May 2012 : Reconciliation Bills incited disorder in Parliament Reconciliation Bills incited disorder in Parliament Constitutional Amendment Bill passed 2nd reading Budget for 2013 submitted to Parliament Cabinet approved Anti-Money Laundering Bill Constitutional Court disqualified Jatuporn Reconciliation Panel proposed lower compensation Campaign to amend lese majesty law Thammarak got jail for election fraud New business registration declines Thai household debts increased World Bank warned against populist policies Rice pledging program lost ฿ 20 billion Taxi drivers must have public licenses Only 30% Youth Council successful Second anniversary of Red Shirt protest BMA to pay Santika victims Income tax waived for retired persons Pratom 4 pupils better with PCs Free Wi-Fi nationwide Reconciliation Bills incited disorder in Parliament On 31st May, disorder broke out in the House of Representatives following the vote to support the Speaker, Somsak Kiatsuranont’s decision to expedite 4 Reconciliation bills from 27th up to the first rank on the agenda for consideration. Order was only restored after the Speaker agreed to postpone consideration of the bills. The four bills became focus of political debate not only amongst MPs but also outside where protesters gathered in front of Parliament on 30th and 31st May. They demanded the bills be dropped from consideration. All 4 bills aim to give a general pardon to offenders who breached laws enacted by the Council for Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy (CDRM), specifically, Thaksin Shinawatra, executive members of dissolved political parties and state officers involved in disbanding Red Shirt protests in April 2009 and 2010. The Bills were submitted by: Matubhum Party leader, General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, Pheu Thai Chiang rai MP, Samart Kaewmeechai, Pheu Thai Party list MP, Niyom Worapanya, and The United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) represented by Pheu Thai Party list MP, Nattawut Saikua. The first three drafts have similar content; the fourth excludes the pardon for state officers. On the Speaker’s attempt to move the bills up the agenda, the Democrat Party questioned whether these bills would return Thaksin’s confiscated ฿46 billion, because if so, they are finance bills requiring the Prime Minister’s endorsement before being submitted to Parliament according to Article 143 of the Constitution. In the circumstances, on May 30th, the Chair of all 35 House committees held a meeting and voted 22 to 1 that the bills were not finance bills. This led to an attempt to force the bills up the agenda again, followed by strenuous opposition from Democrat MPs, a vote on the agenda and renew chaos. Opposition leader, Abhisit Vejjajiva, affirmed Democrat Party’s utmost opposition to these bills on the basis that they incited societal conflict rather than reconciliation and destroy the rule of law. He urged right-minded people to exercise their rights under the Constitution. The National Counter-Corruption Commissioner, Wicha Mahakun, said that there is no law any where in the world in which the legislature or executive has the power to override the judiciary. Sentences pronounced by competent authorities can only be reduced by a pardon or amnesty, not avoided retrospectively by an Act of Parliament. Even in revolutions or under dictatorships, the power of the judiciary has been inviolate. Former Secretary to the Asset Examination Commission (AEC), Kaewsan Atibodhi, noted that Article 5 of the Reconciliation Bills, pardoning everyone affected by orders of the CDRM, is equivalent to voiding Article 309 of the Constitution. Enforcement, therefore, is against the principle of Constitutional supremacy. Somchai Sawangkarn, leader of a group of 40 Senators, said that the bills would tilted the balance of power away from the judiciary as never before. Further, Ms. Yindee Watcharapong Torsuwan, a former judge, said that the proposal, acceptance and consideration of the reconciliation bills by Parliament amount to a joint-commission of an illegal act contrary to Articles 30 and 39 of the Constitutuion and Artical 157 of the Criminal Code. This is because the bills would exonerate criminal offenders from their crime amounting to the use of legislative power to exculpate wrong doers from the jurisdiction of criminal and civil laws. These have characteristics of a Bill of Attainder or Bill of Pains and Penalties in international law and are therefore, accepted as being void and unenforcable contrary to and forbidden by the Constitution. The only solution is for Parliament to consider a proposal to reform the law and the judicial process in accordance with the government’s basic policy under Article 81 (3) and (4) of the Constitution. Constitutional Amendment Bill passed 2nd reading On 14th May, a joint session of Parliament voted to pass the Constitutional Amendment Bill for the second time with only small changes in Article 291/5. These concern the election of members of the Constitutional Drafting Assembly (CDA). In the first reading, local administration election regulations were adopted but this was changed to the Senators election regulations of the Election Act. Moreover, the Election Commission (EC) is authorized to call a new election if there is evidence of wrongdoings and to petition the Supreme Court if there is evidence to warrant a withdrawal of electoral rights. Budget for 2013 submitted to Parliament On 21st May, the government submitted the 2013 Budget to Parliament. Total expenditure is ฿ 2.4 trillion, which is ฿ 20 billion or an 8 percent increase from 2012. The biggest amount of ฿ 460.075 billion is for the Education Ministry, followed by Interior and Defense at ฿ 309.205 billion and ฿ 180.811 billion respectively. Cabinet approved Anti-Money Laundering Bill On 20th May 2012, the Cabinet meeting in Kanchanaburi Province approved two draft bills proposed by the Justice Ministry. These are measures to counter money laundering and to restrain financial support for terrorism, and which will be sent the Council of State before submission to Parliament. Constitutional Court disqualified Jatuporn On 18th May 2012, the Constitutional Court decided 7 to 1, to disqualify Jatuporn Prompan from being a member of the House of Representatives on the basis that he was unqualified to exercise his electoral rights during his imprisonment according to Articles 106(4) and 101 of the Constitution. The Constitutional Court normally sits with 9 judges. In this case, one judge, Jarun Pukditanakul, recused himself as his wife had litigation with Jatuporn and the dissenting judge was Chut Chonlavorn. Last year, on 29th November, the Election Commission (EC) decided by 4 to 1 that Jatuporn was disqualified and submitted its decision to the House Speaker on 13th January 2012. The case was then referred to the Constitutional Court for a final ruling. Jatuporn was a Pheu Thai party list MP in 2010 and violated the 2005 Emergency Law, but he was able to avoid jail because he obtained bail based on his parliamentary membership. After the House was dissolved on 10th May 2011, Jatuporn lost the basis of his bail and was imprisoned. In the general election of 3rd July 2011, he was re-elected as a party list MP, and was released from prison on 2nd August 2011. The EC endorsed his House membership but subsequently decided that he was disqualified. The Constitutional Court ruled that Jatuporn was barred from exercising electoral rights i.e. voting on 3rd July 2011, because of his imprisonment. Therefore, he lost his status as a member of a political party according to Articles 19 and 8/1 of the Political Party Act and since he was not a member of a political party, he was unqualified to become an MP. After the Court delivered its verdict, Jatuporn’s lawyer said that the ruling had no effect because his client used personal assets and not parliamentary membership as bail. In any event, from now on, Jatuporn can no longer depend on his parliamentary privileges in judicial proceedings. However, there is speculation that Jatuporn may be appointed as Interior or Education Minister in the next Cabinet reshuffle. Thaksin Shinawatra had often praised him and had promised him a reward. Reconciliation Panel proposed lower compensation The Kanit Na Nakorn’s Truth and Reconciliation Panel concluded its final report to the government proposing means and conditions for compensation payable to those affected by political unrest. There is one major difference from the government’s plan. The Panel’s proposal was that compensation should be ฿ 3.4 million for each person dead or disappeared, ฿ 40,000 for funeral expenses, and actual hospitalization or rehabilitation costs for the wounded. The sum of ฿ 3.4 million is substantially lower than the government’s proposed ฿ 7.75 million. The Social Development and Human Securities Ministry thought that the first group of 529 people would receive their compensation before May. Kanit anticipated that the final report would be completed and submitted to the government before July. Campaign to amend lese majesty law On 29th May, representatives of the Committee for the Campaign to Amend Article 112 of the Constitution and a group of 300 Red Shirts submitted a Criminal Code Amendment Draft Bill to the House Speaker. Group representative, Charnwit Kasetsiri, said that draconian lese majesty laws violate basic human rights and had been used as political tools for decades. The law also weakens the institution of the monarchy. The campaign to amend lese majesty laws was started by the Nitirat group in Thammasart University. Thammarak got jail for election fraud On 30th May, the Criminal Court sentenced former Deputy Prime Minister, Defense Minister and deputy leader of Thai Rak Thai party, General Thammarak Isarangura, to an immediate 3 year 4 month jail term for breaching Articles 6 and 11 of the Election Act. He was found guilty of bribing the Registrar to change the database to allow a Pattana Chart Thai party candidate to run in the 2nd April 2006 general election. At the time, all the major opposition parties: Democrat, Chart Thai and Mahachon had boycotted the election. If Thai Rak Thai was the sole party running in any constituency, it needed more than 20 percent of the votes to win the seat. The bribe was to allow an unqualified Pattana Chart Thai party candidate to run, in order to save Thai Rak Thai from the 20 percent hurdle. The Court also found against the Registrar and executive members of the Pattana Chart Thai party. Thammarak was granted bail and prepared to appeal to the Court of Appeal. This case follows the Constitutional Court decision to dissolve Thai Rak Thai party and ban its executive members from political activities for 5 years. New business registration declines Deputy Commerce Minister, Siriwat Kajornprasart, disclosed that new business registration had dropped by 4 percent in the first 4 months of 2012, making a total of 20,306 or 932 less than the same period in 2011. The trend in new registrations is steadily declining. In April there were only 4,014 new businesses, the lowest in four months. The Minister suggested that there were only 17 working days in April and in any event, the number of new registrations was always low in April. A total of 3,584 businesses were dissolved between January and April 2012, which is 15 percent higher than the same period last year. Consultant to the Board of Investment (BOI), Ms. Hiranya Sujinai said that from January to April 2012 a total of 407 projects (an increase of 21 percent), worth ฿ 155.489 billion (an increase of 44 percent) sought privileges from the Board. Of these, 240 projects, worth ฿ 113,099 million were for expanding existing businesses and 167 worth ฿ 42,390 million were for new. Japan remains the top investor with 228 projects worth ฿ 93,068 million followed by Malaysia with 12, worth ฿ 10,746 million, USA: 17, worth ฿ 9,116 million, the Netherlands: 11, worth ฿ 9,808 million and Hong Kong: 9, worth ฿ 5,463 million. Thai household debts increased The Deputy Secretary-General of the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), Suwanee Khamman, disclosed that currently 55.8 percent of Thai households are in debt; this is a significant increase from 2011. The average debt per household is ฿ 134,000. Causes are the various populist policies: first home loan, first car loan, flood alleviation loan, debt restructuring from non-formal to formal and others. Moreover, small debts on credit cards and vehicle leasing are also increasing since emergency cash was required for housing and vehicle repairs after the flood. World Bank warned against populist policies Senior Economist to World Bank, Dr. Kirida Paopichit, said that regardless of the fact that Thailand’s GDP in 2012 grew 4.5 percent because of the floods, compared to last year’s 0.1 percent, there are risks of which the government should be very cautious. Industrial estates are recovering slowly and behind schedule, the export sector is directly affected by the European economic crisis while export to China is down due to worldwide demand for Chinese goods is declining. The government should re-consider populist policies such as rice-pledging program, corporate tax reduction, fuel excise reduction and one tablet for one student. These cost 3 percent of the national budget and a loss of 1.5 percent to 2012 GDP. An end to these high-cost-low-return policies will not only save the national budget but also increase financial stability that benefits the overall economy long term. Following the World Bank’s warning, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittirat Na Ranong said that the World Bank misunderstood the situation. These policies are not only about giving money but they empower the people to think about and solve their own problems. When people pay less tax they have more money to spend on goods such as building materials. The 2012 national budget of ฿ 2.4 trillion is only ฿ 20 billion higher than last year’s and the deficit is only ฿ 400 billion, which can be considered as showing high financial discipline. Moreover, public debts have been reduced, as ฿ 1.14 trillion had been transferred out of the budget. These show that Thai economy is very strong. On 11th May, the Bank of Thailand revised economic growth from 5.7 to 6 percent of GDP because the industrial sector is recovering better than previously estimated. Many industries have returned to full capacity. Rice pledging program lost ฿ 20 billion The Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operatives Manager, Lak Watchananwat, said that the Bank is preparing to submit to the government a summary of the 2011/2012 Rice Pledging Program. He anticipates a loss of ฿ 17-20.4 billion since a total of 6.8 million tons of rice had been pledged at ฿ 15,000 per ton, or ฿ 2,500-3,000 higher than market price. The Bank had already spent ฿ 116 billion, out of which ฿ 90 billion were the Bank’s own, the balance loaned from other sources. The Bank of Thailand Senior Director for Domestic Economy, Methee Supapong, said that Thai economy is improving because industrial sector and investments are recovering faster than expected. However, growth in the export sector in the first quarter was minus 4 percent due to a decline in the agricultural sector. Rice exports are decreasing because Thai prices are higher than world market’s. The supply of rice from the pledging program is costly and plentiful, so exporters’ and farmers’ income have been declining during the past 6 months. The US Agriculture Ministry reported that Thailand would export only 6.5 to 7 million tons of rice in 2012, losing to India its leading position as rice exporter. Commerce Minister, Boonsong Teriyapirom, said that this was only an estimate, so there is no need to worry about it. Taxi drivers must have public licenses From 1st June 2012, all taxi drivers are required to have public driving licenses, which must be shown in their vehicles. Violation is liable to a maximum sentence of 1-month imprisonment or ฿1,000 fine, or both. Vehicle’s owners will also be fined at a maximum of ฿ 2,000 if they allow non-licensed drivers to work. They must keep records of their drivers’ names and details and violation will also be fined at a maximum of ฿ 1,000. These ministerial regulations are aimed at reducing crimes because the police can find offending taxi drivers quickly. Only 30% Youth Council successful At the seminar on “Building Citizens through Youth Council” on 23rd April at Chulalongkorn University, Associate Professor Dr. Sompong Jitradup reported that a study on youth councils in 40 tambons (sub-districts) in 10 provinces found that 70 percent were unsuccessful due to: Local administrators had no vision and were bias against young people, Youth activities focused on events but lacked activities, Young people have no time to participate because of schooling, There was neither initiative nor opportunity from young people, and No support from the public. The 30 percent who succeeded managed to do so because they gradually learnt from their mistakes. The study also found out that there are about 300,000 to 400,000 youngsters in the country who fall into risk groups, neglected by the adults and exposed to bad environment. Youth councils will succeed only if their problems are identified and resolved. Financial support, consultations and knowledge are key factors to success. Local administrators must understand the young and allow them to network. Good governance, exchange of views and assessment must also be provided. Civic education is absent from the current educational system; youth council is an attempt to lead young people away from drugs, games, and sexual activity. Unless their opinions are listened to and responded to, these problems will not be sustainably resolved. Second anniversary of Red Shirt protest On 19th May, the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) or Red Shirts assembled at Ratchaprason intersection to commemorate the second anniversary of their protest there. Thaksin Shinawatra made a video link from China asking the Red Shirts to sacrifice themselves by allowing the Yingluck government to proceed with reconciliation so he would be able to return to Thailand. He reminded them that no one except weapon traders would benefit from a battle. Thaksin’s speech aroused dissatisfaction among many Red Shirts as seen in their Facebook postings the following day. Apparently, Red Shirts were disappointed and impatient with Thaksin. BMA to pay Santika victims The Administrative Court ordered the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA) to pay compensation to families of the dead and to the injured from the fire at the Santika nightclub on New Year’s Eve January 2009. Santika had violated building codes and made unauthorized building alterations, which became fire traps. The Court found that the local authority was responsible for enforcing ordinances. BMA was, therefore, responsible and must pay compensation of approximately ฿100,000-200,000 per victim. Income tax waived for retired persons On 29th May, the Cabinet approved a proposal to waive income tax for the retired, dead or disabled members of the Provident Fund Program provided that they are over 55 years of age and have been members of the Fund for at least 5 years. The waiver also applies to other benefits received from the Fund after retirement, death or disability and is retroactive from 1st January 2010. Pratom 4 pupils better at PCs The Rector of Srinakharintrawirot University, Chalermchai Boonyaleepun, disclosed a study on the use of tablet PCs by Pratom 1 and Pratom 4 pupils in 5 schools in different parts of the country. It was compiled by means of observations, interviews and questionnaires amongst pupils, teachers, experts and educational advisors. Unsurprisingly, the study found that the older Pratom 4 pupils were able to use the devices more efficiently and were quicker to learn. Both were interested in technology, happy to use the PCs and did not use them for entertainment purposes. It recommended that tablet PCs should be provided to Pratom 4 pupils nationwide and if the tablets were rotated amongst pupils in each class, it will be more beneficial. The study also found that in spite of training provided to teachers, they were still unable to solve technical problems and needed assistance from technicians. The study recommended that every school should have a computer technician otherwise teachers will just go back to books. Teacher training should also be held continuously so they would be able to keep up with changing technology. Lastly, teachers viewed tablet PCs as devices to assist and not to replace them. They think that these are tools that allow teachers and pupils to share knowledge through the enormous number of applications. On 30th April, the Education Minister, Prof. Dr.Suchart Thadathamrongvech, said that delivery of tablet PCs to pupils nationwide have been delayed and not available from the first day of the semester as previously announced. Apparently, the delay is due to the enormous number of PCs involved. In the meantime, the ministry has trained teachers in the software to be used. Consequently, on the first day of the semester, the pupils will get their books as usual. Free Wi-Fi nationwide On 30th April, BMA Governor, Mr. Sukhumbhan Boriphat, made an agreement with True Internet Corporation to install 20,000 wireless hot spots in the Bangkok metropolitan area. He anticipated that 150,000 people would be able to log in daily. They must register with BMA every 6 months and will be provided with passwords. Users can choose either of the following services: A free use of 2 MBPS/512 Kbps for 5 hours per month, or An unlimited use of 256 Kbps/128 Kbps. On 21st May, ICT Minister, Anudith Nakornthap, presided at the opening ceremony of PTT Free Wi-Fi by TOT at the PTT gas station on Vipavadee Rangsit Road. TOT and PTT are planning to provide free high speed Wi-Fi at 1300 PTT gas stations nationwide.