| |
October 2005 : TRT won one from four seats in by-election
Thai Rak Thai won only one seat in the by-election and left the other three to its rival opposition parties. The Bangkok Metropolitan Authority council unanimously approved the Bangkok Transit System sky train extension route across Chao Phaya River to Thonburi. Gen Thongchai Kuasakul was elected to become chairman of the National Broadcasting Commission.
The State Audit Commission submitted a petition to the Constitutional Court for a ruling on the auditor-general post. The extension of the use of the executive decree for administration in emergency situations in the three southern border provinces was extended for another three months.
3,000 people attended a People Assembly forum organized by Democrat party. The Commerce Ministry’s draft ministerial regulation allowing aliens to run financial and investment businesses with no licenses required was opposed.
The Education Ministry found out that several schools are in debts in regards to the “one district, one dream school” scheme. The Social Security Office’s proposed to increase child allowances and provide unlimited dental and child birth welfare coverage for members of the Social Security Fund.
A 13.9 billion baht budget was endorsed for village funds. The Lower House approved the draft bill to place the operation of four special highways under the Expressway and Rapid Transit Authority.
The cabinet approved development projects in the upper Northeast. The Office of Civil Service Commission will register indebted state officials in an attempt to find the root cause of their debt problems. Teacher’s groups petitioned the prime minister and education minister against the transfer of public schools to come under the control of local bodies.
Thailand is ranked 59th on a global index of transparency- a measure towards corruption in a country.
The cabinet approved a draft ministerial regulation banning public transport drivers from using mobile phones while driving. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration endorsed a new regulation to require all pet dogs in the capital to be registered and implanted with ID microchips.
By-election results
Thai Rak Thai won only one seat in the by-election and left the other three to its rival opposition parties.
The unofficial by-election results on October 31 in Pichit, Uthai Thani, Satun and Sing Buri provinces came out as follow:
In Pichit constituency 3, Siriwat Kachornprasart from Mahachon party got 39,412 votes to beat Thai Rak Thai’s Nawin Boonset who received 22,304 votes.
In Uthai Thani constituency 1, Chart Thai’s Thirapan Wirayuthawattana finished the race with 40,299 votes while Thai Rak Thai’s candidate Prasaeng Mongkolsiri got 30,624 votes.
In Satun constituency 2, Horsare Marem of the Democrat party was the only registered candidate and got 46,296 votes, surpassed 20% minimum legal requirement.
In Sing Buri constituency 1, Payap Panket from Thai Rak Thai got 53,669 votes while his rival, Chart Thai’s Chaiwut Thanakmanusorn received 52,916.
Now that the oppositions have the lowest requirement 125 MPs they can launch a corruption impeachment motion against cabinet members.
BMA council approves BTS extension
The Bangkok Metropolitan Authority council unanimously approved the Bangkok Transit System (BTS ) sky train extension route across Chao Phaya River to Thonburi.
BTS currently stopped at Taksin Bridge terminal in Bangkok while the 2.2 km extension civil works has been completed without tracks, station, power and operation systems for months. The delayed caused heavy traffic problem due to about 100,000 vehicles crossed the Taksin Bridge everyday and about up to 20,000 people took ferries across the river to catch sky train at Taksin terminal.
Apirak Kosayodin BMA governor decided BMA should exercise its rights under power decentralization laws to finish the mass transit link without having to wait for the government support and asked the city council for approval. Despite the government disapproved the extension plan on ground that overall impact, including fare and environmental assessment should be considered together with a master plan for a mass transit system for all of Bangkok and its vicinity, 25 members of TRT party voted to approve a 2.3 billion baht budget to extend BTS route to serve Thonburi residents.
NBC gets its chairman
Gen Thongchai Kuasakul was elected by his peers in the first meeting to become chairman of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC). He received six votes against one- his own, given to Pichian Amnartworaprasert, whom he nominated as the other candidate. The seven NBC members line-up will be submitted by the prime minister for royal endorsement.
The commission first agenda is to solve problems on community radio and television concessions. Regard to article 40 of the constitution, radio frequencies are national asset that must serve the public interest at national and local levels and requires fair competition among operators. The law says all radio frequencies must come under jurisdiction of the NBC within 30 days of royal endorsement. There are about 3,000 community radios in operation countrywide and a number of local stations were currently causing interference on aeronautical radio frequency and with mainstream radio and television stations. Many were also too commercialized and did not truly serve the interest of people in their localities. Furthermore, their prolification has been triggered by a Public Relations Department regulation allowing community radios to run six minutes of commercials each hour while in principle a community radio station should be financially supported by their own localities; tambon administration organization budgets or from charity organization.
Previously, Pittaya Wongkul, a failed candidate filed a petition with the Administration Court demanding the selection process and NBC regulatory body be purged but the court rejected on ground that Pittaya was not a damaged party as he did not re-apply to the selection committee for its second selection process after the court first ruled in his favor that some of the candidates had a conflict of interest and scrapped the first selection process.
SAC seeks ruling on Khunying Jaruwan
The State Audit Commission (SAC) on October 23 submitted a petition to the Constitutional Court for a ruling on the auditor-general post and asking whether the SAC could select a new auditor-general even if there was no royal command for Khunying Jaruwan to give up the post. The court will make a decision whether the case should be accepted for consideration or not.
Previously after Wisut Montriwat resigned as nominee on Sept 23 a group of 20 senators submitted a motion to reconfirm Khunying Jaruwan as auditor-general but the Senate voted 91-47 with nine abstentions not to accept the proposed motion.
Khunying Jaruwan Maintaka was elected by the SAC, with endorsement from the Senate and His Majesty the King. She was in the position for more than a year when eight senators petitioned the Constitution Court to remove her on grounds that her selection process was unconstitutional. However, the court stopped short of ruling on her status and the SAC then elected Mr. Wisut as the replacement of Khunying Jaruwan, who has refused to step down.
However, Mr. Wisut eventually withdrew his name from the nomination process after he did not receive royal endorsement.
Emergency decree extended
The cabinet, on Oct 18, approved an extension of the use of the executive decree for administration in emergency situations in the three southern border provinces, Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, for another three months to January 20, 2006 to cope with the escalating insurgency.
The decree allows the government to impose curfews, ban public gatherings, limit travel, censor and ban publications, detain suspects without charge, confiscate property and tap telephones and also gives officials immunity from “civil, criminal and disciplinary penalties” while carrying out acts under provisions, including the killing of suspects.
Violence in the deep South continued unabated and the insurgents operations were well-planned aiming to cause serious losses to the authorities and innocent people. Lastly on October 16 a Buddhist temple, Wat Phromprasit at Ban Ko in tambon Ban Nok of Pattani’s Panare district were raid by about 15 armed men and a monk and two temple boys were killed. Two living quarters where the three bodies were found were also burned down.
Democrat party’s People Assembly
3,000 people from all walks of life attended a People Assembly forum organized by Democrat party at Impac Muang Thong Thani between Oct. 8-9. Participants included senior university administrators, diplomats and non-governmental organizations and the discussions were on southern violence and national security, eradication of graft through good governance, political reform, education as a tool to a quality society, overcoming the crisis of ethics, streamlining the economy and wiping out poverty. Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said input from the workshop would be analyzed and incorporated in the party’s policies.
Draft commerce ministerial regulation withdrew
Commerce Minister Somkid Jathisripitak withdrew a draft ministerial regulation after being strongly opposed by some academics and senator on ground that it will put Thais at a disadvantage.
The regulation allowed aliens to run 20 financial and investment businesses with no licenses required. Those businesses included commercial banking, money lending, life and non-life insurance, pawn shops, warehouses, schools, theatres, stock trading, investment consultancy, management of mutual funds, management of personal funds, management of provident funds, credit lending for stock investments, stock trading consultancy, stock trading brokerage and acting as agents for buying and selling of open funds.
Dream schools are in debts
The Education Ministry found out that several schools are in debts in regards to the “one district, one dream school” scheme.
About 500 questionnaires sent out by the ministry to 921 schools under the scheme to determine the problem they face reported that they were in debts of at least one million baht. Most of the debts were from the purchase of information and communication technology, especially computers. The debts were created by using the credit line of school executive members or the chairman of the school board in anticipation that they are able to raise funds to repay it later.
However, the schools insisted they were capable of managing their debts and they received some financial support from their local community and some of them had an assurance from local leaders that they would raise funds to help repay the debts.
Security welfare increased
The Social Security Office’s proposed to increase child allowances and provide unlimited dental and child birth welfare coverage for members of the Social Security Fund (SSF).
Child allowances would be increased to 350 baht from 200 baht a month per head. SSF members’ first two children, from new born to the age of 6, would be entitled to child allowances. The child birth welfare would be expanded from a maximum of 6,000 baht per head to cover pre-labor check-ups, cesarean sections and other necessary treatment. The fund would also fully absorb dental care bills for members seeking treatment at hospitals of their choice. Currently, fund members can claim a maximum 200 baht per head per dental care bill to twice a year, accounting for 400 baht per year.
It is expected that the new allowance would take effect on Nov 1 and about 860,000 to a million SSF members would benefit. To cover a budget of eight billion baht some of the SSF Funds would be invested in overseas stocks and bonds while some would be spent to set up a real estate fund. A public hearing would be held in Bangkok on Oct 27 to gauge views from SSF members and relevant agencies on the overseas investments and employees in the provinces could later express their views in mobile public forums held there.
B13.9bn for village funds
The cabinet endorsed 13.9 billion baht budget proposed by Interior Ministry for 60,000 small, medium and large (SML) village. The funds had been distributed nationwide between Jul. 15 – Oct 10, 2005. It has been reported that 38.46% of the money was being used for community welfare, 31.36% public utilities, 8.54% in the agricultural sector, 5.9% occupational training, and 15.74% for other purposes.
ETA to run special highways
The Lower House on Oct 12 voted 285 to 41 to approve in principle the draft bill to place the operation of three elevated roads and a motorway under the Expressway and Rapid Transit Authority (ETA). The four “special highways”, on the skirts of the capital, are being under the supervision of the Highway Departments. Under new agreement, ETA will collect tolls from motorists on these highways, including the outer ring road, the Bangkok Chonburi motorway (Highway 7), and the outer part of Don Muang Tollway and remit a maximum of 35% of toll incomes to state coffers. However, the Highway Department will have to continue servicing debts incurred from land expropriation and construction.
Several opposition MPs expressed disapproval of the bill, saying the ETA should not only run the highways but also take care of all unsettled debts incurred. It was being speculated that the government might plan to list ETA on the stock market in the future.
Northeast plan approved
The cabinet meeting in Kalasin on Oct 4 approved development projects related to infrastructure, tourism, water supply and occupational promotion in the upper Northeast namely Sakon Nakhon, Nakhon Phanom, Mukdaharn and Kalasin.
The development are a 200km railway from Khon Kaen to Mukdaharn, improved roads, irrigation canals, a cargo distribution centre in Mukdaharn, business promotion centers, a network of tourism services and extended visas for tourists from neighboring countries to facilitate their visits.
Universities in the upper Northeast will also be expanded to offer education to people from the neighboring countries and Mukdaharn wil become a gateway to Thailand from Laos.
Official debts will be registered
The Office of Civil Service Commission (OCSC) will register indebted state officials in an attempt to find the root cause of their debt problems. The registration, to be completed in three months, would be among teachers, civil servants, police officers and university officials to determine the accurately number of state employees who need financial help. It was hoped that the registration would help the OCSC map out new measures to tackle the debt problems among state officials and clearly show the type of help they need. Measures would be worked out to cut expenditures, increase income and expand opportunities.
About 18,000 state officials have registered under the government’s poverty registration scheme. More than 15,600 were teachers, 700 army personal, 570 police, 215 civil servants and 940 other officials.
Transfer of public schools to local bodies opposed
Teacher’s groups petitioned the prime minister and education minister against the transfer of public schools to come under the control of local bodies.
About 100 representatives of the network of teacher’s group from the North, the Northeast, the Central Region and the South along with the National Teachers Council and the Teaching Careers Association submitted a letter protesting against the transfers to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Education Minister Chaturon Chaisaeng at Government House on Oct 25.
The move came after the cabinet last month lifted its resolution to postpone the transfers which prompted the power decentralization committee to set criteria for each provincial administration organization to take over no more than five schools- each highly- experienced municipality three schools and each inexperienced municipality one school.
Transparency index
Thailand is ranked 59th on a global index of transparency- which measures the perceived amount of corruption in a country.
Transparency International, an NGO devoted to combating graft, ranks Thailand 59th on its global transparency index while the first rank, the lowest of corruption, is Iceland. However, Thailand moved from 64th last year and the country’s current raking remains at 11th among 25 Asian nations.
Mobile phone driving ban
The cabinet meeting on Oct 11 approved a draft ministerial regulation under the 1979 Land Transport Act banning public transport drivers from using mobile phones while driving or making indecent or improper gesture. The order also requires public transport operators of all types to strictly followed transport safety guidelines, rules and regulations. Drivers must be screened carefully while information on drivers and relevant agencies needs to be clearly posted.
ID microchips for dogs
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration on Oct 19 endorsed a new regulation to require all pet dogs in the capital to be registered and implanted with ID microchips. The cost would be covered by the BMA.
The regulation requires the registration of all dogs with strict controls on potentially dangerous breed. Registration and chip implantation are likely to begin in January 2006. By then, owners will have one year in which to have their dogs registered. The regulation aimed to curb the problem of stray dogs in Bangkok. Owners are prohibited from abandoning their dogs in public places with violators liable for a fine up to 5,000 baht.
From : http://www.fpps.or.th
|
|