National Legislative Assembly president Pornpetch Wichitcholchai on Saturday expressed concern that impeachment cases against former political office holders could take up too much time and resources.
Mr Pornpetch said four impeachment requests have been forwarded to the NLA so far and another fresh one was expected to arrive soon.
He said he was concerned these proceedings would prevent NLA members from undertaking their core duties.
Of the four impeachment requests, one is against former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra for alleged negligence in her role overseeing the corruption-plagued rice-pledging scheme.
The three others are against former Senate speaker Nikhom Wairatpanich, ex-House speaker Somsak Kiatsuranon and a group of 38 former senators for their support of an attempt to amend the 2007 charter to make the Senate fully elected.
The NLA is scheduled to consider the impeachment cases against Ms Yingluck, Mr Nikhom and Mr Somsak on Thursday and Friday. A new motion is planned against a group of more than 200 former MPs who voted in support of the charter amendment bid which was ruled by the Constitutional Court as unconstitutional.
“My utmost concern is that the NLA will have to set aside more time for these proceedings,” he said.
The NLA previously decided to drop an impeachment bid against former finance minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong for his failure to set up a pension fund for casual workers, and a separate bid against some 300 former MPs for supporting the blanket amnesty bill. The decision to drop those impeachment bids was in line with suggestions by the NACC.
Mr Pornpetch acknowledged that impeachment proceedings against the politicians could hinder the progress of national reform, but gave an assurance the NLA would proceed with fairness and uphold the rule of law.
He said it was important the NLA maintain impartiality and make unbiased decisions in the impeachment cases to avoid or minimise untoward circumstances that might disrupt reform efforts.
“The NLA has to maintain its neutrality. It must not tilt towards any side. This will not only protect the NLA but also help reduce conflicts. If we fail to ensure impartiality, we lose credibility,” he said.
Meanwhile, former Pheu Thai MP Worachai Hema yesterday called for a cabinet reshuffle to better tackle the country's economic problems.
He said the government should consider changing its economic team as it seemed to have done little to solve problems. Tax collection appeared to have fallen short of targets while exports were slowing, he said.
“It should start with improving the economic team. Its performance is really poor but nothing is being done about it,” he said.
Mr Worachai said it was possible that the members of the economic team were allowed to stay on because they had close connections with those in power.
The former MP for Samut Prakan suggested the government set an election date to lure back investors and boost their confidence. Mr Worachai was also critical of several proposals for the new constitution, especially those involving the qualifications of prime ministers and increased powers for the Senate.
“The prime minister doesn’t have to be an MP," he said.
"The Senate is set to be overwhelmed with powers. I don’t think people will accept it."