Thai MPs vote Wan Muhamad Noor Matha as new House Speaker
A file photo of Prachachat Party leader and the new Speaker of the House of Representatives Wan Muhamad Noor Matha. (Photo: AFP/Lillian Suwanrumpha)
BANGKOK: Veteran Muslim politician from Thailand’s far south Wan Muhamad Noor Matha became the country’s new Speaker of the House of Representatives after he was nominated for the position in parliament on Tuesday (Jul 4) without any contender.
He was nominated by Mr Pita Limjaroenrat, a prime minister hopeful and leader of the Move Forward Party, which won an unexpected victory in the general election on May 14.
The nomination took place in a parliamentary session where newly elected members of parliament (MPs) gathered to select the new House Speaker, First Deputy Speaker and Second Deputy Speaker.
Seventy-nine-year-old Wan Muhamad delivered a speech to the parliamentarians after being selected for the House Speaker position, vowing to perform his duties with transparency, honesty and respect to the Constitution, laws, and parliamentary regulations.
“I shall be politically impartial while performing my duties,” he said.
“I will work with the two persons who will become Deputy Speakers to determine a systematic method of considering draft bills, motions and enquiries in order to enable the members to carry out their duties with full capability for the benefit of the people,” he added.
Mr Wan Muhamad also promised to support the work of every parliamentary committee to solve the people’s problems as well as promote and develop democracy in the country.
The new House Speaker is the leader of the Prachachat Party. The party joined Move Forward and Pheu Thai to form a coalition with five other allies after the general election in May, when Mr Pita’s party emerged as the winner with 151 seats.
Together, the eight coalition parties have 312 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives.
The House Speaker position was a source of disagreement between Move Forward and Pheu Thai over the past months as both parties set their sights on the top post of the legislative branch.
On Monday, they held a joint press conference to announce they had agreed to nominate the Prachachat Party leader as the House Speaker.
The House Speaker controls the joint sitting of parliament, which includes MPs and senators. This means Mr Wan Muhamad will preside over the joint sitting where both the House of Representatives and the Senate vote on the next prime minister of Thailand.
For Mr Pita to become prime minister, he needs the approval of more than half of the 750-seat National Assembly, or at least 376 votes in either the House of Representatives alone or the Senate too.
The House Speaker is the head of the legislative branch, which is one of the three principal bodies of power in Thailand.
Under the Thai democratic system with the king as the Head of State, the king exercises sovereign power, which belongs to the Thai people, through the legislative branch, the executive branch and the judiciary branch.
Mr Wan Muhamad’s responsibilities include maintaining order in parliamentary sittings, arranging parliamentary agendas, and setting up parliamentary committees to work for the parliament.
Prior to this, Mr Wan Muhamad headed several ministries in previous governments. He had also served as Speaker of the House of Representatives and president of the Parliament between 1996 and 2000.
“LEARN TO MOVE FORWARD AND STEP BACK”
Following the selection of the House Speaker, Mr Pita maintained the decision to elect Mr Wan Muhamad was made to achieve unity among the eight coalition parties.
He explained in a Facebook post that his party had discussions with Mr Wan Muhamad before deciding to back him for the post.
“We talked directly that a progressive parliament, a transparent parliament and a parliament with the people at its centre will be the main policy under Mr Wan Muhamad’s speakership of the House of Representatives,” Mr Pita said.
He added the veteran politician also promised that key bills proposed by the Move Forward Party such as the marriage equality bill and the progressive liquor bill will not be blocked or delayed by mistrust or ineffectiveness under his leadership.
“When it comes to decision-making under the conditions of a coalition government, it is important to learn to move forward and step back under the right circumstances,” said the prime minister hopeful.
“The Move Forward Party’s decision today is not for politics at present but we made a decision based on the basic values shared within the party. We work for long-term politics in order to transform the country successfully. There is a line we can never cross and that is to betray the people’s trust.”
On Tuesday, Thai MPs also selected the First Deputy Speaker and Second Deputy Speaker for the new parliament.
Mr Padipat Suntiphada, an MP from the Move Forward Party, was voted as the First Deputy Speaker. The position was also contested by Mr Wittaya Kaewparadai, an MP from the United Thai Nation Party.
Mr Padipat beat his contender by a clear margin with 312 votes against Mr Wittaya’s 105 votes. Seventy-seven MPs abstained from voting and two ballots were void.
The Second Deputy Speaker post went to Mr Pichet Chuamuangphan from the Pheu Thai Party. He was nominated for the position without any contender.
