June 5, 2020 Thai Enquirer Summary Political News Following the recent upheaval inside the Phalang Pracharat Party (PPPR) which prompted 18 members of the party’s executive board to resign, PPRP senior members have sent a strong signal that a cabinet reshuffle must be completed by July 5, according to a source with the PPRP. The news came with speculation that those to be excluded from the line-up would be Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana, Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Suvit Maesincee, Energy Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong It is said that the PPRP will allocate cabinet seats to prospective ministers according to support of MPs in their group. Under this new formula, a minister must have support of 10 MPs to secure a cabinet seat while a deputy minister must gain support of 7 MPs. “Thai Rath” newspaper reported that the position of the Minister of Finance may be allocated to one of the following 2 candidates Pailin Chuchottaworn, the former CEO of PTT Plc and also a minister in the Prayut government that was installed after the 2014 coup he undertook. Prasarn Trairatvorakul, the former governor of Bank of Thailand Hence, this formula is likely to pose problems for the Bangkok Faction led by Digital Economy and Society (DES) Minister Buddhipongse Punnakanta and Education Minister Nataphol Teepsuwan after 9 out of 13 MPs in their faction left to join other groups. It is said that 2 Bangkok Faction MPs have left to join the group led by chief government whip Wirat Rattanaset while 5 others left to join an independent group. Sira Janejakha went to join the Saam Mitr Group. As a result, the Bangkok Faction will not enough leverage to secure 2 cabinet seats. In response to wide speculation that General Prawit Wongsuwan is tipped to lead the Phalang Pracharat Party next month following the mass resignation of 18 executive members on Monday (June 1) to pave the way for the election of a new party leadership, Gen Prawit told the Thai media that he is not ready to take the top job. The Deputy Prime Minister denied involvement in the move in Phalang Pracharat. When asked by reporters about the support of several committee members for him to become the new party leader, he said, “It has not happened yet. You should not ask. Everything depends on party members.” He also refused to comment on whether he may take up the leadership of the party which has been speculated on now since April. In a related issue about rumoured conflict between Gen Prawit and Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, the 2 figures put on smiley faces as they were chatting to each other, painting a calm atmosphere between them during the House debate on the budget transfer draft bill yesterday (June 4). Meanwhile, Industry Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit, a PPRP executive committee, said the majority of the executive board has no objection to Gen Prawit to become the party new leader, replacing outgoing party leader Uttama Savanayana. When asked whether he is tipped to become the new energy minister, replacing incumbent energy minister Sontirat Sontijirawong in a new cabinet line-up, Mr Suriya denied that he had ever said anything about becoming the new energy minister, claiming he is happy with his current job as the industry minister. The Parliament voted to pass the 1st reading of the budget transfer draft bill yesterday (June 4), with 264-4 votes and 185 abstentions while the opposition called on fellow MPs to reject the bill, saying it contained no detail about how the money would be spent and approving it would be tantamount to issuing a blank cheque to the prime minister. Progressive Movement core leader Piyabutr Saengkanokkul resumed the movement’s campaign against appointed senators. The movement plans to launch a campaign against appointed senators entitled, “why should there be senators” today (June 5) followed by an online seminar tomorrow (June 6) on the webpage New Consensus. The online platform will be joined by Mr Piyabutr, former senator and academic Jermsak Pinthong and former Democrat Party MP Parit Wacharasindhu as keynote speakers. The online forum will allow the public to express opinion on how to address the issue related to appointed senators after 1-year in office. The Progressive Movement viewed appointed senators to help secure Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s smooth transition of power. Human Rights Watch called on army chief Gen Apirat Kongsompong to protect whistle- blowers, as soldiers who spoke out against wrongdoing and now faces vicious retaliation. The call came in response to the case of Sgt. Narongchai Intharakawi who filed several complaints to the House about alleged corruption involving staff allowances at the Army Ordnance Materiel Rebuild Centre where he worked as a clerk. Gen Apirat has promised repeatedly to crack down on abuse, corruption, and exploitation in the military’s ranks. To make good on that pledge, a 24-hour hotline with the slogan “Everything is secret, everything reaches the army chief” was set up, the Human Rights Watch said on its website. Not only did he see no action taken on his complaints, he received death threats and faced a disciplinary inquiry for allegedly undermining unity within the army and damaging his unit’s reputation. Leaked video footage from the inquiry showed Sgt. Narongchai’s superior telling him that, “You may be able to get away this time, but there is no next time for you. … Reporting this and that will only get you in trouble.” Fearing for his safety, Sgt. Narongchai fled his barracks and sought protection from the House committee on Legal Affairs, Justice, and Human Rights. He also publicized his plight by sharing information with the media, arguing that other ways of disclosing wrongdoing had proved ineffective. But those steps have not stopped the army from going after him, the website said. While denying allegations about mistreatment of Sgt. Narongchai, the army sought a military court warrant to arrest him for being absent from his duties for more than 15 days. Sgt. Narongchai faces up to 7 years in prison and a dishonourable discharge. Human Rights Watch Asia director Brad Adams said in a statement: Gen. Apirat took a bold step by personally vowing to take charge of efforts to clean up wrongdoing in the barracks. Done properly, this could have been a major part of the army chief’s legacy when he retires later this year. But the army’s internal complaint mechanism is failing and Gen. Apirat’s promises now ring hollow. Gen. Apirat should act now to end the heavy-handed retaliation against whistle- blower Sgt. Narongchai. In a separate Development, army chief Gen Apirat Kongsompong ordered all members of the army committee responsible for the management and organisation of Muay Thai bouts on March 6 to be transferred to inactive posts after the management ignored a cabinet resolution on March 3 calling for the suspension of sports events on worries about the spread of the disease among crowds. Among those being removed is Maj Gen Rachit Arunrangsee, director-general of the Army Welfare Department and director of the Lumpinee boxing stadium. In fact, Maj Gen Rachit who has now been transferred to an inactive post at the Army headquarters is due for a mandatory retirement in September this year. Economic News Reports have come out that Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob has put the brakes on bonuses for employees and executives of all state enterprises under the control of the Transport Ministry. Mr Saksayam’s move came after a state enterprise under his ministry presented its financial statements which included a bonus-payment proposal for staff, prompting Mr Saksayam to order this agency in question to revise its financial statements in the wake of the current COVID-19 crisis. Mr Saksayam reportedly threatened to review positions of executives of this state enterprise in question after the bonus-payment proposal. Former international crime prosecutor Wanchai Roujanavong took to his Facebook page to liken a proposed rehabilitation plan for Thai Airways International Plc (THAI) to the opening of a Pandora’s Box, which will expose extensive corruption in the ailing national flag carrier which has been hidden from the public. Mr Wanchai pointed that the rehabilitation process will likely reveal that THAI paid prohibitively high fees for the rental of aircraft which is believed to be one of the reasons for the airline’s heavy losses. He said the airline’s fleet was leased to THAI through several agents, allegedly with the consent of the airline’s board. Without the proposed rehabilitation plan, Mr Wanchai said that that the public would probably never know the truth “while the parasites carried on sucking the blood out of the airline.” THAI has also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection the US courts and has accumulated debts estimated at about 200 billion baht. At the end, Mr Wanchai said the loss-ridden State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is likely to file for bankruptcy protection as well. On the latest development on Thai Airways International Plc (THAI), a probe committee led by Pol Lt Gen Charnthep Sesaves, a former Metropolitan Police Bureau commissioner, found information that could point to irregularities in the management of the national carrier. This latest information involves annual payments of more than 20 billion baht to maintenance staff, excluding overtime payments of more than 20 billion baht per year. In related news, police have launched an investigation into allegations of discrepancies in THAI ticket sales last year, according to an unnamed source. THAI’s ticket sales and freight revenues last year totalled 140 billion baht while there were 25.4 million passengers who flew with THAI, as reported by a source with the Transport Ministry.