Parit Challenges Parliament Speaker Over Slow Investigation
Parit Wacharasindhu, a Pheu Thai MP, accused Parliament Speaker Somchai Sawangkarn of deliberately delaying a petition investigating former Transport Minister Sakdisai Chidchob's stock manipulation case, citing a 74-day delay compared to th
On August 19, 2025, Parit Wacharasindhu, list-based MP and deputy leader of the Pheu Thai party, posted on his Facebook page responding to Parliament Speaker Somchai Sawangkarn's interview advising the opposition and some senators not to dwell on the petition to the Supreme Court requesting an inquiry into the National Anti-Corruption Commission regarding former Transport Minister Sakdisai Chidchob's stock manipulation case.
Parit stated that while he is not obsessed with the matter, he is concerned Somchai may suppress and truncate the case to prevent it from reaching court. He noted that in the most recent precedent, Senate Speaker Mongkol Surasajacha, while serving as parliament speaker, took less than 41 days to forward a case to court, but in this instance, 74 days have passed and Somchai has only appointed a filtering committee.
Parit further criticized Somchai for claiming the committee should work independently while hand-picking all members himself and concealing their names, making the committee's work effectively shielded from public scrutiny. He also noted that despite claiming to ensure careful consideration, Somchai has not guaranteed the petition's representatives will be invited to provide information to the committee.
Addressing the issue of delay, Parit pointed out that while Somchai denies dragging his feet, he has not set any clear deadline for the committee to complete its work and submit findings.
The opposition sent a letter to Somchai on July 22 requesting he: disclose the filtering committee members' names, set a clear timeline, invite the petitioners to provide information, and publish meeting minutes. As of the present date, no response has been received.
Parit concluded: "If we are concerned the Election Commission will truncate a fraud case to prevent it from reaching court, we should equally be concerned the parliament speaker will do the same with the anti-corruption and Sakdisai matters, as the military regime will undoubtedly employ all means to keep both cases from court."
