"Mongkol Surasatja" is ready to follow the "Parliament" by proposing to the Senate whip meeting tomorrow to end providing lunch and meals during meetings. He emphasized his willingness to cooperate to save the budget and use funds only as necessary, but has not yet responded on whether he supports reducing MPs' assistants or pensions for MPs and senators.
On 31 March 2026 at the Senate, Mr. Mongkol Surasatja, Senate President, spoke about the unanimous agreement among political party representatives to stop providing lunch for MPs starting after the Songkran festival. He said senators are ready to cooperate. In the current national energy crisis, senators have discussed and agreed to cooperate in saving government budget as much as possible, including a clear decision to avoid unnecessary foreign travel. Regarding cost-saving measures such as meals, everyone is willing to cooperate to save the budget. Lunch and meals during meetings will be paid for by themselves, which is not an issue for senators. He will present this at the Senate Affairs Committee (Senate whip) meeting on 1 April to acknowledge that when the Parliament has made a decision, the Senate must follow as an example for the country, at least to save budget. If this can be done, it will be a good thing.
When asked whether there will be a clear decision to stop providing meals for senators altogether, Mr. Mongkol said that catering is the responsibility of the Senate Secretariat and must be considered based on necessity. Anything that can be saved will be saved; anything unnecessary will not be done.
"The awareness that must be present is the Thai people's consciousness and the country's crisis. If the country is in crisis, everyone must cooperate to save. Budget spending must follow necessity. Everyone must make sacrifices where possible," Mr. Mongkol said.
When asked if other benefits such as travel support, airfare, and fuel costs will be reviewed as well, the Senate President said, "It depends on necessity; if needed, it will be discussed further."
Regarding proposals to reduce the number of personal assistants for senators, Mr. Mongkol said he will wait to hear from Parliament and that any matters would require consultation. He noted that there are proposals for the Senate Affairs Committee and the Senate whip to study this. The Senate side is ready to cooperate. The Senate whip is studying ways to save the budget as much as possible, and every baht and satang spent must be used only as necessary without excess.
When asked about proposals to cancel pensions for former parliament members, Mr. Mongkol, as a board member of the pension fund for former parliament members, said it depends on necessity. He is aware that some former parliament members cannot support themselves, some have no income, and some are ill. Regarding criticism that the budget used is very high each year, he said the pension fund board must discuss this together. In summary, all decisions must be based on reason and necessity without exceeding what is necessary.