At the time of writing, we were in the thick of the censure debate against Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and five Cabinet ministers. It was scheduled to end yesterday at 7pm so, by the time you're reading this, you may be reeling in mixed emotions.
I've done the legwork of combing through it to find the superlative moments for your amusement, bewilderment and plain confusion.
Most Savage Moment
"I cannot place my trust in you, sir [Uncle Tu], who proclaimed to have 84,000 brain cells, to be able to govern the country amid the failure to live up to trust the public places on your leadership." -- Sompong Amornwiwat, the opposition leader.
Well, to be fair, Uncle Tu said each of us has 84,000 brain cells, not just him. Google says an average human adult has 100 billion brain cells, though. I think a lot of us saw this coming, right?
Most Edutaining Moment
Former New Economics Party leader Mingkwan Saengsuwan gave us an informative moment with his trick to remember 10 Asean countries. You just need to put your hands together like you're doing a kamehameha or hadoken but with your fingers stretched. First, put your wrists together and open your palms. Now turn your arms so one hand is above the other. Put the thumb of your upper hand into the centre of your palm. This thumb represents Thailand. The other nine fingers represent the rest of Asean countries. If you compare where these fingers are to where these countries are on the map in relation to Thailand, it checks out. The Philippines is the thumb of the lower hand as it's the furthest away from Thailand. Try it out. Not sure if this works with a left-handed person, though.
The Subtlest Shade Throwing Moment
"The honourable House Speaker, I'm Pita Limjaroenrat, a party-list MP from a party chosen by 6.3 million people to be here but was dissolved by seven Constitutional Court judges." -- Pita Limcharoenrat, MP of now-dissolved Future Forward Party.
If you're for the Future Forward Party, his introduction is a subtle shade to the court, but understandably so. If you're against the dissolved party, you'll say he's a sore loser.
The Pettiest Moment
While Pheu Thai MP Yutthapong Charasathien was grilling the prime minister over his suspicious wealth and referring to him with title khun -- a polite second-person or third-person pronoun in the Thai language -- several pro-govt MPs objected to the use of the word. They deem "Khun Prayut" inappropriate and demand that the prime minister should be referred to as Gen Prayut. However, House Speaker Chuan Leekpai dismissed the objection, saying khun isn't explicit.
The always-controversial MP Pareena Kraikupt took it further. She asked if she can refer to him as Khun Chuan instead of referring to him as House Speaker. Chuan replies, "It's fine so long as you don't use ai [a pejorative title]. As I've said several times na krub, Khun Prayut isn't rude. Is it appropriate? The people who're watching this will be the judges of that."
This may go down as the pettiest objection in the Thai Parliament's history.
The Most WTH Moment
"I've never threatened anyone even those on social media. They accuse me of being rude to the media but I am not. It's you who do bad things to me. I'm good-tempered and smiley." -- Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
Yes, WTH.