Supporters wait for King Bhumibol Adulyadej to arrive at Anantasamakom Throne Hall. Photo courtesy of Irrawady News.
Summary
While the Pitak Siam rally petered out with unexpectedly low turnout, the Pheu Thai government faced corruption allegations in a parliamentary debate that ended with a no-confidence vote for PM Yingluck Shinawatra, a vote that she won with a comfortable 308 to 159 vote. His Majesty the King’s 85th birthday was also celebrated with due and circumstance.
Popular tourist destinations Koh Samui and Koh Phangan suffered a blackout during several days, leading to losses of Bt 10 billion as tourists left the islands where many restaurants, entertainment venues and shops closed.
In Thailand’s Deep South, schools were closed in two provinces after targeted attacks on teachers that have now been offered increased hazard pay to work in the region. The Institute for Economics and Peace has indexed Thailand as no. 8 on a list of countries most affected by terrorism.
Politics
What was expected to be a major push towards overthrowing the elected government ended rather fast and disappointingly for the Pitak Siam. The rally only attracted about 20,000 people and started off with a clash with police forces, leading to tear gas use by the police and 138 arrests. Protest organizer, retired General Boonlert Kaewprasit called the demonstration off early and apologized to the supporters for the low turnout.
However, a more significant challenge to the Pheu Thai government came about in a democratic way in the form of a censure debate in parliament, where a no-confidence vote was launched against PM Yingluck Shinawatra over corruption allegations. During the debate, opposition Democrats focused their attack on the alleged corruption in relation to the rice pledging scheme and post-flood repair contracts. Democrat MP Niphon Bunyamanee accused the government of handing out flood repair contracts to relatives of ministers and provided the example of Pitpibul Partnership Limited, a company formed in January which received 43 out of 171 contracts in the Northeast. One of the company’s partners is related to Transport Minister Chatchart Sithipan, Niphon stated. He furthermore claimed that many of the contracts were bogus and no repairs were in fact needed and that contractors had to pay 30 percent commission to get the job.
Former Prime Minister and opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva and opposition MP Varong Dejkitvikrom meanwhile concentrated their speeches on the rice pledging scheme. Abhisit criticized the government for the unsustainability of the scheme, arguing it would push the public debt to 60% of GDP. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s response came, for the most part, in the form of a pre-written statement for which she was later criticized by the opposition. She stated that not only were most people satisfied with the project but that it would also lead to an 8% increase in the price of rice by the end of next year. She acknowledged that in terms of quantity the Thai rice exports have fallen to third place behind India and Vietnam but claimed that in terms of value Thailand would still be in the leading position.
Opposition MP Varong Dejkitvikrom accused the government of corruption in a government-to-government deal with China as no letter of credit can be found. The Democrat Party plans to send an official query to the Chinese Embassy to verify the 5,000 tonne rice purchase by a Chinese company. The opposition party claims that the government-to-government deal included a deal with a dummy company set up for international transactions. Transactions were done via four banks but apparently some irregularities were observed leading Democrats to suspect that the company was involved in a money laundering scheme. Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom strongly rejected the allegations and argued that no Chinese company was involved in the deal, only Chinese government agencies. Prime Minister Yingluck will hold on to the rice pledging scheme saying, “We incurred losses trying to help Thailand’s poor farmers but the scheme is transparent.”
PM Yingluck survived the no-confidence vote easily with a 308 to 159 vote. (Reuters) (Washington Post) (Bangkok Post) (The Nation) (Financial Times) (The Wall Street Journal)
Confusion remains about the candidates for the upcoming Bangkok gubernatorial election, scheduled for 17 February 2013. While The Bangkok Post announced on 30 November 2012, referring to a Party source, that Pheu Thai would support deputy police chief Pongsapat Pongcharoen, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra subsequently announced that no candidate was yet confirmed. While the source claimed that the police chief had received the backing of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and would thus be the candidate Deputy Pheu Thai, speaker Jirayu Huangsap only said that a candidate would be announced “within this month”. Khunying Sudarat seemed to have gained the support of the Party’s Bangkok MPs. (Bangkok Post)
On 5 December the Kingdom of Thailand celebrated the 85th Birthday of His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej. His speech, similarly to previous years, focused on terms such as “goodwill”, “harmony” and “compassion” and asked all Thai people to internalize these traits. (Bangkok Post) (Al Jazeera)
Economy
Power cuts have plagued popular tourist islands Koh Samui and Koh Phangan, during this week, leading most restaurants, shops and night entertainment venues to close temporarily. Thousands of tourists left the islands after an underground cable on Samui ruptured, leaving the two islands without power. At this time of year, Koh Samui typically caters for 20,000 tourists; this number was reduced to around 1,000 on Wednesday, 5 December. Furthermore, demand for oil rose dramatically as several resorts and hotels stocked fuel for their generators. Mobile phones were also out of function after the fuel for the transmission generators ran out. In the early morning hours today, Friday 7 December, most of the electricity was restored to the islands but the chairman of the Samui Tourism Association said that businesses on the islands lost an estimated Bt 10 billion during the blackout. (Bangkok Post, The Nation)
The new Bt300 minimum wage that will be effective from 1 January next year is continually being discussed as companies try to prepare for the change. The Finance and Labour Ministries agreed on Thursday 6 December to consider a proposal presented by the Joint Private Committee to help small and medium-sized entrerprises (SMEs) in adjusting to the measure. The proposal includes a subsidy for SMEs in 70 provinces that would run over 3 years, representing a decreasing subsidy of 75 % to 50 % and then 25 % of the wage difference. If implemented, the measure is estimated to cost the Government Bt50 billion. Despite the hike in minimum wages, property developers worry that they may experience labor shortages in 2013. This is due to the important infrastructure projects planned by the government that will attract labour away from private employers to public projects. Furthermore, the expansion of property development heightens demand for construction workers while unemployment remains very low at 0.6 per cent. Thailand is the country with the third lowest unemployment rate in the word after Monaco and Qatar. The situation has led organizations such as the Housing Business Association to ask the Labour Ministry for relaxed rules on employment on foreign labour. The labour shortage has already pushed condominium prices sharply upwards in Bangkok, according to property consultant Colliers International Thailand. (The Nation, CIA World Factbook, Bangkok Post)
The 3G auction controversy came to an end this week as the Administrative Court ruled out the petition by the Ombudsman to halt the licensing after doubts about the fairness of the auction. The Administrative Court does not regard the Ombudsman as an affected party and the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) could therefore be cleared of suspicions and can go forward with issuing the licenses according to the auction agreement. The 3G service will be available three to four months after the issuing of the licenses, starting with important city areas. (Bangkok Post)
Security
The non-profit organization The Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) published a global ranking of countries in which terrorism had the largest impact during the last decade. Thailand was ranked above all of its Asian neighbours at place 8, following Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Yemen, Somalia and Nigeria. Thai Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung however rebuked that Thailand does not have any terrorism thanks to its Buddhist nature and reacted against the organisation’s denomination of the violence in the South and the political protests in the North as terrorism. (http://www.visionofhumanity.org, Bangkok Post)
Meanwhile PM Yingluck Shinawatra approved an extension of the ISA in five southern districts, Na Thawee, Saba Yoi, Thepha and Chana in Songkhla as well as Mae Lan in Pattani. The PM also commented the increased allocation of security personnel and protection to teachers as academic personnel and schools continue to be targeted in the Deep South Insurgency. After the killing of a school director in Pattani on 22 November, teachers throughout the province went on strike and schools were closed between 26 November and 3 December. The decision to reopen schools came after a meeting between Education Minister Pongthep Thepkanchana and representatives of the teachers in the three southernmost provinces. The education minister promised in the meeting that teachers’ demands for increased hazard pay and compensation for families of teachers affected by the violence would be met as soon as possible. The Education Ministry has already proposed that hazard pay be increased by Bt1,000 to Bt3,500. Military security escorts have also been provided for teachers. On the very first day of reopening, 3 December, a school was burnt in Panare district in Pattani, damaging a teacher’s room and destroying equipment. The burnt equipment included several tablet computers that were distributed as part of the One Tablet Per Child programme. Six other schools in Sai Buri district in Pattani also continued to be closed for security reasons. On the same day, a female teacher was killed in Narathiwat province as she travelled home without military protection after working late. After another teacher was seriously wounded in the same province, the Confederation of Teachers in Narathiwat decided to close schools for two days on 6-7 December. The violence in Thailand’s south is now estimated to have claimed more than 5000 lives since 2004. (The Nation, Bangkok Post)
On another subject, the Democrat Party leader and former PM Abhisit Vejjajiva and the Democrat MP, formerly deputy PM, Suthep Thaugsuban will face murder charges over the death of a taxi driver during the unrest in Bangkok in 2010. The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) have stated that Suthep, at the time director of the Centre for Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES), ordered the use of lethal weapons and snipers against protesters claiming that he had been commissioned to do so by Abhisit. The two politicians are required to acknowledge the charges at the DSI before the 20 December when they obtain parliamentary immunity at the beginning of the Parliamentary session on 21 December. (The Nation, Bangkok Post)
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