Call to probe Prawit absences

Prompong Nopparit, a former spokesman for Pheu Thai, will petition the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) tomorrow to investigate Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) leader Prawit Wongsuwon’s repeated absences from parliamentary sessions.
Yesterday, he also submitted a petition to House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, requesting an ethics probe.
He stressed calls for an investigation into Gen Prawit are not biased or intended to malign him. However, Gen Prawit’s repeated absences from the House show that he has failed to fulfil his responsibilities as an MP, whose salary comes from public taxes, he said.
He was exercising his right to protect the state’s interests by submitting requests to the House ethics committee and the NACC for investigations into Gen Prawit’s performance and whether it complies with the constitution and House rules, including the oath he took before assuming office.
Mr Prompong cited records from the Secretariat of the House of Representatives, which show that from July 3 last year to the present, Gen Prawit attended meetings 11 times, took sick leave once, and submitted personal leave 83 times, resulting in 84 absences out of 95 meeting days.
He accused Gen Prawit of deliberately being absent from meetings by using leave as an excuse. This, he said, violates constitutional provisions, which stipulate that MPs must not be absent from more than one-fourth of the meeting days in a session.
The code of ethics for MPs requires them to dedicate time to meetings and prohibits unnecessary absences, except in cases of illness or unavoidable circumstances.
Mr Prompong said that on days Gen Prawit was marked present at meetings many MPs claimed they never saw him.