The opposition and a group of independent senators on Wednesday urged House Speaker Sophon Zarum to forward a petition seeking an investigation into the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) to the Supreme Court, saying there was no justification for further delays.
Parit Wacharasindhu, a People's Party list-MP and the opposition chief whip, said the petition had been submitted on June 5 after opposition MPs and senators accused NACC commissioners of malfeasance for dismissing a complaint against former transport minister Saksayam Chidchob.
The complaint alleged Mr Saksayam concealed his shareholdings and submitted a false asset declaration by using nominees to hold assets on his behalf. The NACC dismissed the case, even though the Constitutional Court had ruled earlier to terminate Mr Saksayam’s ministerial status for the same offence.
The anti-graft body’s ruling prompting lawmakers to seek an independent inquiry into the commissioners' handling of the matter.
Mr Parit said the House speaker only had two options: forward the petition to the Supreme Court president so an independent inquiry panel could be appointed, or reject the request and effectively halt the investigation.
Although the constitution sets no deadline for the speaker's decision, he said there was precedent for acting much more quickly. In a previous case involving allegations that NACC commissioners accepted gold bribes from police officers, it took only 41 days from the submission of a petition by senators for an independent inquiry panel to be established.
By comparison, 33 days had already passed since the latest petition was submitted to the parliament speaker, Mr Parit said, adding officials had already verified the signatures and the documents were now on Mr Sophon's desk.
"If the speaker refuses to forward the petition, he must explain to the public why he sees no reason to question the NACC's handling of the Saksayam case," Mr Parit said, adding that an unjustified delay or rejection could expose the speaker to accusations of malfeasance under Section 157 of the Criminal Code.
Independent senator Nantana Nantavaropas also questioned whether political considerations were behind the delay and warned that continued inaction could amount to dereliction of duty.
