The private sector was concerned that two key anti-terrorist bills on money laundering and providing financial support for terrorism would not be passed and enacted in time, Payungsak Chartsutthipol, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, said on Wednesday.
The meeting of the parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Industry, Commerce and Banking this morning also expressed worry that the two key laws would not be enacted before the meeting of the Financial Task Force (FATF), scheduled for next February, said Mr Payungsak.
He called on both the government and the opposition to join hands to ensure these two crucial bills are passed by the House of Representatives before January 2013.
If the bills were not passed and enacted in time, as expected, private firms would face a critical problem in executing financial transactions overseas. Moreover, people holding credit cards would face difficulties in withdrawing cash through their cards in foreign countries, he added.
The FTI chief suggested the government and the opposition agree to a special parliamentary meeting to consider and approve these two bills.
Thai Chamber of Commerce chairman Pongsak Assakul warned that if the government fails to enact these two laws in time, there would be a widespread negative impact on Thai people and businesses.
Some foreign countries now do not allow the use of credit cards issued in Thailand. In additiom, foreign trade has started facing problems because some trading partners had asked for details of shareholders of Thai firms and for confirmation that they were not involved in terrorism, said Mr Pongsak.
Democrat leader and leader of the opposition in parliament Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Tuesday that his party was ready to support these two government bills.
He said the Democrats will give full support to the rapid passage and enactment of the anti-terrorist legislation to boost the confidence of foreign investors.
With the support of the Democrats, Mr Abhisit believed the bills would be passed by the House of Representatives sometime in January 2013. This would be in time for the meeting of the Financial Task Force in February.
The Democrat leader said this expectation was based on the hypothesis that the government would not again table the controversial reconciliation and the charter amendment bills in the parliament.
