THE NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE Assembly (NLA) has confirmed that it will convene a special meeting at Parliament today.
NLA president Pornpetch Wichitcholchai called for the meeting to be held at 11am with an agenda to be forwarded from the Cabinet, according to an internal letter issued by the Secretariat of the Senate currently serving the NLA.
The special meeting followed Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s remarks last week that the NLA would hold such a special meeting after the Cabinet session.
Pornpetch has also said the government had suggested that the NLA hold a special meeting but had not informed the assembly what it would be about.
NLA vice president Surachai Liengboonlertchai confirmed yesterday that NLA whips would also meet today in preparation for a |legal matter to be received from the government.
However, Surachai said the issue could only be confirmed after the NLA hears the Cabinet resolution today.
While the NLA whips’ meeting will be conducted confidentially, the general NLA meeting would be broadcast via the National Assembly Radio and Television Broadcasting Station and the National Broadcasting Services, he said.

Security tightened at Parliament
The government would confirm later, he said, if the NLA meeting will also be broadcast via a TV |pool, which would enable every TV channel to receive the signal.
An informed source said once there is a request from the Cabinet to hold the special meeting, the NLA whip would forward the matter directly to Pornpetch instead of the NLA whip secretary. Pornpetch will then notify the whip to hold the meeting at 11 am.
Civil servants will be asked to wear bureaucratic uniforms while members of the NLA will dress in funeral attire, the source added.
Secretary-General of the House of Representatives Sorasak Pienvej said his office had received a request from the Senate to tighten security at the Parliament compound today.
Meanwhile, Deputy Premier and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said yesterday he had not been told of the agenda for the Cabinet meeting.
“But the transition period will go on smoothly if [we] receive cooperation from people,” he said
Prawit also stressed that the junta’s “road map to democracy” would continue as planned unless affected by “unforeseeable factors”.
“It will be carried out as planned unless there are changes,” he said. “Since they will be in the future, I don’t know what [changes] could be.”
The deputy prime minister also did not rule out that plans could be changed for the general election, which the ruling National Council for Peace and Order has said will held by the end of next year or early 2018.
“It will go forward if there isn’t any situation happening,” he said.
Meanwhile, Prayut also said yesterday that not too much attention should be paid to the political road map, given that he himself does not belong to any political bloc.
But Prayut said that the road map remains essential to help guide the junta government in proceeding with projects amid time and budget constraints, and in line with the 20-year national strategy.
He also said that the junta government was aiming for long-term stability, in response to claims that it had not been productive during more than two years of rule.
“We are trying to build up |security, peace and stability. We have seen fewer conflicts with this |government,” Prayut said during an official visit to Chiang Rai.
“We can’t return to conflicts again because we are all under the reign of the King.”