A banana that is worth an eight-digit figure? To most people, that is insane and unbelievable.
But to the opposition parties, especially Pheu Thai and Future Forward, the outrageously-priced banana has become a subject of investigation.
Banana was a term first used by Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Thamanat Prompow, the muscleman of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party, for handling the small parties which joined the government coalition. He was quoted to have said that, in order to tame the monkeys, he had to feed them with bananas occasionally.
Senior members of the Pheu Thai Party, including party leader Sompong Amornvivat and chief strategist Sudarat Keyuraphan, fumed with frustration after they learned that three of their MPs had defied an opposition resolution, allowing the government to form a quorum to ditch an opposition motion to form a panel to investigate executive orders issued by the now-defunct junta.
The Pheu Thai party wants to question the three rebel MPs to find out if any of them were promised "bananas" by the government as was widely rumoured. One of the three MPs, Udon Thani's Khachit Chainikhom, however, defended his decision, saying he did not support the government.
He said it has always been his habit to insert his ID card in the system to declare his attendance and leave it there until he left for home. Hence his presence was counted along with those of the government MPs to achieve the numbers to form a quorum.
But whether the party will buy his explanation remains to be seen.
Besides the rebellion by a handful of MPs, dissatisfaction among northeastern MPs is brewing toward Khunying Sudarat, the chief strategist.
They want Khunying Sudarat to be replaced by deputy leader Chalerm Ubumrung and some reportedly flew to meet fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to discuss the matter.
Four New Economics Party MPs voted for the government in defiance of the opposition's resolution to boycott the House meeting last Wednesday. This should not come as a total surprise because the party only reluctantly joined the opposition from the beginning.
New Economics ex-leader Mingkwan Sangsuwan announced before the March 24 election that the party would not work with the junta. Hence, he had to keep his word until he and the executive board resigned to pave the way for an election to choose a new leader and a new executive committee.
The move was tactical to free the party from Mr Mingkwan's pre-election promise.
The Future Forward Party, too, has its own problems of rebellion by a handful of MPs. Two voted for the government last Wednesday. But the worst is yet to come for a party whose fate hangs in the balance because of legal cases pending with the Election Commission (EC) and the Constitutional Court.
The EC is due to deliver its ruling this Wednesday on the controversy caused by leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit's 191 million baht loan to the party.
If found guilty, the case will be sent to the Constitutional Court for finalisation and the party may face dissolution and its executive board banned from politics for five years.
While it is obvious that the opposition is in disarray, the coalition, too, is facing an internal rift.
On the government side, four Democrat MPs voted in support of the opposition's motion while two others abstained.
That the government has turned to the dirty trick of gutter politics by secretly approaching some opposition MPs, with or without inducements offered, it is a sign that the government is fighting for its survival because it cannot fully trust the Democrat Party, which has proven itself unable to control some of its MPs.
Hence, the need for the government to seek cooperation from the micro-parties such as the Thai Civilized Party and the Thai Forest Conservation Party (known in Thai as Rak Puen Pa Prathet Thai) as "spare parts" to enhance its majority in the House.
But in politics, cooperation or support from the other parties is not free. It has to be a quid pro quo arrangement.
The problem is how many more "bananas" will be needed to buy the loyalty of the small parties. There is also the question of what help or inducements are being offered to secure their support.
Veera Prateepchaikul is former editor, Bangkok Post.