From: kamol@ipied.tu.ac.TH (Kamol Hengkietisak)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.thai
Subject: Bangkok Post Nov 19: Opposition blasts Govt's delays
Date: 19 Nov 1992 14:32:37 +1100
Organization: Mail/News gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: munnari.oz.au


THE Opposition yesterday accused the Government of shirking its 
responsibility by failing to take action against suspected stock 
manipulators who caused the stock index to plunge more than 50 
points in trading yesterday morning.
 
Chart Thai MP Nevin Chidchob said the Government should have taken 
action earlier to avert the collapse.
 
He said key Cabinet economic ministers vested with public faith 
when the Government came into office had failed the people by not 
acting when the trading volume on the SET board doubled recently.
 
"The economic ministers who are financiers and bankers should have 
heeded the warning signals when the trading volume increased from 
between 5,000 million and 6,000 million baht a day to between 
10,000 million and 20,000 million baht," he said.
 
Mr Nevin said the decision to take action against 11 investors led 
by Song Watcharaviroj was discriminatory because they were being 
made scapegoats while the real culprits were allowed to go free.
 
He said the Government should have quelled rumours of the possible 
arrest of Mr Song and his associates as it led to panic selling on 
the market.
 
The Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Interior Minister or the SET 
should have said the rumours were groundless instead of letting 
uncertainty prevail.
 
"Every party has passed the buck, including the Government and the 
Securities Exchange Commission. The real problem is the 
over-extension of loans (to stock investors) and it is the direct 
responsibility of the Bank of Thailand to take action," the Buri 
Ram MP said.
 
Mr Nevin said there were fears there might be some collaboration 
between commercial banks if the Government fails to take action 
since the developments on the SET indicate a network of 
collaborators.
 
He also criticised the SET action to suspend the trading of 
certain stocks and then lift the suspension without giving any 
explanation.
 
Mr Nevin said things could turn critical if the index dipped below 
850 points.
 
The Opposition will call for a restructure of the SET and its 
performance and a correction in shortcomings in regulating laws to 
restore confidence in the stock market.
 
Otherwise an incident similar to the collapse of Chamoy's 
revolving funds might occur and foreign investment would be 
withdrawn to exacerbate the situation, he said.
 
Chart Thai MP Chongchai Thiengtham said the House Financial 
Affairs Committee would invite the Finance Minister, SEC members, 
SET executives and Mr Song to give testimony at its meeting today 
on what was happening in the stock market.
 
Mr Chongchai, who chairs the committee, said he objected to a 
government injection of more than 10,000 million baht to shore up 
the market.
 
He said this was not the way to solve the problem. 
 
Mr Chongchai said those who usually gain from trading stocks are 
powerful people, while small investors who are ordinary people who 
have savings in commercial banks are those most affected from 
stock manipulation.
 
Chart Thai spokesman Decha Sukharom said the Opposition was 
gathering information into reports that Mr Song had connections 
with members of some coalition parties.
 
The Opposition could use this information to launch a censure 
debate against the Government sooner than expected, he said.
 
Mr Nevin, in an apprarent reference to a statement by Interior 
Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh about Mr Song, asked who should be 
held responsible when a senior person backed another as a good and 
religious man.