Worawit on Monday (September 23) said officials later that day would gather information regarding the matter and consider issuing a letter to Mananya requiring her to provide her reason for failing to file.

The reason may be a case of a legal exception under Section 105 of the 1999 NACC law that would allow a person who used to hold the position of mayor to be waived from revealing assets, he noted.

However, as there is also a newer 2018 law that requires all to reveal their assets, officials would study related laws and present their findings to the NACC meeting on September 24. The Commission would then render a decision whether Mananya has to submit her asset declaration, he said.

If the NACC decided Mananya was required to submit the declaration, the NACC secretariat will issue a letter to notify her accordingly, he added.

Prayut and his entourage, including Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, arrived at the Plaza Athenee Hotel on the 64thstreet between the Park and Madison avenues at 12.15pm local time.

Prayut was welcomed by Nipon Phetpornprapass, the Thai consul for New York, and some 50 Thai officials and expats living in New York and other nearby states nearby. The expats greeted the Thai prime minister with shouts when he arrived in front of the hotel.

Then at 3.30 pm, Prayut met some 150 Thai expats in a hall of the hotel.

The prime minister is scheduled to attend the 74th United Nations General Assembly and other international meetings this week.

Defence Ministry spokesman Lt Gen Kongcheep Tantrawanit told a press conference Friday that Prayut gave the instruction in his capacity as the defence minister while chairing a meeting of the National Defence Council.

Several activists and the Future Forward Party have called for a halt to mandatory military conscription. The Future Forward said it would propose a bill to amend the Defence Ministry Act so that military conscription was voluntary. The bill seeks to have conscripts undergo training and study courses for four years after which they will be hired as soldiers with starting salary of Bt15,000.

Kongcheep said the armed forces were told by Prayut to study whether the military’s personnel structure and its budget would be affected should Future Forward’s bill or a similar draft be deliberated for passage by the House. The armed forces were also told to look at whether other laws would have to be amended if military conscription were to become voluntary, the spokesman added.

The Criminal Court decided on Friday (September 20) to dismiss a case against six activists and members of the “We Want Elections” group, who were nabbed in November 2018 for rallying for prompt elections.

Piyanut Kotsan, director of Amnesty International Thailand, said: “Amnesty congratulates the six activists who should be commended for their bravery to exercise their right to the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly prescribed in the Constitution.

“The court decision to dismiss sedition charges pursuant to the Penal Code’s Section 116 this time attests to respect in the exercising of the rights and freedoms as provided for in the Constitution and the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, to which Thailand is party.

“Amnesty fervently hopes the verdict based on respect of human rights like in this case will set legal precedence, which shall be applied to other ongoing cases being filed as a result of the peaceful exercise of the rights and freedoms of other dissenters.”

This personal finances report is an addition to the NACC’s previous report of 415 MPs who had earlier submitted their asset lists in July.

Notable MPs whose assets and debts were revealed today include Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, leader of Future Forward Party (FFP); Pannika Wanich, the FFP spokesperson, Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, the FFP secretary-general; Parina Kraikup, an MP of Phalang Pracharat Party from Ratchaburi province, and Mongkolkit Suksintharanon, a party list MP and leader of Thai Civilized Party.

The two reports combined found Thanathorn was the wealthiest MP, with Bt5.63 billion in assets and Bt683 million in debts (shared with his spouse.) The second richest was Bhumjaithai party-list MP Nathee Ratchakitprakarn, with a shared Bt4.67 billion in assets and Bt177 million in debts. Third on the wealth list is Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anuthin Chanwirakun, another Bhumjaithai party-list MP, who with his spouse claimed Bt4.19 billion in assets and Bt50 million in debts.

Satun MP Phibul Ratchakitprakarn, also of Bhumjaithai Party, had Bt2.38 billion in assets shared with his spouse and Bt42 million worth of debt. Industry Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit, coming in fifth place, was the richest MP in the government coalition-leading Phalang Pracharat Party, claiming with his spouse Bt2.19 billion in assets and Bt0.6 million in debts.

The trip to the US from Saturday to next Friday will also be attended by Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai and Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa.

According to a schedule released to the media, Prayut will also attend two meetings in his capacity as this year’s chairman of Asean to represent ‘s Asean and Thailand’s roles in the international arena as well as to protect Thailand’s interests.

He will attend a high-level meeting on Universal Health Coverage to show Thailand’s strong role in public health affairs. During the meeting, the prime minister will make a speech to show to the international community that Thailand has interwoven public health service with social and economic developments and pushed for universal healthcare. The prime minister will also emphasise Thailand’s push to put universal healthcare on the world agenda.

Prayut will also attend the UN Climate Action summit and the Sustainable Development Goal summit. The prime minister will deliver a speech at the SDB summit on behalf of Asean. He is expected to say that Asean will accelerate development of the region and emphasise the role of local people as the centre of development projects based on the “sufficiency economy” philosophy, and that Asean would cooperate with the US and other nations in implementing development projects.

Prayut is also scheduled to meet the Asia Society and the US-Asean Business Council (USABC).

The Thai prime minister will assure the Asia Society that Thailand would cooperate with various countries on security, economic, social and environment projects, while the Kingdom also prepared to transform itself into an aged society and to develop smart cities and get its human resources ready for digital disruption.

During the meeting with the USABC, the prime minister will update the council of Thailand’s economic reforms, especially customs reforms that would benefit business operations. The prime minister is to emphasize the strong points of the Eastern Economic Corridor project.

During the trip, Prayut will also meet and hold bilateral discussions with several foreign leaders, including Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, UN Secretary General António Guterres, as well as Tijjane Muhammad Bande, the chair of the 74th UN General Assembly.

Prayut and his entourage are scheduled to fly from Suvarnabhumi Airport at 11.10pm on Saturday and to reach the John F Kennedy International Airport in New York at 11.05am on Sunday.

The prime minister will be briefed about his US mission and other activities in the afternoon as well as meet the community of Thai expats in New York at 3.30pm.

On Monday, Prayut will attend a high-level meeting on Universal Health Coverage as well as attend a summit on climate change.

On Tuesday, Prayut will attend a 9am banquette host by the UN secretary general for national leaders and their spouses.

In the afternoon, he will attend the SDG Summit, as well as an evening banquette held by the US president and first lady for foreign leaders and spouses.

On Wednesday, Prayut will deliver a speech to the Asia Society at noon and attend a dinner meeting with executives of the USABC at night.

The prime minister and his entourage are scheduled to fly from New York at noon on Thursday, landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport at 9.55pm on Friday.

Palang Pracharat Party MP Paiboon Nititawan filed a complaint with the Election Commission on Tuesday (September 17) demanding that action be taken against Srisuwan Janya, secretary-general of the Association for the Protection of the Constitution, for lodging far too many complaints.

Paiboon was reportedly angered by Srisuwan lodging a complaint with the EC against Paiboon’s, decision to dissolve his own People Reform Party to join coalition leader Palang Pracharat Party. Srisuwan accused Paiboon of sedition against the constitutional monarchy and for violating Article 92(1) of an organic law.

However, Paiboon said Srisuwan’s complaint was false, adding that Srisuwan had lodged several other complaints against him previously. He went on to say that Srisuwan wanted to be recognised, which is why he lodged so many complaints that unnecessarily burdened officials at the EC and other agencies.

He said Srisuwan was liable under a National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC) law for filing false complaints with government agencies and warned former Thai Raksa Chart MP Ruengkrai Leekijwattana that his complaint against the prime minister’s incomplete oath also violated the same law.

Srisuwan was dubbed “Thailand’s complainer in chief” in a Bangkok Post article for his frequent complaints about almost all key social and political issues.

Ittipol said he would nominate Prateep Pengtako, inspector general of the Culture Ministry, to replace retiring Fine Arts director general Anan Chuchote.

Anan will reach mandatory retirement at the end of September.

Ittipol said he will also seek replacements for the two retiring inspector generals of the Culture Ministry as soon as possible.

Future Forward spokeswoman Pannika Wanich on Monday responded to the leading party of the coalition, Phalang Pracharat, which had demanded she take responsibility for her attack on the charter.

On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, chairman of Phalang Pracharat’s strategies committee, said Pannika must take responsibility for her words for saying that every article of the charter was “good for nothing”.

Phalang Pracharat deputy spokeswoman Thiphanun Sirichana said Pannika unfairly attacked the charter without reason to support her criticism. Thiphanun added such criticism caused confusion among the public who, he pointed out, had endorsed the 2017 charter in the referendum held on August 7 2016 and that her criticism was tantamount to rejection of the voices of the 16.8 million people who voted for the charter.

The Future Forward spokeswoman said she would definitely take responsibility for her words during a public discussion on the topic of “For Whom is This Constitution? New Constitution for All Thais”. However, she said she was quoted out of context because those who listened to her full speech during the seminar would understand that she was attacking the “unrighteous” process for drafting and enacting the charter.

Pannika explained that the charter was drafted and the referendum was held at a time when the junta used one of its orders to ban public gatherings by more than five persons.

She said the 21 members of the Constitution Drafting Commission were also appointed by the coup leader and they had no link to the people.

Chatchart Sittiphan, a Pheu Thai Party executive and former transport minister, has reportedly indicated that he will run as an independent candidate in the Bangkok gubernatorial election, fellow party member Wattanarak Amnacsoradej said on Monday (September 16).

However, no official statements have come from either Chatchart or the Opposition leading party.

Chatchart served as transport minister under the Yingluck Shinawatra government and was also an assistant dean of Chulalongkorn University.

Wattanarak ran as a candidate for a Bangkok MP seat under Pheu Thai’s banner and is also a member of the independent “For a Better Bangkok” group. He said his group has agreed that Chatchart should run as an independent candidate in the next Bangkok gubernatorial elections.

Meanwhile, incumbent Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang’s term began on October 18, 2016, after he was appointed by the junta government to replace elected Sukhumband Paribatra.

A Bangkok governor’s term usually lasts for four years, but there have been no indications from the government as to when the next gubernatorial election will be held or when Aswin’s term will end.