Barkar Nash (Page 913)

The Move Forward Party (MFP) has submitted nine more bills to parliament as the reformist party pushes for changes it promised supporters while campaigning for the May 14 general election.

The bills are in three sets, the first concerning local administration, the second corruption prevention and the rest are about diversity, according to list-MP  Parit Wacharasindhu, who is behind the move. 

The party on July 18 submitted two sets of bills, seven in total, to parliament relating to reforms to the armed forces and preventing business monopolies.

The bills about local administrations seek to decentralise planning, regulate land expropriation by the government, clarify rules on land acquisition, and bring improvements to land transport and roads, he said.

There are also two bills meant to help prevent corruption – one on public information and the other to streamline the process of getting permits from state agencies, the MFP MP said.

The last three bills are meant to boost inclusivity and diversity in society – a proposd amendment to the Civil and Commercial Code to allow same-sex marriage, a bill on gender certification and protection of gender diversity, and a bill to promote the rights of ethnic minorities and indigenous people.

Tunyawaj Kamolwongwat, an MFP list-MP who proposed the marriage equality bill, said the MFP’s previous push for marriage equality is at risk of being dropped, so a new bill on marriage equality is needed.

The old bill, presented to the previous parliament, will automatically lapse if the new parliament does not take it up again for deliberation by early next month, she said.

MFP list-MP Manop Keereepuwadol, who chairs MFP’s network of ethnic minorities and indigenous people, said a similar push to protect the rights of ethnic minorities and indigenous people was rejected by the previous parliament. The bill had been adjusted and re-submitted for consideration, he said.

Two of the seven bills submitted on July 18 have since been found to require preliminary approval by caretaker Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, as they concern state finances, Mr Parit said.

One bill seeks to end mandatory military conscription and the other seeks to dissolve the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc), he said, and asked Gen Prayut to consider approving both of them.

A man accused of sexually molesting seven schoolgirls at different locations in Bangkok last month has been arrested.

Police detained Jirayut Phomhom, alias Jack, 35, in front of a house in tambon Nong Din Daeng in Muang district of Nakhon Pathom on Tuesday, Pol Maj Gen Theeradet Thamsuthee, investigation chief of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, said on Wednesday.

Mr Jirayut was wanted on four arrest warrants, issued by the Criminal Court, the Bangkok South Criminal Court and Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Kwaeng Court on charges of molesting girls aged 15 years or less and related offences.

Police launched a hunt for the suspect following complaints alleging he had molested girls on their way to schools in Nang Loeng, Bang Rak, Samran Rat and Pathumwan areas last month. Mr Jirayut was accused of approaching them and then groping their crotches.

He was accused of seven offences. The first was around 6.25am on July 6 behind Rommaneenat public park (in Samran Rat area), and then again about 6.45am and 6.50am on the same day on Nakhon Thai Road (in Bang Rak area), about 7.20am on July 18 in front of a coffee shop at Wan Chart intersection and about 7.41am that day at a bus stop near Wan Chart intersection (in Nang Loeng area), and about 9.15am on July 26 near the gate of Triam Udom Suksa School (in Pathumwan), said Pol Maj Gen Theeradet.

During questioning, Mr Jirayut allegedly admitted to all charges. He said he was consumed by sexual desire when standing near schoolgirls on crowded buses. He allegedly admitting using his fingers to penetrate the girls’ privates before fleeing.

The suspect claimed he was mentally ill and had not received needed medical treatment.

He was handed over to Nang Loeng police for legal action, Pol Maj Gen Theeradet said.

The Pheu Thai Party has brought six more political parties into its alliance to form a coalition government, lifting the total number of House seats in the group to 238.

Key members of Pheu Thai and the six new parties announced their alliance at parliament on Wednesday. The other parties are – Prachachart (9 House seats), Pheu Thai Ruam Palang (2), Charthaipattanakla (2), Seri Ruam Thai  (1), Palang Sangkhom Mai (1) and The Thongtee Thai  Party (The Party of Thai Counties), which has one MP and was formed by former village chiefs, health volunteers and other civil servants. 

Pheu Thai leader Cholnan Srikaew said his party had now secured 238 House seats in its bid to form a Pheu Thai-led coalition government.

Pheu Thai and all its coalition partners were hopeful they could ease political tensions and would seek support from all sides, elected MPs and appointed senators, for its candidate for prime minister, Dr Cholnan said.

Also present at the announcement were Pheu Thai deputy leader Phumtham Wechayachai, Pheu Thai secretary-general Prasert Chantararuangthong, Seri Ram Thai leader Sereepisuth Temeeyaves, Charthaipattanakla chairman Suwat Limtapanlop, Prachachart secretary-general Tawee Sodsong and representatives of the other parties.

On Monday, the leaders of the Pheu Thai and Bhumjaithai parties announced they would be the core of a bid to form a new coalition government. The two parties have 212 seats in total in the House of Representatives. The six new parties bring another 16 seats.

Pheu Thai came second in the May 14 general election with 141 House seats, followed by Bhumjaithai with 71.

On Aug 2, Pheu Thai dumped the election-winning Move Forward Party (MFP) and pulled out of the agreement signed with the seven other original alllies seeking to form a coalition government. The party said it would form its own coalition because the MFP insisted on amending Section 112 of the Criminal code, known as the lese majeste law, which many other MPs and most of the military appointed senators oppose.

Pheu Thai said it would nominate its own candidate for prime minister, Srettha Thavisin.

MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat failed to win parliament’s backing when nominated for prime minister on July 13.

More use of boats to ‘ease road traffic’

The Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP) will submit plans to develop existing and new canal routes to promote passenger boat transportation in a bid to ease traffic congestion in the capital.

OTP director Punya Chupanit on Tuesday revealed the OTP had carried out a feasibility study on maritime travel development in Bangkok and its adjacent provinces from this year to 2032 to expand waterway routes from a total of 131.2km to 196.6km.

The plan will be submitted to the Transport Ministry for consideration and is expected to require a budget of around 9.32 billion baht, Mr Punya said.

From that figure, 1.32 billion baht would be needed to develop piers and facilities for the 65.4-km existing waterway routes along the Chao Phraya River and Phadung Krung Kasem and Prawet Buri Rom canals.

The rest would fund the four new canal routes from this year to 2027.

The first project is the Sai Mai-Phra Khanong route on the Lat Phrao Canal. The route will be 25.7km long and will have 23 piers. The project will need a budget of 1.44 billion baht.

About 3.24 billion baht would be needed to develop the Saen Saep Canal route. The project will have three parts.

The first part is 12km long from Wat Si Bunrueang to Suwinthawong Road. The project will have 16 piers and is expected to be completed in three years’ time. The second section is 17.3km long, from Phan Pha Lilat Bridge to Wat Si Bunrueang, and it will have 28 piers. The third part will be 1.5km long from Phan Pha Lilat Bridge to Phra Sumen Fort and will have three piers. The OTP expects the extension of passenger boat services along the Saen Saep Canal to be completed in 2027.

The third route will be an expansion of the Mahasawat-Bangkok Noi canals. The route will be 17.1km long with 18 piers. It will link Pratu Nam Chimphli to Sirirat Hospital. The project budget is expected to be 397.53 million baht and will be completed within two years.

The last route is 28km long on Mahasawat Canal, which will have 13 piers connecting Pratu Nam Mahasawat to Wat Chaiyaphrueksamal. The project’s budget is expected to be 219.93 million baht, and it will be completed in 2025.

The OTP also has a long-term plan (2028-2032), Mr Punya said. The OTP will need about 2.69 billion baht to develop three projects to extend boat services to people living in Pathum Thani province, north of Bangkok.

The first route will develop along the Prem Prachakon Canal. The OTP expects to have piers for passenger boat services connecting Wat Rangsit in Pathum Thani to the Bang Sue area in Bangkok.

The second route will be an extension along the Chao Phraya River from Pak Kret pier in Nonthaburi to Muang district in Pathum Thani.

The third route will be an extension route of the Prawet Buri Rom Canal on the section of Iam Sombat Market to Wat Sangkaracha.

The OTP is confident the plan will be approved and sent to the new cabinet for further approval this year as it is a major investment to alleviate traffic congestion in the capital and adjacent provinces, Mr Punya said.

Heavy downpours have brought on landslides and flash floods, damaging roads in Nan and Mae Hong Son in the North and Tak and Kanchanaburi in the West.

Continuous rains have pummeled Pua and Bo Kluea districts in Nan province, with mountain slopes unable to absorb rainwater resulting in three landslides along Highway 1256 and four along Highway 1081, blocking traffic.

The Highway Department of Bo Kluea district has ordered a maintenance and construction team in Phichit to install a prefabricated Bailey bridge at those parts of the highways hit by landslides. It is estimated it will take a few days before traffic can resume.

On Tuesday, Nan provincial governor Wiboon Waewbandit and local officials visited Bo Kluea district to inspect damage from the heavy rains and landslides. Officials said Ban Bo Luang School is being used as a temporary shelter for locals from 14 households at risk of being hit by landslides.

Meanwhile, in Tak, continuing rain has caused subsidence on roads and flash floods damaging both Mae Sot district of Tak and the neighbouring Myawaddy township in Myanmar.

Heavy rains have inundated the main road connecting Myawaddy to Hpa-An township in Karen State. Households in Myawaddy were also flooded, and traffic and transport were suspended.

On Tuesday, subsidence occurred on Highway 105 in Tha Song Yang district of Tak, causing a five-metre deep and 60-metre-long crack along the road, which halted traffic.

Tak Highway District 2 (Mae Sot Office) has built an emergency road diversion and it plans to install a Bailey bridge on damaged roads.

The Geohazards Operation Centre has warned that the provinces of Mae Hong Son and Nan in the North and Tak and Kanchanaburi in the West will see flash floods until tomorrow.

The Thai Meteorological Department’s forecasts from Tuesday till Friday indicated that a moderate southern monsoon will lie across the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand.

At the same time, a low-pressure trough will cover southern China and northern Vietnam, resulting in heavy rains across Thailand’s North.

At the weekend, the moderate trough will move past the North and Northeast of Thailand and Laos to join the low-pressure trough covering northern Vietnam.

PPRP signals interest in joining new bloc

The Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) and Chartthaipattana Party have hinted that they are ready to join a Pheu Thai-led political alliance if formally invited.

Commenting on the prospects of the PPRP joining the alliance after the Bhumjaithai Party on Monday agreed to team up with Pheu Thai, PPRP secretary-general Capt Thamanat Prompow said on Tuesday that Pheu Thai had not yet approached the PPPR since their previous talks at Pheu Thai’s headquarters on July 23.

“We have not been contacted yet. It is up to Pheu Thai to decide whether to invite us. We only have to keep silent in line with political etiquette,” Capt Thamanat said.

“I believe Pheu Thai is also currently approaching other parties,” he added.

Asked about Pheu Thai’s stance that the Pheu Thai-led coalition will exclude the “uncle” parties and whether some PPRP MPs will act as renegades, leaving the party and joining the coalition, Capt Thamanat said that party members must act in line with a party resolution.

Capt Thamanat said the dispute over whether such parties should be included in the new coalition is of secondary importance.

“What matters most is to form a new government so it can solve problems facing the country,” Capt Thamanat said.

The so-called “uncle” parties are those linked with the military leaders of the 2014 coup. The “uncles” refer to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, the former United Thai Nation Party chief adviser and prime ministerial candidate, and Gen Prawit Wongsuwon, the PPRP leader and its prime ministerial candidate.

Asked if it is acceptable to the PPRP if Pheu Thai demands Gen Prawit step down as its leader in exchange for the PPRP joining the bloc, Capt Thamanat insisted that Gen Prawit remains the party leader.

Before attending a cabinet meeting yesterday, Gen Prawit said there had been no approach from Pheu Thai so far. Chartthaipattana leader Varawut Silpa-archa said Pheu Thai has to approach his party about joining the coalition.

The two parties were previously in talks on July 23, and they must meet for talks again ahead of the next prime ministerial vote, said Mr Varawut, who serves as Natural Resources and Environment Minister.

“We are waiting for Pheu Thai to send an invitation,” he said.

He reiterated the party’s stance that keeping Section 112 of the Criminal Code, known as the lese majeste law, intact is a precondition for joining a coalition government.

Mr Varawut said it should be left to Pheu Thai to nominate a prime ministerial candidate who it deems fit for the next vote in parliament.

Originally scheduled for Aug 4, the vote to select a new prime minister was cancelled after the Constitutional Court postponed to Aug 16 its decision on whether to accept a petition seeking its ruling on whether parliament’s decision on July 19 to reject the renomination of Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat as prime minister was constitutional.

Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charn- virakul on Tuesday said the Pheu Thai-led alliance now has the support of more than 250 MPs, or more than half of the total of 500 MPs to form a government.

“Don’t worry. A minority government will not happen,” he said, adding that efforts are being made to gather additional support from other parties and senators for a PM candidate nominated by the bloc.

Under the constitution, a PM candidate needs the support of at least half of the 750 members of both the lower and upper chambers of parliament or 376 votes in total.

Passengers will need to buckle up while riding in a taxi or other public transport vehicles starting from Nov 6, according to the Royal Thai Police.

The announcement, published in the Royal Gazette on Tuesday and signed by national police chief Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas, cited Section 123/3 of the Land Transportation Act and focused on the requirement for taxi drivers to ensure all passengers wear seatbelts.

The warning may be made verbally, by a sign or signs present and visible inside the vehicle, through an audio recording played inside the vehicle or via other means.

The driver must also inform passengers they must sit in designated seats, as well as never allow more than the legally permitted number of passengers into the vehicle on each trip.

No supplementary seating installed without official permission may be offered to passengers to sit on, either.

No passengers may stand inside a moving vehicle unless there is a designated area for standing.

Also, passengers may not stick any part of their body out of a moving public transport vehicle.

The announcement will take effect 90 days from its publication in the Royal Gazette or on Nov 6.