National Legislative Assembly president Pornpetch Wichitcholchai has been criticised by parliament officials for endorsing an increase in the meeting allowance for members of the Parliament Service Commission chaired by him.
Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, centre, poses for a photo with Surachai Liengboonlertchai, right, and Phirasak Porjit, left, during the NLA's first meeting on Aug 8. (Photo by Chanat Katanyu)
The criticism came after a new parliamentary regulation on the meeting allowance for the commission and its sub-committee was announced on the website of the Royal Gazette on Tuesday. The regulation increased the monthly meeting allowance for the commission’s chair from 10,000 baht to 20,000 and from 9,000 to 18,000 for the deputy chair.
The sub-committee chair gets a rise from 5,000 baht to 7,500 baht a month plus 2,500 baht - a 500 baht increase from 2,000 - for every meeting he attends. Sub-committee members were offered an additional 2,000 baht.
NLA vice-president Surachai Liengboonlertchai and second vice president Phirasak Porjit serve as Mr Pornpetch’s deputies on the commission, which is scheduled to meet once a month, while the sub-committee's meetings are decided by its chairman.
The increased allowance on Wednesday drew wide criticism from parliament officials who questioned the propriety of the change, with many viewing the new payments for Mr Pornpetch and his deputies as too high.