HUNDREDS OF Pheu Thai politicians yesterday confirmed their party membership, with one notable exception: Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan, a key figure in the previous ruling party and its likely future leader, failed to sign up.

Sudarat appeared at the party’s headquarters in the afternoon, hours after the membership confirmation began.

She said that she had applied to become a Pheu Thai member in 2013 but that due to a registration mistake, her name was not in the party’s membership system. “Whenever the party resumes accepting new members, I will apply,” she added.

Although she is officially not a party member, Sudarat has been mingling with Pheu Thai politicians and has appeared at the party’s head office on many occasions. She was a key figure in the now-defunct Thai Rak Thai Party, which was then led by Pheu Thai’s patriarch, Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thaksin reportedly favours Sudarat to become the next Pheu Thai leader although she is opposed by various party factions, reportedly including one led by Thaksin’s sister Yaowapa Wongsawat.

Sudarat said yesterday that she did not volunteer to become a candidate to contest for the party’s leadership, adding that the current leader, Wirode Pao-in, is already doing a good job. “I have never said that I want to become the party leader. The question is whether I want to. I am just a small person who is doing her duty for the organisation,” she said.

When asked if she actually wanted to become the party leader, Sudarat said: “I don’t think anyone wants to.”

Yaowapa’s husband Somchai Wongsawat, another key Pheu Thai figure, was among the party’s former MPs and politicians who confirmed their membership yesterday.

But Yaowapa did not show up to confirm membership at the party’s HQ yesterday. Somchai, a former prime minister, said it was because his wife opted to wash her hands of politics. He said he did not know the reason, adding that reporters had to ask Yaowapa themselves.

Somchai has been regarded as another strong candidate to become the next party leader due to his strong connections with the Shinawatra family.

When asked if he would lead the party, Somchai responded: “I don’t have much thought about that. Everything has its process. I am just a party member.”

More than 500 Pheu Thai’s former MPs, former Cabinet members and former election candidates showed up at the party’s HQ yesterday to confirm their party memberships. They each paid a lifetime membership fee of Bt2,000 to establish a party fund required by the new Political Parties Act. Altogether, more than Bt1 million was collected.

At the Chart Thai Pattana Party’s HQ, more than 30 former MPs and politicians confirmed their membership yesterday.

All of them paid a lifetime membership fee of Bt2,000.

He said the directive “may be amended on certain issues” in order to help get rid of “administrative problems” raised by various existing and new parties.

Prayut, in his capacity as head of the National Council for Peace and Order, issued NCPO Order No 53/2560 last December. The directive allows certain political activities required by the new Political Party Act, while maintaining the junta ban on most other political activities.

It permits political parties to manage the confirmation of current party members, collect membership fees and find new members. But party meetings still require permission from the NCPO.

Prayut said his government and the NCPO would determine what amendments would be made to the directive. He noted that the Council of State, which is the government’s legal advisory agency, yesterday discussed the matter with the Election Commission and the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC). These bodies would later suggest to the NCPO how to amend the original order.

“Most of the restrictive points involve administrative matters. The government and the NCPO will see how the issues can be fixed,” Prayut said.

Meanwhile, CDC chairman Meechai Ruchuphan yesterday said he was unsure whether the NCPO directive could be amended at this time, now that the Ombudsman’s Office had sought a Constitutional Court verdict as to whether the order violated the rights of political parties.

The country’s major political parties, Democrat and Pheu Thai, requested earlier this year that the Ombudsman’s Office refer their petition to the court, but the court did so just last week.

“I can’t give you a clear answer if an amendment can be made” to the NCPO order, Meechai told reporters.

He said he did not know if the “problematic” issues mentioned in the petition were the same as the ones targeted for amendments. “If they are different, I think we may go ahead [with an amendment],” Meechai added.

Also yesterday, Prayut said former government leaders Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra should feel ashamed for appearing in public even though they are lawbreakers.

Prayut said he did not feel embarrassed after Thaksin and Yingluck travelled to Japan and stayed there for a few days last week. He said that Thai authorities had taken all the necessary legal measures regarding the siblings.

The Shinawatras are wanted by Thai authorities for separate alleged wrongdoings. They have lived in self-exile overseas after fleeing the country – Thaksin in 2008 and Yingluck last year. They have appeared together in several Asian countries over recent months.

“We cannot enforce our country’s laws overseas. If foreign countries do not send them back [for prosecution in Thailand], that’s it. Do you get it?” Prayut told reporters at Government House yesterday.

“I don’t have any feeling about them. They should have been ashamed. They broke the law and they still dare to go out,” he said.

When serving as the Army chief, Prayut led a coup in May 2014 that overthrew a government led by Yingluck’s caretaker successor. Yingluck had been removed from the PM’s seat a few months earlier by a court order after she was found to be guilty of abusing her power by moving the National Security Council secretary-general at that time.

Prayut also hit back at Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday for stating that his party did not welcome politicians who support the junta chief returning as an unelected government head after the next election.

“He should have been more careful with his words. Did he care for mutual respect? If I get angry and say something bad, the persons involved will suffer,” Prayut said.

“Let’s wait until after the election. How will his position change? Let’s see what will happen, and ask him again at that time,” he told reporters.

On Monday, Abhisit said politicians who back Prayut’s return as outsider prime minister need not consider joining the Democrat Party. “There are plenty of other choices for them,” he said, referring to new political parties being set up with a main goal of supporting the junta chief’s longer stay in power.

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha welcomed them to his office as part of the Culture Ministry’s scheme to promote the production of “patriarchic” movies and dramas. These productions should promote Thailand’s three traditional key elements : the country, religion and the monarchy.

“BuppeSanNivas” is set during the reign of King Narai of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, which was three centuries before the Kingdom adopted the concept of the nation-state that now constitutes Thailand.

However, mainstream history recognises Ayutthaya as an historical form of Thailand. This is seeded in Thai classrooms for future generations and is part of the general awareness of the Thai people.

Hundreds of period films have been produced, while the Ayutthaya kings remain popular and are even worshipped.

Prayut went with the flow, calling “BuppeSanNivas” part of the Thai Niyom scheme hyped by his government to promote “Thainess” in all sectors.

Yesterday, a call was made under Prayut’s nickname, “Sai Trong Loong Tu”, as part of the Thai Niyom scheme to encourage people to pose their queries to the government.

While the government and the junta has already opened channels for the filing of questions, Sai Trong Loong Tu will be more engaging by using online and mobile platforms. Its nickname also gives the impression that these matters will eventually fall into Prayut’s hands.

Whether it was part of Thai Niyom or not, Prayut jokingly said that the second-lead actor, Parama Imanothai, would be beheaded if he wanted an election to be held soon.

“Tell me, which one of ‘or chao’ wants a faster election?” Prayut asked, calling the stars by Thai archaic form of “you”.

Nationwide heratthrob Tanawat Wattanaputi quickly threw his hero image away as he immediately pointed at Parama.

“I can wait, sir. I understand it has to follow the road map,” Parama quickly replied before asking to take a selfie with Prayut and asking him for a pardon.

Instead, Prayut ordered him to be lashed 10 times.

Time appeared to be frozen as everyone at Government House, from civil servants to reporters and fans flocked to get the best glimpse of their favourite stars.

They giggled and beamed as they walked around Government House in fancy traditional costumes.

Actress Ranee Campen looked sweet in her soft pink sabai while Kannarun Wongkhajonklai melted hearts simply with her smile.

He said the directive “may be amended on certain issues” in order to help get rid of “administrative problems” raised by various existing and new parties.

Prayut, in his capacity as head of the National Council for Peace and Order, issued NCPO Order No 53/2560 last December. The directive allows certain political activities required by the new Political Party Act, while maintaining the junta ban on most other political activities.

It permits political parties to manage the confirmation of current party members, collect membership fees and find new members. But party meetings still require permission from the NCPO.

Prayut said his government and the NCPO would determine what amendments would be made to the directive. He noted that the Council of State, which is the government’s legal advisory agency, yesterday discussed the matter with the Election Commission and the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC). These bodies would later suggest to the NCPO how to amend the original order.

“Most of the restrictive points involve administrative matters. The government and the NCPO will see how the issues can be fixed,” Prayut said.

Meanwhile, CDC chairman Meechai Ruchuphan yesterday said he was unsure whether the NCPO directive could be amended at this time, now that the Ombudsman’s Office had sought a Constitutional Court verdict as to whether the order violated the rights of political parties.

The country’s major political parties, Democrat and Pheu Thai, requested earlier this year that the Ombudsman’s Office refer their petition to the court, but the court did so just last week.

“I can’t give you a clear answer if an amendment can be made” to the NCPO order, Meechai told reporters.

He said he did not know if the “problematic” issues mentioned in the petition were the same as the ones targeted for amendments. “If they are different, I think we may go ahead [with an amendment],” Meechai added.

Also yesterday, Prayut said former government leaders Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra should feel ashamed for appearing in public even though they are lawbreakers.

Prayut said he did not feel embarrassed after Thaksin and Yingluck travelled to Japan and stayed there for a few days last week. He said that Thai authorities had taken all the necessary legal measures regarding the siblings.

The Shinawatras are wanted by Thai authorities for separate alleged wrongdoings. They have lived in self-exile overseas after fleeing the country – Thaksin in 2008 and Yingluck last year. They have appeared together in several Asian countries over recent months.

“We cannot enforce our country’s laws overseas. If foreign countries do not send them back [for prosecution in Thailand], that’s it. Do you get it?” Prayut told reporters at Government House yesterday.

“I don’t have any feeling about them. They should have been ashamed. They broke the law and they still dare to go out,” he said.

When serving as the Army chief, Prayut led a coup in May 2014 that overthrew a government led by Yingluck’s caretaker successor. Yingluck had been removed from the PM’s seat a few months earlier by a court order after she was found to be guilty of abusing her power by moving the National Security Council secretary-general at that time.

Prayut also hit back at Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday for stating that his party did not welcome politicians who support the junta chief returning as an unelected government head after the next election.

“He should have been more careful with his words. Did he care for mutual respect? If I get angry and say something bad, the persons involved will suffer,” Prayut said.

“Let’s wait until after the election. How will his position change? Let’s see what will happen, and ask him again at that time,” he told reporters.

On Monday, Abhisit said politicians who back Prayut’s return as outsider prime minister need not consider joining the Democrat Party. “There are plenty of other choices for them,” he said, referring to new political parties being set up with a main goal of supporting the junta chief’s longer stay in power.

Military service is compulsory for all Thai men aged 20 and above who did not already take Reserve Officer Training during high school.

Parit, 26, who went to high school in England, had three options: to draw lots, to postpone his military service, or to apply voluntarily to be a draftee.

He decided to take the last option.

His voluntary enrolment also means he will only be trained for six months, while those taking the option to draw lots have to do two years of service.

After his training is completed later this year, Parit would be able to run in the general election currently set for February next year if he chose to do so.

The military draft was always a weak point for Parit’s uncle, ex-PM Abhisit, who was often attacked for his allegedly deliberate avoidance of the draft, with calls that this should have disqualified him from being prime minister.

It has been suggested that Parit may have enrolled in the Army to ensure he would not have to go through the same scandal as his uncle, after recently having been highlighted as a “new blood” of the Democrat Party.

Prayut said he did not feel embarrassed after Thaksin and Yingluck travelled to Japan and stayed there for a few days last week. He said that authorities had taken all the legal measures regarding the siblings.

The Shinawatras are both wanted by Thai authorities for separate alleged wrongdoings. They have lived in self-exile overseas after fleeing the country – Thaksin in 2008 and Yingluck last year. They have appeared together in several Asian countries over recent months.

“We cannot enforce our country’s laws overseas. If foreign countries do not send them back [for prosecution in Thailand], that’s it. Do you get it?” Prayut told reporters at Government House on Tuesday.

“I don’t have any feeling about them. They should have been ashamed. They broke the law and they still dare to go out,” the prime minister said.

When serving as the Army chief, Prayut led a coup in May 2014 that overthrew a government led by Yingluck’s caretaker successor. Yingluck had been removed from the PM’s seat a few months earlier by a court order after she was found to be guilty of abusing her power by moving the National Security Council secretary-general at that time.

He said the directive “may be amended on certain issues” in order to help get rid of “administrative problems” raised by the various existing and new parties.

Prayut, in his capacity as head of the National Council for Peace and Order, issued NCPO Order No 53/2560 last December. The directive allows certain political activities required by the new Political Party Act, while maintaining the junta ban on most other political activities.

It permits political parties to manage the confirmation of current party members, collect membership fees and find new members. But party meetings still require permission from the NCPO.

Prayut said his government and the NCPO would determine what amendments would be made to the directive. He noted that the Council of State, which is the government’s legal advisory agency, on Tuesday discussed the matter with the Election Commission and the Constitution Drafting Commission. These bodies would later suggest to the NCPO how to amend the original order.

“Most of the restrictive points involve administrative matters. The government and the NCPO will see how the issues can be fixed,” Prayut said

NLA President Pornpetch Wichitcholchai said he had received a letter from the Prime Minister, General Prayut Chan-o-cha, who had given the green light for the NLA to send the matter to the Court.

As concern has been increasing that the election in February may not be possible, Pornpetch added that the NLA had asked the Court to rush its deliberation to ensure the election road map is not affected.

The post came after his resignation at the end of March from news station PPTV, where he was a senior news director.

Vanchai was reportedly pressured to leave the job because of his frequent criticism of the ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).

Under Vanchai’s leadership, PPTV had reportedly been persistent in scrutinising the junta, including over the case involving General Prawit Wongsuwan’s possession of luxury watches.

In his Facebook post, Vanchai wrote that security officers kept a record of how many times each person with a large number of followers on social media criticised the junta government. When that limit was reached, that person would be visited by officers, he said.

“Some are just visited. Others are visited, pressured, and weeded out,” Vanchai wrote.

Prawit, also a key man in the NCPO, denied the report on Tuesday. “Not [true]. This is so full of hot air,” Prawit said.

MAJOR POLITICAL parties have put pressure on the junta to revoke or amend its controversial order viewed as imposing restrictions on party activities and pave the way for the next election.

Pheu Thai Party acting secretary-general Phumtham Wechayachai said yesterday the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) should nullify the order completely and stop stalling for time. The situation today was unlike when the coup was staged almost four years ago and everyone was looking forward to an election, he said.

The NCPO Order No 53/60 was issued in December to allow certain political activities required by the new Political Party Act, while maintaining the junta ban on most other political activities.

It permits political parties to manage the confirmation of current party members, collect membership fees and find new members. But party meetings still require permission from the NCPO.

Phumtham yesterday said Pheu Thai would not seek permission from the junta. The party had done so before but never received a response, he said, adding that if the NCPO revoked the order, the party would be able to convene a meeting right away.

“I don’t think it’s necessary that we have to get permission every time. Rather, all the orders should be nullified,” Phumtham said. “Everyone prioritises the national interest. There’s nothing to be concerned about.”

Democrat Party legal expert Virat Kalayasiri said yesterday he would welcome a junta move to at least amend the controversial order.

“The NCPO should amend it after it has caused such difficulty to political parties. The Election Commission, the Ombudsman and political parties agree that it is problematic,” he said. “The confirmation of members imposed by the order is not only a burden but also a deprivation of rights.”

Since the directive was made, political parties have complained that having members reconfirm their membership was not different from resetting parties back to their founding. If members did not confirm their status, parties would lose them as members. It was also a burden to have to urge members to comply with a rule that involved a lot of documentation, they argued.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said yesterday that the Council of State – the government’s legal advisory agency – was writing a draft amendment to the controversial junta order. He said final approval from the NCPO was needed before an amended version of the order was announced.

“The Council of State is preparing the draft. But I don’t know when the change will be made. That will need approval from the NCPO,” said Wissanu, who is in charge of the government’s legal affairs.

The government and the NCPO were aware of the issues raised by political parties regarding the NCPO order and representatives from the government and NCPO last week met with their counterparts from the Election Commission to discuss the matter, the deputy prime minister said.

Most of the issues involved the practicality of certain clauses in the order, and amendments to the original order were expected to address those problems, he said.

When Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha was asked about calls for amendments to the NCPO order, he said the authorities involved “are considering” the matter.

The Ombudsman’s Office has asked the Constitutional Court to determine whether the order deprives political parties of certain rights and puts an additional burden on them.

In a related development, Prayut said yesterday he was going to return the controversial MP election bill to the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) so that the body could forward it to the Constitutional Court for a verdict on the legality of certain clauses.

“I will soon send it back to the NLA so that they can petition the court,” Prayut said.

Wissanu asked the NLA yesterday to petition the court as soon as possible so that a verdict could be rendered quickly.

He said that NLA members could immediately take the case to the court rather than waiting for the prime minister to send the actual bill back to them.

The NLA was set to submit today the organic law governing MP elections to the Constitutional Court for a ruling on its constitutionality, NLA president Pornpetch Wichitcholchai said yesterday.

The move could delay the election expected by February next year, but Pornpetch said the Election Commission could consider expediting the work and hold an election early.

Pornpetch said last week that he would seek a Constitutional Court verdict regarding the constitutionality of the bill only after it was clear that Prayut had not done so and had not submitted the bill for royal endorsement.

A group of 27 NLA members had submitted a petition to Pornpetch requesting that he seek a court ruling on the matter on the assembly’s behalf.

Their petition pointed to certain clauses in the MP election bill that could be deemed unconstitutional, according to an NLA member who signed the petition. These included a provision that would deprive non-voters of their right to become political officials, and a clause that would allow election officials to assist disabled and elderly voters in casting their ballots.

Critics have warned that those provisions could be deemed unconstitutional and cause the next election to be declared void.