Membership and methods for selecting chairs of 35 committees to be discussed Thursday
PUBLISHED : 30 Aug 2023 at 17:39
The new House standing committees will begin working once their members are selected from the various parties represented in parliament, which is expected to happen by the middle of next month, deputy House speaker Pichet Chuamuangphan said on Wednesday.
Mr Pichet said House speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha has authorised him to manage the appointment of members of various committees that will deal with state administration that require urgent attention.
The parties represented in parliament will meet to discuss the appointments on Thursday. In total, there are 35 House standing committees, each dealing with a different issue. Members serve until parliament is dissolved.
Mr Pichet said that on Sept 7, the parties will meet again to decide the method of electing the chairs of the committees.
On Sept 12, the parties are expected to submit the names of their candidates for each position. The next day, the names will be announced in parliament.
On Sept 14, the standing committees will convene their first meetings, during which they will select the chair, deputy chairs and spokespeople. They will begin working right away, Mr Pichet said.
The deputy speaker said the number of committee chairs a party is entitled to have depends on the size of the party.
The Move Forward Party (MFP) with 151 MPs, for example, will get to pick the chairs for 11 committees. However, the number will drop to 10 if the party’s House seats fall to 150 or below, which would happen if it loses the by-election in Rayong on Sept 10.
The by-election was called following the resignation of MFP MP Nakornchai Khunnarong on Aug 3, after it was revealed he had served 18 months in prison for petty theft 24 years ago.
Mr Pichet said Thursday’s meeting would discuss a Move Forward recommendation on committee chair selection. The party maintains that a committee cannot be chaired by a member of a party that controls the ministry the committee is supposed to oversee.
For example, a House committee on financial affairs should not be chaired by someone from a party that oversees the Finance Ministry.