OPINION

Anti-poverty drive needs political will

News, Editorial, Published on 19/11/2017

» Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak has revealed his big ambition: poverty will be eradicated from Thailand next year. His statement on Thursday wowed the public, who wonder if it was just a tactic to manufacture feel-good news. Mr Somkid, who has been regarded as an economic czar since the days when he served in Thaksin Shinawatra's government, did not go into detail about what he planned to do to achieve his ambitious goal, but it is apparent that he, along with the military regime, places high hopes on the Eastern Economic Corridor that will come into being next year, with the use of the draconian Section 44 to bypass key laws and regulations to enable the authorities to accelerate the project.