Phawut, a People’s Party MP, urges the government to quickly open state information for public access and pushes for the revised Information Act to be submitted to Parliament, noting that if the Prime Minister is serious, he can issue immediate orders.
16 Sep 2026 GMT+7 Mr. Phawut Pongwitthayaphanu, a party-list MP of the People’s Party, held a press conference at the Parliament regarding delays in revising the Official Information Act. He called on the Cabinet and the Prime Minister to urgently implement measures on two levels: both immediate policy directives and structural legal reforms, to genuinely enhance government transparency.
Mr. Phawut stated that the Official Information Act of 1997 has not been updated for 29 years, during which the world has transitioned into the digital era. The outdated law is a major reason why Thai government agencies have been unwilling and reluctant to disclose information publicly. Since 2020, the Council of State has reviewed the revised law, which has been with the Cabinet for several years, yet there is still no clear plan to submit it to Parliament for consideration, despite Parliament’s readiness. The People’s Party has prepared policies and is pushing for complementary legislation to amend this law together with civil society and other political parties. He presented two demands to the Cabinet:
1. Urgent policy-level measures The Prime Minister, as head of the executive branch, can immediately issue national policy directives, establishing a principle of disclosure by default, with exceptions for withholding (Open by Default). This would protect civil servants and officials, encouraging them to disclose information without waiting for public requests.
2. Long-term structural legal measures The Cabinet must expedite sending the revised Official Information Act to Parliament to permanently guarantee citizens' right to information under the law, preventing transparency from depending on the executive’s preferences in different administrations.
Mr. Phawut also emphasized that the government should now disclose the status and timeline of the revised Official Information Act to be submitted to Parliament, as well as define an immediate data disclosure plan under current law, clearly assigning responsibilities and deadlines.
"Bangkok, under Governor Chadchart Sittipunt’s leadership, has demonstrated that proactive disclosure and Open Data initiatives do not require legal amendments but depend on the political will of leaders. If Bangkok can do it, the government has no excuse not to. The Prime Minister can announce this policy immediately today, alongside accelerating the Cabinet’s submission of the revised Act back to Parliament, to truly enable public scrutiny of state information."