The government whip leader, along with the coalition committee chairs, defended Sopon Sarum and affirmed that he has properly performed his duties by setting guidelines for committee work. Meanwhile, Supachai Jaisamut criticized Rom for overstepping and called for an apology to the Speaker of the House.
At 3:00 p.m. on 4 Nov 2026 GMT+7 at the parliament, Mr. Karavee Prissanantakul, MP for Ang Thong from the Bhumjaithai Party and head of the coalition party coordination committee (government whip), led coalition party standing committee chairs from Bhumjaithai and Pheu Thai parties to clarify the facts regarding the operational guidelines for the 35 standing committees. The guidelines sent by Mr. Sopon Sarum, Speaker of the House, to all committees do not block the duties of each committee chair, nor do they revoke or seize legislative oversight powers through the committees. The Speaker’s guidance covers four points: 1. committee scope of duties; 2. committee meeting scheduling; 3. agenda setting; and 4. summoning persons or documents by committees. These guidelines align with existing rules; the Speaker has no authority to change regulations but only clarifies procedures to ensure clear execution of duties. It is believed no committee can exercise power beyond what the constitution or rules permit.
Mr. Watcharapong Kuwijitsuwan, MP for Saraburi from Bhumjaithai Party and Chairman of the Police Committee in the House of Representatives, confirmed that all committee chairs act under the 2019 parliamentary regulations. Any committee decisions require committee consensus; chairs cannot unilaterally summon or set agendas at will. Only a few committees have issues. He affirmed that Mr. Sopon did not exceed his authority in revoking the committee chair’s powers.
Mr. Supachai Jaisamut, a party-list MP from Bhumjaithai, said the recent legal committee meetings were disorderly and lacked procedure, prompting a petition to the Speaker to clarify committee operations. The legal committee chair seriously violated rules, especially by voting 8-0 on 4 Nov to reject the Speaker’s working guidelines. This showed bad faith and included improperly summoning the Speaker to provide information, which has no precedent or proper tradition. Such conduct is inappropriate and disrespectful to the Speaker, who holds one of the country’s three highest powers. He affirmed that Mr. Sopon’s actions were lawful, so there is no reason for the Speaker to explain to the committee. The legal committee chair should apologize to the Speaker because this behavior is arrogant and disrespectful.