Ex-Move Forward Party leader slams Thaksin’s comments

Chaithawat Tulathon, a Progressive Movement member and a People’s Party (PP) campaign assistant, has slammed former premier Thaksin Shinawatra for suggesting the PP was bent on passing too many laws, saying the government has failed to grasp the concept of constructive legislative duty.
Mr Chaithawat was speaking on the campaign trail in Udon Thani’s Ban Phue district for Kanisorn Khurirang, a PP candidate in the election for the Provincial Administrative Organisation chairman, which takes place on Nov 24.
Thaksin visited the province last week to help the ruling Pheu Thai Party campaign for the race. During a rally, he said PP should not compete with Pheu Thai over who gets to pass more laws. He suggested the PP repeal outdated laws instead.
In response, Mr Chaithawat said Thaksin’s remark could cause confusion, noting that to cancel existing laws, new ones must be enacted in their place.
“So a race to pass laws is a fine idea… Enacting a law which works in the interest of the people is what an MP should do,” said the former leader of the now-dissolved Move Forward Party (MFP), the PP’s predecessor.
Mr Chaithawat also criticised government MPs as lame ducks in their legislative work. “If anyone genuinely wants to tackle people’s grievances, they must act on their words and not open a nonsensical attack,” he said.
He also cited some of the bills pending enactment under the previous Srettha Thaivisin administration, led by Pheu Thai, which did not see the light of day.
They include a bill seeking to abolish military conscription and one on delegating power to local administrative organisations (LAOs) so they can manage their own transport budgets. The bills had been sponsored by the MFP.
Mr Chaithawat said the bill on local transport would allow LAOs to effectively overhaul the transport system to best serve locals without having to obtain prior approval from the Transport Ministry. He said Pheu Thai and other government coalition parties voted down the transport bill.
Mr Chaithawat also said Thaksin, who is deeply respected by Pheu Thai, had claimed during the election campaign that the government was dismantling monopolies in the energy sector to make the cost of living more affordable.
“[So] why is the energy concession still in the hand of a single company?” he said.