Rich in Thailand Have Leases While Poor Starve by Phakamat Rattanakorn 18-2-2003 More than 280,000 rai (1 rai = 1,600 m2) of degraded forest reserves and public areas in the south of Thailand were leased to rich Thais and investors from Malaysia and Singapore while poor farmers were left with no land for crops. Peerapong Sangthong, a coordinator of Surat Thani People's Organisation Network, said the Forestry Department had leased vast tracts of degraded forest in several southern provinces to foreigners who later turned them into palm oil plantations. But more than 20,000 farmer families in the South who were in dire need of land for cultivation had not been allowed to make use of state land. The government should scrap leases with private firms and turn those plots into reformed land for landless farmers. More than 200,000 rai of degraded forest reserves in Surat Thani and 80,000 rai in Krabi were leased to foreign investors. The foreigners had also benefitted from a revised law extending the concession period from 30 to 100 years. On February 11, 2003, Mr Peerapong and southern farmers lodged a petition with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra through Surat Thani governor ML Pratheep Charoonroj demanding the leases be scrapped. Thousands of farmers from Surat Thani, Krabi, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Phang Nga had rallied in front of Surat Thani's provincial hall since February 10 in support of the same cause. The group the following day launched a sign-up campaign, and 50,000 people signed in support of the demand for the cancellations of the leases.