Barkar Nash (Page 1,041)

Pol Gen Sereepisuth Teemeeyaves denies feeling let down after missing out on a cabinet post in the new government, but was openly critical of the qualifications of the likely picks.

The Seri Ruam Thai Party leader made the remarks after confirming he has quit as Seri Ram Thai’s lone list MP. His resignation takes effect on Sept 1.

“My mission to support Pheu Thai was over and done on Aug 22 when I voted for Srettha Thavisin to be prime minister. I tendered my resignation letter the next day,” he said.

Pol Gen Sereepisuth, who remains Seri Ruam Thai’s leader, said it was he who helped pave the way for Pheu Thai to join its former political rival, Gen Prawit Wongsuwon — leader of the former ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) — to form a new government.

Pol Gen Sereepisuth added that he and Pheu Thai never discussed offering him a cabinet seat in exchange for his support.

However, Pol Gen Sereepisuth did not hold back in his criticism of Pol Gen Patcharawat Wongsuwon, tipped to be the next deputy prime minister and minister for natural resources and the environment. Pol Gen Sereepisuth said it baffled him that someone with no experience in ministerial work could be included in the cabinet. Pol Gen Patcharawat is the chief adviser of the PPRP and Gen Prawit’s younger brother.

New govt to tackle energy bills promptly

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin pledged to reduce energy prices once his administration starts work.

“The cabinet will cut energy prices soon after it gets down to work. People will not have long to wait after our first meeting,” Mr Srettha said.

The caretaker cabinet of outgoing prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had its last meeting on Tuesday and Mr Srettha’s new cabinet still has to be formally announced and sworn into office before his Majesty the King.

The swearing-in of the ministers in the presence of His Majesty the King is required by the constitution. After they are sworn in, the government will have to declare a policy statement in parliament before it can start work.

Mr Srettha was speaking after a meeting with outgoing energy minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow and the economic team of the United Thai Nation Party (UTN) in parliament yesterday.

Mr Supattanapong, a UTN list MP — which has 36 House seats and is part of the new coalition government — said they discussed what the Energy Ministry will do and how the new energy minister will address the issues related to energy prices.

The household electricity tariff is currently 4.7 baht per kilowatt-hour (unit), and that rate is set to end today.

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) has been subsidising the cost since September 2021. The subsidy is estimated to have caused an accumulated loss of 135 billion baht for the state enterprise.

According to Egat, 60% of its power generation is fuelled by gas, 15% by coal and 15% by renewables.

The rest is imported from Laos or Malaysia. Prices of imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal dropped recently.

Responding to criticism that some of his picks are not fit for cabinet posts, Mr Srettha said feedback is welcome.

“The government has a lot of work to do and many goals to achieve. [Cabinet ministers] will be assessed by how well they perform and everyone must get to work straight away,” Mr Srettha said.

Pichit Chuenban, a former lawyer of ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra, faces howls of disapproval as he is tipped to become a cabinet minister despite having served jail time for contempt of court for attempted bribery when he represented Thaksin in a controversial land case in 2008.

On June 25, 2008, the Supreme Court sentenced Mr Pichit and two of his colleagues to six months each in jail after they tried to bribe Supreme Court officials by handing them a paper bag containing two million baht in cash a fortnight earlier.

Mr Pichit is tipped to serve as the PM’s Office Minister under the Pheu Thai-led coalition government, according to sources. All three represented Thaksin and his ex-wife, Khunying Potjaman na Pombejra, in the Ratchadaphisek land case, for which Thaksin was sentenced to two years in prison in 2008.

Thaksin, who has long been considered Pheu Thai’s de-facto leader, returned to Thailand last week after living in self-imposed exile for over 15 years.

Mr Srettha also brushed aside criticism that deputy Pheu Thai leader Sutin Klungsang, who is tipped to serve as defence minister, is a civilian and not suited for the role.

He said Mr Sutin is an experienced politician and should work with the military well.

Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, a former election commissioner, said Mr Pichit is not qualified to hold a cabinet post, citing Section 160 (7) of the constitution.

He said the section bars a convict sentenced to jail from serving as a cabinet minister — regardless of whether the convict was found guilty of criminal charges or not.

Mr Somchai said Mr Srettha should take this opportunity to carefully select a cabinet to win public confidence in the government’s efforts to address the country’s problems.

President Xi Jinping has invited newly elected Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin to visit China, according to the Chinese ambassador to Thailand.

Han Zhiqiang and Minister Wu Zhiwu on Tuesday paid Mr Srettha a courtesy call to congratulate him on the occasion of becoming the 30th prime minister of Thailand.

The ambassador said Thailand is a key strategic partner and that China would support the policies of the Pheu Thai-led government to strengthen bilateral ties.

He also urged Mr Srettha to discuss economic development plans with Mr Xi in China at the latter’s invitation.

Mr Srettha said Thailand sees closer bilateral ties with China as important in all areas, including the economy, society and culture.

Both sides also discussed guidelines for easing measures and rules for Chinese people applying for Thai visas to spur tourism and investment in both countries ahead of the peak season at the end of this year, Mr Srettha said.

PHUKET: A 50-year-old Australian man fell to his death from a parking building at Phuket international airport on Tuesday night, police said yesterday.

His death was reported to police about 8.30pm by a security guard, who shouted out to the man not to jump, but he did anyway. The man’s name was withheld pending notification of relatives.

Police found the man’s body on the ground in the motorcycle parking area, Pol Col Salan Tantisartsanakun, chief of Sakhu police station, said.

Security camera images showed the man arriving at the airport alone. He walked along the road to the parking building and took a lift to the upper floors. He tore up a 500-baht banknote and a 50-baht note and then jumped from the fifth floor, police said.

Police said the man entered Thailand on Aug 24 and later left. He re-entered the country on Aug 28 and stayed at a hotel in Patong. His belongings were still in the hotel room.

According to police, the man had no air ticket to leave the country. He had no criminal record.

His body was sent to Vachira Phuket Hospital for post-mortem examination. The Australian embassy had been notified, police said.

Wants issue raised at first cabinet meeting

The Move Forward Party (MFP) yesterday called on Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin to keep his promise to discuss the issue of holding a referendum on a charter rewrite at his first cabinet meeting.

The call came after the House of Representatives yesterday rejected the party’s bid to move up a motion on rewriting the entire constitution. The motion was the 33rd item on the House’s agenda.

MFP list-MP Parit Wacharasindhu said the party accepted the House’s decision and urged Mr Srettha to prioritise the proposed referendum in the new government’s first cabinet meeting, which could be as soon as Tuesday.

Mr Parit said the referendum must clearly ask whether the charter should be completely rewritten and if the body writing it should be directly elected.

Last November, the House endorsed an opposition-backed motion with 323 MPs voting in support of a charter rewrite referendum, but it was later shot down by the Senate.

The motion called on the government to hold a referendum to ask the public if a new constitution should be drawn up by a charter-drafting assembly of elected representatives to replace the current charter.

The MFP submitted a similar motion when the House re-convened and it was placed 33rd on the list.

In asking the House to move the motion up, Mr Parit said the matter would not affect the deliberation of other issues because MPs would only be asked to confirm what several parties had already supported.

Attakorn Sirilatthayakorn, a Palang Pracharath Party MP for Chachoengsao, disagreed, saying other motions were equally important and many dealt with pressing problems faced by farmers.

Khrumanit Sangphum, a Pheu Thai MP for Surin, said the proposed referendum would soon be discussed by the cabinet and the House should focus on people’s needs.

The MFP’s request to move the charter reform motion up for deliberation was rejected by 262 MPs, with 143 voting in support and one abstaining.

Meanwhile, the Internet Law Reform Dialogue (iLaw) group yesterday submitted a petition involving the rewriting of the 2017 constitution to the Election Commission, along with the signatures of 211,914 people supporting it. The EC said it has to verify the authenticity of those who signed the petition, not deal with the questions to be asked at a referendum.

Pheu Thai this week accepted for consideration iLaw’s petition on the referendum.

Phitsanulok woman convicted of royal defamation protesting against denial of bail while she appeals

A woman convicted of royal defamation has been admitted to the Correctional Hospital with exhaustion on the 10th day of her hunger strike, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR).

The 30-year-old woman, identified only as Warunee, began refusing food on Aug 21 to protest against the refusal of the courts to grant her bail while she appeals her sentence.

She consumed only soy milk on the first three days and since then has been taking only water. She has lost four kilogrammes so far, according to TLHR.

The Phitsanulok resident has been held at the Central Women’s Correctional Institution since June 28, when the Criminal Court sentenced her to three years in prison for posting an edited picture on Facebook deemed to have insulted His Majesty the King under Section 112 of the Criminal Code, the lese-majeste law.

The sentence was reduced to one year and six months because the accused confessed. Her lawyers have since made five applications for bail while their client appeals, and all have been rejected. The Court of Appeal has deemed the prisoner a flight risk and said her lawyers’ claim that she suffers from bipolar disorder does not have a bearing on the case.

The offence with which Warunee was charged took place in December 2021. The complaint was filed by Nopadol Prompasit, a member of the Thailand Help Centre for Cyberbullying Victims, which as filed numerous lese-majeste charges against activists including Parit Chiwarak, Anon Nampa and Panusaya Sithijirawattankul.

Another inmate, Weha Saencholchanasuk, has been on a hunger strike at the Bangkok Remand Prison for seven days as an expression of solidarity with Warunee, according to TLHR.

He has been detained since May 18 after the Criminal Court sentenced him to 3 years and 18 months in prison for a Twitter post that violated Section 112. He has also been denied bail.

According to data from TLHR to July 31 this year, 1,918 people have been prosecuted for political participation and expression since the beginning of the Free Youth protests in July 2020. At least 253 are facing lese-majeste charges under Section 112 and 130 have been charged with sedition under Section 116.

Riders ‘exposed to constant danger’ amid pressure to meet schedules

A group of delivery motorcycle riders has called on the Ministry of Labour to provide them with legal protection and financial compensation if they are involved in road accidents.

Supaporn Phanprasit, a group representative, told reporters that the riders who work with various apps and e-commerce platforms are exposed to constant danger during their delivery rounds.

As they must race against time to deliver food and parcels quickly, they sometimes find themselves involved in traffic accidents, often resulting in injuries. Some lose their limbs or even their lives.

However, many never receive any financial assistance or compensation from either the other party in the accident or platform operators, Ms Supaporn said.

Being a delivery rider is not officially recognised as a part-time job because it comes with legal conditions and agreements attached. Moreover, a full-time labour system governs the income shared between the riders and their platforms.

“As we are considered (by law) to be ‘employees’, we urge the Ministry of Labour to talk with the delivery platform operators to provide rider protection, including accident insurance and cover our medical costs of up to 10,000 baht for each rider (injured in a traffic accident),” said Ms Supaporn.

Crowds of delivery drivers gathered at the ministry recently to seek help from the new government. They asked officials to rein in the delivery platforms and ensure they offer better welfare protection and fair income.

“We want to have a compensation fund set up to improve the welfare of delivery riders,” said Ms Supaporn. “The compensation must be launched immediately to lighten the financial burden on the riders and their families.”

Maneewan Wongsrikham, a 38-year-old former delivery rider, said her leg was amputated after her motorcycle hit a truck that failed to signal before making a turn.

She received 800 baht a month from a government welfare scheme for people with disabilities, adding that no compensation has been forthcoming from the platform she worked for.

Kasemsan Kruecharoen, director of the Informal Labour Protection Division, said delivery platform operators and their riders had been invited to talks to find a solution together.

The ministry has also drafted an informal labour law that highlights welfare protection for delivery riders. The bill is being vetted by parliament, Mr Kasemsan said.

He said some people work as full-time riders while others do not. During their talks, the platform operators agreed to provide riders with financial protection during their working hours. However, the riders want that protection extended around the clock.

Cholnan keeps promise made during campaign but is expected to still have a cabinet seat

Dr Cholnan Srikaew has kept his word and resigned as the leader of the Pheu Thai Party because of its decision to form a government with military-linked parties.

The veteran politician from Nan told a news conference at Pheu Thai headquarters on Wednesday evening that on April 28, during the campaign for the May 14 election, he made a promise to resign if his party formed a coalition with the Palang Pracharath Party.

Gen Prawit Wongsuwon, an outgoing deputy prime minister and brother-in-arms of former premier Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, leads Palang Pracharath and his brother is expected to have a seat in the new cabinet.

Dr Cholnan, a 62-year-old physician and former hospital director in Nan, said his resignation would have no impact on his MP status. He is widely expected to be named to the cabinet as the minister of public health.

Chusak Sirinil, the deputy leader of Pheu Thai, will head the party for now, while an election to pick a new leader and executive board would be held in 60 days, said secretary-general Prasert Chanthararuangthong.

Dr Cholnan said now was the right time for his resignation because the government formation has been completed with Pheu Thai getting 17 cabinet positions.

“The mission is accomplished. I, Dr Cholnan Srikaew, am keeping my promise that if the Pheu Thai Party and its executive board resolved to form a government with the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) and seal a deal with Uncle Pom (Gen Prawit’s nickname), I as the party leader would resign,” he said.

Political rivals had been pressing Dr Cholnan to step down immediately after Pheu Thai announced its new coalition alliance on Aug 21. However, he said he wanted to stay on for a few more days until the cabinet selection process was complete.

Pheu Thai, which came second in the May 14 election, withdrew earlier this month from its previous coalition alliance with the election-winning Move Forward Party, which was unable to get its leader elected as prime minister in parliament.

Dr Cholnan said he was proud of the role he had played as the leader of Pheu Thai and dismayed by the verbal attacks on him and the party.

A native of Nan, Dr Cholnan was first elected to the House in 2001 under the Thai Rak Thai banner. He served as deputy minister of public health in the Yingluck Shinawatra government in 2012 and 2103. He was elected leader of the Pheu Thai Party in October 2021.