August 2010 : Thais addicted to populist policies Thais addicted to populist policies No extradition request on Thaksin Yingluck received 6 out of 10 Democrats posed 6 questions Cabinet delays BMA drainage project Public consultations on constitutional amendments New procedures for parliamentary petition Red Shirt bail revoked Public debts increased More borrowings to plug deficit Duties on cigarette-alcohol increase Double tax deduction for education-sports Diesel tax reduction re-extended Insufficient evidence to charge Thaksin on CTX How to report corruption Retroactive compensation for southern victims Thai youths suffer from poor English and melancholy UN warned against global drought Thais addicted to populist policies Bangkok Poll revealed results of “Impact of 16 Populist Policies on Thai People”, a poll carried out between 21st-28thAugust 2012 among 70 economists from 27 leading institutions: Seven out of 16policies areconsidered bad, they are: Rice Pledging Program, One Tablet PC per Child, First Car policy, Reduction of Petrol Prices by stopping payment into the Petroleum Fund, Taxi driver credit card, An increase of Bt.1 million to each village fund, Women Development Fund of Bt.100 million per province. Fivepolicies are considered good but mismanaged, they are: A national minimum wage of Bt.300/day, A starting salary Bt.15,000 per month for first degree graduates, Debt moratorium for agriculture and low-income households, Small and Medium Village Development Fund, An increase of Bt.1 million to each village fund. Four policies areconsidered good, they are: Stepped increases in senior citizens’monthly allowance, Free Internet in public areas, Tax refund for first homebuyers, Bt.30 public health program. The increase of Bt.1 million to every village fund program was rated both “bad” and “good but mismanaged”. Further, 48.6% of the economists think Thai people are now addicted to populist policies while 47.1% think they are starting to be addicted and none think they are not addicted. No extradition request on Thaksin Foreign Minister,SurapongTovichakchaikul, on the first anniversary of office, announced that the ministry had arranged 18 prime ministerial state visits and strengthened international relationship especially with neighboring countries. He confirmed that the government has no policy to request extradition of the fugitive former Prime Minister, ThaksinShinawatra. Yingluck received 6 out of 10 Suan Dusit poll of the Rajabhat Suan Dusit University disclosed its nationwide study of public opinion of Yingluck administration. The Prime Minister received 6.95 and 6.41, out of 10, for her intention and accomplishments respectively. These are higher than the whole Cabinet’s that received only 6.25 out of 10. Looking at the government’s best and worst performances: 35.58% regarded fighting against drugs as the best, followed by 26.76% for salary increases, while 32.12% thought solving economic problems and 19.45% flood management the worst. Democrats posed 6 questions On 24th August 2012 on the occasion of the government’s first anniversary in office, the Democrat Opposition party leader, Abhisit Vejjajiva, outlined 6 urgent problems for the government to resolve: High cost of living and fuel prices, Low agricultural prices: rice, tapioca and rubber, National reconciliation and the withdrawal of the amnesty bill, Violence in the southernmost provinces, Finance for water and flood management projects, Increases in household and public debts. Cabinet delays BMA drainage project On 29th August 2012, the Cabinet postponed consideration of the Bt.1billion BMA drainage tunnel project because it lacks input from other state agencies. The project was submitted to the Cabinet by BMA following prior approval that between 2008-2013 the authority would construct a Bt. 2.45 billion drainage tunnel. The project has now reached the stage of selecting the contractor, so BMA submitted a report and asked for the allocation of Bt.1 billion budget for the next fiscal year. Public consultations on constitutional amendments On 28th August 2012, the Cabinet agreed with the Interior Ministry’s proposal to organize public hearings in 2,106 communities and 79,888 villages to consult on the policy to amend the Constitution. The Interior Minister assured that the public meetings would meet three public participation goals: 1) Balancingpower betweenpublic and private authorities, 2) Establishing transparency, accountability, stability and continuity in public administration, and 3) Exercising legislative, administrative and judicial powers accordingly to democratic principles. Summaries of the consultation will be submitted to the Cabinet. New procedures for parliamentary petition On 22nd August 2012, the House passed a bill to introduce new procedures for presenting a draft bill petition by 355 to 6 votes. Principles are that in order to submit a draft bill to Parliament, a petition must be initiated by a group of no less than 20 eligible voters, which then must be supported by no less than 10,000 voters. Red Shirt bail revoked On 22rd August 2012, the Criminal Court revoked bail of Red Shirt leader, Yoswarit Chooklom, a.k.a. JengDokjik, on the basis that he violated bail conditions. Yoswarit and other Red Shirt leaders were charged with terrorist offences following the 2010 violence and subsequently received conditional bails. In June 2012, following the Constitutional Court’s decision to considera case concerning constitutional amendments, they incited against the Court’s authority, so the Secretary-General of the Constitutional Court petitioned the Criminal Court to revoke their bails. Yoswarit was the only one whose bail was actually revoked as the Court considered that he incited public disorder and violated rights of the constitutional judges’ families. Among those whose bails were considered was a hard core Red Shirt leader, Jatuporn Prompan; for them, the court only added further bail conditions, i.e., they must not incite disorder and not leave the jurisdiction. Public debts increased The Director to the Public Debt Management Office, Chakrit Parapantakul, disclosed that as of 31st June 2012, total public debts increased byBt.123 billion, making a total of Bt.4.79 trillion, or 43.34% of GDP. Among these, Bt.3.5 trillion are government debts, Bt.1.02 trillion non-financial state enterprises, Bt.2.42 trillion financial state enterprises (government guaranteed) and Bt.10 billion belongto other government agencies. More borrowings to plug deficit The Director-General of the Fiscal Policy Office, Somchai Sujjapong, revealed that during the first 10 months of 2012, public expenditures rose to Bt.1.9 trillion, which is Bt.675 billion higher than same period last year. As state revenues were only Bt.1.56 trillion, the deficit was Bt.340 billion and when added to extra-budgetary deficit of Bt.36.4 billion, total deficit was Bt.376.4 billion. Therefore, a loan of Bt.257 billion was required to balance the books. Duties on cigarette-alcohol increase On 21st August 2012, the Cabinet resolved to increase excise duty on cigarettes and alcohol effective immediately. Duty on all 8-cigarette brands increased by Bt.6-8 per pack, local whiskey to Bt.120per liter and imported whiskey to Bt.400 per liter. These are expected to add Bt.10 billion to state revenues annually. Double tax deduction for education-sports On 21stAugust 2012, the Cabinet resolved to allow individuals and corporations to deduct twice the amount of their donations to education and sportsfor income tax purposes. However, the donation must not exceed 10% of the net income. This will be effective for 3 years from1st January 2013 to 31st December 2016. Diesel tax reduction re-extended On 21st August 2012, the Cabinet resolved to re-extend tax reduction on diesel fuel for another month, until 30th September 2012. Insufficient evidence to charge Thaksinon CTX On 28th August 2012, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) unanimously decided not to file a complaint against Thaksin Shinawatra, former Transport Minister, Suriya Jungrungreaungkit, and other airport authority officers for their involvement in the procurement of CTX 9000 bomb detectors and luggage conveyor belt systems as there was found to be insufficient evidence. How to report corruption Prime Minister, YingluckShinawatra, in an opening remark of an anti-corruption campaign said that her government has provided 3 methods for Thais to report on corruption. They are: a special mailbox, 1206 Hot Line, and www.stopcorruption.co.th She assured that every message will be delivered directly to her and there would be a special task force to follow up the reports. Retroactive compensation for southern victims On 14th August 2012, the Cabinet approved in principle to increase compensation to victims affected by southern violence. This will include Buddhist monks, Muslim clergy and international tourists as well as locals. Each will receive compensation of Bt.500,000 instead of Bt.100,000–200,000, i.e., at the same level as a state official’s. New rates will be retroactive from January 2004, and an annual payment of Bt.100,000 will be given before the 2015 fiscal year. Families of the deceased in the Tak Bai and Krue Se violent incidents as well as those whose human rights were breached by state officers will each receive Bt.7.5 million and Bt.4 million respectively. Thai youths suffer from poor English and melancholy On 27th August 2012, the National Economic and Social Development Board disclosed a study on Thai society in the second quarter of 2012 that Thai students are disadvantaged in language skills and English compared to other students in ASEAN countries. Their average TOFEL scores ranked 55thamong all nations and lower than in many ASEAN countries. It found that 1 million secondary and university students are at risk of mental problems, melancholy and irritability. There are 521,199 new graduates annually and the current unemployment rate is 0.85 per cent or 334,121 people. UN warned against global drought The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned that every nation should urgently revise water usage policy, to conserve more fresh water and to consume less. There were signs that drought is sweeping across from Africa to India and many areas in the USA are facing the most severe drought. Statistics revealed extreme heat and drought in the northern hemisphere as wellas ice in the North Pole is melting faster than ever.