“Parit” raises five points to counter “Sophon” for contradicting the neutrality principle, blocking the committee's government oversight, preventing public law proposals, and delaying the petition investigating “Sak Siam” for hidden shares for over 155 days.
On 8 November, Parit Watcharasindhu, party-list MP and deputy leader of the People's Party, posted on Facebook that in an open letter dated 6 November from Sophon Sarum, Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the public, it was stated that the Speaker's duty is to the House and all citizens, not any single political party, to preserve neutrality, independence, and the legislature's dignity to robustly and lawfully oversee the executive branch.
Parit added that he agrees with this statement but sees Sophon acting in at least five ways contrary to this principle: first, approving the House committee's strict rules requiring all actions, such as agenda setting and inviting clarifications, to rely rigidly on meeting resolutions, which undermines the committee’s flexibility and efficiency, especially in urgent matters.
Parit also said this approach allows government MPs, who hold the majority in the committee, to vote to block investigations into matters negatively impacting the government—even when within the committee's direct authority—thereby destroying a key parliamentary oversight mechanism under Article 129 of the Constitution and legitimizing a rule amendment by the Bhumjaithai Party MPs to be debated this week, possibly justified as aligning with the Speaker’s approved procedures.
Parit further noted the second point: closing the door on a bill to erase the 6 October coup legacy, which the public had backed with 59,503 signatures, by ruling it outside the scope of citizen proposals under Section 133 (3) of the Constitution because it allegedly did not comply with Chapter 3 on rights and freedoms—despite the bill proposing amendments to criminal penalties related to freedom of expression, which is covered under that chapter.
Parit stated that previous Speakers have allowed other citizen groups to propose bills amending criminal law offenses, and allowing this bill to enter parliamentary consideration does not mean the Speaker endorses its content but rather provides an opportunity for all 500 MPs to debate and decide whether to approve it.
Parit continued with the third point: delaying the petition jointly submitted by opposition MPs and some senators to the Speaker to forward to the Supreme Court for appointing a panel to investigate the National Anti-Corruption Commission's dismissal of the hidden shares case involving former Transport Minister Sak Siam Chidchob. It has now been 155 days, or five months, since the petition was filed to the Speaker—a significantly longer delay compared to less than 41 days taken by former Senate President Mongkol Surasajja acting as Speaker to forward a similar petition regarding gold bribery early in 2026.
“There is also no clarity from Sophon on the timeline the screening committee will take to process and advise the Speaker, raising questions whether the delay is due to the petition involving a family member influential in the Bhumjaithai Party,” Parit said.
Parit added the fourth point: refusing to convene a joint parliamentary meeting—which has not occurred even once since the session opened on 25 August—to consider two pending constitutional amendment bills proposed by the People's Party 7-8 months ago. These bills aim to increase public participation in overseeing independent bodies to ensure they are not independent from the people. The bills include enhancing citizens' rights to initiate the removal of independent organizations and political officeholders and removing the Speaker’s discretion to dismiss petitions from MPs or citizens requesting the Supreme Court to appoint a panel to investigate the National Anti-Corruption Commission's misconduct.
Parit also noted the fifth point: allowing delays in appointing the Thai parliamentary administrative committee responsible for international parliamentary affairs, which must be approved in a joint parliamentary meeting that has yet to be scheduled as noted in point four. This absence deprives government MPs, opposition MPs, senators, and parliamentary officials of a forum to collaboratively discuss and plan fair selection of delegates, strategic agenda promotion, and submitting resolutions on issues Thailand wants to advance internationally, such as transnational crime and scammers, cross-border air pollution, river toxins, and human trafficking.
“I sincerely hope Sophon will promptly review, act on, or resolve these five issues I have highlighted, to enhance parliamentary effectiveness and maximize benefits for the public,” Parit said. Parit stated.