Chuvit urges Move Forward to back down from royal insult law demand

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Former politician Chuvit Kamolvisit speaks on Bangkok Post's
Former politician Chuvit Kamolvisit speaks on Bangkok Post’s “Deeper Dive” podcast in February 2023. (Photo: Dave Kendall)

If the Move Forward Party wants to be the core for the formation of a government, it should back down from its stand to amend Section 112 of the Criminal Code or the lese majeste law, former politician Chuvit Kamolvisit said.

Mr Chuvit posted his remark on Facebook after a parliamentary vote on Thursday to select the prime minister which saw Move Forward Party candidate Pita Limjaroenrat receiving only 324 votes, far below the required 376 votes from existing members of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Mr Pita accepted the outcome, but said he would not give up.

Mr Chuvit said if there was a second round of voting and the outcome remained the same, it would then be time for Move Forward to decide whether to continue pushing for the amendment of Section 112 or to abandon it completely.

To be in government, it is not necessary for the party to concentrate on reforming the royal institution since there are still many other things to be done, he said.

Mr Chuvit believed Move Forward managed to win as many as 14 million votes in the election more because the voters agreed with its intention to reform the armed forces and do away with laws deemed draconian and dictatorial than its stand on amending Section 112.

“Move Forward can now be only part of a coalition government, not a single-party government. Not even one [other] party would agree with amending Section 112. It would be able to do so only if it could win more than half of the House seats in the next election,” he added.

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Chuvit urges Move Forward to back down from 112 demand

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Many other things need to be done besides reforming royal insult law, says former politician

Former politician Chuvit Kamolvisit speaks on the Bangkok Post's
Former politician Chuvit Kamolvisit speaks on the Bangkok Post’s “Deeper Dive” podcast in February 2023. (Photo: Dave Kendall)

If the Move Forward Party wants to be the core for the formation of a government, it should back down from its stand to amend Section 112 of the Criminal Code or the lese majeste law, former politician Chuvit Kamolvisit said.

Mr Chuvit posted his remark on Facebook after a parliamentary vote on Thursday to select the prime minister which saw Move Forward Party candidate Pita Limjaroenrat receiving only 324 votes, far below the required 375 needed from existing members of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Mr Pita accepted the outcome, but said he would not give up.

Mr Chuvit said if there was a second round of voting and the outcome remained the same, it would then be time for Move Forward to decide whether to continue pushing for the amendment of Section 112 or to abandon it completely.

To be in government, it is not necessary for the party to concentrate on reforming the royal institution since there are still many other things to be done, he said.

Mr Chuvit believed Move Forward managed to win 14.4 million votes in the election more because the voters agreed with its intention to reform the armed forces and do away with laws deemed draconian and dictatorial than its stand on amending Section 112.

“Move Forward can now be only part of a coalition government, not a single-party government. Not even one [other] party would agree with amending Section 112. It would be able to do so only if it could win more than half of the House seats in the next election,” he added.

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How Thailand’s prime minister race can take a whole new turn

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Move Forward Party Leader Pita Limjaroenrat looks on at a voting session for a new prime minister at the parliament, in Bangkok on Thursday. (Reuters photo)
Move Forward Party Leader Pita Limjaroenrat looks on at a voting session for a new prime minister at the parliament, in Bangkok on Thursday. (Reuters photo)

After failing to win over conservatives in his first attempt to become prime minister, things are looking increasingly difficult for pro-democracy leader Pita Limjaroenrat to secure a victory even if he were to try again.

The parties outside of Mr Pita’s Move Forward-led coalition and the majority of military-appointed senators are opposed to his key campaign promise of amending the so-called lese majeste law that punishes anyone for defaming or insulting the King or other royals.

Also, the Harvard-educated politician risks disqualification as a lawmaker after the poll body found him in breach of election rules — saying he held shares in a defunct media company while running for public office. While he may still go for a second chance at premiership when parliament meets next on July 19, analysts expect support for Pita to wear thin within his alliance should he lose again; although there’s no limit on the number of re-votes he can seek. 

“I think they will run him again,” said Kevin Hewison, emeritus professor of Asian Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Another attempt by Pita will probably harden the stance of conservatives and only weaken support for the pro-democracy alliance, according to Hewison.

The longer it takes for Thailand to form a new government, the more investors will lose confidence in the $500 billion economy whose expansion has been lagging emerging-market peers in Southeast Asia through the pandemic and after. Political wrangling between pro-democracy and conservative groups have also hurt the country’s stocks, bonds and currency markets.

Here are some other scenarios that could play out:

– Pita supports Pheu Thai

Mr Pita could step aside and instead support his coalition partner Pheu Thai, which finished second-place in the May 14 general election and is linked to exiled former leader Thaksin Shinawatra.

Isra Sunthornvut, a former member of parliament for the Democrat Party, said he wouldn’t be surprised if next week Mr Pita throws his support behind Pheu Thai to lead the government “for the sake of the country and democracy”. 

The only challenge to this scenario is that Pheu Thai may find it difficult to muster support from the conservatives while still being an ally of Move Forward, which has refused to back down on its push to amend the royal insult law.

– Pro-democracy group splits

That could leave Pheu Thai inclined to consider breaking away from Move Forward’s coalition and try forming a government led by one of its three candidates for the post, including real estate magnate Srettha Thavisin and Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the youngest daughter of Thaksin.

Thaksin, who has been considering returning home, had previously said Pheu Thai would not support any attempt to reform the lese majeste law. That makes it easier for Pheu Thai to win enough support from the 250-member military-appointed Senate, helping put a new government sooner than later.

The private sector wants the new government to be in place as soon as possible, so our economy can continue to grow as expected, Thai Chamber of Commerce Chairman Sanan Angubolkul said Friday.

– Military-backed minority government

A third scenario involves the Senate supporting a minority government led either by Bhumjaithai’s Anutin Charnvirakul or one of the military-backed parties. That outcome, however, risks sparking protests by supporters of pro-democracy groups. 

Since the Senate’s ability to vote for the prime minister expires next year, any minority government is at risk of falling in a no-confidence vote. To guard against that, it’s possible that the establishment may petition the courts to disband Move Forward as what happened in the past to their predecessor, using the push to amend the royal insult law as a pretext, and even annul the election result.

“But that might take some time,” Hewison said referring to the process of disbanding Move Forward and annulling the result. “That said, going to an election quickly is unlikely to produce a different result. But conservatives in Thailand are a balmy lot.”

However, any move to ban the nation’s popular politicians may lead to massive demonstrations. And this time the risks are even higher for the royalist establishment, as protesters have recently been much bolder in directly targeting the monarchy than in previous years.

Such a turn of events could end up hurting tourism, the only economic engine that’s firing on full cylinders and supporting Thailand’s growth amid a downturn in global demand for goods.

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Lawyer M Ravi charged with slapping man near MRT station, shouting loudly in public

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SINGAPORE: Suspended lawyer M Ravi is now accused of slapping a man near an MRT station and disorderly behaviour by shouting loudly in public.

Ravi Madasamy, 54, was charged in court on Friday (Jul 14) with one count of voluntarily causing hurt and one count of behaving in a disorderly manner.

Both charges arise from the same alleged incident, which occurred around 5.30pm on Jul 12 this year near Yio Chu Kang MRT.

Ravi is accused of causing hurt to a man named Sellvaraja T Muniyandi, by slapping him once on his left cheek. He also allegedly shouted loudly.

Ravi, who was previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder, was ordered to be remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for medical examination.

He is due back in court later this month.

If convicted of voluntarily causing hurt, he could be jailed for up to three years, fined up to S$5,000, or both.

The penalties for behaving in a disorderly manner in a public place are a jail term of up to six months, a fine of up to S$2,000 or both for a first-time offender. 

Repeat offfenders face double the jail term and a fine of up to S$5,000, or both – Ravi was previously convicted of a similar offence in 2004, his charge sheet stated.

This is the latest of Ravi’s legal troubles. In March, he was suspended from practising as a lawyer for the maximum of five years.

This was for misconduct including making “grave and baseless accusations of improper conduct” against the Attorney-General, officers from the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the Law Society.

Ravi, a lawyer of 20 years, frequently makes the headlines for his behaviour as well as for his representation of those on death row.

He was charged in December 2020 with criminal defamation of Law Minister K Shanmugam, but the Attorney-General’s Chambers later withdrew the charge and Ravi was given a conditional warning instead.

He has also been handed many sanctions for his conduct as a lawyer over the years. These include a 2007 suspension for being rude to a judge and a prohibition from applying for a practising certificate for two years for baseless allegations against a fellow lawyer and the president of the Law Society in 2016.

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Abolish senators’ right to vote on PM: Piyabutr

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Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, secretary-general of the Progressive Movement, speaks during a campaign rally for the Move Forward Party on May 10. (Photo: Piyabutr Saengkanokkul's Facebook page)
Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, secretary-general of the Progressive Movement, speaks during a campaign rally for the Move Forward Party on May 10. (Photo: Piyabutr Saengkanokkul’s Facebook page)

The Move Forward Party (MFP) should propose draft legislation seeking to abolish Section 272 of the constitution which gives junta-appointed senators the power to join MPs in selecting the prime minister, Piyabutr Saengkanokkul posted on his Facebook page on Thursday night.

If its attempt is not successful, Move Forward should then consider backing down from its bid to form a government with Pita Limjaroenrat as prime minister and instead take the opposition role – and patiently wait for a successful return “tomorrow”, he said.

Mr Piyabutr, secretary-general of the Progressive Movement behind the MFP, posted his message after Mr Pita’s bid to become prime minister failed to get sufficient votes from members of parliament, particularly senators, in a vote on Thursday.

The Move Forward leader received 324 votes in his favour, 182 votes against and 199 abstentions in the first prime ministerial vote. The result left him 51 votes short of his target. Of the 324 votes in support, only 13 were from senators.

Mr Piyabutr said that from the speeches made by members of parliament, it was clear that a large number of senators – the upper house members appointed by the previous miltary government that seized power in a coup – opposed Mr Pita’s nomination for a variety of reasons. Some of them openly disagreed with the nomination, while others opted to abstain from voting or did not attend the meeting.

He said it would be very difficult for these senators to change their minds and vote for Mr Pita in the next round.

In the speeches made by some MPs and senators prior to the voting, the constant thread was that they would not vote for Mr Pita because the Move Forward Party was persistent in its intention to amend Section 112 of the Criminal Code, the lese majeste law.

Mr Piyabutr mentioned the speakers by name. They included Withaya Kaewparadai, a United Thai Nation party-list MP, Chada Thaiseth, a Bhumjaithai Party MP for Uthai Thani, Chaichana Dejdecho, a Democrat Party MP for Nakhon Si Thammarat, and senators Khamnoon Sithisamarn, Seri Suwanphanon and Somchai Sawaengkarn.

Mr Piyabutr said Mr Withaya and Mr Chada, in particular, questioned why the MFP, despite knowing this obstacle, did not back down from its aim to amend Section 112, but instead insisted it could not do so as it had made it a policy in its campaign for votes.

“Therefore, it was clear there was no way for these MPs and senators to change their minds unless there were “new information or new signals” forcing them to do so, or when hundreds of thousand of people came out to apply pressure on them.

Without these events occurring, no matter how many rounds of voting take place, these people will never endorse Mr Pita for prime minister,” he said.

The Prograssive Movement key member said Move Forward would not succeed in the vote until the senators’ power to vote for prime minister under Section 272 expires in May next year. He doubted whether the MFP would be able to overcome the resistance, not to mention several rulings to be made by the Constitutional Court on cases against Mr Pita.

If Move Forward opted to invite more parties to join the eight-party alliance to increase the number of votes in support, Mr Piyabutr said he doubted any parties would cooperate since the Bhumjaithai, Democrat and Chartthaipattana parties had clearly stated they would not work with any party seeking to amend Section 112.

Mr Piyabutr said it would also not be possible for the MFP to back down and allow the Pheu Thai Party to take the prime minister’s post while it is still in the eight-party alliance. He doubted whether the senators would change their mindes because they wanted to see Move Forward completely excluded.

The Progressive Movement secretary-general said he talked to Parit Wacharasindhu, a Move Forward party list MP, and agreed with the latter’s opinion.

In Mr Parit’s opinion, Move Forward, with its 151 MPs, should propose a draft bill seeking to abolish Section 272 of the constitution, to rid the senators of the power to vote for the prime minister.

The draft bill should be submitted for deliberation by parliament as soon as possible. By doing this, he believed the process to abolish Section 272 could be completed in four weeks, Mr Piyabutr said.

“If the bill is rejected by parliament, the Move Forward Party could tell the people that it had tried to the best of its ability but faced tough obstacles. It would then be time for the party to move out.

“We would then be able to stand with heads high and be proud of being a ‘black sheep’ in Thai politics. We would continue to fight more strongly amid conflicts. If the 14 million votes today are not enough, we must make it to 20 – 25 million votes tomorrow,” Mr Piyabutr said.

Mr Piyabutr, a law expert, was banned from politics when the Future Forward Party was dissolved by the Constitutional Court ruling on Feb 21, 2020 for violating the election law on donations to political parties. Future Forward was relaunched as Move Forward, with Mr Pita as the leader.

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Hun Sen uses Pita defeat to warn critics

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Cambodian strongman says he’s not meddling in Thai affairs and is willing to work with any government

Prime Minister Hun Sen attends a Cambodian People’s Party rally in Phnom Penh on July 1. (Photo: Reuters)
Prime Minister Hun Sen attends a Cambodian People’s Party rally in Phnom Penh on July 1. (Photo: Reuters)

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has used the occasion of Pita Limjaroenrat’s failure to win the Thai prime ministerial vote to attack the opposition in his own country.

But the veteran strongman insists he is not meddling in Thai politics and is willing to work with Mr Pita if he and his Move Forward Party (MFP) form the next government in Thailand.

The comments came just a few weeks after the Cambodian premier falsely claimed that Move Forward had a policy to repatriate migrant workers to neighbouring countries.

“I declare today that Pita’s failure to get enough votes to be Thai prime minister is a major failure of the brute opposition in Cambodia,” Hun Sen wrote in a post on his Twitter account on Thursday night.

“This does not mean that I am interfering in Thailand’s internal affairs. My point is that in the past, these traitors always expected that when Pita becomes the prime minister of Thailand, they would use Thai territory to campaign against the Royal Government of Cambodia.

“Now the expectations of the brute opposition group have vanished like salt in water. Do not take part in politics that depend on somebody else.”

The implication appears to be that under a Move Forward government, Thailand might be less inclined to deport political dissidents from other countries, especially its authoritarian neighbours. Earlier this month, a member of the opposition Candlelight Party of Cambodia was arrested in Bangkok and sent to an immigration detention centre. His current status is not known. 

The earlier tweet from Hun Sen appears to have been deleted, but it was followed on Friday by a clarification in which he wrote: “I am not against Mr Pita and am ready to work together in the event that Mr Pita leads the Thai government.

“I respect the decisions of the Thai people and will not interfere in the internal affairs of Thailand. I am ready to work with Thai leaders no matter who or what party they come from.

“Extremist Khmer groups using Thai territory for activities against Cambodia, including using the name of Mr Pita for political gain, should stop this action. Who relies on the breath of others to destroy their own nation?”

Hun Sen himself is facing an election on July 23 but the outcome is already known. The Election Commission earlier banned the only meaningful opposition party remaining and a court upheld the ban.

Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) won every seat in the 2018 national election after a court dissolved the Cambodia National Rescue Party.

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Woman who kept suing NUS after she failed to obtain degree given court order to stop

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SINGAPORE: A woman who kept suing the National University of Singapore (NUS) after it terminated her candidature in 2006 has been restrained from pursuing any court action over the issue for two years.

Ms Jeanne-Marie Ten Leu Jiun was in a dispute with her supervisor and the ensuing developments led to the termination of her candidature.

In response, she launched multiple court actions against the university, seeking damages for several issues, including breach of contract, intimidation and negligence.

NUS turned to the High Court seeking an extended civil restraint order to stop Ms Ten from commencing any action or application in any court related to this issue.

In a judgment issued on Thursday (Jul 13), Justice Kwek Mean Luck granted NUS’ application and imposed a civil restraint order of two years on Ms Ten, the maximum period allowed.

Justice Kwek found that Ms Ten had “persistently commenced actions or made applications that are totally without merit”, pointing to the actions that were ruled to be so between 2020 and 2022.

However, he allowed Ms Ten to continue to pursue an ongoing case where she is seeking to privately prosecute then-NUS professor Lily Kong for perjury and obstruction of justice.

BACKGROUND

According to previous judgments in 2018 and 2021, Ms Ten completed her undergraduate studies at the University of East Anglia in 2000.

She began her candidature for the degree of Masters of Arts (Architecture) by research in January 2002 at the NUS School of Design and Environment, after NUS offered her admission and a research scholarship that she accepted.

She was supposed to complete her course and obtain her master’s degree by mid-2005. As a requirement, she had to complete a 40,000-word thesis, supervised by Dr Wong Yunn Chii, in order to graduate.

However, Ms Ten had disagreements with Dr Wong. She accused him of using her work in a project without acknowledging her. 

After a confrontation about this, Dr Wong left without signing Ms Ten’s thesis submission form. According to him, he did not realise that he had not signed the supervisor’s report form.

Ms Ten submitted her thesis two days late, after getting a stand-in to sign on her form and obtaining an extension of her deadline.

She later wrote to school authorities to complain about Dr Wong, asking for him to be removed as her supervisor, but the Head of Department saw no reason to do so.

A Committee of Inquiry (COI), which included Prof Kong, was set up to look into Ms Ten’s complaint about Dr Wong’s conduct. The COI concluded that, among other things, Dr Wong had failed to comply fully with his duties as Ms Ten’s supervisor, and recommended that Dr Wong be censured for this failure. 

However, when Prof Kong conveyed the findings to Ms Ten, she did not mention this finding of the COI.

Ms Ten later complained that the COI’s process was inadequate and lacked transparency. She had further disagreements with NUS about the requirements she needed to fulfil to receive her master’s degree.

She had been told that the examiners would be recommending to the Board of Graduate Studies that she be awarded the degree, but this was subject to her giving a more detailed account and analysis of certain areas in her thesis and making some changes.

Ms Ten was told that she had to submit an electronic thesis or dissertation submission form and a copy of her finalised thesis in a certain format, within a month.

Another professor was assigned for Ms Ten to consult on the changes to be made to her thesis.

However, Ms Ten continued to ask questions about her complaints against Dr Wong and objected to her thesis being sent for examination.

In the end, even though Ms Ten made the required revisions to her thesis, she did not comply with all the steps required. She did not upload the thesis electronically, nor sign and submit a required form.

As a result, NUS terminated her candidature in September 2006 before she obtained her master’s degree.

In Justice Woo Bih Li’s judgment dismissing her claims against NUS in 2018, he said he had “some sympathy” for Ms Ten, but that she “has only herself to blame”.

He said she allowed her view and distrust of Dr Wong to cloud her judgment in her interaction with those she complained to.

“While quick to criticise others, she could not see her own prejudices and how difficult she appeared to others. Her repetitive complaints about the examination process even after the successful outcome of the examination is perhaps one of the best illustrations of her jaundiced perception,” said Justice Woo. 

“Her inability to differentiate between her complaints about Dr Wong and the requirements she had to comply with has led her to the unfortunate situation she finds herself in,” he added. 

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Buying Taylor Swift resale tickets? Here’s how to avoid getting scammed

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HOW TO AVOID GETTING SCAMMED

A spokesperson from Carousell cautioned: “Buyers who purchase tickets from third-party vendors will generally increase the risk of dealing with scammers, who may be selling counterfeit or stolen tickets.”

So what do you do if you do decide to try your luck buying from resellers online? How do you avoid getting scammed?

1. Be wary of those asking for a deposit

First of all, be very wary of those asking for deposits. A quick check on Carousell showed many sellers of Taylor Swift tickets requesting for a non-refundable deposit of 50 per cent or more for these.

Why is this problematic? It’s because the actual tickets (assuming these are even real) have not been disbursed to the original purchaser by Ticketmaster just yet and will only do so weeks before the shows in March 2024.

According to the US Ticketmaster website, this delayed delivery system is meant to “prevent tickets from being accessed until we can confirm everyone has adhered to the event ticket limit and didn’t use unfair ticket technology to buy in bulk.”

So any screenshots of confirmation emails from Ticketmaster that listings display could be fabricated or stolen online.

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Supporters rally for MFP leader

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Move Forward Party MPs raise their hands in favour of a motion by Pheu Thai Party leader Cholnan Srikaew to nominate MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat as prime minister. Mr Pita, who failed to win the top post, stood as the sole PM candidate in yesterday’s election in parliament.
Move Forward Party MPs raise their hands in favour of a motion by Pheu Thai Party leader Cholnan Srikaew to nominate MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat as prime minister. Mr Pita, who failed to win the top post, stood as the sole PM candidate in yesterday’s election in parliament.

Hundreds of Move Forward Party supporters yesterday gathered at a pre-designated spot near parliament to show support for MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat during yesterday’s prime ministerial vote.

The gathering area can accommodate up to about 300 people at a time, said Rujira Arin, chief of the Dusit District office.

The 710-square-metre area, set one lane of a road and some walkways of the Kiak Kai government centre, was designated by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) for MFP supporters, said deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek.

The Kiak Kai government centre is situated across the parliament complex.

Amarat Chokepamitkul, member of the MFP’s board, was seen at the gathering to observe yesterday’s vote.

The BMA also worked with the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) to ensure law and order, Ms Rachada said.

In addition, the MBP had issued an order prohibiting public gatherings within a 50-metre radius of the parliament complex, effective from 6am on Wednesday to midnight tomorrow, said Ms Rachada.

The order was signed by the MPB chief, under the 2015 Public Gatherings Act, she said.

She said traffic in the area was being rerouted to accommodate the gathering of MFP supporters, while a number of police officers were deployed in the area.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o- cha was well aware of people’s right to express their political views and observe the parliamentary process, she said.

The PM also called on MFP supporters to obey the law and refrain from vilence and conflict and emphasised the need for security officials to follow crowd control rules based on international standards, she said.

At about 3pm before the vote in parliament started, a male teenager was seen causing a commotion at the designated rally area.

The teen, seemingly an MFP supporter, smashed a poster erected in the gathering area, prompting a man to assault him.

In the end, the teen was rescued by Ngoentra Khamsaen ,44, who said what happened was a misunderstanding.

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