NLA to study 10 bills from NCPO
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Items expected to pass first reading this week; Prayuth yet to announce his policies as premier
The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) will today scrutinise 10 bills proposed by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) as part of its first job after it was established this month.
NLA chief whip Surachai Liengboonlertchai said the 10 bills were expected to pass first reading this week. He added that the assembly would also establish a subcommittee to select and approve members of the Judicial Commission of the Court of Justice.
Asked whether Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha would be required to announce his administration’s policies, Surachai said it was entirely up to him.
Traditionally, a prime minister is expected to announce his government policies once a legislative body is set up, though this is not required constitutionally, Surachai said, adding: “Anyway PM Prayuth has not set up his Cabinet yet.”
At the weekly NCPO meeting yesterday, Prayuth said he would announce his government’s policies, which would be based on His Majesty’s self-sufficiency principles and focus on sustainable development and expansion of infrastructure.
He said he would maintain his role as chairman of the NCPO even after a Cabinet is announced and he runs the country as prime minister.
Separately, the general said the military had spoken to Malaysia about future peace dialogues with insurgents in the South, adding that Kuala Lumpur wanted Thai military or security authorities to be directly involved in the meetings.
The NCPO yesterday also gave the green light to a Bt5.94-billion fund to deal with problems related to the drop in rubber prices.
This fund will cover a 10-year period, with the first lot of Bt977 million earmarked for spending this year. The NCPO also approved three measures aimed at maintaining the standard of locally produced rubber in order to tackle the price problem in the long run.
Meanwhile, PM’s Office Ministry permanent secretary ML Panadda Diskul said he expected Prayuth to start working at Government House once the Cabinet is created.
The 10 bills
l Bill on the reorganisation of security provided to the Royal Family: Proposes that the authority of managing security be handed over to the chief of the Royal Thai Aide-de-Camp Department instead of the prime minister.
l Bill on debt collection: Proposes that aggressive reminders, violations of rights and intimidation be outlawed, and violators be subject to criminal penalties.
l Amendment to Civil Code on guarantees and mortgages: Aims to provide better protection to guarantors or mortgage-holders against lawsuits by banks or financial institutes.
l Amendment to the 1926 Customs Act: Aims to upgrade customs regulations to an international standard while empowering customs agents to confiscate items suspected to be used in crimes related to terrorism or national security without requiring search warrants.
l Amendment to customs duty rates: Proposes granting the finance minister the authority to issue rates that are in line with international trade deals, while a Customs Department director-general can implement such duty rates and issue new regulations.
l Bill on returning the rights to three types of beneficiaries under the 1951 Government Pension Act, which was overruled by a subordinate act that went into effect in 1996.
l Bill requiring the setting up of one-stop service centres that make it convenient for members of the public to seek permits or other government documentation.
l Bill on making public service more effective and preventing corruption: Requires that government officials complete jobs that have full documentation within the set time frame.
l Two related bills on better serving buyers of disaster and life-insurance coverage and protecting their rights in case insurance firms are declared bankrupt or face financial problems.
