The cabinet meeting on Monday, 13 February 2012 has come to the following decision:
The Cabinet agrees to draft the a royal decree to declare that this previously public land is now privately owned at Na-an district, Loey. The Office of the Council of State and the Ministry of Interior have approved to proceed.
The Importance of the royal decree
??The publicly owned land at Na-an district in Loey is now privately owned in total of 60 Rai.
?The Cabinet agrees with the Ministry of Transportation as follows
1. Approves the MRTA to get a loan from the Ministry of Finance for the construction of the Blue line sky train, Hua Lumpong-Bang Kae and Bang Sue-Tha Pra, which costs 52,460 million Baht and 1,221 million Baht for the consultants. The total amount is 54,413 million Baht.
2. Approves the MRTA to get a loan from the Ministry of Finance for the construction, consultation, and the provision sum of the Green line sky train, Bearing-Samutprakarn which cost about 17,838 million Baht.
3. Bureau of Budget is responsible for the budget for MRTA to pay back the creditors including the principal and the interest. MRTA will pay back the later.
?However, the MRTA has planned the project efficiently and practically so it will not cause any long-term problem for the Bureau of Budget.
?The cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Interior as follows:
1. The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) is approved to proceed the construction project of submarine cable system to several islands (Koh Kood and Koh Mak, Trat) in the allowance of 1,143 million baht which includes 1,059 million baht of domestic loan and 354 million baht of the PEA income. The Cabinet also gives an approval to the domestic loan of 1,059 million baht.
2. Extending the process of forming the plan for national coral management approved by the Cabinet on March 3, 1992 that will lead to the construction project of submarine cable system to several islands (Koh Kood and Koh Mak, Trat).
?The Cabinet agrees and approves the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as follows:
1. Giving the consent to the draft of the joint statement of general cooperation between Thai government and Malaysian government.
2. The Prime Minister is approved to sign the joint statement.
3. In any case, if it is necessary to make any change to the draft of joint statement that is not very significant before the signing begins, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall proceed without having to consulting the Cabinet.
The Draft of Joint Statement contains the same details as other joint statement that Thailand made with other countries. It includes broad information about the cooperation that Thailand and Malaysia aim to have with each other in the future. The summaries are as follows:
1. Recovering the existing joint cooperation strategies including annual meeting between the Prime Ministers of Thailand and Malaysia, Thai-Malay Joint Commissions (JC) meeting, Thai-Malay Joint Development Strategy Commissions meeting, General Border Committees meeting, and High Level Committees meeting. Thailand is prepared to organize the 12th JC meeting and the 3rd JDS meeting in the first half year of 2012.
2. Speeding up the unfinished memorandum of understand/agreement negotiation which includes the agreement on border crossing, the agreement on land transportations, the draft of memorandum of understand on the cooperation against human trafficking, and the signing for memorandum of understand on the cooperation for youth and sports.
3. Supporting the cooperation of trading and investment in Third World countries.
4. Satisfying the cooperation of energy between the Petroleum Authority of Thailand limited company (PTT) and the Petronas limited company.
5. Supporting the cooperation of solving problems around the border which are the problems of both countries such as drug smuggling, human trafficking, and illegal weapons smuggling.
6. Speeding up the cooperation for economic development, fundamental structure, and human resource development under JDS which will be proceeded according to the agenda that both sides agreed, especially the construction of Ko-Lok river bridge between Narathiwat and Kelantan, the integration of development plan in special economic zone of Sadao-Bukit Kayu Hitam, and the official opening of Ban Prakob boundary barrier, Songkhla.
?As the office of the National Economic and Social Development Board suggested, the cabinet acknowledged the 3 months achievements (September-November) of the cabinet of Yingluck Shinawatra’s Administration.
1. The situation in improving the country under the cabinet of Yingluck Shinawatra in 3 months.
?Before this cabinet administrated the country in August 2011, Thai economy is affected by the world’s deflation and the flood crisis which occurred since September. This crisis affected lives and assets. It also affected around 2.3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which would cause Thai economy to grow only 1.5%, which is lower than the August 22nd’s expectation of 3.5-4.0%. The inflation rate would be 3.8%, the household’s consumption might grow 4.7%, the exportation (in US dollars) would grow 17.2%, and the surplus current account is 2.2% of GDP.
?The flood situation caused the value of October 2011 exportation to be 17,192 million US dollars, which grow only 0.3% compared to this period in the previous year. The situation continuously affected the value of November 2011 exportation to be 15,498 million US dollars, which is 12.4% decrease from last year. However, the agriculturists’ income increased in September-October 2011 with the growth of 23.8% and 13.3%, which derived from the growth in production and the price of agricultural products. Also, after the government performed the Paddy Pledge Project, the price of Thai Jasmine Rice paddy increased from 12,331.4 Baht per ton, in the first 8 months of the year, to be 13,275.0 14,265.2 and 15,219.0 Baht per ton in September, October and November, respectively. As well as the price of rice paddy which rose from 8,618.0 Baht per ton, in the first 8 months of the year, to be 9,949.0 10,217.4 and 10,305.0 Baht per ton in September, October and November, respectively.
2. The relief and recovery for the flood victims.
?Many Thai people were suffering from the flood crisis in October-November 2011. Thus, the government proceeded
2.1 Established the Flood Relief Operation Center (FROC) on October 8th, 2011 which takes care of water management, helping people, planning for the evacuation, preparing the living places for the flood victims, facilitating for the travelling and transportation, servicing food, helping people through the Call Center, producing and distributing drinking water, setting up the temporary dwellings, giving out the relief bags to the victims, and assisting in medical profession and public health by curing the patients, managing the mobile medical care services, handing out the medicine, servicing health care in the dwellings, shifting the patients out of the living places, also providing the mental remedy unit to screen the mental health problems.
2.2 On October 18th, 2011, the cabinet agreed to determine the ways and steps in relieving and recovering the flood victims into 4 phases and conclude the achievement as below:
1) Solving the Urgent Issues Phase build the ridge to resist the water in the flooding areas, set up the water pumps to drain the water, prevent the community and industries areas from the flood, and establish the Disaster Mitigation Center, managed by government sectors and armed forces, to help and deliver the relief supplies, such as relief bags, food, drinking water, medicines, consumer goods, necessaries of life and conduct the transportation for the evacuation of the flood victims and patients.
?2) The support and assistance in high-level water area
Providing data based information for flood rehabilitationand operational plan to solve the flooding crisis in 2011 along with integrating satellite data, geo-information and basic data of all the units that is involved to demonstrate the flooding area, directions water will drain as well assurveillance and disease control at the resident place. Also,coordination center will he helping the exporters both agricultural and industrial. Repairing tools and machines that were destroyed from the flood along with putting outtaxes measures and contributions to flood victims,manufacturers, working labor and other citizens.
?3) The rehabilitation after water has receded
Putting out measures and help agriculture that was affectedby the flood. The cabinet resolved on 25th of August 2011 to assist agricultural-related flood victims in 2011 starting from rainy season of the same year (1st May 2011) forregistered agricultures (crops, fishery and livestock) including the rice seed, animal food reserve, mineral and medical supply in stock. Moreover, establishing 4 other committees 1) Flood Recovery and Restoration Committee2) Flood Recovery and Restoration Committee on Economy, Industry and Livelihood 3) Flood Recovery and Restoration Committee on Quality of Life and 4) Flood Recovery and Restoration Committee on Infrastructure.
?4) Permanent reconstruction
By establishing 2 committees to permanently reconstruct the fundamental structure of the country 1) Strategic Committee for Reconstruction and Future Developmentplans out strategies for reconstruction and future development of the country; reconstructing themanufacturing and services strategy, new economic area development strategy, fundamental structure and securitydevelopment strategy 2) Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management.
3. Urgent measures that will proceed in the first year will aim for recovery and restoration for those who were affected by the violence, full-service drug defense andrevision along with drug suppression and counter corruption in civil service. Also, developing the data based of prone to flooding and drought areas in 25 different rivers. Data based on climate changes and the construction of different size of irrigation to prevent drought and flooding risks.
Southern unrest problems will also be handled as well as the development of cooperation with borders coordinating countries and other regions. Inflation and gas prices problems for people and manufacturers, the solution is to defer the money colleting time to fuel oil funds for benzene 95, 91, diesel as well as extend the time session for LPG gas price for household and transportation to reduce consumers’ burden. Engage in the credit card project for public transportation NGV users, extending the time for measure that helps reduce people’s cost of living in terms of transportation. Improving the quality of life by raising the minimum payment to 300baht/day, daily retirement money for seniors, reducing taxes for juristic entity, first household and supporting assets for manufacturers, farmers and the citizen.
--Cabinet Meeting (Yingluck Shinawatra) February 13, 2012--