Abhisit Seeks Support From Private Sector

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Abhisit seeks support from private sector

By Wichit Chaitrong

The Nation

Democrat leader calls on businesses to invest in 'Moving Thailand Forward

Abhisit Vejjajiva, leader of the Democrat Party woo business leaders to invest in high-speed train, build harbour city, create special economic zones and give tax incentives.

"The government will not do business to compete with private sectors, but will invest in infrastructures and provide incentives for private sectors," Abhisit yesterday told both local and foreign businesses leaders at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center.

The new government led by the Democrat will investment Bt170 billion for upgrading existing rail system, he said at the Democrat's election campaign "Moving Thailand Forward" .

The first phase investment with China would be about Bt150 billion for high speed train linking Nongkhai in the northeast region to Bangkok and the second phase worth Bt230 billion linking the capital to Padang Besar in the southern part, he said.

High speed train linking Bangkok to the Trat in the easthern and Ubon Ratchatani in northeastern would also built, according to Abhisit.

Abhisit promised to turn Laemchabang port into well-developed harbour city and transform polluted Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate into eco-town.

He said the new government would allocate Bt10 billion a year to develop tourism industry.

The government would also consider to use Don Muang Airport as good transport or passenger transport.

Import tariffs on raw material, semi-goods, machinery would be cut as part of plan to position the country to reap benefit of Asean Economic Community, a single market of 700 million consumers, he said.

Special zone for agriculture would be created with investment worth about Bt100 billion, he said.

Special economic zone would also be created and the labour regulations would be more flexible in order to accommodate foreign labours. Foreign labours should also treated as part of Thai economy so they deserve basic welfares, he promised.

Abhisit still insist to raise minimum wage by 25 per cent in two years. To help the business sectors, the government will restructure tax, in particularly corporate income tax and provide tax incentives for companies that increase wages.

Abhisit foresaw the country would benefit from the rising food prices in the global market. The current government has already planned to invest Bt171.5 billion in irrigation to cover 4 million rai of farm land.

He pledged to continue income-guarantee for farmers, arguing that it does not distort the market. While Pheu Thai Party's policy to re-introduce rice-pledging will distort market price and Thailand lose export market to Vietnam, Abhisit claimed.

He still insisted to continue price subsidy for cooking gas and diesel retail prices as part of effort to address rising cost of living.

Abhisit vowed to achieve fiscal balanced in the next four years. He charged his rival Pheu Thai Party's policies would lead to fiscal burden.

-- The Nation 2011-06-04

[tim armstrong]

Promises, promises. But at least his make sense.

[JurgenG]

Basically, it's money for everybody.

It's quite an exhaustive list, I don't think he forgot anybody. Even a word about Don Muang, the golden goose of the military. Do you realize we got a military coup because of a bloody airport ?

More money, less tax, how is he going to pay for everything ?

I said in a previous post that, while Thaksin were developing business links with Singapore, the PAD was singing the praises of the Philippine's people power revolution. I think we're definitively going the Philippine way, down, down down ...

An other ironic parallel is Newin who betrayed democracy in Burma to install the current dictature. I don't know what Chai Chidchob really had in mind when he called his son Newin but his son really lives up to it.

[473geo]

Basically, it's money for everybody.

It's quite an exhaustive list, I don't think he forgot anybody. Even a word about Don Muang, the golden goose of the military. Do you realize we got a military coup because of a bloody airport ?

More money, less tax, how is he going to pay for everything ?

I said in a previous post that, while Thaksin were developing business links with Singapore, the PAD was singing the praises of the Philippine's people power revolution. I think we're definitively going the Philippine way, down, down down ...

An other ironic parallel is Newin who betrayed democracy in Burma to install the current dictature. I don't know what Chai Chidchob really had in mind when he called his son Newin but his son really lives up to it.

Don't put yourself in the same embarrassing situation as some of the regular political posters Jurgen......you see they claimed that supplying the items above list was not practical, and they too were asking where the money was coming from for the above list, and the same posters were basically calling the list above empty populist promises..........

But of course that was when Yingluck was putting forward the ideas......... .

[JurgenG]

I get your point and you're somehow right. The projects in this post are generally good projects but it all depends who is in charge. If you have a strong leader it's going to work. If you have a weak leader with a coalition kept together by bribes, it's going to be a huge waste of tax payer money. Why ? Because all these big projects are going to be excuses for local politicians to extract bribes from contractors. These big projects are not gifts for the people, but for the politicians who will need to decide who to support after the election.

Thaksin is the only one who is strong enough to say I want it and it's going to be done. Abhisit is way too weak for that. With Abhisit, we will still be flying out of Don Muang ....

[whybother]

I get your point and you're somehow right. The projects in this post are generally good projects but it all depends who is in charge. If you have a strong leader it's going to work. If you have a weak leader with a coalition kept together by bribes, it's going to be a huge waste of tax payer money. Why ? Because all these big projects are going to be excuses for local politicians to extract bribes from contractors. These big projects are not gifts for the people, but for the politicians who will need to decide who to support after the election.

Thaksin is the only one who is strong enough to say I want it and it's going to be done. Abhisit is way too weak for that. With Abhisit, we will still be flying out of Don Muang ....

News for you. The PM won't be managing any projects.

edit: and in addition to that - look at all the corruption involved with Suvarnibhumi.

Edited June 4, 2011 by whybother

[rubl]

...

An other ironic parallel is Newin who betrayed democracy in Burma to install the current dictature. I don't know what Chai Chidchob really had in mind when he called his son Newin but his son really lives up to it.

Had to look this up. The reference here seems to be to 'Ne Win' who was a politician and military commander in Myanmar (or Burma as it was called at that time). No idea what that has to do with k. Newin Chidchob a banned politician of the BJT party.

The not too subtle suggestion that also Thailand may have a dictature is strange to say the least especially in the light of a (not yet necessary) House dissolution by the PM and free elections by the 3rd of July with 36 parties participating.

Ah well, the irony of it all

[rixalex]

With Abhisit, we will still be flying out of Don Muang ....

Would it be such a bad thing if we were? Is the new airport that much of an improvement? I'm not so sure it is. I think the location of Don Muang was better and there was plenty of land there that could have been developed on to update and modernise. Extending the existing sky train to there would have been easier than building a new one too. Why start afresh on a new site? And if they were set on doing so, why not at least decide on a plan on what to do with the old airport first, rather than simply leave it to ruin?

I believe what it essentially came down to, more than anything else, was an opportunity for massive graft... and as Celia Black would say, "Surprise, Surprise!", what does Thaksin do?... he grabs with both hands.

Edited June 4, 2011 by rixalex

[Ricardo]

Basically, it's money for everybody.

It's quite an exhaustive list, I don't think he forgot anybody. Even a word about Don Muang, the golden goose of the military. Do you realize we got a military coup because of a bloody airport ?

More money, less tax, how is he going to pay for everything ?

I said in a previous post that, while Thaksin were developing business links with Singapore, the PAD was singing the praises of the Philippine's people power revolution. I think we're definitively going the Philippine way, down, down down ...

An other ironic parallel is Newin who betrayed democracy in Burma to install the current dictature. I don't know what Chai Chidchob really had in mind when he called his son Newin but his son really lives up to it.

"More money, less tax", good question, with all these pre-election promises !

The same question needs also to be put to Pheu Thai, as they're promising 'even more money', the Dems have been floating the idea of a land-tax for some time now, it will certainly be needed, with all these commitments to increase spending. But will the rich stand for it ? Perhaps if it is seen as the lesser of two evils, compared to the return of DL or his clone, to power.

I also agree that Thailand was going the way of the Philippines, with former-PM Thaksin & friends/family, playing the role filled by Marcos in their case, not good news for Thailand. Luckily it was averted. Thaksin clearly admired the single-party family-controlled Singapore-model, when in-power.

And the history of Burma is just so sad, at least Thailand has been able to avoid going that way, thus far. Steering a middle-way between Burma or Indonesia/Phillipines, while slowly but steadily improving the standard-of-living of the people, may be the best that can be achieved here.

[RickBradford]

With Abhisit, we will still be flying out of Don Muang ....

Would it be such a bad thing if we were? Is the new airport that much of an improvement? I'm not so sure it is. I think the location of Don Muang was better and there was plenty of land there that could have been developed on to update and modernise. Extending the existing sky train to there would have been easier than building a new one too. Why start afresh on a new site? And if they were set on doing so, why not at least decide on a plan on what to do with the old airport first, rather than simply leave it to ruin?

I believe what it essentially came down to, more than anything else, was an opportunity for massive graft... and as Celia Black would say, "Surprise, Surprise!", what does Thaksin do?... he grabs with both hands.

Also that the mentality of Thais is very much that they like playing with shiny new toys rather than doing maintenance and modernisation on old sites.

Witness all the abandoned petrol stations littered about the countryside, and even large factories which are simply left to rot.

[pastitche]

I get your point and you're somehow right. The projects in this post are generally good projects but it all depends who is in charge. If you have a strong leader it's going to work. If you have a weak leader with a coalition kept together by bribes, it's going to be a huge waste of tax payer money. Why ? Because all these big projects are going to be excuses for local politicians to extract bribes from contractors. These big projects are not gifts for the people, but for the politicians who will need to decide who to support after the election.

Thaksin is the only one who is strong enough to say I want it and it's going to be done. Abhisit is way too weak for that. With Abhisit, we will still be flying out of Don Muang ....

News for you. The PM won't be managing any projects.

edit: and in addition to that - look at all the corruption involved with Suvarnibhumi.

So will he be involved in the allocation of the contracts? Or if not him, his government. It would be better if you responded occasionally to the point being made.

[whybother]

I get your point and you're somehow right. The projects in this post are generally good projects but it all depends who is in charge. If you have a strong leader it's going to work. If you have a weak leader with a coalition kept together by bribes, it's going to be a huge waste of tax payer money. Why ? Because all these big projects are going to be excuses for local politicians to extract bribes from contractors. These big projects are not gifts for the people, but for the politicians who will need to decide who to support after the election.

Thaksin is the only one who is strong enough to say I want it and it's going to be done. Abhisit is way too weak for that. With Abhisit, we will still be flying out of Don Muang ....

News for you. The PM won't be managing any projects.

edit: and in addition to that - look at all the corruption involved with Suvarnibhumi.

So will he be involved in the allocation of the contracts? Or if not him, his government. It would be better if you responded occasionally to the point being made.

What was the point being made?

Jurgen was talking about strong leadership in relation to big projects. Does that make Thaksin a weak leader, given the corruption happening on big projects during his watch?

Jurgen also talks about coalitions being kept together by bribes. Was he talking about the TRT that bought smaller parties into the fold to win the 2005 election, or the PPP that needed a coalition of parties, including some who campaigned that they wouldn't support the PPP, to form government in 2007. Or maybe the PTP, who have leaders of smaller parties (ie S'noh and Kattiya - Seh Daeng's daughter) running under the PTP banner, and other PTP factional leaders that are leaving to form their own party, only to change their mind?

The fact is, unless the PM personally overseas a project, as Thaksin often did, or they make decisions that effect industries that they have a personal interest in, as Thaksin often did, they have very little control of the contracts and bribes that occur. That is usually dealt with by the various ministers and department heads, or even lower down the chain than that.