Speaker warns MPs not to become ‘cobras’

People who betray their parties rarely make it back at the next election, says Wan

House speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha has warned MPs against betraying the trust of the people by turning into “cobras” in parliament.

Mr Wan, who is also the Parliament president, told a recent seminar on the roles and duties of MPs that the real power belongs to the people and is exercised through their elected representatives.

“It’s a mistake to think that the electorate are mere holders of voting rights. That’s a total misconception of the democratic principle,” he said.

MPs who regularly consult their constituents rarely go wrong in performing their duty as lawmakers, Mr Wan noted.

The seminar was the first induction held on the lawmakers’ roles for MPs elected in the May 14 general election.

Mr Wan added that the MPs should stay focused and dedicate themselves to their parliamentary work and not lose interest in attending House meetings.

The House speaker said some MPs were not re-elected after they had allowed themselves to turn into “cobras”.

This was a reference to those who were bankrolled to vote in parliament in defiance of their respective parties’ stances.

“Throughout the years I’ve been an MP, I have yet to see a single ‘cobra’ make it back into parliament. Take the tale of the 40 ‘cobra’ MPs as an example,” he said.

Mr Wan is understood to have been referring to the alleged collusion to purge Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha through censure votes in 2021.

The plot to stage a revolt had taken place days prior to the no-confidence debate. Gen Prayut was the prime target of the debate that centred largely on the government’s failures to manage the Covid-19 situation and corruption.

The revolt initially drew around 40 MPs who reportedly included some from the ruling Palang Pracharath Party itself, although Gen Prayut’s supporters in the coalition managed to convince more than half of the MPs to backtrack.

Gen Prayut eventually managed to survive the censure motion.

Mr Wan, who quit as Prachachat Party leader to become House speaker, said MPs must be receptive to changes in society and adjust accordingly.