Southern Bhumjaithai MPs under fire over SEC bills

A study group monitoring the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC) development project is questioning the conduct and judgment of Bhumjaithai Party MPs in 12 southern provinces for initiating and supporting two SEC-related bills that would allow foreign investors to rent or lease land in the South for up to 99 years.

The two bills have already been approved by the Cabinet and are set to be debated in parliament soon.

In an open letter addressed to 31 Bhumjaithai MPs, the SEC Watch group claims that, if endorsed by parliament and enacted into law, the bills will result in southern residents losing land in the region to foreign investors—land that could otherwise be used for agriculture and tourism for the benefit of local communities.

The group argues that the land has strong potential for agricultural development, particularly for producing high-quality food to meet future global demand.

Instead, it says, Bhumjaithai MPs representing the southern provinces are undermining this potential by promoting its conversion into industrial production bases for foreign investors, benefiting only a small group of stakeholders.

“How does your party have the audacity to draft bills to hand over land in the southern region to foreign investors?” the SEC Watch group asked.

It also questioned whether the MPs would be held accountable for the hardships local people may face as a result of the SEC development project.

The SEC initiative is closely linked to the proposed land bridge project, which is being actively promoted by the Bhumjaithai Party.

A southern people’s network, led by Dr Supat Hasuwannakit, has expressed strong reservations about the land bridge, citing concerns over potential policy corruption due to its enormous investment cost—estimated at about one trillion baht—and its wide-ranging impacts on livelihoods and natural resources in Chumphon and Ranong provinces.

Meanwhile, environmental groups in Ranong province have voiced opposition to both the land bridge and the SEC bills.

They claim that both projects lack genuine public participation, despite the fact that local communities will be directly affected.

The groups argue that the two SEC bills are designed not for the benefit of southern residents, but for foreign investors and large Thai corporations, and they vow to use all peaceful means to oppose the projects.