Paetongtarn says Pita has only one more chance
Srettha poised for nomination as prime minister
PUBLISHED : 18 Jul 2023 at 14:39
The Pheu Thai Party will nominate Srettha Thavisin for prime minister if the joint parliamentary session rejects the nomination of Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat on Wednesday, senior party adviser Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Tuesday.
“The Pheu Thai Party will nominate Mr Srettha Thavisin. This is clear,” said Ms Paetontarn, daughter of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and also a listed prime ministerial candidate of Pheu Thai.
Ms Paetongtarn said that before nominating Mr Srettha, Pheu Thai would fully support Mr Pita for prime minister. If the parliament rejects Mr Pita, only then would Pheu Thai nominate Mr Srettha, she said.
Mr Pita failed to get the needed majority vote during the joint sitting of the House and the Senate on July 13.
The eight coalition allies resolved on Monday they would renominate Mr Pita to the parliament on Wednesday, although a key figure of Pheu Thai said the renomination of Mr Pita could not continue forever.
On Tuesday Ms Paetongtarn said she supported Mr Srettha because of his knowledge of business and economics. Mr Srettha is a former president of the Sansiri real estate empire.
“The focus is on when we can form the new government. It is in the public interest, because the nation must move forward… The focus is on what we can do to develop the nation, to build up the confidence of international investors and attract more of them,” she said.
Reporters asked her about one senator’s promise to support Pheu Thai if it exlucdes MFP from its coalition. Ms Paetongtarn said the eight coalition parties would discuss the matter.
“Please let party executives have their discussion. The issue is very sensitive,” she said.
Responding to questions, Ms Paetongtarn said she had not thought about whether she would have a ministerial portfolio in the new government.
Post-poll Thai legal cases a âconcernâ, says US
State Department says it supports a process that reflects the will of the people
PUBLISHED : 18 Jul 2023 at 14:37
WASHINGTON: The United States is closely watching post-election developments in Thailand, saying recent legal cases are “of concern”, according to a State Department spokesman.
Matthew Miller was referring to two complaints filed with the Constitutional Court against Move Forward Party leader and prime ministerial candidate Pita Limjaroenrat.
The court is expected to decide on Wednesday whether to accept one of the cases, related to Mr Pita’s holding of shares in a media company. That is the same day that Mr Pita will make his second attempt to win a prime ministerial vote in Parliament.
The initial vote last week for Mr Pita — who wants to remove the military from politics and dismantle business monopolies, among other changes — was thwarted by a Senate appointed by the military following the 2014 coup.
US officials have said little about post-election developments in Thailand to date.
Mr Miller, asked at a regular press briefing on Monday about the situation in Thailand, said Washington does not have a preferred outcome, but supports a process that reflects the will of the Thai people.
“We are very closely watching the post-election developments — that includes the recent developments in the legal system, which are of concern,” he said.
In addition to the media shares case, the Constitutional Court has accepted a complaint about the Move Forward Party’s plan to amend Section 112 of the Criminal Code, the royal defamation law. The cases have raised concerns the court could disqualify Pita from office or dissolve Move Forward, as it did in 2020 with the party’s predecessor Future Forward.
Asked to comment on those possibilities, Mr Miller said he would not “speculate about how we might react to events that have not yet occurred” but repeated that recent developments were of concern.
Thai PM hopeful Pita willing to slow pace of party’s reform agenda
Move Forward was the surprise winner of the May 14 election, capitalising on massive youth support to defeat conservative rivals in what was seen as a resounding rejection of nearly a decade of government led or backed by the military. The party’s plans to tackle business monopolies, end conscription inContinue Reading
Rapper Subhas Nair found guilty of attempting to promote ill will between races and religions
During his trial, Nair took the stand and explained his intentions behind each online post.
He said he intended to end “brownface” in Singapore with his video. This refers to the practice of a lighter-skinned person applying make-up to imitate the appearance of a person from an ethnicity with darker skin.
Nair also said the term “f***ing it up” referred to a person making a mistake, and did not mean that Chinese people are “f***ed up”.
He added that art may offend some people – especially when it is trying to improve society – and may also make some people feel “uncomfortable”.
On his comments on the Chan Jia Xing case, Nair said he was not trying to create enmity between groups. Rather, he was trying to convey a message “about the state of journalism in our country”, about “media bias and how certain people and cases were reported”, he said.
JUDGE’S FINDINGS
District Judge Shaiffuddin Saruwan on Tuesday rejected Nair’s explanations as to his “actual intention and knowledge” behind his posts.
“I find that they are not consistent with the words used in the posts. In one or two instances, they are also not supported or corroborated by what he stated in his police statement. Some are even plainly in direct contradiction with the words he used in the posts,” said the judge.
He said Nair’s words in his posts should be given their “natural and ordinary meaning”.
He also found Nair’s testimony “not cogent”, and did not find that he was a credible witness.
The judge said it was clear that Nair’s words suggested that some communities are targeted unfairly while others get preferential treatment.
As for the YouTube video, the lyrics were “clearly offensive and insulting” and the video was targeted at the Chinese community in general, a fact that Nair himself admitted.
Nair also acknowledged that he knew the Chinese community would find it offensive.
The judge said the “irresistible inference to be drawn” was that Nair knowingly attempted to promote feelings of ill will among racial and religious groups.
He convicted the rapper of all four charges.
Nair was accompanied by a handful of supporters in court on Tuesday, including his sister.
His lawyer successfully applied for him to leave the country for Bali in August, to attend a friend’s wedding and for leisure.
The judge granted the application after imposing some bail conditions, and directing that Nair provide his full travel itinerary to the investigating officer as well as surrender his passport to the IO within 48 hours of his return.
Sentencing arguments will be heard at a later date.
The penalties for attempting to promote feelings of ill will between racial or religious groups are a jail term of up to three years, a fine or both.
Tan Chuan-Jin resigns as president of Singapore National Olympic Council after affair
SINGAPORE: Former Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin has stepped down from his role as the president of the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC). The council said in a statement on Tuesday (Jul 18) that it has accepted Mr Tan’s resignation and thanked him for his years of service and contributions. MrContinue Reading
Tan Chuan-Jin resigns from various organisations, including Singapore National Olympic Council
SINGAPORE: Former Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin has resigned from his roles in various organisations following news of his extramarital affair with Member of Parliament Cheng Li Hui.
He has stepped down as president of the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) and as an adviser to the National Council of Social Service (NCSS). He has also left his role as patron of the Centre for Fathering.
SNOC said in a statement on Tuesday (Jul 18) that it has accepted Mr Tan’s resignation and thanked him for his years of service and contributions.
Mr Tan has been president of SNOC since 2014 and was re-elected for a third term in September last year in a unanimous vote. He was slated to serve his latest term from 2022 to 2026.
The organisation’s most senior vice president in office, Mrs Jessie Phua, will be appointed as SNOC’s acting president at the next executive committee meeting.
The SNOC constitution states that if the president resigns, the vice president who is most senior in office shall be appointed as the acting president for the remaining term of the resigned president.
Mr Tan was appointed adviser to NCSS in 2017. In a statement on Tuesday, an NCSS spokesperson said that it is grateful for Mr Tan’s leadership and support over the years, “particularly his passion in promoting volunteerism in the social service sector”.
In 2017, Mr Tan was also appointed deputy chairman of the board of directors at Mandai Park Holdings, which is responsible for the business and strategic development of Wildlife Reserves Singapore. Wildlife Reserves Singapore operates the Singapore Zoo and other attractions.
In response to CNA’s queries about whether Mr Tan has resigned from his position, Mandai Wildlife Group said it has “nothing further to add” to his statement on the matter.
The former Speaker also stepped down from his role as patron of the Centre for Fathering on Monday, the organisation confirmed on Tuesday. It thanked Mr Tan for serving as its patron from January 2018.
Raffles Institution said it was unable to comment on Mr Tan’s resignation from politics. It added: “Mr Tan’s portrait remains on the school wall together with other notable alumni of the school.”
Mr Tan is an alumnus of Raffles Institution, along with other Members of Parliament including Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing and Health Minister Ong Ye Kung.
“INAPPROPRIATE RELATIONSHIP”
Mr Tan and Ms Cheng on Monday resigned from parliament and the People’s Action Party (PAP).
The pair had an “inappropriate relationship” with each other and had continued with it despite being told to stop, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said at a press conference.
Mr Lee said he was first alerted to their relationship after the 2020 General Election. The pair were spoken to and counselled, most recently in February, but went on with the affair.
Mr Tan, 54, is married with two children. Ms Cheng, 47, is not married.
Police accused of extortion, caught on video
PUBLISHED : 18 Jul 2023 at 13:51
A police investigation has been launched into an allegation that five policemen in Kalasin province abducted a woman, falsely accused her of drug possession and extorted 50,000 baht from her in exchange for her release.
Pol Maj Gen Phuttiphong Musikul, deputy commander of Provincial Police Region 4, said on Tuesday the incident happened in an area under the jurisdiction of Muang police station in Kalasin, and the station commander has reported it to the regional police office.
The allegation is backed by a video taken surreptitiously with a mobile phone.
All five men in the video were police attached to various police units in Kalasin province. A fact-finding investigation was being launched to look into disciplinary and criminal action against the accused men.
If the allegation was confirmed, they would be punished, Pol Maj Gen Phuttiphong said.
The probe was launched after the woman turned to Khaosan Palanchai Facebook page for help. TV Channel 8 then sent a news team to see her, and the alleged extortion by the police officers was widely reported.
The woman, whose name was withheld, alleged that five men stormed into the resort in Muang district where she was staying alone around 6.20pm on July 4.
The men claimed be members of a police task force in Kalasin. They searched her room but found nothing illegal. They did find 20,000 baht cash in the room. They then took her from the room and asked her to point at some white tissue paper left under a tree in outside the room, but she refused, the woman said.
Those men had wanted to record a video of her pointing at the tissue paper, as evidence.
She was then forcibly taken to their vehicle and they drove around Muang district. On the way, they had tried to persuade her to confess that she owned the tissue paper, which contained illicit drugs. She said that she refused.
The five men demanded 50,000 baht in exchange for her release, the woman said.
She said she was afraid of being falsely charged with drug offences. She contacted her younger brother and borrowed 30,000 baht from him, which she then gave to the men along with the 20,000 baht they had seized from her room.
She had managed to video what happened during the police raid on her room without them noticing.
Pol Lt Gen Yanyong Vejosot, chief of Provincial Police Region 4, ordered Kalasin police chief Pol Maj Gen Suwan Chiewnawinthawat to explain the incident after the video was aired on TV news.
Exabytes encourages businesses to leverage cloud technology for IR4.0 sustainability
Aims to address sustainability, efficiency in digital era, focusing on digital transformation
Attendees got practical solutions for optimising supply chains & embracing ESG principles
Southeast Asia’s all-in-one cloud, digital, and e-commerce solutions provider, Exabytes Group, recently organised the Cloud-Powered Industry 4.0 Revolution conference with Amazon Web Service (AWS). The conference aimed to create awareness for businesses to…Continue Reading
Bangkok governorâs son apologises for anti-MFP rant
Sanpiti Sittipunt roasted online for branding ‘woke’ party supporters as ‘bratty teenagers’
The son of Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt has apologised for an online tirade against the Move Forward Party, in which he called its supporters “bratty teenagers”, among other things.
Sanpiti “Sandee” Sittipunt, 23, was himself the target of widespread online abuse on Monday after he posted the Instagram message, which has since been deleted.
He branded the supporters of the coalition-leading party as “bratty teenagers and disobedient children” and criticised the party for lacking feasible economic policies and more.
Mr Sandee, who worked as a Pheu Thai campaign volunteer, wrote his commentary in English. “You had your turn,” he began, referring to Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat’s unsuccessful first bid to be approved as prime minister by parliament. “Let us, Pheu Thai, lead Thailand to the future We delivered on economic priorities for the past 20 years.
“Thailand has the potential to become the 5th Tiger. We cannot achieve it if you keep complaining about social issues and laws. We must focus on the economy and how to bring money to people’s pockets. Move Forward is the party of wokeism and cancel culture.”
Amending section 272 of the constitution to curb the power of the Senate, as Move Forward proposes, will “never happen”, nor will amendments to other controversial laws.
“Pita as PM will never happen. NEVER,” he added.
“Next election, maybe try getting 65% of the vote like 2005 with Thai Rak Thai and I’ll reconsider my stance.
“You don’t have any feasible economic policies. Monopolies and big corporations don’t want you in power. Farmers want policies that cash them cheques, not gender ideology or woke performative bullshit.
“In summary, nobody wants you in charge. Only bratty teenagers and disobedient children.”
The internet predictably exploded, with Move Forward supporters directing pointed and sometimes personal remarks at the overseas-educated son of a prominent political figure. Within hours, Mr Sanpiti was in retreat, publishing an apology on his Facebook page.
“I regret my actions and would like to explain that I was only trying to express my opinions, I do not harbour hatred towards any parties or individuals,” he wrote. “Moving forward I am willing to listen to other people opinion as well as learning from everyone.
“To be clear, I think MFP policies are very practical and transformational, very innovative. I just don’t like the leadership or the people involved as well as the entire protest movement in 2020 .
“I fully own up that I am very privileged and elitist, that I am inexperienced and uneducated about Thai politics or politics. It is inappropriate and ill-advised of me to comment on politics despite my right to free speech. I am not qualified.
“Over the past day, I have read hurtful comments about my physical stature, my intelligence and my background. While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I admit that this is the consequence of my actions and I have enabled this. We must show empathy and kindness to others.”
Mr Chadchart said on Tuesday that his son regretted having written the diatribe. He said he spoke with his son about the matter and encouraged him to be “constructive” when expressing opinions.
The governor told TV Channel 3 that he did not force his son to issue an apology.
Mr Chadchart was a popular transport minister in the Pheu Thai government of Yingluck Shinawatra. He later left the party in 2019 and ran as an independent for Bangkok governor in 2022, winning one of the biggest victories in the capital’s history.
An excerpt from the post, since deleted, that Sanpiti Sittipunt made on Instagram.
Succession plan: Cambodia PM’s favoured son on path to power
By contrast, his son was raised in luxury and educated abroad, including at the US military academy West Point. But a Western education is no guarantee of a more liberal approach, exiled politician Sam Rainsy, a longstanding foe of the prime minister, told AFP – pointing to Syria’s brutal AssadContinue Reading