A group of MPs and House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha have defended an international trip plan put forth by his lieutenant, Padipat Santipada.
Mr. Wan, who also serves as the president of the legislature, stated that he had approved the journey to Singapore, which would be escorted from September 21 through 24.
Mr. Wan added that the funds for the trip is also being distributed in accordance with appropriate restrictions after consulting with legislature’s legal experts.
He stated that the trip will undoubtedly help House committees working on these issues and that its goal is to see Singapore’s contemporary political system and learn how the city state combats haze pollution.
Because the MPs are not traveling to Singapore at the offer of an organization or company, which would cover traveling expenses, Parliament is allocating the budget to cover all travel costs.
Mr. Wan stated that a budget for the trip is easily available and that the MPs are required to submit reports upon their return.
Pongpol Yodmuangcharoen, a lieutenant spokeswoman for the United Thai Nation Party, voiced his disapproval of the tour’s price.
Mr. Pongpol claimed on Facebook that the MPs had reservations for flights and lodging totaling 1.3 million baht, calling it” much very expensive.”
For example, he stated that they intend to stay at a hotel that is understood to be in the company group and costs 51, 250 baht per MP. The hotel will cost 12, 500 Baht for each person per day, along with round-trip airfares.
We can’t afford to ignore the high cost of this excursion, according to Mr. Pongpol.
To support taxpayers save money, Mr. Pongpol continued, the MPs ought to have chosen less opulent hotel rooms and airline tickets.
However, Mr. Padipat stated that 12 MPs, including himself and four members of the political staff, would initially travel.
He claimed that he had spoken with two Lawmakers from the Bhumjaithai Party and the Pheu Thai Party, respectively. The Bhumjaithai MPs, he claimed, were unable to participate in the trip, most likely because it is primarily made up of members of the Move Forward Party, to which Mr. Padipat belongs.
The research trip, according to Mr. Padipat, is necessary because Singapore does offer a comprehensive set of measures to combat smoke haze pollution.
He claimed that after speaking with lawmakers, he and his team were able to move to low-cost carriers for the two-hour flight to Singapore. He claimed to have received a response, however, stating that MPs on official tours must board regional airlines.
Regarding the hotel, Mr. Padipat claimed he made it clear to the vacation organizer that his group wanted each room to charge between 7,000 and 8,000 baht per night.
However, he added that” conditions exist where we don’t always get to decide on specific things.”
When Mr. Padipat returns to the land, he promises to go over the specifics of the trip’s costs.
He claimed that restrictions may apply to everyone, not just MPs, if the authorities wanted to strengthen the study tour budget.