Chuan Leekpai, former prime minister, accused the government of not having a clear plan to handle the unrest in the Deep South. He stated that Southern people are being misled by the government's assertion that the recent increase in rubber prices is due to their success in cracking down on smuggled rubber, during the parliamentary debate on Thursday.
The Democrat MP claimed that the rubber prices have not only gone up in Thailand this year, but also in Malaysia and Indonesia. He argued that these increases are the result of supply and demand, not the government's crackdown on smuggled rubber, as proclaimed by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and Agriculture Minister Thammanat Prompao.
He expressed concerns that if the rubber prices start to fall in the future, the government will face criticism, and he urged the government to have a backup plan for dealing with a potential price drop.
Chuan emphasized that the unrest in the Deep South is a critical issue involving human lives, which is more important than agricultural products. He also highlighted that people outside the region are largely unaware of the ongoing violence and casualties, as the media no longer reports on these issues.
He suggested that those interested in the situation in the Deep South should follow the Palace news about the governors in the three southernmost provinces or the representatives of the King attending the funerals of the victims.
Chuan urged the government to focus more on addressing the unrest in the southern region and to avoid repeating the past mistake of resorting to heavy-handed methods to deal with the insurgency, as was done in 2001.
He then mentioned Thaksin (Thaksin Shinawatra), leading to a protest from Deputy Finance Minister and Pheu Thai MP Julapun Amornvivat, who advised Chuan to adhere to the rules of the debate.
The Democrat MP further stated that the government's only concrete achievement in the past six months is disregarding the rule of law by granting special privileges to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, without explicitly mentioning his name.
