PPP welcomes ‘all political factions’

Officials told to push Thai Niyom Yangyuen

Palang Pracharath Party (PPP) leader Uttama Savanayana has insisted individuals from all political factions are welcome to join his party, following media speculation pointing to several key politicians who have shown an interest in the party.

Mr Uttama, who is the current Industry Minister, made the comments yesterday after a party workshop was held to gather information on the PPP’s potential policies.

When asked by journalists about recent interest from the Sam Mitr group — the group seen as the current military government’s recruiting force for would-be MPs — he said no formal agreement had been made with them.

Sam Mitr, which means “Three Allies”, comprises Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, former transport minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit and former labour minister Somsak Thepsuthin. All three have held ministerial positions during ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra’s term as premier from 2001-2006.

“We’ve held talks simply because we’ve known each other for a long time, but nothing can be said until the PPP becomes an official political party,” Mr Uttama said.

Sam Mitr’s Mr Suriya had earlier this month confirmed he would lead 70 group members to join and beef up the PPP.

The party applied for party registration with the Election Commission (EC) in March, but it has not yet been approved.

It is seen as supporting Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s return as premier in the upcoming general election, although no party member has so far openly said this. Other key politicians have expressed an interest in joining the party, according to the media.

These include ex-Pheu Thai MP Mingkwan Sangsuwan, members of the influential Sasomsup clan, and the Ban Rim Nam faction, led by Bhumjaithai Party’s Suchart Tancharoen.

Mr Uttama said he would be happy to see these individuals and groups join the PPP should it become a party. He added he can only confirm whether he will resign from his post as Industry Minister once the PPP is registered with the EC. No word was to hand on when that might happen.

PPP spokesman and PM Office Minister Kobsak Pootrakool said the party yesterday held a workshop in Bangkok sounding out views from members of the younger generation on how to seek members.

The state-funded Thai Niyom Yangyuen (Sustainable Thainess) programme may not be well-known to many people mainly because it is not a populist scheme, according to government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd.

In a recent interview with the Bangkok Post about the scheme, Lt Gen Sansern admitted the programme, launched earlier this year to promote sustainable Thai-style development, may go unnoticed by the broader public.

In defence of the government’s handling of the scheme, he said the scheme has been under way for just eight months.

His comments were made in response to claims in media reports that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is unhappy with various ministries responsible for implementing the scheme due to their failure to push the scheme adequately.

According to those reports, the ministries responsible for implementing Thai Niyom Yangyuen, along with government officials have failed to raise adequate public awareness of the programme despite getting an additional budget allocation in the 2018 fiscal budget year.

About 95.7 billion baht was approved for the scheme targeting 81,151 communities nationwide.

Launched in February, Thai Niyom Yangyuen is intended to make state agencies and local scholars collaborate to raise people’s living standards in line with goals set by the government’s 20-year national strategy.

The scheme is widely seen by critics as the regime’s attempt to shore up its popularity in the lead-up to the general election scheduled for Feb 24.

Political observers believe that if its impacts are not being touted to the wider audience as the election approaches, a pro-military party will have a difficult time canvassing support.

Lt Gen Sansern also rejected as false media reports about Gen Prayut’s displeasure with cabinet ministers and officials, saying he never heard the premier complaining about their performance.

The spokesman also denied Thai Niyom Yangyuen is overlapping the Pracharat campaign, saying even though both of the government’s initiatives are similar, they are not one and the same.

The Pracharat model means the people, the government, and businesses must work closely together to pursue sustainable development and help farmers, workers, and communities secure their livelihoods. It aims to strengthen the country’s economy at the grassroots level.

He i nsisted t he government is not overspending.

“I can assure it’s not a waste of money. Distribution of income has improved and the competitiveness indexes are better. The government has work to do to help those who get stuck in the rut,” he said.

A source in the Interior Ministry, which is a key player in driving the programme, also conceded that more work needs to be done to elevate public awareness of the Thai Niyom Yangyuen programme.

According to the source, Thai Niyom Yangyuen strategy is made up of a variety of projects which lack ties to the “main scheme”.

One example is “Otop Nawatwithi”, also under Thai Niyom Yangyuen, but few people are aware of this, said the source.

Moving forward, government agencies will be asked to include Thai Niyom Yangyuen in their projects to help elevate public awareness, according to the source.

“The programme itself isn’t a problem. The problem is that it is not being touted to a wide audience,” said the source.

Interior permanent secretary Chatchai Promlert denied reports that a committee was set up to investigate the programme, saying implementation is usually under review by provincial authorities.

He also said Thai Niyom Yangyuen consists of multiple projects undertaken by various ministries and urged media outlets to visit project sites.

Orathai Kokpol, a political scientist at Thammasat University, however, doubted the Thai Niyom Yangyuen programme would work because the need for local development was not assessed properly.

“It is like giving everyone the same-size clothes,” she said.