PRIME Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday there was “no way” Article 44 of the Interim Charter would be used to dissolve Parliament “unless there was trouble”.

Prayut was responding to comments by Deputy Premier Wissanu Krea-ngam, who said the House could face dissolution if it fails to select a premier from lists of candidates drawn up by political parties, but this would not be done by an Article 44 order by the head of the National Council for Peace and Order. The PM said there were other ways to handle such a situation.

At the weekly press briefing yesterday after the Cabinet meeting, Prayut said Wissanu’s controversial remark was only a caution. The PM said he believed his deputy did not want things to turn out that way.

However, Prayut did not rule out the possibility of a dissolution.

“There’s no way it will be dissolved, unless there was trouble. What if it [drags on for] six months and [there is] still no PM? How would you like it?” he said.

Prayut said conflict may arise again if Parliament cannot select a premier.

Wissanu said last week that the House could be dissolved if MPs could not reach agreement on a new prime minister after the next election, to prevent the process dragging on for too long.

Critics expressed concern on whether dissolving Parliament was appropriate and if it may create a power vacuum for the current coup-installed regime to retain power.

However, Wissanu said yesterday it was not unusual to dissolve the House if it faced a “dead-end” and it was in line with the law. The deputy PM, apparently upset with the criticism, denied having said Prayut would use his absolute power under Article 44 to dismiss the House.

Wissanu explained that he had no intention to send any signal, as some people had speculated. He had noted dissolution last week only in response to some reporters and in a scope of returning power to the people.

Red-shirt leader Nattawut Saikua said yesterday that the parliament-dissolution card played recently gave the powers-that-be more bargaining power over politicians and the people. “If the acting government sees that there is still unrest and so it needs to dissolve the House, what can we do?” he said.

With the regime’s legal experts all saying a dissolution is feasible, Nattawut said that the public, who are the true holders of power, could not have any confidence that the representatives they select in the upcoming election would be able to work in the House.

Chief charter drafter Meechai Ruchupan said on Monday that he believed politicians would eventually reconcile and it was unlikely that a dissolution would occur. He gave the Kukrit administration as an example. Though there was intense conflict at the time, politicians managed to reconcile and form a government, Meechai said.

Meanwhile, the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) voted yesterday to send the final draft of the new constitution to the prime minister by next Tuesday, CDC spokesman Norachit Sinhaseni said.

Prayut would then send the draft for royal assent and enactment as the new constitution of Thailand.

Norachit said the CDC would make final changes to the draft in line with the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the intention of the additional question of the charter referendum. The amendments will allow senators to join MPs in requesting the waiver of PM candidate lists and to state that the waiver could be done throughout the first five years after there is a new Parliament, he said.

Prawit also said he was ready to disclose the names of his entourage, and affirmed that none of those joining him had been on the trip for leisure purposes.

“All of my team on the trip are related to me [my government duties] and went to Hawaii for work,” he stressed. Later he was quoted by Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Khongcheep Tantrawanich as saying that will only disclose the list of names to the OAG, not the press.

The delegation included the vice defence minister’s team and representatives from the Office of the Prime Minister, Prawit said, adding that the team was involved in discussions on several national security issues – namely terrorism, fisheries and human trafficking.

Prawit, in his other government capacity as the country’s defence minister, attended an informal meeting of defence ministers from Asean plus the United States and others in the Asia-Pacific in Honolulu at the invitation of US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter.

More than 30 Thai officials reportedly went on the trip with the minister, which lasted from Thursday till Sunday, amid speculation of an overly expensive flight with luxurious food served on board, estimated to have cost around Bt20 million in total.

Auditor-General Pisit Leelavachiropas said on Monday that the OAG was collecting facts from the Prime Minister’s Secretariat and national carrier Thai Airways International (THAI) to determine whether the expenditure incurred on the trip was “reasonable” and “productive”.

The agency will conclude the investigation by Friday, the auditor-general told The Nation. Prawit has acknowledged that some reporters also went on the trip to cover the meeting in Honolulu.

However, the menu on board the THAI flight was only “normal Thai food”, nothing luxurious and certainly no caviar, despite rumours to that effect, he insisted.

The overall in-flight cost of food and drink was reported to be Bt600,000.

Prawit, moreover, expressed confidence that the prime minister would not be worried about the controversy, as it was an individual matter.

Democrat Party leader and former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said that Prawit should clarify the trip expenditure and make it clear why it was deemed necessary to charter an aircraft.

The politician called for fairness for Prawit, saying he used to work with him and knew that he was a decent man – and not someone prone to superfluous expenditure.

Meanwhile, THAI issued a press statement Monday night clarifying the facts about the charter flights, insisting that the cost incurred was normal. Bt20.9 million was an estimated cost for the trip, as requested by the PM’s Secretariat, the statement said.

The carrier added that there were no regular direct flights from Bangkok to Hawaii and, as the officials were travelling as a group, a chartered aircraft was suitable for them.

Since a chartered aircraft was used, it was normal for the cost to be higher than for a normal flight, the airline explained.

The statement also said the actual overall expense incurred would not be available from the PM’s Secretariat until later.

Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd explained that the Bt21 million was not an actual expense, but a median price calculated from all the seats on the craft. THAI will be collecting the actual cost spent by the 38 passengers, he said.

“What people see is the median price. So, it leads to misunderstanding,” he elaborated.

Srisuwan Janya, secretary-general of the Association for the Protection of the Thai Constitution, said he would today lodge a complaint with the OAG calling for an investigation into Prawit’s trip to Hawaii for the meeting.

Martin Hart-Hansen, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative said the agency has a clear mandate to focus its work on development and be politically neutral, although it has realised that Thailand is now in a transition and needs reforms in several areas, including politics.

The UNDP, he said, has been working in politics-based academic matters, including elections, in some other countries, but considering the current situation of Thailand that might be premature here.

“It’s not that we wouldn’t do it, but it’s not kind of work we do here in Thailand at the moment,” said Hart-Hansen.

“Development of political |parties is … very political.”

Hart-Hansen said the agency had been working in Thailand for decades, through various changes of government, because of its clear mandate on development.

But due to the political situation at present, the agency would assess and analyse the situation before determining which projects it should initiate.

The UN body’s office in New York would help assess its work, given the organisation’s credibility and reputation, Hart-Hansen said.

Stuck in the middle

At present, he said, the UNDP is working on the government policies including anti-corruption measures but it would not meddle in politically-charged issues, preferring to concentrate on academic-based work or improvements to laws.

The agency has also been working on a five-year development plan in line with Thailand’s new 12th social and economic development plan, although it would steer clear of the political elements, he said.

Hart-Hansen said the agency is aiming to increase more of its work on social impact-based innovation. It has also been focusing on improving the lives of people on the ground, and other major development issues including climate change and water management

“Thailand is now a middle-income country, but it will face challenges such as inequality and the increases of in such a gap. These are the challenges that Thailand has to deal with.”

“It’s stuck in the middle-income state, and to get out of this state … it needs a dramatic change, where social innovation is seen as a crucial tool,” said Hart-Hansen.

Any government that rules with integrity is unlikely to be overthrown by the military, as the coup-makers would have no good reason to justify their action, he said.

A junta would never succeed without support from the public.

“In fact, this matter also depends on the majority of people in the country. If the government rules with morality, nothing bad will happen to them.

“I want you to forget about any possible coup by the Army under my helm. Do not ask me again about this. I won’t answer anymore,” he said.

The country’s last coups in 2006 and 2014 gained the “overwhelming support” of the people, as they could help avert political violence, he said.

Chalermchai officially assumed his post as the Army commander-in-chief yesterday.

He was speaking to reporters at the Royal Thai Army headquarters.

Successful coups in the past were often led by the Army’s top general, including the country’s latest in May 2014.

Meanwhile, the Army is to retrieve guns and ammunition taken by red-shirt demonstrators during the Bangkok protest in 2010, National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvaree said yesterday.

He claimed that the Army treated the demonstrators fairly without discrimination.

Out of 86 guns taken by some red-shirt protesters from mili tary personnel, 29 were retrieved and 57 remained missing, Winthai said.

In April 2010, the red shirts’ United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) staged a rally to oust the ruling Abhisit Vejjajiva’s government. The demonstration led to blood shed that left at least 53 dead.

According to the spokesman, during the demonstrations, there were 10 events, including ones at Victory Monument,

Somdet Phra Pinklao Bridge, and Makkawan Junction, where protesters stole guns and ammunition from the Army and damaged military vehicles.

Winthai said the mission to retrieve the weapons is ongoing.

THE Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) is investigating controversy over Deputy Premier Prawit Wongsuwan’s trip to Hawaii last week to attend an international security meeting, Auditor-General Pisit Leelavachiropas told The Nation |yesterday.

The cost of the trip involving flights to and from Bangkok was Bt20.9 million, which critics described as too high.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday said he saw no need for his government to set up a committee to investigate the matter. He said he saw nothing irregular about the expenditure, as the trip was for the purposes of work, and not for pleasure.

“Don’t try to find faults in matters like this. Whoever wants to take legal action about this, let them do it,”Prayut told reporters at Government House.

But he said responsible state agencies were doing their duty by scrutinising this matter.

General Prawit, in his capacity as the defence minister, attended the informal meeting of defence ministers from the Asean plus the United States and other in the Asia Pacific regime in Honolulu at the invitation of US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter.

More than 30 Thai officials also went on the trip with the minister, which went from last Thursday till Sunday.

Auditor-General Pisit said yesterday the OAG was collecting facts from the Prime Minister’s Secretariat and national carrier Thai Airways International to determine whether trip expenditure was “reasonable” and “productive” or not.

The agency will conclude the investigation by Friday, the auditor-general said.

“The OAG normally scrutinises the country’s budget expenses and this case is unexceptional,” Pisit said.

He said his agency would determine whether it was necessary to travel by a chartered flight, as the cost is substantially higher than a scheduled one.

Given it was a government trip, the officials involved had to fly with the national carrier Thai Airways. Pisit said in the event that THAI has no regular flights on certain routes, the government could use other carriers or book a chartered flight on THAI. However, he said, it depended on the importance of the mission.

“This trip was for a national security mission. We have to check if other similar missions need chartered flights as well or not.”

According to a source, the aircraft provided by the national carrier is a Boeing 747 with capacity more than 400 passengers. However, the delegation led by Prawit had only 38 officials.

Pisit said the aircraft used was suitable for the long-haul flight to Hawaii.

The round-trip flight cost over Bt500,000 for each person, divided by the number of passengers. However, the maximum market price for first class travel from Bangkok to Hawaii was about Bt200,000 per each.

Critics asked whether the price tag of Bt600,000 per person was reasonable for the flight, plus food and beverage on the chartered flight.

Pisit refused to comment on the appropriateness of the expenditure, given that more facts were required.

Meanwhile Prawit said there was no direct commercial flight from Bangkok to Hawaii, so he needed to take a chartered flight. Thai Airways was chosen because it was state-owned.

He said US authorities who hosted the meeting and wanted the Thai delegation to include experts from different areas, such as terrorism and transnational crimes, so the number of passengers was as many as 38.

“The information about the trip was disclosed on the Prime Minister’s Office website for transparency. The fund comes from taxpayers’ money so we need to have clear disclosure,” Prawit said.

He said that he thought the criticism on this matter was politically motivated.

Defence Ministry spokesman Maj-General Kongcheep Tantrawanit said the cost of the chartered flight was based on the median price requested by Thai Airways.

He said it was sensible to fly a chartered flight instead of a military flight by the Air Force. “The Air Force does not have the capability to fly on the route as the flight lasts as long as 19 hours and involves two refuelling stops. Thai Airways is more experienced in flying this route,” the spokesman said.

In May, PM Prayut and his team also took a chartered flight to Russia for the Asean-Russia Commemorative Summit. The flight cost Bt16 million, according to the PM’s Secretariat website.

The move marked the department’s 14th anniversary on Monday.

The blessing ritual was held last week at the temple, where Chao Khun Thongchai, or Phra Prommangkalachan, and other senior monks blessed the clothes.

Also in attendance at the ritual were Natural Resources and Environment Minister Surasak Kanchanarat, Parks chief Thanya Netithammakul, and several other senior parks officials.

The assistant to the temple’s abbot shot to fame after he blessed Leicester City, which went on to win the English Premier League last year.

The department has claimed success in its move to suppress forest encroachment via the newly set up taskforce, Phaya Sua, with nearly 36,000 rai (5,760 hectares) of encroached area seized. It plans to step up the operation, and the yantra clothes are seen as a good item to help boost its officials’ morale to fight encroachers.

Awards have also been handed out to officials deemed the most successful in protecting wildlife, including the director of the Wildlife Protection Bureau, Soontorn Chaiwattana.

In response to the distribution of the clothes, Facebook users have called on the department to support the social security of park rangers, which falls short in many areas.