Veteran politician Nipit Intarasombat has asked if the Move Forward Party really plans to change the date of National Day from Dec 5 to June 24 if it attains government.
Mr Nipit, 66, who represented the southern province of Phatthalung from 1992 to 2013, posed his question on Facebook on Sunday. He referred to a remark by MFP MP and spokesman Rangsiman Rome in a public discussion on June 24, the 91st anniversary of the Siamese revolution in 1932.
Mr Nipit wrote that Mr Rangsiman said during the discussion at Thammasat University’s Tha Phra Chan campus on Saturday that he expected a new parliament president with MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat as prime minister and that June 24 would become the National Day.
Mr Nipit, a member of the Palang Pracharath Party which still leads the caretaker government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, said that he was saddened by the remark.
The National Day of Thailand was on Dec 5 and June 24, 1932, was the day when the king was deprived of absolute power and the system of government changed to being a democracy.
Dec 5 was the birthday of King Rama IX.
“Normally, countries with monarchs as their head of state set their national day on the birthday of their monarch,” Mr Nipit wrote. He pointed to the UK as following this practice.
The MFP usually referred to the UK, France and the United States as models of democracy, but the party surprisingly wanted to declare as National Day the day when the monarch was deprived of power, instead of the birthday of the monarch.
Mr Nipit said he disliked the MFP for failing to show due respect for the institution.
During Saturday’s discussion, Mr Rangsiman said the Future Forward Party had proposed to former parliament president Chuan Leekpai that June 24 become a national holiday, but the proposal was not realised.
MFP is the reincarnation of the disbanded Future Forward Party.(continues below)
Rangsiman Rome
Srettha Thavisin, a prime ministerial candidate of the Pheu Thai Party, wrote on his Twitter account that whether June 24 became a holiday or not did not matter. What did matter was that the people must not accept a coup or a dictatorship.
Pheu Thai and MFP were to the two winning political parties at the general election and agreed to form the new coalition government with six other small parties.
Mongkolkit Susintharanong, former leader of the Thai Civilized Party, wrote on Facebook that he disagreed with the idea of changing National Day from Dec 5 to June 24.