Bangkok Post

Senate gearing up to grill govt in debate

The Senate will likely hold a general debate to grill the government late next month or in March and will focus on the government’s alleged failure to tackle corruption and other key problems, including the suppressio­n of pork smuggling.

Since the current parliament­ary session is due to end on April 9, next month or March appears to be the right time, Senator Seree Suwanpanon­t said yesterday.

An Upper House working group coordinati­ng the upcoming general debate was compiling debate topics from questions submitted by senators interested in speaking during the debate, he said.

The working group was formed after a motion requesting a general debate in the Upper House was submitted and considered by the Senate on Thursday, he said.

Debate topics need to be specified first as the working group has to formally invite cabinet ministers to respond to questions which concern them, he said.

At this point, about seven broad topics have been outlined for the debate and for cabinet ministers to respond to, while senators interested in taking part in the debate were submitting more questions which would later be grouped into these existing main topics, he said.

“Many senators have expressed an interest in speaking,” he said.

The government’s attempts to stamp out bribery in the public sector and other problems, including pork smuggling, will definitely be included in one of seven topics which the government should explain, he said.

Bribery in the public sector has become far more complicate­d, with corrupt officials no longer directly demanding people pay them a bribe, he said.

These corrupt people now pressure people to pay them a bribe voluntaril­y, using a mechanism in which they abuse their authority in an indirect way to make others pay them without issuing a demand, he said.

The public will be informed if Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin will be able to attend the debate and answer questions in person, said Mr Seree, who warned the PM not to assign someone to answer senators’ questions on his behalf.