PM Reshuffles Cabinet Completely

[george]

PM reshuffles cabinet completely

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has completely reshuffled his cabinet and is in the process of seeking royal endorsement for the appointments of new ministers, according to Government Spokesman Yongyuth Mayalarp.

He said the premier informed the cabinet meeting on Tuesday that the cabinet had been partially reshuffled, with Deputy Prime Minister and Industry Minister Kosit Panpiemras being tasked to oversee

the overall picture of the economy.

Still, the premier did not notify the cabinet how many ministers would be reshuffled or who would assume the finance ministerial post.

Mr. Yongyuth said the government would attempt to speed up carrying out various tasks to ensure they could be done as planned.

The government spokesman stressed that the government had set its target to hold the general election late this year. So, no matter which crisis or change occurred, the government would proceed ahead with determination to reach the goal.

Mr. Kosit said the premier assigned him to supervise the overall economy in place of Pridiyathorn Devakula, who had recently resigned as deputy prime minister and finance minister.

He said the Finance Ministry would be under supervision of the premier who saw a need for coordination between state agencies concerned as well.

On a person suitable for the finance minister post, he said, the premier would consider the matter by himself.

Asked whether Thailand Development and Research Institute's chairman Chalongphob Susangkarn is suitable for the finance minister post, Mr. Kosit said he did not yet know if the TDRI chief had accepted the post.

But personally, he said he viewed Mr. Chalongphob as a good person with a lot of knowledge in the macro-economy.

--TNA 2007-03-07

[Old Man River]

PM reshuffles cabinet completely

Mr. Kosit said the premier assigned him to supervise the overall economy in place of Pridiyathorn Devakula, who had recently resigned as deputy prime minister and finance minister.

He said the Finance Ministry would be under supervision of the premier who saw a need for coordination between state agencies concerned as well.

On a person suitable for the finance minister post, he said, the premier would consider the matter by himself.

--TNA 2007-03-07

We can be sure that the PM has not considered any of the reshuffle by himself. He would have had to first run it by the CNS. Pridiyathorn had been appointed by the CNS, similar to the PM. That caused conflicts. While the PM is now free to put together his own team, it would have to be "blessed" by the CNS first.

It will be interesting to see who is in and who is out.

[cclub75]

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has completely reshuffled his cabinet

"MINOR RESHUFFLE

'Only two new faces' in Surayud Cabinet"

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/03/07...cs_30028692.php

[h90]

Best would have been if he would have reshuffle himself. 4 month are gone and what is done?

Thaksin is still not proved to be a bad guy, TRT is still not resolved.

Poor performance so far....

[Pattayaman]

So he has moved out a load of muppets......................and replaced them with......................muppets

Best would have been if he would have reshuffle himself. 4 month are gone and what is done?

Thaksin is still not proved to be a bad guy, TRT is still not resolved.

Poor performance so far....

[Old Man River]

the Bangkok Post just reported the following:

(BangkokPost.com) - His Majesty the King approved the appointment of Chalongphob Sussangkarn as new finance minister and Paiboon Wattanasiritham as deputy prime minister overseeing social affairs, government spokesman Yongyuth Mayalarp said Wednesday.

Chalongphob is a good man and a real plus for the country.

[farangsay]

So he has moved out a load of muppets......................and replaced them with......................muppets

Best would have been if he would have reshuffle himself. 4 month are gone and what is done?

Thaksin is still not proved to be a bad guy, TRT is still not resolved.

Poor performance so far....

As the French say , the word is weak.

I noticed two recent achievements of this administration.

Addressing the problem of marital rape by making it legal for a wife to

rape her husband

Addressing the problem of spousal abuse by a clampdown on pornography

and bestiality.

[Old Man River]

So he has moved out a load of muppets......................and replaced them with......................muppets

Best would have been if he would have reshuffle himself. 4 month are gone and what is done?

Thaksin is still not proved to be a bad guy, TRT is still not resolved.

Poor performance so far....

As the French say , the word is weak.

I noticed two recent achievements of this administration.

Addressing the problem of marital rape by making it legal for a wife to

rape her husband

Addressing the problem of spousal abuse by a clampdown on pornography

and bestiality.

People are beginning to figure out now just how smart Thaksin is. He could gain, while others took his risks.

The upcoming case on the alleged Krung Thai Bank (KTB) fraud could hit him very close to home.

[slimdog]

Chalongphob is appointed as new finance minister

As expected, Chalongphob Sussangkarn is appointed as new Finance Minister, replacing Pridiyathorn Devakula who resigned last week.

Social Development Minister Paiboon Wattanasiritham will serve as deputy prime minister also.

Government spokesman Yongyuth Maiyalarp said HM the King has approved cabinet reshuffle which would also see Poladej Pinpradab, secretary to Social development minister, is appointed as deputy social development minister.

Dr Morakot Kornkasem, former Food and Drug Administration, becomes deputy public health minister.

source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/03/07...es_30028720.php

[cclub75]

The upcoming case on the alleged Krung Thai Bank (KTB) fraud could hit him very close to home.

How many "upcoming cases", very promising, we had since the coup in september.... ?

People don't even recall all of them.

ASC gives information ("yeah we found a new case!"), then creates a "sub sub committee of a sub pannel" to investigate.... Then ?

Nothing. Nada.

I would like you to remind you, what the Funny General Sonthi said last week, in his interview with Times Magazine.

"The reason we have taken so much time is that the Assets Scrutiny Committee is a very small organization. It is small because we intended it to be small. Not many people are working there because of the need-to-know basis, and the confidential information we need to keep limited to a small community. "

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/...1594996,00.html

I translate : they work slowly, because they have a small team. But it's on purpose, so we can keep confidentiality...

Enough comedy !

So, at one point we need to aknowledge : they are all bozos. Totally unable to do something properly, even against somebody who is (supposed) to be their ennemy.

They are useless.

Yes, I start to really regret Thaksin... The man is a crook, okay, but at least he has more brain power than the old sad clowns who "run" the current government...

Edited March 7, 2007 by cclub75

[wintermute]

the Bangkok Post just reported the following:

(BangkokPost.com) - His Majesty the King approved the appointment of Chalongphob Sussangkarn as new finance minister and Paiboon Wattanasiritham as deputy prime minister overseeing social affairs, government spokesman Yongyuth Mayalarp said Wednesday.

Chalongphob is a good man and a real plus for the country.

We'll see how he does first before hyping him up. At the moment he just needs to do an average job to beat his predecessor in performance. My expectations are pretty low though because I feel a lot of the FBA rules/currency control nonsense was part of the CNS policy on foreign relations.

[John K]

So who is who now? Or do we need wait for the new name cards to be printed.

[bingobongo]

apparantly SET investors were not impressed....

"The market barely reacted to appointment of a new finance minister since investors would have preferred a more pro-market minister than the academically oriented choice of Chalongphob Sussangkarn."

Thai Shares Fall After Foreign Selling

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/03/07/ap3492573.html

[Bagwan]

Why do the Thais think it necessary to play Musical Managers, Musical Generals and Musical Policemen? Have they never heard of continuity? Governments and large organisations are like oil tankers; they take a lot of time to turn round. As soon as anybody has got his/her feet under the table and started to function the band strikes up again and he/she gets moved on.

There is one prime exception to this and he was a long standing police chief who held his position for at least 4 years. My guess was that like J. Edgar Hoover, he knew where all the bodies were buried and was therefore fire proof.

[John K]

I must admit the word reshuffle vs the word replace confuses me. Am I seeing this the right way or is this just one of those Thai things? Can someone explain the logic behind this. The only reason I can see is to break the roots of corruption that may be forming under a given position.

[John K]

This is a bit like having a car with a flat tire and moving the flat from the right front to the left front.

Cabinet reshuffle offers old wine in a new bottle

Hopes that the PM could revive his flagging political fortunes with a revamp

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has disappointed his supporters and political observers, as the Cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday showed no "fresh" faces in the line-up.

With the popularity of his government continuously plunging, a major Cabinet reshuffle had been expected to be a "golden" opportunity to shore up public faith and ensure its survival. This was especially true following the abrupt departure of former deputy prime minister and finance minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula on February 28 and the controversial iTV case.

Observers and politicians speculated the prime minister would seize the chance to get rid of controversial, inactive or incompetent ministers.

They include PM's Office Minister Thirapat Serirangsan, Social Development and Human Security Minister Paiboon Wattanasiritham, Education Minister Wijit Srisa-an, Agriculture Minister Thira Sutabutra, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Kasem Sanidwong na Ayudhaya, Commerce Minister Krirk-krai Jirapaet and Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram.

The entire Cabinet was even urged to resign, in order to pave the way for Surayud completely to revamp the line-up, as they were alleged to be living in an "ivory tower" and had lost touch with the people.

A Cabinet reshuffle was believed to offer a fresh start to enable the government to regain the public's trust.

However, no such a change took place on Wednesday. No incumbent ministers are out of the line-up.

Moreover, the new finance minister and three other Cabinet faces are old wine in a new bottle. They have all been in the government since the junta approved Surayud as the new premier last October.

New Finance Minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn was an economic adviser to the government.

Paiboon Wattanasiritham only adds the role of newly appointed deputy prime minister to his portfolio while he is still serving as minister for social development and human security.

Poldej Pinpratheep, who has been appointed deputy minister for social development and human security, was Paiboon's secretary.

Dr Morakot Kornkasem becomes deputy public-health minister. He was previously adviser to Public Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla.

Political sources argued Surayud might have planned a major reshuffle following Pridiyathorn's resignation, since he could no longer bear the sagging popularity and growing criticism over the inefficiency of his administration.

The government was said to have approached such well-known figures as former Bank of Thailand governor MR Chatu Mongol Sonakul and former deputy governor Ekamol Khiriwat.

However, few outstanding portfolios were believed to dare risk their reputation to work for Surayud, especially as they took the cases of Pridiyathorn and Somkid Jatusripitak to be tragedies of an incompetent premiership.

PM's Office Minister Thirapat was believed to be getting the axe after Pridiyathorn pointed a finger at him for prompting his resignation.

The former deputy PM was upset with Thirapat, who allowed media figure Sondhi Limthongkul's political talk show to broadcast on state-run Channel 11. Sondhi had used his television stage to attack Pridiyathorn.

Surayud not only failed to protect Pridiyathorn, but also passed responsibility for handling the issue to the Public Relations Department, because Sondhi's programme was alleged to have violated broadcasting law.

Even though it was believed the morale of the government's economic team would suffer if Thirapat were allowed to keep his job, Surayud preferred to see the PM's Office minister in his Cabinet.

A week before Pridiyathorn departed, Somkid resigned as the prime minister's special envoy tasked with fostering a better understanding within the international community of the sufficiency-economic theory. This was less than a week after his appointment.

Allegedly, the architect of the Thai Rak Thai Party's populist policies, Somkid was attacked for being a legacy of deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Surayud came under political pressure to explain why he had picked a Thaksin man, since doing so contradicted the junta's claim during the September 19 military coup that it had to sort out the mess caused by Thaksin's controversial policies, which included Thaksinomics and the deposed PM's lavish populist schemes.

Instead of defending himself and Somkid, Surayud chose to let Somkid depart, allegedly to keep his image free from dirt.

Although Privy Council President General Prem Tinsulanonda on Wednesday threw his support behind Surayud and the administration in his first political remarks in months, the public's faith in the prime minister seems to be running out.

Surayud has no choice but to push his new Cabinet to "create" what the people can feel and touch.

Otherwise, the junta might lose its patience and throw him out of the next Cabinet line-up.

Weerayut Chokchaimadon

The Nation

[slimdog]

General denies knowing bribe suspects

Council for National Security (CNS) chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin on Friday denied that a colonel arrested for fraud charges had worked for the CNS. He insisted he would never has such a person on his team.

On Thursday, the police arrested Colonel Nattaporn Chaithongkham along with a civilian Attaphan Maneechotewichanat, for using the name of CNS secretarygeneral General Winai Phattiyakul to ask for Bt40 million from Panatthana Tamprateep, editor and owner of the Kha Phandin Siam newspaper in exchange for a ministerial seat.

Nattaporn, attached to the Supreme Command Headquarters, claimed he was a Winai's "close aide" and a headhunter searching for people to join the Cabinet.

Panatthana said the two men told him he was a "favourite choice" and would get into the Cabinet if he gave Bt40 million to back the candidacy.

However, the recent Cabinet reshuffle saw no fresh faces in the new lineup although he had paid the money. Winai strongly denied knowing the suspects.

Both suspects denied fraud charges. Nattaporn used his position to secure bail. Attaphan placed 100,000 baht bail.

Sonthi warned the public to be aware of a number of people who had illegally claimed that they worked for the CNS in order to do mischief.

Supreme Commander Gen Boonsang Niempradit said he did not believe any CNS leaders would back Colonel Nattaporn to ask for the bribe.

However, the case would not make the public lose faith in the CNS as it was conducted by individuals, he said.

source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/03/09...es_30028936.php

[farangsay]

General denies knowing bribe suspects

Council for National Security (CNS) chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin on Friday denied that a colonel arrested for fraud charges had worked for the CNS. He insisted he would never has such a person on his team.

On Thursday, the police arrested Colonel Nattaporn Chaithongkham along with a civilian Attaphan Maneechotewichanat, for using the name of CNS secretarygeneral General Winai Phattiyakul to ask for Bt40 million from Panatthana Tamprateep, editor and owner of the Kha Phandin Siam newspaper in exchange for a ministerial seat.

Nattaporn, attached to the Supreme Command Headquarters, claimed he was a Winai's "close aide" and a headhunter searching for people to join the Cabinet.

Panatthana said the two men told him he was a "favourite choice" and would get into the Cabinet if he gave Bt40 million to back the candidacy.

However, the recent Cabinet reshuffle saw no fresh faces in the new lineup although he had paid the money. Winai strongly denied knowing the suspects.

Both suspects denied fraud charges. Nattaporn used his position to secure bail. Attaphan placed 100,000 baht bail.

Sonthi warned the public to be aware of a number of people who had illegally claimed that they worked for the CNS in order to do mischief.

Supreme Commander Gen Boonsang Niempradit said he did not believe any CNS leaders would back Colonel Nattaporn to ask for the bribe.

However, the case would not make the public lose faith in the CNS as it was conducted by individuals, he said.

source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/03/09...es_30028936.php

Tell me I didn't read this right or my maths are out of date.

The allegation is they took a 40 million bribe. Presumably the sucker shopped them when

the ministerial Mercedes never showed up and had something to back up his claim.

One accused gets free bail (because he's a colonel) and the other guy has to put up 100k.

Oh forget it. It's not really worth discussing is it.

[1Rai.com]

It's still early days yet, but I for one am happy with the appointment of Chalongphob; I'd prefer him as finance minister to Pridiyathorn any day, but then my opinion is biased in favour of foreign investment. We should remember that not everyone agrees with that, and the aim is to get to some point of equilibrium that is most beneficial for Thailand, now and in the future.

Two things he's come out and said immediately are:

1. Stricter foreign investment rules endorsed by Cabinet in January were too broad and should be scrapped.

2. Foreign investor confidence in the government's policies has been weakened significantly. Any new policies should not harm confidence further.

I must admit the word reshuffle vs the word replace confuses me. Am I seeing this the right way or is this just one of those Thai things? Can someone explain the logic behind this. The only reason I can see is to break the roots of corruption that may be forming under a given position.

“Consumers have held up spending and saved their money instead because of lower confidence in the economy”, said Apisak Tantivorawong, president of Krung Thai Bank Pcl. “The appointment of a new finance minister may help restore that confidence with new economic policies.”

Does that get any closer to explaining it? Basically, one guy didn't work out, so they're moving on to the next to bring in some more changes. I hope they work.

[Jai Dee]

The Cabinet assigns new tasks to ministers after the Cabinet reshuffle

The Cabinet has re-assigned various tasks to all ministers after the Cabinet reshuffle. the Public Health Ministry has proposed its ministerial regulations concerning the legal duty of medicine producers, importers, and distributors in the kingdom.

Prime Minister's Office Minister Khunying Thipawadi Meksawan (ทิพาวดี เมฆสวรรค์) will inform the progress of TITV case, including the prosecution against the channel and the TITV management plan.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry, Mr. Kosit Panpeamrat (โฆสิต ปั้นเปี่ยมรัษฎ์ ), will present ideas in developing structures and managements of state organizations and ask for the consideration from the government in allocating budgets to support local administrative organizations.

The Minister of Education, Prof. Dr. Wichit Srisa-arn (วิจิตร ศรีสอ้าน), will put forward the five-year strategy for the national welfare and its operation plan to the Cabinet.

At the same time, Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) under Justice Ministry will inform the Thailand-Sweden Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to prevent and suppress money laundering among the two countries.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 13 March 2007

[Jai Dee]

Thai PM sets duties for two deputy prime ministers

Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has allocated a division of duties between Deputy Prime Ministers Kosit Panpiamras and Paiboon Wattanasiritham.

Thai News Agency on Tuesday quoted Kosit, who concurrently serves as Industry Minister, as saying that Surayud will personally supervise portfolios of promoting the people's welfare and the Finance Ministry, while Kosit himself will oversee the Commerce Ministry, the Energy Ministry and the Industry Ministry.

Paiboon, who is also Social Development and Human Security minister, will oversee the Public Health Ministry, the Education Ministry, the Culture Ministry and the Social Development and Human Security Ministry.

Both ministers are scheduled to chair separate meetings of ministers in charge of portfolios under their respective supervision in an effort to boost the country's economic potential and promote good-governance principles.

The allocation follows a reshuffle in the post-coup cabinet earlier this month, in which Surayud appointed a new Finance Minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn to fill the vacancy left by Pridiyathorn Devakul, who announced resignation from both posts of finance minister and deputy prime minister on Feb. 28, and assigned Paiboon as a deputy prime minister to help the prime minister to oversee social affairs.

The adjusted lineup also saw two deputy ministers appointed respectively in the Public Health and Social Development Ministries.

Source: Xinhua - 13 March 2007

[Jai Dee]

Democrat Party spokesman tells PM not to be too nice when reshuffling Cabinet

Democrat Party spokesman Ong-art Klampaiboon says Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont should not be too kindhearted when he has to manage the Cabinet reshuffle, if he wants to solve national and social problems.

Mr. Ong-art says there are no signs that the Prime Minister will resign because he believes the Prime Minister has practiced dharma and deliberated ways to solve different issues in the country. Mr. Ong-aft says Gen. Surayud has to deal with two types of problems.

The first is national problems and the second deals with governmental problems. Mr. Ong-art says national problems derive from the government of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and some of them are corruption, populist policy, and the violence in the three southern border provinces. Mr. Ong-art says the problems have affected national security and economy, and they also cause social disunity. He says the problems have not been solved in the past five to six years.

The Democrat Party spokesman says governmental problems originate from the government’s method of prioritizing its tasks. He says the government should be aware that the situation in the country is not yet normal when prioritizing its tasks.

In addition, he says certain ministers may not work in sync with the government and their works do not progress as a consequence.

Mr. Ong-art says he would like the government to work more quickly and cautiously while ensuring that the performance will generate concrete results.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 16 March 2007