Democrats slam govt failure on rising prices

The Nation on Sunday

BANGKOK:-- Democrat Party spokesman Chavanont Intarakomalyasut yesterday called for the removal of the commerce minister and the Commerce Ministry permanent secretary for their failure to contain rising prices.

The spokesman criticised the government's measures to tackle price rises as merely lip service.

Chavanont praised Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra for admitting that Thais are facing a problem of rising prices but he said he was disappointed that the government had not taken appropriate or correction measures to tackling the situation.

"The government has invented phrases like 'cheap across the land' to overshadow the fact that everything is expensive," he said.

Chavanont added that the list of goods that are subjected to price control are only a few vegetables such as kennel, morning glory, cabbage, tomato, coriander, onion leeks and lime, as listed on the website of the Internal Trade Department. In reality, the price of every vegetable has risen sharply: for instance, the controlled price of kennel is Bt30 per kilogram, but the vegetable is actually sold for Bt40 per kg.

The Democrat spokesman questioned Commerce Ministry permanent secretary Yanyong Phuangrach about where the ministry could buy a school uniform for boys at Bt91.69 per set, because the House Committee on Parliamentary Affairs had surveyed the market and found that a school shirt costs Bt192 and a pair of shorts costs Bt335, four times higher than the controlled price. He said a school uniform for girl students has been set at Bt133.67, but in reality a school blouse alone costs Bt205 and a skirt another Bt295.

Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyaphirom admitted yesterday that ready-to-eat food in Bangkok is over-priced but refused to heed the call from the opposition to remove Yanyong for failure to solve the price rise, saying the permanent secretary did not make any mistakes.

He said generally the price of goods is at acceptable levels but the ready-to-eat meals in Bangkok's malls and supermarkets are too expensive, although they are subjected to price control. He said the government would monitor the price of goods consistently.

Meanwhile, the prime minister has instructed economic ministers to today survey food prices in fresh markets in Bangkok, Nakhon Pathom, Ratchaburi and Chon Buri to check the cause of price rises, Deputy Government Spokesman Anusorn Iamsa-ard said.

-- The Nation 2012-05-13

I'm probably the last one to be a government supporter of any party because of the obvious bulls**t they say and do, but for them to say that prices haven't increased and we are just imagining it is totally a lie. They obviously think the public are dumba**es. This past Friday I bought 27 bags of concrete at 120 baht per bag. Saturday morning I bought the same bag of concrete at the same place and paid 125 baht a bag. Last month I bought the same concrete at the same place and paid 115 baht a bag. Yet, the corrupt government says we just think prices are increasing. They are the ones that are stupid to think we don't notice. I guess if one doesn't have to work for their money, they wouldn't notice.

I'm probably the last one to be a government supporter of any party because of the obvious bulls**t they say and do, but for them to say that prices haven't increased and we are just imagining it is totally a lie. They obviously think the public are dumba**es. This past Friday I bought 27 bags of concrete at 120 baht per bag. Saturday morning I bought the same bag of concrete at the same place and paid 125 baht a bag. Last month I bought the same concrete at the same place and paid 115 baht a bag. Yet, the corrupt government says we just think prices are increasing. They are the ones that are stupid to think we don't notice. I guess if one doesn't have to work for their money, they wouldn't notice.

Concrete? If you mean cement the price has been increasing and decreasing on a daily basis, depending on demand, (or lack of it) for the past 25 years

What makes me sad is that a week or so AFTER she announces that prices are going down she decides to investigate whether or not it's true.