Whether it’s pracha rath or pracha niyom, critics are ready to find fault in the government’s 136-billion-baht economic stimulus package. And making things worse for the government is its pet project the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth), which is under investigation.
Pracha rath, which means the people’s state, stresses a people-state partnership in which the people, the government and businesses work closely together to pursue sustainable development and help farmers, workers and communities secure their livelihoods.
Somkid: Forging ahead with populist plans
According to the government, the policy is not in any way close to pracha niyom, or the populist schemes launched by ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra specifically to woo support from the poor.
Pracha rath has three measures to help small and medium-sized enterprises, farmers and low-income earners.
First, the state-owned Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) and the Government Savings Bank (GSB) will lend money over seven years to 59,000 Village Funds — each village getting 1 million baht. They will offer the loans interest free for the first two years, with the government subsidising the interest to the tune of 2.2 billion baht.
The second measure involves the Interior Ministry acting as the core agency in the allocation of 36.275 billion baht from the reserve budgets for the 2015 and 2016 fiscal years to 7,255 tambons. Each tambon will get 5 million baht to implement any project related to building or repairs in the area, and development projects in line with the sufficiency economy.
The third measure calls for state agencies and state-owned enterprises to accelerate budget disbursement for small projects worth less than one million baht.
Before the launch of the pracha rath scheme, Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak is said to have received the blessing of social leader Prawase Wasi, a mentor of ThaiHealth. Dr Prawase is also said to be the creator of the pracha rath concept.
Under the plan, projects will be carried out with the support of ThaiHealth, known for its vast network of social activism and close ties to local communities, to solidify the people-state partnership and ensure the efficiency of fund management.
However, ThaiHealth is mired in conflict over alleged misuse of funds, with money being channelled to subsidise “non-health” projects. Some board members are accused of having a conflict of interest in projects they approved. ThaiHealth manager Krissada Ruang-areerat has resigned to make way for an inquiry.
The fund misuse accusation is serious and has led to proposed amendments to the 2001 Health Promotion Foundation Act, the legislation that governs ThaiHealth, to close loopholes and ensure efficiency and transparency.
With ThaiHealth under the cosh, critics are ready to pounce on any flaws or failure in the spending of the stimulus package, while political observes are expressing concern that without effective oversight the government will be handing money on a silver platter to local officials and influential people seeking to exploit state funds.
Rumour has it that in many areas the five-million baht fund per tambon is being allocated and managed as these groups of people see fit. In some tambons, project contractors are cronies of local officials.
It is a challenge for the government to keep tabs on the spending and make sure that the money channelled to the people is not abused or wasted. A small, but embarrassing, misuse could backfire on the entire government.
Lurking in the shadows
Despite keeping a low profile of late, Somsak Thepsuthin remains a politician to be reckoned with.
He began his political career with the Social Action Party (SAP) under the leadership of the late Montree Pongpanit, and moved up through ranks to become the party secretary-general before joining several coalition governments.
Somsak: Next chance is looming
When the fevered mergers of political parties were under way ahead of the 2001 general election, the SAP could not avoid the inevitable and ended up joining the now-defunct Thai Rak Thai Party launched by Thaksin Shinawatra.
After the 2001 election, Mr Somsak was appointed a PM’s Office minister in the Thai Rak Thai-led administration. His Wang Nam Yom faction became a major political force within the party.
The Thaksin government was toppled by the military on Sept 19, 2006, and Thai Rak Thai was dissolved by the Constitutional Tribunal the following year, with its 111 party executives, including Mr Somsak, being banned from politics for five years.
But he continued to wield influence through his wife Anongwan, who was appointed natural resources and environment minister in the coalition government led by the People Power Party (PPP), a reincarnation of Thai Rak Thai.
After the Constitutional Court dissolved the PPP, the Matchimathipataya Party, of which Ms Anongwan was leader, and the Chart Thai Party on Dec 2, 2008, the members had to find new homes, and this gave the Democrat Party a chance to rope some of them in to support the party’s bid to form and lead a coalition government.
At that time Buri Ram politician Newin Chidchob played a key role in the formation of the government. Mr Somsak was no less significant.
Suthep Thaugsuban, then the secretary-general of the Democrat Party, arranged for party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva to bring a big bouquet of flowers to the home of Mr Somsak in Nonthaburi to ask him to support the party’s bid to form a government.
Mr Abhisit also did the same with other politicians banned from politics such as Banharn Silpa-archa, Suwat Liptapanlop and Mr Newin, who still held much political clout and controlled enough party members to tilt the balance of power in favour of the Democrat Party.
After the five-year political ban was lifted on May 30, 2012, Mr Somsak led members of the Matchimathipataya faction in the Bhumjaithai Party to defect to the Pheu Thai Party, the second reincarnation of Thai Rak Thai.
However, because of the coup on May 22 last year, Pheu Thai’s political path faces many hurdles as the major parties in the next election are unlikely to win an absolute majority to form a single-party government as a result of the new constitution, political observes note.
This means the major parties will have to rely on the support of medium and small groups to form a government
In light of this, Mr Somsak is likely to help Bhumjaithai strike a political bargain with one of the big players.
According to political sources, medium-sized parties like Bhumjaithai stand a chance of winning more House seats under the mixed-member apportionment voting system proposed by the Constitution Drafting Committee led by Meechai Ruchupan, which upholds the principle that “every vote is meaningful” and will be counted toward scores in the party-list system.
Today, even though little is being said about Mr Somsak, he is still active in other fields.
He owns Sukhothai FC, whose supporters make up his political support base in Sukhothai, his home province. He also owns a farm of fighting cocks and a cockfighting venue in Lat Krabang and runs a construction company.
Always on the mind
Never far from heavy speculation is the post of Bangkok governor. Regardless of the date, it is never too early for pundits to bet on who will be the favourites promoted by the various political parties to run in the next governor election.
Nualphan: Politics could come calling
As public reaction to the performance of incumbent MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra is equivocal at best, with buckets of mud rather than bottles of perfume being hurled at him during the floods, the pundits are carefully watching the Democrat Party for clues as to who will be its candidate in the governor election in late 2017.
Speculation is already swirling around a probable nominee in the form of a figure more associated with national women’s football who is also a socialite and an insurance magnate. The veil may soon be lifted to reveal Naualphan Lamsam as the person in question, according to a political source.
Ms Nualphan’s name is on many people’s lips after she served as manager of the national team which, for the first time in history, qualified for and took part in a Fifa Women’s World Cup tournament, held earlier this year in Canada.
Also president and CEO of Muang Thai Insurance, one of the country’s best known insurance companies, Ms Nualphan is no stranger to sport as a former football player.
She started out managing the Thai team in the Far East and South Pacific Games for the Disabled (Fespic Games) and six years ago was asked to run the women’s national team by the then-president of the Football Association of Thailand Worawi Makudi.
With Ms Nualphan in charge, the team steadily began to win major events, and in the process took the woman popularly dubbed “Madame Pang” on the path to fame.
She generated a lot of talk when she announced in February that she was taking over the Port Authority of Thailand Football Club in an attempt to turn around the troubled team whose reputation was tainted by an image of hooliganism.
However, in September, the national women’s football team suffered a huge setback in Myanmar when the team finished third in a tournament there and failed to advance to the next qualifying round for the 2016 Olympics. Ms Nualphan announced her decision to quit as team manager and expressed disappointment at the lack of support from the country’s football authorities.
Despite washing her hands of the team, political observers believe many football fans remember her achievement in building a strong women’s side.
They also note she is sought-after in the political arena and see that she could rake in enough votes to keep the Democrats in City Hall for at least another term. Observers are convinced the party needs a new face with an unblemished record who can appeal to city voters, and Ms Nualphan is thought to fit the bill nicely.
The source said personal appearance, popularity and the “female factor” could be a successful formula for the Democrats, who may need to offer voters a “new package” in the next election.
Ms Nualphan could sway voter sentiment in the Democrats’ favour, although a party insider has not ruled out other Democrat candidates in the shape of former finance minister Korn Chatikavanij and Atthawit Suwannapakdi, a former Bangkok MP.
The source said the Democrats will most certainly be given a good run for their money in the election by arch rival Pheu Thai, which will also need to bank on a candidate with urban appeal. Former transport minister Chadchart Sittipunt could emerge as Pheu Thai’s strongest candidate to rival Ms Nualphan if she is nominated.
As a minister, he earned the title of “strongest transport minister in the universe”.
