Muslim politicians in deep South announce new party ‘Pracha Chat’

By The Nation

 

Najmuddeen Uma

 

The Wadah group of Muslim politicians, as well as other former MPs in the three southernmost border provinces, have agreed to form a new political party to contest the next election, a member said on Monday.

 

Najmuddeen Uma, a former Matubhum Party MP for Narathiwat, said the group was in the process of compiling a list of at least 500 co-founders for the new party, as required by law.

 

Their new party would be registered under the name “Pracha Chat”, which literally means “nation”, he said.

 

The politician said a recent survey of more than 1,000 local residents in the Muslim-majority southern border provinces found that about 70 per cent of respondents agreed that Muslim politicians should have their own political party.

 

“We discussed this matter with former MPs from the Wadah group and former MPs in the three southern border provinces from other political parties. And they agreed with the idea,” Najmuddeen said.

 

He also said the new party would take a neutral stance regarding the ongoing conflict in the deep South, which has left thousands of people dead following attacks by insurgents.

 

“We see that nobody else knows the problem better than us,” he said, adding that the Wadah group had previously implemented many policies to tackle problems in the region.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/politics/30341764

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-03-26

Interesting to see if their popularity explodes

30 minutes ago, webfact said:

about 70 per cent of respondents agreed that Muslim politicians should have their own political party.

How islamic of them

Southern Muslim politicians to set up ‘neutral’ new party

By THE NATION

 

 

THE WADAH group of Muslim politicians, backed by local residents and former MPs in the three southernmost border provinces, has resolved to form a new political party to contest the next election, a member said yesterday.

 

They seem to be buoyed by the region’s votes against the junta-backed constitutional draft in the 2016 referendum, according to political observers, who said that many votes would come from people who dislike the junta. 

 

And the new electoral system, in which “every vote counts”, should help them gain more MP seats than in previous elections, the observers added.

 

Najmuddeen Uma, a former Matubhum Party MP for Narathiwat, said the group was in the process of compiling a list of at least 500 co-founders for the new party, as required by law. Their new party would be registered under the name “Pracha Chat”, which literally means “nation”, he said. 

 

The politician said a recent survey of more than 1,000 local residents in the Muslim-majority southern border provinces found that about 70 per cent of respondents agreed that Muslim politicians should have their own political party.

 

Prominent members of the Wadah group include former House of Representatives speaker and former transport minister Wan Muhammad Noor Matha, former deputy interior minister Den Tohmeena, and former deputy education minister Areepen Uttarasin.

 

Wadah was a faction within the New Aspiration Party and became part of the Pheu Thai Party after NAP was merged into Thaksin Shinawatra’s Thai Rak Thai Party, which was Pheu Thai’s predecessor. Some of the group’s members also joined Matubhum Party, which was formed by former coup leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin.

 

“We discussed this matter with former MPs from the Wadah group and former MPs in the three southern border provinces from other political parties. And they agreed with the idea,” Najmuddeen said. 

 

He also said the new party would take a neutral stance regarding the ongoing conflict in the deep South, which has left thousands of people dead following attacks by insurgents. 

 

“We see that nobody knows the problem better than us,” he said, adding that the Wadah group had previously implemented many policies to tackle problems in the region.

 

Meanwhile, the Democrat Party deputy leader, Nipit Intarasombat, said yesterday that he saw only “little impact” of a new Wadah party on his own party. “Wadah doesn’t reflect the real identity of the southern border region,” he said.

 

The Democrats have won most – and sometimes all – MP seats from southern provinces in previous elections.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/politics/30341809

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-03-27

They never forgave Thailand for colonizing them 100 years ago. Karma sucks!

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Southern Muslim politicians to set up ‘neutral’ new party

not great news; islam is a form of government with an embedded religion; causes trouble everywhere it goes; when it comes to a 'muslim political party' (read:islamic), i get racist tendencies

3 hours ago, YetAnother said:

not great news; islam is a form of government with an embedded religion; causes trouble everywhere it goes; when it comes to a 'muslim political party' (read:islamic), i get racist tendencies

Maybe if we ( the west) don't intervene in their own problems we will be safe...me think..

7 hours ago, YetAnother said:

islam is a form of government with an embedded religion

Then is not Thai Buddhism a form of government with an embedded religion?

The Head of State is required to be Buddhist and Buddhism is embedded throughout the government

10 hours ago, webfact said:

The Democrats have won most – and sometimes all – MP seats from southern provinces in previous elections.

Those wins have been largely through the efforts of former Democrat Deputy Prime Minister Suthep with the financial backing of the southern rubber plantation owners. Since the 2014 coup Suthep has led the Rubber Network to actively solicited PM Prayut for rubber farmer subsidies. Suthep more recently indicated he may split from the Democrats with his own new pro-military political party in the next election.

So maybe in part the WADAH group sees an opportunity to gain some parliament seats if that split occurs.

Good move let them participate and their voices to be heard instead of violence.

so they communicate in their own private "chat" room?

 

7 hours ago, Srikcir said:

Then is not Thai Buddhism a form of government with an embedded religion?

The Head of State is required to be Buddhist and Buddhism is embedded throughout the government

Which is fair enough as Buddhism is a great religion. Islam causes problems everywhere.