Pheu Thai pushes for Senate probe

House debate likely to be held this week

The opposition whips yesterday decided to submit an urgent motion requesting the formation of a fact-finding committee to probe the controversial Senate selection process.

The motion had already been signed by all Pheu Thai Party MPs and other opposition parties will also be asked to sign it, Pheu Thai secretary-general Phumtham Wechayachai said.

It will then be submitted to the House speaker for inclusion on the meeting agenda sometime this week, she added.

Mr Phumtham was speaking after a meeting between whips representing the seven opposition parties.

Critics last week lashed out at Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Kreangam over his remark that the public did not need to know the details of the Senate selection process.

Mr Wissanu was quoted as saying the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) order appointing a 10-member Senate-selection panel was not an item of law and did not need to be published in the Royal Gazette following public calls for the regime to disclose the names of the panel members.

According to Mr Wissanu, the names of member of the selection committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon were kept secret to prevent lobbying.

However, Mr Wissanu revealed the names last Wednesday, which triggered widespread criticism. The committee members were all allied to the NCPO with six appointed as senators themselves.

Pheu Thai spokeswoman Ladawan Wongsriwong said she personally thought that since the Senate will vet many important laws, which will affect members of the public, the people have every right to demand transparency.

The opposition whips also plan to have Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha grilled over his suitability for the job at a joint sitting of the House of Representatives and Senate where the new coalition government will present its policies, said Mr Phumtham.

In another development, Future Forward Party (FFP) deputy spokesman Nattacha Boonchaiinsawat said the party was closely monitoring the Constitutional Court’s handling of a case in which 41 MPs in the coalition government have been accused holding shares in media companies.

The court accepted a similar case regarding FFP leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit for consideration and suspended him from parliament pending a ruling within seven days, so the party expects a similar time frame this time too, said Mr Nattacha.

The House speaker forwarded the case to the court last Wednesday.