Abhisit vows to make Thailand Asean hub
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Opposition Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday affirmed his party would lead Thailand to become the No 1 country in Asean by restructuring the country's social, economic and political sectors.
During the party seminar “Join forces to restructure Thailand”, Abhisit said to achieve the goal, the Democrat Party proposed building four social pillars: reconciliation society, knowledge society, welfare state, and fair society.
“Reconciliation must start from the family institution and should not be achieved through force, or majority vote, and threat. The Democrats plan education reform that will bring about a knowledge society in which the quality of education will not drop, as is happening. The welfare state will be created with sustainability. The fair society will be achieved through fair management of rights and natural resources,’’ he said.
The party’s restructuring plan also includes strengthening the economic sector by empowering farmers with systematic management, building a creative economy in which income is made not by selling labour but knowledge and creativity. Economic development must be environmentally friendly. Afforestation will be implemented across the country to prevent flooding.
To create political stability, the party proposes building a strong democracy by allowing freedom of expression and free media, including creating an anti-corruption network and calling for transparency in state projects.
To make Thailand an economic hub of Asean, Abhisit said a logistics and transportation network must be established, for instance developing a high-speed train from South China to Singapore.
Meanwhile, Pheu Thai Party deputy spokesperson Sunisa Lertpakawat said she believed the Democrats have lost touch with reality by proposing strategies to develop the country that have no specific target and lack details. “The Democrat plan focuses only on winning elections but they have not touched on political morality and ethics. Their plan is only to bring Abhisit, their leader back to power,’’ she said.
Sunisa said the Democrat Party planned to spend more than Bt151 million to win the next election by building a network of canvassers under its strategies to return to power.
