Meechai has not set any conditions, says Wissanu
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DEPUTY Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said yesterday that former Senate Speaker Meechai Ruchupan had not set any conditions in order to head the new Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC).
Wissanu said his assumption that Meechai wanted his own team in the CDC was not Meechai’s condition to head up the CDC. The former speaker just wanted to know who would be in the CDC and wished to talk with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha first.
Wissanu said he could not reveal names of other candidates for the top CDC position and the members of the CDC, saying the matter would be settled within seven days. He said he would not give the list of CDC candidates to Meechai to read first because none of the CDC candidates had officially accepted the invitation.
He said the CDC members did not need to be legal specialists. “A veterinarian can do the job. One of the writers of the Japanese charter that Japan still uses till this day was a veterinarian who had experience on the battle field,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, National Legislative Assembly (NLA) president Pornpetch Wichitcholchai said the 20-month road map to democracy as presented by Wissanu could be shortened by at least one month during the NLA’s writing of the charter organic law. He said the NLA could spend this time while a public referendum was being held to write the charter supplementary laws.
Pornpetch denied having knowledge about the National Council for Peace and Order’s move to invite former National Reform Council member General Jira Komutpong, a former judge advocate-general, to head the CDC if Meechai turned down the invitation.
Former NRC member Amorn Wanichwiwatana said that no one, except Prime Minister Prayut, knew who was on the list of the National Reform Steering Committee candidates, as it was treated with high confidentiality. He said people with political motivation gave out a few lists that were released to the media to pressure people in power to select them.
“This is equal to pressuring the PM, which is not fair to him because the PM has announced he would exercise sound judgement in selecting the members of the NRSC,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, Somsak Prissanana-nthakul, adviser to the Chart Thai Pattana Party leader, said the party would nominate Nikorn Chamnon, also an adviser to the party leader, and himself, as members of the NRSC. He said he was not sure whether both would be selected, or just one.
