Trinuch said all of them will be renamed “Rajaprajanugroh” Schools.

Also, they had been registered with the Office of the Basic Education Commission (Obec) under the Education Ministry, however, the nine schools will now come under Rajaprajanugroh Foundation Under Royal Patronage’s management.

The nine schools are: Sueksa Songkhro Bang Kruai School in Nonthaburi, Sueksa Songkhro Mae Hong Son School in Mae Hong Son, Sueksa Songkhro Chiang Mai School in Chiang Mai, Sueksa Songkhro Chiang Dao School in Chiang Mai, Sueksa Songkhro Mae Chan School in Chiang Rai, Sueksa Songkhro Thawat Buri School in Roi Et, Sueksa Songkhro Surat Thani School in Surat Thani, Sueksa Songkhro Phatthalung School in Phatthalung and Sueksa Songkhro Narathiwat School in Narathiwat.

They become the 58th-66th Rajaprajanugroh Schools under the King’s royal patronage, Ms Trinuch added.

“The school name alteration and transfer to the Rajaprajanugroh Foundation Under Royal Patronage will allow students to be granted scholarships and have many more opportunities in education,” Ms Trinuch said.

She said that the nine schools had been selected because of the number of underprivileged children who need immediate help. The students will soon be given lessons to improve life skills such as culinary practice, farming, sports and music.

His Majesty the King has placed nine schools for underprivileged children under royal patronage, Education Minister Trinuch Thienthong said on Tuesday.

Ms Trinuch said she signed a ministerial announcement on Monday concerning school name alterations after they are adopted by the Rajaprajanugroh Foundation Under Royal Patronage.

The nine schools for underprivileged children were formally named “Sueksa Songkhro” Schools. Ms Trinuch said all of them will be renamed “Rajaprajanugroh” Schools.

Also, they had been registered with the Office of the Basic Education Commission (Obec) under the Education Ministry, however, the nine schools will now come under Rajaprajanugroh Foundation Under Royal Patronage’s management.

The nine schools are: Sueksa Songkhro Bang Kruai School in Nonthaburi, Sueksa Songkhro Mae Hong Son School in Mae Hong Son, Sueksa Songkhro Chiang Mai School in Chiang Mai, Sueksa Songkhro Chiang Dao School in Chiang Mai, Sueksa Songkhro Mae Chan School in Chiang Rai, Sueksa Songkhro Thawat Buri School in Roi Et, Sueksa Songkhro Surat Thani School in Surat Thani, Sueksa Songkhro Phatthalung School in Phatthalung and Sueksa Songkhro Narathiwat School in Narathiwat.

They become the 58th-66th Rajaprajanugroh Schools under the King’s royal patronage, Ms Trinuch added.

“The school name alteration and transfer to the Rajaprajanugroh Foundation Under Royal Patronage will allow students to be granted scholarships and have many more opportunities in education,” Ms Trinuch said.

She said that the nine schools had been selected because of the number of underprivileged children who need immediate help. The students will soon be given lessons to improve life skills such as culinary practice, farming, sports and music.

The media plays a crucial role in promoting a better understanding between the Constitutional Court and the public, a forum was told.

Jarun: Constructive criticism welcomed

The Office of the Constitutional Court on Tuesday held an annual forum called the Constitutional Court Meets the Media.

In an opening speech, Constitutional Court president, Worawit Kangsasitiam, said the forum aimed to educate the public about the court’s role and improve ties with the media.

The court has attached importance to corporate communication and the media’s role in presenting information regarding the court’s activities so the public can better understand how the court operates based on accurate information, Mr Worawit said.

Jarun Pukditanakul, a former Constitutional Court judge, told the forum that the media holds great importance because the court does not have a media outlet to communicate to the public.

“The media needs to act as a link between the court and the public. It can help explain and promote a better understanding and ease anger and hatred,” he said.

“When the judges want to speak to the public, they can only provide written explanations in court rulings. It is up to the public whether to read, study and constructively criticise the rulings and offer useful feedback to the court,” Mr Jarun said.

“Constructive criticism helps the court improve, but criticism must be based on fairness, accurate information and the rule of law, not false evidence,” he said.

Developing the justice system based on this principle will help improve the political and governing systems as well as the people’s living standards, he said.

Mr Jarun said that some foreign powers are trying to interfere with the country’s justice system. In some cases, they sent their representatives to attend court hearings in what was seen as a move to pressure the judges, Mr Jarun said. However, he did not provide details.

“We must stop any efforts to pressure the court so the judges can hand down a ruling independently,” he said

Chon Buri: Pattaya rescue workers helped a Swiss tourist take off his constriction ring after it became stuck, and he is now recovering, local officials said on Tuesday.

On Monday night, rescue workers from the Sawangboribul Foundation in Pattaya were called to help a 52-year-old Swiss man who was suffering acute pain from the ring, usually worn at the base of the penis, to maintain an erection by slowing blood flow.

Thanapong Ok-oun and Jeerasak Nuchlek, rescue workers from the Sawangboribul Foundation, said that the Swiss tourist called them from an apartment in South Pattaya at 9pm and said that his penis became painfully swollen due to the ring.

The stainless steel ring was carefully removed by the medical team.

Prai Pattano has been sentenced to nine years of imprisonment without a suspended jail term by the Supreme Court for abuse of power while working as mayor of Hat Yai municipality in Songkhla in 2005.

The ruling was disclosed on Tuesday by Kosolwat Inthuchanyong, deputy spokesman of the Office of the Attorney General.

The Supreme Court reversed the ruling handed by the Court of Appeal, which earlier acquitted Prai.

The conviction against Prai is based on an abuse of power charge stemming from an accusation he had wrongfully transferred state money worth 26.9 million baht for amulet production in 2005 while serving as mayor.

According to the ruling, Prai used his power as a municipal mayor to transfer the money from the savings account of the municipal office to the Sirindhornrajvithayalai Foundation.

The amulets were to be sold to raise funds for the repair and gold-plating of the Buddha Mongkol Maharat statue, an important religious landmark in Hat Yai municipality.

Prai was found to have failed to comply with proper regulations in conducting the amulet production project.

He was accused of awarding a contract to a single amulet maker who landed the job without a bid being held. Not holding a bid was a violation of related procurement regulations, according to the investigation.

As well as the prison sentence, Mr Kosolwat said Prai had been ordered to return the state money worth 26.9 million baht spent on the amulet project.Prai has already given back 12.4 million baht of that amount to the Hat Yai municipal office.

MPs also cite clash with King’s birthday

Parliament president Wan Muhamad Noor Matha has postponed the vote for a new prime minister from Thursday, pending a Constitutional Court ruling on the rejected renomination of Move Forward Party (MFP) leader Pita Limjaroenrat.

Mr Wan said on Tuesday he made the decision after consulting with legal officials from the House of Representatives and his advisers.

They concluded that if the PM vote were to go ahead on Thursday, it could potentially lead to problems when the court makes its ruling afterwards, said Mr Wan, who also serves as the House speaker.

“With the vote postponed, today’s planned meeting of whips from the coalition allies, other political parties and senators became unnecessary,” he said.

Another reason for delaying the joint sitting of MPs and senators was that many were worried they would not be able to attend ceremonies to celebrate His Majesty the King’s birthday in their respective provinces on Friday if the sitting was prolonged, Mr Wan said.

The joint sitting for a prime ministerial vote can be put back on the parliamentary agenda after the court’s ruling.

Mr Wan earlier set Thursday for MPs and senators to vote again for a new prime minister, possibly a candidate from Pheu Thai, the second-largest party in the same alliance led by the MFP.

The MFP has agreed to let Pheu Thai take the lead in nominating a prime minister and forming the government.

The MFP also faces a challenge because many parties outside the eight-party coalition disapprove of its plan to revise Section 112 of the Criminal Code, also known as the lese majeste law.

Meanwhile, the MFP insists it will continue trying to get Mr Pita elected as prime minister.

He failed to win a majority in a joint vote by both houses on July 13.

Mr Pita was renominated at a joint sitting on July 19, but this was turned down, citing a parliamentary regulation.

Opponents argued the renomination was in violation of parliamentary regulation 41, which prohibits the resubmission of a failed motion during the same parliamentary session.

Mr Pita’s supporters and many academics disagreed and asked the Constitutional Court to rule on parliament’s rejection.

Constitutional Court president Worawit Kangsasitiam said on Tuesday the Ombudsman had electronically submitted a petition asking the court to rule on Mr Pita’s rejected renomination as well as to suspend the prime ministerial vote.

Mr Worawit said court officials will spend two days checking the document before forwarding the petition to a panel of judges to consider whether to accept it for deliberation — a process which will take five days.

Meanwhile, Tuesday’s planned meeting of the eight political parties seeking to form a new government was abruptly cancelled.

It had been called by Pheu Thai to discuss progress in getting support for the nomination of a preferred prime minister.

Pheu Thai announced its cancellation in a message sent to reporters on the LINE app early on Tuesday afternoon. The message said the other seven parties had been informed.

According to sources, Pheu Thai had apologised to all the other parties for the cancellation.

Pheu Thai said its assigned task of seeking support from political parties outside the eight-party alliance, and from senators, in a parliamentary vote to select the new prime minister had not made satisfactory progress.

The move came after the Ombudsman on Monday decided to ask the court to rule on Mr Pita’s rejected renomination and order parliament to postpone the prime ministerial vote scheduled for Thursday.

MFP secretary-general Chaithawat Tulathon said Pheu Thai probably now needed more time to prepare a proposal to be presented to the eight parties.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has spoken against a proposal by some allies of the Move Forward Party (MFP) to wait 10 months for an end to senators’ tenure before forming a new government.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate,” Gen Prayut said in response to reporters’ repeated questions about the idea after he arrived at Government House on Tuesday morning.

Gen Prayut announced his retirement from politics earlier this month.

The Thai Sang Thai and Fair parties have proposed the eight coalition allies wait for the five-year term of the military-appointed Senate to end in May next year, so the MFP alliance could have its prime ministerial candidate elected by the House of Representatives alone.

The MFP won the most seats in the May 14 general election, with 151. The Pheu Thai Party came second with 141 seats. They are the core of the alliance, with a 312 majority in the 500-seat elected House.

The current 249 senators are entitled to take part in the vote for the new prime minister, together with the elected representatives. The new prime minister needs a majority of the two chambers, at least 375 votes.

On July 13, the joint sitting rejected Mr Pita, the then-sole candidate for prime minister. He received 324 supporting votes, including only 13 from senators.

MFP secretary-general Chaithawat Tulathon said it is within the rights of the Pheu Thai Party to take its pick of coalition partners. The MFP has handed the right to lead the government formation effort to Pheu Thai following Mr Pita’s failure to win the parliamentary nomination to be prime minister.

Also on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said he was optimistic a new government might be up and running later next month even though more time will be needed to divide up cabinet portfolios among coalition partners, a process that precedes the swearing-in of the new cabinet.

Mr Wissanu said it would be extremely difficult to name a non-MP or non-member of a political party as prime minister to break an impasse in setting up a new government.

The government has returned about 400 million baht seized from a Chinese online scam gang to the Chinese government, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Tuesday.

He said he and his team went to Beijing to return the money to their Chinese counterparts after officials from the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) and police arrested the gang living in luxurious condominium units in Bangkok last year.

He said Amlo reported that the gang lured about 33,000 Chinese people into investing in an e-commerce business in China. After getting their victims’ money, the scammers fled to Thailand and used the money to buy property.

After the scammers were arrested and charged last year, their assets were sold for about 400 million baht, he said, adding the government told Beijing they wanted to return the money to the victims via the Chinese government.

Mr Wissanu said the money was handed to Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong when the two met in Beijing on July 19.

“We are pleased to learn from the minister that it is the first time that the Chinese government has received damages caused by Chinese scammers from the government of another country,” he added.

Beijing extended its gratitude by offering two fellowships to Amlo officials every year.

Mr Wissanu said more such cooperation in law enforcement and security will be looked at in the future.