Stay signs of Thaksin amid opposition

Opposition: We will not heed the recommendation by House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha to remove all mentions of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra from the motion against Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.

Opposition leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut announced the plan yesterday, raising fears that the censure debate, which is scheduled for the end of the month, could reach a deadlock.

The opposition would also write to Mr Wan in the next few days to formally reject his recommendation to revise the motion, said Mr Natthaphong.

“We have confidence in our position, so [the motion] could have dealt with it in becoming better,” he said of how the House speaker can appreciate the necessity of keeping [the motion] as it is.”

Mr Wan and many of the MPs from the ruling Pheu Thai Party have condemned the motion as unjust to Thaksin because he will not be there to rebut allegations against him during the censure debate.

The House speaker also said he risked a defamation lawsuit if Thaksin was mentioned in the debate. For that reason, he instructed the opposition to strip all references to the former PM from the motion, or the debate wouldn’t proceed.

The opposition lawmakers, however, argued that they were entitled to explain the way in which Thaksin interfered in his daughter’s administration in the debate.

Mr Natthaphong said the opposition would take further steps if Mr Wan declines to hold the debate with the original motion, without going into details.

A refusal to move forward could subject Mr. Wan to malfeasance claims, he said.

Even so, Mr Natthaphong played down fears of a stalemate, saying there was room for talks to resolve the issue and allow for the debate to be held before the current House session ends.

Phumtham Wechayachai, the deputy prime minister, said yesterday that the speaker of the House had the ultimate authority to rule on motions.

The wrangle could be resolved in talks between the government and opposition whips, he said.

“We cannot go beyond the rule,” Mr Phumtham said, referring to parliamentary meeting regulation No.176, which provides for an unnecessary mention of a third person to be excluded from a censure motion and a subsequent debate.

“If the PP finds the rule to be unsound, the party can go to court to have it corrected,” the deputy prime minister said.

The House speaker must place a motion on parliament’s agenda first, after which a date for a censure debate can be set, said Pheu Thai MP Wisut Chainarun, who is also chief government whip.

PP list MP Rangsiman Rome pointed out that Mr Wan himself had proposed such a motion in 2019, when he was in the opposition.