Asia (Page 2,532)

Mae Hong Son: Three Thai men were arrested on Thursday night for allegedly smuggling Myanmar refugees out of a temporary shelter after 10 illegal migrants, including five children, were found in their vehicles, police said on Friday.

Police and local authorities set up a checkpoint on Highway 1337 in tambon Mae Kee in Khun Yuam district following a tip-off that some Myanmar refugees had sneaked out of the shelter.

They stopped two pick-up trucks, both with Chiang Mai licence plates, that were following each other for a search and found several passengers in the vehicles.

Three men, including the drivers of the two pick-up trucks, were Thai nationals identified as Anai, 38, Sangworn, 21 and Anurak, 54. The others — six adults and four children aged between 5-14 — had no documents but could speak Thai.

They told police that they took shelter at a camp in tambon Mae Ko near the border after fleeing fighting in Myanmar, and they were on their way to see their relatives in Mae Song Song’s Mae La Noi district.

Mr Anai admitted that he picked up these illegal migrants near the shelter and planned to drop them off near Ban Mae Kee, where the migrants would then contact their relatives to pick them up.

Mr Anai said he had helped Myanmar refugees sneak out of the shelter area twice, and each time he was contacted by the refugees who had his contact number because he delivered relief supplies to the centre.

Police said they charged Mr Anai and his two assistants with aiding illegal migrants from being arrested, adding this could be part of a larger network.

The Chartthaipattana Party (CTP) yesterday voiced support for setting up a charter-drafting assembly to write a new constitution but insisted Chapters 1 and 2 must be left untouched.

CTP director Nikorn Chamnong said he agreed with the policy of Pheu Thai Party, the core party forming a new government, to amend the current charter and said the best approach would be to create a new one with the involvement of the public.

However, he said Chapters 1 and 2 must not be revised, and a planned referendum on the charter rewrite must not leave room for any interpretation that these two chapters can be amended.

Chapter 1 contains sections defining Thailand as a single, indivisible kingdom with a democratic regime and the King as the head of state. Chapter 2 contains sections pertaining to the royal prerogatives.

Mr Nikorn’s comments came as Pheu Thai posted yesterday on its social media that a charter rewrite was top of its agenda.

The party said it would ask the cabinet at its first meeting to pass a resolution on holding a national referendum on the issue. This would be drafted by the people via a charter-drafting assembly, according to the party.

The Internet Law Reform Dialogue (iLaw) has urged the new government to disclose the questions that would be posed at the planned referendum. Ratchapol Jaemjirachaikul, an iLaw representative, said the group had concerns about these.

He said some of the questions posed during the referendum in 2016 confused people.

ILaw manager Yingcheep Atchanond asked if the charter rewrite could be pursued if Pheu Thai was planning to invite the Palang Pracharath Party and United Thai Nation Party (UTN) to join the coalition.

Researchers from Chiang Mai University have named a newly found species of the Annonaceae family Majestatis to celebrate the 91st birthday of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother.

Asst Prof Tanawat Chaowasku from the biology faculty of Chiang Mai University revealed that the species can be found in the southern provinces of Krabi, Phangnga and Surat Thani.

The plant’s scientific name is Miliusa majestatis Damth, Sinbumr & Chaowasku. “Majestatis” refers to the Queen Mother, who is also known as the protector of biodiversity, he said.

The species also has the Thai nickname “Rakhang Akara”, meaning “supreme bell”, because of its bell-shaped petals.

Asst Prof Tanawat explained that the plant can grow up to five metres tall and contains herbal elements known to reduce the risk of certain cancers.

The Pheu Thai Party intends to reintroduce its 10,000-baht digital wallet programme once the government it is forming takes office, says deputy secretary-general Paopoom Rojanasakul.

The party shelved the policy after finishing second in the May 14 election, as the social welfare policies of the election-winning Move Forward Party (MFP) were given priority when the latter was attempting to put together a coalition government.

“Now the situation has changed, and Pheu Thai is the core [of a new coalition],” Mr Paopoom said yesterday. “Today, the party would like to officially declare that it will move ahead with the digital wallet policy using blockchain technology.”

The policy involves a 10,000-baht digital handout to every Thai aged 16 and over, delivered to a smartphone. The digital money can only be spent within a four-kilometre radius of recipients’ homes and is valid for six months.

“There won’t be any problems for those without access to this application as they can use their national ID card to get a personal code instead,” he said, adding Thailand would be among the very first countries to introduce this form of digital payment.

Mr Paopoom said Pheu Thai’s economic team had evaluated the programme and believes it would spur economic growth rather than cause more inflation.

A capital market and securities exchange commission for digital assets will be set up, he added. “That is to say, we will go ahead with the digital wallet scheme and make it fully operational for the benefit of the country.”

Srettha Thavisin, who is expected to be nominated as the party’s prime ministerial candidate, said during the election campaign the 10,000-baht handout would unleash an “economic tsunami” of consumption, delivering benefits to many sectors of the economy.

He defended the cost of the policy, which the party has put at 560 billion baht, saying it was on par with the social welfare promises and pledged handouts made by other parties.

The Thai Chamber of Commerce has predicted a GDP boost of 2.5% or more from the fund infusion. It suggested the digital wallet rollout should start with low-income earners.

Changes ‘could hurt new administration’

The caretaker government should maintain tradition and strictly comply with the constitution by not transferring top officials, particularly permanent secretaries, while a new government is in the process of taking charge of the country’s administration, Pheu Thai Party deputy leader Phumtham Wechayachai said yesterday.

In a statement, he reminded the caretaker government under Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha that it is duty-bound to follow the constitution, which prohibits it from approving any project that could create tied-over responsibilities for the new government as well as from transferring or appointing high-level officials.

“Doing so may affect the new government’s efforts to implement its policies,” he said, saying that it would not be reasonable to claim that they are near to mandatory retirement, as it is not yet the end of the fiscal year, he added.

Mr Phumtham said it is necessary for the new government to implement its policies which have been presented to the people, starting from the first day of taking office.

Government officials, he said, are very important mechanisms needed to steer these policies into practice, especially ones concerning the country’s economic problems involving all business groups that must be quickly dealt with.

Permanent secretaries in all ministries, in particular, are the most important for helping the new government get started, he said.

Addressing the permanent secretaries, Mr Phumtham said: “In order for the new government to quickly achieve its objectives, it is necessary that you initially delay the appointment of high-level officials and wait for the new government to introduce the new policies.”

Deputy government spokeswoman Tipanan Sirichana responded to Mr Phumtham by reassuring Pheu Thai that the caretaker government is carefully adhering to the provisions outlined in the constitution regarding the transfer and removal of officials in government agencies, state enterprises or businesses in which the government is a major shareholder.

Concerning permanent secretaries, the cabinet can only approve the appointment of an individual selected to succeed a retiring permanent secretary, as proposed by the respective ministry.

Following cabinet approval, that name will be forwarded to the Election Commission for its consideration, as is required by the constitution, she said.

The caretaker government will be extremely careful to ensure no added burdens are left for the incoming administration, she added.

Meanwhile, Gen Prayut said the transfer of any high-level government officials will be carried out within the proper timeframe. However, he said he had not seen the Pheu Thai statement expressing concern about this matter.

Pheu Thai is currently leading efforts to form a new coalition government after the Move Forward Party’s nomination of Pita Limjaroenrat for the post of prime minister failed to get parliamentary endorsement in a joint vote last month.

A panel of Supreme Court judges yesterday stood by a decision to sentence former Pheu Thai MP Narisorn Thongthirach to 12 months in prison for casting votes for colleagues during House meetings in 2013.

The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions earlier found him guilty of misconduct and handed down the 12-month jail term. The politician appealed the sentence in February and asked for a suspended sentence.

The judges, reviewing the appeal, upheld the jail term, saying they found no grounds to suspend the sentence and he was also found guilty in a similar case in which he was sentenced to 16 months in prison.

Narisorn was previously impeached over this case by the National Legislative Assembly in 2016 and was barred from holding political or government office for five years.

Wants discharge rate on Mekong managed

The Office of National Water Resources (ONWR) has sent an emergency notice to the Mekong River Commission Secretariat (MRCS), requesting neighbouring countries in the Lower Mekong River Basin and China to carefully manage water level discharges to prevent floods.

Surasri Kidtimonton, ONWR secretary-general and deputy director of the National Water Command Centre (NWCC), said yesterday that continuous heavy rain in the lower basin has resulted in flash floods in Laos’ Bolikhamxay province.

A low-pressure trough covering southern China and northern Vietnam has caused heavy downpours across the North and Northeast of Thailand, with water levels expected to rise in the Mekong River from Thursday to Tuesday, he said.

The NWCC initially warned people living in eight provinces along the Mekong River to brace for potential flash floods, he said.

After the warning, the ONWR sent a letter to the MRCS to inform member countries, such as Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, of the latest water situation, urging them to prevent emergency situations stemming from floods, he said.

Mr Surasri said that the ONWR has also contacted Laos and China to urge them to carefully manage the discharge rate of dams along the Mekong River to prevent floods.

Reports from water stations along the river — in Chiang Rai, Loei, Nong Khai, Bueng Kan, Nakhon Phanom, Mukdahan, Amnat Charoen and Ubon Ratchathani — showed that current water levels are still manageable, he said.

Officials from the ONWR Region 3 have been assigned to closely observe the water situation and cooperate with local agencies to assist people who live along the major waterway during an emergency, he said.

From today to Friday, Thailand will experience heavy rainfall, which will likely cause landslides and flash floods across 16 provinces, he said, citing a weather forecast.

On Thursday, downpours hit Trat, Mukdahan, Trang, Kanchanaburi, Nan and Lop Buri, he said.

Moreover, flash floods and mudslides are expected in Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Tak, Nan, Nong Khai, Bueng Kan, Nakhon Phanom, Sakon Nakhon, Rayong, Chanthaburi, Trat, Ranong, Phangnga, Phuket, Satun and Trang from today to Friday, he said.