Barkar Nash (Page 217)

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on Tuesday launched a new initiative aimed at reducing the harm caused by illicit drugs in front of ministers, state agencies and representatives from the public sector at Bitec Exhibition Hall in Bang Na.

“The operation plan was written under the government’s emergency policy on narcotics control, as the situation remains a concern,” Mr Srettha said during his speech.

In part, he said, the crackdown was the result of the recent spate of high-profile drug-related criminal activity, including border interceptions, accusations of collusion between dealers and high-level government officials, and the recent incineration of a record 340 tonnes of seized drugs.

He also said that as the government had included drug suppression as part of its national agenda, that too would fall under the new blueprint.

The prime minister also emphasised the need to stop the entry of illegal drugs into the country via the northern border and in some provinces, such as Tak, Kanchanaburi, and Ranong.

There will also be renewed efforts to quell the use of narcotics in Bangkok and the deep South, which are often among the final destinations for drugs smuggled into the country from the North.

Mr Srettha said he was also keen to see those suffering from mental illness and other serious health problems as a result of their addiction enter into rehabilitation programmes, especially in 30 provinces with particularly high rates of drug abuse.

The plan also included items aimed at labelling drug addicts as patients, so that treatment could become a priority, especially in the hardest-hit provinces. This will be balanced against a need for law enforcement.

Mr Srettha also presented his own vision of “five-dimensional” cooperation with governors, police commanders, doctors and health coordinators, as well as provincial chiefs, all set for key roles in implementing the government’s plan from day one.

In order to ensure the success of these efforts, there would also be a new set of key performance indicators used to assess the success of domestic drug suppression over the next four years, he added.

The cabinet has approved the Budget Bill for the 2024 fiscal year, which will now be forwarded to the House of Representatives, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on Tuesday.

The bill’s first reading is scheduled for Jan 3-4, he added.

The bill seeks 3.48 trillion baht in funding for fiscal 2024, which began on Oct 1. The bill was not passed in time for the start of the fiscal year due to the transition of governments following the election.

The amount sought represents a 295 billion baht, or 9.3%, increase on the budget sought for the previous fiscal year, the PM said.

Of the 3.48 trillion baht, 2.53 trillion baht will go on the government’s fixed annual expenditure. About 118.36 billion baht, or 3.4%, will go on boosting the treasury’s reserves, while 715.38 billion baht, or 20.5%, will be earmarked as investment funds.

The rest, Mr Srettha said, will be spent on repaying the government’s loans.

The new borrowing ceiling for loans is proposed at 693 billion baht or 3.63% of the total budget, he said.

In this fiscal year, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to be 19.02 trillion baht, said Mr Srettha.

After its first reading, the bill goes to a committee for further work and will be deliberated further in the Lower House on April 3-4, he said. After that the bill will be forwarded to the Senate and a vote on April 9-10. If it passes, the Secretariat of the Cabinet will send it for royal endorsement on April 17, he said.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said he hopes to remain in office until he completes his four-year term, insisting the coalition government remains stable.

He added there is no plan to include the opposition Democrat Party in the government coalition yet.

When asked whether the government will be able to complete its four-year term in office, Mr Srettha said the government is working hard and all cabinet ministers are doing their part for the country.

Quizzed about the possibility of a cabinet reshuffle, he said: “The future is uncertain, but as of today, we are quite happy. I believe all ministers are working to the best of their abilities.”

When asked if other parties will be invited to join the coalition government, the prime minister said he hasn’t thought about it yet.

“We are getting along well. When any problems arise, we will discuss them straightforwardly.

“I am happy with the 314 House seats [held by the government coalition]. That’s enough to run the country smoothly. There may be a difference of opinion among ministers, but we can talk it through as grown-ups do,” he said.

Asked about whether it would be best if the Democrat Party joins the coalition, Mr Srettha said, “In terms of numbers, that may look better. But that also means cabinet seats will have to be reallocated and things will become more difficult.”

Mr Srettha also dismissed claims that he remains under the shadow of Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the leader of the ruling Pheu Thai Party.

“I am the prime minister and I am trying to complete my four-year term. Most importantly, during my four-year tenure, I need to be sure the livelihoods of the people will improve,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul echoed the view, saying the coalition government has the backing of 314 MPs in the House to push for bills that will benefit the country. Mr Anutin, the leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, said that as long as the government acts in the country’s best interests, it will always have the backing of the coalition parties.

“But if the government fails to do so, coalition parties will not support even if it commands all 500 House seats,” Mr Anutin said.

University suing woman who resigned on mental health grounds, saying she must repay scholarship money

The higher education ministry is trying to find a way to help a former lecturer who is being sued by her university to return scholarship funds after she quit her position because of mental health problems.

Prapakorn Winaisathaporn had petitioned the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation to look into her case, said Dr Phetdao Tohmeena, an adviser to the minister, Supamas Isarabhakdi.

Ms Prapakorn is seeking justice from the ministry as she says mental illness had left her unable to continue working as required to repay the cost of her PhD scholarship.

Mae Fah Luang University in Chiang Rai is suing the former lecturer known as “Dr Keng” for 16 million baht in compensation. The university said in a statement that she did not file any documents to support her claims of psychological problems when she resigned.

Dr Phetdao said the ministry is coordinating efforts with relevant agencies and the university to find a suitable job for the former lecturer so that she could earn money to repay her scholarship, based on humanitarian principles and the benefits for the country.

She said the former lecturer’s new job must suit her capabilities and have a proper work environment.

Earlier, a representative of the university workers’ union submitted a complaint about Ms Prapakorn’s case to Takorn Tantasith, chairman of the House Committee on Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation. Mr Takorn met with university officials on Dec 14 to try to resolve the matter.

Ms Prapakorn obtained scholarships in 2008 from the university and the Ministry of Science and Technology, as it was then known, to pursue a doctoral degree at the University of Kent in England.

She graduated and returned to work at the university in August 2013, but in August 2014 she tendered her resignation. The university sued her and the Administrative Court in Chiang Mai ordered her to repay the funds. She filed an appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court this year.

Ministry of Finance rules exempt scholarship awardees from repaying funds if they are diagnosed with a mental illness that affects their ability to repay.

SRT told to revise design to alleviate safety concerns

The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) has been told to stop work on a hydraulic lift that it planned to install for wheelchair users at a train station because the design raises safety concerns.

The lift was being constructed at the Wang Pong station in Pran Buri district of Prachuap Kiri Khan but the design gave rise to complaints, said Atiphu Jittanukrao, deputy director-general of the Department of Rail Transport (DRT).

The crossing, where the lift was supposed to be installed, was on the same level as the rail track, which is now in its systems trial phase, he said.

After the DRT inspected the lift locations, Mr Atiphu said many concerns about user safety arose, both for wheelchair users wanting to cross the railway and pedestrians crossing on foot. Accidents involving trains could easily happen, he added.

The department told the rail agency to put the lifts, both at Wang Pong station and those planned at any other stations, on hold.

The SRT will be required to design a crossing, either as an underpass or an overpass, inside the station to prevent trains posing a risk to pedestrians, said Mr Atiphu.

The department on Tuesday also rejected an SRT proposal to install hydraulic panel lifts in every train station, pending a public hearing.

The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions on Tuesday acquitted former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra of malfeasance in her 2011 transfer of a National Security Council secretary-general.

The court ruled that Yingluck had no intention of causing damage and it was a normal transfer, not part of a plot to vacate the position of national police chief and appoint a relative to the job.

The court also revoked a warrant for the arrest of Yingluck, issued when she failed to appear in court  in November last year for her trial in the case.

The alleged abuse of power occurred on Sept 30, 2011 when Yingluck, then prime minister, signed an order transfering Thawil Pliensri from the position of NSC secretary-general to work as an adviser to the prime minister. The cabinet approved the appointment of Pol Gen Wichean Potephosree, who was then national police chief, to replace Mr Thawil at the NSC.

After that Yingluck, as ex-officio chair of the Police Commission, proposed that Pol Gen Priewphan Damapong, then deputy police chief and a close relative of hers, be appointed national police chief, filling the vacancy left by Pol Gen Wichean. This proposal was approved by the Police Commission.

Pol Gen Priewphan is a brother of Thaksin Shinawatra’s former wife Potjaman Na Pombejra and was due to retire on Sept 30, 2012.

Mr Thawil petitioned the Supreme Administrative Court, which subsequently ordered the revocation of the transfer order. Moreover, the Constitutional Court ruled unanimously that Yingluck had abused her power by interfering in the transfer of government officials. She was then removed from the premiership.

On July 1, 2020, the National Anti-Corruption Commission ruled there were grounds to find Yingluck had been dishonest in performing her duties and recommended the attorney general bring a lawsuit against her in the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions.

A warrant for Yingluck’s arrest was issued when she failed to appear before the court for the first hearing of the case in November 2022.

Yingluck cried foul over the warrant, saying she had been the victim of relentless persecution in the Thawil case.

Yingluck, 56, has been on the run since August 2017, when she failed to appear in court for the reading of its ruling on a charge of dereliction of duty in a rice-pledging programme that ran up at least 500 billion baht in losses, some of it from corruption.

She was subsequently sentenced to five years in prison.

Her elder brother Thaksin returned to the country on Aug 22 this year after more than 15 years of self-exile abroad.

He was immediately sentenced to eight years in prison in three cases – later reduced to one year by royal clemency – for abuse of authority and conflict of interest while serving as prime minister prior to 2006.

Thaksin, 74, spent only 12 hours in prison before being transferred to the Police General Hospital, where he has had two operations and continues to be treated for a variety of ailments.

On Monday former deputy prime minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, a lawyer, said that if Yingluck wanted to seek a royal pardon she would first have to return to Thailand and enter the justice system.

Thawil Pliensri, former secretary-general of the National Security Council.

Former MP doubts if Thaksin is at hospital

A veteran politician on Tuesday asked the Supreme Administrative Court to veto a new corrections regulation that would allow convicted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is admitted at Police General Hospital, to remain outside of prison.

Dr Warong Dechgitvigrom, chairman of the Thai Pakdee Party, led representatives of eight associated parties to file their petition with the Supreme Administrative Court.

“The regulation could allow the executive branch and the Department of Corrections, under political supervision, to have more power than the judiciary in altering court-issued imprisonment sentences,” said the former MP. “This undermines the judicial system and the rule of law in the country.”

Thaksin returned to the country on Aug 22 after 15 years of his self-imposed exile. On the same day, the Supreme Court sentenced him to eight years in jail, later commuted to one year through a royal pardon. The former premier, 74, was admitted to Police General Hospital on the night of Aug 22, 13 hours after he first entered prison. Police General Hospital has an agreement with the Department of Corrections to admit seriously ill patients in its custody.

Dr Warong added that he doubted Thaksin was seriously ill and urged representatives of Police General Hospital, the Royal Thai Police Office, the Department of Corrections and the government to disclose the convict’s current health status and location. 

“People must be assured that he [Thaksin] is still at the hospital. Without proof, a potential jailbreak may arise,” Dr Warong said.

He said Thaksin’s relatives visited him only immediately after his transfer to Police General Hospital, casting doubt on his continued presence at the facility.

Meanwhile, Justice Minister Thawee Sodsong said the Department of Corrections director-general (Sahakarn Phetnarin) had not submitted a doctor’s opinion on Thaksin’s condition despite his prolonged stay at Police General Hospital, surpassing the 120-day threshold for hospital treatment.

The 120-day deadline fell on Dec 22, last Friday. According to regulations, opinions from the relevant doctor and prison governor are required when an inmate’s medical leave exceeds 120 days.

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra waves to supporters when he arrived at Don Mueang airport on Aug 22. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)

The arrival of delayed flights was the cause of the long queues and lengthy waits for incoming passengers at Suvarnabhumi airport early Monday morning, according to the Immigration Bureau.

Pol Maj Gen Choengron Rimpadee, chief of Immigration Division 2,  said the influx occurred between midnight and 2am on Monday, when 5,563 passengers arrived on 22 flights.

“Inbound traffic surged 33% above normal because of some delayed flights and the number of inbound passengers rose by about 1,000 above the usual number,” Pol Maj Gen Choengron said.

Inbound passengers queue overflowed the immigration hall at Suvarnabhumi airport. Passengers took about 40 minutes to pass through immigration, even though immigration booths were staffed to the maximum, he said.

Arriving flights normally peaked between 1pm and 8pm, he said.

He also advised travellers to ensure they kept their boarding passes handy to speed up the process, because immigration officers needed to register the documents.