BANGKOK, July 3 – Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra flatly ruled out a report of House dissolution.
The new cabinet should be given a chance to work for the country, she said before departing Thailand on an official visit to Poland and Turkey.
On the government’s U-turn on its rice price pledging scheme, she said the decision to reverse the rice purchase from Bt12,000/tonne to Bt15,000/tonne was made following a recommendation by the National Rice Policy Committee (NRPC).
The NRPC gave assurances that the re-adjustment of the purchase price will not affect the country’s financial discipline and the volume of purchased rice would be controllable and it will benefit Thailand’s farmers, she said.
The government late last month approved cutting the rice purchase price from Bt15,000/tonne to Bt12,000/tonne.
Regarding a senior Finance Ministry official’s allegations of widespread corruption in the rice pledging scheme, Ms Yingluck said details and evidence of corruption should be submitted to the government.
The government is ready to take legal action against corrupt people, she said.
She would not comment on the opposition Democrat Party’s remark that the government’s U-turn on rice subsidy was an overture to a House dissolution.
“The House will not be dissolved. We just have [formed] a new cabinet,” she said.
Vicha Mahakhun, a member of the National Anti-Corruption Committee (NACC), said deputy permanent secretary for finance Supa Piyachitti will be invited to provide information on the state’s heavy losses from the rice pledging scheme and corruption in running the programme.
He said officials of the Ombudsman Office will inspect rice mills and warehouses nationwide to gather information on rice smuggling and spoiled rice.
The NACC should get an update from the Ombudsman Office in the next few months, he said, adding that the Commerce Ministry has become more cooperative in supplying information to the NACC.
