Thai-Malaysia trade meet agenda set
The Cabinet yesterday approved the topics to be discussed at the second Thai-Malaysia Joint Trade Committee meeting in Bangkok at the end of this month.
The first meeting was held in Kuala Lumpur 10 years ago and there has never been another one since then despite Malaysia being the Kingdom’s fourth-largest trading partner in the world and its largest one in Asean.
"There is no clear reason why the two countries did not hold a joint trade discussion before this but the prime minister brought this issue up at his last visit to Malaysia. That led to the second Thai-Malaysia Joint Trade Committee meeting that will be held here at the end of June," Deputy Government Spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said after the Cabinet meeting.
The topics will include ways to reach the goal of US$30 billion (Bt1 trillion) worth of trade between the two countries by 2018, measures to lower trade barriers, and measures to facilitate cross-border trade, which accounts for 60 per cent of the total between the two countries. Also on the agenda are the promotion of halal food production at the special economic zone that will be set up in the South and measures to promote the production of innovative and value-added rubber products.
The Commerce Ministry will propose that Thai rice be allowed to be shipped to Malaysia via road, not just by water transport.
The Cabinet also approved an amendment of the Land Expropriation Act to increase the compensation for people who are affected by the government’s land-reclamation process.
This will allow leftover land that was reclaimed but not used by a project to be used for public service and social purposes. Currently reclaimed land cannot be used for any other purpose than was stated as the reason to reclaim the land in the first place.
The amendment will also compensate people who did not own the land but were affected by its expropriation. The present law only covers the people who owned the land, while small parcels of less than 25 square wah (100 square metres) that are sometimes left over from expropriation must be claimed by the state.
"Sometimes there are small pieces of land left over from the reclamation process and they are left under the care of the owner, but they cannot be sold because they are too small," Sansern said. "The new law will require the government to reclaim these patches as well to reduce the burden that is left over for the people who are affected by expropriation."
Meanwhile, Sansern denied the rumour that the government’s plan to increase the excise tax on liquefied petroleum gas by Bt3-Bt4 per litre would apply to cooking gas. The increase will affect LPG used for logistical purposes only.
