Barkar Nash (Page 921)

Party pushing bill to amend 2008 act

The Move Forward Party (MFP) on Wednesday demanded that Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin change his mind and second its bill seeking to dissolve the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc).

It wants the bill sent to the House of Representatives for deliberation. The MFP’s demand followed Mr Srettha’s confirmation that he has no intention to push to close Isoc.

Submitted by MFP list-MP Romadon Panjor in July and now published on parliament’s website for an online public hearing, the bill proposing to amend the 2008 Internal Security Act is categorised as a finance-related bill.

Since the House speaker decided the bill was financial legislation, the premier is authorised under Section 133 of the constitution to approve it and forward it to the House for debate, Mr Romadon said on Facebook on Wednesday.

“I think the PM should not be worried about any powers or [external] influence because the number of votes [on the bill] in the House will decide [whether it should be passed into law or not],” he wrote.

However, if Mr Srettha rejects the bill and cuts short its chance of being deliberated in the House, his reputation of being a civilian prime minister accused of being wrapped around the military’s little finger will be self-evident, according to Mr Romadon.

He also challenged all other coalition parties, especially the Prachachat Party, whose political stronghold is in the violence-plagued southern border provinces, to take a clear stance on the proposed dissolution of Isoc.

At least, the chief government whip has made it clear that he supports the proposed dissolution of the command, said Mr Romadon.

He was referring to Adisorn Piengkes, a Pheu Thai Party list-MP who serves as chief government whip.

He pointed in a recent post on X to the need to get rid of Isoc, which, in his opinion, allows the military to interfere in other state organisations’ work and the country’s democracy.

Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, list-MP and deputy leader of the United Thai Nation Party, said he was opposed to dissolving Isoc.

He said he believes it helps protect internal security and the country from various threats, including transnational crimes and natural disasters.

“If Isoc shuts down, all the other agencies connected to it will become disjointed and work separately, likely leading to the loss of workflow and coordination,” he said.

Since the fate of the Isoc-dissolving bill lies with the government and the House, they are encouraged to carefully weigh up the bill’s pros and cons before making a final decision on it.

Established in 1965, Isoc initially served as a command fighting against communism. In 1969, it was converted into a command overseeing the country’s international security operations.

Tells Srettha workers will be well cared for

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed his condolences to Thailand for the deaths of Thai nationals during the conflict in Gaza and promised his full support in rescuing any Thais held hostage by Hamas, according to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin.

Speaking after a phone call with the Israeli leader, Mr Srettha said he asked the prime minister to help arrange the repatriation of more Thai workers should the need arise.

He said Israel cannot confirm when the hostages will be released but negotiations are ongoing.

Mr Srettha said he asked Mr Netanyahu to take care of Thai workers in Israel because they are not involved in the conflict and have contributed to the country’s development.

Mr Netanyahu promised to help any Thai workers who wish to return home after the situation returns to normal.

“He told me he would inform us if there is any progress in the hostage situation. I told him we welcome any help and conditions in exchange for their safe and quick release,” Mr Srettha said.

Asked if the issue of delayed wages was raised, Mr Srettha said that had already been discussed with the Israeli ambassador, who had promised to look into the matter.

“If there is any progress, he’ll phone me. And if there are any demands involved, he will also inform us,” Mr Srettha said.

Early in the day, Mr Srettha insisted the evacuations of Thai nationals from Israel would continue even though the government has no plan to arrange a chartered flight due to the low numbers.

He made the remarks after the Thai embassy in Tel Aviv advised all Thais who wish to be evacuated to show up at the Intercontinental Tel Aviv by 5pm yesterday to board a flight home.

Mr Srettha said those who made their own arrangements to fly back to Thailand could apply to have the cost of their air ticket reimbursed by the government. He urged Thai citizens to return while the situation remains relatively manageable.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara is in the Middle East to seek assistance for the release of Thai hostages, he said.

Mr Srettha said the negotiations were showing positive signs but the minister had urged patience. The prime minister said he hoped the negotiation team sent by House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha would see fruitful results.

Mr Parnpree on Tuesday met his Iranian counterpart, Dr Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, in Qatar. Both expressed concern over the violence in Israel and the Gaza Strip, as well as the impact on civilians.

Thailand asked Qatar and Iran to help negotiate the release of the Thai hostages and both countries expressed their full support.

Qatar said Thais were likely to be among the first foreigners released once the fighting subsides.

Air force chief ACM Phanpakdee Pattanakul said the air force has conducted five evacuation flights, bringing home more than 1,000 Thais.

Over 8,000 Thais have now returned home but more than 70% want to return to Israel later, according to the labour minister.

Labour permanent secretary Pairote Chotikasathien said there are about 20,000 Thai workers still in Israel and a chartered flight would be arranged if enough ask to be repatriated.

The bodies of 11 more Thais killed in the conflict were sent back to Suvarnabhumi airport yesterday. Another six will be flown back next week pending identification.

Thirty-two Thai workers have been reported killed, with 22 taken hostage and 19 injured.

Hamas representatives have promised Thai negotiators that Thai hostages captured in Israel will be released when Israel ends its offensive in the Gaza Strip where they are being held, according to a Thai Shia Muslim leader.

Saiyid Sulaiman Husaini, leader of an association of Shia Muslims in Thailand, said on Tuesday the commitment was made at talks between negotiators appointed by Parliament President Wan Muhamad Noor Matha and Hamas representatives at the office of an adviser to the president of Iran.

The negotiation team comprised Areepen Utarasin, Lerpong Sayed and Sayyid Mumin Sakkitticha.

Two to three rounds of talks were carried out, marking the completion of the negotiations for the release of the Thai hostages, said Mr Saiyid.

Mr Areepen, an adviser to the parliament president, later confirmed the talks, which he said were held in Tehran last Thursday.

According to Mr Saiyid, Hamas agreed to free Thai hostages being held in the Gaza Strip when Israel halts its offensive or agrees to a ceasefire. Until then, it is not safe for them to leave Gaza, he said.

Hamas confirmed that it is holding 19 Thai hostages, he said. All are safe and in good health.

He said Hamas has yet to confirm the names of three other Thais who the Foreign Ministry reported were also taken captive.

According to Mr Saiyid, the only possible evacuation channel was the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, in the far south of the Gaza Strip. The Thai government might have to seek approval and assistance from Egypt for this, he said.

Mr Areepen, speaking in parliament yesterday, confirmed his group met Hamas representatives last Thursday.

He said the Hamas representatives said the Thai hostages were being well protected so they could later tell the international community about their living conditions and fair treatment with Hamas.

Hamas promised to release the Thais soon, but would not say when, he said.

According to the Hamas representatives, announcing a schedule could trigger an attack, which could cause a misunderstanding that Hamas hurt the hostages, Mr Areepen said.

He said his delegation held negotiations in Tehran because Iran was a supporter of Hamas and had influence over it. He said his delegation was the first to have official talks with the group since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct 7.

The parliament president’s coordination team now remains in Iran waiting to further coordinate the expected release of the Thai hostages, while Mr Wan also intends to travel to Iran to meet the hostages if they are released as promised, said Mr Areepen.

Muk Suleiman, Mr Wan’s secretary, urged Thai people to accept Hamas will honour its promise.

The Public Health Ministry’s plan to re-classify a person possessing less than 10 meth pills as a drug addict instead of a criminal requires a well-rounded discussion before a final decision is made on the issue, said Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin.

Mr Srettha called for a meeting yesterday with senior officials from the Royal Thai Police (RTP) office, the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) and his advisers, who provided the premier with input on the current laws and the ministry’s plan on a re-classification which is being opposed by various agencies including the RTP.

The prime minister said the issue needs further thrashing out before it is decided whether the ministry’s plan will go ahead and, if so, how it will be managed.

Mr Srettha’s remark came as the RTP voiced concern the re-classification might cause the drug problem to spin out of control, suggesting that five pills might be a more suitable cut-off.

Pol Gen Kitrat Phanphet, deputy national police chief, agreed the issue remains debatable. The RTP is in the middle of discussing the ministry’s proposed 10-pill ceiling with various agencies.

The police, whose duty is to enforce drug trade suppression laws and curb the spread of drug abuse, have insisted the five-pill limit, which is currently set by the law, should be maintained, he said.

The ONCB has also argued in favour of the current legal limit, saying the 10-pill ceiling would worsen the drug problem.

ONCB acting secretary-general, Pol Lt Gen Phanurat Lakboon said he feared a higher limit would create a loophole that entices more meth trafficking by small-scale peddlers.

“The peddling would flourish when a person can carry up to 10 meth pills,” he said.

Setting the limit at 10 pills would incentivise drug dealers to traffic and trade the illicit drug, he said.

The Songkhla provincial prosecutor filed a report with police after receiving a life-threatening letter from a close friend of Chaowalit Thongduang, a prisoner who fled from Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital on Oct 22.

The 37-year-old Chaowalit, alias “Sia Paeng Na Nod,” fled detention that day after being sent to the hospital for dental treatment and was subsequently kept there after collapsing, citing severe leg pain.

The prosecutor from the Office of Provincial Court Prosecution of Songkhla, whose name was not revealed, submitted the letter to officers at Muang Songkhla police station yesterday, according to police.

The letter, handwritten with a blue-coloured pen, folded and stapled, was sent directly to the Provincial Court Prosecution office in Muang Songkhla district’s tambon Bo Yang.

The letter, dated Oct 27, demanded the prosecutor return money to Chaowalit or he and his family would risk death.

The message contained the word “die”, with a drawing of a gun added.

The prosecutor denied personally knowing the runaway prisoner, adding he had been transferred to work in Songkhla from the Office of Juvenile and Family Prosecution in Phatthalung in April.

On Tuesday, Sutiwas Khunnarong, one of Chaowalit’s close aides, was arrested by the Hanuman taskforce and provincial police investigation team after he went into hiding in Ratchaburi’s Muang district’s tambon Don Tako.

Mr Sutiwas, or alias “Non Thung Lan”, was sent to Nakhon Si Thammarat provincial police station yesterday. The 28-year-old told police he had met Chaowalit shortly before the latter crossed the Malaysian border. Chaowalit had escaped to Ratchaburi after he fled the hospital.

Pol Col Nutthawut Thongthip, deputy commander of Nakhon Si Thammarat police, said Chaowalit could turn himself in at any police station if and when he returns to Thailand.

Police spent time in Patthalung’s Sri Nakharin district looking for clues about Chaowalit’s escape and found at least two more people connected to it. One had parked the get-away pickup truck that Chaowalit used to secure passage to the border.

The suspect was nabbed at the Yai Klui Monastery in tambon Rom Muang of Muang district in Phatthalung, said Pol Col Nutthawut.

Meanwhile, Sahakarn Petchnarin, deputy justice permanent secretary, said the Corrections Department has conducted an internal investigation into Chaowalit’s escape.

The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) has opened an Anti Online Scam Operation Centre (AOC), a one-stop service aiding scam gang victims, said minister Prasert Chantararuangthong.

From March 1 last year to Sept 30 this year, there were over 330,000 cybercrime cases, causing damage worth over 45 billion baht. Mr Prasert said the AOC will reduce the number of online scams effectively within a month.

The AOC also will add an extra 80 hotline operators to the existing 20 operators for the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CIB)’s hotline 1441.

Mr Prasert said the AOC’s goals include freezing mule accounts immediately after victim complaints, following up on investigations for victims, arranging money recovery and applying technology to investigative work.

Assisted by AI platforms, he said the AOC is fed analytical data based on transactions, call history and financial information.

Mr Prasert said the AOC will freeze a chain of transactions within an hour after the report is filed from the victim.

The AOC is working in collaboration with the Royal Thai Police, Anti-Money Laundering Office, National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission.

Any wrongdoing will proceed according to the Computer-Related Crime Act and Anti-Money Laundering Act, Mr Prasert added.

The AOC also backs up the victim’s privacy by using the MDES cloud service, whose IT management system is certified by ISO 27001, ISO 200001 and CSA-STAR. The database is also regulated by the government’s Personal Data Protection Act. As a part of the AOC’s mission, Mr Prasert said Facebook was working with the centre by taking down up to 700 Facebook scamming pages per day, an increase of 10 per day.

Thailand’s association of red-whiskered bulbul breeders is urging the government to delist the bird from its table of protected species, claiming the breeding market once created a billion baht in revenue for the economy.

The association’s president, Suratep Boonyavatvanit, said there were over a million breeders and 2 million red-whiskered bulbuls in the market five years ago. But since the bird was listed as a protected species, requiring special authorisation to breed them for commercial purposes, those numbers dwindled, he said.

Mr Suratep said 50% of those breeders had since quit the market, resulting in smaller contributions to employment and the economy totalling just 200-300 million baht per year.

“Some red-whiskered bulbuls are worth six figures, and some seven figures. During the peak period of the bird-breeding business, they brought in 1 billion baht a year for the economy. Millions of people are employed to support the supply chain which includes bird food, bird trade and bird showcases,” Mr Suratep added. He said the government should look into the economic value of red-whiskered bulbuls and consider delisting the bird from the protected species list, which would encourage the public to breed the species and employ more people to shore up the industry.

He added the association has been campaigning for the removal of red-whiskered bulbuls for over 10 years and is willing to make compromises given the concerns of conservation groups.

The United Thai Nation Party also supports the association’s move. It will submit a petition to the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry seeking the bird’s delisting.

Srettha discusses hostages and return of Thai workers in phone call with Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed condolences to Thailand over the deaths of Thai nationals and promised full support in rescuing Thais held hostage by Hamas fighters, according to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin.

Speaking on Wednesday after a phone conversation with the Israeli leader, Mr Srettha said Mr Netanyahu expressed sorrow over the losses because the Thai victims were innocent, and he promised to do his best to rescue Thai hostages safely as soon as possible.

According to the government, 32 Thai people were killed and 22 were abducted after Hamas fighters from Gaza crossed into Israel on Oct 7.

Mr Srettha said he asked Mr Netanyahu to help facilitate the return of any Thai workers who still want to leave Israel, as nearly all of the 8,500 people who had registered to come home have now returned.

He said Israel could not confirm when hostages could be released but negotiations were ongoing.

Hamas representatives have reportedly promised Thai negotiators who travelled to Iran for talks that Thai hostages would be released when Israel ends its offensive in the Gaza Strip. Until then, it is not considered safe to try to bring the hostages out of Gaza.

Mr Srettha said he asked Mr Netanyahu to take care of Thai workers because they are not part of the conflict and have helped contribute to Israel’s development. The Israeli prime minister, he said, also promised to help if Thai workers want to return to Israel after conditions returns to normal.

“He said to me that he would phone us directly if there is progress (in the hostage situation). And if negotiations may lead to some kind of exchange, he will tell us,” Mr Srettha said.

“I said we are open to all (possibilities). I wish for Thai people to return as soon as possible regardless of the methods,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Mr Srettha insisted evacuations of Thai nationals from Israel would continue, although the government would not arrange for chartered flights unless there were enough passengers.

The last government-chartered flight to Thailand was scheduled to leave on Wednesday evening local time. Evacuations would continue after that, but the numbers no longer justified more charters, government spokesman Chai Wacharonke said.