Meechai to reveal CDC decision on Monday

That was what Meechai told Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha when they met briefly yesterday at Government House, the PM told reporters after the meeting. 

The prime minister allowed Meechai to see a list of candidates to become new constitution drafters to help him decide whether to accept the offer to chair the new CDC.

Meechai, a veteran expert and former Senate Speaker, had a 50-minute meeting with the prime minister yesterday afternoon at Government House, according to a source, who declined to disclose further details.

Earlier yesterday, Prayut said he would show Meechai a list of other nominees to become new constitution drafters so that he could decide if he wanted to work with them as the new CDC chairman. If Meechai said no, involved agencies would have to look for another candidate, he added, insisting that the list would be finalised by Monday.

Asked if former prime minister Anand Panyarachun was also a candidate for the new CDC, Prayut denied seeing his name. He also refused to answer a question whether he would approach Anand if Meechai turned down the offer to become the CDC chief. The PM said he did not want everyone to focus on who would take which position. Rather, he wanted them to see what they would get from a new charter.

He added that everyone could participate in the charter-drafting process by voicing their opinions through the channels provided.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said yesterday that he was unaware of Meechai’s meeting with Prayut. He added that the PM was now back from New York, and as chief of the military’s ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), he would proceed with selecting the new drafters.

During Prayut’s absence, Wissanu, Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan and others helped to gather information on new candidates for the CDC, and now the baton has been passed on to the NCPO and its chief, Wissanu said. 

He reiterated that there were 30-40 candidates in total. However, he refused to reveal if they were familiar or new faces. Wissanu explained that it was difficult to say because there would always be criticism.

“If I go for the old faces, then the opposition would say, ‘Why not some new people with fresh thoughts?’ But if I go with the new faces, they would say these people lack experience,” Wissanu said. 

He also said the new CDC would be made up of people from every party, including military men, but he could not tell how many there would be. However, Wissanu stressed that the composition of the charter-drafting panel should be well rounded. They should be equipped with expertise in law, political science, economics, and social science, he said, explaining that the charter needed today was nothing like those in the old days. 

“We have to take into account people-based politics, which include rights and freedoms,” he said. The previous 36-member CDC was well equipped, he said.

With regard to the structure of the new CDC, he said the NCPO would only appoint the chairman and the 20 members. The structure in detail, such as who would be vice chairman or spokesman, would be taken care of by the committee, Wissanu explained.

National Legislative Assembly (NLA) President Pornpetch Wichitcholchai said he believed Prayut would make his decision on the selection of the new CDC in a few days. Regarding the new reform steering council, he said its members would work to carry out the reforms planned by the now-defunct National Reform Council. And they would only deal with the NLA when they proposed some law amendments or new laws as authorised by the 2014 interim charter.