By Barry Kenyon

[Gaybutton]

Are you seeing the "new" government doing anything to reduce corruption ?

They do spend plenty of time talking about it and giving publicity assurances. As far as I can tell it isn't going much further than that. Also, when something is high profile enough to make the news, the only punishment I see is getting transferred. I don't recall anything about these people ending up in jail.

My belief is it's a combination of tea money, politics, control, and who's got the real influence. In some ways it does work for us. Whether it's tea money and/or anything else, for example, the visa agencies seem to easily be able to get things done that we either can't on our own or just don't want to bother with.

I do find it annoying that the retirement visa expats, for whatever reason(s), mostly end up on the short end of the stick. Some people are eligible for special privileges and visas just because they have much more money than many of us have. That seems to be the primary criteria - having a lot of money - no matter how or where they got it from.

[Gaybutton]

Pattaya faces acute shortages in immigrant labour

By Barry Kenyon

May 17, 2024

Dismayed Pattaya employers are complaining about the sudden increase in job vacancies following the attempt by the post-coup junta in neighboring Myanmar to ban young people, especially men, from leaving the country. Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said that enforcing Myanmar’s more than decade-old conscription was essential “for now” as too many people were deserting to other countries, Thailand in particular.

The eastern seaboard, including Pattaya, is heavily dependent on Myanmar workers in factories, agriculture, construction, tourism services and especially fishing. There are around 250,000 documented Myanmar workers in Thailand, with about one quarter residing in the Pattaya region. But there may be three times those numbers actually here: illegal immigrants who have crossed the porous and poorly policed border between the two countries, sometimes with their entire families.

Mongkol Sukcharoenkana, spokesman for the Thai national fisheries association, said the only answer was for the Thai authorities to issue labour permits whether or not applicants had a Myanmar passport or a special identification card issued by the junta. Roisei Wongsuban, representing the local migrants’ working group, said, “Many Pattaya hotels and construction sites are short of workers in what is best described as a labour crunch, so not too many questions are being asked.”

There is considerable confusion about the exact intentions of the junta. On the one hand, they need more soldiers to fight in the civil war but, on the other, they know that the remittances sent home by workers abroad is an important source of foreign currency revenue. On May 1, the junta suspended official permission to work abroad, but shortly afterwards stated that only those between the ages of 23 and 31 would “likely” be affected. The position of those already employed here legally is also ambiguous as they technically need permission from the Myanmar authorities to renew their contracts under the Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries.

A spokesman for Thailand’s Department of Employment in Chonburi province said the situation was still fluid. Reports from Mae Sot, at the Myanmar border, suggested that the military authorities were still issuing some passports and permits. However, those already here were reluctant to return to Myanmar to visit their families because of the risk they would be conscripted. But the issue for the Thai economy is that there is presently a working age population of 40.7 million, but with 44 million jobs to fill overall.

https://www.gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic ... 07#p113507

[Dodger]

Gotta luv it!

One government is upset because of a shortage of underpaid migrant workers - while the other government is trying to keep the workers from fleeing their own country because of the bloodshed going on...that they're causing.

I guess I'm missing something here: It doesn't seem like either government is concerned in the least about the workers well-being, just their own agendas.

Welcome to Planet Earth.

[Jun]

But the issue for the Thai economy is that there is presently a working age population of 40.7 million, but with 44 million jobs to fill overall.

The first thing to look for is productivity improvements.

They could start by deleting or automating immigration processes and then fire 90% of the immigration staff.
Then move onto other government departments.

Get rid of baht buses and replace them with buses which have more seats per driver.
Then move onto SRT and stop this nonsense where even relatively small railway stations seem to have several staff.

[gerefan]

There are around 250,000 documented Myanmar workers in Thailand, with about one quarter residing in the Pattaya region. But there may be three times those numbers actually here: illegal immigrants who have crossed the porous and poorly policed border between the two countries, sometimes with their entire families.

So 3/4 of a million illegal immigrants and all we hear about is a few tourists overstaying for a few weeks. TiT

[billyhouston]

The UN puts the number of migrant workers in Thailand at 3.9 million in 2018. I suspect that we have between 2.5 and 3 million in Northern Thailand. Given what is happening in Myanmar this number is likely to increase in the coming months. In March we had three of them with us, when it became unsafe for them to remain in their, very remote, village in Southern Shan. The border is porous.

[Gaybutton]

Pattaya expats seek income tax clarification from the prime minister

By Barry Kenyon

May 21, 2024

A group of Pattaya-based retirees say they are both confused and aggrieved by continuing ambiguity about their Thai tax liability from January 1 2024. Thai Revenue stated many months ago that “most” overseas income transmitted to Thailand from that date would be subject to personal income tax, to be collected the following year. The requirement applies to all tax residents, namely Thais or foreigners residing in the kingdom for at least six months in a calendar year. The policy is said to be principally aimed at closing tax loopholes exploited mostly by super-rich Thais in the past.

Kurt Fischer told the Pattaya Mail, “We are appealing to the Thai premier to order a clarification for the 500,000 or so foreign tax residents here. Our group are all retirees who live exclusively on income and pensions already taxed in our home country. We do not run businesses abroad, indulge in currency speculation or salt away money in offshore bank accounts, but the advice from so-called tax experts is flatly contradictory. Some say that pension income already taxed in the home country is absolutely exempt, whilst others maintain that it’s just a tax credit against payments due here in Thailand.”

Another group member Kevin Haddon explained, “There are all sorts of rumors, for example that you will need to obtain a tax identification number from the Revenue to qualify for a one year extension of stay, or that you can ignore the whole thing if your country (one of 61) has concluded its own double taxation treaty with Thailand. Some people have been told by experts to use an international credit card, with headquarters outside Thailand, for as many transactions as possible in order to avoid detection.”

The group observed that the lack of definitive information was leading some expats to consider moving abroad, whilst others were simply burying their head in the sand, ostrich-style, and hoping the horror will pass them by. “The confusion is really bad for the future of the traditional retirement market in Thailand. The confusion is obviously a paradise for tax lawyers and accountants,” one told Pattaya Mail, “but an absolute nightmare for us.”

https://www.gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic ... 31#p113531

[Gaybutton]

First, there is no indication that a coup is imminent, in the works, or anything else, so don't let this article scare you. Military coups are no stranger to Thailand and so far none of them have had very serious consequences for farang. All that really affected any of us were things such as imposed rules about how seating is arranged on the beaches, what kind of food and drink is allowable on beaches, imposed closing hours for the bars, long delays for elections, but almost nothing more serious than that.

I have yet to see any of these coups and new governments change much of day-to-day anything. As far as I can tell it's been the old story of everything changes, but nothing changes.

The only thing that would worry me if another coup ever does occur would be the possibility of ending up with an evil government, similar to the goings on in Myanmar.
________________________________________________

Preventing another military coup in Thailand not so easy

By Barry Kenyon

May 23, 2024

The Thai government aims to rewrite the military-inspired charter to prevent coup makers from being regarded as sovereign or legitimate rulers. Moreover, a new law is expected to give the prime minister the authority to sack generals suspected of plotting to overthrow the legitimate authorities. Pheu Thai deputy leader Chusak Sirinil said the plan was to prevent wannabe coup leaders from appearing legitimate in the eyes of the public.

This isn’t the first time. In 2013 there was a similar bill before a parliamentary subcommittee which promptly collapsed amid political bickering. During the May 2023 general election, Move Forward party leader Pita Limjaroenrat advocated that army generals should be restricted from entering politics and that compulsory military conscription should end. These notions were promptly placed in the bin and the Move Forward party consigned to the back benches.

In a 2024 NIDA poll, most respondents did not believe Thai coups are a thing of the past. Ken Connor in his book on military interventions wrote that there is a strong coup culture in Thailand, even an addiction. Putsches have occurred on average every seven years in the last century. Many members of the public actually expect the army to intervene once the political situation boils over into violence on Bangkok streets: that is precisely what happened in the most recent coup of May 2014. Life quickly returned to normal, the trains and buses ran on time and opposition to the army quickly faded away.

Neither the Thai press nor the courts opposed that coup, nor indeed any of its predecessors. Politicians tend to maneuver for position. In 2014 a Cabinet minister of the Yingluck-led civilian administration (when the coup occurred) actually ended up as the justice minister in the new military government. Even if a future coup maker tore up the constitution, which authority would challenge him? The technical agency would be the constitutional court which does not to date have a convincing record in opposing the generals.

It is also possible to argue that a coup is not really a coup. In 2021, the army in Myanmar displaced the civilian government but the generals claimed they were within the law as chronic voting fraud had made the country ungovernable and its parliament illegitimate. In May 2014 the Thai army introduced martial law under a 1914 act, stressing that the reason was solely public security and nothing to do with a coup. Two days later Government House was under military occupation and supreme power vested in the army leader. Army spokesmen claimed it was the public will.

Thailand does not presently appear to have the mechanisms to enforce a constitutional or legislative answer. The stark reality is that only failed coups are illegal. Successful ones by definition bestow the levers of power on a new regime inevitably claiming to be acting in the national interest. As Barbara Tuchman noted, “To put on the garment of legitimacy is the first aim of every coup.” The big question is whether it will work again in Thailand.

https://www.pattayamail.com/news/preven ... asy-461235

[Jun]

During the May 2023 general election, Move Forward party leader Pita Limjaroenrat advocated that army generals should be restricted from entering politics and that compulsory military conscription should end. These notions were promptly placed in the bin and the Move Forward party consigned to the back benches.

Isn't he understating this ?
Pita was prevented from becoming PM and they are in the process of dissolving his party. So that's what happens to those who oppose the generals.

The PM they have got doesn't seem to change much. What's he doing about corruption, pollution, wasteful infrastructure spending etc ?

[Gaybutton]

The PM they have got doesn't seem to change much. What's he doing about corruption, pollution, wasteful infrastructure spending etc ?

Apparently he has his own problems. If the court rules against him he will be removed from office. If that happens, it looks to me like the following happens next:

"In this scenario, Pheu Thai leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin’s daughter, could replace Mr Srettha, Mr Olarn said."

I think the shrewdest character of all is Thaksin. I won't be surprised if he ends up running the country, if he isn't already, whether he becomes Prime Minister again or not.
_____________________________

Court accepts petition against PM

Court votes against suspending Srettha from PM duties while awaiting ruling

by Wassana Nanuam, Mongkol Bangprapa and Phusadee Arunmas

The Constitutional Court has accepted a petition seeking the ouster of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin over his decision to appoint a minister with a prison record. However, the court has voted 5-4 not to suspend him from duty pending its ruling.

Nine charter court judges convened on Thursday morning to deliberate on the petition filed by a group of 40 caretaker senators. By a vote of 6-3, the judges agreed to accept the petition and ordered Mr Srettha to provide an explanation within 15 days.

Mr Srettha, who is currently in Japan, said he respected the court’s decision and would hold talks with his legal team to prepare his defence.

“I respect the court’s decision [to accept the petition]. When I entered politics, I was ready to be scrutinised,” he said.

The court also voted 8-1 to reject a similar petition against former Prime Minister’s Office Minister Pichit Chuenban, citing his resignation on Tuesday.

Pichit tendered his resignation in what was seen as a bid to spare Mr Srettha from possible legal wrangles associated with appointing him as a cabinet minister despite his eligibility being in question.

Previously, the caretaker senators had asked the Constitutional Court if both Mr Srettha and Pichit should be terminated from their positions under Section 170 (4) and (5) of the charter, which deals with the ethics of cabinet ministers.

Before Pichit was given the cabinet post, he was an adviser to Mr Srettha. But long before that Pichit was former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s lawyer in the “lunchbox cash” scandal and served a prison sentence for attempting to bribe the Supreme Court. This led to questions about his eligibility to serve as a cabinet minister.

On June 25, 2008, the Supreme Court sentenced Pichit and two of his colleagues to six months in prison after they had tried to bribe Supreme Court officials by handing them a lunchbox with a paper bag containing 2 million baht in cash a fortnight earlier.

All three were representing Thaksin and his ex-wife Khunying Potjaman na Pombejra in the Ratchadaphisek land case, for which Thaksin was sentenced to two years in prison in 2008.

Mr Srettha said earlier that he had asked the Council of State, the government’s legal arm, for legal advice on the appointment of Pichit before submitting the new cabinet line-up for royal endorsement.

Anusorn Iamsa-ard, a Pheu Thai Party MP, said he believed Mr Srettha will not be distracted from his job following the court’s decision.

Mr Anusorn said Pheu Thai and other coalition parties have thrown their full support behind Mr Srettha and are confident the government will be able to complete a full four-year term.

He also dismissed speculation that the ruling party might choose someone to replace Mr Srettha as prime minister if he fails to clear himself in court.

“Pheu Thai will not change horses in midstream,” Mr Anusorn said.

Olarn Thinbangtieo, a political science lecturer at Burapha University, told the Bangkok Post that the petition submitted by the 40 senators was really aimed at Mr Srettha, not Pichit.

“It looks as if Mr Srettha has now been taken hostage. Pheu Thai now has to assess the political situation,” Mr Olarn said.

“Mr Srettha has 15 days to submit a defence. But If he cannot clear himself, the court may suspend him as prime minister and this could subsequently lead to a change of prime minister.”

In this scenario, Pheu Thai leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin’s daughter, could replace Mr Srettha, Mr Olarn said.

Sanan Angubolkul, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the court’s decision not to suspend Mr Srettha, saying the he can continue to carry out government policies uninterrupted.

In a related development, lawyer Thanatenat Sukhonthapan on Thursday asked the police Anti-Corruption Division to investigate the legality of the petition filed against Mr Srettha.

Mr Thanatenat said the names and signatures of some senators on the petition may be forged. He said some senators had complained earlier that they did not sign the petition and that their names appeared on it without their consent.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/po ... against-pm