With the passage in the assembly, the legal amendment will soon be submitted to HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn for royal endorsement.

The NLA yesterday passed the bill in one hour after three consecutive readings with a final vote of 182 in favour and six abstentions.

The amendment revises the current act by giving the monarch sole discretion to select the appointee for the country’s top ecclesiastical post.

The meeting was chaired by NLA President Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, while PM’s Office Minister Ormsin Chivapruck, who oversees the National Buddhism Office, attended the meeting on behalf of the Cabinet.

Ormsin waived the Cabinet’s right to consider the amendment for 30 days before the reading to allow the NLA to “proceed smoothly”.

Pol General Pichit Khuande-chakupt, who chairs the NLA committee on religions, arts, culture and tourism, proposed the change to the 1992 Sangha Act on the grounds that the country should return to long-practised traditions.

The 1992 Act’s Article 7 stipulates that if the position of Supreme Patriarch is vacant, the prime minister with the Sangha Supreme Council (SSC) would nominate the most senior monk of the rank of Phra Racha Khana, the penultimate highest ranking, as the next Supreme Patriarch subject to royal endorsement.

However, Article 7 has never been implemented since the last Supreme Patriarch was appointed by the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1989, three years before the stipulation came into force. During discussions, NLA members said the law created a “lingering problem”, referring to the potential vacancy in the post.

The current candidate is Somdet Chuang, who is also known as Somdet Phra Maha Ratcha Mangkhlachan, who has been nominated by the SSC.

However, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has refused to submit Somdet Chuang’s name for royal endorsement, saying the abbot must clear “all allegations”, including his ownership of an illegally imported antique car and close relations with the fugitive former abbot Phra Dhammachayo of the controversial Dhammakaya Temple.

NLA member Somchai Sawaengkarn said that the 1992 law created confusion whether the SSC or the prime minister should have the principal authority to nominate the Supreme Patriarch. He added that the monarch having sole discretion not only followed tradition but had been stipulated by previous versions of the Act. The 1992 Act also gave great weight to the seniority of the nominee, which could discount the qualifications of candidates, Somchai said.

Another NLA member, Tuang Untachai, said the 1992 Act could be deemed to reduce the King’s rightful power under the constitution, which stipulates that the monarch maintains the right to grant royal titles and decorations, which should include the Supreme Patriarch.