Chaos reigns in Parliament over a range of issues
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PORNOGRAPHIC PHOTOS, chair throwing, and fights - you can see it all in the Thai Parliament these days.
In a Senate meeting yesterday, an elected senator was caught on a camera using his mobile phone to view pornographic photos. He was caught on the camera zooming in on some photos of a woman with her genital area visible.
Last month, Pheu Thai MP for Nong Khai Pongpan Sunthornchai was caught viewing photos of barely dressed women on his iPad during a parliamentary debate. He later claimed he accidentally clicked on a link that downloaded the images.
Opposition and Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva pleaded yesterday for people not to get bored with politics, after one of his MPs threw a chair in the parliamentary chamber.
“The public should know and understand what the root cause of the conflict is. As an MP, Shane [Thaugsuban] felt frustrated to be barred from speaking, so he got angry. We try to exercise our rights within the limit,” Abhisit said.
During a House meeting on a motion sought by Democrat MPs on the low prices for agricultural produce on Thursday night, a Democrat MP told the chamber that police were dispersing rubber protesters in Prachuap Khiri Khan, but the Pheu Thai Party tried to end the debate.
Democrat MP from Surat Thani Shane Thaugsuban got angry, saying there were still plenty of farmers suffering from low prices for their goods, who the government should have listened to. Suddenly, Shane lifted a chair and threw it over the desk in front of him. Then he threw another chair and broke its armrest.
Abhisit said the unruly scene in the House took place because opposition MPs were restricted in their capacity of speak.
Deputy House Speaker Visuth Chainaroon, who acted as chairman in the House meeting, was condemned by Shane. But Wisut said Shane apologised for his misbehaviour after the incident.
Pheu Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit submitted a petition to House Speaker Somsak Kiatsuranont yesterday to investigate the incident and penalise Shane for his wrongdoing. He said he would also submit a petition to the secretary general of the House to assess the damage to Parliament’s assets before filing a charge for the cost.
