Yingluck says no cabinet reshuffle
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Justice Minister Pracha survived censure debate
There has been no discussion as yet about a cabinet reshuffle following the censure debate against Justice Minister Pol Gen Pracha Promonk, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said Monday.
Pracha, the director of Flood Relief Operations Center, survived the no confidence debate with 273 of the coalition voting in support of him and 188 from the opposition voting against. Five abstained and 15 others MPs did not vote, even though they were present at Monday’s meeting.
Yingluck told reporters that no cabinet reshuffle had been discussed, as the opposition had failed to show any new evidence or information against Pracha.
The opposition accused Pracha of failing on several major counts in relation to the floods including management ability, honesty and public relations.
The censure debate was held on Sunday and the vote was held Monday.
Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said while Pracha had survived and Yingluck was apparently not reshuffling the cabinet, he believed the opposition’s move had not been wasteful.
“The mismanagement and the conflicts are still there. If the premier did not do anything about the matter, then this has to be her responsibility. Our debate is not wasteful because we presented the facts,” he said.
The debate was disrupted by repeated protests from the government’s side, which consumed the time available for the opposition, he said.
Abhisit said Pracha did not clarify the allegations against him; on the contrary his statement caused more confusion.
Abhisit also referred to Pheu Thai MP Jirayu Huangsab who claimed in the Parliament that he wrote his name on the boats and mobile toilets donated from a foreign country to facilitate their return. However, the opposition believed that the writing was aimed at conning the public into believing that the boats were from him.
Abhisit said Jirayu’s name would not be necessary as the boats and the toilets already had the numbers on them.
