Barkar Nash (Page 1,050)

Most people believe the Pheu Thai-led “special government” with Srettha Thavisin as prime minister and including military-linked parties is unlikely to do away with the colour-coded political divide in the country, and a plurality thinks the new divide will be between orange Move Forward supporters and those of the new red-yellow governing coalition, according to an opinion survey by the National Institute of Development Administration, or Nida Poll.

The poll was conducted on Aug 23-25 by telephone interviews with 1,310 people aged 18 and over of various levels of education, occupations and incomes throughout the country.

Asked whether they had taken part in political rallies of various political groups in the country, a huge majority or 87.63% said they had never participated. A further 4.35% said they had attended rallies of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD, the red shirts); 3.13% the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD, the yellow shirts); 3.05% the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC, the yellow-shirt PDRC successor group); and 2.82% the pro-democracy three-finger group (orange shirts).

Asked which political group they are currently affiliated with, a huge majority or 69.47% said they are non-affiliated; 19.85% said they are with the three-finger group (orange shirts); 6.64% with the red-shirt UDD; 2.59% with the yellow-shirt PAD; and 1.45% with the PDRC.

Asked whether they believed the coalition government led by the Pheu Thai Party with Srettha Thavisin as prime minister would lead to the healing of the colour-coded political divide, a majority, 57.25% said “no” – 36.72% not at all and 20.53% moderately. On the other side, 40.46% said “yes” – 20.61% for sure and 19.85% moderately. The rest, 2.29%, had no answer or were not interested.

Asked whether they thought the return of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra would lead to the end of political conflict between the yellow-shirt PAD and PDRC and the red-shirt UDD 49.31% said “yes” and 49.01% said “no”. The rest, 1.68%, had no answer or were not interested.

Finally, asked which political groups they thought would continue to be in conflict in the future, the answers varied as follows:

• 39.39% the orange shirts on one side and the yellow shirts and red shirts on the other side
• 24.89% believed there would be no more political conflict between these political groups
• 16.56% the red shirts and the orange shirts
• 6.72% the yellow shirts and the red shirts
• 2.44% the red shirts and the PDRC
• 2.29% the yellow shirts and the orange shirts
• 1.45% the PDRC and the orange shirts
• 0.53% the yellow shirts and the PDRC
• 10,53% no answer/not interested

Thailand’s 29th prime minister takes to social media to share his experiences, write Post Reporters

Outgoing Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha reckons his government has helped accelerate national progress in nine major areas during his nine years in power.

In a parting message to the nation on his Facebook, Gen Prayut described his nine years at the country’s helm as the most meaningful and memorable period of his life.

As prime minister, he spent his time protecting the country, which he said has grown leaps and bounds and is now on par with many other nations. Thailand is also on its way to becoming a leading nation of the world, he said.

Gen Prayut attributes this progress to developments in nine areas.

Firstly, the country made an unprecedented move by drafting a national strategy that spans 20 years, which will steer the country’s direction and ensure key policies are implemented.

Secondly, the government has poured investments into building infrastructure at a major scale, covering land, rail, sea and air transport — all vital for the economic expansion.

The Gen Prayut government’s ultimate aim was to transform Thailand into a hub for aviation, transport and tourism.

Thirdly, investments were also made to upgrade digital and platform economies and strengthen telecommunications infrastructure, such as 5G technology.

Thailand is now shifting its role towards becoming a hub for 5G, data centres and cloud services in the region. People’s living standards and income have also improved.

Fourthly, 12 industries have been targeted as future industries, with the government’s flagship Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) and special economic zones already up and running, and creating more specialised labour skills.

The fifth area of development lies in the backbone systems which were introduced to manage key resources such as water, land and forestry, with the creation of the Office of National Water Resources and the Office of the National Land Policy Board.

The One Map programme was introduced to resolve overlapping land problems in maps and assist in the re-allocation of plots to landless farmers. Laws were also issued to recognise community forests where people and nature can co-exist.

In the sixth area of development, various funds were set up to promote the welfare of vulnerable and marginalised groups and lay the foundations for equal access to education.

In the seventh arena of development, laws were reformed to remove obstacles to national development and step up the country’s competitiveness.

Such reforms increased the ease of doing business and attracted foreign investment while law enforcement was standardised.

Legal reforms also tackled crises stemming from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) red-flagging Thailand in 2015 over air safety standard issues and the illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing industry.

In the eighth area of development, Gen Prayut said the country’s bureaucracy was modernised with new technology brought into streamline services offered to people, such as the state welfare cards and convenience in seeking medical treatment afforded by the Universal Coverage for Emergency Patients (Ucep) Plus scheme.

Lastly, in the ninth area, Gen Prayut said the government has forged strong relations with countries around the world through bilateral and multilateral engagements as well as through the signing of free trade areas.

A major break emerged with the thawing of long-strained Thai-Saudi diplomatic ties, normalised in January 2022 during Gen Prayut’s visit to Saudi Arabia at the invitation of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Saudi crown prince.

“The country’s journey in the past nine years hasn’t been smooth or easy, with disputes raging elsewhere in the world which affected energy prices, the cost of living and inflation.

“However, we must unite and get through it,” Gen Prayut said.

He added: “I’m truly confident Thailand will not go back to square one and that everything we’ve built will be expanded upon. That will push us forward toward triumph.”

PHANGNGA: Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin plans to have small mobile cabinet meetings upcountry to listen to the problems and the needs of locals.

Mr Srettha was in this southern Andaman coastal province to meet entrepreneurs and the community’s business sector after his trip to Phuket on Friday when he pledged to boost tourism.

He said the cabinet led by the Pheu Thai Party will begin its work immediately after the new government is formed and His Majesty the King issues a royal command appointing the new cabinet ministers.

He said the meetings with the private sector and locals in Phuket and Phangnga were important for him to get first-hand feedback, and had sparked the idea to organise small mobile cabinet meetings in several provinces.

“The mobile cabinet meeting should be small so it is easy for the group to move around,” he said.

Small mobile cabinet meetings will focus on specific issues depending on the needs of the targeted provinces, he said.

In Phangnga yesterday, Mr Srettha and the Pheu Thai Party’s tourism policy committee led by Dr Prommin Lertsuridej met Lertsak Ponklin, president of the Phangnga Tourism Association and members of the private sector to discuss the province’s needs regarding tourism, including extending tourism visas for certain nations.

Mr Lertsak said the visa extension will help stimulate tourism in the province and also encourage the new government to improve transport links between Phuket and Phangnga and Phangnga and Krabi.

He also backed plans to build a provincial airport.

He said that during the first six months, Phangnga earned 6.3 billion baht from tourism, with 40% of more than 18,000 hotel rooms booked, but if tourists had longer visas, they might tour provinces along the Andaman coast.

Mr Srettha, who acknowledged his was the first prime ministerial visit to the province in a number of years, agreed and said the government would extend tourist visas from 30 days to 90 days for arrivals from targeted countries including China, India and Russia.

Political activist Jatuporn Prompan has demanded the Department of Corrections (DoC) and the Police General Hospital release footage of closed-circuit television cameras to clear up the public’s lingering doubts over the health of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Mr Jatuporn said that based on his experiences of being behind bars five times, he knew that every movement by inmates is recorded on CCTV.

For those who fall ill, all procedures regarding their medical treatment and transfers are recorded.

The footage will show if it is true sickness, or a political sickness, he said during the Thailand First programme on Peace TV, a satellite-based channel on Friday.

“People are wondering whether Thaksin is politically sick or if he is really sick. When he returned to Thailand at Don Mueang airport, key figures of the Pheu Thai Party clearly said he was in good health.

“But all of a sudden he fell sick when he was taken to prison.

“The DoC announced he suffers from four critical diseases — heart disease, lung disease, high blood pressure and a herniated disc.

The prison hospital was very good to quickly detect the four diseases with the use of a stethoscope,” said the 57-year-old former chairman of the pro-Thaksin United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), or the red shirts.

Thaksin, 74, was sent to prison on Tuesday after returning home after over 15 years of self-exile, following a court appearance the same day.

He was transferred from Bangkok Remand Prison to the Police General Hospital at 12.20am on Wednesday after suffering from chest pains, hypertension and low blood oxygen, according to the DoC.

Pol Lt Gen Dr Sophonrat Singhajaru, the hospital’s chief physician, said yesterday his condition improved but he is still fatigued due to his lung condition after he was infected with Covid-19 twice. He is still on oxygen.

On Monday, the hospital will allow the first visit from his family members, he said.

But Mr Jatuporn doubts whether Thaksin is really critically ill and wants to see video footage as proof of the state of his health.

“If he is really critically ill, nobody opposes any special treatment for him. If not, this will be a new problem. There will be intense public scrutiny.

“Those involved will face mounting pressure from society and they will end up in jail,” said the former red-shirt leader.

Bhumjaithai, the second biggest party in the government coalition, will likely emerge as a winner in the allocation of cabinet seats, with its bargaining prowess bringing it on course to run the powerful Interior Ministry.

The party with 71 MPs had threatened to pull out of the coalition if it could not have its way, according to a source.

Cabinet seat allocation has been subject to intense negotiation since the 141-MP Pheu Thai Party managed to get 10 other parties on board the new coalition.

Yesterday, talks over cabinet post distribution among coalition members were edging close to being settled, the source said.

Bhumjaithai, with its command of a “4+4” quota, is walking away with the posts of interior minister, education minister, labour minister and minister of higher education, science, research and innovation, plus deputy interior minister, deputy education minister, deputy agriculture minister and deputy commerce minister.

All eyes were on the coveted interior minister seat, which is expected to be filled by Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul, who will likely also be made a deputy minister.

According to the source, Mr Anutin has beaten a strong contender for the interior minister post, Phumtham Wechayachai, who is deputy leader of the ruling Pheu Thai Party.

Mr Phumtham will likely instead be appointed as deputy prime minister in charge of economic ministries under Pheu Thai’s quota.

An interior minister is considered the second most powerful cabinet member after the prime minister, as he or she oversees the country’s administrative bodies that many believe to be widely instrumental in consolidating political support, which comes in handy during elections.

Bhumjaithai figure Pol Gen Permpool Chidchob will likely become education minister, edging out prime candidate Pheu Thai list-MP Sutin Klungsang, who may instead be named either culture minister or deputy education minister.

Also, Bhumjaithai deputy leader Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, who is the outgoing tourism minister, may take the labour minister post in the new government, while Songsak Thongsri, another Bhumjaithai deputy leader, is expected to serve as higher education, science, research and innovation minister.

In addition, Chada Thaiset, the outspoken Bhumjaithai MP for Uthai Thani, is reportedly being prepared for a deputy interior minister position, while other Bhumjaithai members being considered for other positions include Surachai Pancharoenworakul, Napinthorn Srisanpang and Supamas Issarapakdi.

MFP opts to retain deputy speaker seat

The beleaguered Democrat Party is unsure whether it will take over as leader of the opposition after the biggest party in opposition by numbers, the Move Forward Party (MFP), expressed no interest in the post.

In principle, Pita Limjaroenrat, who leads the biggest party in the opposition, has the right to assume the opposition leader role, says Democrat spokesman Ramet Rattanachaweng.

Nonetheless, the MFP is free to accept or decline the top opposition seat. Similarly, the party can decide whether to keep or drop the deputy House speaker post it currently holds in exchange for getting the opposition leader role, Mr Ramet said.

Mr Pita made it clear in an interview with the media on Friday that neither he nor his party wants to be leader of the opposition.

While pledging the MFP would work actively in the opposition and prepare itself in anticipation of a big victory in the next election four years from now, Mr Pita insisted people did not elect the MFP to be the opposition leader.

“The post of opposition leader is not what I’m after,” he said.

Also, if he chooses not to take the opposition leader role, party MP for Phitsanulok Padipat Suntiphada would get to keep his deputy House speaker seat.

Questions were asked over whether Mr Padipat would be stepping down given the MFP’s shift in status following the appointment of the Pheu Thai Party’s Srettha Thavisin as prime minister.

Under Section 106 of the charter, the opposition leader is appointed from the biggest party in that camp. Its MPs must not serve as cabinet ministers or as the House speaker or deputy speaker.

So with Mr Padipat currently serving as the first deputy House speaker, the MFP, which commands the largest number of seats at 151, cannot legally lead the opposition camp.

Mr Pita said Mr Padipat can contribute more in his capacity as a deputy House speaker.

Mr Ramet said the Democrat Party would carry out its duty in the opposition fully and the question of who will lead the opposition will be considered later.

The party has not given any thoughts about the role yet, the spokesman added.

The Democrat Party is struggling to deal with a deep internal rift after the majority of its MPs voted for Mr Srettha to be prime minister in defiance of the party line.

These MPs are in danger of being expelled.

Meanwhile, outgoing Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Friday that if the MFP declined to lead the opposition, the post would be passed on to the Democrats, which is the second biggest party in the opposition.

He noted that while the opposition leader may not command a great deal of authority, the party is entrusted with the position of co-selecting members of many independent agencies.

BEIJING: Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Friday sent a congratulatory message to Srettha Thavisin on his assuming office as Thailand’s prime minister.

In his message, Mr Li said China and Thailand enjoy a millennia-old friendship and the two peoples share a bond of brotherhood, adding that bilateral relations continue to flourish.

Mr Li said China attaches great importance to developing relations with Thailand, and stands ready to work with the country to implement the important outcomes of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s historic visit to Thailand in 2022.

Their cooperation will help to carry the countries forward, he said, adding that “China and Thailand are as close as one family” and are set to continually deepen their comprehensive strategic cooperation.