Combatting PM2.5, graft among pledges
The Democrat Party will offer a policy to help people boost their incomes, support students and solve long-standing issues in Bangkok.
Deputy leader of the party Ongart Klampaiboon on Wednesday introduced the Democrats’ “Policy Exhibition”. He was joined by party members and MP candidates for Bangkok at the party’s headquarters.
Head of the policy team, Suchatvee Suwansawat, said the party has had no elected MPs in Bangkok for the past four years, owing to its performance at the last election. This time it hopes to do better.
Major problems, including PM2.5 fine dust, flooding, inequality in education and public transport, remain unsolved in Bangkok.
Mr Suchatvee said the party is willing to solve the problems and pledged to push a law to combat PM2.5 pollution and designate 16 inner districts, which include more than 300 schools and 40 hospitals, as a low pollution-level zone as a role model for stringent law enforcement and granting rewards for those who help reduce pollution.
Pol Maj Gen Wichai Sangprapai, the party’s MP candidate for Bangkok, said the party remains firm in its stance against cannabis, illicit drugs and corruption.
He said the government must take action against state officials and those associated with drugs, improve rehab programmes and solve corruption, as Thailand was ranked 101st in Transparency International’s 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index among 180 nations.
The party will also push a law to allow capital punishment for corruption-related offences, he said.
Watanya Bunnag, chief of the party’s working group on political innovations, said the way to widen opportunity is to boost efficiency of products and creativity. The party is also keen to boost trade and increase value in production to generate income.
The party will push the Culture Ministry to launch an ideas fund worth 10 billion baht to improve human capital, student skills, enable access to funding sources and promote culture via the entertainment industry, she said.
The party was also backing free education up to bachelor’s degree level, support for public transport and free health checks.