PUBLISHED : 18 Jul 2023 at 17:12
The Move Forward Party has submitted seven bills intended to “demilitarise” the armed forces and “demonopolise” the economy.
The draft legislation was submitted on Tuesday by a group of Move Forward MPs led by Parit Wacharasindhu, and accepted by a representative of the House speaker.
Mr Parit said Move Forward had drafted 14 sets of bills. The seven bills which had been submitted for House deliberation were from the first two sets of draft legislation.
The first set has five bills and the second has two.
The five bills in the first set are for the reform or demilitarisation of the armed forces. They are:
• A bill to abolish mandatory conscription and replace it with 100% voluntary enlistment.
• A bill to reorganise the Defence Ministry, curtail the power of the Defence Council and place civilians above the armed forces.
• A bill on fiscal and financial discipline, to ensure transparent expenditure of state budgets.
• A bill to abolish the Internal Security Act of 2008, to dissolve the office of the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc).
• A bill to abrogate orders issued by the coup-makers’ National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and NCPO chairman.
The two bills in the second set are for demonopolisation, to promote fair trade competition and enhance the competitiveness of the Thai economy. They are:
• A bill to amend the Excise Tax Act to promote a “progressive liquor” sector, aiming to create fairer rules for the production of alcohol by small or community-based producers.
• A bill on trade competition, to create rules for fair trade and prevent monopoly and collusion by companies.
Mr Parit said the Move Forward Party has drafted 12 other sets bills, to be submitted to parliament. They concern local administration, bureaucratic reform, corruption prevention, public services, land reform, labour rights protection, environmental protection, tax reform, rights and liberties protection, social conflict, cultural diversity and constitutional amendment.
The Move Forward Party believes these sets of bills, if approved by parliament, would help convince the people that a “better Thailand” can be achieved through the House of Representatives, he said.