No plan to retain power: Thienchay
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NATIONAL REFORM Council president Thienchay Kiranan has denied that the Reform Assembly will be established so that NRC members can prolong their stay in power.
He claimed that as the reform process could not be completed within a year, the establishment of the assembly was necessary to monitor and assist the new government so it stayed on the reform path laid by the NRC.
The Reform Assembly will consist of 120 members – 60 from the NRC, 30 from the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) members and 30 other experts.
Thienchay yesterday claimed that the assembly wouldn’t have much power – its task was merely to give advice to the new administration with regards to national reform.
He said that NRC members needed to be in the assembly because he wanted continuity in their work, pointing to the 2007 Constitution when the post-coup government failed to pursue the reform agenda and pass by-laws.
Commenting on the plan to establish the assembly, former Democrat Party MP Nipit Intarasombat said: “This is an inappropriate plan, because no democracy in this world set rules for themselves to continue in power.”
This is a clearly a plan for the current NLA and NRC members to stay in power after the election as some will become senators and the rest will fill the assembly, he said.
He suggested that the new elected administration should be put in place first, followed by the assembly’s member-acquisition process.
He is worried the current plan to establish the assembly will lead to the public disapproval of its members. It may also lead to conflict between the elected government and appointed former NRC and NLA members, he warned.
Nevertheless, he believed that the National Council for Peace and Order would not accept the proposal because of the potential problems it may cause.
