From: kamol@ipied.tu.ac.th (Kamol Hengkietisak)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.thai
Subject: Bangkok Post Nov 16: Democrats blasted for urgent bill
Date: 15 Nov 92 15:26:46 GMT
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AT least two key coalition partners are expected to block a 
Democrat Party attempt tomorrow to push through the Cabinet the 
controversial National Agricultural Council Bill without putting 
it on the agenda.
 
Deputy Agriculture Minister Suthep Thueksuban told the Bangkok 
Post he will ask the Cabinet to approve the bill as an urgent 
matter so that it could be deliberated during the current 
parliamentary session which runs until the middle of next month.
 
But his revelation was greeted with surprise and dismay by key 
members of the Palang Dharma and New Aspiration parties who said 
that it was impossible for the Democrats to ram through the 
Cabinet such an important bill without first informing their 
coalition partners.
 
An informed PDP source claimed none of the party's Cabinet members 
including those sitting on the so-called "inner Cabinet" which 
includes deputy prime ministers and economic ministers were told 
about the Democrat plan.
 
It would be very inappropriate for Mr Suthep to bring up the issue 
without giving his coalition partners enough time to study the 
bill, the source commented.
 
The deputy agriculture minister's plan to have the bill 
deliberated and approved during the current session is impossible, 
he said.
 
The source commented that the Democrats appeared to be in unusual 
haste, judging from the seminar last week organised by the 
Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry when only supporters of the 
bill were invited.
 
He said the PDP could not give its approval because it disagreed 
with many points in the bill.
 
The National Agricultural Council Bill calls for the formation of 
a 41-man National Agricultural Council to be chaired by the prime 
minister to formulate the farm policy and draw up production and 
marketing plans for concerned government agencies.
 
The council, comprising 20 representatives of "farmer 
institutions", Cabinet members, bureaucrats, and representatives 
of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Thai Industries 
and the consumers -- will be empowered to collect "premiums" on 
agricultural exports which will be channelled to a farmers' fund 
and used for agricultural development and to stabilise the prices 
of farm products.
 
The PDP member said, judging from its structure, there was no 
guarantee that the National Agricultural Council will really 
represent the farmers.
 
He also questioned the need for the council to be chaired by the 
prime minister as it could well function at the departmental or 
ministerial level.
 
The overwhelming power of the council to choose farm species and 
to collect premiums on farm product, may turn the council into a 
controlling body rather than giving farmers the freedom enjoyed by 
the industrial and commercial sectors.
 
"We are not sure if they are pushing the matter so hard because 
they want to honour their election promise or because of personal 
interests," the source commented.
 
The PDP does not want to see the council end in a failure like the 
farmers' cooperatives which was riddled with bitter in-fighting 
for personal gains.
 
Judging from its importance, it will be impossible for the PDP to 
quickly endorse the bill especially when its implementation 
entails amendment of several relevant laws, the source explained.
 
The PDP has been viewed as a troublemaker for trying to push 
through certain issues like the declaration of assets by Cabinet 
members and the proposal for elected provincial governors.
 
"The PDP will try to compromise but it will not be able to accept 
the issue if the Democrats insists on quick approval for the 
bill," the source commented.
 
Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Sawat Suebsaiprom of 
the New Aspiration Party said even academics and members of the 
non-governmental organisations have strongly opposed the bill and 
so it will be impossible for the Democrats to win a quick 
approval.
 
Mr Sawat said he understood the Democrat urgency to set up the 
National Agricultural Council because they had promised it to the 
voters during their election campaigns.
 
"But the coalition needs to study the bill thoroughly before 
approving it," he added.
 
He said NAP agreed with the principles of the bill but he was not 
confident that the structure of the council as proposed was 
appropriate.
 
"Every body doubts whether the council will really serve as a 
forum for farmers. They fear that it may turn into a 
representative of merchants," he said.
 
Coalition partners will need to discuss the bill separately first, 
he said.
 
He said he couldn't believe that the Democrats would propose a 
bill of such importance for the Cabinet approval by raising it as 
an unscheduled matter.
 
"We don't want to see this leading to a clash like the governor 
election issue," Mr Sawat commented.
 
Leading agro-economists including Thailand Development Research 
Institute President Ammar Siamwalla and Thammasat University 
lecturer Chirmsak Pinthong have strongly attacked the bill, saying 
it will give too much power to the council, encourage fiscal 
indiscipline and hamper Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai's plan to 
promote the parliamentary system.
 
Mr Chirmsak said that the council should be an independent body 
and should be set up under a legislation similar to the Board of 
Trade and the Federation of Thai Industries.
 
He said the council should represent farmers the same way as the 
Board of Trade represents investors and the Federation of Thai 
Industries represents manufacturers.
 
He said the council should serve as a forum for farmers to air 
their problems and to lobby on policy issues. It should not have 
the power to tax.
 
He also criticised the plan to collect premiums on rice exports 
and to channel the revenue for agricultural development because 
this would depress farm prices. It would also lead to fiscal 
indiscipline because the revenue thus obtained would not be 
subject to the normal budget scrutiny process.
 
The National Agricultural Council Bill has twice before gone to 
Parliament -- in 1987 and 1989 -- but in both cases the House was 
dissolved before the bill could be approved.
 
Mr Suthep said the bill was written as part of the Government's 
policy statement and he would make sure that it is approved during 
the current Parliament session.