PM issues warning over budget

Prayut says bill veto will hurt the nation

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday warned the public at large including farmers will face grim consequences if the crucial 3.2-trillion-baht budget bill for fiscal 2020 is shot down in parliament.

Speaking at a meeting of the National Farmers Council in Bangkok, Gen Prayut said that if the budget is not passed by the House, Thais will be in dire straits.

His comments were construed as a concern about the coalition government’s razor-thin majority in a vote on the budget bill which will be a high-stakes battle between the Palang Pracharath Party-led coalition government, which currently has 251 MPs, and the Pheu Thai-led opposition, which has 244 MPs. The government risks being forced to step down if it loses the vote.

The House’s first reading of the bill will be held on Oct 17 and the second and third readings are expected on Jan 28-29, after which it will be submitted for royal endorsement. Gen Prayut said the government is trying to ensure that its measures are tailored to the needs of farmers.

“What the government is doing now is to custom-tailor shirts for each type of farmer. Marketing and promotional campaigns are being tailor-made for each kind of farmer so that everyone can grow together.

This will help save on budget and require less cloth for maximum benefits,” Gen Prayut said, using an analogy. He described farmers as the “tap root’’, or foundation of the country, and said it is they who have preserved Thailand.

Meanwhile, regarding the herbicide ban dispute, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said yesterday it should be left to Gen Prayut to have the final say on the issue. Mr Anutin said he has raised the issue with Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Chalermchai Sri-on and Industry Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit. He added they had agreed on a proposed ban on three toxic farm herbicides.

“But if the National Hazardous Substances Committee [NHSC] still acts against the policy, the prime minister must make a decision. I am confident the prime minister will stand by the public and farmers and have the public’s well-being at heart,” Mr Anutin said.

However, Mr Chalermchai has found himself in hot water after a letter showed that he told the Department of Agriculture on Sept 17 to follow the NHSC’s decision to restrict the use of popular farm chemicals, deepening a row over the future of the chemicals.

Mr Anutin yesterday also lashed out at people said to have threatened academics who support the proposed ban, branding them “cowards and losers”.

“Those making threats are cowards and losers. Come and have a go at me. Talk to me openly. Don’t hide.

“What do you get by intimidating academics? Come and threaten Mananya [Deputy Agriculture Minister Mananya Thaiset] and me,” an angry Mr Anutin said.

Asked about calls for the government to provide protection for those who received threats, the public health minister said police may be asked to step in.

Ms Mananya and Mr Anutin have several times promised a ban on the three toxic agricultural chemicals — the herbicides paraquat and glyphosate and the pesticide chlorpyrifos.

The public health minister said he will continue to push for the ban.

Thiravat Hemachudha, a neurology professor at Chulalongkorn Hospital and a vocal campaigner against the use of the farm chemicals, confirmed on Wednesday that he and Puangrat Kajitvichyanukul, a researcher at Naresuan University, have been intimidated over their support for the ban.

Earlier this year, the pair resigned from another committee on toxic farm chemical controls set up by the previous administration amid reports it was subject to interference by big businesses in the farm chemical sector.

Dr Thiravat said that besides abusive remarks made over the phone, a Facebook user replied to his post about toxic herbicides with threats, warning he had been “marked”.

Meanwhile, other critics demanded Chulalongkorn University and Chulalongkorn Hospital investigate him and review the information he shared about the dangers of the herbicides.

A worker sprays chemicals in an orange grove in Nakhon Pathom’s Bang Len district as the government remains undecided over whether to ban three dangerous pesticides.