NATIONAL Legislative Assembly (NLA) president Pornpetch Wichitcholchai denied yesterday that a “special agenda” has been scheduled for early next month.
Pornpetch said he had not made any special instructions to prohibit NLA members from taking leave or travelling overseas starting late this month to early next month.
The NLA president said he had just informally asked assembly members to be prepared for a meeting with an “important agenda” suggested by the government. “There may be some urgent matter. Judging from what the government has signalled, the NLA may need to endorse different treaties,” he said.
Pornpetch said there would be long public holidays in December and he had been worried that some NLA members would take extended breaks, so he asked them to be on standby.
“The NLA has scheduled a meeting with a normal agenda on December 1 and 2. There is no special agenda,” he said.
Pornpetch also dismissed suspicions that the NLA might change its deliberations on the organic laws being written in line with the new constitution in order to conform to preferences of the ruling junta.
He said the assembly would set up a committee to vet bills while also including representatives from the government and the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC), plus relevant independent agencies.
“There are no orders from anyone for the NLA to deliberate the laws in a particular way. The NLA is ready to heed advice from all parties. The laws must be intended mainly for the benefit of people and the country,” he said.
Meanwhile, CDC chairman Meechai Ruchupan said yesterday the NLA could make revisions to the original draft laws as it saw fit. However, he said changes must not conflict with provisions in the constitution draft that was backed by voters in the August referendum.
“If the NLA makes changes that are different from the constitution, they will have to be responsible for the consequences,” he said.
Meechai was responding to concern that the NLA might make many changes to the organic draft laws written by the CDC.
The CDC is responsible for drafting four organic laws required by the new constitution in preparation for the next general election – laws regulating the election of MPs, the selection of senators, political parties and the Election Commission.
Meechai also said that he would not oppose Pornpetch’s idea that government representatives be included in the committee vetting the organic laws. “If there are regulations about that, I would have to accept it,” he added.
Also yesterday, the chief constitution writer said the CDC would add the penalty of life imprisonment – in addition to capital punishment – for violations of certain provisions stipulated in the organic laws, including that any political actor that offers Cabinet seats for sale could be punished by death.
Meechai said the CDC would make changes to the drafts after politicians complained the penalty was too severe.