December 3, 2020 Thai Enquirer Summary Political News • As
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December 3, 2020 Thai Enquirer Summary Political News As expected embattled Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha survived the Constitutional Court’s ruling which dismissed the case of breaching ethics clauses in the constitution, allowing Gen Prayut to stay in his job as prime minister. The unanimous decision of 9-0 votes among the 9 judges cleared Gen. Prayut of any wrongdoings The court yesterday ruled in favour of Gen Prayut after the 9-judge panel agreed with an army explanation that retired senior officers that Gen Prayut is allowed to stay in army housing in recognition of their service. The army had argued on Gen Prayut’s behalf that his military housing is actually a VIP guest house although critics suggest that if he did not pay at least for water and electricity, he may be breaking the law. The court said that senior officers such as Prayut were entitled to live in military housing as special guests in honour of their military careers. Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan and Gen Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda were given the same privilege, former army chief Gen. Apirat Kongsompong declared before his retirement this past September. The court also said the current army chief Gen. Narongpan Jittkeawtae had explained that the army’s regulations allow it to pay for utilities and other necessary costs in such instances. The acquittal of this case marks the 3rd time that Gen. Prayut has been able to get away from the claws of the judiciary in the past 1-year. The 1st escape was Gen. Prayut’s gaffe of the oath taking with HM the King which had become a big issue The 2nd case was of being a govt. employee and becoming a candidate for the Prime Minister for Phalang Pracharat Party. Under the law a person cannot be a Minister/MP or hold any govt. office before becoming a MP or Prime Minister candidate for elections. The court had cleared Gen Prayut from this wrongdoing too as he was a Prime Minister and the head of the coup making body National Council for Peace & Order (NCPO) Yesterday’s case was the 3rd case that he was cleared by the Constitutional Court. The verdict has sparked anger among pro-democracy protesters led by the Khana Ratsadon, the People’s Movement. The movement has vowed to ramp up rallies across the year. The pro-democracy Khana Ratsadon group, the People’s Movement, immediately issued a statement from its rally site near Lat Phrao Intersection that it will ramp up rallies in response to the verdict. Protest leader Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, reportedly told the media, “Thailand’s justice system has completely lost its integrity. The court’s verdict today shows they look down on the people. This will fuel people’s anger and be the condition that drives our rallies to a higher level”. Another protest leader Arnon Nampha, a human rights lawyer, announced that the pro-democracy group would step up their rallies next year but maintained they would be peaceful. The pro-democracy rally is now targeting the judicial institute as Arnon demanded the judicial reform. He said the public has the right to criticise the judicial branch in the event that a wrong verdict is delivered. Khana Ratsadon erected the People’s Court similar to the Constitutional Court bench during a rally at Lat Phrao Intersection yesterday to mock the court’s decision to clear Gen Prayut of wrongdoings. Another protest leader Attaphol Buapat or “Khru Yai (headmaster)”, got up on stage giving a speech that criticised the court’s ruling. Attaphol said he was disappointed with the court’s verdict but said nothing was beyond his expectations because 5 out of 9 constitutional court judges were appointed by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) while the remaining judges on the panel came from the junta-appointed Senate. Attaphol said the ruling erode the credibility of the rule of law. He said from now there is no need for the public to follow the law. Attaphol also conducted a ritual in protest of the court’s ruling. A replica spirit house was set up. Attaphol presented 9 bananas to the spirit house before smashing it up in front of cheering crowds. Chaithavat Tulathon, secretary-general of the opposition Kao Klai (Move Forward) party, said that the acquittal was not unexpected, adding that it reconfirms that the justice system in Thailand is abnormal and that all the charter-mandated independent organizations, including the Constitutional Court, are merely a tool of the military junta. He said the acquittal proved that the ruling elites in this country do not want to compromise. He warned that the court’s verdict will only increase political tensions. After all this rumors are rife that Gen Prayut is set to resign from the position by the end of the year to pave way for someone else to be the Prime Minister and to cool off the political temperatures. Any such incident has to be after the provincial elections are over and before December 28th. A report said Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan has sneaked into Baan Phitsanulok to welcome a personal guest. This is the 1st time that Gen Prawit used Baan Phitsanulok. Previously, Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha was seen riding a bicycle inside this place. There is a report that the Secretariat of the Prime Minister has inspected the building and conference rooms inside Baan Phitsanulok. The move fuelled speculation that the venue will be used by the Prime Minister and his deputy to facilitate important missions. Education Minister Nataphol Teepsuwan said it has formed a committee to allow the Bad Students group to give their views on various issues like school uniform rules. The Minister, however, threatened to take legal action against the Bad Students group’s website, www.badstudent.co for publishing the names of teachers and schools that prohibit students from wearing casual clothes to school, citing that the website operator might be violating the rights of others. He vowed to seek the prosecution of the operator and even shut the site. Nataphol told the parliament’s sitting yesterday that his ministry will reach conclusions on rules for student haircuts and school uniforms before the end of this month. The minister said it found merely 638 students out of 2.5 million nationwide wore casual attire to school on the first day of term this week. The ministry assumed that Thai society was not ready for school uniforms to be ditched altogether. In regards to the upcoming provincial administrative organisations (PAOs) contest, Yaowares Shinawatra, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s younger sister, accompanied by former deputy Prime Minister Pongthep Thepkanchana, reportedly helped Pheu Thai candidate Pichai Lertpongadisorn in the coming PAO poll. Pichai announced in his campaign to represent the Shinawatra siblings Thaksin and his sister Yingluck under the Pheu Thai Party’s banner. He told voters not to forget the 2 ex-premiers. Economic News The government think-tank, National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), has expressed mounting concerns about a possible second wave of infections, saying the renewed outbreak will stall recovering domestic tourism and the overall economy. Danucha Pichayanan, secretary-general of the NESDC, said with new cases reported in some tourism-dependent provinces, the agency is afraid the spread will affect domestic tourism in provinces that are recovering. Mr Danucha said after new cases were reported in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, visitors had cancelled their bookings for hotel rooms and other accommodation. "Containing the spread is a priority for the government. Effective controls for the second wave are crucial for the country's overall economic recovery. " he said. The Commerce Ministry said it is ready to roll out promotional and stimulus plans to drive Thai exports next year. Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit yesterday said the ministry has come up with 343 marketing activities both in and outside Thailand to accelerate free trade agreement (FTA) talks with several potential partners including the European Union (EU), the UK, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the European Free Trade Association (Efta). Some 135 will be held in Thailand and the remaining 208 are scheduled to be organised in foreign countries. The ministry also plans to promote sales of Thai products via online platforms such as Amazon in Singapore and the US, Lotte in South Korea, Tmall in China, Bigbasket in India and Khaleang.com in Cambodia. The ministry is optimistic that Thailand is expected to see export growth of 4 per cent next year. Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc (CPF) expects this year’s profit to hit a 10-year high thanks to a record high quarterly profit due to high pork prices. The company expects to have a golden year this year in a 10-year period after its net profit in the first 9 months soared to 19.613 billion baht, up from 18.455 billion baht in the same period of last year, says Prasit Boondoungprasert, CPF’s chief executive. The company expects a strong profit outlook to continue in the 4th quarter as it will book special profits from the acquisition of the swine business in China worth US$84 million (approx. more than 2 billion baht), says the CPF CEO. The company expects to wrap up Tesco-Lotus deal of the CP group within this year. Thailand took the top spot in Southeast Asia’s IPO market, beating Singapore for the 2nd consecutive year, according to data by Deloitte. Thailand raised US$3.94 billion from 23 IPOs in the first 10 and a half months of 2020 (from the beginning of this year to November 15), up from $3 billion last year.