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Back together again. This week, there are 3 questions that you have posted on the web which received the most votes.
The first question is about protecting the monarchy. Many of the public,as well as those who have posted questions,
have been worried about some factions of people’s actions that are defamation of the monarchy.
I’d like to reassure you that the Government is strictly enforcing the laws on this issue.
At the same time, we have to be cautious, because enforcement of the law may lead to some factions,
whose aim is to defame the monarchy, to further work on it by misusing the existing unfamiliarity
or misunderstandings about the Thai legal system or Thailand’s culture and tradition.
Thus, the Government is proceeding carefully. I would like the general public to understand
this Government is proceeding wholeheartedly to protect the monarchy,
and we are using all measures, including, simultaneously, legal and other measures,
in a balanced manner, so as not to be misrepresented or abused in some other way.
As for the second question, I must admit that it is a question that I find very difficult to answer.
It is a question about why Members of the Parliament and Members of the Senate do not attend meetings, which results in no quorum.
I’d like to say, initially, that in each Parliament Session, meetings are held mostly on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
The Chairman may convene additional meetings on Mondays, Tuesdays, or Fridays.
On Wednesdays and Thursdays, usually the members will be in the Parliament building, but because of the way meetings are scheduled,
there will be meetings of the House of Representatives or meetings of the Parliament held simultaneously with other committee meetings.
Therefore, sometimes members will not be in the Parliamentary Chamber,
but will be in other committees or in the vicinity where they can listen and follow the Parliament Sessions at the same time.
As for myself, many times during the Parliament Sessions,
I will have concurrent appointments with various committees at the Parliament building too,
such as meetings on persons with disabilities, meetings on rice policy, and meetings on travels abroad.
But I will also be following, or will have somebody report to me, on the Parliament Session. When it is time to cast votes,
I will be there to cast my vote. However, sometimes it is the problem of not being able to arrive on time,
or the problem of inaccurate counting of the quorum,
but this is only part of the problem. I must admit that mostly the problem reflects our inability to mobilize Members to work fully.
It is even more difficult at this time, because when I became Prime Minister,
the Opposition will count the quorum all the time, unlike other Sessions when I was leader of the Opposition,
we only choose to count quorum in cases where important laws are being proposed, or when there are high levels of conflicts.
We see it as a measure to make the Government be responsible for mobilizing members to attend meetings.
In any case, I do understand your feelings. The Whip and the Government is consulting on measures
to reinforce attendance for those who have not been attending meetings,
have not made their presence known, or have not casted their votes. Aside from that,
this week there is news that may cause misunderstanding on the part of the public,
that the Cabinet has already approved adjustment of salaries and benefits for the Members of Parliament and Members of the Senate.
Actually, that is not the case, but we are presently in the process of drafting a Royal Decree,
which follows the adjustment of salaries of civil servants, as well as politicians.
Only Members of Parliament and Members of the Senate have not had their adjustment.
Also, there are requests for a review of regulations on benefits, healthcare, and travel expenses,
which have not yet been concluded, since we will need to draft a Royal Decree, and we will proceed on this at the appropriate time.
The last question is about railway. I’d like to say that, on all the measures that are being implemented,
and all that have been done with regards to the Union,
we have been following the criterion that have been announced: regular service to the public has to be given.
The Government is ready to listen to problem regarding safety and inconvenience.
We are also working on a big investment goal.
Firstly, the point of the problem is that safety standards must be higher, for the engine, for the compartments,
for the signaling system – these will be the first to benefit from the investment.
Secondly, we need to expedite investment in order to increase train speed from about 50-60 kilometers per hour to 100-120 kph,
which involves improvements on the track and doubling the tracks, to save time in running the trains by eliminating the need to change tracks.
After that there will be investments on new routes that have been planned, such as the Bua Yai to Mukdahan, Nakhon Phanom,
and this portion will also connect to railway systems of neighboring countries.
Lastly, there is the issue of high-speed trains, for which we are considering the Eastern part of the country as the first route.
This week, these are the three questions with the most votes.