Thai MPs vote Wan Muhamad Noor Matha as new House Speaker - CNA

BANGKOK: Veteran Muslim politician from Thailand’s far south Wan Muhamad Noor Matha became the country’s new Speaker of the House of Representatives after he was nominated for the position in parliament on Tuesday (Jul 4) without any contender.

He was nominated by Mr Pita Limjaroenrat, a prime minister hopeful and leader of the Move Forward Party, which won an unexpected victory in the general election on May 14.

The nomination took place in a parliamentary session where newly elected members of parliament (MPs) gathered to select the new House Speaker, First Deputy Speaker and Second Deputy Speaker.

Seventy-nine-year-old Wan Muhamad delivered a speech to the parliamentarians after being selected for the House Speaker position, vowing to perform his duties with transparency, honesty and respect to the Constitution, laws, and parliamentary regulations.

“I shall be politically impartial while performing my duties,” he said.

“I will work with the two persons who will become Deputy Speakers to determine a systematic method of considering draft bills, motions and enquiries in order to enable the members to carry out their duties with full capability for the benefit of the people,” he added.

Mr Wan Muhamad also promised to support the work of every parliamentary committee to solve the people’s problems as well as promote and develop democracy in the country.

The new House Speaker is the leader of the Prachachat Party. The party joined Move Forward and Pheu Thai to form a coalition with five other allies after the general election in May, when Mr Pita’s party emerged as the winner with 151 seats.

Together, the eight coalition parties have 312 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives.

The House Speaker position was a source of disagreement between Move Forward and Pheu Thai over the past months as both parties set their sights on the top post of the legislative branch.

On Monday, they held a joint press conference to announce they had agreed to nominate the Prachachat Party leader as the House Speaker.

The House Speaker controls the joint sitting of parliament, which includes MPs and senators. This means Mr Wan Muhamad will preside over the joint sitting where both the House of Representatives and the Senate vote on the next prime minister of Thailand.

For Mr Pita to become prime minister, he needs the approval of more than half of the 750-seat National Assembly, or at least 376 votes in either the House of Representatives alone or the Senate too.

The House Speaker is the head of the legislative branch, which is one of the three principal bodies of power in Thailand.

Under the Thai democratic system with the king as the Head of State, the king exercises sovereign power, which belongs to the Thai people, through the legislative branch, the executive branch and the judiciary branch.

Mr Wan Muhamad’s responsibilities include maintaining order in parliamentary sittings, arranging parliamentary agendas, and setting up parliamentary committees to work for the parliament.

Prior to this, Mr Wan Muhamad headed several ministries in previous governments. He had also served as Speaker of the House of Representatives and president of the Parliament between 1996 and 2000.

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2023-07-04 06:35:00Z
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US slams Hong Kong bounties as 'dangerous' precedent - CNA

WASHINGTON: The United States on Monday (Jul 3) condemned Hong Kong authorities for issuing bounties linked to democracy activists based abroad, saying the move sets a dangerous precedent that could threaten human rights.

Hong Kong police offered bounties of HK$1 million (about US$127,600) for information leading to the capture of eight prominent dissidents who live abroad and are wanted for national security crimes.

"The United States condemns the Hong Kong Police Force's issuance of an international bounty" against the eight activists, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.

"The extraterritorial application of the Beijing-imposed National Security Law is a dangerous precedent that threatens the human rights and fundamental freedoms of people all over the world," he added, saying China is engaging in "transnational repression efforts".

"We call on the Hong Kong government to immediately withdraw this bounty, respect other countries' sovereignty, and stop the international assertion of the National Security Law imposed by Beijing."

The national security law - which has reshaped Hong Kong society and eroded the firewall that once existed between the special autonomous region and the mainland - has the power to hold accused people across the world accountable.

All eight activists are alleged to have colluded with foreign forces to endanger national security - an offence that carries a sentence of up to life in prison.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) also weighed in from its New York headquarters to attack the bounties as "baseless" and an expansion of China's "political intimidation campaign beyond its borders".

"The Hong Kong government increasingly goes above and beyond to persecute peaceful dissent both within Hong Kong and abroad," Maya Wang, HRW's associate Asia director, said in a statement.

"Offering a cross-border bounty is a feeble attempt to intimidate activists and elected representatives outside Hong Kong who speak up for people's rights against Beijing's growing repression."

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2023-07-04 01:48:00Z
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91 more Singapore-based companies allegedly sending supplies to Myanmar military - CNA

GOVERNMENT TAKES ALLEGATIONS “VERY SERIOUSLY”

In his written response, Dr Balakrishnan said as the investigations are ongoing, the update would be an interim one and he sought understanding from the MPs.

He said the government was looking into specific details of the alleged “arms and related goods” that were shipped through Singapore-based entities to the Myanmar military, adding that there were no indications that specific armaments were being transferred to the Myanmar military in the UN report. 

“Instead, under the category of ‘arms’, what was cited were only spare parts and equipment, without details of what these constituted,” he said.

Other major categories of items covered in the report included “dual-use supplies”, such as computers, electrical components and medical equipment. Also listed was “manufacturing equipment”, which included welding materials and overhead cranes, and “raw materials”, covering items such as steel beams and aluminium ingots, as well as pipes and valves.

“Members would appreciate from these descriptions that the items do not necessarily constitute 'arms' or weaponry in its ordinary meaning,” he said. “Many of them, such as computers and medical equipment, are also non-controlled items. It is difficult to isolate specific suspicious transactions from such broad categories.”

The government takes the report “very seriously” and has requested that Mr Andrews provide specific and verifiable evidence to help efforts, said Dr Balakrishnan.

He said nine of the entities identified are no longer registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, which means they can no longer carry on business or operate as legal entities in Singapore.

“This includes entities that were allegedly involved in the transfer of components and spare parts for fighter aircraft, equipment for the Myanmar Navy, as well as radios, research and equipment for electronic warfare,” said Dr Balakrishnan.

Most of the 47 initially identified entities also no longer have business facilities with Singapore banks, he added.

“The banks will review the remaining accounts and take appropriate measures, including enhanced scrutiny to ensure that the transactions processed by these entities are not suspicious,” he said. “Such measures would curtail their ability to continue with any undesirable business.”

Dr Balakrishnan also said financial institutions in Singapore have also been applying enhanced due diligence for Myanmar-linked customers and transactions that present higher risks, as Myanmar is on the blacklist of the Financial Action Task Force.

“I would like to re-state categorically that the Singapore government has not conducted any military sales to the Myanmar military in recent years,” he said, noting that this includes during the period mentioned in Mr Andrews’ report – between February 2021 and December 2022.

“Indeed, Mr Andrews himself reaffirmed in his report that ‘there are no indications that the government of Singapore has approved, or is involved, in the shipment of arms and associated materials to the Myanmar military’.”

Dr Balakrishnan added that the government would “continue to work closely and constructively with Mr Andrews to seek specific, verifiable, and where possible court admissible information to advance our investigations”.

“Let me reiterate that the Government remains committed to implementing our policy to prevent the transfer of arms and dual-use items which have been assessed to have potential military application to Myanmar, where there is serious risk that they may be used to inflict violence against unarmed civilians,” he said.

“We will not hesitate to take action against any individual or entity which contravenes this.”

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2023-07-03 16:12:48Z
CBMiVmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vc2luZ2Fwb3JlL215YW5tYXItd2VhcG9ucy1hcm1zLXN1cHBsaWVzLWV4cG9ydC0zNjAzNDIx0gEA

Thai election winner and major ally reach agreement on House Speaker - CNA

Together, they have 312 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives. But for Mr Pita to become prime minister, he needs the approval of more than half of the 750-seat National Assembly, or at least 376 votes in either the House of Representatives alone or the Senate too.

According to Mr Pita, the agreement on the nominations was made to achieve unity among the eight coalition parties in the forming of the next government, with him as prime minister.

“The Move Forward Party and the Pheu Thai Party agreed to jointly support important laws for the people, which include an amnesty for cases of political expressions as well as amendments of laws that are related to the reform of the military,” he said.

The three candidates are ready to drive agendas that would bring transparency, checks and balances and effectiveness to the Thai parliamentary system, while ensuring it “belongs to the people”, he added.

The House Speaker position has been a point of disagreement between Move Forward and Pheu Thai over the past months as both parties set their sights on the top post of the legislative branch.

The Move Forward Party have said it needs the speakership of the House of Representatives to accelerate legislative procedures, while members of the Pheu Thai Party have argued the position does not have to come under Move Forward, even though it won a majority of seats in the Lower House.

“The Move Forward Party and the Pheu Thai Party firmly believe that the agreement on the House Speaker and deputy speakers at this time is a beginning of cooperation to form a government to manage the country in response to the people’s consensus, which was clearly expressed in the election on May 14, 2023,” Mr Pita said.

The nomination of Mr Wan Muhamad Noor Matha for the House Speaker position was initiated by Pheu Thai deputy party leader Phumtham Wechayachai, who believes the political veteran is a suitable choice that can be accepted by all sides.

“I informed him that if he is okay with the proposition, I will continue the process to discuss the matter,” said Mr Phumtham in the press conference.

“This is a mutual agreement by both sides and I think it will be a solution for us to move forward. The important thing isn’t just about selecting the House Speaker. It’s also important to join hands to make a democratic government progress and to fulfil the people’s expectations,” he added.

Mr Wan Muhamad Noor Matha used to head several ministries in previous governments. He also served as Speaker of the House of Representatives and president of the Parliament between 1996 and 2000.

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2023-07-03 15:18:08Z
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‘Cooperation, competition’: China, US to test hard bone issues during Yellen trip - South China Morning Post

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1. ‘Cooperation, competition’: China, US to test hard bone issues during Yellen trip  South China Morning Post
2. Treasury's Yellen to visit China this week to expand communications  CNA
3. Yellen to visit China, raising need to 'responsibly manage' ties  Bangkok Post
4. Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day  Bloomberg
5. Janet Yellen to visit China in new US push to ease tensions  Financial Times
6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2023-07-03 13:57:04Z
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Thai king asks parliamentarians to serve nation and people with 'best interests' at heart - CNA

BANGKOK: Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Monday (Jul 3) asked parliamentarians to perform their duties with the nation’s and the people’s best interests at heart during the state ceremony for the opening of the first parliamentary session, following the country’s general election in May.

The monarch presided over the ceremony at the parliament building with Queen Suthida. 

Caretaker Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his Cabinet members were also present, along with members of parliament (MPs), presidents of the Senate, Supreme Court, Administrative Court and Constitutional Court, and representatives from various organisations.

“I ask all of you who are members of this parliament to always be mindful that you have been assigned by the people to represent people in the whole country in exercising the legislative power in order to rule and pass laws for the government to use as principles in public administration,” the king said.

“Therefore, how much the country will develop depends on your intellect, ability, honesty and sincerity to perform all duties while placing the utmost importance on the nation’s and the people’s best interests.

“If all of you always remain mindful of this, you will be able to perform your duties successfully, which will truly benefit and provide development and stability for the people as well as the country,” the king added.

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2023-07-03 12:02:07Z
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Grandmother of killed French teen urges calm as mayor's home attacked - CNA

PARIS: The grandmother of the French teenager whose killing by police sparked riots called for calm on Sunday (Jul 2), as the home of the mayor of a Paris suburb was attacked with a burning car in a new eruption of violence.

The government of President Emmanuel Macron has been battling five nights of violent protests since 17-year-old Nahel M was shot dead in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday by an officer during a traffic check.

The killing of Nahel M, who was of Algerian origin, has revived longstanding accusations of institutional racism within the French police, which rights groups say single out minorities during stops.

Seeking to quell what has become one of the biggest challenges to Macron since he took office in 2017, the interior ministry said it would deploy 45,000 police and gendarmes nationwide overnight Sunday to Monday, the same figure as the previous two nights.

The ministry said 719 people were arrested overnight, around half the figure of the previous night. Intense clashes were nevertheless reported in several places, including the southern city of Marseille.

"Stop and do not riot," Nahel's grandmother, Nadia, told BFM television in a telephone interview, saying that the rioters were only using his death as a "pretext".

"I tell the people who are rioting this: Do not smash windows, attack schools or buses. Stop! It's the mums who are taking the bus, it's the mums who walk outside," she said.

Adding she was "tired", Nadia said: "Nahel, he is dead. My daughter had only one child, and now she is lost, it's over, my daughter no longer has a life. And as for me, they made me lose my daughter and my grandson."

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2023-07-02 20:35:00Z
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