It's a shame that MPs last week punted to cabinet a bill seeking to liberalise the liquor industry and allow small-scale producers to enter the market.
Many MPs, both in the government and the opposition sides, have not only failed to make a quorum, resulting in the collapse of several recent House sessions, but have also failed to perform their duty when given the chance.
The MPs voted 207 to 196 with two abstentions and three no votes to send the bill amending the Excise Tax Act to cabinet before it is returned to the House for a vote on whether to admit it at its first reading.
The vote was deferred from the previous week when a lack of quorum forced the House session to end abruptly.
The proposed amendment aims to fully liberalise the alcohol drink industry which is under a monopoly of a few large producers.
If passed by parliament, the amendment, sponsored by Thaopipob Limjirakorn, a Move Forward Party MP for Bangkok, would revise regulations to make it easier for small-scale distillers to run a business.
The bill was postponed unnecessarily. If the House want to hear the opinions of the government or authorities concerned, they can listen to them during a vetting process of second and third readings.
Thailand's distillery industry has been a lucrative source of income for the government, as well as a big source of wealth for a few liquor and beer producing families for more than half of a century.
The law is a key factor that undermines the development of Thai traditional liquor, which some regard as a form of cultural wisdom.
Attempts to liberalise the industry have been made before but never truly achieved.
In 2000, the Democrat-led cabinet passed a resolution giving to villagers the right to produce traditional alcoholic drinks.
However, the policy has made no progress.
In 2003, the Thaksin Shinawatra administration allowed locals to form a community enterprise to seek a licence to open a distillery.
However, these licences were hard to come by due to stiff criteria.
Under current regulations, a liquor distillery which qualifies for a licence must hold a minimum production capacity of 30,000 litres per day and it must be able to distil up to 99.5% of alcohol by volume.
The fact is that the alcohol concentration of most local white spirits sold in the market is up to only 40%.
Meanwhile, anyone who wants to produce beer requires a minimum registered capital of 10 million baht and a beer house which produces and sells its products on site requires a minimum capacity of 100,000 litres per year.
This is why many small Thai beer producers have to set up their production bases in neighbouring countries and export their products to Thailand incurring high import taxes.
The proposed amendment will drop criteria hindering small producers from entering the market.
Section 43 of the constitution elaborates on the rights the charter offers to the public, stipulating that "a person and a community shall have the right to conserve, revive or promote wisdom, arts, culture, tradition and good customs at both local and national levels."
Where traditional Thai liquor is concerned, this is one reason why the government should support the bill and return the measure to the House for further deliberation.