After more than four hours of closed door discussion, the legislators voted 118 to 25 to reject the list entirely.

The scrutinising committee had found more than half of the candidates had been stakeholders in businesses involved in the areas regulated by the Commission in the past year, thereby disqualifying them from taking the post.

Legislators viewed that the list should be forsaken in its entirety to avoid issues arising in the future. However, those on the rejected list could re-apply for the position if they have the qualifications.

According to Jade Siratharanon, spokesman for the NLA whip, the law requires that the next selection process starts from the beginning.

The news about the rejection, however, had been spreading for days before the official decision was made yesterday.

A source close to the NLA said that the legislature had been split into two camps. One argued that because some of the candidates did not possess the right qualifications, the whole list should be nullified

The other group of legislators argued that those who were qualified should be selected even though not all seven vacancies would be filled. They said the rest could be selected at another time, the source said.

Observers believe that the junta might invoke their special powers under Article 44 to deal with the decision.

The current NBTC board is expected at its board meeting next week to discuss how to proceed, following the NLA decision. It is also expected to discuss if it should go ahead and auction the 1800MHz licences as planned.

Earlier the board declined to consider whether to proceed with the auction, pending the results of the selection of new commissioners yesterday.

The six-year term of the current commissioners ended on October 7 last year, but the new NBTC law allowed them to continue in the same capacity until they are replaced.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said: “There was no significance. It was just a normal golf game – just like when I went there.

“Don’t try to view everything as having political significance,” he told Government House reporters.

On Wednesday, over a dozen key Pheu Thai figures converged on a Nakhon Pathom golf course owned by the Sasomsap family of politicians, who form a faction in the previously ruling party. There they met with Chaiyot and Anucha, two of the Sasomsap brothers, in what observers viewed as a Pheu Thai attempt to woo the faction back into its fold.

On Tuesday, the PM had said that authorities were trying to determine whether the gathering of Pheu Thai politicians at the golf course constituted a violation of the junta ban on political activities.

PM staying aloof

Deputy Prime Minister Chatchai Sarikulya yesterday said he saw nothing strange about Wednesday’s round of golf.

When asked if he would play golf again at the course owned by the Sasomsap family, General Chatchai said he was too busy these days. He noted that the last time he went there with PM Prayut.

Last December, General Prayut and certain other figures from the ruling junta were photographed with the Sasomsap brothers after playing a round.

Yesterday, the PM also attempted to stay aloof in response to a question asking if he wanted to become a full-fledged politician.

“I don’t want to get involved in politics. If I do so, I have to enter the election and become an MP and that’s impossible now,” Prayut said. He referred to the fact that the deadline had passed for junta figures to quit the posts if they wanted to contest the next election.

Prayut, who not long ago declared himself a “politician” after repeatedly denouncing the occupation, is now the focus of speculation about whether he is wants to be selected as PM after the next election, thanks to mechanisms in the Constitution that favour the military remaining in power.

“I don’t want to be a politician. But whether it is necessary? It depends on the future. It depends on what people want,” Prayut said, adding that: “You should wait until June.”

June is when the junta expects to call in political parties for a talk, a move seen as a possible junta attempt to influence political parties prior to the election.

After more than four hours of closed door discussion, the legislators voted 118 to 25 to reject the list entirely.

The scrutinising committee had found more than half of the candidates had been stakeholders in businesses involved in the areas regulated by the Commission in the past year, thereby disqualifying them from taking the post.

Legislators viewed that the list should be forsaken in its entirety to avoid issues arising in the future. However, those on the rejected list could re-apply for the position if they have the qualifications.

According to Jade Siratharanon, spokesman for the NLA whip, the law requires that the next selection process starts from the beginning.

The news about the rejection, however, had been spreading for days before the official decision was made yesterday.

A source close to the NLA said that the legislature had been split into two camps. One argued that because some of the candidates did not possess the right qualifications, the whole list should be nullified

The other group of legislators argued that those who were qualified should be selected even though not all seven vacancies would be filled. They said the rest could be selected at another time, the source said.

Observers believe that the junta might invoke their special powers under Article 44 to deal with the decision.

The current NBTC board is expected at its board meeting next week to discuss how to proceed, following the NLA decision. It is also expected to discuss if it should go ahead and auction the 1800MHz licences as planned.

Earlier the board declined to consider whether to proceed with the auction, pending the results of the selection of new commissioners yesterday.

The six-year term of the current commissioners ended on October 7 last year, but the new NBTC law allowed them to continue in the same capacity until they are replaced.

The legislators voted 64 to 117, with 19 abstentions, rejecting Paranee’s nomination, after an hour of apparently heated debate behind closed doors.

A source in the NLA said that the decision was due to complaints against Paranee that she had claimed to have a connection with a senior official to enable her to gain a previous promotion.

In addition, the scrutinising committee found Paranee had not had a health check-up as legally required before applying for the ombudsman position, the source said.

Paranee, who formerly was an associate justice of Nonthaburi Provincial Court Juvenile and Family Division, was therefore disqualified, he added.

Aside from that, the selection process had also been problematic, the source said. As many as 12 of the 14 candidates had been misinformed by the recruitment announcement and applied for the post although they did not have sufficient qualifications, he added.

“Only two people made the cut in the initial selection process, namely Paranee and Laddawan Tantiwittayapitak, a former secretary-general of the Law Reform Commission of Thailand. Still the election committee proceeded to vote between the two instead of finding more candidates,” the source explained.

“Regardless of the criticism, Paranee won the vote unanimously,” he said, adding that legislators raised many questions during the assembly to approve her before then rejecting her application.

Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan opened her house in Bangkok’s Ladplakao district to receive well-wishers from over 20 Pheu Thai politicians and residents to mark the end of Songkran.

“Please succeed in whatever you do, be loved by people and be popular,” Sudarat said to the ex-MPs during the wishing. “I wish you become MPs and even ministers after the next election.”

Former minister Watana Muangsook, who also visited Sudarat’s house, vowed that the party would not join hands with the junta and supporting parties despite recent cooperation with the Palang Chon party.

The party’s leader Sontaya Kunplome and his brother Ittthiphol were appointed to advise the prime minister and a minister on Tuesday. Democrat ex-MP Sakoltee Phattiyakul was also appointed as deputy Bangkok governor last week.

“There would be no effect to the Pheu Thai Party as we have different bases from Palang Chon,” Watana said “But if we win the election but cannot form the government because pro-junta parties do not support us, we’ll be ready to be the opposition.”

In Nakhon Pathom, meanwhile, ex-PM Somchai Wongsawat, the party’s secretary-general Phumtham Wecheyachai and former minister Varathep Ratanakorn led around a dozen Pheu Thai politicians to a gold course owned by the Sasomsab political clan.

“We didn’t know about their arrival in advance. We just knew that some VIP guests would come,” Anucha Sasomsub told reporters “Our golf course is so fine, everyone wants to have a swing here.”

Somchai, unlike Watana, refused to make political comments. “I’m just the party’s ex-member who just requested to reaffirm my membership. It doesn’t mean that I’ll have to be politically active afterward.”

“Now I think the country has been in huge trouble since you took power,” said Tanawat Wongchai, an economics sophomore student at Chulalongkorn University.

The message is in a public invitation he posted on Facebook on Tuesday night.

However, the prime minister is not likely to accept the invitation as he does not like to “argue back and forth” with student activists, Government Spokesman Lt-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said yesterday.

“Anyone should consider the status of debaters before accepting an invitation. A student debating with a national leader is an unlikely scene,” Sansern said. “You’d better ask Chulalongkorn University deans whether they would agree to join such a debate if they were the prime minister.”

While Prayut’s refusal to join the debate was no surprise, Tanawat affirmed that he was always ready should the PM ever change his mind.

The proposed debate aims to seek solutions on “issues perceived to be very challenging to the country”, the 19-year-old student said. These would include fiscal sustainability in an ageing society, environmental issues and the government-declared national agendas on human rights and Thailand 4.0 economic scheme, he added.

Tanawat was one of a few students holding a paper banner in protest against the junta leader, who gave a special lecture at the university last Monday. Seeing the handwritten message “Chula students love Uncle Too [dictator]”, Prayut said in response: “You’re so smart. Do come out next time when the country is in trouble.”

The confrontation was followed by uninvited visits from military officers to the students and their associations a few days after. Tanawat’s faculty was approached by officers who attempted to ask for information about him.

Tanawat subsequently joined other students in bringing a petition to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) regional Office for Southeast Asia, calling for international attention to what they saw as harassment by authorities.

Tanawat (center) when he filed a petition on alleged harassment committed by authorties to the OHCHR on April 11

He told The Nation that he was not afraid if the debate invitation brought him more threats.

“My debate invitation stemmed from Prayut’s ‘invitation’ to us. How could this be any threat to national security?” he said. “But it may be a threat to the junta government’s security. For one thing is certain: Thais will get to see the government’s vision from this debate.”

Tanawat said he thought that a dialogue with the leader should be possible for the the country’s youth. “If Oxford University students could ask for a debate with [United Kingdom] PM Theresa May, why could we not do the same thing here in Thailand? Debates with leaders should not be limited to political players,” he said.

“I’m not the best speaker out there but I have researched academically to some extent,” he said. “Prayut may be known for being talkative but the debate should be able to justify whether he is also a good speaker.”

Tanawat, who now serves as deputy head of the university’s student council, became an activist in his high school years with the Education for Liberation group, where he explored subjects of conservatism in traditional school rules and education policy.

Yuttaporn Issarachai, political scientist from Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, said Prayut was building a political network in preparation for the upcoming election.

He said Prayut’s political intention was noticeable when he travelled upcountry to meet with several politicians from small and medium-sized parties.

Prayut is trying to build a base of allies who come from different backgrounds but share the same purpose of backing his return as head of the government, an analyst said.

Stithorn Thananithichot, a political analyst from King Prajadhipok’s Institute, said Prayut was making deals with these political groups to create a “stepping stone” for his premiership bid.

It was possible that these groups together could gain 126 seats in the House of Representatives. When combined with the 250 junta-appointed senators, it would be sufficient to put Prayut in the government’s top job, he said.

“The new election method actually allows this. If Pheu Thai and the Democrat parties won the constituencies, they would not get anymore seats for the party-lists. Then, these seats would go to these smaller parties that will back Prayut,” he explained.

The PM has come under criticism from politicians and observers for his recent political moves, which have been viewed as paving the way for his return to power.

Sudarat Keyuraphan, a key member of Pheu Thai Party, urged Prayut to be straightforward about his political ambitions and stop exploiting state resources to fortify his position. Jurit Laksanawisit, the former spokesman for the Democrat Party, said Prayut should hire more advisers to teach him about morality, in addition to the political understanding he was seeking.

The reactions came after the Cabinet on Tuesday appointed Sontaya Kunplome to be Prayut’s political adviser and Ittipol Kunplome to be adviser to the tourism and sports minister.

Before the appointment of the Phalang Chon politicians, Prayut met with politicians from the Sasomsap family who are influential in Nakhon Pathom province and Somsak Thepsutin, who is influential in Sukhothai, Yuttaporn noted. And the PM is likely to see many more politicians in future mobile Cabinet meetings, the analyst predicted.

Prayut is scheduled to hold a mobile Cabinet meeting in Buri Ram province,  a stronghold of veteran politician Newin Chidchob, on May 7 and 8.

However, these politicians were unlikely to leave their current parties to join a new, pro-junta party, Yuttaporn said.

They would more likely keep their affiliation but would join with the 250 senators to later vote for Prayut as an outsider prime minister, he said.

“This is because voters in recent years have come to understand that when they vote for a candidate, it matters to the party, too. So, if these politicians leave their current party and join with a pro-military group, it is likely that they would lose the election,” he said.

Pheu Thai Party’s  key figure Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan

Meanwhile, Sudarat yesterday called on Prayut to “act manly” and make it clear if he wanted to become a politician.

She said the move to appoint Sontaya demonstrated clearly Prayut’s desire to become prime minister after the election and prolong his rule as much as possible.

The problem now was that the junta leader was exploiting his absolute power and state resources to gain advantage over all other parties which were frozen by the coup-makers’ order, she said.

This was not genuine democracy, Sudarat said. But if Prayut could be straightforward about his ambitions and not play outside the rules, all parties would welcome it, she said.

“On the other hand, if he continues to be secretive, he will be questioned by the public,” she said.

Jurit said Prayut’s appointment of a political adviser was not surprising. However, he found it strange that after four years in power, Prayut now says he is ignorant about politics.

“But since he’s already appointed an adviser. I think he may as well appoint two more advisers – one to advise him about the people’s needs and the other about morality,” Jurit said.

Government officials yesterday played down the appointments. Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam declined to say whether the appointments of the Kunplome brothers were to reinforce Prayut’s political influence. But he admitted that Prayut himself had proposed the appointments.

Prayut specifically wanted Sontaya to help oversee the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), Wissanu said, adding that Sontaya had volunteered to create a better understanding among local people.

“His stronghold’s already geographically in the area of the EEC and the people need to understand how they’ll benefit. And Sontaya has people working in the area,” Wissanu said.

Jurit Laksanawisit

“There could be an attempt to come to Thailand but we are ready to defend ourselves,” Prawit said. “Like in other countries, they might try to set up a branch in Thailand but we can prevent that.”

His reaction followed a Malaysian report that four ISIS members, suspected of planning attacks on non-Muslim places of worship, had fled to the deep South.

Three of them are Malaysians and one is a Thai, Prawit said. Two have already been caught but the other two are on the run.

Thai authorities are investigating whether they have any links to ISIS, he said.

PRIME MINISTER Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday downplayed the appointment of two politician brothers from the influential Kunplome family as government advisers.

Prayut said he needed politicians to advise him on political affairs but denied the appointment was for his own benefit.

The Cabinet yesterday appointed Phalang Chon Party leader Sontaya Kunplome as an adviser to the prime minister and his younger brother Ittipol an adviser to Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat. The appointments were effective immediately.

The Kunplome family is influential in the eastern seaboard region, especially Chon Buri. In early 2000, Sontaya served as science and technology minister, and also tourism and sports minister. Ittipol is the former mayor of Pattaya City, a special administrative area in Chon Buri province.

The father of the Kunplome brothers, Somchai, formerly one of the most influential figures in the eastern seaboard, is serving jail time for masterminding the murder of a local politician.

Prayut yesterday said he needed some politicians around during the run-up to the election to help him better understand politics.

“I don’t mean to bring [Sontaya] here for my personal interest. I need someone who knows about politics to give me advice because I don’t know how politics works. But I do need to know something,” Prayut said after the weekly Cabinet meeting.

The move is seen to be politically significant. In the past month, Somkid Jatusripitak, the chief of the junta’s economic team, has allegedly been consolidating power by wooing former members of the House of Representatives from different political parties to join a new pro-junta party.

The party reportedly is to be led by Somkid’s close aides, Industry Minister Uttama Savanayana and Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong. It is likely to be launched in June and is expected to back Prayut to return as a head of the government after the next election which is expected to be held next year.

Phalang Chon adviser Charoon Ngampichet yesterday did not rule out the possibility of the party banding together with a pro-military party after the election.

“It’s a matter for the future. If the opportunity is really offered, we’ll have to consider whether it’s appropriate,” he said.

Charoon welcomed the presence of key Phalang Chon members in the government.

Uttama admitted yesterday that preparations were being made for a pro-Prayut party. He said he had discussed the matter with Somkid and Sontirat, although “no conclusions have been reached”.

“Personally I support General Prayut if he wants to continue working for the country. He is suitable for the job,” Uttama said.

In a related development, Prayut said yesterday that authorities are trying to determine whether a planned gathering of politicians from the Pheu Thai Party at a golf course in Nakhon Pathom constitutes a violation of the junta ban on political activities.

According to media reports, a group of key Pheu Thai figures plan to have lunch and play golf with politicians from the Sasomsap family, which owns the golf course.

Prayut, who also heads the ruling junta – the National Council for Peace and Order – said he did not know whether such a meeting constituted a violation of the NCPO order prohibiting political activities. “The authorities involved are looking into the matter,” he said.

The PM added that authorities were also looking into cases in which politicians visited local residents in different areas.. “We will see if the order was violated. The order states clearly what can be done and what cannot,” he said.

The four brothers from the Sasomsap family are well-known, influential politicians in Nakhon Pathom. Two of them became Cabinet members in previous administrations and lead a faction within the Pheu Thai Party.

Prayut and certain other figures from the ruling junta were photographed with the Sasomsap brothers after playing a round at the golf course last year.

“I am not ill, as you can see now,” said Prawit, who is in charge of the government’s security affairs.

During the long Songkran holidays, there had been media reports, quoting Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha, that his deputy was ill and had received treatment for heart disease.

Prawit was playfully asked by a Government House reporter to flex a muscle in order to show that he remained fit.

He declined to do so and responded: “Why all the fuss?”