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Mid

Chaos as budget debate adjourned
26/08/2009

House Speaker Chai Chidchob on Wednesday adjourned the debate on the 2010 Budget Bill until tomorrow after a heated exchange between Puea Thai and Bhumjaithai MPs.

The House of Representatives was scheduled to deliberate the second and third readings of the bill on Wednesday.

When the House convened this morning, MPs of the Puea Thai and Bhumjaithai parties engaged in a slanging match, using rude words to attack each other after Prasit Chaiviratna, a Puea Thai MP for Chaiyaphum, accused Cherdchai Wichianwan, a Bhumjaithai MP of Udon Thani, of betraying the people who elected him.

MPs in the faction under Newin Chidchob broke away from Puea Thai to form the Bhumjaithai Party and joined the Democrat-led government.

Mr Prasit was asked to retract the word "betray" and he agreed to do so after MPs of both parties contnued to hurl abuse at each other.

After that Mr Chai informed the meeting of the death of Veera Rakkwamsuk, a Bhumjaithai party-list MP.

The House then listened to a report from Social Development and Human Security Minister Issara Somchai on the plan to demolish the Din Daeng flats. Mr Issara said the ministry had decided to abandon the demolition plan and had begun to repair them with a budget of 64 million baht.

When the time came for the deliberation of the budget bill, many Puea Thai MPs said there was no need to rush to do so and proposed that the bill instead be debated tomorrow, Aug 27. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the House would have to decide on the matter.

Mr Chai then ordered the adjournment.

Suchart Lainamngern, a Puea Thai MP for Lop Buri, then proposed that the budget bill debate be broadcast live on Channel 11. Mr Abhisit agreed to the proposal.

bangkokpost.com

__________________
"Keeping quiet while monks and other peaceful protesters are murdered and jailed is not evidence of constructive engagement." - Arvind Ganesan, Human Rights Watch.

"I think...I think it's in my basement. Let me go upstairs and check" - M.C. Escher

Mr R Sole

Come now children...

Mid

Thai parliament passes 2009/2010 budget
(Reporting by Orathai Sriring; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

BANGKOK, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Thailand's parliament approved on Saturday the budget for 2009/10 with a lower fiscal deficit than the current year, although some stimulus spending to help the economy has been kept out of the fiscal calculation.

The 1.7 trillion baht ($50 billion) budget bill, proposed by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, is about 13 percent lower than the current year's budget.

The planned deficit for 2009/10 (Oct-Sept) will amount to about 3.8 percent of gross domestic product, versus over 5 percent this year. It is expected to clear the final legislative hurdle in September.

The government says some 252 billion baht of stimulus spending, that the government says is vital to help pull the economy out of its worst recession in 11 years, is being kept outside the formal budget so that legal limits on the deficit will not be breached.

The Bank of Thailand has forecast the economy would contract 3.0-4.5 percent this year, the weakest performance since the 1998 Asian financial crisis, before growing 3.0-5.0 percent in 2010.

The emerged from recession in the second quarter, growing 2.3 percent from the first, but political risk and weak global demand could impede recovery, according to the state planning agency.

Abhisit's coalition, which took office in December, won parliamentary approval in July for 800 billion baht of borrowing to help finance a 1.43 trillion baht stimulus package and fiscal deficits over the next three years.

Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij has said 800 billion will be raised locally, either through government bonds or loans from commercial banks.

($1=34.0 Baht)

iii.co.uk

Mid

Budget bill faces charter challenge
31/08/2009

Puea Thai MP Surapong Towijakchaikul on Monday petitioned the Constitution Court for a ruling on constitutionality of the 2010 Budget Bill passed by the House of Representatives on Saturday.

The petition was received by the secretary-general of the court.

The Chiang Mai MP said the budget bill did not contain the details of the government's planned investment projects required by Article 167 of the constitution.

The bill as a whole was not clear, particularly adjustments made to funds for various projects involving over 20 billion baht.

Mr Surapong said the prime minister must show the responsibility by resigning or dissolving the House of Representatives if the budget bill was found to contravene the constitution.

The 2010 Budget Bill is to go to the Senate for deliberation on Sept 14.

bangkokpost.com

baldrick

does he see his action as beneficial to his electorate ? why aren't these cocksuckers publicly humiliated ?

crippen

Thailand : Chaos. full stop

Rural Surin

We'll just keep repeating that to ourselves....