Thai senators take off on overseas trips before the end of term
With less than a month remaining for the end of the tenure of senators appointed by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), several committee members are embarking on study visits abroad, but some senators have expressed their reservations about the expenditure.
The term of the 250 members of the Senate appointed by the junta-created NCPO ends on May 10, many of whom are utilising the allocation of 81 billion baht in the budget for fiscal year 2024, earmarked for bilateral meetings and visits to foreign countries. Among those who will be travelling are:
The committee on military affairs and state security, chaired by General Boonsrang Niumpradit, is visiting Kazakhstan and Georgia from May 2 to 9.
The committee on tourism, chaired by General Thanasak Pattimapragorn, is visiting Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia, and Herzegovina from May 14 to 23.
The committee on labour, chaired by Pol General Adul Sangsingkaew, and the committee on education, science, and innovation, chaired by Air Chief Marshal Prachin Jantong is visiting New Zealand from April 26 to May 3.
The committee on education, chaired by Tuang Antachai, is visiting Guilin, in China, from May 11 to 16, and Finland, Sweden, and Estonia from May 27 to June 3, 2024 following an invitation from the Robbo Fund.
The committee on independent organisations under the Constitution is currently considering bilateral meetings in Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia.
The committee on monitoring, recommendations, and acceleration of national reform and implementation of national strategies, chaired by General Singhsuk Singhphrai, the first vice-chairman of the Senate, is visiting Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, and Sweden from April 19 to 30.
Senator Seree Suwanpanont said that some senators, such as himself, Satit Limpanon, and Kamnoon Sithisamarn, had refused to travel. He called for caution in the spending of state funds. The term of the senators ends next month, so what will they observe, he poses.
He advised those who wanted to go abroad on study visits to use their personal funds to avoid criticism from the public.
The Senate president declined to comment.
