English subtitle of PM weekly televised address on 24 April 2015
Start at 22.30 minute
Aside from the various economic measures, there has been much progress in affairs of transportation, service centers for businesses, and water management projects. There exist other numerous measures for the boosting of Thailand's competitiveness in trade and investment, so that our small, medium and large businesses may competitively sell their products at the regional and global stages.
Today, about 1.6 million migrants from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia have been registered. Temporary residency permits are being used for the time being, as the nationality verification process is not yet complete. Originally, the plan was to complete this process in 6 months. The temporary permits have to be extended year-by-year because of incomplete verification. But is not because of our own doing – we have done well, considering that we have been able to provide registration. The verification process, however, requires each respective country to send in its own teams to carry out verification. The productivity of the verification process has been lagging.
So, we have to accept certain obstacles when collaborating with different countries on certain issues. I will arrange for the temporary permits to be extended. Importantly, employers must not let the workers take up work elsewhere, because of the temporary nature of the permits. The verification teams from the three countries are only able to verify a handful of people per day. We have been able to carry out our part of the registration because we used hundreds of teams.
On the matter of fishing vessels registration, 50,970 vessels have been registered so far. By comparison, the number of registered vessels was previously very small. The registration of low income earners also needs to be carried out quickly. Earners of, say, 300 baht per day or less would not need to pay tax, because they earn less than the standard criteria. They need to be registered so the state can be aware of their occupation. With this information, support or assistance will be correctly provided. We would otherwise be creating a future burden if assistance is handed out indiscriminately…
Until 24.55 minute
Resume at 28.30 minute
…On the matter of IUU fishing, the government has been continually addressing this issue. A working committee exists, and the issue has been marked as a national agenda. Section 44 was being used only to augment the effort. We came in knowing of this problem, and the government is addressing the issue in an integrated manner. Only parts of Section 44 are being used, mainly to maintain this synergy between government agencies so that the problem can be addressed quickly and unobstructed. What follows will be a matter of normal laws. We will not be using Section 44 on everything – only for certain issues, such as expensive lime prices, economic problems, the ICAO issue. Section 44 exists to facilitate the process.
Regarding the yellow card issue, please do not be overly anxious. We have to accept this and that there is no one else to blame, and must address this problem. This government has tackled the issue to our best ability and sent in many committees to work it out, but this was still not enough. I cannot guarantee if we will be able to solve the problem in 6 months. It depends on everybody, whether or not we can meet this time frame. If today I am informed that are fishing vessels that have yet to be registered and that they are likely to be in another country, then I have to ask where exactly. So has this been happening all along in the past? Where do the crew members come from? Who has been hiring them and based on any regulations? If you cannot provide me with any answers, what do you expect to say to others? How do we solve this problem quickly then? It would depend on all of us. I am hoping that we will be able to solve this problem in 6 months, so that they can improve our ranking, in fact for other issues as well. The decision on whether we are to be put in tier 2 or 3 does not rest with the government to do as it pleases or as everyone pleases, it is a decision for external parties who evaluate us. So Section 44 is being used to facilitate our work, and rest assured that we are doing all we can.
It was not unexpected, as there was a plethora of issues at hand. The registration of ships alone took immense effort and was completed in a few days /months, but not all have been completed, and there was not much cooperation [from the fishing fleets]. From now on, centers will be set up, manned by soldiers and policemen, at various ports to monitor incoming and outgoing vessels. You must cooperate. This is the measure I will use. Failure to return to port, failure to report journeys, failure to account for the crew are all misconducts and have caused this problem that we are faced with today. The same goes for the human trafficking issue. Although human trafficking, IUU fishing and the ICAO problem are different affairs, Section 44 can be used to facilitate our work on them.
Please do not be overly concerned about exports. Based on our discussions with the private sector, there may not be a significant impact for now. It cannot continue this way, however. They have given us opportunities and have informed us of this matter since 2005. I have only been at it for the past 6 months and have accomplished a number of things. They have welcomed how Thailand has shown resolve in fixing the problem, and they know that the government is sincere and intends to resolve this problem. We want to do this as quickly as possible, so therefore they have had to maintain their evaluation level, and it serves as an example for other countries. I have been trying to resolve this issue comprehensively. Fishery-related laws needed to be overhauled. We need to make registration, install GPS tracking on ships, and install VMS systems. We have to know where they are catching fish, otherwise we cannot regulate them. A coastal fishery control center will thus be set up.
But if we have to wait for certain laws to be promulgated first or if we proceed using normal laws, we cannot establish these centers in time. So we must use Section 44 to facilitate implementation although the application of penalties against offenders – business operators, consumers, workers – will be based on normal laws. Naval vessels and sailors will assist in the making of arrests in such cases. Normally, this cannot be done, as the duty rested with officials within the civil sector, such as from the fisheries department. Now all officials will be involved.
We have to let the EU know about our progress, while avoiding the view that they are only trying to find fault with us. They do the same thing for every country. It happens that we have been lagging. The repercussion has been significant since this problem had not been previously addressed. Please do not be discouraged. I view this crisis as an opportunity for better cooperation and understanding. The media needs to help present the facts from all angles, to let people know about the state of the problem and the government's efforts in addressing it. They do notice our efforts, and are giving us the opportunity to improve. I expect these improvements to come about within the designated time frame, but this depends on all of us.
I have discussed this matter with the Indonesian president during my recent trip to Indonesia, and he has expressed willingness to support Thailand in addressing ASEAN's fishing industry. Fishing vessels currently engaged in illicit activities in Indonesia also pose a significant problem for us. The president and I discussed how to get these vessels back and enforce the appropriate laws and penalties. I have said before that we have been overwhelmed with work since May 22. There are hundreds of issues. Could we have picked just a handful and leave the rest? I needed to see to all of them. The most troubling ones receive the most input. They all must be addressed, however. The problems are intertwined. Fishing vessels and stranded fishermen will be looked after. Entrepreneurs must be responsible and illegal business operators must be made accountable.
As for our current work, I would like to say that we came in to stop violence, to solve urgent problems and to prepare for reforms. Everything needs to be reformed, and this will take time. We are doing what we can at present. Do not assume that I am promising that certain problems will be solved by a specific date. I will finish the re-organization attempts within the time frame stated in the road map. We are all compelled to work quickly. So when you make demands on me, I make demands on the officials to do their duty more quickly. Time is needed on some issues, so please have some understanding. Do not worry over Section 44 and have trust and confidence in our intentions.
Please also do not worry over transfers and reshuffles. Most of the transfers were being made in line with the transfer seasons in April and October. In the meantime some offenders are being moved in accordance with normal disciplinary actions. Those that have blatantly broken the law or have been found guilty of corruption needed to be removed from their immediate positions first.
It would normally be difficult to dismiss them because of the civil service commission's law. Thus, we might have to use Section 44 to remove from their positions first. It does not mean they are guilty, until investigations are complete. But leaving them in their position could cause problems, and therefore, removal would facilitate the investigations. Please understand that Section 44 is not being used to suppress graft – normal laws are being used in the suppression. Section 44 is being used to allow investigations to proceed rapidly and to spare officials of any difficult/awkward situations.
Let the justice procedure take its course. The end result will be the same as in other court cases. If we speed up the justice procedure too much then the courts would come under fire in the future.
Please also follow up on the work in progress. I have talked about them many times before. Section 44 cannot be used to create reconciliation. It is a matter of each person and each conflicting party's willingness to reconcile – talk together, cease hostilities and refrain from using force. I cannot use Section 44 to foster reconciliation by waiving penalties for wrongdoers. That would be a misuse of Section 44.
End at 35.45 minute
