Thailand Politics

Former Deputy Prime Minister Say’s Gen Prayut Unfit to be Next Prime Minister

BANGKOK – Former Deputy Prime Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula has slammed Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha as unfit to be Thailand’s next prime minister for a number of reasons, ranging from his lack of fiscal discipline and courage in making crucial decisions for fear of losing his popularity, to being temperamental and his appeasement policy toward China.

M.R.Pridiyathorn Devakula made his comments in a commentary published by the Isara news agency.

Noting that it is now crystal clear that the prime minister intends to stay on for a second term, M.R. Pridiyathorn said the prime minister had abused his authority to take advantage over the other parties by campaigning to woo voters under the disguise of mobile cabinet meetings in provinces while the other parties were prohibited from engaging in political activities.

He also accused Prayut government of rolling out several populist policies to curry favour with the people despite the fact that the handouts were taxpayer’s money.

In the past three years, the government demonstrated its utter lack of fiscal discipline as Pridiyathorn accused the government of spending more than it managed to earn and had used “future budget” of the next five years, totaling over one trillion baht – the highest amount in modern history – to invest in mega infrastructure projects, with the Transport Ministry bring allocated with the largest chunk of the money followed by the Defence Ministry.

From his past experience of working with General Prayuth, Pridiyathorn described the prime minister as someone who would resort to all means – even tricks – to acquire what he wanted. And if the finance minister tried to resist him, he would be replaced with someone more compromising, he claimed.

He cited the case of a former finance minister who objected to the Navy’s submarine project who was later forced to quit the cabinet.

Citing the coal-fired power plant project in the South as a proof of the prime minister’s lack of courage in making decisions in face of opposition, Pridiyathorn said that the project had gone through six public hearings and local residents did not object to the project, but the prime minister ordered the project to be put on hold after a handful of non-governmental organization representatives protested against the project.

In the past four years, he said the junta and the government had reduced the civilian population to the status of the “ruled” whereas the military was being treated as the “rulers”. He warned that if this lopsided relationship between the military and the civilian public is allowed to go on unchecked, resentment against the military by the civilian population may grow.

The former prime minister criticized the government’s appeasement policy toward China, citing a privilege planned to be given to Chinese investors in the Eastern Economic Corridor zone to bring into the country their relatives and dependents with the right of land ownership in the zone while the same privilege was not extended to other foreign investors.

Luckily however, he said the National Legislative Assembly rejected this idea of the government.

Regarding the prime minister’s notorious shifting tempers, Pridiyathorn said since Thailand has become the Asean chair this year, the prime minister should try to restrain himself harder otherwise he might cause embarrassment to the country if he allows his temper to flare in international forum.

Source: Thai PBS, Isara News

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The views expressed in this article the views of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank.

Thailand Politics

Thai Prime Minister’s Popularity Declines as Move Forward Party dominates

(CTN News) – Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin continues to make local and international visits to try to solve problems and promote Thailand, but he has failed to impress most voters, according to a Nida poll. The poll also revealed the declining popularity of Pheu Thai Party leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra and the rise of the Move Forward Party.

According to a poll released on Sunday, only 12.85% of people supported the prime minister, down from 17.75% in the previous survey. The daughter of convicted former Prime Minister Thaksin, currently on parole, saw her popularity drop from 6% to 4.85%.

The National Institute of Development Administration conducts a quarterly survey of the public’s preferred political leaders. The last survey was released at the end of March.

According to the survey, supporters of the prime minister described Mr Srettha as a resolute decision-maker determined to address their problems. Ms Paetongtarn was complimented for her vision, leadership, knowledge, and grasp of the country’s difficulties.

This weekend, the prime minister will be in the northeast region listening to citizens’ concerns. The journey occurred only a few days after he had visited northern provinces earlier in the week.

Despite criticism, he has reduced his abroad trips, citing the need to showcase Thailand to investors and traders.

Pita Limjaroenrat, the chief advisor of the Move Forward Party, remained the top candidate for prime minister with 45.50% of the vote, up slightly from 42.75% in the previous quarter’s poll.

Pirapan Salirathavibhaga was the huge winner. The leader of the United Thai National Party saw his popularity nearly quadruple from 3.55% to 6.85%.

The sampled voters stated they appreciated Mr Pita’s political beliefs and thought he had broad knowledge. They praised Mr Pirapan’s credibility, claiming he was clean and honest.

Two other probable prime minister candidates were Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan of the Thai Sang Thai Party and Anutin Chanvirakul, leader of Bhumjaithai. However, they were less popular than others.

About 20% of voters still did not believe any candidate was qualified to lead the country, which is the same percentage as in the last survey.

Move Forward Party was the most popular party with 49.20%, up slightly from three months ago, while Pheu Thai fell around five percentage points to 16.85% from 22.10%.

The poll, issued on Sunday, surveyed 2,000 ineligible voters between June 14 and June 18.

Thailand Politics

Move Forward Party MP Jirat Thongsuwan Appeals Suspended Jail Sentence for Defamation

(CTN News) – Jirat Thongsuwan, a Move Forward Party MP, says he would appeal his one-year suspended jail sentence for defaming a former senior defense ministry official concerning the state’s procurement of bogus bomb detectors.

The Criminal Court also fined Mr Jirat 100,000 baht for falsely accusing ACM Tharet Punsri, a former Air Force chief-of-staff who later became the ministry’s deputy permanent secretary, of being the chairman and shareholder of a company that supplied the military with the infamous GT200 bomb detectors.

The Chachoengsao MP claimed a July 20, 2022, no-confidence vote against cabinet ministers in Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha’s government. ACM Tharet was not a cabinet member.

Jirat Thongsuwan also identified ACM Tharet as a key figure in the 2006 coup headed by then-army chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, which overthrew Thaksin Shinawatra.

ACM Tharet told the court that Jirat Thongsuwan’s charges were false and harmed his reputation. He denied involvement with the bomb detection company and said he was not the company’s senior chairman or shareholder.

In addition to the suspended jail term and fine, the court ordered Jirat Thongsuwan to pay $ 500,000 baht in damages to ACM Tharet and publish an apology in three newspapers for five days.

Jirat Thongsuwan later announced on his X account that he had challenged the verdict with the hashtag “An injustice is infuriating”.

The MP has also been accused of dodging required military conscription. He admitted to the accusation on May 8.

A British business promoted the GT200 as a “remote substance detector” and sold it in several countries. Between 2004 and 2009, fourteen Thai government organizations, most of which were military, were projected to spend 1.4 billion baht on the units.

Concerns about the GT200 and related gadgets arose after the National Science and Technology Development Agency discovered they lacked electronic components.

The devices were later revealed to be “divining rods”.

Thailand Politics

Thaksin Shinawatra Files 100 Million Baht Defamation Lawsuit Against Warong Dechgitvigrom

(CTN News) – Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister, has launched a defamation action against Warong Dechgitvigrom, the head of the Thai Pakdee Party, accusing him of paying a bribe to be released on bail in a lese majeste case.

Thaksin’s attorney, Winyat Chartmontree, filed a lawsuit against Warong, seeking 100 million baht in damages.

Warong, a long-time Thaksin Shinawatra critic, gave a public statement and posted on social media, saying that 2 billion baht was paid to judicial officials in exchange for release on bail in the lese majeste case.

Thaksin Shinawatra Granted Release on 500,000 Baht Bond

Thaksin was granted release on a 500,000 baht bond last week and told not to leave the country without court authorization after pleading innocent to charges of defaming King Rama IX in a 2015 interview with South Korean media.

Winyat stated that, while Warong did not identify Thaksin Shinawatra by name in his speech or post, he did include a hashtag with Thaksin’s name as well as the date Thaksin must appear in court, allowing readers to connect Thaksin to the allegations.

Winyat further stated that he was investigating the fact that Warong mentioned the specific aircraft and automobiles utilized by Thaksin Shinawatra to violate the Personal Data Protection Act.

“I have requested Mr Warong to provide proof as to where he received the data. “If it turns out that it came from state officials, there will be legal consequences,” he warned.

The Criminal Court has scheduled the case’s preliminary hearing for September 30.